OA and Degenerative disc disease - Osteoarthritis Ac...

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OA and Degenerative disc disease

Jojohope profile image
3 Replies

Good morning everyone and thank you for allowing me to post here. I was diagnosed finally last year after MRI scan as having OA in facet joints and bulging discs S1, L4/5 and OA in those latter discs too. I have suffered back issues on and off over the years since horse riding accident when I was 19 (28 years ago). For the most part I have just got on with it but these last two years have been unbearable. I have spent thousands on chiropractic treatments and for last year or so, have seen a sports injury massage therapist weekly (35 a week) in order to try and get some relief. To no avail sadly.

As a coincidental, I have recently undergone hysterectomy to remove a huge fibroid attached to my womb which was likened to the size of a 24/25 week foetus. Prior to surgery my doc (who has been brilliant) suggested trying nerve branch root block injections. Am terrified of needles, not helped by his actual description of what would happen) but declined at that time as I was unsure whether fibroid removal would reduce the pain and stiffness in my lower back.

I am now coming to 5 month post op surgery and sadly for me, the fibroid removal has not made any difference at all in pain levels. It's there from the minute I wake up until the minute I knock myself out with diazepam and get onto bed. I have seen doc recently and been referred to pain management clinic on NHS.

To cut a long story shorter, I had my appointment last week and was on a high on journey up there, feeling like something was going to be done. When I arrived,I was told I had been referred to pain management triage in error as I already have a diagnosis. I was being transferred on to the right team but warned it was a ten to twelve week wait to be assessed for injections and if accepted, another three months for the actual procedure. Having been on the end of NHS incompetence before (had to self fund hysterectomy privately) my partner and I decided we would go private for these injections rather than prolonging pain even more.

After being messed around very badly re hysterectomy, as a family we decided to take out private life cover which I did in November 2017. Obviously they will not cover my lower spine as it is pre existing condition.

For around two or three months now,I have been experiencing severe pain in hip joints and also in my left knee. Both are more apparent when rising from sitting or climbing stairs.

Can I see someone under my health care insurance re hip and knee as these have never been an issue for me before. Or will they say it's linked to discs and OA in lower back and duck out of paying? I have obviously no diagnosis in these areas as they are relatively recent symptoms and wondered what people's thoughts were or whether anyone has been through anything similar?

My friends keep nagging me to apply for a blue badge as I often cry off social events as I struggle to walk most days . don't know if I would be eligible with this? And PIP gets mentioned a lot. I'm a qualified social worker so probably should know what this is but haven't a clue!

Going back to degenerative discs in lower back, can anyone recommend a decent pain reliever in the interim until I can find £1500 to pay for nerve branch block injections privately. My doc has just swapped me from 400mgs Tramadol a day to 30mgs Zomorph (controlled release morphine) twice a day with oral morphine to be used as breakthrough med. Reason for change was that Tramadol were not effective anymore.

Many thanks for listening to me drone on. I appreciate any help or advice.

Jo 🤗

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Jojohope
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alnapier profile image
alnapierPartner

Sorry to hear about this Jo. You are certainly facing a lot of pain. I do think you should possibly discuss this with a care provider as your friends have suggested. I am not able to suggest any pain medication solutions myself but I would love to hear from any other community members with a similar experience.

Jojohope profile image
Jojohope in reply to alnapier

Hi and thank you for replying. I saw consultant anaesthetist yesterday who administered six facet joint medial branch block injections through L3/4/5 and S1..he has also asked GP to change me onto Palexia 100mg controlled release twice daily so we will see how we go. Have had horrific side effects from Pregabalin. Memory loss, confusion, being the worst..😢 am hoping for miracle with new meds and injections combined...xx

Min-Pain profile image
Min-Pain

Hi jojo

I have suffered for over 10 years with low back pain and have facet and sacroiliac joint xray guided injections every 3 to 4 months. When it all is to much i get a lot of relief from heat. I started with the direct to skin the stick to clothes patches but found the likes of this on Amazon.

amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Sup...

Personally i have a Qfiber Body Heat Wrap - Infrared Heat Therapy. Worth its weight in gold as you can power it with a usb power bank then your free to roam away from power sockets.

Hope you can find relief as i do from heat therapy.

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