Exrutiating Back Pain

[Daisi124]

I fractured my L2 eight weeks ago washing up. I was sent for an x-ray which showed the fracture and also scelerosis in L5 -S1. I had a Dexa scan which showed T scores - 2.7 in hip and -4.8 in spine. I started on Alendronic Acid one a week three weeks ago. After the intial shock I knuckled down, took gentle walks etc. Four nights ago I coughed in bed and felt a horrendous pain in my lower back which caused excruitiating pain, this has set me back from going from a level 4 pain right back to level 10 worse than when I did the initial fracture. I am pain free when sitting and can walk, however any movement and especially coughing which is unavoidable is absolutely excruitiating. I was taking Solopodol 30/500g which was really good until I had to go to hospital with an faceal compaction which they had to remove, I am just taking paracetomol now. I have Gerd which causes night coughing and the Codeine seemed to stop the cough. I am in imense pain when I cough and at my wits end how to stop the muscle spasms both when coughing and moving in bed. Has anybody got any suggestions, I am living in fear of having an actual prolonged coughing fit or catching a cold, I am virtually housebound now and am refusing visitors for that reason.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Oh Daisi124, I am just so sorry to hear this has happened to you, you are having such an awful time. The only thing I can suggest is to try and get speedy access to a hospital physiotherapist or even a private one (waiting time is bound to be less) who has a special interest in osteoporosis and who could help you with your breathing and help you to find a way to cough with less pain. You could also do with an urgent referral to a pain clinic to try and find something to deal with your pain without causing you more problems. When my SIF was at its worst my physio was adamant that I had to get good pain relief to get the pain under control and I’m sure that will apply to you too.

Could someone - physio or occupational therapist help you get a bed where the back is raised up or a recliner chair that would let you sleep in an upright position which would help with the GERD?

You really do need some sort of help to cope with this at the moment.

[Daisi124 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Hi Fruit and nut, thank you for your kind words. I am looking into an adjustable bed right now. I had a good conversation with my GP today, he put me back on Codeine and said to take laxatives 3 times a day, he said I had no option and if I got impacted again A&E would just have to sort it out. He also prescribed Amitrypiline, he said it would help with the muscle spasms and relax me, I was so hopeful about that as it also is very effective in stopping Gerd coughing, however when I read the leaflet it is linked to heart problem and it specifically says if you have irregular heart beat then you cannot take it. I have regular palpitations so do not want to risk it. I am really upset about that. I will ring the surgery again tomorrow and ask if it would be dangerous to take with the heart palpitations. Also I went for the ultrasound yesterday on my kidny, I have a 6mm stone to boot. That can cause a lot of problems if it goes on the move. My GP said he would refer me to the kidney clinic but there is a long wait and they would probably take a watch and wait approach, in other words wait until I am screaming in agony before treating it! There is a private hospital near me that does stone removal but it is £7k I am considering paying it and getting it out, I cannot cope with anymore pain right now like trying to pass a kidney stone. Physiothereapy has not been mentioned neither has a pain clinic, in fact nobody has actually examined my back just told me over the phone my results and then prescribed me things. I am not getting any of replies from health unlocked so sorry for the late reply.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Daisi124]

It really is worrying when a doctor prescribes a drug that has that sort of effect. I was fine on the lower level of naproxen for five days but one I went on to unlimited naproxen plus omeprazole then read that it could cause sudden heart attacks and strikes I’m afraid that freaked me out - I was having dreadful low abdominal problems anyway so I stopped both drugs. Fortunately I’m ok now.

I read somewhere recently that kiwi fruit is very good for constipation, I was having problems in that direction and I’d say it does work so now I regularly eat a couple of kiwis - I wash them, chop the ends off and eat the skin too. So you could try that.

I can see why you are considering having your kidney stone dealt with privately. That pain on top of your back pain is just unthinkable.

Are you in contact with any specialists at your local hospital? When I needed physio help with my CRPS and my doctor said I couldn’t be referred because of covid I was lucky enough to be referred internally to a hand specialist by the fracture liaison service physiotherapist who phoned to see how my wrist was and also the rheumatologist I saw last month talked about pain relief - I said I was fine - but she said to get back in touch with them and they would refer me to the pain clinic if I needed more help, she said the same about if I changed my mind and wanted a bisphosphonate infusion! So if you are seeing a consultant for anything it might be worth contacting them.

NHS physio clinics have enormous waiting lists - I was referred back in June and got a letter saying they would be dealing with me locally - unfortunately I’ve not heard a single thing since then.

Have you asked the ROS helpline for advice? It seems awful that you’ve not spoken to anyone other than by phone when you are in so much pain. I hope your call with your doctor today can get you a bit more help. It’s all very well your GP saying if you get impacted again A&E will have to sort you out but you’re the one who is suffering. Take care. x

[Daisi124 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Hiy Fruit and nut, sorry for the late reply but I have been inconsolable this last few days. The pain is no better in fact it is worse, I would not be suprised if I have had another fracture. I am waiting for my GP to call me back this afternoon about the kidney stone and I will tell him. I have still not got any pain medication except for paracetomol and cannot sleep at night. Getting in and out of bed is so painful, so once I have managed to get in about 4 hours later I have to get out again to wee and experience such pain getting out I don't get back in again. I am looking at adjustable beds to see if they could lift me into a sitting position I could just move my legs onto round onto the floor? I have no experience of them so not sure if they would be a complete waste of money or not. I hope you are keeping well. x

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Daisi124]

Oh I’m so sorry you are no better, that is dreadful news. To quote the physiotherapist I saw and who referred me for my scans ‘you absolutely must get yourself some good pain relief’.

What is stopping them? Could you get an urgent referral to the pain clinic? Short of turning up at A&E and refusing to budge until they do something to help you I can’t think of anything else you can do.

I used to have a Tempur adjustable bed, it was interesting. It was fairly firm but not hard, it wasn’t a bed I would have wanted to have a lie in on though. After a few years the engine for the foot part stopped working and it wasn’t worth paying to have it repaired - I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either and I found I woke in the night because I found it was terribly hot to sleep on. You have to sit on it and lift your legs up to sit on it as you would a normal bed. Once you are lying on it you can wind yourself up, either back or feet or both.

My husband bought an HSL reclining chair before he had a hip replacement and he liked that. He could sleep on it but his physiotherapist told him not to - part of his physio involved stretching out on a flat bed for an hour every day and she wanted him to be lying flat at night too. I sometimes used to use his chair when I started on alendronic acid and slept a lot but it was too large for me so I never really found it all that comfortable, I’m sure if I’d had the size of chair that fitted me I’d have been fine. . You can raise the feet and recline the back once you sit down and his has the ‘tip you out ‘ mechanism for when you want to stand up. It is very slow doing that though - definitely not - as we used joke - like an ejector seat. You would need to go to a showroom and try a chair first and we found that the delivery time was quite slow. Actually you can try the beds too if you’re u can find somewhere that sells them. Delivery for them was slow too.

I really hope by the time you see this your GP will have given you something that will help you.

[Daisi124 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I have an lift chair on order Fruitandnutcase it it supposed to be coming tomorrow. We have no armchairs in our house, we both have a sofa each but I sink into it too much and struggle to get up and of course it only has one arm so not much leverage to help me. I am hoping I will find a lift chair easier even though I might not use the lift function, it will recline as well and has a foot rest. Regarding the bed, mine is well old so anything I buy cannot be worse. When I am in bed because of the fractures I cannot lift my self into a sitting position, I have to inch my why toward the end and the sort of roll around until I can get my feet near the floor then hoist myself up, It is excrutiating. I am working on the premise that an adjustable bed would lift me into a sitting position and then I would be able to swing my legs around to get out? Hope that makes sense. As for the GP he has not phoned me yet so I am still waiting. I don't know why he doesn't give me some pain patches or something. I am going to point out that I think I might have another fracture and also that nobody has looked at my back not once! Anything could be going on with it. I am housebound now because I am too scared to go out in case I get a cold or covid, I do not know how I would be able to cope with any coughing fits, even the slightest movement causes pain even yawning.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Daisi124]

I’m sure you will find the lift chair will help, my husband loves his even though he doesn’t need it now. We also have two sofas and no armchairs. I’m sure you will be able to get your legs off the bed once you have raised the back up too.Surely your doctor will do something for you. You can’t go on in such dreadful pain. It really is appalling.

Mind you saying that no one apart from my physio who referred me has done anything with me and my problems. The new GP prescribed naproxen and the rheumatologist said ‘Oh ‘ when she read the reports and mentioned a referral to the pain clinic although she didn’t do it. She did offer bisphosphonate infusion and I’m sure if I’d said yes I’d have had it in no time at all. Apart from that I’m on my own too, I’m just luckier than you in that I’m not in agony.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that your doctor phones you soon and prescribes something that will help. x

[Kitchenbuddy]

Oh gosh, I am so sorry for your pain and all the things you are going through. I also have Gerd and take protonix, which is not good for my bones which is also deteriorated at L5 and S1. It seems we try to change one thing and do damage to something else. I wonder if you could drink camomile tea or take ginger for the heartburn about a half hour before going to bed if this would stop the coughing. I have an adjustable bed too. This may help your gerd, but if I raise the head or foot of bed up too high It causes more stress on my back. I also have imp actions and take Mirlax along with linzess everyday with an enema every other day as I think my motility is weak because of lower back deterioration. Its hard to manage. Taking fiber can worsen constipation if you get impactions. I try to drink lots of warn liquids and water to help avoid complications. I know this is a long post, but this is some of the things I do to help manage. Its not a perfect solution, but most of the time I can manage it. One more thought I take ginger candy when I feel indigestion or bloating. It seems to help well. I usually get gin gins from Amazon or they have other kind to try. They are hard to find in the store. I hope you find some relief.

[Daisi124 in reply to Kitchenbuddy]

I kitchenbuddy sorry for the late reply, but I am more or less incapacitated at the moment. Thank you for all your useful tips. Can you tell me whether or not you think it might be easier for me to get in and out of bed. I cannot get out of bed without great fear and pain so I was wondering if I could get it one would it left me into a sitting position so I could move my legs onto the floor? Thank you so much for your time.

[Kitchenbuddy in reply to Daisi124]

I have an adjustable bed and you may benefit from sitting up to get out of bed. You will need to use your arms to help turn. Don't scoot with your butt this may cause pinching and muscles tension in your back. I got into trouble when I had shoulder surgery and could not use my arms to sit up and turn. I am going to a chiropractor who uses a trigger point gun along my spine to break up inflamation. I don't know if a back brace would help. They usually slide up and down and could pinch. Have you consulted a physical therapist to help with strengthening and mobility. They sometimes will do home health depending on your doctor and health insurance.

[HeronNS]

I don't know if this is advisable or even possible, but is there some sort of back brace you can use temporarily to help stabilize all the bits that move and exacerbate the pain when you cough?

[Daisi124 in reply to HeronNS]

I spoke to the specialist about the back brace, he said not to use one as it weakens the back muscles and makes things worse in the long run Heron. I have got one and use it to get in and out of the car as my car is very low. I am housebound though at the moment, terrified of going out in case i get a cold or covid and cause coughing fits! I am in a deep depression at the moment and trying hard to find a positive in anything, nothing seems solveable. I cant sleep because getting in and out of bed is so painful and terrifying in case I break another vertebrae, I am looking at adustable beds but do not know if they would be any help either getting in or out of bed, I am working on the theory that if it lifted me up into a sitting position I could move my legs onto the floor more easily but never having tried one I dont know. Anyother thing you might be able to help me with, I am struggling to get my calcium intake as I have a large kidney stone so plant food is out because of oxolate, and so are calcium tablets according to my GP. I have been getting my calcium intake through milk and yoghurt, a pint of milk and a portion of yoghurt and cheese slice gives me the recommended 1200mg however I am now reading that dairy is bad for the bones because of it's acidity and leaches calcium from the bones. Everywhere I look seems to have a negative, have you heard anything about Dairy and calcium leaching?

[HeronNS in reply to Daisi124]

I think liquid milk tends not to be as good for us, at least adults, because of phosphorus or something, part of protein content. Can't look it up right now, computer probs. However other forms of dairy should be fine, especially fermented types, yoghurt, kefir, some cheeses, eg Brie, aged cheeses.

[HeronNS in reply to Daisi124]

I know a brace is not recommended for any length of time, just wondered whether one would be suitable while you wait for proper treatment as you are in such pain. But listen to the experts!