Hi I was looking for a bit of advice. I have been taking amitriptyline now for 3 years 2 years ago I was diagnosed with osteopenia. I recently found out that they think amitriptyline is bad for anyone with osteopenia or osteoporosis. When I spoke to my gp he said it had not been confirmed yet Wether there is a link to this. As I have been.on here before I have said about my whole list of problems with my back. My gp would not refer me to get an mri scan done so I had to take out a.loan to pay for one privately. This last mri scan I had done was in 2010. The results of the new mri scan were wild my gp said your back is a total mess at the bottom of my spine. He was refusing to speak to surgeon and try and get things sorted. He said give me 2 weeks and I will get speaking to surgeon he knows I rang 3 weeks later he said he couldn't get hold of him as he's very busy he told me to ring him the following week which I did and he said the surgeon said no he wouldn't operate. My gp is lying to me and fobbing me off with tablets. I'm getting to the point at 37 that my life will be tablets galore. I can't stand anymore than 5-10 mins at a time. Walking is the same. I'm putting on loads of weight and can hardly exercise as I'm in agony after 10mins it's a vicious circle.
Confused: Hi I was looking for a bit of advice... - Pain Concern
Confused
i would defininitly change your gp. he is definitly fobbing you off from what you say. im not sure what the condition that you have it.but i can see that your very unhappy with your doctor and that he doesnt seem to be doing much for you at al making you call back a few times and also not discussing the problem with your medication and your illness. someone with more experience and the same kind of illness will hopefull come along and tell you thier experience soon. i feel very sad for you that your life is so painful, did you get any help when you were on here before or find anyone who can relate to your illness. i cant believe it that people are having to pay for thier own treatment because thier doctor will not give them it. i wonder what this world is coming to. keep your chin up for now and really do think about changing your doctor. if you dont mind im going to have a look online and see if i can find out about your illness and also to see if there are any other people who are suffering from it where you might get some help. love grace xoxoxo
Hi I have been thinking for awhile abt changing gp's as he is useless. Yeah I had 495quid to pay as he had said abt it being done 2010 and he couldn't refer me. I have nerve damage, degenerative disc disease. My first mri scan showed l3 L4 and L 5 the latest results showed damage on C3 T4 T7. If that makes any sense. From I started walking my mummy realised that I always walked on my tip toe on my right side over the years it transpired that my right leg is alot shorter on my right side, my right side is alot weaker than my left when I walk I limp as it tires so easy it has affected me my whole life they realised in school that my writing would be so neat then halfway down it trailed of until it was Unreadable. I have had hospital appointments from I was a toddler until I was 18 but they did warn for trouble in later life as when I had to compensate when I walk. I used to have a built up shoe. I hope this wee message isn't confusing ☺
no anna im not confused i can see why your upsest with your gp. no1 he did not speak to you about the medication he gives you when you told him you had heard it was bad for your condition, no2 he keeps fobbing you off and asking you to phone back weekly then says he cant help you. no3 he refused to send you for an MRI scan and you had to pay for it yourself. he also refused to speak to your surgeon, i have to keep refering back to your first post and i keep loosing this one but i think iv mentioned enough problems that you have with this gp of yours.and i think you should get one who is more helpful, are you in a practise with more than one gp or is it just the one gp. the good thing about my doctors is there are many of them and some are good for some things and understanding while others are not, so i pick and choose who i see, i dont find this message confusinge either as your talking abou how your problem started from where you were a child, love grace xoxoxo
Hi Anna
Sorry to read you are having an awful time with your back. I take Amitriptyline and haven't heard it's bad for bones. Hope it's not. Hope you take Calcium and or a bone strengthener as your osteopenic. Surgery isn't always very effective for back problems and some can end up worse off!. Are you being seen by a Pain Clinic?. If not I can strongly recommend one as they look at treating your pain in a variety of ways not just pills although they have access to different ones from your GP that might be more effective. They also do injections and run support groups that teach coping strategies. I am having a lot of help from one at the moment. Hope you improve soon. X
misty14 I am.waiting list for an appointment. The last time I went the consultant examined me when to.press.I to bottom of my back I squealed and jumped he said he would.not even try and put injections into my back
Hi anna79
What does "a total mess at the bottom of my spine" mean?
Why do you think your GP is lying to you and 'fobbing you off'?
Your post is a little muddled so I'm confused as to what's actually happening so if you could elaborate a bit more from the beginning, we may be able to help.......
RJC
RAYJAYC Ok. My gp looked at my recent mri results and said the bottom of my back is a mess. My gp doesn't help at all doesn't remember things, his answer to fix my problems is by giving pain killers I don't need patched up and.living on pain killers I need something done and he's not prepared to help. I have 4 children and can't spend time out with them playing around and acting like eejit. Sorry for.confusion
Sorry, I was writing my reply as others came in but would still like to know a bit more....... I too have DDD and have had three discectomies; two were emergencies.
RJC
RAYJAYC no probs. Fire away I can answer any questions
So you've got disc herniations & bulges? Do you have leg pain/weakness too?
Usually a GP would refer you to an orthopaedic surgeon to discuss the options. If your GP isn't any good then complain! If you need a referral then it should be done! Have you seen the report of the MRI? If your back is that painful and is in such bad shape then something needs doing!!
RJC
Look you must learn to get your muscles going, they will feel bad at the start , but it's the effort you put in that you will get out and it will make you feel better in yourself and of course the weight does not help.
That said, I do not know just how bad your lower back is but if it is anything like mine I sympathise, but I can't stress enough to get those muscles working because even if you just start a little bit at a time and slowly in the end you will get the benefit in one way or the other, but I won't kid you it is bloody hard work, but it is worth it to get those few extra yards or feet or even inches, because if you are taking painkillers then use them to move as much as you can because what's the use of taking them if all you get is fatter. so get into a routine and start slowly, a step at a time if need be, sorry if I sound too cruel and uncaring, but you get in what you put out, best Alex
I agree with previous....... Surgery can be the worst option in some cases and no reputable Orthopod will operate on a spine if there is less than 75% chance of a successful outcome.......I've had a radical spinal fusion at 26 yrs age and shattered it 5 yrs later. Then had Anterior/Posterior Block fusion, removing most headless screws and revising, but I had to have 4 days of non stop tests before surgery to be sure I had no underlying causes that would complicate my recovery. All went ahead and I am grateful, but I still have to work on my pain levels and muscle tone on hourly, daily basis. So if there is any Osteo or Rheumatoid or obesity problems, they just won't go ahead with surgery. Your GP may be protecting you from a disappointing experience by giving yourself false hope for surgery.....perhaps you could ask him/her if this is the case. Also look into the Physiotherapy Techniques of Professor Lorimer Mosely which I was advised to study on this website and have had no end of relief from. Good luck and be proactive in your prognosis and treatment. Hugs, Sandra.
I may be wrong but I would have thought "osteopenia" is an indication that operations on bone is a no no unless something is life threatening. You are in pain and believe that an operation will remove the pain and enable you to walk without pain. Is this true or is it a hope which has a good possibility of not coming true.
I am not in a position to know what operation will be successful or not. I do know that many operations have not had a good success rate on removing pain. There is another approach which will in all likelihood not cure the problem, but will help make the chronic pain you suffer from less of a problem.
This other approach involves you working on posture and muscle control with the help of experienced teachers. The disciplines I have in mind are: Yoga, Alexander technique, meditation and mindfulness. You may need you leg muscles examined to see if the muscles are over contracted or not. If they are over contracted they need to be stretched out. The stretching out of of over contracted muscles can be done by an experienced massage therapist.
Over contracted leg muscles pull on the lower spine and apply pressure on the lower vertebrate. The more contracted a muscle is the weaker it becomes. Over contracted muscles can be quite painful. It is possible that you have over contracted muscles in the lower back either as a result of damage present there or as a result of poor muscle control.
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