Facet joint inflammation and spine damage. Pain management questions.

[Cherrylucia]

Hi all,

I'm new to this group. I'm 27 and last year I had an intraspinal abscess in my lower back. I spent a long time on a hospital ward with strong treatment.

The abscess is gone, but it has left permanent scaring on my lower spine lumbers, lots of inflammation of my facet joints and chronic pain.

Has anyone else gone through this? Also has anyone got some tips on pain management or meds.

I have tried tramadol, gabopentin, pregablin, amitryptilne and tizasidine. They all didn't work.

The things that currently help slightly is paracetamol taken with codine. 20mg butrans patch and putting heat pads on my back. I'm seeing my pain management dr next week inwhich he wants to do nerve blocking steroid injections in my back. I am very nervous about this and want to try other meds before going through this procedure. I'm so scared of something going wrong and damage being done to my spine.

[Bananas5]

Hello Cherrylucia and welcome.

You have obviously been to the pain clinic and these meds and treatment have beenb suggested by them? Is that correect>

Yes there are much stronger meds to try but they come with their own problems. It has been medically researched in recent times and proved they don't work after a certain level. Pain clinic can suggest alternative therapies as in acupuncture, p, mindfulness and hydrotherapy but...the spinal injections have been offered.

Of course any procedures come with risks and non more so than the spinal cord however the anesthetist who does them is well qualified and done many.

The down side is it may not work. Plus side is it does work. Only you can weigh up the pros and cons and final decision has to be yours. Do listen to the expert who will be doing it though.

My husband has had around 30 over 20 years and only 3 haven't worked. That for him is worth having them.

X

[Cherrylucia in reply to Bananas5]

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes the pain management consultant prescribed the meds most recent.

I am swaying more and more to the injections as I've been doing more research today.

As I'm 27 I was nervous that other than something going wrong that I would only be able to have them for so long, it was promising to hear that your husband has had them for a while successfully.

Did he find the procedure very painful? How long does his relief last on average and are his in his spine area? Sorry so many questions! It's good to read the facts but nice to hear people's experiences. X

[Bananas5 in reply to Cherrylucia]

No problems. That's what we do here..share our experiences and help if possible.

David has complex pain and a man too! Yes he has them into low spine - injury caused break many many years ago. To say it doesn't hurt would be untrue. You have to be awake so surgeon knows he has the right spot. A local around the area does help.

This last one he had was far lower down in his 'tail' and hasn't worked. He normally gets relief about 5 months. They were stopped about 10 years ago for about 3 years as surgeon said there was a lot of scarring.

I don't know where you live but there is a huge problem in some areas for follow up appointments. People have have to wait 12 - 18 months for a second or subsequent procedure...various consultations have been carried out to find out why. Money was thought to be the obvious reason but it turns out lack of theatre space is the real cause of waiting.

x.

[Chloe800]

Hello Cherry, I'm new her too :0)

I was reading through your post and would just thought I would mention my ex partner had those injections for 15 years at different times. He said he felt " normal " and was lovely not to have to use pain killers all the time after his spinal injections.

They seemed to last him around 5 to 6 months of no pain but he was also careful with his physical activity and the way he sat etc. He was aware that he should also help himself with good posture and light yoga.

I am no expert of course as it was not me actually feeling that pain but I hope this helps.

There is a risk and if it goes wrong a high risk! Only you can decide if the risk is worth the pain you are going through. I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

Chloe X

[Cherrylucia in reply to Chloe800]

Thank you so much, again it is good to hear peoples experiences. I think I am almost decided in favour of the injections as meds are not really managing the situation. I have taken up swimming and used to do yoga before getting ill but I think it would be beneficial like your previous partner to use it to help with posture etc.

Thank you so much for sharing and supporting, I will update once I've seen the pain consultant again

Xx

[Chloe800 in reply to Cherrylucia]

Best of luck Cherry! X

[timkelly]

Hi Cherry, I have had numerous injections for my hip and lower back pain as well as a laminectomy. The laminectomy worked for my low back pain but the injections never did anything for my hip. At the moment I take oxycodin that provides about a total of 3 to 4 hours of relief a day for my hip. I also use a tens like unit that I purchased at Wallgreens. The electrical impulses help with the pain and provide some relief during the day on my hip. It only costs about $50 and might be worth a try until these doctors figure out what's going on. Tim