In pain more often than not

[ayanski]

I'm a 32yr old female who has had the odd back pain over the years. For the last 6 years my lower back has been painful to pressure touch. I went on holiday mid July and swung my case awkwardly causing bad lower back pain but that was all. It went in about 3 weeks but since that has gone I have had bad sciatica that can only be described like the sharp shooting pains off toothache in my left leg from upper buttock to knee. I try to keep moving but I have a desk job and anything apart from lying down hurts. I wake up in the morning thinking it's not too bad and within the space of a few minutes it's back. Sitting hurts. Walking hurts. Just standing hurts. Very close to crying with this. My Dr has now referred me in for an MRI whenever that comes through and im on 500mg, naproxen twice a day and 8/500 cocodamol x2 three times a day but it doesn't feel like they are doing anything at all for me. They get rid of the pain for all of about 20 mins and then it's back with vengeance. What meds are everyone else on at the minute cause I really need to go back and say what I have isn't good enough

[lowlife]

Unfortunately you'll find that no pain killers will get rid of all pain in fact it just takes the edge off to enable you to cope better. Also they all work differently on each person. Ask the docter if you can try something different as you feel that they're notworking as well as you would like. Unfortunately they all have different side effects which you also need to manage so it's hard to get the right one to suit you. X

[ayanski in reply to lowlife]

I just need something. I dread moving. I dread going to work. I dread having to go to bathroom lol. And prescriptions aren't cheap

[Hope18 in reply to ayanski]

Hi there.... you could try asking for the stronger cocodamol which is 30/500 instead of the 8/500..... these are prescription only and as you have already tried the lower dose and got a bit of relief then, maybe the 30/500 will provide longer pain relief for you... they do make you constipated though so I would ask for something to help with that as well or maybe just get something from the pharmacy to help with that.... I hope you manage to get some kind of relief soon! There are plenty of options that your gp can recommend and maybe a tens machine might help you as well which can be bought online or from a pharmacy.... good luck and best wishes to you and everyone else on here.... hugs xxxx

[Tmags in reply to ayanski]

Ive been a nurse for 32 years,i have sciatica,i lifted a lot of heavy patients in the 80,s,before hoists. I rarely have pain now as i went to a chiropracter,im.not saying thats what you should do,im aware of the cost but heres what i learnt,and have actually taught to doctors since then. When zitting,make sure your knees are lower then base of spine,this is vital. Although you have a desk job,every 15 mins stand up and walk round your chair. Your employer has a responsibility towatds you so then cant forbid this. Walk az much as possible, if your not walking for 30 mins at least each day the problem wont get better. Pain meds - sciatic nerve pain is only relieved by drugs like gabapebtin,pregabalin or amitryptyline id recommend the first in as low a dose as possible. Also, a prescription prepayment is 10.50 am month for multiple items i live in zcotland,i believe prescriptions should NOT be free,as it encourges over ordering on repeat prescriptions,patients come intk hospital witj huge bags of meds,costing nhs a fortune. Also,lpId strongly recommend a tens machine,14, 99 llyoyds pharmacy.they really work. I know awful sciatica is,I wish I knew all these thingz when I had it daily for years,move move move,try putting the foit of the opposite zide if the pain forward while walking too. Hope things improve,it really is hell. Incidentaly,im not rich spent a lot of my wages,as a staff nurse,not a senior one at the time on chiropractic care!

[deejames]

Amitryptoline has worked fro my daughter but more importantly she is working with a physio to stregth her core muscles and improve movement and posture. And flexibility.

The younger you start paying attention to these things, especially if you are experiencing problems already, the better. I am a great believer in Pilates and Tai Chi but there are other systems that could work for you.

You mention a desk job. There are things you can do to help posture and stretch your back, shoulders and neck whilst sitting. Carrying extra weight doesn't help either so if this is a problem start looking at it ow before it becomes harder as you get older.

Short term discuss other medications like nortriptoline ( related to amitryptoline) with your GP .

Hope thing improve soon

Dee

[Emma2017]

Hi there, I feel for you. I had these pains all the way down to my toes and had a few days where I could not move at all. So was put on amitriptiline plus dihydrocodeine. These helped some but I could not stand the amytriptiline. MRI for me showed a massively ruptured disc and I was operated on. Now have different pains and have had X-ray guided injections and am on pregabalin which helps reasonably for the nerve pains. Just press for an early date for your MRI so at least you know what is what.

[SharonV123]

Hi. I suffer from back pain on a regular occurrence. I've also got other medical problems so I take Codeine 30mg tablets, Mezolar Matrix 75micrograms/hour transdermal patches, torvastatin 20mg tablets, Co-codamol 30mg/500mg effervescent tablets, Amitriptyline 50mg/5ml oral solution sugar free, Carbamazepine 100mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free, Omeprazole 20mg dispersible gastro-resistant tablets, Perindopril erbumine 2mg tablets and Warfarin 1mg tablets daily. None of these work for my back. My GP sent me for a scan and nothing showed so she put it down to Arthritis. Hope you get some answers.

[purpletwo]

I'm sorry you're in so much pain. Pain medication is trial and error. What suits one person, may not work for you. Hopefully you'll find something that helps. You mentioned the cost of prescriptions. Yeah they are pretty high. I assume you're in the UK? If you have more than one prescription in a month, you can get an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate. You can get either a 3 month one, or a 12 month one. It costs £10.50 a month and covers all your prescriptions, no matter how many you have. Just type 'NHS prescription prepayment certificate' into Google. I do hope you'll start to feel a bit better soon.

[ayanski in reply to purpletwo]

Yeah im from Scotland but living in Kent. Scotland prescription is free. Here is 8.60 for each med you get. I've another Dr appointment tomorrow to see what they can do for me. Work was agony today. Couldn't concentrate cause the pain.

[Hidden in reply to purpletwo]

Prescriptions aren't really expensive when you take into account how much the medicine actually costs and what it does for people.

I can never understand why people have a problem with the price.

[ayanski in reply to Hidden]

Cause it's context. I was getting for free..... Now having to pay down here. That makes it expensive. Especially as I've had to get 5 lots in last 2 weeks.... That's expensive considering one is just for 12tablets. And if you have bills to pay and it's between get meds or pay bills... It's expensive. All context. So let's keep it to the medical facts instead of jibes when I feel crap enough as it is thank you.

[Hidden in reply to ayanski]

That box of tablets you pay £8.60 for probably costs the NHS a lot more, so it is not expensive at all. In some parts of the world you would be paying a fortune for it.

Count yourself lucky.

[Poppy_Ann in reply to Hidden]

People have a problem with the cost unless you are in the upper 20% pay group for people who are on minium wage who have several items Like myself having 9 items per month trying to have the money there for them can be hard for myself I am lucky as my disability was due to the army and they pay the bill to buy a pre payment card would cost 104 pounds and for someone on minimum wage is a lot of money why do you think so many people are having to use food banks for their food it is not because they want to it is due to them not earning enough money to pay their normal bills I have never found anyone who wants to use them.

[ayanski in reply to Poppy_Ann]

Everyone struggles. Exactly. I'm not exactly complaining. But it's expenses I could do with out

[coolpolitealex]

You must keep on moving and do not let your muscles weaken because that can make it worse and there are good pain meds out there but try and use good old Ibuprofen because they work almost as good as any prescription drug's.

But lye down and start using your abdomen muscles to help with movement because that is where you will find out yourself just what pressures there may be, oh and are you overweight , if so that can be a problem if your not active enough which makes the pain worse also sitting down too long, so once you have had an MRI to rule out major problems go to a physio and follow their advice about movement best Alex

[Dozzle]

I have prepayment card. I pay 10.50 a month and can have as many prescriptions as I need. If you request an NHS receipt they will refund the prescription costs while you wait for you prepayment card. It is simple to apply for and is well worth it. Your pharmacist will be able to give you the correct form to fill in and send off.

Good luck with your mess, hope they find a solution for you.