I’ve recently experienced the agony of one of my back muscles going into spasm. It was so bad that we had to call a GP out, who prescribed me diazepam which has helped significantly. I already take Tramadol, Naproxen and Pregabalin for past back issues.
Although I’m no longer in agony, thank God, the muscle that went into spasm is still very painful, particularly first thing in the morning. I’m trying to keep moving but at the same time I don’t want to overdo things.
My question is, am I doing the right thing in giving my back time to recover? I run out of Diazepam on Wednesday and am frightened of the muscle going into spasm again. Should I just resume my normal life and go back to work on Wednesday, which involves a lot of sitting which is never good for the back, or should I continue to take it easy at home until I’m happier that there’s no risk of it happening again? Perhaps there are people out there who’ve experienced this before and can advise?
Thanks for any help.
Written by
MumofSam
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Yes I too have had my muscles in my back go into severe spasm. . It is so painful and you literally cannot move and yes you fear that it might happen again. . I would stay off work if you can for the rest of this week and try gentle movements only, don't give up, don't sit for too long. . See if you can book some Physio for further advice, or ask your GP to book you into a Pain Management Group Course,. The physio I had was also a Class specially for getting strength back into your back... Just be very careful, because yes it can. " GO " again... Good luck to you ...
I am in similar position I use Co-Codamol 30-500 when in severe pain and rest but luckily my GP allows me repeat prescriptions of Diazepam for the simple reason I have relied on it as a Sedative but for it,s properties as muscular relaxant . 99% of operations requiring General Anaesthetics Diazepam is used as a pre-op medication to stop sudden jerking of the muscles etc during delicate surgery. Try to persuade your GP that it,s less harmful than taking high Codeine based painkillers that are less effective but more addictive. I hope this has been of help to you .
Thanks for your reply. I’ve never found Co-codamol any use, and need Tramadol to prevent attacks of Restless Legs Syndrome, as well as pain relief for my back and my right foot, on which I’m due bone fusion surgery at the end of this month.
Hi, I have found that Pregabalin is the most effective for muscle spasms long term. But the most important thing is to work out what movements cause your spasms. It can be as simple as putting on socks or reaching for something. I now do all these sort of things very slowly to 'try' to prevent them happening. If you are having to sit a lot at work, try to stand and move around as much as possible on a regular basis.
Thanks. I’m already on Pregabalin for nerve pain, going back to when I had such severe sciatica I had to have surgery for spinal stenosis and a prolapsed disc. Still have 3 crushed discs at the base of my spine.
I was getting some pain from my back before the muscle went, but ignored it as I didn’t know why my back was suddenly hurting me again. Won’t make that mistake again!
Hi rayschey I have been given pregabalin and I was wondering if you could tell me if you are on them and how long have you been on them as there is a sight I have joined and they have really frightened me about taking them as they say you have to keep putting the dose up to get any pain relief and then your get severe reactions as at the moment they are helping me
Hi Kingsley09 I have been on Pregabalin for nearly a year now and most of the side affects I had gradually disappeared. I keep on a low dose and increase if and when necessary, but this time last year I was having spasms for 3 weeks out of every four.
I think if you read all the side affects of any drug it can be very scary, but everybody is different in how they react to a medication. I have to take other medication for different types of pain, but for spasms they are the only thing that has helped.
Just like you my back does this on a regular basis I was injured in an accident whilst in the army and my neck back hips and knees were compressed which started off arthritis in most joints that was around 40 years ago and as the years have passed it has slowly got worse until 15 years ago I could not carry on working for me the best medication is Dihydrocodein 120 mg twice a day which is the lowest medication that works for me I also take several others my doctor told me that one medication that is not understood correctly is Paracetamol as it helps other medication work better my normal medication list per day is:-
Dihydrocodein 120 mg twice a day.
Nefopam 30 mg 2 X 3 times a day.
Pregabalin 50 mg twice a day.
Paracetamol 500 mg 2 x 4 times a day.
Amitriptyline 50 mg 2 once a day at night.
Morphine sulphate as and when required.
Naproxen 500 mg one twice a day.
Omeprazole 20 mg one per day
from what I have seen in others and in myself back pain tends to increase especially for people who are not active or are overweight.
The best thing you can do is try to keep mobile but do not over do it to start with and as soon as you start to feel twinges stop what you are doing and slowly move your back about without putting any load on it, also try to keep your posture correctly especially when you are sat down if you can try a kneeling stool in place of a normal chair as it keeps you sat in the correct position.
Good luck with finding something that works for you.
Thanks for your advice. I did take paracetamol, along with Tramadol, Pregabalin and Naproxen which I already take, but unfortunately it didn’t touch the pain. Having said that when I was suffering with severe sciatica it did help to boost the effects of Tramadol.
Ick, I'm so sorry you had to go through this! I've been getting between 0 and 12 back spasms a week for years now, and they are absolutely the worst part of my chronic pain.
Nobody has been interested in treating them, as they're "part of the chronic pain", but I don't think they are. Caused by it, yes, but not part of it. Meds don:t work on the rest of my pain, but they do relieve some of the pain from back spasms.... I'm waiting to see a musculoskeletal consultant, who may have new suggestions (at this point, the only things that do any good for me are massage (expensive!), stretching 3 times a day (or more), and meds.
I can’t think of anything worse than having to live with chronic pain, especially when the medical profession are so unsympathetic about it. My heart goes out to you.
Hi sweetie I have been getting muscles spasms for quite some time. I saw my private gp and he gave me Botox injections to stop my muscles going into spasms. It’s the best thing that I have ever had. It helped me tremendously. I have to have them every few months. I really don’t mind as it does give me Quality of life. They use Botox for so many different illnesses. Maybe you could look into this and see what you think about yourself. I have tried so many tablets and had a lot off operation on my back that I was at the point that I thought there nothing that was going to help me until my doctor suggested the Botox injections.
My apologies if I have not explained it to well only I am ill with a bad virus at the moment but I wanted to let you know what worked for me. Take good care sweetie and I hope that you find this interesting. Love and hugs 🤗🤗🤗🌹🌹🌹xxx
Blimey, how awful for you to have had this happening on a regular basis, but I’m glad you’ve found something that helps. Hopefully I’ll never go through this again, as thinking back there were warning signals, albeit subtle.
MumofSam, our muscles go into spasm to try to protect the injury/disease or fault that lies beneath it, eg a warn or slipped disc in the spine/arthritis flare/ displacement. That's why drugs like baclofen/diazepam work as temporary muscle relaxants, but they don't treat the cause. The muscle spasms are one of the bodies default mechanisms. I believe we have to trust our instincts as to when we can start to resume our activities after a period of rest, although this is difficult when we have no choice but to take opiates, that often mask the pain and the root cause of the problem. Truly hope all is more manageable for you soon, take care.
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