I am 37 years old and slipped on ice last year, twisted back and my injury was made far worse following physio intervention in which I was asked to lift 5kg weight repetively as quick as I could in a minute. I had an instant flare up resulting in numbness lower back, groin, lower legs ext later that evening I had emergency MRI scan and was confirmed I had lumbar disc prolaspe (L5/S1). Within a few days I noticed awful burning sensation in lower back/right leg and even now have limited sitting/static standing ability. I am currently on max doses of tramadol, sertraline, pregabalin, and take morphine and diazapam when required. I have started on duloxtine last month which is the last drug they will try me on before referring me for a spinal cord stimulator which is very effective for treating neuropathic pain. My pain is still not controlled and it has been 18months of constant pain (it has never left me). Looks like I have sensory nerve damage, chronic intractable back pain and neuropathy due to trauma.
I have been unable to work and being a single mum has been extremely hard going. I wondered if anybody has had spinal cord stimulator and their experiences (negative and positive) honest comments. I hate being on all this medication and want my life back, feel this is my only hope.
Thank you for taking the time to read/respond.
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Kerrycop
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Kerrycop I want to say to I am sorry about your pain and you probably don’t want to hear from me because I am not going through the same thing you are going through. I have MS and I also have my own problems with my walking and my pain but I feel I am not as bad as you. I know there are people on this site who will probably answer your question but I had seen your post and just wanted to say I hope all goes well with your treatment. And one thing I have to say if you don’t feel good or you don’t think what a doctor is doing for you, it is alright to question what he/she is asking you to do. I just say this because if I had I would have been diagnosed 3 to 5 years earlier than I had been.
Stay strong in what you do and ask questions because it is your life and your children’s.
Thank you for taking the time to read and reply, even though you do not have the same condition you can empathise with the frustrations/limitations you experience when adjusting to life with a medical condition, being in pain, loss of function and exploring medications ect.
Fortunately (and I do really feel very fortunate) I have an excellent GP who has engaged me with specialist services such as Chronic Pain Clinic/Chronic pain group therapy and so on and has continuously reviewed me/medications etc and I feel has genuinely tried her best to listen and act appropriately. However, along with occupational health physician hasn't got all the answers for me in terms of prognosis because initially wasn't very clear, over time symptoms developed and not resolved. The more time has gone on, the more likelihood of permanent nerve damage.
When I was googling medical interventions for myself came aware of the spinal cord stimulator approached her in which she responded the pain clinic could refer me for, should the duloxtine not be effective. This is a last resort I presume because of the complications attached to it and potential cost on the nhs. For this I had wanted to start discussion 're this particular procedure. Thank you for your warm wishes, I hope things have become a bit more manageable for you now you know what condition you have in terms of understanding your symptoms more. Take care
Hi Kerrycop sorry its taken time to get back to you but i forgot all my login details, I am sorry to hear what you are going through. I have since changed doctor and i am now coming down off the morphine which i have been on for 15yrs still on the MST tablets. Iam under the care of Dr Paine at salford royal who explained to me about my pain relief he said that doctors will just put you on what they think is a good for pain without telling you what happens , i asked to come off the morphine and my new doctors are slowly weaning me off it, I can really tell you that i am now more in control of my medication and understand now why my pain was so bad as Dr Paine said that it actually makes you worse as the nerve ends are damaged after surgery and after going through 7 operations to find that my brain is telling me i need more pain relief, but after talking with my surgeon i am now slowly telling my brain to go take a jump lol. Im sorry to sound a bit excited but they have tried me on all the medication that you are on and im allergic to all except morphine, so my brain has been begging for more and more but as i am now coming off the actual morphine liquid i am only taking the mst tablets which do help me better to control my pain, i have been told i will never be pain free but that i will be able to control it better. i am sorry if this isnt what you wanted to hear but if you can get to a pain relief doctor they will explain how your medication works and how to help control your pain and hopefuly start to get your life back on track believe me though its not easy but i am now starting to get my life back after all this time. I really hope that someone can help you love, please let me know how you get on as i am really interested in your welfare.
Thanks so much for your response. I'm sorry to hear your story, it sounds like you have been through it but are coming out the other side of it?
I havent yet been through any operations (originally had MRI scan which showed lumbar disc prolaspe but unlikely to require back surgery) . My nerve damage was due to "trauma" to back when I injured it, on top of already having back injury.
Pain Clinic Specialist I saw few months ago said that it is possible my pain may improve slightly but it will always "linger" but that it may continue to get worse.
My central nervous system has become "hypersensitive" and therefore even thoughts, emotions, stress all has direct impact in my pain. The steroid nerve injection was originally an option however I was then advised against this because it potentially could heighten pain already experienced.
With regards to the meds I am fully aware 're building up a tolerance to everything until there is nothing left to build up a tolerance too! I have been advised they are not going to try any further medications but would consider spinal cord stimulator (implant acts similar to TENS machine) but it apparently completely blocks out unhealthy pain signals with central nervous system thus making it very effective for neuropathic pain.
Well done for coming of oramorph and feeling in more control of self managing your pain/condition.
Hi, I have only just started out on the assessment process for a spinal cord stimulator but I know that it is a long journey with many hurdles to jump before they agree to fit one and then no guarantee that it will work. I was in the same position as you when I got referred and felt like it was my last hope but I am now not getting my hopes up and just taking it step by step. Have they offered you any other alternatives to pain meds eg a nerve block or epidural? Also I found it took time to find the best combination of meds and Nortriptyline worked well with the Pregablin for me. I do hope you find something that makes the pain more bearable. Good luck.
Kerrycop , i do not have what you have but can relate to your pain, i have multiple conditions the main one is fibromyalgia secondary condition is osteoarthritis and the other is degeneration of the spine . When i had first started with my primary condition i was on 22 tablets a day, a concoction of drugs did me no good. I stopped taking them and over time i have become used to the pain, but when i have a flare up i take morphine as and when i need it. I used cooling gel for my knees when they burn. With the pain comes fatigue. As with any thing to do with the spine there comes risks, if they can operate on your disk to make it better for you it is not guaranteed to work. I used to know some one who had a bike accident which left him paralyzed from the waste down, they tried to fix his back for him but it didnt work. He is now permanently disabled, and relies on a wheelchair.
To use just one drug is better than using multiple of drugs i think , just think what else is been affected inside of you taking a concoction of drugs. It is a risk you would have to think about of whether you have the op to correct your disk or do you continue to take the drugs given to you, or do you just grin and bear it?
At the end of the day it becomes your choice of what to do, but morphine works for me. Every one is different , what works for one may not work for another. good luck and hope you find a way of been pain free.
Hi my husband had a spinal chord stimulator fitted on Thursday at Guys hospital on Thursday and so far it has been amazing. 23 years of chronic back pain and sciatica and now very little pain. I keep thinking that he's Lying to me as most of our life together (30 years) he has had a bad back and then became chronic 23 years ago, so to see him with very little pain is amazing. Just do it what do you have to lose 😘
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