Hi I am new on this forum. I am just looking for advice really.
My lower back pain started early last year, I have been on cocodamol, naproxen and now the doctors have given me some cream to put on the area. The only test that the doctors have given me is a blood test and that came back clear but they won't give me any x ray or anything on my back.
I have also been to physiotherapy which helped a bit.
Can anyone give me some advice on what else I can do as I am going crazy with not knowing what is wrong with me.
My job is quite a physical job, and I try not to have time off when my back pain is really bad.
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vezza1989
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GP will only send you for Xray or scan if they feel there is something to be gained. As yu have some sort of injury you should insist on Xray at least. However if GP feels it is muscular then nothing will show.
You say you have a physical job which you work through when painful...chances are that is your answer. You may well be doing more damage. Pain is the body's natural defense...telling you to stop
So sorry to hear that you are in so much pain. I can't understand what on earth these doctors are thinking. I am in Australia and Don t really understand the English health system. You need a CAT scan or an MRI because X rays don't show up everything that can be wrong with backs. Any chance you can see a different doctor and get one get at least one of these scans done. Good luck. Lola
You don't get these here unfortunately. I slipped and fell on the base of my spine over 40 years ago and got back pain ever since. Doctors have always refused an x-ray on the basis 'It probably wouldn't show anything' (I had a private one done in 1999 which showed a disc had worn away and another was starting to and that was causing the pain). I have always had to pay privately for an osteopath.
For the past year I can't walk without a lot of pain but was told to self refer to an NHS physiotherapist who even without examining me said it was manuel not nerve related and gave me a list of exercises which don't really help. I got given 15 mg of co-codomal and even doubling that doesn't touch the pain at all. It is hopeless here. x
Hi vezza sorry to hear about your back if it started early last year and it's not getting better you need to ask your GP firmly what you need it could be making things worse mine started like that in my neck and I just got buffed of its your body only you know what's going on, good luck x
Hi vezza, in the UK if you make a referral request then this must be fulfilled by your GP. You can make a specific twist to a doctor or hospital you have identified or just to a specialist department. If you ask to see an orthopedic surgeon they will investigate the cause of the pain and either put you forward for surgery or could refer you to a pain clinic if surgery isn't required
Hi Vezza, I had a lot of hassle with my back. I saw a musculoskeletal guy who helped some. Then suddenly it got a lot worse and he suggested a mri which I paid for privately. It showed a large disc herniation. Armed with that I saw a neuro surgeon. I have had a lot of bother but the payment of that initial mri paid of.
Find a good osteo! I have two bulging discs, dengenerative hip desease and hypermobility syndrome and until i found a Good one i was in pain all the time...
i also use arnica gel and bath soak...
It great stuff and natural.
Buy it of a certain site begining with a ending in n and i get a big 500ml pump dispenser and rub it all over myself!
It brilliant!
I was on cocodamol naproxen amiltrip and i cane off all of them as they were messing my liver and kidneys up so i decided natural was only way.
To tell truth now came of all them
Drugs i feel no difference so it wasnt helping at all
Might be an idea to check your vitamin D blood levels vezza1989. My own lower back pain was being caused by vitamin D deficiency. I have to take a safe dose of 5,000 iu in Summer, then find my lower back pain and many other symptoms comes back in winter, so I up my D3 dose in winter. Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin. Though not saying your lower back pain is linked to vitamin D too, but if you notice it hurts less in the warmer months and hurts more in the colder months there might be a connection.
I've been through this , I hurt my back 5 years ago and for months the gp just gave me naproxen and zapain. I saw a physio first which didn't help and eventually an x-ray which showed narrow disc but not much else .
Back then I wasn't as forceful as I am now , I've learnt you get nothing unless you ask.
Get your gp to refer you to either spinal triage , ortho or pain clinic.
Here you will be looked at properly and ask for an mri.
Unfortunately mine was left 2 years or more and after various injections my foot went numb.
Id had enough of going round and round and paid privately to see a neurosurgeon it's not as much as you think about £250/300.
He diagnosed a disc problem that could be fixed with discectomy.
It didn't all go to plan but that's a different story but you need to ask for what you want or it will be years before anyone does anything .
Hi, I know it’s been a while since your OP & I hope you’re starting to feel better, if not totally 100% already but I just felt I should mention about a close friend of mine who suffered with chronic back ache for approx 10-12yrs:-
She had 4x MRI scans, many courses of prescribed physio, prescribed acupuncture, numerous other tests, various painkillers for different pain levels & basically fobbed off as she was a little overweight & blessed in the chest department!
Fast forward the best part of 10yrs, 1 child (natural birth, average weight) aged 12mo, 3-4st weight loss (from everywhere but her chest the lucky mare! 😬) the last MRI scan was approx 18mo ago & she thought she was suffering from an awful 48hr stomach bug kindly donated by her 12mo & after 2 days of frequent toilet trips for both ends at the same time until she was struggling to keep even a few sips of water down; she made an emergency appointment with the duty Dr at her normal surgery.
He rapidly decided that it was a simple stomach bug but given the lack of fluids, told her to go to our local hospital PCAS Unit (only open during normal working hours and for nothing more than a splinter or to confirm you’ve broke a bone!) to see if she possibly needed a bag of fluid to help build her strength up a bit.
They took one look at her while her Mum explained again her situation, they immediately said they would phone our nearest actual hospital 20+ miles away & tell them to expect her.
Within minutes of arriving; she was rushed in for a CT scan & less than an hour later she was being prepped for surgery as her Gall Bladder was literally at bursting point.
Almost 4 long hours later, she was in recovering from keyhole surgery & being told by her very apologetic Consultant that surgery went 100% as expected; she wouldn’t miss her Gall Bladder much other than possibly a bit of a runny tummy after a large, rich meal and actually:- “the Gall Stones were plain as day to see on her MRI Scan from 18mo earlier except the Doctor wasn’t looking for them then, just for the cause of the repeated chronic backache”.
She was home less than 48hrs later after a bagged dose of strong antibiotics & to manage any further pain with OtC paracetamol & ibuprofen & returned fully fit to work less than 3 weeks later.
She’s now 5+ months post-op and has yet to have a single twinge of regular-feeling-abit-stiff backache; let alone 3-4 chronic episodes she could have normally expected!
While she’s incredibly grateful her Gall Bladder problem wasn’t as serious as it could have been if it had actually of burst & being so pain free is nothing short of a miracle; she is also so miffed off that it could have been potentially been sorted so much sooner if her scans been looked at as the whole picture!
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IT DRIVES ME MAD
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