11 days ago my husband had to take me to hospital a&e as my back and sciatica was so bad… they did do an emergency mri scan due to concerns about Cauda equina (excuse spelling)… luckily it wasn’t but I was given oral morphine. And told to spk to my gps again about pain relief. Which I did as I had appointment already on Tuesday… after a lengthy discussion about cauda equina from the gp she did agree to prescribe me oramorph.. so glad as when I’m bad I don’t want my hubby or ambulance to go to hospital.. this s a last resort and she could see from my notes I don’t drink it Willy nilly..
Don’t give up and push for what you need …
Hope everyone is as ok as can be expected
Sharon x
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Shazza1968
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I am sorry to read you’ve been in so much pain with sciatica . I can sympathise as I have bouts of sciatica too. I have learned to pace myself and know my limits. This is very important as I’ve only got to carry heavy shopping or overdo walking and it will trigger and aggravate this nerve. I do hope you get to know your limits too as you must exercise your back as no exercise or walking also makes our backs seize up . I wish you luck with this horrible complaint . I am 69 and I’ve had this on and off since the age of 21. !!!!
I’m so sorry to hear about your pain and having to go for emergency MRI Scan .
Three weeks ago I had a Private MRI Scan done , for what I referred to as Sciatica
pain !
I had been suffering severe pain from low back out to my buttock and all the way into my foot for 2/3 years .
To make a long story short I was given a steroid pain blocking injection and three days later ... NO PAIN ! I’ve been pain free for two weeks now and cannot believe how good I feel . I expect it to last a long time , hopefully permanently.
Maybe you could ask for this , or better still, with a copy of your MRI Scan which you are entitled to , you could just get the injection done privately , if you’re Suitable to have it.
I’ve had 8/9 epidural with no relief in the past … 2 microdiscectomy with little /no relief… have really bad day today but don’t want to have higher dose of oramorph. Xx
Hi shazza been taking it since the mid eighties don't worry oramorph isn't that strong so don't let yourself be in pain.make sure you take it as advised by your gp though no going off piste.good luck hope it all goes well for you.
Hello Doghouse, I have osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and spondylolisthesis and take 600mg daily of Pregablin, Tramadol, Methocarbamol and anti inflammatories. Do you think I should ask my GP for oramorph to help with this awful pain. I’ve been on Pregablin for nearly 30 years. All the best.
Hi it's really good for breakthrough pain that's why I was put on it my main painkiller is oxycontin very powerful slow release opiate.i would talk to your gp if you are still getting pain oramorph is great for that of maybe talk to him about the arm patches that release it slowly into your body .hope that helps and gives you something to as your gp.since 1986 I have tried just about everything but my spine got so unstable had to have fusion surgery in 2003.that was a huge 8hour op not pleasant and didn't work for the pain.
Hello, thank you for replying. I don’t want to go for anymore surgery so I’ll try and pluck up the courage to ask my GP for aoramorph or something else. Take care and thanks again. X. 🙂
I wouldn't recommend surgery unless there is absolutely no other way .a trim maybe if the disc is protruding a little I know many people that had this with great success.it only works really though for discs that are not bulging too much and there aren't any other issues.have a chat with your gp about oramorph.my go in the early days in the late 80s travelled to America and came across the inversion tables he shipped one back I was his first patient to try it .the inversion did help a little bit this was before my surgery have you exhausted all other avenues like tens treatment I still find that helpfull but you need a good semi professional unit that has real power the cheap ones are ok for pregnant ladies that's it.have you tried having the nerves desentesised with injections.
very long story cut short!!! i have n amazing gp and was recently referred to a pain clinic. i wasnt sure what to expect, but the consultant was not in favour of steroid injections or spinal surgery and so neither of theses were an option!!! she also decided to reduce my pain medication even though i am not on the highest level!!!??? i was advised of this by a late evening call on a friday from my gp surgery. i was so stressed, disappointed and utterly shocked that I allowed myself to get in to a terrible state!!! I was taken in to hospital and told that I had not had a heart atttack but that my heart had had a wobble due to stress!!! ( I had a HA last year) My own gp was very angry when she found out what had happened!!! thankfully I am now back up to the level I was before!!! I have recently had an MRI and am awaiting the results. The pain in my back is chronic and most days I am unable to stand upright and find it difficult to walk. I feel useless and it is so debilitating. I only feel relief when I lie down. I have heard so many stories about people who have operations and they dont work, or injections that dont work. I guess I would like to be on stronger pain relief but morphine is the next step up from the meds i am on at present? I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place
Hi there I'm afraid that all gp's were given instruction to reduce pain meds my own gp whom is superb have me a choice .k tried reducing by 40mg a day to 120mg of oxy but I couldn't cope with pain.k was seen by the in-house pharmacist at go surgery that studied pain management.it was she that suggested oromorph for breakthrough pain .k could take it up to four times daily dependent on pain.this was on top of the oxy but I found plain old paracetamol with oxy works well.dependent on your mri result maybe you should ask about having your disc trimmed if it's touching the nerve and that is what it sounds like.k can understand them not being keen on full surgery fusion does not work for pain.k only had fusion as my spine was so unstable they were worried I would lose use of everything below waist.they can't just leave you and ignore your pain but you may have to dig in your heels in.good luck and keep smiling don't let it control you .
Thank you so much!!! The thing is, unless the results of the MRI are life threatening, I have decided I will not have surgery on my spine!!! The thought absolutely terrifies me. I doubt it would be done anyway as I am at present on an NHS pilot scheme called Oviva. It is a healthy eating and wellbeing initiative where you are referred by your GP. I need to lose a lot of weight so I am sticking to this plan
To be honest unless absolutely needed I wouldn't recommend spinal surgery well not the kind I had anyway.I had my bed in our living room for nearly a year and then it was six months later before I could walk on crutches it was a bad time.but my kind of surgery was the old way they have changed it quite a bit but fusion isn't any good for pain it doesn't get rid of it .k would stay away from it I mean I was a really fit bloke when I had it done I was a steeplejack I climbed for a living ha not any more.
I just got very angry after having a hip replacement because the pain relief was almost useless. Of course they are worried about people getting addicted, but not worried that people are in screaming agony post-op nowadays!
Just to say that my daughter was in agony and had spinal surgery fast at the Nuffield but withthe NHS. It was a success and although she still has some pain she can walk and drive again and has got her life back, basically.
Sorry for the pain. I had the same problem but with a protruding disc. I had the steroid injection some people are referring to. It worked wonderfully well like magic taking away my pains but only lasted for few hours. I opted for the morphine when offered by my GP. I used it only when the pain is unbearable. My visit to the A&E have been reduced and did not have to be visiting my GP often as I used to becaus I have the morphine at hand to help when the pains is unbearable. One needed to be careful with the side effects like getting used to it and nothing else will work. I am glad you are keeping it handy for when your pains beyond all your usual pains killers. I have been safely using Morphine now since 2018, so nothing to worry about. I will advice you to have the steroid injection if possible though it did not work for me but it does work for some people. I can tell you that I am over the moon for the hours it worked. I can imagine how those that the injection worked for are feeling having been pain free for such long time it worked for them. You may be lucky to be among those that will get relief from steroid injection. Please, keep managing yourself and know your limit when it comes to walking or lifting.Best Regards,
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