Back Pain - Pain Mgt Consultants

Tizzy

Hi All

I hope Im posting this in the correct place

I have suffered 3 years with pain in my lower back and right hand side ... I have had appendix removed and every test under the rising sun and eventually they have decided its my back thats the issue and not everything else ...

So i am now seeing a Pain management consultant and she has done 2 proceedures ...

1) Facet joint injections which left me in worse pain for 3 weeks - no relief
2) Nerve Block- worked for 2 days - pain is now as bad as ever

So i received a call today to see consultant again to discuss possible Heat/Cold therepy .... im thinking she means hot/cold wraps on my back ... im not sure ... i was speaking to secretary so didnt get much info

Im concerned that ill never be rid of this pain ... im not sure if my pain mgt consultant is the best way forward ....

I have also tried Physio - was in a terrible state after 2 sessions ... Consultant wants me to go back to Physio but im very reluctant to put myself in a worse state than im in already

My question is has anyone been down this route ...

DrIndy

Sounds like you are seeing someone who is specialised in what they are doing and what you have wrong with you.

Why are you loosing faith?

Its best to explain your concerns early on with your doctor as if you leave it, they just all build up further. They are there to help - but its a two way street and you need to give them good feedback so they can help you more.

Maybe physio this time is a different type of physio?

Tizzy

DrIndy wrote: »

Sounds like you are seeing someone who is specialised in what they are doing and what you have wrong with you.

Why are you loosing faith?

Its best to explain your concerns early on with your doctor as if you leave it, they just all build up further. They are there to help - but its a two way street and you need to give them good feedback so they can help you more.

Maybe physio this time is a different type of physio?

so sorry if i came across grumpy on my post, I was very upset yesterday... I suppose i am losing faith but i know that the consultant is very good and very professional - i just hoped that the injections would do more ...

i am awaiting a call from my physiotherepist and going to have a chat with her .... if im not happy with her approach going forward im gonna try something else ...

I will be meeting consultant soon so i will be telling her my concerns ...

PrettyP

Dear Tizzy,

Do not despair! There are loads of us like you out there. Join the forum on www.chronicpainireland.org and you will find lots of people suffering with long term pain who have gone through many of the things you have gone through (me included). On that forum you will find that you are allowed to be grumpy and angry and anything else you feel as everyone else on the forum is in the same boat. You will also be able to read of what treatments other people have tried or what doctors they have used.

No disrespect to the other poster on this topic but you will find that you are not alone in being despaired and finding doctors asking you to do things that just make you feel worse or doctors who just don't believe you at all. Even many pain doctors don't really understand. Unless you have lived with 24 hour pain you cannot truly understand it.

Hope this helps.

Tizzy

PrettyP wrote: »

Dear Tizzy,

Do not despair! There are loads of us like you out there. Join the forum on www.chronicpainireland.org and you will find lots of people suffering with long term pain who have gone through many of the things you have gone through (me included). On that forum you will find that you are allowed to be grumpy and angry and anything else you feel as everyone else on the forum is in the same boat. You will also be able to read of what treatments other people have tried or what doctors they have used.

No disrespect to the other poster on this topic but you will find that you are not alone in being despaired and finding doctors asking you to do things that just make you feel worse or doctors who just don't believe you at all. Even many pain doctors don't really understand. Unless you have lived with 24 hour pain you cannot truly understand it.

Hope this helps.

Im on my way

Thanks so much ....

Tizzy

PrettyP wrote: »

Dear Tizzy,

Do not despair! There are loads of us like you out there. Join the forum on www.chronicpainireland.org and you will find lots of people suffering with long term pain who have gone through many of the things you have gone through (me included). On that forum you will find that you are allowed to be grumpy and angry and anything else you feel as everyone else on the forum is in the same boat. You will also be able to read of what treatments other people have tried or what doctors they have used.

No disrespect to the other poster on this topic but you will find that you are not alone in being despaired and finding doctors asking you to do things that just make you feel worse or doctors who just don't believe you at all. Even many pain doctors don't really understand. Unless you have lived with 24 hour pain you cannot truly understand it.

Hope this helps.

dont appear to be able to register on the site ... ill try later .....

PrettyP

I had trouble registering on the forum myself and in the end the girl in Chronic Pain Ireland had to do it for me.

So if you try again and it's still not working e-mail Christina Donnelly at

info@chronicpainireland.org

or

info@chronicpain.ie

They just changed their e-mail address recently and I think the top one is the new one but as far as I know both are working at the moment. She only works 3 days a week and I don't know which 3 days so don't worry if you don't get a reply straight away.

I'm new to boards.ie but if you can do private messages on this forum feel free to send me a message and ask me any questions you want.

squeky

well said pretty p. am living with chronic pain past 5 year....

irishh_bob

Tizzy wrote: »

Hi All

I hope Im posting this in the correct place

I have suffered 3 years with pain in my lower back and right hand side ... I have had appendix removed and every test under the rising sun and eventually they have decided its my back thats the issue and not everything else ...

So i am now seeing a Pain management consultant and she has done 2 proceedures ...

1) Facet joint injections which left me in worse pain for 3 weeks - no relief
2) Nerve Block- worked for 2 days - pain is now as bad as ever

So i received a call today to see consultant again to discuss possible Heat/Cold therepy .... im thinking she means hot/cold wraps on my back ... im not sure ... i was speaking to secretary so didnt get much info

Im concerned that ill never be rid of this pain ... im not sure if my pain mgt consultant is the best way forward ....

I have also tried Physio - was in a terrible state after 2 sessions ... Consultant wants me to go back to Physio but im very reluctant to put myself in a worse state than im in already

My question is has anyone been down this route ...

i myself suffer from CHRONIC PAIN , i had an accident over two and a half years ago and have been in constant pain ever since , a little over a year ago i decided to roll the dice and go for a nerve block , the pain specialist ( pm me if you want to know which one ) told me before hand that their was only a 50- 50 chance this proceedure would work , unfortunatley she didnt tell me that it could make things a whole lot worse , this is exactly what happened and i havent had a decent nights sleep in 13 months , im now spending 120 euro per month on a pain killers and cannot lift a jug full of water without feeling pain , be carefull with pain specialists , compared to other diseases ( pain is a disease ) , doctors know very very little about thier specialised area and from what i see , make it up as they go along

ps , i would recomend you look up http://www.chronicpainireland.org/

mickman

irishh_bob wrote: »

i myself suffer from CHRONIC PAIN , i had an accident over two and a half years ago and have been in constant pain ever since , a little over a year ago i decided to roll the dice and go for a nerve block , the pain specialist ( pm me if you want to know which one ) told me before hand that their was only a 50- 50 chance this proceedure would work , unfortunatley she didnt tell me that it could make things a whole lot worse , this is exactly what happened and i havent had a decent nights sleep in 13 months , im now spending 120 euro per month on a pain killers and cannot lift a jug full of water without feeling pain , be carefull with pain specialists , compared to other diseases ( pain is a disease ) , doctors know very very little about thier specialised area and from what i see , make it up as they go along

ps , i would recomend you look up http://www.chronicpainireland.org/

sounds from this you may have a case against the person who did this preocedure and didnt inform you of potential problem ??

i was in an accident 10 yrs ago and get back pain intermittently and lasts a few days to weeks . i thought i was bad but nothing compared to you

squeky

i have had all the nerve blocks, biers blocks, medication, botox, epidurals injections, you name it i have had it!!! and all didnt work for me and am living with chronic pain for 5 year now from a car accident, i now have the spinal cord stimulator implant fitted it was last resort for me, if you want details etc pm me.... i havent had a full night sleep in 5 year!! ans taking lots of medication also, but thats what we have to live with !!

irishh_bob

mickman wrote: »

sounds from this you may have a case against the person who did this preocedure and didnt inform you of potential problem ??

i was in an accident 10 yrs ago and get back pain intermittently and lasts a few days to weeks . i thought i was bad but nothing compared to you

this is a doctor were talking about , doctors botch operations and proceedures ( resulting in peoples deaths ) all the time and thier are no consequences

oscar22

Hi, Have you looked into a pain management programme. It wouldn't fix the problem but it will help you manage the pain better.

NUTLEY BOY

I am curious on one point.

OP has identified the physical area of the problem. However, is there an actual diagnosis ?

I ask because I find it strange that specific treatment should be forthcoming if there is no actual diagnosis. Is there an element of trial and error in this approach ?

Has OP had MRI scanning of the suspected source of trouble ?

Not a criticism of anyone - just a question !

irishh_bob

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

I am curious on one point.

OP has identified the physical area of the problem. However, is there an actual diagnosis ?

I ask because I find it strange that specific treatment should be forthcoming if there is no actual diagnosis. Is there an element of trial and error in this approach ?

Has OP had MRI scanning of the suspected source of trouble ?

Not a criticism of anyone - just a question !

when it comes to the area of pain , medics are incredibly vague and non specific in thier ( diagnosis ) , this is why they often advise the patient to engage in pain managment , in other words , they have no real clue as to how to cure you of your pain so they suggest ideas which ( might ) somehow lessen it , as for MRI , ive had two peripheral nerve blocks using ultrasound and on neither occasion did the doctor bother to send me for an MRI , they simply wheel you into theatre and ask you to POINT ( yes point ) to where you are sore and proceed to jab accordingly , ive often thought of it as firing darts at a dartboard , you dont always hit the bullseye the 1st time :eek:

curehead

My mother has been in chronic pain for 15 years with her back
been to croom all these so called specialists told her she would be confined to a wheel chair in a few years. She looked like an old woman of ninty to be honest just withered from the pain and all the medication.I asked her would she try something different that she had nothing to lose ' so we looked into acupuncture after seeing something about it on-line
she was very sceptical saying what can a few needles do to a back that's worn away from years of hard work ' but lo and behold after 10 sessions at €50 a go she is a new woman and cannot for the life of her grasp how good she feels she is free from all the medication she was on for years is doing up the house ,is like a spring chicken everyone is complimenting how great she looks (she loves that ) she looks so young and vibrant now,And is recommending all her friends to try it. (hates doctors now)And you can't blame her tbh they are just big pharma drug pushers imho. I would urge anyone to try it don't be put off by the needles or the cost. good health

Tizzy

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

I am curious on one point.

OP has identified the physical area of the problem. However, is there an actual diagnosis ?

I ask because I find it strange that specific treatment should be forthcoming if there is no actual diagnosis. Is there an element of trial and error in this approach ?

Has OP had MRI scanning of the suspected source of trouble ?

Not a criticism of anyone - just a question !

Hi Nutley

You are spot on I have never had a diagnosis

Most recent consultant was a Rheumatologist and he has me on Lidocain patches and Amitriptyline .....

I was on Lyrica but they made me so ill and didnt do much for pain i went off them

Im 3 years chasing a diagnosis with no luck - its so frustrating

I have had

CT Scan
2 MRI scans of upper and lower back
Scopes of all kinds

All the MRI showed was mild arthritis in my lower back

Rheumatologist reckons problem is in the soft tissue :rolleyes:

i also suffer with TMJ in jaws which only flairs up when im stressed ... this week its driving me mad - hard enought to have back pain but pain around the jaws is just as bad :eek:

all approaches from GP to various consultants is a case of letting fresh eyes have a go at sorting me out ... and all they do is change my tablets and make me feel even worse ....