as100uk
New Member
Hi from what I have seen so far this seems like a really great place for help and support.
With this in mind I have signed up. However, I really need some advice before I go any further and hope you can help.
In summary I am a 52 year old female. I have had back problems for most of my life. I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and mild inflammatory arthritis. In 2000 I had an episode of acute lower back pain that started when I was on the loo as a "cattle prod" (CP) sensation of pain in my lower back. I managed to get on the floor and I was taken by ambulance to hospital. Xrays did not show much and I was sent home with painkillers. I had physiotherapy, they got me doing McKenzie exercises. It took around 8 weeks for the pain to settle to a manageable level and I had continued to put up with it. I have also had chronic pain in my hands, feet, and legs, that again I managed with medication and just getting on with it!
I had an MRI in 2011 after continuing back pain and was told I had a broad based disc bulge at L5/S1.
Since around late December 2015 I noticed that my back was getting increasingly stiff and I had been having severe pain in my legs at night, not sciatic pain (which I had once in 2000) but pain that if I touched my outside thigh (for example) it was really tender. This has carried on on a nightly basis until the present day, I have not had a full night's sleep in over a year.
By the summer of 2016 my back was so stiff I literally could not bend at all. Then, in July 2016 we moved house and I had an episode of lower back pain which has not gone away...
July 2016, I was getting into my car to drive home from shopping and bam I got an almighty CP sensation, the same as in 2000. My husband was with me so he drove and I managed to get into the car and we went home. I tried to get on the floor to do McKenzie exercises but could not even get down on the floor. I went to see my GP (who was a new GP) and was told to exercise (she did not know my history). I booked some private physiotherapy which I did for around 6 sessions and tried to do the exercises at home but it made the pain worse. I insisted my new GP refer me to the rheumatolgist (as I had previously been seeing one for OA etc), he reluctantly referred me. This was in September.
By end of October I had heard nothing so rang the hospital appointments department - they said it was at least a four month wait to be seen. I booked to see the rheumatolgist privately (using my very small amount of savings). I saw him in November. He said he thought I had ankylosing spondylosis - I had no movement in my spine and reduced chest expansion. He said to confirm the diagnosis I needed an MRI. I said I was not able to fund this privately so I had to wait for my appointment with him to come through on the NHS so that he could send me for one. I saw him at the end of January 2017. I had the MRI in February 2017. The MRI showed severe degeneration at L5/S1 (practically bone on bone at this level), canal narrowing, and Modic type 1 changes. The rheumatolgist said it was not AS and that he could not do anything but refer me to the orthopaedic consultant for his opinion/maybe surgery and pain management clinic.
I have been trying to find ways of helping myself for months. I have tried exercising but any movement seems to bring on the CP. Turning over in bed at night also does this. I still have leg pain - severe at night, milder during the day.
I am a medical/legal secretary so sit most of the day.
I cannot stand for long and when I walk my back/buttocks/thigh area feels "weak". I am having a course of dental treatment - I cannot lie down in the dentist chair when they do it automatically from a sitting position. She has to put the chair in the reclined position and I have to log roll on to it. I have had to cancel appointments several times as I did not think I could even make it to the dental surgery.
It is affecting my whole life.
So, could my diagnosis be causing my pain, could it be TMS? There is obvious structural damage on MRI and I wonder if TMS is only when there is no structural damage but pain despite this.
I am willing to give anything a try but before spending money that I do not have, even on a book, I would like to know whether it is likely to help in my situation.
If it was felt it would help, if there was just one book out of the many to buy (as I can only afford one) which one would it be? Sadly, I have no more money to see anyone privately the fees are just so high :-(
Thank you so much.
A
With this in mind I have signed up. However, I really need some advice before I go any further and hope you can help.
In summary I am a 52 year old female. I have had back problems for most of my life. I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and mild inflammatory arthritis. In 2000 I had an episode of acute lower back pain that started when I was on the loo as a "cattle prod" (CP) sensation of pain in my lower back. I managed to get on the floor and I was taken by ambulance to hospital. Xrays did not show much and I was sent home with painkillers. I had physiotherapy, they got me doing McKenzie exercises. It took around 8 weeks for the pain to settle to a manageable level and I had continued to put up with it. I have also had chronic pain in my hands, feet, and legs, that again I managed with medication and just getting on with it!
I had an MRI in 2011 after continuing back pain and was told I had a broad based disc bulge at L5/S1.
Since around late December 2015 I noticed that my back was getting increasingly stiff and I had been having severe pain in my legs at night, not sciatic pain (which I had once in 2000) but pain that if I touched my outside thigh (for example) it was really tender. This has carried on on a nightly basis until the present day, I have not had a full night's sleep in over a year.
By the summer of 2016 my back was so stiff I literally could not bend at all. Then, in July 2016 we moved house and I had an episode of lower back pain which has not gone away...
July 2016, I was getting into my car to drive home from shopping and bam I got an almighty CP sensation, the same as in 2000. My husband was with me so he drove and I managed to get into the car and we went home. I tried to get on the floor to do McKenzie exercises but could not even get down on the floor. I went to see my GP (who was a new GP) and was told to exercise (she did not know my history). I booked some private physiotherapy which I did for around 6 sessions and tried to do the exercises at home but it made the pain worse. I insisted my new GP refer me to the rheumatolgist (as I had previously been seeing one for OA etc), he reluctantly referred me. This was in September.
By end of October I had heard nothing so rang the hospital appointments department - they said it was at least a four month wait to be seen. I booked to see the rheumatolgist privately (using my very small amount of savings). I saw him in November. He said he thought I had ankylosing spondylosis - I had no movement in my spine and reduced chest expansion. He said to confirm the diagnosis I needed an MRI. I said I was not able to fund this privately so I had to wait for my appointment with him to come through on the NHS so that he could send me for one. I saw him at the end of January 2017. I had the MRI in February 2017. The MRI showed severe degeneration at L5/S1 (practically bone on bone at this level), canal narrowing, and Modic type 1 changes. The rheumatolgist said it was not AS and that he could not do anything but refer me to the orthopaedic consultant for his opinion/maybe surgery and pain management clinic.
I have been trying to find ways of helping myself for months. I have tried exercising but any movement seems to bring on the CP. Turning over in bed at night also does this. I still have leg pain - severe at night, milder during the day.
I am a medical/legal secretary so sit most of the day.
I cannot stand for long and when I walk my back/buttocks/thigh area feels "weak". I am having a course of dental treatment - I cannot lie down in the dentist chair when they do it automatically from a sitting position. She has to put the chair in the reclined position and I have to log roll on to it. I have had to cancel appointments several times as I did not think I could even make it to the dental surgery.
It is affecting my whole life.
So, could my diagnosis be causing my pain, could it be TMS? There is obvious structural damage on MRI and I wonder if TMS is only when there is no structural damage but pain despite this.
I am willing to give anything a try but before spending money that I do not have, even on a book, I would like to know whether it is likely to help in my situation.
If it was felt it would help, if there was just one book out of the many to buy (as I can only afford one) which one would it be? Sadly, I have no more money to see anyone privately the fees are just so high :-(
Thank you so much.
A
