morning! (help...squad and anyone else!)

[lcg]

hi everyone. when i tried getting on my bike this morning, my back 'went'. i am now sat on my floor with excruciating pain in the lumbar region. i have never had pain here before (but i have back problems as i broke my neck as a teenager - usually that pain is between my shoulder blades). i am stuck on my living room floor in agony (and i have a fentanyl patch on, and taken co-codamol, tramadol, meloxicam and pregabalin at 8am). what should i do? actually, i have just managed to crawl on my sofa (so my bum doesn't hurt as i have also broken my coccyx in the past too). please help, i am in agony! x x x

[fredkins]

Oh dear can you not phone someone to come stay with you,and phone your doctors up,they might make a visit.

[jd_1984]

Other than pain releif and rest?
Can you get to the phone and ring your surgery? Perhaps arrange a GP call out?

When you say "went" I am going to assume it is a muscular pull of some kind..... Therefore apply ice wrapped in cloth for 15-20 mins at a time and take as stronger dosage ibruprofen as you can get your hands on.

Do you live alone or can you get assistance?

[Sqad]

Poor old you.Well, as you have described the pain as in the "lumbar region" and not mentioned any radiation of the pain down the back of your leg, then one can assume that it is not sciatica.
It does sound as though it is a severe musculoskeletal problem and it would seem that you are on plenty of analgesics already. The only addition that i can suggest is an ice pack or frozen peas pack to the lumbar region and rest....as this will take a couple of days at least to settle.

Keep us informed.

[yogi-bear]

Hi lcg,

Awww sounds like you're going through it today.....get to a phone and call your GP, see what they suggest....if the pain is excrutiating as you say, call an ambulance and get to hospital for an x-ray of what you've pulled.

Have you got anyone nearby ie neighbours, family or friends that can come round....maybe assess you and help out?

Get seen lcg and hope you get better soon xx

[Ann]

Poor you - can definitely sympathise, I have had this in the past several times. Everyone is different but I found heat helped (Sqad said cold so see which is best for you) so I used to sit with a hot water bottle at the base of my spine. I always felt that a few gentle stretching exercises helped (not yet, but when you feel able) kneel on all fours on the floor and gently arch your back up and down like a cat does .................. or stand up, lean with elbows on your kitchen worktop and arch your back gently. I know this works for me but not everyone may agree. Expect it to be about a week before you are better. Worse thing is turning over (or getting out) in bed, I wear a satin nightie to help me slide across the sheets, as it takes me a good 10 minutes to inch my way out ............. I really feel for you Icg, hope you feel better with the tablets soon xx

[lcg]

hi everyone! (and less of the old, squad ;-p). my hubby is at home with me as he has just finished his msc dissertation, so i have a slave! thank you all for your kind thoughts. i cannot take any ibuprofen as i have taken meloxicam.....and i have taken loads of painkillers, but it still hurts a lot! even to turn my head or use my arms for typing. have got ice pack going and a hot water bottle for afterwards (i'll give that a try, too). i guess the question is...how long do i leave it before i call my gp or go to hospital?

[abstibus]

Can you get a home visit from your GP? It's probably early enough to ring the surgery and arrange it.

[jd_1984]

If the pain is unbearable i.e you cant concentrate on anything else and you are perhaps becoming nauseous from it, call your GP. Sqad says it will take a couple of days to ease, thats been the case for me however you do seem in some distress over it.

[Ann]

I don't think docs/hospital can do anything ICG, its just a matter of waiting and resting and using the heat/ice packs. As long as you are taking the strongest painkillers you are allowed with your other medication, take a few days off to recover and let your slave wait on you :P

[abstibus]

But at least if you let your GP know, it will be added to your medical records.

[Sqad]

\\\ i guess the question is...how long do i leave it before i call my gp or go to hospital?\\\

Well an X-Ray would be useless.......totally inappropriate.

What else could your GP do, than you are already doing?.......nothing.

I agree with Ann86.....leave it a week.

[lcg]

ok....i think i will wait and give it a little time....it's only thursday, so gp etc is an option for tomorrow if it carries on that long. yes i am distressed by it - i have a really high pain threshold due to chronic pain disorder and i take loads of painkillers for that. trouble is, when something else goes wrong, it hurts like f*** and i can't take any extra painkillers. the meds have started working a bit now and the hot water bottle is definitely more comfortable than ice. i guess i'm stuck on the sofa for the rest of the day!!! oh dear....i've just thought....how am i going to get to the loo upstairs? i hadn't thought about that. it certainly won't be pretty.....x

[Ratty2E]

I feel for you, I have had this a few times. You may fare better than me but the doctors don't tend to want to know. The last time I was told over the phone that unless I was paralysed or had lost bladder control to just take painkillers and it would go away eventually. If it is muscular then keeping as active as you can really helps, sitting or lying(if you can) tends to just seize everything up and you're in more pain. I tend to 'sleep' propped up when mine goes, probably not good for my back but at least I can get out of bed.......eventually.

[jno]

see if you can find an osteopath who does home visits. (Or get your man to do it.)

[abstibus]

Thinking of you xx.

[murraymints]

poor you...must be catching..have pulled something trying to drag garden bin up the path..smell of ralgex getting me high..hope you are better soon..