Pain Relief - Portland,OR

I second yoga....I had horrible headaches that were from muscle problems and if I keep yoga up I don't get the headaches anymore. I am sure they are not a dibilitating as your pain, but it may be worth a try.

S., I'm sorry you have to live in pain. You say you've seen many doctors, but have you been to someone who went to school for 8 years to learn how to treat specifically backs? Meaning a chiropractor? For some reason there's this stigma about chiropractors being "quacks", but that only exists in the realm of people who've never been to one and had a world of movements and pain-free days opened up to them!

There are so many different therapies a chiropractor can do now besides the quick (and painless) spinal manipulations: Stretching, massaging, cold lasers, and decompression just to name a few.

The longer your back goes untreated the worse your pain will get and the less mobility you'll have. You haven't tried everything yet, and you've got nothing to lose except a life of restrictions.

Blessings!

I see you've tried numerous treatments. Have you tried yoga? I have seen it change people's lives for the better (including my own). I work in healthcare and have seen prescription pain medications slowly and insidiously take over patients. It starts off very innocently--a legitimate pain, a real need for medication. Then...it changes. I have seen many patients become a slave to their substance. Please explore more options and carefully weigh the so-called advantages of chronic pain medication versus nondrug therapies and seeking to treat the underlying problem. I'm sorry you're going through this but I do not think drugs are the answer.

I agree with the others. You need to move. Light therapy to strengthen your back. The less active you are the more pain you're going to be in. I have Rheumatoid athritis and if I am weakened from not moving or exercising I tend to hurt more.

I know it can be hard (believe me, I know... am in pain everyday due to joint damage) But I agree with your doctors. As much as I'm in pain I try to avoid pain meds. Long term, they will do more harm than good. If you have a choronic condition and take them for long periods of time they will begin to loose their effect. Then you'll need stronger meds to get the same result, and so on, and so on. Before you know it it's 20 years down the road and no pain medication will be strong enough. This happened to someone I know. :(

Your best bet is to get therapy, exercise, and take a pain management class. Other than that... perhap a jet bath for the bathroom.

I am so sorry for your pain. Good luck!

Have you considered back surgery?

I had something similar. I too am NOT a size 6! My daughter sat on my siadic nerve during that last week of pregnancy. (Oct. 2006) Then I had an epidural during delivery. 9m later, while loading stuff in the trunk of my car I heard a 'pop' and couldn't move (June 2007). I was having bathroom issues, bladder issues. I cried my way to a chiropractor. It took 3 weeks of daily treatment to get any relief.

I went to him on and off for 3 years. Everytime I had a flare up I went to the chiropractor. During the last flare up in Sept. 2010 I got NO relief after 2 weeks of treatment. None!! Charging me my co-pay each time, mind you. I said this isn't working. He agreed. Tried accupuncture. Nothing! He sent me to a Neurosurgeon who ordered an xray and MRI of my lumbar/saidic region. The xray showed that at some point I had broken my back. The ER dr. said that my spine was straight and then shifted slightly. The MRI showed a herniated disc at L5 (lumbar region/epidural area) and a small chip of bone had broken off of the L3 and was laying on the nerve of the L4. The chip on the nerve was what was causing ALL of my pain. He scheduled me for immediate back surgery 5 days later. Would've been sooner, but that was the earliest opening. So I had back surgery and after 2 days the pain was gone. I have spent 6m recovering and am almost back to normal.

Since there is a hole in your bone, the only way to fix it is to patch it. The dr. that botched the epidural should've done a patch a few days later, at his expense. As for your options now, I don't know if you could still file a malpractice suit or not. I don't know what the statute of limitations is on something like this. I would ask for an MRI and talk to a neurosurgeon. His first line of treatment might be hydrocortozone shots, but since there is a hole, he might say surgery.

Good luck.
M.

I suffer from back pain as well and I really feel for you. Mine wasn't caused by an epidural, but it was caused by my last pregnancy and I haven't been the same since. I'm at the five year mark now.

I still try to keep up with everything, but have been advised that I need to get more help. It's hard to find money for housekeepers and hard to imagine not playing with my kids and being active. At this point I have found some relief with Chiropractic care, but I can easily aggravate everything if I push myself too hard. It's such a challenge. I feel bad for my husband. I do so much, but some moments I know it must get old to hear me wince in pain when I try to pick something up. He's very good at helping me. Pain meds aren't my thing, but I have tried a few. They don't seem to do much for me. I hate the foggy feeling I get with them too. Exercise helps a great deal, so I do that daily to keep my muscles relaxed and mobile.

Anyway, I can totally relate and wanted to let you know you aren't alone. Sometimes it can feel that way.

Wow, that is terrible. Is the Anesthesiologist helping offset all these necessary medical bills and procedures?

I would recommend a Restorative Yoga class first. The positions are simplified and there is just as much focus on the transition as there is on the pose, thereby retraining you on how to move from position to another.

I was hit by a car while on my bike about 4 years ago and my body was thrown over 40 feet. Needless to say, I have endured a lot of PT and healing but I have kept at it until I found something that worked for me. I am not a fan of chiropractors, especially with my spine and pain.

Also, have you tried gentle swimming and stretching in water? I would also look into a real Shiatsu masseuse (Japanese massage), someone trained in Japan, not an American taught a technique in a school. The styles are completely unrelated.

And I have tremendous success with EFT = Emotional Freedom Technique. You can google this technique on You Tube and find tutorials. Search specifically for pain.

Can you please list what types of MD's you have seen? An Orthopaedic who specializes in the spine? A Neurologist who can diagnose the extent of the injury? A PMR (Physical Medicine and Rehab) doctor who can help guide you?

I hope you heal completely!
Peace