44 years old and feeling doomed!

sharonw

Hi guys,

I am a mum with a four year old and have a job in a university 4 days a week. Thats the good news.

The bad news is that I have oestioarthritus of the lower spine (3 disks)
and my pain is getting progressively worse. It exists in some format
24/7 and I fear it getting so bad that I will not be able to sit up at
my desk as I cannot sit still for more than 10 mins without having to
stretch, writhe and the latest one crack shoulder and lower back joints. The cracking and popping now occurs loudly every time I bend or stretch.
My shoulders hurt much more than the lower back where the problem actually is.

I have had a bad week to be honest and feel that the mental strain and now a panic of a potentially grim future on a downward spiral is a bit much....I mean how much worse can this get..on a scale of 1-10 this pain is on a 9. If it was ten I would have to hand myself in to the nearest hospital with a nervous breakdown....and be probably misunderstood and sent home with a dose of head ache tablets.

I have a booking at the pain management at RVI clinic soon...but i am cynical...what good is going to talk about something which feels like its trying to get me. (yes i have tried yoga, acupuncture, massage, tramodol et al.. never again terrible side effects) turkish bath, massage chair etc) chiropractor for two years (Too expensive to keep going with) Physio (1 session..totally useless advice) all of which give temporary relief at the time but the pain drifts back within 5 to ten minutes of every proceedure.

My doctor who is a nice person...is utterly useless...his answer...tramodol or a bit of psysio,,,,these seem limited suggestions to someone who is being tortured by pain on a daily basis. My own enquiry led me to this website....he couldn't even fiquare that out for me.
I feel doomed. If for any reason I find I cannot sit up in my office chair..life will be over.

Just thought I would share this...sorry for the winge.

xx

shar

dreamdaisy

Oh you poor thing, this must be so hard for you, I empathise. Unfortunately for OA there is not a great deal to be done, it is a matter of combining exercise/physio with pain relief, but OA in the spine is a very tricky thing to live with (at the risk of rocking a few boats on here I think it must be one of the most difficult areas to cope with as so much depends on the spine). Your doctor is not useless, he is offering you all he can. You have tried all the extras you can, and that is a good thing, but one of the hardest lessons of all is that nothing permanently removes the pain/discomfort, it is all a temporary relief. That used to drive me potty, now I don't have the energy for that: pain is part of my life, I have OA in my knees and ankles and psoriatic arthritis in those and other joints, but the pain of the OA is by far the worse: unremitting, hot, angry, sharp. It's horrid.

You are going to a pain clinic soon, yes? That is a good thing and I envy you that, I've been waiting for years now! I don't know what happens at those but there are many on here who do and I hope they spot your post. You are not doomed, AC produces some very good, informative and helpful leaflets on exercise, pain management etc and the helpline is especially good - why not give them a ring? They are very good at listening. On the more practical side I wonder if there is more your work could do for you: a better chair, a different mouse/keyboard/monitor height: I am not an expert on these matters as I am self-employed but again the Helpline may be able to help on that front with some advice, or at least point you in the right direction. I wish you well and keep in touch. DD

stickywicket

Hi Sharonw and welcome from me too. I'm glad you managed to find us though sorry you had to.

DD, as usual, is spot on in all she says. It is really tough having to come to terms with a diagnosis but this thing isn't going to go away so the trick is to learn how best to deal with it and to be - pardon the pun - as flexible as possible in all the things you can control, including talking to someone at work about your needs there.

You've obviously tried a lot of things and the Pain Management is a good one to try as so many people on here speak so highly of it. You don't seem to have been very impressed with the physio. I'd try to give it another chance. There is no stopping the pain completely but the object of physio is to strengthen your muscles so that they support your joints better. The better the joints are supported the less pain and the slower the degeneration. There is never a eureka moment with it when suddenly all seems better. In fact, at first, it can all seem worse as long lost muscles creak into action. But it's basically that and paindullers, I'm afraid.

Shoulder pain is horrible. My guess is that you should be taking more short breaks from your office chair and desk and wiggling them about to loosen them.

It's not a whinge, Sharonw. It's a statement of facts. Don't apologise. This is a painful and sometimes frightening disease. We'll help all we can.

valval

well you are going through it and you must feel that you are reaching the end of the path but you are not you are at the begining the pain clinic will be of great help have you seen a specialist. you talk about your chair is it a good suporting one ?? have you got it set right i only ask because we sell chairs and most people use them wrong and get back pain you must be able to feel it in your back while using it you might need special chair you need to get some one in to look at your working enviromant can not remember what they are called but help line will know (think it to do with job center or local council) good luck hope you get help soon val

LolaCrayola

I am 41 with it in my upper spine. I was like you until I got the correct treatment. You can get drugs which treat spinal cord pain, they are either anti-epileptics or an anti-depressant and the pain relief is a unbelievable. I take nerve blockers at night, Movelat Gel, paracetamol and have coedine for emergencies. I can't take nsaids. I see a physiotherapist and have strict routine twice daily and saw an orthapaedic specialist. I was in pain 24/7 for one year before they diagnosed me. Now I often just take the blockers. When I was bad I took everything. There are clinical guidelines for treating chronic back pain. It really can get better than you thought possible. It is hard to treat and slow to respond. Still have bad days, but every day used to be a bad day.

julie47

Hi sharonw

welcome to the forum. I am so sorry that you are having such a rough time at the moment and I truly hope that the pain clinic can help you.

It was nice to read lolacrayolas response and hopefully it will give you some hope.

I wish you well
juliepf x

sharonw

Thanks everyonel.

Lolacrayolas response great. When I go to pain management (Whatever that means) I will mention your approach. My GP acted like there wasn't even a specialist in such matters and getting to one seems like a needle in a haystack. Where are these beautiful specialists who live in Newcastle who can advise correctly about heping to reduce pain. Hopefully the pain management clinic at the RVI in Newcastle is the correct department. If I was a dog right now the vet would consider putting me down.

Love to all


shar

LolaCrayola

As I understand it pain management clinics can also prescribe, do not abandon hope quite yet. Knowledge is power.
http://www.nice.org.uk/CG88