Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis

Candles_by_Lisa

Thank you everyone for your replies you have all been fantastic. I have had the diagnosis confirmed by x-ray so this is pretty certain. I am currently taking pain killers every 4 hours during the day (co-codamol) and at night when I go to bed I take Solpadol (a stronger form of co-codamol) and I generally need to take another couple of Solpadol during the night as I am wakened up by the pain. To be honest they aren't doing much good (especially the co-codamol during the day) and the Solpadol really sort of spaces me out and gets me to sleep more than actually taking the pain away. Like you Sooz00 I am allergic to anti inflammatories so can't take them. I am going back to my GP for stronger pain killers as advised by my physio and she too has mentioned referral to a Pain Management Clinic.

I was thinking along the lines of a TENS machine as I had heard they were quite good for back pain but didn't want to shell out the money if it wasn't going to do me any good so really glad to hear that it does work and I might just bite the bullet and get one.

I have also been spoken to about the injection and if I can't control the pain I think I might go for that option just to try and get my back moving again and get back to some sort of activity. I have accepted the fact that I wont be able to do the high impact activities at the gym (such as the treadmill etc) however I think I should be able to manage more gentle activities like the bike and more upper body work as I really don't want to lie down to this I really want to keep up some level of fitness.

Many many thanks again for all your replies I really appreciate the fact that you have all taken time to reply to me with such fantastic advice.

Sezzagirl

Hi
Just wanted to comment on this thread as I have a friend who has been suffering dreadfully with this for about six months

She has had all the physio, pain-management and injections to try to alleiviate the situation and last week had an operation to try to resolve the issue - mostly caused by a disc pressing on the nerves

I had expected the back surgery to be a major situation with a long stay in hospital, a long recuperation and maybe even a brace or other support after the op.

What has happened has amazed me!:T

Now I know every situation is different so I can only report what has happened to her

She had the surgery as a day case - in at 7.30am back home by 5pm!

She was up and about the same day. I saw her a couple of days later and the improvement from when she was taking all the painkillers and still dealing with the on-going pain was amazing - I felt we really had my friend back:j

I saw her today for a coffee in town. She is taking things easy with the customary don't do anything "heavy" for six weeks but we were able to meet for coffee and she was able to walk around the shops a little and then walk home

She also showed me the wound from the op - in the centre of her back, at the base (just above a low waist band) about 6-7cm long, very small and neat and nearly healed

I suppose what I wanted to show was that, if like me your idea of surgery is automaically a very big scary situation, it might not be as bad as you think it might be

I think maybe my friend (age about 40ish btw) has got off very lightly in her recovery but hope this is reassuring

Sezzagirl

Oh, and she feels that slmost all the original pain she had has gone!

missmontana

I suffer with chronic back pain, due a a fall years ago which possibly fractured my coccyx, MRI was done a few years later showing no damage but Orthopaedic surgeon said I was hypermobile and had a curve in my spine.

I've just had my pain killers upped from co-codamols to tramadols, along with naproxen, in the hope they relieve the pain until I get the the physio in March.

Previously I had the facet joint injections, they were amazing, had no pain and didn't have to pop a pill for a year, but now I am back to square one. I went to physio after, but there really wasn't much point as I wasn't in pain anymore! They focused on core strengthening exercises, mines not too bad from years of dancing and going to the gym, so wasn't that helpful.

The tens machines is ok whilst you are using it, to relieve pain, see if you can borrow one off somebody, but saying that they aren't that expensive to buy.

I find the wheat sacks you can heat up in the microwave are good for when you are sat at home to ease things.

I feel its just going to be a vicious circle from now on!