Back Pain + Numb Leg

oldandhappy

My back problems started at school age around 14 years of age at a guess. The last occasion was 1984 when I had the pain in leg that was unbearable...Doctor just kept giving me pain relievers until one day I went into his surgery and screamed at him that I want someone to stop this PAIN(was over a year now)...An appointment was arranged at the hospital and then a scan was done as and inpatient for 1 day and 1 night. Result was that I had to have discectomy( lucky to have microsurgery in those days too) and the inside was scrapped to make the channel larger...100% success physically but the side effects of taking so many tablets took its toll for another year.....

Moral of the story you need to have a scan asap to determine the course......So please try to explain to your Doctor you require an appointment with a consultant at the hospital. BW Dianne

FBaby

This is very poor care by your mum's GP (obviously going by what you say). He should have long referred her to a Spine consultant. I think your mum needs to speak with the practice manager.

mimi1234

Hi guys and girls,

Thanks so much for your responses. I read them out to my Mom and she was so overjoyed. She is old school and believes the internet is a strange place, lol. Bless her soul.

We self referred to the physio department after her first A+E incident. We've been ringing non stop in case someone cancels and today we finally got an appointment. The physio lady was very good and asked her loads of questions and then they did some exercises. Mom is no longer in as much pain. I asked the physio lady about the possibility of of an xray or a scan. She did the same "we don't like our patients to have radiation unnecessarily" but in the end she said it was up to the GP as to whether she could have one or not. I did some research online about pain clinics and asked if we could be referred to one, but she said only the GP could do that. The main thing she kept asking was if my Mom could wee, poop and if she had any falls. Well she can relieve herself and she has not fallen, so from their point of view it's all good and nothing serious.

She has given us exercises to do daily so we will give that a whirl and see how we get on. The physio lady told us that after her checks and what not, she think it's blocked nerves in my Mom's lower back and she doesn't think it is anything too serious. Can a physio make that assessment? I don't know. I am hoping what she said is true.

If we do end up going to the GP again, I won't be going, I'll get my brother or sister to go because I came close to yelling at him. The GP was so sarcastic. I just didn't like his approach at all. I know people can have off days but he was so rude to my Mom. My GP's are completely the opposite, they are empathetic and take your concerns seriously unlike this one. We are looking into getting Mom transferred to our GP's but that is not going to happen overnight.

We were told to not use any heat patches as it is blistering my Mom's skin.

I'm sorry if I come across as a pushover and sound random but my Dad died of multiple myloma a few years ago, so anything to do with anyone's back just fills me with dread. Going to the hospital is an ordeal for both myself and my Mom as it brings all those awful memories back. On our way to the physio department, Mom got really upset. I asked why and she said we had just walked past the cancer clinic where they treated my Dad. Thankfully I was pushing/pulling the wheelchair and didn't notice it.

Thanks again for all your kind words and all your well wishes. It means a lot to Mom and me. I will try and reply to all your messages later but it's almost time for a hot water bottle for Mom (wrapped up in a towel) and for me to massage her leg.

Hope all the people who suffered are no longer in pain or it is at least under control.

oldandhappy

another point is...they put me through traction many times they palmed me off with physio and so many drugs and all made it worse...cart before the horse situation....money spent needlessly by the NHS and privately when I had Osteopath treatments and private physo. Then the aftermath of having liver damage from so many pain relievers...it paints a sorry picture so surely a scan will decide the best treatment.....all very well assessing the likelihood of what it could be..scans are the only clear way forward for your Mum. BW Dianne

ohreally

Her GP is the gatekeeper for accessing diagnostics. Go back and request a referral for an MRI scan, this may prompt a discussion on whether she would consider surgery if she were a suitable candidate, so be prepared. Her GP can also refer to pain clinic.

Dizzy_Ditzy

Mimi :hello:

Your mum needs help

You need to get her seen by a different GP. They will have seen the discharge summaries from a&e so know that she is struggling.

If the GP won't, or can't request an mri (some ccg's) state that mri scans can only be hospital requested), then she needs a referral to secondary care. This will usually be neurosurgery. They can and will request an mri. Depending on the results of that, they can put a treatment plan in place for her.

If the neurosurgery people can't help, she should then be referred to the pain clinic. The pain clinic is a last resort when nothing else can be pinpointed as the cause of her pain.

Pain clinics don't offer a permanent solution but they do offer other options.

Try and get hold of a TENS machine for her. You can pick them up in most pharmacies for around £15-20. She should start on a low setting to begin with then increase very gradually from there.

Acupuncture could be worth a look too but if this is to be a consideration, please make sure you get it with an accredited practitioner.

Visiting a chiropractor may be an option for her too. Make a few phone calls to get some prices and success rates.

The pain clinic can also offer various injections, done as a day case, under local anaesthetic. Contrary to popular belief, they rarely contain steroids. These are not permanent solutions by any stretch but they are a big help.

As I said, the pain clinic is often a last resort. Other options need to be exhausted first before a referral will even be considered.

If you need any more info, feel free to drop me a line. Part of my job is dealing with pain clinic.

Just an add on to a point made above - private mri scans are possible but they DO require a request from a GP or consultant. This is because scan requests need to be specific as to which part of the body needs scanning and the reasons for the scan. Be aware that they don't come cheap either!

*mwah* xx

Gemzie121

I have spina bifida and tethered cord and suffer from quite bad sciatica for which i take gabapentin, which does help. I have compression on my spinal cord and the nerves are being crushed, causing numbness/loss of feeling in my legs below the knee, sharp shooting itchy pains and cramps in my lower back. I also am starting to get urgency with my bladder and will need more surgery soon to decompress my spinal cord. I am wondering if your mum has a tethered cord or some sort of compression of the cord thats causing the numbness and pain, or as you say a slipped disk or something. She definitely needs checking out, and when they have the cause they will be able to reccomend appropriate treatment and medication. I started on lyrica but this did nothing for me, then moved onto gabapentin which really helps me manage the pain. I find lying flat relieves it too and is my preferred way to lie in bed now. Definitely sounds like sciatica. Telling her there is no treatment because she can use her bladder and bowels still is wrong too, and i would be seeking a 2nd opinion and asking for referral to a neurosurgeon. This needs an mri scan to diagnose. These problems can result in irreversible damage to the bowel and bladder and leave you incontinent if not managed (this is why i am closely observed and scanned regularly). You need to keep persisting and pushing them to do something, no one should suffer in pain. My neurosurgeon also said thar regular painkillers do nothing for this type of pain - you need nerve medication such as the gabapentin. Definitely sounds to me like you need to see a neurosurgeon. If they feel its necessary surgery can help to prevent further damage and hopefully give some relief.

lessonlearned

Please Mimi....don't give up.

Without proper diagnostics you simply can't get a proper treatment plan in place. And pain relieving drugs are not the answer, they are only masking the problem and should only be a short term fix until investigations have been carried out.

As has been pointed out painkillers can do a lot of damage. They can also lose their effectiveness. They are not a long term solution. Physio and exercise can be part of a rehab and pain management programme but first you must find out the root of the problem.

mimi1234

Hi all,

Hope you are all well.

Thanks so much for all your detailed responses.

Since my last message, we have been to the physio and they gave my Mom some exercises to do at home which seem to have done the trick. She is no longer hunched up, and can walk for about a minute.

I know the problem is not solved as she is still in pain, so we are going to go back to her GP again to see if we can get any referrals done.

On speaking to the pharmacy section in the hospital, they told us it was careless to have been prescribed that many tablets as some of them would not be best to be taken with the diabetes tablets, so Mom is not taking a whole concoction of tablets now.

Thanks to everyone who responded as I was in a state of crisis when I was posting on here. It genuinely felt like they were just passing her from pillar to post and saying it's all good when it clearly wasn't. You guys and girls gave me a lot of support and advice and I really appreciate it. Thank you all.

teddysmum

mimi1234 wrote: »

Hi all,

Hope you are all well.

Thanks so much for all your detailed responses.

Since my last message, we have been to the physio and they gave my Mom some exercises to do at home which seem to have done the trick. She is no longer hunched up, and can walk for about a minute.

I know the problem is not solved as she is still in pain, so we are going to go back to her GP again to see if we can get any referrals done.

On speaking to the pharmacy section in the hospital, they told us it was careless to have been prescribed that many tablets as some of them would not be best to be taken with the diabetes tablets, so Mom is not taking a whole concoction of tablets now.

Thanks to everyone who responded as I was in a state of crisis when I was posting on here. It genuinely felt like they were just passing her from pillar to post and saying it's all good when it clearly wasn't. You guys and girls gave me a lot of support and advice and I really appreciate it. Thank you all.

People have above mention seeing a neurosurgeon, but I would suggest a neurologist, who will pass you onto a surgeon if surgery is necessary. However, surgery is a last resort and they prefer other treatments first.


Treatment may, indeed still be painkillers but a neurologist has a long list of possible medications, some of which a GP may not have heard. (Mine had to look up some of the drugs I've tried)