Lower Back Pain

[kittykatty2000]

I am a 27yr old and have suffered from back pain for years, it is mainly in my lower back but can travel up the spine. I have suffered with the pain for years and had to give up my fav job when I was 21yrs because of it. I have had 2 lots of physiotheraphy, a scan and all I get told is that they not sure what is causing it but I have the problem for life, apart from I have sensitive nerve endings due to being told I can't do everything I us to do, but now they say I could have done and not stopped.

I have been in serious amounts off pain this week and have now been told my muscles have been contracting and straighting my spine, but they still can't help me with what is causing it all and have to go back to doctors monday. All I know is I might have to have yet another scan on my back.

It is really getting to me now as I am only 27yrs with this problem and I swear half the time they think im making it all up. It is also begining to effect my job and there is nothing I can do for it. It doesn't help when there is noone I can talk to about it so feel all alone with it.

Does anyone else understand how im feeling and going through the same?

Kittykatty2000

[kittyluv1]

Sorry to hear of your prolonged discomfort.  Back pain can be very debilitating and because the symptoms are so subjective, doctors do have some difficulty getting to the core reasons you may be experiencing so much pain at such a young age.
The muscle spasms you are currently having are a usual symptom related to back pain and is not unexpected.  If you are not currently getting a prescription for muscle relaxants, you should discuss this with your doctor,  It will help quite a bit.
I think the decision to have another scan (MRI?) is appropriate and hopefully it will provide additional information to help the doctors make a definitive diagnosis and move forward.
Keep posting and let us know how you progress.  Feel free to vent and rant as much as you desire --- we have all been there at one time or another!

[kittykatty2000]

At the moment I have been subscribed 4 different lots of tablets but only have to take 2 of the 4, the other 2 are for if pain gets alot worse. I have been given pain killers and muscle relaxants and have been taking them for aa week now. Good news is that I can walk a bit better today for the first time this week, but still have muscle spasms where I feel like I can't walk after a while. I can't wait to see the doctor tomorrow to see what she says, but I am still worried that they will do nothing yet again, and get treated like a child. I know I work with children but I am not a child and not like the young adults that are around. I work hard pay my way in life and support myself, and would love the doctors to treat me like an adult. I am so worried about tomorrow that the doctor will say 'well there nothing we can now do and you seem better', like they normally do.

I know it sounds daft as the last time I had a scan on my back in the tube machine thing, I only lasted 5mins as it scared the hell out of me and I had a panic attack. This time though I am hoping the doctor will send me for one as I know what is coming this time and I want it to show something, to show I am not making the pain up.

Its crazy when I walk down the street with my boyfriend and I stop due to my back spasming and I feel like I can't move. Bless my boyfriend he has to cope with so much, me going in moods due to the pain, the pain it self, and him being so worried about me. I feel so lucky to have him, but then I think it so not fair for him to have to cope with me and my back problem, but he don't care and says that part of me and he not going anywhere.

[lsutiger47]

I am 19 and I have had similar problems for about two years now. I have been to two different doctors and both of them gave me worthless explanations. With the first doctor I had an MRI and about 3 months of physical therapy, and I got no explanation as to why I am in pain, and was basically told to deal with it. The second doctor told me that it could be caused by my lower rib being anatomically lower than it should causing it to rub against my muscle. So no real diagnosis was given to me in either situation, and the pain has not subsided in anyway. In my case I am unable to bend backwards more than a couple inches without terrible pain, and I am unable to go running for more than a half a mile because it becomes too painful to run and I have to lay down. The pain is mostly in my lower back, around my shoulder blades and along my neck. I was prescribed some pain medicine but it gives me terrible stomach aches, so I just take Excedrin back and body when it gets bad. Its slowly getting worse and I am now thinking about going to see a third doctor. I am so worried about how this is going to effect me 5 to 10 years from now.

[kittykatty2000]

I have been to the doctors today and have been told at the moment the reason why my back has started to play up this time is because of the muscles, but still don't know if this is the reason why my back has been playing up for years.

I must admit I know how you feel, I have problems with my back since I was a teenager and it started to really get worse when I hit 20-21yrs. Same like you at times the pain wasn't just in my lower back, but it would go up myy spine and feel like it was going into my shoulders and neck. I have lost track of how many doctors I have seen and how many different treatments I have had. I have had different tablets, 2 lots of physio (second time got told only I could handle my back not them), tons of xrays and a scan as well. It isn't easy as you know as you feel like you are just getting pushed around from person to person, and you feel like they just look in a book and go right that what we will say this time. I will admit it does get you down and you do worry how you will effect you in years to come, but the best advice I can try to give is try not to worry too much as that can make things worse. I found that the more I stressed about it all, the worse my back got.
The back is a complicated thing and so many things can be the reason why we get pain there, but it does take time to find out what is happening. It has taking me years to find out that at the moment my problem is the muscles, but not sure if that what has been causing the problem for years.

Just try and stick with it and get the doctors to listen to you never give up, let them know your not happy and you would like answer, just keep going on at them. Also if you ever feel like it is getting you down, i'm hear to listen as I understand how you feel.