Intense back pain

[ItalianChick]

Hi, i have been having very intense back pain ever since two wednesdays ago, i got slammed by a car door a thrown forward, it has caused me nothing but pain. i have a ten month old child which makes it hard for me to carry around and even to sleep, on friday i went to the doctor she suggested a muscle relaxant which i cannot take because it causes me to go to sleep and i cant just sleep all the time when i have a child to take care of, i dont have alot of people to help me either, my boyfriend works all day, my parents are alcoholics so they are the last people i will leave my child with, my mother in law lives in north carolina and my sister has a child of her own to take care of. So i am stuck. The doctor did however prescribe me Tramadol, which i have been taking but i just dont feel like it works very well. it may take the pain away for a little over and hour but then im back just wanting to lay down and do nothing because im in so much pain. so what should i do? should i go back to the doctors and tell her? i need help, i can not live like this..

[Jaybay]

I think you need a return visit with your doctor.  There is something going on that masking with meds isn't going to fix.  The problem isn't the pain, it's finding out and fixing what is causing your pain.  After two weeks since your initial injury you would expect to see some kind of improvement by now so it's reasonable to go back to the doc for a more in-depth evaluation.

[femmy29]

Hi and welcome to the pain management community!

I am sorry to hear about your recent injury.  I also deal with back pain and have a 6 year old with a disability so I totally understand your need to be there as a mommy to your 10 month old baby.  

Have you tried to take the muscle relaxer at night along with the Tramadol and just Tramadol during the day?  I used to take all three doses of Flexeril at night about 6 years ago and the pain relief was lasting through most of the next day.  I am NOT saying to take all doses of your muscle relaxer at once!  Please don't think that as some muscle relaxers aren't meant for that and you can OD.  I don't know what type of muscle relaxer you are taking.  If it is Flexeril, you could ask your doctor if doubling up at night might help with the pain during the day.  Explain that the drowsiness during the day intolerable.  The downside is you may wake up groggy the next day as I definitely did but it wears off in a few hours.  Also, when muscle relaxers are taken over an extended period of time, the side effects tend to weaken and sometimes disappear entirely so it may be that if you deal with the drowsiness for a week or two, you may not feel as drowsy after that period.

I do think you also need to understand why you are in pain.  I understand the injury that occurred but I think it is important to understand whether or not this is a temporary injury or if permanent damage occured.  I recommend seeing a spine orthopedic specialist or psysiatrist.  They will order the necessary tests and conduct a thorough evaluation of your pain.

What dose have you been prescribed of the Tramadol?  The maximum dose that can be taken safely is two 50 mg tablets every 4-6 hours, not to exceed 8 tablets in 24 hours.  If you have prescribed less than that, you can ask your doctor if the dose can be increased as you are still experiencing pain.

Please keep us posted on how things turn out with the doctors.  And I truly hope your pain is temporary and given proper healing time, you'll be back to your old self!

femmy