Thanks guys. 7am this morning, up out of bed and as right as rain - or as near as dammit. Infuriating when it gets that bad. I am due to be seen at the hospital again in 3 weeks so we'll see what they suggest this time (5 operations down the line now).
Thanks again. 
I can more than sympathise with you McB..... sharing (according to what I've heard ) a vaguely similar spinal trauma history... (mine was higher up I believe, having broken my Neck in 89..... )
I'm probably about to teach my granny to suck eggs but .... it's meant with the best of intentions...
Most often when i suffer a major episode (which, superficially at least, you seem to suffer from as well... ) , the majority of the pain is caused by Muscle spasm that's triggered by a shift in the damaged vertebrae , especially when there's a momentary seizure of the joint facets.
in severe episodes i can end up almost crucified by muscle spasm right across the shoulder girdle and from the top of the neck (Axis-C3) to lower thoracic/upper lumbar back area....
left to it's own devices, it can take an age to settle, and frequently won't do so unaided... as it's something of a vicious circle while the joints are misaligned, the resulting pain spasms the muscles, which only serves to keep the alignment out of whack...
so I have, on hand at all times, Robaxin (methocarbamol??) a prescription muscle relaxant.
obviously I'm not a specialist, and I don't really know the specifics of your problems other than the most general knowledge that you had an accident and broke it.... but it occurred to me that it's the sort of simple "get you through the day" thing that many quacks overlook....
(i've had more than my fair share of specialists and GP's poking around at my spine over the last 18 years and enough of them were completely stupid to make me more than a little cynical)
Obviously it's a long way from a "cure" but it does allow me to cope with the "bad" days with less reliance on the actual pain killers themselves.... indeed, most of the time I can manage without the painkillers to a reasonable extent... as long as I'm careful. and basically episodes are typically shorter, and less intensely debilitating thanks to that.... Note that I don;t take the ALL the time, only when the Pain is severe enough to warrant it...
as a less direct thing though, a couple of courses on pain management did help a tiny bit.... in that it helped me reconcile the reality of my actual physical issues with my obstinate refusal to acknowledge my difficulties..... Having previously been fairly fit, and highly active, running around stages like a madman,touring in a metal band..... building rally cars for fun., playing rugby and football competitively, rowing, all that sort of stuff, I can now admit, to myself , and others, that i cannot always cope even with normal activities, never mind the fun stuff, , and to know when this means i MUST ask for help, even if i'm inclined to be too proud to do so... and as a result, i find that, I'm now less likely to push myself "over the edge" into a major episode , and I'm assured by the chaps at the Nuffield that this is helping me attain a better degree of stability, and reduces the amount of neural signal distortion due to nerve pressure and resulting damage, that my motor functions have to deal with.
which while not making me any better, is at least stopping me getting any worse....
What I can;t wait for is for medical technology to be able to do what they do on bloody Star trek...... (like the episode where the grew mr Worf a new spine....!!!!!! )
Hope things stay all quiet on the spinal front...
Best regards
Max
Author
Topic: Sodding back pain! (Read 1884 times)