Back Pain Support Group

Have you tried wet heat? I find hot wet towels laid on me and covered with other heavy towels to keep the heat in helps a lot but sometimes nothing helps! Not even my pain meds so I just whine, whine, whine, eat Goody Powders and whine some more. Also I used to have a tens machine and it helped more than anything but prescription xpired and couldn't get another one.

April, If you have insurance you might want to see about seeing a pain specialist. Carrie mentioned a tens unit, my dr. has recommended I get a neuro-stimulator which has basically taken the place of the tens units. You might be a candidate for that. I have degenerative disk disease, spondylolisthesis,spinal stenosis and sciatica.
Bee

That is always what most docs say...lose weight. I am overweight quite a bit, but,so is my sis and she has no problems whatsoever with her back, or anywhere else for that matter. I am 50 and she is 52. I also have degenerative disc disease in my back, Fibromyalgia, and just plain old arthritis. My lower back also has a herniated disc and I have had lots of pain in my legs lately. My doc is sending me to a Rheumatologist to see what else may be going on. This really stinks, huh!? I take ibuprofen, percocet, cyclobenzeprine and 2 types of blood pressure meds. Usually the pain meds keep the pain to a bearable level, but lately hasn't helped much. Good luck in your search for relief!

CHER IF WAS THEY BACK IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT THEN.HAVE DEGENERATE JOINT DISEASE WITH DEGENERATION IN LOWER BACK T1 TO S1.TWO BAD KNEES WITH CYST GROWING THRU KNEE JOINT.WARM BATHS-HEATING PAD-MUSCLE RELAX -FLEXERIAL 10 mg. three time a day the DEGENERNATION STRAINS YOUR MUSCLES BELIEVE ME I KNOW -STUCK IN WHEEL CHAIR. GOOD LUCK. MAY GOD GIVE YA SOME HELP.

Believe it or not the weight loss thing may help with low back pain. I lost 25 lbs and it did improve somewhat. I still get it but not as often. Physical therapy helps me some too. You may need narcotic pain meds as well but be very careful if you go that route because it's a lot easier to start them than to stop them for a lot of people, myself included.

I think you should see another doctor. One who is going to take you serious. Good luck dear.

(also) I agree with Midi - Narcotic pain killers are awful to stop. Withdraw is hell. Try your best to stay away from those.

I have lost 47 lbs and it has helped my low back a lot. I am still hurting but not quite as bad. I hurt my back in the thoracic spine region and no one is helping me yet. I can't even sleep. I wake up at 5am and stagger around disoriented till I make it to the bathroom and then to the recliner to watch the news drifting in and out of conciosness. They haven't even given me pain pills. My family dr offers to shoot me with cortisone (before he even took x-rays), I said no way. I am sick of cortisone. Besides, I wanted my flu shot, which they are mutually exclusive. I called my pain management dr and am getting in there, she will find out what is wrong with me. Losing weight and getting a pain management specialist were the 2 best things I ever did and that I could recommend to you. {I weighed 297 and now I weigh 250 and am shooting for 140, yehaw!} Bee

Back exercises can help, but you'll probably say that they hurt. Same for abdominal exercises, done more carefully than typical sit-ups. The plank and the vacuum are particularly safe, in my opinion.

If you have insurance that pays for it have your doc write a script for Lidoderm patches they help me alot with my DDD.