Chronic Pain Support Group
Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...
I've had RSD of left foot/leg for almost 16 years. I'm pretty much controlled on the meds I've been on all this time, and since the titration level was reached back in the 1st 2 months of the illness, I've not had to increase any pain meds. My docs all thought/think I'm a freak of nature for not needing or asking for more meds.
I'm not saying there aren't times during a RSD flare where I'd appreciate an extra MSIR but I have always been terrified about overdosing if I added a mg here or there. Even during my worst flare last Winter when I got permission to take 15mg more MSIR every 4 hrs, I was so nervous & scared it wouldn't have made much difference.
I've recently passed 2 very large kidney stones and discovered that I have kidneys stuffed with stones. Many are small but there are a few VERY large stones that won't pass if they try, and the urologist feels we need to blast them or remove them before those very large stones start to pass. They'll get stuck and need lithotripsy or another type of surgery, so we're hoping they all stay put until January 16th which is my 1st surgery on the stones.
I've also had recurring back pain. It's usually in the shoulder area and rhomboid muscles. I've had docs recommend PT and/or a breast reduction (had 1 too young, when I was only 19- didn't do a bit of good in the long run) but neither seem a possibility at the moment.
But in past 2 weeks I've felt a burning/needle like pain in the very small of my back. It is NOT constant, it seems to be off/on and terribly painful when it happens. At 1st I thought it was a kidney stone, like maybe one really small one was passing, but there were no other signs. Lately it's gone up my spine a bit and the odd burning, aching sensation spreads out into the muscles around it. My muscle relaxer for my RSD cramps doesn't help it much and my pain meds barely touch it.
I have a home a job & a 4 yr old and more on my plate than I can handle. Is this just aging? What's IN that area? It's really on and off and today it's off up until I bent to write this. Maybe it was gone & I brought it back? Or perhaps it'll be on its way out soon. But each time I think that, it comes back and drives me nuts. Getting into a comfy position for sleep is a pain in itself if the lower back is acting up.
I have insurance, but even w/ insurance the bills for my numerous tests for the kidney stones are getting out of hand. I STILL don't know why I had to have 3 KUBS when it's been proven they don't SEE my stones on them, even when I had TWO stones at once and one was 7mm! Add the CT scan and the ultrasound and the IVs in the hospital that I'd happily have gone without, and the medications, separate doctor bills and my monthly Pain doc appt and my mind is swimming in numbers.
This back pain is annoying and has robbed me of many nights' sleep but it's not all the time. Right now I'm bent over typing and I feel a "pulling" sensation that is odd. The prickly stuff is annoying and I need to take ibuprofen for any relief. Ibuprofen upsets my stomach and gives me terrible acid reflux, which I already have.
If I'm not making sense it is b/c I was awake over 24 hours now and and am having a hard time making my new lower back pain settle down while dealing with weather changes that are starting a RSD flare. At least THAT I know how to handle. Rest and medication, along with warm baths can keep my RSD under control until the weather decides to hang in at under zero degrees for more than a few days. This is my 1st flare of the Winter season & likely has to do with all that white stuff on our lawn.
But, the lower back thing, at least in the area it's in, is quite new, and I wonder if that's a sweet spot for injuries or a strange area for pain. I don't want to go to the doc & have tons of xrays and tests unless it becomes more than I can bear.I mean, it could leave as fast as it came. Does anyone know what is IN that small of the back area and if I should worry? Or really, any info would be appreciated. The needle like pain is weird to me.
I feel like Eva Peron in "Evita" when she sings, "My little body is slowly breaking down..." Of course w/ me, it's not slowly at all. RSD for almost 16 years and now multiple kidney stones in each kidney followed by a series of surgeries starting in January, and now I have something wrong with my back? Hoping it's just age!
At any rate, I truly would appreciate any advice, I know we don't do diagnosis here, but if anything I'm describing sounds familiar, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!!!
I'm not saying there aren't times during a RSD flare where I'd appreciate an extra MSIR but I have always been terrified about overdosing if I added a mg here or there. Even during my worst flare last Winter when I got permission to take 15mg more MSIR every 4 hrs, I was so nervous & scared it wouldn't have made much difference.
I've recently passed 2 very large kidney stones and discovered that I have kidneys stuffed with stones. Many are small but there are a few VERY large stones that won't pass if they try, and the urologist feels we need to blast them or remove them before those very large stones start to pass. They'll get stuck and need lithotripsy or another type of surgery, so we're hoping they all stay put until January 16th which is my 1st surgery on the stones.
I've also had recurring back pain. It's usually in the shoulder area and rhomboid muscles. I've had docs recommend PT and/or a breast reduction (had 1 too young, when I was only 19- didn't do a bit of good in the long run) but neither seem a possibility at the moment.
But in past 2 weeks I've felt a burning/needle like pain in the very small of my back. It is NOT constant, it seems to be off/on and terribly painful when it happens. At 1st I thought it was a kidney stone, like maybe one really small one was passing, but there were no other signs. Lately it's gone up my spine a bit and the odd burning, aching sensation spreads out into the muscles around it. My muscle relaxer for my RSD cramps doesn't help it much and my pain meds barely touch it.
I have a home a job & a 4 yr old and more on my plate than I can handle. Is this just aging? What's IN that area? It's really on and off and today it's off up until I bent to write this. Maybe it was gone & I brought it back? Or perhaps it'll be on its way out soon. But each time I think that, it comes back and drives me nuts. Getting into a comfy position for sleep is a pain in itself if the lower back is acting up.
I have insurance, but even w/ insurance the bills for my numerous tests for the kidney stones are getting out of hand. I STILL don't know why I had to have 3 KUBS when it's been proven they don't SEE my stones on them, even when I had TWO stones at once and one was 7mm! Add the CT scan and the ultrasound and the IVs in the hospital that I'd happily have gone without, and the medications, separate doctor bills and my monthly Pain doc appt and my mind is swimming in numbers.
This back pain is annoying and has robbed me of many nights' sleep but it's not all the time. Right now I'm bent over typing and I feel a "pulling" sensation that is odd. The prickly stuff is annoying and I need to take ibuprofen for any relief. Ibuprofen upsets my stomach and gives me terrible acid reflux, which I already have.
If I'm not making sense it is b/c I was awake over 24 hours now and and am having a hard time making my new lower back pain settle down while dealing with weather changes that are starting a RSD flare. At least THAT I know how to handle. Rest and medication, along with warm baths can keep my RSD under control until the weather decides to hang in at under zero degrees for more than a few days. This is my 1st flare of the Winter season & likely has to do with all that white stuff on our lawn.
But, the lower back thing, at least in the area it's in, is quite new, and I wonder if that's a sweet spot for injuries or a strange area for pain. I don't want to go to the doc & have tons of xrays and tests unless it becomes more than I can bear.I mean, it could leave as fast as it came. Does anyone know what is IN that small of the back area and if I should worry? Or really, any info would be appreciated. The needle like pain is weird to me.
I feel like Eva Peron in "Evita" when she sings, "My little body is slowly breaking down..." Of course w/ me, it's not slowly at all. RSD for almost 16 years and now multiple kidney stones in each kidney followed by a series of surgeries starting in January, and now I have something wrong with my back? Hoping it's just age!
At any rate, I truly would appreciate any advice, I know we don't do diagnosis here, but if anything I'm describing sounds familiar, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!!!
If you have any more tests like - CT or MRI for your kidneys, ask your pcp to get a script for lumbar imaging too. They can do one test but read and have a view of 2 different issues. Maybe it will help to figure out what's going on.
(( hugs)) hope you feel better soon !
Just sympathy/empathy.
It makes me a little nuts when I get pain that's not part of my usual.
Like..that's not MY pain, damn it..:-) :-)
..and not sleeping because of it, too?
Well..that deserves a pooooor you.
..hugs
jc
( will say kidney stones can cause " flank" pain...don't know if that applies?)
An odd thing is that it starts then stops. I can be good for days and there it is again, that tingling in the lower back. I was SO sure it was a stone the 1st time. Then nothing happened. It hurt for a few days & went away.
I'm taking your advice as if you'd written it weeks ago, LOL! I've got a heating pad in bed with me and it did seem to help the 2nd time I got this odd pain. I also added Tylenol to my pain med routine, as nothing I take has it in it. I can't do ice b/c of the RSD. The doc who diagnosed me told me to never ice another limb or area w/o doctor's express approval so that has to wait. It's an RSD thing, though I DO know of a woman here who DOES ice her RSD limb & it works for her! But 2 docs of many RSD patients said no way, so I listened. ;)
And I WILL ask for some lumbar imaging next time they take a test. Maybe it can be fixed if it is something that actually shows up. With my luck it'll hide, like the stones.
No sleep last night as I'd slept SO late into the day but soon I will sleep. I can barely form words here, let alone sentences. Lack of sleep, IMO, is almost as bad as drunk driving. My reflexes are slow and I forget what I was saying. It's an odd sensation & I feel other-worldy. I despise missing sleep!
As for flank pain- THAT I know well. It's awful b/c I can't get in a position to sit or lay down. This isn't that, at least not so far. But it's scared me so much that I agreed to try the lemonade diet which supposedly helps with kidney stones. Their acidity possibly breaks them down? In any case, as I don't drink coffee, tea or alcohol, it's nice to get a sweet treat in the morning. It won't be so great when I lay down, but most people don't go to sleep at 11am!
Great ideas everyone- thank you.
Hope you feel better soon
Since I have had several stones as well large and small; what you describe sounds like renal colic. This pain occurs when one of the larger stones blocks the ureter temporarily but does not move out of the kidney causing the type of pain you describe. This happens when the stone is large many times. It seems like the most likely explanation given the amount of stones you have. I say hang in there....relief is coming soon!!! Sending loads of gentle hugs over your way. The only solution at this point is lithotripsy to break up the larger stones. If you develop a fever, persistent aching back pain that spreads across both sides of your back then call your doctor and go back to the ER immediately. Take care hun....I am so sorry you are deaing with this....((((((((( ))))))))))))
It's funny b/c now that I've been diagnosed with multiple kidney stones and the date is set for 1st surgery, I think every twinge is a stone. I even feel like my kidneys are heavy! Talk about an imagination. I'm terrified that the stones will move before the surgery and I just want to make it through the holidays w/o a stone passing or causing trouble.
beautifulB- I'd love to talk to you about stones sometime, especially the surgeries. I'm terrified beyond belief and put off the "talk" where the doc explains it b/c I KNOW I'll obsess and worry about every possible thing that could go wrong. I'm already scared to death of doctors & hospitals, and I'm needlephobic to the point where I pass out or get too dizzy when anticipating a blood test. I'm a nurse's nightmare.
That said, I'd still like to hear it from a patient's perspective. I'm due to go in on the 16th of January. I'm hoping it isn't too much & I can handle it all at home. But I do want o hear what I should expect as far as recuperating and caring for my son, etc.,, from someone who has had it done. So please feel free to PM me when you get a chance and I'll send you my email, too!
No more renal colic or stones, PLEASE God! I've got to live a life with RSD already- but these stones are way too much. Let's hope the stones stay away from the ureter! ;)
I do however have polycystic kidney disease. My kidneys are grossly enlarged and full of cysts. I had thought perhaps the weight of my kidneys might be causing the back pain. Never has anyone said to me it may be renal colic causing it. My go to for pain relief other than narcotics is my heating pad. I use it regularily and it does help.