Posted 11/13/2008 8:23 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome! you will find people to be very friendly here. we all have pain issues & we have all been there. let me start with my story. i am a 31 yr old female. my pain started back about 10 years ago. my back was always tender to touch (like if someone tickled me i was in pain). it wasn't a red flag or anything. then the headaches started. i was on & off meds for migranes for about 2 years. (i have had the shots & everything) well my dr. said maybe there was something wrong with my back. maybe i should look into getting it checked. my mistake was going to a chiropractor. i am not dissing them, but i had no idea how severe my back was injured. the pushing pulling & cracking really made things worse. fast forward a few years & several wrong diagnosis. eventually i was referred to a pain specialist. by this time my lower back pain was so severe i could barely walk. i had burning pain in both legs; predominatly stronger in my left leg. (from my hip to the toes) i think that was the moment i KNEW something was really wrong. i can't do stairs either so don't worry. i was lucky with my pain management drs. my dr is fantastic! he took an hour for an exam, ordered MRI's (which no one else had done) & just explained things to me. when the results came back i PROMISE you i cried for 30 minutes. all of my other drs made me feel crazy. like i was imaging this pain! ("too young" "drug seeking" "because i was a bartender") i tell you i heard every excuse! i have a lot of different problems. chances are the leg is either sciatica pain or some nerve damage. i have both. basically you have a disc on your vein, which causes that crazy tingly burning feeling down your leg. i take lyrica & cymbalta for it, helps a lot. the rest i can't guess at. but i would highly advise either a pain management dr, back specialist (i can't spell the technical name) :) or a neurologist. they will get you started on some treatments. there are a lot out there.... medication, of course (& my dr had said when we 1st met, it takes sometimes a few years to find the RIGHT meds to treat you) everyone is different of course. there are also many injections like trigger injections. basically you have a "twilight" sleep. (though i have actually just been numb & stayed awake once. you don't have to be asleep) where they take cortisone mixed with a pain med & inject it into the site where it hurts. they can also numb your veins to help with the burnig. both are very minimal risk. you are just a little sore afterwards. i am up once the meds wear off. not a big deal, just the one day down time. so thats all i have. i am by no means a dr so please consider seeing a specialist. i highly recommend a pain dr. my drs are very reputable, no complaints, they have physical therapy, surgery, medication. let me know how it goes. and if you have any more questions feel free to ask! (ps.... use ice when your back flares up) -Shannon *my laptop keys are sticking if anything is misspelled or out of place*