HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Bad Back Help

Support Forums
>
Fibromyalgia
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 3/22/2009 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
 

  I am new here, have had fibro many many years now,pass 9 weeks now my back decided to go out and hurts very bad,

Makes it difficult to type, walk,bend over, exercise, drive the car,ect.

The cold weather got in there and made it worse and all i can do these days is lay in bed with the heating pad and rest. Of course the rest of the body decided to join in.

 Is there anyone this bad off with their back ?? I am now on the Fentenoyl patch.Any ideas out there ?? Thanks,,Kitkat

 

Posted 3/22/2009 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi KitKat,

 

Welcome to the forum!  Yeah, I have really bad back pain. It started out in my lower back and now it's everywhere.  Sometimes I don't know what to do to make it go away. Have you tried Neurontin?  It works pretty well for my muscle pain. A hot shower or bath is always nice.  Epsom salts. I know it's hard to find things to help the back. Others will be along to share too!

 

Ginny

Posted 3/22/2009 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
My trigger spot that started it all is on my right side right under my shoulder blade. Right where the bra sits. I changed my type of bra. I always have a lumbar pillow where I am sitting and Aqua therapy is allready making a huge difference for me. Good luck and I hope the pain lets up sometime.
Posted 3/22/2009 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
Have you tried a muscle relaxer?
Posted 3/23/2009 1:24 AM (GMT 0)

Hey there Kit Kat!!

Welcome!!!  I have a really bad back, I fell of a 3rd floor loft in a barn when I was 21, I hit my tailbone on a spigot (sp) and shattered it, my tailbone, not the spigot (lol).  As time as gone by, I'm 51 now, my lower lumbar disks have all herniated or are buldging.  So, I know a little about the subject.. LOL. My best advice is go on line and look up back stretches for the specific area of your back that hurts.  Don't lay around too much it will only make it stiffer. Go to your doctor and tell him/her what's going on and if you can you'll need PT.  That will make a big difference in learning how to live with a bad back.  Another thing.. depending on what part of your back is acting up, the way you lay in bed is really important, so look that up on line too.  Since mine are in  my lower back, if I lay on my back I have to keep my legs elevated.  If I lay on my side I need to put a pillow between my legs.  Laying completely flat absolutly kills me!!

Anyway best advice.. go to the doctor as soon as you can.  It could be something serious!!!

Again welcome to the forum!!  Check out the 2nd thread on the Forum called Fibro 101. Its loaded with tons of get information and helpful articles that we refer to once in a while around here.

Take care,

Posted 3/23/2009 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
My back is always hurting. It's currently killing me as well. I use Freeze It alot which is like BioFreeze. You can get it or something like it in Grocery stores. I have trouble not spreading it all over my back! I also have a back brace that I use from time to time when it's my spine that's killing me. My PT just said not to wear it all the time or it will just weaken your back more. Ibeprofin, hot baths, massages, and stretching are definately your friends! Hopefuly some of this helps!
Posted 3/23/2009 11:18 AM (GMT 0)
If you can afford them, those heat wraps work wonders for me. like they are activated when exposed to air. The heat lasts 8 hours. Walmart for eg. has them in a Walmart brand, half the price. If it wasn't for those I might have been more disabled than I am now.

Posted 3/23/2009 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kitkat and Stari and welcome. I broke my sacrum many years ago and with age arthritis has set in and toss fibro into the mix and it takes very little to get my lower back hurting. Once I do something to aggravate it, it takes a long time for it to stop hurting so I do baby it. For me the TENS unit is what helps the most for the lower back. It interrupts the pain signals to the brain.

 

I'm glad you both joined us, you will get a lot of info on here.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

Posted 3/23/2009 6:50 PM (GMT 0)
  

  I want to thank you for your responses. I am 49 and have been thru this before years ago, that dang fibro has been with me for many many years. I have had x-rays done,  and all blood tests done and i was telling my doctors it was from the fibro. about exercise, yes it really does help a lot !!!

  Many years ago i was in a wheel chair due to pelvic and abdominal adhiesions, one day i found an ad about Thi-Chi and Yoga ; i went and talked to the instructor and he made me lay on the floor on my stomach !! OMG it hurt so bad, but in time i was able to do so many things,like have a partner raise my leg to the wall , walk the park three times after doing my Thi-Chi and yogo, i went down to 97 pounds !!!  After that whenever my fibro acted up i was able to " heal " myself. Somehow i got away from doing those exercises and now i am in trouble with the fibro so bad,and i am hurting so bad from my neck to my tailbone. I am afraid to do any exercises at this time for i might make it worse.

   I go to my pain management doctor tomorrow and see what else he can try since i am now on

25 mcg Fentenoyl , robaxin,valium,tegratol , and 2 mg dilaudid only when i really need it.

  turn   I should be feeling greattt but no way. confused   Stange huh .I will let you know what he does tomorrow. Hang in there everyone // I just wish there was an open chat room for us.

       Peace, Love, Happiness , Enjoy Life smilewinkgrin   and God Bless ....Kitkat

Posted 3/23/2009 7:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Kitkat, and welcome!  I have had back problems most of my life due to scoliosis but then I learned how to get in and out of bed and in and out of a car properly and it has really helped my back a lot.  This is what I do.

 

First of all, I do not sleep flat on my back because it makes my back hurt more.  I don't sleep on my stomach either.  I sleep on my sides with a pillow wedged behind my back.  This way, I can partially be on my back but have support.  That helps me.  I also get out of bed using a cane.  I roll on my side, draw my legs up in a sitting position so the legs are actually hanging over the floor, and then I push off with the cane.  Gravity will bring your legs down and you will be pulled to a sitting position without using your back muscles.

 

When getting in and out of a car, sit on the seat with your feet on the pavement.  Then, either using the seat or the steering wheel, swivel your feet into the car while keeping your back straight.  I buy cars with leather seats because they are slippery.  But, when I rent a car and get cloth seats I had to come up with another idea...and I did!  I get a garbage bag and a towel.  I lay the garbage bag on the seat and the towel over it.  Then I do the above.  The garbage bag and towel let  your rear end swivel like you were on a lazy susan!  LOL  Just reverse the above to get out of the car.

You have also found out how important it is to move with fibro.  If you sit or lay too much you are in a world of pain and that makes you sit and lay too much.  On the Fibro 101 thread...the second thread on the forum, is a link to some good stretching exercises that really do help, too.  These are done sitting down.  These might help you get started exercising again.  Be sure to remember to pace yourself.

I'm so glad that you found us and joined in.  As you can see, our members love to help one another.  It's a wonderful group of men and women here.  And, we really do care about one another!  Read the Fibro 101 thread, back posts and ask questions.  We are here to help you.  Hope to hear more from you soon.

Sherrine
Posted 3/23/2009 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Kitkat!

Welcome to the family!! I do understand what you are talking about. Mine sometimes gets worse with weather and sometimes with over use. Right now it's a combination of the two and my body is not very happy and sure is letting me know it. Go easy but remember we do have to keep moving, even if it's a little bit at a time. If I sit for about 20 minutes or more my pain level will shoot up. Also laying in bed at night is terrible on my pain level if I happen to stay asleep for more than 2 hours. Yes, this is miserable but we can make things better, especially by sticking together.

Hugs,
Chutzie
Posted 3/24/2009 12:44 AM (GMT 0)
I too have scoliosis and have had two ruptured discs (with subsequent back surgeries).  Back pain can be such a hard thing to deal with. 

 

You've gotten some really good advice, and I just have a couple of things to add.  If it's a disc/nerve problem, rest is often helpful, but if it is a muscle problem, sometimes movement is helpful.  If it is a disc, steroids or NSAIDs can often shrink the tissue enough to get it off the nerve.  If it is a muscle, muscles relaxants often help.  Okay, that is about the extent of my medical expertise. smilewinkgrin

 

Sherrine has really good advice about getting out of bed.  I actually ruptured a disc jumping out of bed incorrectly when my daughter was a baby.  She was crying for me in the middle of the night after a nightmare, and I instinctively just bolted out of bed (bad idea).  Now, I don't use a cane, but I do roll over on my side, hang my legs over the side of the bed, and push myself up into a sitting position with my hands. Then I just slide my feet onto the floor and stand.  My PT taught me to do this.  With most back pain you want to avoid any twisting or bending at the waist.

 

I really hope you feel better soon.  Back pain added to the fibro pain is no fun.  Hang in there.

 

Hugs - Austen

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply