Hoping your knowledge willhelp my undiagnosed back pain - Back Problems Message Board

Shelby_36 · 04-14-2006, 05:30 PM

Recently I have been having recurring back pain..it has not been excrutiating (a 6 on the little scale here) ..but it gets painful and hard to take at times. My dr doesn't give me an answer and I went to a chiropractor who couldn't see anything either. Maybe you all would know where I would start.

This is a monthly pain..female cycle related or at least it seems to me. I have a tilted uterus and possibly IBS..the dr says I probably do but never officially diagnosed. I get it at some periods of time the week before my cycle..almost like a sciatic nerve. 6 months ago it was every month a week AFTER my cycle. Then more recently(last 3 months) it has moved to the middle of the month and hurts much more. So it does have a pattern but a shortlived pattern.

The pain I have now is a grinding pain. At times when I move around it feels like something grinding around my right hip/lower back area. At times like right now that it throbs for a few minutes at a time with no regard to position.

All of these symptoms a part seem minor but it is getting worse and I am having some lower back pain 2 weeks a month. One of those weeks are where I don't want to do anything... it does affect my ability to concentrate..and I find myself wanting to say oww, or my back hurst dozens of time a day.

(Just on a personal note..I am not a whiner..I had 3 kids no meds and one was a 10 pounder..)

Anyone have any cluse what could be causing this pain and how I could make it better. I have prescription Naproxen but it doesn't help, either do heat wraps.

Suzy-Q · 04-14-2006, 06:09 PM

Hello Shelby -
Nice to meet you. And I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. My own back problems started very slow and were intermittent as well. For several months I had quite bad pain, incredible tightness, numbness, weakness - and perfectly fine days. I went to the doc and they gave me the low-down on how most back pain, even serious disk damage will heal with time. So, I said I'd ice, then use heat, PT galore!, relax, massage, yoga, cushions, funny positions - and so on. I didn't try certain other things like accupuncture cuz my insurance didn't cover them. Then we tried Celbrex and Bextra until they ripped my stomach up and then just Ibuprofen and finally Flexeril. It was a year into this that I had to finally say - it ain't aworking and I'm getting worse! At last an actual xray.
I got a call 5 hours later that night from my GP - spodylolithesis L4-Grade II. An MRI less than a week later yielded another quick call - immediate referral to a surgeon - severe stenosis and abnormal bone growth that needed fast removal.
My point is that the vast majority of MINOR back problems do heal without invasive treatment. My condition was deteriorating steadily across a year's time and, looking back, an xray and an mri should have been done by the 4th month without significant improvement - some would say much earlier, I'm sure. I would stress that an xray AND an mri should be done because you need both. If only one then take the MRI but an xray would be standard medical treatment.
Weather and menstrual cycles are factors for all kinds of problems- not just spine or skeletal problems - so a very thorough review of your condition should be done by a competent physician. I say, 'the sooner the better'. Why worry and suffer when a solution is probably right around the corner and chances are real good that it is not so big a problem? Don't forget that you're talking to the smallest percentage on these boards. The majority are out dancing! Best of luck - Suzy-Q

Shelby_36 · 04-16-2006, 02:33 PM

Thanks for the info. I have had an xray at the chiropractor and he didn't see anything of note. He gave me a general schedule for adjustments but said there really was nothing to adjust..I hd a very slight discrepany in my hip 'heights' but he didn't see anything.

Since my last post I have still had intermittent back pain...this is the longest I've had it without a break ..about 2 1/2 weeks straight now. today I woke up ok, was sore by lunch, went to the movies and was uncomfortable after..now I can barely stand up long enough to get Easter dinner on the table and I am NOT looking forward to sitting at the table for any length of time. This is the most painful it has been in a while. All on the right side some throbbing when not moving and lots of pain with certain positions. Arching the back hurts the most like with my hips and shoulders back and the back arched forward..like a normal morning stretch would look.. that hurts the most.

i just don't know what to do about it... My husband has a hiernated disc and they haven't been able to much with him..it has improved over time without surgery at this time but nothing the drs did helped him other than telling him what it is (after 3 MRI's)

Quietcook · 04-16-2006, 04:12 PM

Shelby36,

Sounds like you are a tough one and definitely not a whiner. Still, do not ignore what has been going on with your back and pursue a proper diagnosis the with right kind of doc - primarily a true spine specialist.

Yes, both general orthopaedic surgeons and general neuro surgeons do treat the back, but a spine specialist may be either one, with advanced training of having completed an extensive spine fellowship and then goes on to dedicate their practice to just the spinal area instead of doing brain surgeon or treating all the various joints and bones as a generla ortho will do. The advantage is that these true spine specialists will have 4-5 times the experience of the other, plus are most likely involved in the more advanced and newer techniques of treating our spine problems.

I learned the hard way about spine specialists, but thanks to finding a great one, I am again a highly functioning woman. I've endured 8 spine surgeries and now have 10 levels of my spine fused, but in spite of it I am going strong and not living in constant pain. You need to seek a proper diagnosis and get the appropriate care and steps necessary to avoid going through the extremes that I have faced.

Let me say that you may be fortunate and find the right doc with the first spine specialist you see, but just like patients they can be as diverse as one can imagine. If you do not find the first one to be thorough in their exam and questioning, testing, etc to come to an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan, then don't hesitate to look further. If you are unfamiliar with how to check out credentials in order to find a true spine specialist, please use the search feature at the top of the board and look for a threat I started on how to find a spine specialist in your area. Although you have an intermitent problem now and presumably would not be facing surgery, the questions, the facts as to whether they treat the patients pain or refer them to PMs, whether they will answer questions and inform the patient are still important, and could make a significant difference in the long run for you, because with the right spine specialist you may be able to lessen the chances that you will face surgery.

Hope you will seek that care now and not let the problem get any worse. Best wishes.

pooby · 04-16-2006, 05:15 PM

Low back pain can be totally unrelated to the spine. There are other causes and if you suspect that it may be related to your uterus eg: endrometriosis make sure that you get that checked out by a gynecologist.