i have horrible back pain, my daughter is 9months old now, i've had an epidural and ever since then ive had really bad back pain, i cant bend over that much, it hurts continueously for like up to 10hrs a day, the left side of my back is usually swollen and some days i just dont want to get out of bed, is there a type of medication i can request when i see my doctor? what can i do?
Sorry to hear about your back pain. Question: Is your pain in your back from where the epidural was placed?? Was it from an epidural during labor or for back pain following labor? If it is still from your labor 9 months ago, thats not good and should be addressed very soon. When an anesthesiologist places an epidural during labor, they usually do it by feel vs xray guided as in a PM clinic. Don't know if thats your situation or not, but by feel vs x-ray there is a bigger chance of hitting a nerve or puncturing the dura (although you would generally have a spinal headache if it was the dura, so not likely a dura puncture unless you have a severe headache..).
Obviously the above (if it applies to you) would be a not so good situation, although a dura punture is easily fixed.
If you just have general back pain, not related to the epidural, then I would suggest getting a referal to a pain management clinic. Maybe getting an MRI, some x-rays, to see what is going on.
For medications, it depends on if you are breastfeeding your child as some meds can cross into the breast milk thus giving your child some. But I have known women that have taken low doses of hydrocodone (vicodin) and other meds after child birth.
My suggestion would be to find a PM clinic or see your OB doc and see what they suggest for your situation. Everyone has a different situation and reacts to meds differently. So a doctor with your medical history would be best to suggest what treatment may be available. Of course there are many ways to treat pain. Obviously meds are one, but there is physical therapy, massage, relaxtion (bio-feedback), chiropractic, etc.
Sorry for the long post, but without knowing your history, I was trying to address different treatments. Go see your doc, and see if you need to get into a PM clinic working with your OB doc if you are still breastfeeding, etc.
thank you soo much,
well no i dont have any headaches- i dont breast feed either.
its not just that one spot in my back where they put the epidural, its weird, usually the whole left side of my back. its throbs it hurts soo bad, in the begining like maybe when the baby was about 4months old i wasnt getting that much pain daily, but 3x that month my back went out and was in bed for 2 days! its was horrible, but i did go to the doc and he prescribed Flexeril which did absouletly nothing, didnt even help period cramps. so the doc did see me for back pain, but i need to go back soon(my problem is, insurance is inactive) but wen i do go back, is it ok for me to request for a type medicatio? i dont know, ive never really dealt with this before, or just let the doc do what he has to do and just experiment and give me meds and see what works ???
any answer is appreciated,
thanks
Last edited by Desiree228; 04-08-2008 at 08:39 AM.
Reason: mispelled
HOney, I feel so bad for you: to have a baby and back pain it's a lot to deal with.
I am not a DR, that is why I will make only one suggestion: sooner you are going to see Spinal Ortho better will be for you. Why suffer?
You may need just simple untiflammatory meds and your pain will be in a past in a couple of days. Meanwhile you mentioned you have some swell up area: ice is the best for this.
Make sure you crush ice, use plastic bag, cover bag with thin towel and apply to swollen area. 20 minutes on - 20 minutes off and so on.
Don't wait, don't take any OTC meds (you don't know what this is) and best of luck to you!!!
There are different thoughts on requesting a medication. Some docs will view it as "drug seeking." Even though this is not case, but docs do deal with that. If you have had a good relationship with your doc, then its probably ok. With my PM doc, I have been with him for many years. He trusts me, and he is fine with me asking about a certain medication. But usually my advice would be to not "request" a certain med, but instead fully explain the symptoms, how your quality of life is affected, and use a pain scale (1-10) to describe your pain.
But most importantly it is important to get into a specialist. There can be a variety of things going on, from disk problems, spine problems, nerve problems, or something like a bad back spasm. You need to get the appropriate doc that will look into the problems by symptoms, MRI, and X-rays. Then the doc can give an appropriate diagnosis.
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