Forums » Smalltalk » Dealing with chronic pain

-Some back Story-

I began experiencing pain in my lower back on the right side when I was in middle school, back then I can't really remember why I never told anyone I was having trouble other than that it must have just not been bad enough for me to think it was a problem. Then once I was in high school the pain began to get worse and worse until I wasn't able to even sit through class without feeling like I was going to cry. I was taken to the doctor to get a x-ray that just concluded that I had a mild case of Scoliosis, but my doctor was confused to why it would cause so much pain if it wasn't even bad enough to be considered true Scoliosis.

So I went through high school trying a medley of things from muscle relaxers to anti-inflammatory and physical therapy. I had to stop with medications because I was so small that my body couldn't handle them (still can't) and they were making me sick or unable to go to school. Physical therapy would lighten my symptoms and make them better for a time but it would always just come back.

The pain has always been a thing that comes and goes randomly. I can be fine for months at a time and then all the sudden I'm unable to walk for a week. It became kind of embarrassing because no one could tell us what it was and I felt like I was maybe just being dramatic/imagining things. Flash forward to beauty school and working in the adult world it got to a point that I wasn't able to live a normal life and I was getting devastated with the thought that something was seriously wrong with my body. Again I just kind of put up with it for a couple more years until I found that going to a Chiropractor almost INSTANTLY got rid of the pain and made me feel 100 percent better. I was able to work, go to Disney World, and all kinds of things without any pain what so ever up until recently.

This passed week has been hell, I ended up in the emergency room yesterday because the pain had gotten so bad that I was passing out at work and dry heaving. I was acting so out of the normal that my managers thought that I was abusing drugs, it was terrible and mortifying and so embarrassing that I don't want to return to my job come Monday. So on top of a anxiety attack from thinking my co workers think I'm losing my mind, I was in so much pain that I couldn't think straight. After getting to the hospital with the help of my mother, I was given at CAT scan, urine test, and blood test to only once again reveal that I had nothing seriously wrong with me!

Finally the doctor was able to come to the conclusion that I have a muscular/skeletal pain disorder in the right 'flank' portion of my back. It's nothing I can cure or fix ever and I just have to get used to taking medicines that work for me and seeing a Chiropractor regularity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm BEYOND happy that nothing was seriously wrong with me. But I was just wondering if anyone has experience with things like this? I'm worried that this may effect me having a job where I can be on my feet and I'm terrified that this may cause complications when I have children in the near future. If anyone could give me some advice of their experiences with things of this nature I'd be so grateful! No one other than my mother (who has fibromyalgia) understands where I'm coming from when I'm having a bad spell.

I'm so, so sorry you have to deal with this. It's incredibly shitty and tiring, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I also experience chronic back-related pain with no serious cause, and have people say I'm overreacting, so I completely get where you're coming from.

I have a similar experience to you with the mild scoliosis, but most of my pain is referred. Almost every day I wake up with neck and shoulder pain that's bearable but draining, and I get tension migraines pretty much once a week. I can't go to work/class when they happen and just have to lie in bed for the day, usually. People say it's just a headache but I can barely even stand up or keep myself from throwing up. Occasionally I'll get a "spasm attack" - the muscles will lock around my spine, and I become partially paralysed for a few days, not even being able to move my neck. It hurts so badly I'm brought to tears. Like you I've tried painkillers and relaxants but instead of getting sick they just have no effect on me at all. I'm just told I'll have to deal with it.

I've found that the only thing you can do is use heat packs. Small heated beanbags are good because they can change shape to fit around wherever you're hurting. If you can't find them in your area, I have a simple pattern for them that I'll send over if you like. You can just stuff it with rice or something and heat it up in the microwave. My mum also has crippling lower back pain and she said there's a position you can lie in that eases pain - heat pack below where it hurts, legs up at a 90 degree angle with the calves and feet resting on a chair. And I know this sounds like hippie dippie nonsense, but both a doctor and fitness instructor have told me that back/core strengthening exercises and yoga can help with pain. Stronger muscles give your spine better support and prevents the curve progressing (though I'm not sure if this would help with your flank), plus there's less chance of the muscles seizing up and making the pain worse, I think.

Really hope some of this helps you! ;v;b

Man, what is it with lower backs? Sorry about the pain. I find that cold packs work best for serious flare-ups/muscle inflammation. This is going to sound weird, but bags of frozen vegetables make great substitutes. Heat packs work too, especially for muscle stiffness, and like Cydork said they're simple to make (literally just tie rice into an old sock and voila) and can be shaped around the painful area. Do even over the counter anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen make you sick? If not, a couple can sometimes take the edge off. Or one of those hot/cold creams. Posture is really important, too, but idk what advice to give to people with scoliosis in that department.

Sorry I can't be of more help. My experience is mostly in leg pain.

Cydork: I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from! And I don't think any of that is nonsense lol, I've been told many times to try yoga but I'm so impatient that I never really actually sat down to try it without getting bored. I do have core strengthening exercises that DO help when I stay on them regularly....but again...I get bored so I put them off like an idiot :x I have a heating pad that I use and it's like magic, I need to look into some heat packs that I can use while I'm working. I saw some kind of 'heat wrap' thing at my CVS that I'll have to give a try!

Yersinia: Right? Lower back pain is the worst, I'd rather anything else hurt than that. I've tried something that was a cold spray? You spray it on the pain and it's like a cold pack but you don't have to put anything on and it's slightly medicated. Heat helps me more than cold does, but I also really hate being cold so it could just be in my mind! I'll have to try that heat pack thing, it sounds a lot cheaper than having to buy them regularly. My posture is awful, I've been working on it though because I know it's definitely not helping my cause.

No worries though! Both of you are appreciated and it was very helpful

I've had a more or less chronic(not diagnosed, but still very much there) pain in my back and neck, which ultimately can turn into a rather nasty headache. Ever since I was a kid, I've had a headache. It was mostly caused by tension in my neck and shoulders, which was relieved by I chiropractor. The doctors recommended swimming as well, but my skin does not take well to the chlorine in the water, so I had to give this up and my insurance also stopped paying for the chiropractor.

After a few years, a dentist found that I had been mistreated by the dentist who did my braces as a kid, which had caused my jaw and overall bite a little crooked. They straightened my teeth with braces and then I went to have a double jaw surgery. It took most of the pain, so now I don't have that many days where I can't really see and light bothers my eyes. But the pain in my shoulders and back are still there, and because of my skin condition, I have to be really careful with what I do to avoid provoking it. I take oriental dance lesson - we focus a lot on shoulders and upper back - and then I take aerial hoop for the overall corset. It actually really helps!

I don't know if exercising helps your condition, but I do know that many people who suffer from back pains may benefit from training the muscles. I know I did.