Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CLKD]

ellie - could you use the drug on alternate days i.e. your regular dose plus higher ........

[ellie]

I have tried very hard to make pregabalin work CKLD,  I can only manage to get up to half the recommended dose, and missing a dose just brings on the nerve pain very quickly.....But for some people it is like a miricle drug.....Just not me.

[CLKD]

It's a real shame 

[ellie]

It is, but that's life 

[CLKD]

But .............. 

[Annie0710]

What I have noticed since starting amitriptyline is that I wake now with a painful back whereas I didn't used to, its movement that has always triggered my nerve pain, not rest.   The pain actually woke me last night trying to shift positions.  I'm desperate for this to work as I really am scared to go down the injection route x

[ellie]

Annie, you probably wake with back pain now, because the amatrip is  is making you sleep better, and this unfortunately will make your back stiffer.....
What is making you really scared of injections for your back?

[Annie0710]

Ellie I'm scared for a few reasons


1) I've had no MRI so this facet joint dysfunction diagnosis is purely on examination only, I've had 4 episodes of diagnosed herniated disc in lower back but the MSK dr ignored that saying it's the joint, yet I know it's nerve pain I'm feeling

2) I've been quite unlucky in medical procedures in the past

3) the pain of it !

[ellie]

Annie, I totally agree that you should have an MRI scan, a proper diagnosis most definitely cannot be made without one.....
As for procedures going wrong,  over the years I have had too many steroid / epidurals  to count and never had a problem........Operations are a different matter    ( with me )
As for being painful.....yes they are uncomfortable, but over very quickly, and I promise you, your are worrying unduly......
   Guess where I have been this morning?    I have had a steroid injection in my knee......it's was an OUCH! moment. Gave the doctor a pat on the back he was so nice. 

[ellie]

Sorry Annie, I forgot to ask what you had done that went wrong?

[countrybumpkin]

Saw gp this morning and she said I need an mri scan. I don't have any true numbness its more intense pins and needles and feeling as if there should be numbness in my foot but all my reflexes etc are fine.  I knew the wait on nhs for scan is around 4 weeks with 2-4 weeks wait for results. I found that Alliance Medical who run alot of nhs scanners will do same scan for various prices depending on how lon you wait but can be as cheap as £199 so my gp was happy to refer me to them and I should get my scan within 10 days although i do have to travel quite a long distance to the nearest scan centre ( in a nhs hospital!). The results are back wihin a week as well.  I had got a very small inheritance recently so am using this to pay for the scan so don't feel as guilty for spending "our" money.
As for pain relief, gp said all opiod drugs are a no no and its probably due to my having bad asthma as a child and these drugs are triggering the breathlessness but its too iffy to keep trying.  She agreed I lack a liver enzyme which is why tramadol has no effect. So its the nerve drugs like gabapentin.  I am going to try them yet again and try to get up to the 900mg min dose for pain relief but do it over a week slowly. She also told me to take paracetamol regularly rather than just when I am crawling the walls with pain.  I had grand total of two half hours sleep last night before waking up and the pain stoppin me going back to sleep
GP also made me laugh by telling me to stick my finger up my bum and clench daily and if my bum does not clench at all them thats medical emergency and I need to go to hospital

[Annie0710]

Oh i hope things get sorted for you countrybumpkin


Well I'll think twice before opening my mouth as during the night/waking and today has been my worst day pain-wise since starting amitriptyline.  I have a physio assessment next Wednesday

Ellie: to name a few blunders....
amniocentesis- gynae took blood from placenta instead of amniotic fluid from sac. 
Foot op - staple went through toe and side of foot nerves
Laporoscopy- theatre staff left swab inside me
Straightforward delivery but non delivery of placenta- they pulled so much cord broke and I haemorrhaged ending up in theatre and suffered complete prolapse
Hysterectomy- nerve damage and 2 clots were not seen plus ovaries blood supply was severed resulting in ovarian failure at 32

So although some things were 'just one of those things' some were definitely unprofessional and I do worry about anything being done with a risk factor.  It seems if it can happen it will, to me!

I'm sure there's more but they're off the top of my head x

[ellie]

CB I hope the gabapentin works for you and you get some relief.
As for sticking your finger where the sun don't shine 🌞 , your GP will be checking for Claudia Equina,  and tingling in the legs and feet will be just one of the symptoms that will be making her cautious. ( Good doctor) .....After my last back surgery I woke up with partial cauda equina  in my saddle area, and still have it.......So please if you get any numbness around there, do something about it quickly.
   As for using some inheritance money, don't feel one tiny bit guilty.....it's yours.

[ellie]

Annie OMG!!  ........won't list mine, but last back surgery I was given a 5% chance that I could be left in more pain and with some paralysis.  ..........we just don't think it can happen again do we 

[Annie0710]

I know Drs are human and so can make mistakes but it worries me

With the amnio (I'd had one before with previous pregnancy that was fine) but this new gynae scanned me then turned scanner off to do the amnio, realised what he'd done and quickly started over with a clean needle.  I asked if I should rest when I got home and he said no need to (last amino instructions were bedrest 24hrs following) within hours I was getting tightenings so saw my gp, she said it's internal bleeding and have complete bedrest otherwise I'll miscarry.  I was so angry at that consultant for his blasé attitude to what was precious to me, why I let him do the laporoscopy and hysterectomy I'll never know x