Back Pain.....Taking my life away

I have to admit, I often thought of patients with back pain as being overdramatic, but now that I have experienced it, I wish I could take care of those people again and show more compassion. I have a pinched nerve in my neck that is causing horrible pain in my upper back and all the way down to my fingers. Even a touch of my hand elicits horrible pain. I didn't injure myself from what I remember. I lift patients at work. I guess that could have caused the pinch nerve to happen. I went to the ER the other night because the pain was so bad and the ultram given to me at a past visit to the ER, was not working. I was given a Stadol shot. It did not take the pain away. I followed up with a visit to my doctor that day. I was given 2 steroid shots and prescriptions for mobic and vicodin. I am so upset. I never take pills. I take Advil and that is it. Now, I feel like I am becoming this worthless person who relies on pain pills to get through the day. I am so frustrated. My doctor wants me to have an MRI, but my insurance does not start until February because I started a new job. I have an appointment with a chiropractor on Thursday. I have never gone to a chiropractor.

What can I do regarding health insurance? Have any of you been to a chiropractor and how was your experience? Please, any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I am so afraid I will never be without pain again.
Hello loveishope,I am so sorry for your pain. I hope you find relief very quickly. I used to have sciatica, plantar fasciitis and De Quervain's tenosynovitis. All of them, at some point, have been a hindrance at work and I have gone to the ER for my sciatic pain. Thankfully, I am past all of it after being more cognizant of posture and body mechanics, losing weight and building up my strength through resistance exercises. I am also (slowly) working on flexibility through yoga and stretching. In the beginning, I scoffed at all of these and said, "Well, duh. No !$%!, Sherlock" but never really implemented them. I guess it just seemed too... I don't know... easy, plain jane advice But they are not easy. These things take time, consistency and some temporarily worse pain which was often enough to make me stop in my tracks. But I persisted. 51 lbs later, I feel great. I sincerely wish you health and happiness. Good luck!

Here's a hug. I'm so sorry for the pain you're experiencing.I had sciatica from early 2005 until early 2007. Basically, I had low back pain that radiated to my right leg whenever I would take a few steps. The pain was difficult to bear, so I resorted to a sedentary lifestyle so I wouldn't have to walk anymore. I had somewhat of a spinal claudication, where the pain would become fierce after walking for a couple of minutes and would stop after sitting down.I went to a chiropractor who did old-fashioned manipulations on me for two months. Within weeks after the last treatment, my back and leg pain was miraculously gone. I was now able to walk long distances without pain. Therefore, my experience with chiropractic care to treat back pain was relatively successful.

so sorry you have this issue. Hope you find the care you need.

Quote from loveishopeI have to admit, I often thought of patients with back pain as being overdramatic, but now that I have experienced it, I wish I could take care of those people again and show more compassion. I have a pinched nerve in my neck that is causing horrible pain in my upper back and all the way down to my fingers. Even a touch of my hand elicits horrible pain. I didn't injure myself from what I remember. I lift patients at work. I guess that could have caused the pinch nerve to happen. I went to the ER the other night because the pain was so bad and the ultram given to me at a past visit to the ER, was not working. I was given a Stadol shot. It did not take the pain away. I followed up with a visit to my doctor that day. I was given 2 steroid shots and prescriptions for mobic and vicodin. I am so upset. I never take pills. I take Advil and that is it. Now, I feel like I am becoming this worthless person who relies on pain pills to get through the day. I am so frustrated. My doctor wants me to have an MRI, but my insurance does not start until February because I started a new job. I have an appointment with a chiropractor on Thursday. I have never gone to a chiropractor.What can I do regarding health insurance? Have any of you been to a chiropractor and how was your experience? Please, any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. I am so afraid I will never be without pain again.

I just started seeing a chiropractor this week for neck/back pain that has persisted despite pain pills, muscle relaxers, and heat/ice therapy. Hopefully chiropractic will work for me! As far as insurance goes, my insurance does not cover 1 cent of chiropractic, so the first visit was very expensive (Xrays, scans, etc), but the maintenance visits are something I can afford, if I believe that it will work for me. I have been to a chiropractor before a few years ago in highschool/college (before I was an RN(, and I remember it helping a great deal. I hope it works for you!

Not sure if you have one in your city, but do know of any public clinics for the low income patient, especially the ones who do not have insurance? I know you are working, but it might be a temporary bridge until your policy kicks in. I have upper and lower back pain, probably caused from the combination of scoliosis and numerous back strains. I feel for you so much, and pray you find relief

I just wanted to say I hope you're feeling better soon. I have suffered from pinched nerves on and off for 7 years now. PLEASE PLEASE be careful with the chiropracter! The one I went to years ago made things much much worse. Physical therapy didn't do anything positive in my situation but what did work wonders for me was massage therapy. It took a few tries to find a good therapist but I finally found an excellent massage therapist who specializes in neuromuscular therapy. I can not say enough good things about it. Good luck and hope your feeling better soon.

My chiropractor charges $25 per visit if you pay cash. That's less than what my copay is. He is amazing and really works wonders for me! I've never injured myself but go routinely just for good measure. Good luck...hope you feel better very soon!

you have my sympathy. i had a serious back injury a few years ago, and occaisionally have flare-ups even now. i'd advise you to bite the bullet and get the mri. i personally have never been to a chiropractor. my former b-i-l was one, and after knowing him, i'd never trust a chiropractor again. but that's neither here nor there. i'd want to know what the mri showed so that i'd know what was what -- and not risk aggravating it and getting a permanent injury. especially in the neck.

so sorry for what you are going thru.i have been there .i have severe cervical stenosis with arm pain and numbness.but i won't have surgery.i take motrin and flexeril.i also have disc disease in my thoracic and lumbar regions i have had back pain sciatica numbness in my legs.but i live with it .now i have joint pain in my knees and the leg pain .i have plantar fascititis also .i have had steroid injections.i have gone to chiropractic and for me was great .really helped but my insurance only covers 6 visits.i can't afford it.i just started cymbalta for the chronic and new pain .i don't want to take narcotics.hopefully it will help.i may need new mri but we will see.takecare of yourself.

been there, done that (lumbar l4-5-s1 laminectomy) and said the same thing: i will never make fun of anyone with spine-origin pain again. it's miserable, squared.i have seen many, many people with these symptoms and diagnosis during my years of work comp case management. do not do chiropractic, because the good ones who will recognize what they can't treat and refer you to a real physician are so few and far between-- i only know two after twenty years here, and one of them is retiring. you do not want to screw with cervical neuropathy.if you do have bone spurs, as someone noted, no therapy will resolve them. narcotics are not the drugs of choice for neuropathic pain, which is what you describe-- there isn't really an arm injury, it's static on the wires telling your brain that there is arm pain; the origin is in the cervical nerve root(s). the problem with waiting for definitive treatment is that the longer the nerve root is p***ed off by compression from whatever cause, the longer it takes to recover once the pressure is removed. wait too long and it may not fully recover. pay for the fool mri if that's what it takes to find out definitively-- you're gonna have to live c this neck for a long time, might as well take good care of it.nerves can also be p***ed off by chemical stimuli, as in, if you have a muscle tear or disk injury with release of inflammatory substances nearby. these can be calmed down with local steroid injections, which i have seen give really dramatic relief. they use a little 'caine with them, so the pain goes away instantly for a few hours, which is both therapeutic and diagnostic. the 'caine wears off, of course, and the next two or three days are hard while the steroid bolus in there starts to work, but if it does, you're golden, maybe needing repeats 2-3x/year or less. in my experience the best docs to see initially are the physiatrists with a close working relationship with a good ortho spine group, because they will not do surgery unless it's really necessary, they are experts in rehab and will see you postop if you do need surgery, they get you up and moving much faster than neurosurgeons so they have better outcomes, and they have better resources for pain management prn that i won't go into here. if you were in boston, i would know just who to send you to :d but i have resources elsewhere-- you can pm me and we can chat.

I know EXACTLY what you mean. I never get back pain or neck pain (get aches when on computer too much sometimes), but I pulled my shoulder muscle not long ago & it has been tight for a while now. The pain is horrible.I went to a fantastic chiro here years ago who specialised in injuries, it really helped me.Try a wheat bag at night on your neck, heats up in microwave for 2 minutes, it works good too.Try also yoga, stretches. Yes it is going to hurt and will flare up. But the muscles around the injury will be very tight, so you need to do something to loosen them. I also found a higher, firmer pillow helped. Don't sit in front of computers hunched over too much either. Look at how you move, you may need to move differently, take stuff down from high shelves, etc.A friend told me not long ago get a tennis ball & put that behind ur neck against a wall & roll it up & down, she said that worked for her. I also see a good physio (when I have the money), they do deep tissue massage & that always takes my pain away.Feel sorry for you but please don't think this is going to take over your life. I've had friends with bulging discs, sciatica, a & they decided not to let it ruin their life. One took up weights, some lost weight, some tried acupuncture, which helped. You might have to try a few diff things to see what works for you.And it's a myth that you need an MRI before you go seek treatment. I'd see a PT first and go from there, I reckon, & get some gentle treatment. Then I'd get the MRI done when u can afford it.Try to do stuff that relaxes you and calms you, and don't give up.Let us know how u get on.