Liliana

Thank you for your reply. My history of spine involvement goes back a ways, so I’ll try to get out what are (hopefully) the most important and useful parts.

I first sought help for my lower back pain in 2003 after NSAIDs and exercises weren’t helping. It started out as a sharp pain in the middle and slightly to either side of my back, about 2″ above my buttocks. After my MRI, they said there was disc damage, but that the pain would go away if I lost weight. I was 250lbs+ (at 5’2″). So that year I got gastric bypass (for my back and for other health reasons) and lost over 100lbs. I became more mobile and was able to walk more and get around. My back got considerably worse after about a year. I started using a cane, then two canes (my PT didn’t want me to favor any one side), then forearm crutches. It helped my back a lot, pain-wise, but was very hard on the rest of my body. I have a small folding cane I keep with me for emergencies, but other than that, I cannot use anything to get around with because of my shoulders. I have since gained back about 30lbs, and I know this does not help with bone/joint issues, but I can only get around so much with this pain. I have kept the same weight for about 5 years, but I feel like if I was in less pain, I’d be able to get down to a healthier weight and help my back out even further.

Also of note, is that in 2007, my legs started swelling (mostly the right), but didn’t pit until this year. I’ve had many tests to make sure it’s not clots or the like, but there’s been no definite answers to it. I fell on my tailbone in the kitchen off a stool 2 months after the edema started and it got worse. I mention this because since the last ‘shift’ in my back and the nerve pain got worse and changed position, for the first time since this started, the edema in my legs is going down. It’s still there, but my left leg is almost normal, and my right leg has gone down considerable. I don’t know if it related, but I thought I’d mention it because you never know.

There are a few different kinds of pains that I deal with from my back. One, I’ll call the ‘regular’ pain, it’s there most of the time. It’s in the center of my lower back, just a few inches up from the gluteal cleft. It’s a ache, sometimes sharp, and the area is painful to the touch, or with light pressure. It’s about 80% back and 20% leg, as the pain sometimes refers down. I’ve had it for a while. It also runs between 4-8 on the pain scale, and seems to do a bit better with a heating pad, NSAIDs, and percocet.

The second one is called the ‘bad’ pain. It’s horrific blinding pain that seems to start at even the smallest of motions (as opposed to falling or lifting something heavy). I don’t know how to make this pain go away, but it is much worse when moving my core or trying to raise my leg (mostly right leg). It’s a severe, and deep ache, with sharp stabs too. It’s about 100% back (with rare pain down a leg if I move), and it rarely goes away. The pain is pretty consistent too, and at 8-10 on the pain scale. It isn’t helped with medications. Occassionally. that pain can be dulled down by heat, or (when I’ve had one) a TENS unit. It lasts about a week or so with extreme pain, and when it does start to subside, it can be brought back instantly with a slight wrong movement for a few weeks.

The third pain, is the ‘new’ pain. It started in the last few months, and things have changed significantly. My back has always been ‘loose’, it shifts and clicks with the slighted movement. The only exceptions with that is when my back sort of goes into ‘lock down mode’ when I’m having a lot of pain. This pain seems more independent to the others (in that pain is different and has different triggers), and is centered more around the nerve that goes from the lower right side of my back over the buttock, and slightly down my right leg. I would say 90% buttock, 10% back. It has the sharp twinge that if I bend, sit, cough, move wrong, or even tilt my head down, it feels like a cattle prod touched my backside. It’s usually worse in the morning, and a little less temperamental at the end of the day. This pain is the only one where, when it’s not hurting really bad, is almost pain free. So on a pain scale, it’d be 0-9, 9 being where it feels like electric shocks are going through me. If I do manage to ease into a sitting position, when I stand back up, the pain shoots through the right buttock area and it feels like a muscle cramp is around it.

In general though, I have some kind of back pain 24/7. At best, it’s a minor annoyance and can be controlled with pain meds, and at worse, it’s completely debilitating and I cannot perform daily functions at all, or need considerable help. I don’t think I have a limp or anything, but for years, the toe area of my right shoes always wear down first. I cannot bend backwards, even slightly, without significant pain, and when the new nerve pain hits, I cannot bend forwards or sit without pain and difficulty.

I used to be a hairdresser, but retired after multiple injuries and degenerative changes made it to painful. I became a receptionist after that, but sitting and lifting small things (carrying mail, large file folders, putting things on shelves) made things uncomfortable too. I would love nothing more than get a hold of this pain and take my life back.

I hope this info is more useful. I will be bringing this info with me to the specialist when I go too, so if there are any missing pieces, don’t hesitate to ask me about them.

Thank you again for your response.