My back is giving me such issues this past week. I am not sure what to do. Nothing that I do is helping it. I have tried heating pads and pain meds. It just hurts all the time. The pain is located in my lower back and between my shoulders. I can not sleep cause how ever I lay causes it to hurt worse. I have an appointment with the RA on friday and I am hoping she can do something about it. I just don't feel like I am getting any better. If anything I feel like I am just getting worse. I still have all the normal pain and now my back. Plus I am tired all the time. My hormones are all over the place and half the time I am so close to tears that I am surprised I am not constantly crying. I just seem to be having a hard time right now. The back pain is new and I am having a hard time dealing with it. I am supposed to go home for a few days this weekend and just the thought of being in a car for five hours is awful to me. I know everyone back there wants to see me and the kids but I really wish I did not need to go. Well I guess what I really want is for some one to give me an idea on how to handle the back pain.
I am so sorry you are dealing with this too. I have had back pain for many years, but the PsA has made the pain level unbearable at times. I actually had to have an MRI yesterday on my back to see exactly what is going on as I could barely walk and was in tears most of the day Monday. When I called my pain specialist, they got me in for an MRI the very next morning. Just waiting on the results. (I had a very major fusion due to a congential defect when I was only 34 years old. Now as I've aged and the fusion is 18 years old, I am wearing out the vertabraes above and below the fusion.) I really do not want more surgery, so I've been seeing a pain specialist for the past five years to get injections and medication to make it more bearable. Do you have a pain specialist? Has your RA recommended one? I am just newly diagnosed with PsA, but now I know what the OTHER pain is from (not just back pain) and why the back pain has moved to my upper back, ribs, neck, etc. That is PsA pain! GEEZ...I can't keep up! It's so hard to keep it under control when you can't sleep well at night and are constantly awaken by the pain. Then you are sleep deprived to top things off.
So, I would call and see if you could get something to help the pain (meds). Maybe even a steriod? I would continue to alternate between heat and cold to see which is most effective. Can you take a hot bath or shower? I am fortunate to have a hot tub which helps lessen my pain tremendously. My pain has begun shooting down my back and into my legs, walking is so hard now. And, it has gone where the rib cage connects to the spine and shoots into the rib cage too. The long car ride will not be easy, but if you can use those stick on heating pads (Therma-Care) they do help too. That's what I use when I'm away from my heating pad at home, which I am a very close companion with. :-)
I am sorry if I complained, but I do feel like I have experience in this area. I hope any of my suggestions helped a little. Good luck sweetie!
Hugs, Lainee B.
Don't worry about complaining. I feel like I am always complaining and always apologizing for complaining. I feel like a constant burden on my family and on my co workers. I can no longer wait tables so they are going to make me a hostess but even that job is a strain because I am still constantly on my feet and walking. I just want to feel like I did even five years ago. I do not deal well with pain and this new pain in my back is driving me crazy. I have no experience with back pain and I am just not sure how to deal with it so I appreciate the advice from some one who knows what is going on. I am asking about pain meds tomorrow and I got some of those therma-care for the car ride. So thanks for your advice. Hope you have a happy and safe New Years holiday
Back pain is a very hard thing to handle, I have been experiencing back pain caused by PsA since June, I was diagnosed in October I am in pain everywhere now and I understand the feeling of not getting any better, I have been taking Methotrexate for almost 3 months and I have seen very little results, I am supposed to start Humira on January 9th and I am praying that helps, because like you I feel like a constant burden and like all I do is complain and cry!
The pain in my back is horribe mine is mainly lower back also but my neck area hurts too, I find that hot showers or baths help, I had some help with a topical cream like icy hot for example...and heating pads work great for me, I fall asleep with mine and wake up a few hours before i need to a turn it back on to help boost me out of bed.
I dont handle pain well either but with PsA I guess I have become almost numb to it I think, I am getting new pain all over now as if walking with swollen painful knees wasnt hard enough, the soles of my feet so tender and sore I can barely put any weight on them.
Good luck with your trip! and I hope you find a way to help with the pain, Aleve works best for me.
I am so glad this question was asked. I too have started with the back pain between my shoulder blades and into the rib cage over the last several weeks. I could not figure out why this started, thinking I must have done something wrong. Now I know it is the PsA on the move again. I have dealt with the lower back for several years, but this is more painful than that has ever been. Tramadol as soon as I get home from work and icy hot really do help. However, I think I will try the heat pad in the bed idea. I have found that sleeping on my sofa with on my side with my back against the back of the sofa feels pretty good too.
Hope you have a safe trip and Happy New Year too.
Well I made the trip and saw the dr today. I am now on prednisone and sulfasalazin along with the others. Also I will start humira next month. The trip went alright. I stopped every hour to walk around and used the heat pads on my back. Hope every one has a safe and happy new years
Glad you made the trip...hope you had a good visit. Sure hope the meds help you. I am going to get some of those heat pads too.
autumnmat said:
Well I made the trip and saw the dr today. I am now on prednisone and sulfasalazin along with the others. Also I will start humira next month. The trip went alright. I stopped every hour to walk around and used the heat pads on my back. Hope every one has a safe and happy new years