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    I need help..back pain

    So I will start by saying I am full flare..just got off a three day round of riods. I have been diagnosed for 13 years and this summer I have developed extreme back pain (happens ever summer but not this bad). MY neuro put me on gabapetin which apparently is not working yet. Anyone have experiences with the drug or pain? How long did it take the Gabapetin to kick in? The pain is low back though it feels like mid back..feels like a extreme preasure and my back is very tight with limited movement.
    First symptom 2000, dxed 2004

    Rebif 04-06, Denial 06-07, Rebif 07--9, Copaxone 09-13, Tecfidera 13-?

    #2
    So sorry to hear you are having such pain issues. I'm on Gabapentin for neuropathic pain. It can take a few days to kick in and it also depends on what dosage your body needs for it to work. At worst I take 2700 mg per day and at best 600 mg.

    I normally keep upping the dosage until I get relief and cease to feel completely miserable. Once I'm comfortable I see whether I can decrease it at all, reducing by one 300 mg capsule per week until I just get breakthrough pain, then add back the last tablet I reduced.

    Hope you get some relief soon.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Don2480 View Post
      So I will start by saying I am full flare..just got off a three day round of riods. I have been diagnosed for 13 years and this summer I have developed extreme back pain (happens ever summer but not this bad). MY neuro put me on gabapetin which apparently is not working yet. Anyone have experiences with the drug or pain? How long did it take the Gabapetin to kick in? The pain is low back though it feels like mid back..feels like a extreme preasure and my back is very tight with limited movement.
      I have been on gabapentin now going on 2 years. It is one that they slowly up the dose on you. So what dosage you started out on, is probably not an ideal dosage for pain. I noticed that the gabapentin did not help with spasms. It is pretty much just for nerve pain. Once I was put on baclofen that helped with my spasms and helped with some of the pain. Summer being here and I am in constant spasms and constant pain. I notice if things start going haywire my upper middle back starts hurting. Now days I can set my clock by it that I will have a new symptom a few days later. Oh well, life moves on maybe just a little slower, ha.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Poppy7402 View Post
        So sorry to hear you are having such pain issues. I'm on Gabapentin for neuropathic pain. It can take a few days to kick in and it also depends on what dosage your body needs for it to work. At worst I take 2700 mg per day and at best 600 mg.

        I normally keep upping the dosage until I get relief and cease to feel completely miserable. Once I'm comfortable I see whether I can decrease it at all, reducing by one 300 mg capsule per week until I just get breakthrough pain, then add back the last tablet I reduced.

        Hope you get some relief soon.
        Thank you both for responses..I was not ramped and was put on 900 mg a day out the gate...for some strange reason I used to get spasms and twitches all the time...has not happened in years. Now it just feels like my muscle is in tug of war mode pain without the spasm..
        First symptom 2000, dxed 2004

        Rebif 04-06, Denial 06-07, Rebif 07--9, Copaxone 09-13, Tecfidera 13-?

        Comment


          #5
          Hi Don2480,

          I have never use Gabapentin but I would have thought a muscle relaxant would have been a better choice. I don't know how well Gabapentin works as a muscle relaxant, maybe someone else knows.

          Now it just feels like my muscle is in tug of war mode pain without the spasm
          This would still fall into the category of spasticity (spasms, tightness) and can affect range of motion (ROM). If you have never tried Physical Therapy(PT) this might be worth a try. A PT can help with ROM and they can also do Massage Therapy which may also be helpful.
          Diagnosed 1984
          “Lightworkers aren’t here to avoid the darkness…they are here to transform the darkness through the illuminating power of love.” Muses from a mystic

          Comment


            #6
            I take Baclofen-20mg 3x/day-for spasticity and muscle squeezing in my legs and cramping in my feet.
            I take Gabapentin-600mg 3x/day-for nerve pain in my legs and feet.
            I started the Gaba at 600mg/day and gradually increased it until I felt some relief, but that took
            a couple of months. Sounds like you need relief now, and that's the crappy
            thing about this disease; we can never get the relief we need soon enough
            Have you tried or are you taking Baclofen?

            I wish you well!!
            Dx 11/09
            Aubagio since 09/15

            Comment


              #7
              Hi Don,

              Sorry you are in a flare, and that you are in such pain. Back pain has been a part of my MS journey since right before my diagnosis, so can relate. I've been taking Gabapentin for 15 years, and at a much higher dose than yours. Unfortunately, Gabapentin needs to build up in your system and can take up to a week or two (sometimes longer) to work. You also might need to slowly increase the dose, so like Carolyn said, your starting dose of 900 mg/ day may not be enough.

              Originally posted by Don2480 View Post
              my back is very tight with limited movement.
              I've been told by a few docs Gabapentin can have an effect on spasticity (muscles contract, but won't release), but that's not been my experience. Baclofen has been more effective.

              You might find some relief with heat or ice, too. Out of desperation, I figured out the latter is what helps me. Agree with SNOOPY about PT. Once they evaluate you, they can offer some possible solutions. TENS might be one of them. http://www.webmd.com/pain-management...topic-overview

              Here are a few additional links for you:

              http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Sym...-Symptoms/Pain

              http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Sym...oms/Spasticity

              Wish I could offer faster solutions. Still trying to get my back pain under better control, 15 years later.

              Good luck.
              Kimba

              “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ― Max Planck

              Comment


                #8
                Thank you all for advice and support. I am sure many of you can relate. This was the first flare that scared me. I have had many flares over the years that have been an inconvenience in hindsight..this one was differnt.
                I stopped and was completely obsorbed in the condition..
                My back pain and flare is still going on but has appeared to have lessened..another strange occurrence is that it feels like the back pain is now slightly higher in my back.
                I don't know how or why as it has always been in the same spot...I am hopeful..
                First symptom 2000, dxed 2004

                Rebif 04-06, Denial 06-07, Rebif 07--9, Copaxone 09-13, Tecfidera 13-?

                Comment


                  #9
                  I understand

                  I was diagnosed June 2015 and these are symptoms I have on a regular basis. They are considered an MS Hug, Which who would want a hug like this is beyond me, lol. Gabapentin, I have been on with the dose increasing steadily for me over the last 6 months and just now I am starting to see a difference BUT not with the tightness in my back but I am with the nerve issues and neuropathy. Have they tried muscle relaxers? I have had some mild success with that.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Back pain

                    I too have back pain on one side, my right. I only have half a hug, just on the right, but it is constant and depends on my activity level. I tried Gabapentin but was switched to Lyrica, don't think either has helped much with the pain but I am sure if I stopped I would find it does! I take a tizanadine at bedtime, found Baclofen made me too groggy. I take Xanax for the spasticity, three times a day. Also when the pain gets very bad, I take Tramadol. I see a pain specialist, my third one!. He has tried trigger point injections, did not help. Last try was an epidural which seemed to help for a while, but now back to square one. I also get painful ribs on both sides, have not found anything that helps these. I have a part time job and would like to keep working, but my work triggers the pain sometimes a lot. Luckily it is flexible and I only work when I feel like it

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Don2480 View Post
                      So I will start by saying I am full flare..just got off a three day round of riods. I have been diagnosed for 13 years and this summer I have developed extreme back pain (happens ever summer but not this bad). MY neuro put me on gabapetin which apparently is not working yet. Anyone have experiences with the drug or pain? How long did it take the Gabapetin to kick in? The pain is low back though it feels like mid back..feels like a extreme preasure and my back is very tight with limited movement.
                      Sorry to hear about your back pain. Have they done any imaging studies, i.e. x-rays, MRI, etc.

                      I've had MS for 20 years. Lots of spasticity, and pain that went along with it, so much so that over 5 years ago, I had a baclofen pump implanted.

                      Through all this, I've had occasional back pain, but nothing significant...that is until this past year. I started to experience middle to lower back pain and spasms. We experimented with the pump to see if I was having increased spasticity, or weakness from too much weakening from the baclofen.

                      Nothing worked. I could only be on my feet for 10-15 minutes and my back was awful. Tried physical therapy next, no real improvement. It seemed like I had exhausted my options, and my physiatrist who oversees the pump decided to send me for x-rays to check for scoliosis. Turns
                      out I had a large curvature, which would normally call for surgery (if I was younger, or didn't already have issues with pump catheter in my spine.) This was determined to be MS related due
                      to weak muscles on one side of my body allowing the stronger muscles on the other side to distort
                      the spine's position and cause the curvature. I guess there were subtle signs over the years, I knew I leaned to one side, but it was always assumed that was due to balance issues, but evidently the pain didn't start until the scoliosis was advanced..

                      I was fitted for a scoliosis brace, which I wear about 6-8 hours a day, and it did the trick. The intense pain was relieved just by wearing the brace.

                      So not saying you have scoliosis, but maybe another back related issues, caused by your MS, maybe not. It just seems like you should have diagnostic imaging to figure out the source of the pain. .

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