Hi Cheryl,
Couple of days back I was diagnosed with MS. Strange I am from India and its a very rare disease here, like 7 in 100,000.
Anyway, so I had crazy neck pain which just wont go away. Then began left hand stiffness, so on and so forth. Went to the Neuro, after 5 days of hospitalization and a million tests and couple of MRIs, he concluded I have MS. No Spinal Tap as yet, thankfully.
My Neuro surprisingly said that medical science has no cure for this but you can get a lot of relief and control over the disease spiritually. First I didn't get it. He asked me to join "art of living" programs which I immediately did.
Surprisingly, its sort of magic. They mainly let you focus on your breathing and trust me, all the annoying symptoms like neck pain, lethargy and other saddening stuff is gone now. Its called pranayam. Do google Sudarshan Kriya.( PS . I am not preaching anyone )
Again, My left hand stiffness is as it was in the beginning but I am off the neck pain without any medicine.
Currently I am on 1 avonex shot a week and couple of Vitamins and Muscle Relaxants ( which I forget taking most of the time).
All I wanted to say was you can manage most of the symptoms without medicines.
Take Care..
Hi Cheryl
You poor thing, don't envy you this. Whether MS or another cause, treating the pain is the main immediate thing for you. I have dodgy discs and get lots of pinched nerve pain from them - not constant but when they have a dodgy patch it's no fun.
I had a lumbar discectomy L5/S1 Dec 2014 and had been in awful pain about 4 months by then - normal pain relief bar morphine which just knocked me out didn't do much. I had Naproxen strong dose that helped a tiny bit but the one that worked was Amitrytiline which I still take 75mg a day.
As its a nerve pain killer at that dose (lower wasn't enough) it did give me some relief til my op (burst disc).
You'll prob need a scan which isn't fun lying still with back pain. If they can see what's going on it'll help them with diagnosis/treatment though.
If it's MS or nerve back pain, it's both nerve pain I guess so treatment could be similar. My drug regime after the op was what stopped me having pain with Optic Neuritis the following Jan/Feb - foxed them for a bit as no pain or swelling (I was loaded up on pain killers and anti inflammatory meds!). Led to my MS diagnosis in the end though as MRI was Christmas Light show time on my optic nerve and brain!
If all else fails I'm with you on a large G&T! Kill or cure eh!!
Hope you find something to help xx
Nx
I am so sorry about your pain and can relate so much.
That is the first symptom I had for a long time before other symptoms lead to a diagnosis.
It started on my right side/middle under my shoulder blade. I had bone density scans, x-ray, physio and was sent on my way with all muscular.
Later when I was being diagnosed a mri confirmed lesions in my spine and brain.
Long story short, I am now on gabapentin and narcotics. It took me years to get to where I am now, which is comfortable (most of the time).
Good luck and I feel for you!
All the best,
Barb
Thanks, ess. I took a long, hot shower & while my typical MS Sx were raging, my back settled down - until about 10 minutes after I got out :(
I showed 3 cervical lesions last October, but did not have my thoracic imaged at that time. In 2014 there were very slight signals that something may be starting around T2, but we brushed it off at that time.
I'm having all 3 regions imaged in August & won't be a bit surprised if my T-spine shows some damage. I feel like Plegridy makes my MS angry - when I take it, the pain in my spine is incredible & it starts below my shoulder blades then works its way up to my neck, jaw, head. It's just an assumption on my part, but I will be interested to learn later this summer if the scans confirm it.
In the meantime, it's miserable not being able to get comfortable standing, sitting or lying down. :/ I appreciate the suggestions.
Hi Cheryl. I'm sorry about your back pain. This could be from a lot of factors, including MS. What do your most recent spinal MRIs say about lesions?
The fact that Aleve helps at least somewhat is good, and suggests this may not be nerve pain. Maybe you need a stronger NSAID.
But the fact that gab. didn't work is not conclusive. It very often takes successive heavy doses of this to make a difference. Keep in mind that the max daily dose of this is 3600 mg.
I suggest that if you cannot find relief before close of business Friday that you contact your neuro on an emergency basis. You don't want to suffer through a weekend if that can be avoided.