My dodgy back & MRI referral

[Angelo C]

Hi,

This is my first post as I'm new to the forum, so HI!

My back problems first started 15 years ago when I was 18 with what was diagnosed by my doctor as “Sciatica”. Basically I was getting a shooting pain down my right leg, aggravated by driving / sitting for long period of time. A course of anti-inflammatories and private physio treatment involving ultrasound (I think), massage and the “Mackenzie” (sp) stretches seemed to do the trick.

I’m now 33 and in my 3rd month of the most painful / frustrating / debilitating / depressing period of back-related problems I’ve ever had. I over did it digging the garden a few months ago, felt the usual “twinge” that is normally my back’s indicator to take it easy, started doing the “Mackenzie” stretches again and thought nothing more of it.

Gradually over a couple of days I started getting the same shooting pain as before, this time in my left leg. I decided, possibly stupidly, to go to a Chiropractor that a friend recommended rather than to my GP. The Chiropractor diagnosed it as a disc problem, carried out some manipulation/stretching and it did seem to improve. Unfortunately over the course of the next 8 weeks my symptoms progressively worsened, starting with more localised muscle spasms/pain at the base of my buttock/hip and pinching at my ankle. The pain varied tremendously in frequency/severity. The symptoms didn’t seem to follow a pattern other than sitting down always brought pain either whilst sitting or directly afterwards. Symptoms were:

Muscle spasm at hip
Pinching pain at ankle
Constant sharp pain at hip/ankle when walking (only sometimes - sometimes walking helps)

The muscle spasms worsened as time went on, the worst of them coming a 4-6 steps after getting up from a sitting position and quite literally took my breath away with the pain.

At this point I decided to visit my GP, who took very little time to examine me, gave me anti-inflamatories, and told me to come back in a month for physio if it was “still sore”. This left me feeling like I was wasting his time and that I was making a big deal out of it so I decided to continue the Chiropractor visits.

Unfortunately the symptoms rapidly worsened to the point I could barely walk sometimes and I just could not sit down at all for any length of time.

Back to the GP (different one this time), who took 20 mins to examine me, prescribed coproxamol and ibuprofen and referred me to Physio.

I’ve had two physio sessions now and my symptoms are frustratingly enough coming and going as they were before. The Physio has suggested I try various stretching techniques:

1. Mackenzie technique (like a press-up but with lower body on the floor)
2. On all fours bending tummy towards the floor

3. On all fours bending back towards the ceiling
4. Lie on back and bring knees up to chest

 

[Faina]

Hi Craig,
You sound like you've had a very frustrating time of it!
Back pain is so debilitating and wears you down mentally and physically. I know - I've been there too. Osteopathy did actually help me short term, but pain recurred fairly regularly. Starting Tai Chi certainly seemed to help with it's gentle, slow movements and has kept the back pain at bay for the longest time.
Recently I trained as a Bowen Therapist. Bowen is a very gentle hands on therapy which I have found works particularly well with acute back problems. It works on the less is more principle so that you will not face an hour of crunch click or pull and shove! It is also good to have treatment early rather than let your body adjust to the pain by holding you in abnormal positions. The longer the pain goes on the more out of balance your body becomes as it fights to hold you in positions that don't exaccerbate the pain.

I am also a qualified Occupational Therapist and as such I am used to working alongside physios regularly. Since I studied Bowen, I feel a constant amazement of what such little bodywork can do to achieve profound, long lasting effects. It is a joy to receive and a constant joy also for the therapist to administer!

So for what it's worth, why not seek out a Bowen Therapist in your area and give it a go! Even if it just helps you to relax it's better than being stressed out whilst dealing with the health service, whether privately or through the NHS! And if it works as well as I know it can then you are likely to be amazed and delighted and a devotee for life!
Let us know how you get on

Cheers
JJ

 

[Summer099]

Craig,

Everything you have written reminds me so much of the experience I have been through and if that is the case (ie you have the same issue as me) then you may have a prolapsed disc. However as your physio has said it is impossible to diagnose fully without an MRI scan.

One of my biggest regrets was trying all sorts of different things before finally being referred to a specialist and having the MRI.

I won't go into what happened with me in detail here now but if you want me to write more ofmy experience drop mea line.

My advice would be, go to your GP, insist on a referral to a specialist under your private health insurance. Almost certainly the specialist will order an MRI. At least then you know what you are dealing with and can make an informed decision as to the best way of treating it. Don't leave it too long in case it is just a bulging disc that without proper treatmentleads to a full prolapse.....

Hope this helps
Steve

 

[Subin Chacko]

thanks welshtherapist and steveb,

I'm looking into Bowen tharapists in my area so I'll let you know how I get on.

steveb - if you'd be kind enough to pm me your experience that's be fantastic. I have an appointment with my GP on thurs to hopefully organise a referral. Will let you know how I get on.

cheers
Craig

 

[strpenta]

Hi Craig,

Sorry to hear about your back, it sounds just awful!

I was wondering has your physio given you a TENS machine to try? Seeing as your pain comes and goes TENS might help relieve some of the symptoms in the meantime until you get a firm diagnosis. I'm a student physio and we use these machines quite a lot, they usually work quite well for most people. Here's some info: [link=http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/tens1.shtml]http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/tens1.shtml[/link]
Basically 2 or 4 sticky electrodes are placed on your back or on the back of your affected leg (where the sciatic nerve runs) and electrical impuleses travel down into the electrodes. It's not painful, feels a bit like pins and needles (I've tried it myself!) and the idea is that these impulses stimulate nerves in your spinal cord and brain that then knock-out the pain you feel in your back. Physio's tend to use them for people with long-standing problems, personally I really like them- if they give a bit of relief then I can't see a problem using them. Oh you can also wear it for as long as you like.

You can buy them yourself for about £40, but I'd recommend getting your physio to demonstrate it andshow you the best place to put the electrodes first. As I said it may not be something for the long term, hopefully the MRI will give you a better diagnosis, but I think it's worth giving the TENS ago in the meantime to give you a bit of relief when the pain is bad.

Good luck!

 

[KRae3899]

Hi Craig
Sorry to hear about all the problems you're having. 'Tis not funny .............. I've been there! I would have thought that your medical insurance would make things a lot easier for you, not least of all to speed things up for you. Have you spoken to them about it? Luckily I had insurance when my problem reared it's ugly head. In a nutshell, my pain started suddenly and accelerated to almost unbearable, so I completely by-passed my GP by paying for a private consultation with a specialist who immediately referred me for an MRI. This was carried out in a matter of days, and within a week or so I had the surgery. If I hadn't by-passed the GP, I could have been in serious trouble as the treatment he was recommending was totally inappropriate for the problem. He honsetly didn't have a clue what was wrong!

My advice is to pay for a private consultation (which your insurance company will probably re-imburse) and get yourself seen ASAP and hopefully get an MRI done. Your back needs attention urgently ........... and your GP is probably out of his depth!

Hope all goes well .............. let us know what happens please Craig.

SageCat

 

[K-Dawg]

Hiya SageCat,

Many many thanks for your advice - my medical cover is through AXA PPP and when I'd phoned to arrange stuff they said I had to get my GP to fill in a forum stating this was not a pre-existing condition, i.e. no symptoms in the last 5 years.

I'm guessing once that's done I should be able to pay for a private consultation but the impression I got on the phone was that my GP still had to refer me. Does that sound right? Gonna give them a call today anyway and will let you guys know what happens.

Thanks again for all your posts - very helpful and it's got me back on track instead of moping around feeling sorry for myself

Cheers
Craig

 

[smulfisulse]

Hi Craig

As I understand it you can inform your GP that you wish to go 'private' and he'll need to do a referral letter so that the specialist has some idea of what's going on. Your GP will need to sign a form from AXA for your claim.

BTW.............. I was insured through AXA PPP and I have to say that they were very helpful and made the whole process go very smoothly for me.

Wish you well ......... [sm=1syellow1.gif]

SageCat

 

[beka]

Your private medical cover will probably pay for either a Chiropractor or Osteopath, depending on our preference, and they can refer for an MRI (or at least they can at the clinicI work at)

They may be of more help than a physio too - I was led to believe that a physio can only work under a doctors orders, not diagnose themselves?

Good luck.

 

[Soulja G]

kpuk- physio's are absolutley able to diagnose independently, we often are given a suspected diagnosis from a GP when we get the referral but the GP leaves it up to us to make a firm diagnosis for ourselves where we are able to.

 

[Wajahat A]

quick update guys. have been to see the docs again today and she's signed me off work for 2 weeks. the AXA PPP porms are with her now and should be sent back to them tomorrow. problem isthe symptoms I have now may be construed by my doctor as worsening of minor back problems I had a year ago, making it a pre-exisiting condition and therefore not covered by my private care. so i'll find out tomorrow.

i've priced up private mris from a few places and they range from £450up plus a consultation fee and that's alot of cash for me to come up with right now.

anyway, thanks for all your support and i'll let you know tomorrow/next week how it goes.

cheers
craig

 

[Passion]

hi all,

Ihave found out this morning that the form sent to AXA by my GP was looked at by both of the doctors who've seen me with my current back problem. Unfortunately the first doctor filled in his part of the form describing my symptoms as "an episode of a recurring problem" despite my symptoms being radically different from the episode he's referring to (different leg, different part of my back). This has prompted AXA to ask the GP to send through my last 5 years worth of notes for them to establish my problem is not a "pre-existing condition". Axa informed me this morning that this will take a minimum of 2 weeks to process and when I heard that i could have cried .

So i have a couple of choices....
1. Wait 2 weeks
2. Pay fora private consultantion and scan and claim it back if AXA decide I'm covered and just take the hit if they don't.
3.Go abroad and have the consultation and scan done.

I'm seriously considering going abroad at the moment. I've received quotes from hospitals in Brussells and Riga (Latvia) and all in including flights it'd come to less than £500 including a specialist consultation. The cheapest scan + consultation I can in the UK so far is up about the £900 mark.

Any have any experience of going abroad for treatment?

Any advice gratefully received as I'm really at my wit's end, not helped by my back having a really bad day today[]

cheers
craig

 

[Calinda]

Ohh heck Craig ................. that sucks! [sm=banghead.gif] What to advise?? Two weeks is a long time to wait if your in a lot pain, but which of the other options to take? I've got no experience of seeking treatment abroad other than stories I've read in papers, and I have to say that a lot of people seem to be successful in getting the treatment they need at a lower cost than her in the UK. It's a lot of money to pay out for a consultation and scan in this country if you can't claim it back.

Under the circumstances, if I had the money to seek treatment abroad, then that's probably what I'd do, and you've already done some research ................ good for you!

Please keep us posted Craig whatever you decide. I wish you well ................

SageCat

 

[chhcztsb]

Sorry your having all these problems with your insurance. When did you take the policy out? IF it was before your last back problem they should have no option to cover you, if it was after your last problem they may get a bit funny about it but if the two problems youve had with your back are different id argue about it being a completly different case and that they should pay out for it. Ive got mortage insurance(paymentshield) as well as health insurance(standard life). The health insurance never questioned if id had a problem before they just sent the letter for my docs to sign to send me to a consultant for a refferal for an mri scan. They covered 9 sessions of physio, three examinations with two different consultants and the mri scan, totalling about 2 grand.
The mortage insurance though sound like your insurers, they first said back problems are not covered "its in the small print", well i checked it and my policy does cover back problems if a consultant says its a problem, one to me. They wanted 5 years of medical records from my docs to prove i didnt have it before i took out the policy. My problem started on may 15th this year and they didnt pay out untill july 12th. Im still off now with my back problems and it dosent look like its going to get better anytime soon, im still stuck trying to do basic house work but lifting or bending is virtually out of the question.
I hope they get it sorted out for you soon, maybe try asking the doc for a nhs refferal to a consultant, it may take longer but at least you wont have to pay for it.

 

[all time low :D]

sorry to hear abt yr back Craig - I have gone thru wht u r going thru now - Physios makes prolapsed disc worse - try an Osteopath but get yr MRS Scan done asap even if u have to travel abroad - I had prolapsed disc 8 yrs ago and after six months of debiliating pain ended inEmergency with excruciating pain and had MRS done inA & E and was operated immediately since then I have rarely had any problems> I have been always extra careful not to over exert or carry heavy loads and am normal.

I have found Osteopathic treatment better than Physio/Chiro - Bowen does help if the condition is not of a prolapsed disc otherwise little relief only.Get MRI done asap - go to A&P and they will do it.
All the best
Get well soon

Astha

 

[aPrampdaPSarty]

If I win the Euro millions one day, I will send you the money honey!!!

Have a pain free day.

[sm=nature-smiley-008.gif]

 

[Bootstereurgy]

Hi Craig

Just wanted to say read the following book before having surgery or any major outlay in cash its only about £7.

'The mind-body prescription' by Dr Sarno.

I started another thread about it in back pain. I used it to treat another problem but the success has been remarkable. You can get in on amazon - the reviews on there speak for themselves. Please consider it and let me know if it works!

Best of luck with it all whatever you decide

Love and light

Sunbeamxxx

 

[maps3333]

Hi Craig,

Sorry to hear of all your troubles, Could i suggest you try some basic pilates as this is very ggod for strengthening through the lumbar spine. (if you GP is allowing you to exercie still!)

Aim