Back & neck pain

Hi All 
Feeling pretty rubbish atm back pain from top to bottom (literally) neck pain on waking I have really bad pain between shoulderblades and residual headache as well as all the other symptoms I've got.
Joints popping all over the place and very creaky I feel like I'm 90 not 51  
Spoke to GP he suggested he could prescribe me strong painkillers (which I can't take due to reflux problems or Valium which can be used to relax muscles) I will not go on Valium so basically he couldn't help. I've been to chiropractor it helped a bit but not much.
Still no forms from Endo dept so I can't do the repeat 24 hr urine.
I'm grumpy, fed up and uncomfortable.
Sorry to be an Eeyore (I looked for a smiley of a donkey but couldn't find one) but I've never had back ache all over before and it's getting me down.
Feeling sorry for myself.
Amanda xxxx

Oh dear, have you tried Ibuprofen Gel on the worse bits ? I can't take the tablets but the gel is fine and i do find it works. Also the stick on heat packs are good.

Wish you better soon Amanda 

Nelly

Awww Amanda, sorry you're having to go through all this, it's a real bummer ......!  I can REALLY relate so understand all too well how you're feeling!  I said to a friend in an email just last night that I'm 62, look 72 and feel 102 .... so much pain and stiffness!

Yes, what Nelly said - and you can also get pain relief patches over the counter at Boots (other pharmacies are available!).  Not sure what pain relief your GP offered but if your pain is so bad it becomes unbearable, and you can't tolerate oral medication, then the GP can prescribe something like Fentanyl patches, but they are morphine based and perhaps not suitable for everyone, for one reason or another..... Heat and codeine is my default treatment, and I have an all singing, all dancing back massage thingy in my recliner chair when I need it, which my lovely hubby bought me for Christmas.

Hope you soon get some relief Amanda, thinking of you, sending healing hugs through cyberspace.  Oh, and I loved your Eeyore reference - made me smile, I loved Eeyore when my kids were small and we would read together....

Jasmine x

Oh Dear Amanda, I know exactly how you feel!
I'm so sorry that you are so uncomfortable.
I've tried about every type of pillow there is. I now use one low soft polyester pillow (I am allergic to down and feathers).
My mattress is an orthopaedic with a separate foam topping.
When I am sore I have deep hot baths as the warmth helps my muscles relax.
I wear a scarf to keep my neck warm and a body warmer for my back.
Lying down is bad because at some point I have to get up which is excruciating.
However I haven't had it as bad as this for a while now!
I hope you feel better soon. Find something to have in your mind to give you positive thoughts!
Thinking about you.
Love maggie2

Just to add to this post Amanda. It has been found that you can get osteophyte formation in your cervical spine at the level of the diseased parathyroid gland.
A recent MRI of my spine shows osteophyte formation throughout my whole spine but a particularly significant one in my neck, and yes at the level of my parathyroid adenoma! The osteophyte formation has also caused the discs to bulge.
I've had parathyroid disease for a long time 10-15-20 years, I cant be sure how long. So maybe for someone who has had it a short time this may not happen.
maggie2

Hi Nelly Jasmine & Maggie2
Thanks for your advice and support you are such lovely people it has made me feel brighter just getting your messages.
I'm using the ibuprofen gel and patches ATM, the do help a bit. I got offered  Tramadol which I can't take way too strong, I would rather be in main than feel that bad, I only took them once after cholestectomy  and that was horrible. I stick to paracetamol or nothing because of reflux codine is a no no, so I'm just going to have to man up.   
I've got a good ortho mattress etc so I think it's just a phase I'm going through and It will pass.
Jasmine I've read so many Winnie the Pooh stories to my two when they were small, it was my Daughter Emily's favourite and her bedroom was a WtP shrine. She still has a soft spot for Winnie and she's 20 hence I've had to keep all her cuddly WtP toys from a 4ft one to tiny ones (she says they are for her children when she has them)
In our house when they were small if one of them was being grumpy we used to call them Eeyore, it nearly always snapped them out of it.
I just want to be a bit Tigger for a change.  
Love to you all Amanda xxxx

Oh don't get me started on Tramadol!  I thought I was going to die - sooner have the pain!  I even tried Tramacet which is the lightweight version containing paracetamol and lower dose Tramadol but even that knocked me for six!  If I'm honest I rarely take pain meds but sometimes at night the bone pain gets so bad, especially in my shins and upper arms at the moment, that I just have to give in and take a couple of CoCodamol - the codeine does help me to sleep for a while too which is a bonus - but I don't take it regularly, just as and when, because codeine is known to be addictive and I'm certainly not going down that route, got enough to put up with as it is without adding prescription drug dependency to the list!

J x

Yes, I take Co-Codamol or Para-Codol for the head pains mostly, but I'm aware of the addiction problem. Sometimes a good ole Alka-Selzer does the trick! The fizziness helps the stomach probs and it contains asprin, if you can take that.

For sleeping, I take 4-6 Quiet Life tablets or at the moment I'm using Sainsbury's herbal sleep aid, four of those as well. I'm still awake by 5-7am which is just in time to hear the neighbour's dog barking at the other neighbour's 7 cats, so as soon as I wake up I stuff in the wax ear-plugs and hope to get off for another couple of hours - ha!

Love from Tigerlily xx

I don't know if it will help, but now use a Mediflow waterbase fibrefill pillow to avoid neck ache (not parathyroid related).
The amount of water can be adjusted to personal comfort preference.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/278-3289036-4055003?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=water+pillow

Sounds good to me, thanks for the link.

Tigerlily xx

Hope you wake up as Tigger tomorrow, Amanda   

I really fancy trying that Mediflow pillow, so long as it can't possibly leak! The reviews look good and my neck would love a good night's sleep   

Brigitte

Anything with codine or aspirin I can't take unfortunately, I'm only left with paracetamol which is not at all effective. I use two pillows to control the reflux which I think probably makes the neck ache worse.
Unfortunately I think I will have to go back to my GPs to see what's going on as it's not really getting any better not that I hold out much hope for more than a sympathetic "oh dear" and "that must be uncomfortable, have some Valium".
Thanks for the link for the pillow I'll have a look at that.
I have now received forms for 24 hr urine so I'm going to get that done as soon as I can there's a blood form for calcium and creatinine, so I need to get them done when I give in bottle.
Amanda xxxx

Hi Amanda,
How are you feeling today?  I hope you had a bit better night and that things are settling and I really sympathise as back pain can wear you down so much.  I was wondering if Lidocaine patches would help from your GP.  Also a few years ago I was having silent reflux, I was advised to just have one pillow at night and to elevate the head of the bed instead, we could only raise it about 2 inches but it did make a difference.  I have been fine for a few years but the last couple of weeks or so, my stomach has been burning madly and I am finding each evening my dinner is sitting like a brick,  I have had to take Gaviscon the last few nights and dry toast in the morning, I guess it is the HPT causing it plus maybe am stressing myself out as my endo apt finally approaches next Tues, only been a three and half month wait.  I had bloods taken this week in readiness, so they should be back for next Tues.  I feel very panicky but I shall write down all the symptoms this weekend as I can't remember diddly squat at the mo.
Thanks so much for the link re the pillow as I also think that would be very beneficial for my Mum, the osteoporosis has made her back into a big C shape, her neck is horizontal now and she finds it hard to lift her head and find a pillow that doesn't crackle , squeak or rustle, we have tried all kinds from the dearest goose down to poly which is too buoyant, and still the perfect pillow is proving very elusive!  
Sue

Hi Sue
Feel about the same but not quite so Eeyoreish as yesterday thanks. I've got optician appt this morning so lights shining in eyes vision tests etc will probably make headache worse but hey ho I can't get contacts without it so no pain no gain.
I do have bed elevated but have found recently I need 2 pillows as well  otherwise the reflux is bad.
Really good luck with your Endo appt I hope you get some sense out of them and they get you diagnosed and referred for surgery. Don't panic just be armed with as much info as you can get and you will be fine.
Sorry to hear your Mum is suffering, maybe the pillow suggested will help.
Amanda xxxx

I've been reading all of these posts, but haven't had a chance to comment until now. After reading all of these posts, I have come to the conclusion that I am an idiot!!! I have suffered from some pretty darned awful pain over the past 3 years, but all I have taken for it was Aleve, and I will only take it on my very worst days. I don't even like to take it more than once a day on the days I do take it. The only reason I won't take anything else for pain is because I'm afraid of what it might do to further damage to my poor body. I am starting to think maybe I'm worrying a bit too much about this, and maybe I should just worry about being more comfortable! Actually, it is a pretty bad day today, and I'm about to go get my Aleve. Maybe I should go shopping for something else!

Amanda, I'm glad you're feeling better, even if it's just a tad better.    Any improvement at all is a very good thing!! It is so sad that we all must suffer so.

Audrey

And oh, my goodness, I wish I could get my brain back!!! I totally forgot to say that through all of my 3-1/2 years dealing with HPT symptoms, the neck pain has been the worst! Well, the heel and foot pain is right up there on my list of hellish symptoms, but the neck pain, I think, has been the most bothersome. The muscles are extremely stiff and sore, and when it's REALLY bad, it all cramps up really hard along with the stiffness and pain, which causes even more pain.

Ok, I think that's all I wanted to say now.

Audrey