Question
I hope you can help me. I have been suffering from chronic low back pain for 10 years. It started during my 3rd, and last pregnancy. The pain has been consistant, but I have developed more symptoms since a car accident in Dec. 2002. My pain level is steady between 7-8 everyday.

I have radiating pain into my left leg to the knee, my left buttock and up to my waist. My back is very easily fatugued and I have loss of coordination on the left side (I tip if that makes sense). I also have numbness in my left thigh and left side of my vagina. Recently (last 3 mos) I have had some trouble starting the flow of urine and have had trace amounts of blood showing in every urine test I have taken for a few years now. I also have difficulty eliminating completely with bowel movements (sometimes I have to do it manualy).

I have lost my quality of life, I'm anxious and depressed, and I am finding it harder to complete simple daily tasks (housework, personal hygiene, ect.). I have lost my job because I can not sleep for more than 30 min. at a time (I wake from pain and because I have to pee 5 times a night). I also can not sit or stand for more than 30 min at a time.

I have had 12 weeks of PT, 12 weeks of chiropractic adjustments, 4 massage therapy sessions, and saw a pain specialist (physiologist) for 3 years (he recently told me there is nothing more he can do for me). The pain doc. had been prescribing Ultram for me for 3 years and recently stopped refilling it. It took the edge off the pain but did nothing for my other symptoms. He also prescribed Soma which I was taking 1 or 2 times a week at night when I couldn't stand it anymore. And he prescribed naproxin for a while, but stopped when we dicovered that it didn't help and caused bad stomache upset.

I have used Tylenol, Advil, Nuprin, Alieve, and Asprin over the counter. Also, heat, ice, streching, meditation, PT excersises at home, breathing and relaxation techniques, Reki, hypnotherapy, Flexall cream, and psychotherapy. Some of these things have given me minimal relief or temporary relief. Nothing has made it bearable.

My psychologist has diagnosed me with anxiety and depression (I take Zoloft), but told me that until I get my pain under contol, I won't get those things under control. The only diagnosis I have gotten in regard to my back is muscle spasm. I have had x-rays and CAT scans that haven't shown any physical reason for my pain. I finaly pleaded with my PC for an MRI and he relented. It showed an abnormality/injury at L5. I have now been refered to a neurologist.

NOW...my question. I need guidance as to how to speak to this new doctor to make him understand how concerned I am. My life has stopped because of all of this. I don't feel that I have been taken seriously. Perhaps it has something to do with my history. I have had 2 babies, a tooth pulled, and passed a kidney stone without so much as an asprin (no anesthesia, no novacaine...nothing). In each of those instances, I was able to relax and tell myself that the pain was temporary and would end. I refused any pain management. But this is constant and unbearable. I don't want to live like this. I don't want to seem hysterical to the new doctor, but I don't want to minimize what I am dealing with. My appointment isn't until August 11th (soonest available), so I have plenty of time to prepare. And plenty more time to suffer and become unreasonable. Please, if you have any advice to give me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thank you

Answer
Hi Toni and thanks for writing,

I'm so sorry to hear about your agony. I'm glad you're going to a Neurologist as that is exactly who I was going to suggest you ask to see. What you need to do is prepare a detailed but simple history of your pain; just list dates of the onset of the pain, where it started and how/where it spread. You might also note (again simply, not too many adjectives) related symptoms like numbness, tingling, burning, pain, headaches, dizziness, etc...

Hope this helps,

Margot