constant backache. please reply if any experience

[miss sparkle]

Hi everyone. Im not new to this forum. Though i do dob in and out depending on how i am getting on.
I have had h.a for the last 3 years or so. I know i have it as rationally when i think of all the things ive had over the years, there is no oher explanation.
Anyway for the last 6 months or so i have been suffering with a constant nagging lower back ache. It never goes. Its there from when i wake to when i go to bed. All day. Everyday. Now obviously i have done my own research and you can probably guess i came to various cancer conclusions.
I have been to the doctors 3 times since October and have been given tramadol and codene. Both do nohing at all. I have also been given a exercise sheet. Again didnt help at all.
I have no bowel or urine issues and my last normal smear test was in November. I am finding it hard to get on with my day to day work and looking after my kids as it is constant and uncomfortable. I have but weight on as i cant be as active, which im sure doesnt help:unsure:
Does anyone have any back issues that are not cancer related that could perhaps make me feel abit better. As i can feel the panic starting to build and it is once again consuming my every waking thought. Im 32
Thanks for reading x

[MyNameIsTerry]

Haven't the GP's made a diagnosis?

If you have the pain down one leg, typically your left and you have tingling down your leg and even into your foot, it could be sciatica. This feels like a lower back pain on the left hand side normally and its a nagging pain.

I'm just thinking with them giving you an exercise sheet, I'm guessing its going to be stretches so likely a sciatica issue as the exercises help to remove pressure from the nerve.

Some people with sciatica have it due to some form of disc compression. I think some people on here have mentioned this recently.

Something to add to your rationalisation against it NOT being cancer is how common bad backs are. With you looking after kids and likely forever bending & picking things up its always going to be a possibility. Just twisting incorrectly can sometimes causes nerves to become inflamed.

Aside from the exercise sheet, NHS Choices has a page for sciatica that includes videos of stretches. They will likely be more informative than the old A4 sheets the GP's give out (the one they gave my dad years ago was pretty poor!).

[miss sparkle]

Hi terry. Thanks for the reply. I have seen 3 separate gps and all said unless my toilet habbits change dramaticly, apparently its not 'red flag' and have put it down to just common back ache. The a4 printed sheets were stretches etc but done nothing to ease it.
It isnt a shooting pain when i move to a certain position or whatnot, its just dull. There. Constant.
My gp did say she would possibly do some blood tests to see if its kidney related. Which of course paniced me further. But she didnt mention that again. .so im none the wiser and at my wits end now.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Dull aches are found in sciatica too, miss sparkle. Is it down your leg at all? If so, sciatica is very likely.

If they had to look for something like a disc issue they could do an xray for that. I would expect a GP to work that one out though.

Yeah, I think as you said in your first post that its more the anxiety doing its usual doubting thing and you know its most likely something else. Its just the nagging in your subconscious though but its good you are open to it being something far more likely.

It could be a posture issue. Common back ache is a bit of a lazy diagnosis and its been 6 months.

It could even be a weakness issue, for instance core muscles. This could be likely with you saying you are less active at the moment and have put a bit of weight on.

When she said kidney related though, she could have meant lesser issue too such as infection or stones, etc. It doesn't have to be anything bad just because an organ is mentioned so try to rationalise that one. (I think if it was stones though it would be more painful)

[pinky260]

I had dull lower back ache for months &
Months I described it to the dr as tooth ache in my back. I had it just in my lower back for months before it moved to my bum cheek & into my leg. Mine was sciatica & went totally after a few sessions of pysio. Try not to think it's anything bad. Chances are it's something easily fixed x

[worrywart29]

I got constant lower back pain after I had the epidural when I gave birth to my son. That was four years ago and I've had some sort of lower back pain ever since.

[Davit]

I would bet you are slouching, a common thing with anxiety and depression.I would also bet the pain is either muscles trying to compensate or vertebrae pinching. Have you got something you can hang from to pull your spine straight. Kidneys is very localized and very painful. Cancer would show as an elevated white cell count which would not be shrugged off.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Have you got something you can hang from to pull your spine straight.

Not since the medieval period ended :winks:

[Tabbyann]

Hi I have been having back ache on and off for months to be honest the doctors were useless m I am now seeing an osteopath and it's helping loads he says a lot of it is tension from my anxiety he really works on my lower back and gives me exercises to do, I would recommend trying one.

[miss sparkle]

Thankyou for the replys. I am having a blood test tues and i guess we will go from there. Would like to be referred to physio, but doctor hasnt mentioned it yet..

[lior]

I had the same thing - dull lower back ache, constantly. I had it for years.

Two things changed it.

a) sleeping on my back instead of my side.
b) yoga, which strengthened my stomach muscles.

Back ache can happen if your tummy isn't strong. When you lift up bags, when you bend, and other activities, you use your tummy muscles. If your tummy muscles aren't strong enough, you end up making your back work too hard, which causes the pain. I learnt this through a combination of asking many doctors over years as well as physiotherapists.

The pain in my lower back only went away when I started organising my life around going to yoga classes. If your lifestyle is literally causing you pain, you have to change your lifestyle. You have to prioritise it. Yoga (and other things that strengthen your tummy) is like medicine.

I don't know much about exercising and I didn't really exercise since school until this year. I think stomach crunches could help your tummy in a more focused way - you only need to do it for 5 mins each morning to see a difference. But you have to do it regularly, forever - you can't just do it for a couple of months and then stop, because your back pain will come back. This is truly a lifestyle issue. Your back has to be painful and worrying enough for you to decide to change your thinking about exercise.

And the sleeping thing - it's to keep my spine straight. It took me many months to learn how to sleep on my back instead of my side, and I still have to start to fall asleep on my side. It's really helped - people don't think about it, but we spend so much time asleep and it can contribute to lots of back problems if you sleep in an awkward position.