An article I had to read: 'What's causing your back pain"

I am glad they can tell me what is causing my back pain through ESP. Actually the title is a misnomer there is a new tool for doctors, the EMG, to diagnose causes of back pain. They should have titled it something along the lines of 'A New Tool for Diagnosing Back Pain". I have been told that surgery is not an option for me but perhaps something could be learned through an EMG... I will ask my pain doctor at my next office visit.

I do have a basic idea of what is causing my back pain - degenerating disks which cause nerve pain in all sorts of areas in my back. The goal is to follow the new areas of pain around my back and treat them and then go on to the next area with more treatment. For the rest of my life. I am so excited - another medical procedure involving needles every couple of months - I can't wait. Actually I am looking forward to the next adventure because it will relieve some pain in my lower back.

Apparently other people have different kind of back pain. There's will go away at some point. And they can do things like stretch and move and help it out. If I do things like stretch and move, I cause more pain. So maybe the article isn't for me but I do like the cited article on how to describe pain.

This is a lesson I learned from my PCP a few years ago, it doesn't help her if I go in and say 'I have a pain'. She wants me to tell me the story of the pain. It hurts like this when I do this/eat/stretch, etc. That is what is very helpful in diagnosing something. 'Doctor I get a sharp pain in my eye every time I drink cocoa." Reply "Take the spoon out of the cocoa". When going to your doctor, if you write down the answers to these ten questions about your pain issues, you might be surprised how much more a doctor can do for you. You just made their job so much easier.

I also like the comments on opiod addiction. I take enough pain meds and other meds regularly. Some of them I will be on for life, other ones are for break through pain and other conditions. I am concerned about drug dependency and withdrawal issues if I ever come off them. Several of my meds say do not start or stop with approval from your physician due to withdrawal effects.

But now I digress. Its time for a little breakfast and my morning pain pills before a trip to the beach with my husband.