Lived Experience Forum

[MoonGal]

I was reading @Love's mention of a side effect of her medication - and back pain got mentioned by another forumite. This rang a bell in my head because my back pain started a decade ago when I went on to a specific anti-depressant.

I am really upset and distressed now, if this medication has been the cause of my terrible and severe back pain for the past decade and I have just been dosing myself with back pain day after day. This huge victim-gal just came roaring out of the dark and I feel so bloody helpless that if in fact it has been the drug and everything else I have been doing is just pointless - pain meds, sleepless nights from pain, daily difficulties, this great narrowing of my life to barely functioning... including barely being able to walk. The back-pain shuffle/waddle. OMG.

Although I did have an actual injury a few years ago - a serious back injury but even before that occured I was in alot of pain, I was contantly at the physio therapist, taking pain meds etc. I have seen specialists and my doctor and pain specialists and everyone has known I am on this medication but no one has put 2 and 2 togther. I might be jumping the gun on this, but even knowing this is a potential side effect - and some reports are saying it is COMMON, not rare and many people on forums are saying they desisted within weeks of starting this medication because of the back pain and it resolved. I have been thrown into a loop by this info. 

I will make an appointment to see my doctor about it - i have to be so careful mucking around with my head-meds 'cause I can be chucked into hypo-mania, anxiety and psychosis - but I really want to find out if this medication is potentially the problem for my chronic debilitating back pain. <sigh> more things to go through. Poor me (sorry for being self-piteous wreck!)

[Mazarita]

Hi @MoonGal,

Poor you indeed if what you fear is correct. I have heard (but only by word of mouth) about lower back pain being a possible side effect of some anti-depressants. I sincerely hope you get some satisfaction from your medical practitioners on this one. Sending virtual hugs (if you would like that). Remember to breathe and take it easy with thinking too much about this today if you can. What's done is done and we can't take it back, though I totally get why you would be upset about this possibility. Thinking of you.

[MoonGal]

@Mazarita - thank you... "take it easy with thinking too much about this today". Sound advice, thanks - already in a maelstrom of implications, but you are right - What's done is done and I can't take it back - and trying deperately to look at the bright side of this if it is THE CAUSE - or perpetuates the chronic pain - and I come off the medication (supervised of course) and it fixes or ameliorates agaisnt the worst excesses of it - then I will be able to resume a much more normal life, and that would be cause for celebration.

No point, I agree, in grieving what was, much better to hold that thought and wait and see what IS.

Thankyou. This kind of thing does throw me into a loop of obsessive thinking. Over thinking, ramping up into mixed state hypo-mania, crying alot...  


Need to TURN IT ALL DOWN. with my big silver dial.

Om.

[Mazarita]

@MoonGal, I like your big silver dial and remember it from when you first posted about it. I need to remind myself of it more often. Om has got to be one of the best words. One thing I do sometimes is lie down and chant it out loud, holding my hand on my chest so I can feel it vibrating there, and then sending the voice up to my head too so it can vibrate around the skull. If I do it long enough (5 minutes or more), I find this changes something in my brain and body chemistry and relaxes me somewhat both physically and mentally. Feel free to take or leave this though, it's just an improvised technique I sometimes use and don't really know whether it would be helpful to anyone else. 

[Former-Member]

@MoonGal have u tried chiropractic? As long term management? I find it so helpful & it's completely non invasive. My partner has terrible back pain at times from years of abuse with heavy lifting etc. He put me onto it, & I find acre-adjustment can help with my anxiety. The human structure is so related. Pain stemming in one spot, can be from somewhere else when out of balance. Just a thought ☺

[MoonGal]

@Mazarita - I love it when we adapt things and they work. The Om thing sounds really useful. WIll give it a go.

@Former-Member - Thanks for the suggestion and care.  I have had back surgery following an injury, I have no intervertebral discs in my lumbar spine (all deteriorated and gone) so it is just bone on bone, chiropractic is contra-indicated unfortunately. I used to have chiropractic, years ago, but can honestly say it was never a fix for me. 

[Former-Member]

Oh gosh, sorry to hear that. I've been doing Chinese herbs of late as I seem to have low iron & have had anemia in past. I'm finding them helpful above regular iron supplements. If I miss, I start falling incredibly tired, which brings along good old depression. I've not been doing long, but with few changes to how hard I was trying to be everyones savior, helps somewhat. I like trying alternative measures. I'll keep an eye out for you ☺

[MoonGal]

@Former-Member good to hear you have found something that works for you, I'm not into alternative medicine or complimentary medicine treatments at all, used to be and then discovered most are not efficacious for me so I stopped trying. Just a money drain. Most herbal thing I do is get an aromatherapy massage a couple of times a month, not because I think aromatherapy works per se, but because I love my massage therapist and it is a nice thing to do for myself regularly. Hope you continue to get benefit from what works for you.

[Appleblossom]

I would be upset if the medication worsened my back situation beyond weight gain.  When I get upset it goes straight to my neck ... yes it is all connected but it can be good to be hard headed or logical about it.  I tend to isolate the issues to get clear about what is helpful.  Good luck @MoonGal 

Hi @Former-Member  welcome to the forum.  Congrats on getting kids to school ... study can be great ... what area were you thinking of going into?

[Jane4]

@MoonGal I will find out more about my son's pain and let you know.