Mom's Back Explosion

Ianator

About an hour ago, my mother was in bed when she started to shake a bit. Taking this as a sign that she needed to go potty, she lifted herself up.

She nearly fell off the side.

At one point, she was shaking horribly just before her back exploded in stabbing pain, and she's feeling cold from the shock. Unhooking the back of her bra allowed her to breathe somewhat normally again.

We've managed to get her on her side, with a warming pad up the back of her shirt and a heater vent under the bed. I think she can manage a little bit of sleep tonight, but if it gets out of hand again I may just call an ambulance. I'm the only other person in the house.

We just finished moving a bunch of stuff from out of town a few weeks ago, and we've been slowly unpacking boxes. I've been doing most of the heavy lifting, but she's picked up a few hefty boxes here and there, and a recent trip to the doctor's showed her having somewhat low bone density. Something similar happened to me a few months ago, though I attribute it more to trying to sleep sitting up combined with my profession as a computer addict.

At the moment I think she can manage a bit of sleep. I'm also somewhat hesitant to call an ambulance on the grounds that we'd never be able to pay off the medical expenses. If anybody has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

bobmyknob

She definitely needs to go see a doctor ASAP. I threw my back out over the summer and I figured that the pain would go away on its own. It didn't. I went to the doctor and she told me that back pain can last up to 6 weeks, but that's if it's only a strained muscle, something much worse could've happened.

LewieP's Mummy

I have regular back pain - I have arthritis on my lower back, and am on pain meds most of the time. Every now and then, it seizes up completely - sometimes with no warning, sometimes cos I've been doing stuff I know i shouldn't - lifting and carrying being the worst I can do, together with turning whilst carrying, and not bending from the knee. The best solution I have is to up the pain meds from co-codamol to tramadol, have hot baths, use heat pads on my back and rest, but not in bed, as that makes my back much worse.

Does she often have back pain, or is this something completely new for her? If brand new, never happened, go to your GP tomorrow. If she has had back pain before, how is this in comparison?

I would wait and see how she is in the morning - can she take pain meds now? I normally take paracetamol (tylenol?) and ibuprofen together, with caffeine, as it helps speed up the absorption of the drugs. She might need to take something like ranitidine to protect her stomach from the effects of the ibuprofen. She could also try using a TENS machine, they can help quite a bit, too.

She really should see her GP as soon as she can.

Ianator

I think she has osteoarthritis or something like that, though I'm not sure where. This is the first time I can remember something like this happening to her. She's apparently been aching all day, with lifting a box of books being the main trigger (while I, the pathetic son that I am, was taking a nap). Leaving bed right now may be slightly risky, seeing as how it's 3:30am and her bedroom is upstairs...

Anyways, I'll do what I can tomorrow. Thanks for your help, and I'll try to update regularly.

Entriech

If she's able to be at least semi-comfortable and get a little sleep, it may be best to wait til the morning and attempt to get in touch with your doctor. While the ER will be able to provide anti-inflammatories and painkillers, they'll be treating the symptoms with a view to getting you out the door, and potentially not treating the root problem. If you're unable to get in to see your doctor, you could alternatively turn to a physiotherapist or (reputable) chiropractor. While neither of them can prescribe the sorts of medication you'll likely need, they may be able to provide exercises, positions or treatment to help ease her discomfort.

Keep an eye out for any signs of loss of muscular control or loss of feeling, which would indicate an issue with the nerves and something you absolutely should take her to the hospital for. Use heat or cold, whichever she finds helps reduce the discomfort more. Acetaminophen (for the pain) and Ibuprofen (for the pain and swelling) are good to use, as mentioned above. If you're going to take her somewhere, you may want to consider throwing some pillows in the backseat and having her on her side laying down for her comfort (sitting is really, really hard on the back).

Be prepared for a long recovery. Back injuries heal slowly, and it will be painful for awhile, but with proper treatment she should come along fine.

Tofystedeth

One thing that really helped my dad with back pain was papaya juice. Papayas have enzymes with anti-inflammatory properties. He was pretty much unable to do anything for weeks and the doctors were saying surgery was the only option. He started drinking papaya juice (the kind that is basically just papaya, pineapple, and apple) and his pain lessened in a couple days. By a week he was up and around again.

What happened to your mom sounds pretty serious, and this might not do anything, but after you get it looked it, it might help if she has any recurring pain.

mts

she could have slipped a disc. almost happened to my wife while putting away the milk. lckily her core muscles were strong enough to keep the disk from slipping, but it still fucker her back up good.

Thanatos

If it weren't for her other medical problems, I'd say just wait and see if it goes away. Given her other medical problems, she should see a doctor.

Ianator

So the earliest she can get to the doc's is Monday. She's been spending the day downing generic extra-strength Tylenol PMs and napping in bed. Getting to the bathroom eight feet from her bed is extremely taxing. Not to mention she's upstairs, which I know is going to be a Bad Thing later. The only thing she's eaten today is a cup of yogurt.

Her paycheck's in the bank today, so tomorrow I'm going out to get some groceries - papaya juice is definitely on the list.

Thanatos

Try getting her some other sort of pain reliever, too. Naproxen sodium is a really good one for arthritis/back pain, brand name is Aleve, but you should just get generic.

Nataneko

When you say she was shaking, was it as in "I can't control myself, I don't know why i'm shaking" kind of way?

She should of course go to the doctor as soon as possible. My friend's sister started getting those symptom (shaking, back pain) for no reason and it got a lot worse (constant vertigo, unable to talk), required a lot of testing and hospital-time and readaptation. (wow I didn't want to sound alarmist sorry! but the shaking is really the part worrying me)

Entriech

Thanatos wrote: »

Try getting her some other sort of pain reliever, too. Naproxen sodium is a really good one for arthritis/back pain, brand name is Aleve, but you should just get generic.

Agreed. Tylenol is great for blocking out the pain, but anti-inflammatories will both help with the pain and (typically) will help defeat the root cause, which is swelling from a back injury putting pressure on sensitive nerves. When my wife severely hurt her lower back, Naproxen is what they prescribed to her at the doctor's office. Barring that, Ibuprofen is an over the counter anti-inflammatory. Both of those should be safe to take alongside the tylenol, but check with a pharmacist if you're concerned.

Depending on where her injury is, your mother might find it easier to move around with a cane. I picked up a cheap medical one for my wife when her lower back was hurt, and it was helpful both as leverage to help her up on her own as well as maintaining her balance when moving around the house.

Don't neglect yourself in all of this. I know you're worried (and rightly so), but make sure you're getting as much rest and food as you're able.

Thanatos

Entriech wrote: »

Thanatos wrote: »

Try getting her some other sort of pain reliever, too. Naproxen sodium is a really good one for arthritis/back pain, brand name is Aleve, but you should just get generic.

Agreed. Tylenol is great for blocking out the pain, but anti-inflammatories will both help with the pain and (typically) will help defeat the root cause, which is swelling from a back injury putting pressure on sensitive nerves. When my wife severely hurt her lower back, Naproxen is what they prescribed to her at the doctor's office. Barring that, Ibuprofen is an over the counter anti-inflammatory. Both of those should be safe to take alongside the tylenol, but check with a pharmacist if you're concerned.

Depending on where her injury is, your mother might find it easier to move around with a cane. I picked up a cheap medical one for my wife when her lower back was hurt, and it was helpful both as leverage to help her up on her own as well as maintaining her balance when moving around the house.

Don't neglect yourself in all of this. I know you're worried (and rightly so), but make sure you're getting as much rest and food as you're able.

Naproxen has been OTC for several years now.

Ianator

She lives! Woke up a bit ago to find her standing at my door, ready to take the trip downstairs and pack away some toast.

So apparently ibuprofen and naproxen upset her stomach. Where can I find this ranitidine that LP's Mum speaks of?

mts

well she should take it with food or a glass of milk

LewieP's Mummy

Ranitidine is an OTC medicine here, all chemists stock it. Its brand name is Zantac 75. I use that when I take ibuprofen, cos otherwise it attacks my stomach - I was on Mefanamic Acid for 7 years til it triggered a stomach ulcer (its an NSAID)(Non Steriodal Anti Inflamatory Drug), and when I have to take lots of pain stuff, I switch to Lansoprasol (its brand name is Prevacid in the US), which protects my stomach more. You take it before eating, and take the ibuprofen after eating, preferably with milk.
Hope she's felling a bit better.

Ianator

She's definitely livelier. Her appetite's returned and she's moving around a good bit, though her back still spasms from time to time. Since we desperately need to go shopping, I'm going to see if we can't get a ride to the store and get her into an electric cart. I'll make sure we pick up some generic Aleve and Zantac.

Anything else?

Ianator

So there was a knock on my bedroom door this morning. I said "Come in," and in comes mom, who tells me we're going shopping. On the list is ibuprofen, naproxen, ranitidine, and papaya juice.

I also slipped this page onto her computer last night, and she (and I) wants to thank everybody for their help!