Question: Hi. I am a 50 year old female who has been discharged from two hospitals this year as they are no longer able to manage my back pain (or they don't know what to do with me). The longer I was on their books without success made their stats look poor - poor stats, less government money.
I have had 15 diagnosed herniated discs since I was 23. For sixteen years I was having caudal epidurals/nerve blocks/radio frequency etc until my consultant retired. These injections helped to control the constant pain at a level where I could still work. The consultant I was then referred to did two lots of radio frequency eight weeks apart and I burst another disc getting out of the hospital bed and stayed there then for another nine days. During that stay earlier this year I had leg constant leg twitches. My knees lifted off the bed and my whole body would twitch usually resulting in me yelling out as it pulled on my back. My question is: what causes these twitches? I did have a very quick MRI when in hospital but I just couldn't keep still as the twitches were frequent and my knees kept banging and scraping on the inside of the machine The consultant, unbeknown to me, was watching me in the scanner and called a halt to the procedure. The scan was deemed inconclusive and I was discharged from the hospital and his clinic altogether. I have been hospitalised four times in the last twelve months due to such severe pain I couldn't manage at home even with morphine. Reading on the Internet, I think I have spinal instability. (The last ct scan in July after falling down some steps showed osteophytes on c6/7/8 with degenerative discs at T8, L3/4/5 and S1.) My GP wants to help me but the hospitals keep turning me away.

Thank you for your quick reply.
The spinal unit in one hospital have discharged me and the Royal Surrey County Hospital say they won't do any injections as I've had "far more injections at another hospital than we are allowed to do". They also don't have a spinal unit. My GP referred me to the National Orthopaedic Hospital which took a day to get to to be told I was too depressed to do anything with! I was so angry, it made me feel suicidal for months to think that nowhere seems to want to help me. I have been unable to work for eight months and I would have to sell my house to go privately or to go abroad.
The Venlefaxine has helped my mood and I feel normal again now.