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What Causes Pain In Spine?
Question: i have been having aches along my spine. it feels like stabbing pains. i also get them thoughout my back. i have pain in my right chest around breast area too. that is where it all started. it has been going on for months. mri of spine came back ok. any ideas?
Brief Answer:
Backache (Probably Degenerative)
Detailed Answer:
Good evening ma'am
Thank you for writing on health care magic
You have been having problems of backache since quite some time. I went through the past history and most of your results have come out negative. But you don't seem to have benefited from the muscle relaxants or other pain killers.
One good thing is the MRI is normal. So there is no evidence of any fractures due to osteoporosis. But as mentioned before, you do have degenerative disc disease. At this age, the bones tend to have extra growth at the edges known as osteophytes. These osteophytes can push on to the nerves and can give you spasms of pain. They eventually burn out and stop causing such pain.
At this stage, if all of your results are normal I would recommend you to start some pain modulators. Since it is a long term problem, we need to handle it tactfully without strong pain killers as they can cause side effects over the kidneys as well.
If you haven't taken Tablet Pregabalin M before, you should give it a try. It will help soother out the nerves which are giving you spasms of pain. Continue your calcium and vitamin D Supplements. Physiotherapy will also help. Pregabalin is a prescription medication, so you will need to talk face to face with your local healthcare providers to discuss using the medication and get a prescription
Do let me know for more queries. I would be happy to sort it out
Take Care
Regards
Dr Naval
Backache (Probably Degenerative)
Detailed Answer:
Good evening ma'am
Thank you for writing on health care magic
You have been having problems of backache since quite some time. I went through the past history and most of your results have come out negative. But you don't seem to have benefited from the muscle relaxants or other pain killers.
One good thing is the MRI is normal. So there is no evidence of any fractures due to osteoporosis. But as mentioned before, you do have degenerative disc disease. At this age, the bones tend to have extra growth at the edges known as osteophytes. These osteophytes can push on to the nerves and can give you spasms of pain. They eventually burn out and stop causing such pain.
At this stage, if all of your results are normal I would recommend you to start some pain modulators. Since it is a long term problem, we need to handle it tactfully without strong pain killers as they can cause side effects over the kidneys as well.
If you haven't taken Tablet Pregabalin M before, you should give it a try. It will help soother out the nerves which are giving you spasms of pain. Continue your calcium and vitamin D Supplements. Physiotherapy will also help. Pregabalin is a prescription medication, so you will need to talk face to face with your local healthcare providers to discuss using the medication and get a prescription
Do let me know for more queries. I would be happy to sort it out
Take Care
Regards
Dr Naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Thanks. I do take gabapentin since i have neuropathy in my feet. Is that the same as pregabalin? Is there a test to see if I do have osteophytes? Thanks
Brief Answer:
Gabapentin is similar to Pregabalin, but different enough to warrant a trial...
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
He
Osteophytes can be seen on a plain x ray. MRI can also be suggestive for it but x ray gives a better view for it
Yes, Gabapentin is quite like Pregabalin. But if it is not working in you, you can consider a switch over. What dose of Gabapentin are you on currently?
Await your reply
Regards
Dr naval
Gabapentin is similar to Pregabalin, but different enough to warrant a trial...
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
He
Osteophytes can be seen on a plain x ray. MRI can also be suggestive for it but x ray gives a better view for it
Yes, Gabapentin is quite like Pregabalin. But if it is not working in you, you can consider a switch over. What dose of Gabapentin are you on currently?
Await your reply
Regards
Dr naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Hi. the gabapentin is 300mg. I take between 3 and 6 a day. It did help with my neuropathy of my feet as my feet had a tingling, burning sensation. the pain by my chest is around my right breast. That is where it started and now i have upper and mid back pain. can an emg test be done on back to see if it is nerve related? Does this sound muscle related to you? I have been dealing with this for so long and I guess I am just frustrated. I have been taking 3 gabapentins lately. Maybe I should increase it again. thanks in advance
Brief Answer:
EMG test can be carried out.
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Sorry for the late reply as I was caught up in hospital duty.
Well, you are taking quite a high dose of gabapentin as it is. From what I have figured you do have lot of muscle aches everywhere. The pain around the breast region can be due to muscle but It shouldn't linger on for so long. Emg test can be carried out there to give us a clue about the inflammation.
I think someone had advised you to get cpk and ldh levels done. You can re check it and if they are normal, it should give us a clear way that there is no inflammation.
Lastly dealing with pain, I would like you to read up on fibromyalgia /chronic pain syndrome and see if your symptoms fit into it. I would recommend you to start another tablet like duloxetine than further increasing gabapentin after discussing with your doctor.
But do read up on the article . I feel we need to tackle your pain in a different manner with less side effects and more benefits
Looking forward to your reply
Regards
Dr naval
EMG test can be carried out.
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Sorry for the late reply as I was caught up in hospital duty.
Well, you are taking quite a high dose of gabapentin as it is. From what I have figured you do have lot of muscle aches everywhere. The pain around the breast region can be due to muscle but It shouldn't linger on for so long. Emg test can be carried out there to give us a clue about the inflammation.
I think someone had advised you to get cpk and ldh levels done. You can re check it and if they are normal, it should give us a clear way that there is no inflammation.
Lastly dealing with pain, I would like you to read up on fibromyalgia /chronic pain syndrome and see if your symptoms fit into it. I would recommend you to start another tablet like duloxetine than further increasing gabapentin after discussing with your doctor.
But do read up on the article . I feel we need to tackle your pain in a different manner with less side effects and more benefits
Looking forward to your reply
Regards
Dr naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Ashwin Bhandari
Hi. Thanks for your reply. I am going to see my neurologist tomorrow. I am going to ask about emg. I am not too happy with him so far and if I dont get answers, I may try another one. Does duloxetine have any anti inflamatory meds in it? I was diagnosed with inflammation of esophagus in August and I dont want to deal with that again. I am sure you saw that on my previous posts. Its strange that when I sleep I have no pain but starts when I wake up. Thanks again
Brief Answer:
Duloxetine is not an anti-inflammatory
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Well you don’t have to worry about taking duloxetine. It is not an anti inflammatory, so it won’t harm your Esophagus like the other pain killers which you had been taking previously. You can take that in addition to gabapin to control the overall pain in the body.
I was wondering if you read about the disease I had asked you to. Wanted to discuss further on Fibromyalgia...
Do let me know for more queries
Regards
Dr Naval
Duloxetine is not an anti-inflammatory
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Well you don’t have to worry about taking duloxetine. It is not an anti inflammatory, so it won’t harm your Esophagus like the other pain killers which you had been taking previously. You can take that in addition to gabapin to control the overall pain in the body.
I was wondering if you read about the disease I had asked you to. Wanted to discuss further on Fibromyalgia...
Do let me know for more queries
Regards
Dr Naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju
hi. Yes I was reading up on fibromyalgia. I do have the muscle aches but it doesnt keep me up at night. I am having some anxiety which is a symptom and i am sure that isnt helping my muscle aches much. Wouldnt the gabapentin help with that? I do have tramadol. Is that equivalent to the duloxetine? I am going to neurologist today. I will ask about fibromyalgia and emg testing. Off the sub ject, is 403 platelet count high?
Brief Answer:
Cause of muscle pains may be fibromyalgia
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Well yes, Gabapentin is used in fibromyalgia as well but it usually the 2nd line of drug. Normally we prefer using Amitryptilline or Duloxetine as the first line as it is a pain modulator. Tramadol is an opoid which we use for pain relief. It is not exactly a pain killer, but just helps relief pain( safe for stomach, kidneys and liver).
403 platelet count is not high. It is just on the upper limit, but still within range.
The throat tightness, you can get it evaluated once. You can ask your neurologist to have a look at the movement of the muscles in the throat to see if any abnormality there
Do let me know what the conclusion comes after your meet with the doctor
Hope the information has been useful
Regards
Dr Naval
Cause of muscle pains may be fibromyalgia
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Well yes, Gabapentin is used in fibromyalgia as well but it usually the 2nd line of drug. Normally we prefer using Amitryptilline or Duloxetine as the first line as it is a pain modulator. Tramadol is an opoid which we use for pain relief. It is not exactly a pain killer, but just helps relief pain( safe for stomach, kidneys and liver).
403 platelet count is not high. It is just on the upper limit, but still within range.
The throat tightness, you can get it evaluated once. You can ask your neurologist to have a look at the movement of the muscles in the throat to see if any abnormality there
Do let me know what the conclusion comes after your meet with the doctor
Hope the information has been useful
Regards
Dr Naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Hi. I went to the neurologist today. I think I have everyone puzzled with the pain by my right breast. Since I was diagnosed with neuropathy last year in my feet, he thinks my pains that I am getting in my back, etc might be due to neuropathy. He did bring up fibromyalgia and said that the gabapentin would be the meds that I am taking now would be for that. He renewed my gabapentin prescription as well as the tramadol I am taking gabapentin 400mg 4 times a day. Is that sufficient do you think? Can I take the tramadol at the same time once a day or space it out with gabapentin. I just wish I knew what the breast pain was. It started there 4 months ago and now I have pain in my mid and upper back too. I know it cant be from the inflammation of esaphagus because its not on my breastbone. Maybe I do have fibromyalgia, I dont know. I go to physical therapy tomorrow. He is even baffled about the breast pain.
Brief Answer:
Cause of breast pain still uncertain
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Sorry for the delayed reply
Well, the cause for breast pain still remains uncertain then. It is very hard to find the exact source there as we cant carry out the nerve conduction tests there. TO find out the exact source it is coming from, get s a bit hard. But even if it was from neuropathy( Mostly coming from the spine i.e. the thoracic and lumbar region), it would have responded to Gabapin. You are already on full dose of gabapin
As for tramadol, you can take it along side gabapin but make sure you dont get too sedated as both combined can make a person drowsy.
You can try for physical therapy as well and do some stretching exercises to relieve the muscle spasm at that site if any
Hope the information has been useful so far. Do let me know about any queries you have
Regards
Dr Naval
Cause of breast pain still uncertain
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Sorry for the delayed reply
Well, the cause for breast pain still remains uncertain then. It is very hard to find the exact source there as we cant carry out the nerve conduction tests there. TO find out the exact source it is coming from, get s a bit hard. But even if it was from neuropathy( Mostly coming from the spine i.e. the thoracic and lumbar region), it would have responded to Gabapin. You are already on full dose of gabapin
As for tramadol, you can take it along side gabapin but make sure you dont get too sedated as both combined can make a person drowsy.
You can try for physical therapy as well and do some stretching exercises to relieve the muscle spasm at that site if any
Hope the information has been useful so far. Do let me know about any queries you have
Regards
Dr Naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Hi. Thanks for your information. I really do appreciate it. I am sure you saw on my previous that I was diagnosed with esophagitis from an endoscopy . when I went to the GI doctor, he said the pains that I am getting around my breast and back are not from that as the pain would be on the breastbone. He said it was most likely muscle. So I ruled out the cause of my pains from the esophagitis. Just wondering what your thoughts on that. I really value your input. Thanks
Brief Answer:
Oesophagitis as a cause for pain...??
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Sorry for the late reply
Well esophagitis normally doesnt cause the sort of pain you are having. It would be more like a constant, tearing pain ( something like a heart attack) which has relation to the food intake, that is it tends to increase after food. It normally will accompany heartburn as well. It will be more when you lie down. I doubt it is that which is persisting so long.
Guess you can try physical therapy for a while and see if it gets better. If it is muscle, it should improve. Or else we can plan for some other investigation later
Do let me know for more queries
Would be happy to help out
Regards
Dr Naval
Oesophagitis as a cause for pain...??
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Sorry for the late reply
Well esophagitis normally doesnt cause the sort of pain you are having. It would be more like a constant, tearing pain ( something like a heart attack) which has relation to the food intake, that is it tends to increase after food. It normally will accompany heartburn as well. It will be more when you lie down. I doubt it is that which is persisting so long.
Guess you can try physical therapy for a while and see if it gets better. If it is muscle, it should improve. Or else we can plan for some other investigation later
Do let me know for more queries
Would be happy to help out
Regards
Dr Naval
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
thank you. I was thinking about what you said about gabapentin and my breast pain. you are right in that if it were neuropathy, it should have helped by now. And you make sense on the esophagitis as I sleep fine too You don't realize how much you have helped me with your answers. I think also that I worry about this too much, but I guess I am just tired of this pain and not knowing for sure what it is. You are very knowledgeable. Do you know anything about electronic cigarette? I am using that since I quit smoking. Thanks so much for putting up with me
Brief Answer:
E Cigrarettes
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Oh dont worry about it. As long as you get satisfied, we are happy with that. Well yeah, i think you worry a lot. You are in touch with your doctors. If anything comes up, let them handle it. Till then you try living your life to the maximum.
E cigarettes are just a substitute for the smoke, but they do contain some chemicals( non addicting). But as a whole i would suggest you to stop that. Some of it can be irritant to your food pipe as well and can induce acid production. On background of your esophagitis, it could very well be causing the metallic taste. If you want to quite smoking, just leave it totally. You can use chewing gums as a substitute for the urge to smoke.
So now you need to start exercising. Develop a hobby and make sure you work on it as well. It will keep your mind away from the aches and pains
Feel free to buzz me for more queries. Would be happy to help you
Regards
Dr Naval
E Cigrarettes
Detailed Answer:
Good evening
Oh dont worry about it. As long as you get satisfied, we are happy with that. Well yeah, i think you worry a lot. You are in touch with your doctors. If anything comes up, let them handle it. Till then you try living your life to the maximum.
E cigarettes are just a substitute for the smoke, but they do contain some chemicals( non addicting). But as a whole i would suggest you to stop that. Some of it can be irritant to your food pipe as well and can induce acid production. On background of your esophagitis, it could very well be causing the metallic taste. If you want to quite smoking, just leave it totally. You can use chewing gums as a substitute for the urge to smoke.
So now you need to start exercising. Develop a hobby and make sure you work on it as well. It will keep your mind away from the aches and pains
Feel free to buzz me for more queries. Would be happy to help you
Regards
Dr Naval
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
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