Mystery diagnosis help

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

This might be kind of long but if there are any medically inclined types out there who can read this and have any helpful suggestions I would appreciate it.

I have had right side and/or back issues since about late May. It is either sharp jolts of brief pain in lower(or maybe just an inch or 2 up)back or pain/spasms in the right rib area. It isn't 24-7 pain but during the day its always just enough to tick you off or have to take some pain pills.I have a sit down job so fortunately I can make it thru the work week.

In the middle of all this my urologist found a kidney stone that I had busted up 3 weeks ago. He told me it was in an area that wasnt obstructing anything and he felt this wasnt what was causing the back/right side issues and it seems like he is right. I have had 2 follow-ups with him and he seems to be done with me as he says its no longer a kidney stone issue.

Over the last 6 weeks I have had lumbar xrays/kidney xrays and a cat scan done. The catscan is what showed the kidney stone. The only thing I havent had done is an MRI. In the month of May I was a pallbearer at a funeral-did a lot of mulching/yard jobs at my house and moved a bunch of furniture around for my mom. The first few weeks I assumed I pulled a muscle on my right side but it simply never goes away. It may lessen for a few days but never go away.

Now the strangest thing about all this is when I lay in bed at night is when it hurts the most. Every night when I lay down I basically go thru at 5-10 minute session of both back pain and spasms in my right side and they are enough that you cant go to sleep to begin with or every time you toss and turn during the night the pain wakes you up(this is all after you have already taken 2 vicodin an hour or two before). It hurts to move around in the bed but normally after I get out of the bed and move around it somewhat goes away.

My family doctor doesnt seem to have an answer for me. My urologist seems to be done with me. I went to a chiropractor and he took xray but somehow after a 2 hour visit with him he still couldnt tell me what the xray showed and conviently could only tell me what they showed on my next visit. He was only interested in setting me up for 500 future appointments..No thanks

I keep thinking hernia? pinched nerve? bulging disc? I'm not sure what muscle or organ you have in right rib area that would spasm like mine does all the time. Without getting too graphic this is going to cause issues obviously between me and my wife both physically and financially. I have already racked up couple of thousand in bills and still dont have an answer to my issue..Outside of getting an MRI I'm not sure what else I can do....

[Redsfan320]

I have no clue, but I do know we have at least one doctor on here...

320

[Reds4Life]

Get the MRI. A friend of mine has similar issues, but they happen more frequently and to the point where she is in tears because the pain is so great. She finally went and got an MRI (after a year of hoping it would go away on it's own) and found out she has two herniated discs in her lower back.

[Kingspoint]

Do you have an "ex" that's a little wacky?

Check for arsenic poisoning.

You can get a test for that.

[Fon Duc Tow]

I had the sharp stabbing pain in one side of my lower back. And although I was skeptical, I went to a Chiropractor. First there were 2 visits a week, then 1 per week, then 1 every other week. 12 visits total. He wanted me back once a month, but I haven't been back since then. (back doesn't hurt anymore)

The visits consist of the adjustment, the massage, and the vibrating table thingie you lay on.

I recommend trying it for a few weeks, and if it doesn't help, then maybe go down other roads.

Only thing to watch out for is once his adjustments "stick", your back will be very weak because it is in a new position. So no heavy lifting until you strengthen you back up again. That was my mistake. Probably would have had it back to normal in half the time but I threw my back out mid-way though, lifting and turning like a dummy.

[BoxingRed]

What medications have you tried besides the Vicodin?
Have any of them helped?

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

my doctor gave me some medicine for muscle spasms but they didnt do anything about the spasms in my side

[PedroBourbon]

Sounds like a disc bulge. Kidney stones are usually not problematic until they obstruct. As a doc/radiologist the MRI exam is the way to go. Hopefully you have good insurance. If you've already had x-rays and a CT the MRI shouldn't cost you much out of pocket.

Avoid the chiropractor.

[Will M]

Go see a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation physician. Typically these docs deal with back issues up to the point at which surgery (for a herniated disk) would be needed. Then they would send you to a qualified spinal surgeon.

You may need an MRI since the pain has been going on so long. However, it is possible that you just need a doctor who knows what he or she is doing. Usually an MRI is indicated for back pain if there are 'red flags' such as fever or weight loss. A herniated disk is usually treated first with antiinflammatories & physical therapy. if these fail then an MRI is indicated to confirm the diagnosis & look for when to injest 'epidural steroid' shots (cortisone injected into the disk space). Only when all this fails do you get a laminectomy.

Now you may not have a bulging disk at all. You may simply have muscular issues & need the correct phyical therapy regimen.

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

have an mri now scheduled for later this week

[BoxingRed]

Originally Posted by BUTLER REDSFAN

my doctor gave me some medicine for muscle spasms but they didnt do anything about the spasms in my side

Surprised they haven't tried some steroids or at least some hefty NSAIDs. You could have some heavy inflammation.
I had a very similar experience and I do not believe it is unusual for the pain to come on when you hit the sack. My doc said it's a progression of heavy ibuprofen, if that doesn't work, then steroids. If those don't work, you start getting into the expensive stuff like MRIs and surgery. Very weird to me that they didn't give medication more of a chance. I am a pharmacy student though.
Agree with those that say stay away from the chiropractor.

[marcshoe]

As a person who suffers from both kidney stones and back spurs, I think the diagnosis is obvious. You have an alien growing inside you.

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

ok...my family doc called me with results of mri while i was driving home(had lower half of back mri'd yesterday)...when he started off with "well nothing too terrible" I knew it wouldnt be real good..said nothing at this time needed operated on but then rolled off i have arthritis in my lower back and "a little bit of a bulging disk" in the same area...and also said a nerve being "slightly compressed" ?!? nothing too terrible yet he rolls off about 5 different things and blew it off with well you will have some good days and some bad days?!?!told me to take ibuprofen...light walking...like i said i was driving and really wanted to write some of this down--he is outta the office tomorrow but i wanna call him back friday to go over this again...Should I have a orthopedic doctor give me a second opinion?? Sounded to me like a lot more serious than my family doc made it sound!!

[Reds4Life]

If it's not something you are willing to live with, then I would tell him you want a more agressive treatment. If he's not willing to do that, then seek a second opinion from a specialist.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by BUTLER REDSFAN

ok...my family doc called me with results of mri while i was driving home(had lower half of back mri'd yesterday)...when he started off with "well nothing too terrible" I knew it wouldnt be real good..said nothing at this time needed operated on but then rolled off i have arthritis in my lower back and "a little bit of a bulging disk" in the same area...and also said a nerve being "slightly compressed" ?!? nothing too terrible yet he rolls off about 5 different things and blew it off with well you will have some good days and some bad days?!?!told me to take ibuprofen...light walking...like i said i was driving and really wanted to write some of this down--he is outta the office tomorrow but i wanna call him back friday to go over this again...Should I have a orthopedic doctor give me a second opinion?? Sounded to me like a lot more serious than my family doc made it sound!!

You might see if he's willing to prescribe some physical therapy. I have bulging discs in my back that were so bad it felt like someone had hit me in the back with an ax, shooting pain out to the sides and down both legs. I had a steroid block (similar to an epidural) and physical therapy a couple of times and has gotten me to the point where I manage it with medication. I can live with it now. I get sore waking up in the morning and when I stand too long, so I do stretches I learned from PT to loosen it up and move the disc material so that it isn't rubbing on the spinal cord and nerves.

I would only go the surgery route if it gets bad enough to where you can't live with it. Surgery may solve the problem, but I don't think things are ever the same after you've had it. I had knee surgery 15 years ago and, while I have more stability, it's never felt the same.