Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group broke my back again!!!!.... I hope???

Well the pain started three days ago and has gotten progressively worse everyday now! Today I’m unable to move with out a handful of Hydro morph Cotton. When i do get up it still hurts , the pain meds just take the edge off of it. See i have been told that because of all the Hydro morph and all it's sister drugs like Oxyconton and others i have developed osteoporosis ! Great news on top of all the pother crap we AS'ers have to deal with.

It started last spring when i was still working, i broke a vertebra moving an office chair !, after x-rays it was shown to be a so call stable compression fracture. Nothing they can do for these things I guess you just have to lay low and do nothing for several months!. So after three, nearly four months, it healed up on its own. Of course during this time i wasn’t suppose to lift anything bigger the a tea cup!.

Well anyway, I think I’ve done it again or my Enbrel has stopped working , its one of those cases where your dared one way or the other.
Seen my family doc yesterday and he seems to think it’s another break possibly the same one again. He said we'd give it a few more days and see how’s things progress. Gosh i hope its a break! I cant believe I’m saying that but the reality is if its not broke then the Enbrel has stopped working . I cant tell ya how much that bothers me , now not bother me, it scares me !
I’m fast running out of options. Enbrel is my second biologic I’ve had . Remacade nearly killed me, I now know why they have you do that in the hospital and not at home! I’m one of those extremely rare people that have a reaction to this drug after several infusions !
My blood pressure went through the roof they said I had some sort of a "near stroke" and was on the verge of cardiac arrest! In a matter of seconds my hands and feet swelled up and hurt beyond belief. ( still haven’t recovered from that ) And now Enbrel may have stopped working ! there’s only a few other Bio's meds I have to try.

I cant go back to where i was , that’s just to much pain ! See my pain now is 24 – 7
I don’t have flares , my pain is always there just at different levels. I’ve been this way for about 15 years . the last 4 years have been the worse . So I’m once again seeking the support I have grown to count now here. My faith gets me through things when dealing with my AS but the support , advice of friends and strangers here on Kick AS helps just as much .. Anyway I got to go lay down for awhile , take care my friends. And remember


Keep On Kicking



Martin

Hi Macky,
I'm sorry that you are having to go through this. I know what it's like to get hospitalized in the middle of Remicade treatment, having Osteoporosis, and vertebral compressions. I see your hoping for a broken back, in hopes that your enbrel didn't stop working. Well, I'm hoping that your Enbrel didn't stop working, but I'm hoping that you didn't seriously hurt your back too. My last fracture put me out of commission since early 2006, and it still hurts me today. Though I am able to walk again, I'm still reminded every few minutes of how much pain it involves.

Being that I don't have a whole lot of effective advice on this, I could only suggest that you keep taking the painkillers until you are able to see your doctor again. When you see your doctor, ask him if an elastic brace will work for you. I have one from a year before where I fractured my rib, and it seems to help with the back fractures too. It helped me avoid some of the worst pains, when I had to bend, or when I'm getting jerked around in the car. It didn't take the pain away, but it helps.

Well, I hope it's not too serious, and that you will be fine in a few days.
Get some rest, Macky, and try not to put your back through too much until it has time to heal again.
Take care,
James.

Martin,

Awfully sorry you're in such pain, wish I could help.
It definitely sounds like it's time for a visit to the Rheumy or Dr. that prescribed the Enbrel. As you know, or maybe you don't know, non of the TNF Biologic meds will treat your AS for much more than 2 years before losing their effectiveness. In some cases Drs are prescribing MTX
(Methotrexate) or Sulfasalazine along with the Enbrel or other Biologic to increase the length of time before your body stops responding.

You need to phone the DR and explain what is happening and see if you can get into see them.

I hope this helps,

Gay

Hi Martin,

I'm sorry about your back, but like you, I think it would be better to be your back rather than lose your Enbrel. Let us know how it goes, I'll be watching for your post. TAke care, Wanda

Jeepers, Martin, I never thought I'd wish a broken back on someone. So here goes.

Ihopeit'sabrokenbackandnotEnbrelcrappingoutonyoubecauseyou'reagreatguyanddeservebetterespeciallyaftertheRemicadeincident.

Whew.

I know what you mean about never really being pain free. With me it's always (well, for the better part of the last 10 years anyway) been about which level of pain I'm in today. Pain free? Nah. I've even started thinking about 'acceptable' pain levels. 'Cause pain is acceptable??

Hope this works out OK for you my friend. Maybe it's a muscle pull??

Many hugs,

Sorry to hear you are in so much pain again Macky. Prayers to you for healing and things improve in the near future.

Take care,

Tim

Hi Martin,
I sure hope it's not cutting out on you. It's definately not working it's magic on me anymore, so I'll hope hope hope it isn't the case for you too!

Hey, Martin:

I broke my back a few years ago, hanging a door. I would much prefer inflammation from the AS! The reactions run the gamut, I suppose, but even a pseudarthrosis can be very painful. My break did not heal after almost a year, and it was a severe gap, but hot and wet Epsom salts packs can sometimes facilitate healing, if the non-union is not too severe.

There are many ways to test the contribution to your pain from inflammation versus mechanical damage. I hope that you can find some relief soon...

Good luck to You,
John

thanks so much James, I 've never asked this before but is Osteoporosis common for us AS'ers? Hmmm dont know why i never thought to ask my Rhumey that the other day . Anyway this pain is differnt from the "normal" every day pain of AS. not sure which i like more ! Ya know this is worse then the normal pain. seems the fracture keeps you from making any sudden moves or even long slow moves ! it just hurts !.. sorry if i seem to be rambling more then ussual , i've taken a fare bet of hydro morph brake through tonight in order to keep from going insane !
But like i said in my post i hope its not the enbrel wearing off. I mean it just started to work and i was finally getting some sleep. Anyway ok thanks again for you post every word of support helps sooooooooo much . and right now i really need all i can get.
Remember ......

Keep On Kicking

Martin