My pain diary - 1st August 2005

I started to write this pain diary because my surgeon is away and I have had many times when I have had this similar pain, I decided i should start taking notes of how I feel so I can log when I have bad days of pain and see how long I do actually go without any bouts of pain, this may also help me determine if surgery would be a benefit. I have had a chest infection for a week or so and had been coughing for some time, this particular morning I coughed really hard and felt a movement in my lower back, I thought nothing of it as I was walking OK and breathing OK. I walked into Fuengirola which I think is about 3KMS from my house, my back felt OK, my walk was slow and I also kept resting for brief periods of time to gather my strength again, once I had finished in the bank I proceeded to walk home. The pain started then, I was walking bent over double by the time I got to Los Boliches so I got inot a taxi and came home. I managed to get down the stairs on my bottom and collapsed at the side of my bed unable to move at all. Even when moving my little toe sent awful pains shooting up the spine. Any slight movement would cause immense pain in the lower back, I believe this to be a muscle spasm. I have been unable to get to the toilet on my own and unable to sit down on the toilet and support myself. I have been taking Nolotil and Valium for pain. I have been able to raise my legs at the knee as laying flat causes more pain and as if there is immense pressure in the lower back almost like it would snap. The pain has been so itense that I have literally been screaming and crying to the point where I could not remember the next day how bad I felt. I suppose the best way to describe how my back feels is like a jigsaw puzzle but a piece of the jigsaw has a corner that is frayed and does not quite fit into the main jigsaw, this I would think is the swelling. The pain, well I would think this can come from many places but my suspicion would be L2 disc and that teamed with a muscle spasm in the lumbar intensifies the pain, I have been laying with my legs open incase the spinal cord needs more room, I do no think I have spinal stenosis. I do know that I have Facet Joint Syndrome, should this be playing a part also I have no idea.