December 13, 2006

Hospital (recovery after c-section) - lots of back pain, especially in lower back, left of spine. I'll refer to this as the "spot". The spot felt like a huge knot the size of a nickel and was extremely painful. Especially when I laid on it Kept telling the nurses my back really hurt, especially in that spot. None of the nurses would pay attention to my complaint. They would just keep trying to make me lay down, even when I explained that the spot in my back hurt too badly. They would just tell me to lay down and rest. The whole time I was there I would tell each nurse about my pain. One nurse couldn't believe I was in so much pain. She asked if I had been taking any pain medication before I had the baby and maybe that's why they weren't working. I told her no and explained that it was my back that was hurting so bad, especially when I laid on it. I told her I could hardly tell I was in pain from the c-section. She just gave me more pain meds and made me lay down again. My back continued to hurt the whole time I was in the hospital.
-I have no recollection of them taking out the epidural, so I don't know if the pain started before or after. I don't understand why I can't remember something like that?-

1st two weeks after - pain was so bad I could hardly walk a few feet. I had a follow up w/OB-GYN. Told him about my back pain. Explained about the spot in my back. He did not examine it. He said my spine might be out of line and I should see a chiropractor.

Chiropractor examined my back and said my pelvis was dislocated so he put it back in place. He didn't say anything about the spot or examine it.. He also realigned my spine. After that the pain in my upper back was definitely better. But the pain in my lower back and the spot was still there. The pain was also in my hips. My hips felt like they were on fire and that the skin was ripping apart. When I would lay on my hips it was as if I were laying on barbed wire. I couldn't lay down comfortably any way I lay. I couldn't lay on the spot, and now I couldn't lay on either of my sides because my hips hurt so bad. I went to him 2-3 days a week for about 4 or 5 weeks. He would adjust my back each visit and then do the electrowhatver you call it. None of the stuff he did was helping. I told him each visit that it wasn't working. I told him the spot and my hips still hurt real bad. I told him I was scared it was from the epidural and I was afraid I would be like this forever. He said he didn't know anything about epidurals. I also told him I had to return to work soon and wouldn't be able to continue.

About one month after c-section/epidural- returned to OB-GYN for follow up. Told him about chiropractor and that my back was still real bad, especially in that spot. I told him I was really scared it was from my epidural. He did not examine it. He said some women still continue to have pain 6 months to a year later from their epidural. He would no longer prescribe me any pain meds. My back pain continued.

February 4, 2007- returned to work even with all the pain. Didn't have a choice, I have a baby to support. I hurt the worst I ever had before. I thought I was going to collapse. By the end of the night, I could barely stand. I went home, didn't feel good at all. Realized I had a fever. Decided to go to the hospital. Told them that ever since my c-section/epidural I have been having lots of pain in my lower back and hips. Told them about the spot in my back. They did not physically examine me. They took x-rays of my hips. They took a urine sample. At this time, I did not know it yet but I had a staple in my stomach from the c-section. When the hospital doctor came to see me, she did not mention anything about the staple. She said there was nothing on the x-ray. She said I did however have a UTI. She still did not physically examine my back. She gave me antibiotics and sent me home.

A couple of months went by. Pain only kept getting worse. Made an appointment with my regular physician. Finally, someone who listened to me. He examined the spot I told him was the cause of all the rest of my pain. When he pushed in on it it hurt tremendously. He said a term for it I don't remember. He prescribed me some muscle relaxers and an anti-inflammatory/pain reliever. The only thing the medicine did for me was help me sleep at night. Which was good since I hurt so bad I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep.

Around March or April 2007, I located a very weird "knot" or bump in my lower abdomen. The more I pushed on it, I realized it was kind of sharp and pokey. I had my boyfriend feel it. He immediately said it was a staple. I felt it again and realized it absolutely was a staple. I called my OB-GYN. They had me come in. I told them I felt a staple in my lower abdomen. The nurse felt it and said, yeah, it definitely was a staple. My OB-GYN came in and felt it. He said the same thing. He acted like it was no big deal, that it happened often. He said it was easy to remove. Just a small incision and he could pull it out. I was terrified. I definitely don't like needles let alone being cut open. Then he came back in and said he didn't have the tools necessary to take it out that day. He said to schedule an appointment to have it removed. I asked him if it would harm me in any way or make me sick. He said no. It wasn't at all harmful to me. When I went to leave, I stopped to make an appointment. The receptionist said they would call me in the next two weeks to schedule it. While I waited for them to call me, I got the flu or something. I honestly don't remember. I just remember I went to an appointment with my regular physician and asked him also about the staple and if it could harm me in any way being in there. He also said the staple wasn't harmful to me.

Around May, 2007?- I was hurting so bad I went to the hospital again hoping someone would do something. Anything. Tell me something. I told them everything I was feeling, the back pain, the spot in my back, the pain in my hips. I told them it all started in the hospital when I had my baby. They asked me if I had an epidural. I told them yes. They never mentioned it again. Again, nobody physically examined me. They did x-rays again of my lower back. Again, no mention of the staple. Which by this time I had completely forgot about. The OB-GYN office had never called me to make an appointment. Then I just got so busy w/work and my new baby. I guess since everyone said it wouldn't hurt me I just never thought about it. The hospital doctor said again there was nothing on the x-ray. He did not physically examine me. He gave me a prescription for pain meds for a week and sent me home.

Went back to my physician a short time after hoping there was something more he could tell me or give me more pain meds. Told him I was getting worse all the time. Told him again I was really scared the epidural did this to me and was scared that it would get worse to where I couldn't walk anymore. He just smiled and didn't say anything. I think this visit he gave me a prescription of pain meds. Enough for a week or two? He also had me do a blood test to check for inflammation? Whatever he was testing for came back negative.


A few months later- My pain continued to get worse. It started going down my legs, in my thighs. Mostly the left side. I called my physician to see if I could get more pain meds. No one ever called me back. I called a couple of times then just gave up when I wasn't getting a response.


Around the end of 2007- everything just continued to get worse. It hurt to stand, it hurt worse to sit, even worse to lay down. Went to my physician again. He said to do physical therapy. They gave me a referral. My insurance wouldn't allow me to go to the therapist they referred me to. Called to tell my physician. They said they would refer me to someone else. By the time I received the second referral I was way to busy at work to go to therapy. I work almost 50 hours a week then take care of my baby the rest of the time. We had some major stuff going on at work I couldn't find any time to go.

February 2008- I was getting still worse. The pain now went all the way down my legs. Mostly my left leg, just a little on the right. From my thighs it wrapped around my knees, down my calfs, around my ankles, into my feet. A couple of times my lower legs and feet got tingly and numb. I was really bad. I was getting scared. I didn't want to have to go to the hospital again. I called my physician again to try to get an appointment as soon as possible. They were booked for a couple of weeks. I asked if they were sure they couldn't squeeze me in cause I didn't want to go to the hospital. They said no that I should go to physical therapy. I explained that I wanted to go but I couldn't because of work. They said sorry, I couldn't get in any earlier. I made the appointment for two weeks away. By the end of the two weeks I was in bad shape. Every morning I would get up, I could hardly walk. The whole left side of my back hurt tremendously. It felt like the whole left side of my back was all twisted into some crazy pretzel. While I was waiting in the patient room for my physician I couldn't even sit down. Yet I hurt so bad standing. When my physician came in and asked how I was doing I told him I was in bad shape. He finally prescribed me some pain meds. He also told me to stop taking IBUprofin and prescribed me an anti-inflammatory. He scheduled me an MRI for the following week. I had the MRI done and was really excited about it. I thought for sure I was finally going to find out what was wrong. I got a call 2 days after. The lady who left a message said the MRI showed minor degenerative arthritis and other then that everything else was normal. I wasn't satisfied with that answer. There was nothing minor about my pain and I didn't magically develop arthritis that day in the hospital I had my baby. What about the spot in my back? I went online to research. First of all, I'm barely 30 years old and as far as I know arthritis doesn't run in my family. The only other way to get arthritis is an injury to a joint. Now how did I injure a joint? That's what I've been trying to get someone to tell me but no one will address my spot except my physician who can't tell me anything about it. Now I was really scared that the epidural did this to me and I was going to keep getting worse. I scheduled an appointment with my physician to discuss the MRI.
He said I should go see a neurologist. I called the neurologist they referred me to but he was booked till April. I couldn't wait that long. I was too scared that I was getting worse and worse and would end up not being able to walk anymore. I wanted someone to tell me what was going on. It was already over a year and I couldn't understand why no one could tell me anything. The only one who would address the spot in my back was my physician and even he couldn't tell me anything. The day after my physician referred me to a neurologist I was hurting really bad. By nighttime I couldn't sleep. Both my legs were hurting severely. I got up out of bed and realized I could hardly support myself on my legs. They were so weak. I was really scared. I called my mom to take me to the hospital. Again I explained everything to the doctor. They gave me pain shots and anti-inflammatory shots. They didn't work. My legs, lower back, and my spot hurt so bad I couldn't lay still. I was writhing in pain, I was hitting the bed rails to distract myself from the pain. I was asked again by the nurse if I had an epidural. I told her yes. Again, no further mention. When the doctor came to see me he did not physically examine me. He told me there was nothing they could do. He said I already had everything done previously (x-rays, MRI) that there was nothing else to be done. I started crying. He got upset and asked me what it was I wanted from them. I told him I just wanted someone to tell me what was going on. I told him about the neurologist referral and how I couldn't get in to see one for a couple of months. He said he could try to get the hospital neurologist to see me. I was upset at his previous attitude so I said what good would that do if there was nothing else they could do? He said at least this way I could see a neurologist now instead of a couple of months from now. So I agreed. When the neurologist came I explained everything again, emphasizing the spot in my back. I told him I was afraid it was from the epidural. He made no comment. I told him about the x-rays and MRI. He examined my spine. He found 2 spots along the bottom of my spine that really hurt. He didn't examine the "spot". I tried to tell him again about the spot and how all my pain started from there. He still didn't examine it. He did say that all the muscles in my lower back were spazzing. He didn't say anything about my legs. I'm assuming they were spazzing also. That's what it felt like. I told him that my physician referred me to a neurologist but that I couldn't get in to see one for about two months. He said he was booked also but if I called his office he could try to squeeze me in the next week. He prescribed me some muscle relaxers and neurontin. He told me to keep taking the norco and IBUprofin.


Continue to Part 2 please!

The next week I went into see him. He had got a copy of my MRI. He didn't remember me from the hospital too well. I told him everything again. He didn't do any physical examination of me. He told me I should try physical therapy that I probably had a pinched nerve. If that didn't work he said there was acupuncture. If that didn't work he said a spinal nerve block would be the next thing. That really freaked me out! Here I am convinced that the epidural injured me and he wants to stick needles in my back again? No way! He scheduled me for a nerve conduction test the following month.

I went to physical therapy for about 3 weeks. I shared everything with the physical therapist. Everything I had been through. I told him I had been to a chiropractor, had x-rays done, an MRI. I told him the results of the MRI. I told him I had been to a massage therapist. He mentioned that if physical therapy didn't work they would probably try a spinal nerve block. I told him how there was no way I would do that because of my fear that the epidural had caused everything I was going through. For once, he didn't brush me off. He shook his head and said yeah, it was a possibility. For three weeks he had me trying all sorts of different excersizes. None of them were working. Everything we tried only aggravated me more. At the end of my three weeks he said there must be something going on other then a pinched nerve or a bulging disc. He said all the excersizes he was having me do should have helped me feel good and feel some relief. He said the certain ways I couldn't bend or move indicated something else had to be going on. My time was up with him because that was all I was scheduled for. He said it was OK because physical therapy wasn't working for me.

April 28th, 2008 - I had the nerve test done at the neurologist office by the partner of the neurologist who saw me at the hospital. Again I told him everything that has gone on thus far. He asked me some questions while conducting the nerve test. He kept asking me about my regular doctor. I told him who it was and he said no, he's a Physician Assistant. I told him, yes, that's my doctor. That's who they have me see whenever I need to go in. He didn't seem pleased. After the nerve test he was making notes in the chart. He said he couldn't really see anything so far. He would have to look at the test results better later. He could tell that I was having more problems in my left leg then my right. I told him yes. I told him about the spot in my back and how the pain goes all down my left side and leg. I told him how no one would ever examine it when I told them about it. I told him about when I was first in the hospital and none of the nurses would pay attention to my complaints. He told me to stand up and I showed him where the spot was. He pushed in on it and hurt tremendously. He sat back down. He told me he "was baffled". He couldn't understand what could have possibly happened in the hospital to cause whatever was going on. He said it didn't make sense that it could be from the c-section since a c-section is performed in the front and had nothing to do with the back. I told him about the staple inside me. He seemed unconcerned. He said there couldn't be anything like that in my back since the c- section is performed up front. That made sense to me. I never thought any of this could be from the c-section. Then he said he couldn't see how it could be from the epidural since the "spot" was to the left of my spine. He then explained how the epidural is placed directly in the middle of the spine. But if you find my spot, you can follow the pain less then an inch to my spine. Then there's that really painful spot along my spine the neurologist had pushed on in the hospital. The neurologist said he wanted to examine my MRI himself and talk with my OB-GYN to see if any of what I was going through could possibly have happened during my c-section. He also wanted to do an EMG on my left side. I am terrified of that! I don't want any more needles in my back! But what can I do? Doctors orders, right? So I now have a follow up for my nerve conduction study on May 6th and an EMG scheduled for the end of June. So two more months of extreme pain. That night after the neurologist had pushed into my spot, I hurt the worst I ever had before. It was so hard just to walk.

Today is May 1st. I fractured my foot today. I am now on crutches. Using the crutches is hurting my back and left leg sooooooooo bad. I can hardly support myself on my non broken leg. My back hurts every time I push down on my crutches. I don't know what to do??

I have had sooooooo much pain for 2 years now since my epi I have been on vicoprophen now referd to pain clinic they say its osteopenia and disc probs blah blah going for mri. Nothing helps. Now they think it's a pinched nerve. I KNOW its from the epi! I want the dr to take responsibility. I understand it was an emergency c setion but they should know their job and not cripple people I am now disabled from working health care because I can not lift more than 10 lbs. I can't bent Its awful. I went from a decent salary to 12000 a year. Its embarrassing to collect a disability check at 32. My neck now hurts as well because of the way Ive had to sleep and sit for the past year. It hurts exactly at the site and its hurt since the day I've had my dtr ironic isn't it? Please update me on what you find out. Hopefully I can figure out this site again I'm pretty PC ignorant.

I have the same... except my "spot" is on the right.. Basically everything you mentioned, I am having trouble with. The difference is that I had my child 20 months ago. I'd say that right around when she was 9 or 10 months, I began having accute back pain. I went to my doctor and told himabout it because even though it wasn't severe, it was pretty much constant. He said it was basically because I am a hair stylist and make-up artist, and also make jewelry. I'm 25!! chronic back pain already! I rent my own chair so I am able to buy whatever I wnt for my station.. I have a great floor mat, a saddle chair that I use doing makeup and some hair design.. and some of the time I have someone else shampooing my clients! What the heck else can I do besides all that! I knew that wasn't the cause... He cracked my back... and sent me clueless. He actually didn't even take peep at my back at all! So itjust kept getting worse and worse until one day, Father's Day to be exact, I leftmy parents house with my boyfrind and our daughter and we when to the ER. Once again my back was never looked at, I was told it was a sprain or strain, and they said ice/ heat.. and have me an anti inflam and a musc relaxer.Not only did the muscle relaxer not work... but it wouldn't even help me sleep. I thought well at least I might have a chance at sleep. Tonight! But NO. My legs felt like they wanted to jump off my body, they ached but I couldn't let them relax.. Mostly my right leg. Then I had a client mention fibromyalgia to me and I researched that and fit a lot of the symptoms.. also having trouble going the bathroom (both kinds), stressed and emotional. I thought for awhile that may be it, but deep inside I just wasn't feeling it. My boyfriend and I have been together for 5 years and I know most of his cousins well. I called one who was a phys therapist and asked her about the pain and my spot and the pain in the bottom half of my body that comes and goes. She told me about escersizes... which I used to walk everyday and do pilaties at least 3 times a week.. but had to explain that I am not able to do them. She asked if I had an epidural and I said yes but nothing else really was said about it and I didn't think about it much because it had been about a year since I had her. So Next, another visit to the ER.. got cat scan, x-rays.. they see nothing. Give me 20 vicoen, anit inflam.. tell me to go to my family doc to get a referral to get MRI.. I go to see him and now I am at the point where when I have to descrive what's wrong with me I cry. So I'm crying to him and telling him I need this MRI.. he actually has the nerve to say that I can come back in 2 weeks if I'm still in pain. I wsnted to call him a few horrible bad names. Go to the ER for the 3rd time because obviously I couldn't wait 2 weeks. I gave them my sob story, waited in the patient room.. doc walks in and then begin giving my sob story... a-freakin-gain.He LOOKS AT MY BACK and where my spot is.. it's raised like an inch or more higher than everything else... it was raised in about a 3in. Diameter space on my back but somewhere around the middle of that was where my spot was. Then he asked if I had an epidural! He gives me a referral to this really amazing pain specialist! I call them as soon as I wake the next morning. The said I need a referral from my family doc!. so I have to go to this guy again... I tell him the situation all to find out that this specialst takes all health insurance, except mine! I tell him the medication this doctor gave me isn't working at all so I am not taking it.. it was Ultram.. the Vicoden didn't work either but it made me actually have an appetite because it got rid of the weird nevous type feeling I get in my tummy when the pain is relly bad... but didn't get rid of pain. Then I explained that I do take the anti inflam though, simply because I felt it was probably the right thing to do since it wasn't labeled to take as needed like the pain killers. He has the nerve to say that I should keep taking the ultram and I should wait and let my medicine work and that he isnot going to give me anything. First of all, you don't have to wait days for prescription pain killers or any pain killer to work. They are all instantanious. I tink he assumes because most of my hair is magenta and I have my own style.. (which goes fine with the work I do).. that I must be there trying to get narcotics to abuse or sell to all the druggies in town. He fefered me though to this other pain clinc that is inside of 1 of the only hospitals in town I haven't bee not yet in the past few months. My appt. is Sept. 14th... amd I feel inside that it had to be the epidural.. and I forgot to mention I also saw the ob/gyn twice to get a sonogram and blood work done, and also a pap.. just because I was so desperate. Everything was fine there. Hope we get this all straightened out! No matter what it is, I just want to know so I can do my best at taking care of myself and getting any help I need. Then I can be myself again and go on with my life and be able to enjoy to the fullest this magical time in my daughters life .

I am 20 and during had a c-section with my son. During the epideral the anethesiologist went to the right to the left to the right with the needle and then when he went to the left again BLAM! I jumped half way off the operating table. The whole room fell silent. The doctor yelled, stay still stay still! It has now been over a year since I gave birth to my beautiful son, Mason and I have been in pain everyday since then. I've just started my process unlike you ladies.. But I thank God that I am not the only one who's going through this. I plan to find the real reason for the pain though whether I have to go half-way around the world. And if it issss because of the epidural then I do plan to sue or something because I am only 20 and now I will have to be on pain meds the rest of my life.

Go to physio and get your stomach checked out. I gave birth vaginally but with an epidural, which is what I thought the problem was. I was lucky to have a nurse check my stomach muscles which had a separation of 4 fingers for 3 months after giving birth. This can cause severe backpain as you do not have the core support. You may need a brace, which really does help.

Good luck

The bottom of my back really hurts after I play football or do any sort of sport, after when I walk it really badly hurts and does so for therest of the day, when I sit down when I walk when I'm in bed, all the time. I went to the doctors and they said rest it for 2 weeks, so I did. It got better and I was back playing football, but suddenly it started to come back again in the same place. I went to the doctors again, they said rest it for 5 weeks or carry on doing sports ango through the pain and it will gradually get better but in a long period. He recommended that I should go through the pain. I said I try to get over the pain but it hurts so bad I can't run properly or kick the ball, so how am I suppose to get through the pain? I am just going to rest it for about a month and see how it is, if it comes back well I'm just going to rest it for longer. Thanks Casey. Age 14

Go to physio and get your stomach checked out. I gave birth vaginally but with an epidural, which is what I thought the problem was. I was lucky to have a nurse check my stomach muscles which had a seperation of 4 fingers for 3 months after giving birth. This can cause severe backpain as you do not have the core support. You may need a brace, which really does help.

Good luck

I use a brace, it really helps when I play football and stuff, but the pain starts kicking in after a while and doesn't seem to work well. But it works for quite abit

I don't have an answer. Similar problems. I gave birth to my son by c-section 9 years ago. I have had terrible back pain ever since. I've been to chiropractors, osteos, pain specialists, had MRI, x-rays, etc. They tell me it is "normal" lower back pain for someone my age. Sure... whatever... never had pain before the c-section... no one has any answers. It is very frustrating. I'm with you!

I had my daughter in 2006 my first child and after 2 hours of pushing in labor the doctor finally came in and said my pelvis was too small we were going to have to have a c-section! Before all of this I had an epidural apparently they couldn't find the spot on my back so they poked me 5 times I still have raised bumps on my spine from this ever since that day I have had horrific lower back pain and migraines and I have never had problems like this before I'm not overweight or anything else that they say causes these problems. For a week or so after having my daughter my migraine was so bad I had to sit in a very dim lit room because the light hurt my head so bad I though I would explode. They kept telling me to take more of the pain meds... which weren't helping only making me so tired I couldn't stay awake which was not going to work with breastfeeding. They can say that epidurals don't cause this but I'm pretty positive it did! Oh but the nurses had a laugh about it apparently after using me as a pin cushion they were able to get the next one right!

I have been having back pain at night since my 3rd c-section 2 years ago. I have had x-rays, core stability class, MRI, physio, seen an osteopath, had a 3 phase bone scan, ultra sound and they have found nothing. I only have pain in my sleep. The pain wakes me up at night about 4am. Once I get moving the pain goes. My pain started in my upper back but now it's my lower back. I feel it's worse in a spot on my left side of my spine. I don't know what to do now as the pain management clinic have said I should take Amitriptyline but it has lots of horrible side affects. What should I do now?

I am an anesthesiologist and do epidurals routinely for labor and c-sections.In most of the above described cases the epidural is not to blame. I'm not saying this defend my profession. Trust me, if any doctor knew they were doing harm, they would not do it. Agreed, there can be lot of negligence, haughtiness, arrogance, relying too much on medical tests and MRIs, not thinking of the person as a whole, lack of empathy but something that doctors will not do, is harm on purpose. Maybe most of you got epidurals in private hospitals, but even in city hospitals epidurals are done. There is no monetary incentive for the anesthesiologist to epidurals.
Anyway, coming back to the original topic, pain in the back because of epidurals is most of the time pinpoint. There is tenderness, but usually not other obvious visible sign on the skin. Most of the times the pain goes away in a few weeks and sometimes it can take 2-3 months. I however agree that doctors should definitely examine the patient well including the area of source of pain.
During pregnancy and labor, the ligaments that support spine become very loose and do not return to normal until a few weeks after childbirth. Since, the ligaments a re loose, the stability of spine is significantly reduced which predisposes to muslce sprains. This is just one of the factors which predisposes a person to back problems. Abdominal muscles weaken, especially after C-section and the support for the spine is significantly reduced. Laboring women are generally in odd positions for a long time and don't realize it because the labor pain overshadows the back pain that time(normally bad posture induced pain is recognized early and we correct or change our posture to alleviate the pain).
Yes, multiple epidural attempts do increase chance of back pain but that pain should be self limiting. This can however be complicated by some other things like fibromyalgia, CRPS like conditions(is more likely to affect legs and very unlikely to be from epidural) and migraines.
My main reason for writing this post is so that you can take out from your minds 'epidural' as the source of pain. And in most instances, if you have not already seen a pain management specialist, try to see one. I think they will be able to help you the most. And there is no substitute for strengthening your back and abdominal muscles for back pain. That is the most definite form of treatment for these problems. Everything else is just band-aid.

I too had a C Section and am in terrible pain with my back. I woke up one day in agony after about 2 months. Like dpannell26 my pain started in the lower back to the left of the spine. There is a bump there the size of a golf ball some days. The pain generates to the right side now too and overlaps my hips and sometimes into my hip flexors. Just like many of you I have been to see the doctor, the chiropractor and my massage therapist. After speaking to a very knowledgeable massage therapist, and doing some of my own research, I felt a little bit better about "understanding" my back pain. When you have a C Section your abdominal muscles are cut. And if you are unlucky (like myself) you may have also had you upper abs split while pregnant. So in theory you have no core muscle strength. Your back is doing "all of the work". So, now we have strained out SI (Sacroiliac joint). The swelling in between this joint is what's causing our pain and the bulge in the back. To this day doctors do not know if it is the cartilage, muscle, ligaments, or all 3 that are the actual cause of SI Dis function. This is soooooo hard to treat. You need to strengthen your core but your back hurts. Do aqua size. It seems to be helping me a bit. You need to constantly ice the area and keep the swelling down. There is something called SI shots. It is a series of 2 to 3 shots into the direct area and helps to bring down the swelling. Some people will feel absolutely no pain after having these shots others say they pain has decreased immensely but they must strengthen their core in order to maintain this or make it better.
I feel very strongly that this is not the result from the epidural. It all makes sense to me. It is not an easy quick fix and only time, patience, and strengthening your core will eventually help you.
I see another doctor today and I am going to inquire about the SI shots for more information as I am not opposed to having a couple of needles to rid me of my pain. I will post again once I know more.
I hope I have helped some of you.

I agree I had my first son nearly 13years ago and I had to tell you I am still getting really bad back pain and it has gradually got worse over the years, then 3years I ago I underwent another c-section with my youngest son and it is now 100times worse, it is that bad I am thinking about giving up work, I cannot understand how anybody medical can say that an epidural does not cause back pain after what I have read, how can they explain so many women having bad backs after having epidurals!!

Can u sue for this kind of pain??

I have often wondered about the 2 c-scections I've had and the back pain from epidurals given to me with both of them. I have done everything you ladies have talked about from MRI's to Physical Therapy, Accupuncture, Massage and Chiropractic Adjustments. The only thing that is making sense to me is that my core is not as strong as I think. Normal tasks like driving, bending or lifting are almost impossible at times. I haven't carried my daughter in 2 years. I just started Stott Pilates and they have taught me that sometimes the deep layers of muscle, especially near the spine are not firing at the right time or just not at all. After my 1 hour session today, I had a 1 hour of relief compared to "0" hours in 2 years. She said each time the relief should last longer. We are doing very simple isolated movements to re-engage or "awaken" the muscles, especially the abdominals to support the back and spine. I hope this might help someone as it might provide some kind of relief. It's better than relying on the pain medication forever, which can ultimately cause other problems with your health. It's hard, but I am still hopeful something can get me out of this nightmare!

I have had upper back pain on my right side. It feels like a huge knot in my back but it will hurt I in my stomach and chest to the point where I can't breath. It really only hurts at the end of the day when its bed time. It gets so bad where pain pills won't even touch it and there's no way to get rid of the pain. My obgyn told me it should only last about 15 weeks and its been over 4 months. All they did was give me some naproxen which didn't even touch it. So far I've taken ibuprofen 600, tylenol, and a cpl of muscle relaxer I got from a family member. Nothing works more than using it a cpl times. Can't find any info on it the internet either and I did have an epidural this time which I didn't have the first pregnancy

I read this and was kind of hoping you had an answer to your problems at the end. I've been having the same problems since I had my first son and its been 4 yrs. I've gotten worse nothing seems to really help. They have ran so many tests and all have come back normal. I'm tired of being in pain. I've also done 4 different steriod shots in my back/hip area and it just made it worse. All the doctors just see me as a drug seeker because of my age but I hadn't taken any pain killers before this started and they don't really help much. I struggle everyday through the pain to even do the simpliest tasks like getting dressed. They are talking about treating me for fibromyalgia because they have just run out of options on what it could be. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this helps. I hope they find what's wrong with you because I know how hard it is.

I'm glad that I see I'm not the only one going through this issue, I have had bad pain everyday since my c-section. My baby wouldn't drop and I was having contractions for two days and also wasn't dilating. They gave me an epidural to help ease the pain so that I cold get some sleep since I didn't sleep in 3 days. I went to the hospital at 5:30 am and at 9:00 pm the baby still didn't move down for delivery, they broke my water earlier in the day, but that didn't work either. They told me that if the baby didn't move, they may need to do a c-section. The baby's heartbeat kept getting weak and at one point they lost the heartbeat, they paged the doctor and they rushed me in for a c-section. The first anethesiologist gave me the epdiural, but put it on the lowest level, so I still felt the pain for hours and the alarm on the epidural kept going off every 5-10 minues. The doctor came in and wasn't not happy, so they brought in a different anethesiologist. They moved it to the highest level and I kept saying I felt pain, they couldn't understand why, they did a cold test and found out that I felt everything on my left side. When examined the anesthesiologist stated the first one put the epidural in wrong and it was to the right side and not in the middle, which is why I felt everything on the left side and not the right side, so they had to pump me with more drugs in order to counteract the pain on the left side. They took me in for an emergency c-section due to losing the heartbeat and gave me more anesthesia. Ever since my recovery I have had a lot of back pain, from my lower back to my mid back, it's horrible. I can't even bend forward sometimes to play with my baby or to pick him up and in the middle of the night it feels so stiff that it wakes me up and I can't get comfortable. Not sure what my next move is, do I go see a specialist, I see a chiropractor but nothing has help yet. I do have a spot on my back that's most painful. Any comments would help. Thanks.

I am absolutely delighted to come across this story but sad for you that you have been through this too. Your story is as if I wrote it myself. I had my son 7 years ago ceserean section and I am still in severe pain and having to get around on crutches a lot of the time. I had to visit A&E during the week and have morphine injections. The doctor there told me that it is nerve damage caused by the epidural or the section. I am now on Lyrica tablets for nerve damage for 2 weeks and told to rest and do nothing for 2 weeks no driving housework etc. I had to give up work as a hairdresser as I could no longer do my job without pain. I walk with a limp most days and the only way I ever get relief from pain is to drink a lot of alcohol. I only do this on social occasions but how easily I could turn into an alcoholic. I have tried absolutely everything like you have mentioned but nothing has worked and I keep getting referred to different people and none of them help so it's a constant battle of going from billy to jack. My life has been ruined because of this pain. I am having to see a counsellor once a week and have already been down the route of antidepressents. My relationship broke up because of this and I have been forced to live as a single mother on benefits because I cannot work. I have no money to see specialists and have to wait months to see someone on the medical card. I am keen to go see a neurologist now but will prob have to wait months again to see one. I want answers and I want it pin pointed to exactly what is wrong with me. How can you go into hospital to have a baby and be sent home on crutches for 6 weeks? Has anybody else here had any solutions to a similar problem?

I have the same thing but from a spinal block and my back spazes up so bad I can't move nor breathe well because my lungs expanding and touching I had a x-ray and they said my pain was from my spine being curved and I told them its from my spinal I've done my research they did my spinal way too high no one listing to me I'm trying a chiropractor today

I hate to tell you all but my son is 18 years old. I had the same thing, an epidural with C-section and my back has been hurting ever since. As I get older, the pain gets worse. I am now in a lot of pain even as I type this because of the big work day I had yesterday. I'll be in extreme pain for a day or two until it goes back to the regular pain. The pain never goes away, just gets worse or better depending on what I'm doing.

Don't worry she won't see what you've posted. She's not been on this site for 4.5 years. Take care before you post please.