87 year old in costant severe pain

I am sorry to hear about your mother nn. My DH slipped disc last year and was prescribed paracetamol by the GP which was almost useless! In the end he was in such pain that one evening I called out the duty doctor who prescribed Diclofenic slow release, which was excellent. Perhaps you could do the same thing re your mum in the hopes that a different doctor would take different attitude. Doing battle with the medical profession can be very wearing so I do feel so sorry for you and your mum on finding yourselves in this situation. I suppose GPS do have to be very careful after Dr Shipman, but they can do better than paracetamol, which on its own is just not strong enough for chronic pain. Good luck!

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There are stronger painkillers than paracetamol that GPs can prescribe, co-codamol for instance. I also have amitriptylline for nerve pain.

People fear addiction too much. Codiene, which is in co-codamol, can be addictive but most people who take it do not become addicted to it.

Anyone who can tolerate aspirin or ibuprofen can take that as well as paracetamol. This is something my GP told me well over a decade ago. I recently mentioned to my GP that I find aspirin more effective than ibuprofen. He said that, yes, it will be, because it is the stronger of the two.

I recently got DD through an ear infection without using antibiotics just by controlling the pain by dosing her with both paracetamol and ibuprofen syrups. Again, my GP suggested this. He told me 70% of ear infections clear up by themselves within 72 hours. So long as you can subdue the pain, it certainly seems a good idea to try.

Hi Nuttynanna, how on earth can the GP say your mother's spine is 'crumbling' when he hasn't examined her and she hasn't been near a hospital for 25 years?! I suffer from scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and get muscle spasm when any of my vertebrae are jammed or out of line. I spent 3 years being unable to lie down properly. Then I saw an osteopath and it was like a miracle! So, just from my own experience, I would suggest getting her to an osteopath or chiropractor as, if correction is possible, it could really help with the pain.
My heart goes out to you and your mother

Lazygirl Gabapentin is what the specialist prescribed for DH. It was like manna from heaven it was so quickly effective.

DD has a crumbling spine and is prescribed morphine patches

nuttynana I do feel for you. I was at my wits end trying to get some medical help for my 91 year old mother, who has had very severe intractable arthritic pain for 2 years. She says the worse things are the spasms, which her GP said he had never heard of! She started off down the paracetamol route, but after constantly pestering GP until he was sick of her and to cut a long story short, she saw a consultant and now has Gapapentin, for the spasms, codeine and morphine (oromorph) for pain relief. Of course these drugs have to be treated with caution in the elderly, and are not free of side effects, but it is not an excuse for expecting old people to live out their last years in agony. My mum said life was not worth living when the pain was extreme, but now, whilst in no way pain free she does have some sort of quality of life. I should add that pain clinics in this area have more or less disappeared due to "cuts". I hope your mum gets a diagnosis & proper treatment soon. There is some good advice on this thread. I blame Dr Shipman for GP 's reluctance to prescribe strong analgesia for elderly.

nuttynan, you have to take all your courage in your hands, visit your GP with your mother and ask for a referral to a specialist. If the GP baulks sit there and quietly and firmly insist that a referral take place and keep going until he does. If he absolutely refuses, take your mother to A&E and put in a complaint.

I think that rather than seeing a pain specialist your mother needs to see an orthopedic surgeon who specialises in spinal problems, and that is the specialty you should ask your GP to refer to you.

I speak with some knowledge. DH developed similar excruciating pain in his arm just before Christmas, as the pain got worse and he sank almost into a supour with it, all his GP woul do is recommend paracetamol. I insisted on a referral. The first thing the specialist did was prescribe not pain killers but drugs that block neural pathways (not sure what the difference is) but within 2 days the pain abated. He had an MRI scan, the cause of the pain was diagnosed and, although not much could be done about his eroding vertibrae, he could at least have appropriate treatment for the pain.

Your mother is a heroine, DH only had the pain for three months. For her to have coped with it for years seems beyond belief

nuttynana the next time your mum is in spasms of pain call an ambulance. Trust me, the cost of a hospital stay will spur the medics on to find suitable pain relief very quickly.

Make a fuss and don't be fobbed off. Muscles spasms, especially in the back, are extremely painful.

Ask to be referred and if there's any fuss ask for a copy of their complaints procedure. If he takes your mother off his books as a result then you are in an even stronger position to complain.

This is disgusting. My 94 year old mother has similar problems but we do know that her crumbling spine is caused by osteoporosis and she is being treated for this. Tell your GP that unless he does something the next time she is in intense pain you intend to take her to A&E unless he does something pronto. GPs now have to pay for these visits so he will realise that he will have to pay one way or the other. I do think this may be one of the problems with GPs managing budgets. They don't want to refer to other practitioners if they can help it.

I would research the availability of pain clinics in your region and go armed with the name of a consultant and the address of the clinic and demand a referral. If the GP refuses, then go over his head - look up the hierarchy in your area on line. Make a compliant.

Whilst that is grinding slowly along, could she afford to go private?

A patient's advanced age is no excuse for not treating her pain seriously. Indeed it is all the more reason to help her as she has a shorter time left to her to get on top of it.

Pain clinics have a raft of ammunition to throw at this sort of problem, and they do not discriminate on age.

So sorry that you and your mother are in this situation. As others have said, there's no excuse not to have pain relief these days. I have found acupuncture extremely helpful and at worst, won't do any harm. My GP actually recommended the treatment, so it might be worth asking whoever you next see. You can contact the British Acupuncture Council to find a registered acupuncturist.

You have to insist that she gets an app with a pain clinic if your Gp is unwilling to help . This may be enough to encourage him to prescribe something more appropriate .

elegran has given the best advice I feel as there is help to be had on the NHS. However if you do have the ability to pay you can go straight to a consultant at your local Private Hospital and get her seen asap. I do hope she gets some help soon there is no excuse for a clinican not getting effective pain relief for a patient.

With due respect, does it matter if she does become addicted at her age? You want her pain free with some quality of life.

I personally would make an urgent appointment for her to be seen at the surgery- you go with her and refuse to move until she has 1) been referred to a pain specialist 2) referred to an orthopaedic surgeon 3) referred to a physio.

Before the referrals are done, your mother should be examined thoroughly. I would mention this but I appreciate that you may not feel that you should/could.

Could she be seen by another GP at the surgery?

If the pain is at its worst after the surgery has closed, dial 111 and get an emergency doctor to visit.

This should not be happening in this day and age. I feel so sorry for your mother and yourself. and good luck.

Hi nuttynana, I suffered chronic back pain for years but the GP I was then registered with told me it was wear and tear due to my age. At the time I was 34! At times I couldn't move without being in agony; I could be walking and my leg would just collapse under me or, at other times, just jerk out. I got to the stage where I would have happily had my legs cut off as the pain radiated down them.

I went regularly to my GP but religiously got told to take paracetamol so I decided that I would keep going until he did do something. I made an appointment for 9am on the first Monday of every month. I felt awful going but each time I sat there and told him the paracetamol wasn't making it any better. Eventually, 7 months later he must have realised that I wasn't going to go away and he referred me to a consultant. My spine had collapsed and it took 6 hours of surgery to correct it.
I would be be inclined to Google the NICE guidelines for chronic back pain and then get your mum a regular booking with her doctor. Good luck xx

What on earth is the problem with an 87 year old getting addicted to muscle relaxants? It's not going to start her on a long life of addiction. Thank goodness for DH's consultant - when he worries about getting addicted to any of his medication the consultant says "If it makes you feel better take it" Your mother's doctor needs a lecture on quality of life.

Has the doctor made home visits and seen her when she's really bad? Or can you get an out of hours doctor to come during the night? They sometimes have a different perspective. Can you speak to Social Services about getting a care plan in place with proper pain relief? You surely can't stay away from you family indefinitely.

Go to her GP and ask for sleeping pills, tranquillisers or anti depressants and make him see that you can't carry on like this. Crying can be useful.

Thank you Elegran

Oh what a dreadful situation. Have you thought about a chiropractor or similar for your Mother? Deep massage may also help to relax her back and lift her spirits. You need support too otherwise you will be ill. I would also contact Age concern to see if they can recommend how to get perhaps she psyched a Health visitor or a physio to see your mother on a regular basis. Some Health Visitors are trained for these situations. Hope your situation improves.

There are doctors who specialise in pain relief. If your GP is unwillling to help himself, ask for your mother to be referred to one, and don't take no for an answer. Your mother's age is no reason for not doing everything possible to help her.

There are around 300 pain clinics in the UK. Most are in hospitals and have teams of staff from different medical areas, including occupational therapists, psychologists, doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. They all work together to help people with pain.

Take a look at this website. www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Pain/Pages/Longtermpain.aspx