Nearly 60% of People With Back Pain Suffer from Depression Too

I have pain in my back and thought I was working to hard as a bartender for the past few years I fell a few months a ago down some icy steps and couldn't breathe so I went to doctor the next day did xrays and said I fracyured a rib #12 ok but the pain was still there and very tense. He ordered a cat scan nothing more xrays and finally a MRI and it came back disc disease and a herniated disc in the upper back but now for a while I won't do anything won't go out with husband nothing everyone has to drag me out and then once I am out and get home I am so mad at the world I hate everyone thing I will go to no ends to make everyone feel what I feel and that is pain I really think I am crazy and need to be locked up in a padded room, my husband is moving out he can't take no more of this as I can't either, one minute i care and then in the split second he can go so long see ya. I am crzy I hate feeling this way going from being a very strong women in all aspects to this in pain can't even pick up my grandson without crying where do I go from here the nearest hospital (crazy ward)?? my husband says I am bi polar and need help I say no and then its ugly some one give me some good advice, I hate feeling so hateful all the time....

I have just read your artcle cited above, and my first response is well Duh!!! I have been dealing with chronic back pain for years now, and it is a given that it can be depressing. I have tried to analyze the depression aspect, and unfortunately part of the problem is that Drs seem more concerned with the depression than why we are depressed. I could give you a long list aside from the obvois functional limitations and fear of pain. I noticed that i stopped doing social things unless i could limit the time spent doing them if the pain came back. Something as simple as going to the mall with friends becomes too difficult, expecially if they want to stop for dinner or soething equally innocuos. I just read aboput stress and social standing, I now live in poverty, I cannot afforsd a simple massage to feel temporay releif. I cannot afford to [pay to have y laundry done which is something that really agrevates my pain. I live in public housing which would depress anyone. I feel that these studies are irresponsible. They do not address all of the psycho- social reasons behingd pain and depression. Unfortunately most Drs have a sort of tunnwel vision when it comes to this. Another source of the depression is the feeling of powerlessness we all feel. I am constantly patronized, and invalidated because of the ignorance aroung pain. I would like to be working yet my local vocational rehab is competely ignorant when it comes to my limitations ie I cannot move my neck out of 90 degrees continually, so I need an ergonomic work area. This is utterly beyond comprehension for them. I even have a report from an engineer describing this with pictures, yet isit is beyong comprehension. I had to drop out of school, which i loved because i could not get accomodated. I have worked at several jobs which aggrevated the pain and frustration, because they could not understand that I needed to have the computer monitor at a certain angle to diminish pain. The pain sucks butr what is way worse is the response of other people to me. Sometimes my face is kind of pinched because i am in pain, this is misinterpreted constantly. I write letters and do everything i can to try to deal with this, but I am treaated like I am just crazy. The constant invalidation would make a weaker person just stay home and soothe the pain with drugs and ice cream. I do not know why I bother to keep fighting. I think the worse thing about being in pain is the lack of control over our lives, which causes depression in people without pain. I cannot even move to another city, if I do I will have trouble with my pain meds, which are doled out to me like I am a moron. I have never run short no matter how much pain I was in, never abused them, yet I can only have a 30 day supply, which makes it vitrtually impossible to travel or do much of anything. I do not fault my Doctor this is what he has been taught by the ignoramuses who beleive that anyone on opiates is a craven drug addict, even though the figure is less than 4 percent. The ignorance is so pervasive and disheartening it is difficult to fight. I often want to give up. I really don't understand why I keep going. just had a series of painfull injections in my upper back. It hurts a lot, and I really don't know if I will see more than a 10 percent lessening of pain in the area. I have been in too much pain to sleep properly which causes a further increase in pain and irritability. I go through tis every few months, at least the Dr I have now knows what he is doing, the ast one caused a hematoma in my spine and then told me it was because i am on opiates. This is the kind of stupidity i deal with daily. Yeah, just label it as dpression instead of getting to the root of the problem.

As a person who suffers with chronic back pain, I have something I'd like to point out that may not have been studied. People will chronic pain are always prescribed medications for pain from their doctors. Most pain relievers are downers.... including muscle relaxers. The medications most do contribute to depression. If you haven't already you might consider a new study based on this idea. It leaves the sufferers caught between a rock and a hard place. A no win situation. If you don't take the meds..... you have more pain. If you take the meds you get tired and drowsy and can't function as well, so you can't do as much..... and that alone can cause depression. That's my two cents worth, and my experience.

Hi Moi.....I understand everything you are saying ...I am 42 and unable to work for 3 yrs do to back injury ...have had so many procedures...in two days I am having a IDET.......heard it is very painful...already recently had discogram and discdecompession....didn't work...made matters much worse.....they want to put a pelvic bone and metal rod in my back......I said no way......

I agree Tom. Also there are times when you are asked if you are depressed and you aren't sure if you should say yes or not. The few times I have have gone to both extremes. 1)you need to seek mental help. Take this med for it and don't worry we can always up the dosage. 2)if it were serious enough we might consider it to be part of your spine problems.?r?n?r?nYou just can't break even. Who wouldn't be depressed after years of this level of pain, unable to return to work you enjoyed, and being active...having a real life, instead of ending up on disability, for mental depression & PTSD of all jokes, stuck in an apt every day and having a service dog? I'm 52 and have been refused surgery becuase they "are concerned about the risks WE would be taking." I am now having to fight every one of them I see for help. I refuse to take the drugs, just deal with the pain with tears and prayers, and go to someone else. I am left with trying for a neuroablation or IDET. Only thing is I am unable to locate info on how it affects bladder, bowel and vaginal sensations. Anyone know anything about these? Thank you.

I believe it! How could you not get depressed after months or even years of bad pain? No one wants to listen to you so they ignore your pain, but they feel guilty or mad about ingnoring your pain, so you have a hard time with relationships, you can't sleep because of the pain, it interferes with so many things.