My 67 yr old husband is in the process of being investigated to see if he’s got Parkinson’s. He’s been seen once at neurology and has had a DATSCAN. He’s got an appointment at neurology next week and should get a diagnosis. In the meantime he’s in absolute agony with pain in his back and neck. Our gp said he couldn’t give him anything until he had a diagnosis and just take paracetamol. This isn’t touching the pain and he can hardly move without great difficulty. He was crying with pain earlier. I don’t know what to do, it just seems so cruel to refuse to give any pain relief in this situation.
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Sorry to hear and can relate. Wonder if the GP could prescribe naproxen? Regardless of any meds, a hot water bottle can help quite a bit.
I ended up having to go out to the out of hours gp unit just before midnight to get some codeine for him. So far it hasn’t made much difference. In the night I had to help him to the toilet five times and now feel exhausted. I know it sounds selfish but I’m not very well either. I just feel like there’s no help anywhere. We have no family living anywhere near us so we’re on our own.
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Gabapentin gives me some relief. My GP was useless but my Neurologist suggested it. Hope this helps.
That sounds so hard. I hope you both get some relief from this soon.
Hi @Redjune1,
I’m sorry to hear that you and your husband are going through this - my thoughts go out to you both. It’s horrible that you feel alone with having to care for your husband, but I hope that the words of encouragement that some of our members have shared with you will at least make you feel less alone. Although your husband hasn’t officially been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I would encourage you to contact our helpline service and speak to one of our trusted advisers about this
They can put you contact with the right health and social work professionals to help you and your husband during this challenging time. Please give us a call as soon as you can on 0808 800 0303 or email us at [email protected]
Best wishes,
Reah
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I am wondering if a tens machine would help as they can be good for back pain. There are cheap ones available or they can be hired so you can see if they are any help before paying out a lot of money.
@Redjune1 my wife is a pharmacist and I spoke about this with her. If what you have already tried already hasn’t worked, you should ask your GP for Gabapentin as it’s specifically for nerve pain. If experiencing muscle cramps, try Buscopan as the active ingredient may reduce this issue. Hope this helps.
Thank you for the replies. I went to our gps with my husband last Monday and basically he just talked over us . My husband told him that he was being investigated for Parkinson’s and the gp just said back pain is nothing to do with Parkinson’s. We then saw the consultant on Thursday who told us that he has a form of Parkinsonism called MSA and yes, the pain could be caused by this. The gp gave him high strength co codamol for the pain and is sending him for an X-ray.
He’s now started on Sinemet so hopefully it will start to work soon, although we’ve read that it doesn’t always work well for people with MSA
Hi,
When i had looked at info about Parkinson’s when I was a diagnosed. There was very little about the pain and how it manifest’s it’s self. It seemed more about the tremor and stiffness, But it has plagued me for years, it’s something i said little to my family about, but recently it has impacted greatly on my emotional state and stopped me doing physical things. Paracetamol does not touch it. My GP has given me Celecoxib, and for the first time in months i did some ironing! Maybe worth asking about. Hope there is some relief soon
Esme
Thank you Esme I will ask about that when we see our gp. My husband has more or less abandoned the co codamol that he was given because it doesn’t work. He says that it’s not so much the pain now that is a problem but the stiffness.
Hi,
I have to be honest but i do not know anything about MSA. But I started Sinemet 5 years ago and made a huge difference with ‘my unwanted guest’. I Have moved on up the medication scale since, unfortunately.
And think i need a tweak again now. but try and get your husband an appointment with a neuro physio, they helped with my balance. and stiffness. and politely do not take no for an answer if GP flounders.
Remember the motto 'use it or lose it ’ 
Esme x
My husband has been on Sinemet for a week now and there’s no sign of any improvement. In fact we’ve just been for a very short walk and he literally could hardly walk at all. I know a week is nothing but I just worry that if the medication doesn’t work then what happens next ?
HI i’m just wondering how other’s feel.? I recently saw my Parkinson’s nurse . And spoke of the level of generalised pain and discomfort i feel. She told me , as a rule people with Parkinson’s to not suffer pain. It’s more tremors and stiffness. For me looking back , it was pain that I initially suffered with … Does any one feel this way ?
Esme x.
I get a lot of hand pain. I’ve bought a tens machine and a hand massage machine, and these have really helped.
@Lemon I just had an OT appointment supplied by work who said that PD often causes carpal tunnel syndrome for which I have an appointment to discuss surgery tomorrow. It was the first main sign that something was wrong for me as the pain became unbearable. Gabapentin works a treat for it!!
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After writing about whether a tens machine would help my husbands back pain returned and he was again prescribed morphine patches so I bought him a tens machine to try and it works well for him and unlike morphine does not make him constipated
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