I have severe low back pain, can I call for an ambulance.?

I have severe low back pain, severe pain on both flanks but acute on the left (can’t stand straight as a result) Pain in the abdominal region, severe chills. I wake up every morning and cant move an inch from the bed unless I take 2 x 200 mg of neurofen. I would have to lay there another hour for it to take full effect. It all started mildly in Feb this year and I have seen my GP severally, test & scan done but nothing comes up so I end up getting pain killers and a worsening situation. I felt the worst pain ever today and passed out briefly. Despite taking 2 neurofen 2 hours, I can feel the pain creeping in. I cannot get off the bed. Can I call an ambulance for something like this? I’m in the UK.

You can but it isn’t the best option. This isn’t an acute medical emergency this is ongoing chronic back pain. If it’s a lot worse one morning out of the blue or any sudden new symptoms accompany it then yes an ambulance is the best option. However if you call 999 for chronic back pain the crew will either refer you back to your GP or out of hours service, or take you to A&E who will run tests and then do the same.

Diagnosing Low Back Pain

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