I plan to see a doctor after my boyfriend gets back from his trip (which will be next Monday), but in the meantime, does anyone have any info about back pain? I have done some research, but it can be so many things.

More to the point, what will help it? I take Advil when it occurs, but it doesn't always help. I don't have any heating pads, although I might try to talk my bf into getting some when we go to the store tonight to get stuff so I have everything I need when he leaves. I'm talking about the ThermaCare things. I prefer something that doesn't have goop on it (like IcyHot patches).

Has anyone had any success with a good heating pad? I did some research a while back, looking for a quality one, but almost all of them that had reviews had complaints. Usually, it's that the pad doesn't heat up. I'd like something soft, as opposed to plastic.

The pain is almost always in the same place, lower back, right side, under or about the same place as some of my fat. It's not all the way down, to the small of the back (where the back joins the butt). I know that it started after sleeping on a very lumpy mattress (that also had holes in it and springs sticking out) for years. My bf finally tossed that mattress before we moved, and I got my own bed and mattress. My mattress is firm, but not overly so, because I can't sleep on a hard bed, but I wonder if I should have gotten a firmer mattress. I'm sitting on my bed now to work on my computer (the only place I really can right now), and it seems to cause strain on my back. This is really frustrating. Does anyone have any advice?