Pain Management Post-Surgery
In general the issue of pain management is a surgeon choice and often regional variations in treatment vary.
- Dr. K
Related Topics: Pain Management: Drug Management and Addiction, Pain Treatment Agreement
I personally do not use MS Contin. There are many protocols. In general, pain management should be a sliding approach from stronger to less strong medications.
Initially, intravenous medications through a patient controlled analgesia machine (PCA Pump) are used in the hospital. Medications for months after can include:
- Oxycontin- strong, highly addictive
- Fentanyl patches- strong, addictive, constant relief, expensive
- Dilaudid- powerful, addictive
- Percocet- a good standard for intermediate use
- Hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin)- lower strength but effective
- Dr. K
Related Topics: Pain Management: Drug Management and Addiction, Pain Treatment Agreement
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43 Comments:
I personally don't like the codeine derivatives. They do absolutely nothing to get rid of the pain, they just make you feel drunk and you don't care anymore that it still hurts.
I prefer darvocet, it allieviates the pain somewhat but leaves your head clear. I'd much rather be coherent and in pain than incoherent and in peace.
Hi-
I am a 27 year old female that has undergone multiple (that is probably an understatement) orthopedic surgeries and I was wondering what you would do for a patient for post-op pain relief when they are allergic to codeine and vicodin, and COMPLETELY resistant to darvocet, percocet, morphine, fentanyl, methodone, demerol, diladid, and also ultram, toradol, and a variety of other NSAIDS. We don't know why, but it has been shown that my pain levels are not helped by any of these with tests done while I was completely sedated. I am also one of the few people that epidurals don't work on apparently, as when I had a revision tibial tuberosity realignment done about a month and a half ago I had two epidurals and it was apparent while I was under sedation that they were not working so they had to use general anesthesia on me.
I currently undergo weekly IV lidocaine infusions to control my chronic pain due to arthritis in pretty much every one of my joints, a consequence of being a competitive gymnast for many years.
I am due to have an open inferior capsular shift on my right shoulder at the end of next month and we are not sure what to do about pain relief. I have had ankle reconstructions with no pain relief whatsoever, but I am not eager to repeat that experience with an open procedure on my shoulder...the dislocations are painful enough.
I have done some research and have learned of two other pain medications available in the US that we have not tried. I am going to ask my pain management physician about then but am looking for any info that I can about them. The first is Talwin NX (Pentazocine/Naloxone) and the second in Levo-Dromoran (Levorphanol).
Any info or advice you have would be great.
Thanks,
Heather
Hrather: many years ago I underwent a major back fusion. I am alergic to morphine. As I was going to need constant pain med for 5 monthe, they gave me Talwin by shot every 3 hrs. Short duration but very effective pain relieaf. No withdrawal, simply stopped use after 5 monthe.
John C.
I am a 36 y/o man who recently was given morphine to help relieve the pain after a chest surgery. Within 30 minutes of receiving it I began to experience abdominal and chest cramping and tightness. I alerted the hospital staff who all said that the cramping and tightness had nothing to do with the morphine. When I needed the morphine again the same reaction happened and the staff said the same thing, and gave me IV norflex and toradol. Soon after I was released. With that said, is abdominal cramping and tightness a side affect or allergy to the morphine? Anyone have an answer?
Marcus
Marcus,
I am still recovering from a fractured/dislocation of the ankle so I was on a morphine machine in the hospital, and I was perscribed Avinsa (morphine) as a med.
The main side effect of the morphine is it messes with your gastrointestinal tract. They recommended I take a laxative along with this medication (I ended up taking senna cot 2x a day) and it still did not eleviate the side effect.
It became clear that the actual bowel movements were becoming worse in pain than the ankle itself so I just discontinued taking the meds. I hope that helps, and in the future i will avoid morphine if at all possible.
My dear friend of thirty years is trying to recover from bowel surgery for obstruction.
This is one of many. I am fearful that she won't recover from this, it has been nine days and her wound is infected and her pain literaly intolerable. I think she has an encapsulated abscess or tunnel infection or worse. The Doctor seems to think it is her personality. She felt pretty good on day three and then the pain, temp of 103 , up and down for a couple of days and this pain of a ten or greater. I think she is dying and no one is checking further. Her husband stays by her side and trys to get answerw but really doens't understand the medical jargon. So sad. Any ideas. Dottie
can't get relief...
I have started having debilitating pain in my hip areas that radiates down my legs. The groin area is so painful. I fell twice this year and of course this hasn't helped. MRI shows severe arthritis in my back with a bulging disc. I really can't determine if the pain is nerve pain from the back or hip pain. How can I truly find the main source of the pain without invasived procedures? Any info would be appreciated. thanks
I just had a RFA done to my lower spine. I have degenerative disc. I have been prescribed Talwin NX and it dosn't seen to help the pain. I reported this to the doctor office. They called back and renew the proscription but to take two at a time 3x a day. It still has little effect on the pain and since I have double the dose I am in no shape to drive. So I am not a big fan of Talwin NX
I have severe groin pain and when I walk I get a real sharp jab like pain. Are they any exercise to help this problem EH
Hi Dottie,
Im a nurse. Does the hospital your friend is at have a patient advice team, if so you can go to them and explain your concerns about your friend. Alternatively ask the ward manager for a case conference, this is a meeting between all relatives and that medical team caring for your friend. Remember it is your right, so make a fuss if necessary, it wont impact on your friends care.
After a year or so of taking pain meds, your body adjusts to the pain level WHILE ON the medicine, so it doesn't work anymore. Whatever the reason, if you've been taking pain meds for an extended period, your pain threshold is lower and it stops working.
Since pain meds decrease nerve sensitivity by numbing muscles, it goes without saying that it does the same to other parts of our body as well: bowel, bladder, orgasms...virtually anything dependent on nerve sensations. Your liver should process MOST pain meds out of your body within four hours (not extended release). I have Hep C and don't know if this stat changes because of it.
Talwin NX is just Talwin (another narcotic) with an added ingredient to discourage addiction and is usually prescribed to help withdrawal from opiates. It manages muscle pain. The added ingredient causes nervous side-effects and is probably not good for the heart if taken in high concentrations. It also counteracts and any opiate in your system. Since they cancel each other out, I alternate between this and Oxycodone for chronic pain, hoping to avoid addiction. But it's NOT much on treating isolated pain!!
Since your spine houses all nerves leading to your legs and hips, these nerves can get pinched between your bone, vertebra, discs... for different reasons, causing pain to any part of your body from the back down to your toes. Pinched nerves are not visible in X-Rays.
I tried the expensive lidoderm patches on my back, and except for initial cold contact they do nothing! I also tried the (also expensive) Duragesic patches, and I can't say if it helped my pain, because the side-effect of suicidal depression was worse!! I wouldn't suggest this to ANYONE with depressive tendencies. What's worse is it doesn't work for AT LEAST 24 hours and does not STOP working for the same length of time!!!
You're on the right track by researching your own health issues because too many doctors assume people looking for pain relief want to get "high," that your symptoms are psychological, made up, OR they don't KNOW the cause or how to treat it. Not many people learn EVERYTHING they are taught and how many doctor do you think "aced" the tests to get their license?! But, YOU know how you feel. Some symptoms are overlooked because they seem unrelated. The health issues a doctor understands the most usually depend on the doctors area of passion.
I've grown to accecpt I will always feel the pain to some degree and have to tolerate it. Simple cold or heat applied to the area of pain is still my best option for localized pain; however, this won't work on overall pain; e.g., Fibromyalgia, Cancer, etc.
American doctors are too often punished by the government if they prescribe too many narcotics. The US gets too involved in health care and now tracks controlled substances you take by always logging your driver's license. The millions of $ it takes for AMA to research, approve, and market a drug cause prices to escalate so high we can't afford them. We still don't know what future ill-effect contact with a chemical or germ will have. Who knew about aides or all the hepititis' 25 years ago? Some countries sell some narcotics OTC, and their crime rate is lower because people can afford it, don't have to be treated by numerous doctors to finally be given relief, and don't have to resort to buying street drugs which are more addictive, expensive, and less managed.
There are many suicides per year related to pain but not acknowledged as such. I'm not a doctor or politician, just another chronic-pain sufferers who's angry the US puts us in this position.
I would like to know:
1) How can you rejuvinate your body back to original sensitivity so the pain meds will work again, or can you?
2) Has anyone found relief through ANY Pain Management facility? (this is where I've been accused of the above most frequently.)
3) Have cortizone shots in the spine helped anyone? (Mine got worse.)
4) Does anyone know of a drug to which you actually do NOT grow resistant.
5) Where do you find a doctor who truly understands your pain and how to treat it that doesn't have to worry about what the government will allow him to do?
Sand
Hi,
I'm 16 and had ankle surgery for a "Subluxing"?SP? tendon and a tear in my right ankle it has been about 2 1/2 months and i still have bad swelling and bad pain my Dr. keeps putting me on steriods for the swelling but when i come off them it swells again. Is it still normal to have pain?
-Emily
Dottie, bowel recoverer, and 16-year-old,
Pain tells your body something is wrong! If you still have pain and swelling after a long period of time, something else could be happening. Seek a second and third opinion, if necessary. Don't use the muscles related to the pain if at all possible and give it time.
My father had bowel surgery and has a permanent hernia now but it doesn't seem to bother him (at 88). It's just ugly and scary.
If you were 80-100-years old, steroids might be a good treatment, but not for youth!!
Hi. My name is Marlene and I have constant, chronic pain in my lower back, pelvis, hips, knees, and muscles. The pain is now going up my spine. I was in a car accident in Kansas and had back surgery #2 to do a decompression on the L5 S1, then had to have surgery #3 to do a fusion. A month and a half after that, I moved back to Missouri. I am unable to work, sleep, sit, walk, stand, etc. I do not have insurance as the state of Missouri will not allow me to have Medicaid. I did have Medicaid when I first moved back to St. Louis because I was a single mom, then I got married in July and my husband makes too much money for the medicaid ($16,500 annually). Even with the medicaid, I could not find a doctor in the St. Louis area who would listen to me. I have had 3 series of the cortisone/steroid type of shots in my back by 2 different pain management doctors. The first was also prescribing Percocet to help with the pain. Then the state of MO made some changes to the medicaid and that dr did not accept it after that. Then I finally found another one and when he did the first of the series of 3 shots in my back, he noticed that the metal cage that is an artificial disc, was out of place. Then he did shot #2 and it was still out of place. When I went back for shot #3, he refused to do it because of the position of the cage. I also have spinal canal stenosis, degenerative disc and bone disease, and arthritis. One of the screws is pushing in on my spinal column and I am wondering if this could be part of the nerve pain. This doctor would only prescribe gabapentin (neurontin) 600 mg for the pain. One of the side effects of this is weight gain. I put on 25 pounds and the drug was not working, so I quit taking it altogether. The doctors in St. Louis refuse to take the auto insurance to work on me. They say it is a 3rd party insurance, so they cannot afford to do the billing for it. And when you walk into a doctor's office to be seen, as soon as they find out that you are medicaid, usually the most they will do is prescribe drugs. All I want is for someone to fix this problem, not keep me doped up. My primary doctor prescribed Percocet 10mg, but the state of MO would not pay for it, so I had to go to the lower dose of 5/325mg and take 2 at a time. When I take the percocet, I am wired for sound. I cannot sleep, shut up, or quit moving some part of my body. I also went to one other pain management doctor in St. Louis for this pain and he ordered a CT. St. Louis doctors will not order an MRI because they say it is too expensive and could move the metal from the fusion. Then another doctor said that is a false statement. Anyway, the CT showed the spinal canal stenosis, 2 bulging discs, the degenerative discs and bones. So this doctor started doing the cortocosteroid shots in my back. After the very first one that hurt so bad, I ended up using a walker and still do because the shots just made it worse. Then I went back for shot #2, which made life a living hell. Then came time for shot #3 and I refused it. He was prescribing Methadone and Baclofen. The Baclofen made me puke and feel like dookie. He also prescribed the Lidoderm patches, but they did not work, either. He gave me a DVD to watch about a trial pain pump that is surgically implanted into your body that releases pain meds on a regular basis, but you have to go to your dr every month to get the pump filled with the meds. Some of the side effects said that it is just as dangerous if you do not get enough of the meds as it is to be overdosed, only worse. And you have to keep your body temp at a constant level. You cannot go outside when the temp reaches 30 degrees, nor when it is hot outside because the temperature variance affects the pump and the amount of meds that it releases into your system. It can also mess up and either disperse too much or too little if it is hit like if you fall or bump it in any way. To me, this was much more dangerous than living with the pain. I still have to use the walker sometimes because my legs will just give out and the pain is too intense to walk without it. I use it to push down on it with my arms and hands to alleviate some of the pain and pressure on my spine. This last doctor was very unhappy that I chose not to get the pump implanted and will not see me again. He told me the name of a doctor to go to, so I did. Well, his assistant seen me because he doesn't like medicaid. After 2 visits there and a myleogram ordered after the first visit and the hospital scheduling staff messed up and I did not get it done, the second appointment was totally useless. Then he said that I should exercise by walking, bending, stretching, etc. This blooming idiot thinks that I am fat by choice and that I can do these things. If I could, I would so that I could get back to work and get my own health insurance and move to a state that will do something about it. In the meantime, does anyone have any advice on what I could do to help with the pain? I have some Percocet left, but, they wire me up and I cannot stand it, but I do take it during the daytime hours. I will sit in a hot bathtub if my husband is home so that he can help me get in and out of the tub. Him and my 14 yr old son have to put my socks on me, and my husband has to put my underwear and pants on up to my knees so that I can reach them to put them on. The pain is now about a 15 on a scale of 1 to 10. I do not want the drugs, I want fixed. Why is this so much to ask of the doctors to do or the state of MO to help pay for? I do not want the Medicaid because I am too lazy to work. I need it so that I can get back to work. When you walk in to a dr office and say medicaid, they look at you like you have six heads growing out of your shoulders or something like you have cooties. I need some help and am sorry for babbling on because I did take percocet about an hour ago and need to get this off my chest and try to find out what to do. Hot and cold packs do not work either. The more intense the pain, the more cigarettes that I smoke. I am now up to 4 packs in a 24 hour time frame as I only get to sleep approx. 1 hour a nite and it is all broken up, and my give a damn is busted! Any suggestions other than to just shut up and deal with it? Thank you for your time with this rediculous thing that I just did by describing some of the events in my life during the past 2 years of living in the state of misery, I mean Missouri. Thank you and have a wonderful day.
Heather-
Have you considered a SCS - spinal cord stimulator? They work to kill pain by directly working on the spinal cord. Or an intercathal pump - aka a pain pump. It's a permanent epidural that delivers meds directly to your spine via a little machine that is in your tummy. I have one and it has fentanyl it it but they can be filled with anything and maybe one of those meds would work for you in epidural form? There's an excellent med called Prialt that can only be given via the pump and it helped my nerve pain when no pain medicines could. Also, tolerance is less of an issue because you need 1/10-1/1000 of the oral/iv doses since the med goes directly to your spine. If you found a medication to work in there the pump could be put in high enough to REALLY help with your pain. Good luck, I really hope you can find something that works for you!
Karin
Hi,I am a 45 year old male.I had gone for 2 surgerys in the last year. I had post tramatic arthtis in my right ankle. The doc. did an detachment with external traction,which involved 3 pins below my ankle which were inserted in one side and out the other. They supposed to be in for 3 months. While recovering I would have muscle spasms which would jerk my foot and cause severe pain. Then after 2 months the pain was unbearible and also the pin sites where infected.I then went to emergeny room and was treated with antibiotics and had the pins removed,the worst pain of my life.The recovery time was to be 6 months.Still swelled and very painful. went to pain management and had triple phase bone scan and Q-SART tast done, they were ok.Went back to doc and said procedure did not work. Had an ankle fusion done. Now is going on 7 months and pain is still severe after putting weight on it. Was supposed to be pain free in 6 months. Does anyone else ever heard of this happining, and I am wondering if the intial surgery lower pin problem affected this in any way. I dont know what to do. Any advice would be great, Thanks
Hi I'm an 18 yr old horseback rider who is on her second knee surgery. I have a scheduled knee realignment surgery on fri feb 15 and was wondering if any one has had this surgery (realigning the tibia turbercle with screws) and how bad the post op pain was. I have an extremely low tolerance for pain and heard that it is very painful. My first surgery was arthroscopic with a lateral release. i'm not sure what to base the pain on. that was a 1 month recovery and this surgery is 4 month recovery. Any inquiries are greatly appreciated.
Ny husband is a 50 yr old dump truck driver and he is suffering from extreme hip and back pain. Does anyone have the answer to whether the lidoderm patch is worth getting?
Lidoderm patches DO work. They work better if you rub on some Bio Freeze (available at physical therapy places or spas) that makes it more icy. I used them and biofreeze because I hated the smell of icy hot. Hope this helps.
i fell amonth ago and broke my upper arm in 3 places had to have surgery and have a looks like a knitting needle with a cable to help mend the bone but that was a month ago and my arm is still swollen and hard also lower arm too and the pain is terrible taken percocet lortab meperdine to no avail can anyone help iam 52
Hello,
I am a 36 year old female who suffers lower back pain. I have been diagnosed with spondolythesis stage 3 along with degenerative disk disease, lesions, a bulging disk, and a herniated disk. This problem of mine was found in Dec. 06. The 2 different pain specialist that I have been to insist that I have had this injury for most of my life. It seems that these Dr.s just want to give me shots in my back and prescribe me 5 mg percocet (1 every 6 hours) The shots do nothing for me but make me feel worse especially for the first week after getting them. I have been told that I need two double fusions, by 2 different neurosurgins. The percocet is not enough for me and all the Dr.s insist that I have been dealing with this for a long time so the 5 mg percocet should be enough. I feel like Im being thrown on the back burner and the Dr.s are going through my pockets. There are days where I cant even go to work. I am running out of sick time. Does anyone have any advice for me? I dont feel I should have to suffer this way.
To Jeff,I have had 4 major surgeries on my ankle in 4 yrs. I have a lot of screws,pins,plates,and a large rod. Last surgery was in Aug.of 07 it is now March 8 o8. I am supposed to be pain free and able to walk some what normal. Instead I am on Vicodin 5 times a day, just to be able to tolerate the pain. I am seeking another doctor to help me. signed michael
HI,
I am a 23 year old female who was in a car accident over 3 months ago. I have told over 3 different doctors that there was something wrong with my back. I have gone through 2 months of physical therapy and tons of different pain pills(vicodin, prepocet,tramadol) and nothing seems to work. One doctor finally listened and gave me an MRI. They found a herniated disk. I asking for some help for some relief for pain. I feel like the doctors think I am overdoing my story just because I was in a car accident. I am in a lot of pain and nothing seems to make me feel better. I going to see a neuro surgeon and I wonder if anyone has any suggestion for me to help me get better.
I am a 35 year old female that has had severe lower back, right leg pain for 4 years. I went through several doctors and pain management doctors before I had an official diagnosis of spinal stenosis. I had 2 back surgeries that did not help alleviate the pain and recently found a new pain management doc that was willing to help me out! I had a spine cord stimulator implanted and it seems to be helping with the pain! I have found over time that my body has become immune to several drugs that I was given for pain. I have ben through withdrawls 3 times and am just starting my 4th tie with fentanyl! It's not easy to go through, but I am looking forward to finding out exactly how much relief I get from the SCS without any drugs! If you are living in constant pain, I would seriously talk to your pain management doctor about the SCS therapy! I have a 25 year battery implanted in my left hip. It was kinda hard to get used to the vibration of the SCS, but that only took 3 weeks to get used to!
Good Luck!
hi, my name is steve. my truck was blown up by 3 anti-tank mines while i was serving in afghanistan. my calcaneus (heel bone) was shatterred into 5 pieces. 2 of my metotorsal bones were broken as well. i have had a surgery where 9 screws and a plate were inserted to reconstruct it. some bone cement was also used. this was over 6 months ago. the doctors say that the hardware is permanent because the surrounding muscle tissue is so deteriorated that another surgery would not have a good result. the wound would not heal properly. the problem is that i have serious arthritic pain if i spend over an hour on my feet. my doctors wont give me anything stronger than ibuprofen and celebrex for pain because they fear i will become dependent,they dont help much at all. oxycontin worked great for the pain but i can no longer take it. does anyone have any advice about alternative pain management?
Hi Steve,
First, thank you for your service in Afghanistan. We appreciate you.
We have a great Pain Management expert here on WebMD who does have ideas for alternative methods of pain management. Please visit her message board (linked above) and post your question there.
Hi. I am 28 years old and have had 2 orthopedic surgeries (the 2nd was a corrective of the 1st). After surgery I was given anesthesia intravenously through a PCA pump as well as an injection I received on my right arm every couple of hours to relieve the pain. I noticed that when the injected analgesic was administered my vein would swell up & turn purple as the anagelsic traveled through it. Not to mejtion the intense pain. I requested to have that stopped but they cointinued to do it (since I was usually asleep when the nurse came around). After I was back home from the hospital I noticed that my right hand & arm was swollen & had some pain. My surgeon assured me that it would go away after a short time. It has been over a year now & my hand is always a bit swollen (especially in the morning)& have pain when I make a fist. Also, when doing excercise my right arm gets purple & has pain if I have it extended away from my body & parallel to the floor for more than 1 minute. This is not the case with my left arm. Do you know if this is due to the analgesic? How can I relieve this pain & swelling?
Please advise.
Raquel
Has anyone ever heard of being allergic to the metal/non-metal cage and nails put into a back with L5,S1 fusion, etc. I am very allergic to metals. Even surgical steel in earing posts give me blisters. Right now my back, side and one arm covered with burning not itching red dots at least 50 of them and still growing(On my skin) that turn into holes. I even had glasses leech metal through plastic to blister my skin. I have been on 1000 mg Augmenton twice a day for 12 days. They are a little tame but I keep getting more. I am beside my self. I am treated like a leper because of taking pain meds and being covered in sores that just are not normal. What is normal but a cycle on the washing machine anyway. I burn and ache and the weeping sores ruin all my clothes. I am depressed.
Drs and hospital staff treat me horribly like I am a junkie. I am to take 2000mg of Augmenton for thirty days. Shouldn't I have seen relief by now. This is exactly what I get from metal allergies. I even have to cover the inside of buttons to jeans or I will blister. I do not care if I am right I just want to know if anyone has ever heard of anyone that was allergic to the metal (What ever it is.) used in their body for surgery.
Thank you in advance for your time.
BAZ
DON'T hAVE SURGERY I'm a 48 year old woman who has had 3 major back Surgery's in 9 months I'm worse now then I every was I Blame the Doctor now he tells me it my main nerve and nothing can be done. before surgery I could work now I'm lucky to walk the pain is so bad I can't take it anymore I don't wont to live this way this is not life I spend most of my time alone I dont even want to go out of my house I just want to die so the pain will stop. so its not one doctor its doctor's every where I had mine done at Riverside in Cloumbus Ohio. I'm going on 3 years now theres no help just pain Molly
hi im a 37 yearold and i about 2 years ago i went to glamous were we ride sand dune bikes and i hurt my back i crushed my t12 and injured my lower back i been takeing epidirual shots and i gained weight but my back still hurts on my middle back of the t12 and down what can i do the shots are not working thanck you concerned victoria
im 23 and i have to have a ankle fusion due to psoriatic arthritis im worried about not getting relief from it and im also concerned that my doc said he was going to put me on pain meds for 3 weeks then stop them and its a 12 week recovery period i worried about pain after the 3 weeks
OMG! after navagating due to my pain meds not working and my tolerence very high,I have been reading all the things others have written and the suffering you all too have and are going through, I have various things going on, hep c
chronic lower back-disc problems, high blood pressure and now I am worried why I have excessive thrist? I eat well most of the time and swim 3 x a week if not more for my back which helps sooo much, so any of you who suffer with lower back issues go to the water-with that and meds I finaly can function, after 4 years of trying to get the Dr attn, judged, looked upon as seeking meds to get high, I do not GET HIGH and I am on 60mg of morphine 3xday, and like I said swim, it is like we have to earn help or convience someone in medicine to help us b4 we try to self medicate out of desperation, I was turned down for disability they reviwed my case as A SUBSTANCE ABUSER ONLY! I could not belive all I have been thru and thier finaly answer was I was a substance abuser, not somone reaching out in desperation with chronic pain issues, finaly the Good Lord led me to who is my DR> now, somone who listened and cared enough to treat me. I had to do desperate things just to relive my pain, as it stands I still can't find employment as the meds do not take the pain all away, so I still can not sit for very long, nor stand, and I hurt as we speak, society the medical professtion must open their eyes and help us. God will help all of you find releif if your a child of his, don't give up!
Heather - my husband is a T5-6 incomplete paraplegic and has been for many years. His method of pain management is Talwin NX. The big problem here is that Talwin NX Brand or generic is becoming very had to find. Apparently it is not being manufactured anymore or there has been a recall on it. But it is the one and only thing that works. We are trying to find a source for it and hopefully you can find one too. Manufactureres are Amide and Watson.
Good luck
I am not sure if this will help anyone but I'll tell you anyways! I, just Tuesday, was diagnosed as having degenerative discs in my neck and low back. I have suffered for nearly the past 10 years with moderate to severe headaches that are being caused by the inflamation and swelling in my neck. Also, a few times a month I become almost paralized by the sharp, stabbing/pinching pain in my sacra-illiac joint, due to left pelvic side being lower than the right...and so on and so on. Anyway, I went to a Chiropractor on Monday after suffering for a couple of days. He did thermal tests, muscle tests and finally x-rays and found the degenerative discs in neck and lower back, not to mention scoliosis. He has a treatment plan for me which will require visits for the next 22 weeks. He hopes to prevent further damage and prevent surgery later down the road.
I am only 32 so catching this now rather then later is a blessing. Anyway, after reading most of your comments, I was wondering if anyone has attempted this method of treatment. I don't think this treatment will "heal" the degeneration but possibly prevent it from getting worse and prevent me from enduring surgery and a painful recovery.
Can anyone tell me if this method has worked for them?
Thank you for taking the time to share all of your experiences, somehow it makes me feel like I am not so bad off.
imanonymous
HI! MY NAME IS TERRI
I HAVE HAD 2 LOWER BACK SURGEIES FROM L-4 THUR S-1 AND NECK SURGERY I HAVE HAD 4 EPIDURAL THAT DID NOT DO NOTHING.THEY ALSO PUT IN A SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR THAT NEVER HELP OR SHOULD I SAID CAUSED MORE PAIN. I HAVE ALOT OF PAIN IN MY LOWER BACK AND ANKLES IT HURTS TO MOVE. I AM NOW SEEING A PAIN DOC SHE HELPS ALOT I AM ON FENTANUL PATCH AND PAIM PILL. IT'S NO LIFE TO LIVE BUT IT HELPS UNTIL THEY FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG.
What is going on-- everyoneis in so much pain. I truely empathize with you. I also have degenerative disc disease in the lumbar and neck C1-3. I have had severe pain in my right shoulder and received a report from the DR today- who does not believe in pain medication except antiiflammatory drugs which I can not take due to severe ulceratipon of my esophogus and throughout my digestion system. Anyways he stated that I have "end-stage" arthritis in my glenohumeral joint. I have only heard enthere is d stage in regards to cancer. There are also changes such as a large spur on my humeral head. I also have spondylosis and arthitismin my knees.
Like many of you,I have had nerve stimulators, PT, shots-- the whole nine yards. Out of frustration and losing my job because too many absences, I made a feeble attempt at suicide.Now with that on my records no doc will help me with pain meds.So as many of you I am up the creek drowning. Not that I expect any answers it feels good to have a place to vent; although all suuggestions are welcome. I also want to say suicide is harder than you think and being strapped in a bed really takes your freedom away so it's not worth the hassel.
I hope all of you have better luck in finding a Dr. I was in pre-MED msny years ago and never met a more ruthless and unimaginate group of students.
I had a total knee replacement in Nov 06 that went bad. Sepsis after the unsutured drain fell out,2 subsequent clean up surgeries within two more weeks. 4-5 blood clots. B/P dropped to 60/30,102 temp,and the ortho idiot said I had the flu.Tried to send me home. Tried to hit on my wife! To top it off I had a 5 day epidural inserted to facilitate a CPM exercise regimen. The epidural migrated out of the spinal space,the Dr was called. He advised the RN's to change out the pump but they just kept resetting it. I was in the MOST excrciating pain ever in my life. The RN Supervisor advised my wife,an ICU RN,that the nurses were too busy to attend to me because they had "More important issues to take care of at the time." I now have very constant knee pain (Always swollen) and the L-5 epidural area was permanantly damaged (nerves too) 40mg of Loritab a day doesnt cut it. It is now in litigation. Any relief out there for this anyone knows of? I'm lost and in pain and TOTALLY frustrated!
This is for the person who has blisters and has metal allergies....I am a 37yo female. I suffered for 15+ months, following a cervical fusion with Titanium plate and screw placement. About three weeks after surgery, I began to have progressive pain in ALL of my joints, along with severe edema which was horrible in my legs, ankles and feet. My doctor's were at a loss, and sent me to a pain center and a Rheumatologist, who wanted to start treating me for Rheumatoid Arthritis, even though I tested negative for that, along with Gout, Lupus, etc. By a complete fluke, an aquaintance suggested an allergy to the Titanium in my cervical spine. I then poured over everything I could find on the internet regarding the subject, and lo and behold...I had all the symptoms of a metal allergy. Joint pain and swelling, carpal tunnel mimmicking syndrome, fatique, dependent edema, diffuse arthralgias, etc. My surgeon did not buy that it was from the Titanium, but reluctantly agreed to remove the Titanium hardware, since my vertebrae was fused by now anyway. I had never thought about it previously, but I had had problems with earrings when I was young, and despite having a belly-button piercing with a Titanium stud for an entire year, it was pussy and oozy and would never heal. I had surgery to remove it on July 5, 2005. On the fourth day following surgery, I had my first "good" day in over a year. It has been almost two months, and I feel better everyday, but still have lingering pain in my hands and feet, mostly in the morning or sometimes if I'm on my feet for a long time or using my hands for a long time. I have substantially decreased my pain meds (of which I am very tolerant of anyway). There is a website dedicated to the diagnosis of metal allergies, that can test you for them. www.melisa.org
Most doctors do not believe in true allergies to Titanium. It horrifies me to think of the people who may be suffering from this and not know it. I was ready to put myself in bed for good, since moving around at all was excruciating, and all pain meds were ineffective to treat my pain. I lost 12pounds of fluid,just in the first week following my surgery!
HI,
I had 3 back surgeries(the last one was ANTERIOR BACK FUSION) due to a car accident and Im taking MORPHINE and OXYCODONE to relieve my pain, none of the surgeries worked and I end up with chronic pain .
I wonder if my meds can make me gain weight, last month i had my gallblader removed too.
Since I had all surgeries I noticed that my weight went from 100 lb to 140 lb,this started in january 2008, my 3 back surgeries was done in 2005 and 2006.
Hi,
I am a 35 y/o female that had a total knee replacement 5 months ago. Due to all of the pain before and after surgery I am now physically dependent on hydrocodone. I desperately want off this stuff as I am having to take them just to keep from being sick. Does anyone know what the witdrawals are and how long they last(If I go "cold turkey"? I've been taking it everyday for a least a year. Cutting back really isn't helping. I still hurt from the surgery and my other knee but, I think it could be controlled with a non-narcotic medicine. Any ideas?
Let me start out by saying Naproxen APAP. Look it up.
Like our serviceman who broke his calcaneus (heel bone), I broke mine - shattered it into too many pieces to count - hundreds (Doc said it looks like tempered glass that had been shattered). Doc put in a plate and 6 screws.
The bone pain and incision pain was gone within 2 weeks or so but the nerve damage, swelling, staff infections, etc. have made this very difficult.
The morphine shot on the day of the accident didn't work and none of the pain meds have really worked. They may dull the pain a little but nothing like I expected. Oxycodene, codene, darvocet...
I'd take two oxy ever hour b/c it takes an hour to "kick in" and only lasts an hour or so. Ditto for the others.
It feels like I've experienced the full brunt of pain from day one except when I'm asleep, which is rare. Sleeping pills are ineffective just like pain meds.
The only thing that gave me a little peace was naproxen apap, which I happened to have from a previous back strain.
I've come to just deal with the pain during the day and take ibuprofin most of the time but I have to take something by the evening.
It's been six weeks since my surgery - seven weeks since the accident.
I can't crutch around for more than 5 minutes - the swelling and pain becomes too much, which means I still can't help myself with ANYTHING. Ugh.
I take Promethazine and/or Zofran for nausea due to drugs and/or standing up too long. Seems to work pretty well...
BTW - my staff infection caused "staining" of my skin on my foot. The splotchy red skin dies after treatment (augmentin). It looks like a sunburn in everyway - redness, texture, wrinkles, etc. and the skin eventually peels off like a sunburn but it's MUCH thicker skin. Crazy.
Quick update on the calcaneous posts. Once the bone pain is gone, there's nerve pain that just won't go away.
I tried Lyrica and it really works. Between flexing/exercising my foot and Lyrica, I can manage a little better throughout the day.
Last January I broke my leg and ankle. I heard it break in fact. Now having epliepsy, pain doesn't effect all tha much. It's just when I tried to get up and my foot felt dead that I knew that I was in trouble. So anyway, I managed to get into the house and pull down the phone and call 911. They took me to the ER and didn't even know it it could be fixed. They did. But it's been a long haul. Now since the bone on the leg isn't healing right, I have this bone stimulator. Funny thing is that after the session, it feels worse. Now like I said, since I have epilepsy I know what pain is. But when it makes walking difficult, that makes me nuts. Any ideas? Please don't tell more drugs. I'm already on too many.
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