I've been experiencing a lot of pain from a low back injury that occurred last November (muscle and skeletal with L5 sliding forward and spondylothesis) and I am currently treating for. I was initially prescribed Vicodin, Flexeril and Advil but was taken off Vicodin both at my request and that of my MD because it was taking more and more to provide any relief. I was then moved to Ultram and Flexeril with a couple of Tylenol to go with the Ultram (first prescribed Ultracet but was so $$$ that the generic Ultram was prescribed with the added Tylenol boost). Ultram was 1-2 for 3X a day. Flexeril is one per day (I usually take it at night to help with the pain so I can sleep) I also have a TENS unit that offers some temporary relief.

The only way to to get a little relief now is to take 3-4 Ultram with 4-6 Tylenol or Advil 3X a day. I'm 6'4" and big so it seems to take more to work. I've just been prescribed Skelaxin but it doesn't seem to do much good after a week of dosage. I've also had two epidurals with very minimal relief from the second and none from the first.

The pain is just getting worse and is causing sleep loss and interfering with everything I do. I just started aqua PT again and that has intensified the pain as well. I can't even put my own socks on and getting dressed is a chore. It is wearing me down and I need something to help. My MD seems to take a more conservative approach to meds so I plan on requesting something better on my next visit.

What are some of the meds any of you have had success with? I also have asthma so I have to keep that under consideration but a round of Cortisone tablets several months ago didn't seem to irritate it - or maybe it did and I thought it was from spring allergies. I'd prefer not to sit around in a slobbering daze :yawn: but I don't know how much longer I can take this. I need to at least reduce it to a more manageable level!

Thanks,
WCPI

WCPI,

What type of back injury do you have? What treatment options have you explored for taking care of the real problem? Pain is dang hard to deal with and sure gets you down after awhile. Do you feel you are seeing the right kind of doctor for back problems? There is much information here on back specialists from neuro surgeons to spine specialists. My initial response to your post would be to get to the right kind of doctor. Then, what types of tests have you had done?

I have had back problems for a long time now. Mine is mostly caused by degenerative disc disease and has been aggravated by a few other injuries, but my path to pain management has been similar to others here..anti-inflamatories, pt, new stuff as it comes out..celebrex etc. and prednisone when it flares..then on to hydrocodone with an ever increasing dosage..surgery will be my last choice at this point and may be necessary eventually, but for now, I want to be as active as I can be, manage the pain so that I can work and play, and I've just been switched to a duragesic patch. I tried morphine, oxycontin, percs, long acting morphine and they either didn't do anything or the side effects were just too much to deal with.

There are plenty of folks here to offer advice, but you might want to provide more detailed information on your back injury and what you've done so far..

Good luck..someone will come along soon to provide some insight. Sorry about your pain..there are ways to manage it, so hang in there.

Thanks Josie - As I mentioned my injury is mostly skeletal with L5 sliding forward and impinging on the spinal cord and branching nerves to my legs and spondylothesis (two fractures on the "wings" of L5) with some degenerative disk disease.

I'm sorry WCPI..I went back and read your post and maybe I was just not all the way awake when I read it. My back problems are similar to yours. I've heard that nerve pain is tough to treat..I'm finding that the fentanyl patches seem to be working. The 72 hours on my first patch ended last evening. I was in meetings ALL day yesterday and found around 3:30 in the afternoon, the sciatic pain just came zooming in. After thinking about it for a minute.. I realized that I was just probably coming to the end of the effects of the patch..took a vicodan for the first time in 2 days..it helped until I got home and changed patches. So far, so good.

My doctor is somewhat conservative (or so I thought) about pain meds. We've tried the usual stuff..ultram and ultracet made me spacey. Somas have only been helpful occassionally.. switching to the valium has helped at night alot. Now, the patch. I think I'm on to the right combinations.

I also think my doctor now realizes some of the pain issues. She had a shoulder problem and was treated with cortisone shots? or maybe a mri contrast..but whatever, said she had a whole new appreciation for pain. I'm going to be having surgery on the 25th to fix my shoulder from a skiing accident in March..slap 2 lesion, torn rotator cuff, etc. and I also fractured it. Also smashed my hand and will also be having a tendon reattached. I told her about my concerns for pain management during all of that and that is when she said, "let's get you on the patch". I am now feeling like the pain from the shoulder is well on the way to being addressed..particularly the sleeping problem..(too much pain)..so, keep working to find the best therapy. It will take a combination of things..have you tried neurontin? or any of those types of meds that while their intended application is for something else..also seems to help with nerve pain? Good luck..this is usally a long road to discovery..trial and error..hope you can find something that works..

Thanks for your insight Josie. I'm going back to see my MD next week and will discuss these options with him then. The patch seems like it may help but I'd whiz on a spark plug if I thought it would stop the pain! :eek:

I'm using Flexeril to help with the pain at night so I can sleep but if I've been up a lot during the day or had aqua therapy it doesn't help a whole lot. I'll still wake up several times a night with searing pain in one or both of my thighs because of the sciatic nerve impingement. Sometimes raising my legs on a cushion will help and other times it does nothing. There really isn't any particular thing that will bring me continued, ongoing relief from that type of pain and my back pain.

WCPI

WCPI, I also have numerous spine problems, the toughest pain I have though is from damage to the S1 neve, I have tried about everything and even had a SCS implant done only had to have to removed.
My PM and I are currently workng on changing meds and trying new and different one to avoid having the pain pump implant done yet.
I am now on methadoneand since he has moved it to 3 times a day it is helping he also started me on keppra which s a anti-seizure med that is helping with the pain, it is found these meds help with nerve pain only they have so many side effects, so I'm not sure I'll be able to stay on it.
I have also found that the supplement of B12 is great for nerve pain and also has increased my energy level that was zilch, if you do the B12 make sure you get a time released or it doesn't stay in your system long enough to absorb.
I'm worried about the amount of tyenol you are taking this can't be good for you and your liver.
I hope that you and your dr can find the right meds to help you soon.
Linda

I was injured in March and at first was told I had torn ligaments, than torn facet joints in the Thorasic region, T8 - T12. I was given all kinds of meds, vicodin, ultracet(ultram), flexeril, skelaxin, neurontin, you name it. I took these pills in different
intervals which tore up my stomach, gave me constipation, made me sleep all day or gave insomnia, and led to a serious depression. I am on a medical leave of absence from work so my social intraction became void. I went to 2 neurologists where I got a facet block injection which did not work and I had severe side effects from the steroids and it gave me more pain. I went to a new spine specialist, physiatrist who wanted to do a facet block, but higher on my spine than where the first doc did. The first injection was only diagnostic and I was just given Lidocaine. It hurt so much, I cried like a baby and had a terrible week following. (Bare with this response, it gets better). I was supposed to go back the following week for more injections and I was so scared and just exhausted and sick from all of the meds. I was prescribed celebrex. I stopped all of my other meds, started 200mg of Celebrex in the am, have been exercising every day and getting lots of sunshine each day, and although it has been only 1 week, this is the best I have felt in 5 months. I am thinking, that the power of the mind can be a lot stronger than all of the narcotics which seem to do more harm then good. I am not saying I am not in any pain, but emotionally I feel so much better, that I can tolerate it better. Do you really want to add addiction and depression to your list of problems, if you are not already there? Good luck to you. I don't know where you live, but I am the happiest with the treatment I have recieved at Advanced Pain Management Specialists in Fort Myers Florida, with Dr. Michael Frey.

Depending on the level of your pain, you might need to raise the bar on your meds. Ultram and Ultracet were marketed as non-narcotic meds that would not lead to dependence. Oooooops! Turns out that because of the anti-depressent effect of Tramadol (It is an Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor), getting of Ultram and Ultracet is harder than getting off some narcotics.

I was given Ultracet when it first came out and it did nothing for me. It really is a lightweight med that is usually given as a first resort!

You might need a Long Acting Med for the best relief.