I can't sit for very long without being in a lot of pain. This Christmas is the first year I've had to deal with this much pain and is the first year there is a possibility I might not be able to make the trip we make every year to my in laws. If I can't make it, I'd be home alone.

It's a 3 1/2 hour drive. I'm going to talk to my doc about it but for those of you in the same situation, do you take a high dose of meds to make it (not driving of course!).

When I'm there I can lie down most of the time.

It seems so strange that all I can do is lie down. For me to be able to do something for an hour or sit for a couple hours without pain I'd need to be taking a lot of meds. I don't know if there are people who take doses that high or if most just like down all the time like me taking moderate doses.

We try and travel up to PA every summer and it is about a 22 hour car ride. We do stop overnight and break it up into 2 days but that still leaves basically 10 hours a day. What I do is first try and save up extra meds so I have them for both the trip and vacation. Some docs give extra for vacation, mine does not(although my first pain doc did) but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Second I stock up on Thermacare hot packs and instant ice packs. In addition to my topical pain creme I have somethings to add to the pain meds. We also stop a lot to let the dogs have a potty break and then I can stretch if I need to.

Can you lay down in the backseat? We tried that but with the dogs and our luggage there was no room. But what I do then is periodically put the side passenger seat down, tell my husband to drive extra careful,take the seatbelt off and then slowly turn around so I am basically on my hands and knees. In this position I can stretch my back a little(round up like a cat arching it's back). Plus it takes the pressure off my low back and tailbone which is my bad area. I know it doesn't look nice, mooning the other cars but you gotta do what ya gotta do! I stay that way until I feel I can turn back around. With the back down I can also bring my knees to my chest to stretch out the back.

It's not easy and it definately raises the pain levels but for me the trip is worth it and I cannot bear to fly up by myself and leave my husband to go it alone. We have a great time in our car rides and I want to do them as long as I can.

Since yours is a shorter drive, I'd take frequent stops so you can stretch if it helps.

Melissa

Great idea Melissa about turning around in the seat. I think I'd just close my eyes and hope nobody's watching.

I do have some extra meds. I still want to find out how much my doc would let me take. Last time I asked him he didn't give me a solid answer. He just said take extra when you need it and less when you don't.

I don't know if it's kosher on this board for people to say how much extra they take in painful situations. I do know respiratory depression can be a problem with too much so I am always cautious, sometimes too much, not taking enough when I really need it. (Same with anxiety meds.)

Ex pointed out that if I take 15mg oxycodone instead of 7.5, and I'm taking quite a bit of MS Contin too, that isn't a whole lot considering what I take in a day. So I suppose people will just say experiment. I'll make sure my wife is there to make sure I'm breathing when taking higher doses. I've been told I should keep breathing.

Hi lemonflavor, talkin about car trips, I don't know how long I could take one, but the oddest thing is that of all the most comfortable sitting positions, places, etc. It is in my 2 cars. I've got a '72 LeMans with bench seats in front but they are very firm yet soft also and support me good, and I have an '01 Trans Am that has bucket seats and on the driver's side it has lumbar control for your back and also little side flaps that can come inward and like hold you tight. They both have the most comfortable seats I've found, even more so than my recliner chair. I don't know, maybe I need to live in my cars!

Hope you have a safe and "comfortable" trip.

LeMans

Oh the joy of car rides. Great suggestions - except boxluver be careful without a seatbelt! I usually take pillows and wedge myself in pretty tight so I limit the motion as much as possible. I too take ice packs (have heated seats and use them). Frequent highway breaks are a must even when my husband is wanting to get somewhere fast - we take a break about every 90 mins max. It is the next day I hurt the most - yes painful during, but next day really worse - so I recognize that when I get to my destination I need some time to calm my spine down.

Other thing - I don't know about you but I get pretty tense in the car. This happens not only from the vibration and extra pain, but from the other crazy drivers. I try to focus on making sure I don't get all white knuckled and tense. I usually take some distraction.

What a timely post!

Yesterday we spent all our money and purchased a brand new minivan. We do have a 3 and 4 yr old, but we didn't get it for them. We bought it for ME!!

My nerves flare up sooooo badly when I sit in a car. My limit is about 20 minutes and even after that, I am in pain. The nerves are flared up so badly that even my pain medication does not touch it. I have to LIE down to calm the nerves down.

Anyway, we tried out many many cars/vans and finally found a solution. We purchased a honda minivan. First of all, it has a lot of leg room up front so I am able to switch positions a lot during short car trips. But the real reason we bought the minivan is because of this: the third row reclines back and then you can fold down the second row seats. So I can sit almost like I am in my recliner at home! And, it is perfectly safe (per the salesman) and I am able to still wear my seatbelt. The third row does not recline back flat because the salesman said this would be a dangerous position to ride in (you would slide right under the seat belt). So by having the seat recline back about 1/2, they have tested this to be a safe position.

Anyway, I am very excited about our new car. Like I said, we just brought it home yesterday! The thought of being able to take a long car ride is amazing. I HATED the car before. I would be in tears before the first hour. This limited things we could do with our children.

Anyway, I realize that buying a new car might not be an option for you, but wanted to share my thoughts on this. I also talked to a few others who have this same problem and they ALL told my a minivan was the car of choice.

Best of luck to you and I hope that you find a way to make your trip.

Jdsun

Lemon, I definately think you'd be OK taking that little bit extra. In fact what I noticed this year is that I actually needed more for the car ride than the vacation. Usually on vacation when you tend to be more active the pain goes up so I always try and save up but this year it was the car ride up and back that really took a toll.

Jdsun, congrats on the new van! We have talked about that option, but we bought a big suv(mostly because we have boxers and they need lots of room, especially on a 22 hour trip!) and now that the trade in has tanked, I'll probably have that truck a looong time!!! But enjoy! I'd love it to feel like a recliner. And it's great that you can wear a seat belt. I do get nervous when I take mine off to stretch.

I use a bunch of pillows, medications and thermacare type devices for any significant car or plane trip. We flew twice this summer (each 4 hr flights) and with my plethora of pillows and meds and ointments/wraps I did okay.

Aren't we all a sad bunch with having to cart all our stuff! HEHE

Pathetic.

I'm going to have to bring my leg pad for when we're there which takes up a lot of room.

Boxerluver - that is a very funny comment. I was so happy when my kids were old enough to stop carting around the playpen, the diaper bag, the stroller, the car seat, the changing pads and all the other misc stuff - but now I feel like I haul around just as much in my car.

Oh yeaaa car rides, my favorite! Totally being facetious! Car rides are tough for me, luckily I have a big ol Land Rover with tons of space and heated and cooling seats! I do the same as most, take pillows, stock up on thermacare patches and take breaks as often as possible. I've found the key is to not overdue it, if I feel like I need to stop, we pull over and I stretch my legs. Sittings hardest for me so I recline my seat and lay on my side. Hope you are able to make your trip safely and without flare ups!

I had to give up my 5 spead for an automatic . I couldn't do the clutch with arthritis in the knees and other joints or switching gears with the old shoulder. That was just the beginning. Now I too have the pillows for the bottom and lower back, the arm rests for the shoulder etc...this doesn't count the TENS unit bag,,, cpap machine etc

Thanks Neckpatient! In about a month, my dog will have passed all the requirements for service dog and I have been training him and taking him into places. Now I've got to make sure I've got his blanket and a collapsable water bowl, etc. Good grief!!

Hey everybody, here's a question. I can't believe I forgot to ask. Is there a way to make like a footrest in front of the front seat? We had a Nissan Pathfinder and it had a little padded thing that you could pull out from under your seat like a footrest on a recliner. For me it's not so much the reclining that I have a problem, it's my lower legs. Putting them up on the dash board is too high but reclining with them on the car floor is hard on my back. Sometimes I try to curl them under me but I can only do that for a few minutes. Any ideas?

Melissa