rlcowboy
08-28-2003, 12:07 AM
Ok, I just wanted to know what is causing your back pain? I have had back pain all my life but never like this, I had a spinal fusion about 5 months ago with the rods and screws put in my lower back. After surgery I was still in pain, actually worse than before so I was refered to a pain managment doctor, also had a myelogram, my ortho doctor said it was really hard to read because of the scr tissue and my pain doc put me on oxycontin 20mg 3 times a day, after a month of that a family member convinced me to stop taking it so I did, I just flushed what I had and stopped, had to go to my pain doc cause I had some withdrawals, he gave me a catapres Patch and I was ok in a few days but my back pain was off the scale, I just layed up in bed for two weeks, out of work again. Finally I called my ortho doc and told him of the pain, had a discagram, very painful and put both legs in pain,and he put me back on the oxycontin 4 times a day with percocet 4 times a day and he told me I needed to have another surgery cause he found that I have 3 degenerative discs and one slightly hurniated? Now he wants me to go back to my pain doctor in two weeks but I do see him the day before, I dont know what my pain doc will say when I tell him Im bak on the oxy cause last month I told him I stopped and I had withdrawals? Anyway when I do see him it will be time to refill the oxy. But even taking the oxy and percocet I'm still in bad pain and I dont sleep more than 3 hours at a time at night. I was gonna ask to try those injections but every time I get needels stuck in my back it increases my pain alot so Im worried about getting them?What do you think? I know Im on real strong pain meds but Im wondering if I could be taking something stronger?I do not want another surgery but even more I dont want this pain all my life!! I am working a few hours a day but its very hard to do that, even though I dont do anything physical at all. Please tell me your story and what meds are helping you if you dont mind.
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HikingFan
08-28-2003, 12:50 AM
Hi Cowboy!
Thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like you have been through hell.
Here is my story...
I had a couple minor injuries over the years which caused some intial pain and trauma...a roller coaster that caused horrible problems which weren't initally diagnosed, and then 2 BAD car accidents. But the worst was a year ago, I was working with severely emotionally disturbed kids in a residential group home and one of them threw a basketball at my head, which accelerated the degenerative disk disease, the arthritis, and gave me a bone spur, and three bulging disks. Major compressed nerves, major pain and numbness, etc.
I spent 8 months going through the process of trying to be referred to pain management. I begged for MRI's (I am with an HMO that has made my life hell). It took 8 months to get from my PCP to pain management. I won't go into the long, horrible drama of fighting with docs, begging for someone to help me, begging to not have to go to Physical therapy anymore because it was hurting, and MOST of all, convincing people that just because I am 25, doesn't mean that I am better able to deal with this crap. They thought that because I looked young and healthy, I must be a "hypochondriac."
I started on 5/500 vicodin, and was upped to percocets, then SR morphine, then to methadone, and now I am on methadone (15mg, 3X's a day) with Norco (10mg hydrocodone/325APAP) for BT.
I had trigger point injections, which were useless. Then they wanted to do epidurals, and I demanded they try something less invasive first. They told me about facet joint injections, which sounded like the perfect solution. Those turned out to be painful, but seemed to help for the first 1 and a half weeks after the procedure. After they wore off, I was worse than when I started.
So until I have surgery, which I will have to do eventually, I am on the methadone. It is the only thing that keeps me from having the highs and lows which I hate. It had terrible side effects with my stomach, but it did a good job of giving pretty steady pain control. I was lucky to have access to an anti-nausea, which unfortunatly took 2 weeks to get after I started the methadone. If I had it from square one, it would've made things much better. I have a stomach of steel, and the methadone still tore me from head to toe, and it probably took much longer than neccessary to repair the damage with the anti-nausea once the med was introduced.
Where am I now??? Good question. I need surgery, I have accepted that. I cannot stay on all these meds. They make me too much 'not myself.' At one time I thought I could, and now I have accepted, I cannot live like this. I am in the process of trying to find a good surgeon. I know this might not be the best decision, but I can't keep living by downing pills every 6 hours and not being able to do the things I love...hiking, biking, etc. It is depressing, and I am scared. But I have learned a hell of a lot during all of the this, thats for sure!!!!!!
I don't know if any of this will help you, but if there is anything in here that I can expand on that might help you, please let me know. I think your inital response came from my interest in trying to detox from all this medication to see if I can live with the pain and without medications, which I definitely cannot. I realized that in the last few days.
Seriously, if there is ANYTHING I can do to help, please feel free to ask.
Take care! :)
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif
Sara
Thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like you have been through hell.
Here is my story...
I had a couple minor injuries over the years which caused some intial pain and trauma...a roller coaster that caused horrible problems which weren't initally diagnosed, and then 2 BAD car accidents. But the worst was a year ago, I was working with severely emotionally disturbed kids in a residential group home and one of them threw a basketball at my head, which accelerated the degenerative disk disease, the arthritis, and gave me a bone spur, and three bulging disks. Major compressed nerves, major pain and numbness, etc.
I spent 8 months going through the process of trying to be referred to pain management. I begged for MRI's (I am with an HMO that has made my life hell). It took 8 months to get from my PCP to pain management. I won't go into the long, horrible drama of fighting with docs, begging for someone to help me, begging to not have to go to Physical therapy anymore because it was hurting, and MOST of all, convincing people that just because I am 25, doesn't mean that I am better able to deal with this crap. They thought that because I looked young and healthy, I must be a "hypochondriac."
I started on 5/500 vicodin, and was upped to percocets, then SR morphine, then to methadone, and now I am on methadone (15mg, 3X's a day) with Norco (10mg hydrocodone/325APAP) for BT.
I had trigger point injections, which were useless. Then they wanted to do epidurals, and I demanded they try something less invasive first. They told me about facet joint injections, which sounded like the perfect solution. Those turned out to be painful, but seemed to help for the first 1 and a half weeks after the procedure. After they wore off, I was worse than when I started.
So until I have surgery, which I will have to do eventually, I am on the methadone. It is the only thing that keeps me from having the highs and lows which I hate. It had terrible side effects with my stomach, but it did a good job of giving pretty steady pain control. I was lucky to have access to an anti-nausea, which unfortunatly took 2 weeks to get after I started the methadone. If I had it from square one, it would've made things much better. I have a stomach of steel, and the methadone still tore me from head to toe, and it probably took much longer than neccessary to repair the damage with the anti-nausea once the med was introduced.
Where am I now??? Good question. I need surgery, I have accepted that. I cannot stay on all these meds. They make me too much 'not myself.' At one time I thought I could, and now I have accepted, I cannot live like this. I am in the process of trying to find a good surgeon. I know this might not be the best decision, but I can't keep living by downing pills every 6 hours and not being able to do the things I love...hiking, biking, etc. It is depressing, and I am scared. But I have learned a hell of a lot during all of the this, thats for sure!!!!!!
I don't know if any of this will help you, but if there is anything in here that I can expand on that might help you, please let me know. I think your inital response came from my interest in trying to detox from all this medication to see if I can live with the pain and without medications, which I definitely cannot. I realized that in the last few days.
Seriously, if there is ANYTHING I can do to help, please feel free to ask.
Take care! :)
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif
Sara
Autumn Angel
08-28-2003, 12:51 AM
Hi Cowboy :) missed ya lately...Have you ever thought of Dilaudid just at bedtime? I was put on it for awhile because my pain was worse at night from the night time grinding. It was only 2mg. and it helped alot with sleep and was still working in the AM because my pain wasnt as bad as it usually was waking up. Just a suggestion if you dont want the 2mg it comes in 1 mg as well. Hope you are well...God Bless
Autumn.
Autumn.