For Those Who Can't Sit, Do You Do Car Trips? - Pain Management Message Board

lemonflavor · 10-17-2009, 05:54 PM

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.

Boxerluver · 10-17-2009, 07:53 PM

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

lemonflavor · 10-17-2009, 09:18 PM

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.

LeMans · 10-17-2009, 11:02 PM

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

PNo · 10-18-2009, 01:05 AM

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.