Hi guys/fellow sufferers. You are not alone. There are so many things to try. I have quite a collection of meds that I have tried and found they didn't work for me. I have the fusion at L4-S1 and I am one of the "lucky" ones in that I am worse than pre fusion and I didn't think that was even possible. Pardon the sarcasm, I'm a bit angry about that right now.
Anyway, Pain Management is the way to go in the interim. This doc will provide all of your meds scripts and try different variations to find what works best for you. It is really important that you like and feel you can trust this doctor because your life is really in their hands. They can perform injections as mentioned above and there are many different types. Nerve pain wasn't much of a problem pre-fusion but in the last year (1 year after surgery) I got so much nerve pain I just couldn't stand it. I got a new PM doc and he changed all of my meds and believe it or not, they work better than anything I have tried.
He later added Lyrica for nerve pain but I didn't notice any benefit from it and had terrible blurred vision and extreme itching. He changed it last week to Neurontin at its lowest dose and an hour after taking it, I was able to walk more normal and sleep through the night (after dose 2) without waking up to that awful nerve pain curling in my foot, spasming in my leg muscles like a monster trying to get out. I also take MS Contin and Flexeril. I am to take the Neurontin 4 times a day but I have only needed it more than 2 times a day once. I take the flexeril 3 times a day but I am finding that 1 or maybe 2 works fine now so I am so glad to have the little relief I do. Some of it is big relief but doesn't always last long so you have to keep tinkering with them as we develop a tolerance to the meds. Adjusting to them has been hard. Other than relieving my pain, the rest of my body is screaming no more meds!
Injections can be very effective. My last PM doc tried and tried but I only had one successful pain relief from an injection. With this new PM doc, so far so good so don't discount them all together if the doc you are with isn't successful, it is difficult for them to truly pinpoint our pain. We say here and point, but it is also good to tell them what it feels like. If they get ready to do an injection and press on your body and say right about here and it isn't, tell them 2 inches down or a little to the left etc. My doc thanked me over and over for helping him be more precise in where to inject it for me.
I hope this info has been useful to you. :)
Sincerely,
Lisa
Anyway, Pain Management is the way to go in the interim. This doc will provide all of your meds scripts and try different variations to find what works best for you. It is really important that you like and feel you can trust this doctor because your life is really in their hands. They can perform injections as mentioned above and there are many different types. Nerve pain wasn't much of a problem pre-fusion but in the last year (1 year after surgery) I got so much nerve pain I just couldn't stand it. I got a new PM doc and he changed all of my meds and believe it or not, they work better than anything I have tried.
He later added Lyrica for nerve pain but I didn't notice any benefit from it and had terrible blurred vision and extreme itching. He changed it last week to Neurontin at its lowest dose and an hour after taking it, I was able to walk more normal and sleep through the night (after dose 2) without waking up to that awful nerve pain curling in my foot, spasming in my leg muscles like a monster trying to get out. I also take MS Contin and Flexeril. I am to take the Neurontin 4 times a day but I have only needed it more than 2 times a day once. I take the flexeril 3 times a day but I am finding that 1 or maybe 2 works fine now so I am so glad to have the little relief I do. Some of it is big relief but doesn't always last long so you have to keep tinkering with them as we develop a tolerance to the meds. Adjusting to them has been hard. Other than relieving my pain, the rest of my body is screaming no more meds!
Injections can be very effective. My last PM doc tried and tried but I only had one successful pain relief from an injection. With this new PM doc, so far so good so don't discount them all together if the doc you are with isn't successful, it is difficult for them to truly pinpoint our pain. We say here and point, but it is also good to tell them what it feels like. If they get ready to do an injection and press on your body and say right about here and it isn't, tell them 2 inches down or a little to the left etc. My doc thanked me over and over for helping him be more precise in where to inject it for me.
I hope this info has been useful to you. :)
Sincerely,
Lisa
