I just got x-rays back and learned a lot about my back.
The transverse process on my Lumbar #5 sent out a wing that curves downward and then attached itself to my pelvis - and this prevents proper articulation. The sacroiliac joint on that side is now fusing, due to the weird articulation. I was also quizzed about the time I broke my back (wasn't aware that I had) (the T12) and how I was treated for it (I wasn't) - I did a lot of crazy things in my youth - and can't even recall doing anything that was out that of the ordinary. I also have scoliosis and have spinal bifida occulta. In short - it's a mess internally.
Here's my question - what is the ULTIMATE pain-killer that I should request? If surgery doesn't fix me - I'd like to know my analgesic options.
On bad nights, I have taken just about everything at I have - at once (some things double) - and it didn't make a dent in the pain. The only thing that has worked on the worst nights is booze (to the near pass-out stage) but, although that makes the pain bearable, - it totally wrecks my sleep.
I do not have an addictive personality.
Any recommendations that I should be asking about or discussing with my family doctor or my neuro-surgeon when I meet him in the way of treatment or pain-relief?
I'd like to be a knowledgeable patient when I meet these fellows.
thats a loaded question. everybodies pain tolerance and tolerance to drugs is different.
After 2 surgeries in 6 months on her back my wife takes hydrocodone and skalaxin. it doesnt make her loopy but dulls the pain so she can function. She has 1 other pill that makes her licks the walls but she doesnt take that unless she has a real bad day.
She will be on pills for the rest of her life with more surgeries to come so she just deals with it. All she cares about is if she can function.
Have taken hydrocoden a few times for my back and after dental surgery type stuff. It works and let's you at least function tho if you go all out you'll be out of it so to speak.
I took percodan after a surgery once and one pill was enough for me. Waaaaaaay out there.
Hydrocodone (vicodin) comes in two flavors- one is 5/500, or 5mg of narcotic with 500mg of aceteminophen (Tylenol) per tablet. The other common dosage is 10/325 (sometimes called Norco). Aceteminophen is known to possibly cause some liver damage if taken in large doses over extended periods of time, especially if involved with any intake of alcohol. I take the Norco version on an as needed basis for my chronic back pain. The other opioids; percodan, percocet, oxycodone or oxycontin, are considerably stronger, and also more addictive. None of them good for you, but when pain is with you 24/7, you do what you have to do. Do a search on oxycontin- there was a very long thread on it here not long ago. Jim
The negative with any pain medication is that you build up a tolerance and start taking more with less effect. My grandfather served in the Navy and was wounded in WWII. The doctors prescribed generous amounts of pain killers that put him in a cloud and significantly reduced his quality of life. I currently have a Korean war veteran friend who is given all the vicodin he wants. Vicodin short term is ok, but after awhile the side affects are very apparent.
Besides you living in one of the most beautiful areas in the world, it is also very open minded - dare I say liberal. I would seriously consider cannabis as part of your medication regimen. The product today is very potent, so you require less, and it does not leave you in haze after. Good cannabis brings you up, and sets you down. There are so many types and variations that it would be difficult to build up a tolerance to anyone type. I have teenage kids now, so I abstain. But, if I am on vacation and hiking in the woods, I take aspirin, and if available, a couple of puffs of Indica for pain and stamina to help get my arse over hill and dale. Indica primarily effects the body, and is surprisingly effective when not abused. Not a cure all, but it may reduce the amount of synthetics you put in your body, which over a long period can add up.
My problem is that any pain killer will cause my digestion to declare war. Stomach cramps and irritable bowels, constipation, and all the discomfort they can bring. I had my former dentist screw up a root canal and drill up through the roots into my jaw. It got infected and I had to have the process redone twice, then I lost the tooth. I got a bottle of Vicodin. I took them for a couple days and felt like someone super glued my butt cheeks together. They are not for me. Advil bothers me too after a couple days.
My Aunt has a back problem and she gets shots in her back. I don't know if it's cortisone. She feels good when they're done. I know she goes 3 or 4 times a year. That would be my choice over pills. My stomach just won't take the meds.
If you want to maintain your mobility, find a top notch neurosurgeon, and fix the problem. I've been through this twice, most recently last December. An Ortho surgeon wanted to implant metal, fuse bone, and have me walking with a cane for the rest of my life. The Neuro had a completely different approach. I'm getting on with my life now with good mobility. I've had all the legal and illegal pain meds I could get my hands on, and none of them make you pain free. They take the edge off, but all have downsides. You just can't live normally while on this stuff. Best of luck with you back problems. I can truly empathize with you.
Brian, a pain in the back is ...well a pain in the back and effects everything you want to do. Like most people my age have had pain along the way. For me when pain such as yours occurs I take a big drink of rum before bed, this makes me fall asleep quickly and once asleep will remain that way most all of the night, pain pills just dull pain a bit for me, I don't smoke so a doob is not the answer for me but helps many people in pain. Hope you can get the issue resolved.
narcotics depend greatly on the person and always start with the lowest dose possible cause your gonna build up a tolerance....
request some amitriptyline also called elavil and take it before bed, i use 30-40mg/night....technically it is an antidepressant, but thats not what the doc gave it to me for, in some chronic pain patients, such as myself, it works as a dimmer switch on the pain, instead of always being at a constant 6 or 7 on a 1-10 pain scale it keeps it down to a 3 or 4 constant with occasional spikes....after 3 years on it the only side effect i or my wife has noticed is cotton mouth for a couple hours after taking it....doesnt make me fuzzy, hasnt changed my personality and most importantly lets me get away with a hell of alot less in the opiate department.....
I have two words for you Brian, "prune juice".....
Physical therapy in the pool and now just swimming laps helps with my orthopedic slings and arrows... a TENS unit takes the edge off some of the time as well.
Too many people in my family line had problems with moderation... I'm really scared of the narcotics.... only use them if I have gone more than one day without any sleep.
Talking with other folks who are dealing with chronic pain helps too... there are several "regulars" at the pool I swim in... just a few minutes talking about how things are going pain management wise with others that have a clue about the effort needed to do so helps.
Probably the strongest drug you can get is Dulaudid.Many times more potent as morphine.You could get a morphine pump implanted. When ever you get to that stage, you are mostly a vegeatble from the drugs.BTDT. Nuerontin is a drug that is given for spasims and siezures. I think Fentenal is only injectable. As stated , they all get less effective over time and each has side effects. Vicodin and percocet are not very effcetive for severe pain RE: neurosurgeons and orthpaedic surgeons. Each could fix your probelmm. Think of it as the neurosurgeon fixing the wiring and the orthpaedic surgeon fixing the structure. What you have is a structure problem, but I would check around and get several refernecs and then see the best you can find of ecah one.Remember some doctors graduated with 4.0 average, some squeaked through with a 2.0. When all said and done,you have to pick one you are comforatble with and trust.
I went with the orthopaedic surgeon after seeing two neurosurgeons.I have the rods,screws and cages in my back.Prepare to alter your life style and how you do things and to live within certain mandates like limited lifting, twisting, pushing and pulling for the rest of your life.If not you will find yourself under the knife again in the future. I had a previous fusionin 69 of S1,F5,F4.The last one in 2008 fused F4 to F3
If they tell you in 6 weeks you will be healed,forget that. The first month,you will be so weak ,you will have a hard time wlaking 100 yds. Three months and you will feel pretty good, a year and a half ,you will be back to normal ,if you follow the guide lines and exersize. When you wake up after the surgery ,there will be a tube pumping pain medication right into the repair.They take that out in about two dyas,and then all your nerves wake up. Depending how tough you are,it either hurts s obad you'll cry mama or you will tough it out. That last about a week.
Articles I have read,say 75% of folks that have severe back problems are very satisfied after surgery. 50 % that have medium invasive surgery and not real bad problems are satisfied. Those with less severe symptoms are not very satisfied. About 40-50 percent of people who get the rods and screws in have to have them removed some time in the future for a variety of reasons.
IF, surgery is ineffective consult with a pain management specialist. I have spinal deterioration & surgery wasn't an option. After all the available pain procedures it was suggested I take strong pain meds. I continued to see specialist & it was suggested I have an internal morphine pump installed with a tube in my back that trickles the drug directly into the nerves. Long time use of pain killers & even muscle relaxers can cause kidney failure. I was on muscle relaxers for many years & a routine blood/urine test indicated a 20% loss of kidney function. After stopping muscle relaxers gradually kidney function improved, but will never be back to normal.
I think morphine is probably the best pain killer there is but most doctors won't prescribe it uness you're terminally ill. When I had a herniated disc I tryed Hydrocodone but it had zero effect on the pain. I'd be very carefull about doubling up on any pain medication. A good friend of mine lost his 25 year old son because he had over medicated. He had severly injured his back and was taking pain medication (I don't remember what). The pain was unbearable so he kept taking more and more trying to get some relief. He took so much pain medication that he went into a coma and died 2 days later.
I've had 3 neck surgeries with 2 plates in my neck, the next surgery was the lower back with 2 titanium rods, and the last one was a ruptured disc between T1&T2. I am absolutely pain free. My back has been a wreck and who knows maybe I'll have more problems. I have been very fortunate to have a great Orthopedic Surgeon and he is recognized as one of the best in the southwest. I guess if we pass healthcare, we may be in the same shape as our brothers in Canada or the UK. I would highly recommend trying to find a more qualified person to fix you up. Butch
I live with chronic back pain. There is no surgical fix for me. My advice is no pain meds you cannot buy over the counter. They are the door to a ruined life. I do not now nor have I ever taken prescription pain medication. Learn to live with it. I have for the last nine years.
For me - I can sometimes go months with very little back pain - and then get a real flair-up. That usually puts me on my back - in bed - on a heating pad for a few days - to a week or so. I have learned long ago (as much of this, I was born with) what not to do - and to ease off when I feel it coming - and usually that works. But, if I put it on a graph - since I've hit 50 there are a few more bad sessions each year. And - the pain on the bad days - can now be "off the scale" - something that was rare in the past. But, I guess that's what Betty Davis meant when she said - "Growing old ain't for sissies!"
I think that after my neuro-surgical consult - if I'm told that surgery is not a good option - I'll just learn to live with it.
The one Dr. that I've seen so far, supported my occasional drunk as a means of dealing with the occasional flair-up - saying he thought it was probably a much less harmful way to manage pain than most pills - and saying it was much easier on my kidneys and my liver. Besides - my wife says I'm a happy drunk ( if only a bit too talkative some times) - so that's all good.
Living as I do, in the mountains of British Columbia, there's lots of good "BC bud" just miles from here - and that's an option I may explore. I don't like the idea of inhaling any smoke - but I know there are many other ways to "partake". I don't want to rule that method out - because, like booze - I don't fear I'll do much harm if I am only using this method to get through the hard times - a few times a season - on average - by using cannabis.
Like my use of booze, I have no desire to get high every day - so I have no fears of using either of those long-researched, much used, long-recommended home remedies - "for medicinal purposes". That phrase has me grinning, because I start thinking of those two old sisters who lived alone on "The Waltons" - and how they made "Papa's Recipe" - "for medicinal purposes" - and how they were always getting visits from men from all over the mountain with various "ailments".
So again, thanks to all of your for your valued advice. I knew you would give me lots to mull over. Now, this week, I have two more Dr.s to see (one of them, a neuro-surgeon) who will look over the x-rays and then give me some more advice.
I live with chronic back pain. There is no surgical fix for me. My advice is no pain meds you cannot buy over the counter. They are the door to a ruined life. I do not now nor have I ever taken prescription pain medication. Learn to live with it. I have for the last nine years.
depends.....to me the key area is sleep....if you can sleep taking the over the counter meds than yah dont need anything heavier....if your hurting to bad to sleep you need something stronger....
as far as over the counter meds.....dont over do them to aviod opiates, to much tylenol will kill your liver, hell you can do it in a single day, over do it long term on NSAIDs like Aleve and Advil and you can likely have heart problems.....if your gonna do over the counter keep a close eye on dosage, just as close as a prescription...
there are millions of ppl that function fine and have a normal quality of life on opiate pain killers....are there a few things yah have to take into consideration? sure but no big deal.....if you do not have an addictive personality and you follow the correct dosage, opiates are not dangerous....the physical dependency is overblown so long as you do what the doc says, its the psychological chit thats difficult.....if after a couple moths of taking the damn things you hate the things and dont want to be on them your safe, you can quit the damn things anytime you want to....i have been taking them off and on for a decade and if all the sudden tomorrow i had no pain i would have zero problems walking away other than a couple days of tapered doses to aviod the withdrawl hangover....
as far as im concerned opiates are safer than the over the counter chit cause the average person is scared of them and is going to approach them with caution.....in all reality the thought that the over the counter stuff is perfectly safe is what can [bleep] yah up.....overdose on tylenol and your looking for a new liver, over do it on NSAIDs and you likely have a heart attack.....follow doctors instructions to the letter and you aint gonna get enough opiates in your system to stop your breathing......
i take the damn things daily at the moment but almost exclusively in the evenings.....i can not take them and do my job so from 5am to 5pm i am not taking the things and i function clear headed and fine....do i hurt during the day? yes but i generally have enough stuff going on where it is easy to ignore the pain so its more like background noise....my problem comes at the end of the day when im trying to relax and there is nothing to take my mind off it and the fact that my back and knees are now more pissed than when i woke up in the morning.....
being on opiate pain killers DOES NOT mean being stoned all the time, hell most the time i just take enough to take the edge off, i still hurt, and after taking for them that lil bit doesnt even make me fuzzy or stoned, just takes the pain down to a level i can function most of the time.....anymore even a large dose doesnt get me stoned, it just drifts me off to sleep....
Researchers map spine's response to cannabis for pain relief when morphine fails
Where morphine fails, marijuana may work. That's the major finding of British research into the pain caused by nerve injuries, a pain known to be somewhat resistant to morphine and similar drugs that are the gold standard for treating just about any other kind of serious pain.
The researchers say they now have evidence that active components of cannabis, which is better known as marijuana, may offer hope.
"It's known that if you injure a nerve, the morphine receptors in the spinal cord disappear and that's probably why morphine isn't a very effective pain killer for such conditions as shingles, people who have had an amputation or perhaps if cancer has invaded the spinal cord," says Andrew Rice, a senior lecturer in pain research at London's Imperial College.
"But what we've shown is that the cannabinoid receptors do not disappear when you injure a nerve. So this could offer a therapeutic advantage over morphine for treating such pain, " he adds.
Cannabinoids are components of cannabis or compounds that mimic cannabis, and discovering the complexities behind how and why they can offer pain relief has been the focus of various areas of research.
Rice says the significance of his team's research is that they mapped the cannabinoid receptors in the spinal cord and showed that they are found specifically in areas concerned with pain processing.
"Other researchers showed that if you inject cannabinoid compounds in small doses in the spinal cord, you get pain relief. And we showed how that effect is mediated," he explains. "In addition, a third group of people showed that nerve cells in the spinal cord that are normally activated by pain are damped down by small doses of cannabinoid in the spinal cord fluid."
The findings were published in a recent issue of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.
Rice says the task now is to find out how to administer the cannabinoids, but he cautions that the most familiar -- smoking it -- is the last thing researchers would advise.
"Smoking is obviously a big health hazard and we're certainly not going to advocate that people smoke cannabis. So right now we're looking at ways of delivering the drug to the body," he says.
"One problem with cannabinoids is that they are very fat-soluble, so that makes them very difficult to formulate the drugs into pills or injections. So one way that's being looked at by some pharmaceutical companies is using the kind of inhaler that asthma sufferers use."
"It's going to be a tough cookie to crack, however," he adds.
Cannabinoid compounds are among a variety of drugs that have been intensely looked at as researchers look for alternatives to the remarkably few pain relief options.
"Researchers have spent the last 30 years trying to understand the mechanism of pain, particularly in the skin and spinal cord, and the massively complex array of chemicals that are involved in that process," Rice explains.
"While people have generally tried to target each of those chemicals to develop pain killers, very few approaches have been successful, and we're still essentially left with the three very old, basic concepts in drugs: morphine, which has been with us for thousands of years, aspirin or acetaminophen," he adds.
Dr. Kenneth Mackie, an associate professor in anesthesiology and physiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, says there is indeed great concern in the medical community about the need to find better pain relief for damaged nerves, but that progress is being made.
"It's obviously a big problem for the people who have that kind of pain and on the basic science side, it's an area of intense investigation. Cannabinoids are just one option that people are looking at."
"Our understanding of the wiring of the spinal cord is evolving very quickly, however, and we should soon be able to choose drugs to work more effectively," he adds.
A young man I flew with went this route. He was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 37, and the morphine and delaudid had little effect as the disease (and treatment) progressed. Gunther did get quite a bit of relief from prescription cannabis. He lost his battle to the disease in less than a year, but he told me many times that his 'really bad days', especially during the chemo, were made a little better with cannabis usage. He knew pretty well he was terminal, so smoking it was not a problem with him, even though he'd been a health nut his entire life.
BC,I feel for you.I've had back problems all of my life.I'm a lineman,so some days are really tough,some are ok.Good luck with your Dr's,next week. Lightman
Sometimes surgery isnt the best way to go. For years different surgeons all had the same idea about my wife. With the amount of damage she has, they would do more harm than good. They said that when shes paralyzed they will do the surgery.
Last July, I wheeled her (she was in a wheelchair) into the surgeons office and 2 days later she was on the table.
Of course now they will probably have to go back in and remove all the titanium, that sucks.
As for pain management, her pain doc is cool. hes broke his back and has had all kinds of fusions, etc. so he knows all about back pain and he automatically throws in a detox program for after the pain program.
You might try Methadone if the Hydrocodone doesn't help. The problem with narcotics is that they lower your blood oxygen level. Take too many and you pass out and die. I had a friend who was taking many narcotic pain killers. He went in for Open Heart Surgery and the Anesthesiologist said he was taking more Pain medication each day than they normally give the patient for the surgery. They could only take his BOL down to 40 (normal is 95-100 and 32 is Dead) He had a real problem with the recovery because of this.
If you can get a referral or can afford it you may want to go the University of Washington and see if they can help. They are the top rated Orthopedic and Neurological Hospital in the Western US and probably better than anything you can get in Canada. I know two friends from Vancouver who have gone there and had "incurable" back issues fixed.
as far as pot, if yah dont want to be stoned off opiates its not an option either, infact alot easier to stay clear headed on opiates cause it is a alot easier to control the dosage to just take the edge off with opiates cause you can control the dosage alot closer....
as far as pot, if you are going to go that route, dont smoke the chit....easiest plan of attack is the fact that the active ingredients easily dissolve in alcohol....get yourself some high quality hash.....all hash is just the glands off the pot plant and none of the green flowers, basically more concentrated but it is no more dangerous as water and screens are used most often to concentrate it, not chemicals.....take the hash and mix it with some 100 plus proof alcohol(the higher the proof the more pot per shot) and let it sit for a week shaking it occasionally....by doing this you can control the dosage atleast for that bottle....1/4 shot, 1/2 shot, full shot, whatever is needed to help....take the shot, hold it under your tongue for as long as yah can stand than swallow....you get around screwing up your lungs and can control dosage to some extent though its gonna change when yah make the next bottle....also the effects last longer when it is absorbed through the gut, smoking gives yah a quick concentrated dose via the lungs....the gut is more time release and will take longer to take effect just like taking a pill....
you can also do a pill form but i dont suggest it unless your growing cause its labor intensive and extremely expensive if your not supplying your own material...
To a big extent the pain you can tolerate depends on you. My dentist keeps trying to give me prescriptions for Vicodin. I am still taking them from the first one he gave me. I just never need more than one of them. As it is I don't intend to ever let neice or nephew find out about them. Kids are just too light fingered.
depends on alot of things, i can deal with a hell of alot of pain in my knees and back, grit my teeth and get through it if i have to......give me a headache at half the level of pain and i cant function....i dont understand how my wife says she can ignore her migraines to a certain point cause i sure in the hell cant ignore a regular headache.....my wife can ignore her head until it gets real bad but a smaller level of pain on her foot drives her nuts....
as far as dentists, i have no pain nerves in my teeth, i can have an nerve open to the air and it not bug me for two and a half years....i walked out of one dentists office after i decided to get something done with that tooth she insisted i needed pain meds, figured if i couldnt get through her head that it hasnt hurt for 2 and a half years she wasnt gonna listen to a damn thing i was saying anyway and found a different dentist....
spikes of pain dont bug me, i can grit my teeth through them and they go away, no big deal.....my problem is a lower level that never seems to go away.....that chit can drive you nuts...
pain tolerance and what sort of pain can be tolerated varies greatly from one individual to another......Scott says he can ignore his back pain, good for him i tried that in the beginning with my knees, worked for 12 months before i couldnt do it anymore, my brain literally started shutting my body down and i would sleep for 18 hours a day....guess it decided if i wasnt going to deal witht he pain it was going to make it so i avoided pissing them off.....doc said it was a form of depression associated with chronic pain patients and told me to quit whatever in the hell i was doing....
another way to take cannabis is through a vaporizer. it heats up the crystallized THC into a vapor and you inhale just that, and not all the other plant material like you do from smoking it.
If I understand correctly you should get a lumbar spine MRI so a radiologist can determine, hopefully, the anatomical derangement involved and at what level of your lower spine. Then, you need to do one, and probably more of several options. One is, if appropriate for the findings, find a pain practitioner who can provide the appropriate injections (i.e., if you have radiculopathy due to a pinched nerve from either osteophytes, or a herniated disc); another is exercises for your lower back, perhaps pure manipulation (Chiropractic), massage, ultrasound therapy, etc.
All can help at different times and with different people and none will work for everybody and in every situation. Chronic pain can lead to depression very much so and some antidepressants can have certain pain-relieving properties so they are often given to pain patients; they can also sometimes help with sleep.
I hope you can find some relief. Lower back pain is the number one medical problem in western civilization.
If you go the injection route, be very careful. I've had two from two different medical pain doctors, and even though I was on the scope in both instances, both put holes in my spinal cord, causing spinal fluid leakage. In each instance, it put me in the hospital with the most excruciating pain known to man; I'm not kidding you there. You can't move, and the spinal headache will drop you like a sack of bricks. I had to have a blood patch in both cases to stop the leakage. Both of these 'pain' experts had over 30 years in their practice. Never, never, again....
No - but I will, even though a heating pad, while laying in bed seems more "traditional" (not to mention - comfortable) - what you say, is surely worth a try - just about everything is - short of heroin, perhaps. And when the pain was at it's very worst - I'm glad I didn't have any heroin laying around the house!
I was recently in a car accident,and am doing alot of therapy now.The most recent thought,is exercise.Not pain meds and rest,exercise.I go to a gym,and work out on neck and back specific weigh machines twice a week.
I'm working out too, and not because my ortho doc says to, but because I recently had a coronary stent installed and my cardiologist wants me to. My back is worse because of it. I know my CV health is better, but there are consequences. Getting old ain't for sissies.
The heat is comfortable, I'll give you that. At least alternate them.
I remember seeing a TV show that said heroin is a great pain reliever and doesnot depress the body the way pain meds do. Also said heroin is used in Great Britain for cancer patients.
the exercises that help with most back problems ARE NOT the normal ones you do in the gym as a normal part of a routeen.....depending on what exactly your injury is normal gym exercises can make you worse, alot worse....
chances are if your doing anything that involves weights you arent doing the right stuff.....the exercises my personal physical therapist gave me to do to fix my back dont have me doing any weights other than the weight of my own body.....your targeting a completely different set of muscles for a back injury.....if you dont look like your doing yoga or some sorta dumb arse thing your prolly not doing the right thing
Being in Canada, you're in better shape when it comes to pain killers. In the United States, doctors are afraid to prescribe the most effective pain killers, and when they do they tend not to prescribe it in an effective dosage strength. Doctors who do are arrested by the DEA SWAT boys all the time. A well intentioned doctor can very easily find himself "made an example of" with a stiff Federal prison sentence, i.e., twenty years or more behind bars for exercising his best medical judgment in trying to help a patient manage his pain. Bad situation here.
Sorry for your pain BCBrian my wife is going in foe MRI in the morning she has almost the same report from her doc as you got. I am not a small person and I can not take pain med's one tylanol with codine and I'm on the floor.
Being in Canada, you're in better shape when it comes to pain killers. In the United States, doctors are afraid to prescribe the most effective pain killers, and when they do they tend not to prescribe it in an effective dosage strength. Doctors who do are arrested by the DEA SWAT boys all the time. A well intentioned doctor can very easily find himself "made an example of" with a stiff Federal prison sentence, i.e., twenty years or more behind bars for exercising his best medical judgment in trying to help a patient manage his pain. Bad situation here.
This is unfortunately very true. Many physicians, unless educated by personal experience, don't appreciate the debilitating affect chronic pain has especially when untreated or undertreated.
Being in Canada, you're in better shape when it comes to pain killers. In the United States, doctors are afraid to prescribe the most effective pain killers, and when they do they tend not to prescribe it in an effective dosage strength. Doctors who do are arrested by the DEA SWAT boys all the time. A well intentioned doctor can very easily find himself "made an example of" with a stiff Federal prison sentence, i.e., twenty years or more behind bars for exercising his best medical judgment in trying to help a patient manage his pain. Bad situation here.
I think you are correct. An MD and a respiratory technician friend of mine (both in Canada) have commented that there are way more options available in Canada, particularly for the terminally ill.
Both have said that doctors can go ahead and stop the pain, "regardless of other considerations". Sometimes, for the near terminal, this means stopping the pain even if it risks too much respiratory depression. That would be the kind of treatment I'd want if I was near the end, even if it did pose the obvious risk of (slightly) premature death.
Sure hope none of us ever have to face this -- bad enough the shape some are in, judging from the above posts!
You might want to try accupressure or accupuncture. My wife was in a car wreck several years back and had problems with pain and headaches. She didn't want to take pain killers, she wanted to get rid of the cause of the pain. A combination of chiropractor, allignment and accupressure did the trick. She has a vertibrae in her neck that occasionally goes out, but I know how to get it back into place, as well as where to do accupressure to get rid of the headaches.
No - but I will, even though a heating pad, while laying in bed seems more "traditional" (not to mention - comfortable) - what you say, is surely worth a try - just about everything is - short of heroin, perhaps. And when the pain was at it's very worst - I'm glad I didn't have any heroin laying around the house!
The chiropractors that I have been to suggest alternaing 20 minutes of ice and 20 minutes of heat. Don't fall asleep on either.
the exercises that help with most back problems ARE NOT the normal ones you do in the gym as a normal part of a routeen.....depending on what exactly your injury is normal gym exercises can make you worse, alot worse....
chances are if your doing anything that involves weights you arent doing the right stuff.....the exercises my personal physical therapist gave me to do to fix my back dont have me doing any weights other than the weight of my own body.....your targeting a completely different set of muscles for a back injury.....if you dont look like your doing yoga or some sorta dumb arse thing your prolly not doing the right thing
actually,I do the "yoga like" stuff also. They have a gym full of weight machines expressly designed for neck and back therapy.Its not a regular gym.Only people with neck and back injuries go there. I guess only time will tell if it works or not.
This is unfortunately very true. Many physicians, unless educated by personal experience, don't appreciate the debilitating affect chronic pain has especially when untreated or undertreated.
They appreciate it fine. They just don't want the DEA SWAT boys busting in their door, machine guns pointed in their faces, and in their family's faces, and then forced to serve twenty years in Federal Prison for merely exercising their best medical judgment. And, no, proving that your prescription was based on your medical school training in standard practice is not a permitted defense when the Feds have placed a target on your back.
the exercises that help with most back problems ARE NOT the normal ones you do in the gym as a normal part of a routeen.....depending on what exactly your injury is normal gym exercises can make you worse, alot worse....
chances are if your doing anything that involves weights you arent doing the right stuff.....the exercises my personal physical therapist gave me to do to fix my back dont have me doing any weights other than the weight of my own body.....your targeting a completely different set of muscles for a back injury.....if you dont look like your doing yoga or some sorta dumb arse thing your prolly not doing the right thing
actually,I do the "yoga like" stuff also. They have a gym full of weight machines expressly designed for neck and back therapy.Its not a regular gym.Only people with neck and back injuries go there. I guess only time will tell if it works or not.
i live in the middle of no where Montana.....never heard of such a set up, carry on, sounds like yah got a good setup going......just know i was told by the surgeon and physical therapist to be damn careful on the normal gym type chit cause i could wind up worse off....
Not all is learned in med school or residency and I've seen otherwise fine, intelligent phys's who had no appreciation for the concept of chronic pain.
That usually puts me on my back - in bed - on a heating pad for a few days - to a week or so.
Have you tried ice packs instead of heat?
Heat increases circulation and with that, inflammation. Usually ice will decrease inflammation and discomfort.
I was a bit surprised no one caught this before ironbender.
There is a reason why you see pro athletes with ice on after the game rather than heating pads. Heat is actually a big no-no when it comes to pain and inflammation. It seems counter intuitive, and it sure as hell isn't as comfortable, but ice works very well.
Brian, aside from pain meds and surgeries, which I can't comment on, have you considered regular chiropractor visits or some form or physical therapy or exercise regimen?
I don't know if/how much you exercise, but something along the lines of swimming, etc. might be a good way to help sustain a better range of motion while being very low impact. Yoga would be a great thing to try as well.
Also, a buddy who had been in a car accident had a very messed up neck/back and went 2-3 times a week to a chiropractor and I think that helped him a great deal. The chiropractor was very big on weekly visits to have the subluxations adjusted/fixed for everyone, sort of as preventative maintenance, and it was often crazy just how much you could get "out of whack" within only a week's time frame.
Not all is learned in med school or residency and I've seen otherwise fine, intelligent phys's who had no appreciation for the concept of chronic pain.
But, your point is true also.
want absolute frustration with thoughts of murder? have a loved one that suffers from severe migraines and run into a doc that doesnt believe they exist and thinks they are just a made up excuse to get shot full of opiates and the [bleep] is the only doc within 50 miles.....
Not all is learned in med school or residency and I've seen otherwise fine, intelligent phys's who had no appreciation for the concept of chronic pain.
But, your point is true also.
want absolute frustration with thoughts of murder? have a loved one that suffers from severe migraines and run into a doc that doesnt believe they exist and thinks they are just a made up excuse to get shot full of opiates and the [bleep] is the only doc within 50 miles.....
Yes, I know that to be true and I sympathize with you.
Heat is actually a big no-no when it comes to pain and inflammation. It seems counter intuitive, and it sure as hell isn't as comfortable, but ice works very well.