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.
Broncos are officially the worst team in the nation this year.
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.
********************** [the member formerly known as fluffy}
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....
A serious student of the "Armchair Safari" always looking for Africa/Asia hunting books
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.....
A serious student of the "Armchair Safari" always looking for Africa/Asia hunting books
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.
