Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Posted by Kelsey Mohring @kelseydm, Apr 27, 2016

Welcome to the new Chronic Pain group.

I’m Kelsey and I’m the moderator of the group. I look forwarding to welcoming you and introducing you to other members. Feel free to browse the topics or start a new one.

Why not take a minute and introduce yourself.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

Hello, my name is Diane. 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with aracnoiditis. I have had back problems for years before this diagnosed. I had lumbar surgery about 7 years ago when my spine was fused at L5. No problem for 3years after that. Then the pain returned, down the leg pain. Had several shots, nothing worked. Found a wonderful pain management doctor. Put me on hydrocodone and after not much relief. Then came the Fentayl patch. About 6 months, he found marijuana in my system. I explained it relaxed me to the point I could tolerate the back pain. He prescribed Dronabiol. Medical marijuana . My state, South Carolina, will most likely never make it legal. So frustrating .

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@carolinapearl53

Hello, my name is Diane. 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with aracnoiditis. I have had back problems for years before this diagnosed. I had lumbar surgery about 7 years ago when my spine was fused at L5. No problem for 3years after that. Then the pain returned, down the leg pain. Had several shots, nothing worked. Found a wonderful pain management doctor. Put me on hydrocodone and after not much relief. Then came the Fentayl patch. About 6 months, he found marijuana in my system. I explained it relaxed me to the point I could tolerate the back pain. He prescribed Dronabiol. Medical marijuana . My state, South Carolina, will most likely never make it legal. So frustrating .

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@carolinapearl53
Marijuana, both medical and recreational are legal here in Oregon, unfortunately not covered by Medicare, nor is it cheap.

Jim

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@carolinapearl53

Hello, my name is Diane. 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with aracnoiditis. I have had back problems for years before this diagnosed. I had lumbar surgery about 7 years ago when my spine was fused at L5. No problem for 3years after that. Then the pain returned, down the leg pain. Had several shots, nothing worked. Found a wonderful pain management doctor. Put me on hydrocodone and after not much relief. Then came the Fentayl patch. About 6 months, he found marijuana in my system. I explained it relaxed me to the point I could tolerate the back pain. He prescribed Dronabiol. Medical marijuana . My state, South Carolina, will most likely never make it legal. So frustrating .

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@carolinapearl53
I've never heard of Dronabiol. I wonder if it would help with neuropathy pain. I'll have to look into it.

Jim

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@gailb

Actually, I'm new here and I'm not sure I signed up correctly. I also didn't give a very complete description of all the issues I'm dealing with. The MRI they did showed a compression fracture at the C7 in my neck, a herniated disc at my L4, pressing on my right side sciatic nerve, the L5-S1 pressing on my sciatic nerve affecting my left side with acute pain several times over the years.

On December 22, 2016, I had outpatient surgery for the L5-S1 problem and have had immediate relief. I will start on Physical Therapy in February. I am very happy with the results of the surgery. However, I have had chronic pain from my sciatic nerve on the right side since March, 2016. It awakens me every night 1 to 3 times. Sometimes i want to cry or scream the pain is so bad. I can't walk far or stand for any length of time, go up steps, etc. due to the pain. My doctor's only been treating the pain, until the MRI was done for my left side acute episode. Now they said they need to do a major surgery to insert rods and pins to fix the problem on my L4, which is out of alignment 7.3 mm. Im good with this because the outpatient surgery was so successful. At my last appointment I saw a new PA in my surgeon's office (My usual PA is on maternity leave.) who wants to give me steroids first and see how I do. I have had a year of constant pain, and I really don't want to go through the shots in my spine. My regular PA had recommended the surgery. Both my older brothers have had the same problems--it's a genetic issue--and they ended up with the surgery. Is it reasonable for me to ask them to just do the surgery that is inevitable? And, how long after my current surgery should I wait? How long does recovery from the major surgery take?

Last, I am very concerned that the new administration will cut Medicare coverage, without which I will be unable to pay for this surgery. Thanks for any information you can give me.

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Sandy, i too had gastric bypass 2.5 years ago. I wasn't aware that we can't take oral steroids, and they were prescribed for me when I had my acute attack on my left side. They did help the pain. I had tried chiropractic and massage before seeing the doctor for it. Then they scheduled me for surgery. Iam willing to try the steroid injections if they will prevent surgery and last as long as you say they did for you. Are they still working or have you now had surgery? Thank you for commenting.

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@gailb

Actually, I'm new here and I'm not sure I signed up correctly. I also didn't give a very complete description of all the issues I'm dealing with. The MRI they did showed a compression fracture at the C7 in my neck, a herniated disc at my L4, pressing on my right side sciatic nerve, the L5-S1 pressing on my sciatic nerve affecting my left side with acute pain several times over the years.

On December 22, 2016, I had outpatient surgery for the L5-S1 problem and have had immediate relief. I will start on Physical Therapy in February. I am very happy with the results of the surgery. However, I have had chronic pain from my sciatic nerve on the right side since March, 2016. It awakens me every night 1 to 3 times. Sometimes i want to cry or scream the pain is so bad. I can't walk far or stand for any length of time, go up steps, etc. due to the pain. My doctor's only been treating the pain, until the MRI was done for my left side acute episode. Now they said they need to do a major surgery to insert rods and pins to fix the problem on my L4, which is out of alignment 7.3 mm. Im good with this because the outpatient surgery was so successful. At my last appointment I saw a new PA in my surgeon's office (My usual PA is on maternity leave.) who wants to give me steroids first and see how I do. I have had a year of constant pain, and I really don't want to go through the shots in my spine. My regular PA had recommended the surgery. Both my older brothers have had the same problems--it's a genetic issue--and they ended up with the surgery. Is it reasonable for me to ask them to just do the surgery that is inevitable? And, how long after my current surgery should I wait? How long does recovery from the major surgery take?

Last, I am very concerned that the new administration will cut Medicare coverage, without which I will be unable to pay for this surgery. Thanks for any information you can give me.

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I also had gastric bypass nearly 3 years ago. I was told no oral NSAIDS. I do get occasional NSAIDS via IV. I also occasionally take oral steroids as well as steroids by IV. Check with your surgeon and clarify the steroid ban for your own personal situation.

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@gailb

Actually, I'm new here and I'm not sure I signed up correctly. I also didn't give a very complete description of all the issues I'm dealing with. The MRI they did showed a compression fracture at the C7 in my neck, a herniated disc at my L4, pressing on my right side sciatic nerve, the L5-S1 pressing on my sciatic nerve affecting my left side with acute pain several times over the years.

On December 22, 2016, I had outpatient surgery for the L5-S1 problem and have had immediate relief. I will start on Physical Therapy in February. I am very happy with the results of the surgery. However, I have had chronic pain from my sciatic nerve on the right side since March, 2016. It awakens me every night 1 to 3 times. Sometimes i want to cry or scream the pain is so bad. I can't walk far or stand for any length of time, go up steps, etc. due to the pain. My doctor's only been treating the pain, until the MRI was done for my left side acute episode. Now they said they need to do a major surgery to insert rods and pins to fix the problem on my L4, which is out of alignment 7.3 mm. Im good with this because the outpatient surgery was so successful. At my last appointment I saw a new PA in my surgeon's office (My usual PA is on maternity leave.) who wants to give me steroids first and see how I do. I have had a year of constant pain, and I really don't want to go through the shots in my spine. My regular PA had recommended the surgery. Both my older brothers have had the same problems--it's a genetic issue--and they ended up with the surgery. Is it reasonable for me to ask them to just do the surgery that is inevitable? And, how long after my current surgery should I wait? How long does recovery from the major surgery take?

Last, I am very concerned that the new administration will cut Medicare coverage, without which I will be unable to pay for this surgery. Thanks for any information you can give me.

Jump to this post

I know about not taking NSAIDS, but that's about NON-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, not steroids. I will speak to my doctor about this. I am actually more concerned about taking steroids with diabetes as they raise my blood sugar to very high levels, i.e., 400-600 which is WAY to high. I don't know about injections though. I do know IVs raise my blood sugar. Thanks for your comments.

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It's medical marijuana. It has helped me twofold. I have an awesome pain management doctor on Hilton Head Island, SC. However, I would rather be in zero pain and not take any drug. Right now I take hydrocodone, I have a fentayl patch and because I can't sleep for more than 2 hours at most, I am taking amytriptolene and dronabiol at night. I wonder if, the Mayo Clinic could help me with my diagnosis. Talk with your doctor about prescribing the medical marijuana. It could help a lot.

REPLY
@carolinapearl53

Hello, my name is Diane. 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with aracnoiditis. I have had back problems for years before this diagnosed. I had lumbar surgery about 7 years ago when my spine was fused at L5. No problem for 3years after that. Then the pain returned, down the leg pain. Had several shots, nothing worked. Found a wonderful pain management doctor. Put me on hydrocodone and after not much relief. Then came the Fentayl patch. About 6 months, he found marijuana in my system. I explained it relaxed me to the point I could tolerate the back pain. He prescribed Dronabiol. Medical marijuana . My state, South Carolina, will most likely never make it legal. So frustrating .

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I am thinking about moving somewhere there is legal marijuana. For all the medicine I take now, the cost would maybe even out.? I live in South Carolina.

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@carolinapearl53

It's medical marijuana. It has helped me twofold. I have an awesome pain management doctor on Hilton Head Island, SC. However, I would rather be in zero pain and not take any drug. Right now I take hydrocodone, I have a fentayl patch and because I can't sleep for more than 2 hours at most, I am taking amytriptolene and dronabiol at night. I wonder if, the Mayo Clinic could help me with my diagnosis. Talk with your doctor about prescribing the medical marijuana. It could help a lot.

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There's no doctor in the area who will prescribe mm. A doctor comes to a local dispensary monthly and for an annual fee of $175 writes a prescription. Then there's the $200 annual fee for the green card from the state. And then the expense of the weed. I decided I couldn't afford it and am still pursuing other meds, even though, when I tried a medical dosage, it seemed to stop the pain for a while.

Jim

PS My new profile picture is my previous service dog, Barnabas, who died a year ago.

REPLY
@carolinapearl53

It's medical marijuana. It has helped me twofold. I have an awesome pain management doctor on Hilton Head Island, SC. However, I would rather be in zero pain and not take any drug. Right now I take hydrocodone, I have a fentayl patch and because I can't sleep for more than 2 hours at most, I am taking amytriptolene and dronabiol at night. I wonder if, the Mayo Clinic could help me with my diagnosis. Talk with your doctor about prescribing the medical marijuana. It could help a lot.

Jump to this post

I am unaware of the procedure a doctor has to go thru to dispense mm. I will inquire of the law here in SC. Although the amount he prescribes is a low dosage and to be taken in tandem to the other 2 meds I take in order to sleep at least 4 hours a night. I am very grateful that I am a patient of his. At the very least he is a forward thinking physician. More so than the ones I saw for years on end, to no avail!!!
So handsome, your Barnabas!

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