Chronic Back Pain for Years

@wsh66
I've been through a 3 month pain therapy course, and seeing mental health therapists for 15 years, and very little of what they've told me to do has had any significant effect on my pain. I do use some of their recommendations, but severe neuropathy pain is mostly out of the scope of mental health treatments in my own experience.

Jim

@jimhd My vet calls and checks on my dog every couple days for any little thing I bring my dog in for. My doctors have never done that. And she hasn’t yet suggested my dog see a therapist to deal with his pain. She believes him and gives him pain meds without question. I don’t have a doggie cam in the house so I can’t be sure he’s not abusing his pain meds, though...::

@migizii thank you for this reminder today, as my pain was feeling intolerable and I struggled for much of the day....and although the pain was physical and very much real, it was my emotional state that was more difficult to cope with.....I pushed through with activity and although there was only limited physical improvement, my emotional improvement was good😊

I hear that, my latest pain Dr. refuses to give me opioids, instead he want me to take gabapentin a anti epileptic drug. I told him NO, this is bs I'm lost on what's next. the problem isn't in my head, it's in my damn low back and neck

I hear you both. What do we do? The pain is unbearable

bustrbrwn - Thanks for the comparison between vet and doctor, I will use it with my GP who interrogates me as if she's a detective and I'm the suspect. And thank you for the giggles about what your doggy might be doing with his meds when you're not there. Peggy

Yes to all of you -- we need better pain meds. How do we get them? We need to take action, write, call and email the big pharma companies -- get data first, then tell them how many millions of people need better pain meds than anything available now. They can afford to do the necessary research. Nearly all elderly people need pain meds daily, plus most people who are disabled, everyone who has chronic back problems, nearly everyone who has arthritis, everyone coming out of surgery needs pain meds for at least a few days. It should add up to enough people to make it worth their while to do the research, tests, get FDA and Medicare approval, manufacture, and advertise the product. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, we won't get it if we don't ask for it. And we won't get it if we rely on someone else to write -- all of us need to write/email/phone the big pharma companies. And our politicians too (they can lean on the companies and also help them pay for the up-front costs). Peggy

This weekend, I'll find out who the big pharma companies are and who my politicians are and commit to writing to all of them. You too? Peggy

I at one time had access to as much opioids as I felt was neccesary. Very compassionate Doctors at a pain clinic. They were not enough to control my pain but were too much to allow me access to my ful l intelligence. 266 mgs. per day. The equivalent of about 1000 morphine mgs., the comparison pain docs and pharmacists use.

Finally, after 1 year with no infections I could have my pump put in. Chemo had destroyed one lung and I couldn't risk any surgery. Now my morphine mgs. Rate is about 100. 4mgs. plus .9mgs. gives me much better pain management than the large oral doses ever did and with none of the side effects. No constipation, clear head and my own sparkling personality back. I still live with pain and always will but at least it's manageable. I am as much of an advocate for opioid use as you will find but oral drugs are not the way to go. 1mg. of a drug delivered directly to your spinal fluid is as much as 300 times more effective as 1mg. taken by mouth. I'm getting the benefit of a much as 1500mgs. of Dilaudid per day, (Dilaudud is much more powerful than morphine and second only to Fentanyl). That dose orally would kill me. You cannot eat enough pain meds to control pain long term. I am living proof that it does not work.

The other great thing about the pump is that no one has any suspicions about your motives or your doctors practices. Oral meds work for a time but as your body adjusts you will need larger and larger amounts and eventually they won't work at all except to make you stupid. If pain is a feature of your life that you expect will not go away, look into getting an intrathecal pain pump. Find a good neurosurgeon as threading the catheter up your spinal chord is definitely a neat trick. Big pharma could care less about seniors and politicians are as useful as teats on a boar pig. Get a pump!

Hi!
My brother takes Gabapentin and gets some relief.
I took Gabapentin and it did nothing.
Both of us developed issues with our memory while on it.
He still takes it on occasion.
I went off.
It was my neck down to my finger tips and my lower back.
After years of pain with no help, I PERSONALLY decided for surgery..
I know many people can't or won't go that route.
I've never looked back...
Glad I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ronnie