Chronic Back Pain for Years

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

@bustrbrwn22

Do you know what the options are for treating sciatica?

Jim

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!

@jimhd Not many options for sciatica. I saw a neurosurgeon who said surgery would help but cognitive behavioral therapy would. I have done that. Over the past 5+ years I have tried every stretch, antidepressant, anti seizure, chiropractic, dry needling, physical therapy, acupuncture, etc. I am still in the early stages of myofascial therapy and I have hope. I saw another pain dr and because of black box warning can’t prescribe benzodiazepines with opioids. That is all that works for my conditions. My husband and I have talked at length and if it would give me some semblance of a life I wish I could make the decision of taking the meds. In the over 4 years I’ve taken a pain killer my dosage has never gone up. I am in bed again today crying because the sciatica hurts so bad. I don’t think a pain pump is an option for sciatica.

@jimhd Not many options for sciatica. I saw a neurosurgeon who said surgery would help but cognitive behavioral therapy would. I have done that. Over the past 5+ years I have tried every stretch, antidepressant, anti seizure, chiropractic, dry needling, physical therapy, acupuncture, etc. I am still in the early stages of myofascial therapy and I have hope. I saw another pain dr and because of black box warning can’t prescribe benzodiazepines with opioids. That is all that works for my conditions. My husband and I have talked at length and if it would give me some semblance of a life I wish I could make the decision of taking the meds. In the over 4 years I’ve taken a pain killer my dosage has never gone up. I am in bed again today crying because the sciatica hurts so bad. I don’t think a pain pump is an option for sciatica.

@jimhd

I apologize for butting in on your conversations but... I have some info. to share that may help some of you. Long story short, I fell in 2003 and have terrible back pain and sciatica ever since. I was just labeled a chronic pain patient because after all the MRI's, tests, numerous doctors, etc. they still couldn't come up with a specific diagnosis... until 2018. The fall caused Tarlov cysts to form in my sacral area along with a tethered cord. The tethered cord has been pulling on my spinal cord all these years causing a ton of pain and they cysts have been compressing the sacral nerves causing havoc on everything below the waist.

After being on some of the forums and talking to people like yourselves I kept coming across Dr. Forest Tennant. I checked out his websites and I couldn't stop reading. I think I read everything on both sites. Over all it seems like the first step we all need to do is control the inflammation. He offers so much valuable info. for you to print out and take to your doctor plus a self help protocol. I have replaced naproxen with tumeric and have added palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and pregnenolone to may normal medications. I have to say that I've only been taking these things for about 3 weeks and I can tell a slight difference in my pain already. Here is an article on the palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) that I think everyone in pain should read and try. If you don't want to read all the scientific stuff then scroll down to where it talks about them treating specific patients with it in their clinic. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500919/ It has been found to work just as well, if not better than opioids for pain and it's just a supplement!!

Dr. Tennant has 2 websites, http://www.arachnoiditishope.com and http://www.intractablepain.com Even if you don't believe you have either of these things please read as the info. he provides helps all pain.

Best wishes for you all!

Terri

@jimhd Not many options for sciatica. I saw a neurosurgeon who said surgery would help but cognitive behavioral therapy would. I have done that. Over the past 5+ years I have tried every stretch, antidepressant, anti seizure, chiropractic, dry needling, physical therapy, acupuncture, etc. I am still in the early stages of myofascial therapy and I have hope. I saw another pain dr and because of black box warning can’t prescribe benzodiazepines with opioids. That is all that works for my conditions. My husband and I have talked at length and if it would give me some semblance of a life I wish I could make the decision of taking the meds. In the over 4 years I’ve taken a pain killer my dosage has never gone up. I am in bed again today crying because the sciatica hurts so bad. I don’t think a pain pump is an option for sciatica.

@jimhd

I apologize for butting in on your conversations but... I have some info. to share that may help some of you. Long story short, I fell in 2003 and have terrible back pain and sciatica ever since. I was just labeled a chronic pain patient because after all the MRI's, tests, numerous doctors, etc. they still couldn't come up with a specific diagnosis... until 2018. The fall caused Tarlov cysts to form in my sacral area along with a tethered cord. The tethered cord has been pulling on my spinal cord all these years causing a ton of pain and they cysts have been compressing the sacral nerves causing havoc on everything below the waist.

After being on some of the forums and talking to people like yourselves I kept coming across Dr. Forest Tennant. I checked out his websites and I couldn't stop reading. I think I read everything on both sites. Over all it seems like the first step we all need to do is control the inflammation. He offers so much valuable info. for you to print out and take to your doctor plus a self help protocol. I have replaced naproxen with tumeric and have added palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and pregnenolone to may normal medications. I have to say that I've only been taking these things for about 3 weeks and I can tell a slight difference in my pain already. Here is an article on the palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) that I think everyone in pain should read and try. If you don't want to read all the scientific stuff then scroll down to where it talks about them treating specific patients with it in their clinic. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500919/ It has been found to work just as well, if not better than opioids for pain and it's just a supplement!!

Dr. Tennant has 2 websites, http://www.arachnoiditishope.com and http://www.intractablepain.com Even if you don't believe you have either of these things please read as the info. he provides helps all pain.

Best wishes for you all!

Terri