Chronic Back Pain for Years

@wisco
Good afternoon,

Forgive me for jumping in here but Cymbalta never worked for me however that’s not to say that it won’t work for Jim, especially since it would be poly therapy. My brothers legs were crushed in an automobile accident and both female arteries were severed and he went through 18 hours plus of surgery. Both his legs are full of pates, pins, rods screws, bolts you name it and he has to wear braces and walk with crutches and needs additional surgery but can’t have it because of inactive staph which may become active. However what I was trying to say was that he takes Advil along with all his pain medication which he says helps him.
Good luck Jim,
Jake

1. Nerve pain doesn’t respond to anything usually very well but any doctor worth his salt knows that nerve pain causes muscle pain, cramps, joint pain, and others types of pain that opioids WILL treat. Nerve pain is torture but add the others on top of it and you have hellacious pain. The first statement is a “federal fabrication” to fit their narrative.
2. Long-term opioids are never used for acute pain. They were designed, manufactured, approved by the DEA, and prescribed for long-term pain usage. They include MS Contin, OxyContin, Fentanyl, and others.
3. If dosed correctly and managed correctly, opioids can be used adjunctively or alone to treat chronic pain. They’ve been used for decades for successfully for this purpose.
4. Yes, all opioids and long-term pain medications available in the arsenal against chronic pain can be dangerous with long-term use including OTCs. Tylenol and naproxen can cause liver damage, ibuprofen (Salsalate, Celebrex, Mobic) can cause ulcers and kidney damage, aspirin can cause platelet damage, and alcohol...we won’t talk about that legal depressant.
5. Doctors don’t like to manage long-term pain patients because they don’t make money...
Doctors take an oath called the Hippocratic Oath. To deny care and treatment of a patient who falls within their scope of practice with the availability of regular compensation routes and practices is considered malpractice.
6. What matters is the chronic pain management of the patient not the money to be made by what can be done through that care. Why? Chronic pain patients have unique issues such as allergies (drug and food), full records of past treatments which usually include injections, stimulators, and other alternative therapies.
7. Chronic pain patients are not stupid and doctors need to stop treating us like we are.

Just want to throw this out there for anyone that might want to ask their doctor about this one...

I would recommend that everyone find an interventional pain specialist and see them along with your regular pain management doctor. Ask both if they are willing to work together. This worked great for me! I wish I would have found this combo many years ago. I spent 13 years with fentanyl patches and they DID work for some of my pain. Now they just tell you that opioids don't work for chronic pain. When the opioid epidemic exploded and new prescribing guidelines came out on Aug. 15, 2015 my doctor ditched me in the worst way! On Aug. 17, 2015 he did a drug urine test and told me that the fentanyl did not show up so I must either be selling them or giving them away!!! He quit prescribing for me and did not want to see me again (after 13 years with no issues at all). I was furious! I had my patches right on my arm when I took the test. I knew something was up with this scenario so I contacted my pharmacist and other doctors. Each one of them told me not to let it go because I would be "blacklisted" for pain medications. They were able to uncover that the doctor that gave me the drug urine test did a 12 panel test that would not show fentanyl. There is a specific test they needed to use. The lab that processed the test confirmed this. Anyway, it was his way of getting rid of me. He didn't even refer me to anyone else, just dropped me instantly. I felt so hopeless at that point and didn't know where to go from there. I did go to several other doctors (with a copy of the test results in my hand) and they treated me like I was some kind of drug addict like they do to most of us. I reached out to an interventional pain specialist as a last attempt at finding help and I'm so glad I did!

I am prescribed 100 mg of ketamine troches (as an opioid alternative) and they work for ALL pain that I have including the nerve pain!! I also have pregabalin, duloxetine, tramadol, and baclofen but the ketamine is the rockstar for pain. The interventional pain specialist has a full metabolic panel and hormone testing done annually. People in pain typically have low pregnenolone which is the mother of all hormones (male or female) and play a huge roll in pain and inflammation control. Mine came back at less than 5 so the doctor has me taking 100mg 3X daily. Asking to be referred to an endocrinologist would be a great idea for anyone in pain! And last but not least, there is Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). It is just as effective, if not better, than some opioids! My doctors have me taking 600mg 3X daily. This one is huge! If you're in pain please try these out. I can say that after taking them for only 3 weeks I have a notable difference in my pain. Here is an article I came across that is eye opening. If you don't want to read all the scientific stuff then scroll down to where you see what they prescribed to numerous patients and the results. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500919/ Also, here is the link to the best and most affordable PEA I have found. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084T9BFHT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are 2 websites that I recommend to anyone in pain. The first one is http://arachnoiditishope.com/ Even if you don't have arachnoiditis check it out. It offers SO MUCH info. and insight into pain & inflammation. I couldn't stop reading because it validated so many of my symptoms that I thought just make me look crazy. There is info. for you to print out and take in to your doctor including a medical protocol. It also offers a self help protocol that is astounding. The other website is https://intractablepainsyndrome.com/ This one offers similar info. and help for all pain. Dr. Forest Tennant owns both websites. Feel free to contact them with any questions!

I hope some of you find some relief either from the info. I have provided or elsewhere!

Kind Regards,
Terri

All kinds of pain respond to opioids. Most pain originates with the nerves in the spine. My intrathecal pain pump dump tiny amounts of narcotics directly into my spinal fluid and that treats pain throughout my body on less than 5 mg in 24 hours. The only other thing I take is amitriptyline , 25mg, once per day for neuropathy. Large doses of oral narcotics do have long-term consequences. The treatment becomes ineffective. You can also develop hypersensitivity to pain. I have experienced both conditions. As far as opioids is not treating neuropathy, I don't believe that's true. My doctor's justification for giving me the pain pump is the combination of neuropathy caused by chemotherapy combined with a need for high pressure compression of my left leg from my toes to my cro iijtch. It's a combination which is exquisitely painful. the only thing the narcotics do not treat is a sensation I occasionally get in my large toe that someone is driving a nail through my large toe
The amitriptyline prevents that from waking me up in the middle of the night. Having a very small amount of Narcotics leaked into my spinal fluid prevents any pain signals from getting back to my brain from the areas where they are created. The doses are so small b 500 uhcecause it is 100 to 300 times more effective to deliver on narcotics that way then it is even more effective than it would be to inject it in your vein. That means I'm getting the benefit of 500 to 1500 mg of Dilaudid every 24 hours, a dose which would surely kill me if I took them orally.

Just want to throw this out there for anyone that might want to ask their doctor about this one...

I would recommend that everyone find an interventional pain specialist and see them along with your regular pain management doctor. Ask both if they are willing to work together. This worked great for me! I wish I would have found this combo many years ago. I spent 13 years with fentanyl patches and they DID work for some of my pain. Now they just tell you that opioids don't work for chronic pain. When the opioid epidemic exploded and new prescribing guidelines came out on Aug. 15, 2015 my doctor ditched me in the worst way! On Aug. 17, 2015 he did a drug urine test and told me that the fentanyl did not show up so I must either be selling them or giving them away!!! He quit prescribing for me and did not want to see me again (after 13 years with no issues at all). I was furious! I had my patches right on my arm when I took the test. I knew something was up with this scenario so I contacted my pharmacist and other doctors. Each one of them told me not to let it go because I would be "blacklisted" for pain medications. They were able to uncover that the doctor that gave me the drug urine test did a 12 panel test that would not show fentanyl. There is a specific test they needed to use. The lab that processed the test confirmed this. Anyway, it was his way of getting rid of me. He didn't even refer me to anyone else, just dropped me instantly. I felt so hopeless at that point and didn't know where to go from there. I did go to several other doctors (with a copy of the test results in my hand) and they treated me like I was some kind of drug addict like they do to most of us. I reached out to an interventional pain specialist as a last attempt at finding help and I'm so glad I did!

I am prescribed 100 mg of ketamine troches (as an opioid alternative) and they work for ALL pain that I have including the nerve pain!! I also have pregabalin, duloxetine, tramadol, and baclofen but the ketamine is the rockstar for pain. The interventional pain specialist has a full metabolic panel and hormone testing done annually. People in pain typically have low pregnenolone which is the mother of all hormones (male or female) and play a huge roll in pain and inflammation control. Mine came back at less than 5 so the doctor has me taking 100mg 3X daily. Asking to be referred to an endocrinologist would be a great idea for anyone in pain! And last but not least, there is Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). It is just as effective, if not better, than some opioids! My doctors have me taking 600mg 3X daily. This one is huge! If you're in pain please try these out. I can say that after taking them for only 3 weeks I have a notable difference in my pain. Here is an article I came across that is eye opening. If you don't want to read all the scientific stuff then scroll down to where you see what they prescribed to numerous patients and the results. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500919/ Also, here is the link to the best and most affordable PEA I have found. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084T9BFHT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are 2 websites that I recommend to anyone in pain. The first one is http://arachnoiditishope.com/ Even if you don't have arachnoiditis check it out. It offers SO MUCH info. and insight into pain & inflammation. I couldn't stop reading because it validated so many of my symptoms that I thought just make me look crazy. There is info. for you to print out and take in to your doctor including a medical protocol. It also offers a self help protocol that is astounding. The other website is https://intractablepainsyndrome.com/ This one offers similar info. and help for all pain. Dr. Forest Tennant owns both websites. Feel free to contact them with any questions!

I hope some of you find some relief either from the info. I have provided or elsewhere!

Kind Regards,
Terri

@wisco50 @faithwalker007

Depression was a pre-existing condition for me, including suicidal ideation and attempts, treated for ten years before neuropathy pain started. Recovery from the depth of my depression, once it was recognized and treatment began, took more than 5 years to reach a safe, non-suicidal level. When pain was added, I was still fighting to stay alive.

I know the frantic feeling, and for sure the lack of hope. Pain relief continues to be very elusive for me, and the chronic pain/depression cocktail is (can be) lethal at worst, difficult at best. That history is certainly in my mind continuously, and I always wonder how that history plays into my doctors' decisions about any treatment plan they offer me. Do they intentionally prescribe sub-therapeutic dosages of pain meds because they think I might take an overdose on purpose? I don't bring it up with a doctor, though I do talk with my therapist about it, because I don't want to introduce to them the idea that it might be a possibility.

This discussion is taking place in the back pain thread, which is OK, but back pain isn't on my list of complaints. Until the recent stenosis surgery, I had escaped the spinal problems that all 5 of my siblings have dealt with. And if an MRI hadn't shown the stenosis, who knows if I would ever develop problems because of it. But at least we've ruled it out as a cause of the pain in my feet and ankles.

Time for me to stop chatting. I'm fortunate to be able to sleep well.

Jim

@wisco50

Actually, no, not really. I only take 1/2 (50mg) during the day and then just before bed i take a whole one (100mg), When I take the 50mg no side effects. When I take a whole one yes. You feel dizzy and have some brain fog for about an hour after taking it but that's exactly why it's taken at bedtime. You are not supposed to be up walking around and doing things at that dose. Other than that, no, I have no problem with it. The dizziness and brain fog happen for a short amount of time. I can tell you that prior to having the ketamine the pain would keep me away for 2 to 3 days on a regular basis, a lot of times even when I took ambien. When I started taking ketamine I began to sleep again! The ketamine relieves enough pain for me to fall asleep and stay asleep most of the time. When the pain hikes up during the day I do take 100mg. When I'm in that shape I can't do anything but lay down anyway. Ketamine is the best pain relief I've had thus far.

I have large Tarlov cysts compressing the nerves that control everything below the waist and a tethered cord all caused by a fall. They also are causing issues with the CNS neuropathy in my legs & feet, pudendal neuropathy, sciatica, bladder & bowel issues, etc. The tethered cord has been pulling on my spinal cord since 2003 causing a ton of back pain & muscle spasms. No wonder I haven't been able to bend over without it lighting everything up! I was labeled a chronic pain patient without an actual diagnosis until 2018!! Now I'm fighting my insurance co. because they don't want to cover the surgery I so desperately need. I think I may have talked with you a while back.

@ellens The unit has electo pads that attach to where you are hurting then attach to a machine Tens That admits a little electrical charge you can increase the amount you get to your tolerance it has different modes kneeding, accupuncture,tapping and more It relaxes the muscles it's like a mini massager I've had mine for a long time