@lioness and other members discussing Kratom, you may find the following news release from the FDA on Kratom worth reading,https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm584970.htm.

Jim, I'm glad you were able to get down to 15mg morphine sulfate contin 2X daily. That's a big decrease! Yeah, so many antidepressants have sexual side-effects. I've taken antidepressants for lots of year (since before the chronic pain which started 8 years ago). The sexual side-effects are a real pain, but I'd take them over being in a hellish state cuz of depression. Now I take effexor and sertraline. I hope I can stop the sertraline at some point, or at least reduce the dosages.

@elsa

I'm finding that Gabapentin is starting to cause deficits in my thinking, so I started tapering off it today - talked with the pharmacist about it this morning. I was thinking that maybe one of the neuropathy meds that I tried and didn't work might pick up the residual pain after a spinal cord stimulator implant in June last year. I'm afraid that's not a reasonable consideration, which I think will mean taking a bit more morphine. I don't think I'll have to get back up to 90mg, but I'm going to ask the doctor to raise my prescription to 15mg three times a day to start with.

Jim

Jim, I wish you the best decreasing the gabapentin and increasing the morphine.
It's well-known that gabapentin can negatively impact one's memory. I can attest to it myself. I now take 900mg per day. I used to take 2700mg per day!! It made a huge difference in restoring clarity of mind. Wish I could get off it completely, but I still need it since I'm now 100% morphine and hydrocodone free!
Does your SCS help you? I considered having one but never got comfortable enough with the idea of the implant.

@elsa

The SCS implant gave me 75-80% pain reduction. It was wonderful! I don't think I can remember how much pain I was having before. I do know that the disease is progressive, so I suppose I could expect the pain to increase. My feet hurt the most when I spend the day shopping. Walking and standing on hard surfaces is painful and I pay for it when I get home, as was the case today. I sat in the recliner all evening, but my feet are burning now in bed. I'll put some Lidocaine cream on them to numb them so I can go to sleep.

The procedure was straightforward, outpatient, and not painful. There's a 6 week recovery - no lifting, bending or twisting, as the leads become one with the nerves. That was hard because I had it done in June, so my yardwork was way behind schedule.

I recommend doing the trial so you can find out if it will give you enough relief to warrant a permanent implant. They require that you have at least a 50% reduction of pain during the trial.

Gotta go.

Jim

I was seen by Dr. Mauk at Mayo in November. He said he didn't think I'd be a good candidate for a SCS. I may revisit the possibility when I'm in Rochester for pain rehab beginning March 5. The bottoms of my feet (especially the heels) hurt like the devil. I have a custom compounded salve I apply to my heels. It has 5 agents: baclofen, ketamine, gabapentin and 2 others (BA and DI). It helps some. If I'm on my feet a lot, they'll hurt lying in bed that same night. Sometimes, I have to hang both feet off the top edge of 2 pillows so they're not touching anything. Does the SCS help the pain in your feel?

I just read this article on cnn.
An outbreak of 28 salmonella infections in 20 states has been linked to kratom products, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. Though no deaths have been reported, 11 people have been hospitalized.

@elsa

Yes, the SCS has reduced the pain in my feet by around 75%. I smiled when I read you describe the process I go through many nights. I have a feather pillow for my feet, but sometimes just the contact hurts, so I also hang my feet over the edge of the bed or the pillow. I have a blanket lifter to keep the bedding off my feet.

My feet hurt, but I'm thankful that they don't hurt like they used to.

Jim

This is my first time to read and respond on this media. After about 4 hours of sleep I suddenly wake with extreme foot pain on the part of my heels that touch the bed and moderate pain on the tips of my big toes that the sheet touches. I asked my primary doctor about this and she has not heard of this. I have to get out of bed and sleep in my recliner the rest of the night. Using the term "sleep" is almost joke as I am up and down all night with back pain and a restless feeling that keeps me from sleeping. Has any one had these problems? I don't know what the initias mean that I read this morning. This is my first day. I a have psyoriatic arthritis, CÓPD, fibromyalgia, stenosis of the spine, have one stent and my bronchial tubes don't work.

I'm sorry to hear about your pain! I'm not a doctor, (nor do I play one on TV 🙂 but the pain in your feet sounds like some type of peripheral neuropathy. I would have thought that your primary care doctor, had she "never heard of" the pain in your feet, would have referred you to an appropriate specialist (i.e., a neurologist or pain medicine MD) for further testing and a diagnosis. If I were you, I'd try to get that kind of a referral! Do you live in a community where you have access to GOOD medical resources?