Changing meds and trying to move when uou can may help. I know its not much. Meditation has helped me greatly reduce my pain meds

I have had 3 back surgeries over my 86 years and two hip replacements. Now there is a nerve in the thoracic area causing lots of pain. I cannot take any heavy meds and am taking ibuprofen 3x a day for 12 days and will see what happens. I know the best thing to do is keep moving, otherwise I would be in big trouble, pain or no pain. Surgery does take a long time to heal. I do have many of the things you mentioned. Do not give up.

Hi John. I'm new here, but I've lived with some of the pain you have for a long time. I've had scoliosis & degenerative disk disease for over 40 years. I've had Stage IV bone cancer for over 12 years. It's in some organs too -but I think that's over kill so I tell it to "bug off" (in much stronger words). Anyway I was just diagnosed last year & tried a lot of different things. I take 5/325 hydrocodone in the morning if everything is singing too loudly & gets severely off tune. I have to watch it because I can wait too long then it's hard or impossible to overcome the pain. If I have to leave the house I never take a chance to see if I can go most the day without. I want to take as few pills as possible. One thing I found that helps tremendously is to take an Ibuprofen & one acetaminophen ONE hour BEFORE the hydrocodone wears off. Mine lasts roughly 6-7 hours.
I've found natural things help me a lot. If you don't like that route please excuse me. They really work MUCH better than not. At my Naturopathic Doctor's instruction I cut out any gluten. After 3 weeks I noticed quite a difference in pain, edema and my walking abilities. I can now get across the room with a cane instead of a walker. If your doctor permits some easy exercises help me TREMENDOUSLY. I swear by Miranda Esmonde-White's Classical Stretch. It's on PBS TV 3 times a day M-F. Liquid Magnesium helps too. I can't sleep without it- unimaginable leg cramps from EVERY muscle of both legs. Just have to be glad I have my legs. I have 2 broken bones they can't fix due to the cancer & severe arthritis. Anything to help the lymph glandes move is GREAT; hydrotherapy, exercise massage... I like to let the meds do their job then help to flush them out & rest. There's a few other things that help, let me know if you are interested.

I love stretching so will check out White's classical stretch!

Hi, @lillyanne. Thanks for your post and all your helpful tips from your experiences dealing with pain.

Wondered if you could share a bit more about the hydrotherapy you've done -- what it is, how it helps you with pain?

Hydrotherapy is ancient in many cultures. It's the idea using water &going from a hot steaming area to a brisk COLD one. Native American's, Inuit and Asians all have forms of this. I learned it from an elderly women in the early '70's. Because I was a Charter Member of Jack La Lane's European Health Spa (yeah, long name!) I was able to partake in different forms: dry sauna, wet sauna, cold shower, Jacuzzi, pool...what ever you like. You start with a long time in what ever hot mode you chose then go quickly to cold then back to hot to cold to hot....When you're young & healthy & can choose a non busy time & move back & forth with ease finishing in the shower. That might not be the best for medically fragile people. So the recommended, easy access, is your shower. The idea is to finish your daily shower with FOUR sets of hot water ALL over your body, then icy cold water all over. Start at the top of your head & enjoy it. Make sure to end with cold. I really like the heat on the neck, shoulders & scapular. It helps with my pain as any heat treatment would; heat gets in deep & relaxes muscles. I personally feel it soothes & relaxes veins & arteries thus improving flow of fluids. For me I think the cold gives a bit of a shock to the system to "wake things up". EVERYONE needs to adjust the temperatures & time within each water flow to their personal need. Sometimes just one set, or three, is all you want or can do. Ease into it. Of course like any new approach talk to your doctor especially if you have ports or other devices. A hand held shower device works best. It's great for your complexion too. It's relaxing & energizing at the same time. I like to follow this with the Classical Stretches within 15-20 minutes. It's also REALLY nice to just climb into fresh sheets (high tread count percale:) & get a sweet nights sleep. Part of the purpose is to flush toxins too, but that's all on an individual basis also. Turmeric/ginger teas & essiac tea is good for this too. I'd be careful & work with doctors & naturopaths if you are taking medication or Radiation. Common sense says it's there, in your body to do the job. But, after it's done I personally don't see any harm in flushing it out. Teas & water & exercise...