chronic pain and addiction/recovery

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Mon, August 24, 2009

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I don't know if there's anyone else on here with this....but I know I'm not the only one out there, so maybe someone has some ideas for me.

Chronic lower back and leg pain/numbness. Always treated with pain meds. Stopped meds 19 days ago because wasn't sure anymore if I was using them for pain in my body, or pain in my mind. Taking more than the prescribed dose. WAY more. So now in NA and working on recovery.

I let my pain mgmt doctor know about this, and told him under no cirumstances give me narcotics if I ask for them. Well, might be another surgery coming up, and no one's slicing into my back without me being medicated, but according to my sponsor and NA lit, that's okay as long as I do it the way I'm supposed to.

Anyway, I asked him for some kind of non-narc meds and he said the only other things available are anti-inflammatories. Well, I have the opposite problem. I don't have swelling, I have shrinking so that's not going to help me at all.

Does anyone know of something else out there I can mention to him?

Thanks!

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Nan from the Dunes

8/24/09 9:18pm

Good Luck:

muscle relaxants?

chris101899

8/26/09 12:11pm

Are muscle relaxants narcotic? I'll look into them. Thanks!

Lorie Stransky

8/25/09 6:43pm

I have a friend in recovery and she has fibromyalgia and she takes tramadol for her chronic pain. I have read different views as to whether it is an addicting medication, I was on it and in no way did I ever feel 'high", and my friends Dr. would never have put her on tramadol if it was addicting. I also think trazadone helps with sleep and chronic pain, but you usually can only take it at night, as it causes drowsiness. I take neurontin for pain and that helps with nerve pain, but I only take it at night because it makes me sleepy, but other people I know says it has the opposite effect on them. Good Luck!!!!!

chris101899

8/26/09 12:07pm

Thanks! I'll ask about the tramadol. I like trazodone a little too much, so we're avoiding things like that (sleeping/anti-anxiety meds) too. I think I might have screwed myself on this one LOL.

I take neurontin for nerve pain as well, and have for four years now. Never once made me high or tempt me to take more than prescribed, so still on that. Besides, take that one away, and forget it-I'll never move out of the bed.

I appreciate your response, it was a hard question to ask. One week exactly from my 30 days and trying to balance between NA recovery, and pain. Not easy.

Thanks again, take care.

Wendell707

8/26/09 12:54pm

Hi Chris, the type of Cronic pain we have would be nearly impossible to treat with anything outher than a narcotic.

Muscle relaxers are narcotics i take two different ones( Diazapam 5mg once a day) and (Cyclobenzapenrine 10 mg 3 times a day)!!

I allso have my cronic pain in my lower back,pain in both buddocks raideateing down both legs. I've been dealing with his pain for over three years getting nowhere untill recently my Nuro sent me to a real pain management Doctor. As the Doctor and i are getting to know each outher we have tried several things includeing a Facet injection. Allthough the Facet injection did'nt help at all we are planing on anouther Facet injection higher up on my lower back this time.

This is the first time in over 3 years i feal normal again for most of the day and night with some occasional break through pain but i can usealy just relax for an hour or so on my recliner and i'm back to fealing pretty good again.

I am takeing several meds "Avinza 60mg twice a day" wich is timed released Moraphine along with anouther dose of moraphine 15mg three times a day,last but not least is Gabapentin 300mg 3 times a day. In addition to those 2 muscle relaxers listed above.

I get that zonked fealing once in awhile but it does'nt last for long so i am happy with my current pain management, it's a heck of alot better than haveing that cronic pain hitting me full force.

I dont miss those trips i would make to the ER for a shot of Demeral 100 just to be abke to cope with the pain.

I hope everyone a nice week

Takecare

chris101899

8/26/09 1:48pm

Thanks for the reply.

I sort of thought there really isn't anything besides narcotics out there, but I can't believe I should spend the rest of my life in this kind of pain. My sponsor and I talked about it and she gave me a booklet called "In Times of Illness" from NA.

According to the booklet, if you're taking the meds for the right reason, and in the right dosage, then it's not a relapse. Some people might think it is, but the group as a whole does not. My sponsor told me that people aren't expected to be in chronic, excruciating pain. Besides being unrealistic & a almost impossible stumbling block to staying "clean", it's just plain cruel.

I did talk to some other people who don't even take OTC pain relievers. They don't take anything for any pain, ever. One guy was telling me about some procedure he had, I forget what, but he refused pain meds and his dr thought he was nuts. Said he spent a week crying and almost blacking out from the pain. I just looked at him and said there's no way I'm going to do that. I'm no martyr! I'll happily admit that I'm a wimp and I've lost all tolerance for pain!

Anyway....sorry about my life story there I've had epidurals and facet injections from my pain mgmt dr and they were useless. Because of the condition of my spine from prior operations it's close to impossible to get the needle where it needs to be. My first pain mgmt dr kept wiggling the needle around, trying to place it correctly during an epidural and I was SCREAMING. I'd rather have surgery than do that again! Found a new dr pretty fast

So no meds, NSAIDS are useless because it's not swelling, it's shrinking that's my problem. Possibility of one more operation that could reduce the pain some, but nothing's going to end it. Surgery always poses a risk of paralysis but I'll take the chance. At least with paralysis the pain would stop. That sounds wrong somehow, but it's how I feel at this point. If we can't do anything, and it's just going to get worse and worse, then find a way to medically induce paralysis.

Looking for "alternative" treatments, and maybe clinical trials too.

ANYHOW.....sorry again!!!!!!!

Thanks! Hope you have more good days than bad! What was your injury from?

chris101899

8/26/09 1:57pm

LOL all that and I forgot something!!!

I take gabapentin (generic for neurontin) 300m 4x day. Great for nerve pain in hips, legs and buttocks. Fixes tingling in feet also. Now THAT is an annoying feeling! Problem is, with this dosage sometimes it kills the nerve pain so well that my legs feel numb and it's like there's nothing holding me up when I walk. Intellectually, I know it's fine, I'm not going to fall, but it's just a nasty feeling.

Wendell707

8/26/09 3:23pm

Chris i know only to well about those epidurals and the Docs wiggeling thoses needles around "ouch" sure was'nt a picnic but still my cronic pain superceeded any pain from the proceedure. I'll take that numbness in the legs over the pain anyday so i dont mind takeing the Gabapentin 3 times a day heck my back even feels Numb.

. I'm not realy looking forward to the next Facet injections but i'll take it just incase it works even a little bit because then My Doctor could go to the next level and burn out all those nerve endings that are causeing my pain.

It's strange the way my pain started out, i was spending alot of nights sleeping in my recliner and as time went on the pain got worse to the point of me seeing a Nuro. Thats when i began getting steroid shots over a period of one year and they did'nt help a bit. After maney maney treatments i got refered to my present Pain Management Doctor,he had me go through alot of nerve conduction tests and more MRI's,the only thing that shows up Chris is signs of degeneration and signs of Arthritous but nothing out-standing that would give us a clue of what is causeing my cronic pain so everyone calls it Siatica and that covers alot of territory.

As i think back many years ago i was in an auto accident and the outher car ran across my lane of travel and hit me head on.

While i was waiting for an ambulance to arrive i tried to use my legs to get out but i could'nt move them because it felt like some one hit me across the back with a baseball bat.

I was in the hospital for a few hours with a few broken ribs and a brusied kidney but i released myself because my Wife had a broken neck and that gives her problems to this very day.

I did'nt mean to get so carried away Chris :) anyway have a nice week.

chris101899

8/26/09 4:57pm

No worries, I got carried away too!!!

I know where mine started....I ran the kids' department at a bookstore. Was carrying a box of books and sneezed. That was it....herniated disc. Two years later (and only occasional pain in those years) woke up one morning and literally screamed when I tried to turn over to get out of bed. I taught my daughter how to make coffee that morning LOL.

So disc removed, fused 5 years later.....another five, and now we're here. And I have the same thing. Nothing stands out, so we say it's sciatica and spinal stenosis. Got it all covered pretty much, even if it is vague. I had to laugh though. One time my boyfriend could actually feel how my spine and tailbone are now crooked in the very lowest part of my spine. First time he ever really understood that there really is a problem. Told me he'll never again hassle me about sitting up!!!!

I'm waiting for the insurance to approve a spinal stimulator to interrupt the pain receptors. It'll go in for one week to test if it really works. If it does then the permanent one is put in. Have you ever tried that? I'm guessing that burning the nerves out is a more severe version.

joanna

11/11/09 8:13pm

I have to say at one point I would have done most anything to be able to obtain Demoral! That worked so great on my pain, but no one in this area will presribe it anymore because it is so addicting. I had back surgery about a year and a half ago on my lower back. Worse thing I could have done. I consider it a failed back surgery as I am much worse now than I ever was before. Now I can barely walk and not at all without a walker. in constant pain all the time. Am on MorphineER and Norco with is very strong Vicodin. Don't even think about taking my Norco away from me! I haven't even thought about getting off meds because I know I couldn't bare the pain.

chronic pain and addiction/recovery

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