I have pain from perpheral neuropathy, sciatica, C2-3, L3,4,5,Dejenerative Joint/Disc Disease. HELP!
Boy. Where to start? In 1989 I had a back injury from lifting that put me in hospital for 7 days. Diagnosis - Mechanical low back injury. Put on permanent lifting restrictions. Spent about 3yrs rehabing my back so I could work again. The end of 1999 I had Total Knee Relacement on left knee following multiple scope jobs. Feb 2000 needed Knee Replacement on right. Returned to work in June. Aug 2000 hurt lower back moving boxes of pop. There was also injury to c-2. I was also having problems with peripheral neuropathy in both feet. This was not officially diagnosed until June of 02 when I went to Mayo Clinic for the second time. I WAS STILL ABLE TO DO QUITE A BIT UNTIL FALL OF 06. SINCE THEN HAVE DRASTICALLY GONE DOWNHILL. Currently take pain meds (Lortab 7.5mg) every 6hrs plus Ultram 2x's a day, baclophen max dose, Elavil so I can sleep and more. I know there have been a lot of days lately that I've had to take the Lortab every four hrs and sometimes even that doesn't help. I see my doc on 5/12 and want to ask for something stronger, possibly a patch with something for breakthru pain. They tried oxycontin last year but it didn't help and cost way too much money. All I wanted to do was sleep. I would like to be able to function.
I know this is a long story but can anyone help?
None of the sites I have been to deal with multi-symptom problems
There are a number of different pain relief options but I couldn't begin to suggest which might be best for you. I'm going to submit your question to Dr. Krusz, our pain specialist, to be answered in his "Ask the Expert" post. Although even MDs cannot diagnose or treat online, he might be able to suggest options you could discuss with your doctor.
To be sure you don't miss his answer, go to Dr. Krusz's profile and subscribe to his SharePosts. Then you'll receive an e-mail when his answers are posted.
Karen
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Hi There,
You have my sympathies re. the tremendous amount of pain that you have.
I have had Peripheral Neuropathy for about 5 years and the main problem, like you, is my feet.
I was put onto 50mg. Anafranil at night - this really does help! Anafranil is actually an anti-depressant but apparently does work for certain types of nerve pain.
Before you take it ask your doctor if it will be OK with the other drugs that your on.
Hope it helps you!!! 
PS. I have also had lower back pain for years - nothing I have taken helps it. If you have found something that does please let me know.
Jonley
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I have the same problem, I am 52 years old, I started to notice my peripheral neuropathy in the balls of my feet in March of 01, in Sept of 01 I have a major back spasm that lead to sleepless nights for two months and a huge case of clinical depression that put me out of work for three months. Initially I took the medication root, with sleeping pills, anti-depression meds, nuroton, lyrica you name it. Let's face it, that's all doctors know what to do with this problem. They just throw medications at it and hope YOU go away. In my opinion, medications only make things worst. In April of 05 I had back surgery. The pain, anxiety, depression and suffering that peripheral neuropathy causes in people can only be understood by someone who has this problem. I decided that I was going to take matters into my hands. I accepted that fact that my pain was false pain caused by a problem with my spine that could not be changed. The only thing I could do was focus on getting myself into the best physical and mental condition of my life. I gradually got off all medications. I started exercising and eating better, focusing on digestion. It was a long period (over two years) but now I am 50 lbs lighter off all meds and sleeping like a baby. Yeah, my feet hurt, but lets face it could be a lot worse. My hard advise for you is to stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop seeing doctors, because they can do nothing about peripheral neuropathy, get off the Meds, because the side effects and other problems they cause are worse then the problem they cover up, move more, eat better & less, try to program your mind that the pain you are feeling is false pain and remember there are tons of people that would trade your problem for theirs in a heartbeat . And if you ever start feeling sorry for yourself again, you may want to volunteer at a brain injury ward at the local rehab hospital in your area and see what a real big nerve injury problem looks like. Good luck and keep fighting to good fight.
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upsetwithrich
Saturday, October 03, 2009 at 09:40 PM
Ok... I have had P.N. (pn) for about 9 years now. I started with Vicodin for a few years and am now taking 90 mgs of Morphine Sulfate a day. Once in a while I'll take an extra 30, just for good measure. I also have another disease called Ataxia. This causes muscle weakness in the legs and with the both of them, I'm in a wheel chair. The Morphine helps VERY LITTLE and I'm here on the web looking into amputation of my right foot and my left toes... I haven't found any sites yet. Good luck to you. Try the Morphine. (I was also on Methadone...The anti depresants made me insane!)
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Safe Medication Use
Learn the safest practices for medication use and what to ask your doctor.
Rich I think you are missing the point with this person. He has nerve damage and you do not. Nerve damage is much different than what you had. How do you know that he is overweight and in poor health like you? Feeling sorry for himself? How dare you tell him to go to a brain injury unit to see what big nerve injury problems look like. You are not qualified to assume that individuals with neuropathy caused by surgery or an injury are crying for no reason at all. I attempted suicide because the pain was too much to handle. Individuals like you should be banned from giving advice to people. You have no idea what he is going through because you have never had this problem. How dare you tell him to suck it up! You are a nasty person who needs to go pound sand and get a life.