i have lived with degeneritive disk disease for 4 years now and i have been on lortabs somas and lots of inflame meds and never got the relief i  prayed for ,the meds just takes the edge off .the injections and nerve burns help the best

If the usual nsaid's do not work,and they are only useful for mild pain,not moderate or severe, then  you will have to accept the fact that only an opiate will work. I have chronic shoulder pain, since I was a child. I have had every type of x-ray and one operation. The Dr's know there is a problen but can not get to the bottom of it. I have used every nsaid. Alone they do not work. I now use methadone. Supplementing with an nsaid, the pain is under control. On a scale of one to ten my usual days were seven. Now they are three , ocasionally two. I call a ten as being burnt over half your body. I used to lose good jobs because I could not keep up a consistently good level of performance. This no longer happens and I can smile and enjoy my wife and kids. Ignorant people who have never had pain that does not stop will assume you are just a junkie. I have gotten out of the habit of trying to discuss the subject with most people. Any "high" feeling you may get goes away in a few days. Now i just feel normal. No one has ever said "you look high". I use one 10 mg every 8 hours. Many people only need one every 12 hrs. I am not pain free but I can live with whats left. That's what matters. If you start you cannot stop abrubtly. You will have to reduce down over 6 to 9 months. That is the down side. In many cases you have to month or every 2 or 3 months. It is not a "call in" perscription. It must be written each month. Good Luck , let me know you are doing.