back pain managment
Posted , 4 users are following.
hi can anyone advise me , ive been to see my back consultant today and i carnt have anymore nerve block injections as ive had three lots and dont work, im on naproxen and take two aday , hes putting me on morphen patches which im a bit scared of, i will be on them for life, im already on hrt patches but im scared of going on these as ive googled the side effects, i dont know what to do , ive got to go back to my gp in two weeks to get them, can some one help
0 likes, 13 replies
gabriella44865 loulou101
Posted
I assume you've tried a tens machine?
loulou101 gabriella44865
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flyntheointment loulou101
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Hi, what is it exactly that you have been diagnosed with. For him to put you on morphine patches, it must be quite serious as they are addictive. Do not take any more naproxen that what he said or you could have ulcer or worse heart attack. Don't want to scare you but you will need to be more specific with your diagnosis, for example, it is a disk issue or a nerve problem or of unknown cause?
loulou101 flyntheointment
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flyntheointment loulou101
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Too young to have operation? Studies show high doses or longterm use of NSAIDS like Nuproxen are bad for heart, but of course if the benefit outweighs risk than they are ok. I would get a 2nd opinion on surgery as I have found it is rare that you would be considered too young for surgery. The alternatives are drugs treatment and that would be your call. Have you had steroid injections into the disk area? When you say "nerve block injections" what exactly are you referring to?
loulou101 flyntheointment
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loulou101
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flyntheointment loulou101
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I would continue with local steroid injections to stabilize your pain, along with the Nuproxen and perhaps you can ask about Tramadol for the pain. It is not the normal opiate and works pretty well with less side effects than opiates if taken as prescribed. While it is reported that it is not as addictive, to some people it is as addictive as opiates. If you are on any anti-depressants than that may not be allowed. I still think you should get the surgery, it is not at all as bad as you may think. Recovery is in most cases very quick. While it doesn't work 100% the odds are quite good that your pain will be alleviated. Lumbar fusion surgery is designed to reduce the pain because it stops the motion at a painful motion segment. Depending on which level of the spine is affected, the fusion will be somewhat different:
A one-level fusion at the L5-S1 segment and is the most common form of fusion, as the L5-S1 segment is the most likely level to break down for degenerative disc disease. A fusion at this level of the spine does not significantly change the mechanics in the back.
Fusion of the L4-L5 level does remove some of the normal motion of the spine as this is a major motion segment in the lower back (as opposed to L5-S1, which has limited motion). A newer surgery to treat pain and disability from lumbar degenerative disc disease is artificial disc replacement. The good thing with that is you retain full motion, the down side is you may have to go back and have surgery perhaps 10 years down the road as the artificial joints they now have wear out with heavy use. I strongly suggest you talk to your doctor and get reffered to a surgeon just to talk about it. Can't hurt to talk it over.
loulou101 flyntheointment
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amkoffee loulou101
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I'm glad to hear you're giving it a lot of thought because it is a ginormous decision. And you will get people on here telling you not to do it. So be prepared for that as well. But in the end it has to be your decision not the doctors not the people on here not me. The side effects will eventually subside, the biggest side effect is sleepiness. I've been on opiates for around 9 years and at this point well for many years now I've been able to function quite easily. I drive I do my own scheduling I do everything normally except work. The only reason I don't work is because I'm physically incapable of it and that's because of my pain level. But I made the decision to go on opiates because I was forced to having no other option that would relieve me of the pain enough that I could lead a relatively functional life. And I have tried everything you can think of in the to try to alleviate the pain and get off of the opiates but everything I have tried has been unsuccessful. Besides the injections I hope you have tried other things as well because there is a multitude of other options out there. If you have only gone to see your GP for pain management then I recommend that before you get on opiates you go see a pain management specialist. Because there are not only injections in the back but there are pain stimulators that can be implanted in your back there are tens units you can purchase to use on your back there are trigger point injections that can be used which are different than epidural injections and depending on the what's wrong with your back would depends on the type of injections you could get. If your problem is with your SI joint then there is an SI belt you can use to help alleviate pain. As you can see there are many other options available for pain relief. Of course there is also physical therapy., Which must be utilized. In addition to these options there are also none opiate pain medications that can be used either in addition to the opiates and/or instead of the opiates one that comes to mind is Gabapentin another one similar to that is Lyrica. Both of those are typically used for people who have pain that runs down their leg called sciatica. Another drug often used is muscle relaxers. So before you jump into the morphine patch and onto the opiate bandwagon see a pain management specialist and make sure you've crossed all the other bridges before you do the opiates. But if you do the opiates don't let anyone ever tell you that you're a bad person or that your an addict just because you choose to use opiates to control your pain.
loulou101 amkoffee
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flyntheointment amkoffee
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If she has a crumbling disk, the viable options are surgery to repair it or treatment with painkillers but since it is usually progressive, it is not going to get better. If you have a physical impairment that could be improved by surgery but you refuse to have the operation, you may be barred from receiving Social Security Disability benefits (both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)), based on that refusal. Although it's every individual’s right to choose what health care procedure they have performed, the government doesn't have to pay you benefits if you don't follow recommended treatment. Of course, there are some exceptions, such as religion, inability to pay for the surgery and a few others but these days few cannot get the surgery. Opiates taken correctly can be a blessing but they are now making it so hard to get them, that they are making patients feel like junkies and putting them through hoops just to get them and that is only getting worse due to the opiate epidemic we are now in. My state demands you go to a pain center almost on a monthly basis. Those that are not insured must pay. I highly suggest the surgery as it worked great on me, it was like a miracle after suffering 7 years unable to walk more than from bed to bathroom. The Fentanyl withdrawal was not fun but not as bad as I thought, after just a few weeks I felt the fog lift off me and I was back to my old self.
amkoffee loulou101
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I read all of the other comments on here and it sounds like everybody's encouraging you to have surgery. I think you really do need to go see a surgeon either an ortho or a neurosurgeon and get information about the surgery. But then I think you need to think long and hard about this surgery. I don't agree with what some of the comments are saying because the surgeries are by far not a sure deal. Surgeries have a poor record of fixing back problems. Ask your surgeon for your particular surgery what he thinks the percentages of a successful surgery to fix the pain for longer than 5 years. I think you'll be surprised at the low percentage rate. Then ask the rate for fail surgery.