Anyone else have these issues, the pain is one thing but when it is really bad it does more then just hurt it gets me all irritated and then I have a short fuse and that doesn't help

Rich[/QUOTE]

I have been having spinal surgeries since I was 12 - I am now 48.

During that time I have tried all forms of pain meds and was reactive and allergic to even fentanyl (which is hard to pull off I am told).

I was told that the hives, itching, difficulty urinating etc are more allergic reactions and that vomiting, diarrhea and other side effects are just considered bad side effects.

At some point I could not function at home or work - like you - short fuse and having to try so hard to stay focused because sitting or standing or walking was such a huge issue in terms of pain....you know what I mean.

Also, when your livelihood is at stake - you try anything to stay afloat - the faster the results the better so you can keep your job - or whatever - seems that survival instinct kicks in.

I realized I had to do something. I have spent over 20 years approaching pain and disabililty through natural techniques - exercise, relaxation/meditation, accupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy, water therapy, pain psychology, pain hypnosis (was not a candidate but can work wonders for some patients.....)

Also tried all known procedures to man - epidural steroid injections, nerve blocks/ablations, trigger point injections, discograms, 3 pain pumps surgically installed and removed - now removed since April 2011 - spinal stimulators etc etc...and I tried these techniques time and time again, over and over and any new thing on the market I tried no matter how crazy it sounded.

I kept a journal and it looked like the only narcotic that worked for my pain was oxycontin and oxycodone - one is controlled release and one is immediate release but same drug essentially.

At first I would itch and have hives so bad that I would have bruising all over my body to the point that my doctor sent me to ER thinking I had a bleeding disorder.

Eventually the itching subsided and the hives etc but it took a long time of being miserable from side effects although I was getting some pain relief. In fact I wrote in my journal that it was a miracle that I could take a pill and be able to walk and think like normal within 15-30 mins - not considering side effects.

I had to switch jobs and work as an independant contractor for a while - while I tried to get used to the only pain med that worked for me - the oxycontin/oxycodone.

I must be honest - my career suffered greatly because of my body - but in retrospect I currently have my own business, work out of my home doing research - so truly this would never have happened had I not been forced to be creative about my disability.

I started narcotic therapy in 1998 and I was never able to take more than 50 mg per day of Oxycontin without developing seizures - yes siree. So I had to rely on immediate release oxycodone.....

AT this point I can only take about 30 mg Oxycontin and same amount of oxycodone - and since I do not get a lot of relief I have decided to detox off them completely - and then only take the immediate release if totally necessary.....

If I could - I would take as much of the narcotics or whatever pain meds worked - to be able to be working full time - however for a very few of us that is not possible.

I look back at the past 20 years and believe it is a blessing that my body was never able to process narcotics and that I did not go up and up and up like most must do who have long term issues with disease and related pain/chronic pain syndromes as they currently call it.

I can tell you that if narcotics are your last resort and you have allergic reactions - the side effects you mentioned went away for me - you have to take the drugs as prescribed for about one month and at about the 2 week point you will notice a change for the better....

narcotics save me on many days so Idon't want them out of my life - I pray that you will find a way to make something work - be it narcotics, exercise, meditation whatever....

Try it all even if it sounds crazy - and then in a couple of years try it all again....just because something doesn't work when you are 30 years old doesn't mean that it won't work at age 40 - keep trying.

Kelli