Quote:
Originally Posted by nancyp5000
Can you please tell me what to do? I am about out of my mind with my poor husband who has been dealing with PN in both feet for over 2 yrs. He is on Oxycodone/morphine, cymbalta and floursomide for leg swelling. He could have gotten these from 30 yrs of working with environmental toxins in carpentry or from High to very low blood pressure from a bleeding ulcer that ruptured 1 1/2 yrs ago. Right now why he got it doesn't seem to matter in the forms of treatments he ahs been doing. He has been on these drugs for 1 1/2 yrs and now throws up 2 xs a week from pain. He now sees a chiro who is welll versed in PN and using a tens unit (Rebuilder, meant for nerve function) and a k laser and has had about 8 treatments that help for a bit but not more than a few days. He also did a lot of acupuncture-again short lived relief. He takes supplements, B's, D 3, magnesium..anything i give him he takes (i work in the natural product industry) He raely eats well and doesn't ahve much of an appetitie. He is filing for disability and his life has gone completely down hill. He relies on the MD's but I don't. He ahs cosidered having a neuro stimulator put into his back to stop the pain with a remote device but that is very inconclusive for foot pain. We are both at our wits end. He is 58. Maybe this isn't the right place to put this post but this forum is confusing and I don't hve the patience anymore. I see you, Mrs. D have a lot of kowledge..we/I need your help..anyone. He has mentioned suicide many times. I wish I could get him off the drugs as I see they do no good and I believe they create an ongoing rebound affect..the chiro says the drugs make the pain come back quicker and he needs to wean off. But what can he do when he is in so much pain. Please help him if you can.
I wish I could send him to a health spa where they would get him off the drugs, flush out his toxins, get him off the wine (de drinks more than normal too) and get him healthy to be able to even deal with the PN on an alternative basis. Anything you can help with will be appreciated.
Worried in Minnesota
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Please do not do anything drastic, and understand that while he may do better without these particular drugs, he may not. It is very difficult to judge another's pain levels. If your husband has PN, then that alone can cause enough pain to require high levels of opiates. It doesn't usually, but it can. Two years is not a long time in the world of PN and I am surprised that he is not on Gabapentin, it is usually the first drug prescribed.
Why did you describe it as oxyodone/morphine? They are different drugs. I am on 15 mg. MS Contin ( time release morphine) 3 times per day and 7.5/325 oxycoone for breakthrough pain 1 or 2 per day. It would help if you told us his dosages, then we could say whether they seem to have ramped up too quickly. Also chiropractors are notorious for claiming that if you just let them handle it they can fix everything. They are of limited help with PN. What you are describing as a rebound effect can just as easily be the result of poorly controlled pain requiring time release rather than immediate release treatments. What doctor originally put him on his pain meds?
If a PN patient requires opiates it is usually a permanent thing. Our doctor was very careful to explain to my husband that once we started on the morphine I would likely be on it, or methadone, for the rest of my life. We accept that as the cost of having any quality of life at all. You do not mention anything at all about your husband's doctor, but seem to trust the chiropractor. You can improve many things about your husband's health by following the advice here, but you cannot necessarily treat PN with alternative medicine, as you seem hopeful of, especially if your husband is not a believer. If the PN is toxic in nature it should respond well to Mrs. D's advice, but often the damage and pain are permanent.
Your husband's situation requires a pain specialist and it is that doctor who should determine if he needs an addictionologist or simply an adjustment to his medications. The drinking is a sign that the pain is being under treated. My father drank heavily all his life to deal with the pain of this disease.
I have advanced hereditary neuropathy, a long standing condition with steadily increasing pain and disability, complicated by arthritis. I would not be able to get out of bed without my medications, in fact I have to wait for them to work in the morning to do so. I am 51, so you see why I think there is a place for opiates in the treatment of PN.