[richard d]

just curious what pain meds fellow sufferers find the most effective, I'm taking oxycodone and neurontin, hate taking them but the pain is unbearable at times.

[billy027]

I take Darvoset but skip days when I can and usually only take 1 a day. I'm afraid of getting addicted. Also Lunesta for sleep.

[tshadow]

It is important to have a pain mgt. specialist who will use a mix of drugs, spinal cord stimulants, tens units, pain implant, etc.

For me, I quickly went up the drug ladder - Darvocet, T-4s, Norco, none of it touched the pain. I had to take oxy with Cymbalta, Lyrica, a sleep aid, a muscle relaxer, and more. The Lyrica brought on severe diabetes, where there had been none...the Cymbalta was weight gain. I didn't try seroquel, as my brother warned me, he'd had bad side effects. I can't take other muscle relaxers or inflammatories as I've had way too many crisis in allergy.

I think I covered it all. It's all a crapshoot, a try, and try not to do anything BAD to your body as far as drink, smoke, nutrition - I mean, we've got no room here for it, really. (Or, who cares?)

I just try to figure out how to make the next day better. I usually fail, and the next day is worse, but once in a while, something I've done works, and I do have a better day.

I need to stay away from the computer, but this is where I come to meet all of you, and get my support to keep going!!!

[mucker]

I take hydromorphone contin 12mg twice a day then if the pain is really bad i take 4mg of hydromorphone. I use to take sleeping pills and i went through a lot of them but they never worked. I have also been through a long list of drugs but they never seem to last long the worst part of it is i can't take any type of antiinflammatory because of ulcers.

[momzpeachy]

Well yesterday was another painful day. I am still itchy from the allergic reaction to the Zanaflex but I'm better. I am still taking the Cymbalta which helps some. I am just sitting around doing nothing. That helps too...lol. The more I do...the more pain I have. I crashed on the couch last night and woke up at 12:01...missed the ball drop...oh well. 3 years ago I was in NY city for New Year's Eve...what a time that was. We took the kids and had a blast. It was an experience but I'll never do it again! I just feel like I can't win anymore. I can't do anything...I don't know when I'll ever be ME again. I am such a tough person..stubborn and strong willed...but this is more than I ever bargained for. It's so hard because people can't see the pain you are in. I also hide it well sometimes.

Well I hope everyone has a better 2008! I hope for a pain free year! A person can hope!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Momz

[sandy1955]

I had some of the same thoughts you're now having. It's really like a death we're mourning-our old life. People (family) don't want to hear how you hurt because they can't see anything wrong with you. How about sitting on your *** for 2-3 years, that should tell someone what you're feeling, how bad you're hurting and afraid to do anything-even vacuum because of the pain you know you will have later. I've been through all the surgeries (except rib resection on my right side, they took my rib out on the left side and sent me home the SAME DAY, I live alone, and do not want to ever go back to that kind of pain. and now WC wants me to get a job using my hands and start the whole cycle all over again...I know I can't do that but am at a loss as to how to convince them of that. TOS is a long hard journey. Good Luck.

[johannakat]

I take opana 10mg 2x a day, have oxycodone 5mg for breakthrough, and in oct after my two surgeries started taking effexor XR.

Though I was initially against taking an A/D, the effexor XR is great. It has allowed me to significantly reduce my opiod pain meds from 3 opana to 2 and to pretty much stop taking breakthroughs, i used to easily take 2-3 on an average day (more on a bad day) and now it is more like 2-3 a week. It has given me a sense of confidence that if I leave home w/o my pain meds I'll be OK...i didn't feel that way before, I always felt like when i was out, if i looked sideways wrong i'd have to take a breakthrough med.

Pain meds are such a delicate subject...but if you are working closely with a competent pain management doctor, he should be working with you to find a way to get your pain to a place where you can fuunction stably (sp?) thorugh the day-whatever level you function at. It took 3-4 months past my second surgery and a lot of experimenting with different drugs to approach where i am now. THat isn't my final destination, but I can get myself through the day... I can count on at least getting my kids to daycare and school, keeping my house from looking like it was taken over by wolves, and getting groceries in the door (well, the driveway, anyhow...hubby has to carry them inside) and most nights, some sort of dinner on the table.

At last visit, my pain mgmt doctor asked me "can you do what you need to do for yourself adn manage a job that has 2 hours or less a day of keyboarding..." and I said I have had glimses of feeling that good, but they have never lasted more than a couple weeks before i do something to hurt myself again. SO...we are starting to explore the next set of treatment options because it is not my goal to be home on disability forever, or to take pain meds forever.

I don't mean to tell my life story, but some peopel are flaky about their opinions of pain meds. I just want to say that I DO take pain meds...I find them to be essential to taking care of myself and my sanity. I am lucky that they work for me and I am not allergic to them, and lastly, that even though I take them it is not because I am giving up, I just see it as a neccessary stepping stone to my goal of getting better. I probably will never be completely off of them unless there is some miracle treatment that gets developed in the near future, but I'll get to as low as i can.

I hope others are able to find a solution that works for them, and hope that none of us are ashamed of their use of pain meds.

Johanna

[dabbo]

Momz- i'm sorry that you're in such pain all the time.....i hope you and the docs can figure something out.

Richard.... I think that each person is different in how they do or don't respond to medications, especially in these combinations. to manage all of this i take Keppra (500mg 4x daily), oxycodone (5mg 3x daily), lidocaine patches, and Cymbalta (30mg 2x) . Like JoKat, I was opposed to taking an A/D, but I've found that it helped ALOT. I took lortab for a year, but switched when i started getting less relief from that, and I was worried about liver and kidney toxicity from the acetimenophen part of that. I had been taking Lyrica also, and that worked GREAT until i had an allergic reaction to it . I don't think I took it long enough to worry about diabetes or weight gain from it.