I was injured in 2005 my last surgery was Jan. 2010 a triple spinal fusion s1 l3-4. I was bed riden before surgery, so it did help a little. But the pain is terrible. I was on norco 10-325 5 pills a day for a long time, but they stop working. about two months ago my Dr. put me on morphine time release tabs, 2 in the morning and one 12 hours later. He said I can talk one norco in between if needed. They dont help any more than the norco. I have tryed all the name brand stuff with no success. I was just wondering if there maybe something that has work for anyone else in my condition.

Hello, and welcome to this forum. So sorry you are going through all that with your back. I have some knowledge of the pain you have experienced. I am fused C3-7. I was a bit luckier, if you can call it that.
Two things I can maybe help with. Seek out a physiatrist. They are pain specialist, but deal with the whole body, not just a set of symptoms. They do all the things a pain specialist does. The other is to ask about Ketamine infusions. When nothing else worked for me, this medication given under floroscopy seemed to help more than any other shot or medication. It can also be given orally, from what I have read. I use the medication as a topical for PN and it works that way too. Methodone, or a fentanal patch may also be considered. I took morphine for 10 years, and it stopped being effective for me as well. I stopped it three months ago. I know that if I really needed more help this physiatrist would indeed step things up. Gosh I hope you can find some relief. I am here for you to talk to anytime and so is neuro talk. There are alot of compassionate people here to help support you. ginnie

I'm sorry you are going through such hell. I haven't had spinal fusion, but do have a painful back problem. One of the problems you eventually encounter is tolerance to pain medications. Over time, they become less effective.

Methadone is a good medication when it comes to pain. It doesn't cause as many side effects as most of the other perscription pain medications. They too will eventually be less effective. It sounds like you need to find a Dr. that treats chronic pain. They know what combinations to use and what drugs work best for each kind of pain.

Muscle relaxants helped my back some. They allowed me to get out of bed again. See if your Dr. can recommend or refer you to a pain clinic.

Sam

Hi Bret,

It's a common and understandable question, but the answer is a little more complicated. The fact that morphine -- the gold standard for pain management -- isn't working for you illustrates that everyone responds differently to meds, so what works for others may not work for you anyway.

Pain Management and/or a Physiatrist are, IMO, the way to go. Either way, because pain management can be complex, the process may take some time -- trying different therapies and/or meds to find the best long-term solution for you.

Here are some links I think may be helpful:

Michigan Pain Management Website (Unusual for a state gov't. to have such a site)

The Intractable Pain Patient’s Handbook for Survival (A must-read for any chronic pain patients and their families/support networks)

How to Talk to Your Doctor About Chronic Pain (several articles for a broad well-rounded perspective)

Doc