I had neck surgery in July 2013 to repair 2 discs. Before I had the surgery I had neck and shoulder pain on the left side along with numbness and tingling in my left arm. The surgery took care of the nerve pain but not the neck and shoulder pain. I was told that I might have this pain for the rest of my life. I have been through physical therapy but it only helped range of motion. I'm in pain management now and the doctor is pretty well against narcotics. Right now I'm on tramadol 50 mg 3x a day and Monica once a day.

I have tried flexerill, baclafen, paragon forte, robaxin, zanaflex and I believe one other muscle relaxer. My question is are there any other muscle relaxers that are better then the ones I have listed? Also what else works for pain? My Dr is against SOMA as he thinks its too old. But most of my pain is due to the fact the muscle wont relax. My pt specialist even agreed.

I have an appointment on Monday with my Dr and I'm trying to take some info with me to possibly help. I've tried a tens unit and it doesn't touch it. Ice/heat barely works temporarily. The only medicine that has remotely worked was portable before he dropped me down to the tramadol. Any advice would be great. Also I have tried neurontin and it makes me way too foggy. I can't function on it at all.

Hi xixjadexix, welcome.

I think you've already tried most of the antispasmodics except carisoprodol (Soma). I don't understand your doctor's "too old" pretext, but AFAIK, the others he's tried you on are probably stronger (there are always exceptions, as everyone is different).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Antispasmodics

Are you in a location where medical cannabis is legal for this purpose?

Doc

I dislocated a shoulder playing sports. Experienced shoulder pain as well as numbness in my ring and pinkie finger. Saw orthopedic shoulder specialist who told me it was my ulna nerve (funny bone in the elbow). I went to see a chiropractor who herded me through like sheep to a shearer. Then found the best chiropractor in my area, she identified the problem as a herniated disc in my neck, and over the course of 18 months, through various technics (nerve flossing and neck exercise) not only eliminated the numbness, but the lingering dull nerve ache in my arm. From your message, it sounds like your doctors are more interested in doing what they want to do rather than help you.

In regards to muscle tightness/spasms, Magnesium often works.

You can soak in epsom salt lukewarm baths, and see if that helps.

If it does there is a lotion you can try, Morton Epsom lotion that you can apply to specific target areas. (this is designed to work only in small areas, not full body). Available at WalMart and Walgreen's so far locally--it is very new. Also online at Amazon.

I really don't know what "Monica" is... can you be more specific on that one?

And in regards to Soma.... Soma has a huge street value and is often involved in overdoses and deaths. So many informed doctors will not touch it therapeutically because of the risks of it.
It is a derivative of meprobamate which has fallen into disuse now because of its toxicity long term and abuse potential.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carisoprodol

Magnesium remains a very good muscle relaxant. It also is an antagonist to the NMDA pain receptor, and improves blood flow to the area it is applied on.

A good oral form is SlowMag, or a chelate. Magnesium OXIDE is a laxative and not absorbed from the GI tract and will not help with muscle spasms.

This is my magnesium information thread:
I started it in 2006, so it is pretty long by now...
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html