Medication suggestions
 

Hello everyone :) Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about medications that may help my symptoms a bit more than what I am taking now.
Currently take: Gabapentin 1200mg for nerve pain, Cymbalta 120mg for nerve pain, Baclfen 40mg for muscle spasm & twitching, Oxycodone 10mg for pain, and Trazadone 100mg to try to get some sleep. I take all of these pills every day and still have horrible pain (right hip to foot, joints, & face), left leg numb, burning feet and hands, uncontrollable muscle spasms, shaking of my hands and head, dizziness to the point of nausea, tripping and falling almost daily because of coordination issues (& dizziness??), blurry & double vision, extreme fatigue, insomnia, etc, etc, etc. I told my doc that I don't understand why I'm taking all the pills and am still doing so bad- there has to be something better. She agreed & said we will work on it but doesn't think increasing the doses of what I'm on is the answer. I'm scared that if I stop taking what I am that I will realize the hard way that they really were helping a bit. I cannot imagine these symptoms being worse than they already are!! So, I need some advice from all of you smarties :D on medication I could ask for to get a bit more relief...

I haven't had a lot of nerve pain with my MS. I do have the usual spastic aches and pains, but nothing I can't stand, with a prayer and an asprin..thank You Lord.

I know that there are others here who deal with a great deal of pain. I hope they will all chime in with their magic bullit.

I sure don't advise piling up on the Narchotics though. That could be the problem? They could be conteracting with each other?

I hope your pain lessens soon..:hug::hug:

Wow. Spasms with Baclofen AND Oxy & ect?? Baclofen pump asap i'd ask about.
You left out MS meds.
Acupuncture?

I'm glad that you haven't had to deal with a lot of pain! I have been dealing with this for so long and have not agreed to increase the narcotic that I am on. I do not want to be a zombie, just wondering if there is something different I could take to help me a little more. I usually take isotonic vitamins (opc for inflammation, b complex, calcium w/ magnesium, & d3 w/ k2 & potassium). They are in powder form to mix with water so that it is 90% absorbed by your body (instead of 10-15% in pill form). They have helped me SO much over the past two years but I decided to stop taking in August so that my symptoms are as bad as possible. Sounds stupid but I was so sick of hearing 'you don't look like you're sick' so I thought if my symptoms were worse to the point of barely being able to walk I would get a diagnosis faster. Problem is that since I've stopped not only have symptoms worsened but I have a whole list of new ones that I'm now dealing with! Just so sick of getting treated like I'm crazy or being dishonest. I truly believe that my new pcp is trying to help but it is such a long & exhausting process! How long did it take you for a definite diagnosis? What meds & or natural remedies do you take? Thank you for taking the time to read my long posts :hug:

Hello. I am still going through diagnosis- have been told probable MS but no specific drugs for that have been given. My Baclofen dose is pretty low so I thought about asking for increase of that or something that may help more but don't know what that may be! Am Leary about asking for increase in ANY meds as there is such an issue with abuse in our country & don't want to get red-flagged on my chart. I am insisting that we figure out something to help me more at this point though. What do you take & for what symptoms?

I forgot to mention- acupuncture did not work for me as I have rapid heart rate (100-120 at rest) and it was higher during treatment so doc recommended no more. I try to get massages as often as possible but gets expensive, meditate, yoga (as my body permits,lol), and avoid stress; which I'm so grateful that my life permits

Lisa,

I was just going to mention massage, relaxation and meditation and gentle yoga. I see you have most of that covered.

One way to get massage is to get PT w massage as part of the plan. I don't find it as good- they can't give you a whole hour of massage but they can give you some and are trained.

Can you tell us exactly how much of what you are on- especially the baclofen?

ANN

Hello Ann. I'm currently on 1200mg Gabapentin for nerve pain, 120mg Cymbalta for nerve pain, 10mg Oxycodone for pain, 40mg Baclofen for muscle spasm, 100mg Trazadone for sleep- all of which are not effectively giving relief of symptoms. My insurance will only cover an eval by PT- not continued treatment. I have seen 4 different therapists in past 5 years- all with diff recommendations, dx, & advice. They seem like pretty genuine people that want to help w/ the info they are given. I don't mind going cause it's part of the process- they all have given me "at home" exercises to improve muscle function, coordination, dizziness, gait, etc but I have yet to find an exercise that has benefitted me worth the energy exerted. I am trying to stay positive because I truly believe that there is a lesson to be learned from everything as long as we look deep enough to find :wink:

Also, I split the Baclofen dose- 20mg 2x daily. Have tried it all at once & this way seems to be better as I am splitting doses of all meds at this point

So sorry your going thru so much pain. Im suffering from alot of nerve pain and spasticity also. You seem to have a whole pharmacy going on there. Too many meds at once can interfere with each other. When my pain got worse, my neuro upped my meds but that made me worse. I was taking 80mg baclofen daily and 50mg amitriptyline daily. I was having worse problems. He decreased the baclofen and added tizanadine for the spasms. Much better. I currently dont take anything for the nerve pain, so Im muddling thru the pain as best I can. Easier said then done tho. Im not big into taking alot of pills, never have been. But I take them religiously to avoid being in too much pain.