Chronic Pain ideas, can anyone help?

oceanbreathes · Jul 5, 2014

"Marijuana has it's own problems, like anything else. I have never heard that it was not addictive, and have friends that feel that they simply cannot stop using it."

Medical MJ has been the only thing that has helped in the past with a specific source of pain I have. I was encouraged to use it by a highly respected doctor who was very familiar with my medical history.

It's not for everyone, just as certain diets, drugs, supplements, and so on aren't. I've never known or heard of anyone who was addicted. As someone said, it can become a habit that's tough to break for some people. But then, the same could be said for a lot of foods/drinks/unhealthy behaviors/etc.

There are healthier ways to consume it; vaporizers, edibles, creams, etc.

red top rescue · Jul 5, 2014

It is proven that MJ is not physically addictive, but can be as habit forming as other psychological addictions, i.e. video games, gambling, shopping, etc. for some people. Still, there are no physical withdrawal symptoms like there are with withdrawal from cocaine, alcohol, heroin, and one of the worst, nicotine.

nebula · Jul 5, 2014

Seems this thread took a rabbit trail.

Anyway, For what it is worth- I am not interested in Medical Marijuana. For starters, I have horrible asthma- and smoking it would very likely set me off. Secondly, Texas has not legalized the use or Marijuana yet. As far as "doctor shopping" and what happened with Walgreen's, that is inexcusable. Did you ever get your meds filled? Sometimes we have no choice but to change doctors. I know that my GP and Orthopedic Surgeon have both refused to refill my pain meds, and have referred me to a pain specialist. ( I haven't had my first appt yet).

Is Anyone familiar with a Pain Specialist? Will he likely refill my meds- the combo seems to be frowned upon. I use Tramadol 2-3 times a day- and I use a Norco every so often for breakthrough pain relief (i.e just to "Take the edge off") and need to have both on hand. However, in looking up the medicines- it says many doctors will not prescribe the two medications together, because of fear of opiate dependence. So should I even attempt to get both refilled, or just pick one and ask for it to be filled? Also, what non drug therapies might the pain specialist be able to do? Anything electrical is out,, because of the metal. I did have TENS machine on my knee (it was dislocated in the wreck) and it helped with pain there, but I was told it is not an option if you have metal.. I am running low on both medications, and can only hope I have a chance of getting them refilled?

Once again, some days are better for pain than others. For some reason, Xena actually does help! She will lay on my painful spot and her warmth from her body helps it feel better. It is like she just knows when I am in my worst pain- and wants to help her mommy.

The last 2 days I have gotten my 30 minutes in. It was easy , because Thursday was grocery shopping day- and yesterday was my family gathering for the 4Th.

goholistic · Jul 5, 2014

I recently had two stress fractures in my elbow, which is nothing compared to what you are going through @Nebula.

There was pain, though, and cold packs really helped. Quite honestly, I thought the atrophy from not using my arm hurt worse than the break itself, so I agree with others to try to keep things moving. While I did have to take something at night to ease the pain and help me sleep, I focused on healing. I took a supplement for bone growth and healing, and also homeopathic remedies for bone healing and pain. I have to say, I do feel like things got better pretty quickly after starting these things. Traditional Chinese Medicine also has herbal blends for traumatic injuries and pain, but I don't know where you'd find a doc that would prescribe this.

nebula · Jul 5, 2014

GoHolistic said:
I recently had two stress fractures in my elbow, which is nothing compared to what you are going through @Nebula.

There was pain, though, and cold packs really helped. Quite honestly, I thought the atrophy from not using my arm hurt worse than the break itself, so I agree with others to try to keep things moving. While I did have to take something at night to ease the pain and help me sleep, I focused on healing. I took a supplement for bone growth and healing, and also homeopathic remedies for bone healing and pain. I have to say, I do feel like things got better pretty quickly after starting these things. Traditional Chinese Medicine also has herbal blends for traumatic injuries and pain, but I don't know where you'd find a doc that would prescribe this.

What kind of homeopathic remedies did you take? And what kind of supplements for bone growth and healing? I take Calcium......

bigperm20 · Jul 5, 2014

@Nebula
As far as switching doctors, you need to go where you can get help. The new regulations have doctors so scared, that they won't even treat legitimate pain sufferers. Hence the referral to pain management.

As far as what to expect from pain management, you will probably be pleasantly surprised. There will be a ton of paperwork to fill out, just be honest about your pain and they will help you. If you don't get a good vibe from them, go to a different one. Some are like an assembly line, and are always seeing tons of patients, some are smaller and more personal. The latter is obviously better.

Tell them how well your pain is controlled by your medicine, i.e. pain score before meds, and after. Be open to switchimg meds b/c they may have something that will work better.

For me the best relief was on a long acting medicine taken twice a day, and a short acting PRN (as needed) medicine.

The Tramadol is not a long acting medication, and to be honest does not work to well for me.

Just do what they suggest and report back the next month. As far as what kind of procedures they offer, for a shattered leg, I don't know. Just be mindful of your copays, and coinsurance. They really make a lot of money on the procedures, so do your own research before you agree. Of course find out what they cost and what your insurance will pay.

Hope that covers it. I have obviously been down this road before

nebula · Jul 6, 2014

bigperm20 said:
@Nebula
As far as switching doctors, you need to go where you can get help. The new regulations have doctors so scared, that they won't even treat legitimate pain sufferers. Hence the referral to pain management.

As far as what to expect from pain management, you will probably be pleasantly surprised. There will be a ton of paperwork to fill out, just be honest about your pain and they will help you. If you don't get a good vibe from them, go to a different one. Some are like an assembly line, and are always seeing tons of patients, some are smaller and more personal. The latter is obviously better.

Tell them how well your pain is controlled by your medicine, i.e. pain score before meds, and after. Be open to switchimg meds b/c they may have something that will work better.

For me the best relief was on a long acting medicine taken twice a day, and a short acting PRN (as needed) medicine.

The Tramadol is not a long acting medication, and to be honest does not work to well for me.

Just do what they suggest and report back the next month. As far as what kind of procedures they offer, for a shattered leg, I don't know. Just be mindful of your copays, and coinsurance. They really make a lot of money on the procedures, so do your own research before you agree. Of course find out what they cost and what your insurance will pay.

Hope that covers it. I have obviously been down this road before

Well the good thign about insurance is, since my wreck- I got one year of emergency medicaid coverage. So anything related to the wreck, for 1 year is covered 100%. I have through Oct 10. Also, a lot of times I refuse name brand meds. In fact, most times- if there isn't a generic that can help- no thanks. Pharmacy companies get big bucks , and doctors get big kick backs from prescribing dangerous and expensive drugs, when there is a cheaper and safer alternative- in generic.

mservant · Jul 6, 2014

Wow, nasty break @Nebula . You have made amazing positive changes with weight loss since you injury and that has to have a positive effect on your overall health as well as pain; well done you as loosing weight when your mobility is limited is no easy feet! I think there is some awesome advice here from people who have experience so yet another fine example of TCS at its best. I hope you find some of these things work for you. I live with pain from regular migraines and nerve pain in the ball of one of my feat but nothing like most of the people posting here. I have also worked with many people over the years though who have lived with severe and chronic pain and they have tried all the things mentioned in this thread with varying levels of success. One thing that did seem to make a positive difference was where they saw a pain specialist they related to and were able to follow the advice given: often to do the breathing and mental excersizes to try and alter their focus on the pain - almost like learning self hypnosis. Yoga, relaxation and breathing exesizes all contribute. I hope these are all things you would be offered if seeing a pain specialist where you are. Also the hydrotherapy. Movement in water is a fantastic way to exersize without putting harmful stresses on any part of your body. For me it is also the most effective way for me to relax and helps even with migraine if I am in a nice cool pool where I can swim with my head under the water - controlled breathing, gentle movement and the cold water passing around my head. For me I use swimming and the breathing / mind focus techniques but these do take time to learn.

One thing no one has mentioned is accupuncture. Medication free, used on National Health Service in UK by specially trained physiotherapists amongt others. I have family members who use it with great success.

If you do take any suplimentary medications like homeopathy or herbal remedies please make sure you check with your medical practitioners as some of them interact badly with pain medications like the ones you are on.

Of course cat purrs have been found to have healing vibrations so time with Xena is bound to be positive in all ways.

nebula · Jul 6, 2014

MServant said:
Wow, nasty break @Nebula . You have made amazing positive changes with weight loss since you injury and that has to have a positive effect on your overall health as well as pain; well done you as loosing weight when your mobility is limited is no easy feet! I think there is some awesome advice here from people who have experience so yet another fine example of TCS at its best. I hope you find some of these things work for you. I live with pain from regular migraines and nerve pain in the ball of one of my feat but nothing like most of the people posting here. I have also worked with many people over the years though who have lived with severe and chronic pain and they have tried all the things mentioned in this thread with varying levels of success. One thing that did seem to make a positive difference was where they saw a pain specialist they related to and were able to follow the advice given: often to do the breathing and mental exercises to try and alter their focus on the pain - almost like learning self hypnosis. Yoga, relaxation and breathing exercises all contribute. I hope these are all things you would be offered if seeing a pain specialist where you are. Also the hydrotherapy. Movement in water is a fantastic way to exercise without putting harmful stresses on any part of your body. For me it is also the most effective way for me to relax and helps even with migraine if I am in a nice cool pool where I can swim with my head under the water - controlled breathing, gentle movement and the cold water passing around my head. For me I use swimming and the breathing / mind focus techniques but these do take time to learn.

One thing no one has mentioned is acupuncture. Medication free, used on National Health Service in UK by specially trained physiotherapists among others. I have family members who use it with great success.

If you do take any supplementary medications like homeopathy or herbal remedies please make sure you check with your medical practitioners as some of them interact badly with pain medications like the ones you are on.

Of course cat purrs have been found to have healing vibrations so time with Xena is bound to be positive in all ways.

Acupuncture is not something recommended due to the hardware- it wouldn't be as effective.

However accupressure is a massage technique taught by my physical therapist (before I capped out on my insurance coverage for PT!), he took a sharpie and marked various points around my ankle- and giving firm pressure (basically he said as I hard as I can handle) in a circular motion has helped the pain. The spots are targeted to my injury, and I think most of them coincide with where the metal is or ends. I know one spot is right on the end of one of the plates- so that has helped and hubby will do the massaging for me each night, and I do soak my feet in hot water to do my range of movement, rotation exercises.

nebula · Jul 6, 2014

I might add, I do use distraction. For me- it involves most of the time spoiling Xena!!

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nebula
Jul 6, 2014

bigperm20 · Jul 6, 2014

I'm sure little Xena is over the moon for her new "jungle gym".

mservant · Jul 6, 2014

Oooh, nice kitty gym! (Mouse needs one like that to get rid of his pudgy belly but my purse strings won't stretch that far. I'm making do with a medium cat tower and lots of boxes like a kitty gym circuit on the floor. LoL ) Xena sure looks happy on there, and they do say laughter is a wonderful therapy so she's going to give you tonnes of help while she leaps about on there.

I'm glad you are getting accupressure, I believe it is just as effective and also used by the physios here - just the accupuncture came to my mind this morning reading your thread. Of course the other benefit with accupressure is being able to continue with it without on going physio like you are doing now.

Really hope you get more improvement and pain eases.

bigperm20 · Jul 6, 2014

Something I used to ask for at Pain mgmt appointments if I was having a particularly bad day is, a Torodal injection. It's a really strong anti inflammatory. They make it in pill form as well, but the muscular injection bypasses your stomach. The pills give me terrible gastric reflux/ indigestion, the shot doesn't.

It's only good for a few hours, but if you're in agony it's a miracle, and you don't feel druggy from it.

nebula · Jul 24, 2014

I was given a natural supplement from a health naturalist doctor @ my church called Curamin, the active ingredient is Curcumin, apparently related to tumeric. SO far it may be helping a tiny bit, too early to tell. Has anyone heard of it??

betsygee · Jul 24, 2014

Nebula said:
I was given a natural supplement from a health naturalist doctor @ my church called Curamin, the active ingredient is Curcumin, apparently related to tumeric. SO far it may be helping a tiny bit, too early to tell. Has anyone heard of it??

How interesting! I shattered my shoulder (upper arm) bones about three months ago. It's healed now but I'm still having muscle/scar tissue pain and a friend recommended Curamin to me for pain relief. I just ordered some--we'll have to compare notes on how (or if) it works!

nebula · Jul 24, 2014

betsygee said:
How interesting! I shattered my shoulder (upper arm) bones about three months ago. It's healed now but I'm still having muscle/scar tissue pain and a friend recommended Curamin to me for pain relief. I just ordered some--we'll have to compare notes on how (or if) it works!

Definitely. She had some samples I am working through, the stuff is kind of pricy... so if it works it may be worth it.

mservant · Jul 25, 2014

Thanks @Nebula, Curcumin does sound very interesting though not a lot of evidence in pain management other than for osteo arthritis. I'd heard of it previously in relation to liver health but aparently that isn't evidenced either.

I'm thinking it might be worth me trying for migraines as I shouldn't really use NSAIDs due to other medication I take. The interactions for the curcumin I've seen listed are anticoagulants like asprin and other medication used for thinning blood, and gatrointestinal upsets. Oh and not to take during pregnancy.

Winchester · Jul 25, 2014

MServant said:
Thanks @Nebula, Curcumin does sound very interesting though not a lot of evidence in pain management other than for osteo arthritis. I'd heard of it previously in relation to liver health but aparently that isn't evidenced either.

I'm thinking it might be worth me trying for migraines as I shouldn't really use NSAIDs due to other medication I take. The interactions for the curcumin I've seen listed are anticoagulants like asprin and other medication used for thinning blood, and gatrointestinal upsets. Oh and not to take during pregnancy.

You know that I've developed an allergy to all kinds of OTC pain relievers. I started taking curcumin (turmeric) last October....got it at our natural food store. I get migraines, too, and I needed something to, at least, cut through the worst of the pain. I would suggest you try it, providing it doesn't interfere with anything else you're taking. It works for me; some of my migraines are just downright horrid. While it didn't completely get rid of all the pain and nausea, it does cut through a lot of it quite often, allowing me to go to work through most of the migraines that I get. (My neurologist prescribed two different meds for my migraines; honestly, the curcumin works better than the meds (which don't work at all most of the time.) It's not a miracle pill by any stretch, but it does make me feel somewhat better. I take 500 mg daily--in the morning--whether I need it or not. Every day. It's a little over $20 here for a bottle of the capsules; that's for 120 capsules. Jarrow is the manufacturer of the capsules that I take.

I did not notice much of a difference in joint pain or anything like that....I use Traumeel anti-inflammatory ointment on my knee when it's acting up and I think that helps. But the curcumin didn't really help with joint pain that I can tell.

mservant · Jul 25, 2014

@Winchester that is great information. I have a good GP who'susually open to different approaches so I'll have a chat with her the next time I have an appointment and see what she says about any possible interactions. I know I can't take Tryptans or anything and my migraines have been getting worse - with more nausea than I used to get which is pretty debilitating. The Ibuprophen based pills have been less effective and I've gone back to ones with Codiene in which I don't really like to take - and they're still not advised as a drug combination anyway. I just can't survive without something that works when the migraine is bad.

I agree @Nebula, it does sound pricey for me too but it something reduced the pain it would be worth dropping something else to get it - and savings on the NSAIDs would be a help. I'm really glad for you that it's making some difference.

bigperm20 · Jul 25, 2014

As far as Triptan's go.... :thumbdown:
They didn't work at all for my migraines either. I end up feeling really odd when I take them. In fact anything that acts on Serotonin gives me a bad reaction.

@MsServant You say you are taking codeine pills, have you ever tried Fiorcet? It's been really a lifesaver for me. It doesn't make me feel like a zombie either, a little sleepy maybe. It does contain Tylenol, but that's not an NSAID.

Chronic Pain ideas, can anyone help?

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The Mouse servant

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Just what part of meow don't you understand.

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In the kitchen with my cookies

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