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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Spinal pain. Hydrocodone = little effect. Next options

V

Vanillaskyyo

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Joined
Jul 10, 2016
Messages
7
I have sever scoliosis and kyphosis of my spine and deal with pain on a daily basis, somedays are very bad. I tried 4 tablets of 5/325 Hydrocodone (first time user) and got barely any noticeable relief.

What would be the next few options of what to try for relief? Thank you.
 
Gabapentin or pregabalin could be better if its nerve-related

Or you might need stronger pain meds like oxycodone or morphine
 
I'm sure some of it is nerve related, I think a fair amount is the disks and bone on bone. One of my curvatures is over 80°.
 
Has your doctor recommended physical therapy or other treatment options? You didn't say your age but pain medications can only do so much.
 
T. Calderone said:
Has your doctor recommended physical therapy or other treatment options? You didn't say your age but pain medications can only do so much.
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I am 28yr old. I do daily stretches, fulcruming and once a month chiropractor&massage. Surgery isn't an option, according to 4 top surgeons.
I'm trying to avoid pills long as possible since the pain will worsen with age and I want to save my liver. I just want something to take maybe 2 days a month to give myself a break from daily pain. Last week I tried Hydrocodone 5/325, 4 pills barely made a dent. So I'm curious what's next in strength?
 
Oh man, that sounds rough! My doctor is pretty conservative that way, too. Oxycodone works pretty well for me compared to hydrocodone. You could also ask him if he would be willing to prescribe pregabalin or a muscle relaxant. When is your next appointment?
 
Some dr's can be hesitant to prescribe certain opiates (notably morphine) in scoliosis patients who have severe curvature because it can complicate breathing issues that my already be present due to the curve causing decreased lung function. I also have scoliosis (and spondylolisthesis), I've been prescribed a small script of soma for the past several years and find it helps pain and eases movement without rebound pain that can happen with opiates. I usually wind up taking 2-4 pills for a day or two to get good relief. My muscles relax enough that I don't have to take it for the following couple days, after which I repeat the process. This is the only muscle relaxer that causes the least amount of side effects for me, though there are plenty out there, so I'd say it's definitely worth asking your dr about.
 
It might very well be that at some point, unless there's a gane changer like surgery, you may have to be opioid dependent, possibly for life. On one hand, it might be best to embrace that as a necessary reality. On the other hand, and it seems like the case, you want to do everything you can, try every natural alternative you can to absolutely minimize the amounts you take. From exercise to meditation, to herbals and potentiating, whatever you can do to climb that ladder as slowly as you can, but not so much that you are barely helping with your pain and always tip toeing around a doctor. Educate yourself as much as you can, arm yourself with knowledge, and find cooperative doctors. I hope you get good relief but also be really respectful of it all. I'm sure you are. ;)
 
I don't have another appointment set up, my insurance recently changed to a pretty garbage policy that doesn't even cover prescriptions. So I'm trying to educate myself as much as possible before hand
 
I definitely don't have any breathing limitations, my scoliosis is very low, closer to my pelvis and the character isn't too extreme, the kyphosis is mid back and more extreme. I have honestly enjoyed a very active life considering my condition these 28 years, even plenty of non-contact sports. But I definitely feel a difference from my teenage years do you know that I'm almost 30. And I know it is going to worsen quicker as I get older. So right now I'm just looking for something strong enough to give me relief once every week or two, because it gets exhausting
 
Yeah hopefully surgery will become an option Sunday, but in the meantime I'm trying to make the most of massage, infrared sauna and everything I can. I have a very high pain tolerance and could easily justify taking daily pills but don't want to be any more dependable than needed
 
Try kratom from a reliable vendor. It's very cheap. I also never felt any noticeable effect from moderate-high doses of common opiates. Luckily kratom worked for me :)
 
I am in a similar situation. I have a lumbosacral fusion, degenerative disc disease, and bulging discs. Going to top hospital in the state, hours away.
I too am young and the docs say surgery would not be beneficial.
Every doctor I have seen refuses to prescribe any opioid at all. It's fucked up to think this way, but at this point I just wish I could be opioid dependent to be out of pain.

kratom does work pretty well. and muscle relaxants do provide relief. Baclofen, methocarbamol, carisoprodol, diazepam etc
 
g_dan1 said:
Try kratom from a reliable vendor. It's very cheap. I also never felt any noticeable effect from moderate-high doses of common opiates. Luckily kratom worked for me :)
Click to expand...

Can you recommend a trustworthy vendor? I've done a little searching and I am pretty clueless.
 
Sometimes I feel like as much as I might need opiates for pain relief, I'm not sure i'd want to have to jump through hoops to get a prescription only to have it involuntarily tapered, especially with the way things seem to be going nowadays. I've gone through the whole mandatory dr enforced out of the blue taper when I was prescribed methadone because my dr was being watched by the DEA for having so many patients on high doses of methadone. It's something I never want to go through again, so aspiring chemist maybe it's better that you aren't having to go through what thousands of pain management patients are going through right now with having their scripts cut down or cut off.
 
As far as opioids for pain management, I think your next step up might be Roxicodone, which is an instant release oxycodone that does not have any tylenol. Doctors are hesistant to prescribe this because people abuse the hell out of it, so if they won't give you Roxi they might be more willing to prescribe OP which is an abuse-proof long-acting oxycodone. If you're dealing with chronic low-grade pain then being on this may be enough to get it to manageable levels. If you have acute, episodic pain then instant release like Roxi or percocet (oxy with tylenol) would work best.

The opiate abuse problem has gotten to the point where most people consider them to be a scourge but quite frankly there aren't a lot of better alternatives for most folks. There are new types of pain medication in clinical trials that do not lead to side effects or abuse but their success rate in passing clinical trials is pretty low.
 
Roxicodone is now the hardest Rx to get in all of America, IMO.
Opiates in general, actually. But Roxicodone is on top of the list.

The DEA calls it 'heroin in a pill', and have put lots of pressure on Dr's to not Rx it.

They probably encourage them to Rx more Morphine for the need of painkillers for ' severe chronic pain'
For ' severe acute pain', you're almost guaranteed a Rx of Hydrocodone.. In no way in hell you're going to get Roxicodone for acute pain, severe or not. Percocet 5mg if you're lucky.
 
I would look into consulting with a orthopedic surgeon, and ask about having Radiofrequency ablation (nerve ablation or also known as denervation) done on the various levels of yous spine to block pain. I have been through two of these, and had moderate success to lessening spinal pain. I also take Gabapentin that helps with burning nerve pain that radiates down into my hips and into my legs. RFA can be performed once every 6 months, but many people who have this treatment done usually have relief of pain for up to a year. Here are some sites that give info for the RFA treatment: https://www.scoliosisassociates.com/treatments/pain-management/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4219193/

https://www.laserspineinstitute.com...sease/facetjoint_treatment/joint_denervation/

Also, 5-325 Norco/Hydrocodone is a pretty low dose. You could be under treated for pain with that low of a dose. I have some serious spinal issues, and RA that has caused a great deal of chronic pain. I was on 10-325 Norco/Hydrocodone for a good number of years that helped a great deal in managing my pain. But I just recently weaned myself off of the pain meds.

Anyway, look into the RFA. It is usually covered by most insurance companies. My cousin had severe scoliosis as a child and had to wear a body cast for a long time. She eventually had surgery where they straightened her spine and put metal rods in. However, she still suffers from chronic pain. I wish you the best of luck on finding something that works for you!

Here's a big virtual hug from a chronic pain patient! I know what your going through with chronic pain. Your not alone.
 
I have heard really great things about this procedure. My mother had it done and she takes 10/325 hydrocodone 3x daily for chronic back and knee pain. That procedure helped her tremendously with back pain.
 
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