• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Harm Reduction The Pain Management Megathread (Chronic and Acute Pain Discussion) Version 5.0 ~ V

Status
Not open for further replies.
SKR you worded it so much better lol. Nice one.

Actually, I formerly had a great r'ship with an elite sports medicine doc, he was pretty good with sliding a script for oxycodone through the private system to avoid detection from Medicare (doctor shopping), when I was out of my normal script from my usual prescriber.

If you do have contact with such a doctor they do appear to have a polarising view on painkillers for exercise/activity compared to general practioners.

Rtp
 
treating peripheral neuropathy and wisespread body pain

Anyone have experience with having/treating Peripheral Neuropathy plus other widespread body pain? My boyfriend has severe Peripheral Neuropathy in his lower legs/feet and he also has unclassified widespread body pain(could be fibro or somehow related to the neuropathy or???). He has tried Lyrica(bad reaction) and Gabapentin (didn't help) and a number of holistic supplements. Currently his doc has him on Oxy 15 up to 3x daily and it isn't doing much for him.Current MD said he would give him fentanyl patch or other extended release opiate if he wanted but does not seem to want to add an anti depressant even though chronic depression is evident. I have been going to a pain clinic for several years do to my own chronic pain and recently suggested to him that he try going there. Don't know if I gave him GOOD advice in suggesting it but someone has to take a look at the Big Picture...its not about getting stronger narcotics ~(he could have gotten that with his current MD) ~ its about whatever works to regain some quality of life. He has a pain clinic appointment coming up this week. We have heard Cymbalta might be an option for him. We are really at a loss...he is miserable and not getting good direction from anyone as to what to do or try. I'd like to get input from anyone suffering neuropathy and wide spread body pain. Info...suggestions...recommendations. Anything that's helped. Thanks
 
^Man, I replied at 5.30am when I couldn't sleep, must've not pressed submit!

Why would the doctor not want to use an antidepressant? Especially if your boyfriends clearly depressed. Chronic pain & depression often go hand in hand.

Yes, Cymbalta or endep are usually first line choices for neuropathy. In lower than usual doses. Along with the above mentioned gabapentin or lyrica.

Does your bf have diabetes, or what is causing the peripheral neuropathy?

Is the widespread pain similar to the PN pain? Very new research suggests half those (already) diagnosed with fibro actually suffer from small fibre neuropathy. Which a neurologist can test the skin for.

Or is it a different pain eg: joint, bone, muscle? The PM doctor will want to know. It's useful to take along a journal or list of questions especially to a first appt.

You've done the right thing with getting him an appt at a pain clinic & taken a mature approach in saying that it's not just about increasing the opiates.

I've been researching ketamine lozenges for neuropathic pain, I know my PM prescribes them to one patient. I already have regular ketamine infusions, does your pain clinic run these?

If you haven't already, have a look into those options for your boyfriend too.

Rtp
 
@ambition
I think your problem is legit, was just wondering if you have already tried non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ect. If im not mistaken maybe these types of medicines could solve the problems. And then just know your own limits I guess? But if its a constant problem (chronic) severe intractable pain, then yea try some painkillers..
 
@ Zeebee, it really is worth him starting an anti-depressant just to see how he goes, he can always stop it. For me - I got myself back, my wife got her husband back. Yeah I've got pain but I don't spend each day in tears, petrified of the future for my family and seriously considering suicide. Both Anti-depressants and suicide were once laughable actions to take for me but life changed dramatically over the last year for me and the mounting stress broke me - I had a chemical imbalance for sure and the drug Sertraline (Zoloft) saved me. I'm normal again. Perhaps a little better than normal in that I take a very measured and almost laid back approach to stress and pressure. I've never been this relaxed towards life. And it really helped my pain.

I hope everyones pain is low today. We need less suffering in this world
 
@ Sixbuckets, I wrote a big post directed at you the other night but I lost the damn thing. I gotta go to work but I'll get back to you. I really hope you have fewer hoops to jump through and you get some bloody pain relief soon, you're being really put through your paces which is normal, chat soon.
 
SKR said:
@ Sixbuckets, I wrote a big post directed at you the other night but I lost the damn thing. I gotta go to work but I'll get back to you. I really hope you have fewer hoops to jump through and you get some bloody pain relief soon, you're being really put through your paces which is normal, chat soon.
Click to expand...

man i hate when i write long posts and they glitch and dont post most annoying thing in the world.
 
Yeah it's painful that's for sure LG. On another note I'm glad your healthcare and insurance is good especiially as a vet. It's the least they could do for you. What sort of pain issues do you experience LG?
 
I've suffered for 13 years with ankylosing spondylarthropathy (a type of autoimmune arthritis that effects all my joints, but especially the spine--which will eventually fuse with the course of the disease). This is my first year going to pain management now that I'm 24. For the first 12 years, I was too young to realize I needed to advocate for myself and instead I pretended the pain wasn't too bad--I felt like it was expected of me to simply cope with it.

Now that I'm in it, I'm so concerned to tell them the truth that the meds aren't helping me enough. I'm taking 15mg morphine sulfate ER every 12 hours and 3 hydrocodone 10mg 1 every 8hrs. I was doing 5 hydrocodone as needed every 4 hours, with 1 15mg morphine ER at night. My level of pain had worsened lately, and my moment to moment pain is really not at a level where I'm comfortable most of the time, and then of course the back through pain is even worse.

I'm just terrified to tell the truth and be shot down, or question what they've suggested. I've always followed the rules and been a good patient. I'm going to ask about massage therapy, since physical therapy hasn't helped that much, as well as muscle relaxants as my lumbar spine has been very tense and my stretches/focused mental relaxation hasn't helped.

I need to vent this out because the stigma of being a pain patient at 24 is so great, and i wish someone else understood what I'm going through. I'm also afraid that if I build up on medication so young, once I'm older and my spine is degenerating/fusing I don't want to be unable to have any relief. I know I'll never have all my pain under control--I'm a realist--but I wish I could at least control my flares so that my worst points aren't so unbearable.

My life has been made so much better by this medication but I hate all of the mental anguish I feel outside of being an invalid at 24. Is anyone else in my shoes or was at some point? I need to vent and hear from other people in this position.
Love,
Lucy
 
yes, i took 15mg ms contins for 2 years for the same problem more or less. eventually i got me a pain doc who did a genetic test to see which drug works best 4 me. it was methadone. now no pain at all :)
 
Hmm, I'll ask him about that test. I'm using enbrel with sulfasalazine and meloxicam to help reduce my symptoms, as well as gabapentin and duloxetine (cymbalta). I tried the buprenorphine patches previously, but they didn't do anything for me. I an going to ask him about soma at my next appt for my low back and my tmj which is def caused by my extremely tight muscles. It sounds like you found a really great doctor, I wish mine wasn't an ass. The first time I saw him, he complained to me about his pain!!
 
Last edited:
Lucy, I feel for you poor girl. I was not much older than yourself when I became unwell with muskuloskeletal & neuropathic pain.

Please don't be too concerned in telling your doctors when something isn't working. 15mgs MS Contin really is a starting dose. You're only at a beginners level when it comes to PM. The future is so far away, don't try to look too far ahead or you'll drive yourself crazy! None of us know what is in store down the track.

Concentrate on being your best advocate & start your r'ship with your PM dr openly & honestly.

I used to tell my PM that going to see him, I always felt I was sitting in front of a judge & jury. He held all the authority & I had none.

It was only when he'd seen me in such varied pain (& emotional) states that I finally dropped my guard & allowed him to see my vulnerable side that needed his help.

Prior to this I did my best to be stoic & strong. Which got me nowhere. Now, the tables have turned & honestly, he's done every single thing I've asked of him.

From two rather close together ketamine infusions, a nerve block, a med change, another med change, & back to my original opiate.

Do you see a rheumatologist? Do any dmards work for spondlyarthropathy? I know at one stage my specialist wrote on an MRI "look harder for spondlarthropathy".

Cortisone into your facet joints? Lignocaine cream or patches?There are many PM options that don't involve meds. The best thing I can advise is to choose an experienced PM dr that is not anti opiate therapy.

@Confus, I'm glad you're finally on a helpful pain med. Did your insurance decline bupe or was it the genetic test the deciding factor?

Rtp
 
@lucky bookit
I understand your age/ painkillers dilemma. I suffered from 20y old with pancreatitis and was always given the bare minimum to help with pain. I want to ask how long you have been on that MST ect. Cause its natural to build a tolerance, and as above stated the right medicine might also be another thing to look at. Im 29 now and I am on 80mst a day + lyrica ( wich might be a great med in your case,) I just recently switched to mst tablets from fentanyl 50ug patches. It caused me too much insomnia. So my body is still adjusting. But always be honest, at the end of the day your in pain.. And thats frankly not nice..
 
my doctor ordered wrong drug screen wants to pull my script

Hello everyone I am on oxycodone 10mg 4-6 times a day for herniated disc,ruptured disc,and degenerative disc disease. Anyhow I've been on the oxy and somas for 4 years through my family doc and every 6 months I take a drug screen. Last drug sceen I took cameback negative on all drugs and I was quite surprised. I found out the test he ordered is a 5 panel drug test and doesn't look for oxys but when I brought this to his attention he said that opiates should have popped up and that I was wrong.Anyhow he ordered me a gc/ms test but before the results were back(it takes at least a week) my script ran out and they wouldn't refill it.I finally got them to fill it but now he's kicking me out and wants me to go to pain management. Is this common doctors not knowing the tests they are ordering? I've been calling pnmgt docs and all of them are sounding skeptical on why my doctor would stop seeing me after 4 years and a few wouldn't even schedule me. Has anyone else been through anything like this?I'm afraid I'm gonna lose my script even though my doc(that magnanimous prick) is willing to write me one more(wow I get 120 which is a 3 week supply) until I can find an office to take me. I also want to hear the results of this gc/ms test because I want an apology(ill hold my breath) and it sucks when they make you out to be a fiend.
 
Last edited:
Yes I see rheumatologist, I have seen the beginning. I've tried lodicaine the past, injections, physical therapy multiple times altogether probably over 2 years, hundreds of tests, etc since its been 13 years I've tried everything. I'm going to def be honest when I see him in a week. My parents constantly tell me they don't want me on meds and it makes me feel even more guilty. I'm currently in therapy and seeing a psychiatrist for my hypersomnia (a result of the inflammation)/depression/anxiety--it's amazing what inflamation does to the body.

I'm using gabapentin and cymbalta plus meloxicam for my feet which feel completely bruised on the bottom after sleeping, and my Sulfasalazine/Enbrel for the actual arthritis. Luckily, I only have some scarring on my sacroiliac from the inflammation. It is a testament to how well preventative meds work.

I'm definitely going to be honest as well as asking about massage therapy which I feel like would really help me.

Thanks for all your insight, it sucks being so young and so sick--I thought now living with it for so long I didn't have anymore resentment but I wonder if I always will.
 
My First Post on this site, so bare with me folks !! I have a few questions : I have had Arachnoiditis (and Epidural Fibrosis) for 7+ years now, which is essentiall scarred nerves, characterized by SEVERE, CONSTANT, neuropathic pain, and I have been through MANY types of meds for pain management as well as having a Spinal Cord Stimulator implanted in my ass --- I have been advised for all this time that all I should aimfor is to reduce the pain levels to the point at which I am barely able to function tolerating the pain, as I am just 50 years old and that I don't want my opiate tolerances to reach a point, in the future, at which I can no longer get relief from them....I understand the dilemma, but as my condition is incurable, this means that I have to live with as much pain as I can handle for the rest of my life, or until such time as I get no further relief from them at all (and then off myself !).....BUT, what I don't know is if there is anyone who has been on Opiates for A VERY LONG TIME, and has climbed the ladder of amounts and types and dosages of opiates and wht advice that person can offer ?? ANYONE ??
 
@Namnoc, I have a methadone script, so I just take it to the pharmacy.
@Lucy, yes the pharmacogenetic testing is awesome. It reveals exactly how each type of pain med and muscle relaxer will affect you. Methadone was indicated as a med that would require very little dose for a huge impact because I metabolize at CYPB26 poorly. It was true! 15 mg daily already works 10 times better than ms15's X3 daily! It's better than heroin for pain for me, just minus the buzz (after the first few days). Easy cheek swab test! It will probably show why Bupe didnt do jack for you :)
@RTP, Yeah man, finally there is a reason to be addicted to opiates, before I was just a rat in a cage with shitty (for me) old morphine. Bupe was declined repeatedly, and I guess he just wanted to see me over the course of 6 months to make sure I was clean. Ketamine huh? How was that?
 
I empathize with each of you who suffers with intractable, surgery resistant pain. I am in the same boat. My story is LONG and painful to even read. I'm told folks have actually crossed their legs and recoiled, just reading.

Even my PM specialist who is an anesthesiologist (who also prescribes) has called my pain "suicidal". Yep. Add SHINGLES in my eye/face from stress of seeking PM...I've got the cherry on top of a SHIT SUNDAE, health wise.

FWIW...I finally got the buccal (sic) swab for genetic testing of metabolism. (I have surgically altered stomach pouch) I posted results in my "Chicken Shit" introductory thread. It got moved to "Dark Side". I still don't know why, as it should have clearly been filed in PAIN MANAGEMENT.

Either way, it's good to see fresh activity in this mega thread. I KNOW that I could use some answers and some support. I've gotten good responses from several folks, which I totally appreciate. Yet I remain an enigma.

CfZrx...I'm very interested in your explanation of the metabolism of meds. I don't understand any of this crap, including my PMs heavy accent and hot temper. I would SO welcome your input. I'm 54. I endure horrific pain. I'm not into "drugs and drool", so sedating meds are not the answer.

I had such hopes that the genetic testing was going to be my miracle, but I don't think it "computes" with my PM.
 
I´m sorry to hear about your endless pain. I've been into moments in life where the pain had driven me crazy. But it passed although I kept overdoing my meds.

I've also been told that Methadone could help your considerably as it's quite strong and has a long life. Depending on how much you take you could have break through mild painkillers prescribed.

I have also seem chronic pains being treated with Fentanyl patches. It will definitely take the pain away and the maintenance dose will enable you to go through life more comfortably.

The only issue with those meds is that they can be quite addicting so you may want to weigh the 'cost' benefit.
 
I feel for you. I'm terrified as hell of creating a tolerance so large I will end up in pain. Then again, I don't ever believe my pain will really be well controlled. It'd be great to hear from someone who has the experience of long term pain management with opiates and how they handle it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top