Can Pain Doctors actually do anything outside of opioids to help you?

[Psynaught]

More than likely the first thing they’ll do is hand you a prescription for Gabapentin. Next they’ll suggest physical therapy. Good luck, you just might end up finding a decent doctor.

I know I should do some of my own research, but how effective is gabapentin? I have also heard some down sides.

 

[Psynaught]

Yea man, there are plenty of other options out there. Our medical culture has become heavily focused on pharmaceutical treatments. This can make it seem like any alternative is out of the mainstream/strange.

The problem is, this is a Harm Reduction forum. You're asking a question that specifically excludes Opioids as an option. This is really a question more suited for a community devoted to pain management/kinesiology. If you ask this question here, you're unlikely to get any kind of answer beyond what you would be able to reason out yourself.

There are innumerable different treatments man. There are too many treatments for pain to accurately list here. Treatment can range from meditation, to Opioids, to yoga, to dietary changes et cetera. Your only option is to do the research, then make an educated guess for yourself based upon what you think would work. This all should be done with the assistance of a team of specialists; kinesiology, traditional medicine and dietary are important to name a few.

We have a limited amount of space here on the Harm Reduction forums. We want questions to be related directly to the safety of the user. The front page is far more likely to get views, so please ask these questions in our Health section. You haven't done anything wrong, I'm just trying to keep everything organized. Good luck.

Thanks. I take 4 grams of Kratom 5 days a week. Last night I took a Tramadol (100 mg) and the night before a 7oH 26 mg. I've been on this forum long enough to know that I can't take real opioids that frequently (I have a stash of Fent and some Oxy). The high on fent sucks, but it does relieve pain.

I have had a stash of Tramadol/Oxy/Fent for a very long time now (urethane a year....longer for Tramadol) and have been responsible with it. If a doctor said "you can take Oxy twice a week only" I would be able to stick to that schedule, but doctors have been brainwashed in to thinking that any and all scripts for opioids will 100% cause addiction.

 

[Psynaught]

Have you looked into some of the more "healing specific" growth peptides? I've healed some messed up injuries with 2-3iu growth per day mixed with every other type of therapy- but there are some really potent healing peptides coming out. TB-500 and BPC-157 have been out for a while, tried and tested and I believe FDA approved now. But a quick search on reddit or a bodybuilding forum would undoubtedly highlight some of the newer research grade options too.

Also, if you're taking 4g of Kratom a day now, is the idea of being prescribed a painkiller really all that different, or worse? I've been full scale dopesick from Kratom. In hindsight, if I was in legit pain I'd almost rather just get a painkiller that treats the pain more effectively. Just throwing that out there.

I am on HRT (a specialty area of knowledge of mine) I run a touch less than 200 mgs of test/week, and 3 iu's of GH 4 days a week. I cut the GH back from 5 days to 4 because I was testing slightly out of range.

The GH has been an absolute miracle worker for my shoulder. I had every imagining technique done to my shoulder and it has zero cartilage. Doctors are dumbfounded, they don't know how I am even able to brush my teeth. They advised full replacement. However GH fixed it perfectly, I train (with some adjustments) very intensely still with no shoulder pain.

I've heard great things about BPC-157 but have not tried it.

 

[saduncan]

Pain management has legitimate non-opioid interventions: corticosteroid injections, nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation for chronic nerve pain, and for plantar fasciitis specifically, extracorporeal shockwave therapy has decent evidence.

The challenge is finding a pain specialist who focuses on interventional procedures rather than just conservative management. I switched to concierge medical checkups through Dr. Tina Sindwani's practice in NYC specifically because the coordination is faster, she got me expedited referrals to a pain specialist instead of waiting 2-3 months in the normal queue.

Given your age, shoulder condition, and advanced plantar fasciitis affecting your training, you need someone who can navigate this systematically and get you seen quickly.

 

[Kurt Cobain]

Pain management has legitimate non-opioid interventions: corticosteroid injections, nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation for chronic nerve pain, and for plantar fasciitis specifically, extracorporeal shockwave therapy has decent evidence.

The challenge is finding a pain specialist who focuses on interventional procedures rather than just conservative management. I switched to concierge medical checkups through Dr. Tina Sindwani's practice in NYC specifically because the coordination is faster, she got me expedited referrals to a pain specialist instead of waiting 2-3 months in the normal queue.

Given your age, shoulder condition, and advanced plantar fasciitis affecting your training, you need someone who can navigate this systematically and get you seen quickly.

You sound like a paid shill if I'm being honest. Most of the methods you've mentioned have had very little research done on their efficacy towards chronic pain if at all and the ones that have had little research done they've proven to have less efficacy over traditional pain management.