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  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

The EADD Health, Sickness and Pain Thread - share what ails you here.

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A cool Dr? Or OH?

TBH they are both cool! GP up for DHC if Gabapetin if it doesn't do job at higher dose!

Yeah Amitrip deffo makes stuff stronger, I have epilepsy normally very well controlled. Which I was surprised it affected me, as I've taken lots of uppers!
 
I hurt my shoulder last October during a hiking holiday. Ever since, I've had pain when moving my arm and the joint clicks and bangs. I've not bothered to see a doctor as I'm sure I'd be told to take paracetamol/ibuprofen and go away. It's really getting to me though and i don't know what I can do about it.
 
I was seeing a fantastic doctor (in the grand scheme of things) up in Cheltenham before I had to leave uni due to problems with pain. Now im back in london its a completely different scheme of things. Mental health issues have risen due to this chronic pain shiznis and whilst up in Cheltenham I got a counsillor in 2 weeks, back home theres a 6 months waiting period. But wait theres more, the councillor service leaves the practise in 6 months anyway so theres no point. Got prescribed my temazepam again, yet my current doc didn't believe me when I told her my doc in cheltenham said to increase my dose from 10mg to 30mg so im stuck with a 14 day script of 10mg.

Benzos work wonders for muscle pain -_- so it looks like im buying black market clonaz again. Yippie.
 
Pagey said:
Although ffs, fairnymph if you're still not being taken seriously because of your age at 32, what's it gonna be like for me at 19 :(
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The age discrimination is so bad. If a Dr mentions your youth, strike him off your list immediately. The only drs (3 out of 16) to take me seriously never brought up my age. All the others were quick to comment on my age, body type, or both. I have an extreme case of an incurable spinal disorder (scoliosis) and several of the orthopaedists I've been to have told me I have the worst case they have ever seen.

Five years ago my spine looked like this (xray view from the back):
71802_original.jpg

65883_original.jpg


Now my spine looks like this (xray view from the front):
298739_600.jpg


My biggest curve (I have two others, one below and one above) was steady at around 75 degrees from when I stopped growing at age 17 until 27/28 when it started to get worse. Now that curve is 104 degrees. So I have very visible problems and I've still had drs straight up tell me 'I can see your case is serious and your pain is legitimate but I won't help you'. That's pretty much a verbatim quote from at least 4 American drs. The rest told me they couldn't help me due to the medical board in North Carolina. I even had trouble getting diazepam.
 
Why do you think the medical board of North Carolina is stopping you getting treatment Fairy? Can't help you, I could maybe understand...but won't? Wankers.
 
what the fuck!?! How much pain relief do you get?

I have one fucked vertebrae, that's bad enough!

Awww darling you have had some shocking Drs!!! <3

You in Germany or USA?
 
^They really were wankers, all terrified of having their medical licenses taken away. I moved to NC from NY, where I'd had no trouble. In fact whenever I was in NYC for a week or two visiting, my old pain Dr (first one I ever went to when my back started getting worse) would happily prescribe me enough opiates for the duration of my stay. Legally, he wasn't able to give me any more than that, or he would have. From my first visit he was always fantastic. I had a pharmacy Dr in NYC give me a refill once too when I went through what he'd prescribed me before the end of my stay, and it was a weekend so he wasn't available.

But in NC every single Dr complained about the medical board, and I have a friend whose dad had his license taken away for stupid reasons. It was also impossible to get narcotic pills on the black market, even relatively weak/low dose opiates combined with APAP were rare and ridiculously expensive. Like $7 a pill for 5mg of oxycodone. Definitely a state thing.

Knock, I'm doing better now but still not getting enough relief. Yes, it's great to rarely hit 10/10 on the pain scale, but at least every other day I will get up to an 8 if I spend more than 20 minutes upright. I rarely get below 6 unless I take 2-3x my prescribed dose of hydromorphone. I'm thinking of starting my pain journal back up so I can bring that in to my next appt.
 
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Wcote, I'm in Germany now. What's up with your bad vertebra? I've got one that's rotated almost 180 degrees at the apex of my big curve, but I don't have any real spinal pain, thankfully. It's all in the muscles on either side.
 
Shit fairnymph that looks ridiculously painful :( can't believe you weren't taken seriously with x-rays like that, hopefully you'll somehow get lucky sometime soon :\
 
My T5 is basically like an aero bar, so the its being crushed from both sides, so its getting squashed. They did a OP to put some 'cement' in the vertebrae to fill the holes, but failed, and some to stop it being crushed, and did OK. But at best it will buy few more years. And due to the squashing the other vertebrae are going 'outwards' so it fucks all my muscles in lower back.

My bone pain is more dull ache than ever 10 out of 10. But the muscles urgghhhhh they get proper fucked.

Nothing compared to you I'm sure, puts mine in perspective.

Why do go to USA? Just don't......but I'm sure you have good reason.
 
Pagey said:
Shit fairnymph that looks ridiculously painful :( can't believe you weren't taken seriously with x-rays like that, hopefully you'll somehow get lucky sometime soon :\
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Thanks hun. <3 So far the drs in Germany have been much better; at least none have treated me like a drug addict and that alone is a bug improvement. I developed major anxiety about going to drs in the US, and that's already dissipated a bit. I have two braces, the plastic one of which when I wear it reduces my big curve to what it was 5 years ago. Unfortunately it's super uncomfortable, restrictive , and hideously ugly, and after an hour or to in it my weak back muscles become painfully sore. One of the reasons I want more/stronger pain meds us so that I can wear that brace more often and for longer periods of time. It is the only treatment that might actually improve my condition and thus pain, so I figure wearing it more would help more. The other brace is fabric, looks like an underbust corset, quite stylish actually, and comfortable for 4-8 hours.

wcote said:
My T5 is basically like an aero bar, so the its being crushed from both sides, so its getting squashed. They did a OP to put some 'cement' in the vertebrae to fill the holes, but failed, and some to stop it being crushed, and did OK. But at best it will buy few more years. And due to the squashing the other vertebrae are going 'outwards' so it fucks all my muscles in lower back.

My bone pain is more dull ache than ever 10 out of 10. But the muscles urgghhhhh they get proper fucked.

Nothing compared to you I'm sure, puts mine in perspective.

Why do go to USA? Just don't......but I'm sure you have good reason.
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That sounds fucking horrible! What kind of meds do you get for that? My worst pain is in my lower back, too. It's more variable than my upper back pain but when it gets bad, it's worse than anything. Opiates don't help that spot at all; lidocaine injections and massage provide the only relief.

I don't plan to ever spend significant time in NC ever again. I'll go back to the US to visit friends and the few family I have there, and to spend a bit of time in NYC where I have a good pain Dr. But one of the big reasons for my moving to Germany is indeed my health. They have no non-surgical treatments for scoliosis in the US, and I'm not a good candidate for surgery, it's not likely to help with my pain (could likely make it worse even), nor do I want it. Here in Germany they have braces for adults, which is unheard of in the US. The medical care here overall is a million times better.
 
I get Gabapetin that's it at the moment, sorta helps. But no opiates yet, my Dr is open to DHC, but I got opiate abuse on my medical record. But she is understanding. But whilst I'm not on any I get OTC painkillers so cocodamol with each tablet 12.8mg of codeine and two ibuprofen and codeine each 12.8 codeine, so take that 50mg of codeine plus 400mg ibuprofen and 1000mg paracetamol.

Its not ideal having to do this, but as i have had to come off the amitrip due to seizures, the pain has come back. So the OTC combo takes the edge off.

Funny I thought the yanks threw painkillers at people!

Mate surgery can replace one pain for another, my Consultant was for the cement surgery but we both agreed putting metal plates was just too risky.

I'm just glad the OTC combo takes the edge off.
 
fairnymph said:
Thanks hun. <3 So far the drs in Germany have been much better; at least none have treated me like a drug addict and that alone is a bug improvement. I developed major anxiety about going to drs in the US, and that's already dissipated a bit. I have two braces, the plastic one of which when I wear it reduces my big curve to what it was 5 years ago. Unfortunately it's super uncomfortable, restrictive , and hideously ugly, and after an hour or to in it my weak back muscles become painfully sore. One of the reasons I want more/stronger pain meds us so that I can wear that brace more often and for longer periods of time. It is the only treatment that might actually improve my condition and thus pain, so I figure wearing it more would help more. The other brace is fabric, looks like an underbust corset, quite stylish actually, and comfortable for 4-8 hours.
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Aah I feel you on the braces. I'm supposed to wear a neck brace for a few hours a day/whenever it starts to hurt but I rarely do because it's really uncomfortable, kinda hurts and it looks awful. Plus it doesn't actually help that much. Must be even worse with a back one though :(
I've got yet another new doctor appointment tomorrow and my mom sent my x-rays over from Paris so hopefully they'll take me seriously now. Although frankly the other doctor should have been able to feel the displacement without the x-rays. Anyway, wish me luck, maybe the 57th time's the charm :D
 
wcote, there's a huge amount of variation in the US bc each state has different policies. I've lived in MA, CA, NY and NC. NC was obviously by far the worst; I forgot to mention that two of my closest friends, a dermatologist/plastic surgeon couple with two kids, moved after less than two years because of how much Dr prosecution happened & how strict the rules were. Drs in NC can't prescribe anything off label, for example. And forget about experimental treatments. NY definitely had the most relaxed/open-minded drs, and then CA was almost as good. MA was stricter but nowhere near as bad as NC. Overall there's not that much narcotic (proper stims, strong opiates not formulated with paracetamol/aspirin/ibuprofen) prescription in most states - Florida being a notable exception. But in most states a good number of Drs do prescribe large amounts (double or triple digits with multiple refills) of codeine, hydro- & oxycodone combined with paracetamol or similar. Such combinations are Schedule III along with benzos and things like Ambien, and as a result the regulations surrounding their prescription are much more lax. Narcotics are Schedule II and are much more strictly regulated at every level. So silly that 5mg oxycodone with 500mg paracetamol is Sch. II while 5mg of oxycodone alone is Sch. III.

I'm glad you have access to codeine, at least. I wish Germany would catch on! Do you wish you hadn't had the surgery? Or do you think you were just unlucky in how it turned out?

Pagey, my plastic brace is SO hideous, and very asymmetric seeing as I am; it was made from a plaster cast of my torso, so it even has bulges on the left side from the rolls of fat I have there! It uses my hips and ribs as bracing points to work against my rotation, and even padded with wool socks it bruises me so badly can't lie on my side for days after.

Based on your description of your neck issue I'm not surprised a brace doesn't help much. At least not at this point when you're as healed as you can be. Best of luck at your appt tomorrow; having xrays will certainly help. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts & praying you get an understanding Dr. Tell me you're joking about the 57th time?! 8o
 
Well you learn something new every day!

Yes I'm glad I at least have codeine, and my OH is OK with me taking it. Yeah it would be tough without. I cannot express how shit it was to have to come off the amitrip.

Have you tried it? I know people say its only for neropatheic pain. But worked well for me. Still its not a nice drug. But hey ho, its something to think about.


No surgery with cement I'm glad I got stops some crushing.

What sorta surgery they offering you?
 
fairnymph said:
Pagey, my plastic brace is SO hideous, and very asymmetric seeing as I am; it was made from a plaster cast of my torso, so it even has bulges on the left side from the rolls of fat I have there! It uses my hips and ribs as bracing points to work against my rotation, and even padded with wool socks it bruises me so badly can't lie on my side for days after.

Based on your description of your neck issue I'm not surprised a brace doesn't help much. At least not at this point when you're as healed as you can be. Best of luck at your appt tomorrow; having xrays will certainly help. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts & praying you get an understanding Dr. Tell me you're joking about the 57th time?! 8o
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Oh ouch, that does sound awful...well again, I really hope you'll be able to find someone understanding to help you with that. It must be really frustrating to have something that would help right there but to be unable to use it cuz of the pain.

Yeah, it's kind of ironic cuz it's supposed to be there to relieve muscle tension but somehow in doing so it makes the nerve pain worse half the time hah. Bit of a design flaw considering the nerve pain's the really bad one. Anyway thank you! I'll bring my french prescription for codeine too so hopefully I can at least get that...
And haha yes don't worry :D I've certainly seen lots of doctors but 57's a bit of a stretch. Probably more around 15.
 
Does anyone else find that being on prescribed opiates even codeine helps with feeling the cold just that bit less?

Even with my 175mg codeine, I swear its just that bit easier. I wake , yam me pills no 'other' effects but just looking back even that 50mg of codeine seems to help..

Not saying it ain't fucking cold!
 
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