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OD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
Harm Reduction The Pain Management Mega Thread - for all your questions on dealing with chronic pain
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2muchpain
Bluelighter
That makes me warm and fuzzy inside
Thanks chris. And to update i'm now on 90mg dihydrocodeine four times a day instead of 60mg x4. And 900mg x 3 gabapentin instead of 600mg x 3. The gp won't have started taking effect yet but the change in dhc has made me feel human for the first time in months. The pain is considerably better actually.
Cane2theLeft
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^I'm really glad to hear that! Keep us updated and as always, feel free to ask ANY questions.
I think I saw someone mention that you have FMS? is that true? Any other reason you have chronic pain?
I think I saw someone mention that you have FMS? is that true? Any other reason you have chronic pain?
2muchpain
Bluelighter
i have fms and have had it since i was 13 (i'm 31 now). It only got diagnosed 6 years ago as in the uk then most people thought fms wasn't real, even my gp. But by that time it had got so bad that .g couldn't work. Because it had gone untreated for so long and the pain was causing all my muscles to spasm and stuff i have developed associated problems with my knees and my left hip and have severe pain all down the left side of my body, although the main site of pain is my left lower back. I get nerve pain as well as muscular pain. The physio told me she had never seen such bad muscle tension as i have in my left upper leg. But she was unable to fix it and the problem is the leg is so tense it's pulling my kneecap upwards and causing injury. But the main pain is my lower back area. Thank you so much for the interest! X
Well after reading this thread and several other posts on other forms I was actually surprised by something - the number of people who are aged 18-28 in pain management.
Myself I am 26 and was first introduced to the pain management practice at 18 after having a herniated disk (L5S1) of unknown origin. It was short-lived as I had surgery after a few injection types didn't help at all. All was good for about 4-5 years and somehow I began having very similar pain as before, but instead going down my other leg. So, for about the past 3.5 years I've been reintroduced to pain management clinics.
After many types of injections, a couple MRIs and a discogram no definitive cause for the pain was found. I was fine using hydrocodone occasionally at first, which eventually grew now to a script for Opana ER. Sadly I've learned a lot in that time period... such as how my age and the fact there is no outright cause for my pain have at times caused conflicts between myself and my doctors. Most have been understanding, but I've also had to learn to put up with quite a few procedures that I knew wouldn't really help. I've also been through a couple doctors for a couple different reasons.
I don't have any particular questions, but wanted to introduce myself here as a chronic pain patient. I am curious though for those of you who are in the younger age group what kind of experiences you've had regarding being treated differently due to your age.
Myself I am 26 and was first introduced to the pain management practice at 18 after having a herniated disk (L5S1) of unknown origin. It was short-lived as I had surgery after a few injection types didn't help at all. All was good for about 4-5 years and somehow I began having very similar pain as before, but instead going down my other leg. So, for about the past 3.5 years I've been reintroduced to pain management clinics.
After many types of injections, a couple MRIs and a discogram no definitive cause for the pain was found. I was fine using hydrocodone occasionally at first, which eventually grew now to a script for Opana ER. Sadly I've learned a lot in that time period... such as how my age and the fact there is no outright cause for my pain have at times caused conflicts between myself and my doctors. Most have been understanding, but I've also had to learn to put up with quite a few procedures that I knew wouldn't really help. I've also been through a couple doctors for a couple different reasons.
I don't have any particular questions, but wanted to introduce myself here as a chronic pain patient. I am curious though for those of you who are in the younger age group what kind of experiences you've had regarding being treated differently due to your age.
Im kinda scared right now. I have to go get my third of a series of three lumbar nerve blocks, and the reason I go to this place now is because they offer sedation while they do it. The first one I had was relatively painless as I was pretty messed up on IV versed and dont remember much, but the second one I got HURT like no other and I remember the whole thing and screaming.
I called my pain management place that is doing the procedure telling them I am hesistant and scared, they said they would take care of me. Does this most likely mean more versed? Do they ever give pain killers while they give nerve blocks? Im just really nervous right now, because 2 out of the 3 nerve blocks ive gotten have been very tramatic experiences
any input?
I called my pain management place that is doing the procedure telling them I am hesistant and scared, they said they would take care of me. Does this most likely mean more versed? Do they ever give pain killers while they give nerve blocks? Im just really nervous right now, because 2 out of the 3 nerve blocks ive gotten have been very tramatic experiences
any input?2muchpain
Bluelighter
Welcome! And you are very welcome here! I've got a massive amount out of coming here and hope you will too. I first got symptoms when i was 13 and they didn't start taking me seriously til i was 23 so i know how you feel!
2muchpain
Bluelighter
Im kinda scared right now. I have to go get my third of a series of three lumbar nerve blocks, and the reason I go to this place now is because they offer sedation while they do it. The first one I had was relatively painless as I was pretty messed up on IV versed and dont remember much, but the second one I got HURT like no other and I remember the whole thing and screaming.
I called my pain management place that is doing the procedure telling them I am hesistant and scared, they said they would take care of me. Does this most likely mean more versed? Do they ever give pain killers while they give nerve blocks? Im just really nervous right now, because 2 out of the 3 nerve blocks ive gotten have been very tramatic experiences
I'm afraid i'm not sure about the answer to this. When do you go? So we can make sure we have an answer for you by then!
Please can someone help!
I would say it depends if you are getting the injections from the same Doctor/Clinic. If so then they should be able to give you something to help calm you down during the injection.
All the injections I had (several different kinds) were all done without anything other than a bit of local lidocaine. Not exactly fun, but for me they weren't that bad. The discogram hurt like hell and I was given something IV during that (though I'm not sure what it was).
I'd simply explain what they gave you the first time and how badly the second one went and see if they are willing to repeat the process the way they did the first time around. I don't think you'll get any pain medication injected, but versed wouldn't be out of the question if they've given it before.
Thanks for the welcome btw 2muchpain.
All the injections I had (several different kinds) were all done without anything other than a bit of local lidocaine. Not exactly fun, but for me they weren't that bad. The discogram hurt like hell and I was given something IV during that (though I'm not sure what it was).
I'd simply explain what they gave you the first time and how badly the second one went and see if they are willing to repeat the process the way they did the first time around. I don't think you'll get any pain medication injected, but versed wouldn't be out of the question if they've given it before.
Thanks for the welcome btw 2muchpain.
Cane2theLeft
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^I very much agree with what Kovus says about the nerve block. In my experience and research about injections SOME doctors are willing to give oral/IV anxiolytics (benzos generally, sometimes strong ones like versed to produce amnesia) but oral/IV opiates are not common procedure and I would be hesitant to ask. However you know the situation better so feel it out. The doctors I've talked to/worked with all seem very hesitant about giving medication while you're there; they like to stay with the local anesthetics (ie lidocaine and other -caines).
On a separate note, its really great to have you here Kovus. I started reading bluelight with no idea that pain management was even discussed in these boards and when I started to see the quantity of not just pain patients but YOUNG pain patients I was shocked! I'm 22 by the way and my story is disturbingly similar to yours. This especially struck a chord with me:
I've posted over 50 times in this thread I think and I would wager that 10% have some version of my "story" in varying specificity so if you're interested you can look around or I can find it for you.
I'm really glad that they brought this thread back... I was missing the community of suffering people that we've sporadically had in this thread in the past. I dealt with the transition of "normal life" to cripple completely alone and I don't want anyone to have to endure that. I think its amazing that we are here for each other answering technical questions (I have spent ENDLESS hours researching any pain management issue I could) as well as providing emotional support to each other when we need it.
On THAT note, as I say in many of my posts- I have AIM on my phone or computer basically always on, and you can feel free to email or PM me any time. I really want to help people in pain any way that I can. Right now I am studying psychopharmacology to receive certification in drug/alcohol counseling and I think I'd eventually like to work with pain patients dealing with issues of drug abuse and addiction.
Anyway, enough rambling... thanks for sharing everyone and its great to have you all around. You all provide me with silent support and comfort that only other pain patients could understand.
peace
On a separate note, its really great to have you here Kovus. I started reading bluelight with no idea that pain management was even discussed in these boards and when I started to see the quantity of not just pain patients but YOUNG pain patients I was shocked! I'm 22 by the way and my story is disturbingly similar to yours. This especially struck a chord with me:
Kovus said:
I've posted over 50 times in this thread I think and I would wager that 10% have some version of my "story" in varying specificity so if you're interested you can look around or I can find it for you.
I'm really glad that they brought this thread back... I was missing the community of suffering people that we've sporadically had in this thread in the past. I dealt with the transition of "normal life" to cripple completely alone and I don't want anyone to have to endure that. I think its amazing that we are here for each other answering technical questions (I have spent ENDLESS hours researching any pain management issue I could) as well as providing emotional support to each other when we need it.
On THAT note, as I say in many of my posts- I have AIM on my phone or computer basically always on, and you can feel free to email or PM me any time. I really want to help people in pain any way that I can. Right now I am studying psychopharmacology to receive certification in drug/alcohol counseling and I think I'd eventually like to work with pain patients dealing with issues of drug abuse and addiction.
Anyway, enough rambling... thanks for sharing everyone and its great to have you all around. You all provide me with silent support and comfort that only other pain patients could understand.
peace
hey guys....i could swear i replied the other night but its not showing up....i was a wreck, co i may have messed up somehow and not got it through.
the epidural injection went ok. it was actually several needle pricks rather than one. they did give me versed and fentanyl so i think i went amnesiac on them for a minute. lol.
i came home and sleep a bit and when i woke up i was so sore. put ice on the injection site and then started having spasms. maybe thats from the swelling going down and the muscles moving back into place? anyways.....i feel fine now and have to go back in 2 weeks...i am feeling a lot braver now that i've realized it's not so bad
Cane2theLeft
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I was really worried the first time I had steroid injections and I know that that anxiety made the stiffness/spasm in my back much worse. For the following steroid injections I wasn't nervous because the first one wasn't that bad and I think that lack of anxiety is why the latter 2 hurt less than the first one.
I hypothesize that the anxiety-induced muscle spasm created more pain when the needle penetrated it to get to the epidural space. I don't have medical documents studying the disparity between ESI's in people with or without muscle spasm but it just seems logical. I always see people thinking their experiences are inviolable truth (even when they take placebos they are SURE it worked!) so I am weary I am extrapolating excessively but it seems to make sense to me.
Even if this isn't the case at all, the stress of the procedure, the nervousness and uncertainty are all going to affect your pain and spasm adversely.
I'm glad it wasn't TOO bad and I really hope it helps your pain and can't wait for more updates about your status!
take care
I hypothesize that the anxiety-induced muscle spasm created more pain when the needle penetrated it to get to the epidural space. I don't have medical documents studying the disparity between ESI's in people with or without muscle spasm but it just seems logical. I always see people thinking their experiences are inviolable truth (even when they take placebos they are SURE it worked!) so I am weary I am extrapolating excessively but it seems to make sense to me.
Even if this isn't the case at all, the stress of the procedure, the nervousness and uncertainty are all going to affect your pain and spasm adversely.
I'm glad it wasn't TOO bad and I really hope it helps your pain and can't wait for more updates about your status!
take care
Rexeh
Bluelighter
Fibromyalgia and THC
Does anyone have any information or experience with Fibromyalgia they would like to share? Maybe a PM or a mail because I don't want to hi-jack this thread or start a new one.
I found this bit of interesting information about a study involving THC and Fibromyalgia:
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia
I smoke Cannabis as well and found it to be quite helpful in relieving my symptoms, I wish there was an adequate treatment for Fibromyalgia but I guess it's self-medicating until then.
I hope someone found this useful, smoking weed would be way better than Opiate treatment IMHO and is definetly something that needs further research, any thoughts?
Peace o/
Does anyone have any information or experience with Fibromyalgia they would like to share? Maybe a PM or a mail because I don't want to hi-jack this thread or start a new one.
I found this bit of interesting information about a study involving THC and Fibromyalgia:
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia
I smoke Cannabis as well and found it to be quite helpful in relieving my symptoms, I wish there was an adequate treatment for Fibromyalgia but I guess it's self-medicating until then.
I hope someone found this useful, smoking weed would be way better than Opiate treatment IMHO and is definetly something that needs further research, any thoughts?
Peace o/
johanneschimpo
Bluelighter
Marijuana is good for pain in some, it exacerbates pain for others. If it helps, do it. 
Also, you might want to give lyrica (pregabalin) a try. If I'm not mistaken its now approved for fibromyalgia.
Sorry, I don't have much more info to provide at this moment. Hope I helped.
Also, you might want to give lyrica (pregabalin) a try. If I'm not mistaken its now approved for fibromyalgia.
Sorry, I don't have much more info to provide at this moment. Hope I helped.
Cane2theLeft
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Its great to see OD's guru JC make an entrance to our quaint little cripple thread... Some good advice too!
Its really early here so I will probably add more later but I just wanted to share a couple things Re: cannabis and CP or FMS...
1.) I've seen studies (HIV neuropathy) that showed avg. potency herb helped greatly, low potency pot had little-no effect and the chronic exacerbated the neuropathic pain. This would definitely apply to neuropathy of any etiology and likely FMS.
2.) I have found personally that really strong (high THC) products can make my nerve pain worse. Plants with high CBD are great for my pain, sleep issues and especially my muscle spasm. Indica strains to me are like taking a benzo or muscle relaxer plus a weaker opioid.
3.) Pot GREATLY enhances the analgesia of other pain medicine (especially opioids but others as well) more consistently than it is a pain reliver in its own right.
4.) I don't support medical marijuana in the state its presently in. I think cannabis should be studied, compounds isolated and pharmaceuticals derived and synthesized but smoking medicine? To me its just as ridiculous as a doctor prescribing smoked opium for post-op pain. Would it help? Sure. However it has far too many drawbacks over non-smoked, precisely measured/controlled pharma opiates/opioids. I think sativex is a great start but I'd love to see it expanded to varying cannabinoid compositions for specific conditions... More CBD for MS or more THC for nausea/appetite stimulation, etc.
So that turned out longer than planned.
________________
Don't feel bad about hijacking the thread; what you are talking about is EXACTLY why this thread exists and why I post incessantly. Also, many members have FMS so any discussion will likely benefit others now or in the future.
Anyway, its great to have you here and thanks for sharing that piece, interesting stuff.
Pe(A)cE
Its really early here so I will probably add more later but I just wanted to share a couple things Re: cannabis and CP or FMS...
1.) I've seen studies (HIV neuropathy) that showed avg. potency herb helped greatly, low potency pot had little-no effect and the chronic exacerbated the neuropathic pain. This would definitely apply to neuropathy of any etiology and likely FMS.
2.) I have found personally that really strong (high THC) products can make my nerve pain worse. Plants with high CBD are great for my pain, sleep issues and especially my muscle spasm. Indica strains to me are like taking a benzo or muscle relaxer plus a weaker opioid.
3.) Pot GREATLY enhances the analgesia of other pain medicine (especially opioids but others as well) more consistently than it is a pain reliver in its own right.
4.) I don't support medical marijuana in the state its presently in. I think cannabis should be studied, compounds isolated and pharmaceuticals derived and synthesized but smoking medicine? To me its just as ridiculous as a doctor prescribing smoked opium for post-op pain. Would it help? Sure. However it has far too many drawbacks over non-smoked, precisely measured/controlled pharma opiates/opioids. I think sativex is a great start but I'd love to see it expanded to varying cannabinoid compositions for specific conditions... More CBD for MS or more THC for nausea/appetite stimulation, etc.
So that turned out longer than planned.
________________
Don't feel bad about hijacking the thread; what you are talking about is EXACTLY why this thread exists and why I post incessantly. Also, many members have FMS so any discussion will likely benefit others now or in the future.
Anyway, its great to have you here and thanks for sharing that piece, interesting stuff.
Pe(A)cE
Cane2theLeft
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Quick follow-up... I don't support using smoked cannabis when there are viable pharma alternatives but I do think people suffering now should be allowed to smoke if it eases their suffering... I smoke recreationally a bit but usually just enough for pain relief (I'm broke) so I definitely support medical legalization NOW but only as a temporary solution.
Rexeh
Bluelighter
Thanks for the kind words. A lot of people I meet in real life don't even know what Fibromyalgia means (although I can't really blame them for that), so it's nice to be able to share experiences and information about the things that are affecting your daily life
I'm going to ask my doc about Pregabalin, it's better than having a dependancy or tolerance to Opiates which I use now, thanks for the advice. Also I might compare some strains so I can experiment with different levels of THC, I have had good results with Cannabis for my back pain in the past and plan to experiment some more with crossing strains to create the 'perfect' weed.
Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate them.
Peace o/
A lot of people I meet in real life don't even know what Fibromyalgia means (although I can't really blame them for that), so it's nice to be able to share experiences and information about the things that are affecting your daily life I'm going to ask my doc about Pregabalin, it's better than having a dependancy or tolerance to Opiates which I use now, thanks for the advice. Also I might compare some strains so I can experiment with different levels of THC, I have had good results with Cannabis for my back pain in the past and plan to experiment some more with crossing strains to create the 'perfect' weed.
Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate them.
Peace o/
sweetbeatlvr
Bluelighter
i have Fibromyalgia, sorry you do too. what a crazy illness.
i have smoked MJ, and it has honestly helped my pain. unfortunately, because of urine tests, i can no longer use it, so i am very thankful for the prescribed opiates, for now.
i wish they would just legalize it.
i have smoked MJ, and it has honestly helped my pain. unfortunately, because of urine tests, i can no longer use it, so i am very thankful for the prescribed opiates, for now.
i wish they would just legalize it.
johanneschimpo
Bluelighter
^ Marinol. Look it up. THC pills. May work, may not, as its just delta-9-THC and not all the cannabinoids, but its worth a shot.
Well actually, for practical purposes, you can have a prescription for the Marinol pills but smoke weed, since you are expected to fail a drug test for THC. I know a person in this situation.
Well actually, for practical purposes, you can have a prescription for the Marinol pills but smoke weed, since you are expected to fail a drug test for THC. I know a person in this situation.
Darkprogramer
Bluelighter
Hi, I also have the Fibromyalgia and arthritis. Yea, it is a very nasty condition. I take lots of
meds. I tryed lyrica, it did nothing. I have been on cymbalta for about 4 months. It does
nothing for my pain but seems to help my mood and energy level. It funny my doctor says
well I cant give you opiates for the fibro because the studies say it doesnt help. But, I can
give you opiates for the arthritis. gee. And every time I have seen A rhumatologist , well
they are none carring about my pain and will not give you anything. I hate those doctors,
they are stupid and uncareing assholes.
meds. I tryed lyrica, it did nothing. I have been on cymbalta for about 4 months. It does
nothing for my pain but seems to help my mood and energy level. It funny my doctor says
well I cant give you opiates for the fibro because the studies say it doesnt help. But, I can
give you opiates for the arthritis. gee. And every time I have seen A rhumatologist , well
they are none carring about my pain and will not give you anything. I hate those doctors,
they are stupid and uncareing assholes.
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