• 💊 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.
Rave, we just don't hear the success stories. Imo once sufferers gain relief they have no need to hang out online chatting to ppl in their situation or searching for answers & help.

I've read some of your posts in the past, but I'm not familiar with your diagnosis. In my experience using only "narcotics" is not that common an approach.

Adjunct meds such as low dose antidepressants, (or a higher dose if you actually have depression), Gabapentin or Lyrica, muscle relaxants, anti inflammatories etc. Cortisone shots, SI joint injections, Medial branch blocks, trigger point injections, even Botox in the back can be beneficial to some.

Physio, again IMHO, I thought was overrated until I seriously gave it a go. I suffered enormously from fear avoidance, & it wasn't until one day I heard myself say out loud that nothing physical makes my pain worse that I really focused on toning my body up again.

I can't say specifically that it gives me pain relief per se, but sometimes even just a good stretch can feel great. I aim for around half an hour, (carefully & slowly), of resistance on my lounge room floor. Crunches, bridges, push ups, leg lifts etc. If I need a rest I'm on the floor anyway lol.

Exercise lifts my mood & once I began actually seeing results I felt so proud of myself.

It's by no means easy. I mean I get up in the morning after what feels like zero sleep & my muscles & joints are so seized up & stiff I struggle to lift my leg an inch to put my slippers on. (I have three types of arthritis, & crps, amongst others), some days I move so slowly & awkwardly I barely make it to the bathroom! I have to plan my days to allow at least two hrs & a high dose of opiates before I can function enough to leave my house. Sorry for the ramble, but yes, there's much more that can be done for back injuries/pain than just opiates.

What have you tried in the past Rave?

Rtp
 
Thanks for the input.

I have an upcoming MRI in a week, so hopefully I will get a diagnosis. My thoracic spine at a very particular point is in absolute AGONY for a good few years now, I cannot bear it... eventually after I lost my job and house because of it and spent a few years smoking weed, drinking beer and staring at a ceiling in pain, I started getting really intense panic attacks. I've since been recovering from the panic disorder since I quit drinking and smoking weed completely, actually I can't even remember the last time I had an extreme panic attack and I can drink caffeinated beverages again without flipping out for days on end, but I still have to be on a low dose of benzos daily (I was on a hell of a lot more of them at one point) - but I find they help at least marginally with the skeletal muscle relaxant properties, especially a valium. This panic was triggered by the stress and loss that came from the pain, no doubt.

I finally got into a pain clinic, to discover that my previous MRI was done in the wrong damned spot. How can doctors be so careless to make a mistake like that. So I am in for an urgent MRI, hopefully after years I will finally know what is wrong with me (I am suspicious it's a facet joint problem)

For a couple years, my back was stiff as a board. I refused to move it in any way. I used to be big into yoga. I started taking opioids last year, and I am on 15 - 20mg of oxycodone a day. This has allowed me to start exercising a bit, so I ride my bike for cardio, and I do an hour and a half of yoga every day. My yoga is in my meditation room, and I do it in three half hour sessions. It is very chill yoga, nothing too intense but I am building up some muscle mass (I used to be jacked), losing fat, and the spinal twists and stuff are getting my back moving again. Will this help? I'm not sure... I can only do yoga after a percocet. But I think it's important to get my back moving, that's what they said when I went to physio. Like basically the yoga I had been doing for years is pretty similar to the stretches they recommended that I do daily. I also just get out and go for short walks in random places, especially forests.

Crunches scare the SHIT out of me... oh my god, I think I would end up in a wheelchair. I would never ever EVER do a single sit-up, or not even one pushup. Anything like that will make it a million times worse.

I have been on many different anti-inflammatories, so I take one of those every day now. The only thing that seems to help is narcotics.

I really like percocet because I've never had cravings for it and I'm not overly psychologically addicted. As soon as I get ahold of some #4, some 8mg dillies, or some opium I will rip through it like no tomorrow, and I will forget that I even have back pain. So I have learned NOT to go ANYWHERE NEAR those other opioids - I only picked up one stash of each of those 3, was just experimenting with other painkillers to discover that I have absolutely no control with narcotics that can be sniffed or smoked. Still, with all the shit I've been through, all the suffering and everything I've lost, I think about becoming a junkie all the time. A part of me just wants to start hitting the needle to be honest. I have dreams at night about shooting up, even though I've never done it, it's always on my mind. I know it's best to just stick with the percocet, but that heroin is very very tempting. I need to stick with the oxy though because I've never fiended it. Without it, I'm basically suicidal and I can't even get up and walk around, or even lie in bed without being tortured. There is no escaping it except through narcotics.

I had a steroid injection, it didn't go over well. I think the doc did a shitty job of it though, I might be open to trying another.

I feel so alienated from other people in their mid 20's. It's so hard for me to have friends, when they don't understand pain. I see all these people smiling and happy, doing intense exercise (that's what I used to live for, I was the ultimate gym rat but haven't stepped foot in a gym in years... it feels so weird saying that, I've just completely lost that LOVE of my life) it's just like what the fuck did I ever do to deserve this. I see people going out socializing and meeting people and drinking and having fun, I am happiest alone or with my gf when there is nobody around to compare myself to... so I can be one with the suffering. I was so happy before. Now if I'm not on percocets I will just cry and dwell on my past memories of what my life was like before I hurt my back, and I am utterly useless, I feel so worthless. I am in university again, the stress is unbearable and if I lose sleep it gets so horrible.

I guess I have an extremely healthy diet, I eat the healthiest out of anyone I know in life and I am a good cook. I try natural anti-inflammatories like rosemary, pineapple, turmeric, not sure if that helps but I just eat healthy mainly because it will help me with the anxiety. That has nothing to do with my injury though, if anything when I'm anxious, I'm panicking too hard to feel the pain, I never had anxiety issues until like 2 years after my injury, I hate when people say it's my anxiety or my mind causing it... something is very much wrong with my spine.

I have tried chiro, acupuncture, massage, going to like 10 different doctors... I don't know, I feel like becoming a heroin addict is admitting that there is no real treatment. But I can function so well on it. I don't think I would even regret it, it's just a conscious, logical decision to end the suffering. If I ever got better, 3 percocets wouldn't be very hard to kick... but if my pain ever goes away I would consider it a miracle in line with a man walking on water. The pain is just too severe that I don't think it can be treated. What scares me most about the heroin is getting in trouble with the law, really... I don't have very much to lose at this point, except I can't forget about that thing called jail. The law would show me no mercy and I would be forced to commit suicide. Death is a pretty welcoming concept though, I often cut myself and stuff. Again the heroin is very very tempting, even though percocet does a decent job it's nothing compared to that #4... I haven't used it in like 3 months but I can't get it out of my mind sometimes.

Like, what if I live until I'm EIGHTY?? That is so many years of suffering. It's unfathomable, I hope I don't live that long.
 
Last edited:
Don't give up hope. Take your mrI and go to the best spine dr you can find. The pain is caused by something. Find it and treat it. I have 2 fractures in my back. I was a professional athlete and was the chief earner for my family. I couldn't do it any longer. I started to have panic attacks too. Between the right Drs for the pain, the bones, and the mental aspect of it all, it can get better. I feel your pain. I really do.
 
Thanks, it will just be a couple weeks until I get the MRI results.

School is extremely stressful. Everyone is constantly stressing me out. It is insane. They do not understand that I am not a normal human like them. Any additional stress and I freak out and start cutting myself and stuff. I can't compete against these other humans unless I am on drugs. I am an alien to this world. My performance at school is outstanding when I am taking narcotics. The more narcotics I take, the better I do at school, the more I am able to cope with school without freaking out, the healthier I am able to eat, the more spiritually aware I am, the more exercise I am able to get, the happier I am, the more time I spend learning, the more compassionate I am to other people, the more social I am, the more friends I make, the nicer I am to my family and girlfriend, the less anti-anxiety meds I have to take (I see the benzos as more dangerous), I am just such a better person in every single way shape and form when I am on narcotics. I am worthless scum without them. When I don't take them, I completely fuck up in school. I just won't do my work and I'll get shit grades, whereas if I use narcotics all day then I get straight A's. I shouldn't even be in school. I was an engineer. I lost everything. If I was on narcotics back then, I would still have my job. The corporate scum fired me because I hadn't discovered narcotics yet and I could not function at the time. If I was doing what I'm doing now, I would still have that job but I fucked up. When I'm not using enough narcotics, everyone in my life will start to trip me out. Everyone is pushing me to become a junkie because I'm so much better able to take care of myself then, there is less onus on other people to take care of me and I am a more amiable character. I'm supposed to be able to carry on a conversation and stuff, but that's only possible with narcotics.

Every minute of my life spent without a good dose of narcotics in my system is a miserable waste. The only reason not to take them is to keep my tolerance down, but is that really worth it? I'm not going to live forever, I may as well do as much drugs as I need until they figure out what's wrong with me. I should stay away from the heroin, because it is unreliable, impure, I like to know precisely how much I'm dosing but I'll probably start shooting dillies or something, with all the right harm reduction or whatever. I've done enough damage to my nose over the years, oxy is too expensive to have a real habit of it, so I may as well get to my veins. I'm growing old, who really gives a fuck. I've already wasted practically half of my 20's, that are supposed to be the best years of my life. Everyone is having a blast, I am god damned miserable beyond comprehension. I'm an old geezer looking back on the good times. There is no hope in hell of using my brain for the benefit of society unless I become a full blown addict. Before I know it, I'll be dust in the wind either way. I may as well get some enjoyment out of life. I just want to abuse myself, I want to self destruct and I don't feel like I'm doing an efficient enough job with just a few percocets a day. Before I commit suicide, I may as well push drugs to the max. I expect the MRI will show fuck all.
 
Last edited:
"Fired" by Pain Mgmt Doc- Next Move?

Hi all,
A buddy of mine (really) was canned by his pain mgmt doctor today based on the result of his most recent piss test. The presence of coke/insufficient amount of his prescribed methadone were cited as the reasons. They were prescribing methadone, roxicodone, and xanax to treat pain from an old, very serious injury. Hoping y'all could help us plan his next move. The immediate concern is his quitting all these cold turkey, not to mention the recurrence of the pain these drugs are treating. We're also worried that he'll have trouble finding a new pain doc with this incident on his chart. Also, he remembers his pain mgmt contract expressly stating that he wouldn't be tested for any substances he wasn't being prescribed- he's been seeing this doc for four years without incident- might he have any recourse?
Sorry for the rambling first post, in a tight spot. Thanks for any and all help.
 
I've read through this whole thread and, wow, you lot are tough people.

I've just be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which isn't great, but at least the diagnosis gives me something to work with. The thing is, I'm already taking the SNRI that's generally prescribed to treat it (duloxetine, at 90mg a day) and I'm obviously still getting symptoms.

My question is: do any of you know whether increasing the duloxetine will have an impact on the fibro symptoms? I know fibro doses are usually smaller than the reason I take it.

Input appreciated.
 
I don't have fibro but I just wanted to welcome you to this support thread, us chronic pain patients here look out for eachother. Im sure someone with Fibro has some input.
 
Endometriosis sufferer here. I spend half of every month in pain. New gyno is great but doesn't prescribe narcotics, so I buy weak-ass 8 mg codeine online. Was taking Ultram before but the side effects are unacceptable...so bad I'd rather just be in pain.

I've been treated like utter shit by doctors for years, most of them just throwing ibuprofen or antidepressants at me. (Oh, the joys of being a woman with a chronic pain condition!) I don't know whether to keep trying for real pain meds with a physician or what. I just got health insurance about a year ago so still trying to sort things out.

My biggest fear is being labeled a drug-seeker and never taken seriously again. I'd be perfectly content with Tylenol 3 or the occasional Lortab. Even with prolonged use, my tolerance stays about the same so 1 pill is sufficient. And of course, I do other things to manage my pain: heating pad, hot baths, anti-inflammatory herbs, etc. Never ran out of pills early or done anything shady to obtain them. Blah.

Gotta love being punished for other peoples' misuse of pain meds. /end rant
 
Last edited:
Hi Mstmil,

They haven't tried me on anything - I only received the diagnosis two days ago. I have an appointment to discuss medication options on Sunday.

I'm reluctant to mess around with my brain meds too much as they're currently working really well. I imagine I would have to come off my existing anticonvulsant to go on a new one - I take lamotrigine for bipolar.
 
I get a lot of pain in my knees and back. This has been a long term issue. I find that cannabis and mxe have helped but not anything prescribed (doctor's are reasonably unwilling to prescribe opiates).
What other options do I have open to me. It's not so bad to require immediate medical attention but enough to cause issues in my life. Also on being x-rayed the doctor couldn't find a source of the pain.
 
^ & Rave, just a quick mention that a good doctor won't rely purely on the results of scans. Back pain especially, as there can be little damage appear & a whole lotta pain or a shit ton of probems & zero pain. We all perceive pain differently & need our GPs to understand it's subjective. The right DR will treat you, your pain & your quality of life as a whole.

Heaps more to say to the above posters, especially sixbuckets, but I gotta run (lol, figure of speech).

Back soon❤️

Rtp
 
My present doctor is new, I can't really judge them yet. It's my first time in a real pain clinic (after 3 years of this shit, how stupid is that). But they were already talking about lowering my percocet dose and it's 15mg; I take 30mg on my bad days so it's already not enough. They seem to be taking me seriously for once - if the MRI comes back clean, I doubt they'll just send me on my merry way. Do you know, if that is the case, what else they can do? Is other testing common, like a CAT scan or something? I just need to prepare myself for the event that nothing shows up, and make sure they continue to take this with utmost seriousness.

It's impossible for me to get a benzo script, I wouldn't ever mention it even though I am life-or-death dependent on them. That's just out of the question, asking for a couple bars a day. Even though they were the ones who introduced me to benzos in the first place when I kept showing up at the ER freaking out psychotically... and the whole reason I need them is because they've been brushing my pain off for years with a pussy-ass anti-inflammatory script or directing me to another doctor who does nothing, leaving me to fend for myself.

I guess doctors are like any other profession. Just because you got the education and the job doesn't mean you know what you're doing, that you understand how to interact with people who are suffering, and some would be better at treating pain than others especially. It's probably really difficult for them to deal with (and FUCK any actors who go through the process pretending to be in pain so that they can sell drugs, or get a non-medicinal fix).
 
Last edited:
I actually had a mri that showed nothing more than a bulged disc until I had a ct scan. That's when they figured out the fractures and the spondylothesis
 
Long time, bluelighters. I was discharged from my doc who was writing me 30mg roxi 4x and opana 40mg 2x a day with valium and soma. I am ready to make some new appts and am just wondering.. As I embark on the mission to find a new doc, has anyone had the unpleasant experience of having a former pain management clinic contact a potential new one? I'm asking because I was discharged for IV drug use.
 
@Rave, I had to lol what you said about crunches & push ups, just the wording haha.

If the scan comes back within normal parameters ask what the next step is. CTspect take 3D pics of the area, Nuclear bone scans were helpful with my diagnoses & monitoring disease progression.

What does your pain feel like? Bone, nerve, muscular? As I mentioned above there's intervention treatments available. Facet joint injections,(though I didn't consult my pain dr & he regretted me doing them), epidurals, nerve blocks, spinal cord stimulaters etc. However, I agree it depends on the DR. My first pain spec was an asshole, crunched my Bones & said no you don't have bone pain, you have central neuropathic pain disorder. Turns out I have both, & he REALLY hurt me!!

I also spent a year basic all undiagnosed & in agony because I was "too young" to have arthritis & bone probs. I hear you about the useless anti inflammatories!

After eight years of pain I've a cupboard full of useless meds, & now I've been through every intervention including regular hospitalisations for ketamine infusions, I take high dose opiates as nothing else helps. My current pain spec, first told me I had to "earn my stripes", in regard to raising my doseage , I've done all hrs asked & he's now decided it's going into dangerous territory to go higher. I cracked it with him & am now referred to his colleague for a second opinion as I can't believe there's no options left for me.

Rtp
 
@Sixbuckets, although I don't have fibro, I do have a pain disorder.

Increasing your SNRI won't be helpful but changing to another might be.

Pregabalin & Cymbalta are the only drugs approved for fibro. Others can be used "off label" at your doctors discretion. Depending on your level of pain & functionality pain meds may be prescribed.

Is your fibro strictly musculoskeletal or do you get neuropathic pain as well?

Rtp
 
@Runtoparadise

Thanks for that info, that's what I needed to know.

I'm not sure what neuropathic pain is. It "feels" like it's in my bones, muscles and joints. I'm under the impression that most painkillers won't work for fibro pain - is this correct?
 
I'm calling Bullshit! Lol, if you're in chronic pain, pain meds will help.
Doctors will tell you such things, as will some websites, but I gotta say yes...the right pain med will help your pain.

Just curious, as your description sounds a lot like mine how you obtained this diagnosis? I understand fibro can be awful to live with, but doctors will also throw that label around all too easily. Have you had scans, bloods etc to rule out other conditions? A little background would be great!

Neuropathic pain can be described as burning, stabbing, pins & needles by some. For me, I get flare ups of such deep agonising pain that hospital looks good to me. A far cry from my Phobia of hospitals up until a cpl of yrs ago!!

Rtp
 
I don't know if my pain is bone, nerve or muscular. It seems like a combination of all 3. It doesn't radiate down to my legs, I don't know what that means. It's just that one part of my spine is destroyed and mangled.

All I know is any sort of physical activity makes it WAY worse and it is centralized in my spine. I can't sit in shitty school chairs for a couple hours or I'll want to die. I can't be up on my feet for too long. Squats, pushups, crunches... LOL that's a fuckin' death sentence for me. Even the yoga makes it worse, I just do it because I feel like I should, and because I don't feel the agony when I pop a bunch of pills. That specific spot of my spine. Thoracic. So that would be either something wrong with my bones, a pinched nerve, or something fucked up with my connective tissue. It is ONLY at my spine at that particular spot. I cannot do any sports like I used to, gave up snowboarding, gave up my old way of life completely.

Nothing helps other than opioids so it is logical for me to start shooting heroin. May as well get where I'm headed to. I can see into my future, where I am headed. More and more drugs until I OD which is fine by me if it means no suffering anymore. I'm already at over 30mg of percocet a day, my tolerance is skyrocketing and I don't want to fuck up my liver with the fuckin tylenol. Why the FUCK does these assholes mix good, pure drugs with tylenol filth. Plus percocet is way too expensive even compared to top shelf china white since I can't get prescribed enough that I need. I'm not buying some assholes prescription at a bullshit markup to top up my own. The street markup is literally times twenty where I'm from.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top