Pain

Best wishes for getting some pain relief. A few years ago I had bilateral injections at 4 levels for arthritis in my lower back. I had a surprisingly good result. My back problems are not gone, but my pain levels were significantly improved. If it flares up again like it was before, I'd definitely do it again.

I have been in pain management for years due to back pain and am almost ashamed to say how much medication I take but I have access to a really great back surgeon along with a specialist in degenerative disk diseases and both say that the longer I put off surgery the better as cutting, grinding, fusing and adding hardware is only going to accelerate the degeneration and as the spine rots out around the areas they fix it will only get worse exponentially. I was doing pretty well until I was rear ended in a traffic accident which broke my C2, T10 and made my L4, L5, S1 problems worse. In addition to my two regular specialists I have seen spinal surgeons at Emory, Shepard Spinal Center and several other facilities. The only three that wanted to cut, wanted to do it immediately and I could tell they were procedure happy and cutting is what pays their bills. My main spine doctor was formerly the head of neurosurgery department of Emory which is a teaching hospital. I have also seen their current head of department. Out of eight doctors the five most reputable have said to wait till I cannot stand it no longer and the other three were ready to cut the minute they saw my MRI's. Do not let a cut happy doctor butcher you just so they can bill surgical hours.

Google the procedure Radio Frequency Ablation. These have been my saving grace for minimally invasive treatment and have allowed be to keep the pain at the point where the medication keeps up. My wife suffers from severe osteoporosis to the point surgery can never be done on her. She is actually off the scale on osteopenia and osteoporosis on the low side. We went started with Fosemax then moved to Prolia and finally to Forteo at 2064.00 dollars per month after insurance. That stuff is over 4,000 a month without insurance. Even with the Forteo which supposedly works miracles for most, she was still losing 4% bone density per year. Now she is using a drug that is not FDA approved that we have to get from Switzerland. At least we enjoy Switzerland as we went every three or four years before she was diagnosed to ski and climb. This medication has given her a 4% increase over four years. Not much forward progress by most peoples standards but to just not be losing for her is a huge win and worth every dime.

I have sold my hot rod, one motorcycle, half my gun collection, cashed in 50% of my retirement funds thus far and will sell everything I have if necessary to get her the meds. Money and toys mean nohing to me compared to my wife's health. I actually inventoried everything we own both at home and through my business. It all went on a spread sheet which each item is rated based on value and actual need. I was a collector of many things such as coins, antique toy trains, gem stones and numerous other things. We had all of our antiques, china, silverware, crystal and such appraised a few years ago. In order of need and sentimental value I am wearing Ebay out raising the capital to keep medical bills and meds paid for. Our helath insurance for BC/BS PPO is now 2,100 per month for the two of us and due to Obama care our benefits are cut every year and we now have the new luxury tax staring at us because the government says our insurance is more than we deserve so we have to start paying a tax to support those who chose to drive new cars, buy bigger houses than they need and so forth rather than good insurance or any at all. At age 23 I walked into my insurance agent and said I wanted the best health insurance money can buy and have maintained it no matter how tight money has gotten at times. At 29 when I bought my house and remodeled it I widened all the doors to 36 inches, all floors are hardwood or tile and dead level. There are no steps to get in the house and all bathrooms are completely ADA compliant. I have watched people get hurt or age and not be prepared to move through their home thus I did that while I was young enough and before it was needed. A few years ago I wrecked a motorcycle when a deer ran out in front of me and the two months I was in bed and a wheelchair it was worth everything it took to make the home handicap accessable.

This is another reason I am not getting any of the three surgeries I will eventually have to get. I need to keep working every minute I can to pay for the meds and travel to get them.BC/BS has been as good as they can and no complaints at all. In fact they have gone above their call of duty but on non FDA approved meds from another country their hands are tied. Doctor recently put her on the Butrans patch. It did not do well for me but she has had super relief from it. She is even back in the swimming pool five days a week.

Back pain is so individual according to person it is hard to give advice. I suggest you find the best spine doctors you can, never have any procedure based on one opinion and also find a good pain management program that does more than hands out medication. Epidurals, R.F.A.'s, physical therapy and other treatments can keep you out of surgery. TENS units help a lot of folks but make my pain worse. Be open minded and keep trying everything before surgery. Once they cut you can't undo it. That said, if it affects your sleep you must attend to it.

Thank you both for the replies. My heart really goes out to you Hueyville. I am trying to get as much done as possible before the medial care gets worse. I will not have back surgery. I do know better than trying that. I just desperately need pain relief. I am already tired of being old before my time. So many people have it so much worse than I do I feel bad complaining but sometimes I just can't seem to help it.

You might want to ask your doctor about Gabapentin. It is often prescribed for shingles nerve pain. See http://www.drugs.com/dosage/gabapentin.html and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 94007.html It is not a narcotic and is not addictive, a huge plus.

It was prescribed for me for a compressed nerve that caused excrutiating pain. I was initially ramped up to a dosage of 300 mg 3 times a day, then slowly backed down from that until I found a dosage that kept the pain manageable. It took 18 months for my pain to be resolved...I can't imagine how I would have survived the level of pain I was having without the Gabapentin.

Hope you find some help.

jaybeem wrote:You might want to ask your doctor about Gabapentin. It is often prescribed for shingles nerve pain. See http://www.drugs.com/dosage/gabapentin.html and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 94007.html It is not a narcotic and is not addictive, a huge plus.

It was prescribed for me for a compressed nerve that caused excrutiating pain. I was initially ramped up to a dosage of 300 mg 3 times a day, then slowly backed down from that until I found a dosage that kept the pain manageable. It took 18 months for my pain to be resolved...I can't imagine how I would have survived the level of pain I was having without the Gabapentin.

Hope you find some help.

My husband takes that. I thought it was for his blood pressure though. I am so anxious to find some help. Thank you jaybeem.

yes, Stormy, my son had lower back nerve pain from a fractured vertebrae at L5 and they prescribed Gabapentin. Its also used for Restless Leg Syndrome. Its non narcotic and very few side effects.

jaybeem wrote:You might want to ask your doctor about Gabapentin. It is often prescribed for shingles nerve pain. See http://www.drugs.com/dosage/gabapentin.html and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drug ... 94007.html It is not a narcotic and is not addictive, a huge plus.

It was prescribed for me for a compressed nerve that caused excrutiating pain. I was initially ramped up to a dosage of 300 mg 3 times a day, then slowly backed down from that until I found a dosage that kept the pain manageable. It took 18 months for my pain to be resolved...I can't imagine how I would have survived the level of pain I was having without the Gabapentin.

Hope you find some help.

I should add: I had shingles in the middle of that 18 months...on the same nerve path. OMG. If I thought I was in pain before! My doc prescribed double-dose Vicodin, which didn't even touch the pain. When I reminded doc that I was on Gabapentin, he doubled the Gabapentin dose. Pain gone.

And, from a small study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20124884, "Treatment effects of gabapentin for primary insomnia": "Gabapentin enhances slow-wave sleep in patients with primary insomnia. It also improves sleep quality by elevating sleep efficiency and decreasing spontaneous arousal. The results suggest that gabapentin may be beneficial in the treatment of primary insomnia."

For anyone with chronic pain, I know this sounds coo coo crazy, but it's worth a try because all you have to lose is your pain.

Try eliminating grains completely from your diet. I mean every speck of grains, which means CAREFULLY scrutinizing labels for hidden grains. No bread, pasta, crackers, beer, etc. Even a little tiny cheat can derail your efforts, so you have to commit to really trying it without cheating.

For why this works, see http://www.wheatbellyblog.com and consider reading the book Wheat Belly. This book is full of a lot of hype, but deep down, the basic premise is good. Eliminate grains, especially wheat and see if it helps you or not.

You don't have to stop other treatments while you are trying this, and you'll know within a matter of weeks if it's helping or not. If you really don't notice any difference after a true, clean try for several weeks, no harm, no foul, grains will still be there when you're done trying. It doesn't cost money, but it does take some planning to figure out how to avoid grains and replace them with healthy substitutions (AVOID "gluten free products" because they just trade one bad thing for another--overly starchy and often sweetened substitutes like fake breads made of tapioca and arrowroot starches).

I went from constant severe chronic pain to NONE by doing this--I could barely walk across a room because of severe back pain and I had constant skeletal pain all over in addition. I did not eliminate grains with the idea that it would help pain, but it did. One morning, after a few years of unrelenting pain, I realized I was no longer in pain. WOW! And when I eat grains, it comes roaring back. I still have twinges in my back, especially in the morning, but nothing on the scale of what I was suffering daily before. The structural issues haven't changed, only my diet. Quite amazing.

Janknitz I just bought the book and it is now on my Kindle. Thank you I will read it.

Hi Stormy,

I am sorry you are having so much pain. My brother also has a medical condition which causes him a lot of pain. He said he uses meditation and hypnosis videos on YouTube. He said they have helped him a lot. If you want to look them up, just put (meditation pain relieving videos) in the search engine. Hope you feel better soon.

mystydragonfly wrote:Hi Stormy,

I am sorry you are having so much pain. My brother also has a medical condition which causes him a lot of pain. He said he uses meditation and hypnosis videos on YouTube. He said they have helped him a lot. If you want to look them up, just put (meditation pain relieving videos) in the search engine. Hope you feel better soon.

Thank you I will try that too.

I had my injection this morning and it was easy and painless. I came home and took a nap because I felt so tired and groggy. I am still feeling foggy headed. My vision seems a little off too. I hope this wears off quickly. I hate feeling like this.

I have seen posts from you since your last post to this topic, so I know you are alive, if not well. Have you found any relief from your pain? Did you ask your doctor about the Gabapentin? I hope you are feeling better!

Magnesium several times a day, MSM 3 times a day, 2000 units of vitamin D and apple cider or an apple a day help me. I also find TENS or physical therapy and a gaba agonist or anti-depressant help too.