Contemporary narcotic restrictions

[Gary Allan]

I have a herniated disc and have been a prisoner of a recliner for the past 3 weeks. I just got a steroid shot in my back which has worked to some extent, but I'm pushing for the more permanent surgical remedy. I don't need a never ending story as I age that will ultimately result in the same outcome just at a point where I'm even at MORE risk to surgery. Contradictions in conservative prudence I think.

Anyway, the outfit that did the shot isn't my back person, but I had to read and sign their "drug contract" about pain medications. It basically appeared to be a way to wash their hands of supporting a future drug habit. I can understand the motivation, but not so much the result.

For the past 3 weeks I have not had a step without pain. A shower that wasn't a race to see if I could endure the standing position long enough. Not more than 20-30 minutes of sleep in a recliner since it's the only place that I can have a non-flat prone position. I know every brace in the cushion ..etc..etc.

Now I can see not wanting to support "junkies". There are junkies of all kinds. They will create problems just to get pain meds. OTOH, when someone has bona fide legit conditions that include pain, why in the world would the medical community construct scenarios that would leave someone suffering for the ONLY reason for them not to be dependent on drugs? Why would that not become just another rehab item as would teaching someone to walk again after a severe trauma??

The level of drugs I was given is just enough to make my situation survivable. That's not saying that it is livable. Without being in an assisted living situation or not for Joyce and my daughter home from college, I'd be unable to even make my appointments without some outside help. I couldn't get on the MRI table without over dosing myself.

I could go into more detail (there's lot's more to say), but all I'll say is that I appreciate anyone who manages a good attitude with a permanent disability. It's a prison that I hope I'm only a visitor in.

I'll never take a painless step or restful sleep for granted ever again.


We leave you in a state of milder torture so you won't suffer from drug addiction. We care.

 

[addyguy]

Agree 100% Pain medications have a purpose, and should be used as much as needed when appropriate.

I'm sure most people who are non-addictive personaltites would rather have a pain-free condition for the duration; and if the conditions improves, deal with the temporary problems of drug withdrawal, rather than be in pain for the duration.

If I know I'm no longer going to be in pain, I would be so happy, the withdrawal from drugs would be a minor annoyance that I would most likely 'shrug off'.

I really hope, Gary, that you get in touch with a proactitioner that can help you get the relief you need.....take care, man!

 

[rclint]

Gary I have had about 5 of those injections in my neck... none have ever worked, however they say they work better on your back than your neck good luck...pm sent

 

[1999nick]

I too had a herniated disc, many years ago. I suffered the pain, gradually increasing, for almost 2 years. My doctor finally looked over my record and said I had been taking too much , and sent me to the kind of surgeon who did back surgery. He did a test where a diagnostic fluid was circulated in my spine and scanned. He did not even let me go home from the hospital. I had surgery the next day, and was out of the hospital in 5 days, back to work in 6 weeks.

Never have had another back problem, and that surgery was performed in March of 1975. I know they have more advanced techniques they use now, but they really knew how to fix backs back then. That doctor told me to exercise my back, and that I could lift anything I ever could. I asked him about a possibility of more back surgery in the future, and he said my chances were 95% as good as someone who had never had back surgery.

No way would I put up with the pain of a herniated disc any more than a few days now. Never mind these temporary fixes like shots. If you have insurance, get it fixed tomorrow. I can still remember the pain caused by a cough or sneeze that sent pain all down my leg.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Gary, in addition to a myriad of other health problems, my wife has a bulging disc in her back which is quite painful.

She has had that steroid injection that you spoke of ( I believe it's an epidural) with very little in the way of relief.

She has found the most effective course so far has been a Fentanyl patch if they will prescribe it.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

I feel for you Gary. I've been in your situation since the mid 80's. I've had 3 back operations, have 3 fused vertebra in my neck, and 4 more in my lower back. little by little I'm losing the feeling in my feet and hands. I can't walk to the mailbox without at least my cane and sometimes I have to use my walker. I don't know what to tell you, really. Pain management is an ongoing thing. I have 2 things going for me, a high tolerance of pain, and a good doctor who is willing to give me the maximum allowed drugs. I take 3 or 4 Hydrocodone 10/325 daily plus extra Tylenol, basically a high powered version of Tylenol 3.

Last year I had 2 pain block treatments, which helped. Sounds like you are about to get a pain block. Hope it works for you, they don't always help.

Good luck,

Wayne

 

[FL_Rob]

What's the ETA on the surgery?

 

[Dave Hess]

I hope you feel better, I strained my back a few times and I could only imagine that a herniated disc is five times worse.

Do you plan on having surgery to correct the problem ?

Some people go to a pill mill for help since their doctor refuse to prescribe the necessary pain killer.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1981582,00.html

 

[Gary Allan]

I want surgery. I'm a dragon slayer by nature. KILL IT and move on and never have to deal with it again. The problem is the protocols constructed to treat such things. They need to go through some "least invasive measure" before graduating to the next threshold of treatment.

I'm very tolerant of pain, generally speaking. Even with relative heavy damage. As all of you know, this isn't tolerable pain, it's TAKE YOU TO YOUR KNEES AND YOU CAN'T GET UP AND MOVE pain.

This was a progressive thing when I helped my son carry a prehung door to his garage. Little twinge. Nothing new. It ended up with me having to go to the floor and spend over an hour crawling 3" at a time to the phone to call the wife at work ..having my daughter get me blankets ...having my son try and get me off the floor ..to having to call an ambulance to extract me from the house.

All that I can say is that my career as a Capital One aging Berzerker have been shattered. There are more than enough people who are asking me "What's in your wallet". The co-pays alone are a budget unto themselves.

With truly mixed feelings ..I see that I'm in good company here. My hat is off to all of you for you've endured unspeakable conditions and still have a functional social disposition.

 

[andrewg]

I have three herniated discs in my lower back for over ten years now. Did it lifting very heavy fence posts (railroad ties) out of a property I once owned. When it happened I heard an awful noise (like snapping balsa wood in a bowl of wet macaroni) and fell to my knees. Could not walk for a couple days...crawled on all fours a hundred yards to get to my house. Actually went to work after two days. Horrible pain for at least a month and had to take 5 minutes to stand after sitting any length of time. Rolled out of bed every morning....right onto the floor. Doctor said after seeing the CAT scan that surgery may be an option....but preferred to be less invasive first. Physical therapy and the like did nothing. I told the doctor to go fly a kite. I forced myself to endure the pain and deal with it. I have never been the same since before my injury and EVERY day I have back pain from varying intensity of a 3 to a 10 (1-10 scale). I have learned to cope. I went to a second doctor who basically gave me the same garbage about not having surgery until they try other more mild fixes. Hogwash! I'm done with doctors until I can't walk anymore....then I will tell them that I want surgery....NOW. I've managed to exercise and keep employed even with my back issues though. It's a daily chore but I'm NEVER going to stop doing or living my life the way I want to...pain or no pain. I just can't do certain things ever again (heavy lifting, basketball, squats, excessive bending over, etc.).
Good luck to you Gary....I truly FEEL YOUR PAIN.

 

[JHZR2]

Not to invade, but recently Ive had a pain when standing too long. It is along the lower right side of my spine, and seems like the muscle is either unbalanced, spasming, or oing something else...

But can one have a herniated disc and not ever be in a fall on the floor and crawl type pain situation?

Thanks!

 

[Gary Allan]

Sure. The onset ..and it may not evidence itself for decades, can just be a limp after prolonged walking/standing ..whatever. Sciatica is part of this. Where the (mine) left leg gets a weakness in lifting upward. It may never go any further if you don't lift stuff enough to aggravate it.

There's lots of therapeutic contradictions too. The exercises that you're told to do for a healthy back are exactly the same repetitive motions you're to avoid in the work place.

 

[bluestream]

My wife has degenerative disk disease in her lower back. Our Doctors did not want to operated on her until all else failed and also until enough time had passed to be sure nature would not do the repair. Finally had a fusion and that fixed 75% of her pain. She finds it comes and goes and the more activity she does she gets flair up.

Surgery is not always the right course; I would wait as long as you can to see it thing resolve on there own.

Little chance of drug addiction when the meds are used for pain relief. SHe has taken enough Percocet over the years to fill a pick-up truck, but has no addiction to them.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Not to invade, but recently Ive had a pain when standing too long. It is along the lower right side of my spine, and seems like the muscle is either unbalanced, spasming, or oing something else...

But can one have a herniated disc and not ever be in a fall on the floor and crawl type pain situation?

Thanks!


Oh yes. Many people have bad disks and either don't know it, or it doesn't bother them that much.

In my case, the lowest disk, between the bottom 2 vertebra is completely gone. I had no idea. Doc said it probably was crushed and disintegrated way back in the days when I was doing construction work. He asked if I ever had back aches back the. I said always, I don't ever remember not having them.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
OTOH, when someone has bona fide legit conditions that include pain, why in the world would the medical community construct scenarios that would leave someone suffering for the ONLY reason for them not to be dependent on drugs?

...

We leave you in a state of milder torture so you won't suffer from drug addiction. We care.


Yep, that about sums it up. I've had lots of clients with blown discs - some respond to conservative treatment like you are getting and most do not.

Around here, it's not the medical providers - it's the state board. Pretty much all of the docs that would deal with narcotics for chronic pain management have been chased out of the state. Relations between docs and the board have gotten so ugly that one nut case doc allegedly ( he has been indicted but is awaiting trial on this particular charge ) blew up a car with one of the medical board docs in it.

Unfortunately, given recent national legislation pertaining to medical care, the poor quality of care that you are now receiving will undoubtedly get dramatically worse.

 

[urrlord]

i have a bulging disc in my lower back ,caused sciatica and a lot of pain for years.finally went to a chiropractor.it took him about 2 months to get it all lined back up.i had an exercise/therapy regimen that i followed for years until insurance quit paying for it.none of the local gyms have the proper equipment for my needs,so i face a slow return of the problem.most people cannot imagine the pain back problems cause.
i have a friend who has encephalitis,constant pain 24-7. her docs are scared to rx too much pain med,as that could trigger a review of their practice.
ahhh govt oversight at it's best.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I had a couple of herniated disks in my neck when I was in my late 40's. The pressure from the disks was severe enough that I lost the use of my left arm for a while. The pain was almost beyond description; I couldn't sleep and could barely function while doing normal everyday things. The pain medications hardly touched it, but I preferred to deal with the pain rather than risk getting hooked on the drugs.

I found an excellent orthopedic surgeon who, after trying a few of the less invasive measures, did the surgery. We tried the cortisone shot; I received the shot on a Friday and the doctor expected it to last 3-6 months (shorter time was an indicator of a more severe injury). Friday night and Saturday were bliss-I had no pain at all. By Sunday afternoon the pain returned with a vengeance. I described the experience to the orthopedic surgeon as having given a blind man sight, then after a day take it away again.

I'll never forget waking up in recovery after the surgery. The first thing I did was lift my left arm; no pain and no numbness for the first time in months. The incision on my hip where the surgeon harvested bone was a little sore, the incision on the front of my neck wasn't painful at all.

After I recovered I started building the muscles in my back and neck as part of my regular workout. After nearly 17 years I have no pain at all in either my back or neck. I highly recommend anyone dealing with herniated disks find a good orthopedic surgeon, try the less invasive procedures, and then have the surgery if nothing else works. If you don't have problems yet, make it a point to start strengthening your back and neck muscles.

 

[Gary Allan]

Well, I'm firing my current doctor TODAY. I called for a new script yesterday and they want 48 hours notice. She only gave me a just short of one week supply (4 hours for manageable pain = 42 the script was for 40) so it means my wife has to stop at the office to pick it up. The holiday week end would have made it (sequence) call for script last week - pickup on Tuesday ..call on Wednesday to pickup new script on Friday so that pickup on Tuesday would not be necessary. I called Monday and left the message on the nurse's voice mail (normal process). Joyce stopped in on Tuesday and they said that they would call when the doctor had time to sign the script (this is a very small office/practice). No call. Joyce then stopped in this morning after her blood work appointment. They couldn't find the script.

She flipped out. She said that she was grabbing her book and sitting there until they gave her the script. She also told them that they're criminal for playing pomp and circumstance with someone's pain in some "doctrine of indifference".

I'll take the time to write a personal and confidential letter to the doctor and tell her what I think of her crimes of omission and total insensitivity and lack of empathy for her patients.

 

[PandaBear]

I know how you guys feel. Wife was on short term disability leave due to back pain from overwork, and they have been trying to get her to see physical therapist instead of giving her MRI until finally she said the situation is getting worse.

Hopefully it is nothing that require long term pain killer, but at the age of only 31 and not yet having children, I think demanding a surgery if necessary isn't asking for too much.

In the worst case, she will be flying to Taiwan for a surgery at our own cost.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Not to invade, but recently Ive had a pain when standing too long. It is along the lower right side of my spine, and seems like the muscle is either unbalanced, spasming, or oing something else...

But can one have a herniated disc and not ever be in a fall on the floor and crawl type pain situation?

Thanks!


It could be symptomatic of other problems. I suggest an MRI.