»
Sanctuary
»
Family Dialogue
»
Constant Pain
| Family Dialogue |
|
Constant Pain |
|
|
Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas 
|
I'm wondering if there's any around and about that have constant pain, and what methods they use to alleviate said pain. Personally, I generally abstain from any pills unless I get a thumper behind my eyes while in pain from another affliction. Even then I just take one Aleve/Naproxen and wait 30 minutes. If the eye-ache persists, then I take another. Other than that, I just grin and bear it. Well, frown and bear it would be more honest. So do any other sufferers use medication for pain relief when IT JUST WON'T STOP, or physical therapies like Icy-Hot etc, or do you just try not to grit your teeth and deal? For those wondering, I somehow managed to damage a small wrist ligament a few years back. Somehow tore a hole in it without actually rupturing the ligament, and I'm still wondering how on earth I did that. Had the ragged edges smoothed out but the pain came back about 2 years post-surgery. Mainly due to me replacing 86% of my dad's roof and helping a cousin with a remodel. Seems the fix was a success so long as I didn't actually use my dominant hand for anything.  Average is roughly 3-6 on a 10 scale, with spikes up to 8 and rarely 9. 9 for me is when you see spots or feel nauseous. 10 is passout. |
||
| © Copyright 2006 Alastair Adamson - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Essorant Member Elite
since 2002-08-10
Posts 4769Regina, Saskatchewan; Canada |
I hope you went to the doctor already and didn't wait for this answer  |
||
|
serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Ten mgs. of Hydrocodone daily. (But you knew that.) Alleve for inflammation--that dosage varies. On the very bad days, massage and heat therapy, but mostly I just try to REST. I saw this documentary about a rare disorder in which there people who are born with no capacity to feel pain. At first I thought they were fortunate, yanno? But when you see children with bandaged hands from burns and what-not, it put a whole different spin on the pain thing for me. I hate to admit it, but the doc was right--pain is my friend.  Seriously though, consult one of those doctor folk, because while rest might work for me, you might need some physical therapy. Big hugs Bro.  |
||
|
latearrival Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499Florida |
Have a friend who had Polio as a child. Crippled but still active in sports. Would not let anything hold him down. In later years was in a bad accident and was thrown from a car. Broken legs, etc. For many years lived, worked and played in constant pain. Something happened, I forget the whole of it, but he had another operation. Soon he began to feel that something was missing, he could not put his finger on what it was. Suddenly, came the realization, he realized that what was different was he was not in pain. Rejoice! He had grown so used to the pain that the final release from it was not fully understood at first. Life comes at you with strange happenings. best to you, martyjo |
||
|
Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
Not yet Ess. I know what the problem is, but I'm also uninsured and can barely afford to speak, much less a hand specialist. So I'm cashing in my chips with Social Security, seeing about Flex/Dis so I can get my wrist fixed. Hopefully once and for all. In the meantime though, there's pain. So I wasn't fishin for anything except what others have used to manage pain. LA, those stories are pretty amazing and I can relate. Did 16 months of constant pain, and after 3 months of PT life was pretty darn good. Of course, 2 years later when I made the mistake of actually using my hands again to rebuild my dad's roof and the pain started creeping back...let's just say that sucked. Thanky sis, and yeah. Typically I just take Aleve/Naproxen when I get those vile thumpers behind the eyes in addition to the wrist stuff. It don't touch the wrist though, since that issue is more nerves rubbing across frayed ligament than anything else. Bugger is Aleve takes a lot of water with it, so you have to be hydrated. And on them days when it's 8 of those suckers, that's at least a gallon. Guess I'll have to keep doing what I've been doing when those 7 or 8 spikes hit: get still and ponder the universe for a while. |
||
|
Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
I'm going to add on to Karen's statement. Be very cautious with Hydrocodone/Vicodin - it's an addictive reliever that, much like other, "hard" drugs, has statistically proven to be less effective over time, requiring higher dosages. I've suffered with a severe back injury for going on ten years now - off the top of my head I can't remember the exact term used, but basically I "broke" something and it's not unbreaking - I've been told by two doctor's that I need surgery to fix it (it waxes and wanes, depending on how much I ignore the "don't do anything strenuous" advice...) I'm still thinking about getting a third opinion (I'd much rather deal with the pain than go through surgery, lol). The pain, during the "bad" parts are enough to knock me down and not move... at all. This last time around, my wife convinced me to go to the doctor and get some pain relievers - hydrocodone was prescribed. I took it for close to 9 months... until one day, I realized that I was taking it regardless of whether i was in severe pain or not. The first day without it wasn't bad... it felt like i had a cold or something. The second day, when I had severe shakes, hot and cold spells, and a headache from hell, I made a vow to never use the stuff on a consistent basis again. It took over a week to flush the withdrawal effects from my system. Since then, I just cope and, if it gets really bad, pop some tylenol. So, long and short - use hydrocodone during your spikes, by all means - it is an effective pain reliever. Avoid using it on any consistent basis; i have very little tendency toward addictiveness - i can only imaging what it would do to someone who has a naturally addictive personality. |
||
Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
This may sound off the wall to some, but years ago after two separate neck and back injuries, I took a self hynosis course, and found a 'body non-invasive' way to control my reaction to pain. At that time I had an Rx that left me sitting like a stone. But I still take tylenol or ibupropen for those spikes, and have been eliminating things from my diet that seem to cause those severe mind/body bending migraine attacks. I was told I needed both back and neck surgery, but have managed to evade the knife for over 20 years. Add in a daily dose of gentle stretching exercises and occasional wrist/ankle wraps for arthritis, and I don't let anything stop me for more than a day or two. By all means, beware of that codeine stuff. It always made me upchuck, so saying no to it is easy. And a quality naturpathic physician may be a good idea, one who treats the whole body as a system, as opposed to most orthodox practioners I've seen, a naturopath will NOT just whip out the Rx pad and start precribing those over-rated/addictive pharmaceuticals. Good luck. BTW, alternating cold/heat therapy works wonders for me. |
||
|
serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
C is right. 10 mg.s of that stuff and my house would be spotless, dinner cooked, table set, I had a phone in one ear and stirred the pot on the stove with m'toes! Now it's just a normal day, and not fun.  And codiene is a different drug, sistah Kacy. The withdrawals from that are far worse than hydrocodone. Sheesh. Pick a drug, any drug...  And C? Sounds to me like you broke your cocyx bone maybe? 'Cause that is exactly what happened with me, and cartilage won't heal. Then I started compensating by walking funny. So please don't put off getting help for that. Before y'know it your hamstring's atrophied, and the problems compounded by that one little comma in your butt can become myriad. Sigh and hugs to you too. Hugs to all of you who experience chronic pain. (and there are plenty of ya'll at Pip--as I pointed out to a friend recently, people who are housebound spend a LOT of time online...) sigh Pain changes ya...grumble |
||
|
Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
Sorry, I guess I don't really have anything to add after all.  I thought the thread was going to be about my first wife ... |
||
|
Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
So Ron, I guess your method of dealing with wife number one wouldn't work for Ali?  |
||
|
Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
Prolly not.  One thing I do plan to look into is pain management classes...if'n they're free. Mainly out of curiosity since that mantra 'It's all in your head.' rings hollow when nerves are throbbing and you're doing your level best not to clench your teeth. Or do physical damage to the Congeniality runnerup who uttered that trite phrase. Chris, zounds. I can't even begin to understand how you handle a spine injury like that. I guess maddening would be an understatement. And I know to avoid Prescribaholics. Had one give scripts for Percocet and Vicodin following my initial wrist surgery. Those I never filled as I knew them to be highly addictive, especially with the prescribed amounts, and have always had a thing against drooling. I'd much rather have a mind sharpened by pain than one dulled by pills, if those were the only options. |
||
|
Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Actually, Karen, I didn't actually break anything (that's why I bracketed it... lol, couldn't think of a good term). The cartilage or muscles or some other fibrous substance (I never wanted to be a doctor, I only wanted to PLAY it  ) around my lower vertebrae (2nd or third to last going down) ruptured... kind of like slicing through the skin of a golf ball. The wrong kind of movement aggravates it, causing it to swell around the nerve that runs all the way down (sciatic??), causing the pain and immobility. But I don't stay at home. Regardless of how much it hurts (and I have a ridiculously high tolerance for pain - remind me to tell you about the time I pulled the 16D galvanized nail from my femur with a claw hammer some time...) - I don't let myself turn into a bed bug - which, in all honesty, is part of the problem... I can't abide the thought of allowing something as "small" as an injury prevent me from having life - I cope with it, grit my teeth and go about doing what I want to do - after a while, it becomes easier... One of the things I was going to mention earlier, but ran out of time, was pain management. it's like self hypnosis in a way, but a bit different. i haven't formally trained in it, but have worked out my own methods of pushing the pain back a bit so that it's not the primary focus. Something to think about - there are actual classes out there that can help you learn about managing pain without resorting to pharmaceuticals. |
||
|
serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Nodding to ya C... Alicat and I have discussed this at length, too. And nods, I have discovered that more hydrocodone doesn't help with pain. All it does it make me intolerable to be around. So if we use the scale system, if I have a day that begs for way over what should work, (say 30 mgs.) I KNOW nothing is gonna touch that pain. "Advance to Codeine and spin again for proper dosage." Too much Vicodin makes me a razor strop of a personality.  And codeine? Shivering at the memory of the withdrawals from percocette. And frankly I am sick of being sick. so yep, pain is an individual thing, yet again, and somebody say 'yay'--Karen resisted the urge to talk about the pricey drug "war chest" that used to be at my disposal. I feel...okay. And hugs on the sciatic stuff. and wince |
||
Marge Tindal
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
For the back pain ... upper or lower, I can definitely recommend a Tens Unit~ Effective as heck in diminishing the pain, it is~ My two cents ... but a valid two cents, I'm convinced~ Not sure if the wrist injury would be an appropriate and/or effective use for it, but wouldn't hurt to find out~ I have done the Hydrocodone 7.5/500, for my back and neck injuries for over four years now ... no problems at all with it, using it exactly as prescribed~ LOL @ you, Ron~  ~*The sound of a kiss is not as strong as that of a cannon, but it's echo endures much longer*~ |
||
|
serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
I just got a letter from a friend who read this thread. She said that the drug Gabapentin has proved helpful to those who have suffered from nerve damage/neuropathy. I'll ask my doctor if this drug is right for me. (Now that just reminded me to look up side effects.) Sheesh. I sound like a commercial. And smiles to Marge--the hydrocodone thing? The problem is when you're in pain the drugs aren't fun anymore...pout. But I did lessen my dosage, and also discontinued the Soma, and I find that I have fewer "foggy" moments. My kids tell me they can't tell the difference in my behavior when I take the hydrocodone or when I don't. Hmmm. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. oh, and before I forget, a friendly reminder to folks who also use OTC and herbal remedies to consult with their pharmacist and doctor--even some foods can negate the medicinal properties of some drugs. I also have a habit of introducing one drug/herb to my system at a time. (If I grow a tail or somethin' I like to know what's causing it.  )But seriously, I am much more cautious now. *glum nod* |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||
