newbe here

how do you deal chronic pain, how do you manage it when you can't take meds for it

[RSDS_Pain]

I don't know; but that's what I am facing too. So, please know that you're not alone.

[RSDS_Pain]

I should have added, that I am a newbie here too; just registered tonight.

On 26 Sept. I was tentatively diagnosed as having NON-Classic Reflex Sympathetic Dystraphy Syndrome also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome 1 (RSDS / CRPS 1). There is no cure, but if I am very lucky there is a very small chance that I might go into remission. No such luck, yet.

I have never been able to swallow pills; so, I am stuck with yucky tasting liquids, or some tablets that I can crush and take with applesauce. For the RSDS I was perscribed Hydrocodone Bitartrate - 2.5 mg / Acetaminophen - 167 mg Oral Solution / 5 ml, with a dosage of 10 ml 5 times daily if needed for pain; that's a total of 25 mg of hydrocodone per day. Trouble is, the perscription was only for one bottle with NO refills. I am nearly out. I didn't take any on Saturday or Sunday. Monday I had bad diarrhea. I stumbled across some archived threads of this forum while I was trying to find out if the runs were a withdrawal syptom (symptom). Yep, they are. Monday I took 2 half doses. Tuesday none.

So, when the meds are gone and the pain is still here what do becka0410 and I do.

[gmdd]

I've tried accupuncture for my migraines and it HELPED SO MUCH, its helps a bit for my TMJ...

[becka0410]

I have EDS, a genetic disorder.  I have hypermobility.  My joints slip out of place all the time and it is very painful.  I have just accepted that I will hurt everyday.  I would rather be here to hurt than lose my life to addiction.  I quit taking hydrocodone and oxycodone and started taking ultram.  It takes the edge off, at least that's something.

[RSDS_Pain]

Can you use any braces or straps to hold your joints together?

The RSDS is a neuro-vascular complication of the fractured left distal radius I got when I fell over on July 24. Some people with RSDS have burning sensations, but I just ache all the time and the skin on the under side of my left wrist is sensitive to touch - especially to clothing sleeves. I still have some swelling and my hand and wrist joints are stiff.

The hydrocodone took the edge off, so that I could do some physical therapy.

I would use Ibuprofen (for the swelling), except that when I tried it for Cervical Spondylosis (a real pain in the neck - still hurts), all it did was give me rebound headaches with no pain relief.

On the archieved threads, I read that ultram is harder to kick than hydrocodone. I have never used ultram.

[RSDS_Pain]

Besides the RSDS, and Cervical Spondylosis, I also get migraines. Saturday morning I had a migraine and took 1 fioracet, which contains butalbital - a barbiturate. That is why (besides running low), I didn't take any hydrocodone on Saturday or Sunday. I did NOT want to be mixing opiates and barbiturates. The fioracet is a tablet that I crush, and take with applesauce.

I also have a triptan - Zomig that I can take for migraines, but triptans constrict blood vessels and with the RSDS I need to keep my blood vessels open.

I am afraid that accupuncture would cause more pain than it relieves.