severe pain

I'm having a pain problem and an addiction problem....I have severe OA in my left hip and am scheduled for THR on monday. I am taking oxycontin and percocet (60-90mgs oxy/day and 15-20 mgs perc/day, depending) and have been on these for 1 year (I started with 1 percocet/day, HA! like that was going to last!). 6 months ago I started taking diclofenac (an NSAID) and apparantly it works REALLY WELL for pain b/c I am supposed to stop taking it 7-10 days before surgery b/c of bleeding issues. I stopped it last week and OMG I can't believe how bad my pain became. I could not even walk, could not get comfortable in bed to sleep, etc etc etc. I had tapered my narcs down to ~60mgs/day total before and after I DCd the diclofenac I started increasing them again, to try to get pain relief. they didn't help anyway, and I don't want to go higher -- it was too hard to taper down in the first place. but now I am back up to ~80-100 mgs/day total OC.

now my surgery has been postponed 1.5 weeks, and so I started the diclofenac again. my pain is much better, but I will have to stop it again tomorrow or, at the latest, monday. I will be in severe pain for 1 week. I was on a mini-vacation this apst week where I could take hot baths (don't have a big tub at my house) and got massage, etc -- still did no good. tylenol doesn't help and I cannot take any NSAIDs (advil, motrin, aleve, etc).

any suggestuions? I am so depressed and don't even want to have this big honking surgery b/c it scares me to death (I work in the field and I KNOW wgat they're going to do to my leg), but I don't see any way out, apart from continuing to be an addict...HELP!

[malenurse57]

No good adviceI can only tell you I am keepin you in my prayers. Good luck and God bless

[worried878]

Total hip replacement may solve your pain problem so be positive about it...i dont mean to pry...but are u carrying any extra weight?  that really contributes to joint pain in the lower extremities and i have seen people get the weight off and the pain is virtually gone....of course i have joint problems and i am not overweight so that is not always the case...mine is in my back and i find that stretching, walking, ice, yoga, heat help mine alot...i do get steroid injections every 4 months and take a steroid pack when it gets out of hand....hold on and try to keep u dose low so that u can get some pain relief post op ..it is hard i know...chronic pain and addiction are not a good couple at all

[Sajonna]

No offence is meant here but I would like to know if the diclofenac meds were taking care of your pain, then why did you have to use the Narcotic Meds also?  

Or did you mean you took the Narcotics instead of the NSAID because you needed to stop the NSAIDs before surgery?

I also have OA badly in both knees.  I have just been Rx'd that NSAID and I only take one a day 75mg because I am afraid of stomach upset. I also was taking one or 2 Tylenols in the morning and then took the NSAID after my lunch.  If these NSAIDs take care of the pain, then I will not take the Tylenol.  Can you elaborate more on this please?

( In addition to the OA I also have FMS or so I have been told).

[Sajonna]

You are so right about the weight.  I have always been a small person up until about 3 months ago.  I gained about 25 pounds and my OA in my knees really really started bothering me.  I gained weight because it was too cold to walk and once the pain sets in from the cold, it makes a person NOT want to exercise at all.  So I jsut stayed on those Narcos and ate all kinds of crazy food.

My DR.  just told me I may need both knees replaced and that scared me..so I am now dieting and doing my Gazelle and walking a little being that it is warmer now.

Thanks for the post

[kittykat58]

I was on the narcs first (for 6 months), added the diclofenac 6 months later so have been on that for 6 months. this past week showed me that the diclofenac is probably helping more than I thought but if you see my other posts you will see that I am having trouble tapering below 60mgs/day OC total. I went away last week to try to w/d, but when I stopped the diclofenac my pain became so bad that I couldn't consider stopping the narcs, plus my doc had told me I didn't really have to stop the narcs beore the surgery. so I allowed myself to continue.

now my vacation is over and I am back with my family and feel very unsure about trying to put myself back through wd, with my family around and with the pain being so severe.

that's my dilemma. and I'm scared sh*tless about the surgery, although everyone says it has great results.

I am not obese but could do better with 10-20 lbs off. I've never been heavy enough o really feel motivated to lose a lot of weight. I am 5'8" and weigh ~170lbs. so could do better w/ 10-20lbs less.

I am going to the pool now. thanks for the answers, pls keep me in your prayers.

kittykat58

[Sajonna]

Thanks for posting back.  This helped me alot. I now understand.  I will try just taking the NSAID for my pain and see how it goes.   Now I wonder if the reason my doctor kept me on narcotics only was because I was having so many different surgeries and he might have been afraid that the NSAID would interfere.

I am also not really overweight either.  I have always been around 115-120lbs. But this past few months went up to around 140.

I will keep you in my prayers.

[worried878]

10-20 pounds is not alot...we all could drop 10 lbs i think!...but weight is an important factor for hips and knees...have fun at the pool!

[kittykat58]

you are all so sweet. I'm taking less narcs today (so far only 27.5mgs total) and will try to drop it further tomorrow -- monday I have to stop the diclofenac and so I want to have a good running start on the pain meds being low when I stop the NSAID in case I have to go up again. but I know stopping/dropping the narcs will increase body pain, yaddayaddayadda, it all goes round and round...

if anything, this tells me that when all is said and done, I will do well w/out the narcs. I see other ppl's posts who find that when they stop, the pain they were taking narcs for is so much less than they thought, and they manage with tylenol. strange how that works. I wish I had the guts to go ct this week...

and of course my neurotic brain tells me I will be the one person that has poor results from the surgery, or complications, and that I will have been a stupid idiot for having had the surgery, etc etc etc.

I have made so many preparations -- taken the time off from work, started a taper, made childcare arrangements...but now I find myself wondering how I would do if I 1) dropped 20 lbs, 2) stayed on the diclofenac, 3) tried acupuncture? I only recently started finding out about acupuncture -- does it work by triggering the release of endorphins? this sounds like a sound theory. does being on narcs and/or NSAIDs interfere with acupuncture's efficacy? I would imagine, if acupuncture is based on endorphins, that narcs would interfere. but what about NSAIDs?

anyone prescribed diclofenac for joint pain -- it is GREAT, very effective. and it has one of the lowest probabilities for stomach upset (although they all have that risk). you can take prilosec with it if your stomach bothers you, though -- that helps.

I first started diclofenac (voltaren in australia) when there over christmas --  pharmacist recommended it for joint pain and I bought it OTC (I was also on the friggin' patch & percs; devil medicine, the patch -- eek!) and the voltaren brought my pain down to almost zero. really good stuff. in oz it comes in 25 mgs instant release OTC -- here I think you can get that dose or higher (I take 50mgs 3X/day) by prescription. you can send away for it though from overseas, but it is cheaper to get by rx if you have insurance.

anyway...I will keep posting. it helps to "talk" about it. and I totally relate to sajonna -- having severe pain and a little extra weight makes me just not want to move AT ALL. funny -- this past winter, when I was on the patch, it made me so sick that I lost like 10 pounds and felt so much better (at least self-esteem-wise, lol), but when I got off it I just sat on the couch and ate ben and jerry's and gained it all back. I got addicted to vermonty python!! aaagggghhh!!!

anyway, this will all be over soon.

so what do ppl think about acupuncture?

[worried878]

I have not tried acupuncture but have thought about it...my aunt swears by it...may give it a shot one day...

[Sajonna]

Kitty: I too am taking diclofenac- it is now a $4 a month med.  My dr. has me on 75mg 2x a day. I am only taking one though.  2 upset my stomach.    I am also taking Tylenol now for breakthrough pain.  Good luck with your surgery and thanks for posting. Your post helped me.  SJ