chronic pain and methadone

[angiefrunz2005]

I have had 13 surgeries on my left foot and ankle in the last 13 years. I have chronic pain and i am taking methadone for it now. My ortho doc recomended that i amputate the limb because i have not seen any improvement in my pain with all the surgeries. I was going to go through with the amputation but now have decided against it, I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for pain control other than methadone, can a person stay on methadone? How would i go about detoxing from methadone? I wanted to talk with someone that has had intrathecal drug delivery and nerve destroying procedures. I have a lot of questions, i am doing research on all of these subjects so i can be better armed with info when i see my ortho doc on 12-1. Thank you in advance, angie

[blackrose]

Why have you had so many surgeries on your foot and ankle?I need more detials,inable to help.Take care of your self.

[sdp4314]

My mother had a pump placed just under her ribcage.  It was surgically inserted.  It is filled with Dilaudid by her pain management doctor and it distributes small doses of medication into her body.  She has osteoporosis (sp), scoliosis, and osteoarthritis and her back broke in several areas.  She is only 66 too.  Anyway, it has helped her immensely. The doctor mentioned to her about installing a device that blocks pain messages from the brain or to the brain.  She is looking into that as well.  I will check with her and find out what it's officially called and post back to you tomorrow.

Are you seeing a pain management specialist?  Also, what exactly caused all this pain to start?  I could probably steer you in the right direction.  I used to work for an ortho/foot and ankle surgeon so I learned quite a bit over the years regarding the foot and ankle.

[star queen]

If you are considering pain management that may include nerve deadening, you should see a neurologist who specializes in pain management and get a nerve conduction study done on the foot and ankle before anything else is done.  They specialize in nerves and if deadening is an option, they would be the ones to do it.  Before having any nerve deadening or severing done, make sure you check the doctor out throughly.  He should have a good track record and be board certified, and can say he/she has done hundreds of these sucessfully.  Check with the AMA and the Board of Surgeons for any complaints against him/her before proceeding. Remember that 99.9% of surgeons have had at least one lawsuit against them for some reason, but several complaints or lawsuits should give you cause to think about someone else. This surgery cannot be undone any more than an amputation.  Good luck

[quickster]

O.K I HAVE BEEN HERE. I HAVE HAD FOUR SURGERIES ON RT HIP AND FEMURE. THE FIST ONE IN 1996 THE LAST IN 2003. I BEGED TO REMOVE THE PROBLEM FOR GOOD. AND WAS TOLD NO AS LONG AS THERE WAS A CHANCE TO BE FIXED. MAJOR CHRONANIC PAIN AND WAS TOTALY HOOKED ON PAIN KILLERS. OXYCONTIN 40 MG,80 MG THEN METHADONE DETOXING IS TOTAL FREAKING HELL BE CAREFULL COME OFF SLOWLY VERY SLOW

ON THE OTHER HAND WHO IS DOING ALL THESE SURGERIES?? DO THEY SPECIALISE IN THE FOOT AND ANCLE??  HOW OLD IS THE ORTHO?? ARE THEY FROM THE STATES??? DO THEY DO SPORT INJURIES??
  THE REASON I ASK IS LIKE I STATED BEEN THRU 4 THE LAST ONE I FOUND A GREAT ORTHO HE REDID ALL THE PREVIOUS WORK THAT WAS DONE HE IS YOUNG AND FROM INDIA  AND SPECIALISES IN HIP AND FEMUR SPORT INJURIES. MY LEG ISN'T 100 PERCENT BUT A HELL OF A LOT MORE FUNCTIONABLE AND MANAGEABLE AS FAR AS PAIN
JUST AS BAD AS IT IS NOW AND FEELS LIKE TO LIMB IS STILL THERE
AND CHECK OUT ALL YOU CAN ON PHANTOM PAIN IT IS