Best pain medication for back pain

[Christie242]

My Mom has serious back pain and is prescribed 60 15 mg morphine pills and 30 100 mg morphine pills each month yet she still suffers from chronic back pain.  A Nurse told me she would probably be better off taking 2 20 mg pills and 1 80 mg pill of oxycontin each day instead.

Is oxycontin a more effective pain reliever than morphine?  My Mom isn't an addict and does not abuse them beyond what is prescribed to her.

Please advise me.

[nick30]

sorry 'bout the typo

kadien, not fadien

[nick30]

Tuck is right right, you should discuss this with your mother. it is really her and her dr's decision about what will work for her, although there is certainly nothing wrong with you being concerned.
I think red was also on the right track. it is likely that the 100mg pils were long acting MScontin(or kapanol/fadien)type pills and the 15mg pills are short acting for breakthrough pain.
Does you mother actually complain about her pain, and has she taken this issue up with her dr?
I'm not sure you should take the advice of a nurse who as tuck says, is probably generalising.

Best of luck to you and your mom.

Nick.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Christie,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am glad that you found us but sorry to hear about your mothers chronic back pain.

You did not indicate if your Mom is elderly and you are caring for her or if she is independant and not a senior citizen. Also who is this nurse? Is she a friend of yours or is she routinely involved in your mother's care? In other words does he know your mother well? She may be making this recommendations in general terms and that does not mean that it applies to your mother.

I can not tolerate Oxycontin. There may be reasons your mother's physician prescribed what he does for her. Yes it is true there maybe other medications that would work better to control your mothers back pain. There also may be a cost factor. Morphine is relatively inexpensive compared to other major opiates.

To my knowledge chronic pain (cp) sufferers are never pain free. We all have a degree of pain every hour of the day. That's why it is called chronic pain. Ask what a average pain level is for a CP patient and I would guess that most of us run about a 5-6 normally and flares of 8-10 are not uncommon.

If you are close to your mom and I bet you are, why don't you discuss her pain control with her. She may allow you to accompany to one of her physician appts. The two of you could address her medications at that time, again if she is open to sharing with medical information with you.

You sounds like a concerned daughter and your Mom is lucky to have you in her life. I hope you will follow up with her and her physician to see if there is a better drug regime that will offer her better pain control.

Good luck to you and your Mom. I hope she can be as comfortable as her condition allows her to be. I guess that is all any of us can hope for.  Please feel free to post again. You are always welcome here.
Peace, Tuck

[Red931]

It is a difficult question to answer as everyone reponds to different medications differently. While Oxycontin may work well for me, your mother may not tolerate it well. Her doctor will have to keep experimenting with different combinations until he or she finds what works.

There are people her that do well on moriphine, I am not one of them. I actually tolerate the Oxycontin well and it works for me. Does your mother take MS Contin? The nurse may have been trying to tell you that she needs something that is extended released.

Best to run it by the doctor and discuss options as her dosage is a bit high as it is.

Good Luck to you.