Feeling stuck..and afraid

[worried878]

I am from the addiction forum and have successfully stayed off of narcotics except after a preocedure when prescribed..they dont really help anyway and caused me alot of problems...I am trying alternative medicine to avoid a second fuion....i have 2 thoracid vertebrae that have fused themselves on their own..no disc space left...with a surgical fusion at c5, 6 and losing space at  c6, 7 cauing a disc to bulge and making my l arm go numb...i am in alot of pain and have been for years but as of late i am worrying if i could continue working/i am a nurse...i looked at the xrays and it made me cringe...degenerative disc disease, scoliosis severe, and basically a spine from he!!...my mri was not encouraging either...i bought an inversion table to try and lengthem my spine..i guess i am just at my wits end and in need of support

[january43]

I love my massage time.  It is really the only time I can relax and my massage therapist took a special continuing ed class on lower back theraputic massage to help treat me.
I have tried the impulse gun (rented one for a month) but frankly massage is much better.
Can you work a deal with a therapist?  I pay by the month, I get a package deal because I pay her the first of every month for a minimum of 6 massages and maximum of 12.  She knows she can count on a specific amount of money on the first of the month and can pay her bills then..and I have a whole month to use my package and usually have more massages than I pay for because the deal works for both of us.
Remember massage therapists are usually small business people who can decide how much to charge...if she has an opening I can just walk in if I need to.  You have to ask to get anything!
Plus, massage has that human warmth that you can't get from a tens unit or impulse adj.
best-
january43

[worried878]

It is called an impulse adjuster....expensive..650 bux but breaks up soft tissue adhesions like crazy...it can also be used to adjust the spine but i would not try that..i would use it for trigger point therapy and muscle tightness...it is like a gun and it shoots electrical impulses where aimed....worth the money for me tho as i spend way more than that each year on massages

[Tuckamore]

Prednisone  Bursts are usual RX is 60mg start day and tapered over 4- 5 days. I haven't seen a 40mg start day burst but that doesn't mean it isn't Rx'ed.

And is the machine you spoke of actually called a prod??

Thanks for the info. Tuck

[worried878]

i am going to an alternative medicine doctor/shoot off of chiropractic and specialize in fibromyalgia...they use this prod machine with impulses that loosens up trigger points in a heartbeat///my range of motion is normal when i leave..it tightens up a few days later now but they say that improves with time...also using sonar waves to straighten my atlas...i bought the prod today...600 bux but i spend that in massage easyily...I am a nurse so i am pretty sure i can use it as i watch and learn when i am there...will let u gus know how it workst

[worried878]

I have tried the prednisone burst before..and usually with good results..i may go and do that...i usually take 40 mg to get it in my system good then taper...how do u do the burst?  hate the weight gain tho!...but when u hurt u just dont care

[Mollyrae]

Hi worried. Gosh, I feel so bad for you being in so much pain. I just want you to know that we are all here for support.

I know how you feel about Narcotics but when the pain gets so bad have you thought about a pain pump or patch or something on those lines where there is less likelyhood for abuse?   Eventually when you can bare it no longer you will have to have something strong enough to help you ease the pain.

Hang in there and take care, Mollyrae

[Tuckamore]

Hey Worried,
I am very sorry for your pain. It is life altering. From one nurse to another, good luck. I don't know how you do it without pain medication. I admire your courage but unfortunately I haven't any suggestions.

It sounds like you are doing all the things that make sense. And as a nurse you know all the non-narcotic meds that are out there as well as have access to all the info on alternative practices. Have you tried a burst of prednisone?

Good luck to you and take care, Tuck.

[worried878]

Being a nurse and understanding all of it can in a way make it worse...but i am glad that i do know what i know or i would have been running around in more circles than I have been..which has been alot..enuf to give me circle disease!   when 2 doctors diagnosed me with fibromyalgia, i did not acccept it as I knew that was not it...went along with the treatments tho..first lyrica which made me loopy then cymblata which made my hair fall out....narcotics are not an answer for me...nor subutex...all is addicting and my tolerence is high due to the addiction and unfortunately that never goes away..the second i start narcs again the tolerence comes back...the narcotics never really helped my pain in retrospect...just made me not care so much that it was there...i was never a high quantity user...80-100 mg of hydro was the height of my addiction...but i saw where it was going and i did suffer mild wds for a few days..but the depression and fatigue that followed was the hard part..not going there again

I have tried lots of alternate routes..chiropractic has helped more than anything..i get trigger point injections every 4 months but they have ceased to help since the new problem developed...i am a yoga instructor but cant teach much as of late as never know how i am gonna feel..but do try to practice yoga on my own,,,heat/ice also daily...massage when i can afford it ....i am hoping the inversion table will help too and the new treatments i am getting at the alternative medicine doctor..it is just frustrating!..elavil helps me sleep..10 mg a night...i am trying my best to come out of this deep crater i have fell into with my pain..thanx and any suggestions are welcome...except narcotics as that is not an option for me

[Coolio Hernendez]

I have no good advice......Its all i can do to stay away from abusing opiates. Subutex is the only drug that i can take for pain that i wont abuse...

[sandee1818]

Hi worried878,
   I am so sorry your in such pain! I know being a nurse does make it even scarier as you know what is going on and what will eventually happen or could happen. I too wish I could give you some wise words of wisdom. Have you tried all the alternative medications and procedures that may help?
I know having addiction issues and sever long term pain leaves you with very limited options. You said you did use medications after a procedure you had, how did that go did you have a lot of difficulty handling taking the meds as prescribed and do you think you could again if you were successful last time? I know when one has addiction issues they should not push it and I am not suggesting you do I was just thinking if you could work out something with your Dr to help you and also I am sure you know of the pain management specialist that also are addiction specialist but they could help you too.
I really wish I could offer you more than support but I am here just as everyone here is for you and we will help any way we can. I know how hard it is for you and I truly sympathize and remind you to remember that today may be bad but tomorrow brings hope. I am glad you came over and certainly hope to see more of you!

[extrmeski]

Wow I wish I had some words of wisdom or something to tell you, but I don't.  Some of us need pain relief and unfortunately there aren't great alternatives right now other than opiates.  I personally got off of fentanyl it was horrible, but the pain became unbearable as well.  I didn't want the patches again though but had to go back on oxycodone and oxycontin for long acting relief.  I'm trying to keep the dosages as low as I can and still get relief so I can work and be productive.