pain management

[pinkvenus1]

I was rearended and now have a  herniated disc in my neck and a pinched nerve.  It causes burning an sharp pain down my arm,and in the back of my neck.  I have had two cortizone shots now and no relief at all, i was taking percocet which worked really well until I became allergic to it.  I tried vicodin and it didn't help also morphine helped but it made me a zombie.  So i"m just wondering is there anything else I could try.  My pain doctor said i'll need surgery theres nothing else he can do.

[Toomanyadvil]

Hi Pinkvenus

      Painn meds work differently for everyone so it really depends on the person and sometimes the kind of pain.
What happened with the allergic reaction to the percocet?
Did it make you itch or cause you to become sick?
Pain meds can all cause itchiness. There are meds like hydroxozine which are antihistamines that can sometimes help that.
Percocet has a component to it that other short acting meds like Vicoden dont have. It helps to relax the muscles so makes pain relief a little better for some people.

My advice to you would be to talk to your pain management DR and find out what else they think may be successful for you.
Have you tried a long acting medication?

TMA

[Jaybay]

The same thing happened to me in 1994.  Got rear ended and blew a couple of discs in my neck.  They took their time oozing out and I didn't really have bad symptoms for about 4 months - after I signed off all the insurance papers of course.  :-\

Anyway, don't rely on only medication for your pain.  Physical therapy is an absolute MUST for these kinds of injuries, unless the herniation is so severe that you unquestionably need surgery.  Fair warning: PT hurts, and it hurts a LOT.  PT should include the usual hot and cold pack therapy, TENS unit, ultrasound, etc., but the most important component is the exercises.  You need to build up your muscles so they can take the strain off your bones.  If you can find a facility that offers water therapy, that's the best way to go since it doesn't hurt as badly.

After 2 failed surgeries, the last including plates and screws, I had to fix myself.  No doc would treat my pain with meds so I was on my own.  I figured I'd either fix myself or break myself so badly that some doc somewhere would have to listen to me.  Can't say I recommend going outside of your doc's advice, but in my case they had nothing left to offer.  Luckily, working in a gym with a personal trainer had me pain free in just over a month.  It's been 10 years since I walked into that gym, and my pain never came back.  No pain, no numbness, no tingling hands.  Nothing.

You should also be on regular anti-inflammatory medications since swelling is an ever-present problem with these kinds of injuries.  Hopefully your doc has prescribed something or recommended a dosage of Advil or Aleve for you.   I've found Aleve works very well for my own orthopedic issues, but it tends to trash my stomach.  If I take pepcid along with it, I'm OK.

[inpain65]

anyone know a good dr who will prescribe methadone for fibromyalgia in greenbay,wi

[sandee1818]

Hi inpain65,
  You need to make a new post as this one is old. you will get more responses.
I have a list of sites for you to look up a good PM in your area. Post this question as a new one and I will list them for you.