chronic & acute pain, addict

[kheid]

I suffered a traumatic knee / leg injury 15 years ago, underwent many surgeries, rehab, physical therapy, etc... I quickly developed an addiction to opiate pain relievers (& anything else that lessened the pain) for the last 12ish years I have (almost) completely avoided them, & relied fairly heavily on ibuprofen, which kind of worked - some of the time. It doesn't seem to put a dent in my pain any longer, I know that my pain has increased over the years as there has been a lot of degeneration, which has spread to my hip in the form of severe arthritis (which doesn't seem to be that bad usually) I've also had 5 children during these intervening years & nursed all of them which has also put alot of restrictions on usable pain relief options. I generally tend to physically over-do it, as a way of life, & ignore pain & other messages that my body may be sending, so I have lots of reasons that I've avoided the pain specialist, but ibuprofen, naproxen, tylenol etc no longer seem to have effect at all, & I am currently in the midst of a "flare up" (which sometimes last a few months) I've relented. I will see him in a couple of weeks, any ideas on what types of medications would be considered? Btw, I've tried every concievable alternative; physical, nutritional, herbal, acupuncture, acupressure, voodoo... W/ nothing to jump up & down about (pun intended). Thanks for letting me ramble...

[Sarajmt]

Woops.  I meant to say that perhaps there are treatments available to treat your pain withOUT opiates.  Sorry, I didn't read my post closely enough.

[Sarajmt]

It sounds as if you're at a point where you will require opiates.  I'm sure your doctor will take your history into account when prescribing for you.  Just my personal experience, but I wouldn't be able to have any kind of life without my painkillers.  It's not that we particularly enjoy having to take them.  It's more of an acceptance of the facts of life.

So as stated above, just be forthright with your doctor.  Perhaps there are treatments available that will treat your pain with opiates.  If you are prescribed opiates, your own pain levels will let you know if you need them.  You don't want to cause yourself more damage.

Good luck to you and please keep us updated on your treatment.

[kheid]

thank you both for your answers - & willingness to sit & read through my convoluted story! I suspect that my pain issues would be better controlled if I was not so overly up front about the addiction issues -though I would deff be the worse for it in terms of getting back off of them :) with all of my surgeons there has seemingly always been standing orders for opiates, I have consistently "politely" declined, despite the insistencethat I was exacerbating the flare up (my term) by not controlling the pain, & the extreme difficulty to "just say no" - not to mention that it really does hurt, & that is some relief, like a life jacket. I typically deny the degree of pain, as well as the physical limitation that injury/pain place on my life, refuse the narcotics, & hobble/limp/crutch myself out & live with the consequences... I'm very adolesent when it comes to people of authority (esp if they are in the business of inflicting more pain, before trying to fix it ;-) ) so coming to a point where I could admit that I needed something was a hard one for me.

[Mollyrae]

Hello and welcome to the Pain Forum.

I'm sorry to hear of the latest degeneration. I know it can be so flustrating. And yes, you have done a great job at controlling the pain.

Although you prefer not to take opiates, sometimes it takes opiates to get you back on track. Often letting pain go and not treating it in the right manner can lead to more pain and as you call it...the flare-ups can become out of control and be almost impossible to get back to where you were comfortable before the flare-up started.

This is why I think that opiate use on occasion is necessary. Once you get back to your comfortable place, stop the opiate and go back to the OTC's. You will find that the pain is easier to control and you will be much more comfortable.

Did you know that added pain that is not controlled can actually cause you more damage that you already have. This is a little known fact that need to get out there.

I wish I had more advise for you. I am a long time Chronic Pain sufferer and know my business when it comes to pain. Take my advise.

My best,
Mollyrae

[namnam46]

Let me try this again kheid.  I was so anxious to welcome you that I didn't type the rest of my post. LOL

I'm so sorry for your injuryl I know that must be excruciatingly painful for you! You have done a remarkable job of being able to avoid the opiates this far.

I wouldn't even venture a guess as to what he/she may start you on because of the history you have with the pills. The one thing you MUST do to help you and your Dr. is be up front and honest with him/her so that he/she can give you the best possible pain relief and yet be sure that you are safe also. However, I'm sure that is what you are going to do anyway.  :)

I hope that you will keep posting on here so that we know how you are doing.

I'm sure that there will be many more on here that will post and may even have some idea of what might be a jumping off point for meds for you. I don't have that type of expertise. Just hang in there and I'm sure that you will get some ideas.

Good luck and look forward to hearing from you again....Sherry

[namnam46]

Good Morning Kheid