Stinosis & nerve damage pain

[moon405]

I have stinosis, low back pain, upper back pain and nerve pain.  I am given drugs and told there is nothing else that can be done.  Is there any effective pain relief for this condition?  The pain is so severe and so constant it is all i can do to keep going.  Please.  I need help!

moon

[Tuckamore]

Hello Slysue,

I am very glad you found us at the Pain Management Forum of MedHelp. There are many members here that can support and empathize with you. Please feel free to post or PM us even if you wish to just chat. Many of us have gone through trauma and all of us are CP suffers. We are here for you.

I am so sorry you life has been filled with so many medical, painful issues. You have been through more than 10 ppl would normally experience in a lifetime. I can understand why you may be tempted to not reveal you new pain to a physician. But Sandee is very correct when she says it is never right to avoid the truth with your physician. Indeed it is very important to be totally honest and forth right. The more information you can supply your physician the better health care you will obtain.

I too can relate to when is enough, enough. My story is long and I will not bore you but I have had over 27 (I lost count) surgical procedures and I have thought the same. But please do be honest with your physician and explain your concerns. And keep us posted and updated on how you are doing. I'll be thinking of you. Take care, Tuck

[sandee1818]

Thank you very much for pointing out the facts about kratom. I was not even aware of it until a few years ago and I had forgotten what it was.
Med Help does not promote such drug use and it is as Mollyrae stated very dangerous!
I overlooked it earlier and I am sorry, I would have deleted the post had I realized.
Thanks Mollyrae!

[Mollyrae]

PS- I did not see the date on the post, This is a really old post...........Poster might not be hee anymore...................oops Gotta check those dates......

[Mollyrae]

Hello and welcome to MH.

First, what kind of medication are you given for your Stenosis? There are many options available for pain, you just have to find the right one for you. Anyway, catburgler stated that the surgery to remove the Stenosis on his relatives made them worse and I have to say...That is NOT the case in my family or others that have had the Surgery. In fact, it has helped my Mom and Great Aunt tremendously. The Surgery has a long recovery period but in my opinion hasbeen worth it. At some point you will have to have the Stenosis removed if you want to live a somewhat normal life.

Second, catburgler also mentioned an Herb called Kratom....Please stay away from that. It was used by the Native Americans for a Spiritual "high" and is very simular to Pot. The lable on the Kratom reads "NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION" and they mean that. My teenage Son and his friends would use it at partys for the high. In my opinion it is "Bad" stuff.

Talk with your Doctor about starting a good pain regiment, there are some strong enough pain meds out there now that can control your pain. Also, inquire about Stenosis Surgery . Talk with an Orthopedic or Neurosurgeon and get the facts from them. Ask them what the success rate is...

Take care and good luck,
Mollyrae

[sandee1818]

Hi slysue,
I would never recommend that you hide things from your Dr especially when it is as serious as this. I would however recommend that you let him/her know your apprehension and why your concerned about letting him know your having new problems in addition to the ones you have. Having an open and honest relationship with our Dr's benefits us both as we feel more open to discuss things and they know everything they need to know to treat us to the best of their ability.
I can't say really if your pain is related to your current problems and if it warrants further test but I will say if your having pain in my opinion you need to let your Dr know and discuss ALL options you may have in the testing that you will need.
I can relate when you ask " when is enough" we all feel that way at one point or another but as advocates for our own health care we must say never because it is us who lives in pain and often has other problems stemming from our original complaint. Don't get discouraged just know we are all here for you and will support you any way we can:)

[slysue]

I was born with a congenital Hip,   I have had 5 surgery's as a child + many 8? Body Casts.  As an adult ihave had 30 surgery's in 21 years. I had both hips replaced, a knee most of all alot of back surgery, with nerve damaged.  6 ? Lami.'s  and 3 lower back fusions .All on the left side .I have very little feeling in my feet. Now i"m getting pain going down my right leg....I can't have a MRI because of all the metal. Only choice is a mylogram & they are very painful for me. The  dye seems to make every nerve I have left just as painful as a dilocated hip (4 of those).   ok my question is what if I don't tell my md about the pain on the right side..Can I have perminent damage????? When is enough-----ENOUGH ?  Scared Sue

[catburgler]

Hey moom, I am 31 years old and have spinal stenosis and a pretty severe case of scoliosis.  I am 6'6" and my doctor told me that without the curve from Scoliosis I would be 3 inches taller so its pretty serious.  Anyway, my grandfather had stenosis also and had surgery and done great.  Two of his brothers had same surgery and were worse the rest of their lives.  I haven't decided what to do.  I now take 1 to 1 1/2 of 30mg roxicodone but have had to taper back off of as much as 3 times that because it tricks you into thinking you need it when you don't, at least three or four times I have had to taper back down to see the hell I had started.  Don't go that route unless you absolutely have to.  I am telling you don't.  You will become dependant and that sucks.  Try the steroid injections, I have had 2 sets of them and the pain in my leg, you may or may not have leg pain, stopped but my back pain didn't much.   But other it has helped greatly, so I would try that first and live with it as long as you can without anything.  Also there is an herb called Kratom that you can get on the internet that you make into a tea, or chew.  I chew it now instead of going overboard on the pain meds and it helps somewhat.  Don't go overboard on motrin or tylenol because they can do alot of damage too.  Hope that helps some.  

[tds07]

Have you had an MRI?  Is this how you discovered you have spinal stenosis?  You can have an Epidural Steroid Injection to reduce the inflammation around your nerves.  There is about a 70% success rate with these injections.  Many people get great relief and others have no option other than surgery.