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Wife to a Chronic Pain Sufferer
Hello. My husband started suffering from chronic tension type headaches, day after day soon after waking up, for 8 months now. We have had nearly 35 visits to his primary care physician, two neurologist, and a psyco-therapist. He has tried 29 different prescriptions, all trials to see if they managed the pain, CT scans, MRIs, bloodwork, and various x-rays. All tests have come back normal and the doctors say it is psycosomatic pain. It is real enough to him, but has no identifiable cause. The situation has become nearly unbarable, for both of us. He lives in constant pain with only a tricyclic antidepressant which lowers the pain about 25%, and one prescription for Loratab which helped for a month and then he became tollerant so it isn't worth taking anymore, and no one will give him anything higher because of fears associated with opiates.
We had some success with Xanax at a high dosage, however the side effects left my husband useless, stumbling around and needing constant supervision. He was constantly angry and verbally abusive while on it, and it couldn't have been farther from the real him. His quality of life suffered too much even if the pain was lessened. After watching a video I took one night (because he never recalls what happened) he told his doctor he will never touch the stuff again, and the doctor hasn't given us any alternatives to try.
His primary care physician referred him to a 'very respected' pain management clinic in our area with five doctors. One week before his appointment, the office called and canceled his appointment and told him "not to bother since they don't have services to offer him." We called and called for a week and they were insistant that his doctor should treat him and they had nothing to offer him. They even told his primary care doctor who referred him that they refused to take him on as a client and treat him... becuase they couldn't do anything for him. They didn't even read his medical history! There isn't anything either of us won't do to help him, but three pain management doctors later, and we still can't get an appointment. It is like they are afraid to treat him! His doctor is trying to get him in, but even he encounters resistence with the doctors saying they will not take him on since they have no services to offer a patient 'in his condition'. My husband's doctor does not have any experience in pain management, which is why he doesn't feel comfortable taking my husband's treatment any further, but he also knows he needs help. We just are not finding any. Both neurologists have tried breaking the pain cycle with various medications and taking him off all medications, changing his diet, nothing worked and they too have thrown up their hands and quit. Our therapist still continues to help us both mentally, but she is rather expensive and we can only see her once every two months.
I am so tired of being helpless. I can't do anything to make the pain stop. For a month now there has been no relief I can offer for the pain, no pills other than the tricyclic which leaves my husband with moodswings and unable to engage in any intimate activities. We had planned on starting our family, but it isn't possible like this. His depression has worsened which I'm sure doesn't help the pain, and the fustration of seeking help only to have the door slammed in your face, he doesn't mean to take it out on me, but he can't help it when I'm the only person he really sees. Our friends and family don't understand what is going on, and most are just exasperated with the constant problems so they don't want to be around. He thinks everyone has given up on him and that I'm no help to him no matter how much I care and love him.
Is there something else that we are missing in dealing with these pain specialists? I've read so much about multi prong approaches and alternative testing for these type headaches, but I don't know how or where to find this type of help. We aren't asking for drugs and whatever tests they require, homework to do, we will happily do it if they would give us a chance. I understand how hard it is for a doctor to look at someone who is physically normal in every way with no health problems, to just treat them for pain, but it has reached a point that I worry about him taking his own life if we can't find some way to put his life back together. I've been with this man since the 8th grade, 15 years together and I know there is something very wrong with his condition and what it is doing to his life. He isn't making it up and if he could make it stop on his own and work it out in his head, he would. Neither of us know what to do anyone.
Any support or suggestions would be so welcomed. I just feel like I've run out of ideas and am forced to stand back and watch both our lives get ripped apart by this.
We had some success with Xanax at a high dosage, however the side effects left my husband useless, stumbling around and needing constant supervision. He was constantly angry and verbally abusive while on it, and it couldn't have been farther from the real him. His quality of life suffered too much even if the pain was lessened. After watching a video I took one night (because he never recalls what happened) he told his doctor he will never touch the stuff again, and the doctor hasn't given us any alternatives to try.
His primary care physician referred him to a 'very respected' pain management clinic in our area with five doctors. One week before his appointment, the office called and canceled his appointment and told him "not to bother since they don't have services to offer him." We called and called for a week and they were insistant that his doctor should treat him and they had nothing to offer him. They even told his primary care doctor who referred him that they refused to take him on as a client and treat him... becuase they couldn't do anything for him. They didn't even read his medical history! There isn't anything either of us won't do to help him, but three pain management doctors later, and we still can't get an appointment. It is like they are afraid to treat him! His doctor is trying to get him in, but even he encounters resistence with the doctors saying they will not take him on since they have no services to offer a patient 'in his condition'. My husband's doctor does not have any experience in pain management, which is why he doesn't feel comfortable taking my husband's treatment any further, but he also knows he needs help. We just are not finding any. Both neurologists have tried breaking the pain cycle with various medications and taking him off all medications, changing his diet, nothing worked and they too have thrown up their hands and quit. Our therapist still continues to help us both mentally, but she is rather expensive and we can only see her once every two months.
I am so tired of being helpless. I can't do anything to make the pain stop. For a month now there has been no relief I can offer for the pain, no pills other than the tricyclic which leaves my husband with moodswings and unable to engage in any intimate activities. We had planned on starting our family, but it isn't possible like this. His depression has worsened which I'm sure doesn't help the pain, and the fustration of seeking help only to have the door slammed in your face, he doesn't mean to take it out on me, but he can't help it when I'm the only person he really sees. Our friends and family don't understand what is going on, and most are just exasperated with the constant problems so they don't want to be around. He thinks everyone has given up on him and that I'm no help to him no matter how much I care and love him.
Is there something else that we are missing in dealing with these pain specialists? I've read so much about multi prong approaches and alternative testing for these type headaches, but I don't know how or where to find this type of help. We aren't asking for drugs and whatever tests they require, homework to do, we will happily do it if they would give us a chance. I understand how hard it is for a doctor to look at someone who is physically normal in every way with no health problems, to just treat them for pain, but it has reached a point that I worry about him taking his own life if we can't find some way to put his life back together. I've been with this man since the 8th grade, 15 years together and I know there is something very wrong with his condition and what it is doing to his life. He isn't making it up and if he could make it stop on his own and work it out in his head, he would. Neither of us know what to do anyone.
Any support or suggestions would be so welcomed. I just feel like I've run out of ideas and am forced to stand back and watch both our lives get ripped apart by this.
Well after a full week of appointments and tests, there is good news and bad news. I say that as we finally got some results that were abnormal, but the meaning of the results themselves is not good. Even bad news is better than not knowing anything. My husband's sleep study came back and they managed to salvage some data from the test despite the number of mistakes made. My husband's apnea is back and considered severe. The problem is, the test found no signs of airway obstruction or blockage of the nose. This means the apnea must be central and is being caused by a shut down of my husband's central nervous system, which causes him to simply stop breathing. Having been tested so many times after his surgery, we knew this was not the case a year ago, and the severity of the apnea has increased with the headaches. My husband's primary care physician doesn't think it is a conicidence that these things have happened together. Both the headaches and apnea seemed to be linked to a problem in the brain with the central nervous system and the signals it is sending. He also thinks that the apnea is not limited to my husband's sleep, he is likely suffering attacks during the day without knowing it, and this could increase the stress and pain, which he is more aware of when he is awake and feeling his environment.
The chiroprator found quite a lot of tension as well as curvature of the spine in the upper neck and it was severe enough that she has started treatment right away. She didn't think it was abnormal given the number of hours my husband spends in front of a computer, but she did feel that it could be contributing to the problem. It could only cause further problems for him down the road if he didn't take care of it now anyway. Next week my husband goes to see the original doctor who performed the surgery on him for apnea to see what he thinks of the sleep study results.
My husband's primary care physician also informed him that he was able to get an appointment, though not for two months, with a headache specialist neurologist at Johns Hopkins, and since he deamed it a specialty case of urgent nessasity, the insurance company will cover the cost.
We finally got a call back from a pain management clinic and got an appointment in February, though they stressed that they could cancel it at any point if the medical information they receive falls outside of their treatment options. We've had that happen once already... but lets hope it works this time.
Even with out them, my husband found a nice contract to work with pain medicine patches and his primary doctor thought that was a good idea and promised to work with him to get him some relief, but he wants him to give the neck work and the therapy the psychologist recommended a try first. He is also interested in what the ear/nose/throat doctor has to say about the apnea, and the effect those types of medications may have on the central nervous system, if that is the source of the pain. He fears it could actually make his condition worse and wants to research more.
The fear is of course that if this is central nervous system related, there is very little that can be done successfully to remove the problem. We have a C-pap machine coming, though since there was no obstruction found, it is more to keep the insurance company happy that we tried it than believing that it will provide relief. I don't like to dwell on the thought too much, but I know as hard as it is for me to set aside the possability of this never geting better, or creating a more serious problem than we already have, it will be that much harder for my husband, so it is better that I tackly it along side him then to pretend that it isn't there.
The chiroprator found quite a lot of tension as well as curvature of the spine in the upper neck and it was severe enough that she has started treatment right away. She didn't think it was abnormal given the number of hours my husband spends in front of a computer, but she did feel that it could be contributing to the problem. It could only cause further problems for him down the road if he didn't take care of it now anyway. Next week my husband goes to see the original doctor who performed the surgery on him for apnea to see what he thinks of the sleep study results.
My husband's primary care physician also informed him that he was able to get an appointment, though not for two months, with a headache specialist neurologist at Johns Hopkins, and since he deamed it a specialty case of urgent nessasity, the insurance company will cover the cost.
We finally got a call back from a pain management clinic and got an appointment in February, though they stressed that they could cancel it at any point if the medical information they receive falls outside of their treatment options. We've had that happen once already... but lets hope it works this time.
Even with out them, my husband found a nice contract to work with pain medicine patches and his primary doctor thought that was a good idea and promised to work with him to get him some relief, but he wants him to give the neck work and the therapy the psychologist recommended a try first. He is also interested in what the ear/nose/throat doctor has to say about the apnea, and the effect those types of medications may have on the central nervous system, if that is the source of the pain. He fears it could actually make his condition worse and wants to research more.
The fear is of course that if this is central nervous system related, there is very little that can be done successfully to remove the problem. We have a C-pap machine coming, though since there was no obstruction found, it is more to keep the insurance company happy that we tried it than believing that it will provide relief. I don't like to dwell on the thought too much, but I know as hard as it is for me to set aside the possability of this never geting better, or creating a more serious problem than we already have, it will be that much harder for my husband, so it is better that I tackly it along side him then to pretend that it isn't there.
Sorry to hear that the Docs are denying your husband. it ***** with headaches as most docs dont wanna treat w/narcotics due to the possibility of creating an addict. Unfortunately it takes patience which is VERY hard when dealing with this pain. I agree about looking at the negatives and He tries and tries to get it to go away an nothing, i went through the same thing.. Then after a couple bad alcohol binge months i finally accepted the pain and there was nothing to do to help it. However, its best to get him to DO things, i know when i am out running around i am not thinking about it. Even sitting at the computer (which i sadly do a lot) i am still thinking about it and that of course makes it worse.. SO i go and take my dog on walks and am slowing trying to start to work back out.. But the key is activities, even tho it Might raise the pain, just got to relax and breathe... it will eventually go down and you know you have to "tone-it-down" a little, but when he finds out what activities he can do without putting him in the danger zone of pain then that will help GREATLY with his pain.
The negative thinking i still have problems with, like i said its hard when nothing works so you are used to rejection and after a while you start to look at life like that. However, DO NOT give up, i am still looking for other ideas to try. I am going to my pain DR and asking for a small oxygen tank to try to use when i work out to see if that will help. As for pain levels, when i am not on ANY medications i am probably a solid 7.. so i am finally down in the 2-3 range. but it takes time,. Also, BioFeedback it pretty good too.. It really helps you to get "in tune" with your body, and its helped to slightly lower my acute phases, i would suggest he get into that.. The psychologist is key too, as his life IS going to change and he needs to accept it and learn how to deal with his new life.
It sounds like he is doin pretty good from what ive read. but he is only 8-9months in and at this point for me i was sick of Drs and getting pain meds from people i knew. I know the Benzos may help but i wouldnt suggest them.. Benzos have a faster dependency then opiates.. Not saying benzos are worse than opiates, but its just easier for your body to get accustom to it and then your done (well not done, but will go through Hell.. ). I know it gives relief (w/me it was 180mg Restoril, 4mg Xanax, 4mg Clonopin). but i knew the drug info and stopped as it wasnt theraputic.
The negative thinking i still have problems with, like i said its hard when nothing works so you are used to rejection and after a while you start to look at life like that. However, DO NOT give up, i am still looking for other ideas to try. I am going to my pain DR and asking for a small oxygen tank to try to use when i work out to see if that will help. As for pain levels, when i am not on ANY medications i am probably a solid 7.. so i am finally down in the 2-3 range. but it takes time,. Also, BioFeedback it pretty good too.. It really helps you to get "in tune" with your body, and its helped to slightly lower my acute phases, i would suggest he get into that.. The psychologist is key too, as his life IS going to change and he needs to accept it and learn how to deal with his new life.
It sounds like he is doin pretty good from what ive read. but he is only 8-9months in and at this point for me i was sick of Drs and getting pain meds from people i knew. I know the Benzos may help but i wouldnt suggest them.. Benzos have a faster dependency then opiates.. Not saying benzos are worse than opiates, but its just easier for your body to get accustom to it and then your done (well not done, but will go through Hell.. ). I know it gives relief (w/me it was 180mg Restoril, 4mg Xanax, 4mg Clonopin). but i knew the drug info and stopped as it wasnt theraputic.
Thanks Scott1122. I understand a lot of what you are saying and our experiences with doctors has been much the same as what you described. My husband has offered to do drug testing and sign a contract as well but to no avail. His primary care physician called yesterday to check in and informed us that all three pain management doctors turned him (the Doctor himself) down and refused to take on a patient "with no measurable injury". My husband has an appointment with the primary Doctor later this week and they are supposed to talk about it then. I'm hoping his primary Doctor may take on the responsability and set up a contract himself, since he can see now that we are not going to find help elsewhere. I like your suggestion of calling it head pain instead of headaches. My husband is lucky in that most of the time while the pain is constant, it only stays at about a level 4-5 on a scale of 1-10. Some days it gets higher, but with his attitude and depression causing him to worry, it escalates up to a 7-8 for days at a time ressently.
The sleep study was unfortunitly a bit of a dissaster, but one we can take in stride. The center had a trainee that seemed to just be learning the ropes, and she was assigned to my husband as well as a second patient. It took her two hours, three phone calls, and an actual visit from one of the nurses on call to get my husband set up and he (having had five of these back around his surgery) had to keep telling her when something wasn't right. He didn't get much sleep before she woke him up and admitted that she hadn't been watching any of his tests... and may have deleted something by accident, or one of the readers stopped working. She started to do the calibration in the morning and stopped after two steps to go do something else, then shut everything down. My husband pointed this out and she very politely 'shhed' him. As he was leaving to head home, he heard one of the nurses that had come in lecturing the young woman and saying both studies were probably going to be invalidated because she made so many mistakes. My husband was good natured about it, but upset that we'll probably have to do it again another night. Hopefully the center will be honest about it so the insurance company knows it wasn't our fault. I understand the learning curve and people need hands on experience, just wish the office hadn't left this woman with no one to supervise her since she wasn't qualified to run the tests herself. I've been in similiar situations while earning my Master's degree, and I hated it when my supervisor just left me knowing full well I wasn't ready! But with our health system the way it is, doesn't surprised me that they wouldn't want to pay for two people when it should only take one.
The visit with the psycholigst went VERY well. She jumped right to the point of how fustrating and angry my husband has become at being in constant pain and that he spends more time fighting and denighing that it should exist the way it is, instead of accepting and dealing with it as a part of his life. He spends all his energy trying to find ways to make it stop, and when there isn't any or he doesn't find help, it makes his condition so much worse. It certantly has made his depression so much worse, and all he knows right now is despair. She thanked me for getting him in as quickly as I did, since my husband seemed so sure that nothing could possably help him anymore, that he probably wouldn't have come in on his own. She is sending both of us in for some 'spa therapy' to find some peace, quiet, balance, and a neutral start, and told my husband to schedule with her next week so they can start meditation and teaching him some more advanced coping mechanisms.
We talked Monday night after she suggested my husband find something to work on and focus that he knew he would enjoy and have postive feelings toward. So we started a new 'Project" that seemed to get my husband pretty excited, and he can work on it while he is at home. It is just a small web site where he can talk about all the movies, books, and music that he can review. Since he is trying to stay postive, we thought it would be a good idea for him to write about all the good qualities of the media and leave out the bad reviews. This is good for him since he still loves to watch movies, read, and listen to music, he always finds something redeaming even in stuff no one else seems to like, and this will give him an outlet to write, another activity he loves.
I just need to make sure that he continues to give it a chance. Today it is off to the chriroprator. Not sure if we will find any answers, but at least she is a good listener and I'm sure can offer some advice.
The sleep study was unfortunitly a bit of a dissaster, but one we can take in stride. The center had a trainee that seemed to just be learning the ropes, and she was assigned to my husband as well as a second patient. It took her two hours, three phone calls, and an actual visit from one of the nurses on call to get my husband set up and he (having had five of these back around his surgery) had to keep telling her when something wasn't right. He didn't get much sleep before she woke him up and admitted that she hadn't been watching any of his tests... and may have deleted something by accident, or one of the readers stopped working. She started to do the calibration in the morning and stopped after two steps to go do something else, then shut everything down. My husband pointed this out and she very politely 'shhed' him. As he was leaving to head home, he heard one of the nurses that had come in lecturing the young woman and saying both studies were probably going to be invalidated because she made so many mistakes. My husband was good natured about it, but upset that we'll probably have to do it again another night. Hopefully the center will be honest about it so the insurance company knows it wasn't our fault. I understand the learning curve and people need hands on experience, just wish the office hadn't left this woman with no one to supervise her since she wasn't qualified to run the tests herself. I've been in similiar situations while earning my Master's degree, and I hated it when my supervisor just left me knowing full well I wasn't ready! But with our health system the way it is, doesn't surprised me that they wouldn't want to pay for two people when it should only take one.
The visit with the psycholigst went VERY well. She jumped right to the point of how fustrating and angry my husband has become at being in constant pain and that he spends more time fighting and denighing that it should exist the way it is, instead of accepting and dealing with it as a part of his life. He spends all his energy trying to find ways to make it stop, and when there isn't any or he doesn't find help, it makes his condition so much worse. It certantly has made his depression so much worse, and all he knows right now is despair. She thanked me for getting him in as quickly as I did, since my husband seemed so sure that nothing could possably help him anymore, that he probably wouldn't have come in on his own. She is sending both of us in for some 'spa therapy' to find some peace, quiet, balance, and a neutral start, and told my husband to schedule with her next week so they can start meditation and teaching him some more advanced coping mechanisms.
We talked Monday night after she suggested my husband find something to work on and focus that he knew he would enjoy and have postive feelings toward. So we started a new 'Project" that seemed to get my husband pretty excited, and he can work on it while he is at home. It is just a small web site where he can talk about all the movies, books, and music that he can review. Since he is trying to stay postive, we thought it would be a good idea for him to write about all the good qualities of the media and leave out the bad reviews. This is good for him since he still loves to watch movies, read, and listen to music, he always finds something redeaming even in stuff no one else seems to like, and this will give him an outlet to write, another activity he loves.
I just need to make sure that he continues to give it a chance. Today it is off to the chriroprator. Not sure if we will find any answers, but at least she is a good listener and I'm sure can offer some advice.
Oh Yeah, I have had a CT, MRI, MRI w/contrast to show nothing at all. I then had blood work done (18months after injury) and my testosterone was non-existent and my thyroid was out of wack too and i have never had problems with these areas..
Hey, Sorry to hear about what your husband is going through. I too know EXACTLY what he is going through. I have Chronic Daily headaches that are a pain in the a$$, they have destroyed my life and im only 24yrs old. Mine was the result of Multiple Concussions that I have had. I get the dull throbbing pain in the occipital region of my head and in the front (forehead, behind eyes) , along with stabbing on the sides throughout the day. its worst when i start to "get going " throughout my daily routines. I also havent been able to work out or be active in over a year (which is horrible and this is WHO I AM).
I have seem some "Expert Neurologists" and tried every med there is, short list; amitriptyline @150mg, Topamax @200mg, Mirapex @10mg, Clonidine @300mcg, all the benzos, all sleeping meds, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, etc.,. you see where im going.. but nothing helped and the MAIN problem was sleep.. I was lucky if i got 2hrs/sleep a night.. I then had a sleep study done and it showed i was unable to go past stage 2 sleep, no REM and no Deep Sleep due to the pain.
I know the Drs at first saw me as drug seeking and that i am faking it but then when i came in after 2 weeks of barely any sleep (prob 5-10hrs TOTAL) my doc saw me and i looked like death and then they finally believed me. But that happened througout the first year and it took an awesome Neuro. in NC that believed me (he ordered the sleep study) But now my only option is Pain Management. That Neuro also told me that this could be permanent or it could go away. So i started on Oxycontin and after a year I was take off due to tolerance (240+mg/day). They were worried i was "out of it" at that dose, but the thing that i cant make them realize is that i have so many pain receptors firing that it takes THAT much to just take the pain away. And the weird thing that my Drs never understood is i Never Went through Withdrawals or increased pain when i came off.. But it took me over a year to finally get some that relief (actually almost 2yrs as that was the dose that helped).
The thing with headaches is there is no clear reason WHY you have having the pain. And the thing i kept pressing to my Neuro. is that NO ONE knows about Concussion headaches (i know ur husband isnt head injury related) and if nothing else is working why cant i go on a pain contract with daily u/a testing if necessary (so they know im dosing right and arent messing around). So what you might want to do is go to a Headache specialist and tell them everything you've done; i actually brought speadsheets of my meds and their effect and dose, helps the doctor know exactly what've youve done.. and tell them that you have read articles stating that unfortunately if nothing else works there are also narcotics. But the thing is you cant push it too much as they will think "drug seeking", and tell them that you dont want to go this route as you know the dangers but No ONE has tried anything else that is "outside the box" or anything to give relief, so why not use something that actually works. the thing is when its Chronic it makes it different than just acute phases and you need to find a doc that knows this and will treat it like any other Chronic Pain condition. And i stopped calling it Headaches, as a headache isnt PERMANENT so i say im having head pain to Drs and when they say headache i say its the symptoms of a headache but its CHRONIC.. Like ive said it took me a long time to get this into their minds to Finally get some relief.
i am lucky that my dad is a Pharmacist and was able to bring him along as he went to a very clinical school that has kinda helped me.. I know that some of this isnt very helpful and just mostly me saying what I did, but (as i keep saying) they dont know anything about Headaches,, i mean they know a little but not really enough.. But i do feel really bad for your husband i know exactly what he is going through and it *****... No one really knows how much DAILY head pain beats you down, and with injuries (such as myself) my emotional state is like a flippin rollercoaster, and its been over 2 years..
Also, Im on the Fentanyl Patch and am being bumped up to the 75mcg/hr patch next week; i am currently on a 50mcg and a 12mcg every 72 hrs and unfortunately due to my tolerance this isnt working anymore. But that is the thing with narcotics is dose escalation will occur unless you take days off and deal with the pain. I did this for a long time and it helped with not escalating but fentanyl is a different beast. 80x stronger than morphine but because its a morphine drug and not a -codone its not euphoric at all (if you have pain,and dont abuse it) as i would sometimes get a euphoric state on oxy but that was after if i took an extra dose to be completely pain free but then i was out of it. and the truth is your husband will have to accept to live with some pain as if your pain free your not gonna be able to do anything..
Hope this helps.. PM me if you want to ask anything else..
I have seem some "Expert Neurologists" and tried every med there is, short list; amitriptyline @150mg, Topamax @200mg, Mirapex @10mg, Clonidine @300mcg, all the benzos, all sleeping meds, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, etc.,. you see where im going.. but nothing helped and the MAIN problem was sleep.. I was lucky if i got 2hrs/sleep a night.. I then had a sleep study done and it showed i was unable to go past stage 2 sleep, no REM and no Deep Sleep due to the pain.
I know the Drs at first saw me as drug seeking and that i am faking it but then when i came in after 2 weeks of barely any sleep (prob 5-10hrs TOTAL) my doc saw me and i looked like death and then they finally believed me. But that happened througout the first year and it took an awesome Neuro. in NC that believed me (he ordered the sleep study) But now my only option is Pain Management. That Neuro also told me that this could be permanent or it could go away. So i started on Oxycontin and after a year I was take off due to tolerance (240+mg/day). They were worried i was "out of it" at that dose, but the thing that i cant make them realize is that i have so many pain receptors firing that it takes THAT much to just take the pain away. And the weird thing that my Drs never understood is i Never Went through Withdrawals or increased pain when i came off.. But it took me over a year to finally get some that relief (actually almost 2yrs as that was the dose that helped).
The thing with headaches is there is no clear reason WHY you have having the pain. And the thing i kept pressing to my Neuro. is that NO ONE knows about Concussion headaches (i know ur husband isnt head injury related) and if nothing else is working why cant i go on a pain contract with daily u/a testing if necessary (so they know im dosing right and arent messing around). So what you might want to do is go to a Headache specialist and tell them everything you've done; i actually brought speadsheets of my meds and their effect and dose, helps the doctor know exactly what've youve done.. and tell them that you have read articles stating that unfortunately if nothing else works there are also narcotics. But the thing is you cant push it too much as they will think "drug seeking", and tell them that you dont want to go this route as you know the dangers but No ONE has tried anything else that is "outside the box" or anything to give relief, so why not use something that actually works. the thing is when its Chronic it makes it different than just acute phases and you need to find a doc that knows this and will treat it like any other Chronic Pain condition. And i stopped calling it Headaches, as a headache isnt PERMANENT so i say im having head pain to Drs and when they say headache i say its the symptoms of a headache but its CHRONIC.. Like ive said it took me a long time to get this into their minds to Finally get some relief.
i am lucky that my dad is a Pharmacist and was able to bring him along as he went to a very clinical school that has kinda helped me.. I know that some of this isnt very helpful and just mostly me saying what I did, but (as i keep saying) they dont know anything about Headaches,, i mean they know a little but not really enough.. But i do feel really bad for your husband i know exactly what he is going through and it *****... No one really knows how much DAILY head pain beats you down, and with injuries (such as myself) my emotional state is like a flippin rollercoaster, and its been over 2 years..
Also, Im on the Fentanyl Patch and am being bumped up to the 75mcg/hr patch next week; i am currently on a 50mcg and a 12mcg every 72 hrs and unfortunately due to my tolerance this isnt working anymore. But that is the thing with narcotics is dose escalation will occur unless you take days off and deal with the pain. I did this for a long time and it helped with not escalating but fentanyl is a different beast. 80x stronger than morphine but because its a morphine drug and not a -codone its not euphoric at all (if you have pain,and dont abuse it) as i would sometimes get a euphoric state on oxy but that was after if i took an extra dose to be completely pain free but then i was out of it. and the truth is your husband will have to accept to live with some pain as if your pain free your not gonna be able to do anything..
Hope this helps.. PM me if you want to ask anything else..
I am so glad that the Sleep Study Center was able to work your husband in sooner. I hope they will be able to provide you with some answers. If not don't give up, I have a feeling you won't.
Laughter can be the best medicine. I am also glad that the two of you had at least one better day. Hang in there.
Happy 2010.
Laughter can be the best medicine. I am also glad that the two of you had at least one better day. Hang in there.
Happy 2010.
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