scared

[tammy5000]

Hi I'm new here, and just need some advice, I'm diagnosed spondalitis, spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease. I have went from oxycodone 5mg every 6 hr to now 20mg kadian am, 30 mg kadian pm. With an additional 20-5mg oxycodone tablets per month in case I need them. It has taken me 6 month to get this far, and I am still in constant pain. My Dr.  Has referred me to a pain specialist, I see him this month. Any advise or even input on exactly what he does or the best way for me to deal with him.  I'm pretty intimidated, and scared

[tammy5000]

Than for all the good info I have been thru the steps you suggest, and am now at the pain pharmacy step,

[tammy5000]

Thanx for responding, in response I have already been to therapy, and a pain intervention center, and spine surgeon, both said my plateletts were too low for treatment, and now am to see a pain pharmacist.

[NatashaDolby]

I see a pain management doctor right now. Do not be scared, they are there to help you. I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease, Osteoarthritis, Spinal Stenosis, Scoliosis, Spondylolisthesis, Multiple Bulging Discs, Hip Bursitis, and recently Shoulder Instability. I have been on Morphine (60mg twice daily), Oxycodone (10mg 4 times a day as needed for breakthrough pain.) The pain management doctor is there to help. You may want to ask about the IDET Surgery. It is a new surgery (Only been used in the U.S for 2 years.) It is non-invasive. surgery that is used to treat degenerative disc disease. Let the PM doctor know that you have been on the meds for 6 months and they will give you more. They may try to cut you back or they may not. Mine cut me back BIG TIME. I got myself off the morphine because it was making me sick, but I was used to taking the pure oxycodone 10mg 6 times a day (Every 4 hours) and he cut me back to 3 a day, but I have to say it is better then nothing. The morphine made me SUPER sensitive to pain. After I got off it, My pain level went from a 10 to 7. If you keep upping the dose you are way more likely to become addicted or dependent on them and it is legal for them to drop you as a patient if they feel you are addicted. Let them know you only take it for pain and without it your pain is to high to manage. Pain management doctors are the ones that treat you with pain meds if nothing else works. You have to see a pain management doctor to continue treatment. They don't have the FDA on their *** about the pain meds because 90% of their patients are on narcotics. Don't be scared it will be fine.
Hope it all goes well for you.

[philnoir]

My advice is to learn all you can about spine disease, including your specific problems: DDD, spondylosis, and spinal stenosis..

For a simpler explanation, try spineuniverse.com:
http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/degenerative-disc-disease

For more detailed explations of conditions and treatment,  I recommend the Youtube videos made by Dr. Donald Corenman, MD, DC of the Steadman Clinic in Vail Co, , and the website of Dr. Wm Dillin of Southern California.

For more information, see Dr. Corenman's videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LyeJ9VKgxSJpF1Xs2jfrQ

For an index of spine conditons, see Dr. Dillin's site :
http://www.spineinformation.com/spine-education/spine-conditions.html

I've learned in my 30+ years of living with spine disease that the better educated patients get the better pain treatment options. This means speaking a doctor's language, offering treatment options, and in general taking responsibility for your disease state management.

Medications are never going to control your pain completely. You're going to need a complete pain treatment plan containing multi modalities of treatment -- medicine, physical therapy, and pain psychological counseling, which will boost your understanding of pain, treatments, and outcomes.

Pain affects 100 million americans, and the chronic pain of spine disease includes perhaps 35 million of those.

Tell us a little about your condition.

How did this start -- with a traumatic injury or did it just come on?

I imagine you've had MRIs -- how has your treatment progressed? Did your PCP order these films and did he make the diagnosis?

Referral to a comprehensive pain center, with interventional physicians, medication specialists, pain psychologists, and physical therapists is a great choice.

While surgery has its uses, it should always be treated as a last resort, and rarely used only to treat pain.

Your medication regimen using opioid analgesics is these days, controversial.Your doses are not too high, and morphine in combination with oxycodone can be effective. Interventional treatments will help knock your pain levels down by 20% - 50% while PT may help to a greater extent. Finally a pain psyhologist can help through finding behaviors that reduce your pain even more.

You're at the beginning of a journey to find the answer to your spine disease, and how to live a functional life again with chronic pain.

Feel free to ask questions along the way.

Best wishes.