what is stronger/safer

[Cherie762]

I have been taking vidodin es 4-5 per day for about 6 weeks, got my ducks in a row now surgery is scheduled, Im having great difficulty sleeping as the pain has gotten progressivly worse, I can no stand muscle relaxer and refuse to take them the docs want me on 3 somas a day too,  just dont take them..Now surgeon has upped my vicodin to vicodinHP 1 tab every 6 hrs,,I had asked if oxycotin or percocet would be a better choice he said no, they are bothe too addictive,,like vidodin is not I know it is,,,Im just curious. after surgery I will get dilaudid ( morphine allergy) in hospital and doc said either tylenol 3 or darvocet as surgery should really cure my pain ( cervical discectomy)

Im really just curious how does it go in a row for strongness,,is it like tylenol3, darvocet, vidocin 500, vicodin es, vicodin hp, percocet, percodan, oxucotin...is that right?

[Cherie762]

thanks Tuck, I was a bit concerned about those two tests i dont like contrast, i get its needed sometimes but I think its bad for the body,,,I have heard many say the same as your story about not needing pain meds, I used to take just two vicodins prn per day for my lumbr trauma induced arthritis would love to just get back to that the back pain is tolerable this neck pain is beyond discription.

[Tuckamore]

Cherie,

The Darvon and Codeine are on the lowest end of the scale, hydrocodone comes next as far as narcotics go. Tramadol doesn't work for you (or me) so I would say you are about as low as you can go.

Sorry I don't know Tata's abbreviation. Oxycontin does not come in a 5mg strength. The lowest is 10mg. I must be misunderstanding her post.

I would wait and see what type of pain you have post-op. If your physician/surgeon have kept you comfortable up to this point I would guess they will do the same post-op.

Surgery can be beneficial. My father had two ruptured and fragmented disc's at the age of 75. His pain was so great he could not walk or sit. Post-op I insisted he take pain medication once he returned to his room and before I went home for the night, though he said he was fine. When I returned at 10AM he was up walking without a device and said his pain was gone. He never took another pain pill. So it is possible that you will experience the same great results and will not have a need for narcotics.

They will not do a discogram while you are asleep. This is a diagnostic procedure that is done while you are awake. It is done to pinpoint the location of your pain when they are uncertain or want to make sure which disc if any is causing the pain.

I highly doubt they will do a myelogram either. It's a diagnostic tool and would be done prior to surgery and not during.

Best of luck and again please keep us posted.
Peace,
Tuck

[tata616]

Hi Cherie,

I never had much luck for pain relief with Vicodin ES or Tylenol 3 or for that matter Tramadol. Originally one of my doctors (Ortho Surgeon) reluctantly put me on Percocet 5mg. then moved me to Oxy IR 5mg(without Tylenol) and at that dose it has been very effective.

Ask your doctor again about OxyIR at that small dose at 5mg. I think it would be your best course.

TATA

[Cherie762]

that was helpful Tuck what other meds are there that are narcotic but on the lower end of the scale or a bit less in narcotic strength than vicodin Es I have tried tramodol it effects me weird, shots of toradol help but for about 4-6 hrs.,,Im really just curious.


Ghilly I had a ct scan 2 sets of x-rays and a mRI all no contrast,,will they do a myelogram or a discogram( contrast injected directly into effected disc) while Im asleep he mentioned no such thing,,I try to avoid contrast..He (neurosurgeon is so kind, he seems concerned really pushing my surgery fast, He mentioned yesterday he is having a meeting with the head of the radiology dept where my films where done, to go over and discuss them, is he just being a really good dr or is he missing/worried about something, what do you think is this standard or normal?

[Tuckamore]

Hi Cherie,

I am hopeful that the surgery will ease your pain as it did for Ghilly.

Darvon is the weakest of the pain medications but everyone reacts differently to meds with codeine being next.

I think you are confusing the amount of acetaminophen (tylenol) in vicodin with the amount of the narcotic, hydrocodone. Vicodin 500 is the amount of the acetaminophen within the tablet. The doses of hydrocodone are 5mg, 7.5mg and 10mg. The 325, 500 or 650 is the amount of tylenol. Percocet and Percodan are the same narcotic, one just has acetaminophen and the other has aspirin.

There are other opiates between percocet and Oxycontin in strength. And again what works well for one does not necessarily work as well for another. It makes no sense that Vicodin is more effective for me that Percocet is but it's true in my case.

I hope that the information is helpful and addressed your question. If not or if I have misunderstood please feel free to rephrase your questions.

Best of luck with your surgery. Please let us know how you are doing.

Take Care,
Tuck

[Ghilly]

You're about right with the meds and their strengths.  

I had a cervical discectomy with fusion and really didn't need pain meds beyond about the third day post surgery.  My problems started about 7 months after the surgery when it became apparent that I had developed adhesive arachnoiditis as a result of the nerves in my spine reacting badly to the dye in the myelogram before the surgery.  Had I not had the myelogram, I would no longer have needed pain meds after the surgery.

Ghilly