Last post Mon, Jan 28 2008 12:51 PM by KevSam2003. 34 replies.
what does everyone take/do for pain? alternative, prescription, acupressure/puncture, etc....
not sure what u r taking pain meds for but i am a paraplegic and havE RODS AND 8 SCREWS PLUS BONE FUSSION IN MY SPINE so i have daily pain !
my doctor put me on a drug called dilaudid and it works awesome for me ! it is way better then morophine and a much lower dose!! so that is good!!
ce
I've been experimenting with guided imagery and other relaxation techniques...I teach them to kids on the unit sometimes and I've seen them work on some serious panic attacks, really bad anxiety symptoms, and also for kids coming off some powerful addictions-it finally occurred to me that I could use em too and they are helpful...
I have a full spinal fusion too (rods and the entire metal collection) and a heated mattress cover used to help me at night in KY but I'd roast here in Miami.....sometimes I microwave a "snuggle bag" other times just take an Alleve-that's about all I do.
~Kara
I love love love massages for pain-especially the aching variety (head or elsewhere)..my bf's mom is a certified massage therapist and it REALLY helps--too bad she lives across the country-boo!
When I was in the hospital hooked up to the drip, Dilaudid? was the drug for me! Morphine and Demerol caused severe halucinations.(There were so many bugs floating around in the air, the door come off the hinges,etc lol) After I got out they put me on the hydrcodone, slowly weaning me off everything. And yes I have pain, everyday. I think medicines should allow us to know how we should feel, so we have a vision of where we are supposed to go, or feel. And I'm not sure which is worse, feeling nothing or feeling it all?
Pain is inevitableMisery and suffering are optional
Hi Darren,
I'm also a paraplegic and I have rods,screws and fused bones in my spine. it took my doctor 7 months to finally prescrib me morphine. At first 30mg is what I started with but It was way to strong. It would stop the movement in my legs, no good so I had him lessin the doseage to 15mg. this just doesn't seem to work as well as the 30mg but at least it nums the pain. Now it just feels like one big charley horse right in the middle of my back just without the pain.
How good does this dilaudid work? does it give you 100% releif?
I have CP. I used a heated blanket at night in the winter. Otherwise I take Motrin. If the pain is bad enough, I take Tylonol 3. I hate taking that though cuz it stiffens my body and has other effects.
hi, i never took pain meds for 25 yrs, didn't have much pain. i fell 3 yrs ago and the pain is nonstop. i am on percocettes, sometimes helps sometimes doesn't. massages definately, heat or ice depends, and tiger balm. i use that alot!
hi colleen, tiger balm is a natural type of ben gay. you can get it at your local pharmacies and some dept stores. it's in the pain reliever section. they also have a tiger balm for arthritis. i usually use the regular round jar. i go through alot of it but it does the trick sometimes.
I sit on the floor at work instead of in a chair. At home I sit on the couch with my legs up. I have hip pain if I sit upright in a chair for more than 20 minutes and this is a low-tech and low side effect fix to that. I do get stared at a lot but I'm willing to deal with that.
Also I use a cane for distances.
I was on Vioxx for awhile, then much more Advil than I want to think about. I finally decided it was too much Advil and didn't seem to be helping anyway so now I only take it once in awhile and mostly for headaches, not for my chronic hip stuff.
I have tried acupuncture and unfortunately it didn't do anything for me. I have come to rely on pain medicine...generally Vicodin ES and Lyrica. At times I have had to take something stronger, like Perocet or Dilaudid, but at no time do any of these meds eliminate my pain, just make it more bearable.
Building tolerance is definitely a concern as the Vicodin doesn't help as much now as it used to, and also what my one doctor termed "safety margin"...in other words if I'm accustomed to taking Vicodin and I have an acute health emergency (last year my appendix burst), what will they give me to handle the acute pain? Last year the Dilaudid worked wonders for my appendix problems, but when I take it now, it doesn't do nearly as much.
it just occurred to me that i never responded to the thread that i started! big duh!
i take ultram for pain, it's just an analgesic, but it usually really helps, and i can take it in the morning, and it works for most of the day. sometimes i have more pain than that will help, but i can't get my pain management doctor to give a scrip for something stronger for those times, he'll only give me one med at a time. i would love to get a massage sometimes, but laying down flat on my back or my stomach on those hard tables really makes my hips start hurting after about 10 or fifteen minutes. i do have to give props to my herbal therapy, though, even though i probably shouldn't here, but it helps! for a little while, anyway.
Thankfully I don't have any continuous pain issues. I have anxiety/phobia disorder. When I exercise (good for anxiety relief) too heavily, and get joint/muscleI pain, I take ibuprophen in the short term (it can be tough on the stomach lining, I hear, with longterm use) and have gotten relief from glucosamine (an OTC supplement).
Migraine headaches are an occasional occurance (thankfully) usually triggered by glare or anxiety. I find fioricet ( a combo of a barbituate[butalbital], acetominephen[tylenol], and caffiene) to help. The relaxation techniques Kara mentions also work for migraines, as well as assisting with anxiety/phobia, sleep difficulties and general physical and mental health.
Linda (Serendipity), my wife, has CP. She uses Tylenol 4 and darvocette for muscle pain. She's also been getting botox injections to relieve pain in her shoulders and spasticity in her arm, it's been very effective. Lidocaine patches have also helped us both with muscle pain.
Bruce
DISALIFE
