So I know that the majority of us who frequent this section of the forum are here whether they are a CPP (chronic pain patient) or see a Dr. for medical maintenance treatment or in a very rare case off lable treatment, which i think is great, because it always says on the info sheets that this medication, lets call it "X" can be used for other things than what it is prescribed for. As long as the patient gets relief or sees improvement then ROCK ON!!!! I thought that i would create a topic where we can touch on what originally happened to us, and since we see doctors ever month, alot of times new things pop up or the original condition deteriorates. Another reason for this is because i have noticed several new members here in our little part of the world, and maybe they can relate or touch on different meds/treatments!!! So this first post is going to be a long one, lol i have been busy.... Back in Feb. '09 i had a fall at home where i "sprained my ankle" and dislocated 3 toes, i fell in a "Z" shape where the heels of my feet where touching my back, now u can imagine at 300+ pounds, this had potential to suck, lol. My back was sore here and there prior, but after the fall, it was never right, and pain was more frequent. After several visits to check my "sprained ankle" it was determined that i tore the ligament between my tibula and fibula and had to have it reset, i also had a tendon in my ankle that pulled so hard it tore a chunk of bone off with it, this tendon was never fixed during surgery. (side note, for those of u who follow football, either last year or the year before, Brett Favre had the same injury to his ankle, which is called a "cortical evulsion at the posterial tibial blah blah blah") Following surgery on my ligament, months went by and i was diagnosed RSD or nerve damage in my right foot, and arthritis in my left foot. After many failed MRI's on my back i finally found one that i could fit in, im a big guy but the main problems were i am very broad at my shoulder and a little claustrophobic apparently, lol. And this is the results i received: here is a link to the full size report: http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e163/juspatmil/safemrireport.jpg The basics of the report is that there is signs of disc disease in three discs, it is pretty uncommon in people 25-30, only about 3% people suffer from signs in this age group. It is most common in people that are 60 and above, it is estimated that 37-45% of 60 year olds and above show some kind of sign of disc disease also known as spondylosis. At my last dr. appointment they always ask if there are any new complaints. This time there was. For the past 3-4 weeks my pinky and the left side of my ring finger have been constantly numb. No changes in the morning or evening nor do I ever start to regain any feeling. She asked if i did alot of driving with my arm on the window i said i dont now becasue im laid off, but i do drive like that. So she poked and tapped me on my arm, and said it was most likely my Ulnar Nerve in my elbow. She has ordered an EMG which is a nerve test to see how bad it is, whether I just need a pad/brace or surgery on that. I had the same test done on my right foot in order to diagnose the RSD nerve damage in my foot. That is on July 12th so stay tuned, lol! I few weeks ago i posted a pic of my legs that were swollen like almost two times their normal size. So after seeing the specialist and having a Doppler done on my leg it was determined that the cross veins that connect the outer veins to the deeper ones also known as the perforating veins have gates that alow the blood to only flow one way are way to large and the gates dont touch. They arent supposed to be seen on the doppler, and mine were .5 cm in size. You can see how this is supposed to work in the illustration. They will go in with a large needle looking thing that has a radio frequency on it and will close the "gate" for good. She said that even though it wont allow any blood flow to pass, it will allow the other gates to work more efficient. The swelling is coming from the back flow of blood pooling in my legs, which is also causing the discoloration and prohibits the healing of and cuts or scratches on my legs. When she said that i told her about three weeks ago i caught my leg in the garage, nothing the needed any serious attention, but the scratch is still there to this very day, scabbed up and all, it will not go away. And last but not least as i had mentioned before, i sliced my thumb open pretty good, lol. Like i said i have been pretty busy banging myself up..
OMFG im LMFAO at the name of your report. You're Fucked Imaging, LMAO! Nice write up bro. Ill bet outside of ETK, you probably know more about your issues than any of us , course thats a guess, but we should push to get to the roots of all our issues cause you never know even the tiniest of problems could signal a much bigger problem, such as numbness in you finger. I too get that numbness from time to time, but once i stop putting pressure on my elbow, it eventually will go away. Later today I will try and write up my ailments, but i dont think i can get down to the detail you did, but I'll try....Great Thread PC.....!
THANKS!!!!!!! i really did try to keep it as short and direct to the point as possible, but ur right one small thing could be the warning sign to a larger problem!!! Seems like ur doing well on the subs, which is good to hear!!!! i have taken every step possible to keep on schedule and actually have meds left over this month, as im close to going back to work, so i'd like to have a stock pile incase i run short and i have to work, working on w/d is the only thing worse than w/d's themselves, lol
I agree bro and let me pass one piece of Info to ya, I honestly feel that I could perform much better at work on Subs than I ever could on pills. It at least removes you ever having to think about running out, having to go to pick up scripts, (Subs can be called into Pharm). Not pushing you to jump ship, you know what works for you but Ive got to tell you, Life on Subs is so much easier, IMHO.....!
Alright. I'll give a bit of a bio: I have suffered from severe migraines for about four years now. I cannot take Imitrex and other things like it, because it interacts with the psychiatric meds I take. So, about a year and a half ago, I was scripted Tramadol. I didn't get many, and went through them quickly. I also have a weird mental illness called Bipolar Schizoaffective Disorder, which is a combination of full schizophrenic symptoms and mood disorder symptoms. Lots of fun! I have a pretty treatment-resistant form. The psychosis is treated well (with Zyprexa- an antipsychotic). However, the mood element has been damned-near impossible to treat. No antidepressant works (I have been on at least 8 of them), no does Lithium or any of the anti-convulsive mood stabilizers they give to bipolars. So, I have been living on the edge of suicide for about 8 years. I honestly HAVE NO IDEA how I am alive right now. I am an atheist, so I won't speculate on why! However, Tramadol immediately took away my depression and irritable high moods (mania). It worked great. However, I only got scripted a little amount, so I had to resort to ordering it off the internet in massive quantities. It is not scheduled, so, although technically illegal, I wouldn't be prosecuted for my 'grey area' crime. I grew physically dependent on it, unfortunately. Around that time, I read that there have been cutting-edge studies that Buprenorphine (in Suboxone) is a promising last-resort anti-depressant agent. Wow! My self-medication was CORRECT all along. So, I figured I would get off that Tramadol crap, and onto Suboxone. I have been on Suboxone since last December and my dose now is the same as Day One, which is amazing. My doctor is also amazed at my progress (in terms of depression and mania) and tells all of his colleagues about it. He recently moved my status at the clinic from "Opioid Maintenance" to "Off Label Treatment", which looks better haha. I don't abuse opiods at all. I just take my Suboxone film as directed, just like all my other psych meds (except my Ritalin, which sometimes tends to end up in my nose....), and the results are nearly miraculous. I literally can say that my life has been saved. I am going back to grad school in the fall, with a lightened course-load (but I still get paid the same salary as the others, which is pretty cool) for my disability. This time, I KNOW I can make it. I feel like a different person. A normal person. Thank you mu-opioid receptor!
It's awesome that you take measures to help with your pyshological problems, I know a few people who didn't and aren't around anymore. As for me, I have degenerative spine disease, my disks are prone to slipping and compressing. When I was diagnosed with it a few years ago, I was only given Flexoril (Cyclobenzaprine), which didn't help at all. They eventually got me on endocet 10 mg. 2 years ago, ironically, I was on the way back from a hospital, sleeping in the front seat of a friend's car. We got t-boned by a drunk driver in an intersection. I woke up with my feet through the back window and unable to move my extremities. I was rushed to the hospital, fading in and out of consciousness. I was in a doctor induced coma for 3 days. I woke up, found out I had broken my arm in 3 places, my wrist, 4 ribs, my collarbone, my leg in 2 places, and had fractured vertabrae in my spine. Basically everything on the right side of my body was broken. I was in the hospital for a few months. I had to learn how to walk and talk again, I'm very lucky to be able to. I've been to a pain management doc ever since. Physically, I'll never be the same, I can't run or jump or I'll be in severe, hospital-admitted pain. Although I work, I pretty much lay around all the time. Pretty depressing shit I know, but I see myself as a walking, talking victim and reason not to drink and drive.
Exactly where I want to be. But im taking 8MGs of Sub , well I dont know, I just dont feel right, honestly. I mean taking my first dose and coming out of withdrawals was great of course but ever since i just feel like BLAH. almost like I would expect to feel right before withdrawals start. Taking more Sub up to 12MG at a time does nothing to change that. My Tcount is normal. This isnt anything i cant deal with just that its getting old. Does SUB not give the same lift up like my DOC used too? I dont know but I will mention it to my Dr next time I see him. My Sub Dr is an awesome guy BTW. Im considering changing everything to him, all my medical needs.
Buprenorphine DOES have a ceiling effect, at which no higher dose will get you higher (or more pain relief). I have found that dose to be 6-7mg. That is equipotent to between 45-60mg Oxycodone, some say 80mg, but I think that is high. So, depending on your old regimen, Bupe might just not be enough to replace your old regimen. Do the math and find out. Let us know and we can all figure out a good direction for you to take. You are doing really well and I am proud for you, man.
Hi guys! I've been reading on these forums for awhile, but this is my first time (I think..) to post in this section. I've been a CPP for 7 years now. When I was 16 I started having really bad lower back pain. After much testing I was diagnosed with disc degenerative disease. Two years later, exactly two weeks to the day I graduated high school, I was in a car accident. My ankle was completely shattered. I also hit my head, but this didn't cause problems until a year later. I started having severe neck pain while in college (first semester of freshman year) and had constant migraines. I ended up having to medically withdrawal from school and started having nerve blocks to help my headaches and neck pain. They seemed to be working and I decided to become a nanny. In March of 07' I moved from IN to PA for my first nanny job. I've been on so many pain pills I can't remember what I was taking at the time, I think lortabs. My ankle (which I was fortunate enough to not have surgery on after the accident) started hurting me a LOT. I called my orthopedist and asked what I should do and he referred me to an ortho in PA. I went to that doctor ONCE and after seeing x-rays he said he was pretty sure I would need to have surgery. I come home for an MRI and end up having sub-talor fusion. I was told I'd always have a limp and would never be able to walk long distances without being in a considerable amount of pain. (I now walk normal and am working on walking a 5K.) A few months after the surgery (I was wearing a walking boot at the time) I walked into my living room and passed out in my boyfriend's lap. That was the first of many fainting spells and seizures I would have over the next several years. The next year (March 08') I passed out (on my birthday..) and woke up as I was falling down. I tried to catch myself with my arm and broke my wrist. Once again I was told I wouldn't need surgery.. but by that December I had arthritis so bad it needed scraped out. Something happened to me (I'd rather not mention it) when I was a teenager that made my doctors think that I had lupus. After my wrist and ankle surgeries I of course still had pain in those areas, but I started getting joint pain in my other ankle, fingers, knees, every joint. My neurologist sent me to a rheumatologist and I was then diagnosed with lupus. I've been on lortabs, percs, and eventually got on fentanyl patches last year. I stupidly had been chewing on the patches instead of using them the way I was supposed to. This past Spring I fell asleep with one of the patches in my mouth and woke up in the hospital. I was then taken off the patches and until last week have been on 7.5 lortabs. I am now to the point where I have to take at least 5 for pain relief and sometimes take up to 11 to 'get away.' Last week I saw my pain management doctor and told him about how awful and debilitating my pain has been lately. I told him I felt like the lortabs weren't working and he switched me to somas. I have been on 3 a day since last Wednesday and have actually been somewhat normal feeling since I started them. I really miss the good feeling the lortabs gave me and I took 5 of them yesterday but I'm almost out and assume the doctor isn't going to refill them since I'm now on the somas. On Friday I have another nerve block in my neck coming up and hopefully that helps too. It's pathetic but I look forward to being sedated for the block because it's one of the few times in my life I don't feel (well, or care) a ton of pain. This is an INSANELY long post so I understand if none of you make it through it.. Just wanted to share my story! Hope you are having a low pain level day! Also, I forgot to mention, I have been seizure free for a year and a half! We don't know if it's the medication that caused the seizures to stop or just a miracle.
It looks like you and I share a lot of pain similarities. I failed to mention that I also get debilitating migraines from time to time (No doubt from the accident). It's cool you found something that is working for you, after all, taking 5+ Lortabs is bad on your liver and kidneys. I myself have taken Soma, it seems to help with the pain in my knees, but not so much for my spine. It's nice to meet you!
