Withdrawl Blues

Cooter,
I still think you need to reassess your activity level. Remember
if you're taking meds that's masking some of the pain when you're
riding or whatever. That means you could be causing further
injury or irritation but not feel the pain. I know these are family
activities. No one here can tell you what to do, but you may
end up injuring yourself even more in the long run than if
you altered your activities. None of us likes this aspect of
chronic pain. Trust me; I hate what i've lost but won't do
things that I now know would make things worse in the short and/or
the long run.

PaLady

You know Cooter reading your posts, sometimes it reminds me of a person trying to tame a wild bear with a fly swatter. You have many issues hitting at one time and you can't seem to get the bandaide to stick on one side. You are afraid to increase your pain meds, so therefore your pain is not under control. Its a given any time a person has back or neck problems they usually have alot of muscle spasms going on which only increases the pain. Do you take any type of muscle relaxer? What about asking for one to be prescribed and give it a try to see if it helps lessen your pain. If it wasn't for my muscle relaxers I would be up a creek. I have a pain pump with Dilaudid being the pain medication in it. In addition, I also have oral Dilaudid for BT pain. Rather than take the oral Dilaudid, I take a Zanaflex and once I get the spasms under some control my pain level drops down somewhat. My goal is to keep the drugs in my pump at the lowest possible, why, because when the meds start getting increased to higher doseages it can cause granulomas at the tip of the catheters. I want no part of that. Of course, I am still considered at a low dose on my pump too. But its something to look at later on. I am able to get around, most days, however, we have been having some unusual cold days and its been a little rough. Its hard for sure dealing with CP. Have you thought about seeing someone for counseling? I did for my depression which was caused by CP. I had a terrific physchologist and she was alot of help to me. I hope things get better for you. Susie

You know, Cooter, PAlady has a very good point about your activity levels (even though I know that's probably not what you want to hear). But when I read Susie's post just now, a little flash bulb went off it my brain. It happens on rare occasion. LOL.

Here's what I'm thinking... You want to be rid of these medications, right? But you are saying that your pain is forcing the issue. However, as Susie pointed out, with the wide variety of issues you are trying to combat how can you know what is really at the root of the problem?

So here was my bright idea... We often talk about "drug holidays" where you rest your body from a medication (under medical supervision of course) for a period of time. I am thinking that you might want to consider taking an "activity holiday" as well. And I'm talking complete and total change in behavior here. Back to the drawing board. Again, you need to do this WITH your doctor's support, but I think it may help you. If you have the ability to take a period of time off work, that may be a good idea too. I am thinking you would start from scratch. Eliminate all of the medications and also all unnecessary activity. Have your doctor help you find a physical therapist who can help you define what activity you should still do, and HOW to do it. I know that sounds strange, but there really is a right and wrong way to stand up from a chair or lay on a bed, etc.

Then, once you've established a baseline pain level (sans medication & extraneous activity) you and your doctor can work on adding things back in. First, see if the pain at that point can be controlled without the narcotics that you don't want to take. You might be pleasantly surprised! Maybe you wouldn't even need any medication at all at that point, or perhaps an anti-inflammatory at a low dose would do the trick. And then, again working with the doctor and the physical therapist, you can prioritize your activities. Decide what you need or want most to have as a regular activity that you do, and begin to add things back in one at a time. As you add each activity, your PT can train you how to do it in a way that will keep your body as safe as possible, and you and your doctor can monitor the way it affects your pain. If it is a big trigger, it may be something you have to give up in order to preserve the rest of your activities. If it increases your pain only slightly, perhaps your doctor can find a way to change your break-through medications to mediate the pain, and then you would know to take medication prior to beginning that particular activity. Perhaps with a method like this, you could rule out which activities are actually causing the biggest issues and thereby eliminate the need for the strongest medications and narcotics?

OK, so that is a brainstorm on minimal sleep at best. I hope it is a little helpful or at least gives you some ideas of your own. Best of luck!
Ry