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Posted 8/3/2011 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
I am 35 years old and was having major foot and back pain.My girlfriend made me go to the doctors and they gave me x rays .She told me my foot had massive bone spurs in it and my back x rays came back negative.She set up a MRI and the results showed 2 herniated discs,three bulging discs and a disc that was leaking fluid and something sticking into a nerve..she perscribed percocet 5s with tylenol its really tough on my stomach and i am still in a ton of pain to the point where i can only be up and walking for about 5 mins.WHat should i expect next,is their stronger meds for my condition.Something that wont make me feel like i just over ate and ready to vomit.And how exactly do i aproach this.I really know nothing about this and i feel like a wimp sometimes for complaining about the pain to my girlfriend.i dont even know if these injurys are that serious.Any info would help me a ton.thanks
Posted 8/4/2011 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
Good evening mykull1918! …sounds like Michael? Right?

First!…"Welcome" to the Chronic Pain Forum!

Well!…many of us here are dealing with the same type of back problems…and I myself had a double lumbar fusion at the L4-L5, L5-S1 location. You are right!…no fun at all, but don't give up hope just yet!

Were glad you found this forum, and I think you will be happy you landed here. We believe that we have the best support for CP on the web. The members are wonderfully warm, and encouraging, to say the least!

There are a couple of things you may expect as your Dr begins treatment of your condition…one being PT (Physical Therapy)….if this is the case…then give it a good go..and be diligent with it. You may indeed, receive some relief after several weeks of it. However, if that is ineffective, then they might suggest a series of injections, such as "Epidurals" ….again some of these treatments may be effective, and others may not help as much as one would hope. All of this takes time, so be patient!

Another treatment that many try are the pain med's, and while it really is not a treatment that will help correct your condition, they can give you some sort of quality of life back to a point. We really encourage you to be you're own advocate with it comes to any form of treatment, and many of the members will suggest seeing a PM (Pain Management DR)..as they specialize in treating pain.

Please check out the "Chronic Pain 101" listed at the top of our home page. There are some excellent article's, that I'm sure will be some very good reading for you. And while I'm at it, we suggest that our new members read the forum rules…they are really common sense rules, but I still suggest you take the time to look them over.

One more little item of interest is the "Search Button" located at the upper righthand of any page. Just give it a click,..type in the word or topic of interest,…hit enter….and watch the magic happen! Give it a try!

You will get out of,... what you put into the forum, so we encourage you to stay engaged with the members, and get to know them.

If you have any questions, give us a shout, and either a member or one of the mod's will be happy to help you.

Again!..Welcome!…and Enjoy!

SE wink
Posted 8/4/2011 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
When it comes to pain meds it is not about what is "stronger" it is about what works.

For many people getting pain relief through medications often means finding the right medicine, at the right dose, and also often means finding the right combination of medicines. This might mean combining a pain reliever with a muscle relaxer or with an anti depressant that has pain management effects.

Speak to your doctor about your pain management. Be honest about how what you are taking is effecting you and ask what else can be tried.
Posted 8/4/2011 11:28 AM (GMT 0)
You don't mention what type of physician you are seeing but I would suggest, if your not already, getting into see a pain management doctor. From what you described you have some major things going on in your back. Just make sure that the pm doctor you choose prescribes meds and does procedures. You want a very qualified doctor to do any procedure also not just any old quack that says they can do them. Check them out before having anything done.

Until they can come up with a way to do spine replacements we're all kinda stuck in the same boat, looking for that magic cure. It takes a long time and alot of trial and error to come up with the right combo of meds that help your pain. Everyone is different and no one pain med is for everyone. My combo right now is tramadol, tylenol, baclofen, & gabapentin. As things change this combo may change too so nothing is etched in stone.
Posted 8/5/2011 9:25 AM (GMT 0)
Mykull....Welcome to our forum

I agree with everything that was said before my entry. It is good advice. I was just stopping by to welcome you and hope you get the support you need to get you through this rough patch of life you are having.

Soft Hugs
Betsey
Posted 8/5/2011 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
Mykull - I also have those stomach problems with certain narcotic pain medicines. I find taking them with food helps a lot. Something light - for me it's usually a granola bar or some dried fruit.
Posted 8/5/2011 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
thank you for all the advice.It feels good to know that people i dont know are willing to take the time to reply and give me some input
Posted 8/5/2011 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hello and welcome, for your vomiting there is a pill you can take that works quite well in helping keep narcotic medicines down, I only know how to spell the generic one promethzine, it called phenegan, but I am not sure of the spelling of the latter.

Good luck to you, you really should begin to look for a pain management doctor, it might take some time to find a good one.

Take care, and hope you are doing well today.

Posted 8/6/2011 12:40 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to HW Mykull! I am sorry to see that you too are dealing with back pain. I suffer right along side you. Double fusion S1-L5 and L5-L4 with hardware. Two years after that (first done in 2000) I was forced to undergo another fusion on L4-L3 which 8 months later was revised as the fusion did not take and one screw was loose.

Now I am dealing with chroic pain, failed back syndrome and perm. neuropatic pain down both legs from S1-L4 and L4-L5 fusion. So I understand your pain. I would suggest first that you try ALL non-surgical paths to fixing your pain before agreeing to surgery. The reason I say this is because back in 2000 the failure rate for Fusion surgeries was 3% and now stands higher then that I believe.

Unfortunatly it happens to even the most careful of us. I quit smoking before the surgeries and was 3 years into my quit and still that did not help. Neuro was the best in the state, but I still ended up with FBSS.

So please exaust all non-surgical paths before considering surgery. Welcome aboard!

Gentle hugs,

Scarred
Posted 8/6/2011 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the forum mykull. You have some things going on with your back that is going to cause pain. Please don't feel like a wimp. The members here as you can see are very caring and supportive. You have already gotten some good advice and I don't have anything more to add except I want to stress getting in to see a pain management doctor, as they know how to treat chronic pain. Take care.

hugs
Loretta
Posted 8/6/2011 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi mykull. Just wanted to add to the welcome :)

Laura
Posted 8/7/2011 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for al the welcoming.I am waiting for a pain management place to call monday.I am currently taking oxicodone 5mg and its not doing a thing.Been getting about 3 hours of sleep per night for the last 2 weeks.Hope they can help
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