Nerve Pain Alternatives to Percocet?

Five years ago I was the subject of a botched surgery which left me with chronic pain through my left side, rib cage, my back , shoulder and down into my stomach. The result of a Doctor pulling a tube out of my chest without first checking to see if it was attached to anything inside me before extracting it. I guess my body had decided to grab hold of it so when the Doctor pulled it out (without an assistant present) the pain was beyond any words I can describe and has never left since. It is five years now. Five years lost. A once thriving business not so much anymore because I cannot put the time in that it needs. I have run the full spectrum of ways to rid myself of this pain to no end. My last hope is freezing the area in question and that scares the___ out of me. Has anyone had this done? I've been taking percocet 5/325 for those five years. My stomach is shot and constipation is unreal. More pain from that brought on by the current drug. Has anyone had any luck with different pain medications? Toradol, tramacet, lyrica (a very dangerous drug), cymbalta, seroquil, clonazapem. I have tried them all. Thanks. I wish you all wellness in your life.

Hey Chronic --

Welcome to HW and the CP forum. I'm sorry for the issues that bring you here.... but am glad you found HealingWell. There is lots of great info here....

What you describe sounds terribly painful - I'm so sorry :(

I can tell you what works for me and my pain.... but that being said -- we are all different... because of our metabolisms and such - what works for me might not work for you... and all there's the whole issue of our pain issues being different.

For my pain issues - I use narcotics, a nerve medicine (neurontin) and a muscle relaxer. Over the years - I've had trigger point injections, physical therapy, epidurals, nerve blocks, facet injections, botox and so forth.

I'm surprised that after 5 years -- you are on a short acting pain med like Percocet. Do you mind sharing what kind of doctor of you are seeing? A pain management doc would be my recommendation.

Last question -- do you mind me asking why you find Lyrica dangerous?

--Tina

Hi all,

I am so glad t hear from you. The questions above I can answer easily. As for Lyrica, I was on it for a few months and one day decided it wan't for me and stopped cold turkey. Not a good idea as i had felling of (as they mention on their ads) ending it. The drug made me feel that way and Seroquil turned me into a raving out of control lunatic. Both Lyrica and Syroquil made me confused and disoriented. Lyrica is like pouring cement on nerve endings so you can't feel. In my case it never worked and turned out to be dangerous. When you stop taking it you are overwhelmed with so many thoughts you can't think at all and almost go into a convulsive state without the physicla movements. I know Lyrica in the USA had many unanswered issues at its time of approval and they were aware of the suicidal part of the drugs side effects.

As for my pain medication I have been seeing my Doctor who has fought me all the way on my pain. I had to fight for almost four years to finally end up with a doseage of 6 per day which does not do it for me. He is not interested in coming up with a regimen which works and where I can function. I have finally reached the point of depression. Not bad after five years. I am very sad and as many of you would know yearn for the days when things were better yet cannot understand the ignorance of the medical field towards helping me. I know my pain can be controlled but to date no luck. When my Doctor gave me a prescription for 6 per day he said he only would if i saw a specialist. I did and the specialist said my dose was too low and (3 per day) and 6 or more was fine. Upon returning to my doctor i was met with a very angry Doctor greeting storming into the office saying.."I just don't buy it". He was trying to tell me he thought i was faking it. I also felt he was attempting to get me to tell him where to go so he could dismiss me as a patient. No way

. Lately I have found that I just can't seem to operate very well on a daily basis and find it hard to keep a straight face. I've never been one to give up so I will pick myself up again. My pain is a pinched nerve in my ribs but one specialist i saw said that she felt as if my insides had been pulled over when the Doctor pulled the tube out of me causing further pain. I have a bulge on my left side under my ribcage as well and pain that radiates from my back under my shoulder. There is a pressure point on my back when pushed makes the pain disappear. That is where going in for a shot comes in which I guess is next however it does as i mentioned before scare me.

I think we could all write a book on this subject and i do appreciate all of the quick responses. I did have x-rays done over two months ago and the doctor has yet to call me back so I will call him. I am going in to see him though over medication. I must find something that works so I can work.
Thanks again. Hope to talk with you soon.


I broke your reply up as its difficult for some members to read.

Post Edited By Moderator (nvrthesame98) : 9/12/2013 4:12:38 PM (GMT-6)

"There is a pressure point on my back when pushed makes the pain disappear. That is where going in for a shot comes in which I guess is next however it does as i mentioned before scare me." - Chronic1961.

Hi- you mentioned that you are afraid of trying any injections. It's normal to worry about getting injections. However, you have nothing to lose. Try the injections and if they don't work, you have lost nothing. But if they do work, you might get some pain relief. I know 2 people who have experienced success and pain relief from steroid injections in the spine. I have had many injections - trigger point, 2 SI joint injections, cervical epidural injection, steroid injection in my hamstring, and one in my upper back. None of these injections worked except the first one in 2007 in my upper back. I know it's scary to go under the fluoroscopic X-ray and let them inject your painful back.

But I am trying another injection tomorrow- a Lateral Nerve Branch Block. The pain management dr is using it as a diagnostic tool to see if I am a candidate for nerve ablation and also to see if the pain is coming from that area. I have found that every time I change pain doctors, I have to let them give me at least 1 injection so I seem open-minded to their suggestions and also so I don't seem like a drug-seeker. Of course I am not a drug seeker, so... I try them. I would consider that option when you see a pain management doctor. There are so many different types of injections and your doctor will be able to recommend if any of them could be tried as treatment for you.

Good luck. I hope you can find some relief soon!

Did you get an MRI? X-rays only show bones and not soft tissue. A pain management doctor may send you for an MRI so they can see more of what is happening within your body.

Hello Everyone,
Recently motivated by my Pharmacist to try and work with my doctor to try alternative pain management. 2 surgeries; 1st was fusion of L-1 & L-2, then later, due to the change in my stresses because of the fusion and previous damage to the disks between L-2, L-3, and L-4, required second surgery for a total of 4 fused vertebra in my back, L-1 through L-4. Last surgery really went badly; same surgeon and everything, but there was apparently extensive nerve damage. Not clear whether it was caused during or before, but I feel much more pain seemingly now than prior. Not looking to place blame, just move on.

Started w/Cymbalta, Percocet and Valium; the Valium was trial and error as the best fit for me as a muscle relaxer. Get knots in my back by the end of the day, and the only way to ease them was the addition of Valium.

Percocet started out as 2 every 8 hours (5-325's) or as needed, but after about a year, it just wasn't cutting it and I couldn't work. Went to 2 every 6 hours, but waking up was terrible because I had let all the pain medication wear off, and it takes a while for it to "kick" back in. During the second year, doctor phased in Gabapentin (Nuerotin) and suggested the larger the dose, the better. Was also experiencing uncontrolled twitching of muscles in my lower back and R/Leg.

Backing up a bit, there was a post-operative issue the second go round, and I got a blood clot in my right thigh. That really did a number. I lost about 30% of my muscle mass before I forced myself upright and started a walking regimine, pain be darned.

Now at 2 Percocet every 6 hours, w/2 300mg Gabapentin, and 1 5mg Valium. Was also taking 90 mg of Cymbalta over the day, but I weaned off of it because I have no insurance and it's absurdly expensive.

There was also a period where he gave me a slow release Morphine (don't recall the dosage, etc) that I used before bed so I wouldn't wake up hammered tight.

I am not looking for sympathy, or blaming, just a solution. Tried a time release pain patch too, but that didn't really work well at all.

Every post I have read seems to end with the same thing; go see a Pain Management Specialist. What I am looking for is something more from you all out there, which is genuine direction towards solutions. No lectures on "Why it's a good idea" to see a Pain Management Specialist; I am not stupid, and understand completely. It's just that I have no insurance, am not interested on getting permanent disability, and want to continue to have a productive healthy life without the "Fuzzy" mental status, and burning out my liver and kidneys. I'm only 52, and would like to live more that another 10 years if you can feel me.

That said, on a "No Insurance" budget (still a W-2 Contractor, and companies NEVER seem to hire anyone full time anymore). Like where I work, and would love for them to pull me in Full Time, but it's their call.

Hence my pointed question; what are the alternative pain regimines out there for someone in my exact or very similar condition? Can anyone give me explicit examples or "someone who knows someone who did this"?

Desperately seeking relief, QuadFusion.

Hello Quadfusion & welcome to the forum. We do ask all new members to make their own intro post so that everyone will see it & be able to give you a proper hello & welcome aboard. What you have written above is perfect if you will copy & paste it. To make a new thread click Post New Topic, type in a heading & then put the above post in & you should be good to go. When posting on another person's thread like this not everyone will see your post. Thanks.

Welcome chronic, and you too emily and quad.

Chronic, emily has a good idea - try the injection. Since it'll have to be a thoracic spine, probably facet joint, you will need an anesthesiologist pain doc to do it. Nobody else is qualified (that I've heard of). I've had a few there for slipping ribs. A facet joint injection is only a test and does not last long, sometimes only a few days of weeks. But if it does work then you can have a nerve ablation (heating up the outer fat layer of the nerve) that should last months or years. There are a couple of other types of injections in the spine that may also work for a while.

Injecting in the front of my ribs didn't do anything.

But there's another type of problem you should look up yourself because your doctors may not think of it: abdominal wall trigger (or tender) points from an incision that traps a cutaneous (skin) nerve and many other causes.
http://myofascialtherapy.massagetherapy.com/trigger-points-in-the-abdominal-wall--medical-article A simple injection of local anesthetic might stop the problem. I had this complication too after a surgery. Pain meds won't work on unless they're enough to knock you out.

All these injections sound scary, but they're not at all bad, lots better than the pain! If you're a hysterical sort you can ask for something, but I've had all the injections and ablations without and my head felt better from not getting sedation. You get local anesthetic, so mostly there is just pressure.

I've also had all the "nerve meds" and have never had any good results from any of them. I keep on trying, so I can avoid taking higher and higher narcotics, but the injections, and especially the ablations, have been most successful. My docs don't like to give out anything stronger than tramadol, which takes the edge off but isn't nearly enough.

Best wishes to all newcomers. I hope you will start your own threads so you can be welcomed by more readers.