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Upper Back Pain, Thoracic
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3 replies [Last post]
July 25, 2011 - 4:01pm
willdd
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Joined: 07/25/2011
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Need Pain med Suggestions - Actiq to ?

Hello everyone I'm new to this forum and was hoping to get some good solid advice about pain meds. I've been suffering from chronic upper back pain due to DDD for the past 18 years. I'm currently on a pain med regiment which includes narcotic and non-narcotic meds. I ran into a problem with my insurance not covering my current dose of Actiq and therefore have to switch to a lower dose -> 600mcg to 400mcg 4Xday.

Now my doctor says he will put me on another pain med in addition to the lower dose of actiq to help with this, but we're having a difficult time deciding which one is best. We're currently trying Dilaudid @ 8mg every 4 hours but I find that really isn't helping all that much. The other med we're looking at is Opana or Oxymorphone.

So considering that the Dilaudid isn't doing much for my pain do you guys think the Opana would work any better? What about another med such as Oxy IR? Any help, tips, or suggestions here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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July 25, 2011 - 4:09pm
#1
newhere
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Joined: 02/01/2011
Posts: 70
Points: 142
?

can you tell me your diagnose?

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July 26, 2011 - 6:47pm
#2
JulieA
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Joined: 06/26/2008
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I take 4 mg of generic

I take 4 mg of generic Zanaflex for the muscle spasms (break them in hallf during the day since they knock me out). I take this every 8 hours.

I also take 40 mg of oxycontin cr every 8 hours (with up to 4 10 mg of oxcontin cr as needed- I can add these in for tough days).

I also take 5 mg of Oxycodone (up to 3 a day as needed) for breakthrough pain.

And to top it off so I can sleep for 5-7 hours I add a generic ambien nightly....

I can't take morphine, but I did try the extended refied Embeda (pulled by the FDA) and it worked very well for the short time I took it (just the terrible rash). I have taken Robaxin (muscle relaxer)for a while as well but it was not as effective.

I hope you can figure out something that works for you Smile

Julie

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I am not a doctor, my opinions are not meant to be medical advice. Just opinions from my personal experiences dealing with multiple spinal issues.

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