Chronic Pain Management - Patients' Advice: Part IV

Patients share chronic pain management advice

I have been trying to cope with my chronic back pain since June'99 after a work accident that ruptured a disc in the lower lumbar. I have had 4 horrid surgeries, the 1st I had the dural lining slit & lost most of my spinal fluid & wasn't reoperated for almost another 10 days. Because it took so long to have the 1st surgery I ended up w/ pretty severe nerve damage, which was worsened by the dural lining being torn & reglued. I had 2 more ops where they tried to implant a device to help mimimize pain, which was a total screw up & worsened the nerve damage tenfold.

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I now need numerous meds to control pain, see a chiro every week & have a stimulator put on be4 treatments. I also see a masseuse each week to help keep muscles loose. I have tried aromatherapy, meditation, sound therapy, exercise & most important..trying to keep my spirits up! Lately my blood pressure is out of control ,usually when pain is also @ it's worse & need demerol shots to calm things down short term. It is a constant battle, both for sanity & pain relief. I recently started taking pure Noni juice which helps a lot! It contains anti-inflammatory properties, pain reduction,& an anti-toxin. I
also use a Biofreeze product directly on my back for inflammation. I cannot take oral anti-inflammatories, so need to improvise. I am willing to try almost anything anymore, so any1 with suggestions is certainly welcomed!!!!

From: laurie290 – Saskatchewan, Canada

I cannot stress enough how much exercise has helped me with my chronic back pain. I was fortunate to finally be referred to a Physical Therapist and given a series of back exercises for low back pain...x-rays showed no pathological reason for my back pain except weak muscle support. My whole family has suffered from muscle spasms and I feel I have finally found the answer. I do exercises to stretch as well build up muscles. I also walk 2 miles at least 5 times a week. I am 67 years old and don't have an ache or stiffness when I get out of bed anymore! EXERCISE....EXERCISE.....EXERCISE....It's worth 20 minutes a day plus a 40 minute walk!!!

From: Joan – West Virginia, USA

I have had chronic low back pain for 20 years. I have tried everything from multiple back surgeries to a spinal cord stimulation system. I have been fused at L4-5-S1 and also at C5-6-T1. I am currently having a rhizotomy done at C3-4-5-6. I have spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease. I have tried every pain medication known to man. Currently I am taking 20-30mg of methadone a day and this seems to help. I had facet blocks done 4 weeks ago and got good pain relief. I have also found that walking seems to help a great deal.

Like most people with chronic back pain I have good days and bad days. I have been totally disabled for 10 years and now I’m a stay at home dad. I try not to think about my pain all the time and stay focused on the good things in life. Chronic pain can be very depressing as most doctors think all you want is narcotic pain medicine and most people think you’re either too lazy to work or that you want something for nothing. I would be glad and I would rather go to work every day than be in the shape I’m in. I’m very lucky to have great family support and a very understanding doctor. I want everyone with chronic pain to know that you can find help. There are doctors willing to help. I don’t think long term narcotic pain medicine is the right way to go, but if that’s the only way to get some relief…just be very careful about how much you take.

From: Jeff Stephens – South Carolina, USA

After years of lower back problems and painful hip and a bad limp I am now well (or almost well) again. I had total hip replacement 8 weeks ago. It is so great to be pain free. And no back pain. Now I think the limp was causing the back pain - the hip pain was causing the limp. I had not cartilage left in the hip plus a spur. I had injured the hip in 1961 - I can't tell you how many Drs. I have seen and how many various treatments - accupuncture - epidural injections - facet joint injections- months of physical therapy until they gave up on me - even went to a big university and had the chief of orthopedics as my Dr. and no answers. I bless my local specialist who found this and did my surgery. Wish I had all the money back I have spent over the years. And in the 1980's I was on crutches for 3 months. Yes, I had x-rays, mri - etc. I am doing great - walking with a cane but forgetting to take it sometimes.

Being free of pain is wonderful.

From: Anonymous

I've found that the more I focus on helping others through their struggles, the less I focus on my own pain.

It's so important to turn the focus off of myself and my pain -- no matter how good or bad the pain is on a given day. Knowing that my day was not wasted trying to get more comfort and less pain (and usually failing) helps me sleep better and my outlook on life improves as well.

There are definitely times when we need to focus on ourselves and on our own pain. That's when others can assist us in various, effective ways. But, if we only focus on ourselves, depression will continue to deepen its foothold on our lives. None of us wants that.

From: Michael Joseph - Illinois, USA

I am in chronic pain. Exercise, Tramadol, and happy activities help. Avoiding stress (even in movies) and finding movies or plays that make you laugh or feel good, good-natured people, and activiites help. Being interested in other people helps to take the spotlight off the pain. Life can be good even with chronic pain.

From: Mary – Minnesota, USA

Pain lets me know I'm alive! You name it, it was done to me and for me! But a 2 level fusion was the only way, I do have some good days and still some bad (@3+months). I still have to take pain medication and do PT every week. Hot showers and foot rubs make me feel better. PT would be going better but I have to do all my pool work on my own. It will get better... I'm only 27!

From: Carie – Ohio, USA

What works for me is to just keep as busy as possible. I found if I don't do this my pain and depression get the better of me....GOD BLESS!

From: Rezcaddy – Kansas, USA

I have had chronic back pain since 1975. I was working in a meat packing house. I was lifting boxes of liver that weighted over 100lbs. I didn't lift them the correct way, so I missed up my back for the rest of my life. I also had a car accident that same year which hurt my neck also. I have had four back operations, none of which helped. I don't know what it's called but the first one they had to take some of the bone out, which was laying on the nerve, which was supposedly causing the pain. I don't remember what the next two were but the last was a ruptured disk, they removed it. After all of these operations, you would think I would feel some relief but I didn't. Then about 12 years ago, I finally received the Social Security Disability, that I had applied for. I found a wonderful Doctor who really helped my pain as good as he could. I am on Morphine 100 mls twice a day, along with muscle relaxers and a lot of other medication. I don't like being hooked on narcotics but if it helps to reduce my pain it's worth it. You don't know what pain is until you have had chronic back pain. Until I started seeing this Doctor I couldn't hardly walk or stand. I can now for short periods of time. I had a child in 1988 and this back pain is much worse than giving birth.
Good luck to everyone. Find yourself a good Doctor who cares about the pain you're in.

From: Sandy – Tennessee, USA

I was glad to see so much of info on net. My husband had sciatica 10 yrs back and it was sudden & severe. I am a homeopath & with symptoms I was able to get rid of his pain in 10 days though treatment continued for quite sometime with no further problems. We were in India. He was in South Korea for 4 yrs till last month, I visited him twice a yr, he developed severe back pain, we went to an orthopad for x-rays they showed prolapsed disc of L4-L5, he gave some pain killers & advised heat therapy, ultra sound radiations, in 5 sittings there was no pain. Now he is on no medication but still on lifting any load he gets little ache. We avoid all sorts of loads.

From: Dr. Mrs. Ahluwalia - UAE

I've had chronic lower back pain since 2002. On Feb. 17, 2005 I had a disc replaced, bone graft started, laminectomy, and a double fusion. I'm at a "3 month plus" in recovery. I finished 19 sessions of pool therapy and will do land therapy after the surgeon's OKs June 21. I'm told that I eventually will not feel the fusion. Not yet for me. Back pain is minimized to each side of the fusion--I think it is setting up and sometimes presses on a nerve or two. Frozen peas help then--driving or at home.

From: Marcia Smith – Ohio, USA

Much encouraged by some experiences related. I find exercise and stretching the best prevention and treatment (when not in pain, of course -- use gentle massage, rest, ice and moist heat to ease). I've herniated disc - right fifth lumbar. We opted for epidural -- and, thank God, it worked.

I still have to use care lifting, bending, twisting, etc., but I enjoy good health otherwise. Patience is one of the best remedies - along with avoiding aggravating activities.

I see more and more reports indicating surgery is best kept as last option. My conversations with those who've had the knife seem to confirm the wisdom of using every other means first. Overall (TOTAL!) physical conditioning is essential and, of course, benefits far more than the spine.

That's my two bits for now. It would have saved me millions of dollars worth of pain and grief had I only done what I knew to do. Cautious, consistent, COMPLETE! conditioning.

Hope for the best for you.

From: Xavey - USA

I have been living with my chronic pain for 13 years now. My back injury changed everything about the person who I was into the person I am today. I also have Degenerative Disk Disease and my spine is in very bad shape. The best advice I can give to anyone out there is to stay off the narcotics. They suppress your body's own pain-killing ability, which eventually leads to increased pain levels and addiction. I know, I've been there. My narcotics tolerance is so high now that a working dosage for me is actually dangerous. I've simply accepted the fact that I will not return to being the same person who I once was, and I will have to live with my disability using only medications such as antidepressants and nerve suppressants, and the power of mind over body.

From: Tracy Eckels – California, USA

I injured my back while riding the roller coasters. 2 herniated disks, 1 bulging disk, 1 EXPLODED disk. 1st surgery L2-L3 laminotomy and facetectomy and discectomy. Did not work. Tried multiple seies of cortizone injections, did not work. Have had 7 MRIs, 4 Cat scans, myelogram, diskogram. A year later a second surgery, L5-S1 fusion, cages, bone graft and 6 screws with 2 rods, did not help. This year I've had a neuroplasty in attempt to break up all the scar tissue. Currently am undergoing a series of facet joint injections to kill the nerves in 4 lumbar joints, bilaterally. If these do not help I am trying radiofrequency rhizotomy. Has anyone tried this?

I have found four things that help me get through the chronic pain, physical therapy with aqua exercises, walking, swimming (snorkeling) and a mixture of Avinza and Percocet. Support from family and friends helps with the depression but I cannot sit or stand for more than 15 minutes without pain. I need to lay down several times during the day. This has gone on for 3 years so I always take it one day at a time. Every once in a while, I can go a day or two without medication, but my goal is to completely stop the meds. Just remember: ONE DAY AT A TIME :~)

From: Renee – Florida, USA

After a couple of years of seeing a doctor that wouldn't address or even recognize that I had chronic pain, I found a wonderful pain management doctor who started me on elavil (an antidepressant), fentanyl patch(a pain medication), topamax (anticonvulsant used for nerve pain and migraines), and Norco (an opiod based pain medication). I started to sleep again and feel somewhat normal again. After about a year he surgically implanted a spinal cord stimulator and that has also cut my pain by 50% on really good days and 20-30% on bad days. I hold a full time job (rarely absent) and I think being able to work is what keeps me going. I still have very bad days, but I get through them one day at a time.

From: Lisa – Texas, USA

I had low back pain sometimes unilaterally and sometimes bilaterally no radiation to legs. My PT suggested abductors strengthening and adductors stretching and abdominal strengthening exercises. Whenever I did my exercises my pain reduced. When I would stop for some days, it would come back again. I feel better with the exercises done, so continuing those regularly.

From: Hetal – Bombay, India

Communicate with others who may be in chronic pain.

* Note: This page expresses the experiences and opinions of patients, not doctors. The Back-to-Back forum is provided because we think people often have very practical advice and insights to share that can benefit other patients who have similar back problems. This section has not been peer reviewed by our Medical Advisory Board, and is provided for your informational purposes only.

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