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I had a bad wreck when I was 18 and now my mis spent youth has returned to haunt me. The injured leg ( it was SMASHED) now has osteomyalitis and hurts something feirce. I take between four and six Norco a day just to get through a day on the job standing up. On top of that I have arthritis in both my hands (not so good since I work with them every day) and that doesn't help either. When I run out of my meds it's PURE misery. Are there any other drugs out there that are as effective and that I won't have to take so much of?
Have you ever heard of a pain management clinic or physician? These people are great. You go in, get a fantastic physicial from head to toe outlining all your injuries and bone/joint problems, and then he orders all kinds of x-rays and looks over other x-rays or scans and/or records if you bring them. He will also order lots and lots of lab data along with the x-rays, scans and MRI's trying to find causes for your pain and to rule out certain abnormalities and diseases. After all the test results are back, you sit down with him and come up with a medication trial. Maybe it is something you have used before that worked or maybe it is something new. Most of these guys stay away from the short-acting opioids, like Lortab and Percocet. Fentanyl or Duragesic Patches work well for chronic long-term pain. You put 1 or 2 patches on every 2-3 days, depending on the degree of pain and if the patch is working for you on the 3rd day, but you have to listen to how the doctor tells you to apply it. A lot of people I have talked to have said they get better relief changing the patches every 2 days than every 3 days. You put these patches on your belly or chest or top of your arm, and then forget about them. You get a blood level up because the medication is absorbed into the bloodstream through the transdermal patch. They usually give you a breakthrough medication in case you have a really bad day and you have pain that the patch is not taking care of completely. Between the two medications, you should be fine. Hopefully you have insurance. At a pain management clinic, you see them every month and only get a prescription for one month worth of medication. If you run out early because you are taking more than the prescribed dose, that's too bad cause you won't get any more prescriptions sooner. These guys treat pain from catastrophic injuries or long-term pain from a debilitating illness. Chronic pain is a real diagnosis and doctors should treat it as such. The problem exists when people play games with medicines they don't need or sell the medications for extra money. That makes it hard for the people who really are in need of a pain management physician and prescriptions. So many doctors have been screwed over by patients lying about losing prescriptions and such, that it makes it hard for some doctors to believe patients pain anymore. That is why when you enter into pain management, no matter what you only get one month's worth of prescriptions. You get your life back and can smile again when you are out of pain and living a normal life. What state are you from, maybe I can get you some names? Good luck! There is help out there.
I'm in Nevada. There hasn't been a doctor yet that didn't believe my pain. lol it's kinda hard to miss. The effected areas are VERY obvious and the degenerative bone condidtion was definativly diagnosed on a three phase scan. It's a mess and I'm going to lose the leg eventually.
my husband suffers from back pain due to surgery,a broken leg where he had to have a external fixator on and broker arm. all from accidents years ago. he has tried everything. nothing works. he deals with the pain. his lower leg has no feeling and he had drop foot but has not feeling but has constant burning and pins and needles in them. he does have permanent nerve damage. but really nothing helps. he does use pot once in a while to relieve pain. they put him on cymbalta but that screwed him up real bad. so good luck and maybe try going on permanent disability. maybe its getting worse from being on your leg so much. good luck
my husband suffers from back pain due to surgery,a broken leg where he had to have a external fixator on and broker arm. all from accidents years ago. he has tried everything. nothing works. he deals with the pain. his lower leg has no feeling and he had drop foot but has not feeling but has constant burning and pins and needles in them. he does have permanent nerve damage. but really nothing helps. he does use pot once in a while to relieve pain. they put him on cymbalta but that screwed him up real bad. so good luck and maybe try going on permanent disability. maybe its getting worse from being on your leg so much. good luck
lol permanent disability ain't an option. I'm not made that way. I gutted this pain for 23 years before I even talked to a doctor about pain control. I just can't deal with it any more. The Norco works, but it's a narcotic and has the usual issues that go with drugs of that type. I know people that have been on Vicodin and such for ten years and better, I've only been using it for bout two. I stayed away from pain drugs because of having to deal with the withdrawl off the stuff when I was in the hospital after the accident. Lickin' that was worse than the broken bones, I think. I won't ever consider subsistence because of this. I'm a workin' man through and through. I do have an opportunity now to start earning with my brain rather than my body and I'm pretty excited about that. It's been a long haul. I'm just looking into options. I'll be talking with my doctor this week and was just looking for a place to start asking the right questions
Are you able to walk or do any form of exercise?
It will help strengthen your leg even if it's for a short period of time each day.
If you sit around (even though that's the norm to do) it's the wrong thing to do.
Move, move and more movement will eventually heal your pain.
Are you able to walk or do any form of exercise?
It will help strengthen your leg even if it's for a short period of time each day.
If you sit around (even though that's the norm to do) it's the wrong thing to do.
Move, move and more movement will eventually heal your pain.
I've been very active my whole life, even with the injury. I don't "work out" per se but I'm up and out the door every day. My son and I hunt, fish, ride horses etc. I lead an active life but this condition is degenerative. It's going to get worse, not better no matter how active I am. Amputation is the only "cure" but I'm not ready for that right now. It's a fact I'll have to face eventually but not yet..not yet.
I've been very active my whole life, even with the injury. I don't "work out" per se but I'm up and out the door every day. My son and I hunt, fish, ride horses etc. I lead an active life but this condition is degenerative. It's going to get worse, not better no matter how active I am. Amputation is the only "cure" but I'm not ready for that right now. It's a fact I'll have to face eventually but not yet..not yet.
Try do avoid amputation because it can trigger a whole new set of pain called "Phantom Pain" google it. There is one drug you can look into and may scare you at first, methadone. Methadone has gotten very popular in pain management these days. I'm no export but what I've heard is it doesn't mess your head up, controls your pain, leaves you a better appetite, not as addictive and slowly wares off unlike some narcotics when the effect wares down you can become very ill.
Try do avoid amputation because it can trigger a whole new set of pain called "Phantom Pain" google it. There is one drug you can look into and may scare you at first, methadone. Methadone has gotten very popular in pain management these days. I'm no export but what I've heard is it doesn't mess your head up, controls your pain, leaves you a better appetite, not as addictive and slowly wares off unlike some narcotics when the effect wares down you can become very ill.
I don't know many people that could take methadone, myself included.
I tried it for 3-6 weeks I think, ended up going back to my pain management, they dumped the pills, I got a new script for something else.
Methadone is horrible.
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