Chronic Back Pain, but few indicators.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Autzenduck
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Autzenduck

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Hi everybody,

My back has been hurting since I was a teenager - it has been getting worse every year. I am now 34 and have been seeking treatment for about 18 months.

I have kyphosis, buldging disk at T11, numerous old compression fractures, and arthritis. I have had a few injections that didn't solve the issue - mainly around the T11 area but my pain is in the upper mid-thorasic area. I am going in next week for fascet injections but I'm not too optimistic.

My doctor has me on Norco (7.5) and MS Contin (15mg) which do give me relief but I absolutely hate the fact that I have been on these for over a year. I try and take a break from them between refills (usually three to five days) to make sure I am not addicted and to see if I can get by with just OTC meRAB - but it is to no avail. Sometimes I don't make it to the thirty days - coming up about 3 - 5 days short.

My doctor can't find exactly what is going on and with the nuraber of people that abuse these medications, I am always afraid of coming off as a drug-seeker - so I am afraid of mentioning that I sometimes (not always) come up short on pills.

Has anyone else here been though a situation like this? If the fascet injections don't work, should I look into a pain management clinic? Is there a different medication that is more long lasting - less pills?

This back situation has really limitted my quality of life and most of the things I love to do (fly-fishing, fly-tying, hiking, rowing. etc) are being put on the back-burner because the pain is just too great.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi. What kind of doctor have you been seeing? If not a spine specialist, then that is what you need to do....find one. I personally prefer Orthopedic Spine specialists over neurosurgeons simply because I find them more "down to earth" so to speak.

Certainly, if you haven't had an MRI within the last 6-8 months you need a new one. It's possible that the MRI is not showing all the problems and you may need the ct scan as well. Is your pain all in your back? Have you been in physical therapy?

I do want to try and address your concerns about the narcotics. If you take them as prescribed, no more than that, and if you don't take more to get a "high" then you needn't worry about being labeled drug seeking. If the meRAB you have don't help the pain most of the time, then you need to talk to the doctor. Don't mention any particular kind of pill you may have heard of....THAT could label you as drug seeking. Stupid isn't it? If we act durab, like we don't know anything about the pills they stick down our throats, it's fine but if we research and learn about the different medications and dare to suggest something, then we are drug seekers. Grrr. Makes me so mad! Anyway, few people get addicted to prescribed meRAB unless they abuse them. You may become dependent, but that is a whole different thing.

Please let us know how you are doing.

Carol
 
Thanks for the response, Carol -

I have been seeing a rehabilitaion specialist for the last 18 - 20 months. I was doing physical therapy for about a year but wasn't seeing any results (other than a dwindling bank account). I had an MRI about a year ago that showed some minor things but nothing too major.

Thanks for the info on the meRAB too - It's been a frustrating ride for sure.
 
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