Pain is awful!!!!..Help!

  • Thread starter Thread starter kellybaby
  • Start date Start date
K

kellybaby

Guest
Hey everyone. I am 41 years old and I was diagnosed with a herniated disc in L-4/L-5 about four years ago. My doctor put me on Vicodin ES and I have been on it ever since. The problem is, I still hurt! I hurt so bad at night, I can heardly sleep! My lower back, legs, and hips feel like someone is literally running over them! I take 800 mg of Motrin at night, but it stops working before morning and it barely helps anyway! I am afraid to take anything stronger than Vicodin because I have heard so many horror stories about addiction to Oxycontin and the like! What else can I try? Someone told me to see a Chiropractor, but I am afraid of being pulled on and "adjusted" when I am hurting already! I don't want to get in a downward spiral of surgery after surgery either, because I am graduating in June from medical school and I want to be able to work! Please help me...I just don't know what to do!:(
 
Hi Kelly,
I had herniations at both L3-L4 and L4-L5 last summer with extrusion and initially after the herniation I was unable to sleep longer than about three hours at night. The burning from the nerve pain was so intense for a period of time that the vicodin didn't really get rid of it, just took the edge off. I did have good success (and continue to do so) with tramadol (Ultram). I also have cervical disc problems and the tramadol seems to be more specific for nerve type pain. I am four months out from a lurabar fusion and only take a tramadol in the afternoon (as it does interfere with sleep if taken later in the day) and it helps a lot.

I think if I was in your situation I would have a MRI prior to going to a chiropractor (if I went to one at all). I'm not big on adjustments as I have had some problems after manipulation of my cervical spine. Some folks have great success with chiros and swear by them. If you are having this much constant pain I would get another MRI just to see what is going on. Having an MRI doesn' obligate you to surgery as it is always considered an elective surgery unless you are having cauda equina syndrome.
Hope this helps and you can find some kind of relief.
Jan.
 
Back
Top