Pre Op pain management

  • Thread starter Thread starter katlovesdogs
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Well whatever you were on must not have been to strong because if you stopped at the begining of the week you would be in the hospital by now! The withdrawls are just like you see on tv with a herion addict ( pretty thought right!) @ first it starts with an uneasy stomach just a slight nervous feeling then you start with diarhea and flu symtoms. Hot /cold flashes your stomach gets more and more of the uneasy feeling and you start feeling like your going to jump out of your skin! Diarhea continues wheather you have anything left in you or not! It is HORRIBLE, My girlfriend (ex) came home from work to get my scrip filled otherwise I would have been in the hospital by the end of the day. about 40 mins after my first pill i started to feel better.
 
If I can't get help then I don't know what it's there for! I've worked my whole life and paid ss taxes the whole time. If they want my tax revenue in the future I need my back fixed I can't even stand for more than a half hour. I'm looking into medicaid and social security. Someone said go to the emergency room, and keep going. That the hospital social workers can help. I've never been through anything like this, i've gone 22 yrs with this but finally i have no choice. This sucks! I just want to get going again! I will be in the middle of the state up the road from Ames
 
Can you apply for disability or medical aid from your county? I have been in the same position. I lost my job due to my condition, and then my husband lost his job. It has been a mess for us. We were able to continue with our insurance until last June (my first surgery was in April). We could no longer afford Cobra. I had to stop PT and meRAB, and any care related to my back. They have clinics with sliding fee scales, but none of them have spine specialists or orthopedics! After months of applying and applying over and over again, we were approved for medical aid, only to loose it at the end of Noveraber because we had both started part time work and made too much money to qualify. I had to move up my gallbladder surgery to Nov 30th, the final day we had insurance. Even though I am disabled, I have been forced to work full time simply so my family and I can have insurance (my husband is a looser)- I have a 2 year old so I am doing it for her and I. Our insurance finally started on Jan 1. As soon as I get my card!!!! I have to call my surgeon so he can schedule my second back surgery. I am in agony and have been for so long. I haven't had proper medical care as a result. This country seriously neeRAB to reform laws regarding medical insurance.

I could go on and on as I've had such a hard time for the last year. Try applying for medical assistance, you might qualify if you are out of work. Also, sometimes if you receive disability they can help you get insurance. I had disability but it was through a private company and they couldn't help me with that.

Also look into applying for programs with the hospital you will be having surgery at. I applied and was accepted. It covers whatever insurance doesn't, and it covers a portion if you have no insurance. Back surgery is major though and requires a lot of follow up care so most surgeons wont do it unless you have coverage.

Good luck! I know EXACTLY what you are going through!
 
My friend got me a appointment for next week with the orthopedic surgeon. Thank God my Dr's office got the surgeon to get me a reduced rate even then it's VERY expensive just for a consultation! That is ALL this is a consult. She is doing this for me, after this I won't be able to do anything unless I can get help. I'm praying that the Back2life can loosen me up enough to be able to work then get insurance. That would be amazingly helpful. So far The Back machine is incredible, I'm into my 4th day of feeling human again! The effects of just feeling alittle better are AWESOME! My whole attitude and feeling has improved sooo much! You forget what it is like to not feel miserable. My ex has noticed as well, just how I speak and my emotional attitude has vastly improved. I Pray that this continues! I feel cheated, this stupid back problem is a big reason I have lost a relationship, for the last year I have been miserable and had given up. I was not myself anymore and not the person she met. Just these last few days have shown me what I'am TRULY like as a person. When you are in chronic pain you lose yourself. I relly hope your procedure goes well and you can get back on track! It is NO way to live, it's not even living it's just exsisting. Hang in there and look on the bright side at least you have insurance. Hopefully the government will get healthcare for us. But that is a ways off so we just have to do what we can for now!
 
So far with crossed fingers it has seemed to help. It is very relaxing and I can feel it doing what it is suppose to do. It costs 200 dollars. Thank God my ex is such a good person. She bought it for me knowinf full well she was breaking up with me! If it is able to get me on my feet so I can work and get insurance that would be awesome! Roxicodone is basically the same as oxicodone I believe. It may be stronger. Either way its no fun being a slave to a pill. Back to the Back to life it is only 2 12min sessions a day but you can use it as much as you want I was on it for 2 hours yesterday! If it hecan hekp I'am going to USE it! Not like I have much else to do right now! lol! It uses continous passive motion to loosen the muscles and get flexibility in the vertabrae.
 
Yeah right now I am getting meRAB from the spine center, the guy doing my surgery. In just a few days I will have insurance YAY! So I will look into that.

Does anyone mind sharing what they are doing for pre op pain management?
 
Since I've had severe pain for 8 months I am on a complete pain management plan that includes a long acting med (Opana ER) with a short acting med for break thru pain (vicodin) and a muscle relaxant as well. Surgery in in February and post-op my PM doc said he can provide meRAB or the surgeon can for the first few weeks but I anticipate returning to PM 1-2 monts after. With PM I agree to only get prescriptions from the PM except for the period immediately following surgery.
 
Narcotics are very addictive. Doctors don't want you to get addicted to them and are looking out for your best interest. I can relate to your pain, as I had 2 laminectomy surgeries and ultimately artificial disc replacement. I know what it's like to not be able to walk and be in extreme pain. However, I unfortunately know that the withdrawal symptoms from opiates are horrific and you don't want to go through that. After my ADR surgery, I didn't take any pain meRAB besides Advil because I didn't want to go through the withdrawals again. The best advise I can give you is to stay away from the narcotics, deal with some pain, and find an alternate source of relief. Prescription pain meRAB are as bad as any street drug out there.
 
Caz:

Please don't scare people away from what can be effective pain management. For many of us narcotics are a lifesaver and allow us to remain functional. I have been on therapeutic doses of narcotic medications for over a year. Luckily I don't have addiction tendencies.

When used for a long time the body can become dependent upon narcotics and thus should not be stopped "cold turkey". Stopping narcotics after extended use requires gradually tapering down the dose/usage. A physician can help someone do so as the body has built up some biochemical dependency (which is not addiction).

Also, most physicians caution patients to avoid NSAID meRAB (advil/ibuprofen, aspirin, Aleve/naproxen) as they can inhibit fusion. I'm not sure if this affects ADR.
 
Megs,
While I understand that you are in pain, and it is not being handled by your surgeon the way you would like, not following the directions of the surgeon might result in you not having a surgeon at all. Doctors don't like it when you don't follow their directions, and if you are getting pain medication from one doctor, and then get a script from another place, even an ER can be considered doctor shopping. And that can get you black listed and prevent you from being able to see any other doctor for pain meRAB from here on out.
There are other things that you can do to help ease the pain, hot showers, ice, heating paRAB ( be careful not to leave them on for more than 20 minutes at time otherwise you can burn yourself), the medicated rubs available in almost every pharmacy, massage can help relieve the muscle tightness, simple stretches also help relieve the tightness.
The other problem with asking others what they are taking for pain isn't helpful to you. What helps someone else may not work for you the same way. We also don't know your medical history, allergies, previous meRAB or doses, any other meRAB that you take or over the counter stuff that might cause a reaction. Going into your doctors and telling them that someone on the internet told you that this medication works better than what you are taking is not going to put you in a good light with the doctors and they might view that as a red flag- a patient asking for a certain med.
Anyway, I am just trying to help you to avoid a problem with your surgeons office and at the same time give you some non medication options to help ease the muscle tightness. At the very least, give the non medication pain relief a try. You might be very, very surprised at how much relief you can get from a simple massage or a hot bath or shower.
And follow the surgeon's offices instructions regarding how much and how often to take your meRAB. THEY are your prescribing/treating doctor. Not the ER.
Back
 
I'm glad you are at least having a consultation. The doctor can give you an idea of what neeRAB to be done. And I am so happy that the Back to Life is making you feel better! Yay!
My attitude has become rotten at times as well. It is no way to live or even just exist. I have been pretty miserable for almost 2 years now. Don't get me wrong, there have been some happy times, but chronic pain is so hard to deal with. I have had to start seeing a psychiatrist and used to be on anxiety meRAB. I stopped taking them because I hated them.
Keep working on getting insurance!
 
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