Pain Management Community

Hello.

I think the best course of action is to make sure that whatever medical professional is treating you is fully aware of your allergies and reactions. This is common practice to provide this information to your doctor, hospital or anyone. They have the medical knowledge to know what to use to treat your pain.

It sounds like you want some options to consider for when you have episodes of acute pain from things like surgery or sports injuries that may occur in the future as opposed to recommendations for more long-term chronic pain management.

If I am understanding you correctly that you need help for acute pain when you are at the hospital, then I can suggest a few options for you to talk to your doctors about. In the opioid family, fentanyl is less likely to cause histamine release and lead to the dangerous consequences that you may have experienced with the pain medications that you listed above. Fentanyl can be administered intravenously in a monitored setting like an OR, ICU, or ER.

Intravenous Toradol can be a non-opioid alternative for acute pain. It is a very strong intravenous anti-inflammatory in the ibuprofen family but can relieve pain associated with some surgeries or procedures. Unfortunately, it has a bleeding side effect and can't be used in all surgical situations.

If you have an anesthesiologist present and need something strong that is non-narcotic, then IV ketamine can be an option under special circumstances. Only an anesthesiologist should administer ketamine, though.

I would suggest that you talk to your doctors about fentanyl as the first alternative to consider in the future.

Before you decry me as some crazed druggie, please listen to what I have to say. I've had severe chronic back and leg pain for more than 40 years, due to degenerative disc disease. I have had four failed spine surgeries and I've been through two comprehensive pain management programs. I continue to use opioid pain medications; but over that many years, tolerance has eaten away their efficacy.

To this day, the only thing that makes my pain go away (temporarily) is THC. As we all know, THC is the active ingredient in marijuana. Yet, it may not matter whether you smoke it, digest it, or use it legally (the legal medication is called Marinol, by Elan Pharmaceuticals), this option WORKS. While the opioids only put a dent in my pain, THC obliterates the pain. Of course, few of us want to be "high" all of the time. But know this... I am very far from the only one who has discovered pain relief with THC. And I only use it when I won't be driving a car or in danger of hurting someone.

I don't care if you purchase it illegally and smoke it (several US states have legalized possessing an ounce or less), or if you ask your doctor to prescribe Marinol - IT WORKS! People have been using THC for pain and for anxiety for thousands of years. It worked then. It works now. Only the obsolete cultural paradigms of contemporary American society prevent all of us from using it legally every day to fight chronic pain.

Millions of us with chronic severe pain have found wondrous relief with marijuana or its legal THC substitute Marinol. Before you give up on having a normal life again, try it. You might be very pleasantly surprised.

P.S. To this date, there are no severe side effects for this treatment. A small percentage of chronic pain patients experience anxiety, which may be overcome over time. Even then, I'd rather have some anxiety than crippling chronic severe pain.