Pain Management Community

As you might be able to tell from many many postings, most of us struggle with this issue everyday. The short answer is: You just do. I am very lucky that I have a decent disability retirement, so I don't have to deal with having to earn a living. Of course, it was the job that caused my back problem in the first place. Now there is no way I could work. It is difficult to concentrate on the novel I am writing when pain dominates my life.

To answer your question, I am starting a new strategy: One 15 MG table of Morphine Sulfate twice a day and Oxycodone/Acetaminophen tablets for breakout pain. So far, this is not working so well. If I ignore the pain or if I have a good day and go for a walk with my wife (for more than a few minutes), it is much worse, and then my wife suffers too because I get grouchy.

Using the drugs is better than the alternative. I've tried that too.

I don't know if this was what you were looking for.

Lawdog52

Hey Mr.Lawdog52;
Yes i think we all get really grouchy when our pain medication is not working correctly or they under prescribe the pain medication and it does not work well at
all. You know with these days of modern and advanced medicine you would think no one should ever be in pain.
Right. i also take MS Contin your does is pretty low, but i
have no idea you have been taking the MS Contin. With MS Contin you will notice that your break through pain will be a
little worse, the main reason is the Morphine is strong no the
strongest longest lasting narcotic but its there. Are you on the
dose of 15 mg because that is the amount that your doctor wants you on or is that what has worked with you for awhile, With the MS Contin you cannot go down on Milligrams it will be less effective for pain control it must always be adjusted up
to achieve maximum pain level . I have been on MS Contin for over 12 plus years and several other long lasting narcotics. How long have you been on the MS Contin. Well good luck sir and have a great day.

Greg Armstrong

hello ChristineGal, I saw your other post about your auto accident and being denied pain meds. How is that going for you now? Have you gone to your primary dr for your injuries and gotten any relief? How do we live with pain everyday? Sometimes not well at all, sometimes better. Each of us has to find everything we can to help us thru the hard times. We take pain meds, go thru PT, tests, psych evals, whatever the drs want us to do. And then we try to manipulate our life to work around our pain issues as much as possable. It sure is not easy at all for any of us here. But you will find coming to this board and reading what is going on with someone else and giving back input helps a lot. A big issue with having chronic pain is feeling all alone. Here, we are not alone. Each of us have a different diagnosis but we all share the same kind of issues. Good or bad. This pain board helps. Please keep coming back and let us know how you are doing. And join in here when you feel like you can share some info with others. It does help to remove our thoughts of our own pain for a few minutes when we reach out to help someone else. You have a great day.
Trans.

15 mg. is usually the starting dose of MS Contin, you may need to adjust the dose upward to get better coverage. It is normal to adjust the dose at first to find the best dose for you. Perhaps you need a slightly higher dose of your long acting med twice a day.

Also, I learned over time and with experimentation, with my doctor's permission of course, to pre-treat for some kinds of breakthrough pain. I always take my meds just before I do an activity like a long walk, this keeps my pain from getting out of control. It is far easier to control pain early on than try to get it under control after the fact.

Discuss this with your doctor until your pain is well controlled with meds. I would expect to have more frequent visits with your doctor until then. Once you find the right dose, you probably won't need to see him as often. I never do med adjustments over the phone unless of course your doctor has already told you to do that.

Take care, Annette

I forgot to mention that there are a couple of really good books for folks with chronic pain. One is called "Feeling Good" by Dr. David Burns, MD. The other is called "Managing Pain Beofre It Manages You" by Dr. Margaret A. Caudill, MD, PhD.

Both have worksheets you can copy and use to chart your progress.

Take care, Annette

Hey Annette;

Thanks i will look into those books i may be able to use that info this winter also. If im able to return to work.

I am sorry, this post was meant for Lawdog52.

My apology to anyone who got mixed up.

Take care, Annette

Well it was still a good thought and thats what counts

Hi Christinegal;
You know that's a really great question, how do we deal with chronic pain. I think one of the biggest thing we
all have in common that most of us are on a long lasting
narcotic analgesic as well as a short acting analgesic. And a lot of us also take antidepressants due to the pain that we each suffer from. Although i believe very strongly that no twp
peoples pain is ever the same or the medication that is tailored to our specific type of pain and the treatments that we
all may have. Some people react good to pain blocks and some not at all. But its nice to know in the end that were all
here for one another. And while we may not have all the same type of education we still have that common ground that is very important and thank you for your thread. And i wish you well.

I realize that this is an older discussion, but it still is featured on the right-hand column of the home page, so I opened it and had a look/ read.

I like the subject so much that I 'd like to resurrect the discussion for others, as I, who were not here then, and hoping to read more good thoughts and feelings.

For me, it really is one day at a time. I still cannot think, feel, say (even to myself) that I'm going to have to life like this for the rest of my life. I have to have some hope.

I have bad pain days, and when I'm having a bad pain day, it is imperative that I remind myself that it will pass and I'll have some good pain days, too.

I count on my family and a few friends. I recently got involved with a man who I've known for years. I cannot hide or be unrealistic to him or myself about my limitations. He has to accept me as I am; this may be harder on me than it is on him.

No self pity. I'm lucky to be alive and fortunate that I can take care of myself, for the most part. Gratitude has saved me.

Religion is a part of my life. This is just what works for me, and I had a religious background before I was injured, so it came relatively easily. This is a personal thing and I'm not really comfortable posting much about this, but it is a comfort to me.

I struggle with feeling guilty when I have to spend a day in bed or on the sofa watching TV , reading, or being on the internet for hours. This is a problem for me. I raised four children and had a profession that I loved so much and miss terribly. I just feel worthless when i cannot even have a bath, get dressed, and do what I need to do and my house is a mess. Does anyone else have these feelings? How does anyone cope with this?

I do hope that it's okay that I'm opening up a topic that hasn't been discussed for a few months.

Personally, I have some really bad days and some good ones.

I am fortunate enough that my children are 21, 18 and 16. Only the 2 youngest live at home and I have a wonderful husband. My DH is currently unemployed and has since taken over miost of the housework. Including cooking and laundry. My kids also pitch in a lot.

If I am having a good day, it is okay to get out and about fairly easily. If I am having a bad day, I try to force myself to get out and about because that takes my mind off of the pain. Unfortunately, I have no family nearby and only have one good friend that I am close to. But I have confided in her my problems, so she knows and she can always tell when it is a bad day and does help me to get through it just like my immediate family does.

It is imperative that you have a support system. If you do not, it makes it much harder to work through the pain!

Trudy

Hi Trudy, and thank you so much for you posting.

My children are 30, 25, 21, and 19. Only the 19 yr old

(daughter) lives home with me. My man friend is away for a

while and we don't live together, but he does help when I'm

having bad days, and I stayed with him post-op.

I have thought a lot about one of your statements that you try

to get out even when you're not doing well. I'm really going to

have to do this- even if it's just walking the dog or going on

errands, even when I really do not want to. I think it will be

helpful for me to feel a little better about myself and my

situation. I really do feel bad about myself when I have to

spend the day doing nothing. Some days everywhere I look

in my house, things need to be picked up or cleaned and I just

cannot do it. This had become a big issue for me and I feel

bad when I can't care for my home.

My daughter is a real sweetheart and is so devoted to me, but

she is a typical teen-ager and isn't much of a housekeeper.

My Mum is amazing, but she's in her 80s and I'm reluctant to

ask much of her. She still works part time at her bookshoppe

and has her husband, my 87-yr old step father, to take care

of, so I really wouldn't want to ask her to help me clean my

house. I've given thought having a paid cleaning person come

in one a week or so, but haven't done this yet.

I've been told by my friends that I have to be willing to do what

I am able and accept the rest, but...

Why would you pay for someone to clean your home when you have an adult daughter living there? I can't afford to pay someone, perhaps you have more money than I do. My husband and I just do it when we feel up to it.

I am sorry, but your daughter is 19 years old, that is an adult age. She should be doing half the housework at least just because there are two of you living there. Split up the chores appropriately and post a list if need be. Do them together on Sat. mornings, whatever it takes.

Sit her down and have a talk with her. She may only be 19, but that is old enough to be on her own and have to pay for her own rent, utilities, clothing, and food. Add up what that would cost her in your area, and explain how you are paying for everything (or whatever it is you pay for), and it is time for her to do her share around the house. She should probably be doing more than half the housework just to pull her own weight.

You are not doing her any favors by letting her slide on this. She needs to know how to be a good house-mate just to be a good person to share a home with, for the next person she lives with. Whether it is a husband, boyfriend, or just a room-mate.

I bet she would not complain at all, she is probably just used to things carrying on as they are. She may need a bit of reminding at first, but that will work itself out.

I have also found it worthwhile to get my butt up and do things even if I don't feel like it. I always feel better for having done it. I do volunteer work once a week at the local animal shelter. Sometimes I hate even thinking about going, but once I get there, it is fun.

Take care, Annette