Re: Need Support And Advice

BadBackAndBeyond wrote:

I've had chronic sciatica for 4 years now. 4 operations on the
same disc. I've been left with lots of scar tissue and nerve damage in
my back. I used to be pretty active before all this happened. I
worked out 3 times a week and was an avid golfer. All of that changed
after the last operation. I did not bounce back like I did after the
previous 3. I was in excruciating pain. Afterwards, I could not
exercise or complete physical thearapy. That was 2 years ago and since
then I've been very sedentary and I put on about 100 pounds. I'm on
600mg of MS Contin everyday for pain. I have also developed sleep
apnea and high blood pressure. In short, I'm a blob.
I've recently joined a gym and have tried to take control of my
health through diet and exercise. I'm hoping to control the pain and
get in shape using holistic methods. I want to stop taking the pain
meds. I want my life back. While the meds control the pain very well,
the side effects are really too much. The sweating, sleepiness and
lack of drive is making me miserable,

Theres clonodine, which can counteract the sweating, and Provigil, a non narcotic drug to wake you up thats not addicting like uppers usually are. I think they now give it to long-mission pilots in the military now. Both drugs work really well for the symptoms you describe, and if youve relayed these symptoms to yer doc, its awful that he hasnt done anything for you!

The clonodine (avail. in a patch the size of a small bandaid (even looks just like one too) was great for sweating, which I had problems with when I first started on my long acting pain meds. I used the pill form, but I later learned of the patch, which worked great for a friend, but by the time I learned of it, I wasnt having problems w/sweating anymore.

The Provigil is also a nice substitute for uppers without the risks involved, and its not a triplicate or Schedule 2 drug and docs arent afriad to prescribe it like they are real uppers. Its REALLY expensive, but if you have insurance coverage, you should be able to get it. Its one med Ive never had any need for, but again, I have more than one friend who uses it and swears by it. It should help w/both the sleepiness & lack of drive, but if it doesnt help w/the drive, you might wanna look into some kinda antidepressant.

Anybody out there been through this and want to share their
experience with me? I've heard nothing but horror stories about
chronic pain sufferers trying to go off these meds after taking them
for years. Your advice and support will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Yer problems arent rare at all. Weve almost all been thru at least one of these symptoms. Weight gain is a real problem too, just cuz yer activity levels change so radically with the introduction of chronic pain. I have a good friend from childhood who developed chronic pain and she is a former gymnast and the weight gain has horrified her. Of course, with athletes, ANY weight gain is looked upon as the end of the world, so its not like shes way overweight or anything, but she sees it that way. Even if you put on allot of weight, its possible to get it off still! Just getting on the Provigil and keeping yer pain in check could be enuf to get you at least lighter than now.

If you can control the side effects of the pain meds, itd prolly be a good idea to stay on them cuz otherwise yer pain will be back, and the pain will be WORSE than the sweating & sleepiness!

Good luck w/this. Hope these meds give you the help I know theyve given others.


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