What success has anyone had with a pain management clinic? I'm debating looking for one until I can find a surgeon who can do something for me.
Hi Reese, what types of things have you done to manage your symptoms?
I do recommend a pain management clinic, as long as they are open to all medicines. Some clinics refuse to even consider opiates, and I have found opiates to be necessary for me at times.
It is okay to ask the office staff their policy on opiates. I found a great pain doctor and then my primary doctor just gave me the same medicines to save me from an expensive co-pay. However, I miss the nerve injections.
Lastly, I strongly recommend you consider a rhizotomy. I do this each year, and basically, they burn the nerves in my neck while I am unconscious. This is the only procedure that has given me lasting relief.
Hope all goes well. Just a consideration.
Blessings, Brian
I have tried rest, I work from bed. I find that the more active I get the more elevated the pain is. I do things to keep my mood elevated such as spending time with my fiance, watching a good movie, crocheting and my homework for my degree. I try to take pain meds (Naproxen, Ibuprophen, Hydrocodone) as little as possible. They don't work anyway and the long term affects are problematic. I do get out at times. Last weekend, we went to a movie, nothing strenuous, but I still had a pain increase when I got back. I also find that stress (such as my job, lol) can increase the headache. It stays at a level 4 all the time, but then surges up from there.
Auburnm said:
Hi Reese, what types of things have you done to manage your symptoms?
Thanks, Bri. I've never heard of a rhizotomy. I will research this along with pain clinics in my area.
Bri said:
I do recommend a pain management clinic, as long as they are open to all medicines. Some clinics refuse to even consider opiates, and I have found opiates to be necessary for me at times.
It is okay to ask the office staff their policy on opiates. I found a great pain doctor and then my primary doctor just gave me the same medicines to save me from an expensive co-pay. However, I miss the nerve injections.
Lastly, I strongly recommend you consider a rhizotomy. I do this each year, and basically, they burn the nerves in my neck while I am unconscious. This is the only procedure that has given me lasting relief.
Hope all goes well. Just a consideration.
Blessings, Brian
I can only talk form my personal position. I have had decompression surgery, so am speaking for pre op pain, and post op pain (although in my case, both are almost identical, as my surgery was not really successful).
I am somebody who is open to any way to deal with pain (apart from homeopathy and most "alternative" medicine routes), my joys started before I was diagnosed, and it was believed my problems came about through a "trapped nerve". During this phase, I went through a full gambit of management as suggested by GP and a pain specialist at the surgery. Acupuncture, massage therapy, various medications from paracetamol, anti inflams, opiates, gapapentin/pre gabalin etc, and nothing gave lasting relief.
I found a balance of meds over time pre op that lasted a couple of hours a time for some form of relief (co-codamol, naproxen, amitryptline) but the effects lasted less and less as the pain grew.
Post op, which was unsuccessful in controlling the pain, I have tried cold turkey with no pain killers for 4 weeks, and I have never experienced an hour during that time without extreme head pain. At the time leading up to it, I was using opiates in the form of tramadol (and occasionally sevredol - a post operative pain killer) and these had a small effect that did not last that long, but were of a benefit during extreme headache (8-10 on the pain scale). I tried the non pain killer route and personally it was not worth the pain for me.
I am currently at a point where I am back to square one with pain, most pain killers don't touch it, and those that do only give an hour or so relief, and generally have side effects of making me so drowsy/spaced that a normal functioning life seems light years away. I currently am on a trial of oramorph (orally administerd morphine based opiate) which has the best relief, but not something I wish to be on permanently.
There is unfortunately no quick fix to this, and I would advise pain management clinic to at least try to find the correct methods/medicine for your own personal situation as we all are different and will all have to find our own ways to manage. There does not seem to be a magic bullet (not even surgery for me), but don't let yourself suffer or be put off by the stigma of certain medicines, as sensible use may be able to allow you personally to function at a level above your current situation allows. Then again, only do something you are comfortable with.