I had cervical fusion for C-5 and C-6 on June 14,2000, and they also drilled bone spurs off my spine. Every since the surgery I have been in serve pain and pain with muscle spasms. I am a patient in a Pain Management Clinic and I just finished another series of blocks and trigger point injections. I am still in pain and have tingling in my left arm. I have been receiving injections about every five to six months plus I am on pain medication.After the last injections I have gained 23 pounds and there is no relief from pain. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks, Terri Thank you for your inquiry. I would suggest trying alternative methods than continuing with injections. If you have a good pain management doctor perhaps he or she can provide you with pain medications. I would also suggest Oxycontin 40mg and OxyIR 5mg, two capsules every 3 to 4 hours or when needed for flare-ups. For muscle spasms I would suggest Valium, a great muscle relaxant. Also, like I suggest to all pain sufferers, try water therapy like light swimming or Jacuzzi. Make an attempt to do some daily light walking if possible. Good luck, the Doctor at Painlab.com. _____________________________________________ My name is Mary Lee. I have been diagnosed with degenerative disk disease.I have bone on bone in one place in my neck. My doctor wants to have me get 3 steroid shots, hoping that will give me relief of some of my pain.I don't understand the concept of steroid treatment. Does it short circuit the brain so it doesn't feel pain? Will the weakness in my arm continue to get worse? What do you know about collastin for joint pain.If I did decide to try the collastin could I have the steroid treatments as well? This is a hard place to be. Please give any advise you may have so I can use it in helping me to make my decision. Thank you Thank you for your inquiry. Steroids are the best Anti-Inflammatory agents utilized by many pain management doctors. If used locally, no general side-effects will show. It may help you or it may not.the downside is they are short acting. Remember, you have to experiment with different pain management methods until you find one that is right for you. Good luck, the doctor at Painlab.com _____________________________________________ I am a 33 year old female with a herniated disk in the L5-S1 region. It is not because of work injury, it is due to having a child. I was threatening to miscarry, so I had a cerclage, in which there were spinal headaches because of spinal fluid leakage. It is now 4 years later and the pain is more severe. They have tried ONLY exercises, but to no avail. My question is now they are going to try cortisone shots. How safe are they? Being that I am a mother of 4 children, I can not be off of my feet for long?! Thank you for your inquiry. Maybe you are one of the few who benefit from cortisone shots. Give them a try. If administered by someone with experience, they can be effective and should not interfere with your daily routines. You may be in need of Pain medication. Check with your doctor and explore alternative options. Good luck the Doctor at Painlab.com _____________________________________________ My Husband is 67 yrs. old and his Spine was injured in 1976. He was advised not to have surgery. He is in severe pain 24/7. He has5 herniated discs..arthritis and bone spurs. Now since the last MRI.."something" is touching a nerve. He has used every pain med. known to man and nothing helps. He tried the Epidural injections..Morphine Pump..Oxycontin and Percocet for breakthrough pain..and now his Dr. told him they are going to pull Oxycontin off the market from the abuse and deaths that has occurred. So the Dr. took him off Oxycontin and put him on the Fentenyl Duragesic Patch. He was on the 50and the Dr. raised it to the 75. All he does now is sleep constantly and no relief for his pain. He only gets out of bed to use the bathroom and eat his meals and most of the time, he cannot finish them..he has to go lay down as sitting makes his back even hurt worse. Now the muscles in his back are tightening up and that makes the pain worse also. Do you think taking a muscle relaxer would help? He is a recovering Alcoholicand hasn't drank for 16 years, but he said that to be truthful, the only real relief he ever got for his back pain was the Alcohol. He says deathseems to be the only relief from this constant pain..He is very depressed and moody and I understand all this,and I am almost afraid to leave him for any reason. Along with the Oxycontin and Percocet for pain, he also is taking..Zanax..Celebrex.. a sleeping pill at night..2 different blood pressure meds..an 81 mg. aspirin each day and 2 Zoloft in the a.m. NOTHING is working and he is getting very quiet and more depressed every day. My father committed suicide from Cancer pain and I am scared my husband might do the same. His pain Dr. tells him there is nothing else out thereon the market to help him. I heard something about a Laser surgery that could kill a nerve. Is this at all possible? Please help! Thank you! Sue N Thank you for your inquiry. I sympathize with your situation. The only thing you can do in this case is to continue with the pain medications and other forms of therapy. I would suggest trying Valium, a very good muscle relaxant. Perhaps he would benefit from some form of water therapy. If you have access to a pool or Jacuzzi that would be ideal. Massage therapy is also helpful. Good luck, the Doctor at Painlab.com _____________________________________________ Hello: I saw your web page and thought I'd run this by you! I currently suffer from chronic pain due to premature Arthritis and two herniated discs. I was hospitalized for a week and told surgery would not help my condition. I met the pain management team and worked with them on a comprehensive plan. It included 4 Epidural Steriod Injections, use of Duragesic patches for pain relief and Oxycodone for breakthrough pain. After about six months my primary care physican took over the pain management. She left the practice and I'm now dealing with a PA who seems to have a problem with my prolonged use of pain medication. Although my condition has improved, it has been from a combination of my pain Doctors, letting myself heal, exercise, and support of my family & friends. As all pain patients, I am cautious of discontinuing or cutting back on medication that has literally given me my life back. Is there a point when Duragesic patches should be discontinued because of length of use? Thanks, TZCO Thank you for your Inquiry, Simply no. Duragesic can be taken for long periods of time. As long as you continue to suffer from chronic pain, which cannot be controlled without medication, I see no reason to discontinue usage. You are experiencing legitimate, long term ailments. They will not simply heal or your chronic pain will not just "go away". Your PA should not be cautious. Perhaps it's time you seek a new Doctor. Get several different opinions. Do not restrict yourself to just one. Your on the right track by taking Duragesic, a time relief medication and oxycodone for breakthrough pain. An effective combination. In addition, you describe exercise and good support from friends and family. You can't ask for more. Your doing all the right things. Unfortunately many continue to suffer without the benefits you have; effective medication, emotional support, exercise, time to heal etc. Good Luck, the Doctor at Painlab.com
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