Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: hazed- on August 09, 2003, 08:12:07 PM
-
ok who can top this for pain killers intake every day...
1 or 2x 100 mg of Tramadol Hydrochloride (depending on how bad it is)
3x 300 mg of Neurontin (gabapentin)
1x 25 mg Amitriptyline (if i cant sleep)
This is usually my daily intake of pain killers and has been for almost two years! Not only do i worry about what these pills must be doing to my poor old liver and kidneys but i also worry that I may never be able to fuction normally without the damn things.
So whos got it worse? who out there has to take similar stuff or heaven forbid more? Any tricks you have discovered to lowering your intake? any natural substances you have found help you bear the pain more efficiantly?
FYI My ailment is severe nerve pain around my hips and back known as 'root pain' to people who suffer from it and its actually a lot more common than you might imagine. Its usually the resulting aftermath of a severe nerve or nervous system injury like mine (originally broken back in 1988 on a motorbike but only became a problem in 2001) but apparently some stroke sufferers get a similar level of pain that requires drugs like these or of similar strength.
Tramadol is an analgesic which interupts the pain message being sent to your brain, also acts on the brain to stop messages being felt. Its among the most powerful pain killing tools we have.Just to give you an idea of the level of pain relief I saw a programme once where a guy was trapped by the legs in his truck and the doctor said to give him 50 mg(if i remember right) of tramadol as his left leg was clearly broken!! that gave me a damn shock i can tell you :D
Neurontin is used to treat epilepsy as well as to treat neuropathic pain(pain caused by damage to nerves).A variety of diseases can also cause neuropathic pain like diabetes,shingles and diseases of the nervous system.
My pain is weird in that theres no rhyme or reason to its level.One day its bearable the next it can be well..... unbearable. Dealing with it on a long term basis is a damn hard job.
so come on tell me how bad you got it so i can say well maybe im not so screwed as you :) hehe , naa seriously Id like to know if anyone else has the same crap to put up with while playing this damn game because hours in front of a monitor can be like slow torture! :D
-
I had percocet prescribed for me after my 21st birthday (dont ask).
Thats about it.
-
percocet? never heard of that one, what is it?
-
Geez, I thought I was pretty bad.
I drink at least a twelve pack of Bud Light almost everyday. Sometimes I can drink up to a case in one night if it's an interesting and entertaining night.
-
Tramadol is starting to see much wider use than ever before, I think I have more people on it now than most of the old stand-bys like Darvocet. Make sure you not that people with an allergy to codeine should not take Tramadol. It can cause permanent MS like effects.
I'm sort of in the same boat, I have Crohn's Disease. Its an inflamation of the intestines that causes pain, nausea, and cramping when foods passes the affected section. Its funny in one regard, I can tell exactly where the food is enroute to my 6. Darvon/Darvocet is all I take tho... luckily.
Percocet is oxycodone and tylenol. Usually dosed by 'Percocet 5/325', 5mg oxycodone and 325mg of acetaminophen.
-
I though mine was pretty bad but yours sounds much worse
I'm on 3-4 percocet, a couple flexerile (sp?) at bedtime and 4-6 asprin.
still never really cuts the pain though.
had a neck injury this spring. been laid up all summer (you may have noticed my increase in time available to post).
I get some help from a tens unit (electic shock thing that basicly electrocutes you untill it starts to interfere with pain signals).
I've taken percocet for pain before (had a tooth pulled), it completely killed that pain and left me fairly baked as well.
with this pain 2 won't kill the pain and you mentaly don't feel much different than if you took an asprin (a bit stupider though)
the latest greatest symptom is the mother of all headaches (complete with loss of ballance, a 'seasick' feeling, and vomiting from the intensity of the pain). so far it's gone on non stop for a little more than 2 months.
I'm getting about 2-3 hours of sleep at a time twice a day.
it really screws up your life, but the upside is that while they aren't exactly sure whats wrong the seem to be fairly sure it's temporary.
any hope on yours getting better or are you getting the 'learn to live with it' speach?
-
Can ya spare any? +)
j/k
Geez, I almost have to wonder if sitting in front of these things helps or hinders you hazed.
Strongest for me is tylenol 3's and thats just for fun
I dunno how you can deal with it, but hey ya do what ya gotta do
SKurj
-
Originally posted by hazed-
percocet? never heard of that one, what is it?
Percocet is similar to vicodin. For some, it works very well, and for some it's hell. I'm the latter.
After surgery last october they threw percocet at me even after I requested vicodin.
While it took care of the pain just fine, it gave me some nasty fever-like symptoms along with a lovely colon traffic jam (i didnt go for about a week! :eek: )
-
sorry to hear about your pain
that's gotta stink - running around half baked and in pain all day
hope you feel better in the future
-
I accidentally took one of my wifes Amitryptilin(sp?) once... Anyway... I have no CLUE how that **** makes one sleep. I really thought I was going to jump right out of my skin... that stuff can't be safe.
-
If someone is shot or stabbed in the palm of the hands, there are no pain killers that work effectively. Doctors must operate to stop the pain.
-
Ok I have broken the vertebrae in my neck twice c5 and c4
Moto-cross
Also I have a 7mm central disc bulge in L5 S1 work related.
I have a torn rotator cuff left shoulder.
Broken jaw.
Torn anterior cruciant ligament in Left knee.
Broken left elbow (crushed radial head)
Broken right wrist.
Broken nose 3 times.
tore all the ligaments in my left ankle.
Skull fracture.
8 broken ribs.
Bruised arota(this one almost killed my butt. stoped moto-cross)
I deal with the pain by meditation and plian old irion will.
But at 45 i will admit there are days when it is very hard to get around.
Hazed I feel for ya man.
You my give accupucture a try?
-
One way to continue addictive behavior is to hang out or talk to guys who do more drugs than yourself... that way you can say "oh... I thought I was bad but... I'm ok."
I have broken like 30 bones including broken back twice... fused vertibrae.. skin grafts re-attached leg (minus the fibia that I seen some dog running off with). crushed knee, crushed ankle etc.. Motorcylces, cars, fights, guns etc. Got someone elses aorta valve.
They were all pretty good excuses to continue to self medicate. I don't anymore... haven't for more than a decade and a half..Now... exercise and realizing that some things are just gonna hurt at 50+. No big deal. I really don't think pain killers past about a week are a good idea. for heart surgery I took em for 2 days in the Hospital.
lazs
-
re-attached leg (minus the fibia that I seen some dog running off with)
My God! Seriously? How did that happen? Bike accident?
A friend of mine had his leg ripped off from the knee down after a car side-swiped him on a motorcycle and it got caught in the wheel well. He wasn't as lucky as you...died from shock and bloodloss after it took 20 minutes for the ambulance to get there (hospital was less than three miles away :mad: )
-
No fibia... don't miss it. Does make me less than sensitive on the gas pedal tho.. I make people car sick with my on/off style.. kidding about the dog... don't know what happened to the damn thing. lots of blood loss... lots of shock not much pain. Eldorado bumper did the deed... big ol SU carb puched right through the leg... bout a inch of meat was still holding it on so I guess i was exaggerating to make the story sound better.
lazs
-
Originally posted by lazs2
No fibia... don't miss it. Does make me less than sensitive on the gas pedal tho.. I make people car sick with my on/off style.. kidding about the dog... don't know what happened to the damn thing. lots of blood loss... lots of shock not much pain. Eldorado bumper did the deed... big ol SU carb puched right through the leg... bout a inch of meat was still holding it on so I guess i was exaggerating to make the story sound better.
lazs
Whatta Girlscout....you haven't felt real pain until you've spent 4 hours tryin to find a fight in the Pizza Map.
:)
Seriously, I've been fortunate in my life....just alot of tooth pain. I must have a high tolerance to the meds mentioned here....percocet and vicodin are like candy for me...they just don't work.
One of our squad members is dealing with cancer....he is on Oxy something.
-
I admit I am unable to withstand such intense pain. I think that I made an enemy of poor ol deja tho by pointing out what a mess of a map is named after his squad.
lazs
-
Hum, girl scout huh?
:D
lol lazs, your like a real pirate and everything.
-
Thru the use of deep transcendental fifth level meditation techniques, taught to me by the Dali Lama himself, (Big hitter, the Lama, long) I am able to transcend the physical state and enter the spiritual, relieving myself of the worldly manifestation of pain
-
Lazs is making this all up. He's 5'6", fat, bald, harmless. Pasty white, soft hands, not a mark on him. He heard all these biker and hot rod stories from a wino at the Greyhound station and he spreads them around like they happened to him.
-
lol laz, you have been in the wars! ;)
and holy cow rc51 you must be the same as me when it came to motorbikes.I had roughly 12 crashes on my various motorbikes , probably only 3 of those were serious though , others were silly things like broken fingers etc.
Ive only broken my left fibula and left collarbone (cracked couple of ribs) in these crashes until i did a thourough job by breaking my back at L1/T12
My problem all stems from the fact i crushed L1/T12 rather than breaking it. I landed on my bellybutton at around 60mph after doing a rather special aerial cartwheel off my 600 motorbike :).I had a metal implant for around a year, put in in a 6 hour opp on the night of my accident, until it seemed to stabelise, then had it removed.For 10 years the only problem i had was really rare in that i only seemed to get an attack of extreme pain maybe once every 4 or 5 months.totally acceptable
Now i consider myself very tollerant to pain, When you crush your fingers or get burned etc I find these sorts of thing no problem and i always refused pain killers through my hate of taking any chemicals. For instance when i had morphene after my original back-break I refused it after the second day. Severe ache is tollorable.But when i get these attacks they arent something you can try to use mind over matter. The pain rises Very quickly and is gone just as fast. I would liken it to being stuck with a huge needle deep in the hip and then connecting it to the national grid electricity pylons!! lol real bastards! You have no time to prepare yourself and its always just beyond your capability to ignore with a growl lol. When im out boozing i have to try to 'look' as though im not being stabbed with a knife!! lol very tricky when your trying to act cool in front of a nice girl!. hehe i have a perfected 'dead pan' face i have to use :D funniest thing is getting an attack just as your best mate is on the punch line of a good joke!
This nerve pain im currently recieving is as bad as any of my previously rare attacks (which incidently meant no sleep whatsoever unless i was literally knocked out with drowsiness inducing drugs and sheer exhaustion from straining against the pain all night).What the doctors suspect is that now the vertebrea are 'slipping' and trapping whatever nerves were causing those infrequent attacks, meaning i now got them pretty much every day. I have to take that tramodol and gabapentin to just function (takes 2 or 3 hours from when i wake up like a bear with a sore head for the nerves to sort of settle or dull down)
So then i had my surgery again to fix a new metal implant and like laz fuze all the vertabrea (T11 to L2) I had another 6 hour op and they actually attached this one NOT to the back of my spine but to the front! they collapsed a lung cut my diaphram in half fixed the spinal brace and sowed me up. It was a hell of a operation to recover from and id say it was a good 5 months before i got my strength/helth back to a normal level. The problem was that it was all for nothing, the damn pains continued and so the doctors are pretty baffled. Now im due to go in to have a week of tests, they are going to try various methods to see if they can pinpoint the area causing the problems.
If they fail the possible resolution will be a cutting of the tactile nerve connections to my hips in order to numb the entire area(obviously some risk here).Im all for this after all this time. Id rather have no feeling than constant pain.Basically all this and many more 'tests' ive done to try and beat it have happened over the 2 to 3 years ive been on AH.
Acupuncture is something i have never really believed in. Ive had plenty of people giving advice which i politely accept but often have to laugh at like 'how about rubbing crystals over the pain' and other alternative crap ;)
Has it really worked for you? if you really think it could stop such strong and sharp pain i may well give it a try, but to be honest i suspect theres little short of heavy pain killers that can tackle this damage i have. Its almost like the nerves are going crazy and are not behaving in any way normally. With my current drugs they seem to dull my brains capacity to 'interpret' this mess and so relieves it. I really cant imagine a few pins stopping them. I gouge my thumbs into the points of pain like im trying to tear the bones out and whilst this would usually hurt, during an attack of this pain i cant even feel it. This is what puts me off all this alternative stuff.
anyhow thanks for chatting guys and i hope things go well for you guys as well as myself when im next in the hospital. Im getting on with things, 'as you do' :) . I wont mope around and rarely put any of this crap on any of my friends, but i must say its great to let it all out on these BB's to you bunch of loons lol ;)
And Laz as a real life pirate made me spit my tea.and raised a smiile. Now if i could just do that every morning as i wake up in a foul mood things would improve wouldnt they :) hehe
-
thanks funked... you said you weren't gonna tell anyone if I let you drive my BMW!
Pirate? I think that the people my age with the worst old injuries are the bikers... The very worst being the racers and the worst of that lot the motocross guys. Man they crippled a lot of kids them old motoX bikes.
lazs
-
hazed your problem is socialized medicine and tea. And possibly driving on the wrong side of the road and not being able to unwind by shooting off a few boxes of .44 magnums once in a while. If none of that stuff helps then the dali lama thing sound ok i guess.
If you strengthen the muscles around the lower back, just a little like crunches, then it takes some strain off the lower back and a lot of the lower back pain is muscle pain from moving oddly anyhow.
lazs
-
I had two teeth extracted last november and was given a wonderful prescription to percocet. I could eat two of those a day for the rest of my life and Id be set.
Last december I fractured my sternum. Just about he worst day Ive ever had but when the doctor gave me that little yellow slip and I read "percocet" I got better just thinking about it.
If you have percocet and dont want it (alergic etc etc) just email me and we work something out.
-
Originally posted by lazs2
hazed your problem is socialized medicine and tea. And possibly driving on the wrong side of the road and not being able to unwind by shooting off a few boxes of .44 magnums once in a while. If none of that stuff helps then the dali lama thing sound ok i guess.
If you strengthen the muscles around the lower back, just a little like crunches, then it takes some strain off the lower back and a lot of the lower back pain is muscle pain from moving oddly anyhow.
lazs
you could be right laz, the 'twisting' effect from trying to avoid the pain is probably part of the cause. I do do 20 to 30 pullups on a chin bar once the pain killers have been working for a while but i can honestly say i dont think i can do excersise 'during' the nasty pain periods. It really does turn me into a 90 year old in terms of speed. I barely want to move and if i reach for say a cup of drink in a strange way Ill get a 'hit' of pain and i'll stop dead in my tracks, tense up to the point of pulling muscles in my elbow and cramping my thumbs of all things. You know when your hands turn into claws where you grip against the pain?. You see i think my biggest problem is im in a kind of viscious circle. Without pain killers I cant function and with them im obviously not doing myself a lot of good healthwise. Im going to try those crunches in my back you suggest though, a few mins doing that each day might help so ill test that one out, ya never know.
If a bit of meditation would work id sure as hell be surprised but i can see your .44 magnum theory working a treat!!! lol
I was in the US in vegas last year(not long after afghanistan/taliban fights) and fired off a 9mm baretta (about 4 clips), a 9mm MP5 in semi auto mode (2x 32rnd clips) and my favourite the MP40 schmeiser 3x32 rnd per clip in full auto mode) BLOODY FANTASTIC! :) whats more when i got there the guy saw we were english and asked me to pick a target to shoot at, the choices were big target circle, a picture of a buck deer or 2 lovely renditions of Saddam hussain or Osama Bin ladin!.
My reply was 'I'll take that c*nt there' pointing to Osama and the gunshop guy Beamed from ear to ear. He didnt charge me for a 3rd clip on the mp40! :) how cool is that. Guess we just like people who want that scum dead :D
-
what really helped my lower back last summer was 40 minutes of Yoga each morning
started with a tv show, then purchased a couple of videos - I was amazed at the difference.
-
Originally posted by Eagler
what really helped my lower back last summer was 40 minutes of Yoga each morning
started with a tv show, then purchased a couple of videos - I was amazed at the difference.
I've considered yoga or Tai Chi. As a 34-year old I've noticed that my back and other parts tend to ache more and more.
Eagler, have you noticed any other improvements, such as stress or tension release, from yoga?
-
Is it allowed to play under influence/doping? :)
-
Originally posted by Drunky
I've considered yoga or Tai Chi. As a 34-year old I've noticed that my back and other parts tend to ache more and more.
Eagler, have you noticed any other improvements, such as stress or tension release, from yoga?
yes, it is a harder form of exercise then most ppl ,including me, would think at first. It helped with a weight loss program I was undertaking, lowered stress and helped kick start the day as I did it from 6 to 6:30/6:45 in the am. I started with the "YogaZone" I found on the HealthNetwork channel surfin one am. When Discovery bought out those folks, they removed that program. I picked up a set of DVD's from here:
http://www.yogazone.com/detail.aspx?itemno=GP10020
Have picked up a couple more from the local Sports Authority..
recommend it to anyone, regardless of shape/condition as you only go as far as your body lets you.
-
I bought one of those situp cheat things that kinda roll you up... they go for about 20 bucks new or a couple of bucks at any thrift shop. I really think that strengthening the lower back muscles helps.
I also think that mood and stress (or lack thereof) helps. If you think the exercise is helping then it does. exercise helps with stress so it whould help with the pain no matter what.
Fast cars and handguns relieve stress pretty well too. Sex works but it often leads to more stress since the partner tends to hang out afterwards im most cases.
lazs
-
Originally posted by lazs2
I bought one of those situp cheat things that kinda roll you up... they go for about 20 bucks new or a couple of bucks at any thrift shop. I really think that strengthening the lower back muscles helps.
This explains the "buns of steel" lazs has...or so funked told me.:p
-
Took percocet for a day after abdominal surgery. Don't even take asprin or ibuprofen but once or twice a year. Then again... I don't have back problems.
And lazs... I don't quite understand how you bring up pizza map expecting a reaction... don't get it... then say I got mad about it. Oh well... whatever takes your mind off the pain.
MiniD
-
well... theres the "reaction" eh? I simply pointed out that bringing up the pizza map would bring out the prissy hissy in deja. Rude brought up pizza and me in the same sentance.. I commented but realized that any reference to pizza in a negative way (is there any other possible way?) would bring the condencending wrath of the allmost a mini cooper stuffer.
lazs
-
One of the biggest problems as you get older is that your hamstrings actually shrink, and this is what causes most folks lower back problems, I know I have been fighting it for the last 5 years. Lots of streching will help, I do 20 min in the morning and 20 at nite but I also work out 3 to 5 times a week by either going to the gym or riding my bike.
Bottom line - stretch your hammys.
-
I'm sort of in the same boat, I have Crohn's Disease. Its an inflamation of the intestines that causes pain, nausea, and cramping when foods passes the affected section. Its funny in one regard, I can tell exactly where the food is enroute to my 6. Darvon/Darvocet is all I take tho... luckily.
dude, we should talk. I was diagnosed with it also but before I let them start cutting (the next step) I changed my thinking, my diet (Ayurvedic) and it's basically GONE.
no symptoms and I can eat crap (pizza, beer, etc) about 20% of the time with very few ill effects. It changed my life.
The only other option was to let them remove part of my small intestine, etc etc.. no friggin' way.
-
Originally posted by Wlfgng
dude, we should talk. I was diagnosed with it also but before I let them start cutting (the next step) I changed my thinking, my diet (Ayurvedic) and it's basically GONE.
no symptoms and I can eat crap (pizza, beer, etc) about 20% of the time with very few ill effects. It changed my life.
The only other option was to let them remove part of my small intestine, etc etc.. no friggin' way.
what is this exactly?..
ah, nevermind - read up on it a bit and my trouble isn't that bad - good luck with it, sounds pretty nasty..
-
Lazs,
I'll type this very slowly so that you can read it in your pain induced haze...
I thought you bringing the pizza map up in a different thread was out of place given that it was the first mention of it in that thread. It was odd. Saying that I was defending a squad that I'm not in because of it was equally as odd. I did not respond to those "accusations" in any way shape or form... but somehow I became an "enemy" because of it.
Seeing mention of it occur in an o'club topic on pain was even more bizzare.
I think you're confusing my "anger" at your bringing it up with your own personal obsession with the presence of enemies and thinking you're getting in good assaults on them.
So... carry on lazs. I'm sure there are some enemies out there somewhere. The main thing is that you keep looking. Anything that makes the pain go away.
MiniD
-
deja... i didn't bring up the pizza map in this thread. I don't know what other thread you are talking about. but.... thanks for allowing me to think whatever i like.
lazs
-
Sex works but it often leads to more stress since the partner tends to hang out afterwards im most cases.
lazs
Why don't you just kick your "partner" out, then. He'll get over it!
:D
-
Originally posted by Eagler
what really helped my lower back last summer was 40 minutes of Yoga each morning
Hippie!!!!