Chronic Pain

Hi there, my name is Chelsea. I'm a 20 year old woman who suffers from deblitating fibromyalgia, chronic back pain, and osteoarthritis of my right knee. For pain management as of now I am taking 300 mgs of lyrica a day, it overall takes the edge off the aches from the fibro. However, I am still suffering from the knee and back pain. My doctor had me on diclofenac which didn't seem to do much at all. I am also on 5 mgs of valium 3 times a day which also helps my fibro as anxiety triggers pain flare ups. I also occasionally use a TENS unit for some relief. So here are my questions:

Are there any opiate derived medications that you very slowly build a tolerance to and dependence on? I was looking into possibly Oxytrex or Remoxy. I allergic to many opiates, darvocet, tramadol, vicodin, codiene and morphine, which really limits my options to oxycodone, dilaudid, fentanyl, opana, or demerol, all of which are pretty strong narcotics that I don't think my PCP will want to mess with and prescribe me, not to mention I don't think something quite that strong is neccesary, I need to be able to function at work and take care of my 2 year old, and they all cause me to have major dysphoria once it starts wearing off.

My next question is I've heard that toradol is an excellent pain reliever that is not opiate based, but can really reek havoc on your stomach. Can it still mess with you stomach if it is injected IV or IM? And can a doctor prescribe it so I could give myself the injections if need be?

My last question is has anyone ever been on cesamet for pain? Did it help? Any suggestions on how to present these ideas to my doc without her thinking I'm just seeking drugs? Thanks for your time.

Hi Chelsea, Welcome to ChronicPainConnection! I'm just sorry that you have a need to be here.

I'll try to answer your questions in the order you asked them.

1. How slowly or quickly you build a tolerence to opioid medications can vary significantly according to the individual. I don't know of any way to know how you would respond other than taking them for awhile. I think you're right, that your PCP will probably not want to prescribe opioids for you. Your age is a significant factor. If you start taking opioids now and even if your tolerence only builds gradually, several years down the road there may not be any pain relief options left for you.

2. Toradol is an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication. It is a short-term pain reliever and should never be used for more than five days – even if given as an injection. Even though the injections would bypass the stomach problems, there is also serious risk of heart problems that increases the longer you take the medication. Here's a link to more information on Toradol: Toradol

3. I haven't personally taken Cesamet (nabilone) so I can't give you a firsthand report. I did, however, write an article about a research study done on Cesamet for FM pain: Synthetic Cannabis for Fibromyalgia Pain? It seems like a remember a discussion of nabilone in THE DAILY GRIND a few months ago. That's a support group in our Off Topic section of this forum. It's really a nice group of people. You might want to pay them a visit and ask them if any of them have tried nabilone.

4. How to present your medication ideas to your doctor – Since doctors often think that if a patient asks about a drug, they want it prescribed for them, I usually start out by saying, "I'm not necessarily asking you to prescribe this for me. I'd just like to discuss it with you." You might continue with something like this – "I've been studying to find out what pain relief options might be available and I'd like to get your opinion on some of the things I've found." If you can find any research to back up your ideas, take a copy for your doctor to see.

Have you ever considered any alternative/complementary treatments? Acupuncture can be quite effective for pain. Here's a link to more information: [URL= http://www.healthcentral.com/c...6-5.html]Acupuncture for Pain Relief[/URL]

I hope this helps some. And I hope you'll stay in touch and let us know how you're doing.

Best,
Karen

Hello Chelsea

It's nice to meet you and Welcome to the CpConnection. We are all happy you've joined us and hope you make yourself at home.

It appears that Karen already answered your questions far better than I could, so I don't really have any great solution for you, except, Don't Give Up and keep on studying. Carefully word your questions to your PC and hopefully you will find a reasonable form of treatment.

Hope to see you around more
Betty

I wouldn't reccomend Toradol either. I suffer from chronic low back pain and sciatica in both legs and hips. I've had the Toradol injections and they did not provide any relief for me. Also, after reading about the side effects and long term damage that it can cause, I decided to not get them anymore. I have my first appointment with a Physiatrist(sp?) on August 10th and am going to discuss my pain management options with him. I am young as well, 25, and have tried most medications available to treat my pain and am afraid I may have to be put on a narcotic pain management program. I wish you luck in finding relief!!