Pain:what Are The Options?

[Sludge]

Hey gang.

They finally completed what I call phase three of my face rebuild. When I was still in they "fixed my right zygomatic arch (cheekbone) and reset my jaw. I was stubborn and kept the scars. As some of you may remember, a year or so back I accepted some free/donated plastic surgery that all but eliminated my "pirate scars". In hindsight I should have kept the scars, they were pretty bad-ass looking...

Anyway, after years of Beast related brawls and seizures what was left of my teeth had become a field of shattered gravestones and rubble and my jaw line was a bit "lumpy". Last week the VA finally got around to fixing all that too.

What little remained of my teeth were removed and they honed down or removed a bit of bone and made me look pretty human. When the dentures go in, unless I get some excessive sunshine, one will not be able to tell I used to be pretty scary looking if I didn't grow some crazy facial hair to draw attention away from the mess.

Anyway, as you can imagine, I am now in an inordinate amount of pain. Having all your teeth removed is bad enough, but the oral surgery and bone work has caused the old, now hidden injuries to hurt too.

They have me on the Navy Candy combo of hydrocodone and ibuprofen, but I am still almost to the point of tears.

Any suggestions on dealing with agony? Hurting so bad I am a zombie.

 

[OldDoorGunner]

Not much I can offer, I deal with severe chronic pain..I was put on hydrocodone did not do a damn thing.
Others that did not work on me were: Percocet, tramadol, morphine and a few others that did not work
on me, made me sick and did not help the pain....I do take ibuprofen at 800 mg X2 a day 12 hours apart. All it
does is take the edge off some of the pain, I think that's just helping the arthritis a tad.

Ask them to try something else, we are not all the same.....

Good luck Brother......

J R

 

[SGT Crim1]

Jeff Bridges - Sleeping tapes. When shit flares up for me I focus hard on anything else. Doesn't matter the sound, as long as it is consistent. Let the meds do what they can.

Also - take breaks on the narcs. If you use consistently you will slide into addiction. That's not a threat, it is a reality. If you just bite down on the belt in between dose stretches, it can help.

Lastly, I would only use meds during the night, when trying to sleep through. No sleep + pain is the worst.

Stay strong brother

 

[Jimmy1]

How is this for a kicker.

I had have oxycodone or endone because of the codeine levels, I am allergic to it.
I am on tramadol which apparently has some sort of similarity to codeine, that and paracetamol forte which has lower levels of codeine in it.

What does codeine do, restricts my bladder, makes me sweat, makes me shake, and the list goes on. I feel like an 80 year old man after taking codeine, it takes me 20 minutes to empty my bladder, and I feel like an 80 year old man without it because of the pain.

damned if you do, domned if you don't

 

[Friday]

If the Vicodin isn't working... Call them and tell them.

The dose may be too low, so you're never reaching threshold, and are constantly behind your pain instead of in front of it. Means you end up taking more and more and never getting relief. What they'll often do is double dose to start, and then single dose thereafter ... Before the pain kicks in hard again. Actually lowers the number of pills you take in a day. But staying on top of the pain is the important part. Once you get behind? Hard as hell to manage, and it slows down recovery time.

May just be the wrong med. Hydro tends to be good for dental work, but not everyone's the same. Codeine and Morphine I still hurt just as bad, I just don't care (as much). A few of the others, I'm a proper mess on. Hurt and care. The codones are what work best for me. I'm a fast metabolizer, though. A lotta people dose at 8 hours. Some at 4 hours. I need to dose at 3 hours. If you have a med that works, usually? Tell them. If it works for a period of time, but quite before your next scheduled dose? Tell them that.

Oddly... Pain is exacerbated by anxiety. Big time. The painkiller may be "working" just fine, but the anxiety is overriding, and so it f*cking hurts. This is a wacky one. Been there a few times. Valium or Xanax, though, WITH the pain med? Poof. Pain gone. Anxiety med all by itself? f*cking painful. Painkiller by itself? f*cking painful. 2 together? OMFG. I can see. No more blinding pain. I've been told the neural pathways on this one are similar to phantom limb. I don't know. I just know it's weird as f*ck.

Raise hell, @Sludge. Get them to manage this. Don't need a pain triggered seizure. Get ahead of it. All my best, man.

 

[Jimmy1]

Well Australia is so behind the eight ball and is just starting to trial the use of medical cannabis. My name is down for chronic pain.

 

[SGT Crim1]

A lot of the States are behind as well. And it is very frustrating that the Federal stance on medicinal marijuana hasn't swayed.

Maybe I am crazy, but I watched my father fall to meds. Man has more of those pill counters than walgreens now.

I grew up taking care of him after my parents divorced. He was so addicted that he started getting 72 hour convulsive migraines. I honestly do not want to hear of that happening to anyone else.

And scars are awesome, by the way. Infinite stories to tell.

 

[vikingr24]

I may have to get cannabis for my eyes -- glaucoma. I take 600 mg gabapentin for the leg and it seems to handle it. But the stenosis in my back is getting chronic. I can't bend very easily. But yoga exercise is helping stretch the knots out and does strengthen the muscles supporting by spine.

So I have had hydrocodone for the past few years regularly. By the way vicodin is now a schedule II drug which requires a lot more rules to apply to get an Rx. It will make you sick on an empty stomach, gives me a scratchy feeling all over, and I can't shit for days. Gotta drink a lot of water and eat fruit.

I try to displace the pain when I am determined not to take any more drugs. It's a meditation technique that uses breathing of course while you focus on moving the pain to a yoga brick or a ball. When I am focused it goes away and stays away for a while.

Sludge, we have following your progression in this remake project. I truly hope it turns out well. Mostly keep a positive attitude and know it will be over sometime.

 

[Sludge]

Thanks all.


I am hanging in there. The ibuprofen is doing a damn fine job of keeping the swelling down. I stopped the hydrocodone- it was giving me the "heroin addict itchies". Truthfully it figures that the week I am processing for my new job (re: drug test) is the week I really could use a few bong loads and five days of sleep. But alas, cannabis is just not an option here. I have a follow up appointment this week, I will see if there isn't something effective to get me through the next week or so. Not a big fan of pills, period. but in this case I'll get down off my high horse and give in. Good news is it isn't toothache pain! Bad news is most of my face feels like raw hamburger with ants tunneling through it...ants with lazers...

I was able to eat some "real" food last night. My sort-of-wife made me sheppard's pie. Being able to eat helped.

In my case the usual meditation/breathing/ tai chi type stuff isnt working. When your airways are on fire, breathing like that makes it worse. (I tried. I cried.)

Gah.

Joint pain and aches I can deal with, but this surgery was even worse than the plastic reconstructive surgery. That hurt for three days and itched like hell for a month. This, well I figured this would be like having a tooth pulled. It wasn't and it was. The tooth sockets do not hurt, but I sure as shit can tell where they were working on bone. I can actually feel the sutures in the gum tissue pulsing with my heartbeat.


Gah. Worth it though. Big part of facing the beast for me was and still is my personal appearance. I hate to admit it, but all this is for a good cause. Supposedly if I feel I look human, I will be better at acting like a human....or faking it at least. Don't wanna be human. Those people suck.

 

[Friday]

I have to say, Sludge... I really like the various titles you give to She Who Is On Thin Ice. :D

Good news on both the teeth & the outlook. Keep it up.

& cha. Those people suck.

 

[Jimmy1]

I may have to get cannabis for my eyes -- glaucoma. I take 600 mg gabapentin for the leg and it seems to handle it. But the stenosis in my back is getting chronic. I can't bend very easily. But yoga exercise is helping stretch the knots out and does strengthen the muscles supporting by spine.

So I have had hydrocodone for the past few years regularly. By the way vicodin is now a schedule II drug which requires a lot more rules to apply to get an Rx. It will make you sick on an empty stomach, gives me a scratchy feeling all over, and I can't shit for days. Gotta drink a lot of water and eat fruit.

I try to displace the pain when I am determined not to take any more drugs. It's a meditation technique that uses breathing of course while you focus on moving the pain to a yoga brick or a ball. When I am focused it goes away and stays away for a while.

Sludge, we have following your progression in this remake project. I truly hope it turns out well. Mostly keep a positive attitude and know it will be over sometime.

Viking,

I had lazer surgery for glaucoma, they basically put a little hole in to relieve the pressure and allow it to escape.

As for pain, I just get used to it. I walk around all day with it on a six, when it gets to 8 or 9 I take more meds. Sometimes, when I have had my quota there is nothing I can do.

 

[Jimmy1]

Always remember, pain is not just tissue or nerve damage. When you are depressed it amplifies it.