By Bob on Friday, June 30, 2000 - 09:20 pm:

I have chronic pain in my wrist after tearing then ligaments in 1995, due to hypermobility. It
was operated on and cleaned up but could not be repaired.

It only real hurts if I move it. I used to be a concert pianist, so that is gone. I can't garden, or even carry a gallon of milk with that hand. I have hyper mobility in my joints, which contributed to the tear.

My pain doctor thought I had nerve damage and sent me to a neurologist, who said "no" their is no nerve damage because the nerve is sending pain signals and that is its job.

Last week, my doctor injected the sight with a nerve block and for the first time in over a year, the pain went away. But, that lasted for only three hours, while my hand and fingers continued to be numb for another eight.

I have tried different types of medicines: neurontine, ultram, lortab, percoset and am coming off prednisone after being on it for 10 months.

Today I am having a flair up of pain and resorted to oxycodone, taking 2 5mg tabs every 4 hours. So far I have had no relief whatsoever. I am afraid if I go back to my pain doctor and tell him that the percoset hasn't helped, he will
think that all I am doing is imagining that I am having pain, but that is not true.

If percoset doesn't work--what is there next step that I can suggest to him that we can try. (I am allergic to morphine.) As I said, the nerve block, I think it was lidocaine, worked for about three hours.

I have also used a tens unit. Which gives 100% relief as long as it is on. But after about 10 minutes after use, the pain is back.

We have recently tried skin patches of 5% lidocaine, and ketamine 10% in a PLO
(transdermal) gel and have had no results. It was expected that either of those things, especially the lidocaine patch would cause some feelings of numbness, at least on my skin, but nothing happened, with the exception of one time.--I must have gotten the lidocaine patch in just the right place. I applied it to my elbow, near where I thought the Ulna nerve to be and withing seconds, the pain in my wrist went away and I became extremely dizzy. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find that spot again. There is not being any transdermal (through the skin)
movement of the medicines. And Ketamine is VERY expensive.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can suggest to my pain doctor that we try next?

Or, if percoset isn't working, is it all in my mind? Other than feeling a little light-headed, it has done nothing today to relieve the wrist pain. I think my doc will believe if percoset doesn't work, I must be imagining pain that doesn't exits. But this is just not the case.
.

I don't know what to do.
I know that the very painful injection of the nerve block worked only for three hours, but it was worth it to have three hours with now pain.

He used to put in cortisone along with the block, but since I am on predinsone, he left that out this time.

I am hurting as I write this, full of oxycodone and no relief.

Help anyone?

Thanks,
Bob

By Bianca on Saturday, July 01, 2000 - 09:07 am:

I have no answers to your questions. Only same ideas.
On the opioid side you can try other things than Morphin like Fentanyl, new also as patch, so that the Fentanyl goes throw your skin.
Or it depends where your pain is- you can try with a pump that pumps directly Fentanyl or Bupivacain in your back strain.
Then you can try to combime a antidrpressive drug- not against depressions and not because I think that your pain is in your head, but because sometimes it has a good effect on pain when you combinate it with painkillers.
Then you can try a combination of Antiepileptics with your other pain medication. Sometimes it helps.
I wish you good luck in finding some thing that helps.

By Andrea on Wednesday, August 02, 2000 - 03:08 pm:

Dear Bob

I know how you feel. I've been there! Nothing worked... But now I have started trying these: massage, water (hydrotherapy/relaxation), gentle stretching, high doses of vitamin C and fish oils. I am very sorry to hear you had to give up your career. I used to play the piano and the bassoon but no longer. Since I am teacher I had to learn to write with my left hand on the blackboard so as to give my right hand a break. Another thing wich I have picked up on but not tried out myself yet: mud packs. Perhaps you need to find out which minerals are pain relievers first. But be careful with all your medication, you could wreck your stomach with them!

Good luck - Andrea

By Gwen on Thursday, August 03, 2000 - 12:03 am:

Another option to consider is one of the newer drugs on the market, Celebrex, which is a Cox2 Inhibitor. Because of its chemical composition and mode of action it doesn't cause the stomach upsets one finds with so many analgesics. It does have some draw backs. People who are allergic to sulfas cannot take it and the initial side effects can be severe but transient. The trick being to start on low dosage and build up to therapeutic levels as your body tolerates it. Another possibility is Oxycontin which is an opioid but only needs to be taken once every twelve hours for sustained relief.

By Jim on Thursday, March 21, 2002 - 07:26 pm:

I know where you are because I've been there myself but was lucky there was a surgical fix for my problem. Having been on painkillers from Vicodin to Oxycontin for several years I can offer you the results of personal experience. It sounds like the dose your using is very low and it is not reducing pain to a managable level. I will be up front with you and tell you to keep your eyes wide open and look deep within and make sure you are prepared to "Go There". Oxycontin is a very good painkiller but is very, very addictive. Usually, the pain doctors will give you something like hydrocodone or percoset for "breakthrough pain" to help until the oxycontin kicks in. I started out taking one 40mg Oxycontin and one 750mg vicodin twice a day. Within two years, I was taking 60-90mg morphine and 120mg oxycontin three times a day. The pain doctors are also addiction management doctors. I say this to drive home the earlier point if there is any way to resolve your problem via surgery then I'd say you owe it to yourself and your family to seek such a solution. If not, then ask yourself if you are comfortable with having a drug dependence as part of your lifestyle. In my case, it was worth it only for a short time. I could not have justified putting myself and more importantly, the people who love me through it for another year or even six months. And there is also the price you pay at the end make sure you factor that into your decision. Are you prepared to let your kids see you go through withdrawal? I had Hot flashes, lost weight, was violently ill for about two weeks while they weaned me off the oxycontin. I am not trying to tell you NOT to get stronger medication, if your quality of life is so degraded by pain that you can't function then by all means you have the right to as normal a life as is practical I am saying that I know how pain can eat you from the inside and how it changes you and affects the people around you. If the drugs will make that burden lighter for you and there is no medically sound solution that you can hope for then you have a tough decision to make. I wish you well!

By jonbean on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 08:02 pm:

I'm on Ultram, which works OK and lets me function but I still have lots of somatic pain in my lower back. I'm considering a stronger drug, like oxycontin or duragesic. Any recommendations??

Does the duragesic confine the medication to the lower back? Problems with it?

How do people feel when they are on oxycontin? Drugged out? Can you function?