Viewing 6 posts - 7 through 12 (of 14 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • Bobg1949
    Participant
    Post count: 3

    Carla,
    I was diagnosed with AA from the University of Michigan back in 2003. I wanted to comment on one of your replies. You said you had a swelling the size of a softball around the surgical area. So did I 2 days after leaving the hospital in 2002 from a failed lumbar surgery. I immediately went to the emergency room hospital, and the Dr. told me it was spinal fluid. This is when the nerve roots began clumping together as seen in the MRI in 2003 and again in 2006. however the MRI in 2006 showed a larger area of clumped nerves. Through out the years the pain medications kept increasing and changing. The last time I had some relief was in 2014 when I was taking, 2 x day 200 mg. MS Contin and 2x day 60 mg MS Contin before I went on Medicare. Once on Medicare they (Medicare) did not allow me to continue with that dosage that I had been on for over 2 years. I am now so miserable but hoping the new pain mgmt. Dr. in my area I was just referred will provide some new treatment if any for pain control and also, I need psychological help badly. Anger has become severe along with the pain.

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    I understand that you are angry due to the elimination of your pain medications but your doses were very high and unsustainable. Narcotic medications are very good for short-term pain control but rarely effective in the long term. This is due to tachyphylaxis, the effect that the same narcotic dose over time leads to ineffectiveness. This means that more narcotic is needed to cover the same pain over time.

    Unfortunately, narcotics have another “depressive effect” and that is respiratory depression. This means that there is a limited amount that can be taken before the respiratory drive is eliminated and the patient succumbs. This is how most individuals die using narcotics. They need more and more to cover the same effect but run into the respiratory limit and stop breathing.

    It is difficult to treat painful arachnoiditis and that is why you need a careful, caring pain physician.

    Dr. Corenman

    PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
     
    Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
    Bobg1949
    Participant
    Post count: 3

    Actually Dr. Corenman,
    I didn’t mean I was angry over my pain meds. change, ,sorry for not being clear. I won’t say I wasn’t disappointed that the govet. thinks it knows better than Drs. My Dr. tried different meds. but I had terrible side affects so he reduced my MS Contin dosage that was acceptable to Medicare. My anger as mentioned was due to: I become very angry every time the pain flares up which is quite often. I keep as active as
    possible and have since 2003. I still work as a project manager and I work
    out of my home which helps. But the pain just gets to me.

    Carla
    Participant
    Post count: 5

    Bobg1949,

    Thanks for your reply. I hate that anyone has to experience AA, but it is somewhat comforting to know that we’re not alone. Chronic pain will certainly wear on your nerves. I find myself getting irritable when my pain levels are high. I have to give myself a time out to rest my body and my mind. At this point, I rarely take narcotics and choose to push myself through the pain. I only take them on days when I cannot function. I have days when the pain is so unbearable that I can’t get out of bed. Those are the days when I cave and take pain medication. I hate the thought of relying on medications for quality of life, but I know it’s an unfortunate reality. In light of all the CDC and FDA regulations, I’ve chosen to do my best to stay off medications…at least as long as I’m able. I know most are unable to do that.

    I do, however, find that steroids help quite a bit. When I’m really bad, my doctor will give me a steroid shot. Those definitely help with the inflammation. My back continues to swell off and on – a baseball sized area. When the swelling happens, I have trouble urinating, and the pain is severe. I had to go to the ER recently for this, and it is all stemming from nerve damage in my spine. I just pray that it doesn’t continue to progress. In the meantime, I live one day at a time and try to make the best of it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk tomorrow, but I can today…and that’s what matters.

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    Anger management with chronic pain is typical. There is a condition called reactive depression where the chronic pain depletes the brain of a neurotransmitter called serotonin. This reduction of serotonin causes depression and is also why the SSRIs (serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac and Celexa work to help with this condition.

    Steroid shots are not without their relative risks. I agree that steroids are very good with treating the pain of arachnoiditis but long term use has potentials for vascular disorders, avascular necrosis and depression of the pituitary/adrenal axis. Use has to be judicious.

    Dr. Corenman

    PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
     
    Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
    Bobg1949
    Participant
    Post count: 3

    I want to thank you Dr. Corenman for your last reply. I am focused on my anger issue and after googling reactive depression I found a very interesting article defining exactly me when I explode. There is no physical anger but vocal which is j u st as bad. IED, intermidate explosive disorder. Following that article they talked about infamation as a potential cause not to mention all the other causes mentioned from the first article I read.

    I need to contact the pain clinic Monday and find out why they have not been in contact with me since my Dr put the referral in on April 19th.

Viewing 6 posts - 7 through 12 (of 14 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.