Back pain and vicodin?
I have had bad lower back pain for about a year now and the doc has done xrays and urine tests and says nothing out of line? I ALSO have Tennis elbow, which really hurts! Have been on Vicodin 2/day, sometimes I need 3 or 4 and then i have to suffer other days because I am short on my script. I usually get them refilled every month with just a phone call. Now after a few months not seeing him, he wants a physical before he fills anymore. When I see him, should i tell him I need more than 2/day? Last time I seen him, he refered me to pysical therapy, but I cant afford that and dont have the time during the week to go. I have a freind whom is a massage therapist and gives me massages once a month to help, but that is temporary.
I have been exercising/strength training both my back and elbow, but my job consist of manual labor and I need to work. The vics are what keep me working without pain.
Also what if he insist on therapy?
What do you think he will do for me?
Up my script, or cut me off, or refer me elsewhere. NOTE this is my lifelong reg. DO.
How long does a general doc keep prescribing narcotics. Some that replied state that they took for year and a half for back pain..How long till its normal to up the dosage. Ive been on 7mg for about 7mos or so.
Tagged with: bad lower back • freind • job • last time • lower back pain • massage therapist • massages • narcotics • phone call • strength training • tennis elbow • urine tests • vicodin • vics • xrays
Filed under: Tennis Elbow Home Cures
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While I diden’t take the time to read all post/replies.I’d like to share my experience: I’ve had MRI’s,I went through therapy,injections and chiro., all that my doc.had asked… I knew I had to do it to stay on his good side. Even after 2 MRI’s showed ‘several" small problems wrong w/ lumbar and cervical spine,even to the point of nerve pain.. The Doc. referred me to 3 specialst..for continued narcotic/hydro. His treatment of pain control was 6 months, he felt it was time to find a specialist, treatments by him could not be continued..so he said. Well, today i’m attempting to wean myself off alone as I have caresource (form of medicaid), and its impossible to find help. Yes, I still hurt,yes i still need pain relief.But, I learned that cutting down caused the most exscrutiating back and whole body pain imaginable!!. what im saying is,the pain caused from the bulging disk etc. I have, is nothing compared to the pain of withdraws!!. not to mention other withdraws symptoms!! Ive went from 40-60 mgms. hydro. per day x 5 yrs.And now, Currently at 5 mgm. x 1 per day, to sleep at night.I still feel like I wanna die sometimes due to lethargy and "Actual Pain", but i’ve came along ways, cant give up now, but many times I did give in. The last 8 months now, I been at a gradual, cutback to reach this, its been and still is hell. What I want to stress here is this:..Try your hardest to find relief w/ ibuprophen instead!!!!!. trust me, once you try to stop or cut back your pain will be so much worse than what you feel now, it aint worth it. By the way..I need help now..lol. Anyone know how long i can expect withdraws if i stop completly?. I havent had a dose in 4-5 days now,some mild discomfort, back, leg pain, tired, etc. but i just wanna feel normal again. I am using tramadol in place of any vics now. Still got body aches and shakes though…Any help id appreciate. Sorry for a lengthy post and then a question too..I just wanna help others as well as myself, too. Bless you all. Thanks..:)
Advil works for my chronic back pain,I take 200-800mg (check with your doc on milligram amounts,the bottle reccomends no more tham 200mg without a RX)depending on the pain,I hate vicodine too many side effects.
If the doc persists with the referral,tell them a Chiropractor may be better for you.
Vicodin is not given on an indefinite basis by primary care physicians very often.. usually they are more sympathetic than a clinic, but less able to prescribe long term than a pain management clinic. I wouldnt ask for more than her gives you until he is alreay writing the script and he seems confident you arent drug seeking.. then while he is writing the script before the pen hits the paper say," if you dont mind, could you give me more than two a day because the pain relief is only good for (4) hours or so and on bad days I need a little more." Since you didnt do the phy. therapy, your doctor is very nice to continue giving you narcotics since you didnt follow all his other recommendations fully.. doctors make these other recommendations because they need to cover their own behind so it doesnt look like a narcotic dispensary is taking place. He may refer you to a different back specialist or pain management, or he might just write the script it really depends what kind of relationship you have with him. if he hasnt mentioned any reservations about prescribing vicodin yet, then I assume if you are still in pain he would write for more.. it is necessary for him to see you before he writes the script to be ethical.. I imagine he will write, but dont expect this to go on forever especaiily if you keep asking for dose increases as this shows a tolerance is forming and could lead to dependence.
First of all, be completely honest with your doctor. They can’t help you if they don’t know what’s going on. Maybe your issue is one that can’t be seen with an x-ray and they need to do a CT scan or an MRI. If you are in pain, then you are in pain and need to be treated accordingly. Tell your doctor that you ended up taking more than the 2 a day because the pain is too intense. Also be honest about the physical therapy and the massages. The more they know, the better they can help you. Your regular doctor just might refer you to a specialist.
Go through with the physical. Do anything and everything they want you to do (within reason) that will assist them in making a good diagnosis for you. If you can’t afford the therapy, then you can’t – some doctors will understand that. They might suggest you do some stretching at home, or yoga or something like that. Just work with them – you want to get better and they are out there to help you.
Good luck – hope you find some relief soon.
most likely he will refer you to a pain management doctor. This is normal when he has done all he can for you. It is imperative that you go, as regular docs shouldn’t keep prescribing narcotics without additional treatment (surgery, etc.) for a long perid of time because over time the DEA gets involved and the doc can get in trouble. But pain management is long term and for some people, they have to be on narcotics forever but they do other treatmnts as well. Good luck to you! Also, think about getting another opinion because it seems to me you may need and mri or some other more serious testing.
This sounds like the same situation I am in. I have the same type of pain in the back and neck and have been suffering with elbow issues. You are the lucky on in this situation I was given one script of vicodine and no refills after. I was sent to neurologists, had EMG’s, MRI, CT scans od my neck and back. I an constantly in severe pain but nothing is wrong with me???? so they say. I did physical therapy for 6 wks (missing hours at work in the process) I did the strength training like you and it made it worse. Physical therapy isn’t the answer. I would be honest with the Dr and tell him how many pain killers you need tell him about the massage therapy you have been getting. He may up the dose for you or maybe try another PK or even muscle relaxers as well as the PK. Good luck with the situation and know you aren’t the only one suffering. But you have some pain relief.
Hi , please listen to Gregg..above. He put it in a way that says it all without being offending. Please exhaust ALL other options before increasing your dosage of Vicodin..please! If you are already needing more, it shows that you are probably building up a tolerance to the pain medication and alot of people are not made aware by their doctors how quickly one can become dependent on these drugs. They used to be my first love..I was the type of person that 7 years ago would not take an aspirin unless I was in misery..I started taking Vicodin for lower back pain and the feeling of Euphoria and the fact that the drug gives some the ability to go on and work.. I worked 3 different jobs for 5 years….is sometimes enough for someone to become addicted. This can happen before you even realize you are addicted. Then it becomes a very violent, vicious cycle. If you have never been to this hell, please, please don’t go any further or you are sure to end up there. I am in no way saying that you are addicted or will become addicted, I am only speaking from personal experience. I am a hard-working, upper-middle class person that has never been in any trouble with the law, noone ever suspected my drug abuse except for the few that knew me best. I started out asking for just a few more..a few more..and I was hooked before i knew it and now I am struggling to get off from something much stronger..eventually the vicodin will not be enough trust me, and you will want to go to something stronger(I was taking 15 to 20 -10mg.’s daily easily, probably more within a year and a half after starting them). I was eventually taking them just to keep from suffering from withdrawals because I had built up a tolerance and could no longer get the "high" that they gave me no matter how many I took, so naturally to get relief, I went to something stronger. Please dont’ mistake my answer for saying that everyone that has to take pain medicine is doing it for the wrong reasons. Noone starts out and intends to become addicted. I am just begging you to PLEASE seek all other options..take out a loan if you have to for physical therapy…anything is better than becoming dependent on these pain meds. As I write this, it is taking everything I have to sit up and write as I am just now trying to come off from something much, much stronger and even though I had people tell me the same thing as I am telling you, I didn’t want to hear it and I became defensive and refused to believe it could happen to me. So if there is anything else that will give you relief that is not an opiate..please give it a shot. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. It has been proven that after taking opiates for a certain amount of time, they will change your brain permanently. The pain receptors in your brain are filled right now with the ingredients from these pills and when that happens, it is so hard to see it any other way. I hope I did not anger you…just wish you would exhaust all other methods before increasing your dosage. Best wishes to you and good luck.