My dad isn't doing very well these days and is dealing with a lot of pain. He is only 54 years old but has beaten his body up over the years. The earliest injury I recall him having was a motorcycle accident when I was 6 years old or so that nearly killed him. They had to put a metal plate in his shoulder but don't know more than that. He later broke his ankle roller skating too. In the past half dozen years he had neck surgery (disk problem) and most recently (2 years ago or so) had a hip replacement surgery which never did ANY good and after another surgeon told him he hadn't need the hip surgery but another major back surgery dad had that too which ended up not helping at all. My dad was also a professional machinist for the past 30 years which is hard on the body. He recently had to completely quit work as his body just couldn't take it anymore but he is on 33 major pill dosages a day just to keep the pain tolerable (evidently the back problems have caused a degenerative nerve problem to his legs and he gets terrible back spasms too). Most of the pills are heavy narcotics. I am sure in this day and age there has got to be a better way to manage long term pain but wanted to poll everyone here to find out about experiences. He can barely walk and falls a lot. This is all terribly hard for him because he has always been an avid outdoorsman and loves to ride horses, fish, hunt, etc and can no longer really do any of it now. I have just started doing some research from all the big pain management societies online but wanted input from real personal experiences. Thanks a bunch,

Teresa

Teresa how would he feel about Acupuncture? I bet a Chiropractor might be too much to handle for him, or has he tried one?

About 15 years ago my dad, who was a heavy machine operator, had a crane fall on him and mess his spine up and had to have 3 disc's replaced.

No way he would have ever done that type of "new fangled medicine" Acupuncture, as he put it lol . He was in so much pain, he couldn't stand going to the chiropractor.

Gosh, sorry to hear about this. I'm having similiar concerns with my Mom right now. I'm not sold on her pain doc. She's on some pretty heavy stuff. I can't reason with her. I am so afraid she will become addicted. She has a history of pill addiction. It's scarey! I'll be watching this thread along with you. I'll keep you all in my thoughts & prayers.

Penni! All you other nurses!!! Please put some input into this!!!! I'll have to look into the accupunture, I've also read about treatments using several types of nerve blocker injections called lumbar sympathetic blocks and neurolysis (destruction of nerves) and epidural steroid injections, and botox/myobloc for neck and back pains but don't know anything about any of those except for what I read on the american chronic pain association Nat. Off. website and the american pain society website.

Jessie, that sounds just like my dad's situation. He is on some REALLY strong pills, is definitely addicted to them and they can't get any stronger as he is on the strongest doses allowable and he is also difficult to reason with. He has always been kind of impatient and tempermental but when I was there for my visit it seemed to be at an extreme. I've been in persistent pain for short periods of a time (a week to a couple of months) and know it is horrible and definitely affected my moods at those times in my life but I can't imagine having to live with it permanently. Best wishes to you Jessie.

I recently heard accupuncture mentioned before in regards to his pain so I'll have to check into that more. Thanks...

Hey just saw this post. It sounds like your father is really in pain and I have sympathy for him. Back pain is the hardest to control due to the nerves surrounding the areas.

Ask your pharmacist if any of the meds he is currently on are conflicting with each other? Most times Pharmacists know more about the compatibility of drugs than doctors or nurses. I would start there.

Has he tried Physical Therapy? If this is not an option then I understand just exploring all non pharmaceutical options first.

Has he tried a regimen of light exercise (ie: walking, sitting and lifting his legs, using 2 lb weights for arm lifts, just keep the exercise LIGHT, etc)?

Have you heard of a TENS unit? My mom used this on her neck pain and it kept the pain at bay till they fused her neck.

There are some Herbal muscle and nerve relaxor remedies he could take as well. Everytime I went to my Chiropractor he gave me a "Calming Formula" to help my muscles relax and nerves to stop being stimulated after my treatments. It works great. I will see if I have a bottle left and if so I will send it to you but PM me your address. If I don't have any left then I will email the doc and get the ingredients for you.

The procedures you mentioned are all something to consider but they too can have their own concerns. Look at what can happen in the long term if he has one of those procedures. Yeah it might fix the pain but does he give up some function? Is he forever gonna be numb in that area now? Just ask the long term questions.

You should look at one ailment at a time and see if a diet change, meditation, herbal remedies, change in pain meds will work before doing anything more drastic.

I am so sorry he is in such pain and I know how that can affect the mental state. Depression is a product of chronic pain. So keep that in mind as well.

I will keep your father in my prayers. Same goes for your mother Jessie.

How long as your father been on narcotics? My father is permanently disable due to a neck injury. He has a metal plate in him also. He has been on every kind of narcotic you could think of...oxycontin, morphine, methadone...all at such high doeses that the doctors are afraid to even prescribe them. He has been on heavy narcotics for 6 years now. He cannot function on his own. His doctors have told him that the narcotics are actually turning on him and making his pain worse because he has been on them so long. He has to come off of them eventually. Maybe your fathers pain medications have turned on him also. My mother was researching and there is supposedly a non-narcotic pain medication that is 10 times more effective than morphine. It is only available through a pain pump though. Maybe this could be an option for him. I do not know the specifics of it. HTH!

I know chronic pain can be a horrible thing. I suffer from a severe case of fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed at 20. Unfortunatly since I am so young I do not have many options. I hope your father can find some relief!

I have experienced the horror of chronic pain before and I know how destructive it can be to someone's quality of life. I agree with the others who recommend accupuncture. There is another treatment for back pain called "Vax-D" but I'm not sure, with your dad's metal plate, if he would be eligible. Still, it would be worth exploring. I really wish these doctors could get people's pain under control! I agree with suggestions of alternative medicines like herbs and such. If all else fails, I advocate definitely looking into marajuana. I think it is a crime against humanity that it is not readily available for those in chronic pain. It does wonders, even for people who have stopped responding to narcotics. My heart goes out to you and your dad and I hope he finds some relief soon.

Hi Hagerteresa,

you might want to read this article, maybe it's something that would be of interest for your dad.

http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218392338&cat=1_6

Teresa where does you dad live? Resources available vary from region to region of the country. Someone with great pain would find it difficult to travel long distances for treatment. However there are pain management clinics. Additionally there are usually clinical trials being conducted at research centers such as Universities that do cutting edge pain management treatment. But knowing what resources are available to him will influence the treatment he seeks.

I see on your profile you are from Oregon. Here is a link to OHSU Pain Center. http://www.ohsu.edu/paincenter/ You have probably already seen this. But if not maybe it can help. M

Teresa, my husband has had chronic pain for several years now, he became addicted to the pain pills . But theone thing that works for him now is the fetenal pain patch, it is a slow release narcotic pain patch that does not make you feel stupid like when you take the pain pills, alos has your dad looked into cortizone injections, it has worked wondersfor my husbands pain. He has been seeing a pain management doctor for 6 years now, my husband has degenerated discs in his back and needs surgery but he refuses, he too got into an accident and his line of work does not help matters. Does he have a pain management docotr? If not look into one, they saved my husband .

Teresa, my heart goes out to you. I knew person up North that was in a lot of pain with her back, and all the doctors told her they couldn't do anything for her she would have to live with it. Her son took her to Mayo Clinic, and they fixed her up and she is like a new person. I don't know what they did, but it is always worth a second opinion when something like that is involved.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

I had a back injury at age 19. Five disks out in my back, "too many things wrong to touch it". Was on so many meds it started effecting my liver. So they took me off of it and sent me to rehab for my back.

Thousands of dollars later... I do Yoga (modified), Richard Simmons stretching to the Classics, Swim when I can, and take Formula 303 every day. It does not hurt my liver, and helps with the spasms/pain. It also helps me sleep. I use ice when I hurt really bad, and NEVER use heat.

You can get the Formula 303 at a chiropractors office, or off eBay.

If I am in a pinch I will get Valerian Root from Walmart. That might be a starting place. If the Valerian works for him, then the Formula 303 will be heaven.

God bless....

I have been on narcotics for a couple of years now because of degenerative arthritis. That was one of the reasons it was so important to me to get banded. If I can lose some of the weight, it will help with the pain. I have had several people suggest acupuncture as well. I saw that someone mentioned botox above. I wouldn't be to crazy about trying that. My husband is a stroke victim and partially paralyzed. They were going to use botox injections on him, until his neurologist said that it could actually cause his leg and arm to go limp and rubbery to the point that he wouldn't be able to walk at all. We decided against it. Atleast at this point he can walk short distances with a brace and his cane.

I noticed someone here mentioned the fentanyl pain patches. I was on them for awhile for my fibromyalgia and my father was on them also. They helped me enormously, but they were not enough to help my father. The are last 72 hours (3 days). They are as addictive as anyother heavy narcotic out there. So if your father is worried about addiction and heavy narcotics I would not suggest them, just from personal experience and from my own fathers experience. I attended Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston which is also a pain clinic as an out patient. My father attended as an in patient. If you cannot get them covered by insurance they are exremely expensive. I heard somewhere around $30,000. They told me to stay away from the fentanyl patches. There have been recent deaths due to them and overdoeses because they are so potent. But I guess many other heavy narcotics are too. HTH some!

Thanks for all your responses as they all give me something to consider.

My dad actually is living in Northern New Mexico at this time. He has been on heavy narcotic pain medications for years and is definitely addicted to them. Like Babe said... the doctors cringe when they prescribe them but don't seem to offer any other choices. The pain patch has been mentioned but dad isn't sure it would work (be strong enough) for him as the dosage gradually decreases over the 3 days. I have wondered about that implant and recall somebody on this forum whose wife had one.

Penni unfortunately my dad already has had the hip replacement and that latest insane back surgery of which neither of them helped at all and in fact made things much worse in both cases. I forgot I posted this thread until a few minutes ago and spaced checking it for a few days. Thanks again, Teresa