Treatments For Chronic Back Pain

[hurryupnwait]

What treatments are there for moderate/severe chronic back pain?

I use

1. Tens unit

2. Salonpas patch

3. Vicodin

My VA PCP also recommended glucosame, which I have not tried.

I d like to explore other options.

Paul

[BMCS00]

I had PT a year and a half ago for 'spine stabilization'. Didn't do any situps, actually worked the other way. I did a lot of my exercises on an exercise ball, and found the therapy to be very effective. I have since bought an exercise ball and do some of the basic things i did at PT, and find it helps a lot!. However, I can't spend my life on that ball, so hydrocodone (Vicodin) and Flexeral are a regular part of my day, as well as an ice pack and heating pad.

PT and Chiropractic care are all dependent on the practitioner you are using. The ones I use now are the only ones I will go to, because they have half a clue.

--Jim

[John Purser]

I can mostly support what rentalguy1 said but try physical therapy first and if it doesn't work try another therapist. IF you can make that work it's by far the best option.

Look out for addiction issues with pain killers. Only time in my life I got stupid with pills was over my back.

Muscle relaxers "work" for me by making me pass out. Not much of a practical treatment there IMHO.

[mags1023]

What treatments are there for moderate/severe chronic back pain?

I use

1. Tens unit

2. Salonpas patch

3. Vicodin

My VA PCP also recommended glucosame, which I have not tried.

I d like to explore other options.

Paul

I also got a tens unit from VA and it has helped a bit. The ie and heat are also good. Not sure if you have a whirlpool tub or not, but I like the one I have. Wish I could get VA to pay for a hot tub. I sure can't afford it myself. PT just makes me hurt worse and I have heard horror stories about chirpractic manipulations. It does work for some, but if they move you the wrong way it could do major damage. Tramadol has helped to some extent and I did have an injection one time, but it didn't seem to do anything for me. Good luck!

Mags1023

[jbasser]

Paul, look out for those patches. I am an avid Fan of Orlando's Dr G. She is the M.E, for the area in FL. She had a case where a 42 year old man had an OD of a pain patch whwere all of the phentynol went into his system at once and he Died. These Patches can get damaged fairly easliy and you would not know it.

Hang in there. Try getting a torodol show when the pain gets too bad. It work for me in the past, along with dem-your-all (Demerol) and the mighty morphine power ranger shot - morphine. Stadol also works but longer to work.

Hang in there. Chronic pain is no fun.

J

[rentalguy1]

There is actually a current recall on fentanyl patches. They have sent out a batch that breaks extremely easily, and delivers a dose about 200 times stronger than prescribed. This has been fatal in almost every case.

[halos2]

The recall on fentanyl patches was last spring. The name brand DuraGesic were the ones recalled as they were falling off as the adhesive they used was defective and the FDA recalled them, those are made by Sandoz and those generic versions were recalled too...

In the meantime only Watson generics were fair to work, the other brands were so small and were non effective, and I felt like I put a bandaid on...nothing happened.

October 2008 DuraGesic was back on the market as well as Sandoz generic, who do indeed make DuraGesic. The diff between these 2 is the price $4.00 for the generic Sandoz, and $60.00 for the DuraGesic made by Sandoz...so go buy the Sandoz $4.00 and they stay on well now.

I have been using these topically changing every 72 hours since 2002. They just take the edge off, but the pain remains. Even with po hydro's the pain is there but does not control me!

As far as the other modalities, I have used them all, massage, heat/cold packs, heating pads,accupuncture, accupressure,spinal injections,PT,OT,yoga,exercise, chair and whole body heat/massaging electrical units,electrical stimulation, aqua therapy, meditation, tens unit(since 1986), glucoseamine-chond.,slant board, inversion table, other medications and antidepressants, you name it, and I have tried it. Weight management diets too. Others as Reiki too...Good luck to all to find something that will work too.