I've been told by my nurse I should be referred to this clinic and one person has told me to keep away as they try to put you on very strong (morphine) medication. I'm taking this with a pinch of salt but would like some more views, thank you :happy7:
I dont think anyone could force you to so something you didnt want to!!
If you are in a lot of pain I would give it a go. Opiates are always an option but if your pain is long term then the opiate use will be as well. Some people can live with that - my Dad takes a lot of codine and is fine with it. Me, I wouldn't take them long term if I could avoid it as I tend to react quite strongly and they make me feel .. well.. opiated!! They are, of course, adictive and many doctors dislike prescribing them. I cant take any a lot of normal pain meds due to stomach issues in the past and my doc is very strict about dishing out Codine or stronger - even when I bust my ribs she told me to take paracetamol..
I don't think you should allow anyone to put you on anything until you know all the details of what they are prescribing.That way you can make an informed decision.
Don't know where your Pain Clinic is, but the one near to me was/is excellent. I was interviewed by a Consultant who went through my symptoms and what action I was taking to alleviate the problem using the report sent by my GP. In my case this was nothing as all the medication I have ever tried either do not work or have side effects which are worse than the problem. He then gave his opinion that my best option was a Steroid injection directly into my spine. He explained the method and the possible problems and left me to decide what I wanted to do. All the conversation we had was then sent to me in a letter with a form to fill in if I wanted to proceed.
Any treatment was entirely my choice, there was no compunction or coercion.
The treatment by the way was successful and is due to last 4 to 6 months when it can be done again. Even a week without the sort of pain I was having was a bonus as far as I am concerned.
Thanks for your replies. I'm having problems with meds, everything I've tried for the last 22 years has gradually irritated my system so it won't accept most of them without complications. The lastest one, tramasept makes me feel very spaced out and causes other symptoms, too. This is why the nurse wants me to be referred.
My doctor is not very co-operative so I'll have to go in all guns blazing :toothy10:
My husband went to a pain clinic on doctors advise of course, Gerry had a series of 3 epidurals into his lower spine, it did hardly anything to alleviate the pain..
he also had surgery for spinal stenosis to one side of his lower spine, fabulous surgeon. he moved to the states
a few years later he, Gerry was offered surgery to the other side, to which we refused as we met with the new surgeon, and some how he just didn't 'feel' right.. later we we told that he Gerry could have ended up worse off...
so now we have lots and lots pain. on Tylenol 3 along with Hydrpmophofone 2 mg several times a day..., 3 mg zonked him right out.
I know
my spelling stinks but I think you get the idea......
Gerry by the way is 80...... qahtan
I think you should go and make your mind up about how helpful the advise is that you are given.
Listening to other people's tales of woe are best handled with remarks like 'Really'. And 'How awful for you'. The person wants some sympathy it does not have to affect your own decision taking processes.
Quote from: manicscousers on October 25, 2012, 20:44:52
Thanks for your replies. I'm having problems with meds, everything I've tried for the last 22 years has gradually irritated my system so it won't accept most of them without complications. The lastest one, tramasept makes me feel very spaced out and causes other symptoms, too. This is why the nurse wants me to be referred.
My doctor is not very co-operative so I'll have to go in all guns blazing :toothy10:
I looked up "tramasept" that you mention above as I didn't recognise the name but nothing came up in a Google search. I am wondering if you meant Tramadol? I have been taking it for about seven years now. To begin with they didn't suit me as I was given the 200mg slow release ones. Not only did they not do anything for my pain but they made my legs twitch and jump especially when I was resting. However, I changed to the 50mg ones and take two twice a day every day and apart from pulling a muscle earlier in the year, I hardly ever get any back pain now. I was given a spinal injection about seven years ago but it didn't help at all. I would go to the pain clinic Manics and see what they suggest.
The thing about Pain Clinics is that they know about the various ways to alleviate pain so can suggest alternatives to suit both the problem and the person and are far better qualified to do so thana GP or general clinic.
I had a series of 16 epidural infiltrations for 3 slipped discs in my lumbar spine about 10 years ago. It took them a few weeks to kick in but I can now walk, dance, garden and ski without pain. Just get a nag when too tired. 3 or 4 years later I had 8 in my upper spine for a slipped cervical disc. This worked fine till last winter when it slipped some more and I needed surgery to prevent my arm being paralysed. I am now pain free there and have full movement except for managing the basin at the haidresser. Growing my hair now.
Alternate treatments discussed at both the first times were constant oral painkillers - not recommended because of possible addiction and/or side effects - then patches, acupuncture, physiotherapy and so on. Mind you, this is a Belgian clinic in Brussels that doesn't see why people have to be in pain and gets referrals from the UK and Holland. I don't know if British clinics have the same attitude or range of treatments but don't see why they shouldn't.
Give it a go. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
GP's are being discouraged from referring people to Pain Clinics as a way of reducing the Waiting list. My treatment took 11 months from referral.
That's really bad. I referred myself after finding which clinic would suit me best - one that specialises in backs.
Tomorrow I'm off to the specialist foot and ankle clinic and next week another foot specialist, again under my own steam, because I want second and third opinions before anyons starts rebuilding my pesky foot.
Suffering needless pain is unnecessary and rather cruel and inhuman on the part of people imposing waits and rationing.
I looked up "tramasept
Sorry, I told you they made me groggy :toothy10:
It's tramacet, apparently a new one, contains tramadol and paracetamol. One, three times a day just isn't doing it but the other side effects mean I can't take any more
Thanks, I hadn't heard of Tramacet either.
Good luck at the pain clinic Manics.
I went to a pain clinic for 2 years before I returned to Canada. I find the specialist very easy to talk to and he thoroughly explained all of my options. The steroid injections were not an option in my case as inflammtion was not the biggest cause om problems. I had the base of my spine treated by zapping the nerve endings to the part causing the pain.Zapping them makes the nerve endings unable to feel any pain. Befor they did the zapping thing they gave me a test which helped them decide if the zapping would be beneficial in my case. They gave me a spinal injection in the area, it was an anasthetic that was to kill the pain in the nerves they were focusing on, I was told if the test worked I would be a candiate for the zapping treatment. Sometimes the test makes no difference so for those folks the zapping is not an option.In my case the anasthetic test worked, I was painfree for 16 hours, they then booked the other procedure for the following week. I was on my stomach about two maybe three hours and with the aid of a computer screen guided tool they zapped the nerve endings.It was not painful but funny as I could smell the zapping. It is not a permanent solution but gave me almost two years of comfort, after that the nerves regenerate and you are back to square one, but it can be repeated. As I had quite a large area of damage they decided to do the two sides of my spine on different days and I left for Cnada before the second side was zapped. I was therfore in a good position to truly decide if it was worthwhile. My zapped sided regenerated eventually but was vitually pain free until the nerve endings grew back, the untreated side was considerably worse of course so I was able to compare..
The procedure was one of many things they discussed including meds and yes I did eventually build up to very strong Fentanyl patches for the untrteated side (before I left) however there was no pressure on me to use anything I did not fancy and they were very supportive in all my decisoins.
My advice would be to go, listen to the options and choose only those you are comfortable with. My pain was intense, walking was almost impossible so I chose to try a couple of their options, the zapping was very succesful in my case, although they did aaccidently half zap a couple of good nerve ending which caused a problem for a few weeks but that was temporary.
The procedure was not uncomfortable by the way, well apart from being on my stomach, and I walked out after I was done.
Hope this helps
XX Jeannine
Well, after telling me they will prescribe very strong meds for me, he has referred me. He's also changed me over to gabapentin, just 1 a day for acouple of days, paracetemol in between, then 2 per day, then up to 3. He's told me there's no pain medication that is not a poison and they all have side effects due to their effects on the brain.
So, a sort of result, we'll see how it goes :happy7:
Quote from: manicscousers on October 31, 2012, 18:20:33
Well, after telling me they will prescribe very strong meds for me, he has referred me. He's also changed me over to gabapentin, just 1 a day for acouple of days, paracetemol in between, then 2 per day, then up to 3. He's told me there's no pain medication that is not a poison and they all have side effects due to their effects on the brain.
So, a sort of result, we'll see how it goes :happy7:
Your doctor, bless him/her, obviously knows precious little about chronic pain Mancs. It's not their fault, they just spend so little time learning about managing pain compared to the rest of whatever it takes to be a doctor.
Go along to the pain clinic, if only to tell your story to someone that understands and can advise on different ways to reduce the effects of pain.
It may well be there is no 'no pain' time in your life, so they will help and advise you on how to cope, how to minimise pain's effects.
My pain clinic very definately made a difference to my life. If there's a chance it will help yours, you'd be daft not to give it a go.
What's the worst that can happen? :tongue3: