Why Is This Problem So Big?

I found this message board last night and began reading. I was in a car accident in 1991 and have had chronic back pain in varying degrees for years. About a year ago the dr. having run out of options for now began pain pills lorcet 10/650 x 4 a day. I of course have become addicted and now the same amount doesn't even touch the pain which I made clear to my Dr.
My question is that we all seem to be from the same generation in our 30's (most here anyway) why is this drug solution doled out so readily by Drs? I am sooo frustrated that I can't find a solution for my back pain even though I have seen a million drs. I sometimes feel like cutting myself open on the area that it hurts on my spine just so I can see what is in there because it has to be something, so why can't they find it????
I am sickened that now not only do I still have pain but to compound that I also have a drug problem that I keep hidden from everyone and I don't know what to do. I can't even begin to quit until I can get the original pain under control so what am I suppose to do??? Why do drs. prescribe these pills like this if they know this is going to happen???? Why do I have to go through this??? Is anyone on this board still having the pain that orginally led them to take the pills in the first place and if so what are you doing about it?
I am soooo depressed and the only thing that keeps me going is that I have 3 dogs , 4 cats and a bird that depend on me for there care. I have often thought of suicide but then I think that no one will care for my animals and that is what stops me. Pretty warped that animals is what is stopping me and not people right? I am on effexor for depression and I take 2 180mgs of that a day and I still feel like this.
HELP.

pets keep me going
Dear pets First being a animal lover I can relate I really really can.Just as I sometimes wonder what would happen to my daughter the same goes for my kittys.Anyways welcome.Isn't it nice to know your not alone in these feelings?I bet all on here have felt just as you do many times over.I am so sorry to hear of that pain.Bone pain is the worst because nothing really touches it.To answer your question I dont know why it seems like our generation is in pain.I don't think us here started to take them for nothing.We probaly all had a reason & some still do for usen pain pills.For some its the only way to deal with their pain.Have you tried to slowly taper off your pills they could actually be the reason for some of your pain....mj
Dear pets, you need to tell your dr about the addiction to the pills first of all. Once you get off of these you may find that your pain is not as bad. I have two degenerated disk in the neck and severe migrains and was taking Vicoprofen within 18 months I was taking way more than prescribed. Now 66 days off of them and the pain is tolerable with tylenol arthritis strenth otc. Your depression I would say may be coming from the fact that you do not want to take the pills anymore and that is the first start to admitting the addiction. Please go to your dr or nearest emergency room. Believe it or not they will not judge you.

Beleive
hey welcome to the board.

your not alone. i can onlt speculate why dr's do what they do. my geuss is they arent as educated as they want us to believe, my other geuss is they know we will get hooked and need to come back so its all about the money. keep trying to find a dr that understands and can help. be honest with them, there are good ones out there that will help. i myself have found that when i quite my pain subsided at least 90% and thats the fact. i think the drugs create more pain. plus coupled with withdrawals. but i have no phd. but stick around. some others will come along with better info and advice. there is hope. don't give up on yourself. it is the drugs making you feel so low. i remember i was at that point when i hit rock bottom. suicidal thoughts. thats what scared me enough to get clean i have 2 beautiful amazing children that desrved thier mom back.
keep the faith. hang in there. we do care. your worth it and i will support you any way i know how. keep posting. ask all the questions you need. there are loys of great people here with tons of knowledge.

terrianne
Thank you for your response, yes I have tried to taper and have even gone off them a few times but whaaaam just like a train wreck my back pain (it's really over one particuliar vertibrea) comes back and I can't even get up. I have had prolo therapy where they inject your tendons with irratents to strengthen them for support and all other kind of painful and invasive procedures just to find a solution there is no way I would go thru any of this if the original pain wasn't wicked. My dr. always asks how is the pain meds working and I tell him that I am immune to that dose and tell him that I am addicted and that I want a solution and I guess he has just run out of options for now. I have seen many drs. and they all tisk tisk you are so young to be on pain meds but then they don't offer any solutions or the ones that they do don't work.
I even had one dr tell me there may be nothing we can do so too bad. how helpful was that?
I have a young friend who has a horrible family and her mother is a coke addict and always hurting her and she comes to me for support, she knows I take pain meds for my back but she would be sooo disappointed if she found out that I too was like her mother in a lesser degree. I am just so frustrated.

pets
pets,

i can feel your frustrations. i wish i had better answers. but don't give up. keep trying. i'm here for you. i'm not so educated about your medical condition. but maybe you could do some research online. ask around. keep trying to find that dr who is willing to work with you. i am sure its like a needle in a haystack and sounds like alot of footwork but it seems. there has to be something. heck call montel williams *wink just joking. a lil morning humor. i am praying for you. hang in there.

terrianne
The funny part is that i have done research but when you don't have an actual name for what you have its hard. I have mention the back stimulating thing that Jerrry Lewis has and the drs kind of all shrugged it off, my question to them is hey if you don't know what is causing it how do you know what might or might not work.

pets

PS does anyone know how to erase the web browser thing at the top of the page that tells the sites you have been too? I don't want anyone else using this computer to find out.
cant help you on the puter thing sorry,

sounds like your situation is a catch 22, i wish i had better advice. but i am here for you and i am listening. i also know its early still and others will be along with something wiser then i. just please dont give up and be kind to yourself. you really are worth it to keep trying and never give up.

terrianne
Dear Pets have you ever thought about seeing a addiction specialist DR or a pain management Dr they may have more info & better options.By chance have you ever tried the tends think where they send electric zapps into your spine area????mj
Pets...I think if you go into your settings there is a place to take off the websites that you have visited, and there are a couple of other places like "cookies" and "temporary internet files" if you want to erase them completely. I had to do the same thing. When you log out after fixing the settings it will erase the address line with you websites. Good luck


beleive
Ok to clear where you have been......if you are running xp, cause thats what I have.....go to control panel, then open internet options. hit delete cookies.....then hit delete files.......check box if it comes up to delete all offline content....then at the bottom you will see clear history, that can be set to not keep a history...........(But I am not sure if it just won't or it won't hold stuff once you browser is closed)........
Hope this helps you.....
Tina
Hi pets,
Read around the board, there are people here with lots of pain and handle it differently. Keep checking in, someone will be along with more and more suggestions for you. All I can say is I really feel for you. What kind of dogs do you have? I used to breed Boxers and Great Danes in WI when we lived there. (Not at the same time) and in 7 years I did about 6 litters, so it wasn't anything big, we just had a hobby farm, I stayed home and it was a neat thing to do, for me and the kids. My son and I saw this russian guy a couple of weeks ago perform tricks and juggling with his dogs & cats. (he didn't juggle the dogs and cats) It was so good, wish I would have kept his name, I would've posted it it was something for the whole family. The guy had alot of love and trust with his animals, you could tell; the dogs I could understand, but I didn't know you could train cats. It was amazing.
Anyway, gotta run. Take care and stick around. If nothing else you'll get support here.
I think your doctor sounds like a quack because of the amount of tylenol he's letting you have. Be careful with that stuff, I had a bad experience on it.
Most of the time, it goes from Lortab/Vicodine to Oxycodone (percocet) to oxycontin. I'd rather see you on Oxycontin than all the tylenol.
Educate yourself. Read alot. I always said (I have bad knees) how lucky I was not to have a bad back. At least with the knees, you can get off of them, with your back, every move you make, even while sleeping, involves your back and I really feel for people with a bad back. Hang in, tell me about your dogs.
Briar

Brair,
I have a chihuahua named "Brutus" an english bulldog named "Knuckles" and a schnauzer/poodle mix named "Weasel". I have 4 siamese mix cats and a pacific parolett named "Lucas" they are definatly what keeps me going, i once told a close friend of mine that if I started finding homes for my animals to watch me closely because without them I have nothing to be here for. I wonder with there sensitivity to everything if they can chemically sense the difference between a user and a regular person and what they think of that.

pets
Hello,

Whats wrong with your back? If the accident was 14 yrs ago how come it still hurts? Have you thought about going for surgery? Had an MRI?

As for the drugs your taking, believe it or not they are actually creating more pain then they are healing. Once you are addicted to drugs and take them for a long period of time, they actually will create more pain. So the solution is to get off the pills, you will find that your pain will be alot more manageable at that point and then you can access it and go from there.

Pain pills don't work in your situation. Im sure you want your back fixed not just taking drugs and now your an addict and hiding it from everyone Im sure wasn't the plan.

So get off the drugs, your back will feel alot better and re-access it from there.

I have a fractured back, severe osterarthritis, compressed vertibrates in my neck and I have to go for surgery on both my hands for nerve damage and carpel tunnel syndrome. I was taking pain meds but after a while they stopped working. So I got off them and I feel way better then when I was on them.
Hey Kiwi, I'm just curious, were you in some kind of accident that caused this? I was in a car accident several months ago and turns out I have five ruptured discs in my neck, along with some pinched nerves. They tell me that while the accident didn't help it, I had this long before. Just curious if you might know how that could happen to a person. I'm also interested in how you cope with the pain from it. Prescription strength motrin barely touches it and I don't want to get on the narcotics roller coaster again. I was hoping you might have some tips. Thanks! Love, Kat
I have been told by 3 drs that there is nothing surgery can do for me. About 6 months ago i started prolo therapy which is injections of irratents into back tendons which cause them to think you have an injury and therefore strenghten them up. I have to admit that they did help my upper back but I have one vertbrae in the lower back that on somedays just a shirt rubbing against it makes it kill. I just can't understand why if I can point to exactly where the pain is they can't figure out what is causing it. I have had 4 mris and cat scan up the whazoo as well as many other tests and procedures and they just don't have an answer for me.
Sometimes Dr's prescribe pain pills (legitimately) because that is the best option they see. They are definitely not trying to hurt you. But you are right, there should be better options. SOme people, unfortunately, have such continuous pain that they really need continuous narcotic therapy just to live. MY guess though, if that were the case, a Dr should probably send you to a pain clinic that specializes in chronic pain. I guess there are mind excercises u can use to get pain under control, but if you are a baby like me, i dont think they'd work. But handfulls of pills? I don't think thats good. If you are stuck going that way for legitimate medical reasons , they have time released patches, etc.