Update on my Tramadol experience for spinal arthritis...

[CTyankee]

I had an appointment with my rheumatologist who advised me to take one Tramadol with one Melloxicam, as they work together well, he said. However, within a half hour I had dizziness --not as bad as with the two tramadols -- but not good either. It did stop the pain but I am not thrilled with feeling dizzy. Plus, I have a wise fear of falling (and I HATE feeling "drugged up&quot .

I am reporting these results to my doc tomorrow. I am also going to ask about having the injections that he gave me in February, in anticipation of my walking on lots of cobblestoned streets in little towns in Tuscany in March. I am hopeful that enough time has elapsed that I can have another set of injections around the base of my spine. They weren't painful to take and I got good results.

In the meantime, I will be discussing other drug alternatives. I have also been advised by a family friend (an anesthesiologist) to get a referral to a pain specialist. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

Meantime, I do my stretches and strengthening exercises. I am also going to ask if I can have a re-up of physical therapy. My PT got me out of pain w/o drugs and I loved going to her. By far, it was the best therapy, IMO...

[MADem]

1. Would one of those TENS things help, do you think?

http://physioworks.com.au/FAQRetrieve.aspx?ID=30894

[CTyankee]

2. Wow! Thank you for that suggestion! I will certainly mention it to my doc...

Boy, he's gonna get an earful from me...(and I like the guy).

That TENS therapy sounds great and it is certainly worth mentioning and hopefully trying it. I want as drug free a life as possible and will do what it takes on my own effort to achieve that.

Really, what good does it do to have me in a zombie mode, afraid to drive or even walk very much and having my memory dulled...it's bad enough with the normal aging process...why make it worse if I don't have to?

[MADem]

3. I remember seeing Jerry Lewis being interviewed years ago...

...by Larry King, I think, but it really doesn't matter. He was all swollen up from taking steroids for back pain (and I guess he had it BAAAAD), but he said that he was getting off of those with the help of one of those TENS units. He fricken RAVED about the thing for quite a long while.

It can't hurt to ask, I figure--I'm like you; the fewer meds, the better.

[CTyankee]

4. For the life of me, I can't understand why people want to be drugged...

but drug abuse is pretty widespread. OTOH, I am not good with pain either. The trick is finding a combination of ways to get to the problem, hopefully avoiding drugs as much as possible, but not excluding ones that can actually help and not hurt...

[MADem]

5. Me either. I really dislike pills.

Mainly because I can never remember to take them! I hate being chained to them. If I have a prescription for something owing to illness, I can't wait for the day when the bottle is empty and can go into the recycling!

Doctors are too quick to prescribe. I actually had a doctor once tell me to "...just take the cholesterol pills, that way you can eat anything you want!" I was appalled! Turns out my cholesterol wasn't bad, I just had a "fatty patch" of food which was a bit atypical over the long arc of my intake.

[CTyankee]

6. Sounds like my approach. I have problems remembering my pills, too, altho not

my blood pressure meds. I know how important they are. And, anyway, I have no adverse side effects...

[Warpy]

8. Diet doesn't do that much for cholesterol,

although factory bakery goods should be avoided along with margarine and solid vegetable shortening. Trans fats are the killers, it turns out.

90% of your cholesterol comes from your liver. You'd die without some cholesterol. That's why diet alone doesn't do much, although it's best to get into healthy eating habits.

People with genetically determined high cholesterol do best on the statin drugs. Their alternative is to die in their 30s and 40s of the heart attacks and strokes the rest of us don't have to worry about until our 60s. Statins are lifesavers for them.

[MADem]

13. It sure helps those blood test results...at least in my case. nt

[Warpy]

7. Referral to a pain specialist is good

because they have greater latitude in prescribing non drug alternatives, PT among them.

I consider myself very lucky with Tramadol, it has all the pain relief of a mild opiate and none of the side effects for me. However, it seems to be an all or nothing proposition: either you can take it with ease or it gives you the horrors, there is no middle ground.

[CTyankee]

9. Do you think it would insult my rheumatologist to ask for a referral?

Has it been your experience that docs don't like it...

[Warpy]

10. I don't know why it would. You'll still need care to slow the disease process down

The pain specialist is just to keep you from being paralyzed by pain. Just make sure each doc knows what the other is prescribing. Keep an up to date list with you at all appointments.

[CTyankee]

11. I also would like another set of steriod injections around my spine...

the first time they worked fine (back last February). I hope I can get them again now that 4 months have elapsed...they kept me out of pain while I was walking around on cobblestoned streets in Tuscan towns last March...

[CTyankee]

12. THANK YOU! I spoke with my rheumatologist this a.m. and he is giving me

another set of injections around my spine next Saturday! He is also giving me a referral to physical therapy (it turns out I didn't need a pain specialist for that! He said it was clear now that I cannot tolerate the drugs commonly used for this problem . I told him of the success with the injections on my trip to remote villages in Tuscany and walking on cobblestoned streets. He is European and understands this very well...

I feel fairly certain that this is the right way to go. He said I could have the injections every 3 months and that it was clear that the ones I previously got have "worn off." It's been a full 4 months. So now we know...there is an expiration date...

Just hope I can get my original therapist back. I'm going to see if I can (if she's still there). I felt wonderful under her care last time.

Wow. Drug free and pain free! I am a happy camper...

My sincerest gratitude for your advice and for other knowledgeable DUers, plus a nurse friend I had brunch with yesterday...all of you guys are great...

[MADem]

14. What wonderful news for you...! nt

[CTyankee]

15. thanks. actually, he could take me sooner and I just got back from getting the shots...

he also injected lidocaine. He said that would last for 6 hours and then the steroids will kick in and I'm good for 3 more months. He knows I was in pain and thoughtfully provided the lidocaine for extra help.

[MADem]

16. Oh, that's grand...is there any possibility that these shots kind of build up over time,

and you won't need them so often?

You might also want to keep your eye peeled for advances along these lines, who knows--this could be the cure all for you, maybe?

http://www.pratt.duke.edu/news/duke-bioengineers-develop-new-approach-regenerate-back-discs

[CTyankee]

17. thanks for the info. interesting.

I think I have to wait a decent interval between the shots. It's been over 4 months since the last ones...I think I'll have to have them 3-4 times a year since the doc says osteoarthritis does not get better and in fact gets worse as we age (and I'm already old). I can't complain when I think of all the people I know suffering from lots worse...at least that's my attitude right now...it's easy to feel sorry for yourself when you are in constant pain, but at least I have a fall back...

[MADem]

18. Constant pain...well, it SUCKS. And the absence of it is such a relief!

Doesn't matter if it is a bad back, a horrid toothache, or sciatica, there's just nothing worse than urelieved agony.

I wish you pain-free days and nights!!!!! And shots when you need them!

[CTyankee]

19. And to you, too, MADem!

Of course, it would help if I didn't spend so much time online with my twin loves, DU and art research! But I am addicted to both so....oh, well...