3:00 in the morning and you haven't slept in days and the pain just won't quit.

 
Bit, that is what people don't understand. I started with physical therapy, chiropractic, then epidurals. The epidurals gave me flareups of excema... three days of relief sandwiched inbetween three weeks of something like poison ivy roaming around on my body. Ive tried most everything and the meds just work best for me. You may find something else but opiates are natural and they work. It is the tylenol and ibuprofen that the government allows over the counter that will kill your liver and especially kidneys (the APAP, tylenol).
Of course I have to take meds to help sleep too. IF I take pain meds after 6:00 PM, I will lay awake at night. I take melatonin, 1mg klonopin, and have worked up to 8mg of tizanidine (Zanaflex). It is a muscle relaxer and when you first take it 2mg will knock you out. I usually get a good nights sleep, sometimes if the weather is bad I have to put a lidicane patch on my hip and one on my back. I also have Voltarin gel... it works good for joint pain and doesn't tend to get into your system, so they tell me.
 
The thing is... people take some of these drugs and say. "I can't take this stuff". ..but after a few days you get used to it. I don't feel a thing when I take two or even three Vicoprofen... except pain relief. Also it is schedule 3 instead of schedule 2 like oxy. They say oxy works better but that has not been my experience. There is also and ER version of hydromorphone called Exalgo. It is a 24 hour pill like the Avenza and there is oxymorphone which I really don't know anything about. Hydromorphone is an ER version of Dilaudid, which you can take as breakthrough meds if you get on Exalgo... but I have been through most all of it and like I said, for me just the immediate release meds like vicoprofen work better because I can control it... 3 or 4 on a good day 6 or 7 one a really bad day but I've found that anything over 7 and I don't get any more relief.
 
I hope you find some relief because when you hurt all the time... you cannot make anyone understand, not even some pain management doctors. Other people with chronic pain do understand. I hope you read some on the forum link.
 
Julien

David I feel for you. I'm very sorry I don't have any suggestions for pain relief or healing.

I know the pain. I wish you didn't.

Seriously; I read the title and immediately thought; Move to Colorado.

I remember I had a health issue and was having regular amounts of nature's green; it was really powerful stuff and when visiting the doctor whilst under the influence he was amazed that I did not have that much pain at all. I was so out of it I just looked at him; my eyes all red and I replied; but I can't remember what I said. 


I can't take regular pain killers such as; Ibuprofen and other similar but more powerful prescription medications because they all cause internal bleeding in the stomach and lower intestine, so for me there is only one other choice and it's got to be really strong stuff! 

Also; get really good mattress and chairs.  Posture is also very important! 

Take care! 

Instead of pain meds I'd suggest booze.  No, I'm serious... I've dealt with every different kind of back pain and have seen endless arrays of doctors, chiropractors, accupunturists, etc.  None of the various meds I've tried have ever given me much relief.  The best relief I've gotten is from wine, I suggest white wine my favorite is pino grigio.  Beer doesn't work fast enough, hard alcohol messes you up, but of glass of pino grigio for the warm fuzzy feeling, numbs the pain, makes everything better.  Anyway it works for me.  Don't discount it until you've tried it...

Hi Bit I'm one of those lucky ones that have been spared any kind of back pain so far.
 
I don't have to look around very far to notice there are many chronic sufferers even in a land where there is state funded healthcare available.
 
All I can do is wish for some speedy and effective relief from your discomfort hopefully by listening to some of the suggestions here by those in the know will help bring about that process.
 
All the best with that one.

I have gone into my chiropracter in a wheel chair and walked out pain free in less than 30 minutes. Give it a try.

Forget the percs. They do nothing. Get some muscle relaxers. If your doc won't prescribe any flexiril or baclofen then just snag some OTC Robaxacet from the pharmacy. Also ice and heat. Hot baths are great. If it is a slipped disc (which it sounds like) try to lay on your stomach for at least ten minutes whenever you can... especially before bed. That will help push the disc back into place (actually pushing yourself upwards creating a curve in your lower back is the full exercise but I don't want you to hurt yourself). 

PAY A PHYSIOTHERAPIST to take a look at you and maybe hook you up to TENS unit for a while. Massage therapy is great as well. You do need the MRI and to see a specialist to figure out if and how badly the disc is slipped and which one it is. They may recommend surgery but physiotherapy has the same success rate as the surgery and you are less likely to relapse. It's just a little more time consuming.

I've got a ton more advice I could give you but that's a good start.

To get it down to basics...

Muscle relaxers/Ibuprofen (Advil) NOT percocet or tylonol or aspirin. 

Ice then heat then ice then heat.

Get some physiotherapy if at all possible.

Lay perfectly flat and straight for extended periods when possible.

If possible lay flat and straight on your stomach.

Take a loooong hot bath before bed.

Drink lots of water.

...

okay so that might be a little more but that's how you want to deal with this.

Good luck and feel better.

6 months of excruciating pain in my shoulder. sleeping in a lawn chair as that is the only position that helped a little. Duck taping a heating pad on me as to maintain contact while I tried to sleep (blisters from that helped refocus the pain). Went to physical therepay (mostly a joke IMO)

Finally went to another doctor. He hit me with Quartazone. Pain gone.

Get an inversion table Bitflipper. 15 minutes a day at 45 degrees. 

Lots of water and stay away from Tylenol is good advice. Opiates are still god if you have a doctor who will allow you to find the balance between enough and too much because that is the only way they will do the job. I like muscle relaxers in the evening but if you have nerve pain they wont help. Some people have muscle pain and others have a disk putting pressure on a nerve... in that case you need either painkillers or surgery. I wish weed was an option here and while we are on "alternative" botanicals... shrooms are GREAT painkillers. Nat Geo did a series called Drugs Inc. They had a segment on cluster headaches. One guy was completely disabled by them, horrible headaches every day. He takes a few grams (I don't remember the dose) of dried pscylicibin fungi once a month or every 6 weeks and has NO headaches inbetween his "self medication". I don't blame him for it... he went from being able to do nothing to having a normal life except for about 6 hours every month or so... worth the risk I'd say. Another woman with cluster headaches only had to handle them to get relief. We REALLT need the prudes in charge of us all to step back and take another look at some substances. It shouldn't be in a bottle next to the vitamins but anything that grows belongs to us all I think.

J