Hi everyone,
I have been having spine problems for years. I had a two level fusion in my neck at c5-c7 two years ago. I no longer have the sharp pains I used to have but they have been replaced by another type pain. I now have the worst achy type pain across my upper back. From shoulder to shoulder. At times the achiness goes down both arms to my elbows.
In addition to this I have achy arthritic type pain in both my hip joints. Its so bad at night it keeps me awake. I have tried every OTC med know to man with no help. I then tried prescription meds like voltaren. Again no help. I was finally given an opiate med. This does help but not as much as I thought it would.
I was thinking about asking my dr to do sedimentation rate to see how much of my problem is inflammation. I would have thought the voltaren would help if this was the cause.
I would appreciate any help or suggestions
thank you
Hi Oceanfisher, I am a long time chronic pain patient & can empathize where you are coming from. Given that you are having a different type of pain across the shoulders, I think this should warrant you getting your dr to do an MRI of the c-spine. If you can't have an MRI because of the hardware, then a CT Scan can be done. Has your GP done any regular xrays of your hips? It could be arthritis pain or even bursitis. I am not a dr, lol, just throwing some thoughts out. You mentioned Voltaren, are you on oral or topical? I ask because I have used the topical with some decent results. I cannot have NSAID because of crohns disease. By using the topical form very, very little is getting into my system to cause me problems. If your pain meds are not giving any relief I would be pushing the drs for some testing to check things out further.
Take care.
Susie
Moderator in Chronic Pain & Psoriasis Forums
Take care.
Susie
Moderator in Chronic Pain & Psoriasis Forums
Hi Miss Susie,
Thank you for the comment. I have tried both the pill and topical form of voltaren. I have not had an mri or ct scan since my fusion but I have had numerous xrays to check alignment and arthritis. I unfortunately have a ton of arthritis. I am surprised none of the anti imflams work. Advil or Tylenol are like taking candy. My hip joints are very narrow and the cartilage is getting thinner by the day. All of the meds designed to help osteo are not helping me in the least. Opiates do help but I really would prefer not to take them. I was thinking maybe I had RA but when I read about symptoms of RA it does not seem to fit. At my next appointment I will ask for Sed rate which I hope will tell me something. My pain is across my upper back from shoulder to shoulder. Both hips ache also.
I am now a chronic pain patient and have been seeing a pain management dr since before my surgery. As you are a chronic pain moderator do you have much experience in pain management? I went to a rheumatologist and after she looked at my records sent me back to my pain management dr saying she could not help me and that pain management is where I need to be. I have spinal canal stenosis, osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease. My pain management dr does not even recommend anti inflams for my condition. Seems strange to me.
thank you for your help
dmo
Thank you for the comment. I have tried both the pill and topical form of voltaren. I have not had an mri or ct scan since my fusion but I have had numerous xrays to check alignment and arthritis. I unfortunately have a ton of arthritis. I am surprised none of the anti imflams work. Advil or Tylenol are like taking candy. My hip joints are very narrow and the cartilage is getting thinner by the day. All of the meds designed to help osteo are not helping me in the least. Opiates do help but I really would prefer not to take them. I was thinking maybe I had RA but when I read about symptoms of RA it does not seem to fit. At my next appointment I will ask for Sed rate which I hope will tell me something. My pain is across my upper back from shoulder to shoulder. Both hips ache also.
I am now a chronic pain patient and have been seeing a pain management dr since before my surgery. As you are a chronic pain moderator do you have much experience in pain management? I went to a rheumatologist and after she looked at my records sent me back to my pain management dr saying she could not help me and that pain management is where I need to be. I have spinal canal stenosis, osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease. My pain management dr does not even recommend anti inflams for my condition. Seems strange to me.
thank you for your help
dmo
OceanFisher, I can certainly relate to the arthritis pain. Osteoarthritis is a wear & tear type & part of the natural aging process. Some of us develop it at a younger age. When I was much younger I participated in a lot of activities that resulted in injuries, lol. Then you get the accumulative effect going over the years & it can sure make things rough for a person. Chronic pain just stinks!
Yes, I have been in pain mgt since the early 90's, a very long time. I have been fortunate to have very good PM drs over these years too. In this length of time I have probably had every type of treatment out there trying to get some relief. I know I will never be pain free, that is not possible. It's about quality of life. Self treating pain is a mixed bag of things. I have issues with my neck, back, shoulder & not to forget about 2 knees, lol. Something that always helps me especially with my neck, is to take a bathroom hand towel, preferably a thicker one & wet it, wring it out & nuke it in the microwave. I roll it up & put it on. But, you really have to be careful doing this as the towel can get too hot. Moist heat works much better than dry heat. I use a moist heating pad on my back. The thing with heat is you should not leave it on more than 20 minutes at a time. Heat can cause inflammation to become worse.
OTC the items such as Tiger Balm & Salon Pas with lidocaine can help, I use both. These are available in patches & can be kept on for 8 hours if I remember correctly. Sometimes I use theragesic, especially if my hips get to bothering me. It's cheap at WalMart, lol.
As far as medication goes, have you tried Mobic or even Celebrex? I know Celebrex has the warning, but it is still being prescribed. It is a Cox2 inhibitor & many people with UC or crohns often can use it as it does not affect the gut like a regular NSAID. Another medication that I have found to be very effective when I am at my worst is Toradol. Keep in mind it is not for long term use. It is available in oral & an injection at the drs office. When I was given it, it was by my PCP. I do suggest looking on Drugs.com on these medications, especially the Toradol. I do not believe it is a narcotic, therefore, you would not be violating your Contract with the pain mgt dr. An injection of Toradol generally lasts long enough to get me over the hump.
Last of all, do you have access to a heated swimming pool or jacuzzi? Back in the 90's I was doing aqua therapy after work. I had a good response to warm water. This involved a lot of driving to & from after working all day. Because of my response to the warm water & he asked me if I had considered buying a jacuzzi. The search was on, my husband & I checked out numerous tubs & found what we felt would be appropriate. I took the literature to my PM dr & he wrote a script for it & also filled out a medical form provided by the hot tub place. It was consideration a "medical necessity" & we paid no sales tax on it. We bought a new one this past November & the company saw my original paperwork & honored this as well without current paperwork from a dr. Let me tell you, the new ones today have vastly improved over the older models. Even the literature states aqua therapy. This tub has over twice the jets & I can move around from seat to seat & hit lots of spots, lol. Loungers take up a lot of room. If a person is tall that is a problem too.
Being 65 now, things can get worse as we age. I learned a long time ago we have to keep moving. That needs to be a top priority. The old saying move it or lose, boy is that ever a true statement.
Sorry for the length of the reply, but these are some ideas off the top of my head. If I can think of more I will post them here.
Susie
Moderator in Chronic Pain & Psoriasis Forums
Yes, I have been in pain mgt since the early 90's, a very long time. I have been fortunate to have very good PM drs over these years too. In this length of time I have probably had every type of treatment out there trying to get some relief. I know I will never be pain free, that is not possible. It's about quality of life. Self treating pain is a mixed bag of things. I have issues with my neck, back, shoulder & not to forget about 2 knees, lol. Something that always helps me especially with my neck, is to take a bathroom hand towel, preferably a thicker one & wet it, wring it out & nuke it in the microwave. I roll it up & put it on. But, you really have to be careful doing this as the towel can get too hot. Moist heat works much better than dry heat. I use a moist heating pad on my back. The thing with heat is you should not leave it on more than 20 minutes at a time. Heat can cause inflammation to become worse.
OTC the items such as Tiger Balm & Salon Pas with lidocaine can help, I use both. These are available in patches & can be kept on for 8 hours if I remember correctly. Sometimes I use theragesic, especially if my hips get to bothering me. It's cheap at WalMart, lol.
As far as medication goes, have you tried Mobic or even Celebrex? I know Celebrex has the warning, but it is still being prescribed. It is a Cox2 inhibitor & many people with UC or crohns often can use it as it does not affect the gut like a regular NSAID. Another medication that I have found to be very effective when I am at my worst is Toradol. Keep in mind it is not for long term use. It is available in oral & an injection at the drs office. When I was given it, it was by my PCP. I do suggest looking on Drugs.com on these medications, especially the Toradol. I do not believe it is a narcotic, therefore, you would not be violating your Contract with the pain mgt dr. An injection of Toradol generally lasts long enough to get me over the hump.
Last of all, do you have access to a heated swimming pool or jacuzzi? Back in the 90's I was doing aqua therapy after work. I had a good response to warm water. This involved a lot of driving to & from after working all day. Because of my response to the warm water & he asked me if I had considered buying a jacuzzi. The search was on, my husband & I checked out numerous tubs & found what we felt would be appropriate. I took the literature to my PM dr & he wrote a script for it & also filled out a medical form provided by the hot tub place. It was consideration a "medical necessity" & we paid no sales tax on it. We bought a new one this past November & the company saw my original paperwork & honored this as well without current paperwork from a dr. Let me tell you, the new ones today have vastly improved over the older models. Even the literature states aqua therapy. This tub has over twice the jets & I can move around from seat to seat & hit lots of spots, lol. Loungers take up a lot of room. If a person is tall that is a problem too.
Being 65 now, things can get worse as we age. I learned a long time ago we have to keep moving. That needs to be a top priority. The old saying move it or lose, boy is that ever a true statement.
Sorry for the length of the reply, but these are some ideas off the top of my head. If I can think of more I will post them here.
Susie
Moderator in Chronic Pain & Psoriasis Forums