My sister had back surgery 10 yrs ago, and is now in worse pain than ever before. Her Dr. has her on 80mg Oxy-Contin 2times daily, and 100mg Fentenayl Patch that she changes every 3 days, yet she still suffers. She had a kidney stone over the weekend, and the Dr. just looked at her at the E.R. and was puzzled, b/c of her already being on such high doses of pan meds., he didn't think she should be in any pain, but she was crying out in pain. Since she is on such high doses already, what can she do when she has additional problems that cause even more extreme pain? Does anyone know what can or could be done for her, if she gets to the point that none of the pain meds work to stop pain, no matter what the strength? She is scared to death that the Dr. is going to suddenly stop her meds.! If he were to just stop the meds., suddenly, wouldn't it kill her?

Hi, maybe I can give you some useful info. First of all, I am a registered nurse with chronic back pain. I have degenerative disk disease, stenosis, several previous back injuries that include multiple disk herniations and bulges. It's a real bitch, trust me! I know exactly what your sis is going through, I too was on Fentanyl patches, vicoden and lots of other meds. Second, just because she is on all these pain meds for her back, doesn't mean she can't experience an increase in chronic pain or an episode of acute pain. I was on this stuff when I had an acute appendisitis attack the end of December and found myself in the local ER in excrucuating pain. The body becomes used to the pain meds for the chronic pain, but the long lasting meds won't do anything for the acute pain, thus, it took several shots of morphine or demerol or something similar to control the pain at that time. I don't remember what they gave me because I was in such a state and had to have immediate surgery. The problem isn't will the medications be able to control the pain. There are meds out there that will stop any pain, but doctors typically don't want to prescribe them unless you're suffering from a terminal disease or are in acute pain...acute meaning, a rapid onset of temporary pain, different from chronic that is long lasting. I ended up having a lumbar fusion in Jan. of this year, after the initial recovery of several weeks and the muscle spasms subsiding, I felt awesome, unfortunately this only lasted about 6 weeks, now I hurt as much as ever. Currently I am in the process of jumping through all the rings and hoops required to have a trial run with a temporary nerve stimulator implant. This device sends electrical impulses through the spinal cord in attempt to block or override the pain signals sent to the brain. According to the staff at my pain management ctr. and my neuro surgeon the success rate with these are 75-80 %. Not bad considering the alternative. There are many drawbacks to taking lots of narcotic pain meds over long periods of time and you do become somewhat "immune" to their effects. Suggest that your sis talk to a doctor about a nerve stimulator for pain relief...it beats hell out of suffering and the side effects of narcotics, not to mention the withdrawl if ever you have to stop taking them. Hope this was some help to you.

I can't imagine going through the pain those with back pain experience. However, please remember that doctors address the symptoms not the cause. I am taking classes in Natural Health. Meds have their place but you also need to address, the whole body. It is difficult to explain in a few sentences and it is not a simple solution but I suggest that you check with an herbalist or naturopathic doctor who addresses the whole body. Bone pain can be because of too much acidity which causes leaching of the the nutrients, minerals from the bones. Our foods such as soda and processed foods make the condition even worse. Also, our emotional pains cause our bodies to produce chemicals that cause physical pains. Therefore, our emotional state plays a factor in our physical health. Exercise is important too but with chronic back pain, I'm sure that is difficult to do. I don't have an immediate solution for either of you (I wish I did.) I am just giving you a different perspective for a long range solution. As you said, being on meds for long periods of time have draw backs. Most doctors are not trained in a wholelist approach so they are not receptive to alternative ideas. For what it is worth.