You said it all and said it so eloquently!!! I
also know about the pillows, driving , and all of the little things which are
really the big things in dealing with (back)
pain..........you speak from experience......yes, robaxin is one that is tried
and true, also- I had forgotten about that drug. You are
right,as I , too, mentioned earlier, the drug reps push the newer and much
more expensive drugs.........What is funny is that when I spend the night in
someone else's home, they say, "Oh, you didn't have to bring your own pillow",
and I have to explain that oh yes I did.,,,,,,,,,,
Helene
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of TenHouseCats
Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 2:34 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: Re: To all who replied Re: OT: Need advice on herniated disk
it's funny, helene, because while the parafon forte helped with the pain,
it was the soma that enabled me to get back to work after my first two
surgeries--so much depends on one's own individual response to a medication.
soma NEVER made me drowsy or feel drugged; it almost felt as if it energized me
by removing the constant strain of trying to deal with the pain. yet i had a
housemate who used my soma as her addiction of choice.....
it may also have to do with what they're learning about people with chronic
pain and their reaction to meds in general--that, for example, people with high
levels of chronic pain do not respond to opiates the same way people without it
do--that things like vicodin and others do NOT tend to create dependence as they
do for people without chronic pain. i know for myself, that if i take a vicodin
in the morning when i wake up, it enables me to make it through the day without
another one.... yet when i've had to take it for an acute condition, unrelated
to the back problems (like, oh, having all my teeth pulled last month, or for a
second-degree burn a few months ago), half of one knocked me out!
robaxin is another old-school drug that many people had good results with
in the past. like soma and parafon forte, they're generics so no one makes a lot
of money on them, and thus drug reps don't push them--never forget that docs get
almost no pharmaceutical education in school, and way too many never do more
than take the word of the drug reps for what they should prescribe.
of course it's hard to not tense up when the pain is most intense! i
learned to remind myself that the pain is coming from an irritated nerve, and
the longer i do things to keep it irritated (ie, walk, move, you know, those
sorts of things), the longer it was gonna take for the nerve to have a chance to
calm down. you just have to STOP and let it be. something else i finally figured
out, after about three years, was how TIRING it is to be in pain--it takes a lot
of energy to function with such an insult to your system going on. so getting a
medication that works for the individual, and doing gentle stuff like stretching
exercises all the time, really makes a difference.
other little accommodations: experiment with pillow and supports for the
car and for furniture in the house. i can tell within 5 minutes if a chair or a
bed or a couch or a car seat is gonna kill me--and i'd rather be on the floor
than in one of those that's gonna make things worse. a simple pillow of the
right consistency can make a HUGE difference! talk to your chiro about
prescribing an obus forme chair support--has an adjustable lumbar pillow, you
can carry it from car to chair to friend's houses--i've taken it on camping
trips! i'm still using the one i got back in 78.....
good luck, and keep us informed...
MC
On 8/1/06, Helene
Hand <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
Parafon forte is RX, not OTC. So is soma; from long, long experience I can
tell you that parafon is better than soma because it does not cause you to
feel drugged or sleepy. And it works!I keep a supply on hand at all times!
Some of the newest docs don't prescribe it cause it has been used for so
long it's been forgotten. that they only hear about and prescribe the new
ones. Granted, there are a lot of newer muscle relaxants out there, but
most of them have the tendency to make you feel groggy! Get an RX and try
it!! Besides, it is much cheaper than the ones the drug reps try to push!!!
Helene
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ] On Behalf Of wendy
Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 12:37 PM
To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org
Subject: To all who replied Re: OT: Need advice on herniated disk
Thank you to all of you who responded about the herniated disk. I forwarded
your messages to my husband at work yesterday. We paid a chiropractor $3500
yesterday for 20 sessions on a spinal decompression machine for lower back
pain, a chair for excersizes he can bring home, and a few other items.
I hope this helps my husband, because at the rate he's going, he won't be
able to continue to work if this doesn't help. I'll let all of you know how
it worked.
If it doesn't work, hopefully we won't have to worry about pre-existing as
he hasn't seen a medical doctor about the problem. I wanted to ask Mary
Christine about parafon-forte and soma. Are these both medicines OTC, or
does he need a prescrip for them? I have been coaxing my husband each time
he has an episode to try to relax and not tense up, but it's hard for him
not to. Thank you again for helping us out!!! As always, this site has
proved invaluable.
:)
Wendy
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