Drugs For Pain

[GHD1959]

I have been on Tizadine, Nortrypline and Neuroton thru my pain management doctor. My question is are alot of people taking drugs like this or just dealing with there pain thru other ways. I want to taper off and discontinue these drugs. I have a curve of about 60 degrees and have tried alot of things and the last try was Pain Management, which taking injections don't do anything.

[Cakedec]

Drugs Not a long term solution

I think that I saw on one of your posts that you are only 25. If so, you are too young to already be relying on strong pain meds to get by. I have 2 curves in the 60's and 70's and did not have that severe of pain until my 40's. Have you gone to an orthopedist who does adult scoliosis surgery yet for an opinion about whether you are a candidate for surgery?

Your pain is probably only going to get worse as the years go by--severe curves usually worsen about one degree per year. That would put you at 100 degree curve in 40 years, which would be very dangerous for your heart and lungs. Plus, by then, you might not be healthy enough to have a surgery. Right now while you are young is the time to get surgery. Many people on this board are very glad that they had their surgery; it gave them their life back.

[GHD1959]

No Surgery For Me

I am not 25 years old, I am 46 and was a candidate for surgery a few years ago, but everyone I spoke to said avoid surgery unless your pain is so severe that you can't move. I know folks who had the surgery and are in more pain now then ever. And they have to go back for additional surgerys. I know that this site is pro for surgery, but not for me. I am thinking of tapering off these drugs and just continuing with yoga exercise and massage etc....

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Cakedec, I thought I would let you know, I looked at his bio and he is actually 45 years old. That may make surgery less of a reasonable option for him. I agree that he needs to consult the orthos though, especially depending how bad life is for him now. 45 years give a lot of years left to be more comfortable if there is a reasonable way. I am 50 and thankfully my scoli is mild, are 10 maybe, but if it was 60 degrees, I would discuss my situation with my ortho. The deductible for my family's insurance is now $10,000 per year, so I would have to weight the upfront cost of over $10,000 vs the quality of my life at 50. Good luck GHD! Kris

[sweetness514]

Great Post

I am not 25 years old, I am 46 and was a candidate for surgery a few years ago, but everyone I spoke to said avoid surgery unless your pain is so severe that you can't move. I know folks who had the surgery and are in more pain now then ever. And they have to go back for additional surgerys. I know that this site is pro for surgery, but not for me. I am thinking of tapering off these drugs and just continuing with yoga exercise and massage etc....

GHD, everything you posted is correct. I don't know if this forum is "pro" surgery, but in my opinion it should be about realism and what the surgery can do FOR SOME and CAN'T for others. For me, I was 26, in SOME pain(had only been in this type of pain for a few months though, and didn't wait and had the surgery, unlike at 18 when I WASN'T in pain- BIG difference), and my curve was around 60. I did it to TRY to see if my pains would go away or lessen, as they did but some others were brought on and additional surgeries(one next week) for problems with hardware, wich is a pain in the ass. I also did it b/c I was young and flexible enough to get a rather good correction without having to have anterior surgery, just posterior AND b/c I was getting scared of what the future may hold with such a big curve for my heart and lungs, since I knew it would progress and I was very young.

I admire your realism and the fact that you know about ALL the pros and cons, as every case is different.

Good luck to you.

[Karen Ocker]

GHD in pain

I took the risk at 60 , 3 years ago and was happy I did. I have NO PAIN.

Waiting until the pain is unbearable is very bad advice because: a person becomes more and more out of shape; that in itself diminishes the chances for quick healing. When a person is in that much pain they make a choice based on desperation rather than a rational choice regarding the correct surgeon/course of action.

As far as this forum being pro-surgery. There has been nothing else for adults that has been PROVEN to permanently arrest/correct a curve in adults. If there was we'd all been the first to jump at it. A progressing curve will progress in adults 1-3 degrees a year. I personally would have loved the option 10 years ago: I would have saved myself 10 years of increasing deformity, pain and disability.

At age 54 my thoracic curve was 64 deg; at age 59 it was 80deg. My gyn doctor suggested I see a scoliosis doctor but I stayed in denial for awhile until I could see myself becoming an accordion. I hate to think how I would have been at age 65 going at that rate.

Scoliosis is a tough problem requiring the courage to make tough decisions.

[tommyo]

I stopped my twice a day Celebrex and my nightly codeine one week ago and feel no more pain then when I was taking it. In fact it almost seems like it is less. Go figure. I'm 53

Tom
30c/50t/40l

[Cakedec]

Karen, I sent you a private message.

Deb

[sweetness514]

Surgery is a personal desicion and the outcome can be different for everybody

I think there are pros and cons when to decide to have the surgery. I myself can't regret not having it at 18 and waiting until I was 26, since I was STILL very young, only had posterior, was MUCH more flexible in those 8 years that I didn't have hardware and a fusion (18 to 26), since I miss that flexibility and also, if I would have had it in '89, I would have had Harrington rods put in, and I know all the problems that are resulting from those, as well as I'm having my third surgery in eight years related to hardware pain-wether it is broken or causing inflammation or not, and they're Titanum, so it's a pain in the ass for me. I still don't regret having the surgery, I HAD to have it when I was still young and before it affected my lungs and heart; and I was experiencing pain at THAT time that I was tired of, so I took the risk. So all in all it's a tough decision, since it's different as far as outcome for everybody and there are always progressions in the surgical world(like the rods they use, i.e not Harrington). I think when you're young and have a big curve, it's good to contemplate it sooner rather than later, but when you're 45, it's a tougher decision, unless you have pain that you're tired of having. I believe that it's not good to wait when you've been experiencing pain for a long time, and are out of shape either, but to have either a curve that is over 50 and have a bit of pain, at least. It's a risk to take and we have to be ready for the good and the bad-if it's not all good afterwards(like pain, additional surgeries, etc). Tough decision that is not all black and/or white, and personally I expect doctors to be TOTALLY honest about all the risks that can happen afterwards too, wich they're not always so honest about.

Bottom line it's good to keep in mind that it's personal to a person, and what they are READY to do at that time(like having surgery when you ARE ready in every sense). Also that not because certain outcomes are excellent, that it's not tougher for others, EVERY case is different, I know I've said this enough times now though

GHD, I think your idea of getting off the meds and trying yoga, massages and even Pilates if you didn't think of it is a good one, if you're not ready to have surgery at this time, only you know how much your body wants to tolerate and what you're willing to do for your condition.

[dblcurveinpa]

Drugs for pain

Hi there. I'm new to this site, but I find it a very good site for talking about scoliosis with people who understand what this thing can and does do to you.

I went through the back brace stage when I was a youth for 5 very long years. I have a double curve that back before the brace was 50+ and 70+ degress respectively, after the brace, I dropped to 25+ and 30 degrees.

Now they caught it towards the end of my growing spurt. I have never been taller than 5'3 1/2" and since I ended the brace stage.. it has slowly increased again. I had twins within 2 yrs of me ending my brace wearing stage and my whole figure has changed.

Now I find my curves are 35+ and 38+ respectively...and growing....

I can feel a vice like grip around my ribs constantly....and a sharp swelling under my ribs that pushes out and hurts to the point I've had to go and find myself another back doctor....

I don't know if pain meds will work or if they just bandage the situation...

I have a high tolerence for pain, but it's gotten to were I am having a hard time anymore with everything from breathing to just sitting....

Anyone have any advice? I know this post doesn't exactly answer the question about drugs or not, but I have been wondering if they help or just maintain a daily living condition....

[bubbles1^]

Drugs for pain

I have a double S scoliosis, I haven't been to a doctor for almost two years now. I know how unbearable the pain can be. I finally went to a family doctor and she put on pain pills called Tramadol they are genteric for ultram. They do the work but some days I have to take 4 or 5 to even ease the pain. I have a question does chiropatic really work. How bad does the degrees really get before they do the surgery.

[GHD1959]

chiro

Chiropractors are a waste of money.......don't even bother..

[LindaRacine]

DblCurve..

Pain medication can be a good short-term solution. I spent a lot of years avoiding all pain medication because my (then) chiropractor kept telling me how bad it was for me, and that it was just masking the problem.

My recommendation would be to find a good scoliosis specialist who treats adults. You can find a list here:

http://www.srs.org/directory/directory.asp

Regards,
Linda

[GHD1959]

Doc

I have been to one of the best surgeons in az. already...........

[sweetness514]

I have a double S scoliosis, I haven't been to a doctor for almost two years now. I know how unbearable the pain can be. I finally went to a family doctor and she put on pain pills called Tramadol they are genteric for ultram. They do the work but some days I have to take 4 or 5 to even ease the pain. I have a question does chiropatic really work. How bad does the degrees really get before they do the surgery.

I think the curves have to be AT LEAST 45-50 degrees. I myself never took pain pills before the surgery, not much after either, only when I had bouts with sciatica or some type of local inflammtion(for about 7 to 10 days), b/c they only worked to ease some of the inflammation, and didn't do nothing long term(for me). I wasn't in much pain before surgery, until about 6 to 8 months before I had decided to have surgery. It was a somewhat easy decision for me, b/c I was already at about 60 degrees and knew I had to have the surgery, so it was better sooner rather than later, especially since my pain free days were behind me at that point. In those months prior to my surgery I did try to go back to the chiro. The first few months it took care of ALL my pains, if I went only once every two or even three weeks-I thought it was so great. After those first few months it didn't help anymore and so I decided to have surgery.