Pain Management

[Cincinnatus]

I'm usually in some pain, at times severe pain, from a host of old injuries. It occurred to me that through this board, I have access to a number of SMEs on pain, not just the dispensing of, but the dealing with. After years of fighting, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, rucking over all sorts of terrain, as well as getting shot, stabbed, and blown up, most of you guys have got to be beat up a lot worse than I am.

So here's the question, how do you deal with pain without taking painkillers?

I ate mountains of ibuprofen in years past, before I learned how hard it is on the kidneys. I have had Percoset/ Percodan prescribed, as well Tylenol 3 and others, but don't like to take them for more than a couple of days as they make it hard to think clearly. Most OTC pain remedies don't seem to help much.

At the moment I rely on prayer, deep breathing exercises, lots of sleep, a stretching and exercise regimen, and constantly reminding myself that other men have dealt with far worse and accomplished great things. Unfortunately, the mind over matter thing only gets me so far. I'm caring for a parent with ALzheimer's and I have noticed that she does better when I'm in a genuinely good mood (i.e., not hurting too much!) and want to see if there isn't something else I can be doing.

So... any suggestions? Anyone tried yoga? Acupuncture? TM?

Alcohol and shooting stuff seem to help, too, but...

[jatx]

Have you looked into biofeedback? I received some training years back, and was able to dramatically reduce my need for pain meds and ER visits connected to very bad migraines. Prior to the training, I would get them so bad that I would vomit uncontrollably and go blind in one eye. I am able to "short circuit" them far before that point now, to the extent that I rarely even take pain meds. Of course, that pain may not compare to what you or others here are experiencing...

[hoepoe]

I'm sorry to hear of your disposition.

I don't know the nature of yur injuries, nor am i a doc type.

Swimming is usually pretty damage free and after a good hard swim you;ll feel good and once the endorphins kick in, you'll feel great. Over and above that, it'll keep you lose and fit.

ANY sport that will not hurt you, make you sweat and get those great endorphins pumping through your veins will keep you good at least for a few hours of the day, if not all day.



Hope you feel good

Hoepoe

[Cincinnatus]

jatx,

Dude, if it caused you to puke and go blind it's worse than what I'm going through!

Any pointers on how to go about finding someone who's not a charlatan on the subject of biofeedback? I've got to believe that this is an area of expertise that is rife w/ BS artists. Any help would be appreciated.

TIA


hoepoe,

Thanks for the kind words and the swimming suggestion. I'll look into that. Am considering getting a bike as that, too, is low impact.

In the winter I XC ski and that really seems to help. In the warmer months I generally hike, though I'm in good enough shape from a CV standpoint that I have to hike for a few hours to get any kind of endorphin buzz going. Running beats me up too much, the past couple of summers I've taken to loading a pack up w/ 4-5 gallons of water and hiking. That works, but it's a little hard on the back and knees sometimes

Massage helps, actually helps a great deal, but is tres expensive. Maybe I just need to go beat on the Spar Pro and get rid of some aggression.

There's a Chinese medicine clinic in town (one of four, count 'em four, commercial ventures in the village I live in!), but the last time I sought treatment there the stuff they gave me to drink was so vile tasting that I decided the cure was worse than the disease. May try acupuncture again, though.

[NousDefionsDoc]

I've been doing Superjoints and it has helped my back more than anything non-narcotic I have ever tried.

[jatx]

Biking is definitely the way to go if you don't have back problems. Swimming tends to get monotonous, although it is great exercise. I am swimming about 2 miles per day right now, but have been doing so for four months and am starting to get burnt out. Biking will offer you much more variety and is easy on the joints. If you like to run, but your body can't take the impact of mileage, you might look into an AquaJogger. It looks kind of gay but is great exercise. Imagine a really bulky pair of blue styrofoam depends and you'll have the idea. When I used to to ultramarathon events, I did half of my "running" mileage in the water to good effect.

On biofeedback, my lessons were administered by a real psychologist. A good trainer won't get too New Agey on you, because if a visualization or concentration technique is not working for you that will be reflected in your heart rate, breathing, body temperature, muscle tension, etc.. Years later, I can still lower my HR and temperature significantly using only thought. The key is to get a referral from a licensed physician and avoid the holistic healers, IMHO.

Have you ever practiced any kind of meditation? The ability to quiet your mind using some technique will ultimately determine how useful biofeedback is to you. There are many ways to do this, some of which are sure to fit with whatever your belief system happens to be.

[Cincinnatus]

Sneaky,

You've been SOTB too long. It's illegal to smoke those things up here.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

Sneaky,

You've been SOTB too long. It's illegal to smoke those things up here.

Dad and I still agree. You have talent.

When I hurt my back (muscle problem, only 3-4 days, but painful), I found that hot baths helped. The muscles relaxed and became flexible. Endomorphines were released and I felt good for a while.

[Cincinnatus]

Sneaky,

That's probably the only thing the two of you could agree on. Got a chuckle out of it though.

I know you wanted me to ask "What are SuperJoints?" then you'd post a link to "SuperJoints", I'd click it and bring up Google, but HAH! I'm wise to your tricks and went straight to Google on my own. I'll give that stuff a try. There's a GNC store in Lebanon, NH, I think, and they'd probably have it. I'll be down that way sometime this week and will check it out. Thanks.

BTW, the correct name for a Super Joint is a spliff, pronounced spleef. I'm a Deadhead, I know things.

[jasonglh]

I have 3 herniated disc L4,5 and S1. I learned alot about workers comp and the legal nightmare it can be. I was off work 9 months to the day and in the end wound up with a 5% disability and a settlement for lost wages that allowed me to buy a 6 person hottub. That hottub has been wonderful for my back.

I can honestly say since Dec 23,2001 I have been painfree twice. Both times I had been loaded up on Demeral. When I first got hurt every trip to the doc I got lortab 10's, flexeril, 800mg Ibu., Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra and even Oxycontin. Vioxx kinda dulled it a bit when it rained but the other stuff doesnt help at all. If you take a lortab+flexeril with a glass of Makers you will go out but I still have pain in my dreams.

Back when they took Vioxx off the market my liver enzymes were way past taking me off of it anyway. I decided then that I had had enough and I just wasnt going to take anything. So now I dont. Pain is my friend. I figure the morning I wake up and there is no pain it probably means I am dead so I might as well just deal. Now granted it probably makes me twice the dickhead I was before.

I dont think anyone should have to live in pain at all thats not what I am saying. But each individual person has to find their way to cope with it cause all that shit is just masking the problem and probably making you a bigger one.

I know of people who have done magnet therapy for back pain but they had to do to Vadnerbuilt in Nashville to get it done properly. There are also pain clinics at most hosptals now that can try several things until they find something that works for you.

In nursing school they tell us to teach the patient relaxation and imagery techniques. I told my intructor that when I got that last epidural steroid injection my nurse did that for me. She stuck the nicest pair of 38D boobs with a low cut scrub shirt and Victorias Secret bra in my face. That did not work so I doubt I could have visualized anything that would have at that point.

[Cincinnatus]

I've been to the pain clinic at DHMC, other than painkillers, everything they suggested was stuff I was already doing. In fact the one doc, the other was a resident or intern, suggested I come in and tell one of their groups what I'd had success w/ in terms of exercise, massage, etc.

It's the being "twice the dickhead I was before" factor that has me concerned at the moment. Mom's pretty ill and it takes a lot of patience to deal w/ Alz patients and patience isn't really my strong suit these days. She seems to really pick up on mood and if I'm in a good mood she's a little happier, a little more engaged, a little less likely to wander off the rez. I don't want to snap at her some day, because I didn't take my pamprin , and have her go off the deep end.

I'm going to try the blunts, I mean SuperJoints , that Sneaky recommended and Sonnon's "Warrior Wellness" routine that another buddy, who's got similar injuries and limitations to my own, swears by. As well as look into the bike and what it costs to use the pool at the community center in Lebanon.

Thanks.

[jasonglh]

Some places have warm water therapy pools. My mother uses one for her therapy and loves it.

[Team Sergeant]

I cannot remember all the bones I've broken. I can remember how many times I've been burnt so bad I had to stay in the hospital for a week, or the few times I've been operated on by military doctors.
How do I deal with pain management?
I think about all those that didn’t make it back.
And the pain eases.
I think about those who did return but have lost arms and legs.
And my pain shrinks.
I think about all those kids that are missing fathers and the pain they deal with daily.
My pain all but abates.
I think no matter how bad I feel I’d do it all over again, in a New York minute, and I would.
And of course there’s Motrin for the real shitty days…

TS

[lksteve]

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

So here's the question, how do you deal with pain without taking painkillers?

So... any suggestions? Anyone tried yoga? Acupuncture? TM?

Alcohol and shooting stuff seem to help, too, but...

my cervical spine and both shoulders are arthritic...my lumbar spine and both knees are 'pre-arthritic', whatever that means...

#1 i stay as active as i can...when the doc at the VA examined me, he asked me what i did for a living...i told him i was a land surveyor...he told me to keep doing it, because it was working...he said that when i decided to retire, make sure i had a comfortable rocking chair, because if i got sedentary, i wasn't getting back up...

i have a bowflex, mostly for the shoulders and spine...i hate the damn thing, but it seems to help....

i hike and walk my dog evenings and weekends...

#2 i stretch...alot...often...my wife has some problems with her back and neck and yoga, tai chi and TM seems to work for her...i try TM, i fall asleep...

#3 when the pain gets to be a bit too severe, i go to the chiropractor...it works, keeps the pain away for a few days...i see him about five, six times a year...my wife has tried acupuncture, with mixed results...


#4 my wife is a Reiki master...i have no idea what is going on, but for a woman that has had cold hands all her life, they warm up when she does Reiki...she has taken some massage lessons (in exchange for Reiki lessons) and she'll massage the back and do some Reiki once a week...it works alot...

#5 alcohol and shooting works...breaking stuff works...hiding under the covers when a winter storm blows through helps, too...