I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!

[sparkie825]

I DID IT!!!

I REALLY DID IT!

Today, I called the pharmacy and told them I am CANCELING my prescription for Hydros!!!!!!!!  They were ready for pickup today.  Now, all 120 of those little white chalky pills will be going back on the shelf at the pharmacy.

WOOOOOOOO

HOOOOOOOO

Additionally,  I called my doctor and told her I have become addicted to the hydros and will not be taking them in the future.  She recommended the following alternative meds to to manage my pain:

Zoloft
Cymbalta
Lexapro
Neurontin (Gabapentin)

My question to you guys is, has anyone on this board tried any of these meds?  Are any of them addicting?  Do any of them help pain or sleep long term?  Your advise and personal experience with these drugs is greatly appreciated.  Now that I am off the Hydros (w00t!) I still need to manage pain for DDD (Degenerative Disk Disease) and RLS.  

Please offer some advice if you can.

And....

WOOOOOOO

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

FOR

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[marcatj]

sparkie - first off - YAY FOR YOU!! AMAZING what you did today... fantastic!!!!

i have tried most of what you mentioned btw.  the Cymbalta made me feel weird (altho i know it's helped others) and the nuerontin didn't do much (again - it has helped others, just not me.)

you want to know what has helped the best lately?? Ibuprofin 800.  i take one a day.  it keeps the inflamation down, which really is a big problem with DDD.

also, my doc did some cortisone shots in the areas around my disks about 6 mo's or so ago - not in the disks, but where the pain was radiating TO, and it helped ALOT.

but i swear by the ibu's.  big time.  better than the narcotics helped any day...

and i do think phys therapy helped alot too.  i still do some basic exercises my chiro taught me a year++ ago, i do them 5x a week (roll on this long, cylindrical foam thing) that i swear helps too.  sometimes if i have pain i roll on it and bam, i feel better...

good luck.  i know it seems like there's no relief sometimes.. but there is!!!!  it took me over a year to find it... wish i had been here all along...

try the ibi 800's.  your doc can prescribe them. keeping inflamation down is key... (from what i'm told anyway. and from what i have now experienced...)

:)
mj

[sparkie825]

Hi Claire, thanks for the heads-up.  I don't have real problems with anxiety or depression.  I haven't been diagnoses with either.  Do your meds also work for physical pain?  Good to know you don't have any w/d from your medication.  That's very reassuring.  

I've been doing some thinking over the past 24 hours.... I think I'm going hold off on taking any more meds.  I'm going to see how I can manage my pain with other more natural methods.   As much as I like my doctor and I appreciate how helpful she is, she was really quick to offer me all these alternative drugs.  To be honest....it's really kinda scary and overwhelming.   All day I kept thinking to myself...do I really want to take any of these?  I don't want to be dependent on anything anymore.  How will they change me?  Will they help?  *sigh*  Gosh, I just don't know.  I just got off Soma in June, and now Hydro last week.   I guess I need to do some thinking about all this.  If I can find an alternative healthy way to manage my pain, then that's the way I wanna go.

[Claire300]

Congratulations to you on your success! To cancel that order tooks a lot of will power. Good for you. I have been taking Wellbutrin 300mg & Lexapro 10mg for years now for depression and anxiety. For me, the two work well together. I have a history of manic depression and extreme anxiety. There have been a couple of times that I have gone off the meds, such as when I was pregnant. I actually tapered myself off both, under the advise of my doctor, about a year before I got pregnant. I never felt any withdrawl symptoms or like "I had to have them". I did experience headaches that went away.

If you have any other questions about my experience on either medication, please let me know.

[sadinmichigan]

Congrats to you..that was the best thing you could do for yourself..you should be very proud of yourself...way to go...

[sparkie825]

Have you had physical therapy yet?  I have found that ultrasound (not the kind used for peeking at babies...lol) worked wonders on getting the inflammation down and working the knocks out of my back.  The pain comes and goes now and is so much more manageable after the ultrasound massages.  If I could afford a device for at home use, I would buy one.  I was that good for me.

Good luck to you!!!!    Hope you feel better too!

[Mandapanda17]

it would be so nice if something natural helped. I'm going to try the chiropractor and hopefully that'll make a difference. hope you feel better too!! :)