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Reducing painkillers

It has now been almost 3 weeks since I had my microdiscectomy and I am still on pain meds....I have been taking 3 ibuprofen, 3 paracetemol and 4-8 tramadol (depending on pain) ever since....I am now trying to reduce the painkillers as I don't think it is good to be on them for so long....but after cutting out the paracetemol and trying to keep the tramadol to a minimum (partly because I only have a few days of it left and I don't want the doctors to think I am some sort of addict trying to just get more for the sake it!!!) but my pain is getting close to being difficult to cope with! As it gets closer to my next time to take the meds the pain starts to get too much! I don't know how to find a good balance, or how long I should be on painkillers after this operation. After this long are you meant to be cutting out the drugs and just dealing with the pain until it heals? It isn;t crippling pain but it does really hurt....especially if i move in certain ways by accident.
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1474625 tn?1371097079
Hello! I just had a microdiscectomy 5 weeks ago and I am still on pain meds as well but I want to warn you about tramadol. Try to cut it out completely by tapering down. Try to remain on the 4 tramadol a day until the pain lessens and do the taper.

My surgery pain was gone after 2 weeks but everyone is different and right now I am on vicodin for the continuing back pain I have been having even before surgery. I am also taking tramadol because it is not currently a controlled substance but should be and i'm dependent on it. It is very addicting after long periods of time, and moreso than traditional opiates such as vicodin.  

Here is my suggestion: go back on the paracetamol because it is an over the counter medication and very safe as long as you do not exceed 4000mg/day. This, in the long term, will cause liver damage but it does take a very long time and 4000mg is a LOT of pills so you will be fine. Continue taking the ibuprofen with caution as it can cause ulcers and digestive issues. I would suggest no more than 800mg/day but take the same amount at the same time of day so you have a stable amount of it in your system. Try 2 caps 3x a day. With the tramadol take 4 a day until the pain is tolerable. Then start taking 3.5 for 4 days, 3 for 4 days, 2.5 for 4 days, 2 for 4 days, 1.5 for 4 days, 1 for 4 days, 1 every other day for 4 days and if needed (as to avoid withdrawal) half every other day for 4 days. If you try to stop cold turkey you will feel awful and your pain will increase. It's a rebound pain from the absence of the opiate and your body retaliating because your endorphins are no longer able to block the pain you normally can, therefore your pain tolerance is down until your endorphins wake back up (usually takes about 2 weeks). This is why tapering is so important. If you do not have enough to taper that slowly, taper as slowly as you are able.

I also suggest taking small walks and do not rest for over 1 hr at a time. Staying as active as possible (walking at most) helped my muscle soreness and twinges like moving the wrong way by accident tremendously.

Please keep me up to date! Hope this helped!
ColleenToQuit
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1474625 tn?1371097079
Just make sure you take the pain killers as needed only. I got myself into trouble a long time ago when I took all of them even after the pain was gone. Even with taking the pain killers as needed, being on them for over a few weeks can cause mild withdrawal, but nothing you can't handle.

I still need the pain killers because my back pain is still there from pre-surgery. My doctor warned me this may happen because I have degenerative disc disease and because of the nature of my pain. My pain has gone down a little but the weather has a great impact on it. I can tell by the description of your pain, it is still surgery pain/muscle recovery. I'm sure you will do great once you're completely healed. For me, I ironically wish I still had my surgery pain because there was a week and a half period where i felt great. But now my surgery pain is gone and my pre-surgery pain is there and just enough to constantly be aware of it, but not enough to try the vertebrae fusion operation. I'm pretty stressed and frustrated. Although there is a new method of back surgery that I may look into within the next few years that replaces the degenerated disc with a synthetic one. It sounds like it could be promising. Good luck with your recovery! Let me know how it goes!
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Avatar universal
Thanks so much for replying! I had a physio appointment today and the physio says I am doing really well considering it is only 3 weeks since the op. He has also reccommended coming off tramadol, and to see my doctor to get a prescription with stronger painkillers like co codamol and diclofenac so I am not jumping from a strong painkiller like tramadol to paracetemols as it would be difficult to cope with the pain!!

You say your back pain is still requiring painkillers even 5 weeks on? Do you think it is operation recovery pain or the old pain still there? My back pain is still very sensitive and painful, but I am still holding hope that it is just the muscles recovering from the op and that I will be free from (or at least have reduced) back pain than I did before surgery!
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