Help with pain

[tmtt]

I am currently taking lorcet plus for pain and robaxin for muscle spasms.  They help alittle but not much.  I go to pt 3 times a week, plus exersizes everyday at home.  I take motrin to help but it dosen't help much either.  What else can I do?

[BusyGrl]

One more little detail: My primary doctor (PCP) has been very conservative about providing pain meds and I finally just saw a pain manager yesterday who has given me a plan and some hope of realistic pain management. Pain managers (and some psychiatrists) seem to have a totally different perspective than PCPs. My advice is don't waste time working with a doctor who doesn't give you relief! Sometimes you really just need to go to a specialist.

Best of luck to you. It's miserable not quite getting the relief you need. I hope you are feeling better soon.

[tmtt]

THANKS FOR THE ADVICE AND SUPPORT, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THAT IN ITSELF WILL HELP ME.  I WILL CALL THE DOC TOMMORROW AND DISCUSS THIS WITH HIM AGAIN. THANK ALL OF YALL

[Tuckamore]

Hi Again,

I agree with Sandee you are not being a baby. You need to impress upon your physician how much pain you are actually experiencing. He works for YOU, you hired him. And anyone who knows me here will know what I am about to say. Your physician is not any different than the plumber you hire. If you hired a plumber and his work was not to your satisfaction and you still gave him another chance and his work was still unsatisfactory what would you do??? I hope you answer is" fire him. " We all must be proactive and  assertive when it comes to our health care.

Physicians are not God. We hire them to perform a service for us. In my opinion one of our physician's "services" to us is to keep us as comfortably as possible when we are in pain as long as it does not harm us.

It sounds like you have a way to go in your rehab and some additional surgery. You deserve to have a less painful course. Good luck to you and please let us know how you are doing. Take care, Tuck

[Jaybay]

Wow!  You are NOT a little baby!  I've had two shoulder surgeries, and one very similar to yours - a mumford procedure.  The surgeon basically cut off a chunk of my clavicle where it was supposed to join into the shoulder.  I can tell you that at 4 weeks post-op, you are only just beginning to heal and it will take a good deal longer for the spasms to calm down.

Did your surgeon send you home with one of those polar care units?  It's a cooler full of ice water that keeps the water circulating through a pad that fits over your upper arm, shoulder, and shoulder blade.  That unit was the most effective part of my rehab as far as pain management was concerned - particularly immediately post-op and after physical therapy.

You mention that you're doing the exercises daily, which is a good thing, but you might be pushing too hard too fast.  Give yourself a day off and see if the spasms calm down a bit.  If so, you'll need to have a talk with your therapist about dialing things down a bit for a week or so.

It took a good year after both surgeries before I could sleep through the night and even sleep on the "bad" side.  Nights were always the worst for me.  That doesn't mean you should have this awful pain 24/7 for a year, only that it goes away so gradually you begin to think it will never end - but it will.

Another thing I've noticed with bone pain is that Aleve (naproxen) actually worked.  Advil was so-so and tylenol didn't help at all.  It's one of the more irritating anti-inflammatories so I also had to take pepcid every day that I took the aleve, but it was worth it.

Try not to be so hard on yourself and give yourself time to heal.  Make sure you tell your doctor and your physical therapist exactly what is going on.  Never assume that both parties are actually communicating.  LOL!  :-)

[sandee1818]

You need to "push the issue"! Make it well known to your Dr that your in pain and if he can't or won't help then you will seek out another Dr.
You have to be on top of your treatment and demand care if needed. It is not fair to you to be in such pain when the Dr can help and your paying him to help you so make him earn his money.

[tmtt]

I APPRECIATE THE ADVICE.  I JUST HAD LEFT SHOULDER SURGERY 4 WEEKS AGO.  
AFTER COMPLAINING OF SHOULDER AND ARM PAIN MY WHOLE LIFE, THEY FINALLY DISCOVERED I WAS BORN WITHOUT BICEPT TENDONS IN BOTH ARMS.  THEREFORE BONE WAS RUBBING ON BONE AND THEY WENT IN AND ROUNDED THE BONES BACK TO ORIGINAL SHAPE. MY RIGHT SHOULDER WILL BE DONE IN ABOUT 2 MONTHS.  
I WAS VERY HAPPY WHEN I FINALLY THOUGHT I HAD GOTTEN THE RIGHT DX, AND MAYBE IT WILL GET BETTER BUT AS FOR NOW NOTHING SEEMS TO HELP.
AFTER MY NEXT SHOULDER SURGERY, THEY WANT TO WORK ON MY NECK.  I AM NOT QUIT SURE WHAT IS WRONG THERE, BUT IT HAS ALWAYS HURT TOO.

MY DOC DOSEN'T WANT TO SEND ME TO A PAIN CLINIC, HE IS HOPING THE SURGERIES WILL HELP, I CAN'T SEEM TO CONVINCE HIM THE PAIN IS STILL PRETTY INTENSE ALOT OF THE TIME.  I DON'T WANT TO SOUND LIKE A TITTYBABY SO I HATE TO PUSH THE ISSUE.
BUT THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP AND I THINK I'M GONNA GO TRY A HOT SHOWER NOW.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Tmtt,

Welcome to the Pain Management Community Forum of MedHelp. I am glad you found us. I am sorry you are experiencing such pain. You don't say where your pain is or where it originates.

While you are going through PT it is usual that your pain level will increase. Hopefully in time and with continued PT and exercise your pain level will decrease. I know that doesn't help you now. Have you discussed your pain with your physician? Will this be a life long issue?

If you will suffer with Chronic Pain for some time than I would suggest that you make an appointment with a PMP or PM Clinic. In the meantime explain to your physician that your pain level is high and the current medication (s) prescribed are not easing it significantly. You may just require additional medication to get you through PT. It is possible that another muscle relaxant will be more effective for you. Robaxin was not effective for me either in reducing my spasms. My physician tried several until we finally found one that was effective. You may also want to try a different anti-inflammatory.

I find warm baths, heating pans, home massage with a warming menthol agent and yoga-like positions help. Some ppl have pain releif with ice. It just makes my spasms more severe. So what ever works for you is what you should use unless contraindicated by your medical care provider.

I wish you the best in your rehab. Please let us know how you are progessing. And Take Care, Tuck