What comes after the patch?

[bighootchie]

I started the patch last Thursday,and it did pretty good for that day!!!! It ain't worked since,I put the 2nd one Sunday.And it has done nothing!!! I have spinal stenosis.And my pain is so severe they don't have a 50 level.What is the next solution? I can't afford it to be surgery.I am sure I would be disabled of I do.Any suggestions????I am scared to death....

[DON48]

I think i know what u mean by 50 level . the pain level ur in i suppose.i think you would probably b better off seeing a surgeon if the duragesic won't work for ya. hard for me to say that cuz i was in no pain other than numb fingers and burning nerve that goes to them . now after the 2 surgeries i am in constant pain. don't know what happened. i did all the exercises anjd wore that ridged colar 4 months . but here i am . but i had 3 disc herenated one into my spinal cordwiith signal change. strange there was no pain at that time. but you never know .u like me may have no choice, if they have to stableize somthing in there. but if you deside to go with it , like jaybay said , give it your all.the odds will b muh better for a succesful one . hope you find a solution soon..

[Jaybay]

What do you mean, "they don't have a 50 level?"  Are you talking about your patch doseage?  The fentanyl patch is available in 12.5, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mcg doses.  You may need to just bump up to the next one.  

If you have any kind of insurance at all, I really hope you speak to a couple of different surgeons about what exactly they would do in your case.  While it's true some people have even worse pain after surgery, some people do far better.  The patients who do well are usually the ones who grit their teeth and go through all the prescribed physical therapy and keep up with the home exercises.  Rehab hurts something awful, but you won't recover from any kind of ortho surgery without giving it your all.  Most people give up too soon because of the pain involved, and their doctors don't prepare them for that reality ahead of time.  

Surgery is a two-party proposition.  The surgeon does the cutting, and the patient has to do the painful post-op work.  If the patient doesn't do that work, the surgery will fail.  It's that simple.