I am not sure the answer to this question, but I just started seeing a naturopathic LLMD, and he is going to be helping me hopefully switch off of oxycodone onto an herbal supplement that he says has been great for pain relief. I don't know what it is yet though.... Maybe someone else will come along and be able to help you out on this, or possibly even know what I'm referring to even though I don't know yet. There are several here who have done a completely natural protocol so there shouod be some great advice for non-narcotic pain relief. I know many get massages, or try other alternative therapy treatments for pain. You should talk to ConnieD! She's out of town right now though,.. you can also talk to Jaime, Clayton, Denise, and others.

Your concern is a valid one, but I assure you, there are other alternatives. Hang in there!!

(((BIG HUGS)))

I'm F.I.N.E.
Frustrated, Irritated, Nonfunctional & Everything hurts!!

Sarcasm: Embrace it!
______________________

"Always hold your head up, but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level" - Max L. Foreman
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I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish he didn't trust me so much.
- Mother Teresa
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"There's always light at the end of every tunnel, just pray it's not a train! "
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Faith makes things possible, not easy!

This is really a tough one. I have GERD as well and ulcers, so I can't take any more NSAID's. I also am not very sensitive to the narcotics, which is strange, since I'm so sensitive to just about every other class of drugs! LOL...but the narcotics do very little to relieve my pain. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what we can tell you here, as I think this is a concern you need to address with your actual doc. I just don't think we can really do much, except as beauty suggested let you know what natural pain meds are available. Tramadol is all but utterly ineffective for me, tho I do take it on a daily basis to try to help--it's the only thing I can take on a daily basis, so I have to take it. However, when I do add vicodin to it, I at least don't give a damn, and can attempt to sleep!

If you DO get a good suggestion for a natural pain reliever, I'd LOVE to hear what it is, as I'm really looking for something. I've tried all the glucosamine and chondroitin and MSM, and they don't really work for me, I've taken them for years and finally gave up...Problem for me is the bugs, I gotta get rid of them ultimately, and then I'll feel better!

Anyway, I hope that you can get some relief, and hope you can get some help. Please let me know if you do find a natural pain reliever that isn't an NSAID, and let me know if I can be of any other help, k?

*hugs*

Jen

****I am a recovering addict****

Have you talked this over with your sponsor? It seems like an important point and perhaps he/she can give you some insight on it.

Anyway, I have been taking hydrocodone. I am not an addict or addictive personality, but I wondered if by taking it if I was masking anything that I should be feeling? I take a half of 500mg, sometimes twice a day. Is this too much?

IMHO, if you need it and you aren't getting addicted, you aren't taking it because you just want to take it, you should be fine. Vicodin can be taken up to every 8 hours. The dosage sounds a little odd to me, cuz my experience is they usually come in increments of 5/10/15 plus a dosage of Tylenol like 660, if you have the one with Tylenol? Mine are typically 10mg. Are you sure it's not 5 mg that you are either assuming or reading as 500? Perhaps mine are listed as 10 and it's actually 1000 mg? IDK...But that's how my bottle reads is 10-660.

Anyway, I'd say does it help? If so, and you aren't taking it too often, as in more than every 8 hours, you are probably doing fine. If you need the meds, you need them. Since Mary-Jane ain't legal, we gotta make do with what we can. I can't take NSAID's, so I take Vicodin when I need it, and that's only when I absolutely can't stand the pain any longer. And if HALF a tablet is enough to help, that's wonderful.

To address the question of if you are masking something you should be feeling, here's the thing. Studies have been done that have proven that we heal better when we don't feel pain. They didn't used to give pain meds in pets. And what they found is that healing took much longer. When they started giving pain meds to them following even routine procedures, pets healed much faster. So, given that, I'd say you will do much better if you aren't in pain. Your brain is clouded and you don't pay attention to things you may need to be paying attention to when you ARE in pain, because you're too focused on the pain itself. You can't use your brain for what you need it for when you're too consumed with the pain. You gotta deal with it in order to FEEL anything else. Don't let that get in your way. JMO, but I think it's pretty damn valid.

*hugs*

Jen

thanks!

For myself, and many others I say, people with high blood pressure take meds for that, people with high cholestorol take meds for that, why should people in pain suffer? It is a proven fact that when you can break the pain cycle you do recover quicker, as stated above.

I guess it depends on your pain levels. Some people with just lyme don't have the pain that some others do with other cirucumstances, like activated viruses (one of my issues).

I would definintly discuss this with your doctor or your sponsor.

I have been on Morphine, Lorcet, and some mix of Soma, Naproxeen, Skalexin, and a plethora of others...plus the things like tegratol, neurontin, and now I cannot function without Lyrica and Lortab...

I was always worried about addiction - but I also needed to function as I do now...and am quite surprised that I am doing ok on the little that I am on.

It is important if you have a problem with addiction to talk with both your sponsor and your doc. But you also cannot suffer with pain. You may want to consider somethings like meditation and yoga to help you through. I know that for me, i tend to mentally block a large amount of my pain and that is why I can get by with so little help. And there are natural things that can help with the pain...also dietary changes too. If you eat a lot aches removing gluten can help reduce some of the pain.

hang in there!

Christine

REALLY good point about the yoga and meditation to help, plus dietary changes. I've always been a big believer in all of that, and I think it can really help. However, I have to say that there are times when the pain is so intense that it takes something to get to the point where you can control it to be able to do those things. If that's the case, you have to have SOMETHING to help out, and sometimes narcotics are what do it. I have to agree, talk to your sponsor AND doc and come up with an agreeable solution for everyone involved, but ultimately, that's YOU there who has to live with it. You're the only one who can know what it tolerable and intolerable. Till you can find a way to get through to be able to meditate and do yoga and other coping strategies, you have to get there first, right? Good suggestions, tho, and I love them! *hugs*