I am 30 years post injury and my most serious complication has been forming kidney stones. Twice their status and related symptoms were misdiagnosed, nearly cost of my life. Making these are doing much better these days but I have suffered a couple decades of stone formation, stone passing, medical procedures and medications. The worst result has been chronic urethral burning, probably due to nerve damage in the area. This isn't the kind of pain that comes with urination. Instead it is, when I have a flareup, a constant stabbing fire that I fear more than anything else in life. Of all the inabilities and indignities of quadriplegia, that burning alone can make me feel suicidal.
I tried everything to fight the pain-- medications, various therapies, alternative care, diet changes, etc. The breakthrough happened entirely by accident. One doctor prescribed Norco for the headaches and joint pain that stone caused dysreflexia I was having. Another prescribed Soma, an largely out of fashion muscle relaxant, for a sprained neck and shoulder. Individually, neither these did anything for my urethra burning. They were Little League meds that I had discarded long ago as I had tried ever stronger pain and neurologic medications. However, taken jointly, the results were stunning. There was some relief from burning in less than an hour, with another dose and 6 to 8 hours, the pain relief was nearly complete. Being free of that pain for the first time in years changed my life and give me a second chance of having a family and a career. The doctors aren't quite sure why this works. There is no literature on it. There are too few with my exact set of symptoms to justify any real study or conclusions. Everybody is simply happy that it works. initially, there was concern of dependency and addiction. These worries have favored over the past four years. My use of the meds is stable with no need to up dosages and no cravings between burning flareups. The one problem I do have is that the national epidemic of painkiller addiction has tarnished the use of my meds and it has become a constant struggle to keep their use justified and available when needed. My HMO now refuses to prescribe these drugs to nearly anyone, even a 30 year +5 – six quad with a history of devastating chronic pain. My current doctor actually took the time to read my entire case history and determined that the Norco/soma combination was my best and only choice at this point. She has put me on a rigid system of tracking my pain and use of the medications, but that is a minor price to pay for continuing a successful treatment. my biggest fear of these days, something I can wake me up in the middle of the night, is losing access to these drugs because of a one size fits all antidrug campaign waged from Washington and corporate boardrooms. On Thu, Jan 8, 2015 at 4:52 PM, John S. <alcibiat...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Norco is the same as vicodin. Oxycontin is stronger than Norco. Both are > extremely addictive. Best wishes, > John s. > > > -------- Original message -------- > From: jume9...@comcast.net > Date:01/08/2015 7:10 PM (GMT-05:00) > To: quad-list <quad-list@eskimo.com> > Cc: > Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Best pain meds > > Has anyone tried Lyrica? Is oxycodone stronger than norco? > > > ------------------------------ > *From: *diannal...@aol.com > *To: *jume9...@comcast.net, "quad-list" <quad-list@eskimo.com> > *Sent: *Wednesday, January 7, 2015 3:50:29 PM > *Subject: *Re: [QUAD-L] Best pain meds > > neurontin is one they often prescribe for diabetic nerve pain. > > Hi all, happy new year! > > I was wondering what if any of you know are the best pain meds for nerve > pain. I have tried norco and slow acting morphine. The morphine works too > slow. Any other ideas? > > Meredith > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: jume9999 <jume9...@comcast.net> > To: quad-list <quad-list@eskimo.com> > Sent: Wed, Jan 7, 2015 5:17 pm > Subject: [QUAD-L] Best pain meds > > Hi all, happy new year! > > I was wondering what if any of you know are the best pain meds for nerve > pain. I have tried norco and slow acting morphine. The morphine works too > slow. Any other ideas? > > Meredith > >
