Nerve pain..what the best way to shut it down..

[robprodisc]

...while waiting for surgery.

I found the nortryptyline worked well enough I could sleep. Before my surgery every night was a fight with the nerve pain, The tyn 3 is good for muscle, sore pain. pain..but I find it useless when the nerve ending start firing..nortryptyline worked well to shut it down enough to sleep.

Now that I have had surgery I like the option of switching the pain med on and off...use it when i need it..so perc works in 30 minutes so its more practical in this my case (i only use it when I wake up at night with the nerve ending are firing like crazy..tyn 3 does nothing..if its just a sore back than I would use the tyn 3 or something with maybe less punch) Nortryptyline is something that long term..correct?

Anyone else agree with this or does tyn 3 work for nerve pain for you?

Anyway I sure hope the hips and the legs get normal..I would love to go for a run...

two prodisc one at s1-l5 and l4 and l5.

[Maria]

edited as necessary

[Poncho]

Hi Rob,

I can't recall of where you had your surgery - however, after my 2 level prodisc I too had nerve pain after the procedure.

I eventually had 2 rounds of oral steroids 6-7 weeks after my 2 level ADR and it eventually subsided. I was also on high doses of methadone both before and immediately after surgery.
Anyways, the steroids seemed to help immensely and settle things down in there. Perhaps, your physician / surgeon would consent to this......Now some will and some won't. Those that oppose steroid use after surgery say that they interfere too much with the bone fusing to the metal plates. Then there are others that seem indifferent. However, it I think it would be worth mentioning to see if he/she would be willing to give it a try.

Sy,
Poncho

[Maria]

Just in case you feel your surgeon isn't addressing your pain issues that well even if it's something that will be relatively short lived, you might want to check out a Pain Management specialist at some point.

Good luck ~ hope the pain is short lived!

[gm1kent]

Rob,

I too, had L4-5, L5-S1. Mine was 08/17/07. I wake up about 2am feels like my legs have ants crawling on them. I will either take a lortab or percocet which both seem to work. I also get up and do some stretching that helps but in the morning the back is sore.

Can I ask a question?

I had the disc replacement with a large bone spur that compressed the nerve as well and annular tear. I can go days ok not back to 100% but them wham the pain puts me down for a day. I guess this is normal. I have not been able to go back to the gym yet. I get so tired by the end of the day. I am able to work most of the week full days. I am hoping by my post op visit in January he will allow me at least going to the gym for some cardio and light weights doing reps only.

Thanks,

Martha

[dshobbies]

Rob,

I had extreme nerve damage and pain after my 3 level Prodisc. I started on Neurontin in the hospital eventually taking 2700mg daily. Several months ago, because of Neurontin's side effects, I switched to Lyrica, settling on 300mg. I found the side effects too difficult and my pm suggested accupunture which surprisingly worked great. I am now off of Lyrica, pain meds and muscle relaxers. For me, getting off the Lyrica was very difficult, even though I did it slowly. My stomache is still in knots though I am no longer dizzy or nauseous. The pain I am left with will hopefully be taken care of when I resume my accupunture. The next step is getting off of anti-inflams.

I agree with Maria that a pain management specialist might be a good choice in treating your pain. That's what they do.

Dale