How to manage pain without drugs

[Hope87]

Hey everyone,

How's it going? Hope everyone is doing as well as can be expected

I'm the girlfriend of an addict and was looking for some answers. How do you deal with chronic back and knee pain? I'm starting to do some research and thought I would check here to see if any of you go through the same thing and how you deal with it or if you knew of any options. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot! God bless!

[DesertEyes]

Hello there Hope, and pleased to "meet" you

The general plan is really quite simple, you just need to fine tune it to meet the specific needs of your girlfriend.

1) Get into a recovery program so that you are free of all drugs and medications that you are taking without a doctors prescription. That can be AA, NA, etc.

2) Have your doctor refer you to a pain clinic or pain specialist that is experienced in treating addicts. They're a lot more common than you think.

3) Follow the doctors directions _exactly_, and spend a lot of time with a good sponsor in whatever program of recovery works for you.

That's the short version. How difficult the above plan turns out to be in real life depends primarily on how willing your girlfriend is to follow the doctors directions. The more willing she is, the easier it will be.

Perhaps if you tell us more about your girlfriend we can come up with ideas that are more specific and useful. Is she in recovery? How long? Does she go to lots of meetings? Have a good sponsor? A good doctor?

Mike

[RedTailHawk]

Hi Hope - my AH is a chronic pain person. For over 10 years we looked for an answer - the right doc, the right program. My AH could not control the meds even under tight supervision. I don't know enough about your ABF - only he knows the truth of where he is emotionally and in recovery to cope with taking meds.

My research has found great hope in Mindfulness Meditation for chronic pain addicts. Look up John Kabat-Zinn - he started a Stress Reduction clinic in MA and his teachings have gone across the county. I think he has a website that would tell you about programs in your area of the world. Accupuncture also helps if you can afford it.

Good luck!

[namommy]

Basically, DesertEyes has summed it all up.

If your AB has a problem taking meds only as prescribed by a doctor, some people have someone else hold their medication for them and distribute it to them at the proper time and dose so they can't abuse them.

first follow the suggestions from Mike.

Laurie

[Freedom1990]

I have chronic back pain from degenerative disc disease.

I have a pain management specialist I see every 6 months or so for injections into my tailbone that knock out the sciatica.

The occasional stint in physical therapy has also helped. They've give me some really good exercises to use for strengthening my back muscles.

I also recently got a script for a TENS unit from my doctor.

Aspirin or ibuprofen, knowing what I can/can't do that will exacerbate the pain, and getting plenty of rest also help.

[frstnm]

Does that mean that your legs dont go numb after the shots to knock out the cyatica ?
Do you have lumbar (lower back) pain as well and does it help with that ?

Does anyone know what the pain management clinics actually do for mid back disk issues ???

Im hoping someone with experience can answer these questions !

TY !

[namommy]

I have herniated and bulging discs in my lumbar region as well as my cervical spine. Recently I was given steroid injections in the epidural space to help relieve some of the pain. Usually you need to go through a series of 3 shots, 2 weeks apart. I have only had on shot so far in my lumbar spine, and it has helped a little. I did the series of 3 in my neck, but it is not really doing anythin for that pain.

Not sure if this helps or not, I hope you find some answers.