I have suffered from low back pain for far too long. I am on the Fentynl patch and Norco, 6 per day if needed, which I usually always do. Something that I hear works for some is called Tramadol? But I also hear that can be addicting as well if taken too long. I so badly want to get off all pain meds as well but so afraid to because of the pain. I have been suffering from diarrhea for 4 weeks and a day and have no idea so I can't try to get off anything until that clears up and they figure out why. I have heard that Magnesium helps with pain, exercise, and a lot of stretching. I have had so many doctors tell me that opiods can actually make our pain worse after a long period of time.

I meant to void that last message I wrote. It was too much about me and not about you and I apologize for that! Have you ever tried Voltaren cream? It's a prescription. I really wish I could be more help because I know how horrible back pain is. I will keep you in my prayers. Hugs GB

Has anyone ever used salonpas? If so did they help and which one did you use?

#17 grammy no worries. Everything I read here was helpful in one way or another Thankyou for all your input.

God Bless!

I am currently on Percocet 10-325 twice a day, and tramadol in-between, They work, but as has been said, I doubt you could get them. I am trying a new procedure on Monday called Radio Frequency Ablation. Never heard of it or tried it, so I will let you know after Monday. The thing that has been the most benefit though, is exercising in a hot therapy pool. I go to one here twice a week. It is about 92 to 94 degrees, and because you are not fighting the full weight of your body, and are buoyant, it allows you to work out, so you build muscle strength and lose weight, without hurting yourself. It has done more for me than all the procedures, shots, and drugs put together. Check around you area, and I am sure there is one somewhere. Even some gyms and sports clubs have them. DO NOT try and do it in a regular pool that is kept in cooler temperatures. It is the water AND the heat that help. The one I go to is only for people with chronic pain or a disability, but there are others that are public. They usually have staff that will show you the exercises, and then you can do them on your own. They also have all the water equipment to exercise with. I have lost 80 pounds, and even though I still have mind numbing pain if I try to do things like repairs on the house or sitting or standing too long, or even just bending. It is an inexpensive treatment that really does help, but you have to keep going at least twice a week. I have never seen one in my area that required a contract, so give it a try a few times, and see if it helps. Even though it is temporary, it does give you relief. The more you go, the less the pain. I wish I could afford a swim spa. Then I could do it at home every day. But they are super expensive. If drugs are not allowed for you, and injections don't work, your choices are limited. But I recommend a Therapy Pool highly.

Thankyou classiccarman. There is a heated therapy pool at the Y. I think I will check it out.

Cloverset14, I am also on 15 mg meloxicam and it does nothing. That's it for that drug as 15 is as high as you can go on that one. Thankyou!

God Bless!

There are lots of things you can do to ease low back pain. Simple stretches, pool walking, aqua therapy, swimming, TENS, over the counter pain relief creams, ointments and rubs, Epsom salts, not running since that only aggravates the low back pain due to the impacts, ice,heat,massage, biofeedback, yoga,pilates, meditation.
There are several different meds that can help aside from nsaids and opiates. Some antidepressants also have pain relieving properties when used at certain dosages, cymbakta, amiltryptaline, and others in that class are really helpful when it comes to easing low back pain.

I was on Cymbalta for several years. Now I have a very sensitive immune system or whatever causes reactions to meds. I was taking 60mg a day. I neither helped the pain or the depression the pain leads to. So my doctor doubled the dosage. It did start to help the pain; but I had a really bad reaction to the larger dose. Again; I am very sensitive to any medication. So this may not apply to most people. But on the higher dose; I started to twitch uncontrollably. My head and neck, my hands and legs. Pretty much all over. So I had to go back down to the 60mg; and that did not do much for me. My doctor one told me that no matter what medication I give you; you have the worst reaction to it. That is true; and why it took a long time to find a combination of meds that gave me relief, without side effects that were worse than the pain. Meds are only one part of a treatment. The will never cure you; or make you better in any way. Al they do is temporarily ease the pain Most f the things sandim posted will help you get better. Especially ice and heat. I know the heat FEELS better; but the ice does more. There are so many things out there to try other than opiates. So give them a shot before giving up. The aqua therapy in the therapy pool was what finally got me out of bed, and in less pain. It took a lot of years to find that, because workers comp would never approve it for more than about 10 visits. You need to make it a routine; and go as often as you can afford. And keep going. No physical therapy of any kind is going to help a bad back unless you keep doing it. Otherwise you jut get back to where you were. Massage also helps a lot; but it is expensive. At least where I live. Try many of the things sandim mentioned. There is going to be something that will help. maybe a combination of things. But a bad back is the hardest thing to treat. Everyone has different levels of success on any kind of treatment. You just need to find out what helps you the best. Meds do give you very temporary relief; but you build up a resistance to them, and then you keep needing more. There will probably never be a time when I don't need some meds; but the more I do the Aqua Therapy; the less meds I need. Keep looking, and you will find something that helps other than just opiates.

tens unit, i bought one for 50$, sometimes insurance covers them. My hubby threw his back out and could only crawl, this helped his pain a lot. take care.

There is a product by prescription only called Voltaren creme. It might help some. I so understand what you are going through. Hugs GB

I wish there could be more given from thepain management side. I hope you find relief soon. Unfortunately there arent enough options out there for chronic pain patients. The tiger balms helps me with my neck pain i just have to put a little more on. The heat helps me quite a bit. I pray you find something to help soon. Keep us updated

Thankyou classic. Maybe thats my problem. When I find something that helps a little, I don't use it long enough.
Sandim and honor, I actually do have a tens unit which I bought on ebat for 20 bucks but it's only good for about 30 times,....after that you have to replace the pads and those pads sure get expensive over time, but then again, so do drugs so I should use it nonetheless.
Grammy, I will ask my dr if I can try the voltaren.
drsh8me yes I have tigerbalm but I can only use it when no one is around because it stinks so bad! It does help some. Thankyou!

what was your diagnoses on your lower lumbar ?

I suggest heat bags. lay on them. or electric blanket if not too hot.
strengthening your abs-core helps
knowing how to lift and carry things. an OT would help
Remedial massage therapy. is amazing.

it depends on your diagnoses ... ???

I take Celebrex also. - anti inflammatory
tramadol SR twice a day
Pandol Osteo .. paracetamol . (not codeine )
and Endep. at night.
and support ..good quality sleep. distraction - a good chat.
a GP who listens.

sunshinecfsau My original diagnosis years ago was something the doctors couldn't agree on when looking at my MRI photos, but one of them was sued for for malpractice so if I listen to the other ones then I have a spinal stenosis L3-L4 along with some arthritus in my spine.

I have been pushing myself with exercise lately which seems to be helping alot so at this point, the meloxicam, combined with exercise halps for all parts of the day except when I wakeup in the morning or get up off a chair. If that makes sense. I am still looking for something that helps a little more though but thankyou everyone for your help....you all have big hearts!

God Bless!

I had struggled with very severe chronic back pain after a series of injuries, and I was diagnosed with progressive spinal osteoarthritis. It was crippling. I was desperate to find something that would work and eventually I tried almost everything short of going under the knife. The only things I ever found that were helpful were:

1-- oxycodone... for a while anyway
2-- Inversion tables: these really do seem to help!!
3-- PEMF, specifically ICES-PEMF that was developed by NASA a while ago to grow stem cells in space.

I finally got out of the cycle of degenerative spine pain by using a combination of inversion tables (the trick is this: only invert for a few seconds, not minutes as they often recommend) PLUS vitamin K2-D3 supplementation to get control of undesired calcium deposition causing osteophytes on my spine, PLUS daily treatment with ICES-PEMF.

My specific opinions:

Pain meds - useless IMHO.

Inversion tables: Teeter hang-ups are good quality, but so is the "ironman" brand you can buy at Walmart. I advise not buying the cheapest ones because those tend to be junk. Expect to spend about $200 or more.

K2: use any form of MK-7, and you can read about it in the book: "Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox," on amazon.com

vitamin D3: any form, many good ones are available.

ICES-PEMF: look around the web to find the best price. There are many sellers but the manufacturer is micro-pulse.com You can usually get them to give you a big discount if you call or email them and ask for one. Expect to pay $300 to $400 with a discount.

Finally: stay away from the knife: an honest ortho, hard to find but they are out there, will tell you the truth is that outcomes after any of those surgeries are not good, and often can be very bad indeed.





Several sites on the web sell this technology, so I am not recommending any specific one

wr819 interesting options you gave to me, thanyou. As it turns out, I have a neighbor who has an inversion table and he told me I could use it anytime so I thin I'll take him up on it and see what happens. Unfortunately, narcotic pain killers are no longer an option for me. I use to be on those and developed an addiction to them over time and I liked them too much and was taking more then prescribed. Now there is no doctor in the area willing to prescribe them to me, which I kinda understand.

I started taking vitamin D3 when my dentist suspected I had a vitamin D deficiancy. I later learned that most people do not get enough vitamin D in their daily diet so I will be taking this important vitamin daily.

I have never heard of ices-pemf and have no clue what it is. I will research it more. Thankyou for your reply and to everyone else!

God Bless!