SCS = spinal cord stimulator. It's like a tens unit but the leads are implanted right where you need them so you get the best relief.

Livewithhope it's pretty well documented that the only real relief of nerve pain is by using neuro drugs like neurontin or the anti-seizure drugs. These are the ones that will work on the transmission of the signal from the damaged area to your brain. Basically short circuits your nerves. Unfortunately they all come with side effects.

A tens unit or scs does the same thing by messing with the electrical pulses which confuses your brain.

The narcotics work better on mechanical pain. So pain from breaks or arthritis or torn muscles/tendons. Or as a last resort they will just deaden all sensation so you feel nothing.

The reality is that most of us have combinations of nerve and mechanical pain. And we each react differently to the different types of meds which can make them seem to not work.

The first thing you need to do is try your hardest to find the source of your pain. Confirm the diagnosis with different doctors. Then a doctor who is qualified in your problem can work to find the right combination of meds, pt, massage, activity, accupuncture, etc that works for you. I've been working on this for two + years now and still can't find something that is acceptable. And I'm sure that even if I did it wouldn't be long before something would change and I'd be adjusting again.

The second thing you need to decide is just how much pain you can stand vs how much medication you want to take vs what you want to do. If I am ok being a zombie I can get a doc to prescribe me massive doses of narcotics. But if I want to be active and work I need to accept less meds and probably more pain. It's a really tricky balancing act.

Yes I did the trial for the scs but when I turned it on I felt the stimulation and the pain and the more I used it the more I felt the pain. It is possible my doc messed up the rep from medtronic was hinting something wasn't right and he told me if I needed him to call . I have to follow up. Lawsuit against my doctor he put me thru hell

I'm sorry the scs trial didn't work for you. Maybe the pain patches can help.

Hi Mark,

I am so sorry to hear about your pain and all of your troubles. It is very frustrating trying to find the "right" medicine, isn' t it? Like you, I have been on soooo many medicines, I should have kept a diary of them all.

I take morphine and vicodin for severe chronic back pain, however, I also have severe nerve pain in both of my legs. I used to take TOPOMAX for that and it worked extremely well. Unfortunately, I had to stop taking it because it was too expensive so I am on Neurontin now. It doesn't work quite as well but it's all I have now.

So, like others mentioned, you may need to be on an anti-seizure medicine, like Topomax. If this is something you have not tried, it is definitely worth a shot.

I wish you the best. Please keep us updated on your progress.

Blessings.

Carrie

Sounds like you need a new doctor. You might also want to consider seeing a pain psychologist. When we have been dealing with unrelenting pain for so long it can mess up how we deal with life. And as we have one failure after another with treatment it becomes a pattern where we expect that nothing will work. A psychologist can work with you to figure out the best course of treatment.

Hope your appointment goes well today. If it doesn't I would seriously consider a complete change of doctors.

I have tried all pain meds and they all gave me side effects and not much relief my doctor said in the UK they use suboxone to control pain and even tho here in the states people use it for addiction lots of CP are using it for pain because it works wonders at least for me it does.

I felt I was at wits end and didnt even want to get out of bed because if the pain was not enough the side effects some really messed with my thoughts and then when I took it it was like a flip of a switch and I was back to my same old self which at the time felt wonderful LOL and I still am good today as far as the cons you cant take anything for acute pain like I got a kidney stone and could not take any pain meds just had to stick with what I had even tho I had extra pain so that sucked

Sadly, nerve pain is never cured, only lessened. Sometimes something weaker with a cocktail of tylenol, NSAID and vitamins works better for nerve pain.

Hello all well my pain doc thinks i need to detox and reset my body clock, he wont give me anything stronger there really isnt,he says my brain is creating the pain because it wants more drugs. All I know is after being on narcotics for 2 years now I just hate them I never get high only somewhat comfortable and I hate the side effects. I really dont understand why people like to take this shit to get high it feels like shit.

All it does is make it harder for people like us to get the meds we need especially down here in florida.

NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO DETOXING, I did it on my own once because I hate the drugs sooooo much it was no fun. Oh well thats it for me I wish i just dont wake up tomorrow what kind of life is this to live. its gotta be better in the afterlife if there is one, or just nothing is better than what I do everyday

Your doctor may be right. Some people experience a rebound effect when taking narcotics. There is a term that I can't think of right now....grr. Again it has been studied and documented that the brain can create a perception of pain.

What does he think of other treatments while you are doing this? Some aquatherapy or massage or accupuncture might help you through this time.

There is also hypnotherapy and guided therapy that can help your fool your brain into thinking there is no pain. If your pain is primarily nerve based there is no harm in doing this since additional activity won't harm you and might even help. You might want to check out some of the programs that work to detox you and provide alternate methods of relief. Some are inpatient but also offer day programs.