What can someone do to manage long term chronic pain?!
Question: What can someone do to manage long term chronic pain?
Answers:
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
I don't know if you've been able to get another opinion about the cause of your pain, but if you haven't, try to get another opinion. The other option is to ask your doctor to refer you to a pain management doctor. This is a doctor that specializes in treating pain in many different ways. Many patients get relief from physcial therapy.
You are correct that too much tylenol can be damaging to the liver. It is recommended that patients take less than or up to 4000 mg/day to prevent damage to the liver. Also ibuprofen (motrin is ibuprofen) can cause stomach ulcers, so take it with some food to dilute it. If you take narcotics, your body builds up a tolerance to it and the dosage has to be increased or the medication changed. Regular use of narcotics causes a physical dependence. You would feel withdrawal effects if you stopped taking it. Also it is well known that many people get a mental dependence and begin a life of substance abuse due to the use of narcotics for chronic pain. I am a nurse and see this problem frequently.
You are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Keep looking for a doctor that will take the time and effort to find out how best to treat your pain, so you will have the best care. There are other drugs that may help you that aren't narcotic. Like ultram or aleve. Keep asking for options.
RN
First of all, you are right. Rather than taking so much medication endlessly, which can't be good for you, you should never give up finding a doctor who can tell you what is wrong and what to do about it. Someone I know has issues with his upper back due to a serious fall, and he goes to an acupuncturist when the pain comes back. It helps for months on end, he said. I think he only needs to go once a year or so.
In certain cities, there are chinese doctors who practice chinese medicine (obviously). It is a lot older than our medicine, and very good. There is of course a difference in quality between these doctors, maybe you can ask around for a good one. They mainly use herbs and acupuncture. I have personally found them to be extremely effective, especially when it comes to curing people rather than keeping them on medication endlessly. They can also tell you what is wrong with you, they are very good at diagnosing, and if you like you could suggest the diagnosis to a regular doctor. That might offer a new opening.
The location of the pain, you see, is not the usual location for psychosomatic pain.