Get Informed: Pain
iGuard is currently monitoring fewer than 100 patients with Pain from around the United States as shown on the heat map below.
iGuard is currently monitoring fewer than 100 patients with Pain.
Global Patient Feedback for Pain ( Post a comment )
Question/Comment:
can anyone relate to having shingles? I have had them since 12/28/09 and was told duration would be til 1/30/10 but I still have a rash and pain. I am still taking vicodin for pain which helps but doesn't take it away completely. Any information would be helpful.
58 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2010-01-30 19:45:32
iGuard Answer/Reply:
Because shingles starts in the nerves, it is difficult to completely take the pain away with medication. For most people, the pain and rash decrease and go away within three to five weeks. There is a condition called postherpetic neuralgia, where the pain continues after the rash is gone. If you are still having pain and the rash is not cleared, you need to make a follow-up appointment with your physician. It is possible there is a deeper condition occurring or that different medications need to be tried for the pain.
Posted: 2010-02-03 10:47:26
Question/Comment:
Is there any indication that Plavix may cause pain in the feet -- especially the toes? My 62-yr-old husband just began taking Plavix. He has a severe blockage in right carotid artery, and is awaiting angiogram/stress tests/angioplasty. Now his toes on the right foot hurt. Is this an indicator of something we should be watching?
63 year old Male – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-11-22 02:05:48
iGuard Answer/Reply:
In the clinical trials done by the manufacturer of Plavix, there were several related side effects reported by the patients in the study. Approximately 6% of the patients reported pain and 4% reported edema (swelling, typically in the hands and feet). These could be the causes of your husband's foot pain, however there could be other non-Plavix related causes of foot pain. Your husband has some significant cardiovascular complications and risk factors and Plavix helps to reduce these risks. If the foot pain is still bothersome or worsens, your husband should report his symptom to his doctor for evaluation to determine the cause of the pain.
Posted: 2009-12-01 15:25:37
Answer/Reply:
You should tell his doctor about this right away. It could be a symptom of a clot in his lower leg. He is obviously at risk for clots based on the blockage in his RCA. The doctor needs to check your husband's right and left pulses behind his knees, in his ankles, and in his feet. If his pulses aren't strong enough to feel well, a sonogram machine should be used.
31 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-12-01 23:08:53
Question/Comment:
I take oxycontin and oxycodone for breakthrough pain. I also take soma for muscle spasms. I've had five lumbar surgeries. I've also had two nerve releases in my left leg. I have scar tissue wrapped around the nerve roots due to my back surgeries. I suffer from nerve damage. I have failed back syndrome. I have severe chronic back and left leg pain
48 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-09-01 06:24:01
Question/Comment:
I have been suffering chronic pain after hit by a car 3 years ago. Sense I did not have insurance at the time of the accedent I did not get proper care and was given pain meds as my only alternative. This has been 3 yrs now and finley was able to get medicare. That is sad as I am only 41, but thought finaly I can get proper help. Boy was I mistaken. The pain managment specialest have tried facet injections in my neck and lower back, which were not helpful. They have found out that I have arthritis in my sprine that has become realy bad. My pain on most days is so bad I can not move and a headache that just doesn't quite. I currentley am taking percacet and oxycontin er. I know my body has become tolerant but the doctors say I am on the max dose I should take. I am frustrated because other meds and treatments have been unsuccesful. I read one questions that said there were days she would just go home to her maker. I truely understand that feeling. Of course the affect on my family have been hard also. My sister (a nurse) wants me to go to rehab to clean the meds out and see what my true pain level is without meds. That seems to me to be asking for torture. I would like to know what other things others have tried that I have not that live in the same pain and have learned to cope and find some kind of managment for it all. I am tired of taking pills and being called an addict by everyone. I would like any words of advise!!!
42 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-08-22 17:00:56
Answer/Reply:
If on the max dose of both, then yes, you should try weaning yourself off both. Use ice/heat plus pool therapy plus nerve relaxation PT & whatever else is necessary during the weeks that it takes you to get off meds. If you tell the doctors what you are trying to do, they will support you as much as you need. I have been through this myself; I understand it seems crazy, but clearing out the drugs will allow you to start over with lower doses being as effective as higher doses used to be.
31 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-12-01 23:21:39
Answer/Reply:
I would take your sister advice.Yes it won't be fun but if you know your true pain level w/o the meds then and only then will you know if other methods will aid you. Try water therapy w/ a therapists supervision and get your mind strong with any type of spiritual and/or meditative.If after the detox, and nothing else helps as a last resort go back on the meds.Also don't listen to any one doctor get several opinions if possible
39 year old Male – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-12-06 13:51:07
Answer/Reply:
Great to get off meds, but you need to do it under medical supervision. I have worked with to many clients who have had serious problems coming off meds. Consult with your Doctor.
42 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-12-08 22:51:57
Question/Comment:
I have severe undiagnosed chronic pain. It started in my saccrum and most of my pain is still there, but it spreads mainly to my hips and pelvic area, also down into my legs to the knee (rarely lower), and up my back, neck, and sometimes into my arms. My doctor thinks it's too severe to be fibromyalgia, but she, and a half dozen specialists, have no idea what it is. So they've completely given up trying to diagnose it and up until now have only wanted to medicate me.
I'm on Duragesic 100mcg every 60 hrs, oxycodone 7.5/325, gabapentin, and lyrica and it hasn't been working very well. Usually my only decent days, where I can function (to an extent) is the day after I've changed my patch. Even then I have breakthrough pain, but it isn't so debilitating. So my dr. switched the duragesic to morphine sulfate, and that really didn't work. My dr. admitted that she underdosed me with the morphine, but then said, "Looks like pain meds just arent' doing the trick so I think we have to take you off of everything."
I'm TERRIFIED!! I'm still in excruciating constant pain, but when I don't change my patch on time or miss a dose of my oxycodone I'm paralyzed by pain crying and praying for God to take me home! I've told her this, but she sees no other option. So I'm trying to do my own research and find other medications or treatments that may help.. better something than nothing! Does anyone have any other ideas that I can bring to my Doctor???
28 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-05-27 05:56:44
Answer/Reply:
I have severe chronic back pain due to 2 failed surgeries. It took a long time to
diagnose me before my surgeries. I am now on Methadone,with 10mg. hydrocodone
for breakthrough pain. It is the best thing I have found. Everything else gets a
tolerance too soon.
I understand why you are so scared of your doctor pulling all meds. That is a
crazy idea. Have you tried a Pain Specialist Dr.? That is what my doc. is. I would
start trying to find another doc. now BEFORE this one cuts you off all meds.
Good luck,you'll be in my prayers
54 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-08-07 12:00:12
Answer/Reply:
You need a diagnosis, nerve ablations, and/or an implanted epidural. Go to a pain doctor at a well-respected university and tell him that your goal is to have pain of 3 (out of 10) without narcotics. Also, you should go to a good internist and have him/her check you for vitamin D deficiency, thyroid disorder, rheumatoid arthritis and Ehlers Danlos. If those are all negative, ask to be referred to an endocrinologist, a genetic specialist, and a rheumatologist.
31 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-12-01 23:27:04
Answer/Reply:
Thank you so much for all of your feedback! I feel better at least having some things to research and bring to my doctor. I'm seeing a pain specialist now, but she also wants to take me off of my meds. I would actually be thrilled to do this if she had some other plan to help me with the pain.. but she doesn't. No one does. It seems the doctors that I've seen feel I'm on an absurd amount of narcotics and just want to take me off of them and see what happens. Strange the way these doctors think..
I have been diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos, but the Dr. told me that it doesn't cause pain so I never thought anything of it. Does it cause pain? Are there treatments for it? I don't know much of anything about it because the doctor made it seem like it wasn't anything important.
28 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-12-11 06:59:48
iGuard Answer/Reply:
Ehlers Danlos can cause a variety of issues, such as joint dislocation and a greater likelihood of strains and sprains. If dislocation is an issue, you can try braces or wraps. It can also cause skin problems, like bruising or unusual stretching. Perhaps tapering off some of the medications that you are on will work for you. However, if you have concerns about this, you should talk to your doctor so that she or he can address your concerns.
Posted: 2009-12-12 22:46:38
Answer/Reply:
Pain specialist will look at several options, injections, blocks, ablation, years ago I was disabled with horrific pain from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I started using a machine called an Acuscope/Myopulse. This machine saved my life ( with Gods help).
Look it up on Google. The portable unit is the best. It is 2 units in one, not cheap, some insurances will pay or you can pay payments. It works but it takes daily treatments.
42 year old Female – Source: iGuard United States
Posted: 2009-12-08 23:06:37
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Patient Comments about
Pain