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I am a 62 year old female who has had both knees replaced. I surely am glad I did. They were done in 2001. I wondered why I waited so long. I had bone on bone pain for years before the surgery.After the surgery, I had about 1 month of daily exercize for the knees. I would recommend having someone with you, because you will need some help. You will be using a walker for the first few weeks,but then you will be pretty much back to everyday life. Good luck,I wouldn't wait any longer.

63 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-29 00:51:04

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I heartily agree! I suffer from Fibromyalgia, arthritis, and severe back pain from previous injuries and although I don't take the Vicodin daily, I thank God for it on those days when the pain is unbearable. Chronic pain is no joke!

59 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-03 13:46:29

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AMEN!!! I am so tired of people telling me that I have an addiction. I would like anyone of them to spend 5 minutes in my shoes when my legs hurt so bad all I can think about it cutting them off. I suffer from Arachnoiditis and when I hurt there is no amount of meds that will help. I am actually looking for anyone that also has this horrible condition. I had a Lumbar Discectomy with Fusion almost 4 years ago and it took about 30+ doctors to figure out what the heck was wrong with me. I was finally diagnosed 6 months ago. So, if anyone out there mentions the word Addiction to me I will glare at them. Even some of the gals at the pharmacy look at me funny when I am in there picking up me monthly supply of 8 different meds 4 of which are narcotics. I pray for everyone that suffers from any type of Chronic pain as it is the most horrible pain anyone can go through.
God Bless all of us and stay strong.
Theresa

44 year old Female

Posted: 2009-09-24 18:04:10

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

Fear of addiction is a very common concern for people with severe pain. There is a difference between requiring more pain medication because of more severe pain and requiring more pain medication because you are addicted. But, managing your pain and your concern for addiction are important issues and it's worth talking to your doctor about them - or you may want to ask for a referral to a pain management center. These doctors and nurses are experts at treating pain.

Since Lortab is short acting, you may want to ask your doctor about using a long acting medication that will provide relief through out the day. There are also other medications, such as Neurontin and Lyrica, that are FDA approved to treat nerve pain but are some times prescribed off-label in more complex pain cases. However, these medications also have side effects that you may not be comfortable with - you'll need to talk to your doctor more about the risks and benefits of these medications and whether or not they are a good option for you.

Posted: 2008-10-02 10:16:48

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RE: Addiction
In the early 1980's I was an inpatient in the Johns Hopkins University Hospital's Pain Treatment Program where they had classes on all topics related to chronic pain, including the various meds used. We were taught that pain patients do not get "addicted" because that is mostly a psychological reaction to drugs that are not needed by the body, but used mostly for the "high" or used to "hide" from problems same as an alcoholic. But we, who live with pain, do become "tolerant" to drugs when we have taken them for a long period of time and they become ineffective even in larger doses. We then need to talk with our doctors and be switched over to another medication in lower doses. As stated in another reply, PAIN SPECIALISTS are a great solution for those of us living with chronic pain. They have spent time studying pain, how it affects the body, and how best to control it...whether with medication or other types of treatments.
Hope this info helps clear up some questions for you.
I have lived with severe chronic pain since childhood, caused by birth defects in my spine that contributed to injuries due to resultant weakness of my spine. I took morphine for 3 or 4 years in increasing doses until it became ineffective and the doses needed to control pain were too large for safety. I've since been changed over to Opana ER, a newer medication that is quite effective, along with Lyrica for the nerve pain in my legs.
When I was placed on Methadone, it caused swelling of my feet, legs and hands which was not a side effect listed in the literature, but my pain specialist told me I was his third patient that week with that complaint!

60 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-06 07:38:43

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You can find information about this and many others at webMD.com. Usually if you put webMD in your browser it will take you right to the home page.

43 year old Female

Posted: 2009-01-24 10:07:28