Backache medicine

[pacergal]

Topical CBD/THC lotions/salves work well for our pains/arthritis.
Ibuprofen/Acetaminiphin will work well together also, but be aware of daily limits.
Perhaps a muscle relaxer may help, but they use caution prescribing them for older folks.
Topical menthol/camphor or capsaicin products help such as IcyHot, Salonpas, Biofreeze.
Ask your Dr for a referral for PT for a daily exercise/stretching program you can learn at home.
Perhaps a back brace, depending on what is causing the pain issue.

I am assuming your doc already has done X-rays, etc to evaluate your back pain? Is it a side effect from your immunotherapy?

 

[Walt34]

I am assuming your doc already has done X-rays, etc to evaluate your back pain?

In my case it's both spinal stenosis and degenerating disks. I did go see a neurosurgeon and the first thing he said to me was "You are not a candidate for surgery". This from a guy who makes his living doing back surgery, so that's credible.

Mixed feelings about that statement. I'd have strong misgivings about back surgery anyway, having heard too many stories of someone going in with a bad limp and coming out in a wheelchair. But at the same time surgery is off the table, some successes for other people notwithstanding. Sigh.

So for the time being oxycodone seems to be my best bet. It works, and so far I have had no impulses to rob a gas station or buy from anywhere but a properly licensed pharmacy. And besides, with insurance it only costs $4.88 for a month's supply.

 

[youbet]

Same here.

I used to use Aleve (naproxen) but now that I am on blood thinners no NSAIDs are allowed including aspirin and ibuprofen.

I now use Tylenol (acetaminophen) but as mentioned above you definitely need to stick to no more than the daily recommended limit as it does do liver damage at higher doses.

Add me to the no NSAID's list due to taking an anti-coagulant (Xarelto). I use acetaminophen on an as-needed basis and it seems to help a bit but still leaves me sometimes feeling immobile during the day or sleepless at night. Neither my pain doc or my GP is willing to prescribe me an opioid except occasionally Tylenol + codeine if I whine enough.

I do PT twice a week and have had a steroid epidural.

 

[AudiDudi]

I had back surgery (L5-S1) in 2000. Currently from T-12 on down is not in good shape. I try not to do this too often, but 2 Aleve and 20mg of prednisone before bed works wonders. Usually all it takes is once. It also helps the rest of the arthritis. I've purchased the prednisone OTC in Algodones, MX for about $6 and at my last annual I asked my doc if she would prescribe me a few. She did. The combination of Aleve, Prednisone and Colchicine also clears up gout overnight.

As for Oxy and back pain, I had a close friend that for years had been taking 10mg Oxy 5x per day along with morphine. He passed at 75 about 18 months ago and I am sure the opioids contributed greatly.

 

[Sanstar]

Per MRI I have lower spinal stenosis, degenerative disks which presented as severe sciatica. Months of PT, Aleve and lumbar support cushions in chairs and car brought a lot of relief. Still use cushions and 1 AM Aleve. Also, 3 grams of MSM in 8 ounces tart cherry juice daily. Also took up lap swimming 6 days a week as it’s easier on my back than long walks. Bump up to 2 Aleve / day for long road trips or flights.

I imagine treatment may vary if pain origin is muscle vs bone/cartiledge.
Good luck, back pain is so miserable. I hope your’s is short lived.

 

[Chuckanut]

I try to do the McGill Big 3 back exercises daily. That and walking seems to helps very much.

On the few days a month the back gets really crankly, I take an ibuprofen or two or three. I never take the max daily dose of 6 as listed on the bottle.

I also avoid things that stress me out - news, argumentative social media, political blogs, etc. A lot of back pain is mental/emotional according to some studies. I find listening to music I enjoy is a good treatment.

 

[Markola]

Back pain really hurts, so why are you interested in only over the counter meds?

My doc prescribed Methocarbamol and 800 mg ibuprofens for when mine flairs up badly. Works amazingly well.

 

[aaronc879]

Back pain really hurts, so why are you interested in only over the counter meds?

My doc prescribed Methocarbamol and 800 mg ibuprofens for when mine flairs up badly. Works amazingly well.

Different medications affect different people in different ways. Methocarbamol is basically the same thing as Flexeril which never gave me any noticeable daytime pain relief. The only positive is it helped me sleep better. Need something else for daytime pain relief. Worth a try but don't be surprised if it doesn't work for everyone.

 

[Tetto]

I find the percussion massage gun we have extremely helpful in my lumbar back pain. My wife puts it on the muscle strip adjacent to spine- heaven. Then she put it centered on lower back, pelvis bone. Just below the top. The vibration go deep and relieve a lot of pain. Fantastic

 

[Koolau]

I've tried the percussion massage gun and I can only take a little of that. Worst is that I have to have DW hold it and she can never seem to hit the right spot. I'd heard good things about it but haven't found it that helpful. Glad it w*rks for some here. Back pain is the worst.

 

[pacergal]

DH has a severe back/disc problem from old HS wrestling injury (he had never wrestled, was Not on the team, Coach simply needed another member, stopped him in the hall and asked him to come to the meet--DH was injured in on of those crazy crunched up pins, duh, he had no idea what he was doing--should be illegal).
Multiple X-rays/MRIs over the years, and spinal injection have worked well, until they didn't. Last back/pain consult, not a candidate for surgery but they did refer him to a specialty brace company. He has a brace, that for the first time, helps alleviate pain instantly when he wears it. The way it looks by design, it seems to put pressure on the bulging disc to realign and straighten his spine. He also uses daily prescription strength naproxen, and has occasional oxy if pain gets worse.

 

[jcretire77]

I have a different back issue (lumbar curvature causing sacroiliac joint pain, probably pelvic tilt). I've dealt with this for decades. Ice many times a day is my go to. Daily exercises given to me by PT, plus others from internet. I use an electric hand massager vs percussion gun as it is gentler. I use it on the muscles that get aggravated when the joint locks. My chiropractor is a godsend. NSAIDS kill my gut. Going this afternoon to a spine clinic to see if they have any news after MRI's were taken last week.

 

[Walt34]

As for Oxy and back pain, I had a close friend that for years had been taking 10mg Oxy 5x per day along with morphine. He passed at 75 about 18 months ago and I am sure the opioids contributed greatly.

And what would his quality of life been without the Oxy?

That's the issue I'm looking at. Sure, I could do without it - and spend most of the rest of my life in bed. You may call that living but I don't.

I want to be able to get out and at least go to the grocery store and even mow the lawn and visit with family/friends. Go fly a model airplane, stuff like that. Without the Oxycontin I would only be able to do those simple things rarely, if at all. So if taking the Oxycontin takes off a few years off a life that would have been very poor quality anyway, that's fine, I'll happily take the tradeoff.

 

[AudiDudi]

And what would his quality of life been without the Oxy?

That's the issue I'm looking at. Sure, I could do without it - and spend most of the rest of my life in bed. You may call that living but I don't.

I want to be able to get out and at least go to the grocery store and even mow the lawn and visit with family/friends. Go fly a model airplane, stuff like that. Without the Oxycontin I would only be able to do those simple things rarely, if at all. So if taking the Oxycontin takes off a few years off a life that would have been very poor quality anyway, that's fine, I'll happily take the tradeoff.

Taking that much Oxy and morphine, he was pretty out of it a lot of the time. Surgery and treatments (burning some nerve endings) only made the pain worse. The last couple years were pretty bad as the drugs didn't really do much I suspect due to increased tolerance. And the doctors are scared they might over prescribe and get in trouble. 50mg of Oxy /day is a lot, IMO.

Without the drugs, his life would have been much worse. I agree with you, I'll trade a couple years to have a much reduced pain level and be able to function.

 

[Walt34]

Taking that much Oxy and morphine, he was pretty out of it a lot of the time.

<snip>

Without the drugs, his life would have been much worse. I agree with you, I'll trade a couple years to have a much reduced pain level and be able to function.

Yeah the 10mg Oxy 5x a day is a lot. I'm on 5mg once or twice a day, very rarely 3x a day, but then sometime later I have to make do with one a day since the prescription is for 2 a day. But if it has to go up to keep the pain down, then so be it. A life living with a lot of pain isn't much worth living.

At work I wrote a good many suicide reports. Being in severe and constant pain is one of the reasons that I saw. People can only take so much and then they take any way out of it they can find. So I'll never be critical of anyone taking opioids for pain as it's been repeatedly shown to me that the alternative is worse.

 

[harllee]

When I have back pain (degenerative disc) I use a TENS machine (electric stimulation). There is a good wireless one for sale on Amazon for about $40. After using it several hours a day for a week or so it really helps. Also CBD creme helps.

 

[Koolau]

So if taking the Oxycontin takes off a few years off a life that would have been very poor quality anyway, that's fine, I'll happily take the tradeoff.

I'll trade a couple years to have a much reduced pain level and be able to function.

I have seen some sites suggesting a link to heart disease with high doses of opioids, however - EVEN with OVERDOSE deaths, the increase in deaths due to opioids is less than a year IF I read the sources correctly. I'm sure folks here would be avoiding ODs so I wouldn't think opioids would cost anyone here even a year of life - and the life they live WITH opioids is likely way more enjoyable than the (maybe) extra time by not taking opioids.

As pointed out by Walt34, chronic PAIN is a greater predictor of early death (due to, for instance suicide) than use of opioids.

 

[gamboolman]

This helps for temporary relief for me - it is a fancy Ice Pack but is easy to use.
Might be a possibility for you to consider?
Thera Ice

 

[rtroxel]

Has anyone here used TENS electronic devices?

Roy

 

[harllee]

Has anyone here used TENS electronic devices?

Roy

Yes I use the TENS for my backaches. It does help, the amount it helps increases over time. I have a wireless one I bought from Amazon for around $40

 

[Hyper]

First, non er, spine MD visit a month ago. MD said if shed seen the X-rays without seeing me, she'd said surgery immediately.
Said she was amazed I wasn't in more pain.
Trip to the ER last NYeve but we had a mild winter and I had been working extremely hard clearing, thinning our land before the big snows hit.
Severe sciatica then ( oxy barely touched it) and milder for much of this year with parts of my left leg numb much of the year.
MRI last Thurs. Spine curvature, SS, bulging disc, arthritis and narrowing canal which is pinching the nerves.
She said as long as I can handle the pain, avoid surgery as long as possible.
I've lived with pain my whole life as we've been and still are extremely active and physical.
She said no to any kind of brace, belt as the back tends to rely on it quickly.
I was a heavy equipment mechanic most of my life. Extremely heavy labor was normal.
My K stone and several shoulder surgeries from colt starting, riding, unexpected ejections was real pain.
As long as I keep the sciatica under control, I think I can continue handling the pain, great Lord willing!
Several prescriptions, PT, etc.
I have decided it's time to mabey slow down a little and not work so hard!
So hopefully!
Blessed by the great Lord, I'm still amazed I made it this long as many, many co workers constantly had back issues with many surgeries!

 

[harllee]

I would still recommend a TENS machine. I have a bulging desk and the TENS really helps my pain and sciatica. There are no side effects to a TENS machine and it is low cost (around $40 on Amazon).

 

[Montecfo]

As a long term back problem survivor, I literally feel your pain. I had to have back surgery.

But this isn't always necessary. It was my absolute last resort.

Definitely wean off the oxy. I find that generic naproxen sodium (Aleve) from Walmart is incredible. 2 per day at most, but I try to keep it less than that. As a generic from Walmart, the cost is cents.

Still I don't do it all the time to give the kidneys a break. But if you haven't tried Aleve and its generic equivalent, give it a shot. Someone up thread also mentioned it.

I'll add one more thing. For prescription, I also find that "baclofen" is also useful. This is a muscle relaxant than has none of the "ahhh... this is good sh.....t" feeling. I.e. not very addictive. Read the link I mentioned above, it can also help you wean off Oxy. I use it very occasionally (every few days) and won't cause issues in that case. If you can get the muscles to not clamp, that is half the battle if your issue is muscles. Even if it is spine (in my case it is), then letting the muscles de-link from the pain is still useful.

Not all doctors agree with baclofen for this purpose (it is usually for MS). My doctor is open to it.

That's really interesting. Yes, the pain is often a *reaction* to injury, overstretching, etc which causes the muscles to cramp and tighten in response. I will keep this idea in my tool.box.

 

[Chuckanut]

Still I don't do it all the time to give the kidneys a break. But if you haven't tried Aleve and its generic equivalent, give it a shot. Someone up thread also mentioned it.

I don’t have severe pain problems like some, but when I need ongoing pain relief for more than a day or two I often mix up the OTC meds a bit.

For example, start with Ibuprofen, then acetaminophen the next day, and even plain old aspirin on some days. My theory is that this gives certain organs a break from having to deal with the same medication day after day after after day. I have no idea if this makes medical sense, but it does not bother me.