DOCS ON THE WEB Speaking of meds, I would ask you all to join me in getting McNeil pharma (Tylenol) and all the makers of ibuprofen to remove their products from the market. It is obvious to me after 10 years and approx 40,000 patients, that "that shit don't work". I have failed to work a single shift where a nice hard working, taxpaying, multipierced, multitattoed young person has informed me of that fact. Therefore it seems obvious that this skam of billions of dollars worldwide has got to stop. Please join me in this crusade.
Ibuprofen just doesn't touch it...
ReplyDeleteAKA Where is my Percocet?
The only things I like better is
"allergy to Ibuprofen"
Percocet? Wait I can't take or Darvocet. I'm allergic to everything except Dilaudid... and where is my tray?? I'm hungry..
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone looks at these very old threads, but I have to bring up my experiences with pain medication.
ReplyDeleteI just went through 4 months of hell with sciatica. I was given Prednisone, Percocet, Dilaudid, and steroid injections to no avail. I was feeling quite hopeless until I had surgery and was 100% cured.
After having researched Prednisone and opioids I found trials indicate they are not effective in relieving pain or improving function. They can't even keep patients in the trials for opioids due to side effects. Why are they still being prescribed?
you can find trials to indicate that sniffing glue will cure cancer. the bottom line is that back surgery is ALWAYS a last resort because aside from carefully selected candidates (young patients in good heatlh) the succes rate for most procedures is dismal at five years. and, in fact, for simple sciateica the problem USUALLY resolves with conservative treatemnt such as you had. AND, given the legal climate, surgeons are less and less likely to jump to surgery, especially for back pain, and especially with sciatica. I'm glad your surgery went well, my back surgery did too, but I have had to have a second surgery, and, I'm sure, there will be third and a fourth as I age. If it were THE answer then everyone would do it. it simply isn't the answer for most back pain patients.
ReplyDeleteConservative treatment? The treatment was non existent. It had NO effect. My experience with opioids and corticosteroids was consistent with the data. You are insinuating the trials were not valid, or I only found those which backed my experiences. There are NO trials to indicate opioids significantly improve function.
ReplyDeleteThe conservative treatment comes from the insurance companies unwillingness to pay until patients and doctors jump through hoops.
My parents have had multiple back surgeries. They are 85 and completely pain free and mobile.
I believe my future need for surgery is a hereditary factor rather than an indication of the low success rate of surgery.
I don't know why a surgeon would not be willing to jump into surgery since that is their business.
My neurosurgeon LITERALLY saved my life, so regardless of the future I am forever grateful to him.
Thanks for your reply.
i have never argued that opiods improve function. they are pain relievers, that is all. i would love to see these studies you mention. it would be a real paradigm shift for all of us.
ReplyDelete