Re: Pain Meds for SS

[Guest guest]

hi everyone I need to know if anyone can tell me some meds I could take for Spinal Stenosis. here is my prob. I had a heart attack mid May and now I am on several meds for that. I can not take any NSAIDS now as I did before. I was taking relafen. it worked pretty good for me. now I have to take tylenol and it really does not work good b'caz its not an anti-inflammatory. I have to work.... and need some suggestions to ask my dr about. the NSAIDS interfer with my new High blood pressure medicine, causing dizziness etc. also there is talk that NSAIDS may help to cause heart attacks. any help will be appreciated thanks shanna __________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Shanna, I'm so sorry to hear you had a heart attack. I hope in regards to that you are on the mend. I can't help you directly with some pain med suggestions directly but do have some suggestions. First off, your doctors are going to have to work together to figure out what pain meds you can and can't take, but they should work very closely together with a pharmacist as well. From my own experience, many times doctors are not aware of many side affects and drug interactions that pharmacists are. Even when the doctors are prescribing meds through one of those computer check programs, it misses many things. I learned that a year ago and if it weren't for the pharmacist at the local drug store that I use, I would probably be dead. Long story short, I'm anaphalactically allergic to sulfa drugs. Last summer I started retaining fluid in my ankles and feet during a very hot an humid

few weeks. I saw my PCP and he was seeing lots of people with the problem and believed it was due to the severe humidity, but wanted me to take a mild diuretic. Agreed reluctantly, and he wrote the prescription through one of those new fangled computer things that checks for all interactions, allergic stuff etc. It had all my drug allergies programmed in it and there was no problem. No problem till I took it to Walgreens Pharmacy that I use all the time, and they wouldn't fill it because it had sulfa in it. As far as the pharmacist knew all diuretics have sulfa in them and enough in it to potentially kill me. She called the doc and of course no filling it. The pharmacist spent a few days researching diuretics, on her own time, and finally found one without the sulfa in it. She let my PCP know about it and it's in my records in the event I need to use one. By the time she found the drug, the swelling in my ankles was

gone. Another example of the pharmacists importance when many medical and medicines are involved is the same pharmacist actually saved my husbands life. He was on medication for a seizure disorder and developed severe hypnatremia, a severly high sodium level in his body that was slowly killing him. No one could figure out what was causing it and none of his meds where the cause as far as anyone could find out. Just before he was going to be hospitalized, the same pharmacist called and told me to get my husband to the nearest hospital ER, she had just called his PCP and neurologist. His anitconvulsant was the cause and the drug company had just notified the phamacies to add a new caution to the medicine bottle. She checked witht the Mass school of Pharmacy and they had just been told that all patients taking the drug need to be weaned off it ASAP, there had been 50 deaths caused by the drug. He spent 3 weeks in the hospital as

they weaned him off the drug, on to a new one and treated him for the severe high sodium levels in his body. Docs where notified of the problem about 6 weeks after the pharmacies. Shanna, I guess what I'm saying is, that when you have multiple medical problems, all your docs have to work together to find the meds that you can safely take, and the pharmacist needs to be involved as well. I'm sure there is something out there you can take for the pain, and it may very well be the pharmacist who finds what it is. Maybe it is time to consider surgery for the pain. I'm getting one more opinion later today and then deciding which doc is going to do the spinal surgery on me. I've only been suffering since Feb. but can't take it any more or the limited ability to function anymore or the pain. I've tried 3 spinal injections and they didn't help. There is so little now that I can do and I refuse to live like

this. Weren't you taking some kind of herbal stuff you bought on line and posted that it was really helping you? If I remember correctly, it had some ingredients in it that you can't take now after having a heart attack. I hope that didn't contribute to the cause of the heart attack. I hope you can find something to help with the pain. I sure know how horrible the pain is to suffer with and it's no way to have to live. Keep in touch and let me know how you are doing. Fran kaviescontinued <kaviescontinued@...> wrote: hi everyone I need to know if anyone can tell me some meds I could take for Spinal Stenosis. here is my prob. I had a heart attack mid May and now I am on several meds for that. I can not take any NSAIDS now as I did before. I was taking relafen. it worked pretty good for me. now I have to take tylenol and it really does not work good b'caz its not an anti-inflammatory. I have to work.... and need some suggestions to ask my dr about. the NSAIDS interfer with my new High blood pressure medicine, causing dizziness etc. also there is talk that NSAIDS may help to cause heart attacks. any help will be appreciated thanks shanna __________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Shanna,

Five years ago I had two heart attacks back to back, one on a Friday

evening and the second on Sunday morning. I had been taking Vioxx

for 14 months for a cervical problem and was also taking high doses

of over-the-counter NSAIDS prior to the Vioxx. The combination

caused bleeding ulcers and probably also the heart attacks.

I now have congestive heart failure and am on a huge cocktail of

drugs for the heart and high blood pressure. Additionally, I also

have diabetes.

When I was diagnosed with SS two years ago I was put on Neurontin

which does not interfere with any of my other drugs. I always call

it a " nothing " drug because it does not control my SS pain entirely,

however, I've forgotten to take it a couple of times and the pain is

so severe without the drug that I then have to admit the Neurontin is

better than nothing.

There is a new " sister " drug to Neurontin named Lyrica, but I haven't

had much success learning whether it's any better. My daughter is a

pharmacy tech and tells me some of her patients say it's much better

than Neurontin. I'm going to ask my doctor to prescribe it for me

and give it a try. Since all the bad press about Vioxx I'm now much

more cautious about new drugs.

I'm so sorry to hear you've had an MI as it becomes a very scary time

and you have to begin to learn how to live with heart disease which

isn't easy.

Blessings to you,

Pat

>

> hi everyone

>

> I need to know if anyone can tell me some meds I could take for

Spinal Stenosis. here is my prob. I had a heart attack mid May and

now I am on several meds for that. I can not take any NSAIDS now as I

did before. I was taking relafen. it worked pretty good for me. now I

have to take tylenol and it really does not work good b'caz its not

an anti-inflammatory. I have to work.... and need some suggestions to

ask my dr about. the NSAIDS interfer with my new High blood pressure

medicine, causing dizziness etc. also there is talk that NSAIDS may

help to cause heart attacks. any help will be appreciated

>

> thanks

> shanna

>

> __________________________________________________

>