Tag Archives: pain medication

Hi my name is Brian and the severe chronic pain has been a part of my life for seven years. I worked with a moving company. We were moving a family into a very large house they had built and was now compleated.

One of the movers and Iwere told to move the pool table into the garage. (This was the last piece of furniture on the truck). Were were near the garage and decided to catch our breath. As were setting the pool table down I heard a very loud pop, almost a thud, in my head. I wasn’t sure what had happened and looked to see what made the noise. I noticed no pain or discomfort at that time. I did not see what could have made the noise so I just forgot about it.

Now that were done with the move I got into the truck and noticed that my leg was numb. I thought for a minuet that it was because we worked so hard to get the move done. I did tell the driver and the guy I worked with but realy thought nothing of it. That was untill we were back at main office. I got out of the truck and my leg and foot were not there for me to stand on. I knew that I was introuble.

Since the accident I have had surgery and tried almost every pain medication known. I have tried physical theropy with little or no sucess. Nerve blocks, faucet blocks, steroid shots, ect. and hoemeo pathic, wich is natural ways for pain and other things, every type of electro shock TENS units, nerve stimulators, muscle stimulators, accupuncture, orthropedics and did get some relief from it but like everything else I developed an amunity to the efects.

I am now looking into how marijuana has had a positive affect on back pain. If there is anyone who could point me inthe right direction could you please contact me.

Personal Story

A new me – a new Linda

January 19, 2007 guest Leave a comment

After one year of pain medication …
COME AND TAKE A LOOK!
Home made

LPHS

Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome (LPHS)

January 15, 2007 Nadia 27 Comments

Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome (LPHS) is an extremely rare disease, where there is unexplained flank pain and Haematuria. Often misdiagnosed as a hypermobile kidney has the same symptoms. This is poorly understood condition for which specific diagnostic criteria are lacking.

Here are some facts about LPHS:

LPHS was first identified in England in 1967 among women who were taking birth control pills.

Approximately 90% of the reported cases of LPHS are female.

LPHS was first noted in men in the 1980’s.

LPHS was first noted in the USA in the 1980’s.

The first renal autotransplatation for LPHS was done in 1982.

Cases of LPHS have been reported from England, Canada, USA, India, Australia, Ireland, Scotland and Germany.

The age range for LPHS is from 6 to 50 years.

There are approximately 200 cases of LPHS in the world; no doubt, there are more undocumentated cases.

Pain attacks due to LPHS can occur several times per week, every few weeks, or every few months. These pain attacks can last from hours to weeks.

Here are some guidelines to help you decide if you think you need to investigate this problem with your doctor.

The condition is mainly characterized by intractable pain involving the kidney and abdominal areas.

Microscopic blood or blatantly obvious amounts of it can be seen in the urine. Clot retention can also occur.

It is extremely important that physicians recognize the need for adequate pain medication for this disorder.

Forcing fluids by mouth or I.V. are very helpful in decreasing the hematuria and in reducing the risk of clot retention.

Be prepared to see several doctors and yield to psychiatric exams before you get a correct diagnosis. This is common with any disease that is not common, such as diabetes. LPHS has only been diagnosed in a few hundred people around the entire world, so this is one disease that is not likely to pop into a physician’s head.

related articles

Department of Surgery, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia. agrs@liver.rpa.cs.nsw.gov.au

Some patients with the loin pain/hematuria syndrome suffer incapacitating flank pain. No effective therapy has been reported. Uncertainty persists concerning the authenticity of the pain and the role of surgery in treatment.

Forty-six patients with loin pain/hematuria syndrome and intractable pain were evaluated following treatment either by renal autotransplantation (30 patients, 10 bilaterally) or by renal denervation (20 patients, four bilaterally) over a 13-year period.

All patients had concomitant renal nerve excision and ligation and capsulotomy. There were 37 (80%) women and nine men aged 18 to 61 years (mean age, 33 years).

Excretion urography and angiography were normal in all patients. Nineteen of 25 (76%) patients in whom renal autotransplantation was successfully accomplished and who completed a follow-up questionnaire were free of pain, including eight of 10 with bilateral procedures.

The follow-up periods ranged from 1 to 13 years (mean, 8.4 years). Six patients have been free of pain for 10 to 13 years.

Of 18 patients treated with renal neurectomy who were available for follow-up examination, 12 (67%) developed recurrent renal pain, including four who had pain relief on the other side following previous renal autotransplantation.

The follow-up period for these patients ranged from 6 to 9.9 years (mean, 8.0 years). Three of four patients with recurrent renal pain following neurectomy were treated successfully by renal autotransplantation.

The loin pain/hematuria syndrome is a rare cause of incapacitation, predominantly of relatively young females. The pain of the syndrome is organic.

Renal autotransplantation achieves pain relief in three quarters of patients, but the procedure is often (30%) required bilaterally and has significant complications.

Renal neurectomy is followed by an excessive incidence of recurrent renal pain.

What is Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome?

by Marc F. Brazie, MD
Division of Nephrology
University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD

What is Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome (LPHS)?

LPHS is a rare kidney disorder causing attacks of severe flank pain and blood in the urine.

Who gets LPHS?

LPHS was first reported in three patients in 1967 who were found to have recurrent attacks of severe flank pain and blood in the urine (hematuria) in whom no other explanation could be found [2]. Since that time, it has been reported in several hundred people worldwide, although it is likely that there are many more unreported cases. It is more common in women (70% of all cases) [3-5], and has been seen mostly in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Canada, suggesting a white predominance. While it can start at almost any age, most patients will first develop symptoms in their 20’s [6].

How do I know if I have LPHS?

The predominant features of LPHS are recurrent flank pain and blood in the urine. The pain can occur on only one side or both, and may radiate to the abdomen, groin, or inner thigh. Pain episodes may be associated with low-grade fevers and a burning discomfort with urination. The blood in the urine may be overt (called “macroscopic hematuria”), or only detectible on a urine dipstick test or by examining the urine through a microscope (called “microscopic hematuria”). Up to 47% of patients with LPHS also have a history of kidney stones [7], but stones must be absent during pain episodes for LPHS to be diagnosed.

What causes LPHS?

As LPHS is a rare disorder, not much is known about the underlying causes. It is thought that there may be a problem with the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), which is the blood “filter” in the kidney, causing bleeding into the kidney tubules. These tubules can then become blocked by the blood cells, causing swelling and increased pressure in the kidney. This in turn leads to stretching of the outer layer of the kidney, called the “capsule,” and pain. Indeed, studies examining biopsies of patients thought to have LPHS have shown that in over 50% of patients, the GBM is abnormally thick or thin [7].

What should I do if I think I might have LPHS?

There are many disorders that can cause flank pain and blood in the urine, and as there is no specific test to confirm LPHS, it is considered a diagnosis of exclusion. It is very important to have a thorough evaluation by a kidney doctor (nephrologist) to be sure there is no other cause for the symptoms. This evaluation may involve laboratory tests, radiology studies, or even a kidney biopsy.

What can be done for LPHS?

Again, as LPHS is a rare disorder, it is not clear what the optimal treatment is. What is known is that patients with LPHS tend to have normal kidney function, which does not deteriorate over time. Thus, treatment is aimed at pain control and improvement in quality of life. Multiple therapies have been tried, all with mixed results. These include:
• Medications such at angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (a family of blood pressure medicines which reduce the pressure in the kidney and have been shown to be of benefit to some patients [8]), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or ketorolac), and narcotic pain medications.
• Nerve block procedures to decrease the pain signal from the effected kidney, and
• Surgery to strip the nerves from the kidney, “autotransplant” the kidney (in which it is removed from its normal position and reinserted in the lower abdomen – this has been shown to relieve pain in up to 70% of patient in some reports [3,4]), or in extreme cases, remove the kidney altogether.

It is best to discuss all the treatment options with your doctor, and ideally as part of a “multidisciplinary” approach involving primary care doctors, nephrologists, psychiatrists, and chronic pain specialists.

References
1. Dube GK, Hamilton SE, Ratner LE, Nasr SH, Radhakrishnan J. Loin pain hematuria syndrome. Kidney Int. 2006; 70: 2152-2155.
2. Little PJ, Sloper JS, deWardener HE. A syndrome of loin pain and haematuria associated with disease of peripheral renal arteries. Q J Med. 1967; 36: 253-259.
3. Sheil AG, Chui AK, Verran DJ et al. Evaluation of the loin pain/hematuria syndrome treated by renal autotransplantation or radical renal neurectomy. Am J Kidney Dis. 1998; 32: 215-220.
4. Chin JL, Kloth D, Paulter SE, Mulligan M. Renal autotransplantation for the loin pain-hematuria syndrome: long-term followup of 26 cases. J Urol. 1998; 160: 1232-1235.
5. Greenwell TJ, Peters JL, Neild GH, Shah PJ. The outcome of renal denervation for managing loin pain haematuria syndrome. BJU Int. 2004; 93: 818-821.
6. Weisberg LS, Bloom PB, Simmons RL, Viner ED. Loin pain hematuria syndrome. Am J Nephrol. 1993; 13: 229-237.
7. Spetie DN, Nadasdy T, Nadasdy G, et al. Proposed pathogenesis of idiopathic loin pain-hematuria syndrome. Am J Kidney Dis. 2006; 47: 419-427.
8. Hebert LA, Betts JA, Sedmak DD, et al. Loin pain-hematuria syndrome associated with thin glomerular basement membrane disease and hemorrhage into renal tubules. Kidney Int. 1996; 49: 168-173.

Treatments

Non-Surgical Ligament Reconstruction

March 6, 2006 guest Leave a comment

Is it impossible to have a healthcare system that is driven by profits to also be focused on inexpensive and permanent solutions?

When reports on ESPN this week revealed that some US Olympic Ski Team members left the country and went where they could use what is considered ìalternativeî treatments for relief of their injuries and pains, it once again elevated the question of why Medical insurance and workmans comp in the U.S. wonít cover procedures like that.

In many cases, these treatments prove markedly more effective than traditional therapies. The treatment called prolotherapy, used to strengthen weakened ligaments, is widely accepted and used in other countries with national health care systems, including Canada.
Prolotherapy has been considered ìinvestigationalî for 70 years by the Medicare board; insurance companies will cover it when Medicare decides to cover it.

The practice of prolotherapy is used by both medical doctors (MDís) and osteopathic physicians (DOís), such as Dr. Jo Ann Douglas of Colorado Osteopathic & Sports Medicine, to treat several different types of chronic pain. It may be the latest alternative therapy to hit the sports medicine scene.

Doctors are using the treatment successfully for tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis, patellar tendonitis, back problems, and other common sports injuries. Prolotherapy is also effective in cases of arthritis, fibromyalgia, whiplash, and chronic pain in the neck, back, shoulder, ankle, and sciatica. It relieves disk problems unresponsive to more conservative treatment.

According to Dr. Douglas, there are approximately 600 licensed physicians in the U.S. that perform this procedure. ìProlotherapy treats the cause of the problem; that is, instability. We inject a solution into the ligament or tendon where it attaches to the bone, which stimulates the bodyís own healing response by creating blood flow to the area, recruiting immune system cells that clean the area, and construction cells (fibroblasts) that rebuild the tissues.

ìThis is the exact opposite of the current standard of care, which treats pain and inflammation with anti-inflammatories. Prolotherapy promotes the bodyís inflammatory process so that the body can heal itself. In most cases, commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory medications and drastic measures like surgery or joint replacement may not help, and often hinder or even prevent the healing process.î

According to Dr. Douglas, ìmany patients do not understand why insurance companies will not reimburse for this technique. In many cases it may save the patient from chronic pain management or surgery, which would save money for insurance companies and Medicare as well as treat the cause of the problem for the patient.î

The federal government hears issues from large special interest groups loud and clear. The drug companies, surgeons and chiropractors are heard; whereby the 600 doctors who perform prolotherapy are a very small voice in the healthcare system. In fact, they were not heard at all until Olympic Athletes went to Mexico to get prolotherapy.
Vioxx was covered by insurance, even though it had risks. Surgeons continually change their methods and the new surgery techniques are covered by Medicare and insurances. Secondly, surgeons use cortisone for temporary relief even though cortisone has been proven to cause ligament and tendon deterioration, which may only lead to surgery.
X-rays and MRIís do not always reveal injuries. The number of qualified doctors specifically trained to administer prolotherapy is growing. There are training programs at medical schools now that teach this technique, including how to properly diagnose these injuries.

Although medical doctors who do prolotherapy will continue to be few until more evidence accumulates, osteopaths like Dr. Douglas have a long track record with the procedure.

Each injection treatment varies in cost, ranging from less than $100 for smaller joints to several hundred dollars for larger or more complex joints such as those in the neck and back. Most people need 4-6 treatments ó usually administered in a series of injections three weeks apart ó to stabilize the joint

WHY ISN’T PROLOTHERAPY COVERED BY MEDICAL INSURERS?
Modern allopathic medical research demands that therapies be proven by double-blind methods. This means that neither the patient nor the physician know which therapy is used. For medications, the pills can easily be made to look alike, and a sugar pill used as a placebo is presumed to have no therapeutic value.

For procedures like prolotherapy and most surgeries, there is no adequate placebo. Cortisone cannot be used as a placebo because cortisone can only be injected 3 times a year; typically, prolotherapy requires 4-6 treatments.

The Medicare board wants more data to show the effectiveness of prolotherapy. Drug companies pay for research when it is profitable. They are unlikely to pay for research on prolotherapy because this would not be a profitable venture. In fact, drug companies and surgeons would profit less if prolotherapy would be more widely used, since fewer people would need pain medication and they could avoid expensive surgeries or complications from surgeries.

Dr. Douglas can be contacted through her Website (www.mycodo.com) which further explains this procedure.

Jo Ann Douglas, M.S,D.O.
Board Certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine
Colorado Osteopathic & Sports Medicine

Personal Story

Angie’s Pain

August 14, 2004 Abbie 2 Comments

It all started as a normal TMJ problem. My jaws would pop & click w/ wide opening, yawning, etc.
Over about 2 years it progressed very quickly into “internal derangement w/out reduction”. I’ve done physical therapy, bite splints ( soft & hard ), biofeedback, imagery, soft diet, liquid diet, Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, about 10 different RX NSAID’s. After all the O-T-C Nsaid’s & Rx Nsaid’s, I now have an ulcer. Then I moved onto trigger point injections weekly, occipital nerve blocks weekly. Percocet 10’s, 3/day.
OxyContin 20mgs, 2/day, Duragesic Patches, 75mcg’s, one patch/ 72 hrs., MS Contin 30mgs, 2/day.
And now currently I take Methadone 15mgs, 2/day, w/ 60 Lortab 10/500mgs for breakthrough pain.

Uncategorized

Classification of Pain

December 28, 2003 Leave a comment

Pain is defined as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.” (International Association for the Study of Pain)

Pain can be separated into two broad categories: acute pain and chronic pain. This distinction is not perfect- cancer pain, for example, may have components of both. Nevertheless, it remains a useful way to classify pain.

Assessment of Pain

One of the main problems in assessing patients with chronic pain is that the physical examination and laboratory tests often do not provide the information necessary to gauge severity and assess outcomes. Various survey instruments and visual analogue scales that allow precise measurements of pain are available but used only rarely. Pain is generally assessed indirectly, which why it is so important to listen to–and believe–patients when they say that they are in pain.

Some physicians apparently have difficulty with that. Many of my patients with chronic pain have been refused treatment by previous caregivers who apparently believed that their pain was not real. Even after undergoing painful procedures and surgeries that failed to bring relief, some of these patients were labeled as drug-seekers when they continued to ask for help. They had to contend not only with the pain but also with feelings of frustration, isolation, and abandonment by those on whom they had most relied.

In some cases, physicians may be well informed about pain mechanisms but lack an organized approach to the individual assessment of pain. A comprehensive evaluation of patients with chronic pain syndromes can be time-consuming and often requires more data than can be obtained in a few brief clinic visits. I have found the following operational format to be particularly useful, both in gauging the severity of pain and in determining the degree of disability:

1) The patient’s perception. Asking the patient to keep a pain diary that includes numerical scales can help to objectify the pain. If it is understood that the physician will review the diary carefully, the patient will not have to act out a month’s worth of pain at every appointment. The diary can also be an important aid in identifying exacerbating or ameliorating factors and developing more effective strategies to cope with the pain such as behavioral changes or the preemptive use of analgesics in certain situations.

2) The patient’s emotional state and somatic preoccupation. This relates to the degree to which the patient remains focused on bodily symptoms to the exclusion of other issues and often can be best assessed by interviewing a close family member.

3) Functional status at home. The first things that many patients in pain stop doing are usually non-work-related activities such as going out with family and friends, attending church, or engaging in hobbies. Some patients continue to report pain or discomfort even though their condition has improved. By keeping track of daily activities, both patient and physician have some measure of how disabling the pain actually is.

4) Functional status at work. The number of work days missed and the specific work activities curtailed because of pain are also useful indices of pain severity. Since these variables can be expected to change with analgesic treatment, they provide a way to gauge the patient’s response to different therapies.

5) Use of analgesic medications. If the patient is given an adequate supply of effective short-acting rescue medications and told to take them as needed, the number consumed can be a measure of pain. It can also be a way to assess whether the patient is benefiting from other medications or nonpharmacologic treatments. The physician should make it plain that the other treatments are not designed to get the patient to stop using the pain medication but to stop needing it.

LIFE in Pain