Back Pain

I took gabapentin for nerve pain for a few years, and it was like a miracle cure until I started sleepwalking. There's nothing in the medical literature about it causing sleepwalking, but the fact is the sleepwalking stopped as soon as I weaned off it.

Everyone is different but I know the healing for me doesn't start until I can push myself to start walking again. That usually comes after a bunch of time flat on my back. 
 

I fucked up my knee and had to miss Davis Byrne about a week ago. Still taking it easy and staying off of it as much as possible and icing it down a lot. Feeling better today after two weeks of pain. 

best wishes Tim

I used heat forever and things would get worse. I had a seven hour spasm once. I was told ice is the way to go and now I use ice packs religiously on my HD and it's great. 20 min on, 20 min off (although i do 30-40 min on)  No direct contact, use a thin shirt.  Works like a charm.   Also Tens unit - which I don't have but great when someone uses it on me.  

Agree with Fabes....walking is key too.  A little at a time.   I can't play tennis or ball but I can hike just fine or do 30 min of yard work....straight to icing.   

Good luck...that is a struggle I wish on very few people. 

Tim, wishing you some relief. Any relief.

The pills I took to relieve nerve pain a couple of years ago sort of worked, but also changed my brain function so I lost most of it for a few months. Hard to recommend that.

Not suggesting licking a toad, just a good picture.

Feel better soon, Tim. Hopefully, it doesn't come down to surgery, but if it does, I hope it gives you a new, pain-free lease on your life. 

I have prescribed diclofenac for my spine patients with good results 

Hope you're feeling better soon Tim!

I took gabapentin for nerve pain for a few years, and it was like a miracle cure until I started sleepwalking. There's nothing in the medical literature about it causing sleepwalking, but the fact is the sleepwalking stopped as soon as I weaned off it.<<<

Good to hear you're off the gabapentin, Mike!   Are we to assume your back is feeling better?

I found it much harder to come off of vs. opiates.   It really f'd with my seretonin levels or something.

sorry to hear man. pain fucking sucks.

i have 2 bulging disks in my neck, wife has 3 in her back. she had an epidural which only lasted about a month. i am about ready to get one....

laying on your back and putting your legs on the coffee table, knees at a right angle...helps sciatic...

try arch supports/shoe inserts?

> Are we to assume your back is feeling better?

Thanks, FOM. It was a bulging disc in my neck actually, and that caused really intense nerve pain that radiated down my left arm. I've been off gabapentin almost two years now, and somehow, the pain hasn't returned.

> It really f'd with my seretonin levels or something.

That could be the cause of my sleepwalking, which usually ended with me crashing onto the floor, but again, there's no connection between gabapentin and sleepwalking in the medical literature.

Sorry to hear that, Tim. I had surgery ten years ago. I'm one of the lucky ones that the surgeon worked out well. I hope you find relief. 

Really sorry to hear this hope you find some relief. I too am a lucky one when it comes to surgery, but mine was really easy and didn't require any hardware so I don't think it's in the same league of what you are looking at. I tried every modality before I got my surgery from Acupuncture  to Tai Chi and the only thing that made a big difference for me was Pilates, but that isn't something you can do when you are in the thick of it. 

I know people who were just fine on long term opiate therapy before the crazy anti-patient prohibition. It got to the point where he had to do a weekly pee test to prove he was taking them and then they cut him off after years and years of managing his pain on them, and he isn't a candidate for surgery because of experimental surgery they did on him in his 20's. It is really fucked. If it ever gets that bad for me I wouldn't let a doctor get in the way. I mean the country is awash in opiates. 

> Are we to assume your back is feeling better?

Thanks, FOM. It was a bulging disc in my neck actually, and that caused really intense nerve pain that radiated down my left arm. I've been off gabapentin almost two years now, and somehow, the pain hasn't returned.

That's great news!

I'm curious if you may have found that the gabapentin was causing a "rebound" pain of sorts?   I've experienced this with advil and headaches, where I kind of had to stay on it or get headaches; however, once I broke through the cycle after biting the bullet, the headaches disappeared.

My brother is currently taking 900mg per day of gabapentin after having two surgeries on his neck because of radiating pain, but wondering if he might be caught in a feedback loop?

Aw Tim man, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope things turn around for ya soon.

Thoughts and prayers Jers

 If you aren't a swimmer, I suggest taking water aerobics class. Water movement is healing and more tolerable than walking. 
 

^^^ Another vote for pool exercise classes.. there are lots of different class types and most feature music!

Feel better soon and hope you can relax during the holidays!

Oh Tim, is that for real? I'm hurting for you from Oregon.

Shit , Tim, that sucks. Heal fast!

From the best intentions....

Hope you recover as quickly as possible. 

Love the progress.   Keep sharing as i'm taking notes.   

Hell yes! to progress.  Keep up the good work. 

hit by a school bus backstage in '94...31 years later and i am still managing to avoid the opiates pathway and using THC/CBD...there are good days and there are the days between that suck...stretching/ice/heat/HIGH dose edibles...losing some weight helped to manage/reduce the almost daily pain to a ' manageable ' maybe 50% of the week now...the real drag is that at any moment i can just turn too quick or bend too fast/far and boom, fuck me...

Tim so sorry to hear that. You might consider wearing a suit like this when you leave the house. (And it can help if ya fall overboard on a fishing trip.)

My BACK Is Killing Me right now = horrible pain.

Spent 14 hours on AstroTurf Monday , back breaking...a 90 min massage yesterday helped but i have to go back today for about 8 hours...i guess the extra strength Tiger Balm will have to get me home on Thursday...