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DH perscribed Fentanyl patches for back pain and knee pain

17 replies

sleepy2grumpy · 03/04/2016 23:31

I'm not sure what I'm asking for with this thread but I feel I'm at my wits end and I don't know where to turn.

DH is 55 and has has terrible issues with back pain and he had done for the last 7 years. To cut a very long story short he injured his back at work, slipped 3 discs in his lower back and over time they have totally disintegrated, its now bone on bone and causes him horrendous pain. He has been told that surgery is not an option by several consultants as the area is too large and it's too much of a risk.

Then a few years later he has slipped the discs at the top of his back which rendered his right arm and hand useless. He experiences pain in his right shoulder, forearm and has pins and needles in his right hand most of the time. Slowly this pain has got better but not completely.

He finds it impossible to walk without being in pain, he looses the feeling and gets numbness in his legs and feet and he describes it as having flappy feet. Sometimes he cannot feel if he needs the toilet and gets scared that he's wetting himself, luckily he hasn't. He has to sit down wherever we are for a few minutes until he gets the feeling back. Then he walks another 50 feet and it happens again.

Walking anywhere takes us a long time. He has a very odd lumbering walk when he does walk. Now, and I think because he walks oddly his left knee is packing up and is due to see his consultant in a couple of weeks time.
Since he became virtually immobile, from being a very fit man he has become Type 1 diabetic and suffers with SVT's.

His GP has prescribed him a long list of medication, for his heart, diabeties, statin and the painkillers are as follows: ibuprofen 1200mg daily, paracetamol, codeine. (In the past he has had tramadol, naproxen, gabapentin, amiltriptyline) He has also been on the Butrans Morphine patches for a while and since his knee pain he had been on the maximum dose of 50 mcgs occasionally 55 against his doctors advice but he couldn't cope with the pain.

The GP sent him to a pain management clinic but they didn't help and just before last Christmas the doctor there signed him off and said that they couldn't help him any more after he had had the accupunture that was offered to him which didn't work and he's had aprrox 6 epidurals for pain relief which only worked for 3 weeks max at a time. This was very upsetting for him.

He has recently had an emergency appointment with his GP because the pain has been so severe and his GP has changed the Butrans patches to Fentanyl patches. Within a week he has gone from the 12mcg's to 25mcg's and he feels they are not working.

He's so down and depressed, and our 4 yr old DS is very understanding with him but you can see in his face he wants to be up and about doing stuff with us that he just can't physically do.

Everything I do and say or suggest is wrong and I get shouted at so I've learnt to keep my mouth shut and I'm finding it all too much to cope with. I (let alone DH) cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Every day the pain is getting worse and worse.

I don't know what to do, what to say to him or who to turn to. He's taking all these prescribed drugs that are only taking the edge off all his pain.
How long will this continue, will he ever be pain free? What more can I do to help him?

I've suggested a wheelchair or mobility scooter and he might be coming around to that idea slowly. I have managed to get him walking with one crutch using his good arm which has been some help.

Has anyone got any ideas, are there any charities that might be able to help? Are there any other options?

Sorry for the long story that was supposed to be short.

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MatildaTheCat · 04/04/2016 09:26

Firstly massive commiserations to both of you. I have an isolated back injury which causes a lot of pain and sciatica and that's bad enough. I've also got a knee issue. For me the knee was a problem from further back and although I've been told it needs replacing I've actually had enough pain relief from injections to avoid that so far. Knee braces etc can be useful as well.

Your dh sounds as if he has been referred to all the usual people and yes, they do sign you off when you've tried everything they have on offer. Did he do a pain management course? I had some benefit from that and was introduced to Mindfulness which I quite like and also Alexander Technique which is useful. Best of all I've been able to have regular psychologist appointments which have really helped me at times. Who else can you tell that you've been thinking about death a lot?

Re the fentanyl patches, I'm not surprised they haven't helped yest since he hasn't switched to an equivalent dose of the Butrans, in fact he's on a lower dose if I remember correctly. There's a table Here.

We have a long running thread for back pain support, either of you are most welcome to join in. He's tried many things but support can be comforting. And yes, I agree about using a scooter of whatever it takes to get out there and carry on living. It's not what we wanted but better than the alternative.