Worried about him

[jenlovesjay]

My husband was in a motorcycle accident at the age of 23. For the last 5 years he has been on constant medication. With a lower arm brachial plexus injury, the doctors say there is no hope for reconstruction. With the climate change in Minnesota, I am unsure of how much more he can take. Three years ago the doctors took him into surgery, but came out with not so good news, saying, "It looks like a plate of spagetti in there!" I am hoping that someone can provide some support. What has worked for you? Will he always need to continue the use of duragesic?

Worried about him,

Jennifer

[admin]

Hi Jen
My son is also on medication everyday. He has now cut it down to the aniconvulsant only. The pian is still bad but he has occasional breaks. Apparently the waering of the splint from a company called Wilmer in England can bring some relief.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and Jay. This is a terrible injury and it seems there is little medical help.
Moira

[admin]

Hi, sorry to hear about your husband's injury. I was injured on a bike a couple of years ago. REgarding pain meds my stomach couldn't take them anymore so i stopped them (codeine mostly) - and i honestly found nothing works as good on the pain as distraction, the more attention your mind focuses on a task the less you are reminded about the pain. I also get relief from the spine damage from a chiropracter tho i was very careful to explain i dont want treatment to be too aggressive in case it makes things worse.
I hope you find the aanswer, good luck.

[MarcsOnFire]

Sorry to hear about the accident. I also had a motorcycle accident last November at the age of 21. I agree with Dave when he says about the distraction method. I find doing something that I enjoy works wonders for the pain. Whether it be watching a film or going out for a few drinks with my mates. I used to take Co-Proximol regularly but stopped after a while because I didn't want to become dependant on pain killers for the rest of my life. The pain does get bad somedays but concentrating on something else really does help.

[admin]

Hi Heather,

Do you mind if I ask if he feels Neurontin helps in any way? My 21 year old son insists it has no benefits that warrant staying on it. He has been on up to 3600 mg per day for over a year now and wants to wean off.

[jenlovesjay]

Thanks to all that have since replied to my posting. My husband originally started on Neotrin and then changed to morphine tablets. He to did not want to become dependent on the medication. But it seems that the pain to to severe for him to go without them. So he is now on a morphine patch. For those that have been thru the same, do you live in a warm climate? Is that maybe something we should look into doing? Thanks for your feedback again everyone.

--worried about him.

[admin]

Hi!

My name is Renee and my son Ryan has a TBPI as of last February. We are in Minnesota also. Where are you in MN? Ryan's injury was severe, he has lost movement from shoulder on down. It is his right side. If you are close I would love to get together. I hear distraction is good therapy and also helping others. Ryan could really benefit from an adults perspective. E-mail me and let me know how close you are. We live in Shakopee. Also, what Doc did you see? Ryan went to Mayo in Rochester. We're pretty limited here in Mn. If you have any ? just holler!
Renee

[hoolie]

Hi there,
Its a terrible thing this pain.i have tried everything, every drug u can think of but to be honest drugs only last for a short time and u need to take more and more.the fentinal patch is not too bad as drugs go once he has no bad side effects.
I had 2 spinal cord stimulators inserted have u heard of this...dident work for me but they seem to work in about 50% of cases.I then had a drez lesion and it worked very well ...its a harsh procedure and there are risks involved but if the pain is unbearable it is worth considering.Neurontin,epilum,clonadine,tegratol,amatryptalin, all work for some people...palfium was the only drug that ever worked for me but long term use is not advised.
Sorry to heare of your situation.
Distraction is the only method that will work.try reading or playing games.talking to other people always seemed to help dont lock yourselfs away.
God bless.
jerry

[Joy in FL]

Hello Jen,

I had my accident 10 years ago while living in PA. The first winter was unreal with the cold. Nobody warned me about how much it would hurt. Of course it also took them over 18 months to even know what was wrong with me.

I now live in Florida. The first couple of winters were wonderful. The "cold" pain was very minimal. However, as I adjusted to the climate I ran into many of the same problems I had in the north. Cold to me now is anything below 70! When 70 degrees use to be a heat wave! LOL The nice thing about living in a warmer climate is the fact that the cold is not going to last as long as it does in a colder climate. For the most part our winter is only a couple months. So that is an advantage.

The pain medication can be a tricky deal. I started out taking them the way my doctor prescribed... ever 4 to 6 hours. However, one night I had a very bad experence. It took a couple of days to get the drugs out of my system enough for me to feel comfortable taking them again. After that night I started taking them when nothing else worked. I would start with heat, then go to rest... your arm is actually very heavy, sometimes just sitting down and resting it on a pillow will take the pressure off and give you relief. My doctors had me on a routine of stopping ever hour and sitting or laying down and resting my arm. Then as I progressed the time was extended. If I was not in a postion to "rest" I had to make sure my arm was supported. I had trouble with a sling because it put too much pressure on my neck. So I used a shoulder immobilizer, which basically strapped my arm around my waist. That was not too bad for short periods of time. They also gave me an abdominal pillow. It was a large foam pillow with straps that went around my waist and another that slide onto my right shoulder ( I am left BPI) and went across my back and chest and attached to the pillow. This worked the best for taking pressure off my shoulder, neck and arm. However it was very cumbersome. Even the smaller one can be a hassle, but it works!!! For the most part now when I go shopping I use a fanny pack to rest my arm on.

My last resort is to take Lorecet 10/650. It works for me. It makes me feel human again. But, with that "human" feeling I have to be careful I don't over do it. This injury is so darn tricky sometimes!!!

I would be more than willing to take a picture of the "equipment" I have and email them to you. That way you could see what I am talking about. Let me know.

Joy