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[horsecow]

Almost a yr now since my astra coupe got written off and I entered the super cool world of omega ownership . I managed to get out of the accident seemingly without a scratch although I had no power in my left arm, which turned out out to be a trapped nerve and was sorted in a few weeks. Since that however I've had a never-ending headache, multiple migraines plus back and neck pain. Been to my GP more times than I can count, have had MRI's done, CT scans done etc but everything keeps coming back clear so they cant diagnose it as anything and thus cant really treat it. All they have done to date is give me medication for the pain which I take as needed. That was working okay until this week. Migraine started on Sunday, took 2 migraine tabs sunday, monday 2 migraine tabs and 2 30/500 co-codamol, tuesday 2 migraine tabs, 2 co-cocodamol, 4 50mg tramadol none of which had any effect on the pain so ended up going to out of hours to get a morphine shot which still didnt kill the pain but simply put me to sleep. Wednesday morning pain was still unbearable after another 3 tramadol so ended up back in A+E where they put me on a morphine drip for 2 hrs and sent me home with advice to take 8 co-codamol per day, 8 migraine suppressors and 6 muscle relaxants plus to see my GP asap. Saw GP today and he has decided to put me on morphine patches instead and advised me to forget about going back to work in the near future. I'm glad in one way that I dont have to take all those bloody tablets, as I hate taking tablets, but I'm a bit apprehensive about going onto morphine full time although if it relieves the pain then that can only be good, but I'm also pissed off about the no working. There's no fun in not working and absolutely no money in it. Surely when the problem is going on this long there should be some better way of treating it or diagnosing it than pushing pills at it to see what works.

[ozzycat]

the patches are no problem if they are the same as inusin wich are fentynal or matrafin the problem is the withdrawal symptoms wich are not very nice depending on wich size you have  but the good out ways the bad in my opinion  and its better than taking loads of tablets everyday mind you i still take 31 tabs 3 times aday and 49 at bed time i rattle quite well

[Andy H]

SWMBO is going through much the same  4 years ago her Nissan Micra was shunted and written off when she stopped at a roundabout. Initially she thought she had got away relatively unscathed but then the headaches started 

I have lost track of the number of times she has ended up in hospital needing intravenous morphine. The daily medication seems to be Cocodamol with diazepam, oramorph, MST (and cyclazine to reduce the sickness caused by the morphine) .

MST (morphine sulphate tablet) is a slow release form of morphine. She hasn't been offered patches but I imagine the patches will work in a similar way.

Good luck

[horsecow]

Thats a hell of a lot of tabs ozzy!! You wouldn't be much good at hide and seek  . The doc gave me the choice today and I said ''the tablets don't seem to be doing much good so I'll give the patches a try''. The not being able to work is bothering me too though, I've been off for almost a yr now apart from a small bit here and there and its driving me mad.  I'm not cut out for housework, I was built for fitting roofs and doors etc plus I'm only 31 I wasn't expecting to be on the retired shelf yet!!

The patches last for a week Andy and they release a small dose every hr. This may seem horrible but I'm glad to hear that someone else out there has experience of it. Not looking fwd to 4+ yrs of it though  I'm told its to do with the muscles in my neck/upper back being constantly tensed thus putting pressure on the nerves to the head or thats the latest theory, but no-one has any idea on how to release them and I've tried all sorts of therapies at this stage

[ozzycat]

if i get a transplant ill be able to cut them down by half that will be nice

[horsecow]

well fingers crossed for you fella, hope you get one soon  HAve you tried on here to see if anyone has a spare lying around 

[ozzycat]

well fingers crossed for you fella, hope you get one soon  HAve you tried on here to see if anyone has a spare lying around 

uea but the miserable buggers seem to want to hang on to theres

[Webby the Bear]

Ozzy/Horse...

reading this has really shocked me and my sympathy to the both of you. before i read this i kind of assumed you get out of a car accident in one piece you're all good but obviously not.

i wrote off my astra in 2003. 45mph straight in to a tree. luckily i didn't have any injuries or any problems at all. apart from ''the worst'' which doesn't bear thinking about i got out of it with one small cut. but sounds like much worse is a very real possibility and most shocking is stuff i never even considered like cronic migraines 

[horsecow]

Webby my accident was only around the 45-55mph mark as well and to the best of my knowledge I didn't even hit my head, I certainly don't remember hitting it, but because I could see what was taking place I automatically braced myself, locked my arms against the wheel and forced myself back into the seat, This is actually the worst thing i could have done because the muscles across my back locked in place on impact and have never released. If I'd managed to relax before the impact ( probably impossible to do in this scenario) I'd be fine today. In this case the body's natural defense mechanism had done me more harm than good

[doz]

I know that living with pain is totally shit. I munch my way through 6-8 30/550 co-codamol a day and have a bottle of oral-morph for when it gets bad. I was on something called oxy-contin. I was so monged out it was scary but what was really scarey was the mood swings. I'm not known for violence but while on these I got myself in to a couple of scrapes. I would of normally just walked away but instead ended up to my neck in trouble. It was this that in the end drove me to get off them. It was really horrid I know we say Heroine addicts should get what they deserve but those who really mean to come off the stuff have my deepest sympathy. Honestly there was times I was just curled up on the bed rolled up in a ball sweat running down my face like I was in the shower just wishing all of it would end. Then one day just like a switch being flicked it was gone. No more craving no more nausea or sweats just nothing. I can't live totally med free in fact my pill in take is up at the mo as I've just had a another operation on my foot but now I just refuse the pain killers like oxy contin. As for the patches they do work well, made my arm very sore and had to get inventive with were I stuck them. If you can try and keep the use right down. Mind you from the sounds of it you like me rattle when you walk from all the pills!!!!

[STMO123]

Got up early cause I have had a restless night. I felt a bit sorry for myself but, after reading this, I realise just how lucky I really am. You have my sympathy lads.

[TheBoy]

Ozzy/Horse...

reading this has really shocked me and my sympathy to the both of you. before i read this i kind of assumed you get out of a car accident in one piece you're all good but obviously not.

i wrote off my astra in 2003. 45mph straight in to a tree. luckily i didn't have any injuries or any problems at all. apart from ''the worst'' which doesn't bear thinking about i got out of it with one small cut. but sounds like much worse is a very real possibility and most shocking is stuff i never even considered like cronic migraines 

I think age plays a part...

...as a teenager, I was given a little yellow van and £1m of liability insurance. Well, you can guess the rest .  Yes, they (mostly) all hurt at the time, but after a couple of days, all good.

Then just over a year ago, I had that potentially serious one, involving 4 cars, including the one that t-boned me, and a central reservation. The next day, just a bit (err, lot!) of concussion, but no aches and pains...  ...until that evening. Jesus wept did it hurt.

Took ages to register with the local quacks (only lived here 12yrs), tthen ages to get an appt, only to find the NHS were their usual, useless, helpless selves, hence why I hadn't bothered to register.

I had to go down the insurance route (and what an eye opener that is - nobody cares about your health, only about their cut, and the whole industry is in on it) to get private care (which, apart from the physio, is all 'dangle berries' - my "doctor" rents out a conference room in the Holiday Inn to see patients).


13 months later, it still bloody hurts. But as all the scans have come back clear, so its all muscular/soft tissue which should sort itself, I took myself into a corner, and had a quiet word with myself, along the lines of "its only pain, be a man". I normally refuse medication, although some days I have to relent 

As time goes on, I have more and more pyschological issues with the accident itself, which I thought I should be over by now. Possibly a realisation it was a far more serious accident than I gave it credit for at the time.

Related, it has also caused other issues, which are probably around weight gain, through a year of being not very active. I was a fatty before, but now....

[horsecow]

Hence the new name, Fatshadow. I did put on a lot of weight as well and some of the meds really made me balloon but thankfully one of the meds I'm on now which is a migraine suppressor is also used elsewhere as a weightloss drug  and it seems to be working well in the latter sense for me though its doing very little if anything for the migraines. I do think the NHS seems pretty much useless as everything I get referred to has a months long waiting list and they never seem really interested in helping, they just like giving out tablets.

Age could be a factor as I had accidents when I was younger where I had no seatbelt on and woke up in the back seat of the car which was upside down in a field with absolutely no injuries, or it could be a build up of injuries I guess

[SIR Philbutt]

I also have had back (muscle) pain from an accident, and hate taking pills as not really a cure. I eventually found acupuncture a good resolution to reducing my muscle problems as well as management and a bit of exercise and posture. If you look at the back problem thread here. There are a few who have benefited.

Might I suggest that if it is a muscle, maybe neck or upper back, related problem look at simple exercises that strengthen these muscles as well as good posture when driving, computing, watching telly, sitting, sleeping.

Sorry to hear of your problem's mine seem minor in relation to some of those here.

HTH
Phil

[horsecow]

Thanks Phil, I've gotten posture advice and have been using it for best part of year likewise the muscle exercise but it doesn't seem to have helped at all if any tbh, but I keep trying anyway just in case. Its probably doing more good than harm. As for sleeping, thats practically non-existent. You'd think with all the meds that I'd sleep in a second but I cant sleep at all. Once I take the meds I get sleepy and can doze off for about an hour but then I'm wide awake again for the rest of the night. 

Starting the morphine patch tomorrow as the wife is away on a hen party tonight and I have to be responsible for my 6 yr old daughter so thought it best not to start taking new drugs until there are other responsible adults around, hopefully I'll sleep better when taking the morphine though.

Just today been offered work as well at really good rates that starts on Tuesday and with my sisters wedding coming up at start of May I'm really tempted to take it but it would mean not starting the morphine for a few weeks!!