my husband is 65 yrs old. Born with scoliocis. His pain is in his lower vertebrae - he has no cushioning between 2 or 3 vertebrae. He's in constant pain & cannot sleep solidly thru the night. He's been given Ambien for sleep & it didn't work. When he's rec'd lortab, he's gotten 7.5 mg & takes 4-6 a day. The PA he sees thinks he's becoming a drug addict. I understand you are not an addict if you take something for PAIN. He does not abuse the lortab & it temporarily eases the pain. It never completely goes away. He doesn't want an epidural as the side effects of that look extremely dangerous. He will not have surgery as he's known 4 people who've had the same & it has been totally unsuccessful. any suggestions? I am beside myself as to how to help him.
Would you recommend lortab over an epidural injection for lower back pain due to scoliocis?
- Asked
- 6 Jul 2010 by hopeandcomfort
- Updated
- 11 Nov 2011
- Topics
- lortab, pain, back pain, injection
Responses (3)
Rather unfortunate that you husband suffers from back pain, yes Lortabs are habit forming & addictive, would recommend to try & seek a second opinion & request the doc to prescribe an alternate which may be more stronger so that your husband gets relief from pain.
Please not DO NOT change the meds without seeking professional help, it is not recommended, best of luck, may God be with you & your husband gets relief soon.
An epidural steroid injection is really for short term relief. Please discuss with his doctor about Radio Frequency Thermo colagulation (RFT) procedure. It does involve needles but the relief is almost immediate and lasts so much longer. It is administered live on a monitor so the doctor can see exactly where the numbing agent, medication, or zapping the nerve root is located. Steroid injections are a guess as to where exactly they are going, facet, disc, fascia, etc. I have been through the entire gambit of injections and procedures for my pain. The RFT (by far) provided the best and longest lasting relief!
Good luck to you,
Chris
Thanks Chris.
I guess you beat me to this answer. My Dr acted like he almosted invented it. I do agree it is the way to go. How long has it lasted for you?
Forgot to add. My Dr didn't have a monitor or it wasn't insurance approved.
I was the monitor,by telling him what I felt(not pain)buzzes.
I have had what I think you are calling epidural. First as a trial they injected cortisone. It worked great for almost 6 weeks,then the pain was back. On June 17 they tried something fairly new.Called Destr Paravertebrl Nerve L/s. Basically they blocked the nerves with radio-type waves.Not surgery but many needle pokes in one area,while I was semi-awake to tell him when I felt buzzes and twitches. Sounds weird, but I feel no more back pain, except the first 6 days while the poke healed and that was not the regular pain. should last 6-9 months. I will let you know. Also for more info about the procedure if I get lots of requests I will figure out a way to put out a long answer with my whole experience. I just called my Dr w/request to use his name,maybe he has written it up already-I believe he's going to be published in MD Journals for this. We still have to see how long it lasts. I took too long to try this. He didn't push me, but I got way addicted to oyxcontin.
Further Information
- Lortab Information for Consumers
- Lortab Information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details)
- Side Effects of Lortab (detailed)
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I also agree about a 2nd opinion.
I have the same pain as your husband and i also am considering an epidural but i am also afrsid of side effects