IS LONG TERM NERVE DAMAGE POSSIBLE

[MORPHINE MAN]

luvmysibe & Judy Viola, Thank you both for your reports. Every little bit of information I get is very helpfull. I'm afraid I have a very high tolerance to pain meds. Two & a half years ago when I first started taking pain meds they started me on Vicadin 500 MG 4 times daily. That didn;='t ease the pain as a matter of fact about the fourth day I was driving to my dr's office to get another script for pain meds & on the way the pain got so bad that I began to hurt so bad I stopped the car & got out. I tried to stand & couldn't even walk. I was in tears & people were stopping to see what was wrong & the pain was so severe that I could barely even talk to them. someone called an ambulance & they took me to the ER. I was given a shot of demeral & they called my Dr. He came by & changed my mweds to Oxycottin 40 MG 6 times per day. I stayed on that for about six months & soon began feeling as if it wasn't working. I had to take more & more so he changed my meds to a Duragsic patch 75mgh. The patch worked better than anything I had ever tried. I changed it every three days & my pain level maintained about 4 to 5 which was very tolerable. After about eight months My pain began to get more severe to the point that I eventualy went through 100 mgh patch with no help & was taking 3600 mg of Neurontin along with the 100 mgh patch. with that combination I could walk around like normal & work daily. That combination only lasted about six weeks & I was back to about a 8 to 9 on the pain level. That is when they changed me to "AVINZA" 90 mg 1 PER DAY & MSIR 15 mg 6 times per day. That has worked very good for the past year & I've been able to work every day with very little discomfort. They did increase my "AVINZA" to 120 MG 1 per day & that is what I currently take 120 MG of AVINZA & 4to6 MSIR 15MG per day. IT has no drowsness effect or any thing like that. If you were to meet me you wouldn't even think I was on any medication. The Dr's tell me that my tolerance level is as high as anyone they have seen. I don't even feel it & they tell me that the amount I'm currently taking would kill some people. That is why they are concerned about operating on me because my base level is so high, that to put me under & keep me under during surgery & then manage the pain post opp will be very critical. That is why I've been asking others here on the post for any advise or suggestions about how much is too much. I think my tolerance is just so high that I COULD TAKE ABOUT ANYTHING & IT WOULD TAKE ALOT OF IT TO EFFECT ME. tHAT IS WHAT SCARES THE DR'S BECAUSE THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT MY LUNGS STOPPING. tHEY HAVE ALREADY SAID THAT THEY MAY HAVE TO PUT ME ON A RESPERATOR FOLLOWING SURGERY.

[Dale S]

Dear HD,

I guess there's nerve damage and then there's nerve damage. I ruptured S1/L5-4 11 years ago. I couldn't move my right leg but had to wait a week for my emergency surgery (autalagous blood donation if I spelled it right)

I have totally numb spots and areas of diminished feeling that will never get better. Additionally and inexplicably, I feel a dull pain when touching those areas even if I can't feel the touch.???? Other than that, my permanant nerve damage is not painful. Hope this helps.

My best to you, Dale