Medication time!

I thought it may be useful to share my experience with medications. It has been three years since the pain began and only now do I feel like I've found the right medication levels. A combination that is allowing me to function from day-to-day. This is just my personal experience. I am not a medical professional.

My pain is centred in my face and head, also in my lower spine region with CPS exaggerating degenerative disc disease pain. I have trigeminal neuralgia pain, also known as the suicide disease it is pain straight from hell and was the priority symptom of CPS that needed addressing. From my visits to accident and emergency before I started on medications it became apparent that opioids, for me, didn't work. The emergency room doctors kept suggesting that I needed to see a neurologist, and that they couldn't help me.

I finally got referred to a neurologist but had a nine month wait. My pain was raging and I needed help fast! My doctor began me on carbermazapine for my head pain. The go-to medication for trigeminal neuralgia. This was followed with gabapentin for the rest of my nerve pain along with a low dose of amatryptaline. From then on it was a case of trying what worked.

The gabapentin helped a little but I had too many side effects which outweighed the positives. I eventually switched to Lyrica which was the right move. It meant taking less tablets and I also had less side effects and better pain relief.

From the beginning of taking medications it was months before they became fully effective. Anti-convulsants seemed to be the way to go. Once my head pain was under some sort of control I needed to deal with the nerve pain in my lumber region. I was experiencing muscle spasms in my lower back that were putting me on the floor. For this I was prescribed baclofen and naproxen. A combination that definitely made a difference.

It was then a case of tweaking the doses until I found the right levels to settle on. I now take -

450g Lyrica

50g Amatryptaline

200mg Carbamazepine

40g Baclofen

200g Naproxen

Image Credit: ©Kelsey Rein

I also take 20mg of Olanzapine because the stress of the pain led to some strange symptoms such as auditory and visual hallucinations. It has been four months since I have been on this combination and my pain levels have become much more manageable. I experience more lower pain days than I do flare ups. My pain hasn't disappeared. I still feel every movement and if not in high pain it is reduced to sensations that I can better deal with. I also put the relief of pain in my lower back down to non contemplative meditation. How you ask? Let me explain.

One of the main factors in ramping up pain levels is stress. At the pain clinic the practice of mindfulness was heavily promoted as a way to deal with the relentless mental pressure of living with chronic pain. Secondary to the medications there needs to be a way to deal with the mind. The way I see it is that the medication is for the pain - and meditation is for my mental wellbeing. And the less stress the less pain.

Mindfulness lowers stress levels which physically improves the bodies immune system. The benefits of mindfulness are well documented. When practicing conscious awareness we are less inclined to react negatively to the world around us. Resentment ceases to affect us and we also outgrow fear by replacing it with faith. I cannot stress enough the benefits of a daily mindfulness meditation practice. Spiritual and mental relief brings physical relief.

I also understand that in America there are more options for medications and also natural remedies such as Cannabis. In the UK, on the National Health System we are somewhat limited to the medications available to us. It really comes down to what works for an individual. It may mean chopping and changing meds until you find the right combination. My advice would be to speak with other sufferers and get advice from them. With so little awareness of CPS you will probably find yourself advising your doctor about what to prescribe. And hopefully you will find a little relief.

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