Hi Bridget
Oh I'm so pleased you have had contact with MacMillan, they are absolutely wonderful earth angels! The nurses up our way have a wealth of knowledge on so many topics likes of benefits and grants, support and counselling, and ofcourse coping with pain, discomfort and daily goings-on.
Like yourself, John used to take severedol but a few years ago the powers that be changed things around for the better. They moved him onto Oxycodone (slow release pain relief) and Oxycontin (immediate release pain relief). He found both worked well, however the Oxycodone (slow release) was stopped after a year or so as it was making an impact on his wonky kidneys and was given fentanyl patches instead. He still takes Oxycontin (immediate release) when he first gets up in the morning and throughout the day for breakthrough pain relief (can be taken every 4 hours if needed), it works well for him. He also takes Abstral which is another immediate release painrelief that he puts under his tongue – this is used more for an instant relief as the Oxycontin takes a good 10-15 minutes to get to work.
He also has the Lidocaine patches which numb his back – these are adhesive sheets about the size of your hand that stick on to his painful area for 12 hours at a time. John usually finds they roll up after a while as they heat up with is body, most especially when he's in bed with them (he wears them in the daytime but spends alot of his time in bed currently). These are great for pain relief, he likes them very much.
Hope this helps you Bridget, Johns been on the above for a few years now at varying strengths to suit his pain levels.
Sending healing thoughts and love
Angelina xx
tom 12 years, 11 months ago.
