Originally Posted by CDSmith

I can't take morphine, for some reason it tends to frazzle my nerves. I have chronic back pain, sciatica, osteo arthritis, worsening joint pain, all of which is fallout stemming from a spinal fusion corrective surgery I had when I was 16.

I currently take, as-needed, 750 mg Naproxen 24 hr slow-release tabs.
I have as an as-needed supplement to that: Naproxen 500 mg, and in the event of any muscle/tendon/ligament seizures (neck, upper back, usually) I have some 10 mg Cyclobenzaprines on hand.

All of it as-needed though. I'm not a big pill guy, and avoid taking them if I can help it. Thus I do put up with a lot of pain every day, but when things get too bad I take one of those 24 hr SR's and I at least get some sleep at night.

In the past I've done the acupuncture, physiotherapy, chiro, basically any type of therapy out there. My diet is very good, I get plenty of fibre, vitamins, minerals, and a higher than normal amount of vitamin C in particular.

Currently the chiropractor I'm going to is helping somewhat, and I'm also getting Facet Block Intervention every 3 months (12 horse-needles in lower back, commonly referred to as "cortizone shots"). I've been getting those for over 2 years now. They help, although marginally. They do nothing for the sciatica though.

There are a few surgical procedures that might benefit me by way of relieving the sciatica, and I'm waiting to hear from a specialist on those. But in the meantime, for the kind of chronic pain I think you're referring to, (the kind that few people really know about) I recommend that if you can take Naprosin then try the 750 mg SR'ers. They're not cheap, but they do at least take the edge off, and you don't have to keep taking pills every 3 or 4 hours.

Originally Posted by NALEM

Look into Bee Venom Therapy to see if its right for you. Good luck!