“325 mg of Hydrocodone is not cutting the pain?”
I'm asking for a friend. He's had back surgery recently and has been prescribed Hydrocodone (325 mg). It is NOT cutting the pain by any means. He also suffers from post-surgery neuropathy nerve pain in his left leg, knee, and ankle. He was prescribed Gabapentin, I don't know how many milligrams, but it too is not cutting the pain at all. He's really suffering and he's been to this doctor two times already in two weeks to address his pain but he gets nowhere. The prescription says to take one hydrocodone pill every six hours. Since one pill doesn't cut the pain, can he try to take two pills every six hours until he can get back to the doctor? He doesn't know how to sleep anymore, because he's in such pain. Lying on his back or side or stomach only brings him pain and he needs good pain management. He does not know why gabapentin isn't working on his leg either. Is there a better drug for such a condition?
Male | 59 years old
Complaint duration: 7 days
Medications: Hydrocodone (325 mg) and Gabapentin
Conditions: Back and leg pain
4 Answers
Gabapentin takes time to work. It is not an immediate fix and it needs to build in his system over 1-2 weeks.
Consult Functional Medicine. He has to radically change his diet. Hemoglobin must be above 14. Take Alive maximum potency for men, double dose for 6 weeks. Vitamin D3 10,000 IU softgel daily, Vitamin B12 methyl lozenges 25 mg daily, Vitamin C 3,000 mg daily, Magnesium citrate 800-1,200 mg daily softgel. Evening Primrose Oil 1,300 mg softgel, 4 softgels twice a day.
The drugs will not work, his body can't use them, and his genetic profile may not work with these drugs.
Start Acupuncture with Moxibustion. If overweight start Berberine with Ceylon 1,200 mg daily. Start PT/OT.
The drugs will not work, his body can't use them, and his genetic profile may not work with these drugs.
Start Acupuncture with Moxibustion. If overweight start Berberine with Ceylon 1,200 mg daily. Start PT/OT.
Hello, the 325 is the amount of Tylenol in the drug the amount of hydrocodone is either 5,7.5 or 10. The problem with damaged nerves is that they hurt and there are no good ways to help with this. He should be seeing his back surgeon or a pain doctor for help. Sometimes it is the arteries that are the source of the nerve damage. He needs to be evaluated by a provider that can look into the issues that can be the cause of this problem, just throwing pills at it is not the best idea. I am sorry that he finds himself in this situation, but the best way forward is to get a full evaluation of the cause.
I would not increase the hydrocodone, that will just increase tolerance, cause the need for increasing amounts and have more side effects. Depending on what dose of gabapentin, could go up to 1200 mg per dose. Is he seeing pain management? It may also be reasonable to try some additional methods of pain reduction such as acupuncture.
