Does anybody have any advice on how to cope with my injured hand and my epilepsy?

[kirk267]

Happy new year to all of you out there!

I'm just very frustrated, and confused on what I can do presently so I can just get some sleep because my injured dominant left hand is throbbing and because of it I'm 100% sure it is because of this pain in my hand that I cannot get any sleep because first of all either the pain and the epilepsy together are waking me up at night and since the pain will not decrease not even the slightest bit it's like a vicious cycle of insomnia I'm dealing with here which makes my epileptic activity worse.

I just recently had a talk with my neurologist about this big problem I'm having and he already made some adjustments to my medication he even prescribed me a new one.

I also take lot's of epileptic medication at bedtime because my neurologist is trying to help me get the epilepsy under control so I can get some sleep because if my body only has to deal with only the pain in my hand I can still get a decent sleep . And if there is just a small amount of epileptic activity going on in my brain I'm sure that all this epileptic medication can keep the seizures under control.

This is all the medication presently that I'm taking as directed by my neurologist and plastic surgeon.

Epilepsy medication:

Morning:
Take 200 mg. of Lamotrigine

Bedtime:
Take 300 mg of Lamotrigine
Take 300 mg of Dilantin
Take 1 mg of clonazepam
20 mg of clobazam

Pain Killing medication:

Take 3 capsules of 100 mg of gabapentin 3 times daily
Take 1 to 2 30 mg of tylenol 3 4-6 hours when needed

Sleeping Medication:

Take 5 mg of zopiclone at bed time


As you can see above I take the majority of my epileptic medication at bed time so I just cannot figure out why all this medication combined cannot even at the least bit control some of the epileptic activity in my brain so I can atleast have a decent amount of sleep not to mention I'm also on a sleeping pill as you can see above that does'nt even seem to help or work either.

Note:

I have had a sleeping disorder taking an immediate effect specifically when my seizure activity is not under control my entire life since I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 13.

Also I'm having thoughts of that my neurologist is overdosing me with medication possibly accidently because when I gave my prescription of my newest epilepsy medication ( Dilantin) to my phamacist she had to call my neurologist back to see if he was sure he was'nt giving me this medication accidentally because it seemed to her that I was being overdosed.


So my main question is why on earth is my epileptic medication that I take before I go to bed time not controlling my epileptic activity in my brain at all ?

 

[montse]

I was a day sleeping because of gabapentine, it was for a pain of a herpes zoster. I had to give it up.
What problem are you having in your hand?
I had once a carp tunnel syndrom which hurts more at night, but until the doctor knew it, I was a lot of time with pain and bad sleep, have you had and EMG?

 

[kirk267]

The problem is The continuous chronic pain in it is the result from me operating a brake press machine then suddenly it malfunctioned and crushed my fingers and I needed my all my fingers reconstructed because it crushed right through my fingers bones and killed the veins and tendons in them.

No i have'nt had a EMG done on me before.

 

[RobinN]

Did you know that gabapentin was recalled recently? Certain doses I think, yet that would worry me. Perhaps at the lower doses they don't think the problems exist at that amount.
Ya right...

Sure looks like overdose to me....
Really sorry that you are having to deal with this. Have you been in contact with anyone else that has had this type of surgery before? Are you given any time schedule as to when the pain should subside?

 

[montse]

It must be a hard pain in your hand, I am really sorry.
That kind of operations need their time to get better, because they have reconstructed your muscles and tendons, and perhaps the nerves were injured too.
As Robin says, ask the doctor his opinion about the possible duration of the pain and the need of a EMG.
Hope you get better.

 

[RobinN]

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/sleep.htm

 

[speber]

Sorry Kirk!....

It does sound like a LOT o' drugs.

Not to sound too new-agey here...but maybe some re-direction of your mind may help. I know it sounds silly or impossible...but hey, if it can work? I mean, pain can be managed to some degree by some? I'm no expert on this subject so I hope someone can chime in here.

When it comes to CHRONIC pain, the farthest 'out-there' out gotten has been chiropractic, acupunture, a little homeopathy, meditation...all of which have worked for me so far to some degree.

Good Luck
Spencer
:rock:

 

[Shelley]

vikes

I was given vicodan once for pain. It didn't relieve the pain. It did make me high tho. I told the doctor this, and that I was taking the ibuprofen for the pain and swelling, and gave back the unused vikes.
I'm guessing that ordinary pain pills aren't as effective? Ask your dr.

 

[Zoe]

Hi Kirk,
Why not go back to the surgeon's office or that clinic and ask for advice on how to better manage the pain. The position in which you keep your arm may be affecting the pain levels. From all the damage, it sounds like you will be in pain for a long time as you go through healing and retraining.
So, your doc, or even your neuro, should be able to refer you to someone with a speciality in pain management. There are a lot of techniques to try but you would do well to discuss your injuries with a specialist in pain management who can help you develop some methods to help you. If you are getting physical therapy for your hand now, you can also tell the physical therapist about the pain and ask her or him to direct you to more help.

 

[RobinN]

Good suggestions Zoe. I know whenever I have hurt my hand or leg, keeping it elevated certainly made the pain more tolerable.

Seems like some things get worse before they get better. I hope you have some relief real soon.

 

[Birdbomb]

Pain, my friend, my enemy

Kirk

I'm gonna add my :twocents: here. I have been on pain killers for the better part of 20 years. I have suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis for over 30 years and have been misdiagnosed until last January. The RA has caused much damage. Both knees have been replaced, bi-lateral carpel tunnel surgeries, release of trigger fingers, removal of snyovial masses and gangalion cysts, tendon and nerve repair. And then there was the gallbladder, D&C, C-section, gastric bypass, VNS, reposition of VNS removal of VNS and a few other minor thingys. Not one surgery for plasctis, not one for vanity. All for a better quality of life, or to save my life.

I take pain killers daily or I would not be able to get out of bed. Some days are better than others. Nerve pain in the hand is particulaly evil because of all the nerve bundles and our tactile sensations. I understand the prescription for the Gabapentin, and I have used Neurontion for my seizure disorder. It did NOTHING for my pain, in fact it can make pain worse. For me, it made me a lunitic. I was breaking dishes, and throwing furniture. Depakote had the same effect.

You need to have a pain management team working with you. It's obvious your pain is not be controled and it sends you off to seizureland. Not a fun place to be either.

IMHO, considering the type of injury you sustained, you should be taking something much stronger, like oxycoten, codine, lortab or percacet. Most doctors are frugel in prescribing these because of their high addiction rate, but I find if I take them for about 2-3 weeks at a time and then take a break or switch to something else for a few weeks, it will control most of the worse pain issues. And I have never had any addiction problem. This is what works for ME.

Back in 1976 I got my hand caught in the pully of a gasoline pump and crushed my thumb, index and middle fingertips. I lost the tip of my middle finger and my nails had to be removed on the other fingers. But nothing was broken. Boy that was painful and I think I was on codine then for about 2 weeks.

My Rheumatologist is very understanding about pain and thinks I need something stronger now since I am in the middle of a flare. He just changed my tramadol to loratabs. And I'm talking a major shift in pain medication. You need to make your doctors HEAR how much pain you are in. There really isn't any reason for anyone to suffer needlessly whan there are so many pain relieving options out there now.

Call them today and have them prescribe something more for you. They may think the gabapentin is enough.

:soap: