Lorazepam Replacement ?

[messtafarian]

Since it's now clear I have a herniated disc and some spinal cord compression I am living a mostly pain-centered life. I started off on Prednisone a couple weeks ago; finished that and was also given flexeril which I stopped taking because I don't want to get too involved with the Pharma Mafia. Cymbalta is another thing I have for pain but I haven't taken it.

I am for the most part pain free during the day. I wake up feeling pretty well and clear, and I've added about three hours to my "useful" daily hours -- at the beginning of this I had to lay down on the floor every three hours and just stare at the ceiling, by 9 PM I was in tears.

Now every evening around 6 PM the pain starts coming on and eventually I will allow myself one .5 mg tab of Lorazepam at 8 PM. If I want it earlier than that I force myself to wait. It seems to solve the evening pain and that, coupled with about four aspirin a day will get me through.

The problem is I am running out of this stuff and I do not have an active prescription for it. I already have covered myself with magnesium oil by this time every night and taken aspirin. I have tried valerian before and it is nothing at all compared to the magic of ativan; what I am hoping to find is a supplement that acts on GABA ( I did try B3 with bad results) and might act as an additional muscle relaxant.

Anything else out there?

 

[haidut]

Since it's now clear I have a herniated disc and some spinal cord compression I am living a mostly pain-centered life. I started off on Prednisone a couple weeks ago; finished that and was also given flexeril which I stopped taking because I don't want to get too involved with the Pharma Mafia. Cymbalta is another thing I have for pain but I haven't taken it.

I am for the most part pain free during the day. I wake up feeling pretty well and clear, and I've added about three hours to my "useful" daily hours -- at the beginning of this I had to lay down on the floor every three hours and just stare at the ceiling, by 9 PM I was in tears.

Now every evening around 6 PM the pain starts coming on and eventually I will allow myself one .5 mg tab of Lorazepam at 8 PM. If I want it earlier than that I force myself to wait. It seems to solve the evening pain and that, coupled with about four aspirin a day will get me through.

The problem is I am running out of this stuff and I do not have an active prescription for it. I already have covered myself with magnesium oil by this time every night and taken aspirin. I have tried valerian before and it is nothing at all compared to the magic of ativan; what I am hoping to find is a supplement that acts on GABA ( I did try B3 with bad results) and might act as an additional muscle relaxant.

Anything else out there?

I think theanine both acts on GABA is also a muscle relaxant. It will also lower cortisol, which you may or may not want since you have been taking steroids for the spinal cord issue. But at least it's an option. Clonidine has similar feeling to the benzodiazepines and is sedative even at the normal dose of 100mcg. Taurine and glycine are also GABA agonists.

 

[messtafarian]

I remembered the L-Theanine later, Haidut, and want to thank you again because that stuff saved my life that first day off of prednisone and heavy painkillers.

I don't know if this is everyone's experience but I have been very clearly aware that there is pain and then there is one's *response* to pain. It stuck in my mind that flexeril, a pharmaceutical muscle relaxer, did not work on the muscles; it worked on the brain -- it is a cousin of amitryptiline. A really good portion of perceived pain is *emotional* or maybe sort of neurological. That I can tolerate the same pain by taking an ativan is interesting. I had "tight muscles" before my injury and would work right through them without paying attention; they were "in the background". Now somehow tight muscles drive me to tears and despair.

I would rather follow this line of reasoning than pursue an oxycontin prescription.

Thanks Haidut :)

 

[gretchen]

I've read lavender is as effective as lorazepam, but I think more for anxiety than pain, though it might help with that also.

You say valerian didn't help, but I found this article about other herbal pain killers. Author describes them as "potent" and also, I've not really heard of most of them. Maybe one of them would work.
http://healthwyze.org/index.php/compone ... legal.html

 

[messtafarian]

What a neat article, Gretchen, thank you :)

I have tried Kava Kava before and it had an effect but I didn't really care for it. It made me pale and really sort of stupid, especially the next day.

I've been interested in Kratom but I've heard it's *really* potent.