i feel so much for this post. i really do. i've suffered with chronic pain for over 20 yrs. after 16 yrs of being misunderstood and assumed neurotic by drs, i was told my problem...trigeminal neuraligia. it's nerve pain in and around the face due to multiple sinus surgeries.

i see a pain specialist. he's actually a neurologist who's working strictly with pain management. the first time i saw him he wanted me to go on oxycontin. i declined as i'm blessed that hydrocodone had worked for me for 3 yrs...without altering dosage.

i was worried about the amount of tylenol going into my body on a daily basis though. i mentioned this to the dr and he told me of Norco. it's 10 mg. hydrocodone with only 325 mg. of tylenol -- half the tylenol as before. i was thrilled. i've been on that for a year, with no adjustments. we tried topomox to take with it, but i kept have periods where my mind went completely blank, and some other side effects. another med they prescribed for me for nerve pain is klonopin. i don't take it but every few months. i keep a steady stream of the norco in me and i've never had to up the meds or anything. i realize that i'm sorely blessed with this.

another reason that i hesitated to take the oxycontin is when i took percocet, it upset tummy badly then gave me a horrible headache after a couple of hours...i was afraid i'd go thru that...time released for 12 hours! whew.

they've mentioned a patch for me, but as long as the norco works, i'm sticking with it. it's been four years and it still helps, not like it did in the beginning, i'll admit, but i dealt with this for 16 yrs. if the time comes to change to something different or stronger, i don't know what i'll do

gl to every here who suffers. love to you.

kd