Medications For Pain Management With A Herniated Disc

At any one point in time, over 1% of the US population suffers from a disc herniation. Having sciatica from a herniated disc can be exceptionally painful. What are the medications that can help?

Initially, a Medrol Dose Pak may be very helpful. It involves a daily series of Prednisone pills to be taken for 5 days. Prednisone is a dramatic anti-inflammatory medication and since sciatica occurs from inflammation sparked up with a pinched nerve, it may relieve this inflammation. The subsequent pain relief may be dramatic. A Medrol Dose Pak should only be given once and then rarely again as there is concern over adrenal gland suppression or the very rare instance of osteonecrosis.

Additional medications that are commonly utilized include NSAID's which stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications. They can be very effective for pain, just make sure not to take more than manufacturer's recommendations. Same for Tylenol, it can be very helpful. If a person is on a Medrol Dose Pak and also taking NSAIDS one can end up with an ulcer because both medications knock out some of the protective lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Patients should take some sort of H2 blocker like Prilosec or Zantac to help protect this lining while taking these medications. All of these medications including the NSAIDS, Tylenol, Zantac, and Prilosec are available over the counter. Medrol Dose Pak's need a prescription.

In addition to these medications, taking a neuropathic medication such as Neurontin or Lyrica may help. These need a prescription as well. They are not addictive like narcotics, but should be taken only under the advice of a physician who will monitor your response and side effects.

Muscle relaxers such as Valium and Skelaxin may all pain relief and the ability to increase function and activity.

There is a non-narcotic medication available called Ultram (Tramadol) which can be very effective in the realm of pain management for a herniate disc. The beauty of Ultram is that it is not a narcotic and therefore non-addictive. It does need a prescription however.

One of the most effective medications available to help with the pain from a herniated disc is narcotics which may include Vicodin, Percocet, Oxycontin, Darvocet, Dilaudid, among others. These can be very addictive and should be monitored appropriately with pain doctors utilizing pain agreements and random urine drug screening. The theory is to prescribe enough medication to be able to allow the patient to alleviate his or her pain, not to get the patient high.

These medications should only be obtained from one doctor and only taken according to the prescribed dosage. As you can see there are numerous pharmacological methods of pain control for a herniated disc sciatica that are available. Most need a prescription and some have addictive tendencies therefore care should be taken to avoid abuse.