Pain meds for bad back

Welcome to the expat.com forum and good luck with your potential move to Spain!

Back pain is terrible. But that's a worryingly long time to be on opioids. I think you'll find Spain has a very different culture to the USA, where opioids have been heavily prescribed for many years. However, if you register with a local Spanish doctor, once you move over, I'm confident you can get a renewed prescription for the pain medication that works for you. I certainly wouldn't expect it to be a deal-breaker that stops you from moving to Spain.

It might be too late for you, as you're used to the stronger options. But Europeans (and European doctors) try pretty hard to stick with "anti-inflammatories" instead, so opioid pain medication would definitely not be the preferred option, and they typically would see them as suitable for acute pain (root canal, etc.) rather than long-term usage for chronic pain. The family of NSAIDs starts pretty mild with ibuprofen, but there are much stronger options such as Dexketoprofen and Diclofenac which can be taken as pills, slow-release pills, or gels (1%, 2% and 5%). Arthritis has an inflammatory response, which decreases mobility and increases pain. So an anti-inflammatory actually helps directly with the problem, rather than just treating one of the symptoms (pain).

I've had a couple of cycling and skiing accidents, and so I'm pretty banged up, with bad arthritis in my hip, knee, and lumbar spine. My GP said I needed a hip replacement about 10 years ago. I'm scared of surgery, so I've been trying to spin it out a few years. :-) I've been managing with Voltaren Max (diclofenac 2.3% gel) for some years now, admittedly combined with several lifestyle changes to help.

Arthritis is, unfortunately, a fact of life for many. But I think bulging discs might be a different story as I believe that there are potential operations to address this. Most of Europe (including Spain) has state healthcare, and it's really very good. And not only is it good, but it is (after seeing USA prices) amazingly cheap. So while you are focused on the painkiller issue, one of the potential upsides of a move would be (in the future) potential access to important operations (bulging/herniated discs, hip replacement, knee replacement, etc.) at very accessible prices. Not to mention that, after your move, you'll be eating healthy Spanish food (typical Mediterranean diet) with lashings of virgin olive oil every day. No more In-N-Out Burgers for you! :-)