Taking This Med, The Reaction From This Med
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I was recently placed on this medication for sevear lower back pain. I recently found out that I have a herinated disk in my back, and disk degenerative disease. My doctor placed me on Dilaudid 8mg, which took all of my pain away. I felt very disorientated, though. I am now on the 4mg tabs every 6 hours. I noticed my pain is dull, but still there. Why do I have to fell out of it to be temoraily pain free? I have been on Vicodin HP, Morphine 60mg, Percocet 5, 7, and 10 mg. I have bounced from med to med trying to find the best results in my case. I am lost for what to do. The med that seemed to help the most was the Vicodin Hp, but I was afraid of the addiction factor. I know I will be on pain meds for the rest of my life, should I even be concerned about addiction?

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If you feel that you are going to be on pain meds for the rest of your life then why worry about addiction. And if you really want to know the truth a person can get addicted to just about anything if you allow your self to. I have been on pain meds for half my life i hate it but i like you have no choice i have had 12 brain surgerys, 2 back surgerys so i live with cronic pain daily, I do not care what you take, because there are days no matter what i just can not stop the pain, and then there those people out there that abuse meds.they take just to be taking it because they want to get high well it really pisses me off i wish just for one day they could take my place, because like i said i hate taking them but i just do not have a choice. So sweety you just take your meds to try and ease your pain and not worry about addiction. I wish you the best because i know what you are going through,and I wish i could tell you that it gets better , because for me it never does. Good Luck

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im on 200 mg of methadose, im haveing three teeth pulled but methadose is an opioid blocker so the vicodin that they will most likely prescribe wont work, so what pain killers are the best when u are a methadone clinic patient?

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Oxy IR is only available in a max of 10mgs, the controlled release Oxy is available in 10mgs to 80mgs.

Oxy IR would be 3 times daily and Oxy SR would be twice daily.

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Also, if you know the max a DR. can prescribe of oxyIR, oxycodone 10mg or higher is to take daily?

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On a further, funny note, my body chemistry is so odd, that even super glue does not stick to my skin as it does to other people.

I must admit that I have had some fun with this fact over the years, you know sticking stuff to my hands or fingers and watching someone elses face as they think of what I am going to go through to get it off, but then I just laugh and can peel it right off.

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I am sorry to disagree, but getting high is not always the case for everyone who takes large amounts of pain meds.

I, for one, have an unusual body chemistry, which results in my not feeling the high or euphoria that many people experience from Narcotic pain meds, however, due to my scoliosis, which is degenerative, and a degenerative disc disease in the lower lumbar, I am on relatively high doses of MS Contin every day, all day, and even though I take them exactly as prescribed, never taking more than I should and I refuse to up my dosages unless I absolutely have to, because I do not want to build up such a tolerance that I eventually run out of treatment options, I am still in major pain every day.

So your ideas may apply to some people, but they do not apply to all. Methadone does not even work to relieve pain for everyone that tries it. It is wonderful that it works for you, but to make such a post, basically accusing everyone else who takes other pain meds of being nothing but addicts is really uncalled for, thank you.

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Like to comment on most articles wriitten about intractable pain, methadone, and how nothing works for people except hard core, get you high drugs.I was diagnosed w/spondylolisthesis at age 17, and been to doctors for over 35 years. Best pain meds are methadone. Went from all others, hydo,oxy,and up to 5 bags of heroin per day for 6and half years. Was able to afford my addiction at a price of losing a business and a family of over 10 yrs. Went to a methadone program and able to detox off heroin and all opiates in 9 months. Stayed on the clinic at a very high dose of 300mgs.once per day for over 2 yrs. Became totally clean and sober for 2 yrs due to triple pnemonia and in a coma. Hurt back again and forced onto pain meds after 2yrs of sobriety. Heres the catch, I only take 60 mgs for severe pain. And to detox from heroin was on 275 mgs. I have degenerative disk disease, grade 2 birth defect spondylolisthesis, scolyosis, 2 herniated discs in lumbar region. and wear a brace on back. So for those of you who MUST take unusual amount of painkillers, you can and should get bye on one-third to one half of your current meds. Otherwise you just want to get high. And methadone will not get you high except for the first couple of days. If you want true pain relief without the high feeling, then bye all means get on methadone for pain relief.Only 1 side effect-constipation. A wonder drug for pain management.

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ethanspapa, I read your whole post and I have to say AMEN!

I am very sorry you are in so much pain, and I am sending you an email to the addy you provided.

However, I wanted to cover the issue you asked about, why the docs are so conservative prescribing pain meds, just in case others come along who have the same sort of question and musings.

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I've learned quite a bit reading this forum. Thanks for sharing to all. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has severe chronic pain. My pain started as your basic lower back ache that was exasperated by my work (UPS) for several years. Dr's say it's congenital? So after 25+ years of toughing it out on all sorts & types of meds, I was convinced by my ortho dr. to have a lamenectomy. Wrong move. What I was told would be a 3-4 day stay turned out to be 20 days of pure hell in the hospital. I ended up having not 1 but 3 surgeries and being infected with MRSA.
Anyway, my questions are-why are most dr's so conservative on prescribing pain meds? What is an acceptable level of pain for me to endure (on a scale of 1-10)?
Is it just me or is this commonplace to have a CONSTANT, CHRONIC level of 7-10+ everyday AND on 90mg MS-Contin every 12 hours and having to gobble up Vico 10/325mg every 2-3 hours even though the Dr. say I CANNOT take it more than every 4-6 hours? I am at my wits end! Tried methodone, darvocet, Fent 125 patch and all barely dull the pain! What's worse is the way the dr.s give me the guilt trip. I've not been able to work for 3 years. And all I want is a tolerable pain level of 3-5 so I can go back to work. Is there anyone else out there with similar circumstances? I'd love to hear from you and how you navigated this experience from hell. Oh, I forgot to mention, the 2nd surgery left my r-leg partially paralyzed. HELP! email me @: [email protected]

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Some researchers swear that there is absolutely nothing in those pills that benefits anyone, that it is all psychological when they feel better. I think I will try them though and see if I get better physically and/or feel better psychologically. I don't care which one...as long as it works huh?

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Oh, I also wanted to ask if any of you have tried Glucosamine/Chondroitin Supplements? They are safe to use with narcotics, and they really do help, it won't control all your pain, but they really do help. I decided, after checking with my doc, to try them a few months ago, and I was very surprised at the effectiveness. It also gets better the longer you use them, as it builds up in your system and has a cumulative effect.

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LOL! That is a cute way to deal with it, by humming that song, I have to remember that. As to posting your email, no, the site owner doesn't mind, it is entirely up to you, the only thing he would say, as he has said to me before, is don't be surprised if it occasionally results in some spam. Speaking of him, I have a few emails I better answer this morning, apparenly he was up late last night and working on the site. What do you all think of the recent changes? He is trying to make it more userfriendly and easier to navigate and find what you are hunting.

Anyway, I to Pelota, (Don't want to slip and use real names, just in case you don't want me to!) Sorry I haven't answered your email yet, my son has been sick off an on with an ear infection, but he is doing much better now.

Anyway, I have had pain meds stolen before. We were trying to help our neighbor's adult daughter who had moved in with them with her two children and had a drug problem. She was always wanting my meds, which back then were only Darvocet. So we would do something similar to what sleples said, say I didn't have enough to share, I admit, I had given her a couple before, as I thought they were for her mother who does suffer chronic pain issues, then found out she was lying and they were for her. Anyway, one day she saw Andy get on out for me, from a certain drawer in our computer room.

I had told her I was riding with Andy, my husband, to school the next morning, as he only had one class and I would go get groceries while he was in class, then he would just come pick me up when he was done. Anyway, she said she wanted to go with me, to learn bargain shopping and couponing, so I said fine, but she didn't show up or answer the phone that morning, so we just figured she had slept in and left to go about our business. Our bad habit then, this was over 2years ago, was that we very rarely locked our door, our son's school is within walking distance, so in case he got out early we would leave the door open, then he could just call me on my cell and let me know he was here and see where we were, so he wouldn't get so scared being home alone for a bit. He is not responsible enough to keep a housekey.

Anyway, this day, we had forgotten the cell at home anyway. Then when we got home, Andy checked the messages and there was one from her saying our door was open after we left and our doc had gotten out, she and her dad had caught her though and put her back in. I didn't think anything of it, though we did wonder how he door got open, but at that time we trusted her and believed it. Well a few days later, we found out how the door got open and our dog got out, I had about 20 pills left in a bottle in that drawer, I went to get one, as I didn't need daily narcotics then, and I had only 6 left!! I had only used 2 out of it a few days before, so out of 18 pills left, she had stolen 12 of them. So I ran out early and had to suffer, anyway, that was enough for my darling Andy, he ran to Wal-Mart and got one of those Sentry Fire Safes. The small ones are only around $20, enough to hold several med bottles as well as some of your important papers and stuff. So from then on, we would only leave about 4 out in a bottle at once, and lock the others in the safe. So you can get one really cheaply if you have Target or Wal-Mart in your area. Anyway, we really learned our lesson about letting someone know what I was on and what my condition is.

In the month past, I know at least you pelota and nenene, have heard me mention that Andy was very sick and in pain for awhile. Anyway, when he was in so much pain, and so sick he couldn't get out of bed, and we were awaiting the MRI results to see what was wrong, with my docs approval, I gave him a couple of my pills, she said a few over a day or two, until his appointment wouldn't be addictive, and that way I would also not run out severely early, before my insurance would cover a refill. I have the state Medicaid and they will only cover 5 to 7 days ahead of time, before the next refill is due, to make sure you don't run out, because there is always the possibility of someone losing a pill or two, or perhaps taking and extra forgetting they had already taken that dosage. So he is now the only one I will give any to, and only when my doc is aware of it. That way I don't run out and am not accused of abusing them.

However, we had company last weekend, and out of that months supply, before his appointment, I had only given my DH 2 pills, but when it was the day for my docs appointment and getting my new scrips, I should have had two days left, and I didn't, only had 2 of my 60mgs left. I had left my daily pill holder in here on the computer desk, saw my friend in here once, didn't think anything of it, as she sometimes puts her purse in here when my son has friends over, but now I guess I have to hide them from her as well.

Now, another subject, as to on and off days, I have found the weather has a distinct adverse effect on my pain, when it is chilly and/or rainy, I am always worse than on nice warm and sunny days.

Anyway, we have tailored my current med regimen so I can cover those days, I have a 60mg MS Contin that I take twice a day, every day, then I have a 15mg that I can add if my pain is out of control, plus Oxy 5mg instant release for breakthrough pain. So, on good days, I don't have to take quite so much, this will also help in slowing the tolerance I will eventually build up to these dosages. So this might be something you would want to talk to your doc about as well.

Oh, pelota, when I was single, and working, I would go visit my sister most paydays, one time she asked me for money, said her son needed juice, diapers and etc. So I cashed my check and ran over and gave her some to help out. I mean, she was sick after her c-section with an infection, so I had taken care of my nephew for the first 9months of his life, when she was unable. Anyway, next thing I know, she has plenty of juice and stuff, they used my money to buy a bag of pot. Well, that was not happening again, she forgot that I knew what she bought for him and used, so next time she asked me, I cashed my check and showed up at her house with the diapers, wipes, juice and etc. already purchased. Oh she was not happy with me at all. LOL! But I have sat and listened to her whine and complain that she can't afford a birthday cake for her son, but she and her husband always have a huge bag of weed to smoke, so they lost my sympathy a long time ago. It drives me crazy to see my niece and nephew go without because of their addictive greed. You want to do it, as an adult, I figure that is up to you, but don't make your kids suffer because you can't leave it alone. That is just ridiculous. I freely admit that Andy and I are smokers, and you know, we won't even buy cigarettes until we know all bills are paid and our son has everything he needs, then if there is money left, we can feed our vices, not before. It just isn't right.

I would have flushed the LSD, too. Great move, even if she was mad, she had no right to have it at your house. I don't care how long you were apart or what, that is just plain rude and unacceptable. My friends son, who is a drug dealer, but I didn't know it, showed up at our place one time, and he pulled this huge crack rock out his pocket to show it to us. I had such a fit, he hasn't come back since. LOL! I am like you sleples, I will not risk losing my child because of their stupidity. My husband and I made it very clear to all of them, you do not stop over and bring that junk, and this site doesn't care what your reasoning is.

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Hi all, I was busy trying to get organized to go away Saturday morning. I only started learning about all these pain meds a year and a half ago and this is all quite informational! Thank you all! My doctor was reluctant to administer pain meds when all this started quite a few years ago. Like all of you, it’s come to that point, so I just think with the progressiveness and additional problems, he’s just decided it is finally necessary. Nenene, years ago, I started with the migraines….I don’t know if anyone has tried what my doctor has me do now, so I’ll toss this out to see if it would be anything that might help anyone that still suffers from migraines. I started with the typical meds like taking Depakote and Topamax for preventative, and when having the migraines tried Relpax and a few others. Not much help though, because sometimes they make your heart race and stuff. (Not good choices of meds for children) So, to the point…I now take 2 20 mg Prednisone on the onset and then a 10 mg Percocet. Reasoning for the Prednisone was that I had residual effects for 2 to 3 days after the migraines where I would be foggy and extremely off balance. The doctor thought that perhaps the Prednisone would help with that. It does, so that it one thing that finally helps with that most of the time.
Now with the more prominent everyday problems that have developed over the past few years, all this info regarding the pain medication is fabulous! Scary though with all the side affects they tell you about, but if you get the right combination for your own physical tolerance, they don’t become such an issue.
Pelota, one of my biggest fears is burn…. I just can’t even imagine!
Like you mentioned regarding the giving away pain meds, oh my gosh! No, we’re not necessarily stupid…. just think we are helping others until we do find out that they are only using it for “the fun of it”. When you really need it, we know it’s not for fun. You don’t even get a fun feeling…. just take the edge off.
I’ve made the mistake of going for days without, then a few days with, and days without, because I gave too many to friends who had bad backs and stuff. Light bulb – see a doctor and get some for yourself if it’s that bad, right? Like you mentioned, they don’t. Why do we make ourselves go without? I won’t do that anymore either. Oh and yes, I get the friends wanting to buy them too. I need them to at least be comfortable…. I’ll struggle with the lack of money any day! Struggled financially all my life, I’d rather have a relatively good day instead!
Zippy – I found lsd from my half sister in my freezer once. I was letting her stay with me after not knowing who adopted her when she was 2 and where she was for 17 years. Should have seen how angry she was when she found out I flushed it down the toilet. Told her I wasn’t losing my child over that. Had to have her move. Made me feel so bad after wondering all those years where she was. Turns out she was right in the next state and that her aunt had adopted her.
Nenene, I worked in CT. Lots of sad stories we’ve both heard!!
By the by, probably not supposed to do this, but if anyone wants to write, just add @aol.com.
Again, all of you have been extremely helpful with all this information. I do hope we all find the right combination of meds for more “on” days than “off”.
To exit with my odd sense of humor – the people that beg for our pain meds or ask how much we want for them…I now say I don’t have many left and start singing the old song “Comfortably Numb”…LOL. They don’t get mad then, they actually start to laugh. Best pain medication there is!!
Have a sparkling week everyone!

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Pelota4, The doctor had my 14 year old on Lyrica for serious migraine headaches. We tried it for a month or more at different strengths. The idea was to prevent the headaches as much as possible. Kira seemed to get somewhat better but was so lethargic from it we finally had to take her off it. She did okay when taking it at bedtime but then we needed to increase the dose and could only add it in the morning. This was a problem for school, so we discontinued. It didnt help much anyway. However, my sister just started taking Lyrica three months ago (and takes Percocet for break through pain.) It has done wonders for her back, and her back is really really bad. She cant even try to get out of bed without taking two of the ten milligram Percocet. She is having no side effects from the Lyrica. No weight gain, retention of water or anything....not even sleepiness, because she takes it at bedtime and she was already taking the narcotics so she was used to things that made her tired. Please give the Lyrica a try. You might find that it is just the right answer for you. Good luck. I hope it works for you!

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Zippysgoddess, Its hard for me when a family member or friend say's they are hurting and need a pain pill. I have set my boundaries though and will offer a ride to the ER if its that bad? I have also offered a referral to my pain clinic but as you most likely have already guessed, they never accept either option. I hate when they get ugly with me and call me selfish but they are the ones being selfish by expecting me to suffer! I hurt way to much and going without would increase my pain to where it would be hard to get back on top of it.

To top that off I moved my neighbor has asked many times if I had some thing strong for her daughter who has migraines, root canals, hip pain and a twisted ankle. I made the mistake of revealing to much last fall when she asked me why I never left for work and then about my condition. Her daughter has even came over a few times wanting to buy. When I see her with 3 little kids all under 10 I get upset and almost sick thinking about a parent who will spend money she doesn't have on a high. Her mom as told me her phone has been disconnected and she went to jail for writing bad checks. I told my pain doctor and he suggested I buy a safe right away. He also told me that I cannot tell people I need or take narcotic pain medication! He said that people break into houses and worse. Guess I'm just to trusting and a bit to stupid???

I switched from Methadone to Oxycontin in March because I gained weight and retained water on Methadone. My doc wants me to begin Lyrica tonight but as I was reading the insert it listed weight gain, water retention and puffiness as the main side effects. Do any of you know if this has been an issue with yourself or others?

I am learning so much from all of you! Thank you for taking time to write and share. I hope everyone is having a good day! Warmest regards!

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I hope I will never need it, but it is good to know. I filled prescriptions at a hospital years back for something similar but not over the past five years or so.

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They are used for many types of acute and chronic pain, so there are people who use them for conditions like yours ne. My ex-sister in law used to use one, until they made her go in and have it removed as she was no longer following any docs orders or care regimen.

But yes, they can be used for other conditions, so you should be able to look into it later.

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Are those pumps that are implanted onlyfor those with serious back pain or are they for other chronic pain as well?

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Hey Pelota! Ugh! My own sister has tried to get me to give her my pain meds so she could sell them and keep the money for herself, of course. Well, alright, let me clarify she is my HALF sister, and even though she is 9 years older than me, when people see us together, they usually think I am the oldest, she has tempter tantrums and acts like a little kid in public.

Did I ever mention that I don't visit most of my family that often, other than my dad? LOL!

By the way, I've never heard of those pumps being used for anything except Morhpine so far.

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I think you may be confusing a PCA (Patient Controlled Anesthesia) pump with the Intrathecal implanted pump I'm referring too? This is not a pump hooked to an IV like the ones used post-op. This is an implanted system in the abdomen with a line (catheter) that is tapped into the spine. It is not permanent but its also not some thing that can be installed and removed without surgery. Having one installed is some thing that needs evaluated and discussed in great detail. In my case, I'm allergic to Morphine and I really don't know if other drugs are used in these? I also have huge amounts of scar tissue (adhesions) that developed in and around my spine after each fusion. So personally I don't like the idea of adhesions growing around the pump and line into my spine worse than it has. Plus, I'm getting good pain control taking 80mg of Oxycontin 5 times a day. I just switched from Zanaflex to Skelaxin and I'm going to begin Lyrica tomorrow night to see what I think? There are many medications that when used in the right combinations will help most chronic pain? That's where a good pain clinic really makes a difference.

Oh, by the way. My pain doc is a Psychiatrist trained in addiction. He works 2 days a week at a rehab facility called Bradford. When he gave me my last script for Oxycontin he told me that the people he treats have told him that they pay $1 a mg or as nenene123 said $10 for 10mg. So he told me if I wanted to sell cheap and fast I could sell my 80's for $60 and put $9,000 in my pocket every month or hold out for $80 and make $12,000! I told him that if I could chew on dollar bills for pain relief I would have stayed home and munched on the $10 it cost me in gas to drive there! Wonder why people think pain meds lead to addiction or why many doctors fear writing scripts for them??? It sure makes every thing more difficult for those of us who really need drug therapy!

This website has excellent information about an Intrathecal Pain Pump.
http:/­/­www.medtronic.com/­neuro/­ttp/­treatment_pump.html

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