What S Stronger Than Opana (Top voted first)

I do not know why anyone hasn't mentoned methadone ? Opana. Diaudid are both IR drugs. The pain relief never lasts long and tolerance develops quickly. Methadone is an instant release medication whose long half life cannot be beat. There is a new law or regulation that if your pain management Doctor has you on methadone that an EKG has to be done each year. Evidently methadone can contribute to heart arythmias but lower dose's ( under 80mg ) seem to be fine. 80 mg of methadone will keep almost anyone pain free ( and possibly asleep) and the duration is 24 hours. I was on methadone maintenance for years but not for chronic pain I am an addict but now in recovery from all drugs and etoh but methadone is a great pain medication for chronic pain sufferers but has a bad reputation because of the long withdrawal syndrome after discontinuation. Also there is an extreme risk of death associated with Methadone and any benzos. I cannot count on my hand how many people I have known overdosed and died as a result of taking methadone and benzodiazepines. If I had to be on pain meds for chronic long term pain. methadone would be my drug of choice. There are generics and it is a cheap drug as well. Good luck people.

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For me David I am in total agreement for the medicinal and recreational use and legalization of mj. ETOH or alcohol kills more people in the USA than Aids and Cancer combined and has been legal for many years. There are no arguments left on the total legalization of mj. One might argue that it is a gateway drug ect but I think etoh is a gateway drug and is far worst on the body. These are not just one persons opinion but fact. Personally whenever I have mj weather it was bricked up commercial Mexican, Columbian bud or even expensive sinsemillia, the high amplified whatever I was feeling. If I was in pain it would make my pain worst. If I was in a good mood. it would get me in a better mood. Don't get me wrong I feel mmj has a huge place in medicine and we still are learning all of its benefits for mankind but when it comes to pain, narcotics (opioid) these are really the only option we have. I will tell you a little secret I learned which I never would have believed in a million years unless I went through it myself, is that when one becomes dependent on opioid analgesics to relieve pain, that your pain threshold heightens and your naturally occurring pain relieving endorphins become nil. Then after detoxing it can take a month or 2 to reset the brain chemistry so that these naturally occurring pain endorphins get back on track with the rest of our bodies (sleeping well, eating well, etc). It took me around 3 months after my last dose of IV 12mg hydromorphone (I had a high tolerance) before I could sleep good. hold down food. no diarrhea etc, before I felt good and when I mean good. like I had my energy back. It wasn't a task to have to get up and go urinate. The nurse's in my treatment facility stole my cane! I was cussing them out believe me and If I wasn't paying them big bucks to stay there - They would have thrown me out (no doubt) but to make a long story short I have been more or less pain free (not needing opioids to deal with pain) for over 13 years. I know not everyone is as fortunate as myself and one person's experience is not necessarily the same as the next persons and some HAVE to be on opioid therapy. But with that I do need to start my day. Good luck people

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@Hero4u2b,

Thank you for the information on methadone. It does seem like a viable alternative to other types of narcotic pain meds that have become increasingly difficult for patients to fill now-a-days, due to all the wide-spread abuse/theft. However, the long withdrawals are certainly methadone's down side in my opinion - especially if you need to be on it for several months/years and suddenly get cut off out of nowhere due to unforeseen circumstances that are out of a patient's control (such as losing their main prescribing doctor and being referred to someone else with different views on methadone). I for one don't hear about that happening too often, but it's definitely something to keep in mind if you depend on methadone or any single pain med for total relief.

Some people may or may not agree with this, but medical marijuana - including CBD's - is gaining reputation as a great adjunctive therapy for synergistic use with pain meds. I'd be curious to know if anyone has had experience/success taking it with methadone, rather than potentially dangerous combinations like benzos?

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I appreciate you taking the time to reply Hero4u2b. I stand in agreement with much of what you mentioned. And from personal experience, I too find that the effects of mmj (specifically THC) does amplify whatever state of mind or feelings you have at that moment, until it begins to wear off. So if you're a generally positive person, this would probably be a good thing. But for those chronic pain patients (in constant nagging pain) I can see how it may be less beneficial mentally in that particular aspect.

CBD's are another story however, because they do not exhibit psychoactive effects - and appear to have a more direct influence on inflammation.

Ref (see the third section on "Analgesia"): cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page4

So for THC, I can certainly see why it may not be a viable option for some pain patients, but CBD on the other hand seems to be an exception, since it's a different animal in many ways. Just wanted to post this info for anyone else who may be following along.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience!

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David, my own brother and ex has been on pain medication for years. My ex for around 20 years. At first he had no problem getting his D's filled or his methadone ect. but when Roxycodone hit the market and I am guessing this was about 2002 or so because my clean date is 1/4/ 2002 and I do not remember those as far as being around at all. I remember we had Dilaudid. MS contiin MSIR ( half grain ms) Oxycontin, Duragesic patches, Roxanol and even Oxyfast. some other forms of morphine sulfate and that was basically it. unless you were on methadone maintenance or opioids. I will say I NEVER had a problem getting my medication filled. I remember my last prescription was for 90- 80mg Oxycontin and 200-4mg Dilaudid for break through pain and Target on fruitville rd. in Sarasota Florida filled it in 30 mins or less. Sometimes pharmacy's might have one and not the other or be short etc. Sometimes we would just switch parking lots before administering our dose so as to relieve the sickness if you know what I mean.. Now a days you can get a good Doctor but the pharmacy's tell you they are out of the medication or they just won't fill it. This all stems from the Doctors loosely prescribing Roxycodone when it first came out ( new wonder drug). People liking it then became addicted to it and of course all the pain management clinics that started up here in Florida in early 2000 and up. We still have pain management clinics here in the state of Florida but there has been all kinds of regulations imposed on these guys.

We had massive clinic raids here in S.florida (wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/how-the-george-brothers-became-millionaires-with-pill-mills-in-broward-and-palm-beach-counties) and some of the Doctors are still in Jail and or going to trial for Murder charges. I think it is ridiculous to hold a Doctor responsible for someone's death. Especially first degree murder. (one is charged with that) I can understand emergency suspensions of their license's or even possible negligence but some of these older gentlemen had no idea what they were getting into. I mean they were hired out of retirement (some of them) and promised 150k a year to work in a clinic and knew what was happening obviously because they used their DEA #'s to write C11 drugs for patients who came in dope sick. and from other areas of Florida and even other states. (track marks all over their arms and hands) Back when I partook, Pharmacy's were the least of your worries. Keeping a good Doctor that you kept on the low from other addict friends was the key to maintaining.

My ex sometimes has to go to Mom and Pop pharmacy's and pay CASH for his meds. Other times he waits for a week or more. His Doctor now has to write him 2 persciption's for # 150 4mg Dilaudid because the quantity is questionable. I know Walgreens paid out over 80 million in fines a few years ago so they now have a sheet they use to see if you meet the criteria so they can fill the controlled substance. If there is any question. They won't. I feel sorry for those people who live with chronic pain and depend on pain management Doctors for their meds to make life bearable. If I had to go through anything like my ex does now I would go get on methadone maintenance and pay the $70-100 a week. Sometimes insurance even pays it. I know mine did at one point. I do not know if that link I inserted worked but its about a couple of brothers from a bit north of me that got into the pain management business. Take care

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Once your tolerance ( in my opinion and frompast experience with opioid analgesics) kicks in with any narcotic there Is very little that can be done. Even in changing to other opioids. Methadone in my opinion is the best. long lasting pain relief analgesic on the market , unfortunately methadone ( dolophine) has a bad reputation in many worlds. The detox or " Kick " when detoxing from methadone can be very long as is its half life and it can be extremely dangerous as well especially if used in combination with benzodiazepines. You could ask any coroner in any county in most of the USA that benzodiazepines contribute to many over dose case's that come into their offices when it comes to methadone. Its almost like the old barbiturate and etoh cases up until they removed them from the market in the early 80's. I have known of cancer patients who went into treatment to be detoxed from their opioid regimen so their Doctor could start them again with lower dose's of pain medication. I could go on but if I had prolonged pain issues I would look to starting methadone. It is very inexpensive and very reliable.There is no need to dose more than once daily although many Doctors are unaware of this and still prescribe smaller dose's multiple times daily. I was on Methadone maintenance for years ( on and off) due to various circumstances and many people do very good on methadone. They can work and have a fairly normal life without the horrors of intravenous needle sharing. Court case's. Doctor shopping ect Goodluck in your quest !

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The inability of pharmacies to fill various prescriptions for pain medication seems to be a nationwide pandemic. Here on the West Coast, things have tightened up a lot as well and the pharmacist's awareness of wide spread abuse is always keeping them on high alert, even when a patient is clearly disabled. It's like they refuse to trust anyone, despite having their doctor's approval/prescription. In a more perfect reality, I think a doctor should have permission to not only prescribe, but also dispense certain medications… not to have their prescription 'told off' by a pharmacist (with less education) after diagnosing a specific condition for which the medication is supposed to be used. And maybe it's not necessarily the pharmacist's fault, since they don't write the laws - but at the very least, I think the DEA should really lighten up on their policies and schedules for certain drugs that have a clear clinical application and deemed a medical necessity for a percentage of people on this planet experiencing pain on another level.

I could probably go on forever about how unjust the US healthcare and legal system really is. I just hope those who are truly in need will be able to continue finding relief by being a good steward and not abusing the right to use pain medication that actually works.

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Well I've been on OxyContin 80 mg twice a day for 10 years plus also 5/325 percocets prn as needed for flare ups. Now they want me to go to pain management for my scripts. They are giving me a problem about my OxyContin since people use to abuse them but they changed the pills. Now my pain meds don't seem to be helping me as much as they use to but I think my body is immune to them. Maybe a change is needed. They are offering the following four choices: MS Contin, morphine, fentanyl patch or methadone. Can anyone give me some advice and information on what to do? thanx

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Depending on the type of chronic pain you have, methadone is very good but not good when getting off of it. Its a hard med to get off and can take awhile but for chronic pain it works well. The fentanyl patches work well also but take a day to kick in and finding the right dosage can take abit to figure out. I have severe chronic CRPS (Chronic regional pain syndrome) and osteo-arthritis and tendonitis in my ankle after going down the stairs and severely dislocating and breaking it 13+ years ago. I have a severe reactions to weather change and the wet/cold really kills me badly. And the nerve pain never ends which is brutal and can drive me absolutely batty in pain but after years of different doctors, surgeries, rehab after rehab and every treatment+pain control regiment known to mankind i now take extended release generic oxycontin and instant release seupedol (oxycodone) tablets daily and for the most part my pain is held in check. I take one 40mg oxycontin in the morning, and then 4X 20mg oxycodone instant release tablets throughout the day and then another 40mg oxycontin at bedtime. I take the extended release in the morning because it helps keep my instant release meds from making me feel swings in the medication. And at bedtime so i dont have any withdrawls and pain in my sleep which i used to have severely before i started taking it. I am on a high dosage because my body metabolites (spelling?) Quite quickly and the instant release meds only work for about 3-4 hours and then i definitely need to take more or it gets super painful and i feel terrible. This works for me but of course everyone is different. The best advice i can give you is ONLY take what you TRULY and HONESTLY need, otherwise you WILL have bad problems and you WILL have severe tolerance and pain problems. Taking a low dosage extended release tablet in the morning (after you eat) and then take an instant release tablet every 4-8 hours as needed will work very well for you as long as you stick to this routine and dont screw around and take more then you need. If you do you WILL end up wanting and guaranteed taking more meds then what your pain levels are and then you will have issues running out of your meds early and eventually your doctor will kick you off making you a dependent addict. (Trust me this happens a hellva lot more then you think and happens to every type of person regardless of their career/family/class etc). Taking opiates for pain control is No joke at all, the people that end up ok and able to live their lives are the ones that stick to their routines, never abuse their dosages, never take other drugs (except for marijuana) and never lie to themselves and are open and honest to their doctors and family/friends etc. Opiates can help take away pain and work beautifully and they can also be pure hell. Its totally up to you........The best way to find out what meds work best is to take a certain kind and dosage for a week or two and see how you feel, your pain levels and how you are able to live and go about your daily routines etc. Once you find out which meds work the best for you and give you pain control AND quality of life, stick with them and stick to your routine etc. I know quite a few people on opiates and have been for over 10 years and much longer, and we ALL stick to our routines and never screw around. I also know alot of people that are heroin addicts and their lives are pure hell because they screwed around and took the drugs the wrong way and ended up abusing them. Do the right thing for yourself and take them properly and only take the dosage you truly need for pain relief and then you will be ok and able to live your life......... :)

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