Opioids [U.S.A.] What can someone with chronic pain do if they need safe/legal pain medication?

[Skorpio]

Tianeptine has a real short half life, getting a habit to that would be pretty rough and involve round the clock dosing.

Kratom would be worth a shot, but if buprenorphine doesn't hold the OP, I wouldn't bet that kratom would do much better.

Poppy seed tea is going to provide a strong full agonist (as it's morphine), but you need to test out batches of it really carefully, as sometimes it can be quite strong. It has the benefit of slowing metabolism due to the other poppy alkaloids, so you won't need to redose as much as if you were taking pharmaceutical morphine.

However, it is kind of precarious legally, and it would be wise to have a backup plan if it gets clamped down upon and suddenly becomes hard to find.

Have you tried gabapentenoids such as gabapentin or pregabalin? Those sometimes work for nerve pain. Also tricyclic antidepressants work for some types of nerve pain.

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

I endured it 240mg of methadone to NOTHING 5 days in county jail of sweating, twitching, Migraine and no sleep. The jail wouldnt even give me a ibubprofen.

how much $$$ was he rewarded?

Oh god... This is illegal? Maybe it was prior to the US laws progressing because they're legally obligated to prevent this situation incarcerating the dopesick.

Prison isn't known to be kind LOL. I'm just shocked at the pure irony of a place punishing people who go against the law by going against the law themselves withholding withdrawal means.

OH! Question for anyone... does gabapentin sound like it would help OP at least even a little? Maybe that applies only to nerve pain but I'm starting to wonder if gabapentin was made for people like OP as well?

Opiates help her situation but its really not the best angle if one can avoid it. Gabapentin versus turning into a slave of opiates seems like if it worked--could dodge a huge bullet but I'm unsure!

 

[Señor Moreno]

Gabapentin and specially pregabalin are very useful for some things, opiate wds being one.Regarding pain, they are suited for neruropathic mostly. Don't know the Op pain's etiology, but she could try them.
Important to note that they are addictive and have bad wds.

I endured it 240mg of methadone to NOTHING 5 days in county jail of sweating, twitching,

.. (one woman experienced 3rd degree burns, her skin was legitimately falling off and the ER gave her asprin)

I just want that one day they could harvest what they sowed, I wish them to be in actual pain and to get the same "care" that they provide to others

Oh god... This is illegal?7

Preventing a person who needs a med from having it is torture, no more no less.
If russians or ucranians were doing that to their prisoners, they would be called war criminals, but doing the exactly same thing to citizens in an hospital or jail, is cool.
That's the level of depravation we have reached.

LOL. I'm just shocked at the pure irony of a place punishing people who go against the law by going against the law themselves

What a interesting and intelligent point

 

[Gaz_hmmmm]

You could try poppy pods (Either growing or taking them from gardens and the wild.) which obviously vary in strength a lot.
Obviously not legal for consumption.

Also try kratom, it contains two opioids within it, one of which is around 7 times more potent than morphine and it’s legal in a lot of the US.

 

[LoveTractor]

I apologize for the length (of this post!) but wanted folks to have all the details so I needn’t supply them after replies come in - wasting other’s time. I’m not a new member but I haven't posted since roughly 2019, forgot p/w and lost access to my registered e-mail account.*

I'm in a common enough situation, one that a lot of BLers have been through, but there are details that may be unique. Thank you to those who want to help. I need it.
I have an extruded disc at L5:S1 that is compressing my sciatic nerve leaving me nearly incapacitated and other mechanical spine defects. I've been referred to pain management b/c surgery is at least a month away, maybe longer and I take 4-mg bupe (Subutex generic sublingual) which I am now dropping to 2-mg over the next few weeks. 15 years I've been taking bupe & clonazepam - at much higher doses in the past.

For reference while on steady 4-mg/day bupe, 60-mg oxycodone IR barely touched the pain for one hour. And that was with clonazepam 1-mg, Valium 20-mg and Soma 700-mg on board. I am quite tolerant to all of those and took that combo as prescribed during ER discharge, I did not drive!

The only thing that has given me relief was ketamine IV at the ER with modest hydromorphone IV and Torodol. It worked quite well but only lasted maybe 5 hours. There are clinics in my area that offer ketamine infusions for chronic pain. There is no consensus on its efficacy for my situation.

Has anyone here had success with ketamine for severe mechanical pain that involves a spinal nerve or other intractable pain condition? CRPS I’ve heard does respond well but I think that’s not a mechanical pain type, correct me if I am wrong.

If ketamine doesn't work considering my bupe dose, roughly 3-mg / day - which I can just stop at any time if given the right dose of opioid - what would you folks estimate to be a pain reducing dose of oxycodone, methadone, fentanyl, hydromorphone (IN), etc. taken immediately after after dropping a bupe dose of 3-mg/day unless staying on bupe at 2-mg is a better idea and add any of those opioids taken orally on top of the bupe? Oxycodone and methadone are what the PM doc prescribes, along with cyclobenzaprine, maybe Soma or valium.

I know the benzo might make it more difficult to get PM to dose me properly if at all. Supposedly the PM doc I'm seeing is ok with complex cases like mine.

All of this is “at a guess” - I know I can't know what will work until it is trialed.

I'd like for ketamine to work but I don't think it will for more than a day and at the cost of ~$1000 per infusion, I won't try more it more than 3 - 4x.

Last resort might be readily available options like PPT, kratom, maybe... maybe.. RCs. Really want to avoid that route - I'm not good with DW markets.

Thank you!

*IIrc duplicate accounts violate BL policy, if so if an admin would help me recover my original account that would be nice. Sorry I didn't look into how to do that myself, I'm in narly fucking pain and it impacts my memory.

 

[G_Chem]

If you're on 16mg a day then no opiates are going to get through that. Also I'm not trying to be a dick as I also have chronic pain, but your not at a level 10 of pain. 10 is the worst imaginable pain you can experience and when you tell a doctor your pain is 10 they have a tendency to not believe you.

This is true. I remember my last time going in when I chopped off part of my thumb. She asked me where I was and I said 8 and I could tell that seemed reasonable to her given the circumstances. The provider reads out the patient with that question more than anything else.

A 10 is literally screaming in agony to have some put a bullet in your head. I’ve been there.

-Gc

 

[LoveTractor]

I forgot to mention they threw pregabalin at me - low dose but escalating. I've read studies that indicate it is ineffective for sciatica pain. Anyone have success with that? At what dose? Idk if the PM physician will let me continue pregab or go off it. We shall see soon. Again, thank you to anyone for their input.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Prison isn't known to be kind LOL. I'm just shocked at the pure irony of a place punishing people who go against the law by going against the law themselves withholding withdrawal means.

In the fifty years I roamed this earth only recently this excact fact was told to me by someone on the inside. Especially, but not only, the police doesn't have to follow up on the law.

The same law they use to punish you. Weird world as when you are mugged or someone breaks in your house they are very helpful. And at the same time they have an inside policy that is plain wrong.

 

[Keif' Richards]

In the current time, it's extremely difficult to get Opioids prescribed at adequate doses. This is just the pushback from the doctors trying to fix what they did in the past decade.

A lot of people who require Opioids but cannot obtain a prescription are sent to the Methadone/Buprenorphine clinic. I feel this is rarely the proper treatment for a person struggling with pain, but it is often the only one available. Methadone is a great painkiller in its own right. The difference here is that Methadone will be administered once per day, whereas thrice daily dosing is known to be the most effective regimen for pain relief. If you go to the Clinic, pass a few drugs tests and all that jazz, they will set you up with takehome medication. Once you have these privileges, you will be able to take the medicine when you need it most.

If you can't get these things through legitimate channels, your options are Methaonde, Buprenorphine or Fentanyl with little other recourse. It sucks, but I do believe pain can be treated through the clinic if the person is willing to invest the time and energy into the process.

 

[CmonYouShouldKnowBetter]

Is kratom not an option? Even tianeptine if it comes down to it

 

[Juicewrldfan]

I had an emergency C section to save me and my sons life, during which, the anesthesiologist put a shot in my spine and my back muscle twitched without my control and fucked my back up really bad. I signed up for suboxone treatment thinking it could give me some relief (I take 8mg 2 times a day) and it doesn't touch the pain the literally leaves me useless. I feel like my sons childhood isn't what it can be... I feel like I am cheating him and my husband out of having a healthy and happy life. I've thought about switching to methadone... I've called the clinic and they pretty much told me I have to go every single day for about a month or two and the first day I'll be given 5 mg and be increased 5mg at a time until my "correct" dosage is reached.. I've heard horror stories about methadone though... I've had multiple car accidents after the C section that have further damaged my spine... I am at a loss.. what does anyone suggest I do? I ask you guys here, because y'all know how difficult it is to get legitimate pain medication in a country that is possessed with what some people call "Opioid Hysteria". I've joins "Don't Punish Pain" Rally's along with other chronic pain advocate groups and social medias and a'lot of folks are experiencing what I am and far worse... (one woman experienced 3rd degree burns, her skin was legitimately falling off and the ER gave her asprin)

Horror stories make methadone more frightening than it is as a former methadone clinic patient. But Geeze they start you at 5ml? That’s low as fuck. Mine started at 30. I doubt you get much out of 5. And yeah the going everyday until you get take homes sucks but usually they have take homes on the weekends right away and holidays.

I’m not a fan of methadone because it has none of the euphoria of other opioids but it’s extremely good for pain and long lasting.

Kratom may help. It’s not as powerful as morphine but one of the alkaloids is more powerful the problem is very little of the primary alkaloid gets converted to it in the liver but you may have some pain relief with it. It’s cheap asf too. I’m not saying you should go this route but it’s better than getting dirty 30s off the street. Just have to get lab tested reputable quality kratom tho if you do go this route.

I don’t recommend tianeptine.


I don’t recommend the dark web for many reasons. You have to really know what you’re doing.

Hope things get better for you

 

[trinkiest]

I forgot to mention they threw pregabalin at me - low dose but escalating. I've read studies that indicate it is ineffective for sciatica pain. Anyone have success with that? At what dose? Idk if the PM physician will let me continue pregab or go off it. We shall see soon. Again, thank you to anyone for

 

[LoveTractor]

I ended up in PM with a script for hydromorphone 8-mg 6x/day and ketamine nasal spray - idk the conc. of the ket b/c I don't yet have it.
Amazing care considering I'm in the States but my condition, E.R. visits and physical exams backed by imaging it is pretty obvious I'm in severe chronic pain.

Thanks folks - I got myself sorted out just right, not too much, not too little (for now). I like my pain doc - he's sharp and pretty cool but def. tries not to over prescribe and has very tight rules - pill counts, quantitative UAs, blood draws on occasion (likely to look at trough levels b/f giving increases). All the better since I am a former degenerate junkie.

I won't need to ask for an increase for a good bit - I think - my pain is almost nil for 4+ hours, but it comes back hard by 6 hrs. Dosing every four to five is working just fine, and I so far I can skip the 4AM dose and wait until I wake up in pain around 7AM. I sleep like a bear in January - I'm also on a benzo and a form of d-amp to offset all the downers I legit take.

Under treated chronic pain sucks huge - almost offed myself it got that dark, and I feel for everyone out there in that situation and am going to try my best to be perfect on not overusing my meds and getting an unnecessarily high tolerance. Interestingly I don't find the hydromorphone very reinforcing, except in that it obliterates my pain, but I take it PO not IN so its not all that strong considering I'm coming off bupe 4-mg/day, that was 16-mg a month ago and will be 2-mg by next week.