I'm currently taking 64 mg. Exalgo (dilaudid ER) per day for pain management. I have severe pain, so I need to be on something for pain control.
The problem is that long-acting opiates make me sweat like crazy. (It's a side effect of the meds, NOT withdrawal or hormones). I never had a problem with sweating until the day I started on long-acting opiates, which was about 4 years ago.
Short-acting opiates do not make me sweat. For years, I tried to get by with just codeine or Vicodin or 5 mg. oxycodone for pain. None of those made me sweat, but they also left me in a world of pain.
I'm now seeing a good pain management doctor, who put me on the long acting opiates (with short-acting opiates for breakthrough pain).
I used to take Avinza (morphine ER), which made me sweat even more than the Exalgo. I switched to Exalgo hoping this problem would go away, but not much luck. (It's a tiny bit better, but I still sweat a lot in certain situations).
I think part of the problem is the fact that my pain is so severe I need to take fairly high doses. 90 mg. morphine didn't make me sweat very much, but it also didn't do much for my pain. With each dosage increase, my sweating got worse. I needed 360 mg. or more per day of the morphine just to get my pain under control.
I've also tried to taper down from my 64 mg. Exalgo dose to try to minimize the side effects. Each time I lowered my dose, the sweating lessened and my pain increased. It was great not to have the sweating messing up my hair and make-up, but I was reminded of just how excruciating my pain is at only 32 mg. or 48 mg. Exalgo (even WITH breakthrough pain meds). Ultimately, I could not stand to be in such severe pain, so I went back to taking 64 mg. Exalgo.
This is a real catch-22: The pain meds dull my pain to the point where I can function, but just a short walk will start the sweating. If I take a lower dose of Exalgo, I don't have nearly as much sweating, but then I'm in so much pain that I can't even go for a walk.
The sweating is really embarassing if I'm out in public, so consequently I don't go out much. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of life because of this.
I have discussed the sweating with my pain doctor. He switched me from Avinza to Exalgo, which only helped a little bit. Then he prescribed a high blood pressure med called Hytrin which is supposed to reduce sweating. I'm currently taking 3 mg. Hytrin per day. The Hytrin helps a tiny bit, but my sweating continues.
I know that profuse sweating IS a side effect of long-acting opiates. Just google "opiates and sweating", and you'll find lots of stories like mine.
Sometimes I think about certain celebrities who are or were users of opiates, and I wonder what they were doing differently? I don't want to name any names, but I never saw any of these celebrity users/addicts sweating. I wish I knew their secret. (Obviously, opiate users will sweat when going into withdrawal, but that's not what I'm talking about). I'm talking about sweating as a direct side effect of long-acting opiates. I take my meds daily and am never in withdrawal.
Just curious....does heroin cause sweating? Or methadone?
My pain doctor says that all of the long-acting opiates have sweating as a potential side effect. Maybe I should try yet another different long-acting opiate? I thought Exalgo would be a good one. It IS better than Avinza.
I have tried Oxycontin, but only at a somewhat low dose. I don't recall sweating, but my pain level was out-of-control at only 120 mg. per day. If I gave Oxycontin another try, we would need to titrate way up, and I'm fairly sure that as soon as I started to get my pain under control, my sweating would get out of control. (I didn't sweat when taking a low dose of morphine or a low dose of Exalgo, either).
I also tried the Fentanyl patch at 75 mcg, which was a very low dose for me. Again, I don't recall sweating at that dose, but I do remember being in so much pain that I could barely think straight. Even at only 75 mcg., the fentanyl patch gave me serious dry mouth, so I don't think it's the right med for me.
I just wondered if anyone has any advice; thanks! Is sweating a common side-effect of long-acting opiates? Is there any way to control it?
The problem is that long-acting opiates make me sweat like crazy. (It's a side effect of the meds, NOT withdrawal or hormones). I never had a problem with sweating until the day I started on long-acting opiates, which was about 4 years ago.
Short-acting opiates do not make me sweat. For years, I tried to get by with just codeine or Vicodin or 5 mg. oxycodone for pain. None of those made me sweat, but they also left me in a world of pain.
I'm now seeing a good pain management doctor, who put me on the long acting opiates (with short-acting opiates for breakthrough pain).
I used to take Avinza (morphine ER), which made me sweat even more than the Exalgo. I switched to Exalgo hoping this problem would go away, but not much luck. (It's a tiny bit better, but I still sweat a lot in certain situations).
I think part of the problem is the fact that my pain is so severe I need to take fairly high doses. 90 mg. morphine didn't make me sweat very much, but it also didn't do much for my pain. With each dosage increase, my sweating got worse. I needed 360 mg. or more per day of the morphine just to get my pain under control.
I've also tried to taper down from my 64 mg. Exalgo dose to try to minimize the side effects. Each time I lowered my dose, the sweating lessened and my pain increased. It was great not to have the sweating messing up my hair and make-up, but I was reminded of just how excruciating my pain is at only 32 mg. or 48 mg. Exalgo (even WITH breakthrough pain meds). Ultimately, I could not stand to be in such severe pain, so I went back to taking 64 mg. Exalgo.
This is a real catch-22: The pain meds dull my pain to the point where I can function, but just a short walk will start the sweating. If I take a lower dose of Exalgo, I don't have nearly as much sweating, but then I'm in so much pain that I can't even go for a walk.
The sweating is really embarassing if I'm out in public, so consequently I don't go out much. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of life because of this.
I have discussed the sweating with my pain doctor. He switched me from Avinza to Exalgo, which only helped a little bit. Then he prescribed a high blood pressure med called Hytrin which is supposed to reduce sweating. I'm currently taking 3 mg. Hytrin per day. The Hytrin helps a tiny bit, but my sweating continues.
I know that profuse sweating IS a side effect of long-acting opiates. Just google "opiates and sweating", and you'll find lots of stories like mine.
Sometimes I think about certain celebrities who are or were users of opiates, and I wonder what they were doing differently? I don't want to name any names, but I never saw any of these celebrity users/addicts sweating. I wish I knew their secret. (Obviously, opiate users will sweat when going into withdrawal, but that's not what I'm talking about). I'm talking about sweating as a direct side effect of long-acting opiates. I take my meds daily and am never in withdrawal.
Just curious....does heroin cause sweating? Or methadone?
My pain doctor says that all of the long-acting opiates have sweating as a potential side effect. Maybe I should try yet another different long-acting opiate? I thought Exalgo would be a good one. It IS better than Avinza.
I have tried Oxycontin, but only at a somewhat low dose. I don't recall sweating, but my pain level was out-of-control at only 120 mg. per day. If I gave Oxycontin another try, we would need to titrate way up, and I'm fairly sure that as soon as I started to get my pain under control, my sweating would get out of control. (I didn't sweat when taking a low dose of morphine or a low dose of Exalgo, either).
I also tried the Fentanyl patch at 75 mcg, which was a very low dose for me. Again, I don't recall sweating at that dose, but I do remember being in so much pain that I could barely think straight. Even at only 75 mcg., the fentanyl patch gave me serious dry mouth, so I don't think it's the right med for me.
I just wondered if anyone has any advice; thanks! Is sweating a common side-effect of long-acting opiates? Is there any way to control it?
