What Pain Med Similar to Darvocet?

[DixiChik]

Need something to take edge off chronic pain (spine/joint/pelvic). Used Darvocet for decades til banned. PM has me on Oxycodone, but this shit scares me.

Just had genetic test for metabolism of pain meds @ my request. It said I am "reduced/slow" metabolism of Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, etc. Results suggested alternate meds like hydromorphone, oxymorphone.

I cannot function with my career and family on sedating meds, period. Dilaudid post surgery has always made me comatose.

Any ideas to treat pain @ low doses, avoiding pitfalls? Is that an oxymoron? no pun intended

 

[PotatoMan]

Did a read where it says it relieves mild - moderate pain. Perhaps it is similar to codeine's strength.

Pain is a tricky thing to treat w/o getting addicted. Only your doctor can really help you find the best one for you.

 

[T. Calderone]

Besides making you scared does the oxycodone help your pain? Have you ever been prescribed hydrocodone or tramadol?

 

[pillman1224]

Besides making you scared does the oxycodone help your pain? Have you ever been prescribed hydrocodone or tramadol?

maybe its just me be whenever i take tramadol (not anymore) is always thought i was gonna have a seizure. i say try hydrocodone if your PM will prescribe it. it is not as addictive as oxycodone despite what the dea says. should still be a C-3

 

[DixiChik]

Hey...Thanks for responding. Yes, my doctor prescribed Tramadol when Darvocet was banned, saying it was the "closest" to Darvocet. I never felt any relief with the Tramadol. He finally went to Lortab 5/325, but insisted I move into PM with all of the new scheduling tiers and regulations. He didn't want to be "bogged down" in PM.

I could see where the Hydrocodone could have eased some of my pain, but it seemed to make me sleepy. Upon enrolling in PM with a well-respected doctor within our local hospital, he suggested Fentanyl patches on day one. YES...sadly my medical history documentation can support cancer level pain treatment. I've just always been determined to avoid the big guns. Too many stories read and too much media hype of addiction and abuse. I don't need to add that to my resume'.

I've been in PM for 1.5 years now, but I feel I've made no significant strides with actually "managing" my pain through chemistry. I've gone through unsuccessful trials of MS Contin (NO) Oxycodone (?) Fentanyl (NO) back to Oxycodone. I totally FEAR the Oxycodone. It doesn't actually relieve my pain. I'd say it changes my perception of pain. It also elevates my sadness, which is closely intertwined with day to day teeth-grinding pain.

I see my doctor tomorrow. I'm considering asking to go BACK to where I started (to Lortab). I'm almost 54. Is is downright stupid to fear the good feelings Oxycodone offers, or is my fear justified and I'm better off in pain? Life has taken its toll on me with injury, disease and trauma. I find that with each increasing year, I am more disappointed when I awake every morning.

 

[TheLostBoys]

Its true that the older we get as pain patients, the pain does get worse, & the mornings can sometimes be brutal.....only thing we can hope for is a miracle pill that will come out that will tale away the pain w/o the addiction of opiates.

As for the lortabs making you sleepy, that comes with the territory of taking your pain away.

I also took prescribed Darvocet for several years before they were banned & they worked great & I didn't get the sleepy feeling like ordinary opiates or the high, then I was switched to tramadol which didn't do jack.

You must have some severe & chronic pain for your doctor to prescribe you Fentanyl.......since you want to be active with work & family, stick to hydrocodone.

I never liked oxycodone because like you stated, it doesn't take away my pain, it does what you stated, but it also gave me headaches which is weird.

 

[Erikmen]

Tramadol IMO

 

[pillman1224]

i understand your in pain but dude you got offered the king of all opiods fentanyl. why would you not take it. if i had to choose s life of pain or relief with addiction i am going with the latter sorry sir but it is the lesser of the two evils.

 

[CrazyEngineer]

i understand your in pain but dude you got offered the king of all opiods fentanyl. why would you not take it. if i had to choose s life of pain or relief with addiction i am going with the latter sorry sir but it is the lesser of the two evils.

That's really a fairly personal thing. If you're already fairly involved in drug culture, and you enjoy doing substances recreationally enough that you're fine with the allowances you have to make when you regularly spend time high, then being prescribed strong drugs for pain doesn't really have a downside. You get your pain relief, but your schedule, personal relationships, hobbies, etc. are already at least partially arranged such that being high doesn't conflict with them and so there's no real lifestyle adjustment involved. For someone who isn't super comfortable with drug culture, and has been subordinating her pain management goals to her desire to live as close to functionally sober as possible, going on something like oxycodone or fentanyl would require a set of lifestyle changes she really doesn't want. @OP: Maybe see if your doctor will prescribe you Nurofen (ibuprofen with codeine) and titrate up the dose until it's somewhere reasonable. Failing that, you could try going to hydrocodone first and then if all else fails try oxycodone or oxymorphone.

 

[paranoid android]

Propoxyphene's closest relative on the north American market would be Methadone which is of course much more potent then Propoxyphene which doesn't even help pain as much as 600mg's of Ibuprofen. Codeine is far better of a pain killer then Propoxyphene ever was which was the only Opioid besides Tramadol i have actually turned down.

I take Morphine for Neuropathic pain and i find it to work the second best out of all the opiates i have been on. Fentanyl worked far better and was far less psychologically addictive for me but it's not covered under my current insurance and would run me about $300 a month. I wouldn't say i truly knew what Opioid addiction was until i discovered IV Dilaudid but that's a whole other story

 

[DixiChik]

I've been told I'm a "PollyAnna". I have never been enticed by the drug culture. I was raised in a home where "strict" would have been a gross understatement. I am the youngest of 6 who never tried anything more recreational than a little Jack Daniels in HS and college. None of us ever even smoked a cigarette, much less weed. My pain threshold is a bar set high, I'm certain, by brutal beatings with belts throughout my childhood/teen years. We were beaten harder if we cried out in pain. Sadist parents? Definitely.

I take great personal pride in that we siblings not only survived, but thrived despite the abuse. We are all well-educated professionals who are reasonably successful in our careers, ranging from educators to engineers to architects. Somehow by the grace of God, none of us turned to drugs and alcohol to escape. I think that is a testament.

Psychologically...well, that's a whole "nother" story. I'll just say they dwell in avoidance with family obligations, leaving me STUCK with all things pertaining to my 89 year old mom. She broke her hip and had THR in 2005. They scattered...I placed her in a recently built state of the art nursing home, where she still resides. My mom is the spawn of Satan, so I am on speed dial with the nurses/administrator.

You may ask "Why don't you walk away?" Because I believe regret is the toughest emotion out there. I'd never forgive myself, as I have a heart of mercy.

I cannot "check out" mentally, even if I wanted to, which I don't. I am highly driven by nature (not nurture) and set self-expectations that no human could meet. I have many aging peeps whom I love dearly. I feel responsible to get their shopping done, their beauty appointments and doctors visits. I am the Calvary for my family, friends and neighbors.

I say what I'll do and I'll do what I say. I suffer no idiots with excuses, and I sometimes "poke" bears! I put boots on the ground when most keep butts in the chairs. This has taken a huge toll on me physically and emotionally.

The "aging of a CPP" is SO VERY on point...I've white-knuckled through too much pain for too long. It's either get some help to start LIVING or continue my existence where death would be a welcome break.

Yes, I tried Fentanyl (for pain). The matrix style patch somehow didn't release the medication properly. I got all the horrid SEs with NO pain relief. I'm not looking for a "high"...never have. I'm not looking for "perfect" but "possible". Yes, I have a plethera of separate but equally painful issues, documented over decades of medical records, surgeries and procedures. I have more justification to sip Hemlock than seek more bogus "healthcare".

I insisted my GP perform a genetic test for metabolism of pain meds. It showed that I don't metabolize the codones sufficiently. It suggested possible alternatives as oxymorphone and hydromorphone. Again, Dilaudid puts me face down. I saw my PM on Wednesday. he said "Oh, these results justify increase in shorter dosing intervals of Oxycodone. However, I can only prescribe 90-100 max per month".

Yet another reason I don't want to become dependent on Oxycodone. The pain is still my companion, but I don't feel quite so depressed and unmotivated. I can see where this med could "restore" my energy and desire to live another day. I can also see where it can be the devil himself. If I go back to Hydrocodone, will the sedation lessen with time? Do I stick with the devil I know?

Thanks for reading this verbal vomit.

 

[TheLostBoys]

Hydrocodone sometimes gives you energy & other times makes you sleepy......I've been prescribed hydrocodone for 5 years, & depending on the dose, it does make me relaxed most of the time, but honestly for me, hydrocodone takes away my back & neck pain better than oxycodone.

I don't know why the oxy family causes an increase in my back & neck pain by 10 fold, go figure......I haven't tried dilaudid yet, & since I like hydrocodone, I think dilaudid would be just as good as a pain reliever.

Good luck in your search for pain relief......

 

[DixiChik]

Thanks, TLB. I too experience horrific rebound pain when the Oxycodone wears off. The pain seems actually WORSE, if that's possible. I analyze everything, I know, but pain meds shouldn't "cause" pain IMO.

I often wonder, though futile to do so, IF I hadn't had SHINGLES outbreak that coincided with opiate trials...Would I have gotten a more accurate sense of existing pain levels (sans nerve/lymph node pain from virus)? Who knows? The SHINGLES in my eye have been torture, robbing my vision and my will to persevere. What's the point?


TLB...Do you take hydrocodone w/apap or the Zohydro? My PM wanted me to try Zohydro, but I can't afford it OOP.