Harm Reduction The Pain Management Mega Thread Version 4

[Jktm]

I didn't think they had hydromorph-contin in the US anymore...And I would probably prefer MS-Contin. I don't know what to expect from dilaudid/opana, but I know that vics/oxy makes me itchy and irritable, and morphine doesn't do that to me...

 

[Lifeinpain]

The old formulation OpanaER without the plastic matrix are available again, as generics. Dilauded is available as an ER formulation. Morphine, is of course, an option.

In hospital other patients and I used to do a group survey as to what medications each one of us found gave the best relief for our specific circumstances, is there something like that here? If not a thread on its own would be a great resource, some say everyone is different but there certainly are patterns and trends to each medication.

 

[tentram]

^just write your subjective opinions in here as it's appropriate being the PM Megathread.

 

[Morphling]

I didn't think they had hydromorph-contin in the US anymore...And I would probably prefer MS-Contin. I don't know what to expect from dilaudid/opana, but I know that vics/oxy makes me itchy and irritable, and morphine doesn't do that to me...

Since your tolerance is so high, I'd try to get anything but hydro/oxy, as with other methods you can try different methods of administration aside from oral, to achieve better pain relief, whereas with oxy/hydro the BA is so high you can't play with it. The surgeon might be averse to bumping up your meds, if you're still in really bad pain, with other meds you can try to adjust it yourself. I only suggest this due to the fact I don't want to see you in screaming pain, as I know the recovery from spinal fusion is INCREDIBLY painful.

 

[mrflowers00]

how do you maintain a consistent level of pain relief w/o raising the dose on a regular basis

 

[tricomb]

I didn't think they had hydromorph-contin in the US anymore...And I would probably prefer MS-Contin. I don't know what to expect from dilaudid/opana, but I know that vics/oxy makes me itchy and irritable, and morphine doesn't do that to me...

We don't have hydromorph-contin because of its more media stigmatized chemical cousin oxycodone. We have Exalgo tho

 

[Harrisment]

Hi all, been a while since I posted but as you can see I've been around bluelight forever .

I had an appointment with my pain management doc yesterday to review my latest MRI. It's the first one I've gotten in 4 years, and things appear to have gotten much worse in my back. My L-3/4 and L-4/5 look to be nearly completely gone. There's almost no height to the disc and it's just bone on bone. The doctor actually said in a totally serious voice "you're screwed." I'm just wondering if anyone else has had to deal with degeneration at multiple levels, and how you are dealing with it? I've been told by several doctors that I should avoid surgery for as long as possible, as there's a chance I could end up worse off. In the past I've gotten intradiscal injections which helped for a few months, but the last few rounds those aren't helping either. I also tried the PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections a few months ago, and the only thing those did was make a $1,200 dent in my bank account. My doc is going to try the intradiscal again, but he's concerned he won't even be able to perform the injection due to so little of the discs being left.

For the last several years I've been on Oxycontin 20mg 2xday, and Norco 10/325 4xday. After seeing my latest MRI, my doc said he can't imagine that Norco would give me any relief, so he switched my breakthrough meds to Roxicodone 30mg 4xday. My problem with Roxi's is that in the past when I've taken IR Oxycodone, it gives me terrible insomnia. Yesterday I took a pill at around 4 PM, and sure enough my mind was racing and I couldn't sleep. Has anyone else dealt with this? Does your body eventually adjust? Thanks!

 

[tentram]

^wow yeah i can definitely relate. But im on my phone at the moment and rather high so ill wait until im on my computer and hit you up through PM.

 

[shovsori]

I had this fight 1 y ago, and one rib broken, as i ve never taken care of it, it now hurts like hell now and then, and only relief i ve found (i m on methadone program) is either Kratom + advil and muscle relaxants, or when its horrible, i switch to fentanyl analogs...Do you think one should be only an idiot to mix methadone and butyr fentanyl for exemple ?

 

[Lycopene]

I have a short story, and a question.

I broke my arm when I was 5 and I'm 23 now, and it has been fucked up ever since. I have zero supination and chronic pain. I have seen over fifty doctors and specialists, including pain doctors, and none of them will give me pain medication. My Roxicodone was stolen, and when I informed my doctor, he accused me of abusing the drugs and seeking more. What a douche.

Since then, I've had no luck whatsoever.

Nobody knows what is wrong with me.

I take 40mg Valium daily and I smoke at least a gram of weed. I have a Valium prescription and a green card for marijuana (though it's legal in Washington, where I live anyway).

Nothing helps my pain, however. Is there anything that you guys can think of that I might be able to do? I'm getting desperate, to the point where I want to try heroin. I just don't care about life anymore. I'd rather have a hellish life 10-15 years down the line than live like this now. I'm about to kill myself to end this.

@Harrisment

Ask about Dilaudid. Maybe that'll do better than the Roxicodone. You might sleep better.

 

[Harrisment]

I have a short story, and a question.

I broke my arm when I was 5 and I'm 23 now, and it has been fucked up ever since. I have zero supination and chronic pain. I have seen over fifty doctors and specialists, including pain doctors, and none of them will give me pain medication. My Roxicodone was stolen, and when I informed my doctor, he accused me of abusing the drugs and seeking more. What a douche.

Since then, I've had no luck whatsoever.

Nobody knows what is wrong with me.

I take 40mg Valium daily and I smoke at least a gram of weed. I have a Valium prescription and a green card for marijuana (though it's legal in Washington, where I live anyway).

Nothing helps my pain, however. Is there anything that you guys can think of that I might be able to do? I'm getting desperate, to the point where I want to try heroin. I just don't care about life anymore. I'd rather have a hellish life 10-15 years down the line than live like this now. I'm about to kill myself to end this.

@Harrisment

Ask about Dilaudid. Maybe that'll do better than the Roxicodone. You might sleep better.

Thanks Lycopene. I've never tried Dilaudid, but that may be an option since I tolerated Hydrocodone so well for all those years. I was on Oxymorphone ER for a couple months at one point, but it gave me terrible rebound headaches, which led to me switching to Oxycontin.

I'm sorry about the struggles you are going through. I'm assuming you've had MRI/X-Ray's done on your arm? Do they not show anything? Even with my MRI showing a clear problem it was difficult to find a compassionate doctor, so I can't imagine how hard it would be without a smoking gun. I understand how much it sucks to live with chronic pain, but please know that ending things is not the answer. I'm sure you have people in your life that care about you, and this community is a great one full of many people that have gone through similar struggles. There's no shame in leaning on others and asking for help when you need it. Feel free to PM me if you want someone to vent to.

 

[RXology]

Hello everyone! Not sure if there is an intro thread but I will do a quick one here because I suffer from chronic pain in two areas. Depending on how much physical activity I have I can easily flip both points to acute pain for that day. My pain is CHRONIC. For people that don't have pain but use opiates this term in medicine means long lived or all the time, rather that a short period like acute pain. Ok any way I broke my rib the first time by sneezing after lightly falling after a wave runner. Was in the shower and sneezed - CRACK !!!!- Fell to floor thinking I was having a heart attack. The pain was bad for about four months. Appx once or twice a year after I would break it. Via similar means. Labor falling etc. finally @ 27 my girlfriend at the time encouraged me to go to the er and get an X-ray. I did. That's when the fun really started. Two months cancer scare before surgery due to large mass behind and attached to the right lower 6th rib. It came out, or I had a thoracotomy and the mass removed. While on the op table they had to biopsy the mass and luckily "no guarantees" it was not cancer! Yet ever since the surgery now 7 years ago I have had chronic and acute pain in the area. Certain things make it worse and I get extrem muscle cramping. I also have a herniated disc in my Lowe back that is pushing on a nerve, this is only a few years old. Been on opiates all types for 10 years now and before that I used to experiment with everything in my teens from pot to pcp - xtc to DMT any gaps in between I'm missing K and dope use the alphabet and I've been there.

Current regimen
90 mg roxicodone daily
3 mg klonopin daily
Lidocaine patches

Sorry for the long post I will be contributing alot here about doctors and pain management.
Thank you!
RXO

 

[RXology]

problem with Roxi's is that in the past when I've taken IR Oxycodone, it gives me terrible insomnia. Yesterday I took a pill at around 4 PM, and sure enough my mind was racing and I couldn't sleep. Has anyone else dealt with this? Does your body eventually adjust? Thanks!

Hello, yes and yes on this. I have been on OxyContin or ERs for years as well as Roxos. Now all I take is Roxos. What happens at first is that you might have over done it or your body just isn't used to the new drug and I believe but don't quote me on it that there are chemicals added to these types of oxy to almost intentionally keep you "half awake". Due to the FACT that they can cause serious respiratory depression especially when mixed with benzos or the driver of death alcohol.

It's kinda like plugging half a bundle two hours before you go to bed. You will nod probably flat face on desk drooling - but when it comes time to sleep NO WAY. In any case yea your body will get used to it and there will come a time where you actually cannot sleep without taking the rxos. Or a sleep aid or benzo.

 

[RXology]

I forgot to mention and I know this sounds small but the mass was appx 31Lx8Wx3D in CM. u think of it in centimeters and that's small but in the medical world that's pretty big, also the only way to take out this mass was to saw off the rib at both ends so there are now stubs and a hole.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I believe but don't quote me on it that there are chemicals added to these types of oxy to almost intentionally keep you "half awake".

Not correct. IR Oxycodone (such as Roxicodone) only contains oxycodone and inactive binders/fillers (except for combination pills like Percocet which contains oxycodone and acetaminophen [aka Tylenol]). Insomnia is a common side effect of oxycodone itself. Many people find that it does improve over time, and taking a lower dose or not taking it close to bedtime will also help.

 

[RXology]

Not correct. IR Oxycodone (such as Roxicodone) only contains oxycodone and inactive binders/fillers (except for combination pills like Percocet which contains oxycodone and acetaminophen [aka Tylenol]). Insomnia is a common side effect of oxycodone itself. Many people find that it does improve over time, and taking a lower dose or not taking it close to bedtime will also help.

Yes I have read the ingredients when I get lucky and they give me the real bottle. Thank you for clarifying. Perhaps I am thinking of my hospital stay when I reached the highest fentanyl drip they would allow. On top of constant IV flow, I was convinced the doctors where putting something in me to keep me half awake. I slept about 3 hours in four days - the rear was all nods. What was odd was when I left I was on a 3 day fent patch and I was litterally WRITHING in furious fire burning chest pain. Thus, I had to switch to OC and RXO instead of fentanyl and RXO for Breakthrough. It was explained to me that all people react differently to certain opiates. Wheras fentanyl may be essentially stronger than oxy it was NOT for me. My beginning post op regimen daily was 160 mg OC ER. & 362 RXO 15s per month breakthru which i ran out of and required another 240. Basically 15 16 + a day. keep in mind this was post op - not to mention the laundry of other stuff I had to take. I remember I was low on pills one night and sucked a 3 day patch down. Had a nice high for about a half hour. IDK?!

 

[RXology]

Bottom line opiates will disturb your sleep when taken in larger amounts near bed time. Same with all. Yet once you have a tolerance you will sleep worse opiate negative. Subs help sleep a bit. Right now I am taking 16 mg suboxone a day. The pain control sucks ! So I also take 1600 mg Motrin split in half or two 800s twice a day. I ran short on my script due to my new job which requires lifting. So I'm feeling it right now. At least I can say the subs helped me keep my job. It's a possible career and at my age I don't want to lose it.

 

[RXology]

To field an earlier question in the thread about how do I properly manage pain around the clock?

Answer:
A. U don't IV your pills
B. you don't insulfate your pills
C. You eat them at the longest distance between dosing u can go.
D. If you can't do those then you take the amount of pills per day and divide that into 24 hours and that is your hour Lon stretch for the day. Hope this helps.

 

[RXology]

To other related questions, I find tha dilaudid pills do absolutely nothing for pain unless you have no tolerance. The norm dose hospital IV shot will only last an opioid tolerant individual appx a half hour 45 min TOPS. They SUCK. A nurse once said hydro morphone compared to oxy is "like spitting in the ocean". On mgmt nurse- They are probably the shortest acting pk on the market. In my last hospital visit I had IV dilaudid but with a button for break with a 10 minute timer. In a couple days I think I was on my fifth. Then it worked well. And 100 n 10. % they were dosing my reg solution with laxative. I was in the restroom morning and night. And I saw the readout.

Onto morphine. I could take 2 to 300 mg morphine tab ir or er if they make that, and feel absolutely nothing. No pain relief no buzz. Does this work for people? I could see IV morph working but the pills suck . I think 60s are red? Ate four nothing. Every one is different.

 

[ROXIMORONIC]

Hello everyone, new here, and I am not sure I am doing any of this right. I apologize ahead of time if I am in the wrong area or ask the wrong questions or is my post is too long winded. please bear with me. So I broke my neck 5 years ago, at which time I had insurance and recieved a dbl foraminectomy (SP) I also damaged,herniated several disks. I was placed on 30 mg roxi 4-6 times a day for over a year plus tramadol for the nuero pain. insurance ran out I do not qualify for ssdi as I owned my own business and wasnt paying into the system. ok so here is the question I think... I started buying drugs as it was cheaper to do that than it was to pay a pain management dr and then pay for the scripts, i wound up turning to heroin and want off badly..so here goes I just got a number of fentanyl 75mcg per hour patches.. i currently use 2-3 bags of heroin ( mid quality) with about 20 - 60 mg of oxy daily.. would it be safe to apply one of these patches whole or should I cut it? they are the non gel kind..again sorry if im in the wrong place. I dont want to OD or not get enough relief and want off the needle. please help. thank you in advance