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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Don't know what to do for chronic pain

T

Trev26

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 20, 2017
Messages
92
Hello, I'm 25 years old and and live in southern California. I'm sure like myself, many of you are also struggling with this opioid epidemic. I've had chronic back pain for 4 or 5 years now, and am losing my mind. I have degenerative disk disease (ddd), herniated disk, and nerve damage. I've had shots, physical therapy, acupuncture, nerve blocks, and burning nerves all together and everything has little to no effect. I get 5 -325 oxycodone (percocet) 10 at a time like every week or so, but recently my doc has been reducing it from 10, to 9 to now 8. My insurance is also through kaiser, if that matters at all. Without these meds I literally can't function. Luckily I have a good plug where I have been getting 30 mg roxy, but my questions are...

1) those of you with chronic pain, how do you cope with this epidemic, and are you getting the medication that allows us too function and be normal?

2) I break the roxy into halves and it takes care of the pain nicely, but will my tolerance go up fast, and if so how do I keep my tolerance low? I pretty much take pain meds of some kind every day.

Btw I've asked my doc about possibly surgery since nothing works but he is pretty sure that it wouldn't do much considering my age. I don't know if this is against the rules and if it is than I apologize in advance, but what do you say to get the meds. I am so desperate and have thought about just ending it. I really don't know what to do. PLEASE HELP!!
 
Last edited:
(homeless ----- > BDD)

Hey Trev, welcome to Bluelight! To be clear, we can't give you advice as to what to say to your doctor but I see you're already getting meds. I am in a similar situation being in pain management and I'm in my 50's: I'm on my second round of cervical injections, physical therapy does not help and disc replacement seems unavoidable. I understand what you're going through. I really do.

Trouble is, doctors are being pressurized by governmental recommendations when it comes to prescribing opioid pain medication because so many people are overdosing. To give you an example- I'm being told that I must choose between hydrocodone 5 mg bid or temazepam for sleep. Can't have both in case I overdose, it's gotten that ridiculous. I'm not coping very well to answer your question. :(

What I've been doing is switching up between hydros and ibuprofen or naproxen. You could try that. Like you mentioned, your tolerance is going to raise when buying oxy from another source. You could just tell your doctor honestly that 5 mg isn't cutting it and see if he will go up to 10. You have to be willing to follow any suggestions whether it be more physical therapy, shots, nerve blocks, etc. Does he give you anything for nerve pain? Gabapentin seems to be the go-to for that but your insurance might cover Lyrica.
 
Yeah you need a co-medication-and any doctor in there right mind should go up to least 7.5mg

T is right thought, things are getting ridiculous-Choosing between Temazepam or HYDROCODONE?!? Outrageous

A certain person I know gets alprazolam, Clonazepam and pain medication-they are in bad shape

Anyway wish you luck
 
This whole situation is so frustrating. I guess because of my age I'm being treated like a statistic so my docs only give me the minimum. Given all my diagnosis, do You think 5mg oxycodone is warranted or should I be given a higher dose/different paid meds all together?

Too answer your question T, I was taking cymbalta but stopped taking it because I wasn't getting any relief and the side effects were bad, so as of now I'm not taking anything for the nerve pain.

I'm supposed to take random drug tests in order to keep getting the measly 8 pills but I was wondering are roxy and percocet the same? Like would roxy show up in the drug test and than my doc would know I was taking other stuff and cut me off? If so how long does roxy stay in your system?

Thanks for the replys and have a good day :D
 
I have a friend who takes Cymbalta and she likes it. That's one I can't use because I have liver problems. So how many Percocet are you prescribed to take in a day? One? I think the reasoning for doctors hesitation in prescribing a younger person like yourself narcotics is the fact that they are habit-forming. It's possible that yours doesn't want you to get too attached to them. I can't rightly say what your condition warrants though because that's his call. Oxycodone and roxy are the same thing, only without acetaminophen so you wouldn't need to worry about that. ;)
 
I recommend kratom. Cheap per dose, and the fact you eat a bunch of leaves or a bitter tea seems to help regulate abuse. It gets nauseous if the dose is too high. It is at least if not stronger than vicodin, it is legal, and it has a long history of use.

Almost all serious side effects seem to take decades to take effect. I recall sunken cheeks and yellowed skin in the people who farm it after 20 to 30 years being a statistic. And they chew leaves all day every day. I personally had a few seizures after 7 or so years of daily use, and this has been reported by others. But it's surprisingly benign, cheap, pleasant, and easy to still be on a big dose and interact. It let's one "nod" if tolerance isn't 5 or 6 years deep, even. But it worked wonders for my lower back pain and in tons of other occasional pain situations. Good luck!
 
Oh and my seizures only started happening if I was taking 3 or 4 doses a day, 4 to 6 hours apart, and with a dose of over 20 tsp. Which is an absurdly large amount for what you should need. Newbies can't take more than 6 tsp without puking, dizziness, or nodding.
 
@dumbstruck I have heard mostly good things about kratom, but I have no idea what would be a good dose, how to take it or even how often. I know you can chew it, put it in tea, smoke it, or buy it in pill forms. I wouldn't be opposed too trying it but I'm a little nervous about the seizures. About 2 years ago I had a massive benzo habit where I was taking 6mg xanax a day, and long story short had a bunch of seizures, ending up in the er a couple times. I am mostly clean from the benzo now with the occasional 1mg klonopin for sleep, but it took a long time tapering and am still dealing with some side effects (mostly brain zaps) and anxiety and depression.

Anyways I'm sure there are countless threads explaining all the basic questions regarding kratom, but nothing beats recent answers straight from the source. So if you don't mind I'll take all your advice about where too start with and what is the best way of taking it. Also anyone who is familiar with this herb, and has information about seizures.

Meds I'm taking currently are...
Percocet scripted. 5mg
Klonopin scripted 1mg
Roxy 30mg not scripted
Duleara for asthma
Ventolin asthma
Smoke weed daily

Thanks for all the opinions and answering my questions, and sorry for the newbie questions as well.
 
i have 2 herniated discs and nerve damage a well
Lyrica has really helped me go down with my Oxy dose..went from about 40-50 a day
to like 10-20..
try letting your doctor know what you need to control your pain..
hope your in for some painless days
 
So I just went to the pharmacy to get my script refilled and now I only got 7 lol. Like wtf am i honestly going to od on 7 5mg percs or my appointment with my doc is 3/29 so hes probably trying too cut me off by the time I see him. Thank God for the roxy I'm able too get or I wouldn't know what to do. When I see my doctor do you guys think it would be possible that I can get a different medication? Also in this new era, do doctors even prescribe 2 opioids at time? Like one for breakthrough pain and one longer acting one??? I'm just so frustrated and stressed about getting the meds I need to function.
 
Obviously I am not a doctor but I was suffering from a severely herniated L4/L5, after exhausting all other options I finally went in for surgery (Micro-Discectomy). I'm 31 and aside from some nerve tingles every now and then I have completely recovered and have started taking up running and spinning again, as well as yoga to keep the lower back strong.

From what my surgeon told me there are many different surgeries available, even to people who are relatively young. I would definitely go see another doctor, one who specializes in treating back issues. (That is if you haven't already).

Back pain is a bitch, you have my good thoughts.
 
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