KV - sometimes I'll feel decent, most of the time I feel like garbage. Sad, depressed.
I take it 4 times a day now. Usually every 4-6 hours.
I just don't understand the varying feelings. Back in the day it made me feel great
C
hronic pain is persistent pain (lasting 3+ months), while
Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS) is a more complex condition where that long-lasting pain significantly impacts emotions (like depression, anxiety) and daily function, creating a cycle where physical pain and emotional distress feed each other, often with changes in the nervous system. About 25% of people with chronic pain develop CPS, which involves more than just the pain itself.
Chronic Pain
- Definition: Pain that lasts beyond the expected healing time, typically more than 3 to 6 months.
- Focus: Primarily on the prolonged physical sensation, which can stem from an injury, illness, or nerve damage.
- Nature: Can be a symptom of an underlying issue that hasn't fully resolved.
Chronic Pain Syndrome (CPS)
- Definition: A condition where chronic pain is accompanied by significant psychological and functional issues, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.
- Symptoms Beyond Pain: Includes depression, anxiety, sleep problems, fatigue, irritability, loss of sexual desire, and reduced ability to function.
- Nervous System Changes: The nervous system can get "stuck" in a pain-signaling pattern, even after the initial injury heals.
- Impact: Affects physical health, emotions, relationships, and work, making it harder to treat than simple chronic pain.
Analogy
- Think of chronic pain as a persistent fire (the pain signal).
- Chronic Pain Syndrome is when that fire sets off smoke alarms (anxiety, depression) and makes the whole house (your life) unlivable, even if the initial source of the fire is addressed.
Treatment Focus
- Chronic Pain: May focus on the specific physical cause (medication, physical therapy for the injury).
- Chronic Pain Syndrome: Requires a holistic, interdisciplinary approach including counseling, stress management, and physical/mental reactivation to break the pain-distress cycle.
Oxycodone, for that matter all opiates/opioids; long-term opiate/opioid therapy requires significant "tuning if you will." It requires addressing all "areas" of the patient :
-- around 3-4 years a single opioid will not be enough. especially if a "IR" has been the primary treatment. each patient is different thus "tuning" is needed to develop a personal patient profile
-- some patients do well with a primary higher extended release opioid and a secondary IR "break-thru" opioid.
-- I prefer a primary IR opioid : 4hrs and a secondary "long half-life" IR opioid example. Roxicodone 30mg IR : 4hrs & Methadone 10mg IR : 6-8hrs
-- if your doctor is not willing to prescribe a 2nd opioid, then I it maybe time to find another doctor.
-- adding medications to help with pain, mood, sleep makes the world of difference like Clonidine, Ativan, Valium, Cyclobenzaprine, Zanaflex, Vistaril PAM, Busbar, Zoloft, Lunesta, Gabapentin, Lyrica
-- creating a personal daily routine makes a world of difference in mood and response to medications
I would suggest talking to your doctor about what is going on. I would refrain from saying things or describing things that trigger the doctor's response of "the pain medications are destroying the patient"... Unless that is the honest that the pain medications are creating a "dark cloud" and/or "preventing progress"
I hope you start to feel better. Increasing the Oxycodone dosage will not change much mentally and will not create euphoria at this point unless it is a drastic change. And that too "feeling" will lessen quickly b/c of dependence and tolerance.