People suggesting my dad stop taking hydrocodone

[Purposefull]

This is pissing me off. First, my dad is 87 years old and has been taking a minimum of 40 mgs a day, 4 10mg tablets plus 150mcg fentynol patches every 3 days and has been now for several years.
So along comes people who have NEVER experienced opiate withdrawal telling him he should just switch to something non opiate AS IF it's going to be easy as spitting on the floor just because he experiences dizziness.
These people have no clue just how difficult it would be for him if not fatal because he has several heart conditions including artificial valves and they piss me off because he seems to believe that it would be like switching from regular coffee to decaf..
The thing is my dad has never really had to go through serious withdraw so he has no idea just how bad it can possibly be and the people putting these stupid ideas in his head don't either. They're just throwing stupid preconcieved notions about opiates out there to make him feel like he should be ashamed of himself.

 

[SS373dOH]

What ailment is he taking the hydro for? You'd think at that age, he would just take it the rest of his life, although they can potentially shorten it, it's not good for the digestive system, and as we all know that thing is barely working to begin with at that age lol!

I don't know the entire back story, but IMO I think he should continue to stay on them. That being said, I think WD is a mental minefield, one can work them selves up to make it bigger and worse than it actually is. He has the advantage of not fearing WD, and the dose is low, His detox probably won't be that bad, 3-5 days of mild to moderate WD, then back to 100% within a week. If he has comfort meds, he probably won't even see 'moderate' symptoms..


- Hopeless Soul

 

[Purposefull]

He's got severe spinal stenosis that's progressive so it's not going to get better. None of his doctors have suggested he stop and all have made it abundantly clear he'll use pain meds the rest of his life or spend it bed ridden. He's still mobile and active. The last thing I want is for him to spend his remaining days stuck in a bed.

 

[T. Calderone]

The people that you speak of may have good intentions, but should not be telling him to switch medications. (I'm assuming they are family members?) I think my concern would be- what if the doctors suddenly cut off his meds and put him into a withdrawal situation. From the way you explained it, this does not appear to be a valid concern. If his physicians are recommending that your dad stay on this regimen, it's for a good reason. Ultimately, it's a personal decision and since they help his quality of life, I would tell them to butt out.

 

[SS373dOH]

I thought "people" meant people in the medical field lol. If it's just random friends and family suggesting this and his doctor's want to keep him on them, it's a no brainer. What can they do, go to the doctors office and demand the doc' to stop prescribing him? Lol

I didn't notice he was also on fentanyl, so he would endure moderate to severe wds. In my previous post I stated it would be mild to moderate..


- Hopeless Soul

 

[Keif' Richards]

Uh, fuck 'em. Firstly, these people should know better than to comment on something of which they have absolutely no first-hand knowledge of. There's nothing wrong with people taking Opioid medications for their pain. Opium is a miracle drug and always has been. If you're Dad is experiencing no negative effects from taking the Hydrocodone and is enjoying a good quality of life, then I don't see any reason for him to come off of the medication.

The medical community is in the process of doing a major about face after their well-documented period of over-prescribing Opioid medications to people. Naturally, they can't do this right either, because they are completely incompetent. Now, even those who genuinely need Opioid medication are facing the same stigma that illicit users do. It's sad. I've been in pain before (I've had many surgeries in my life) and I know first-hand what it's like to truly need Opioids to have any kind of life.

To be frank, your Dad is 87. I don't see why he should have to change anything about his life for anyone. He's lived and worked his entire life, I'm sure. For this he should be entitled to a peaceful, relaxing and pain-free last few years of his life.

I'm gonna leave this open for a minute, but it's going to be closed imminently, as it really doesn't fit the criteria for Basic Drug Discussion, i.e. Harm Reduction

 

[LucidSDreamr]

why the fuck would they want him to stop opioids? so that he can be in horrible back pain and suffering plus have withdrawals that could kill him at that age? As long as he doesn't abuse the medications they will not hurt him at all

 

[Purposefull]

My dad still has the 1950s and beyond mindset and will tell me he's a junkie, but he knows that he's not going to quit taking the medication. He still wants to, but I remind him that nothing I can possibly think of would make him feel worse than full blown withdrawal short of being stripped naked and horse whipped in freezing cold weather. Personally if I had the choice between the two I'd pick the whipping..
He's fading pretty fast now so I have no idea how much longer he'll be around, but the last thing I'm going to let him do is to go through withdrawal in his dawning days..
Luckily I haven't heard much lately from people about trying to talk him into giving up the pain medication

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

By the sounds of it these people are just ignorant and don't understand chronic pain, withdrawal, or medical use of opiates.That sucks that your dad sees himself as a junkie but I guess you can't change that. Enjoy the time you have left with your father

 

[SKL]

He's 87, and our culture has gone from "opiophobia" (a term that was actually made up by Purdue to advertise OxyCodone covertly in the medical literature, but had some accuracy) to overprescription, and is now swining back again. Forget anyone who's not his doctor's opinion; and even doctor's are not infallible, that's why there are second opinions, and more importantly, specialists, as in pain specialists in a case like this; but everything seems to be in control, neither serious pain nor serious adverse effects of the meds, so there is no reason to change anything. Not messing with what works is an important and sometimes underrated maxim in medicine, especially in psychiatry (it's incredibly infuriating to see our patients get discharged, and then have different doctors change their meds, and then they come back all fucked up) and pain management (must feel the same for people who work in that field.) No reason for this discussion to be happening. "People's" opinions don't matter, your dad's opinion even, if it's based on some kind of social stigma from people who are not involved with his care, isn't the be all and end all; really, this is between him and his doctor.

post is not medical advice nor does it establish a professional relationship of any kind; I make no claim to any professional credentials; in person consultation is essential for any medical decision