Harm Reduction The Pain Management Mega Thread - for all your questions on dealing with chronic pain

[memphiseve]

As far as the "I can't shit" problem due to all the meds I take for chronic pain, I swear I found the answer. I eat two Activia yogurts a day (the Jamie Lee Curtis stuff) and It is the ONLY thing I have found that works. Trust me, I have tried it all. I am still on all the meds only they added Valium, I still can't work or do anything and spend at least 22 hours+ flat on my back. Of course disability rejected me (my doctor considers me totally disabled, permanently) so appeals, lawyers etc. Thank God I have a husband who supports me, but with one income in this economy my stress level and depression are through the roof, we can hardly pay our bills and do without anything that isn't food, rent etc.

I was and still eat those yogurts, not because it made me *regular* but because it only stopped the pain in my gut I was having from not being able to go. So I found another yogurt Fiber One and boy is it good and it has a remarkable 5 grams of fiber. The activia with cereal only has 3 grams and the regular activia has none. I also buy the Fiber One bars, they have 9 grams of fiber. Nine grams I tell ya. I also use Miralax everyday. I am glad I don't have the *terrible I am Gonna Die* stomach pains anymore. Now I poop pain free.
My kitten loves yogurt, she licks the cup clean.
I shop at Aldi, and yesterday I found the 9 gram fiber bars there. It is there brand and they are much cheaper and are mighty tasty too.

 

[Desdenova]

I'd like some suggestions please, I'm going to the pain clinic on Friday to get my meds changed. I'm on fentanyl patches and oral morphine solution, for background and breakthrough pain respectively. For various reasons I want to change from the patch to another strong opioid. I also want something that actually works for breakthrough pain at the prescribed dose, so I'd like to change from oral morphine solution to something else. What in your experience or opinion is the best combo to change to?

Your doctors opinion is really the only one that matters, as he is the only one qualified to make those decisions

But it seems that doctors often prescribe ER/IR variants of the same medication. Like OpanaER+Opana, Oxycontin+Percocet, MSContin+MSIR, Duragesic+Actiq/Fentora.

Though I'm currently on Duragesic and Percocet. But I just got new insurance that uses Express Scripts, and I have to figure out what's affordable for me now. Plus, I want to switch the Percocet to something Fentanyl based, or try something new. The oxycodone is giving me headaches

 

[Kledsky]

Help

I'm sure I'm posting this in the wrong forum, but to me it seems right so if it needs to be moved, sorry mod.

HISTORY
I am 24 yrs old and had a back fusion on my L5 - S1 when I was 15. I have had pain ever since and a year ago I got some facet injections that went way wrong and my pain went up quite a few notches, more than I thought it could. Previous to this I had tried everything - physical therapy, seen like 12 doc's, behavioral therapy, aqua ther., daily stretching etc. etc. Everything I could to not take narcotics. I took ibuprofen until it destroyed my stomach, i take it now and I have horrible heartburn that no prilosec/tagemet etc. can touch.

NOW
So i started the narcotic ladder and now im up to 90mg of mscontin, 40mg of norco, 20mg of valium a day. It makes me function, work great, handle my pain etc. etc. I just lost my job though not to long ago (because I quite due to wanting to focus on getting my back figured out more and the job gave no time for it) and since I've lost the insurance I've been paying a ton of money for my scripts. Now i'm out of that ton of money..

I tried the local CHAP clinic they call it which is supposed to help people who have no job/insurance, pay for meds. They haven't accepted me and i applied 8 weeks ago, haven't gotten a yes or a no. I call every day and am told I'll get a call back and never do. I talked with my doc and she had acted like i was a shoo in and that i should be getting it any day. It hasn't happened and now im out of my norcos (not that big of a deal) but i'm out of my mscontins (A VERY BIG DEAL) I'm good with my valium, because I stockpiled a lot awhile ago just in case this sort of thing happened, thank god. I started a taper regimen awhile ago and got my 3 30mg down to 1 30mg a day of mscontin. But man do i feel it not being there, it's 1 to 1 with back pain. Low back pain that makes me exhausted so quick at a time where I need to be going %110 to get things up and running.

So i guess im asking what a guy does in this situation. I'll go to the ER again in a couple days when im going through the hot flashing, shaking, stomach cramping feel like i want to die withdrawals and hopefully they will give me something, the thing is i have NO MONEY and they know this from previous visits. I'll get billed, not pay it, and it will get added to the already debt collection agency that has my name.

I want to get off my drugs, but at the same time, i have a STABBING sharp pain like i have a hot flathead screw driver jabbing me in my tailbone/ass 24/7. It never goes away. I used to get by by using a ton of muscle relaxants to knock my ass out but i don't want this for myself at all. I have no history of med abuse. the MScontin is $130 script. I'm panicking. I am so scared of my future because I really do lose my mind when in the middle of withdrawal. So i guess im just asking for some advice, if any. Thanks all. Any questions I'll be glad to answer.

 

[garuda]

I have never seen someone refer to oxy as 'baby aspirin'... that made my jaw drop.

People around here are insane, I've seen people around here scoff at anything besides 4 fentynal patches worn at once along with a couple bags of 90% pure H as kiddie stuff, hell they act like 300mg of methadone is a normal breakfast.:D

 

[memphiseve]

I saw my Doc today, he gave me the same Oxycontin RX, but he changed my 5/325 Percs to 10/300 Xodol. I have never heard of Xodol.
I hope I get the same pain control with the new stuff. That's why he is the Doc and not me.
The Oxycontin $60 coupon really comes in handy, I only had to pay $20 instead of $324.99. Last month I had to pay $80, the pharmacy lied about using the coupon because they didn't. I also had a coupon for the Xodol, and I paid $15 for that. My Percs. are usually a few bucks with insurance. I don't think I can put a price on pain control anyway.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^xodol is hydrocodone... the same drug as vicodin, norco, lortab. 7.5mg hydrodone = 5mg oxycodone so although its a different wrong, its a stronger dose.

 

[memphiseve]

^Thanks. I eventually got around to doing my homework.

 

[SuzieCa]

Maybe this will help you...it helped me

I'm new to the forum and have done a thorough search but can't find any answers. I have graduated to 100mgs of morphine, 75 mgs of oxycodone and 60 mgs of baclofen every 4 or 5 hours to try and control my pain. It BARELY takes the edge off. I wake up every 20-30 minutes in horrific pain and have to reposition myself. (I take 45 mgs of temazapam and smoke a joint before bed) My scripts are all legal and I have serious pain issues due to a shattered back.
I'm afraid to up the dose because at the level I'm currently taking, I get serious problems swallowing and slurring of my words although I don't get any sort of high at all from it. Shitting is also a MAJOR issue. Or non-issue since I never do it lol. I have parachuted the oc and plunged the morphine, it doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm thinking of changing my 30mg oxy to 4mg dilaudid and try those again to see if I can get a handle on this monster. Is that a good/bad idea? Oh I also get a spinal block once a month or so (takes the edge off for about 3 days, hardly worth the anesthesia risks as they knock me out to do it)

I'm over it!! What should I do?

---> I feel for ya', kitty. Sounds like your in serious pain. I'm no medical expert, but here is what is working for me. I take 100 mgs of Methadone a day, with Oxy 20mgs for breakthrough pain (2 to 4 times a day, or as needed). Methadone has helped me more than any other pain med that I have ever used.... it gave me back my life and continues to reduce my lower back and hip pain by 80 to 90% (most days). When my doctor first spoke to me about trying methadone I said "NO WAY, JOSE!!!" .... geez, talk about being stupid! Long story short, I ended up going though a few more months of pain, before I finally said........"give it to me, I'll try it!!!" <I was a train wreak, due to all the pain...I was at my wits end> I have been taking methadone for 6 months now, and like I said, I live almost pain free on a daily basis and life is good again. -- Suzie

 

[memphiseve]

I am looking for answers to a problem I am having right now and I searched without any answers.
I take 30mg OC twice a day, and xodol 10/300 for breakthrough pain.
I was switched from Percs 5/325 last thursday to xodol and when I needed to take the percs I would take 2.
My question is this...I haven't had to take anything for pain at all today and while we were eating dinner a few minutes ago I had to excuse myself from the table because I was so darn hot I was uncomfortable and I already had an ice pack around my neck. I just had to lay down. Could this be withdrawl? I have been on painkillers, mainly percs for about 2 years due to tarsal tunnel in both feet, RSD, and Fibromyalgia. The nerve decompression surgery I had August 07 was a complete failure, so that is another reason I take meds.
So, what do y'all think? Should I go ahead and take my meds even if I don't need them?
Thanks.

 

[Desdenova]

Well balls

I went to my Pain Management doc yesterday to see if they could switch me from Percocet to something a little stronger, and it turns out that Percocet is the strongest breakthrough pain med they will prescribe

I do have to switch clinics because I moved into an apartment though, so maybe my new place will have more options.

Also, a little off topic question out of curiosity, who knows what an Intracardiac Shunt is? Pulmonic Insufficiency?

 

[LightTrailz]

Yea , it could be the clinic itself , i just requested to try something else (hydromorph contin) because the oxycontin was getting a bit expensive and my breakthrough medication is percocet 5/325 and my doctor was more than willing to let me use any strength from 2mg to 8m of IR dilaudid for breakthrough but i chose to stick with the percocet , mostly due to the fact that i get really crappy pain control out of morphine products.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

LT its great to see you around, I hope things are going well for you overall.

 

[jenjen05]

Hello everyone. I have a bladder disease called Interstitial Cystitis. I'm in pain 24/7. I also have pain flares which make my daily pain worse.

Right now my urologist gives me 30 Vicodin ES (7.5/750) a month. But I need more or something else. The 5/500's don't work at all (I borrowed from my mom when I ran out of my Vic ES before). The 7.5's give me about 50% pain relief. I got two Norco 10/325's from my friend, and those will completely rid me of pain for four hours. How great that was! I've also tried a 5mg Percocet and that helped a lot, but did not provide total pain relief, only about 50%.

My urologist is being kind of a shit head. I mean, I'm 24 years old and have chronic pain. Some days I don't even get out of bed. I pee 50 times during the day and at night get up to pee between 10-15. My bladder hurts so bad you wouldn't believe. And my damn urologist won't give me pain drugs more than what I'm already getting. I saw a second urologist for a second opinion and she refused to give pain drugs as well, but agrees I have IC and will have chronic pain the rest of my life. I've been on the IC Network Forum, and most everyone there has trouble finding a doctor that will give them narcotics because no one wants us to get "hooked." But our disease is incurable. It's bullshit. Pure bullshit. I'm 24 and can't live my life or get a damn full time job or medical insurance cause my bladder hurts so bad I can't sit at a desk or sit anywhere for any length of time.

Please help everyone on here. Do you have any suggestions on drugs I should ask for or even a doctor or clinic to go to? I need my life back! I live in Tampa Bay, FL.

Currently I'm taking the Vicodin ES mentioned previously twice a day. Once around 3pm when my pain really ramps up and again around 11:30pm in order to get rid of enough pain so I can sleep a few hours. At this rate though I only have enough for 15 days of the month. And my Uro will only give me 30 of them a month.

I would ideally like to be in no pain, but I'd settle for only being in 25% of the pain I'm in now. I wouldn't mind a little high, either. I just need to be able to live life and not be trapped in my bed at my mom's house everyday, ya know? I'm 24. I have to have a full time job, this can't go on.

Thanks for any help you all can provide! I appreciate it!

 

[Kledsky]

^^In reply to the post above by JenJen05

I feel you homie... I'm 24 and have been dealing with chronic pain since I was 15. It's a true bitch. We all have to go our different ways going about dealing with it but we are all on the same boat.

I think one of the most important things to take care of for you right now, in my experience and my opinion from that experience, is to make sure you get real rest. Like a 7 - 9 hour "i don't wake up at all" kind of rest, so you hit deep sleep and your body actually has time to "recover" or do what it needs to do with your brain when it's in the deep REM.

I'm in a constant stabbing burning pain at my tailbone that never goes away 24/7. I was having a horrible life, not to say it's all peachy now, it's not... But when I got on mscontin, which I don't know if you'll be able to get on sorry to say because it is extended release morphine and a heavy drug.. but when I got on it i finally got a real nights rest and it was amazing. It made my mind so much more clear and ready to deal with the bullshit life i've been given and as i take it, not to sound like an asshole, but the bullshit live you've got also. Chronic pain is amazing how it just slowly widdles away at you and destroys you. I think I was going down this kind of road fast because I wasn't getting any sleep, 3 - 5 hours tops. When i finally got real sleep for about a week I started to notice a lot of improvement.

Now dealing with doctors... I've had to deal with sooo many doctors and so many have no clue what you're going through. They just read statistics and think that it's better to have constant horrible pain than to relieve your pain/MANAGE your pain, with narcotics or even muscle relaxants. If your doctor is shitty and not listening to you i highly recommend going to a different one.

This may not be the best advice per what others think on this board but it is something i truly believe in - you have to treat doctors a certain way to get what you think you need for yourself. Look up "drug seeking behavior" and read up on it, make sure you don't do any of these signs with your doctor because they will make red flags to them that you are not a good candidate for pain relief by medication. You need to take time (I know so easy to say but so hard to do..) and just slowly work into trying to get the doctor to help you the way you feel you need help. I believe this because doctors don't know your body/pain, you do, you live it every day and you feel it every moment. They can't even comprehend this as a long term thing, it's all acute to them because if it's chronic, they can't treat that fully, and that makes them feel like it's something they shouldn't have to deal with, for lack of a better way of putting it.

So i guess in short, get full rest, just keep complaining about how you can't sleep to your doctor, don't make any recommendations/what you think he/she should do, what you want to have happen, what you think should happen, just KEEP COMPLAINING and finally it will get you somewhere, if it doesn't switch doctors. You HAVE TO get full sleep, I can't stress enough how important this was for me and how many times I've heard from other chronic patients how important it is for them. So best of luck my friend it's a hard road and it can often be a lonely one, but keep at it and it will get better.

If you want to talk 1 to 1 just PM me and I'll give you my screen names and we can maybe chat. I could use a friend like that, im 24 and still desperate but it's been a constant roller coaster and im just trying to have the ups and downs not be so severe. Hope you the best and don't let the chronic pain drain get to you, just keep fighting and the learn from the changes, just from a fellow CP's experience. Peace love respect

 

[TheDankaholic]

Im 23 years old and a RN. I have a long history of chronic pain dating back to 13 years old to present day. I have a bad case of Chrohns Disease and contstant bleeding in my stool & urine. Not to mention I throw up blood quite frequently. My condition is VERY painful. I mean, put me in the hospital quite frequently kind of painful. If you have the proper medical records and aren't going to some asshole of a doctor your age shouldn't dictate your ability to be properly treated for pain. You just need to make sure your really trying EVERY option they present you to try and control your pain. I wasn't just automatically put on Opiods because I was in pain. I didn't care about what medication they gave me opiod ot not. I just wanted pain relief anyway it came because I couldn't afford to keep ending up in the ER and hospitalized for a few days. I was going to lose my job and fail out of school if I did.

I tried different forms of physical therapy, multiple stomach medications, etc. I can't take NSAIDS because I'm allergic so thats out of the question. Eventually I started on opiod treatments and even that wasn't a perfect fix right away. I had to figure out what worked for me. I went through Morphine, Opana, Fentanyl, Percocet, Dilaudid, Methadone, Norco, etc until we could isolate what worked the best for my situation. Whatever kept me pretty pain free but not "high" because I gotta work and be a dad at the same time. You can't be high on a bunch of pills working in an Emergency Room!

So today I'm on 4mg of Dilaudid 6 times a day and I have myself down to 10mg of Methadone. Best combo so far thats cost effective for me. I was on Fentanyl 50mcg plus Dilaudid 4mg 3 times a day but my insurance stopped covering Fentanyl and it was far to expensive to keep buying. Honestly though I find Methadone to be a cheap and VERY effective 24hr pain reliever. I usually don't even have to take the entire 6 Dilaudid's a day unless I'm having a horrible day!

So I had to move states and find a new doctor and still didn't have a problem continuing my medication and treatment. Now I'm 23 years old once again so I don't think being young is going to be an automatic dismissal for pain medication. You just need to make sure what your trying to do is cure your pain and your not trying to get high. Doctors KNOW the signs of people looking for pills whether you think so or not. You need to make sure your medical records show your trying everything to relieve your pain in any manner possible to live a comfortable life. I still do physical therapy, multiple stomach meds, eat a strict diet, etc. Because whether anyone wants to believe it or not. Pain meds alone will not make you pain free. They honestly just help me along side of everything else I do to try and better my situation. I go to the GI doctor about once a week for tests and treatments because the for of Chrohns I have is very weird so they are constantly doing tests on me and the doctors been documenting a lot of abnormalities with my situation.

So don't just think because your young you can't get help. It just has to be obvious that the best help you can get is going to Opiod treatment which in a lot of situations it simply isn't whether you want to believe it or not. There are a lot of downfalls to opiod treatment and this is why doctors have to feel that it's the best option and the positives out weigh the negatives. The negatives of opiod treatment or a lot bigger then most people want to admit. Being a slave to the pharmacy and a bottle of pills due to inevitable dependency & possible addiction isn't fun at all. Everyone says it's not going to happen to them, but becoming dependent after prolonged use is going to happen & doctors know this. It's a slippery slope with long term opiate treatment especially if your young and they don't expect you to be on them indefinitely

If anyone wants to PM me to talk about anything feel free. I work in a hospital everyday and I know what it's like to be a young chronic pain patient on heavy medication.

 

[LightTrailz]

Thanks c2tl , things are going somewhat ok at the moment . The switch to hydromorph contin is still taking some time to adjust to coming from a year or so on the oxycontin . But at the same time i can still feel slight differences , my body seems to accept it even though it never seems to accept straight morphine , which my doctor originally wanted to put me on , morphine either makes me extremly high or either extremely sick , neither of which were acceptable chances to take with a work environment.

The hydromorph contin is also cheaper i basically went with an equivalent dose or as close as we could get . 12mg from 40mg of oxycontin. I dont seem to get the ups and downs that accompanied the oxycontin which is a great bonus. I probably would have tried the fentanyl patch which is also even cheaper however my work environment would make it fall off within a few hours. The only thing that is wierd with the hydromorph is that unlike the oxycontin i dont get relief as fast , and is probably related to the time release matrix they use.

My doctor filed some paper work so we could get some blood , urine and xrays done on my back and neck , other parts of my body which were damaged but not found nor addressed until recently. My back has a considerable amount of bend going one way and the other , almost resembling scoliosis and i have about 2 or 3 disks with a white cloudish look around the vertabrae and my neck is also showing signs of said cloudy look and the spacing changes between each vertabrae . Which would account for the considerable amount of pressure around my neck and lower back .

The blood work and urine is to check for signs of arthritis , vitamin levels , muscle mass , testosterone etc.

Seeing the Xrays really got me down as i had no idea it was going to look as bad as it does , and got stuck with a nice dose of depression . But ive had worse so i usually try not to let that stuff get me down . I half expected atleast some damage and have already made up my mind on any chance of surgury . and the answer is no right now . I got a job that keeps me on my feet all day and its not easy , but it keeps bills paid for now.

 

[dhcdavid]

I have a q about fentanyl.

I'm in the UK and get prescribed the 75 ucg/hr Durogesic Transdermal Matrix Fentayl patch.

In the last few weeks my Doc for the first time ever gave me an instant-release strong opioid - 5mg oxynorm 3 times daily but I've gotten through all 84 in 14 days.

Anyway so now I only have the patch.... to help my pain I've added another half (37.5ucg/hr fentanyl).

Can anyone give me their 2c on whether I'd be OK adding another half so I was wearing two patches which is twice my daily recommended dose.
I used to be prescribed methadone tablets (physeptone) and would regularly take way over twice my total daily dose at once and be totally fine.

Also I took 15mg of diazepam 12 hours ago followed by another 10mg 3 hours later. And I have a very high benzo tolerance too.

Anyone with experience of fentanyl who can offer me some davice would be very welcomed by me.
Thankyou.

 

[LightTrailz]

Not to sound like an ass , but i say the same thing to everyone , Take your medication as prescribed and alot of people would find that once your on the same dose for a while your body will stabilize to a constant and consistent source of pain killer in your system .

People seem to be astonished when theyre taking 2 -3 times their prescribed dosage and then wonder why they arnt getting adequate pain relief. The pain medication your prescribed is NOT meant to take away all your pain , its not going to , ever.

Ive been on the same dose for almost 2 years now and have not once had my dose upped except at the beginning when me and my doctor were trying to find the correct starting dose . there are days that i have where my prescribed dosage does not effectively treat my pain but i dont go taking more than im prescribed , and i will usually attempt to reduce my dose for the next week or so to readjust my body to the dose im prescribed., my tolerance hasnt changed .

for instance im prescribed 32 mg of hydromorph contin . thats 120mg of oxycodone , i was on 80mg daily with 5/325 percocet for breakthrough . i usually take 1 12mg capsule at 8am , 2 percocet at 1-2pm then another 12mg capsule at 5-6 pm followed by 2 percocet between 9-12pm now i can take another 12 mg capsule around 1-2 am but rarley ever have to , so in my case im actually prescribed more than i need .

And heres the real kicker , i can still "get high" on 15-20mg of oxycodone or equivalent after all this time .


How often are you using your medication to either gain a buzz or high or are using it other than prescribed?

 

[johanneschimpo]

I almost never post in here, I should do it more often.


Here's my update:
TENS unit sucked my unit. When's the last time you heard someone call their dick a "unit?" Exactly. I put it on my shoulder (actually, my scapula), and it wound it tighter than its ever been, with a side of muscle spasms. I'll probably use it to shock small animals or something from now on, because its not going on my body.
So then I slapped on a lidoderm patch today and I think it did something, but it fell off twice in 6 hours and probably looked like a tampon fell out of my ass each time. I'll call it a moderate success.


Non-narcotic treatments fucking my shit up - 2, Me - 0

 

[Lena]

I have a question about Fentanyl.

I have been in pain management for going on 4 years and have permanent nerve damage. I am taking daily 700mg's total of neurontin (not all at once) and 8 Norco 10/325.

My tolerance has gone up alot and the medication isn't helping like it used to so now my pain doc wants to add a long acting med. I can't go any higher on the Nuerontin because it turns me into a zombie, even after all this time I get extremely tired on it. Unfortunately my insurance doesn't cover Lyrica. He is recomending adding the 25mcg Fentanyl patch. I have read about Fentanyl and I have to admit that it kind of scares the hell out of me. I hear that it's not only dangerous, but its also one of the strongest meds out there and once you go on Fentanyl there's no going up from it. I would've thought that the next logical step in the ladder of meds would be somekind of oxycontin for long acting, or even switching my Norco to percs or something else for BP? I am not an expert but I am just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and any advice? I trust my doc completely so am I just being paranoid???


"How often are you using your medication to either gain a buzz or high or are using it other than prescribed?"

Never...I only take my meds as prescribed. I have been so traumatized by past doctors labeling me as a "drug seeker" while seeking pain management that I would never risk loosing my current doc's trust and having to go through that again. I think probably most people in Pain management have some experience with the stigma attatched to taking narcotic drugs for pain wether its from a doctor, friend, family or pharmasist.

I moved here from a really small town in the midwest where opiod abuse is rampant among young people and every pharmacy in the city was/is getting robbed for oxy's and hydros etc.. So naturally the doctors back there assumed every person under the age of 30 was drug seeking if they came in complaining of being in pain. Legitimate reason for pain or not, it's next to impossible to get opiods prescribed to you there, and for some of us that's unfortunately what works. Hell most of the pharmacy's don't even carry Oxy's of any kind anymore out of fear of being robbed, it's really a sad situation. I am lucky I moved and have actually found a doctor who cares about my pain management and treats me right.

I think thats why I love these boards so much, noone here judges you because everyone can relate on some level to what your going through. I don't even have any friends left that I can say the same about. No matter how hard I try to make them understand what its like to to live in constant pain, they still label me as a "druggie" just because I take opiods and can't just "live with the pain".. Now if I meet people, I just don't tell them that I am in PM.


"I work in a hospital everyday and I know what it's like to be a young chronic pain patient on heavy medication"

Amen to that.. I would give anything to not be in pain and on opiods, but at the moment that's what is working for me. I have tried alot of non-opiod meds and most had negative side effects or my insurance didn't cover them.