The Pain Management Mega Thread v2.0

[tricomb]

I've drastically reduced my pain medication intake, yet was unable to function when I completely discontinued them so I went back on although at a lower dose.

Just slap the patch on a hairless area, and within 8 hours the medicine will take full effect and last up 65 hours (they say 72 hours but I've never found this accurate even with varying brands of Fentanyl.

I've always been told 13 hours until medication takes full effect, and they usually take me at least 10-12, you really felt them at PEAK effect in 8 hours?

 

[BiggDirty01]

I've drastically reduced my pain medication intake, yet was unable to function when I completely discontinued them so I went back on although at a lower dose.



I've always been told 13 hours until medication takes full effect, and they usually take me at least 10-12, you really felt them at PEAK effect in 8 hours?

I guess what I should have said is that after 8 hours you will feel significant pain relief but you're right peak plasma concentration usually wouldn't occur until about 12 hours into a new patch. Because of this reason, I always applied the next patch (when prescribed every 48 hours) a few hours before taking the old patch off.

When prescribed every 72 hours, I felt it necessary to apply a new patch around hour 64 because they almost never last 72 hours and the drop off in my blood stream would often give me withdrawal symptoms if I followed dosing instructions to the letter.

Doctors and insurance companies should be mandated to follow 48 hour dosing instructions rather than giving discretion to doctors to prescribe either every 48 or 72 hours. They just do not last 72 hours, and I've tried ALL brands. And if you don't have a BT med to manage the drop off of the fent in your bloodstream, you are left in a very unpleasant and uncomfortable situation: some fentanyl withdrawal.

 

[tricomb]

^ Of course, most people experience (violent) withdrawal symptoms while waiting for the new patch to kick in if a new one is not applied at the right time, which to be fair, is often shorter than 72 hours. Some people require new patches every 72, 64, 48, even every 24 hours. I had relatives putting on a new patch every 12 hours.

As for the withdrawal symptoms during the transition time between patches... it's something to talk to your doctor about, without a doubt it's necessary so that you can best address the transition with as little conflict as possible. Most people I talk to who haven't worked out a plan to prevent these withdrawals during the transition period rely heavily on their BT medications due to strong withdrawal symtoms that come on fast and hard.

 

[Doomed2pain]

remember that simply chewing ms-contin won't make it IR...let it sit in water overnight for 12 hours and then drink a quarter of it...

they aren't ms contin, they are zomorph, so normally opening the capsule and crushing the beads works fine. Not that they are providing me much relief, it was worth a shot, I just wish it had helped more. I havent had an episode this bad since December.

Big dirty, I used to keep my old patch on for a few hours whilst transitioning to a new one, I also found they didnt last anywhere near 72 hours yet my uncle did. I think some people just metabolise drugs faster.

 

[*samsonite*]

I wasn't really a fan of fent patches. I seem to metabolize meds at an insane rate. Really, my current meds aren't doin it for me either. Can't sleep, tossing and turning, and have to be up in 4 hrs Klonopin and sleeping pills aren't even doin it. Grrr

 

[Hazey420]

A thread I can associate with, I have been in pain since 1995, Its a work injury, was moving boxes at work and I hear this "POP" and Then this horrible pain in my right shoulder, went to the clinic and I tore my right shoulder muscle and from then it turned into FMS (fibromyalagia) then the arthritis set in quickly and now Its through out my body, my hands are taken the brunt of it all mostly, I cant open things anymore, I cant hold on to things anymore, typing is hard for me but I cant really write anymore, and they are swollen most of the time, I have pain in my spine as well, and my shoulder starts to swell every morning, it wakes me up I hate it, The way I describe my pain is its like hot electricity and all my nerves are exposed.

I have known only my pain for the last 17 years and its cool to see that I am not alone, Some days are worse then others some days I have to spend the days lying on a heating blanket cranked to the max Heat works for me so I use it, heat just numbs it, I have heating pad burns on my back. I have been on a steady dose of Opiates, First was Darvocet, 5/325s then they stopped making them now on Percocets, 5/325s, cant take vicodin makes sick to my stomach, and I have a muscle relaxor been on a number of those throughout the years, but now I have gabapentin 75mg 3x daily, and My Valium 5mg 3x a day, and for the last med Amitriptyline, 75meg 2 at night, I cant live without that one either, I use it for sleep if i dont have them I dont sleep. So everyday is the same Physical pain and its something you learn to live with but still HATE It.

 

[tricomb]

Welcome to the Chronic Pain Patients megathread Hazy420. You are not alone here, far from it. Here you'll find an amazing bunch of fellow chronic pain patients.

 

[macd610]

they aren't ms contin, they are zomorph, so normally opening the capsule and crushing the beads works fine. Not that they are providing me much relief, it was worth a shot, I just wish it had helped more. I havent had an episode this bad since December.

Big dirty, I used to keep my old patch on for a few hours whilst transitioning to a new one, I also found they didnt last anywhere near 72 hours yet my uncle did. I think some people just metabolise drugs faster.

Hi Doomed!
Hope you're doing better pain wise.
For all of you out there using fentanyl patches like myself-
if you look at the big long package insert that comes with each box of patches, it actually says that some people require dosing every 48 hours instead of 72. I change mine every 48 hours and when the time comes I am definitely ready for a new 1! Especially in this God forsaken heat, GRRR.

 

[tricomb]

How hot is it in the dirty south?

 

[*samsonite*]

109 degrees for me today. Yuck

 

[ANW1982]

Hello Everyone,
I am new here. I have lived with chronic pain pretty much since i can remember. I was born with a rare genetic disorder that makes tumors on my thyroid and parathyroid glands, pituitary gland and my pancreas. I had my second brain surgery about 6 months ago, to remove the tumor. During the same time, i found out that i have 9 malignant tumors in my pancreas. This disorder causes my bones to be weak and to have pain on my nerves. Im in pain pretty much all the time. I have recently come to the point of being anxious all the time, depressed, and my emotions are like a roller coaster. Im taking lorazepam, hydrocodone Norcos, and effexor. Sometimes im in so much pain i take 3 norcos at a time plus things to help me sleep. I have recently started not sleeping at all without some kind of tylenol pm or something.. Im scared of getting addicted to these meds but i seriously do need to take them or my life is miserable. Of course my doctors want to help me but they say they wont give me xanax or a stronger type of pain meds because of worrying about me being addicted. IMO i have bigger problems that worrying about getting hooked on a pill, im fighting for my damn life, im at the end of the rope and im begging for help.. Geez. Anyone have any comments or suggestions of what i should do? Maybe try seeing a doctor at pain management clinic??

 

[*samsonite*]

Hello ANW. Welcome. You've come to the right place. If you haven't already, I would suggest reading thru this thread. There are lots of us CPPs that I'm sure you can relate to.

 

[Jktm]

Hey all...

Was switched from tramadol 400mg/day to BuTrans 10µg/hr. Can't pick them up for a few days so don't know how they'll treat me. Anyone with experience with these be able to tell about how strong it is analgesically in terms of equivalence to morphine dosage? First time using a patch so not sure how this exactly works, do you have to shave an area to put the patch on? That sucks if I can't have hair, because there's not much room on me that doesn't have hair lol...

Also got tried again on seroquel for sleep. I'm having bad feelings on this, but we'll see...

Just thought I'd share and ask my question...

Doug

 

[tricomb]

It's best to shave when using transdermal delivery systems, unfortunate, but true.

 

[BiggDirty01]

Hello Everyone,
I am new here. I have lived with chronic pain pretty much since i can remember. I was born with a rare genetic disorder that makes tumors on my thyroid and parathyroid glands, pituitary gland and my pancreas. I had my second brain surgery about 6 months ago, to remove the tumor. During the same time, i found out that i have 9 malignant tumors in my pancreas. This disorder causes my bones to be weak and to have pain on my nerves. Im in pain pretty much all the time. I have recently come to the point of being anxious all the time, depressed, and my emotions are like a roller coaster. Im taking lorazepam, hydrocodone Norcos, and effexor. Sometimes im in so much pain i take 3 norcos at a time plus things to help me sleep. I have recently started not sleeping at all without some kind of tylenol pm or something.. Im scared of getting addicted to these meds but i seriously do need to take them or my life is miserable. Of course my doctors want to help me but they say they wont give me xanax or a stronger type of pain meds because of worrying about me being addicted. IMO i have bigger problems that worrying about getting hooked on a pill, im fighting for my damn life, im at the end of the rope and im begging for help.. Geez. Anyone have any comments or suggestions of what i should do? Maybe try seeing a doctor at pain management clinic??

Welcome to our pain management thread! I myself have had my spine fused 3 times in the last year and a half so I can sympathize with the chronic, non stop pain. I just wanted to let you know that if your pain doctors aren't listening to you or fulfilling your needs because of "addiction" you need to consider switching to a different doctor. I am not sure of your insurance situation and what not but I would highly suggest getting a referral to a pain clinic, maybe through your oncologist?

Feel free to PM me or any of the regulars on this thread, we are a tight little community and really give strength to one another.

 

[tricomb]

^Yes, it's one of the most important things to remember.

As a chronic pain patient, you have rights. And if you are not getting adequate care, dissolve your contract with your current pain management clinic, or with your current prescribing physician, whatever, and find a more compassionate doctor!! Remember that you have rights, including the right to a second doctor's opinion.

I personally am being treated somewhat poorly at my pain clinic, and am not prescribed what I need due to my age. I've had to change doctors dozens and dozens of times due to problems in some way or another. It's not easy being a CPP, but it's important not to lose hope and give up. The only reason why I haven't changed doctors yet, is that the next pain clinic is a two hour+ drive there and then back again would take an entire day, and since I'm currently prescribed oxycodone, which requires you to pick up the paper prescription in person, it would mean regular trips to the clinic everytime I needed refills or appointments, and I can't afford this, the gas money alone would bleed me dry.

Anyways, I am still struggling to remain very optimistic! This thread is amazing and as mentioned, the people are great. I've found that it really helps to reach out to others who know what you're going through. At my current pain clinic, they offer group therapy which I don't attend anymore, but while I went, it really changed my perspective on a lot of things.

 

[eldub v7.0]

How hot is it in the dirty south?

it's rather chilly here in australia.

i'm getting high on more codeine. will use this script up by friday when i'm free to get my morphine filled back up, then going to hopefully drop the tolerance down a bit.

900mg of codeine earlier was only good enough for a few shits n giggles with reasonable pain relief a few hours later until i just about had bits of lasagna spewing over the telly. fuck i hate winter, windy, rainy days.

 

[Coraline]

I have found talking about stuff to people really helps my situation. I'm not too open with my hubby because he thinks I don't need the medication and when he went to the dr with me, he heard there is nothing wrong that requires surgery. So he heard there is nothing wrong. He blocked out the part where he talked about my conditions. Maybe he didn't understand the medical terms. Idk.

But talking to people who understand what your going through really helps. It helped me. It lets me know I'm not alone. It lifts my mood by helping others and letting some frustration out.

I hope everybody is having a good day today. I have had some really bad days lately and haven't been on much due to that fact. But at this moment in time I'm doing great mentally and my pain is down.

 

[*samsonite*]

I'm struggling with a dilemma that I'm sure some of you guys are acquainted with; I'm going to run out of meds early this month I have enough to last 10 days of regular dosing. I don't get a refills for 16 days. My dilemma is whether or not to start a slow taper and conserve meds, which would leave me in pain for the whole 16 days but not withdrawl. OR take as usual and during the last week take a dive in dosing. Pros and cons for both considering my pain is severe. Being in pain for 16 days when I know I have meds on hand that would relieve me is miserable and almost impossible IME. But, while taking a sudden drop in meds those last few days is less days of suffering, I will be in withdrawl hell. Any thoughts on the lesser evil??

 

[Coraline]

I would decrease your daily dosage. I reciently cut my daily dosage in 1/2. I was taking 4 norco's aday. It didn't relieve my pain any more. I took 1/2 dosage, 2 norco a day to bring my tolerance down. I have a blog about it and I think I posted it in this thread. It worked. My tolerance is down. 1/2 dosages work. Sometimes my pain is bad and I have to redose sooner and when I do it works.

The first few days it will be a little rough. Take some OTC pain meds to help. In a few days to a week your body should adapt and you will, at least in my expierence, have greater pain control.

If you have multiple drugs don't take them all at once. Take one then a little later take another. This is what I did and I have better pain control with out increasing the strength of my medication.

It may suck the first few days but remember there is a reward at the end.