Opioids My PAIN Dr. knows NOTHING about addiction to meds...NO help w/withdrawal.

[kayaker318]

I don't even know how to begin I am so mad. Been on Oxy IR 10MG/4x a day for a year for chronic pain. Before that Demerol for a few years and before that Percocet. My pain Dr, or should I say my physician's asst, won't give me anything to help my withdrawals for a tapering process. I want to get off the Oxy but I guess we're damned if we do and damned if we don't. He will only give me vistaril and clonodine and the kicker is told me to take 1/2 a tablet of oxy every 6 hours instead of a whole tablet. Then keep decreasing every couple days. This is my weaning process?! So that equals cutting my dose down from 40mg a day to 20mg a day immediately. How insane are these people? They have NO perception of what it's like to withdraw. The least they could do is educate themselves.

They (here in the US) make it SO DAMN HARD to get relief from chronic pain you practically have to jump through hoops and offer up your first born child just to get a prescription. In the meantime, when you make a decision to go off the drugs they make it virtually impossible to do so. Are they that stupid, misinformed or do they just want to keep making money off people in pain so set up a schedule that is doomed to fail.

I asked for loperamide and gabapentin and was shot down. They said no they don't prescribe that for withdrawal. I have absolutely no other drugs interfering and simply wanted them for the withdrawal symptoms. The last time I did it cold turkey and it was hell. I was only trying to be better prepared this time around. SO sick of this.

Anybody have suggestions on what I could take instead? I really need help with the withdrawal symptoms as just thinking about them is giving me pause about even going off the oxy. And I really want to get off the drug.

 

[wezface]

My doctor just cut me off 60mg hydrocodone a day cold turkey. I feel your pain.

 

[kayaker318]

That is so NOT right @wezface. Totally irresponsible. I'm very sorry. They should all be required to go through cold turkey before getting their medical license.

 

[《Plasticity》]

This is why I would never tell my doctor I'm quitting their meds and just order some neurontin, clonodine, etizolam, and baclofen online and do shit at my own pace, you can even get boxes of vistaril for dirt cheap. Sorry to hear you guys are going through this shit though, the both of you. Because most doctors have never been addicts, and they usually lack the empathy needed to provide proper care of their patients. I strongly recommend picking up some gabapentin from an online pharmacy OP, as long as you haven't been using it daily from some time it can really help.

 

[wezface]

I'm unfortunately prescribed 3200g/day of gabapentin for neuropathy. I am used to withdrawals, but yeah, she cut me off because I was having psych issues. That's it. No drug test, no warning, nothing.

 

[Non Nobis Solum]

I'm feeling nice today, I am going to let y'all vent for a bit. But this thread will be closed guys... Sorry. It remains open for now. You can keep it open longer by adding HR.....

 

[EP158207]

I'm unfortunately prescribed 3200g/day of gabapentin for neuropathy.

I know this is OT; but for such a high GP dose, they should really look into switching you over to lyrica. I mean why take over 3 grams of the stuff, when you can get the same relief from a fraction of pregabalin.

 

[kayaker318]

Hey CaptainKratom thanks for the advice. I will look into that. No I haven't taken gaba before so it would be a welcome relief. I actually thought my doctor could help me which is why I asked him but boy was I wrong. Incredible hypocrisy in the medical community.

Wezface that is terrible. Maybe you could see a psychiatrist. Or am I stating the obvious. Or god forbid he is a psychiatrist. If so that is extremely irresponsible behavior. Hopefully the gaba helps the withdrawal a bit.

 

[wezface]

I know this is OT; but for such a high GP dose, they should really look into switching you over to lyrica. I mean why take over 3 grams of the stuff, when you can get the same relief from a fraction of pregabalin.

oh my god I meant MG. haha.
I am on milnacipran (Savella) which is similar to Lyrica as well.

As far as HARM REDUCTION goes, I know that I need to get to the pain clinic as I have been self-medicating. I have been through the injection regimens of two pain clinics and am waiting on a call for an appointment at a new one. I just called them. Taking forever.

I plan to get a lockbox and have my mom give me my meds seeing as how I have absolutely no self-control with opiates.
This will reduce harm.
Also just a note, I have been taking Abilify for a month now and while it has done absolutely incredible things for my treatment resistant depression, it has made the neuropathy worse. I see a psych nurse tomorrow and I will talk to her about it.

 

[wezface]

Kratom will definitely help! Here is what I tell people they can get in the states over the counter (basic withdrawal kit)

Imodium (loperamide; this is an opiate and there is a whole thread about it)
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl, sleeping pills) to help with the histamine response and to help sleep
Nyquil to knock you out when the diphenhydramine fails
Some supplement shakes like Slimfast or Boost for when you can't keep food down but need nutrition
And lots of movies or video games

You can find Kratom at some smoke shops but your best bet is to get it online from a reputable vendor (stay away from "legal high" sites)

 

[wezface]

But please be advised, I just remembered, that kratom is quite addictive in its own right. Use it responsibly for a few days max and you should be fine. But kratom withdrawal is almost as bad as coming off the painkillers if you get hooked.

 

[BZboo]

Sorry to hear about this. It is terrible how addiction is treated in the US and they most popular logic by most professionals in health care is that you must be humbled aka go through terrible withdrawals because nothing about getting off drugs should be pleasurable. Have you tried Subs before? Or would your doctor be willing Rx them?

 

[buttershots21]

Since I just spent the last week in cold turkey withdrawals waiting for my next Rx to get filled, I feel your pain. These are what I have in my "WD kit" : Lomotil is fantastic. For me, it is vastly superior to Lopriamide in that it stops my runs, the cold sweats, and it makes me feel the most normal of any other substance in my kit. It also seems to dry up the runny nose and watery eyes. From the atropine in it maybe? Then any sort of benzo, but I'm Rxed Xanax so that is what I use. Basically keeps the overwhelming anxiety at bay so I don't freak out on myself or my family. I have gabapentin but try to avoid taking it during WDs as I'm one of the weird ones in that if I take it for more than a day or two it gives me a headache and makes me feel even worse. But many people swear by it. I also have Serequil and I get it Rxed to me as a sleep aid, not for any mental issues. It is great for letting you sleep away the worst of the misery. Kratom is good too, depending on your tolerance. If it's fairly low, it's great. For big habits, it make help slightly, but it stopped working for me long ago. I was eating around 8 grams of the stuff and nothing gained. I have zofran for the nausea and vomiting.

If your regular Dr won't Rx you some of these meds, an after hour or walk in clinic might. After I had my hysterectomy I jumped of a 60mg a day hydro script cold turkey thinking it would be no big deal. That was my first withdrawal experience ever, and I thought I was gonna die. So I went to an after hours clinic and told them what I had done and they Rxed me most of these meds at a 2 week supply. Oh, and Ultram as well. On top of that, drink plenty of sports drinks and I try to take the B vitamins, vitamin D and the Omega 3 and 6 fish oils. I find that the fluids and oils greatly reduce the achy muscles and the headaches. I use Zanaflex as a muscle relaxer, but I'm sure any kind would do. It's a long list, and no matter what WDs still suck but with as many of these as you can get your hands on, the better off you will be. It won't be fun but at least you won't be close to suicidal with the misery.

 

[《Plasticity》]

Silly me, how could I forget kratom . Kratom will take your withdrawal away completely with doses of oxy that low, but if your trying to get off your meds entirely your gonna want to avoid this. Kratom is a mu agonist just like your oxy so it's just a 1 for 1 switch since your on small doses of oxy. In other words, as long as your taking the kratom you won't be making any progress. It helps to have it around though.

 

[Blackout2906]

To the moderator that posted he was going to close this thread, I cant help myself but I have to ask how this isn't HR. The dude is essentially asking for help with his withdraw from his pain meds. I think youre going a little overboard on your moderator powers there sir.

 

[Non Nobis Solum]

Before there was nothing about HR, he was just straight venting.. This thread has taken a good turn towards HR. You are entitled to your opinion.

 

[Blackout2906]

Right... gotcha.

 

[lazylazyjoe]

^ For every poster, there are about 100 others just lurking or looking for advise but don't want to sign up or post.

When there's poor information being presented, or even just self-serving venting - it makes it hard for someone to find accurate pieces of info. The less threads someone has to sort thru, and the more useful HR info available makes it easier for others to use the site as a reference in the future. It's the mod's job to make sure this happens.

@wez : I imagine lots were affected with hydrocodone combinations being rescheduled. I lost my own script too after my doc had his DEA # threatened to be taken away; fortunately it wasn't an opiate tho.

 

[rhun]

^ For every poster, there are about 100 others just lurking or looking for advise but don't want to sign up or post.

When there's poor information being presented, or even just self-serving venting - it makes it hard for someone to find accurate pieces of info. The less threads someone has to sort thru, and the more useful HR info available makes it easier for others to use the site as a reference in the future. It's the mod's job to make sure this happens.

Well said.
And while I agree that asking for help getting off medication falls under HR, this question has been asked and answered countless times and the search engine should be used before starting a new thread.

 

[XANAX XR]

^ For every poster, there are about 100 others just lurking or looking for advise but don't want to sign up or post.

When there's poor information being presented, or even just self-serving venting - it makes it hard for someone to find accurate pieces of info. The less threads someone has to sort thru, and the more useful HR info available makes it easier for others to use the site as a reference in the future. It's the mod's job to make sure this happens.

@wez : I imagine lots were affected with hydrocodone combinations being rescheduled. I lost my own script too after my doc had his DEA # threatened to be taken away; fortunately it wasn't an opiate tho.

I was once of those people and bluelight does a good job at showing accurate information. (wont say the other site that often had 'dangerous' info if you will)