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Opioids What would you do?

timetohunt

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 23, 2007
Messages
334
Background:
Very common. Became a pain management patient for what at the time seemed like a legitimate tradeoff. Opiate dependency for being able to work. Then finally the whole magic runs completely dry, and your life basically becomes a mini pill management industry. Again, familiar ground for many.

I have had the opportunity to quit in the past couple of years, and almost got there, except that wife developed lung cancer, which progressed, resulted in several surgies, and metastasized to brain. My goal was to get clean before she needed me full time as a care giver. It takes me over a month to become even remotely functional. I serve super nasty withdrawals even in comparison to some of the worst you read about. Central to this is anxiety disorders which existed previously. Leads to being even too anxious to do basic hygiene

So as I've been trying to quit by putting in time, to separate myself by as long as possible tween my last dose. I need time above all else, time with few if any responsibility. Then bam, every two weeks a medical emergency develops and I'm not able to beat time. Im usually at the height of withdrawal at about 2 weeks, it's just my chemistry. I cannot safely drive when withdrawaling and I'm almost in a hidden, if not severely sick state.

So zero family or friends in the area that can help, I dose up to do my duties. And those duties now require almost round the clock care for her. No days off.

I run short of my scripted meds by about 12 days every month. I am fairy under scripted but there is no way to feed me enough to be able to rise up and function. That amount again is used up about 10-12 days before next script. The pain management establishment will not upscale me nearly enough.

Here is what I did, I begged the doctors to change my paltry 3x 15mg Oxycontin ER (non-crush obviously) to methadone 20 mgs per day, possibly to go up after several weeks. I get a few roxi each day too as usual, but it's so fast acting, almost as if I outgrew roxi when I had my run with crushable Opana. I'm pretty sure the Opana days were where I lost a reasonable tolerance. A chillingly powerful opiate when used in any other way except oral.

There will be nursing visits weekly. but I'm still it mainly.

As for Suboxone, I develop Serotonin Syndrome. Total nonstarter. Myoclonic twitches, severe stomach issues. The works. I thought I was just dieing from a neurological issue last I tried it, until Serotonin Syndrome was determined with Sub being the culprit. Weird azz drug for me.

What would you have done?
 
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If you're actively trying to quit so you can better tend your wife, switching to methadone and tapering down as slow/fast as you see fit based on your particularities is the way to go (since you can't take buprenorphine preparations). Decreasing dosage is considerably easier with longer acting drugs than shorter ones. Sounds like the right move.
 
So you have legitimate pain or na? If so, why not just stay on pain mgmt methadone?

Yes I do, but in hindsight I'd rather that id more thoroughly researched other options. I went 41 years without ever have taken an opiate. Sad, because I usually check out drugs before diving in, and I was way naive on opiates but experienced with other drugs. I would rather suffered through with pain than live the life of a pill manager as I am now. I firmly believe my run with high doses of insulflated opana severely changed my brain pathways and chemistry. It's here I think I became worse than a heroin IV junkie in terms of chances at recovering.
 
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