Last post Sun, Jul 06 2008 1:58 PM by mainethang207. 86 replies.
I'm afraid it isn't really possible to take these painkillers for a longer period, without getting addicted to them. I'm taking opiates, and I think that's what Vicodin is, isn't it?
My doc knows that I'm addicted, but he also knows that I'm conscious about it, and give my best to keep it at reasonable levels.
When my leg will be gone, and things have healed up I will have to withdraw. I know that, and I have no problem with it.
Have done it before.
There are so many factors going into the use/abuse of these drugs. If you are in constant pain you want to feel good. Pain can kill. It kills every spark of fun, enjoyment, and finally life. So it's very hard to stay away from the one thing that can give you these things back, even if only for an hour.
Daisies
Hi HeadyBill, I don't have chronic pain but I do know a lot about addiction to narcotic pain pills. I recently had surgery for what my surgeon called a 'massive' tear in my Right rotator cuff. Weeks prior to surgery I was prescribed Percoset for the pain. This drug came to earth from the Devil, it did relieve the pain for an hour or 2 but within a week I knew I was addicted big time. When I ran out and couldn't get more, I'd go through full blown narcotic withdrawal:sweating, shakin, diarrhea and feeling like I wanted to jump out of my skin.After my very successful(thank God) the post operative pain at first was unbelievable. I hadn't known it was possible to experience that level of pain and still live. My excellent and merciful surgeon had me on Percoset, Oxycontin and IV morphine for the first post op week And I was discharged from the hospital on Percoset, still addicted. To get me off of it, I was sent to the Duke Pain Management Clinic. The very drug savvy doctor there also gave me percosets but doing the work she does and knowing I'd run out of them too soon; she wisely also pescribed Clonopin to ease me thru the withdrawls.
Before the surgery, my family doctor prescribed a new pain drug called Loran to take just every 12 hours and just use the Percoset in between if I needed it. It worked wonderfully until I went to pay for the refill at $150.00 for 30 pills. Medicare and insurancepaid for the first batch but wouldn't pay on any refills. So if you friend has plenty of money, Loran is a perfect drug for reducing the frequecy of using the Oxycontin and Vicodin.
Thankfully my shoulder healed quickly and on my final visit to the pain clinic I realized I had been out of pain medication and OUT OF PAIN!!!!!!!!! for 3 whole weeks.Unfortunately a Chronic Pain Patient probably doesn't have that option. But I am thrilled to be an ex-narcotic addict and get by with a little tylenol now and then.
Looking back, I can truthfully tell you that the pain drugs were equally as disabling as the surgery and the pain itself.
If another doctor ever dares to hand me another Percoset prescription, I will accept it, and smile while I carefully tear it into tiny bits of paper, find a glass of water and swallow all the bits of paper right then and there
HeadyBill187,
Welcome to Disaboom! The short answer is if they pop a pain pill because your loved one wants the good feeling; she's abusing the prescription. If they pop the pill to take the "edge" off of the pain but are still in pain but in a much more comfortable and controllable position to deal with that pain; that is the correct use.
For Oxycontin, a long-acting (12 hour) pain pill, if chewed, is serious abuse and often fatal because one "trip" like that euphoria will most certainly want another; i.e. addiction.
I have moderate to severe pain in my degenerative neuromuscular disorder known as MELAS and use various methods to cope while avoiding addiction to marcotics.
If you suspect abuse, have her seek help now. If she denies it but you still feel there is abuse going on, esspecially with the Oxycontin, seek immediate help from your clergy, social services for drug abuse, etc. Do NOT believe that the problem can be dealt with on their own. They can try but in many cases that I've seen and read about, they're dealing with life and death which is something a professional needs to be called in for.
Let me know if you have any questions or updates on this potentially serious situation.
Dave
I would be very careful about getting outside help.
Once one is entered in the system as an addict, life can get particularly difficlt.
I was entered. And I had to deal with a leg from which half the skin had come off, and had such severe swelling that all vessels got squeezed shut tight (murderously painful!) with only just the everage over-the-counter aspirin for three years.
I've had dozens of abscesses, many of them all at once, 5 - 8 at times, on that already painful leg. Most of them were cut open under full narcosis, but others simply broke through the skin, and then were sqeezed, to empty all the pus in them. All that without proper pain medication.
The docs said better not, I might get addicted again.
No withdrawal can be as bad as the pain I've been forced to take.
Daisies:I would be very careful about getting outside help. Once one is entered in the system as an addict, life can get particularly difficlt.
Daisies, I hear what you are saying about your situation but I think yours is a different situation. The problem here is, if I understood the original post correctly, is they already suspect abuse. If it is a drug abuse situation, they will need more and more to achieve the same high (the abuse) since they are not just managing pain under a doctor's care. At some point in the abuse situation, death is one of the side effects. The body can only take so much of a drug and that is when you OD. There is a plateau that drug addicts try to break through and it physically cannot be done. It is a death spiral that needs to be caught early. Pain management for "comfortable living" and popping pills for a comfortable living plus a really cool euphoric feeling are two very different situations. I hope I'm making sense in what I'm trying to say. Many of us live with pain and have to manage it. This is a very important topic for all of us. My best to everyone! Dave
I don't think that mine is a very different situation.
I can only strongly advise against outside help if one needs the pain medication.
The post says clearly that the pills are taken after doctor's orders. So no OD-ing there.
But once your name gets connected with addiction, you can get into serious trouble. In all kinds of different fields. It keeps popping up at the most inconvenient times, no matter how long ago it was.
If HeadyBill thinks there might be a problem, I think he should first try to keep an eye on things himself, make sure that things stay under control.
Bill, can you tell us more about why you feel she may be using them recreationally? I'm a little confused because you say she probably still needs them for the pain and doesn't take any more than the doctor says. Do you believe the doctor is overprescribing? Or are you just concerned generally about any regular use of opioids? Is this an acute medical problem with a scheduled end to the pain medicine, or an on-going chronic problem?
I have taken Vicodin regularly for over a year now under my doctor's care. I have definitely built up a tolerance (and will expect withdrawal symptoms when I stop, even gradually), but that is different from addiction. When needed, my doctor has prescribed me stronger meds, like Percocet and Dilaudid, but when the acute need subsided, I returned to the Vicodin. It certainly doesn't work as well as it used to for me (tolerance) but it does help some. My goal is to find medical treatment for my conditions that will allow me to stop the Vicodin altogether, but until then, I need to limit the pain so I can continue to function.
Signs of addiction generally include increasing the dosage or frequency beyond doctor's orders, seeing multiple doctors to obtain extra prescriptions or finding other ways to obtain more of the drug, or allowing the use of the drug to have negative consequences in their life (not regular side effects, but missing responsibilities, stealing, etc).
If you believe that your loved one is heading toward addiction, have you discussed this with her? Do you go with her to the doctor, and if so, can you talk to the doctor about how much medication is needed and for how long (as opposed to jumping right to addiction which may be a false assumption)?
HeadyBill,
I have been taking opiates for more than 5 years now; they are the only medications which touch my pain.
I had substance abuse issues 20-30 years ago, and so was extremely reluctant to take narcotics, even under duress, until my doctor discussed the issue with me in depth.
He suggested that I look at the genesis of morphine, a naturally occuring endorphin. It is created by your body in response to pain. Insulin is another complex molecule created by your body. Diabetics don't produce this compound sufficient to their needs; I don't produce morphine sufficient to mine.
I have not experienced any euphoria since my injury; and certainly none from the narcotics. At worst I've gotten sleepy and withdrawn. We experimented with numerous pain medications; I hated methadone (made me very groggy), and prefer morphine to all others. Unfortunately, I have built a tolerance, and so have recently been forced to supplement morphine with other narcotics.
Am I an addict? I don't -think- so, I certainly no longer feel like one, though that took both time and effort. I get my drugs from the pharmacy, I take them as prescribed, I engage in no illegal or off-book use of drugs. If I miss a dose my body tells me so pretty quickly through increased pain levels, but I also become confused and agitated, very much like someone who needs insulin.
I was open with my sheriff about my prescriptions when it came time to renew my concealed carry permit. He renewed my permit without hassle. He obviously doesn't consider me an addict.
It doesn't sound to me as if your friend has a problem, though your observation that she is using them recreationally is troublesome. Again, I experience no euphoric effects from my narcotic doses at all.
I'd suggest that you discuss your concerns openly with your friend, but you should expect some frustration from her... pain is difficult to communicate effectively, and we are both acculturated and adjudicated to eschew proper pain management.
Inner Glow gives excellent advice; I'd re-read her comments before you get too concerned.
Trashedback,
Any drawbacks to the pump in your experience? My pain manager doesn't want me to get one...
Reall bad week. Pain is so bad I hold my breath, i feel on the verge of vomiting... No crhistms here... I can't face my family when I hurt this much. They don't seem to understand that when I an alone I don't have to sugar-coat anything.
"I feel like something is clawng its way out of my chest" isn't a proper response to "how are you?".
Hi HeadyBill187,
How can your loved one be abusing pain pills if like you said she needs them to manage pain and she takes them as prescribed? How can managing pain be "recreational"? Perhaps if you were more specific in your questions without being contradictary those of us who unfortunatly live with pain that requires aggressive control could help answer your concerns more directly.
Addicted to pain meds? Anyone who lives with chronic pain that requires medication to help control that pain will of course become addicted, that is the nature of any narcotic. Addiction to pain meds is secondary to managing severe pain. Pain changes the chemical balances in the body so pain meds effect is different from those taking them recreationaly. Of course everyone is different and what works, and its effects, on one person does not mean it will work for everyone.
What I read in your post is perhaps your frustration in not being able to help someone you love who is struggling to manage her pain. I never thought a human being could survive the level of pain I struggle with constantly over such a long period of time. It is very hard to imagine unless you have been. I hope you can go with your loved one to her next Dr's appointment and have them explain the nature of pain and how it changes the bodies chemical makeup. Hopefully her Dr specalizes in pain managment since most "regular" Doctors normally do not know how to manage chronic pain. Acute pain can and will become chronic if it is not addressed properly. The key to pain managment is finding the correct combination of drugs and therapy for that specific person which controls the pain and not the person. I hope you give as much support as possible to your loved one with understanding and education.
Best of Luck,
Charles Clark
HELLO,MY NAME IS CINDY SUKIE8862 AM NEW TO THIS.BUT I UNDERSTAND THE ADDICTION.I HAD HEART VALVE REPLACMENT.OPEN HEART SURGEY.I WAS IN A MEDICAL INDUCED COMA FOR 8 WEEKS .I WAS ON MORPHEN FOR THE WHOLE TIME,WHEN I WOKE UP I WAS ADDICTED.AND DIDENT KNOW IT THEN THEY PUT ME ON A PAIN PATCH TO MORPHEN TO I WENT THRU HELL FOR A WEEK FROM JUST THE SHOT OF MORPHEN.IN JANUARY OF 07 THEY TOOK ME OFF THE PATCH.I WAS ON MORPHEN FOR 2 YEARS.NOW AM ON LORTAB 10IVE HAD TO LEARN HOW TO TALK EAT/USE THE BATHROOM ,WRITE FROM WHERE I WAS IN THE COMA I GOT WHAT THEY CALL DROP FOOT I LOST THE ABILTY TI USE MY RIGHT LEG IN A WHEELCHAIR.AND STILL IN CHRONIC PAIN I WANT TO GET OFF THE MEDS I ACTUALLY GET SICK OF TAKING THEM .I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT ADDICTION MY HEART DOC KNOWS AND SENDS ME TO A DOC WHO WILL WRITE FOR ME ALONG WITH OTHER MEDS.I AM IN CONSTANT PAIN AND ALWAYS WILL BE.I TRY TO LOOK AT LIFE THIS WAY. ***** THE MEANING OF LIFE IS TO LIVE SO EMBRACE PASSIONATLEY,WITHOUT HESITATION. SEE,FEEL HEAR, TASTE AND TOUCH MAKE MISTAKES AND LEARN FROM THEM.NEVER BE AFRAID TO MOVE ON NEVER BE AFRAID TO STICK WITH ANYTHING.TEST YOUR METTLE AND LEARN WHO YOU ARE. BE NOT AFRAID MAY GOD BLESS YOU. IT IS CALLED WISDOM BE WELL AND GOD BLESS YOU .CINDY..SUKIE 8862
I agree with you Dave. When the medication is taken for the right reasons there is no chance of addiction. Addiction comes from abuse and using the medications in a wrong way, and it is impossible to become addicted to percoset in one week. I have lived with chronic pain for almost 11 years and when I went off almost 9-10 narcotics which were taken for this pain I did not once experience detox. As with any long term medication you must wean off of it slowly and not just stop it all at once. You must give your body a chance to adjust, but that is not addiction, that is common sense. If you need it, then you need to take it. I do not advocate pain medication unless absolutely necessary and you should talk to any loved one about switching to something less potent if you think there is a problem. Just keep in mind that because someone looks alright on the outside to you doesn't mean that they are just because you think so. You have no idea what that person may be going through and that is the problem when friends or family try to play doctor or try to interfere where they shouldn't. A lot of folks have said over the years about me, "Well he looks alright to me, he could get a job, do what I do, he doesn't need those pills". They don't see the tears at night as I would lay my head on my pillow with my body writhing in pain and not even having a few moments of peace to sleep for even a few hours. Those who judge only by outward appearance are the biggest hypocrites of all because they refuse to understand the pain another may experience which they cannot comprehend.
