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MedHelp Member's Question

Pain vs pills

by gene10, Oct 21, 2000 12:00AM
Hi everyone.  I have posted numerous times in the last 5 months about my addiction to Oxycontin.  I have been off of it since July 13th.  I started taking painkillers for back & headache problems and eventually switched to Oxy on my own & really became addicted to it in high doses.  I didn't even know if I still had pain issues because I took opiates 24 hours a day.

When I decided I wanted to get off of this deadly treadmill of searching for, buying, hoarding & doing pills, I went to my doctor & told him what was going on.  He sent me to an inpatient detox facility & I got sober.  I went to AA/NA meetings almost every day for 3 months & recently celebrated 90 days of sobriety.



However, as soon as I stopped taking opiates, my headaches came back with a vengeance as did my back pain.  I have tried every non-opiate option I can think of to get relief.  Various non-opiate medications have not helped at all.  I am now seeing an accupuncturist as a last resort.  So far, no help.

I don't want to go back on painkillers having lived through the various side effects that they cause.  I love being opiate free, not feeling like a drug addict anymore, at least not an active one.  I have given up all of my various addictions at this point in my life & I LOVE it!

But I cannot handle this pain anymore.  A friend of mine gave me a bunch of Percocets a few days ago & I took them in small controlled doses & the pain relief I got was astounding!  Since I was taking the equivalent of 32 to 64 percs a day in my prime, this was quite a change for me.  I have no desire to abuse them (not now at least) but I know the dangers that are out there waiting for me.  Does anyone have any advice for this pain weary person?
Member Comments (26)

by tom to Gene, Oct 21, 2000 12:00AM
it seems to me that your problem with narcs, as with all of us, is with control. If you had someone or some kind of medical facility dispensing a long-acting narc like oxycontin, ms-contin, or even methadone (I read all the time that this drug is actually quite good for pain but has the rep it has because of how it has traditionally been used up to now), you could have a good life without getting strung out. I know this sounds like you'd be going to the methadone clinic for your daily dose along with the junkies (no offense meant by this, I know the term applies to me just as much as it applies to the guy shooting up in the back alley), but surely someone out there has come up with a procedure or even an electronic device that could meter your meds for you and prevent impulsive use.



When I had back surgery in 1993, I had, thank god in heaven, a PCA (patient controlled analgesia) device by my bed. It allowed me to give myself a very small dose of morphine IV, but strictly controlled how much I could use in a given time period. It was a revelation! I wouldn't think of getting more surgery without this pain control device. Because I got these small but steady doses of morphine, I was completely pain free but absolutely lucid and not "narcotized." Believe me, I know what it feels like to be narcotized (buzzed) and this wasn't it. It makes a dramatic difference in your state of mind when you know you can just push a button and get pain relief, as opposed to begging a nurse for a shot every few hours that knocks you on your ass then stops working hours before you can have another (been there, done that, too). I'd urge anyone getting surgery to insist on PCA after the procedure.



But out patient? And with pills instead of IV stuff. I don't know. But here's an idea that popped into my head as I write this:



For all chronic pain patients (like me):



Imagine having what amounted to a pill bottle with a computer chip in it that would only release, say, one perc or vic or oxy within a set time period. You'd have the pills there when you needed them, which in itself lowers your stress level and pain apprehension, but you wouldn't be able to up the dose or frequency on your own. PCA, I know, records how many times and how often you press the button for a dose (guess what, I pressed mine a zillion times per hour, but then you already knew that!), so the doc and nurse can monitor your pain (or, as in my case, your enthusiasm for narcotics) pretty easily. I was told that they use the info to spot possible post-op complications before they worsen.



Well, guys and girls, what do you think? I know the device would have to be sturdy, or it would be like a piggy bank just asking to be broken open. And there would be hackers who could get past the programming in it, but that would be the exception, not the rule. Anyone monkeying with it would be taken off of it. But an EPROM chip (a chip that can be re-programmed as many times as you like) would be easy to obtain right off the shelf (I write articles and advertising for a company that makes them) and I'm sure the mechanical aspect of dispensing just one pill while carrying a supply of say, a month's worth, would be a snap to design and manufacture. The device would interface with the clinic's PC and could give the doctor a pretty accurate look at your daily pain cycle. Such an electronic 24-hour tracked log might even help identify life-style or work activities, foods, states of mind, environments, etc. that are triggering your pain and help you avoid them. I know that many doctors already ask their patients to keep "pain logs" for this very purpose. Anyway, just brainstorming. For all I know, someone has already done it. I do know many terminal patients today have surgically implanted devices that give them metered doses of morphine. But this device would work with pills or capsules that fit within a certain shape range. Pharmaceutical companies could make the pills conform to a certain shape if it meant losing sales.



Gene, I know none of this will probably help you now, but perhaps if you consulted a pain specialist they might have a solution the would achieve the dosage control you need yet make the drug available when you needed it for pain episodes.



Anyway, it's a thought. Everyone have a great weekend (even Dan … ha-ha).

by J.B. to Brian and Vicky, Oct 21, 2000 12:00AM
You and I are in the same boat. My wife is doling out my pain meds exactly as presicribed and it is driving nuts.

I am considering asking for the Duragesic patch. Any ways, it's just a thought for you. I heard that they are very expensive. If anyone out there knows anything about the patch, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

by tom to J.B., Oct 21, 2000 12:00AM
My wife and I were watching a PBS special about terminal cancer patients (my nephew died last week from cancer), and there was a segment showing a doctor discussing the duragesic patch with a patient. There were no hard numbers, but the gist of the conversation was that her family was going to have to step in and buy the patches for her to get her through her last months. It sounded like they were talking in the thousands (!). Why not call a pharmacy, or a hosptital pharmacy. I've heard they're extremely effective, in any event. That's why I slap one on my forehead every morning as I leave for work. Makes it hard to see to drive, but nothing's perfect. Good luck.

by J.B. to Brian and Vicky, Oct 22, 2000 12:00AM
We watched the same PBS show and as I recall it was going to cost the woman $4000 per month. Unbelievably expensive stuff!

My wife goes to a clinic every Friday for chemotherapy(she has lung cancer) and the three hour treatment is over $2500. I'm just waiting for her insurer to cut her off. If that's legal?

You don't really put the patch on your forehead do you? I'm pretty gullible but.....

by Chad B, Oct 22, 2000 12:00AM
Have you tried NSAIDS or Ultram?  I know they both suck, but Ultram does relieve pain a little.  The idea above is a good idea, but trust me, I tried to invent something last year, and You don't know what you are getting yourself into.  You will need approx 17,000 to 30,000 dollars.  That is just for a none working prototype.  Then you have to do a search for previous patents. 400 dollars an hour, apply for a patent 6000 dollars, well you get the point. Anyway it is a great idea, you should at least try and sell the idea to somebody.  Look for inventors information on www.google.com you will find more than enough.  Tkae Care and the best of luck to you Gene !!

Chad

by tom to J.B., Oct 22, 2000 12:00AM
I hope I never have anything that justifies one of those patches. Of course, I'm curious. I'm sorry to hear about your wife. I hope the expensive treatments are helping her. I'd be heartsick if my wife got the big c. At least you're going through all of this together. My best wishes to both of you.

by tom to J.B., Oct 22, 2000 12:00AM
I hope I never have anything that justifies one of those patches. Of course, I'm curious. I'm sorry to hear about your wife. I hope the expensive treatments are helping her. I'd be heartsick if my wife got the big c. At least you're going through all of this together. My best wishes to both of you.

by J.B. to Brian and Vicky, Oct 22, 2000 12:00AM
After five months of treatment with Taxol, my wife's tumors are shrinking! We've had quite the battle with cancer since 1994. It started out in her ovaries and was later found in her colon. It is now in both lungs. My poor wife has had more chemo and radiation than any six people I now of. Incidentally, she reminded me that she was on the patch for a while but thought it was morphine instead of Fentanyl. I don't remember as she's been on so many meds that I can't keep track of them. She liked the IV machine with the push button the best. I watched her nurse change the morphine casette one day and was amazed at the size of the thing! It looked like it might hold four oz. or so. Yeah, I hope you never have to be in the pain my poor wife has endured for six years. I don't think that I could have ever handled it!

by tom to J.B., Oct 22, 2000 12:00AM
I've heard good things about Taxol. Thank god for modern medicine. You'll have to tell me her name so we can remember her in our prayers. I've already posted about laying my 10-year old nephew to rest last week in Seattle. Just when I think I have challenges, I hear about someone like your wife and realize I've pretty much gotten a free pass through life. Of course, we're all mortal and the free pass will expire one day. Facing mortality is a sobering experience indeed. Don't even need AA to get the full effect.

by J.B. to Brian and Vicky, Oct 23, 2000 12:00AM
Her name is Marty which Is short for Martha. She is probably the strongest person I've ever known.

Sorry about your nephew, it's tough. In the last year, we've lost three family members to cancer but they were well into thier sixties and seventies. Losing someone so young is terrible!

We lost our youngest daughter last February to epilepsy and I am having a bad time getting over it. Thanks for the prayers! They do help. They do help.

by Frankinscense, Oct 24, 2000 12:00AM
AS longs as most of you are chasing a high to accomplish pain relief you will be on the opiate addiction treadmill. But most of you will say for me to mind my own business or you are not addicted or I have this problem because I live in a jungle and and its hot, or I do not want to have to go dose with the junkies  and etc. Most should realise, especially the ones that buy drugs off the street that you are no different than the junkies you speak of at these these clinics. Buying drugs from pushers and running from doctor to doctor will eventually get caught by the doctors or the law. This life of scamming doctors is a horrible lifestyle. Anyway this behaviour is a sickness listed in the DSM IV manual. People that do this are mentally sick with a disease called drug addiction. The only  solution to this disease at the present time is opiate agonist therapy. I know most of you are scared of the clinics for one reason or another. You have to realise that THIS method of getting treatment for you