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Avatar universal

Has anyone (over 50)with pain issues handle life without Meds?

I have booked my 2 week stay at rehab on 10/3 to wean off 4-6 10/325 Norco taken over 3 yrs.  I injured my neck three yrs ago and I now only take meds to not get sick.

My question is can anyone here tell me that they can handle the pain without taking the Pain Meds?  I am determined to get back into eating better and I am either going to join the healthclub/gym or buy a Pilates equipment for home use.  Maybe take Yoga, too to strengthen my Core which I have read helps with pain issues.  I also have a Dr apt with my PVP a day b4 rehab and I will be asking for physical therapy, again in hopes of helping me get through the pain after rehab.  I also get discount on massages through our insurance and I will also do that, too.

Another question, has anyone over 50 who has gotten depressed from pain meds been able to work through depression without depression meds?  I never took depression meds and I have done research on it and because I never dealt with depression like this throughout life do I have a good chance that I can just work through my depression caused by the meds?

I have just retired and I do have a couple of mornings that I can devote to exercise.  I have noticed that even thou I'm on lose dose of pain meds I still feel depressed and tired from meds.  I also live in California and I did get a Precrip. (if you know what I mean) which a friend of mine said helps with pain issues and depression.  I will use if needed after rehab.  My problem I hate the smell and because I quite smoking cigs over 3 yrs ago I'm not sure if I can smoke anything.

I figured if I could quit smoking cigs I can kick this Pain Meds, too.

Any replies and positive thoughts on life after meds would be helpful....
18 Responses
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4522800 tn?1470325834
Hi..You got some Great Advise from my MH family above. I am 57 and went c/t from 3 meds that I was on for a very, very long time..What just gets me is that when I was using I could swear I had Fibro & Mr Art.. I do have a shoulder issue that would just hurts so bad. The thing is now that I have put a year in I do not have any of that pain at all..Yes, when you first stop the pain is bad because we depress a lot of Chems in the Brain. One being our natural Pain Transmitter..There are many areas of the Brain as far as Neurotransmitter, receptors, inhibitors, etc. that are so out of balanced or not recycling right..This is why we will feel more pain at first and then it will ease up a bit..Also as we heal in the Brain are Depression will ease up..If the Brain is not recycling right it will send message to the body that we ache..This is called Somatic Syndrome..I went to my Dr in so much pain many months ago and he said there was nothing wrong but the Brain is trying to balance back..Well I gave it time and it did go away..It it so amazing the things that  a lot of substances can do to all the Chems in the brain..Different ones hit different areas too..SO just give your self some time for all of this to heal and it all will be in balance with each other. Body & Brain..Feel free to go into my Journal and go over a few pages and read the info I put in..One is the Nature of Addiction and the other one is the Disease of Addiction and the Pleasure Pathway..This one talks about the Dopamine surges we get when we are addicted to things..Even Gambling. I also put in some info about the cycle we go through giving our drugs up..It is the same cycle we go through when we grieve over a loved one..Very interesting..I wish you the best..Just hang on and maybe try some Meetings as well..Stick around and we sure will help you too..
PS..I have found that good old Motrin is the best. Plus Swimming.
Bless
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for the support...Because I finally admitted to the depression a few months ago I started going to a therapist.  

First, she said your in denial and that I should be on depression Meds.  That really turned me off...I'm not in denial if I were I wouldn't have told her my plans of getting off pain meds and seeing her, a therapist.  I told her I don't want to replace one drug for another that is my concerns of not going to a Pyc Dr to get depression medication to only have to get off that too and that may even be harder.  

My older sister lost her son at 1 yr old and she experienced deep depression and started taking meds which started years of battles of trying to find something that worked.  She finally found a good therapist who helped her wean off depression meds and sure she has bad days but she is so much better and she is working through her sadness.

Throughout my life, when I felt depressed I would write down what I maybe doing that has me feeling depressed or what I'm not doing to make myself happy and then change that.  Plus, I do understand that life beats us more at times then other and we have a right to be sad.  i.e. my 33 yr old daughter has cancer and so does my older sister....

However; I can tell the last year that the pain meds has put me in a different kind of depression and that is what I need to work on first then, work on the sadness that life throws at me..

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi there, in reading your posts, I've noticed that you are very hard on yourself. I understand that.... because I was disgusted with myself as well when I was on them. Part of what you will learn in those books is forgiveness is key. You have to forgive others and you have to forgive yourself. Try to be kinder to yourself. It sounds like you have some stress in your life, with your grandson and having teenagers and a husband that doesn't understand. So, its understandable that this happened in your life. I honestly think I took them to cope with life as much as for pain. Anyway, you seem very nice and I really am completely optimistic for you. You will do this. I have no doubt. Stay on here. So many nice, giving and loving people. They will stay with you the whole way.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for the reading list....I pulled it up on youtube to get a little bit of info on them.  Thumbs up!  It is right up my alley.

I have studied vegan and vegetarian life style and many other therapies that are more holistic in nature however; I live it 1/2 a$$ because I feel that i'm a fake because of the pain meds...  It was like when I smoked Cigs. years ago I ate and did many holistic things in my life but felt like a fake because I smoked.

I pray that my rehab goes the way I need it to...if it doesn't they said every 4 days they eval everyone, I can just leave and go to plan B detox myself.

Thanks for the support
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, happy to see you here..I am 66 and have lots of issues...To be honest my pain level is less without the drugs...There are so many things we can do..You have listed many good things...As far as depression...I too get that, but I really believe that if we think positive, write, pray and put good things in your life...We are a drug nation..There are drugs for everything...Heaven forbid if we ate better and exercised more..Eating healthy is another good thing..and God has put really great foods for us to nourish and heal our bodies..Oh, and when we are older it is much harder to bounce back...Your doing good and keep up the good work...Hugs Denise
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am a pain patient as well. Although I still suffer with pain, it is actually lighter than when I was on the Norco. There is a medical reason for this and it's called "Opioid Induced Hyperaglesia). Look it up. Basically, the opiates disrupt the Limbic system and your body  stops making its own dopamine and other chemicals that help a person handle pain. Opiates also reduce your threshold or tolerance for pain, It takes a while for that to come back after you are clean of them. I am in a pain management program now that is excellent and they don't use narcotics. Check into the book "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn or  "A Day Without Pain"by Dr. Mel Pohl. Both are excellent and teach you mental exercises to cope and reduce your pain. I understand how you feel! In addition to my problem, my mom has had fibromyalgia for 30 years and I've watched terrible suffering in her. Oh, also, there is a theory (not quite yet proven but close) that opiates cause osteoporosis too. So, you are doing the right thing. And,I think you'll be shocked at how easy it will be for you to get through rehab.
Helpful - 0
1855076 tn?1337115303
I think you'll be fine.  You'll find other ways to manage the pain.  I'm always looking for new things and when I don't take pain meds, I use gels, ibuprofen, exercise, ice, heat and whatever else I can think of and I muddle through.  I would rather have some pain and not be dependent than have less pain and worried about all the worries that come with being on pain pills.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am so excited to see what you learn while in rehab. This is a very good topic.Could you please share some thoughts with us when you get home? I;m very interested. Good luck. xo
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I too hate being depended on the Norco and just taking what is prescribed however; because after a few months I had so many issues going on in my life emergency care of my  disabled 3 mth grandson and working full time gave me little time to wean down and feeling the wd's because I had no time on the books to take vacation or sick due to using them for when my grandson needed me to take off for the many therapies, etc.

Now I have retired and this is on the top of my list.  I have booked rehab and can only be away for 2 wks.  My husband will be caring for our teens and our disabled 3 yr old grandson.  When I got hurt that is when I had to take my grandson in our home otherwise he would have gone to foster care.  It's hard to believe I've been on the Norco for 3 yrs!!

I just pray that the rehab works with me on weaning process and not flood me with high doses....I will talk with them when I get there.  

best of luck
Helpful - 0
967045 tn?1378399673
I am 55 - bad back - herniation with nerve compression.

I also took Norco. I am on day # 21 without them. I had a few days where my back was just screaming!! I cried - I whined, I did anything I could to get home from work that day.

A hot bath, some tea & some OTC pain relievers. It gets better.

I am doing anything I can to treat my back.

Accupucntue - chiropractor - floor work (exercises & stretches) anything.

You don't have to have pain.

Good luck
Helpful - 0
1855076 tn?1337115303
I'm just wondering do you feel addicted?  Were you misusing your pills?  Or are you just sick of it all?  I went off because I was sick of it.  The side effects and being tied to a bottle weren't worth it.  But I had to go back on when they couldn't get my BP under control.  Now that it is, I'm tapering slowly.  Last time I went too fast and it was really difficult physically.  I don't have the mental part of addiction but the physical dependency really bothers me.  I plan to just stay off them as long as I can and do all the right things in the hope that I won't have to go back on them.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
What OpenMind said is pretty much my story. I am 60 with the bad back and bad addiction history. The pain really does decrease. Opiates somehow amplify pain and create a "need" for them.
All of the core muscle strengthening that OpenMind talks about, I do also. I combine what I learned in Physical Therapy, with some good books on Pilates for injured backs. For me its a daily, in the morning thing-do my stretches. I have been doing them for close to 2 years, but only have been clean from Oxycodone for about 80 days.
So yes, us older folks get better too! Yea!
About depression, I have some pretty blue days but I am learning to take them in stride. I can't change the past, so I try to keep the lessons my addictive behavior brought painfully, but leave the regret and "woe is me" part out. I do not do well on AD meds, so I do not even try.
You sound like you want to leave pills behind. You won't miss them. I promise.
Helpful - 0
4190741 tn?1370177832
When we are using, we convince ourselves that everyone in the world is using, but I would bet thousands of people do not use meds for pain or for overcoming depression.  

Most stories I hear are that after a short time on scripts, the medicine doesn't help as well as it did in the beginning and we end up needing more meds and that is how the awful cycle starts and continues.

I am sure that your depression and hopefully recovery from it will be addressed in your rehab.  

Good luck to you

M
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think your plan sounds pretty good. You sound determined to stop, and my money is on you accomplishing your goal. Congratulations on wanting your life back. That willingness will go a long way.

I'm 67 and I have degenerative disc disease. All kinds do stuff going on in my lower and mid back. I was on pain meds for 3 years, and just like you I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. When I quit, the pain was steep at first, but I was amazed how it gradually became tolerable. It going on a year since I quit Vicodin and I'm careful with my back, but I'm handling the pain very well. I have a yoga pose called the child pose that I do, along with what I learned in three 8-week PT sessions. Just as my opiate addiction recovery is a daily process, so is my pain management. I do my stretching every day without fail. I walk 2 dogs 2 miles every day, now I swim twice a week. In my case, I simply don't dare stop moving! Every now and then I'll take an Advil if I'm really stiff (the usual 67 year old aches and pains).

We're all different when it comes to the vertebra. I got herniated discs, bulging discs, collapsed discs... On and on. Your doctor, I'm sure, tells you what you can and can't do; mine sure does. When you quit, give it time. The more time the more you will see where your pain is really at. When you first quit the pain will be much worse than it ends up being in the long run.

Best of luck in your recovery!!
Helpful - 0
1855076 tn?1337115303
I know how you feel.  There is a stigma to being on meds.  I go on and off.  I was off for a while but the pain caused my BP to go too high so I went back on.  Now I'm tapering off again.  I think it will be the way I have to manage my pain, going on it here and there when the benefit outweighs the risk.  I have found they do make me rather depressed.  They didn't when I was first on them.  

Sounds like you have lots of things in place that will help.  I also use a prescription gel that helps, Voltaren.  I'm not sure anyone gets pain free but I think there's lots of people who say their pain actually lessens significantly after getting off the pills (though there can be an initial increase in pain at first but it will level out.)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks Heather....

I knew I made a deal with the devil when I decided to extend the use of pain meds when I knew I had to be able to function during the hard times when my grandson came to leave with us.  

It's nice to be with folks who understand because my husband doesn't.  I will make the best of the rehab and be proactive in my recovery.  I just want to get it over with and not have to worry about when I have to refill.  I also have to admit I hate when I would get the meds at the Pharm. because I also thought they must think I'm a big loser to be taking these....
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have 3 ruptured discs and I have my siatic nerve displaced pressure on my other nerve, severe arthritis in my neck, pain down my arms and my big toe is numb...I take NOTHING and I am in less pain NOW then I was in when I was using!! YOU can do this YOU ARE worth it!!!!
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Avatar universal
Ms. Vicourageous will be along soon and I KNOW she will be able to answer your questions...i wanted to drop in and say good luck and congrats on taking your life back!
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