I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE...

Question

WHAT'S GOING ON...SO, I POSTED EARLIER AND I WAS TALKING TO THE DOC ABOUT TAKING TOO MANY PERKS IN ONE DAY (5-6).  WELL, HERE'S AN UPDATE.  THE DOCTOR GAVE ME KADIAN A.K.A MORPHINE 20MG.  SHE TOLD ME TO TAKE ONE IN THE MORNING AND ONE IN THE EVENING.  SHE SAID THAT IT IS NOT VERY ADDICTIVE BUT ALOT OF PEOPLE THINK IT IS.  SHE ALSO SAID I CAN TAKE, ON A BAD DAY, 1-2 PERKS.  SHE SAID THAT PERKS ARE FAR MORE ADDICTIVE THAN MORPHINE.  I WAS A LITTLE SHOCKED AS I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT IT WAS WICKED STRONG.  SINCE I AM GOING TO CUT BACK ON THE PERKS BUT STILL TAKE MORPHINE AM I GOING TO GO THROUGH WITHDRAWALS?  AFTER I HAVE MY PROCEDURE DONE WITH MY BACK, THEY ARE GOING TO START TRYING TO GET ME OFF THE PAIN MEDS.  I JUST HOPE I AM NOT GETTING MYSELF INTO A BIGGER MESS.

cgmomma · Answer

my "surgery" really isn't that big of a deal, they are just going to burn off a nerve in my facet joints.  this is such a pain in the ***.   I am just going to take the kadian as prescribed and at least get off the perks, which is what i am def addicted to.  granted i am going from one to the other, but it is like starting over and in a way it makes me feel better about everything

racr211 · Answer

im new to this site so excuse me if my questions sound stupid. ive been on pain pills since i was 26 and im now 29 i have pinched nerves in my lower back. i only started out takin like one 5-500mg vicodin a day now i take 10 10-325 norcos a day. im tryin to kick it cold turkey and havent takin one for two days now but i feel HORRIBLE! any advice????

worried878 · Answer

But u r 22..i just checked..i wish u luck with the pain u r having at ur young age...be safe

worried878 · Answer

I do know that morphine is not a "high" people enjoy and u dont see it often as a doc on here...butit is very addictive...most people on morphine are on it for pain and not for the high...of course exceptions to every rule...but it is a strong narcotic and this does not seem like a step forward in getting u clean from opiates...like avis asked...what is the pain and surgery related to?  if it is lefe threatening cancer or something then choices may be different..sometimes doctors look at ages as well and the elderly in their last years of life may be treated a bit differently due to quality of life

avisg · Answer

Wow it amazes me what some doctors are prescribing for pain these days. What is your pain issue and what surgery are you having .

HR_PuffnStuff · Answer

Hi, I'm so sorry you are going through this. My mother is 70 years old and weighs like....nothing. She is on those exact drugs. Morphine (once in AM, once at night) and then she has percocet as well. She just had a device implanted in her back to electronically stimulate and I guess confuse or interrupt pain signals. Sorry, I don't know exactly what it does but it has worked wonders. She is now weaning off the meds and the percs are first since they are easier to get off of (as far as withdrawals). She is feeling no withdrawals of course because she has the morphine in her system. So once she is off the percs, the doctor is weaning down her dosage of morphine. Perhaps you can cut down your percocets a little after you go on the morphine? If the morphine works for you, that is. Of course waiting until after surgery is probably wise. You won't know how bad you'll feel and what you'll need to take. After my mom's surgery (and the initial surgery pain subsided) she really cut way back on the percs because she was no longer in so much pain. She has had no problems with w/d at all. Now with the morphine, the Dr. is going slow with that. Each month he is lowering her dosage by just a little. So far so good. I was freaked out by the word "morphine" until she started taking it, too. I really wish you the best.

GoingToMakeIt · Answer

Please go to the top of page and hit the 'Post a Question' and start a new post so we can answer your questions directly. Also look on the right side of page for the Health Pages and find the Thomas Recipe. It deals with remedies to ease the cold turkey withdrawals.

jameron · Answer

Hello everyone... I am trying to help my boyfriend through his addiction with the use of vicodin, and he is getting upset with me in asking all these questions I am asking to better understand what he is going through to quit cold turkey. I was wondering if you can help me through this rough time that he is going through? Is there anything that he can do to help ease his mind?

cattalina · Answer

Morphine would be less harmful on your liver as it doesn't have tylenol in it.  But you haven't been taking enough percs long enough to cause any damage to your liver. (unless you had a liver disease before you started taking percs)  My father has taken a pretty heavy dosage of percocet every day for the last 25 years, and his liver functions are still fine.  The percs have had little to no effect on his major organ function in 25 years.  If that's why your doctor switched you to morphine, it's a little premature.  I know it's stressful trying to find a balance with not being in pain and not getting addicted.  But if the percs work on pain, stick with them until your surgery.  They'll be much easier to come off of in the long run.  And it's good to be aware and informed of what you're taking and it's potential now instead of getting in over your head and having to deal with a tornado after the surgery.  If your doc is really worried about your liver, ask her to do a blood test to check.  That way you'll know for sure if you can stay on the percs. hang in there!

GoingToMakeIt · Answer

I really wish I was more knowledgeable about it. It is a good idea to not take so much Tylenol. You can always quit whenever you want to. But with surgery coming up, what will you do then?

cgmomma · Answer

she is adament about getting me off of them, she just doesn't want me to take so many percocets with the tylenol and all.  I guess she just said the morphine isn't as hard on the body, when taken as prescibed.  i just feel like i can't get away from it.  I told her flat out today that I WANT OUT, I WANT OFF of these medications.  The doctors want to help me with that but they also don't want me in pain in sort of a lose lose situation.  I always though that morphine was more "hardcore" i guess you could say.  The really *****.  I know nothing about morphine and it's all just so screwed up.  UHHHHHHH!!

GoingToMakeIt · Answer

I would wait to hear what others say but I will say that until after your surgery, there is not much point in getting too worked up about what pain med is more addicting. I suspect your Dr is right, though about the morphine. When your surgery is done and the initial pain subsides, then attack this problem.

cattalina · Answer

Morphine is much much much stronger than percs!!  Your doctor must not be very intelligent if she told you that morphine is not addictive!! 

KADIAN® contains morphine sulfate, an opioid agonist and a Schedule II controlled substance, with an abuse liability similar to other opioid analgesics. KADIAN® can be abused in a manner similar to other opioid agonists, legal or illicit. This should be considered when prescribing or dispensing KADIAN® in situations where the physician or pharmacist is concerned about an increased risk of misuse, abuse or diversion.

That's what I just got offline... maybe you should print that out and bring it to her!!  Taking 5-6 percs a day or more can be hard on your liver as percocets have acetaminophen in them... but switching you to morphine isn't a better option!  If you're going off the percs right on to the morphine, you shouldn't feel any wds since you're just switching opiates.  But when you try to come off the pills completely, the wds could be much worse from morphine than percs.  

I really feel for you hunnie, I know that you're going thru a tough time right now, but this may not be the best move for you in the long run!!  PM me if you need to talk okay?  Hang in there.  - sending hugs your way!!  :)