Mother is on strong pain med for Rhumitoid Arthritis

[kris123]

My mother takes at lest four perocet(sp) a day, plus she has 150mcg pain patch on her arm - morphine i guess and changes it every two days or so - she is also taking a sleeping pill - if she doesn't take the pain med or doesn't have the patch on she is in horrible pain - i have seen her cry and cry - question when is it Ok to take all this - if it is for pain isn't it ok - could she also become addicted to it?  i know when she takes a pill because she says really silly stuff and i ask did you take a pill she will be in here wheel chair and be talking to you and dose off - then she can ramble of things and you can't understand what she says - is she taking to much?

[overopiates]

U should start a new thread so u can get more responses.I would just ask.Explain just like u said thay when u got ur root canal took those meds&they relieved ur arthritis.Please be very careful.I said u felt like u did at20pain free.Sounds like u got high not just relief and these pills r not just addictive,the addiction sneaks up on u even when u have the best intentions&ur tolerance builds quickly especially if u dont take them correctly.The point of opiates/pain killers is to make the pain tolerable so u can function&qaulity of life not to b100%pain free as that tends to be because ur high&may not realize it SLIPPERY SLOPE BE CAREFUL

[Cobainer5182]

hello, I have psoratic arthritis and i take enbrel once weekly.  I do have joint PAIN but the swelling, stiffness and lack of strength are all gone thanks to the enbrel.  My doc wants to put me on Methotrexate in addition to the Enbrel just for my pain.  That seems a bit drastic for pain,  If i had a couple Perocets or oxys a day I would be like i was when I was 20 PAIN FREE.  I dont know how to ask for them without sounding like a pillhead.  Any advice?  I know they work because I had a root canal and I got Perocets for that and to my amazement the joint pain disappeared also.

[johnnykelly]

Some or i would go as far as most people have no experience with pain, pain pills yes addiction Yes,but they use for the Eurphoric buzz they receive,The point of cutting down,in their case by all means,as they are addicticts,not pain patients.They are simply peiople who suffer from the pain od addictoin.To them i say go and get clean and sober,but leave the real pain patients,the ones with R.A. and Cancer and osteoarthritis alone because pain pills are a benefit to them and attribute to thrir way of a quality of life. in gods namw mind your own business and try to do a good job of that,and leave the poor legitamate pain patient in the care of their drs. and the people that are truly therwe to help,not condem. god-bless

[beentrying2quit]

In my opinion...YES...she is addicted and dependent on the drug.  There is nothing wrong with taking pain meds for chronic pain.  The problem is the longer a person takes opiates the more they will have to take to achieve the same result which is why she takes up to 3 at a time.  30mg of Lortab at once is a lot of opiates.

I'm not a doctor but went down the same path as she did.  I started at one 10/500 lortab a day and within a year was at 5 a day for the same pain and eventually went up to a 75mic Fentanyl patch every 48 hrs and was only supposed to use them every 72 hours.  I went cold turkey from the Fentanyl patch a little over a year ago, went back to Lortabs and have just now celebrated 2 weeks pill free.  I do have chronic pain but realized that the opiates were making my life worse.


I think the older a person gets the more difficult it becomes to kick a pain med addiction.  My mom also had arthritis and is in pain daily.  Her doctor began giving her a steroid to reduce the swelling and it works.  The bad thing is when a person takes this type of steroid over an extended period of time it begins to damage your internal organs.  Hence the problem....take opiates and become addicted or take steroids and damage ALL of your organs.

I wish I had an answer for you...unfortuantely for your mom, it may be almost impossible for her to completely get off of pain meds.

[wait2long]

there are a lot of new meds available for RA now, my grandmother gets enbrel injections every 2-3 days, and she swears by it, she has had RA since she was 32, and is now 84, she has tried EVERYTHING, and this so far has been the best treatment for her yet...there are a few others, but i dont know much of them.
but i would definalty check into these new meds. they are really making great strides in treatment options for RA, she shouldnt have to be on those strong narcotics for relief...i wish her well, RA is a debiltating and crippling disease, i dont know my grandmother does it, but she does, she is simply amazing to me, i cant or refuse to even whine to her about any of my ailments because she has overcome so much with this disease. shes just amazing!!!
good luck to you and her...

[BornTwoRiff]

That was well spoken .. I could not agree more ...

[BornTwoRiff]

If she is on Fentyln pain patch and 3-4 percosets a day. I dont see how she is even functioning. I know she is in a lot of pain but she is really over medicated. I have joint problem and have used pain patch for 6 years and its really strong and one of the side effect that caused me to want to wean down or maybe off is CRYING.. A freaking grown man crying for nothing,, Its caused me to have depression.. THey gave me percosets for breakthrough pain but I never needed them with that patch at 100mcg/hr.. Pain is a 2 edge sword. She would probally have a lot better life if she could get down on her meds.. I dont like to judge one in pain as I have felt it and have been in situation where doctor does not want to give you anything.. Try to get her to lower her meds.. I too do take something for sleep. She probally needs that.. Its helps her fall asleep.. that pain patch is what keeps her asleep.its used the medicaion in it to put people under for surgery ..

[worried878]

My mom has RA and she does not take narcotics for it...I do agree that certain people who have no quality of life due to pain or who are dying and in pain need and should get pain relief at whatever cost....If the person is young however, i dont agree with it untill every approach has been tried as the tolerence factor over all the years is too risky...I am a chronic pain patient and sure didnt work for me..after a while you just cant take enough to work anymore...vicious cycle and i think each case is shoule be looked at on an individual basis...someone 84 on narcotics for pain and quality of life  to me is not as scary as someone 24 when we are talking long term

[hop912]

I haev Rhumitoid Arthritis myself and only 28....   I feel the diesease eating at my joints when I wake in the morning... They have me on an Enbrel injection once a week ... Also 3 percs a day and 1 10 milligram of Oxy. I dont know what that patch she has is but I agree with   "Fire" above me. She shouldnt be dosing unless of coarse it is Morphine. That probley would make just about anyone sleepy to the point of dosing.  Ask her doctor about the Endrel shot. It really helps me. To the point where I dont think I even need those pain meds. I have become such a good like con artisit when it comes to getting my pills though. What ashame. ENBREL ask the DOC    Hugs to you and hang int here. Your mother is very sick and needs your support.

[Firefaery1023]

I saw that you only had 1 post to this and wanted to bump you up on the board.  I am don't really know much about the patch.  But I think she may be on too much medication if she is dosing off while having a conversation.  I hope that you get a lot of useful replies.

[persnick38]

My mother has lupus which causes her to have severe pain in her joints. Her doc prescribes Lortab for her - 10 mg tabs; 1-2 every 4 hours as needed. I know that she takes them every day and I have seen her take up to 3 at once. She and my grandmother have the same doc and grandmother gets the same RX for arthritis. I think some older docs are more comfortable prescribing narcotics for chronic pain that newer ones are. I do not doubt that either of them are in pain but question the need for such a strong pain killer on a daily basis for years at a time. My grandmother used to be a nurse and she always says that there is no reason for people to suffer from pain and that if you won't become dependent on a med if you really need it and take it for the right reasons. I disagree with that. Heck, my mom and grandmother are the ones who gave me pills when I asked and I got addicted real quick - granted I don't have chronic pain.  My uncle (mom's brother) has rheumatoid arthritis and his doctor has never given him narcotics for more than small amount of time. He treats him with other meds specifically used for RA. I also know other people with Lupus and RA who do not take narcotics but go to pain clinics to learn other means of pain management.

If you are concerned about your mom, I would suggest you talk to her doc. He may not be able to share any information with you about your mom unless she authorizes him to do so but he can listen to your concerns. I think he should be told about how her behavior changes with the meds. I'm not a medical professional but it sounds like she is taking too much of something. Good luck.