Pain Mgmt doctor denied me Suboxone

[tropicalsoul]

I've had it with these pills so this past Tuesday I went to my pain mgmt doctor and told her I wanted off the Norcos and wanted to try Suboxone.  SHE FREAKED OUT!  She did not understand why I wanted off Norcos and told me that I was not "addicted" to the pills...just "dependent."  I'm not one for confrontation but I got pissed off and informed her I was willing to endure the pain to get off these damm pills.  

Anyway...she would not prescribe me the suboxone and told me to continue the Norcos.  WTF??!!

Now what do I do?  I do not have the will power to do this cold turkey...I just don't.  I've tried several times to quit and the cravings are just too bad and it seems that the closer I get to quiting the worse my aches and pains get.  I'm a SEVERE "type A" personality and my anxiety seems to go off the charts when I reduce my doseage.  

Would someone have any thoughts or direction they could give me?    

[mr.lucky66]

I think it's a bad decision to go from hydro (norco) to ultram. Ultram isn't as good for pain and is harder to get off of than a true narcotic because of it's antidepressant feature. You doc may not be the sharpest tool in the drawer and probably did you as big diservice by telling you that you aren't hooked but that decision to have you b not chance from tramadol makes sense to me. all the best

[mr.lucky66]

sorry for the typos

[theeagle]

Was the PM Doc qualified to RX sub? Not all of them are - but I believe that ANY Doc may RX sub for pain - it just needs to be medical coded as for pain as oppossed to for addiction.  But that should be a valid choice - especially if you feel that there is a problem with the norco.

[avisg]

Find a sub doctor ..... you dont have to have your PM doc permission to see a sub doctor .

[dominosarah]

I agree.....find a sub doctor and skip over the one you are seeing now........sara

[TysonRed]

From my experience sub didnt really have the pain relieving qualities compared to other opiates. Now Ive talked with others that said it worked better than their previous opiate, but it seemed like that was the minority. It doesnt sound like your wanting to switch to sub for pain reasons, but if you are it may not give you the relief your seeking. I was on sub for 18wks stemming from oxycontin/methadone abuse. Ive gone through a few detoxes in my time, including from norco/percocet and I can honestly say that behind methadone, suboxone was the hardest detox Ive been through. I dont want to sound like Im a sub hater but just want you to know that coming off of sub is no picnic, especially the length of time w/d symptoms can last. Just make sure before you make your decision to try and learn as much as possible about its use. If you end up going the suboxone route try to find a sub doc that doesnt advocate for long term maintenance treatment. Again I dont want to sound negative about suboxone, it helped me get to where I am today, but the more information you can gather the better off you'll be. I wish you all the best, I would encourage you to keep posting here, there are so many people here to lean for support and guidance during your recovery. Take Care.

[dominosarah]

Good post TysonRed........

[refusingbondage]

Sorry your doc flipped out on you.. seems very insensitive.. Even if the doctor wasnt permitted to rx the suboxone, he or she could have worked out a taper plan with you and prescribed other medications to help you detox off the norcos.  Its ridiculous that you would reach out to your doctor for help and be treated that way.. perhaps the doctor panicked as the prescribing doctor..  I completely agree with TysonRed above in that suboxone can be really terrible to kick.. If you are afraid of quitting Norco cold turkey because of the withdrawal, then you will find yourself on subxone for a long time cause suboxone withdrawal can be for many pure he11.  I have had withdrawal from almost all opiates (except methadone) and nothing can even compare to the misery I went through kicking a 2 1/2 year sub maintenance.  That being said, it can be useful to use in the short term for the first week or so of detox.  Most detox centers will give small amounts of sub during their 10 day treatment prtograms (at least that is what they did for the people I know who have gone) but most prescribing sub doctors do not believe in that.  Doctors have to have a special license to rx suboxone so you will have to seek one out at the suboxone website.. Keep moving forward and keep posting.. You are going in the right direction and I admire you for taking control of this, even without your doctor's approval.  Good luck!

[mr.lucky66]

I mis read your post the first time but agree with some of the other posters. Sub isn't a great pain drug and is probably harder to get off than hydrocodone. Think about this as it's an important decision if you go see an expensive sub doc.

[tropicalsoul]

I'm just looking to get off the Norcos.  There is not enough space here for me to list the problems I am having.  All kinds of stomach and digestive issues.  It seems I have developed some kind of food allergy and I am unable to zero in on the problem food/additive/substance.  I get these horrible stomach cramps when I lay down at night, I get dizzy, light headed and both feet and hands tingle/burn.  I've been fighting this for the past 3 years and have had every test know to man done on me.  All tests come back normal.  

I'm allergic to asprin and ibuprofen so if I want any kind of relief....opiates are my only option.  

[worried878]

sub is not a fantastic pain relief drug or it would be approved for pain relief in this country//and it is not...it only approved as an addiction drug....methadone is approved as a pain drug..unlike sub to use it for addiction u muust go thru a govt controlled clinic..unless ur dr is willing to"fudge" a bit...sub is only available from a dr who has attended the 8 hr course on addiction and suboxone/subutex

why ur dr freaked out??? could be they r toally not informed on the fact that hydro is addicting???i would hope not...but the fact is most people//the higher percentage do not become addicted to narcotics or they woulda been taken off the shelves yrs ago...but some do..and the literature included in ur scrip explains this to u and when u sign the line u state u realize this at the pharmacy..and i u were having a problem the only way a dr would know is if u toled them..and u did i think..but rx-ing sub for a hydro habit is a bit extreme from the limits she was rx-ing u//the most a dr would usually rx is 6-8 pills a day due to the tylenol content ...were u at a 60-80 mg hydro habit per day?   if i were she i wouldnt start somone on a supergun like sub either for that dose..u were asking for sumpin that she couldnt rx if not a sub dr..or sumpin she disagreed with doing//which any dr in their right mind would not rx sub for someone with this low of a hydro habit...seeing a sub dr may benefit u at this point...if i were at this dose of hydro i would not switch to sumpin stronger to quit the hydro..seems a bit redundant???but we r all different..and u need to do what u need to do..be safe and keep posting

[benevolentlaughter]

I agree with the majority of the posts here. Go and find another doctor, go above and beyond what this doctor is stating to you and you WILL find a doctor that's going to be "on your side" because someone eventually will see you mean well in doing what you're doing at this time.

I'm a firm believer in NOT taking another "drug" to come off from another drug. I know what some are going to say... It worked for them. But once again, everyone is different in coping with detox as well as withdrawls from what I've found out here recently in my attempt to get off a year long cycle of unwillingly becoming to Percocet that I've been taking for extreme/severe pain in my left knee.

This is exactly what I am planning on doing as well, by the way.. My doctor has cut me completely off from the Percocet as of yesterday afternoon instead of giving me more just to use in order to taper off of them. I have an appointment set up for Monday afternoon, and if he tells me he will not give me more pills to taper off with - I WILL be seeking further medical assistance as well as making a scene in his office; Even after thinking that he is the best doctor that has ever hit the state that I'm residing in. It just comes down to one thing, and one thing alone:

My health, hapiness and above all... Safety... Exceeds everything to me!

[worried878]

the ultimate queston?? to use or not to use when getting off ur doc???  hard to say..if u gotta work and have no time off then a 5-7 day round of sub or methadone can enable u to work during wd...will it enable u t do the long tme work u need /if u do need aftercare/which over 90% do and over 90% neglect it totally as a tool for recovery..quoting stats here so forgive me..

gotta do the work involved along with the maintenence narcotic..use it as a tool to keep cravings away while u deal with ur issues....many do not do this tho,,they stay on sub/methadone cos it can become a crutch...always know where u r/what ur goals r and amd keep urself on track...never let go of ur dream..life comes around once...less we r reincarnated  ?  LOL///but we know for sure we have this go around..and life is so very very short..make the best of it..every single second that ticks away counts....so very crucial....look at ur second hand right this sec..that sec..nor that next 60 secs..will ever pass again...dont let any precious time become out of ur grasp..hold on tight..keep postingc

[SHELLBELL79]

hey i know your freaked out! ive been in your place except i refuse Suboxone/Subutex! its just switching to another drug. I took it once and did know what it was b/c my doc gave it to me after hurricane katrina. i had already had severe painic attacks and anxiety really bad. i was taking tons of 1mg xanax and valium and it just stopped working on me. I went to a co-dependcy unit and had to borrow 4 grand from my uncle to do a 7 day detox off the xanax. I have chronic intersticial cystis and vulvodynia, polycsytic ovarian syndrome with insulin resistance, mentrual migraines, and chrons disease, ibs. so i live in pain but at the time was never addicted to vicodin...same as norco. they detoxed me using pheno -barital and antidepressanst, topamax, ex. it was a walk in the park compared to when i detoxed off Fentanyl 150mcg. Since i had brought all my medications thinking they would not throw them away b/c of my severe chronic pain, they did. they gave me on or 2 days of sub and it just made me feel high and itch. it did not take away any pain at all. i also was on my period that week with severe cramps, non  stop migraines and my IC pain. all they gave me was 800 motrin and zanaflex. they were so mean and i felt so out of place. i would complain about how much pain i was in and they forced me to go to groups and i woudl be cry b/c of my pain. one nurse let me lay in my bed with my heating pad. i will never go to an inpatient place! they treat you like **** unless your britney spears at promises rehab. in july of 2008 i detoxed off of 150mcg of fentanyl and it took over a month to get somewhat back to normal. it was Hell and i would not wish it on my worst enemy. i then got on norcos and it helps my pain bettter than ever but my tolerance constantly goes up so i detoxed off of it in april it was a walk in the park compared to fentanyl. i took xanax, soma, cal/mag at night and a potent multi vitamin. i did not get restless legs thanks to the soma and was able to sleep petty decent, i had bad back pain though ang leg cramps. it sucked but was bearable. i wasnt like the exorcist when i detoxed off of fentanyl, which is the strongest drug in th e world, 100x stronger than morphine. the xanax helped big time with my anxiety and i did not get addicted. if t wasn't for the soma,xanax, cal/mag and 800 motrin, heating pad, gatorade,ensure, it would have really sucked. you can do it. im a wus and i did it. im proud of myself big time! if u take sub and need pain med it will not work. if you break you leg or get ina major accident, or surgery, your screwed! it also has the longest half life 37 to 72 hours, way longer than methadome! thank god i was in formed about the drug b/c i would have been screwed royally! Good luck!!!!!
I hope everything works out! you can do it! praying helps too!
Shell