Please help if you can

I posted this b4 but I didn't really get any answers. I suffer from chronic pain & I can & have stopped the pain meds b4 but my ? is, if I stop the meds, how do I deal w/the severe pain that I have to deal w/on a daily basis? The reason I began the meds was becuz of the chronic pain so if I stop the meds, I'm in awful pain, I can't function & I'm miserable. If I'm on the meds, I feel human, I can fuction and I am much easier to live with. So should I stop the meds just becuz my body becomes dependant? I am not mentally addicted at all. Ig I get pg the will stop but is there any way that I can deal w/the pain without the meds? I don't believe that I should stop taking them if they make my life bearable but if I get pg I will have to so what can I do to help? Thanks, Jen

[CandiB]

I was dealing w/ the same issue when i was forced to quit percocet after 8 years. my body is certainly dependent, but mentally i didnt know the difference or care when i was or wasnt taking it. what it comes down to is whether or not your quality of life is being affected by not taking your meds. by taking them, we are risking bodily-addiction...its kind of a "sooner or later" thing. in my opinion, keep taking them as long as they are making your life easier. sometimes you just have to. as for me, i will start to worry when i start feeling as though i NEED the pills when i'm not having the issues related to why i take them. GOOD LUCK!

[Marce4]

I was taking the meds for chronic pain also, but when I started buying meds online and using more than prescribed, then I knew I had an addiction which I believe is worse than the pain (two herniated discs/ post back surgery). The vicodin has completely taken over my life.

If you really feel that you are taking the prescribed amt. you are probably ok. If you are in that much pain, then you need some relief.  My issue is that I still have the chronic pain but when it was tolerable, I was still taking the pain meds.  I have been on them for about 2 1/2 yrs. so I don't know what I will do when the pain gets really intense, don't want to fall off the wagon so to speak. I hope this gives you some insight.

[jen66]

Hi, thank you for your input. I really appreciate it.I am trying to conceive a child so I will stop the meds when/if I get pg. My quality of life is so much better when I'm on the meds and I don't take anywhere near the amount that I used to. I know that my body will become dependant very quickly but I feel that I am not mentally addicted. I will keep taking them as long as I need to or if I get pg. My condition is life long and I just can't imagine living w/this pain every single day of my life with no relief. Thanks, Jen

[CandiB]

i am also trying to concieve (conceive)! i got married on november 25th, but after a long time on depo-prevera, i feel that getting pregnant may be difficult. im sure it is easier to deal w/out our meds when there is another life involved.

[ThursdayNext]

Hey, I posted a very similar ?.  I have a friend who has MS and has managed to deal with the pain and not get hooked on her vicodin.  I went to her a couple of weeks ago and told her about my sitch and asked her what she did.  It turns out she and i are doing the same thing.  Her husband keeps her med and when she gets to a point where she feels like she cannot bear another moment she goes to him and they run through the check list and then she gets a pill.

So, I think for those of us that have legitimate pain we must be extremely vigilant about how we take our meds so that they continue to work for us.  In my opinion this means that we will never be pain free.  For myself, I make a choice is the pain I feel bad enough that I need to take a pill which will make me sleepy, hyper, sleepless, confused, happy, sad and sexless all at the same time worth getting rid of the pain for a few hours.  Because really that's all we get if we take them is a few hours.  You can't take them as prescibed or you'll get addicted.  You have to take less then what they give you less often in order for them to work.  So, I get no more than 2 pills a week.  Thats what husband and I have agreed on.  I choose how I want to use my 2 pills but I must go through the checklist and him.  Knowing that that is all I'm going to get I'm trying to do lots of other things so I'm not focused on the pain and it puts the pain in perspective.  
Jen it's a trade-off but it beats eating them like candy anyday.  Work on your diet.  Take out all of the un-natural stuff.  Work with over the counter stuff.  Find a place with a hot tub.  Spend your money on massages and yoga.  This has helped me a lot.