Please help with Percocet use.

[KellACB]

Hi I am in a bad situation and could really use some help please! I was in a very bad car accident 5 years ago. I had both my ankles crushed and my left foot has 16 pins and 5 plates in it. I have had 8 surgeries so far. My right ankle has 5 pins and 1 plate, and my tailbone is broke and dislocated. I have very bad arthritis and chronic pain syndrome. I need the meds because I can barely get on my feet without them. I am always in so much pain from my left foot. I am having a severe problem though. I get a script of 90 7.5/5 every month. It started out I was making it every month then after each surgery it got worse and worse and I used more and more! It went from making it to two weeks and now I am making it a single week on 90. I really need something for pain or I can't walk. I need to know how to make it possible to make my pills last the whole 30 days again, and if it is possible. Before my accident I had never taken any kind of pain meds. I was so afraid of them that the two days after my accident I laid in a hospital bed with two crushed ankles, broken ribs, broken wrist, broken tailbone, and various other broken, bruised, and twisted things. I am so lost right now. I am buying pills and not able to pay bills. Everything is starting to fall in around me. I am desperate for help. When I don't have them I hurt so bad I can't get up the steps to shower. I sleep on my pull out couch and basically live in 1 room. I thought it may be withdrawl but this month I decided to not buy any pills. I am 3 weeks in and the pain is still there. So I am guessing this is just the chronic pain I have to live with for the rest of my life. I am so lost and don't know what I can do or take for pain other then the pain pills. Please help me!

[KellACB]

Thank you LeaAnn for your suggestions and concerns. I was back in the hospital so it took me a few days to respond. I am very sorry. I have an appointment at the beginning of the month with my Dr so I hope all goes well and he listens to my concerns and worries this time! I feel like a guinea pig with most of the Drs I see. I have had so many different procedures and tests that I feel as though i am being used more as a teaching tool then as a person with valid concerns and issues. I am going to keep going until I find a Dr that makes me the #1 priority in the situation. Thanks again!

[LeaAnn807]

Have you thought about talking to your doctor about any of this?  I would think that would be a good first step! I'm so sorry about your pain!  It truly sounds horrible.  I had to stop reading twice, because it's heartbreaking to think of someone having to go through that much!  I'm just sorry!

[KellACB]

Hi. I am still going through a lot with this. I either sleep for 12 or 14 hours or I am up for 24 or 36 hours straight. I can't get it together. I do take prenatal vitamins everyday and have for a long time just because of my injuries and the need for extra vitamins because of it. This thing has just snuck up on me. It started out I had extra meds after surgeries and wouldn't need them and just kind of went to hell! Now I think back and wish that was still me. I have had so many surgeries and so many complications. I almost lost my left foot 3 times, it rejected a pin and abscessed, and I had bone death so my foot is permanently deformed. It kept getting worse after each operation and I got more and more arthritis. My foot is a constant source of pain as I don't walk normally on it and it kind of flops or turns some when I walk. I know that I need some treatment for pain I just wish there was a less addictive form! Thank you so much for your replies and help!

[YesLife4Me]

Hi!   Your story is not an uncommon one.  What has happened is you have built up a tolerance to the pain meds and so now you need more to achieve the same result.  And at some point, they just quit working except to keep you out of withdraw.  In fact, long term users develop a condition called hypermalgia (spelling?).   The long term use makes our brains quit putting out natural pain killers and the opiate tolerance has made us develop even more pain to get us to take more meds.    Once we have crossed that line it becomes and obsessive compulsive disorder of addiction where all we think about is taking and getting more.  We panic when we are low so we don't go into withdraw.  During withdraw our pain can intensify as our bodies literally are screaming at us to take something.    This makes it hard or impossible to control our useage again.  1 is to many and a 1000 isn't enough.   If you will need them for long term pain control, is there someone that can hold them for you and give you only what you need?   If you are done with them, its going to take about a month to find your true pain levels and most of us have found that it wasn't as bad as when using opiates and it can be controlled with otc meds.    Let us know what we can do to help.  

[Sweetness91]

Having used them for an extended period of time means it MAY take longer to bounce back. Hang in there and try to go w/o them so it gives your body & brain time to heal from all the opiate use. I'm 19 days off methadone and 4 days off percocets and I still feel lethargic, pain in my legs, knees and even my feet sometimes...and never have I had problems with my knees or feet...so that's telling me that its the meds way of working themselves out of my body. Everyone is different though...are you taking any supplements? Chronic opiate use depletes your body of essential vitamins & minerals and it takes awhile to get all that back in balance...so if you aren't supplementing, check out the Thomas Recipe...it really does help. I think you'll find it on this page somewhere (I'm on the mobile site). I also added whey protein shakes yesterday. Ibuprofen does help a little also.

And congrats on your clean time...you're doing great!! Mind over matter. :) Good Luck