a choice between pain or addiction

[meantime]

i am an a addict i have quit before i was off of them for a little over 2 years the addiction started at 13 after two operations on both feet and a stay in a wheel chair for a year . So now i have relapsed taking up 20-25 a day thats alot for me so i tried to quit again didnt work this time because when i quit my back never stopped hurting after two weeks went by i went to the doctor and found i have 2 fractures  t5 and t8 if that matters i never knew so said the doctor because i was taking so much medication  so im taking them again not as many but the pain of not having them when i run out and i do  hurts worse than my back it seems but with out them im in pain i take 6-8 pills a day and i have tried ultracet  some other nonnarcotic  pain meds they didnt help much at all with pain  i suppose my question is i would like to back off of them so im not stuck when or if im out thier gone or whatever i dont go any where because of withdraws and once thats over i dont go anywhere because my back hurts too much im at the end of my rope im not sure of what to do next  

[worried878]

i am sorry..chronic pain and addiction when u have both is very hard...it is a hard choice cos with addiction u have lil life left and if u r hurting all the time u dont have much of a life either...but for me the emotional pain of using was more than i could handle and the constant worry bout running out etc caused stress that aggravates my pain condition...for me the pills no longer took the pain away due to tolerence...i took them to feel normal and function psychologically..if they "killed" the [pain then i cant say for sure if i would have quit...we r all different...and we have to look at our life and our goals...and also narcs //when u try and stop//initially can cause alot of pain that will be gone if u wait it out...the body screams for that old buddy..the pills...and it is not a good thing...there is also a pain forum here with some great people there..exploring new methods of pain relief may behoove u....i do feel ur pain ...keep posting

[troubleinohio]

i had to face the same choice recently. i ended up back on hte pills for severe back pain. the main difference now is i gave the bottle to a family member who doles out my daily dose so that I dont slip and start abusing again. It's hard because alot of days I sometimes want more than my limit but since i took that choice out of my own hands at least it wont happen. But like i said its still hard cuz i still have a lot of bad pain days/ and also mental cravings.  
is it possible for you to do something similar (have a family or friend dole out your meds so you don't overtake them?) good luck to you

[TysonRed]

Thats how most opiate addictions start out with some sort of injury, I had wakeboarding accident that I nearly lost my leg in. From that time on Ive always had some degree of pain from my knee, hip and lower back. I have no feeling below the knee due to the nerve damage caused by a clot in an artery, so that the only part of my lef that feels okay. Anyways I got prescribed many different pain medications over the years, still cold go in and get some if I wanted, but life with some pain is 100times better than life on pills with little pain. One of the biggest problems with sustained opiate use is that our brains stop producing its own natural opiates (dopamine, norepinephrine), so when we stop the artificial opiates it takes time for our brains to heal themselves and produce its natural amounts of chemicals. The biggest pain relief Ive gotten was through extensive physical therapy for my back, hip, knee and core muscles. I know for many they either unwilling to put in the work or just dont believe that it will help relieve the pain. For the first 4-6wks I really didnt think it was helping that much, but very soon after that I noticed how much easier I could get around, less pain, I felt so much better about myself,  to the point now where Im basicly pain free about 80-90% of the time. The key thing Im trying to get accross here is that alot of the pain could be what they call "phantom pain", now I dont want to sound like Im down playing your situation, but the fact is that opiates only mask the pain they absolutely nothing to help with the cause, and to me the cause is the most important factor to tackle in order to get better relief. I remember when I was in chronic pain, tons of pills and so stressed out about all the pill drama. I promise you that living life with some degree of pain is better than a life dependent upon a drug that really is only hurting you, altough I know it does make some of the pain go away. Anyways sorry for rambling, you have to make the decision for yourself, but I would say you got nothing to lose to try and make it without the pills, it will take some work on your part but you can do it. I wish you all the best, if nothing else talk with your doctor about alternative methods that you should look into. Take Care.

[NorcoQueenoftheUniverse]

So well said!!!  You hit the "nail on the head" by stating that the brain STOPS producing it's own natural opiates!  
For all of you out there in pain pill land.... there IS HOPE.... you just have to keep on GOING ON.... I'm at day 20 of being NORCO FREE and EVERYDAY IS A BETTER DAY NOT USING than WHEN I WAS!!  It's ALMOST kinda okay to feel a little pain instead of USING pills to MASK IT...

[peaceinknowing]

I know how hard it is to live with chronic pain and at the same time, try your hardest to stay off of painkillers. Please just know that it can be done if you just set your mind to it. A lot of time, people will get referred to a pain management clinic and let their doctors know that they're an addict.. The doctors there will be concious enough [hopefully] to know what to do with you from there. This is the route that I plan on taking, and here I am 45 days sober from pain killers all together. This might help, but try everything that you possibly can. Like I said before, I know that this isn;t the easiest thing in the world to do - but it CAN be done!