Re: Buprenorphine

Hi

I am off the Buprenorphine patch. Took a few days to get out of my system. My mood has improved a lot. Still depressed, but thankfully not to the extend I was when on the patch. Feel almost human now.

Still want to get off the Oxycontin but am a bit confused. Don't feel it is time to come off the Oxycontin. In a lot of pain. Since I came off the Buprenorphine patch, and since I started to reduce the Oxycontin the pain in my knee has escalated. Been on a lot of painkillers for my knee pain but it seems the Oxycontin works the best, although I am still in quite a bit pain. Been on Oromorph, Tramadol, etc. Ultimately it is my decision on what to do  but can still ask for suggestions.

Thanks for the help with the Buprenorphine patch. If it wasn't for you I would have continued with it and will still be getting very depressed.

[Julia M Aharonov, DO]

Dear Gemini, I looked through your previous posts and I do believe that there are a few issues occurring to complicate your situation.  Now let me remind you that I am not familiar with your complete medical history, I am not your personal physician and I am not in the position to comment on your case specifically.  However, from my experience, knowledge and judgment this is what I think:  you have been on high doses of opiates for a long period of time for an actual medical problem (septic joint) that was treated and should have been well healed by now unless you have severe diabetes or renal disease that you have failed to mention. This is what usually happens in cases of prolonged narcotic consumption: patient's body begins producing excess amount of opioid receptors, which then causes tolerance to the medication so that the patient needs more and more of it to help with seemingly "increasing" amount of pain.  That causes phenomena medically termed "hyperalgesia" that actually leads one to experience significantly more pain than there is physiological cause for.  That in a nut shell is the vicious cycle of narcotic dependency and addiction.
It is imperative that you get off of the massive dose of Oxi that you are taking so that you and your physician can at least reassess where your pain level is actually at.  Whether you get off or how is obviously up to you.  But looking at posts, I feel that you are starting to understand that something needs to be done.  Whatever you decide, good luck to you.