Methadone for chronic pain

I havIe been a chronic pain patient for 13 years in the state of TN. TN is not a methadone friendly state. My pain management specialist had me on methadone for 12 years after trying other optoids with no success. I regained about 70% of my ability to function and good pain relief. I was able to go back to work after a year in bed. With the controversery over the increase of methadone related deaths my doctor decided to wean me off methadone and put me on pain patches, then morphine, then oxy everything. For 10 months I have been non functional and in more pain than I can tolerate. I have done everything my doctor has asked of me but it is time for me to take my life back. Most pain clinics in TN will not consider methadone treatment. Does any one know of a pain management physician in NC, KY, or GA that is not afraid to treat a real chronic pain patient with methadone?The advisors at SAMHSA suggest I go to another state and try "pain advocacy organizations". I am trying. I am also looking for a doctor named David J. Wilmont that wrote an excellent paper called "Prescribing Methadone for Pain". Can't find him on any registry. Any help would be appreciated.

[Tuckamore]

Hello Dgmcloud,

I am very glad you found us. Welcome to MedHelp. I am very sorry to hear about your pain and your physicians concerns. I am also sorry that I can not help you at this time. I will do some research and try to locate a clinic that will prescribe methadone for you. I will also see if I can locate Dr. Wilmont's whereabouts.

It is Sunday night and a bit slow of the forum. You should receive additional responses tomorrow when more members will be on the forum. It may take me a bit to find some information for you.

Take care, Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hello and welcome to MH.
There was an e-mail address attached to the article by Dr. Wilmont;

***@****

I would think that if you wrote to him, you could get more info on Methadone.

It might be woth a try.
Take care and good luck, Mollyrae

[Tuckamore]

I am sorry but I cannot locate the article. I would send Mollyrae a PM and ask her for the information. Apparently she even has his e-mail address but it is not allow on the thread. n fact I will send her a PM and ask her to contact you.

I would be interested in reading the article also. Take Care, Tuck

[dyingmother]

I am a chronic pain sufferer. I had a fall in 1995 when I was 7 months pregnant. I broke my back. I have 3 herniated disks, 2 fractured vertebrae that have eggshelled and the fragments are pressing on my spinal cord. I also have bi-lateral radiculopathy which is permanent nerve damage that radiates from my mid back down both sides of my rear and both legs, ankles, and feet. Due to the nerve damage I am unsteady on my feet and have had a lot of falls since then. I could not work, lost my job, insurance, and was put on Methadone because it is so inexpensive and it works great. When you are truly in severe pain, all this medication does is take the pain away and give you your life back. No "highs" at all. You just feel like you again. Unfortunately, doctors in Baytown are scared the FDA is out to get them if they prescribe it. They've even started telling patients and showing them all these so-called scientific studies that "suggest" the use of Methadone can cause sudden cardiac arrest. I've researched this and it is just another ploy used by the FDA simply because they would rather your pay hundreds of dollars for Oxycontin or some other Opiod instead of save your money on Methadone which is exactly the same class of Opiod. It's all about money and drug companies that are in good standing with the FDA in their pockets while the manufacturers of Methadone are not. Even if you've had a valid medical condition for over 13 years with so much medical evidence that you have to take it to a doctor in a rolling suitcase, I can't find a doctor with the courage to do their job and relieve my suffering. All they seem to care about is getting in trouble from the FDA. Well, the last time I checked Methadone was a legal pain medication that can be prescribed to a patient with medical proof of necessity, such as chronic, severe, debilitating pain. It truly does give one their life back. The only drawback is when your doctor stops prescribing it. Withdrawal from long term use is not as it is portrayed to be. It can take 6 weeks or even longer to completely get the Methadone out of your system and the withdrawal is so bad you'll wish you were dead. It's because Methadone is stored in your liver and released as your body requires the need for it. Other Opiods are not stored in your body this way, that's why people become immune to other pain meds and need more and more to relieve their pain. I've been on the same dosage for 13 years with no problems. I'm sick and tired of Methadone getting such a bad rap. It's just not true. How many times a day do you see a commercial for a class action lawsuit brought against a drug company for the latest new "thing" approved by the FDA just to discover less than five years after their latest "wonder" drug was approved that it is disabling and killing people? All these rich attorneys are in Heaven and getting richer every day. All they have to do is wait for the next screw up by the FDA. And all the commercials advertising new drugs have so many diclaimers of what the side effects are it takes longer to state all of them then it does to actually advertise the new wonder drug! It makes me wonder why they were approved in the first place. These lawsuits are nothing more than an inconvenience for these super rich drug manufacturers. I don't see anyone going to jail or even going out of business for killing people. It's like a parking ticket to them. They don't care if a family is torn apart by the loss of a parent or a child. Only if it happened to them could they possibly understand. Now the pain patch Fentanyl/Duragesic is in the crosshairs. I was prescribed them when I still had insurance. A one month supply was over a thousand dollars. I was told to take it because it worked and was safe. Now I have a seizure disorder because of it.  Although I have medical evidence that the Fentanyl/Duragesic pain patch is what caused my seizure disorder, the law firms can't take my case until I die and an autopsy is done on my brain. When I lost my insurance and was prescribed Methadone I, just like everyone else thought it was for drug addicts to get off Heroin. I never knew it was just the cheap version of Oxycontin. And in my eyes at least, it saved my life, or at least it gave it back to me. As I've said before, if you are truly in severe, debilitating pain, it simply takes the pain away. I've never felt high or weird in any way from taking Methadone. If you are in moderate to severe pain, and have no insurance to pay for the high priced versions of narcotics or other opiods, I highly suggest trying Methadone. You can get by on only three or four 10 mg. tablets a day and the cash price for 180 pills is less than $18.00. And that will last 2 months! I'm now without a doctor and although I've been to many pain management doctors here in Baytown and paid their incredible first visit fees of from $150. to $400. all they did was take my money and prescribe Flexeril. A muscle relaxer! I've got broken bones and permanent nerve damage not a pulled muscle! They all say the same tired old story of not wanting to get in trouble with the FDA. What about their patients? Aren't pain management doctors suppose to manage their patient's pain? I'm broke. My husband and I both are engineers and have lost everything, including our home and cars to pay for all these doctors. And we make $750. too much to qualify for any kind of help at all. I can't find a single doctor in Baytown that will prescribe Methadone. I can't go out of town. I have to beg for rides as it is. And my husband, was forced to take a very low paying job because it came with a work vehicle. The drawback is, it has a GPS and a camera in the cab to prevent him from using it for personal reasons. Once he's home, that's it. He can't even go across the street to the grocery store. He has to walk there and push shopping carts back home. If it's raining, forget it. All the doctors I've seen tell us to go into Houston to LBJ hospital for free treatment. How do we get there? They just don't listen. We have no vehicle, no insurance, and 3 children to care for with no family here to help us. Does anyone know a doctor I can go to for Methadone in Baytown? Please, I am so desperate. My children need a mother, not a zombie that can't even get out of the bed. I have a life and I want to live it for me and my family. If I don't get help soon, it's all over for me. I didn't ask for this. I just did what my doctor said was best for me, but now I'm the one paying the price for trusting someone whom I was always taught had my best interest at heart. What happened to the doctors who truly cared about your health and would do what their Hipocratic Oath that they swore to uphold demands that they must do. "First, do no harm." That's the first sentence of the oath they take when they are sworn in as physicians. When you have a patient that requires medication to live and you do nothing to help them, I consider that "harm" to that patient. Wouldn't any reasonably prudent person? Please help me find that doctor that is not intimidated to do his or her job. I need your help.

[Dezdon]

Im VERY sorry to hear you are going through this. Its a terrible thing when we cant access the meds that actualy work for conditions. I wish you the best in your efforts and am pulling for you.
  I have taken methodone breifly when i wa first disabled and found it too powerful at that time. I was switch to vicodenand did very well on it for seven years, until  I had more surgery.
  Im gunna take a shot in the dark here. This is not ment to be offensive but just an idea. Can you subscribe to a local Methadone clinic? I dont know anything about them other then what i have read here and my sister goes to one. I dont know if they administer for pain conditions or only for a recovery tool. Just an idea.
I understand what your going through. When i was first disabled, I had no health insurance and was bedridden in ill health. It wasnt a good place to be.There was needless suffering, till we got things straightened out.
best of luck to you.

[bev62]

I live in Tn, I am on Duragesic patches. I don't think the clinic I go to prescribes Methadone, they are very conservative.  But I have heard of a doctor in my area that does. Check your messages, I will send you his name.

[kbe234]

i am on methadone, have been now for about 8 years. i have hip and spine fractures, ruptured disc in neck and back, nerve damage in my neck, low back, and both arms, severe arthritis, and bone disease. methadone has been a life saver! my son has over 20 bone tumors and is also on methadone. we both take hydrocodone for break through, but raely need it. i have tried oxy's and if i did not have one the next day i was in terrible pain-- so bad i could not function. the methadone is long acting, it last any where from 24 to 32 hours until your next dose, so if you ran out you would be good for a day until you could get them again. we both go to pain management. like others methadone has been a life saver, that, god and prayer! it does cause constipation, but all pain meds have their side affects as most of them also cause constipation. i drink a lot of water at night. i have not slept in a bed for about 6 years, i have to sleep in a recliner--when i can sleep it is only for about 1-2 hours and without the methadone i would not be getting that much. i could never or would not want to ever have to do without this medication! when you are injured and can not function a medicine that helps with any kind of acts of daily living would be most welcomed. i hate to read about the people putting down methadone, when you all do this just remember that there is people out there that this medicine helps and we are very thankful for any releif that we can get with the use of this medication--don't sell us short! think about us and pray for us all!

[Sarajmt]

Hi!  I would like to welcome you the Pain Management forum.  As you already know we are a community of chronic pain patients.  I wish there were a doctor at least monitoring this forum but there is not.  But we do offer support, advice and friendship to other chronic pain patients.

I am so sorry for your pain.  You and your son have my deepest sympathy.  I understand your frustration with those who make assumptions when they have no idea of what you are going through.  And unless you are a pain patient, you would never understand.  You've come to the right place.  We understand here.

If only there were a way to completely relieve your pain.  But like most of us, that's just not going to happen.  I too have had to spend nights in the recliner because of my neck.  I'm sure you miss your own bed!.

If I may, I'd start a new thread on this question.  Sadly, threads that are old tend to be overlooked.  If you'd copy your post and paste it into a new question, you would get many more responses.  I'm sure someone with better advice than I can offer would reply.  Just as a rule of thumb, a new post is always preferable to adding to an older one.

But welcome again!  Please do start a new thread.  I'm sure it will get plenty of attention.
Sara

[anewlife215]

I have been dealing with sever  chronic pain myself. I live in nc and finding a doctor that will write methadone in my area is very hard. First of all, I have no medical insurance. So finding a pain management dr. without insurance is very hard. I have had to turn to a methadone clinic to get some relief for my pain. However, I am spending $400.00 a month just to go there, and I have other medications that I do take to help along with the methadone. I take flexaril, and gabaphintin. It is a great medication, but just does not take the pain that I have away. I have found that taking the methadone with my other medications work very well and I am able to live somewhat a normal life. 4 years ago I was on every narcotic medication you could think of except methadone. I was even on the morphin patches which took the pain away, and every other feeling you had. I could not function. I took myself off of everything and lived in the bed for 2 years. Not able to do anything because I was in so much pain.
I friend of mine told me about methadone and told me to go to a methadone clinic and I did. I got releif and I am now able to go to work, and live life like I should be able to...however this clinic is taking everything I make just to be pain free, and I am struggeling with being able to pay bills and eat.
If there is anyone that knows of a doctor that can help me with getting a methadone prescription I would greatly appreciate it.
I live in Pinehurst, NC

[shinty]

It's hard to believe that they will prescibe anything but methadone. I find it to be the best long acting pain medication around. We are all different though. It's a shame "they" won't treat you with what works for you.

[cinste28]

hi..i am new to this..so bear w/ me...first, i am so sorry to hear about your pain...i also suffer from chronic back (and neck pain)..after being hit by a car while walking acroos the street..my life has changed soooo much..i also must say, i always thought methadone was for heroin addicts, i never knew it was a pain medication..i am currently prescribed 60 mg. kadain 2x daily and 10mg morphine 2x daily..i really feel i want to reduce the kadain..i am so tired of pain meds...and feeling like an addict..i do NOT understand how a dr. can say you want the meds to get "high"...after years of being on meds...you don't GET HIGH!!!!...i know nothing about methadone(sorry)..but, i wanted to comment on something you said.."what happened to the drs. that truly cared about your health and would do what thier hipocritic oath that they swore to upheld etc"..truthfully, whatever happened to these drs??....i remember the first time i walked into a pain clinic, the dr. did not ask my name, what was going on..looked at the chart, the xrays, the MRI..and told me i had fibermyalgia (fibromyalgia)..and walked out!!!!..my gosh, i was so taken aback!..good luck to you..and hopefully, with your new healthy way of life:)..the pain may subside, some??...i also hope you find the dr. you are looking for..

[rabit234]

hi i have severe pain im near morristowne tn o want off ocy iv tryied methadone and it helped wonderfully do they use it for pain in this area