Pain management & Stopping pain meds

I have been on Fentenal (25mg) for about 8 months for what my doc said was nerve damage. Well come to find out I have had a non functioning gallbladder which was actually causing all my pain. I found this out because I just had my gallbladder taken out and now it appears I am pain free. Grant it,it has only been 24 hours but I am suppose to change my patch today and usually I can't wait to put a new patch on to stop the pain but I don't feel the pain anymore! All the pain I have felt throughout my body encluding my feet, arms. elbows,fingers, all over like I had the flu 24/7. All is now gone! Its fantastic but I am affraid to stop the meds cold turkey. Someone told me I could die becasue I have been on them so long. Is it true? If so how do I stop taking ?

[Tuckamore]

Do not stop that patch without first consulting your physician. I'm sure, according to your other post that you have searched the Internet and discovered that going cold turkey is a very bad idea. Although you are pain free at this point be sure that it is not an accumulation of the medications that were required 24 hours ago during your surgical procedure along with rest that has resulted in your "cure".

Chat with your physician. I hope that indeed the removal of your gallbladder has been the root of your pain and that it will not return.

Best of luck to you.
Tuck  

[efd]

Thanks, I will. I am happy to say that it is day two and still no pain with the exception of the surgical pain. I have not changed my Fental patch which was due to be changed yesterday. So far I am not feeling strange. The patch is actually a three day patch but due to my pain levels before surgery, I had to change it every two days plus take oxycodone for break through. I am so excited! I actually am going to have my life back! Pain free, free from exhaustion, and most important, free from drugs! To think that I may have spent the rest of my life actually believing nerve damage was causing all the pain through out my body! Let this be a lesson to all of us that we have to make sure the diagnosis is correct and that all doctors are just human and are doing the best they can to help. My orthopedist could not possibly have known my gallbladder was causing my back pain when I also had broken my back at the same level I was experiencing the pain. If it had not been for a very thorough radiologist who noticed my dilated bile duct prior to neck surgery, I may have never known what was wrong. But it didn't stop there; I had 5 levels fused in my neck after I had a specterotomy. Everything went well and I felt great. The pain didn't manifest until 4 months after. My surgeon thought maybe it was nerve damage from surgery so he sent me to pain management. I have had as many as 6 blocks, which did not work, two years of drugs then patches, followed by IV's of Vitamin C, antibiotics it goes on and on. When I told the doc that I felt better after the IV of antibiotics, he did not have a clue as to why. I saw a sleep apnea doc because I had an enlarged saliva gland who said my pain was due to obstructive sleep apnea (I am very small and my husband is a specialist in the placement of sleep appliances so I know that could not be). I consented to a sleep study which showed I did stop breathing 15 times during the night (which could be due to the fentenol patch) but he assumed it meant he was right. Wrong! All along I am having pain in my right upper ab and in my back, now going through PT, because in the meantime I fall down stairs and tear my ACL as well as my rotator cuff and more surgery. That's four surgeries in less than a year. All the while my gallbladder is screaming "help me, help me"! If I had not taken matters into my own hands and gone to see another gastro guy and insisted that they figure this pain issue, I may not have found out that my bile duct was dilated again and my gallbladder was full of sludge which can be why the antibiotics made me feel better. Sludge! Grimy gunk sitting there contaminating my body. Like a garbage disposal that is never turned on. GROSS!

[Tuckamore]

Your story is an good example of a misdiagnosis. And a better example of why we must all be our own advocates in health care. If it doesn't seem right it may not be.  Maybe better put, "if the glove doesn't fit......"

Everyone should obtain their medical records and read them. If you don't understand them researching is easy with the Internet and sometimes the help of a friend. Follow up on symptoms and don't take the first diagnosis that is offered, unless all other avenues have been explored. This is not to say that the majority of us have wrong diagnosis. Just be educated and listen to your body.

[keep_praying]

OMG.. Great.

I cant get my Dr on the phone, and I have no more Fentanyl 50 patches and I am trying to sleep. its been 4 days now of no sleep and immobility.  

[keep_praying]

Just wanted to say thank you for all of the feedback in here. I am grateful. I was in a lot of pain last week with the patch wearing off and the only remedy with no medication is rest and that seems to be the answer of course. My father is picking up my son from a game he had and staying with m parents until I can be more mobile. I want him here and it breaks my heart that I can't be the mom I know I can be if I was only pain free. That is the part that is really difficult to deal with.   Well, I just wanted tosay thank you to everyone and I DO NOT reccommend the fentanyl patch to anyone. It is very dangerous in the event you do not have a good pain management Dr. who communicates with you.

[efd]

I know how you feel. I have three teen age daughters and the pain I have been experiencing for the past three years has taken away all my quality time with my girls. Even today we went to church and I was so excited that we were going to have the day together but by the time we got to lunch, the pain was so bad I had to take pain meds. I had hoped all pain would be gone once I had my gallbladder removed and 1/3 is gone but obviously the nerve damage is the main cause of pain. Many of you were right when you said it was most likely the drugs from surgery that was keeping the pain at bay. I am thankful though that the back and front right rib pain is completly gone! It felt like someone had theur knuckle digging in a brused area all the time day in and day out. Thats gone. Now if the leg,arm finger, toe pain would go away!