Withdraws from Percocet & Vicoprofen

[Audi5000]

I broke my back in a car accident 11 years ago since that time I have taken 3 Vicoprofen & 3-5 Percocet everyday. My tolerance to pain meds is so high! Most medicines don't even touch my pain & never have any relief. I suffer from Rheumtoid Arthritis, Fibro, Septic Arthritis, Scoliosis, and severe nerve damage in my spine. I'm being tested now for RDS as well. I can't get comfortable, I'm in severe pain all the time, but I'm sick of taking pills & them not helping. I don't doctor shop, and I've never bought pills without a script, I take only what I'm prescribed, but now it doesn't seem like enough. I'm trying to not take any narcotic pain relievers for a week to see what happens and I'm on day 3 and it *****! I can't sleep, I am cold one minute and sweating the next. I have thyroid problems as well so it's really making life miserable. Any help, support or suggestions would be very helpful and much appreciated.

[JadedSweetheart]

It's always best to work with your doctor on a tapering schedule when coming off meds.  The only thing I can really suggest for coming off them is maybe just taking one less every few days, that way you will gradually wean off the medication and not have as severe withdrawls, if at all.  
I do understand taking a "medication holiday" as I have heard it can lower your tolerance to the medication, but again, it's usually best to do that under the care of your doctor.
I hope you're feeling better!

[flower12345]

Welcome. Yes, you should let your doctor know, because sometimes there can be complications from detoxing.  Are you on a pain management contract? If so, then it's not a good idea to stop taking them on your own in case you are tested at your next visit.

Please let us know how it goes.

Flower

[Tuckamore]

Hi Audi,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am sorry to hear about all your medical issues. We can relate. I too had a horrific MVA that has left me with multiple chronic pain issues.

Is your physician aware that you are detoxing? It is never recommended that you do this without medical supervision, especially given your other medical problems. So please consult with your prescribing physician.

That said you I beleive you are experiencing the normal withdrawal symptoms from an opiate. There are some things that you can do to ease some of the symptoms such as warm baths. But I am not very familiar with them as I have never had to detox.

I am not suggesting that you have an abuse issues but our Substance Abuse Forum will provide you with good information on detoxing. You may want to copy and paste your post there also. Again Please don't take that suggestion to mean anything but help for your symptoms.

You are not on long acting narcotics nor very potent ones. Indeed you may find better control with a stronger, long acting opiate. Most of us find that the short acting, less potent opiates are not enough to manage our chronic pain. Don't be afraid to discuss this with your physician. Is he/she aware of how your pain effects your quality of life? If not he should be. If he is not responding to your requests for pain management you should find a physician that will listen and take appropriate steps to better manage your pain.

I don't know what state reside. However if it is a state where Pain Mangement Physicians (PMP) manage chronic pain (cp) patients I encourage you to request a referral to one. It sounds like your journey through cp may be long. You deserve better.  Life is simply too short to live with uncontrolled pain.

Please keep in touch and feel free to ask additional questions. I hope you will be active in our community. We are here to offer support and suggestions. I will look forward to hearing from you in the future. Best of luck.

Take Care,
~Tuck

[designgyrl]

Hi, thanks for posting.  I don't really have any great suggestions, I just wanted to take the time to say I'm so sorry you're having to go through this type of pain.  Are you seeing a pain manageent doctor or just a PCP?  You may need to see a pain management doctor to see what else may be going on.  What did they do for the broken back?  Did they fix the back, or was it something that it healed on it's own?  You say our taking 3 Vicoprofin and 3 to 5 Pecocets, what are the strengths?  Has he tapered you down, because if you're havng this much pain then it suonds like you may need to go on something that is a longer lasting medication. We are not doctors here, but plesae let us know what you are planning on doing, or if there is atyhing we can do to help you!

Keep posting,

Karen