Wondering..

[GodWrksNmystryusWYS]

Is anyone completely pain free with their medications? Just wondering.. I never am and it bothers me. I want to be able to go a full week without having horrid pain in my arms and hands. Any ideas? Stories? Concerns? Thanks.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Felix,

This is an old thread thread that began in 2012. I don't think any of the posters, including the originator are still active.

Your comments are important - and therefore I encourage you to begin a new thread and share your thoughts. You can do so by clicking on "Ask a Question" - it's located at the top right hand side of this thread. If you need assistance please feel free to ask.

Old threads such as this are often over-looked and rarely get a response. Visibility is low. I'll look forward to reading your own, new thread/post.

Thanks,
~Tuck

[FelixNutsTomcat]

I would not trust these bracelets and necklaces.  They are pretty but expensive pieces of jewelry.  I have two friends wearing them.  I see no improvement in their health or pain.

[GodWrksNmystryusWYS]

I think it is so weird because I get up in the middle of the night 2-3 times because I have a infant, but I have the worst pain! And I dont want to take anything because I feel like I will get into trouble for taking more norco then prescribed but man I feel like crying sometimes. I am allowed to take up to 8 a day but I try to stay on the 6 per day regimen. I have had chronic pain for the past 5 years but the past year I have been getting REALLY depressed over it. Do any of you see a therapist or someone outside your personal relationships to talk to about it? I am thinking about going for it but I am curious how normal it is..

[GodWrksNmystryusWYS]

So sorry that happens to you. Definitely makes me feel grateful for the abilities I have. Thanks for sharing your story I appreciated it =)

[railroaded]

Its funny you broought up the "supposed duration of pain relief.  It seems they are changing the instuctions and info. on how long these drugs REALLY last!  Oxycontin doesn't last more than 4 hrs. and even the insurance Dr. said this.  Why they say 12 hrs. would be laughable if Drs. weren't prescribing to it!  Both pain management Drs. told me that oxycontin works for no MORE than 5-6 hrs. MAX, though usually 4!  I have totally realized that since i started, and although my prescription used to say 2 times a day (every 12 hrs.), it has been changed to 3 times a day , and I still get up in the middle of the night due to pain.

[railroaded]

I have been taking heavy doses of oxcontin (cannot take any NSAIDS), and I have NEVER been out of pain, nor felt high, for even 2 minutes since 1996, that was before oxycontin came out, when i was switched to oxycontin, it was due to the fact there were no fillers.  It NEVER has made me pain-free, and no one would know I was on such heavy meds, one sign of your pain level, not tolerance.  I have gone down in my doses, since at a certain level, it doesn't work any better to take more.  I used to be able to take ibuprofen, and that worked as well as the oxycontin, or maybe it was the combo.  Had to stop, due to colitis, and WHOA, I have much more constant pain.  I have simply MANAGED to live with it, MANAGED to avoid long , (OR SHORT!) trips, and I haven't been able to shop at a mall for more than an hour without almost screaming in pain, and being laid up for at least the next full day.  it IS a drag!  I used to be active, but must face facts, I hurt ALL the time! Now bulging disks in my neck and a rotator cuff thats going out fast!  At least everything is affecting my left side mainly!  Thank God for small favors!  You are on a very mild dose, although i am not sure what your underlying pain problem stems from.  Anything with Tylenol was useless for me, (the damage from large doses of Tylenol or nsaids that are mixed with the pain meds are more detrimental to your stomach, liver and kidneys, (and colon!)  Don't I sound like a blast at parties?!  20 minutes and I have to lie down for awhile!

[femmy29]

Many chronic pain patients take 12 hour extended release pills every 8 hours versus every 12 hours.  The 12 hour duration of action is established on opioid naiive patients during the clinical trial period not the chronic pain patient with a opioid tolerance.  So good for you to notice that and go back to your physician to get your dosing instructions changed.  

femmy :)

[GodWrksNmystryusWYS]

Yeah I noticed it wasnt working for 12 hours... I was taking 8 norco still but he just recently said ok 3 times a day and every 8 hours works realy well. I take 3-4 norco a day now it is nice to not feel sharp pains every couple hours and have to pop some pils

[djjondoe]

I have been taking 40mg Oxy for the last 6 months and it has not ever made me feel pain free.

[femmy29]

Right now my pain medication regimen has given me the most consistent pain relief than I have had in the 12 years that I have been managing chronic pain.  But I am on a extremely powerful pain medication...Fentanyl TD.  Fentanyl is definitely not for everyone but I have tried many different extended released pills and they were always inconsistent for me and didn't last the full 12 hours.  There was always a honeymoon period for 2-3 months where my pain levels were extremely low and I felt amazing and then after that the pills began to lose effectiveness.  

I switch patches every 48 hours versus the standard 72 hours.  I am on the 50 mcg/hr patch.  My doctor is willing to up the strength if needed but I am doing fine on the strength that I am on right now.  My doctor also eliminated the tylenol containing breakthrough medication, which is fabulous because I don't want to take tylenol on a daily basis anymore.  I am now on oxycodone IR instead of Percocet for breakthrough pain.  

Based on the amount of morphine you are taking, you are opioid tolerant enough for the Fentanyl patch as you need to be on at least 60 mg a day of morphine equivalent for 2-3 weeks.  

I think envisioning yourself completely pain free is a false hope.  I know that sounds harsh and you are not alone in trying to achieve that goal as I hoped that if I had the right strength my pain would be completely gone but I now realize that is never going to happen.  But the good news is with the right medication it may be possible to get close to pain free several times during the day along with low pain levels consistently over the full 24 hour day with a bad spike or two a few times during the week.  To get to this point, you need to have a doctor that is willing to conduct a pain medication trial period where you try several different types of pain meds over 6-12 months and then choose the one that works the best.  

femmy

[GodWrksNmystryusWYS]

I have type1 diabetes since I was 7 and I had 2 kids, the pain started with me having kids. Having children was always risky for my body due to uncontrolled blood sugar but I never knew it would cause such bad pain. Never. I would still have my kids if I could go back, I am not sure how masochistic that sounds LOL! But I have been diagnosed with bilateral carpal tunnel along with diabetic polyneuropathy.. It is in my arms legs and I have sciatic pain 3-4 days out of the week-where I can barely walk I have to sit down most the day.

Hot baths do help but only while I am in the bath. I am Apostolic so I am always praying for help and I believe that help is consistent.

The pain was bad when I had my daughter 4 years ago but I jsut had a son 5 months ago and the pain is bad right now and it is really hard to manage. I have a great Dr and he is working with me. I was scared to ask for different medications or more because my chronic pain Dr makes me feel like I am wrong for being on these things. She wanted me to sign a paper saying that I have to take whatever she gives me and I refused. She has given methadone to over 8 patients and I told her if it is something I feel is making me sick I will stop and she said oh yeah sure but you have to call me first. Doesnt make sense I know that it works for everyone but pain management felt a little weird.. Lucky my Dr understood and I just get my pills thru him. My pain Mgmt dr actually was a complete A-hole.. up until I told her it's fine I can get my prescriptions from my primary. then she was a complete different person! She was liek oh ok lets run some different tests to find out whats going on. So far I only have had nerve tests on my legs and arms. But I want more, I want to know more. So I am pressing for an MRI and other tests. So hopefully they can help me.

Right now my Dr has me on 60mg ER MScontin 3x a day, and I take maybe 3-4 norco for breakthrough pain daily. It seems like a lot but I was on 12 norco or MORE a day before that. So right now I get pain like maybe 4 days a week but its no where near as bad as before. Actually this is the best I have felt in a LONG time and that is sad kinda, because I still have pain. I think you are right Mary that it is just management because it does feel managed right now.. but I just wish for a day I can take my kids out and not have to feel agonizing pain that same night.

I have had nortypline, gabapentin, and I was on both of thsoe for about 3 months. For some CRAZY reason when I was on those drugs my pain medicine (the narcotic pain meds) were compltely useless! So weird.. I havent found anything that has been said about that but I felt nothing, no pain relief from my norco. so weird.

Thank you ladies for posting. I hope everyone feels good tonight! Have a great Saturday =)

[beetle13]

Anyone, i'm not sure if you have seen it but there is a bracelet out called the Tuning Element. It tunes your body to its natural fequency. I know sounds like a scam. I work construction and a fellow was showing them off on the job and offered to let us try it for the weekend and see what we thought .The next monday I bought one and started wearing it, back in last Sept. and my ankles have not hurt at all. After seeing the results on myself I bought my dad one, he has pain in both knees,( before and after surgerys)  lower back pain, pain in his right arm(after he broke it almost 2 years ago), and pain in his both wrist. He has been sporting his braclet for about 2 months now and says he feels wonderful. He still has some aches form time to time but he said the is no way he would have believed that the bracelet would work that well. They run from $55 to $175 but to me that is a small price to pay not to hurt every day. The web site is tuningelement.com go take a look at it. The website tells you how it works and even has a number to call if you want to ask a few questions.

[stormey1963]

Hi Mary, that was a good answer! I am on really heavy duty pain meds, and unless u knew I took them, no one would know because I have such a tolerance built up and even what I take, I am never "pain free!"  It is always there. I do finally have it managed where I can live a better quality of life and to me that is what it is about. I want to enjoy my 2 teenage boys and my family.  Sometimes when it is really bad I soak in a hot bath, that seems to sooth some of the pain away. God works... what does that stand for, I am a Christian and alot of days I pray for him to get behind me and push! That helps me knowing that I have an extra hand too.  Trial and error are  your best friends, but marycarmel is right, post as much as you can as to what is wrong and maybe someone on here is going through or been through the same thing as you and can offer you some words of wisdom.  God bless and I feel for you,
Sherry