Addiction

[babyde]

I am new to this forum and I have some concerns after reading many posts. I suffer with Lupus, Sjogrens, RA, Sciatica, Fibromyalgia, and Mixxed Connective tissue disease. With all of these, I suffer with alot of joint/muscle pain. I see a pain mangement doctor once a month and currently I am on 100mcg Fentenyl every 72 hours and hydrocodone 10/325 every 8 hours for breakthrough pain. I don't take the hydrocodone unless my pain levels get up to 7/8 on a scale of 0-10 but I do wear the patch and change it at 72 hours. I have been on this regime for a year. Within a year they have increased my paych to the dose it's at now which has been for 3 months. I have not worried about addiction because I am only using this for pain not to get high. I only take the hydrocodone maybe 1-2 every 3-5 days when I do have breakthrough pain that I can't stand. If I don't have breakthough pain I don't take the hydrocodone and sometimes I go back to the clinc and will have 60-65 pills left, then they'll give me 90 more for the next month. Needless to say I have alot of hydrocodones always left over. Now my concern is about addiction and reading everything about fentenyl really scares me. I don't want to have to live on pain medication or be on this patch forever and would like to get off of it. I know the doctor will taper me off and at my next visit I am going to talk to him about it. I am finally doing better pain wise at this dose so maybe I could come down some. My question is will I have these awful withdrawls from this patch as I have read and with all my conditions will I always have to be on pain meds as long as I have pain. I can function when I'm not in pain but I can't when I hurt. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Can't live without them, don't want to live with them?
Help??

[babyde]

Yes, I also am on a regime of autoimmune suppressents. I take Cellcept 2000 mg a day and sometime prenisolone for inflammation flares. Like when I get ulcers on /in my mouth and when I have swelling. I also have IBD and Gerd so I'm on meds daily for these. The pain meds are for my joint/muscle pain.  Between Lupus, Sjogrens, RA and Fibro I have alot of pain. Sometimes I can't even walk. I use a cane to help. During all this the disease the arthritis has effected my L4-5 and S1 with a tear and narrowing on these disk in my back. I essentially feel apart in 1 and half year. I also have tried many antidepressants but have so many side effects from them that I cannot tolerate so ALL(5) have given up prescribing. Pain meds allow me to function and have somewhat of a normal life. But I am scared of it continuing.

[worried878]

agree after reading ur post that u r physically/and not mentally dependent..u have not abused them and do not use for pleasure/but for pain

I do know many need pain meds to maintain a quality of life..thing is with narcotics/addict or not/tolerence increases..meaning more and more..paople reach a point 2where nuttin reduces pain levels..in reality narcotics were not invented for long term use due to tolerence
and u may or may not "switch over"...i wasnt really addicted for yrs then situations changed and I used to get up and go/to feel normal...life can get kinda twisted and then our coping mechanisms and any type of substance use can sting us in the bu11
Ther is no way to predict ur future...but addict or non-addict..narcotics long term is not usually//and I stress usually..the answer...direct relief methods often work better

[pharma9]

Are you taking disease modifying drugs to suppress the immune system so there is less inflammation and flareups.I mean such things as methotrexate and/or hydroxyquin or salazopyrin.These drugs suppress the immune system and help prevent the inflammation and resulting damage of autoimmune diseases.Narcotics are not the only way to go and should be the last line of treatment.

[babyde]

Thats exactley my fear, since I will always live in pain, I will always need medication so I will build more and more tolerance and I don't want that. Am I now getting a false sence of pain tolerance. When I started a year ago I lived with a level of 8 all the time. Then I got on meds, so now on meds I live with a 3-5 and when it's close to 72 hours and time to change my patch then level goes up to 8 again. I know I have to talk to the doctor this next time around. Because I'm really wondering what my level of pain would be totally off. Thanks for all you input. Reading all these post has really made me think and it concerns me alot. I hate the hot and cold sweats I am having and I think they are from the narcotics because I am past meno or have been for about 5 years.

[pharma9]

I see your confusion..I'm not sure even doctors know or understand about rebound pain.I would probably equate it to breakthru pain because it is the pain one feels when there is is inadequate drug in the system to produce pain relief.Whether this is caused from not enough drug or too much drug is not known,bu.t I can tell you from personal experience that more drug causes more pain and if we wait a  bit often the pain subsides or we can use other means to decrease the pain.A lot of pain studies were done on people who have cancer pain and this is not the same because chronic pain has to be treated differently.Cancer pain is finite and people are not expected to live with it and treatment is different than chronic pain.I really do not ahve the answer but know from personal experience that more  drug causes more pain.

[SuzzQ]

I was in an accident and prescribed vicodin.. after many years, now taking norco. I was taking who knows how many, some days 10... but, would go back down.. leveled off at 6 pills a day.. My pain was horrible... Now that I am down to 1 pill a day.. my pain is so much better... the norcos actually cause pain.. it is unbelievable!  I am going to just quit , as I just keep going through withdrawals.. though I have been taking only 1 for about 3 days.. So, I just need to completely quit them... I never knew how strong just one norco actually is...