HELP! I am not doing well still! Is my body permantly damaged? Does the amnios really help????

[SHELLBELL79]

     I just wanted to know from those who used the amnio acids protocol......does it really help with pain,sleep,anxiety,etc?  I still am not sleeping right and already had bad anxiety and panic attacks before I detoxed off  the fentanyl patch over 100 days ago. I suffer with chronic pain on a daily basis and cannot do anything. 800 motrin, naproxen, zanaflex,flexaril,lyrica,etc...doesn't work. I am desperate. I am also worried about the prices of these vitamins and if they interact with my regular meds. I had asked my PC doctor and my pyschiatrist and they said just take a multi-vitamin and that I dont need to take all that, it will just make me poor. Also since my fentanyl detox I had my potassium levels dropped after the detox and a few weeks ago. Doctors don't have an answer. I am worried about what this horrible detox did to my body and if I had serious damage. I had a hell of a time detoxing cold turkey off 150mcg of fentanyl. It was the worst thing that I ever went through! I am still traumatized from it. I also have been extremely depressed. I have tried every anti-depressant since I was 16. The SSRI's don't help anymore. I am only taking the anti-depressant trazadone to help with my insomnia. It barely works now. I am sleeping like ****. I just need help and advice on whats going on with me??
Thanks in advance,
Shell

[koscheiman]

I to suffer from chronic pain of the back, neck, knees, & feet do to an OTJ injury.
The pain has also caused depression. I have tried about every know drug ther is from
the light weight Ibuprophin 800 to morphine, Oxycontin, & fentynal patches. I have
had 3 surgeries and an intrathcal pump w/ morphine at first and then dilaudid. The
pump was removed in 1998, after 2 yrs, due to a granuloma developing @ the tip of
the catheter @ T10. The total paralyzation of my lower body, as a result of the
granuloma against the spinal cord, allowed me to be pain free for over 11/2 yrs, except
in my neck. I am currently taking Cymbalta for the neurogenic pain that goes down
my legs to my feet & toes. It is the first thing that has seemed to relieve this
radiating pain. I also take morphine ER for my back and neck. I recently started
using K G L C Topical Pain Reliever for my knees and also on my back and neck. I
believe it works pretty good. I am not able to take neurontin or lyrica because they
both cause my hands and left leg to twitch and jerk. I got some relief from water
therapy, but traditional PT causes me great pain. As you can see what works for
some does not necessarily work for others and vice versa. It is a matter of trial
& error.   Good Luck

[worried878]

getting diagnosed with the bowel symptoms is important...if u do have chrohns then the treatments to help that will be of great help....bloody, mucusy stools on a very frequent basis is one of the most outstanding symptoms of chrohns or ulcerative colitis...it is hard  to differentiate between the 2 but ulcerative colitis only affects the colon so they can tell with tests...if they can diagnose u correctly it could be a start to help u with that part anyway..good luck and it is so hard to have chronic pain and deal with all of this at ur age..i was 26 when mine began...but adjustment does happen with time to a certain degree..dont lose hope..dont ever ever give up!

[terrified999]

For me, Sam-E had been a life saver (literally) as far as really bad depression goes.  It doesn't do much for light depression, but that black hole, I think I am drowning and I am not sure I want to come back up feeling, well, it really hits that and quickly for me.

I have found through research, that Nature Made is the best brand to get.  They are the most accurate in terms of dosage.  (Some brands are off by as much as 75%).  I too am detoxing and the depression is unbearable.  I know it says to only take up to 400mg a day, but when things get bad, I take two for a day or two just to get it into my system and then back down to one a day.

Sam-E is the most prescribed anti-depressant in Europe, so my doc told me, but since the pharmas don't own it, the docs here won't prescribe it.  Even Consumer Reports said it was the only over the counter remedy that helped with deep depression.

It is expensive as hell.  But, I have been lucky.  Every time I looked for it, it is on sale at some drug store in my area at two for one.  (Good thing since it costs around 50 bucks a box.)  

I have taken every antidepressant out there and had horrible side effects from every one.  With Sam-E, you don't feel anything at all, just not so bad.  You look back two days later and are surprised you were feeling as bad as you were.  No euphoria, or rush, or shaky hands, or glassy eyes, nothing.  But you just aren't nearly so depressed anymore.  

I hope that helps you.  

I have given up on sleep.  No point fighting it.  I just pick up a book on economics and start reading.  (That does put you to sleep though.)  Try a subject you can't stand and buy a book about it.  Something as dry as can be.  Either you will get a Ph.D. or you will eventually get a little rest.  

As far as the pain, hot water eases things for me a little, but only while I am in there, so that is not the best solution.  I have noticed when I am busy I forget about it for a little while.  I do believe it will pass.  

It takes a long time for this **** to leave you.  I honestly think you are feeling the effects of the drug doing all it can to call you back.  Fight it.  Ignore it.  Yell at it.  

Since I am not totally through all detox, I am sure I will be joining you in pain land soon.  (I have two days to go until I am off the stuff.  I have been tapering. )  I wish you the best, and you are not alone.  We are right here beside you.  Many of us in the same hell.  I have to believe it gets better.  

[Jacqui805]

The Fentanyl, then the detox, really threw your body out of whack.  I had all kinds of things happen to my body and mind, including blood tests and ecg being thrown out too......I wouldn't sweat too much of it, only the stuff your doc wants to treat you for....I know you have a few medical problems, and as long as you're taking care of those, all you can really do is wait this out..

There is no easy way to get through is as far as I can tell....Nothing helped me, and I tried alot, although I did not try the aminos...the cost was a huge factor for me, and my medical doctors were against the idea as well.  If you can afford them, I don't think they'd hurt, although I haven't reviewed your meds. with the aminos.  That'd be the major concern, interactions...but your pharmacist can tell you that..and if you still have the print outs that your pharmacy should have given you with your medication information on them, there should be a drug-drug interaction list there.  

Time, although so hard to wait out, is really the best way to fix this for you....It took me SO LONG to feel better....and I STILL have sleep issues that I JUST found a help for....During the past months, nothing worked, but now that my head's clearer, I can assert more will and determination towards my issues....and I am now using a generic med, OTC for sleep and trying to get back into a "normal" pattern.  I am using the med Doxylamine Succinate (25 mg)...it can be found in some OTC sleep aids...You have to turn the boxes and bottles over for their active ingredient, and I highly recommend staying clear of Diphenhydramine, as it made me worse instead of better....

It took SO LONG for that awful jittery, restless, anxiety to go away Shell....but it DID pass...I am NOT back 100%, but so close that I'm callin' it good enough for now.....I also take Lyrica, and had almost given up hope with it, but my doc has moved my dose up and up and I'm now on 200 mg BID (twice a day)...It has made a difference finally, in my pain level...I am probably going to go to the max dose of 225 mg twice a day soon.  

I wish you well and hope that you can remain strong enough to get through it all....when you have your weaker moments, just bring it here....it has helped me through some awful times.....

It gets better......

Jacqui

[SHELLBELL79]

Thank ya'll so much for the advice and info! I had already detoxed off the fentanyl patch over a 100days ago. For Fentanyl it takes a long time to detox and its hell. Ask anyone else who has detoxed off it. I was like Ray Charles in the movie 'Ray" when he was detoxing off herion, and Fentanyl is 2x as stronger as herion. Anyway, so I guess my body is extremely messed up from the cold turkey w/d.  It really ***** having so many medical problems that aren't my fault and the constant sufferering. It's like a cancer that you don't die from. That how us IC and vulvodynia patients describe our pain. It's a B*tch! I need to get a new colonoscopy to find out if I definatly have Chrohns, I am overdue for one. My doc said last time he went to the terminal illeum and said I could have the beginning of it. I hope I don't! I hate any kind of steriods. I have bad reactions to them....medrol pack, predisone,etc. I can only put a numbing patch and can only have certain gels where i have my pain. I am going to ask my uriologist about that gel combination. I have been here since April and I know this is a great place, I just haven't posted in a while.  I guess I am just gonna do the amnios and see if they work. I have nothing to lose but money. It's hard for me to excersise with my chronic conditions. I am in pain pretty much non stop and sometimes have to or feel like I have to use the bathroom every 5 minutes or seconds. I am just worried that the trazadone will interact with one of the aminos. I can't take anything with ginseng, crandberry, anything that hypes you up and gives you energy b/c of my severe panic attacks and anxiety. I know I am a mess! For some reason God gave me these chronic medical problems. I wan to thank everyone who responded to me big time! It really helps when someone takes an interest in helping you!

Thanks again,
Shell

[Mandapanda17]

they are trying a 6 day pack of prednisolone for my neck pain and inflammation, so far it seems to be helping.. don't know how long the relief will last but I will keep you posted. I'm sorry the Trazodone isn't working for you anymore.. the same will probably happen to me sooner or later I'm sure..it still works now! I wish you the best and hope you can find some answers soon -Panda :)

[Redbluffer]

My friend has had pain issues with his back for years stemming from a car accident. I also have chronic pain due to avascular necrosis, my friend recommended this compounded pharmaceutical gel called KGCL(nueroderm) it can be made with all kinds of different drugs, mine is ketamine, gabapentin, clonidine, lidocaine and it works so well for my pain. I had to come to terms that my long time opiate abuse made my pain threshold much lower, as they always do to many chronic pain sufferers. The gel is non-addictive, can be applied directly to the source of your pain, all the ingredients can be lowered or raised depending on the intensity of the pain. I havent talked to anyone else who has used the different gels, but Ive found them to be truely life saving to have complete pain control without opiates. It doesnt have a strong odor like a bengay or something but can be annoying to continually rub the gel in. My friend has several bad disks and was taking 320mgs of oxycontin and Norcos daily, before going to methadone, eventually hes now trying to quit suboxone. He has someone rub it into his back 3times a day, basicly getting massages with it and he swears as do I that it helps more than anything else we've tried. I used the thomas recipe down in the health pages and it really helped me during my sub detox, I took exactly what it entailed, except I took valium for 2wks to help with the restlesness and sleep. Melatonin is a natural sleep aid that can also be beneficial in promoting sleep. As you probably well know, excercise can be the single most important way to help your body during any detox. I know its basicly impossible in the beginning but if theres any chance to get into any routine, breaking a profuse sweat helps rid our bodie of all kinds of toxins. The other benefit from excercise is the fact that it helps our bodies to fall asleep later on. The B vitamins, amino acids and other supplements really do help, drink lots of water also. The other basic must is Immodium for more reasons than just diarhea, its a form of opiate itself. About the KGCL, if you google "nueroderm topical" there is a site where you can see some of the different combinations of medications that are typical. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll do my best to answer anything I can. I also tried flexaril and lyrica, the lyrica made me gain weight and made me sedated and forgetful. In the end what has almost cured my chronic pain I did have was the physical therapy, Im not sure if this is possible for you, but if so by all means do it. Start out real slow and light, maybe in the pool and spa at first for awhile, it will only benefit you in the end. In the end there are many ways to control your pain, dont give up, do some research into alternative pain methods. I dont want to go on rambling, but if you need some more ideas to try post it up here, or send me message/note, you are not alone in your struggles. This place is a tremendous shoulder to lean on for support during rough times, the knowledge and experience here is so vital for many people with all kinds of different ailments. Please look into the gel, I cant say enough how much its helped me and my friend. A lady I recommended it to at PT was taking opiates for pain and wanted off, she asked her doctor about the gel and he said he didnt know how to write the script, so I guess its not that well known. I wish I could guarantee you that it will help, but unfortunately we're all so different the only way to find out is to give it a try. Best of luck to you, take care.

[CATUF]

Get the book End Your Addiction Now, by Charles Gant.  The protocol was taken roughly from that book, but it it is a one-size-fits-all adaptation.  The book, on the other hand, will provide you with a custom fit.

CATUF

[Chi_Chi_Lover]

It's all normal what you are going through. After a almost 5 year addiction to 20-30 lortabs a day. I went CT and followed the Amino's etc to a T. Did nothing to help me. I just had to go through the WD process which lasted over a week and then the depression and not much sleep lasted approx 4-6 months. You just have to be tough you can do it. Maybe for you the Amino's will help they seem to help a lot of people.
The sleeplessness was the worst for me and still after almost two years of being off the lortabs I have trouble sleeping so that may just be me and my age:-)
As far as Crohns you need to find out more about that. My husband has Ulcerative Colitis they are very clost just different parts of the intestines. He just weaned off of steroids and it was like coming off the lortabs. He started with a doctor that was not as knowledgeable as he should have been.
Be strong and hugs

[worried878]

yes...they work to help depression, anxiety and energy...as far as chrons etc..u will need medical help for those..often steroids help all the synpoms u mentioned,,,chrohns, vulvadenia as it is often due to an impaired autoimmune response..perhpas ur doctors can help..thenanine and 5htp can help the strss that may exacerbate ur ibs....stres is a factor in all diseases...as a rule stress makes us worse..controlling stress is anothe bear when u work full time and try so hard to keep it a bay..but it follows u..good coping strategies are imperative

[SHELLBELL79]

I already see a uriologist,primary care,psychiatrist/addiction specialist, Pain Management. I only get relief from vicodin in combination with 800 motrrin, uristat,pryriduim plus,urelle,etc. But, I am not taking pain medicine anymore and its absoulute hell. My doctors don't know what else to do for my pain since I am not on pain meds anymore. It's pretty much tourture. I have chronic interstitial cystis, vulvoddynia, and ibs problems, and I might have crohns my GI doc said. I have tried every anti-depressant and they don't work on me anymore. I have my 2nd radio frequency procedure oct. 2nd and it didnt seem to work this time. The first time it worked. Anyway, I am just severely depressed and am hypersensitive to pain since I detoxed. Thats why I was wondering about the amnio acids and if they really work?? I need help, b/c the docs here dont know what else to do for me. I am desperate and frustrated!

[dominosarah]

Is there some sort of specialist you could see or are you now??  Does anything give you relief??