Does dhea help pain withdral symptoms between prescribed doses of opiods

[cornishrex13]

I must take 7.5mg/200 mg vicoprofhen 1 tab q 4hrs (5-6)qd. oxycontin 20 mg 1-2 qd. and lyrica 50 mg tid for irratractable pain syndrom. My problem is that when my doses are wearing off the pain feels worse then when I origonally started the pain meds. till it is time to take the next dose. The pain clinic Dr. said dhea was known to attach to the pain receptor that are accually more activated by the opiods and therefor lessening the pain between doses. Have you heard of this?

[cornishrex13]

thanks for your info. I to have had weight gain with both Lyrica and Oxycontin but I can't use the second Oxycontin qd because it causes severe constipation. so I only take the 2nd Oxy when my pain it really bad. Lyrica seems to work wonders for the intestinal nerve damage but I had a freind who was over weight and had breathing problems and her Dr. gave her a RX for Lyrica and I told her to ask him for something else because I was concerned it would put her into heart failure. She took It anyway and she ended up in the hospital with heart failure. She said it was so upsetting to her because it did help her pain so much. We are all so different. I worked in the medical field for 20yrs. one mans med. is another mans poison, that is why this web site is so good. There are so many things new happening all the time in the medical field no one Dr. can keep up with every new thing out there,accept in the drug area the Drug reps. are good at keeping all the Drs. informed about the new drugs. The problem is there are some very good drugs out there that most of the Drs. won't even tell you about because they are so very expensive most of the insurance companies won't pay for them so only the wealthy get the best pain relief. But I won't complain I am so greatful for the help I have received after suffering with pain and in a state of malnutrition for 5 yrs. due to severe untreated abdominal pain.(nerve damaged caused from 2 severe abdominal problems both left untreated for 2 yrs each. This caused the nerve damage.  Thanks again for your help and information....

[cornishrex13]

Thank you for your help. I am allowed to take a second 20 mg of Oxycontin every day. I try to only use the second one when I am in big trouble as my nerve damage is in my intestinal track.  I had some severe problems in my abdominal cavity that were undiagnosed. for a very long time and that caused the damage. Unfortunetly for me Lyrica helps my pain allot (hate the weight gain but oxycontin caused more gain then the Lyrica). Without it the Oxycontin is not enough. I wish the Neurontin worked because it is allot cheaper. Abdominal nerve damage is tricky to treat because most of the pain meds cause constipation so I can't take the 2nd Oxycontin everyday. Some of the meds used to relieve constipation actually cause me more pain. MOM is the only thing I can use once every 4 days without it hurting me. Also it won't work well if taken to often. Thanks for checking with your Dr. about the DHEA. I don't want the pain meds to cause more nerve damage as things don't work well as it is but my pain is constant and severe if left untreated. What would I do if my husband lost his job and we had no Ins.? What do others do? We would not be able to pay cobra ins. We are barely making it now since I had to stop working due to the pain. Nerve damage in Indiana is not a coverable diagnosis in Indiana for disability. Just wondering what others have done. I have no family to reach out to for help. I thought some of you might know of places that help people like us when finances run dry. I feel so sorry for others who live in severe pain and for lack of money can't afford there meds.    Thanks again

[mellie4]

No clue on the dhea but Ghilly made some good points.  I had trouble with Lyrica; I tried it twice.  Didn't help my pain much but did cause me to gain 14 pounds in 2 weeks with no change in diet or exercise.  Now I'm trying Neurontin again.  First time I had trouble with side effects and couldn't wait it out for them to subside.  I'm on a really small dose now and they'll increase it.  So far no bad side effects, but also no help with the pain.

It depends on what your pain is from.  I have RSD and nerve pain, along with severe joint pain.  My meds have always helped the deep joint pain but nothing much has helped my joint pain, and I have tried almost everything there is.

Talk with your doctor about maybe trying a different long-acting med.  We're all different and what works for one, may not work for another.  There are several long-acting meds that you could try and see if they work better than the OxyContin.  Or you could also ask your doctor to try a different BT med.  Again, what works for one may not work for another.  Often it's sort of a trial-and-error method to find what works best.

[Ghilly]

Normally Oxycontin is prescribed to be taken every 12 hours.  Are you taking it every 12 hours or just once a day?  If you're only taking it once a day that's why you are going through withdrawal all the time, since 12 hours from the last dose is usually when withdrawal symptoms start to appear.

If you are supposed to take 2 a day, I would try taking 1 in the morning, say, 7:00 am and then the second one at 7:00 pm.  That way you have a steady stream of the drug going into your system instead of a surge in the morning and then nothing more until the next surge the following morning.  Taking Oxycontin every 12 hours SHOULD cover your pain pretty well, unless the 20mg isn't strong enough.  If the 20mg was strong enough to cover your pain, the 7.5 vicoprofen should help at least SOME with the breakthrough pain.  I haven't heard many good things about Lyrica, and more and more people are saying that they are having nothing but problems with it (my own doctor refuses to prescribe it for anyone) but I suppose your doctor has his reasons for wanting you on it.  I know that everyone's body is different, but among people I know personally who are in Pain Management and also with myself, if the main medication is being prescribed in a sufficient dosage, you only need a fairly small dose of something else to cover breakthrough pain since the breakthrough pain is usually not TOO horrendous.  If your primary med dosage is insufficient, however, the breakthrough pain can be AWFUL.

I have not heard yet of anyone using dhea for pain management, but live and learn.  I will have to ask my doctor about it on the 4th of October when I go for my appointment.  If it attaches to the mu receptor, then I suppose it could help to act as a catalyst for the opioid.  I have been using 200 to  400mg of ibuprofen every 6-8 hours and have been having good success with it, but if dhea does the same thing, it would be better for my liver in the long run I would think.

Ghilly