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1444483 tn?1468516489

My doctor put me on Opana ER

Hi,

I have chronic back pain from bulging discs and DDD. I have been on Norco's for the last year. My new pain management doctor suggested Opana ER. He told me that in the 7 years of him prescribing the medication he has not had a single patient become addicted to the medicine like patients do on Norco's and other pain meds. The norcos have started to just not work since my tolerance has built up to them. I am taking one Opana in the morning and one at night, with my norcos as a back up pain reliever. Today is this first day being on the Opana and I became so sleepy and groggy. I decided to try it because my pain meds before this just started to not work at all some days and some days i was great, and the fact that my doctor said it doesn't give you the "high" that the norcos do and that it is much harder to become dependent on it.

Has anyone ever heard of Opana ER not being as addictive if taken correctly? I am going to try the Neuro. Stimulation device trial soon hopefully to see if I can get off of the pain meds FOR GOOD! I don't want to depend on these pills my entire life, because it is changing me as a person in a bad way and I just have to find a way to control my pain other than with medicine.

Please, any advice on the meds, good or bad. Let me know!
3 Responses
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Avatar universal
I am glad you found a doctor that listens to you and is willing to give you a new medicine. At least they are trying new things. Are you still taking the Neurontin? How is that going?' Is the job still going okay? You still having pain from what happened there? I can PM you if you would like me to. Just wanted to know if you are doing okay with everything else

Best Wishes
Audrea
You are in my Prayers
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
From what I have heard from a few others Opana has been a life saver for them. This is from others that have never been on any other long acting med before so they had nothing to compare it to. I have tried Opana and have tried many other long acting meds and for me it was not as effective. As far as the side effects were concerned it was the best one I had ever taken thus far. It was as if I hadn't taken anything at all. No bad side effects at all. Other long acting opiods can cause some nasty side effects you really don't want and Opana would really be worth taking if it worked as well as my other meds. It could have been that I did not try that high of a dose becaue I was just getting back on to Class 2 narcotics. My insurance also would not pay for it so we did not have the choice to see if I could go up on the dose to see if it could of worked for me, would of loved to have tried it. I really liked that it did not make you nauseaus or sweaty like some other stronger narcotics. And as for your doctor saying there is less addiction potential, I think he means that because the abuse potential is going to be much less when you do not get the "high, or buzz" that some of these strong narcotics when taken improperly can give you. This medicine will not do that. This medicine can help control pain, much less side effects, less abuse potential, will help those that may otherwise be prone to abuse, so thise could be a great med for those as well. This could be a great med for so many. This med is especially great for those who have not been exposed to other class 2 narcotics long acting yet, this would be a great first choice .
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Hi MrsSinger,

Welcome to our Pain Management Forum.

I have not heard that Opana has any less addictive qualities then any other opiate in it's class. Addiction is far different then dependency. It's a statistical fact that less then 4% of Chronic Pain patients ever become addicts. I am not sure where your physician is coming from with his statements. CP patients normally do not obtain a "high" when taking medications as prescribed... I know I haven't and I do take Hydrocodone (Norco).

From a trusted website, "OPANA ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride extended release) contains oxymorphone, which is a morphine-like opioid agonist and a Schedule II controlled substance, with an abuse liability similar to other opioid analgesics."

The symptoms you are experiencing is probably your system adjusting to the new, stronger opiate. Once your body adjusts, these symptoms should greatly reduce if not cease.

I wish you well and hope that your new meds will be effective in controlling your pain. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.

Take Care,
~Tuck
Helpful - 0
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