Hello and Welcome to our Pain Management Community.
And welcome to the War on Drugs which has really come to mean the War on Chronic Pain Patients. In this new opiate phobic climate our medical providers are frightened. The DEA is breathing down their necks and monitoring them with non-compassionate eyes. The DEA and now the FDA and even individual states are putting out "guidelines" as to what they believe physicians should and should not RX.
Medical providers are going in different directions as they interpret these guidelines. Because I have "lost" a few PMP through relocation - by myself and a few PMP- I have seen different approaches and different preferences in prescribing. Some of the differences are state driven.
This is the long way to get to your question. Sorry! I have shortened up my comments. Honest!
I am not overly familiar with your state. We have had some members from you area - that may still be active.
I have heard several schools of thought - on how to prescribe for chronic pain patients requiring long term opiate therapy. One is just the way your medical provider is going. RX only LA and no SA meds. The second is to RX a LA opiate with no more than two SA tablets per day for break through (now called rescue) pain. The third which is to avoid LA opiates and RX no more than 2-4 SA opiates tablets per day. Which way a provider goes depends on the state climate and his/her personal preferences.
I have not heard a lot about Opana ER. It's an extended release form of Oxymorphone which is a fairly potent opiate. You are on the starting dose for Opana ER - 5 mg orally every 12 hours.
There are other LA opiates such as OxyContin, a LA form of Oxycodone (Percocet). I found that to be very effective. It has a bad rap as it was very abuse some years ago. Now it's manufactured differently and not so abused.
It's important to know that our systems metabolizes drugs differently. Meaning what is effective for me may not be effective for you and vise versa. That's the reason I may find Oxycodone to be the most effective pain reliever for me and it may not be true for you. If Opana ER isn't working for you I hope your physician will consider ordering something different.
I was given a choice when I had to change PMP a year ago. I could have a small dose of a LA med and 1- 2 rescue tablets per day - or I could have more SA tablets per day. I chose the SA. It's the worse of two evils for me. The PMP I had before didn't allow me any choices. I hope yours will work with you to discover ways/meds to best control your pain. We're not all made the same. Some providers recognize that and others do not.
I also hope that something I have said has been helpful. Other members may stop by and offer their opinions. I hope to hear from you again soon.
Take Care,
~Tuck
