What to do ?

[montanans]

Hi, I have been reading and reading this chat place for a while and decided to join.
I have been on fent paches as high as 250mcq every 48 hours and oxycodone 30mg every 4-6 hours for break through pain for a little over 3 years. I have bad back, hips and knee pain from some disk problems(back) and arthritis. The pain got sevre after I went through a year long treatment for Hep C. I have a very rare type of Hep. C And none of the Doctors here or any of the Doctors they talked to had ever treated this type.. So I was sort of the test subject for the treatment. About half way thru the treatment the pain got so bad I could barely walk. The dostors were hoping it would get better with time but it just got worse. I go to a Military clinic for regular stuff like a cold or flu ect... and they are not good Doctors at all. There answer to everything is motrin and prozac but finally they got a civilian PA there that had worked in Pain Managment for years and they let him start a pain clinic at the military facility. He was great and he took his time and listened to his patients. Well good things never last and as soon as the clinic got a new commander the pain clinic was taken away and all of the patients were given to a military doctor and his orders are to take everybody off there pain medication period !! Now this Doctor and his nurse have absoulotly no experince with pain managment at all. And for some reason they won't give referals to us to go to a pain managment Doctor. I did get a ref.to go to a back surgen and to get an new MRI .
Well I started trying to down my fent dose and totally quit my oxycodone meds. but my problem is the pain and the W/D from downing the fent. The fent patches were the only thing that worked for me on the pain. I have no problem going down on the dose but what do I do with the pain?? And really what about the pain when I am totally off the patches. I did read some chats mentioning Suboxone. What is it ? Will it help me to switch to it to get off the patch faster ? Does it work for the W/D from fent ? Does it do anything for the pain ? Can some one tell me about it please?
Thanks, montanans

[sandee1818]

You are in a bad situation. I am not really sure about the rules and regulations of military medical but it seems you should be able to get a referral from a doctor even if it is a psychiatrist.
You can go to a civilian doctor and get a referral too. That may be your only option. It is not right the way your being treated and I for one want the brave individuals who fight for our country taken care of. I am appalled that your treated in such a way!
Please let me know if you need assistance finding a doctor in your area.
We here in the PM community will do all we can to help any way we can:)

[Tuckamore]

Hello Montanans,

Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. I apologize for my tardy response to your inquiry. I am glad that you found us and took the time to post.

If you goggle Suboxone for pain managment you will discover many opinions, one of them claiming the benefits of suboxone for pain managment. Another site says,  "SUBOXONE is not indicated for pain management."

If I understand your question it is what is Suboxone. It contains the medication Buprenorphine. Which according to one site is effective in pain management. It is an opiate agonist/antagonist. It has been used in pain management for many years--mostly in its injectable form. Buprenorphine also blocks the effects of other opiates and it said to reduce cravings. Suboxone also contains an ingredient called Naloxone to guard against misuse or abuse. So that is what Suboxone is.

I've been on this form for awhile and have heard ppl rave about the wonderful effects of Suboxone and others darn the effects. So I beleive it is an individual response which is true of most medications.

I am sorry to hear of your situation. Your right, all things change. I am sorry that yours has not changed for the better. Please let us know how you are doing. I will look forward to your updates. Take care.

Tuck

[kelsgor0422]

Hello! I work in a pain management practice. The Suboxone is a drug to help with the w/d's from opiates but can also be addicting. It will not help with your pain. I would not advise using it. They need to ween you down slowly. There is also another medication we prescribe for our patients for w/d's and it is called clonidine hydrochloride. I do not know how well it works for patients because I never hear about that. There are other non-narcotic medications you can take for the arthritis but not sure for the pain. I am trying to even find a medication to take away my pain. You might want to visit your local Health Food Store or Vitamin Store. We have one in our town and the lady that works there is a walking encyclopedia on all medical issues. There are natural things you can do for the arthritis and maybe for the other pain issues. Check your town. If you want the phone number to our local one, let me know. I'm sure she would gladly talk to you over the phone and give you some suggestions. She is wonderful and very well known around my town. Good luck!

[TurningANewLeaf]

Ok, from what I understand, Suboxone is a drug that is used to help ease the w/d's from most heavy duty opiates.  I really don't think the patch is the answer to anyone unless they are terminally ill.  At first it may seem like the answer, but, believe me, it's not.  It makes you lose your sex drive, grumpy, excessive sleepiness, unmotivated, etc.  I could go on and on.  I was on it for 2 years so I definitely know firsthand.  Again, if you go to Substance Abuse-Addiction Community and post about the Suboxone, there are people there that may know.  Just a suggestion.  I am here for you though. No worries!

[montanans]

I don't know what Suboxone is. What is it for ? I didn't have any problems with the fent.patch at all. It was the only thing that did work but the military doctors won't let me stay on it and until they reffer me to a pain clinic I'm stuck with there rules. My insurance is military and requires a referal. although I have thought of paying for it my self and still may look into it if the surgan has nothing good to say. I don'r recall a surgain being able to fix arthritis. I tried so many medications before the patches and every one of them did something bad to me. I did try to go ct off the patches once when I left my patches at my brothers over christmas and I didn't want to bother my doctor about it. That was so nasty I thought I'd die. I went 5 days but it did help me go down on my dose because all the doctor would give me was 175 mcq and now I'm at 150. I should be going down again soon to 125. but I do feel it pain wise. Thats the problem.
Thanks for you reply.  later, montanans

[TurningANewLeaf]

I just wanted to tell you that I came off the fentanyl patch 23 days ago.  I can help you through the withdrawals I only took vicodin every 6 hours.  But, I'm not going to lie, it was the hardest thing I've ever done.  Worse than child labor.  I did not take Suboxone but maybe for you it wouldn't be a bad idea.  The key is to not get addicted to that though.  Alot of people do.  You were on a very high fentanyl dose.  I'd be scared for you to go cold turkey.  I was taking the patch for 2 years started out at 25 mcg, moved up to 50 then finally 75 mcg, every 72 hours.  I came down to 50 mcg for 4 months.  Then the Dr. moved me down to 25 mcg + 12 mcg that's when the withdrawals started.  My Dr. denied this and was NO help at all.  One more suggestion, I came from the Substance Abuse-Addiction Community.  You may want to copy/paste your post there as well for more responses.  If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.