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pain relief
I have had type 2 diabetics for 2 years since a surgery for kidney cancer. They have had me on hyprocodone for a year and a half to treat neuropahty only to find out that I may have miss diagnosed and have two ruptured disk and one flat disk. Even with the hydrocodine and neurontin I recently tried steriod injection but now my work has been severely limited in my work and I own and run a school for children with autism. My lame doctor who can even remember my name in 20 years just accused me of being a drug addict cause I had to take 8 hydrocodine in one day be cause I really over did it with may back and was headed for an ER visit. Usually I on take from 3 to 5 a day depending on the pain. I know dump the doctor, boy they really like to hit when your are down and out. I am looking for way to get myself out of this. Everyone on this site seems to have so much experience. Any suggestions?
I assume your asking about withdrawing from the hydrocodone.
Anytime you stop taking a medication for awhile it will work better once you begin taking it again. You have built up a tolerance to it and it is not working as well as it used to.
This is an option but not necessary as there are other pain medications you can use to control your pain. There are alot of CP patients that do go off of their medications for a period of time so they will work better when they begin taking them again they work better but as I said this is not something you need to do but of course you can. If you do this your pain will be worse as the pain is not being controlled any at that point. Now there are some Doctors that believe that pain medications can cause pain over time and I do not have any studies or articles on hand but will locate some if you would like them.
The best thing to do is speak to your Doctor about a better pain management plan. The medication your taking is really a short term medication as it only last 3 to 4 hours and with chronic pain you need something that will last longer.
As I said in my earlier post you should speak to your Doctor about an extended release medication that releases medicine for 12 hours and then you may need a breakthrough medication and this is what hydrocodone is usually used for.
You will notice a huge difference when your pain is controlled.
If you want to try and go off of the hydrocodone then of course you can and the substance abuse community can help you thru that.
If you choose to do this please speak to your Doctor as this can be dangerous and he can help you withdraw at a more comfortable level too.
I hope this helps, if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask:)
Anytime you stop taking a medication for awhile it will work better once you begin taking it again. You have built up a tolerance to it and it is not working as well as it used to.
This is an option but not necessary as there are other pain medications you can use to control your pain. There are alot of CP patients that do go off of their medications for a period of time so they will work better when they begin taking them again they work better but as I said this is not something you need to do but of course you can. If you do this your pain will be worse as the pain is not being controlled any at that point. Now there are some Doctors that believe that pain medications can cause pain over time and I do not have any studies or articles on hand but will locate some if you would like them.
The best thing to do is speak to your Doctor about a better pain management plan. The medication your taking is really a short term medication as it only last 3 to 4 hours and with chronic pain you need something that will last longer.
As I said in my earlier post you should speak to your Doctor about an extended release medication that releases medicine for 12 hours and then you may need a breakthrough medication and this is what hydrocodone is usually used for.
You will notice a huge difference when your pain is controlled.
If you want to try and go off of the hydrocodone then of course you can and the substance abuse community can help you thru that.
If you choose to do this please speak to your Doctor as this can be dangerous and he can help you withdraw at a more comfortable level too.
I hope this helps, if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask:)
What would going through that do for me? Would the pain get more tolerable? Or would the hydrocodine just work better?
Thank you dear hearts!!! I don't feel so alone. After wanting to give up I am now determined to get my life back!!
Studies done on chronic pain patients that use opioids for pain control seem to indicate that when such patients take more medication than is prescribed MOST often means the pain is under-treated, not that the patient is drug seeking or exhibiting worrisome behavior. You need to talk to your doctor about this and you need to be seen as a chronic pain patient, whether through your PCP or a pain management clinic.
Hi Desi,
Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am very glad that you found us at MedHelp and took the time to post..
We totally understand the flares that occur and any good physician should understand that also. Maybe the keyword here is good. I would be highly troubled with a physician that could not remember my name after twenty years to say nothing if he accused me of being an addict..
However in fairness to him he may not have a lot of understanding about chronic pain and the challenges that it brings to our lives. Some ppl simply cannot understand something they have never experienced and unfortunately that includes physicians. It is also true that many PCP do not have the experience in PM medications and how when prescribed correctly they can be beneficial. It is a statistical fact that less than 4% of chronic pain suffers ever become addicts. There is a newer study by a nationally known facility that has that statistics at less than 1%. These are statistics that your PCP seems to be unaware of.
If you are in significant pain you may benefit from one of the slow release opiates with an immediate release for break through pain. You may not convince your current PCP of this fact.
In VA is it your PCP that treat chronic pain as it is in my state of WI? If PMP are an option you may want to request a referral. You could than keep your PCP and receive proper PM medications through your PMP.
I will not advise you to change your PCP. He must have some worth for you to have remained with him for twenty years. Just understand that by continuing to employ him you apparently have less than adequate pain releif. It is also any one's guess what type of notes he is making in your medical records, notes that will be hard to disprove or dispute should you ever need to do so in the future. So take all facts into consideration and make an educated decision. You may want to request a copy of your medical records over the last several years so you may review them.
As Sandee mentioned we are grateful for your contribution to our children. I have friends that have children with autism. Good educational centers are difficult to locate. Bless you for your concern and support of our children.
If you do not have PMP that prescribe for and treat chronic pain patients you may just have to search for another PCP if you are dissatisfied with his care or maybe better put his lack of care...as I would certainly be. A good source is word of mouth. Ask your friends how satisfied they are with their physicians. A search engine inquiry may also provide you with additional information. They now have "Rate Your Doctor" sites that can be very informational.
Whatever you decision I hope you will share it with us. Chronic pain can be a long and difficult journey, you'll need all the support and understanding you can get.
Please feel free to ask additional questions and respond to other posts. I'll be interested in hearing from you again soon. We're all here to offer you suppport the best we can.
Take Care,
~Tuck
Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am very glad that you found us at MedHelp and took the time to post..
We totally understand the flares that occur and any good physician should understand that also. Maybe the keyword here is good. I would be highly troubled with a physician that could not remember my name after twenty years to say nothing if he accused me of being an addict..
However in fairness to him he may not have a lot of understanding about chronic pain and the challenges that it brings to our lives. Some ppl simply cannot understand something they have never experienced and unfortunately that includes physicians. It is also true that many PCP do not have the experience in PM medications and how when prescribed correctly they can be beneficial. It is a statistical fact that less than 4% of chronic pain suffers ever become addicts. There is a newer study by a nationally known facility that has that statistics at less than 1%. These are statistics that your PCP seems to be unaware of.
If you are in significant pain you may benefit from one of the slow release opiates with an immediate release for break through pain. You may not convince your current PCP of this fact.
In VA is it your PCP that treat chronic pain as it is in my state of WI? If PMP are an option you may want to request a referral. You could than keep your PCP and receive proper PM medications through your PMP.
I will not advise you to change your PCP. He must have some worth for you to have remained with him for twenty years. Just understand that by continuing to employ him you apparently have less than adequate pain releif. It is also any one's guess what type of notes he is making in your medical records, notes that will be hard to disprove or dispute should you ever need to do so in the future. So take all facts into consideration and make an educated decision. You may want to request a copy of your medical records over the last several years so you may review them.
As Sandee mentioned we are grateful for your contribution to our children. I have friends that have children with autism. Good educational centers are difficult to locate. Bless you for your concern and support of our children.
If you do not have PMP that prescribe for and treat chronic pain patients you may just have to search for another PCP if you are dissatisfied with his care or maybe better put his lack of care...as I would certainly be. A good source is word of mouth. Ask your friends how satisfied they are with their physicians. A search engine inquiry may also provide you with additional information. They now have "Rate Your Doctor" sites that can be very informational.
Whatever you decision I hope you will share it with us. Chronic pain can be a long and difficult journey, you'll need all the support and understanding you can get.
Please feel free to ask additional questions and respond to other posts. I'll be interested in hearing from you again soon. We're all here to offer you suppport the best we can.
Take Care,
~Tuck
Hi jollyman!
How are you doing, I haven't herd from you in awhile:)
Hi Desi,
You need to get a second opinion and get into see a pain management Docotr. You have been taking the same dose of hydrocodone for so long, over a year I would imagine you do need more to control the pain due to tolerance.
You need to get a second opinion to see what can be done for you and if nothing can be done but treat then pain then you do need sufficient pain control and it does not sound like your getting it.
I would be outraged if my Doctor accused me of being an addict just for trying to control the pain as would any one of us CP sufferers.
Please do not give up, there is hope and once you do get some pain control to level out your pain you will be feeling much better.
You have an awesome business/job! If it was not for people like you the children with special needs would have no help.
I applaud you for being in such a rewarding business.
We will help in any way we can so any questions you have we will be glad to answer:)
How are you doing, I haven't herd from you in awhile:)
Hi Desi,
You need to get a second opinion and get into see a pain management Docotr. You have been taking the same dose of hydrocodone for so long, over a year I would imagine you do need more to control the pain due to tolerance.
You need to get a second opinion to see what can be done for you and if nothing can be done but treat then pain then you do need sufficient pain control and it does not sound like your getting it.
I would be outraged if my Doctor accused me of being an addict just for trying to control the pain as would any one of us CP sufferers.
Please do not give up, there is hope and once you do get some pain control to level out your pain you will be feeling much better.
You have an awesome business/job! If it was not for people like you the children with special needs would have no help.
I applaud you for being in such a rewarding business.
We will help in any way we can so any questions you have we will be glad to answer:)
1st thing I would personally do would to be get a 2nd opinion..then go from there..I suffered with horrible back pain and kidney failure...so find a GOOD Dr. follow hios advice, and be totally honest with him or her..God Bless...brian
Hi! Sounds like you have some legitimate pain! That will make it hard. I think you should get your back looked at by a professional in that area. Maybe they could treat your problem, so your pain can stop, and you won't need pills.
If you want to stop the pills, then you just quit and feel pretty rough for a week. The WDs peak at about day 3 or 4 and slowly get better from there. There are things you can buy OTC that will help with the WD, so you are more comfortable.
Keep us posted!!! You can do it, but I would get the back thing checked out!
Good luck!
If you want to stop the pills, then you just quit and feel pretty rough for a week. The WDs peak at about day 3 or 4 and slowly get better from there. There are things you can buy OTC that will help with the WD, so you are more comfortable.
Keep us posted!!! You can do it, but I would get the back thing checked out!
Good luck!
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