taking hydrocodone for pain or a high

[gracie48]

my husbands back is really trashed so the doctor says, she has prescribed him wo mg/325 4xday. But he snorts 2 - 3 at a time.  my question is this for pain or a high? He has been on this medcine since he was 18 and is now 52. I want to help but I don't know how. The reason for my concern is because I was in a car wreck in 2005 and had to have major surgery.  I have a cage in my back with 6 titum screws in it, I also have osteoarthritis and degenerated dic dease and when my surgeon put me on my vicodone 4x a day, he said nothing will completely take the pain away so if the second one don't work LAY DOWN for awhile. Can anyone help me help my husband?

[321cateze]

I agree with the above posts.  I know too well myself how pain meds can take care of things for awhile, and then it seems as if they do not work as well.  Physicians pin you to a corner and then pre-judge and they have a very fine line to work within.  They do not want you to hurt, but they do not want you addicted either - they do not want to be the source for your possible addiction.

If no other new technology or surgeries can be performed to help either of you, as bad as it sounds, find a good pain management doctor after seeing another back specialist (surgeon).  Be honest and upfront... long term pain is miserable, scary, depressing, etc., but you must get additional help and do not give up.  The pain meds aren't working the way they used to so he is looking for the "high" because of all these issues.  NO different than an alcoholic.  You both need to support one another and reach out for help on all fronts.  
My story is that I took a statin drug for high cholesterol for 5 months and ended up with (after 15 mos.) they believe I have fibromyalgia and who knows what else.  I have been exposed to 19 x 3 steroidal back injections, oral steroids, muscle relaxers, antidepressants, xanax, 3 different tupes of pain meds, had 3 allergic reactions and sent to hospital from meds that were tried, I had surgery for back pain and have recovered 80%.  The sciatica just wont behave and I struggle every day to get up out of bed and to sleep.  I took 4 mos. for me to get to a Rheumatologist ( I know this is off the subject) to finally dig deeper into my fibromyalgia issues, and what ever else may be diagnosed.  All because I had been very stressed (which raises your cortisol level, cholesterol readings etc. - my number at 318 - was not deadly - but my MD did not factor in losing 6 family members in 18 mos., my depression, grieving, worry etc.  I will live with the fibromyalgia pain for the rest of my life.  There has to be a point where you either take supplements and the pain meds correctly and just do your best by accepting the situation or your turn down a very bad path - for which I have been tempted several times - I wanted to just fall asleep and stay asleep.  I have to have hope and believe the Lord knows whats best because I am not giving up !  God Bless and prayers sent - get some help for the both of you.. Best wishes for a better life............

[trolleater]

  Your husb is addicted, snorting the vic gives you a high, I agree that you should go to the addiction forum.  Tell your husband that snorting these meds will cause more problems then its worth, I suggest you guys seek counseling for drug addiction, some pain meds are harder to kick then heroin.   Good Luck,

[optimus22mac]

Oh boy....I think that you should post in one of the addiction forums...there are people there who have heard it all, experienced it, seen it....
I CAN tell you, snorting anything is for a high... especially 2-3 at a time.  He has been on them for a very long time, so he has built up a tolerance....how long has he been snorting them? I cannot give you specific info on this because I don;t know enough, but you should post over on the other forums, because no matter what...whether he is taking it for pain or for a high, snorting anything is VERY bad for his health, and can be very dangerous.  And it is a very addictive behaviour.  Is he taking some of your meds also? Or does he just take his own? I didn;t understand part of what you wrote... so if you post over in the link i put for you, you may get a lot more answers...out of all the addiction forums, it sees the most traffic....but I'll look out for your posts also:)

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Addiction-Substance-Abuse/show/77