Confidential Drug Rehabilitation

Question by Daniel: What’s helped you chronic pain sufferers in back pain?
i’m on heavy narcotics and i think it might be time to up them again since i have some “breakthrough” which is now “constant”. Im on 50mcg of duragesic, 7.5 hydrocodone x3, 10mg cyclobenzaprine x2, and a compounded cream of ketamine/cyclobenzaprine/ketoprofen which is a lifesaver a few times a day (but i only get a little).

I’ve had addiction problems before and i’m hesitant to up the dose, but the pain is now so bad it’s impacting every aspect of my life. The pain stems from stenosis + scar tissue + degenerative disk disease. Im in the process of losing weight but there is only so much exercise i can do. Im desperately looking for measures that can help me that dont involve surgery of any kind – i’ve already been cut on twice and i dont want mroe time off work, more scars, more recovery time or more crushed hope.

I’m considering accupuncture, meditation, that ketamine treatment that is suppoesd to help reset the pain center of the brain someone told me about, epidural steroids, facet joint injections, nerve blocks – anything at all i can do. If anyone has any suggestions PLEASE let me know – this is ruining my life.

FYI, I did not ask for someone to tell me to go to rehab. Thank you for your concern but sometimes addicts need drugs for legitimate reasons. I can barely get through the day because of what feels like a knife shoved in my back and being ripped down to the middle of my shinbone. I asked for mature answers, not the equivilent of “stop popping pills you druggie”. I specifically asked for thought out mature answers and if you can’t provide that, respectfully, do not answer the question.
FYI, I did not ask for someone to tell me to go to rehab. Thank you for your concern but sometimes addicts need drugs for legitimate reasons. I can barely get through the day because of what feels like a knife shoved in my back and being ripped down to the middle of my shinbone. I asked for mature answers, not the equivilent of “stop popping pills you druggie”. I specifically asked for thought out mature answers and if you can’t provide that, respectfully, do not answer the question. I’d vote you down if i wasn’t level one. Also, i’m not religious – mostly spiritual – so please, i want real concrete answers here. Faith based medicine isn’t covered by my insurance plan or my mind.

Best answer:

Answer by martinse08
go to rehab and do yoga

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Question by confused2471970: Drug Addiction & Cronic Pain?
Been w/this guy 10yrs he had a bad cocaine problem. He moved out 4yrs ago & we’ve been off & on since. He got busted 8mths ago & had no choice(due to probation) but to get clean, attend meetings & all the things that go w/being in recovery. I need advice. Live in pain & be with him or end it.
See..I have a cronic pain. It began as TMJ & after many years got worse now I have osteoarthritis in left jaw joint/bone on bone extremely painful to do anything even eat. For yrs I lived in pain 24/7 cuz I was to scared to ask for help thinking I’d be labeIed a drug seeker. Well in 2005 I sought help & had an MRI the Dr. couldn’t believe I lived with that pain so long. I got put on low doses of narcotics… fast forward to today & a high tolerance. I take 60mg Oxycontin 3xday & (2) 5mg Oxycodone 3xday for breakthrough. I also take Feldene/Zanaflex & Amitriptyine. My pain is now 80% controlled but cuz my man is now off coke he wants me off the narcotics or else it’s over for us. Any advice?
He did say he would be willing to hold my bottle and dish out my meds everyday cuz he is convinced I have an addiction myself. He also says that I’m in denial about my addiction and that I need to wake up and realize this. Honestly though if I stop taking them I will get sick but I think my body is just used to them and it’s tolerance. I don’t take them to get high and don’t wake up with pills on my mind. He says there is no difference between tolerance & addiction. Is that true? I don’t know what to think or do cuz I do love him and want to be with him but I also know I can’t go back to the level of pain I used to live with. I am more scared of the pain than I am about withdrawls if I decide to stop taking them.
I take them as directed but he says he can’t be with anyone who is “using” and either I stop or we stop. He did say that if we stay together & I stay on my meds then he’ll start using coke & crack again. Nice huh? 10yrs down the drain cuz he got busted with drugs. He did not stop cuz he wanted to he was forced to stop. He’d still be doing it had he not gotten busted. I can’t believe he wants me to liv ein pain. He tells me to take Aleve/Advil/Tylenol etc etc and that my pain can’t be that bad that I need such strong meds. I get scripts from 1 Dr & get drug tested constantly so the Dr would know if I was taking more or less than I should. He wants me to give him my bottles so he can see what exactly I take I told him I’d show him the bottles but he wants all the pills in them so he can count them I guess. What the hell I’m 38yr old and being treated like a little kid & a piece of crap just because he’s an addict then I must be one too cuz of the meds I take everyday.

Best answer:

Answer by Lady C
Wow. That’s an extremely high amount of pain meds. If 1 doctor is prescribing you all these, then I say you are fine. The doctors only gives you want is necessary to maintain the pain. You are not a junky and need his permission to take prescribed medication. Unless you are not taking them as prescribed. Why would he want you off narcotics if it is what is prescribed for a legitimate medical reason?

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Question by Leslie H: Why do Morphine, Dilaudid, Demerol, etc. given through an IV all give me a TERRIBLE stomach pain?
I have had three surgeries in about as many months. While waking up from my first surgery I had just been given Dilaudid! It felt like somebody kicked me in the stomach for nearly two hours! It hurt SO badly! It finally went away. Then they had the brilliant idea to give me Demerol. It did the exact same thing! Finally, I told them that I’d rather deal with the surgical pain then have them induce more pain upon me! Well, last week I had a surgery where I was supposed to be kept awake (Cardiac Ablation). When the nurse came in, he told me that they would be given me Dilaudid and Versed to sedate me the entire time! I totally freaked out! I told him what Dilaudid did to me the last time it was given to me and that Versed never does ANYTHING for me since I am already on 4 mg. of Klonopin a day which is in the same category of drug. So, basically, they had no option other than to have anesthesia come in and give me Propophol and I can tell you one thing……I don’t remember a thing after that. As they were waking me up after the surgery, I was in pain and they gave me Fentanyl. It worked like a charm except for some severe itching. I was given some IV Benadryl and I was fine. Anyway, while I was in recovery for 6 hours, I was very sore, so I asked for some pain medication. I told them about my reaction to Dilaudid and that the Fentanyl worked wonders for me a few hours ago, but they decided to give me Morphine and WHAM! The stomach pain hit me like a ton of bricks! Luckily, they had Narcan right there just in case I had a bad reaction and it counteracted the effects of the Morphine immediately! My question is: Why do Narcotic IV pain relievers make me have this reaction? I have had the pain relievers in previous surgeries and they did not do this to me. Why are they giving me this reaction now? Also, what makes me itch so badly after given IV narcotics?

Best answer:

Answer by colostomy_punch
I obviously can’t tell you exactly why this happens to you but for me, I found every time I had surgery I had a terrible reaction to the anesthetics and pain killers. Coming out of the meds was always terrible as well. Morphine made me very nauseous so they would give me a shot of gravol in my thigh but all that did was make me sick AND tired. Finally when I had my UTI they gave me morphine and I started puking everywhere.. I felt awful. I decided from then on to just tell the hospital I was allergic to morphine and not give it to me again. From then on they’ve given me Codein and I’ve had 0 problems. I can say though, those are all drugs that are VERY harsh on the system. Even codein will make me sick if it’s on an empty stomach.

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Question by I Block Stupid People: Does anyone know of natural pain management techniques that could be used during recovery from surgery?
I have bad reactions to narcotics and don’t want to overdo the ibuprophen. I’m having a planned orthopedic surgery later this year…had a similar surgery ten years ago and the post-operative pain was the worst pain I’ve ever been in. Does anyone know of some natural (do-it-yourself type) techniques to manage pain that will be pretty much constant for about a week or so?
Massage, ice packs and chiropractic are not going to help at all for localized post-operative pain where my foot will most likely be in a cast. Try again.

Best answer:

Answer by rockdoc
Massage, ice packs and Chiropractic! Good luck!

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Question by Mommytothree: How do recovering heroin addicts manage pain?
In a chronic pain situation how can an addict be expected to cope without opiates? Is there any medication with the strength of an opiate that is non narcotic or addictive?(Tramadol is an opiate, just synthetic) I think it is inhumane to force a recovering addict to live with pain (parole officers). But taking these meds seriously compromises recovery!
The person of whom I am speaking has been in recovery (sober) for over 5 years. The pain I am refering to is accute pain due to a severe injury, that will eventually heal, not a chronic pain.
This is not a methadone situation. This is a recovered addict!!!

Best answer:

Answer by Doug
Heroin addiction is usually controlled by Methadone. you need to see a Methadone Clinic or Pain management specialist to get in a program. Chronic PAin needs to be managed by a Pain Management specialist. Contact your local hospital and ask for a referal to one.

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Question by lolsen: what is the best for nerve regeneration/healing pain as far as pain killers/narcotics go?
I received a major laceration accross my palm while being attacked in the downtown area of Victoria, BC. All nerves, tendons, muscles and arteries were severed to the bone. Surgery was 4.5 hours and the recovery has proven extremely painfull. I am taking antibiotics, blood thinners and percocet. Sometimes the percocet is not enough. I have quite a bit of swelling and pain resulting. However I have some extremely painfull sensations of needles and electric shock throughout my hand and fingers. Any suggestions for medication directed toward nerve regeneration?

Best answer:

Answer by LaurenElyse
How awful. I’m sorry you had that happen to you. I have had many surgeries on my back. Therefore I know about pain medications. Pain Medications, for trauma such as yours, will not take away all of your pain. They will take the edge off. You need to ask your Doctor to send you to see a Pain Management Physician. They specialize in dealing with patients that have long term pain. Good Luck to you.

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Question by Michele Lee Kennedy: i’m in recovery for my addiction to pain meds(clean for 11 months) I have to get surgery on my knee, how can I?
how will they make me “comfortable” with out narcotic pain meds? I’ve come to far in my road to recovery to risk becoming addicted again?

Best answer:

Answer by ALEX
The only other cure for that is physical therapy.You have to fight pain with exercises.If you sit around and do nothing then the pain meds will be calling you again.

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Have been on pain pills for 5yrs never used them to get high only to help me so i can continue to work. I have got to the the point where i am sick of taking pills, tired of not being able to go anywhere without a few in my pocket. I am not a Junkie just a regular guy no one knows how much i take or can notice a difference in my person when i am on them. The problem is i am tired of taking pills when i am not in pain just to avoid getting sick. Dr tells me it is ok to be physically dependent but i want to just get back to taking a pill when it becomes unbearable to move. the long lasting pills i take each day are great i stay at about a four on a scale of 1-10 in pain but i hate being controlled by a pill. In Essence the Question i am asking is has anyone a familiar story?

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Iam a 22 year old housewife and in the last year I had 3 surgeries due to a car accident. The doctors fed me painkillers left and right and now Iam totally dependant on them. I go without 2 or 3 days and the withdrawals are horrible! Iam strong one minute and weak the next. I KNOW Im addicted and I KNOW I dont want to be! Yet I know 4 doctors in town that if I call them I can have pain killers in my hand within the hour. PLUS u can actually get them ON LINE with a credit card!!!! This thing I have become is NOT me and I miss me so much, my hubby travels for his job and is only home on weekends so he knows I take them but doesnt know I take 16 to 20 a day! This is my 3rd day without them and Im really dying for them BUT I refuse to do it! Anyone else that is addicted to these little white pills? GOD!!!!

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I was playing volleyball about 3 weeks ago and planted on my left foot and went to run forward and my knee popped about 5 times as it tried to go back into place. Went to the ER, then did a follow up with a doctor. Despite all my knee being swollen the doctor told me that i had done damage to my MCL. The damage however cannot be specified without an MRI, obviously. I opted out of the MRI due to the fact that i did my research and i know that the MCL is a rare ligament that actually reattaches and heals on its own. Good news for me i suppose. Doctor prescribed rest and yadda yadda all the usual injury stuff. Well I haven’t been able to rest as much because i still do my everyday job every day since then. Requires lifting, etc. Plus… I still play volleyball : P well here i am 3 weeks later and my knee, has lost a lot of the soreness but still is very unstable without a brace. I find my knee just kinda collapsing every once in a while, while just walking. Does anyone think there is anything that could be damaged in my Meniscus or is it just still really weak from the injury and just requires Rehab.

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