chronic pain vs rx methadone....what to do?

okay,here is my situation...i have had many severe and extremely painful problems with my neck for many years {i have degenerative disc disease,bone spurs,arthritis,pinched nerves,bulging discs...i think there is even more....in only 2 discs in my neck. )
in 1999 i went to one of the top pain management clinics in NE Florida. they started me off on loracet and within 7-8 months had progressed me up to 10mg methadone. they said meth is better on your body for long term {true} and easier to come off of than other meds {BIG,FAT,HAIRY LIE!!! } now i am seeing a family doctor,who is great,and he is still prescribing the methadone for my pain...i take 6 a day.
here is the problem....without the meds,i hurt so bad i cannot move let alone function. in the past i have tried almost everything else to avoid taking pills every day,physical therapy,injection procedures,yoga,meditation,herbal therapy etc etc. at best some of these help a little for a short while. and this methadone sucks! it is very addicting and if you run out the withdrawl is worse than anything,even heroin,and can last over a month. it is one of the few meds that has a truely physical withdrawl,it affects almost every part of your system,heart,blood pressure,etc...it can kill you. there is no help for trying to rehab from this med,unless you have a lot of money. every single place in this city,and nearby cities said they 'do not offer a methadone program'
so my problems are two-fold....how to relieve this pain without meds...and then how to get off of this drug? help??? advice,insight,ideas,whatever!!

 

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If the med is working so well for you, why do you want to get off of it?

You may want to ask your doctor about Palladone. It is a new, extended release version of hydromorphone. You only take it once every 24 hours, so it is much easier to keep up with and you don't have the ups and downs like taking med every 4 hours.

 

i would talk to your doctor about SLOWLY getting you off of that medicine and trying a new one.

 

as far as i i knew methadone is the new name for the old drug created by nazi germany's science team in the 30's, its name? dolophine after adolph hitler. after his business went bust circa 1945 they had to re brand it. its harder to get off than heroin apparently, stay away from it. will have to think about the pain thing and get back to you

 

methadone is the name of the drug. Dolophine was a brand name of methadone, like Advil is a brand of ibuprofen. I don't know about the Hitler connection. . . could be.

 

what i think i need to do is search for a natural (holistic maybe?) alternative to getting off this mess and controlling my pain. i know that there are many areas to choose from,but i have very little info on it. another kind member here referred me (in another thread) to a website that helps you with your chakras and energy state etc and i'm gonna check that out further....http://www.eclecticenergies.com
anyone out there with information on natural healing??? please let me know,because i think this will be my best bet...after all i am 46 and have a 9yr old son so i need to be as healthy as i can,right???

sorry that i go on so long...guess i gotta lot to say for now

i think i'm done for now,if anyone is still reading and not sleeping or onto more interesting things by now.

 

For some people, only opiates will control their pain. If you trust your doctor, and he trusts you, there really isn't a problem.

Listen to what PhotoGra1 said, there are other long acting opiates, which may have shorter half lives than methadone. Many docs like methadone for neuropathic pain, though, as it works well for these conditions.

Daily opiate treatment is often the end of the road treatment for terrible pain, but if it works and nothing else does, it is a good thing you have a doctor who is willing to prescribe them and beleives you ARE in that much pain.

 

I think I am missing the point of the first post. . . What is the problem you are having with methadone? You say that it works, and you hurt and have withdrawals when you don't take it. Why don't you keep taking it? Many chronic pain patients find only moderate relief with opiates. If it is working for you, and, like Maggie said, you have a good doctor, I don't see what the problem is.

 

the ??'s are,why is there a problem taking meth if it works??? okay,this may get long,but i'll tell y'all why i want to find another way to stop the constant pain.....one of the biggest reasons is because i'm 46,i have a 9yr old son,and i've been taking one kind of pain pill or another for way too long now. i feel it's time to stop putting internal bandaids on my neck problems,and find a better way to deal with it. i was 38 when i had my son,so i need to live for a very long time!
next reason: meth rots your teeth!..don't let anyone tell you different,or offer excuses for it,because it does. i had 2 cavities in my mouth at 38,after 2yrs on methadone,i have lost almost 1/2 of my teeth.
(there are other contributing factors,age etc,but this is ridiculous!)
meth is so highly addicting,the withdrawls are the worst.right after i stopped working due to my neck (i worked my entire life from age 14 to 1999) my employer screwed me by cancelling my insurance early (i worked for humana insurance co for 14 yrs). the doc i was seeing at that time would not see me or refill me without $125.oo pmt(all they would do is make another appt for me 11 days later,no walk ins). after about 48hrs i was very very sick. i went to 3 different er's in 3 days and all sent me home,even tho my vital signs were way screwed up,my bp and heart rate were very high. no other facility,rehab..noone would help me,admit me or even talk to me after they find out i am not buying drugs on the street and was prescribed by a doctor and did not take too many (I shoulda lied ) after 9 days i finally spent 24 hours in the facility for alcoholics and severe drug users (most ordered by the court or under arrest)...they let me in because of my vital signs....they gave me massive blood pressure drugs and checked my bp every 30 mins,even at night. the place was like a jail (then it was time for my dr appt,still hadda pay). I was so weak and ill i could not get out of bed at all...anyway,i never ever ever want to go through that again!
and it's stressful to be so afraid to run out of this medication,trust me...and situations do occur that interfere w/my meds. my doc. is wonderful,but the bulldogs at his front desk are unreasonable,impossible!.....i could go on and on,but use your imaginations....this is too long already! :&

so i am searching for better ways to deal with this. i've done the phy ther,injection procedures,freezing nerves etc...only helps some and for a short time. it's time to clean out my body and get right! (i have been exercising and being as active as possible)

 

marijuana

 

i totally agree with that attitude!!! but unfortunately it doesn't quite make all of the neck pain go away...only makes me not care about it for a while.

 

Hey girl,



I know exactly where your coming from. I have Neuropathy of the feet & legs and have been in severe constant pain for the last 3 + years. My Doc put me on Oxycontin I gradually went up in my dosages due to my tolerance would build up. The OC's worked, but not as long as they were suppose to, I got up to 160 MG 3 X a day. Just last week my pain specialist put me on Methadone 30MG 3 x a day. I will have to admit my pain is much, much better and the one thing I truly noticed is that I think so much clearer now, I'm not in such a fog as I was when taking the OC's. Have you tried OC? Has your Dr. talked to you about implanting a pain pump? My Dr wanted me to go with the pain pump, but before you make this decision you have to do a "trial run" for 3 days in the hospital, I did this and I'm glad I did, I could not function at all.

I understand what you mean by you have a 9 yr old to raise, I have a 15 yr old to raise, I am married and thank God my son & husband understand my pain and what I'm going thru, I to did not want to be on any medications and wanted to clean out my system, but for me that is not possible. You have to think about your Quality of life, you want the best quality possible so you can enjoy your son/daughter and sometimes that means we need help from the RX world.

I did not mean to make this so long, I hope all works out for you, let me know if you ever need an ear.



"WE MAY NOT HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER, BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL!"

 

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hi! yes i tried the oc's and i did not like them at all...the fog?? yeah,they made me feel high at a time when i wanted to be straight. (sure would not have said that 20 yrs ago! )
chronic pain sucks,and i have tried everything. the pain pump is an option,as soon as i get my insurance snafu fixed!
the methadone is the best thing that i have tried,it works and does not have that fog. but do not ever run out...withdrawl is very very bad...
feel free to pm me if you want to talk...and i just may take you up on your offer of an ear...not many people are near my age in cyper space!!

 

I really feel for you. I find our western systems of medicine completely frustrating and fruitless.

My brother was prescribed 2 different painkillers for constant pain in his face, when they stopped working for him his doctor prescribed him methadone, he was on it for 5 years and several times asked his GP for help to come off it but no help was given. Eventually he bit the bullet and just stopped, completely on his own, it took a while but his life rapidly came together after that.

I don't know about the US but in the UK methadone is given to heroin addicts and is well known for it's addictiveness. Infact, I've heard heroin addicts claim that methadone is worse than heroin. Nice one doctor!

What really gets me is when any talk of 'alternative' medicines/therapies arise, there's a certain group of people who will dismiss them out of hand simply because there's no scientific evidence that they work. Well have you ever read the side effects from some of our popular prescriptions? Some common medicines can have nasty nasy effects yet because the medical profession says they're ok, we trust that. Could go on for ages but I won't.....

Anyway, despite what you're going through you sound pretty positive and I hope you can find someone that can truly help you.

 

Go with the energy healing. U are on the right tract. Thing is, u need to do it often. Get "into it." I have heard of people getting rid of their pain that way, but u will have to make it a part of ur lifestyle. Go for it!

 

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED ROXICODONE? MY HUSBAND SUFFERS FROM SEVERE CHRONIC PAIN. HE HAD HIS LEFT LEG AMPUTATED 5 YEARS AGO AFTER BEING SHOT, AND HE DEVELOPED PAINFUL NEUROMAS IN HIS STUMP AND HE SUFFERS TERRIBLY AND CONSTANTLY. NOT ONLY FROM THE NEUROMAS BUT FROM PHANTOM PAINS. HE SAYS HE FEELS LIKE HIS FOOT (THAT IS NO LONGER THERE,, BUT HE CAN STILL FEEL IT) ANYWAY, HE SAYS IT FEELS LIKE IT'S ON FIRE ALL THE TIME, ANYWAY....HE HAS BEEN ON OXYCONTIN FOR 5 YEARS. HIS CURRENT DOSE IS 3-80mg. PILLS AND 3-40mg. PILLS EVERYDAY AS WELL AS 15mg. ROXICODONE FOR BREAKTHRU PAIN. NOW TO THE POINT (SORRY) HE HAS TRIED EVERY PAIN PILL OUT THERE AS WELL AS A MORPHINE PUMP, BUT THE ONLY THING THAT HELPED HIM WAS THE OXYCONTIN. HE JUST STARTED TAKING THE ROXICODONE RECENTLEY, HE WAS TAKING PERCOSET 10mg. FOR BREAKTHRU PAIN, BUT HE HAS HEP C, SO ANYTHING WITH ACETAMINOPHIN IN IT IS NO GOOD FOR HIS LIVER, SO HE TRIED ONE DAY TO JUST TAKE THE ROXICODONE BY ITSELF WITHOUT THE OXYCONTIN, AND HE SAID THE ROXI'S TOOK HIS PAIN AWAY. WHAT A RELIEF FINALLY. SO NOW HE'S CONSIDERING GOING OFF THE OXYCONTINS ALL TOGETHER AND JUST TAKING THE ROXICODONE. SO MAYBE THATS SOMETHING YOU COULD TRY. AS I SAID, HE TAKES THE 15 mg. ROXICODONES. HE HAS TO TAKE QUITE A FEW AT FIRST, BUT THEY WORK. ALSO, I WANTED TO MENTION SOMETHING ELSE THAT WOULD HELP YOU WITH THE WITHDRAWL. I KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT FEELS. I WAS ADDICTED TO HEROIN ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE WHEN I GOT DOPE SICK, SO I ENDED UP DETOXING ON " SUBOXONE" aka " BUPRENORPHINE" HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ABOUT OR TRIED THAT? IT WORKS! FOR WITHDRAWL ANYWAY. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PM ME. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU ANY INFO YOU NEED AND DO ANYTHING I CAN DO TO TRY AND HELP YOU. I WISH SOMEONE WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR ME WHEN I WAS GOING THRU IT, SO I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO OFFER ANY HELP I CAN. OK? SO, YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, AND I'M HERE IF YOU WANT TO TALK.

 

thanks and bless to all of you good and kind people who responded to this thread. sorry i haven't been out here for several days to answer,i have had some stupid stomach virus. i will be sitting down in the next couple of days to pm a couple of you.
as for me...the methadone works pretty well for my pain and as long as i take it like i'm supposed to and be sure to get to the doctor every month i won't have to worry about withdrawl. the bottom line is that i have some serious changes to make within my personal life and then everything else will fall right in line. i'm getting rid of my verbally abusive control freak husband soon,now that school is out (florida gets out early!) i won't have to stress over my 9yr old son missing school if we decide to take a 'vacation' to family for a while. i have been depressed and under controlfreaks thumb for too long and feel like i'm just waking up. i did have problems in the past taking more meds than i should because i would stress out over housework etc and worry if c.f. would yell and be pissed. then he decided that since i overused he would hold my meds and give them to me daily. the doctor recently upped me to 6 a day and he would give me 2 or 3. this month i got smart,paid for my own damn rx and he has no idea i even filled them! and he will be outta here within the week.
see,personal problems sure do make chronic pain and medication management more difficult. but thanks to good family and friends and a few prophetic dreams i am on the right road,finally!!
man! i sure did not intend to sit down and throw out my personal history!!! but i'm feeling much better now......
thanks for the ears and the answers. i like these forums. there seems to actually be real people out here!!


thanks for putting up with me today. have memorial memorial days and remember to laugh whenever possible....humor is one of our truest and most treasured gifts!
and,from my experience..if a loved one seems lethargic or down do not yell or judge. look into their eyes and see the soul within. most of us are good people in bad situations.
peace

 

I totally understand what you are going through. My situation is very simlilar. You have to just continue to take the methadone as do I. I have had 5 surgeries with no help. Now they want to insert an electrical device in my spine.I am in Maine what state are you in? I am 40 with 3 children around the same ages. Hard to find a doctor to help me.