Panicking!!! Help please!!!!

SJH,
Nvrthesame is making some excellent points, as have several others. I hope you do go to your appointment tomorrow morning (they well may be able to make payment arrangements - be sure to ask, especially since you say you can pay on Friday). I think it's very important you go. And as i noted on someone else's thread my cousin is a pharmacist and just went to a training seminar all about using methadone for pain. It's actually a good option if it works for you; it's not only for addicts, it's just that people think that.

And a comment to Tammy (or any others): I don't use the word addict or addictions lightly, and when I do I try to word it very carefully. I have quite a bit of professional background in this area (but I'm not a doc), so I don't speak out of personal opinion. And I also don't say things meant to hurt, but sometimes avoiding the truth is only going to make things worse. I have seen only a very small handful of situation on this forum - can probably count them on one hand - in which there's truly some addiction issues evident. I am sorry if this offends someone, but if a person asks for help I try to give what I can not out of trying to hurt but of trying to help in the best way I know. Please, please hear the fact that addiction and dependence are two different things. Not only do I know it but I live it just like all of you. I am dependent on my medications and would likely go through physical withdrawal symptoms if I stopped abruptly. But I am not an addict. Neither are the overwhelming majority of pain patients, as Gramps has also pointed out in statistics he's posted. Only a few percent of people who are CPP's will become addicts, and most of them either had an addiction problem before starting pm meds. or have an unlucky genetic background which predisposes them to moving into addiciton. I hope those of you who think I'm labeling CPP's as addicts will read these words and understand that I AM NOT.

I am, however, growing a big weary of us always bashing doctors as the bad guys/gals in the equation. I know - and I struggle with finding good pm myself, and have been labeled by one of my doc's as possibly having been "dishonest" with her at a time when I was confused due to meds adjustments, and I rant about docs myself - I KNOW there are SERIOUS problems regarding doctors' attitudes and the treatment of CP. And it affects all of us, myself included, and every aspect of our lives. But I don't believe all or even most doctors are monsters, or are only out for the money. There are a lot easier ways they could make money without all the liability for people's lives, and the insurance company and others looking over their shoulders. Doctors do have some rights to make lega, ethical, choices. Can we be just a little more reasoned from time to time - just from time to time - about docs? I am not saying don't rant or complain or sue or try to get proper pain relief or justice. I AM NOT SAYING ANY OF THOSE THINGS! Just asking if, on occasion, we could temper it a bit. And I think this thread needs an element of that, IMHO.

Again, SJH, I do not write this to hurt or with bad intentions, and I'll probably not post anymore to this thread. I do hope you get some relief tomorrow.

PaLady

PS: I forgot to answer a question. As far as I know, I always had my medication in my system, at the amount needed, because I couldn't MISS a dose without being in tears. I really thought that everything was fine as I told them straight up I smoked, stopped that day, and now this. I took a UA that day, so it will show NO trace of anything other than what was prescribed. Even with that though, I am scared to be prescibed any narcotics again. I can't go through this again. This is the most inhuman torture I can imagine. My back is so torn up and rocked up and burning and all my joints are on fire, my legs feel like they have been run over by a semi.... just too much to handle. I wouldn't go legally against my doc, I'm just not that kind of person. Too lazy...

I talked to my boss today and told her I will try to be back tomorrow, how the hell am I going to go over insurance responsibilities for patients having cardiac procedures??? Just shoot me....

Hey sweety? I know posting and even getting to the computer right now is probably more then you can deal with but please just a note to say I am hanging in there!

As for the aches and the overwhelming feelings of despair? It is all part of the w/d thing and WILL go away as soon as get some relief. Please please dont act on any of those feelings as they are not you! Not really what is happening to you but your body adjusting to the fact there is no med right now.

If it gets bad please go to the ER and this might not do a bit of good but it is worth a try and just tell them you are between Docs and have a appointment on whatever day with whomever and that you need relief until then. If they dont prescribe something for the pain they usually will give you something to help you sleep and relax some and this will help.

As for my other post I was just trying to come up with some other reason for this Docs response to your labs as it makes not alot of sense since he knew you were using the pot prior to presribing the percs and you said you didnt use it after that but still months out he D/Cd you from your PM,there has to be a reason here and even possible that you took or did something to throw a false/positive results on the lab and this happens more then you realize but either way if he isnt telling you anything you may want to request a copy of your records and lab results and see for yourself what is in there. I always do this before handing them over to another Doc as I dont like surprises showing up without my knowing about them first.

You would be surprised how many things including OTC meds can and do throw a false/positive for other things and here is an example right off the top of my head,one of those kidney meds for UTI and if I recall correctly and pardon my forgetfulness as it is part of my TBI,Gantrisun will sometimes mask the amount of opiates in the urine and another is nyquil has been known to show up a trace of cocaine for some folks? Some derivitive in those meds cause faslse testing to occur and the reason they ask on most lab forms what you have taken in the last 30 days and how many of us would think to write those kinds of things on there? I dont.

Here is a funny now story but it sure wasnt at the time. I had a very close friend whom got pulled over for a traffic violation right in front of my house years ago and in his pocket he had some of those B/C headache powders as he suffered headaches post a head injury and he swore by this stuff. I couldnt get pst the taste of thie stuff to relieve a headache but anyway he got a cop whom evidently had run into some folks that used these little folded up papers to actually package and sell cocaine out of so he put my friend in the back of the police car handcuffs and all and field tested the B/C and lo and behold it showed up cocaine!!

He was arrested and charged with possession with the intent to distribute and he kept ranting and swearing that it was a headache powder and it was sent to the lab to be tested more accurately prior to court and guess what happened in court? He was released and all charges dismissed as it was exactly what he said it was and the cop from the DEA said that those powders will always turn the field test blue and therefore be a false/positive and the local police should have known that as they have an entire list of things that will throw the testing off.

Everyone is concerned for you and are feeling your pain right now and I dont think anyone here is judging you we are merely trying to make suggestions and state things as we know them since many of us here have spent a great many more years then others dealing with PM,contracts,Docs that are opiate phobic and being undertreated.

You said that you never went without the right amount of meds in your system and I am going out on a limb here by saying this and I am sure I am going to get reemed for it but you also said your BF took them leaving you short or without so I have to assume you knew where to get more when you needed them and all am saying from here is you have to do what you have to do you know what I mean?

I hope by today you have gotten some relief and the best thing to do about the folks around you having to deal with all the ups and downs of the w/ds is let your BF or someone else take over some of the load until your back to your old self. Tell him you need this time to get yourself together and to give you a hand. I stay away from everyone and especially my kids when the pain gets unbearable as they dont need to experience that along with me for sure.

Just let us know how you are today if you can and hang in there things are always changing.

SJH,

My pain doctor is Dr. Michael Wolff (Southwest Spine and Sports).  He and his collegues only work with pain management and they are wonderful.  He has an office in North Scottsdale and on Wednesdays is is Tempe.  Good luck to you and hang in there.

I have to skim right along through the posts (sitting causes more back pain) Anyway, I live in in California. A rheumatologist, a GP, and a neurologist all mentioned Marijuana as a good med for me. They wouldn't prescribe it so I had to go to another town to get a prescription. After all this TO DO, I took a couple of hits ... OMG! Terrible. The stuff really put me in touch with my pain. I believe it should be available to pain patients if they find it helpful. I hated it. I think I'm off topic?
Pamela Neckpain

How much methadone are you taking for a dose? Methadone is notorious for causing sleepiness. 1.5 mg of xanax is a lot of xanax. The typical dose is .25-.50 mg , that may be contributing to your sleepiness. Have you discussed your xanax dosage with your doctor? Are both meds prescribed by the same physician? If not, you may want to talk to both doctors and let them know that you are having problems with the drowsiness and ask them what you should do.
Also, you might want to start a new thread with your questions, so others may be able to help you as well.
Sandi

SJH,

     Now I will be honest and say I didn't have the energy to read EVERY post on your topic, and I can't help with a doc in AZ, but I can tell you a couple things...

     Ultram and Ultracet very similar to narcotics, it's an alkaloid, which is the same family as opiates such as morphine, oxy, etc.  I think the difference is in the chemical makeup of the drug itself.  But they classify it as a non narcotic.  Now don't take this for truth, do your own research, but I was given this medication a long time ago before I was having this bad trouble, it was given to me for severe tension headaches/migraines.  Also, I have given this medication to patients.

     Ultram should help, but with everyone it's different, of course.  The one weird thing that happened to me the very first time I took it, I took a half of one to see if it would help my headache, then about a half hour later, I didn't feel that it was helping, and I was at work too.   So, I took the other half, well, that was a bad idea!!  I had to go to the back room, and I crouched on the floor, it felt like I was floating above my body, looking down at myself!!  It was the strangest experience I have had!!  LOL!  But, being that it's in a similar class as the opiates, I would say that it should have helped the withdrawl.  But, you can ALWAYS go to the emergency room, tell them that you are in pain and you are out of pain meds.  And find another doctor, you can bring your paperwork with you, and talk to them about pain management and what they do!

     Also, I agree, now in PA, I don't think that they have contracts, I don't remember, it's been almost 5 years now, but I would DEFINITELY check it!!  Though as I saw someone else say, withdrawl isn't always life threatening, but that could be a trip to the ER as well, if it gets that bad.  Some people are afraid to go to the ER because they don't know your history, but if you're in pain, and need relief, you need to go and tell them!!  OR tell your doctor what you are experiencing, ask him to retest you, whatever you have to do, it's not fair for anyone to experience pain and have to live with it, suffering.

     I hope something here helped!  OH, and another thing you can do is try Naproxen, a NSAID OTC, that sometimes helps, or ask your doc for some type of NSAID, like Celebrex or another type, this might help a little too, but you have to talk to your doctor more about the situation you are in.  Good luck to you and I hope things work out!

I second Boxie's post- great job Tammy. Really interesting topic and problem-- darn shame we can't do anything to help but the advice given is priceless.