Withdrawal

The worst of it should not last over 3 days or so, a lot depends on the person. Drinks lot of liquid to keep yourself hydrated, Immodium will help with cramping and diahrea. Try warm tub soaks for the body aches. Do you know how long it will be before you can get a script filled? The WD can last a week for some people. I am so sorry that you are in this mess. Do you have any muscles relaxers that you can take? If it gets too bad, go to ER and tell them what happened.

Take care.....Susie

I guess I'm a bit confused...Your Dr.'s office is staying closed all the way until Friday? Do they not have an after hours/closed emergency number to call? Most every Dr. I know has this and it will at least page a Dr....

And even if there is absolutely no way that they can get a written prescription to you by Friday, then they can at least call in something like Vicodin or Tramadol and Clonodine to help.

I truly wish you would have read my thread about the storm and picked up a prescription early:(.....And it sounds like you don't even have a day or two worth of pills saved up to take in case of something like this...

So, as suggested....I would call and see if they will page the Dr. first...and then if they can't do anything then let them know you will go to an Urgent Care (these are usually cheaper than the ER ) and ask if it's ok to get a prescription for just a few days.

I had trouble like this back in 2007 with my PM and went to pick up my prescription and they were closed early that Friday for a holiday part....It turned out that once I called, the msg. got to my PM and he drove all the way from his own home to mine that evening to give me my prescriptions! And I am not in a small town so this is pretty rare....

From then on out he ok'd for me to save up some meds so that I could have a few days on hand extra for any type of emergency/holiday, etc.

Let us know how it goes!

I meant to ask is this your PM doctor? If it is, and you also have a PCP, maybe he/she can help out with a few days of medication. Of course if you do this, be sure to document everything! Two of my doctors, and my fiance's PCP, do not have anyone fill in when they are gone for short periods (a week or less). If the girls are still in the office, we can leave a message and if it's extremely important they will contact the doctor. Other than that, we are told to go to the ER or wait until the doctor returns. When my last PM would be out of the country, she had a 'fill-in' that we could contact with any problems we were having, but he would not write any prescriptions for narcotics.

I hope everything works out ok!

For most people the worst will pass within 3-4 days if on the immediate release. However if on the extended release the worst may not start for 3-4 days.

You have been given some good advice so far. Two other things I want to add. If you end up at the ER and they will not write you a script to get you by ask them for a Clonodine patch. This is a non narcotic medication patch that you put on for 3 days that helps with withdrawing. I have had to use it when forced off my pain meds for a time thanks to medicaid rules and a lack of cash. It takes a few hours for it to start to work.
Also Nyquil helps with the symptoms. Does not have to be the name brand as store brands work the same. It just has to be Nyquil in the liquid form. The liquid caps don't work and niether does the daytime versions.

That's right Susie - I forgot about popsicles! They are most definitely good to nibble on, they help keep you hydrated, they're easy on the stomach, and they taste good! The Nyquil is also a good idea - it can help you get some sleep. And as I said in my previous post about the Valium or Xanax - as long as it is prescribed and you are allowed to take it, either one can help with some of the symptoms of withdrawal, such as insomnia, anxiety, and restlessness. Valium is often used during detox, as is Klonopin and Ativan.

Like Snowbunny said, it's a good idea to stash a few pills for a 'rainy day'. Whenever you have a 'lesser pain' day, don't take your full allotment, put it up somewhere, and before you know it you have a couple/few days of pills saved up! C:

thank you so much. I do have xanax and clodine so I have been taking
them. I also have tylenol 3 that I had from surgery 2 years ago. I have been taking that also. I have been eating popsicles. I hope I spelled right still not feeling great but better.

Jazzie

I get my xanax but my pm knows that I take them from my phyciatrist. The clondine was from my pcp for high blood pressure. He knows that I have them too. The nurse called me and told me to go pick up my scripts tomorrow but he won't be there. He knows that I am having surgery in 2 weeks which is where the tylenol 3 come from the same doctor doing the surgery. I already had a random test last month. He does one every 6 months.

Jazzie if you have already been taking these medications that you mentioned, I would definitely call your doctor at the soonest possible time, even leave a message, and tell your doctor your situation, and what you have done to help yourself, it is better to have your doctor hear this from you before hand than discover it in a urine test, it shows that you are being honest and up front with your doctor,a you were just trying to handle the situation the best you could! But please don't take any more of the medications, and call them ASAP!

Good luck to you and I do wish you all the best!

I think that some responsibility should fall on these doctors too, as they are prescribing these medications, and they should be responsibile for their patients care, and when a storm like this comes along they should show the initiative and call their patients to come in early, or in some way insure their patients are covered in instances like these. Patients also have this responsibility, but PM are not blameless either. Like it or not they are doctors and bussinessmen and they get paid for their services. I feel they should be also resposible for their patients welfare, in these circumstances!

White Beard

I can't imagine that any competent treating Physician would leave on vacation for that long after being unable to get into the office to see his patients the day before.

He clearly would be violating all kinds of ethics. He is responsible for you and your care. If it were you that couldn't get to him that's different.

Are your phone and contact info correct? It's probable that they tried to reach you with an alternative script or have you tried to call them as they may come on a day they can get there to take care of scripts only or maybe just office personnel to give partial script to cover til he returns.

Lets face it if the weather was so bad he couldn't get in the office he couldn't leave town either so I'd be burnin up the phone until I got someone that could tell me something.

Also clonidine is dispensed differently for w/ds then for B/P and a Dr needs to give you those instructions.

Vickie

Im as confused as you SB and hopefully she knows whats what.
Also forgot to say you dont need to take a med thats 2 years old!! Also forgot to say that on the MS contin and being accomadated to a 120 mgs a day, the tylenol 3 isnt going to help much even at its full potency levels 2 years ago!!

My Dr would have a heart attack if I was to tell him I took meds that were post-op from 2 years ago!!

LOL..Now you are confusing us even more!

I thought you said that he wasn't going to be there today? Most of us just didn't understand what his vacation had to do with anything as you originally said your appt. was for Mon. and they were closed due to snow...That part we all got easily:)

It was the whole issue with all of a sudden this "2-3 week" vacation if he was supposed to be there Monday for your appt. but was gone yesterday when you spoke to the nurse as it sounds like they were open?

Anyway...good thing you got your meds..Hopefully from now on if you are new to the Northeast and storms...to speak with the Dr. about saving some meds up or getting a bit more on your next prescription to keep around for times like these..

He agreed that he is for the rest of the winter giving his patients 2 months of scripts. My last pm use to do 3 months of scripts especially in the winter. He post dates the second one. So I don't have an appt. until April. Thanks for everything.

Jazzie