Withdraw! What to expect?

Hello,

Let me start by saying that I am sincerely sorry to hear about your misfortune. I have been there and I would not wish it on my worst enemy. My story is far from the norm, yet I think it is a harsh lesson on withdrawl that is worth sharing. I went cold turkey at a time of injury and I have spent years in pain. Those first days coming off Vicodin may have been the worst, if only because I knew the pain was not going anywhere. It is hard to come off medications- but I will tell you that it is possible to push beyond it.

If you can manage your pain without it, then I would say push to overcome in a relatively short period. I will repeat: In a RELATIVELY short period. Different drugs and different people react in different ways. Every physician should be forced to say that like a prayer with the Hippocratic Oath before opening shop every day. Fent is far from a common drug to withdraw from and you should be given assurances that resources will be available. There is no reason to go into such a fight and worry about office politics at a Practice.

After my PCP retired, I found another who came highly recommended. He took a proactive approach to pain management and started me on opiates (Vicodin). I had a previous prescription for breakthrough pain (quantity of 10 per month). This physician soon had it raised to 30, 45, 60... I was active for the first time in my life.

The physician's lackadaisical attempt to find out the root cause led me to PT. A car accident brought about secondary concerns and disabled my exercise progress. They sent me back to the physician after 6 months without improvement. Soon after, I was cut off cold turkey and told to exercise. While I didn't agree with the treatment; I went with it. Less than two weeks later, I lost the function in my left arm. The physician thought it was a ploy to get back on narcotics, despite MRI results that noted inflammation around an RTC tear.

The final piece of advice that this physician offered was to find a new physician and to take excessive amounts of Over-the-Counter medications (2500 mg Tylenol + 1600 mg Ibuprofeun; 3x/2x a day respectively). I went through a minefield of specialists for nearly two years and actually ended up in the ER with abdominal pain. The ER physician also recommended the high OtC medications.

I found a new PCP who has been willing to work with the symptoms in earnest. He was more concerned with my complete loss of muscle mass and near 80 lb weight gain while waiting for an answer. I have tried most everything: exercise, yoga, dieting, toxin cleansing/dietary restrictions, various injections, physical therapy (with/without traction), migraine treatments, migraine medications, massage, chiropractic adjustment, salves, essential oils, and various other alternatives. The MRI shows a tear that is difficult-to-operate and so no one will touch it- and that only exacerbates the original head/neck pain.

I'm now on a base narcotic (T3/T4); very frugal with use and I still get harassed by some people... But I am also active again with my family and (ironically) on a much safer medication than the ineffective OtC alternatives. Don't rush getting off medications if you legitimately need them or if it is not safe to do so.