Posted 6/27/2014 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
I took Vicodin for about 18 months (the 5-500s, about 2 a day -- I'd break them in half and take one every 5-6 hours). It stopped working as well: I would take a dose, it would take an hour to work, work okay for about 2 hours, and then stop and it was awful waiting to take the next dose (I knew I could take more -- the bottle said up to 4 a day -- but I didn't want to). When I went to the doctor, he just gave me Norco (which is Vicodin but a little stronger), which also didn't do anything for me...and my liver numbers started going up and up and up.
Finally, my primary care doctor told me to ask my pain management docs (at my first visit) to give me something "straight up" and not cut with acetaminophen, like Vicodin and Norco are. They gave me stronger meds (Dilaudid...which I only got because I was already opioid-tolerant) and my liver numbers went down, and my pain was MUCH better managed. I've been on a low-dose, extended-release opioid for about a year now, along with a shorter-acting version that I can take for breakthrough pain. I haven't had to increase it at all, and in fact, we've talked some about decreasing dosage.
Keep looking until you find one that will listen! And I agree -- don't go in saying "my doctor won't give me what I want so I'm looking for someone else," but perhaps ask for a second opinion, or say that you moved, or say that your insurance changed, or that X person recommended him/her as an excellent doctor, or...anything to get in the door and get them to listen. I agree with Debbie -- it's a game, and we have to play it, too.