fiorecet...plain fiorecet..no codeine

I have suffered with headaches for several years (more than five). The headaches are directly related to a huge knot in my right shoulder blade that NEVER goes away...the knot that is. Sometimes I don't have a headache regardless of the knot. There are times when I get the headaches it seems they last forever and will eventually make me feel sick to my stomach. I don't believe they are migraines although I definitley have had migraines. The nausea or sick feeling in my stomach I think comes from the location of the headache rather than the intensity. The headaches are not as bad as a true migraine but the duration and the location make it really awful. This is my problem....I am a drug addict...I go to AA regularly and came off a relapse with LORTAB a year and half ago. It was truly one of the worst experiences of my life...i detoxed myself cold turkey with ativan and clonodine and thought I had made it when a week later I wanted to die. The depression I had was like nothing i had ever experienced and never want to again.

The headaches and knot in my shoulder is still there. I can go for 10 days with no headache and then for a week straight I will get bad headaches. My shrink and regular doc knows my drug addiction history. Last week when I went to a doc in the box becauase I was having a bad HA...I didn't mention to this doc my hx of addiction nor did I ask for drugs. he gave me a steroid shot and a toradol shot. Three hours later I had no relief and called him back. he called in fiorecet...the kind with butalbitol, acetamenophen, and caffeine...no codiene. He said if I needed anything stronger to go to the ER.
The fiorecet worked and the next HA I had it worked again. The lortab which I started taking for the headaches never helped...I just became addicted to them so continued to take them.

i googled Fiorecet and read about them and saw they were prescribed for tension headaches. Why did no one ever prescribe these before when clearly the knots in my shoulder was a clear signs of tension headches? I had cat scans, MRI's was put on expensive tryptans that every now and then worked. I am also an ICU nurse so I know that doctors are clueless a lot of the time and that patients really need to be there own advocat.

I am scared of the fiorecet because of the butalbital which i really didnt know exactly what it was before I googled it. I feel SO frustated with my situation bevause of my tendency to get addicted to pain meds. It seem like narcots are the onb,ly think I become addicted and abuse. I have used diet pills and sleeping meds and have never ever abused them, so I wonder if its just narcotics.

As you can see from reading this post...as an addict I feel the need to explain my situation...people rareley believe anything addicts say regarding pain and I have found over the last ten years of being in recovery and being honest about my addiction with physicians, when I am in pain , docs and others first impression is I'm drug seeking. I won't lie...I love pain meds and the euphoria I get with pain meds...thats part of being an addict. But because I am an addict, do I deserve to suffer. I mean sometimes pain is jjst a part of living, but there are times when it's bad.

I have ordered fiorecet on line without any problem at all which sorta gave me a false sense of security that it can't be that big of deal. I've ordered Lortab on line and it's a lot of work whereas Fiorecet was a one step simple process. I have not even nasked my regular doc for them or my shrink cause I know they will never prescribe them for me...cause of course they will beleiev I am drug seeking. I am seeking pain relief. So I am being my own advocat , and trying to help my headaches get under control, which is so risky due to my addictiv tendencies.

What do other addicts out there do when they have chronic pain problems? I can handle pain for a while but when it doesn't go away, i become so frustrated with it I take matters into my own hands.

Does anyone know if its possible to get botox injection in the knot in my shoulder blade that causes the tension headaches? Maybe if the knot gets paralyzed it can't cause pain. But as a nurse I know there are risks, and I would hate for my arm to also be paralyzed!

Sorry for the long post...

Thanks for your reply...really appreciated.

Hi, I have had a similar history actually. For years I have had knots in my shoulder blades that occasional visits to the chiropractor relieved. Then 10 mos. ago out of the blue I had severe headaches, some with nausea. I too tried a few tryptans but have only found 2 other drugs to be effective - Maxalt and Fiorecet. In the last month I began to get worried when I went thru 40 tabs in 2 weeks, meaning some days as much as 3x a day. I stopped because I was very worried about it being addictive. I finally asked my Dr. if there was much danger in continuing it's use that often. He said that Fiorecet w/o codeine is much safer but still cautioned me to only take it 2x a day. The other thing I am now trying is xanax (1 at night, and 1/2 during the day). Hard to say but in just the last few days I went from needing 2 to 1 and then none.

ALSO- have you considered chiropractic? During a bad spell last week, I felt immediate relief after an adjustment. I think not just any Chiropractor will do. Mine uses a little bit of massage and then to correct the slight tilt in my axis (rotated 5%) and is trying to help me correct my neck (I actually have the reverse curvature). It requires laying on a foam block to help.

In the last 10 mos. I have been thru alot and sympathize greatly with your situation. I hope something has helped since you last posted. I never thought my shoulder/neck was the source of my HA's but am really relieved that something has been working at last!
Amee

All I know about fioricet is it can cause some horrible rebound headaches. I think message or Ciro. is something worth looking into. i really respect you and your willingness to admitt to and work through your addition. After years of actually needing pain medications, i found myself addicted and its really scary. Its so frustrating to when you have true pain on top of it all. Keep going strong. always be honest with your doctors, even about the non-narcotics. Good luck to you!
Ang