Thanks for the replies and the encouragement. I am sorry that I wasn't too clear on the eating association and some of the other "facts" that I related. I forget that what seems "obvious" to me is...
Due to the increasing cost of acquiring my medication and because I believe that I am stable enough to see if I can eliminate my pain meds from my life I have decided to taper-off of my methadone and...
I have a type of chronic pancreatitis - I have lived with this for about 10 years. Mine is a congenital type that became symptomatic after an acute attack as a result of surgery. If you are looking...
I have to weigh in here and give support to exitwound's comments; and to point out that Trust4me's specific point that her husband is "abusing" oxycodone versus oxycontin is a very important one that...
Hi PVNSpain, I am familiar with your diagnosis from a professional standpoint but not from a personal one - so I can understand what is going on with my "head" (textbook-wise for example) but not...
Interesting questions - it will be fascinating to see all the difference approaches that our doctors take for our individual circumstances. My pain meds are for chronic abdominal pain. Because of...
Hi, My quick comment is concerning PM clinics - maybe you need to find a clinic that is willing to work on pain management from all aspects. I have learned, mainly from this board, that there are two...
Hi Lara, I am happy that you are getting some help with your pain problems. I also hope that your PCP can get the whole mess straighten out for you - dealing with that alone is enough to drive your...
Finally made it home, and got some "nummies in my tummy", so set for the night, with most of the brain cells working I hope - but no promises. Basically I think that the best way to present your...
Hi ladyred, I am saying this with all due respect and with the caution that I have no special medical knowledge - only sharing what I have learned throughout my own trials, mistrials and tribulations...
Actually I sorta fit into the same category that you are describing - only my is chronic abdominal pain from "unknown etiology" - and my docs are very comfortable in treating me aggressively. I can...
I think it depends on where you are at in your stage of treatment and what exactly your relationship is with your surgeon. That is, are you still in the post-op acute pain stage going into rehab (for...
Thanks for the info, Shannon and Morgoth. I think the perspective you offered, Shannon is a very good one. I wish there was a way that I could use it to get my friend to see how people facing higher...
I am not sure what the "itchy" scale index is for opana but this is a newer pain reliever that is being highly advertised. It is a narcotic (oxymorphone) and according to the adverse reactions...
HI Marmite, I love your definition of fear and I think I will use this often; I think it sums up the whole concept very well. And I completely understand your two fear scenarios. They both boil down...
Hi Chutz, Thanks for your reply; I agree that it is a somewhat irrational fear - exactly like you mentioned (the chance for other calamities like car accidents etc that could also happen at any time,...
Hi! Recently I had a discussion with friends, spouse etc about the phenomenon of having a high degree of anxiety about developing cancer. I almost wrote "unwarranted" or "unreasonable" fear but after...
Hi LadyRed, I am so sorry about what happened to your dog. I am super paranoid about this issue with my cats - but I have my careless moments too. I find lose pills in my bed often; I think I must...
I am agreeing on the overdose bit - they probably went into respiratory arrest and did not suffer kidney / liver damage. Most opioids do not damage those organs; when death occurs it is usually...
I just want to say that you described exactly the way my pain center / doc treated me. Up to now I was wondering if I lived in a make believe world - reading all of the horror stories that other...
I just started reading this thread and I have numerous misgivings about this situation - both from a personal, pain-patient perspective and from a professional point-of-view. One glaring, obvious red...
I take methadone - 10mg a day for 24 hour coverage (2-5mg pills every 12 hours) and 30 mg Oxycodone a day (6-5mg pills PRN). Basically this is the combination that you described (but different...
I just want to point out for SJH - in case she has questioned the dose since a post here indicated that "no doctor wll prescibe 8- 10 percs beause of the tylenol...... - I think that ia a misleading...
Hi Underthebus, I am not sure exactly about the "habit forming" property of the tizanidine as it is a muscle relaxer with the side-effect of putting me to sleep (a common side effect). I only use 1/2...
The only thing I have to add is that instead of looking for a new bank, why don't you consider a credit union? I have worked with a credit union for most of my adult life (checking, savings,...
I have been prescribed the lowest dose of ambien - I take it very infrequently. When I do, I notice I have some of those weird side-effects that are considered rare (I eat in my sleep for example -...
While I was doing a literature search for an article that I read many years ago that addresses exactly the issue that Morgath brought up on this thread (basically it claimed that defining what is an...
I think the reference to anti-histamine is because narcotic medication can cause our mast cells to release histamine. When this is in our system it causes us to itch. Although it sounds similar to an...
I have been following this thread and I while I am appalled and frightened about the circumstances that are being shared here, I cannot help but remember a comment that my PCP made to me on my last...
I also disagree with the statement that narcotic painkillers destroy a persons liver and kidneys. That is not true. Literature has proven that narcotics are one of the safest types of medicines for...
ahh....but I think you forgot about pharmocogenetics: that is, how each person's genetic make-up influences his / her reactions to the pain meds based on opioid receptors (type and numbers available)...
I could be wrong but I think when ultram was first marketed, the company made the claim that it was non-addictive. But post-marketing research and data collection proved that it is slightly addictive...
Hi Shannon, This is just a guess here only...based on my experience with kadian, methadone and a short (one week) experience with oxycontin.....but I would think that if the Opana is working for you,...
I am surprised that the Opana is a replacement for and not an addition to the percocets. Usually when a person is switched to an extended release med s/he is given a certain quantity of immediate...
Hi Shannon, OpanaER is a newer around-the-clock pain med. I think it has only been out for the last year or so as a slow release medication. The advantages over your percocets is that it is a slow...
I read the rules concerning posting "copyrighted" material and I really didn't get an answer to my question concerning if acceptable referencing to published material in peer-reviewed is appropriate...
Hi Colerg, I am glad that you had the satisfaction of "educating" your surgeon! And that I was able to give you some of the ammunition to do so. Hopefully, because of the good points you mentioned...
After I posted the follow-up I went "under the weather" and spent the day in bed yesterday fighting a weird flu-like thing...so I haven't had a chance to post that info I mentioned. I am assuming...
HI everyone, Thanks for participating in my ponderings and indulging my curiosity. If I understand the "zero tolerance" policy correctly, it seems that if a pharmacist or physician thinks the person...
Hi Colerg, Really sorry to read about your back surgeries. I do not have any experience with the type of surgeries you had but I do have experience with chronic pain, surgeons, ERs and pain clinics....
Hi everyone, The thread posted from the moderator in Canada concerning her medication filling error by her pharmacy has intrigued me: both by the anxiety by the poster as well as the intense and...
I am not a doctor but I think that there are many reasons that a lymph node can be swollen - sometimes just due to a "simple" infection somewhere in the body - sometimes a swollen lymph node is the...
Thanks for your really thoughtful and helpful reply. The situation you described: the combination of medication and pych therapy, etc is exactly what I encountered in my pain clinic and what I...
Hi readers, I am writing to ask a question for a friend who has IBS. I am familiar with this website through the chronic pain forum but this is the first time I have asked a question on this forum....
How ironic, I have been thinking about this often since last week. I have quite a lot of an old 'script of vioxx left. I had it prescribed when I first got sick but it didn't work very well then....
I think what your husband needs is a very special doctor who is an expert on treating real and significant chronic pain in the addict. It can be done by the right doctor. There is no reason why your...
Hi Lonely, Personally, I cannot imagine any pain doc telling a patient that he can take his pills any way he wants. Like most, if not all prescriptions, medication is most effective in the way it is...
"You are all telling me that what my husband is telling me above is a bunch of BS, and that he couldn't possibly be telling it as it truly is? Could you all please tell me why you believe he couldn't...
Hi Red_34 I am a new member (just registered yesterday afternoon after having a few really "dumb" moments with the procedure; hopefully my brain is in gear now). I spent some time reading the threads...