I previously confused sulfasalazine, a DMARD, with sulfonamides, a class of antibiotics. My apologies for the mix-up. However, I am under the impression that sulfasalazine can be risky for those with...
I wasn't aware that was a significant factor in virtually any auto-immune condition, but thanks for the heads-up....as far as my own goes--commonly called Reiter Syndrome AKA Reactive Arthritis/ReA...
Melatonin might help.....as might a few other "sleep aid" supplements/OTC medications though the most common, Benadryl, Dramamine and Doxylamine (the active ingredient in most OTC stuff marketed as...
I have Reiter's/ReA, but it was non-STD and took years to fully develop after my series of Staph (strain not identified; it was antibiotic-resistant but may or may not have been MRSA) infections in...
To be totally frank, I really don't get why doctors (the only explanation I can come up with is that they would rather give buprenorphine than other meds, and yet they don't really know anything...
I hate to say it, and my arthritic typing hands (speech recognition isn't an option at the moment because there's too much background noise here) aren't up to forming the entire argument.....but...
Honestly I would not get inflated expectations about the fentanyl patch. They irritate your skin (particularly the solid polymer generics), fall off easily, restrict the things you can do, and it can...
My experience with methadone is that you are STILL dealing with the methadone withdrawal, only mostly hidden by the hydromorphone, and you need to give your neurons more time to adjust to the change....
DHC is far superior to codeine, as it is converted to dihydromorphine (itself far superior to the morphine that codeine is converted to) and doesn't have the metabolic conversion limit of about...
The problem with this whole notion is that not only do people vary.....the various conversion tables do! If you convert one to another to a third, and then back to the first, you get a totally...
Honestly my suggestion would be to stay with the exalgo and hydromorphone and give it more time (it may be less than perfect but it is probably better at the dosages you described than methadone...
From my experience, you may want to spread out the Exalgo somewhat to improve absorption.....say, two in the morning and two at night, both at times when you haven't eaten in a long time and don't...
Emfree, based on my experiences with all three of those meds by oral/patch, I would whole-heartedly recommend Dilaudid (hydromorphone) particularly since the pump obviates the one downside of...
Unbelievable. Then again, a lot of insane things are happening lately.........
Some difficulty can be normal when switching meds (the nausea etc will pass, though for me I was always more prone to it with morphine than other meds, and I had bad nightmares long term with...
Glad to hear it went well! It's always such a relief when these things go better than we expect........
I'm so glad things worked out for you.....we all have these moments when we worry that we'll be abandoned to suffer alone, and thankfully things often aren't as bad as we worry they'll be (although...
Breakthrough pure-agonist pain medications used with the BuTrans patch (buprenorphine)?! That doesn't make very much sense IMHO. The "bupe" would be almost certainly blocking the Hydrocodone and you...
One possibility to look at is Reiter Syndrome/Reactive Arthritis. It's not the most common trigger for an Influenza strain to cause ReA/Reiter's, but it's not unheard of and I personally had mine...
The good news is that many acute ReA cases resolve fairly quickly if they are treated aggressively and wisely by doctors who actually know the first thing about the condition (which is tragically...
The situation here in Maine is ridiculous. I'm glad that I am on federal medicare and not Mainecare anymore, but I really feel bad for those who are. The idea that the government can interfere in...
Oliv you echo themes so many of us have found ourselves entangled upon, time and time again......these are the nature of the beast, this chronic pain roller coaster track we are rolling along -- or...
Medicalkid, it's very common in my experience (depending on the brand of patch; the solid polymer ones are much worse in this regard than the gel-reservoir type) for fentanyl patches to fade in...
Interesting that there is no "underweight" option.....since many people with chronic pain, digestive issues, etc. can find themselves in that position too.....I may be sedentary a lot of the time but...
Amen....
Here are a few generally accepted options available to you over the counter from pharmacies or health food stores, online supplement suppliers etc: *Dextromethorphan (DXM, primary ingredient in cough...
I know all too well how you feel as a parent in this situation.....my kids are now 6 and 4, and the full-body, severe auto immune disease phase of my illness began in earnest just before my wife...
Here's one for you guys...... There aren't many rheumatologists here in Maine, which is ironic given the large elderly population. The few that are here, seem content to serve the usual textbook...
Gotta love the Borg types...."Resistance is Futile. You will be assimilated." It never ceases to amaze me how many people actually convince themselves that these sorts of things are true.....the sad...
Classic....
I hear you, Medicalkid2. I've been dealing with some of the same sorts of things (see my sig below), for over a decade now.....I can only imagine if it had started in my teens how much harder it...
I know what you mean about the dreams. I'm very prone to them myself, particularly with morphine and levorphanol (which both have kappa opioid receptor effects); I'm currently using levorphanol to...
Alas, this is pretty much par for the course with these conditions....even though I have mountains of diagnostic proof of some of my issues, others don't fit the expectations of some of my doctors...
I haven't heard any consistent reports about steroids being a problem with LDN.....and I was subscribed to the LDN-Yahoo mailing list for a long time (had to unsubscribe because I'm not currently...
Could potentially be uveitis or iritis, among other things....
Alas this sounds all too familiar, except with the gender roles reversed.....you are not alone! I'm roughly the same age as you, have two young kids, and have had my conditions since a few years...
Monty's Mom, you may want to take a closer look at the basis for your determination that Melatonin isn't safe with Nortriptyline; I can guess as to one of several reasons why you might think so, but...
Gotta love it when doctors who have absolutely no first-hand experience tell you how much pain it "possibly can" be. As if they really know....and aren't just guessing based on second- (or...
Having experienced chronic reproductive system pain on the male side (Mine is primarily in the left epididymis/testicle/prostate but also massive scarring up both spermatic cords, most severely the...
If you are new to Hydromorphone, which in my experience (I've been on pretty much everything there is on the market except for Demerol which I'm not a fan of, and have yet to try Buprenorphine though...
Those sound eerily similar to some of the side effects I had on Cymbalta. It's a terrible med, IMHO. At least it was for me. My arms would "raise" of their own accord when I was trying to sleep. I...
If it gave you a headache, check carefully what other meds and supplements etc. you may be taking. ANYTHING that contains neurochemicals or their precursors (5-HTP, Tyrosine, etc), affects...
When I was on methadone, I took up to 240mg/day in doses spread out every 6-12 hours. I also had up to 48mg/day of hydromorphone (Dilaudid) for breakthrough pain, though it is questionable as to...
You're thinking of the original Palladone. New, reformulated brands of Hydromorph-contin have been available for a few months now....
Just be warned....ReA is sort of an "orphan" in the rheumatological world, second only to Fibromyalgia. Many rheumies barely understand it, if at all, because they were taught in the 1970s (or even...
The bupe patch may take some getting used to; I'd expect an adjustment period of several days to a few weeks. Mostly it is OK to use with tramadol but everyone metabolizes these molecules differently...
Can you really keep a patch on for 7 days?! I used to have a lot of irritation (and related low absorption levels) after just two days with the Fentanyl patches, and could barely keep testosterone...
"Dilaudid ER" is usually called Hydromorph-contin, Hydromorphone ER, OROS, or Palladone. Personally I would consider it superior to Oxycodone in any form....
Personally methadone didn't work that well for me, at least not noticeably better than anything else....it did have the nice benefit of keeping the "withdrawal buffer" (amount of time past my "normal...
Most docs will call anything more than 5mg of oxy or hydrocodone 2-3 times per day "a lot." A few years ago I was on almost 600mg of oxycodone per day, and I never once had any problems with side...