long term use of opioids ?
Question:
Well, I’ve been on and off Vicodin & Percocet since 1995- I’m 33 now. I just started Methadone last week and am doing great on it so far, with only 3 doses of breakthrough Percocet since. I have severe knee damage/pain. The key, in looking through all these posts, is that everyone mentions having a great doc. I also have a great doc (and I’m a Kaiser pt, no less) who has been willing to work with me every step of the way. I think that is the absolute KEY to long-term management and happiness. You have to have a doc who is empathetic, unafraid to treat you, and with whom you have a two-way trusting thing going on. Alwys be honest with your doc about the level of pain and the amount of meds you’re using. And above all else, if you get stuck with someone who is a jerk, find one who will work with you. There are plenty of good ones out there, and you *don’t* have to suffer or be treated like a drug-abuser because you have a painful condition which requires the use of opioids! BTW, I am a newbie here- I posted my "story" in the knee pain thread, if you’re interested. I’m glad you guys are around. :) -Jen
Response:
>I love to hear stories like this where pain isn’t considered a "hush" >subject, and where the doctor also trusts his patient enough to give her the >help she needs!
My doctor and I had an interesting conversation about this. He said it isn’t that the doctors don’t trust the patients. It is that the doctors don’t trust themselves to make sound judgments about people. Basically they don’t think they are able to know when someone is just after drugs or in real pain. >Statistically, I believe I read that 95% or more of people >on opiods do not become addicted to them. Perhaps dependant on them to ease >the pain, but that is entirely different than being addicted.
Many people are afraid of becoming dependent not understanding what that means. But diabetics are dependant on insulin to lead a more or less normal life. We who are in chronic pain are dependent on painkillers to lead a normal life. A few months ago I met a woman who was on all kinds of pain meds patches, pills, and shots. She recently had a successful surgery to correct the problem. Now she is off the pain meds and back to her old bouncy self. The dependency on the pain meds ended when the pain did. There is a push now from some medical groups and patients’ advocacy programs to push doctors into prescribing adequate pain meds for those who are in chronic pain. I think that this will be happening more and more as people become more and more knowledgeable about addiction versus dependency and as patients become more knowledgeable about the options available to them. The days of patients knowing nothing about their condition except what the doctors tell them is fading fast in the United States. Victoria "Lee" Hirt http://scican2.scican.net/haxton "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again and expecting a different result."
Response:
I have taken codeine or Vicodin since I was about 18 (actually probably before) and I am 52 now. So that’s 34 years. Yes, it still works. BUT I have my FM under control pretty well and I have been fortunate enough to be able to reduce the strength and I asked my doctor for the lower dose. My doctor is great. He has worked with me 100%. It’s because of him I am doing so well. >Anyone on opiates for ten or twenty years? >Are pain medications still effective.? >Do you get to a maximum dose, which is effective for life >(titration?) >watson
Victoria "Lee" Hirt http://scican2.scican.net/haxton "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again and expecting a different result."
Response:
I love to hear stories like this where pain isn’t considered a "hush" subject, and where the doctor also trusts his patient enough to give her the help she needs! Statistically, I believe I read that 95% or more of people on opiods do not become addicted to them. Perhaps dependant on them to ease the pain, but that is entirely different than being addicted. Nanny – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have taken codeine or Vicodin since I was about 18 (actually > probably before) and I am 52 now. So that’s 34 years. Yes, it still > works. BUT I have my FM under control pretty well and I have been > fortunate enough to be able to reduce the strength and I asked my > doctor for the lower dose. My doctor is great. He has worked with me > 100%. It’s because of him I am doing so well. >Anyone on opiates for ten or twenty years? >Are pain medications still effective.? >Do you get to a maximum dose, which is effective for life >(titration?) >watson > Victoria "Lee" Hirt > http://scican2.scican.net/haxton > "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over > and over and over again and expecting a different result."
Response:
>Vellicet: How can you know that your dose is effective "for life" if your >life isn’t over? Just wondering…… >– ><3))))~~
Hi there, I’m commenting from a personal experience point of view. So far, my level of med hasn’t needed increasing for the last 4 years. There’s probably more than one reason for this: my physical activity level has decreased = less pain, the level of opioids (sp) is pretty high anyway, I’ve become used to the degree of relief and as such dont seek the ‘no pain’ scenario, which I believe is impossible to maintain in the long run. cheers, Ivan >A dog has the soul of a philosopher. –Plato >: > >: >Anyone on opiates for ten or twenty years? >: >: 15years >: >Are pain medications still effective.? >: >: Yes, very much so.
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Response:
Watson I’m coming up on ten years with opiates. Originally, I started with morphine, then Fentynl(sp?) now Oxycontin. Only taking 30mg/twice a day, long acting, so I’m good to go with only 60mg per day. One of the gals in my pain group is on 180mg of morphine twice a day, but she is on 26. I don’t think they wanted her to go the drug route, she has a tens unit implanted in her back, but it doesn’t seem to give her that much relief.. To tired to continue… Time for bed… Jack (:
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