Scared Of Becoming Addicted

[Smile]

Hey guys,

So I'm on a cocktail of meds for my mental stuff. But aside from that I have chronic back pain and until recently was given 90 oxycodone per month. I never used that much (3 a day) but was happy to have more just in case because I also have an ovarian cyst which causes even more pain than the back.

So recently my doc gave me a new prescription and I only noticed after I filled it that it was for 30 (1 a day). I called asking for the correct prescription, assuming it was a mistake. But no. He said I need to come in for another appointment.

So I did. He told me that oxycodone is extremely addictive and that I need to go see a physical therapist. I told him that the PT he had referred me to a while back doesn't take my insurance so he told me to get a list of PT's from my health insurance and he'll tell me who to go to.

I also told him that I'm PETRIFIED of becoming addicted to ANYTHING. With all the other crap I have going on I don't need an addiction problem to top it off.

Anyway, he gave me 14 more pills which would give me time to find a PT and then come back to him.

I gave him the list of PT's a few days ago, still waiting for him to call back.

In the meantime, I have 2 pills left. And now I think I'm getting a cyst attack which means I would need more pills.

I don't care what I take. I just can't handle all this pain! And I have my best friends wedding in 2 days!!

My med school friend told me that with regard to my back pain, it's frustrating for doc and patient because patient is seen as "seeking meds" and doc can't really help.

I feel so totally screwed.

 

[joeylittle]

I don't care what I take. I just can't handle all this pain! And I have my best friends wedding in 2 days!!

It's going to suck, but I think your doctor did the right thing by you. If you need to be on longer-term pain management meds for the cyst, there are other options that could be explored. I didn't realize I was addicted to my pain meds post-surgery until I started tapering them, and it was a big shock.

It's horrible timing, and it will be hard, but you can do this.

 

[AngelKeeperJ]

:hug:Hi!
I'm so sorry that you are struggling with this issue. It is hard these days for patients to get pain management, and doctors are afraid of being reported for over prescribing!

One question I have, and I am sorry it is so personal, but are your bowels getting
"tied up " by taking your pain meds? If so, that can increase pain in your back, and even your cyst.

The "trick" is to get so that you RARELY use the oxy's, so that at least you don't need to ask for them, except every now and then.

If you are able to take Ibuprofen, you can alternate it with Tylenol which is now available in "arthritis strength" 650mg
time-release. I find that the Tylenol helps a lot, especially if I take it early in the pain "cycle", I guess I would call it.

I was a medical assistant, back when I worked. I worked the phones in Adult Medicine and because I was good at saying "no", the nurses would have me take the
"Drug seeker" calls. The hard part was when the doctor HAD been giving the patient a certain amount of pills, then decreased them without a conversation about it. That is wrong, but they aren't always very good at bringing it up, and leave it to the nurses.

My advice, would be to use the Ibuprofen and Tylenol. On the ibuprofen 200mg bottles it will say you can take 2 at a time. Technically, you can take up to 800 mg, but you should ask him first. Don't even mention the oxy's. This way, you are also going to see if you ARE addicted.

The PT could help, if you do the exercises, and it will show him that you are compliant, and trying your best.

Good luck with your pain, and I hope you are able to get it under some control!

Blessings to you,
AKJ

P.S. Sorry, I write long messages ..:hug:

 

[Chava]

So the chronic pain you are talking about is back pain? Oxy is probably not a good choice (for any kind of chronic pain). Have you tried muscle relaxants? Flexeril, baclofen (gabapentin for nerve pain, helps with my back pain). There are non-addictive options that actually help more with the source if you are having spasms or nerve pain. Opiates mask it. I'm on a little bit of tramadol, as needed, but I know I can also just pull a muscle on that stuff because it numbs me out. What I need is to gradually listen to my body better (understand when to stop something, when to rest, etc...that's all getting better, slowly).

You don't have to wait for PT and hope that will magically fix this, because it might not (though hopefully it will, or will at least help). PT has always been only a little helpful for me. Chronic pain isn't something easy to just fix or be rid of. A little PT, or even a lot, didn't happen to fix my pain. So while it's important, and might be a really helpful tool for you, if the pain is not just something related to an injury, ask your doctor about other meds or a referral to a pain specialist.

I have chronic pain but am also an alcoholic (sober a few months after a messy relapse), so I've really researched the pain meds and options a lot. Opiates are not a good option. I can take 1-2 tramadol when needed, but they aren't a good daily med for me. Managing the nerve pain and spasms with meds closer to anti-convulsants seems to work better...settles the source of the madness. Also the stuff about listening to my body, resting when needed, ice when needed, and keeping my diet low on inflammatory foods. It can be such a shitty puzzle to sort out, I know, and I'm sure complicated by your cyst too. It's smart you are concerned and want to find better options. Keep advocating for yourself. :)

 

[Chimera]

Hey guys,

So I'm on a cocktail of meds for my mental stuff. But aside from that I have chronic back pain...

Hi, I have bit of experience with back pain...an accident caused 3 collapsed discs...I was physically healthy and fit before it happened.
I went through therapies, acupressure, acupuncture , electric muscle stimulation, (inversion) hung myself upside down, stretching, yoga, facet injections and denial. Then I tried meds...tramadol for 14 months..efficacy diminished to nil...the lortabs...oh relief! 21 months...but then they stopped supplying them to average people like myself....my pain scales is a 5-8...cancer and degenerative diseases are 10+, who am I to argue? Truth is, I am a better person post medication...I hurt more, but I also am more engaged and more driven to stay engaged..I work to stay stong, to build my physical endurance and capacity. Pills won't help you keep strong, only maintain the level of reduced pain...who ch hinders all personal growth, IMHO
Best to you...keep strong

 

[Justmehere]

Chronic pain is really tough to deal with, my heart goes out to you.

Is this doc a general doc, or a pain management doctor or physiatrist (also known as a physical medicine or rehabilitation medicine doctor)?

A good pain med or the other specialist types of doctors know of a lot of innovative ways to treat pain, sometimes even resolve the source of the pain, with a significantly reduced addiction potential, and by using meds shown to be a lot more effective over the long haul than narcotics. Pain med docs are also really good at helping get off narcotics in the easiest ways possible and on to what may be better long term pain control medications that don't have such a high risk of addiction.

If you don't already have this type of doctor involved, I would highly recommend finding one. If you do have this type of doctor involved, it's time to have a more serious conversations about alternative ideas than the oxycodone. If that has been fully explored, and the pain med doc says this is the best course of action, ask them about how to reduce the addiction potential. Good pain med docs will be very cautious about this and have ways to manage and reduce that risk. If you are seeing a pain med doc or physiatrist (not a psychiatrist - that's a different kind of doc) and they are not working on these things with you, I would suggest getting a second opinion.

I agree with the recommendation of PT, as a conjuntive option to help manage the pain. Physical therapists do a lot to reduce pain, not just help people get stronger. I have a recent leg injury, and intially my doc gave me heavy pain meds because I could not even stand. With 4 weeks of physical therapy with a solid physical therapist (which I am gald this doctor will help you find) I was able to help me get off pain meds within 2 weeks, and resolve the pain entirely after 8 weeks of PT. I went from being heavily medicated, and still in pain, and with PT, able to get off the meds and get back to full activity. It's a good recommendation to see one.

Also, if the ovarian cyst is causing this much pain to need medication, it may be time to see a gyn about more aggressive options to treat the cyst itself. Maybe you have already done this, and options to treat and reduce or remove the cyst itself have been ruled out. If you haven't, it would be a really good idea to consider this. Medicating that pain may be masking other serious problems with the cyst that could cause serious health complications. That pain may actually be an important signal from your body that something needs to be done. But it could also be that your doctor and you have decided to wait on pursuing other treatment options for good medical reasons (cysts do sometimes resolve themselves with time.)

Stress management techniques have also been shown to be very effective in pain reduction as well. It's tough with the double whammy of PTSD and chronic pain, but it makes it all the more important to use stress reduction techniques. It won't likely make all the pain go away, but it can help.

All this is to say that there are lots of different options to treat chronic pain other than narcotics alone. They may or may not help, and it make take time to figure out what will work with the least side effects and risks. Years ago, I used to have really severe chronic pain in all 4 extremities and it was awful to endure. The first couple doctors I saw just wanted to medicate me, and I never really got better. I was still miserable even on the meds and the side effects were awful. I finally got into a pain med doc and a rehabilitative medicine doc, and an amazing physical therapist. They figured out a good path to treat the underlying cause of the pain, how to manage the pain, and over time, how to help make the pain go away. Eventually, I regained full function and most of the pain is gone. Now with this new injury, I was scared it would be another chronic pain situation, and my orthopedist pushed for surgery as the only option to resolve the pain. Instead, I advocated for an aggressive treatment with a good pain med doc and a good physical therapist. I am back to running much faster than anyone expected, and without the surgery I was told I would need.

Maybe you have explored all these options, and even if you have, don't give up hope. It sounds like the doc you are working with now is really on board with finding a good path to get through this and hopefully you will get some real relief soon. The fact that you are aware of and motivated to avoid addiction will help, and I hope you find something that is more effective soon. :hug:

 

[Smile]

It's going to suck, but I think your doctor did the right thing by you. If you need to be on longer-...

U think? Right now I'm terrified of being given something new because what if it doesn't help? I NEED to be feeling to help with pre-wedding & wedding itself!

 

[Smile]

:hug:Hi!
I'm so sorry that you are struggling with this issue. It is hard these days for patient...

Thank you!! Will try the cocktail you mentioned

 

[Smile]

So the chronic pain you are talking about is back pain? Oxy is probably not a good choice (for any kind of...

Thanks! What are inflammatory foods?
My doc prescribed tramadol but I said no. I didn't want to add another medicine to my daily medicine cabinet that I already take. Would rather something I can take "as needed".

 

[Smile]

Hi, I have bit of experience with back pain...an accident caused 3 collapsed discs...I was physically he...

I completely agree with you but how am I to get healthy physically if my back pain is too much for me to even walk? Hopefully when I get back to Florida I will start swimming...

 

[Smile]

Chronic pain is really tough to deal with, my heart goes out to you.

Is this doc a general doc, or...

Thank you! And I'm so glad you're back to your healthy self :))

This doc is actually a PA... So in other words a gp. So ur saying I should look into a pain management doc? Is that the correct title?

 

[EveHarrington]

I fear that you're already dependent. :-(

It sounds like you're taking less than 90 pills a month, but not much less. (As a medication hoarder myself, I know it takes a bit of time to work through reserves if you're well below the monthly prescribed amount.)

A pain doc is a good idea. Be prepared to be drug tested. Check to see if your insurance covers these tests. The insurance companies mandate the tests across the board in order for treatment to continue with a pain management Doctor, but that doesn't mean they necessarily cover those very expensive tests.