CHAD MILLS
03-22-2005, 04:36 PM
undefinedHi, Im An Active 29 Year Old Male, I've Been On Percocet For Almost 7 Years Now Because Of A Car Accident. I Started Off Taking 1/2 Of A Perc About 3-4 Times A Week For Migranes & Upper Back Pain, About 2 Years Later I Was Having To Take A Whole Pill 3-4 Times A Week. Eventually I Was Taking 30 A Month (one Per Day) For About Another 2-2.5 Years. I Was Forced To See A New Doctor Because The One I Was Seeing Went Out Of Practice. I Startted Going To A Health Clinic And I Was Seeing Whichever Doctor Was Available For About A Year And A Half Until They Assigned Me One Primary Care Doctor Ive Been With Her For 1.5 Year And Have Signed A Pain Contract. I Am Now Up To 2 Percocet(5) Per Day (60) Per Month And Have Been For The Past 2 Years. My Problem Is, The Need For More Pain Medication Is Increasing Because I Do Not Feel The Relief I Did Before. I End Up Taking About 3 Per Day And Finish The Bottle Before I Can Get It Refilled. I End Up Calling My Dad, Who Has Alot Of Problems - To Get A Few To Last Me.
Now It Seems Like I May Even Need 4 Or 5 Per Day I Talked To My Doctor About It About A Month Ago, And I Asked Her If There Was Someting Stronger That I Could Take. I Told Here That It Didnt Seem Like They Were Strong Enough Anymore - She Told Me No, So I Didnt Push The Envelope Anymore. I Talked With Friends & Colleagues And They Told Me That After Taking Any Medication For That Many Years Your Body Becomes Tolerant And The Need For Stronger Or More Doses Is Needed. I Talked To My Doctor Over The Phone The Other Day Because I Had Called In For My Pills 10 Days Early- She Made Me Sound Like I Am Abusing Them And Told Me That She Had Reviewed My File And Seems Like I Have Been Stable By What My Chart Reads, For The Past 2 Years By Havein 2 Per Day. She Also Said That Unless There Is Something Else Making The Pain Worse That The Pain Should Remain The Same. I Told Her That I Would Like To Change My Primary Care Physicuan Because I Dont Feel Like She Is Listening To Me. And Then To Make Things Worse Is, I Have Had Mri's And Cti's And They Show Nothing To Back Up My Pain Because It Is All Muscle Related! I Feel Like She Thinks I Am Abusing Them, And In Reality I Am Not. Who Is She To Say That I Am "stable" On The Dose That She Is Giving Me Now? She Has All Of My Old Records, And Apparently Is Not Realizing That I Have Not Been "stable" . I Do Have An Appointment This Week, Infact Day After Tommmorow For A Check - Up And She Told Me That We Would Talk About This Then. What Should I Tell Her? I Mean She Already Thinks That Im Dependent, In Which Case I May Be - I Mean They Are The Only Things So Far That I Have Taken That Seem To Help Me. But I Really Really Need Some Suggestions As To What To Suggest" She Already Told Me That There Are No Such Things As A "stronger " Percocet, Which I Found Out To Be Different.. Please Help - Anyone!
Now It Seems Like I May Even Need 4 Or 5 Per Day I Talked To My Doctor About It About A Month Ago, And I Asked Her If There Was Someting Stronger That I Could Take. I Told Here That It Didnt Seem Like They Were Strong Enough Anymore - She Told Me No, So I Didnt Push The Envelope Anymore. I Talked With Friends & Colleagues And They Told Me That After Taking Any Medication For That Many Years Your Body Becomes Tolerant And The Need For Stronger Or More Doses Is Needed. I Talked To My Doctor Over The Phone The Other Day Because I Had Called In For My Pills 10 Days Early- She Made Me Sound Like I Am Abusing Them And Told Me That She Had Reviewed My File And Seems Like I Have Been Stable By What My Chart Reads, For The Past 2 Years By Havein 2 Per Day. She Also Said That Unless There Is Something Else Making The Pain Worse That The Pain Should Remain The Same. I Told Her That I Would Like To Change My Primary Care Physicuan Because I Dont Feel Like She Is Listening To Me. And Then To Make Things Worse Is, I Have Had Mri's And Cti's And They Show Nothing To Back Up My Pain Because It Is All Muscle Related! I Feel Like She Thinks I Am Abusing Them, And In Reality I Am Not. Who Is She To Say That I Am "stable" On The Dose That She Is Giving Me Now? She Has All Of My Old Records, And Apparently Is Not Realizing That I Have Not Been "stable" . I Do Have An Appointment This Week, Infact Day After Tommmorow For A Check - Up And She Told Me That We Would Talk About This Then. What Should I Tell Her? I Mean She Already Thinks That Im Dependent, In Which Case I May Be - I Mean They Are The Only Things So Far That I Have Taken That Seem To Help Me. But I Really Really Need Some Suggestions As To What To Suggest" She Already Told Me That There Are No Such Things As A "stronger " Percocet, Which I Found Out To Be Different.. Please Help - Anyone!
Sponsor
Director
03-22-2005, 05:31 PM
Hey Chad...Based on your medication and length of being on it, I would say you should approach your doctor about the possibility of changing to a long acting medication. The logical one that comes to mind is Oxycontin. It is available in 10,20,40,80, and 160 mgs. It is the same medicine that you've been taking, Oxycodone, but without the Tylenol and they are long acting. They are suppose to last 12 hours, but if you talk to just about anyone who have taken Oxy and they will tell you in fact they only last about 8 hours. I was on them for a couple years and they actually held me for about six hours, but I have a high tolerance. Normally your doctor will start you at a fairly low dose, 10 or 20 mgs, two or three times per day, and increase the dose, if needed. There are other long acting meds you could go to also. You could switch to MS Contin, or Duragesic patches (they now come in generic form), which is Fentenyl and although it's not a true LA med, there's also Methadone. This is what I am currently on and have found it very effective.
I hope some of this helps you. You can tell your doctor you've researched this and this is what you've found. In fact, I would suggest you do just that before you see her next. Just do a search for any of these meds and you'll find there's a ton of information out there on all of them.
Good luck and keep us informed on how you're doing. Also, welcome to the HealthBoards.
I hope some of this helps you. You can tell your doctor you've researched this and this is what you've found. In fact, I would suggest you do just that before you see her next. Just do a search for any of these meds and you'll find there's a ton of information out there on all of them.
Good luck and keep us informed on how you're doing. Also, welcome to the HealthBoards.
SheSparkles
03-22-2005, 05:56 PM
Hi and welcome,
Don't expect your Dr. to necessarily be thrilled with a request for OxyContin if you make one...lots of physicians these days are real squirrelly about prescribing it. And Director is right about Fentanyl...it is actually a very short acting narcotic put in a very long acting delivery system...are we confusing you now??? lol
But, yes, discuss a long acting base med and if your Dr. turns up her nose at your request...find another.
SS
Don't expect your Dr. to necessarily be thrilled with a request for OxyContin if you make one...lots of physicians these days are real squirrelly about prescribing it. And Director is right about Fentanyl...it is actually a very short acting narcotic put in a very long acting delivery system...are we confusing you now??? lol
But, yes, discuss a long acting base med and if your Dr. turns up her nose at your request...find another.
SS
rmint1
03-22-2005, 06:15 PM
i actually had something like this happen to me TWICE. i had an abessed (sp?) tooth and the pain was so bad i felt suicdial but anyways i went to see my denist to get it pulled he said comeback next week and i asked him what to do till then? he told me to take over the counter pain meds and they didnt help i didnt ask him for stronger pain meds but he looked like one of those types who wants to play god and this also happend to me again with another denist but my last one gave me pain meds he even offered them to me. now when i think i was 14 i had real bad depresson and when i talked to a nurse before the doctor came in i go you think i need anti depressents? she said no she thought i was drug seeking
to make a long story short some doctors/denists can be the know it all types that judge you without even knowing what you're going through and some also dont like to give pain meds to ANYONE cause they dont want to get in trouble (and they can). so like others have said if this doctor dont help you im sure many out there will
sorry for my grammar
to make a long story short some doctors/denists can be the know it all types that judge you without even knowing what you're going through and some also dont like to give pain meds to ANYONE cause they dont want to get in trouble (and they can). so like others have said if this doctor dont help you im sure many out there will
sorry for my grammar
scotty12
03-22-2005, 07:20 PM
chad,
if the docs have been rx'ng the meds for this long they must believe you need them.
i really think you should ask to be referred to a pain mngmt doc.they understand about pain control and medication and tolerance.(atleast the good ones do)
you have been taking the meds for a long time and its understanable that they no longer offer the same relief as 2 years ago.
i started off with vicodin for a year then switched to percs 4 a day,a year later i was up to 15mg 4x a day,a year later upped to 5x a day.
its very hard to maintain pain control w/ short acting meds unless taken every 4 hrs around the clock.a good doc,preferably a pain doc,understands that.
hope this helps you in the right direction,any questions feel free to ask,there are many people on this board who have been through this and could offer suggestions.
scott
if the docs have been rx'ng the meds for this long they must believe you need them.
i really think you should ask to be referred to a pain mngmt doc.they understand about pain control and medication and tolerance.(atleast the good ones do)
you have been taking the meds for a long time and its understanable that they no longer offer the same relief as 2 years ago.
i started off with vicodin for a year then switched to percs 4 a day,a year later i was up to 15mg 4x a day,a year later upped to 5x a day.
its very hard to maintain pain control w/ short acting meds unless taken every 4 hrs around the clock.a good doc,preferably a pain doc,understands that.
hope this helps you in the right direction,any questions feel free to ask,there are many people on this board who have been through this and could offer suggestions.
scott
ARANGER
03-23-2005, 12:56 AM
Chad,
I agree with the other posts. You have been taking the Percocet for a long time. It is only natural that your body becomes tolerant to drugs rather quickly, especially if taken on a regular basis. This does not mean your an addict. Percocet (Oxycodone) is a schedule II drug and is watched a little more closely. I would check into a pain management clinic. A lot of the PCP doctors are weary of prescribing OxyContin and similar drugs due to the abuse that can go with them. It is sad that thanks to people that abuse these types of drugs, those of us that truly have a need for them have to go through so much crap. It seems to me that it only makes sense in your situation to switch to a longer acting medication like OxyContin. 1. Because it releases the same drug, Oxycodone, over a period of 12 hours (More like 8 though). 2. If you continue to take Percocet in higher quanities, you are increasing your tylenol level. I would start looking for a Pain Management Clinic to explore other options. There are other types of LA medications as already posted previously.
Good Luck
I agree with the other posts. You have been taking the Percocet for a long time. It is only natural that your body becomes tolerant to drugs rather quickly, especially if taken on a regular basis. This does not mean your an addict. Percocet (Oxycodone) is a schedule II drug and is watched a little more closely. I would check into a pain management clinic. A lot of the PCP doctors are weary of prescribing OxyContin and similar drugs due to the abuse that can go with them. It is sad that thanks to people that abuse these types of drugs, those of us that truly have a need for them have to go through so much crap. It seems to me that it only makes sense in your situation to switch to a longer acting medication like OxyContin. 1. Because it releases the same drug, Oxycodone, over a period of 12 hours (More like 8 though). 2. If you continue to take Percocet in higher quanities, you are increasing your tylenol level. I would start looking for a Pain Management Clinic to explore other options. There are other types of LA medications as already posted previously.
Good Luck
trainerjr
03-23-2005, 10:05 AM
Dear Chad, I too am active duty. The advise you are getting here is right on. You should be on a long acting medicine like Oxycontin. A pain management Doc is your best bet, they know how to manage pain. I know the military is frustrating, but I have a contract and get treated with a great deal of respect! Good luck and be profesional and know what you are going to talk about before you get there!
JT
JT