Ive been reading this board for about a month. You guys are the only ones that I think can help me right now.

Ive been in Pain management for 7 months now........I have lower and upper back oesteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia. In Sept my PM dr put me on Vicodin ES once a day. By December it was only giving me 2 hrs a day pain relief......he reluctantly put me on 2 a day......again this med helps a great deal (tried all the anti depressants and alternative meds for 6 yrs before trying narcotics......kind of last hope approach) but now I only get 4 hours. I take one late morning and the other late day.

I told him that 3 a day ... 1 morning/1 afternoon/1 evening would make me human again. I do NOT get high, I just feel normal and the pain decreases 60%.

Well, last time he took me from 60 pills a month to 45 and is weaning me off.

He cancelled my last appt due to weather and he left me going thru withdrawls for 5 days! My script was up the day of the appt.

I'm now in the same situation.....I read that xanax and tramadol helps....I luckily have both. Xanax I rarely take but I Never throw them out........tramadol is like a chicklet but I keep it just incase.

How long will my withdrawls last coming off of two pills a day ? Ive been on 2 a day for about 4 months.

Last withdrawls I was really nauseated, diareaha, anxiety.....and just not nice to be near. My fibro pain went thru the roof! My entire body felt like I was bruised from head to toe.

I didn't know where to turn, you guys know more about this than anyone on the fibro boards.

Thanks
Hope

Hello Hope4All,

I am sorry to hear of your pain problems. Sounds like you really need a pain management plan. My father has a great deal of pain and uses a patch and has not had to increase his dosage in about 2 years. The patch is fentanol which is very very very dangerous stuff. I am not a doctor so please speak to you doctor before you do anything. you don't want to wind up in a worse spot than you are now with the Narcs.

Your W/D's should be minor with the dosage and duration of your usage. Just discomfort like the flu and some anxiety and maybe a little depression.

I came off a pretty big habit of Oxy and Hydro and I feel great now on day 44 clean.

I would speak to you PM doctor about options not just cold turkey. Weaning is the same as tapering but I did my taper myself. Make sure you follow your doctors directions and you should not be hurtring too bad from the W/D's. If you sneak a pill or two you will end up in W/d's before your next script and it will only leave you hurting. Tapering is much easier than going cold turkey by running out. Start counting those doses and stay on track. You will be fine.

Hope I helped.

As Always,
Peace.
Baja

Thanks you helped alot. I really don't need the patch. 3 Vicodin ES would be a god send......then I would have the entire day covered and I'd be functional again.

I'm dropping the PM dr. He is weaning me off and really isn't telling me why, I asked to get 3 a day and he since 2 wasn't helping he's taking me off. Um 2 was helping just not for the entire day.

I'm going to only take one tomorrow......the weather really affects me and it will be really hard with all the rain we are getting and the drastic temp changes.

Thanks for taking time out and helping.

Hope

Hi Hope,

Im glad to hear you're dropping your doc. Seem to think that was a pretty rotten move he made with you, leaving you to w/d. He knows you're in legit pain, the least he could have done was call in a script for you so you could make it to your next appt.
Im sure with the right doctor you will be just fine. There is a big difference between addition and dependancy. it doesnt sound like you're an addict, but you are physically dependent on the narcotics to help you function. so, yes, you will go through w/d when you stop taking them. sounds like your doctor is treating you more like an addict.

let me know how you do, ok?

thanks,

michelle

Great Idea Hope,

If your doc won't help there is one out there that will.
I wish you the best.

Peace.
Baja

I also think he's treating me like an addict......he was getting in my head. I was starting to believe I was becoming an addict. I kept asking my husband if I was addicted. I never did any drugs every not even pot, so I didn't know what the signs were and how to know if you were addicted.

He told me no.......it makes your pain go away and your taking one pill at a time with 6-8hrs in between. But yes the Dr made me think that I was becoming addicted to them and I also think that is why he's taking me off of them.

When I went thru withdrawl the first time I felt ashamed and dirty! This is how bad this Dr got inside my head and affected my self esteem. We are all people and NO ONE should ever be made to feel this way. If someone does have an addiction they should still be respected NO ONE has the right to make us feel this way. I'm so mad at myself for allowing him to have that much power over me.

Hope

Hi again Hope,

I feel for you on the being treated as a sub standard person because of something we don't have control of. The Doc knows the drugs you are being given are addictive and you will build up a resistance to the effects. It says it in the little packet I got when I filled my scripts so you know the Doc has to know that. I got started on the stuff because of actual pain from injuries not for the fun of it.

I have a simular situation with my wife and frankly getting tired of being treated like a piece of CR*P. I am clean now but she has to constantly remind me of my past mistakes. Never any mention of a positive future.

To make things worse for me I didn't get caught, I admitted that I was having trouble and wanted to get help but I have only recieved disrespect and rage from her. No compasion at all and now I think it might the the end of my marriage. We are still together but it is challanging to say the least. I don't argue at all but it seems to make her more mad when I just agree and let her finish her rant then I say nothing. I then just head for the office, When she is done of course, and do some reading or paperwork or what ever I can to take my mind off the problems.

I know, Perfect storm for a relapse but NO WORRIES. If I want even a shred of my relationship to work I MUST remain clean and that is what I am going to continue to do. It's not like we have enough to worry about :)

I'm not letting it bother me, what ever happens is in Gods hands now and he will take care of me.

Keep your head up, When it is all over I want to end up there not down in H*LL.

As Always,
Peace.
Baja

Im very lucky to have such a supportive Husband. he see's the pain I'm in and he gets very angry at my Dr's not me!

My husband use to drink ALOT and it almost ruined our marriage......he wasn't an alcholic but was very close to becoming one. He didn't stop until I started divorce proceedings. He rarely touches beer anymore, just once in awhile during the summer cutting the grass........he doesn't go "out" to bars which was another problem.

He has made such progress..........Yes I do get scared that one day he will return but the longer he continues to do what he's doing the fear gets less and less. When he has one or two while doing yard work I really don't care. I know he's smart enough to know what he will lose if he goes down the bar route again.

Maybe in time your wife will lose her fear.....it something that takes a long time to get over. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. So you just need to make a new past. It takes time. Now if you haven't taken any for a long period of time then there should be no reason to keep throwing it up in your face. You are not doing anything to threaten the marriage. You cannot do any more than your doing right now. She has to learn to trust you!

Its hard to do, but in time her fear should subside. Just be patient. Some spouses think if you take one pill a day you have a drug problem. But when they aren't living in your pain filled shoes they have no clue!

If you were taking your meds as prescribed and you weren't taking them to get high then SHE is the one that had an unfounded problem.

If you were taking them to get high.......well her fear is founded, but your off of them. Throwing it up in your face when your not taking anything is not very positive enviroment for you!

Hope

Hey Hope,

I was taking them to get high in the end. Thats when I figured out on my own that I had a problem not to mention the high doses I was consuming.

It never raised an eye with her because I always had scripts and was always popping some pill from time to time. When I told her I was taking too many and I wanted to stop because of how I was feeling the SH*T hit the fan.

She now feels like I should have come to her before I went to the pillz to hide. I'm an addict and it just crept up on me?? I was on my normal dose then it seemed like the next thing I knew I was off the hydro and on the oxy big time.

You are right about the past. She now feel like she can't open up or trust me because she will be let down again. My past has lead her to believe this. I had a problem with the booze about 8 years ago and I don't drink at all now. My problem with the booze was only serious for about 9 months in my eyes but I had been drinking since I was in my teens. I let her down back then and now again and she just thinks, and rightfully so, that I will at some time do it again. :(

I have made some real tough lifestyle changes to eliminate the chance of relapse when it comes to the stress I recieve. My life has always been stressfull beyond imagination and most of it I begged for. I did it to myself and now almost 44 yrs old I just can't do it anymore. I know I'm not old but I also know I'm not 20 anymore and can't go for days without sleep like I used to to. I never did any other drugs except for pot in high school (which I never liked) and booze before the pillz.

It's amazing I have made it this far to tell you the truth. The Doctors have been telling me for years to slow down but I never listened. I'm listening NOW!!.

Thanks for chatting with me Hope,

Remember you are in my thoughts and prayers too.

As Always,
Peace.
Baja