Shoreline

Hmm, The most potent opiate available mg to mg available previosly only used for cancer pain, in fact it's measured in micrograms "fentanyl" Vs the most commonly prescribed opiate used for mild to moderate post surgical pain and injuries "hydrocodone".

I guess it depends on what your idea of "alot of pain " is and what your willing to except as far as having to learn to deal with some degree of pain. Are you talking about these meds don't drop you level of pain to 0 and leave you dealing with a 2-3 on the numerical pain scale or does alot of pain mean your still at a 7 ot 8 and can't function.
If your thinking with meds so potent there is no reason to have to deal with any pain at all andthere is allways a higher dose or stronger med available. You have the strongest med and most of us have to learn to deal with some degree of pain. Even morphine pumps shoot to relieve 50% of pain, not all pain, and 50% is still considerable to many people. That's whaty we learn other modalities and methods to deal with pain aside from opiates.

Opiates are used to ease pain and make pain tolerable. If your looking for a med to obliterate all pain, you would never get there with hydro, if your looking to kill every bit of pain you have untill you become tolerant and there is no stronger choice, then I would say Fentanyl. Pain free will only last untill your next flair up or the meds impair you more than the DX.

Do you and your doc have the same idea of what an exceptable degree of pain relief is and what to expect or are you simply reading about meds 100X more potent than hydro that should leave you pain free untill you become tolerant and completely dependent on getting that next patch on to prevent withdrawal.

If you think they make and use these super potent pain killers to relieve all pain, I fear your expectations will lead you to a place you don't want to go and don' fully understand the consequences of the level of dependence you will develop. If this doc that skipped everything in between Hydro and Fentanyl were to leave or loose their licence, could you find another doc to prescribe the same meds before you landed in rehab going through severe withdrawal. You would likely get labeld an addict and future treatment becomes near impossible to find because you expcted a potent drug to releve all your pain, when something milder could have been tried and you understood the goal was not elimnate pain but simply make it tolerable.

A better understading of the purpose of these meds and their ability to ease suffering could prevent something very ugly down the road where there isn't a stronger med available or a doc wiling to preccribe it.
JMO, Good luck, Dave