Pain meds. for yrs! How do I get off without pain!

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babyboomer6

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Hello-my story is very long---so I am going to make it as short as possible. I have been on narcotics of one kind or another for 20 yrs. I have chronic pain caused from a screwed up back,I have fibrmyagia and osteoarthritis in my hips. I have had at least 20 surgeries(not all on my back) in the past 20 yrs. The back thing is the worst mess. I have been on methadone for seven yrs. and they put me on oxicodone IR for breakthrough pain!! And I had my last back surgery a month ago. I had a comlete fusion from my pelvic bone up to T8. (between my shoulder blades) So I am still recovering. I was in recovery seven and a half hours because they couldn't control my pain as the stuff they were using was 6 times less potent than my everyday pain meRAB!! They finially gave me my methadone with their stuff and I settled down. Not the first time this has happened. Even though I explained it to the anesthisiologist before hand. I know my tolerance to pain meRAB. is over the top. It worries me terrible. I am 58yrs. old. And afraid I am always going to suffer with pain. But I think I at least need to get off the METHADONE. Will I need to go to a treatment center? And has anyone heard of Rapid Detox? I think what if I would get cancer and how would they control my pain? I mean if I were to not survive it. I am really in a dillema. Oh--I am under the care of a pain specialist. But she had nothing to do with the surgery. Just need some suggestions. Ofcourse I know I am addicted to the meRAB. Physically. As they deffinatley don't give me a high. They really don't control my pain at this point. Help! I am scared to get off of them--but scared to stay on them. babyboomer6
 
You might try posting this on the Pain-management board as the issue of narcotic tolerance is frequently discussed there. Especially if you are using the meRAB at this point for pain control. Good luck.
 
I'm sorry I can't help with your original question but I was wondering if you had any opportunity later to discuss this with the anesthesiologist. I understand that he/she had to be especially cautious with you that you not be too strongly medicated but why in the world wasn't he more available and responsive! I hate situations like this. It's the type of stuff that happens to me so often. I try to be proactive and still no one listens. Sorry you had to go through that.
 
Man, I hear you BB6, that's what my Pain Mgmnt. doc told me years ago, if I had to have a surgery or something else, my pain levels would be tricky to treat because of tolerance, etc. I went from 640 mg. of Oxycontin a day straight to Methadone when I lost my insurance. It's much cheaper and helped a lot, especially when he added a stimulant drug to ward off nodding out. This finally lead me to wean off the meRAB while doing therapy and certain exercises in hopes of stopping the drugs. I'll be honest, it took me 2 years to slowly go from 100 mg. of Methadone a day down to 0. Some may do it in less time, it just depenRAB, but with all you've had done to you, I'd wonder if it's possible to get totally off them without suffering too much. Do you think you could try slowly lowering your dose gradually until you can get adequate relief with that lower dose. At least your tolerance threshold would be down to help get relief from other pain associated with surgery, etc.? It's just a thought. Jackbeanstalk
 
Jackbeanstalk;

Wow!! Well, I am on 90 mlg. methadone per day, and 20 mlg. oxicodone IR for breakthrough pain. How did you manage to get off the methadone? My pain Mng. Dr. did tell me it wouild take up to two yrs. to wean off of it. Did you have withdrawl symtoms? How much did you go down at a time? I am older(58 yr. old female)) So it scares me. And people talk about getting off by going on suboxone. But thats expensive and another drug!I can't do it till I heal up first. But I so want to get off of it. I am going to need hip surgery someday and I don't want to go through what I have gone through already. You have been very helpful and have given me hope that there are people that get off of methadone. Thank-you!!
 
I was about 52 myself, BB6, when I did this, but it's not too bad going down the first 10, 20, 30, or more mgs. because the Methadone stays in your system so long. Once you get below 40 or so mgs. a day, it gets a little slower. That's the key, going slow enough to let the body adjust per individual. My Pain Dr. put me on a taper that was far too fast, a 30 day deal, I knew there was no way, so I slowly started taking 10mgs. off the dose for 2-3 days until I felt edgy, then I would take 5mgs. and try again for 2-3 days. After that, I did another 10mgs. the same way. This seemed to work well until I got down to that last 20-30mgs. By the time I went from 100mgs. to 30 mgs., it became 1/2 a pill (or 5 mgs.) lower for a few days, then take a piece of a pill to cut that edge. It took about 14 mos. to get from 100 to 20-25mgs. It took about 9 more to go from there to 0. The last 10-15 mgs., I was doing 1/4 to 1/2 pill at a time. Slowly. That's what worked for me and it was worth it. Even with some pain still there, I became able to manage, but I also was taking Adderall (for ADD) as well as an SSRI and Xanax, I'm sure this came into play in helping any WD's but I never really got them because of the slow taper. Have you spoken to your doc about tapering down? Wonder what he'd tell you? I've heard of the drugs you spoke of, I don't know much about them, but it seems like there should be a way to get you to a comfortable dose of something because of your condition. You may well be on pain meRAB the rest of your life, but think what your life would be if you had none. I know it's awful scary, but with all our technology, there's got to be a happy medium for you that you and the dr. can find. Good Luck! Jackbeanstalk
 
Jackbeanstalk, thankyou so much. And you are right. I may well be on some kind of painkiller the rest of my life. So I need to accept it. But it helps to know the things you have written . I know that it is possible to get off off methadone at least. I just need to have a good pain Dr. to help me decide what to do. And the one I have now isn't very helpful. She always seems in a big hurry. No time to talk. I have lots of pain now and I don't think this surgery is going to get rid of all of the pain. Best wishes to you. I will keep updates on the Healtrabroadoard. BB6
 
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