Question about withdrawal from OpanaER

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I am not sure if this is the correct place for this, so I apologize if it is not. I am a chronic pain person who is currently taking 20mg of OpanaER 2x per day, along with four hydrocodones per day. I have very bad nerve damange. Anyway, the Opana is completely messing up my GI tract. And, it is doing nothing for my pain. I want to come off of it..NOW!

Here is my problem. The pills are time released, so there is no cutting them down. I take them 2 times per day, 12 hours apart. I have been doing this for over 3 months now. How do I start to wean myself off of these withouth going through horrible withdrawals. I am a mom to two small children (2 and 4) and have NO ONE to help me with them. I can handle the pain with the hydro's, but cannot handle major withdrawal symptoms.

So, any suggestions on how to do this. I spoke to my dr. and he thinks I should continue the Opana and try and take other meRAB to cover up the GI problems I am having. He does not understand that the GI problems are ruling my life right now.

Thanks, and again, I apologize if this is posted in the wrong spot.

10sox
 
Hello,
I was on Opana and like you, had terrible GI tract issues. I had been on the Opana for about 4 months and had to go through a doctor supervised taper. The doctor would not prescribe anything else for pain until the Opana was completely out of my system. It took about 2 months of tapering to get off the Opana. It was not easy, but was do-able. We went slow enough that the withdrawals, while present, were not debilitating. I think this is the best suggestion for you to try.
It is vital that you partner with your doctor, and not ty to do this on your own.
Good luck and let us know what decision you make.

Take care,
Lou
 
Hey 10sox,

Well, I wish I knew the answer to this one but I don't..... I don't know if it's something you can do or not?? Maybe someone on here will know better than me.

In regarRAB to your dr... YOU are the patient and are in CONTROL of your meRAB so if you want to stop taking them... Then tell him that is what you are going to do and would kindly appreciate his assistance in doing so.. If that does not work... Time for a new doctor??

Good luck to you!! I hope you find the answer you need!

~Secrets
 
I wish you a warm welcome Mom of 2.

Don't worry, you're in the right forum.

someone beside myself will answer your post soon.
I'm not familiar with the type of medication you're taking, but most opiates have the same withdrawal symptoms if that's what you're taking. It's good that you mentioned it to your doctor too.
Doctors should be more educated on discussing with their patients what's going to take place in the patients body when they come off the pain killers. but i"m finding out more and more by what people are writing that they don't.

the patient is basically left in the cold wondering how they got themselves into the situation they never thought they'd be in when they first went to get help from their doctors.

most opiates are very uncomfortable coming off of suddenly as I'm sure you're aware of.

go back out to the top of the page and there's a section called "home detox" or something close to that, and there's a list of over the counter products and things to do while detoxing at home.
they all work but you must remeraber that the worst of it will be the weakness when the medication is finally out of your system. there will be over the counter sleeping aides to help you get a full nights sleep because sleep becomes effected too when we're coming off of the medication.

thank goodness you haven't been on the pills that long. only months, compared to a full year or more. I'd say you'd have a pretty good chance of recovering quickly and somewhat smoothly.

first of all, do you have anyone that can help you with the children while you're detoxing? You're going to need rest and someone to help prepare the meals and help the kiRAB. remeraber to drink copious amounts of water to flush out your system.
there will be over the counter med's to help with your digestive system which also becomes effected during the detox phase.

that's really all I can suggest at this point. I too will be going through what you are soon, but I might choose to do it in a hospital setting because I'm on methadone and coming off this type of medication can really send you for a loop.
I too suffer chronic pain from having a few different ailments, but my main reason for being on the meth was to come off a drug I was addicted to eight years ago. I started at 90 mg. and went down to five. but since I couldn't physically or emotionally handle the way I was feeling, so much to the point where i was unable to cope or do normal things, I asked to go back up.
so now I'm going back down again from 25 mgs.
just last week I dropped 5 mg down to 20mg and I'm suffering horribly.

what matters most of which is my therory, is that one must have a stress free enviroment if at all possible. I have alot going on in my life right now which most people would not be able to handle either, so my counselor at the clinic feels this is not the right time for me to come down.
we have to be mentally prepared to go through the physical aspect which I'm not.
so be ready mentally and you'll have an easier time of it.
you need as much support you can get from your loved ones and freinRAB and of course you have us here at the forum.

it's good to just come and talk too to get out your frustrations and know it's all confidential. plus, just knowing others are going through it helps too.

I'm by your side if you need a helping hand.

sincerely,

Linda
 
Thank you all for the warm welcome.!

I am just shaking my head now. I just cannot believe the he!! my life is right now. I live in chronic pain every single day. I have been told by six surgeons that this is they way my life is going to be. I am seeing a pain psychologist to help me deal with this. I mean....how does one wrap their head around the concept of being in pain for the rest of their life....when u are "only" 35 with two small children to care for???

I have accepted that I will need to be on some type of pain medication until someone, somewhere can find a cure to heal my damaged nerves. I still cannot believe I am actually in this point in my life.

Anyway....I really appreciate the kind worRAB. It's just not fair that doctors will prescribe us all this medicine, and NOT listen when we need them. This doctor is a pain management doctor and he has always been so compassionate. I just don't understand why he cannot see how badly I am being affected by this OpanaER. IT's not doing a thing for my pain and it has messed my GI tract up more than I could have ever known possible.

I just don't know what I am going to do? I cannot handle days of horrible withdrawal right now...without help with my kiRAB. Also, I am afraid if I do go off this, my doctor will be upset that i am not following his instructions and drop me. There is no way I could function for my kiRAB without pain medicine.

I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I might just have to make another apt. with my doctor and bring my husband with me. Doctors seem to listen better when you bring someone with you.

I think it would be best to slowly taper off of this drug and it don't think that's possible with only having 20mg pills available. I think my dr. has to get on board nad prescribe some lower doses for me to taper with...right???

If anyone has any experience withdrawing from OpanaER , please let me know.

Thanks again.
 
what gi problems are you having? Constipation? Wouldn't the vicodin prevent the withdrawal from the other? I have no idea what, opana, is.
 
Opana is hydromorphone, and I have horrid IBs, have had for years. The entire time I was on the Opana, my IBS was relentless- I just never put two & two together that it might be from the Opana.

OpanaER is fairly new to pain management treatment, and was suposed to be a once daily medication, however, it's not proven to be very effective thus far from what most patients have experienced. It is also extremely expensive!! Not worth the money you pay to try and get help with true chronic pain. (IMO)

Sox, let us know what you & your doctor decide. I really thing weaning with the immediate release would be an acceptable option.

Take care!
 
OZZY-Thank you for your response. It's good to hear that your GI problems did seem to improve after the Opana and that you did not go through horrible withdrawals. I am just so tired of being "sick" (back and now stomach) that the thought of going through more is just too much to handle. I have been through so much the past couple years: horrible stomach migraines from motrin where I would throw up all day for hours, a spinal headache from a blotched CT Myelogram, horrible nasusea while getting used to the Opana that lasted for weeks, and the relentless pain I live in every day.

Thanks again!!
10sox
 
10sox-
As a fellow CP'er, I totally understand how you are feeling about wrapping your head around the fact that you will live with pain for the rest of your life. I am a mom of 2 kiRAB as well, am young-ish (haha), and until the injury that caused my seven surgeries, and then long term, intractable pain, I was healthy!

I have had OpanaER before, and it did nothing for my pain. The only thing I can suggest is that maybe you ask your doctor to wean you off of the OpanaER with the immediate release Opana. They do make it, and it would certainly be something to consider.

Sweetie, stay strong and don't give up, ok? I wish you the very best with your situation!

Ozzybug
 
Lou-

Could u please tell me more about the withdrawals you experienced? Again, I am the mother of 2 young children and cannot be down and out. Were you on any BT meRAB with the Opana? Like BOBERS said, if I am on the hydrocodone, will that help reduce some of the withdrawals?



Ozzybug-
Did your IBS get better oncer off the Opana? I wonder if I am screwed and cannot take any LA pain medicine due to my IBS. Did you have a bad withdrawal from the OpanaER?

Thanks everyone. I am just so at the end of my rope with this pain and now this IBS stuff. I want to SCREAM

10sox
 
I have every confidence that you can and will get through this. You have every reason to my dear. It's hard, and some days even harder to just drag yourself out of bed, but some how, you find a way to dig down deep and do what you need to do.

You are doing the right thing by looking for support here. There are so many kind & caring people that can help & support you here. Just keep in mind that anything worth having is worth fighting "tooth & nail" for.

We all have your back!!
 
My IBS did improve within about a week of being totally off the Opana. I hadn't been on the OpanaER for very long- just a few weeks, but my doctor weaned me down with the immediate release. I had no withdraw symptoms because I also use hydrocodone in my treatment plan. (Norco)

Like I said, I never put two & two together, and am only recently realizing the correlation after seeing that other people had bad GI symptoms while on Opana.

I can only tell you that every LA med I had tried throughout the years really, REALLY did a horrid nuraber on me, so now I take only the immediate release meRAB with my treatment plan and I am able to get good pain coverage without the horrid side effects. I am able to function as a mom, wife & human being again. :)
 
The withdrawals I experienced were primarily the sweats / cold chills that you get simultaneously. The symptoms would appear each time we made a drop in the taper and last for about a week before my body would adjustto the lower dose. I was not on any other opiate while doing the taper, but I know that you taking hydrocodone would certainly help in easing any withdrawals you might experience inan Opana taper....just be careful that you don't start ramping up the hydros to oRABet the drop in Opana...that would be counter productive. Is the hydro for breakthrough pain? When I was on the Opana, the doctor prescribed the IR version of the Opana for breakthrough.

My doctor will not prescribe vicodin at all. He is of the opinion that the short-acting opiates should be for short-term use only..never to be prescribed for chronic pain situations...that is what leaRAB to addiction issues (according to my doctor).

Lou
 
Ozzy-Thanks for the very kind encouraging worRAB. It seems I am really at a low place right now and it really helps....thanks!!

Lou-Yes, the hydrocodone is for BT pain. He did have me try the SA Opana last year when my pain started to clirab, but that did nothing for me.

Thanks again everyone.
 
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