I am lucky in that my doc writes the prescriptions for a 30 day supply. The way he writes one if them doesnt make much sense to me...take 1 to 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hours. 2 tablets every 4 hourswould mean 12 per day if my math is correct...but there is only enough for 4 per day. But 4 per day in conjuction with the other ones is enough to knock the pain down to a somewhat tolerable level. At least as far as my back goes. This stuff doesn't seem to be doing squat for my shoulder pain.My wife gets a 3 week supply per month, and she has to stretch them out to last the whole month. I've seen what she goes through, so I don't envy you at all. Take care, my friend!
If, and this is a big if, you can get a patch, they are better than the pills. The pills are like being on a roller coaster. The patches take most of that out. Patches do have issues, like where to put them, falling off in the shower, or in bed.
The only problem we had with the patches was coming off them. My wife was on 75mcg of Fentanyl for almost 4 years. This was on top of Oxy as needed for breakthrough pain. When the doctor decided to pull her off ALL pain meds, he originally wanted to have her go cold turkey off both pills and patches. My wife threw a huge fit in the waiting room and basically said that would kill her. Literally kill her. We found out later the preferred method to come off Fentanyl is through an in-patient detox facility where you can be monitored while you are stepped down. My wife's pain doctor gave her a laughable two week supply of patches. This consisted of two 50mcg patches and two 25mcg patches. Have you ever seen someone going through ****** withdrawals? It's not a pretty sight. Fentanyl withdrawals are similar. At least she was at home when the hallucinations kicked in.
Once she had all the pain meds out of her system, she found that she didn't actually need them as much. Apparently prolonged use of painkillers decreases one's tolerance for pain, and increases one's sensitivity to pain. Once she came off the patches and the oxy, and got them out of her system, she found she wasn't in as much pain as her body was leading her to believe. I am in no way saying this is what is happening to you, though. Only you can determine what's right for you. I'm just relating what happened with my wife.
So, for pain relief the patches do a pretty good job. It's just what comes with them that we didn't like. Ultimately, it's your call.
Have been thinking about cutting back on them...then I wake up...and holy hell does that thought go away. I must be out of my mind....
Few things to say...just dead tired and heading to bed shortly. I am in a different situation than many folks to the the laws here in Washington state. In addition to all of the physical troubles I have a well documented mental health history. Thanks to the way Opioids being over prescribed and abused Washington has a somewhat restrictive law....http://www.lanepowell.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/OpioidRuleComments1.pdf
Because of my history with "substance abuse", I was living on fistfuls of Hydrocodone while employed at the USPS. In addition to the Hydrocodone I was taking 3-5 MG of Xanax daily. This was the only thing that kept me from "going Postal" and putting folks in the hospital. Anyhow, between the history and the fact that I have psychiatric comorbidities I have to be extremely careful in what I do. If I were to use "medical pot" without getting my docs ok I will no longer be able to get my pain meds. I have asked my doc about getting put on something other than "hillbilly ******"..he said ain't gonna happen. He mentioned that every other pain med that is strong enough for me is "dirty"...they are not pure pain meds they are a mix. He told m that because I do not have a snow balls chance in hell of ever having a reduction in pain he would not be comfortable on putting me on something that is not a pure medication.
I turned 50 in April. He recently told me that if he were to just look at me without knowing my age he would guess me to be in my mid 60's. Thanks to a bum deal, gene wise, and working WAY to hard I tore myself to pieces. My spine has gotten bad enough that I have all sorts of pinched nerves. As I type this I feel like someone stuck a hot iron in both my hips...I don't have sciatica problems on one side...I have them on both. Will be seeing my rheumatologist this week for my pseudo gout. He told em that I am his youngest patient to have this...normally it does not occur til folks are in their mid to late 60's. He did a complete blood test on me. He told me that I am missing some sort of protein enzyme...this missing enzyme is partially responsible for the pain I am in...or something to that effect...
Good night all...
Damn, I'm with you on that, it's definitely not for sissys. I'm in my late 50's and I'm kind of the opposite of what you guys are talking about. I have arthritis real bad and my knees are shot to the point where they're bone on bone. I won't take any kind of narcotic pain medicines because I've seen too many good people go down that path with bad results. My doctors are always trying to force pain medicines down my throat but I just can't go there. My knees are in such severe pain that it makes it tough to function. Trying to get some new knees but the doctors keep slow playing me.
Just worn out. All of my lumbar discs are toast. And because this happened rom overuse I have arthritis as well. Spoke with several docs about a potential fix...and told it simply is not going to happen. Surgeon I talked to said that they will not fuse all my discs together....said that the most they do is every other one. And with as badly worn out as they all are it will only make things worse. She also told me that with as arthritic as I am I won't get any real pain relief. She,also noted that my hips are pretty arthritic...and the added strain of a fused lower back will just make them worse. All started when I got tossed off a dirtbike. into a berm...was going 45mph, misjudged the entry...and landed on my right hip. Was 14 or so. Manual labor jobs til I left the USPS. Degenerative disc disease turned into lumbar spinal stenosis . Now it is pretty much just bone on bone.gentlemen, the aging process sucks. Often when you hear about someone having a beat up body, you think about a guy that grew up farming, hanging iron, framing houses, etc. Hard, demanding work. Reality is, having an office job or sitting job is just as bad, if not worse. Just ask the guys that drive truck for 20yrs.
One fight we lose is against muscle. No matter what you do, you will begin to lose muscle mass as you age. That effects quality of life, but not nearly as much as the fight we can win, and that is with range of motion. One of the best things you can do is walk daily, and have a good stretching routine. It greatly boosts your health both physical and mental. You can try yoga, PNF stretching, etc, whatever you want, just do something. Tight hamstrings, QL, shoulders, neck, all contribute to make other injuries unbearable. There are routines all over the internet from foam rollers to lacross balls, and I'm telling you IT ALL WORKS. Those little old Korean ladies you see walking all the time and doing tai chi in the park, well they are doing this aging thing just right
InkJunkie, what are they saying is the actual issue with your back?