@rockon79 thank you for your insight and sharing your experience. It seems like our doctors either don’t understand what we’re going through with cessation of opioids after years of necessary use, or don’t care. I think the demonization of pain management and the use of opioids has had a significant negative impact on the care I have received. And that was with an intrathecal pain pump that only needed to be refilled every six months. My fight for pain treatment was part of the reason I opted for a pain pump. After years of shoddy oversight, the DEA and FDA went full nuclear against opioids and those who needed them for legitimate pain control. I was forced to lower my daily opioid level to less than I could live with. I was in excruciating pain and moved to the pain pump with and at the direction of my pain management doctor. As my pain issue was work related I had the additional hurdle of workers comp carrier review for payment approval for treatments. After a successful pain pump trail, workers comp rejected the pump. I fought them for six months before it was approved. Pain pump installed in 11/19. Six months later, I’m ready to go in for my first pump refill to learn that the W/C adjuster DENIED the pump refill.. I was shocked at their incompetence. So my next fight started. Finally, I spoke with the adjusters manager and conveyed the problem with their decision and the refill was approved. This type of incompetence I experienced was the norm, not the outlier.

In any case, pain management with opioids went nuts, in my experience. This resulted in my pain management doctors decision to retire. He said it just wasn’t worth the headache and added scrutiny and paperwork. He said he was spending about 80% of his time doing peer to peer reviews on treatment denials, newly required reports and paperwork. He said the denials were basically 100% as it related to anything other than minor opioid treatment post operative. Long term opioid patients and treatment were under attack.

Sorry for the ramble. My treatment and experience still piss me off….

You hit the nail on the head! At some point, I simply have to “Man up” and get opioid free (with one big caveat…. If my pain is manageable with other, none opioid treatment. Which is my goal). Trading one opioid for another is not acceptable.

I am hopeful I may not need to go on a patch to beat this withdrawal. I’m on day four. Last night, I was (finally) able to sleep. Two stints at four hour each. This after maybe 45 minutes sleep for the previous two and a half nights. I still have other, less intrusive withdrawal symptoms. I can push through those withdrawal symptoms. Not being able to sleep for days on end, I cannot handle. So I have an appointment tomorrow morning with my pain management doctor. It will be an interesting appointment. He is an anesthesiologist so I expect him to have a good grasp on the withdrawal symptoms progression. I want to know am I “out of the woods?” Or, will I have weeks (months) of ups and downs, especially as it relates to sleep.

Thanks again for your experience. I’m glad to hear that I’m not alone in wondering if you just have to cut the cord and move on from opioids. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have had the intrathecal pain pump installed.