My Opioid Addiction

@jdiakiw Is there a part 2 of your opioid story? What is your pain level now? About the same as before your first painkiller?

Maybe someday I'll be writing a similar story. But for now, I take 15mg of morphine sulfate contin 2 or 3 times a day. A year or so ago, I tapered off it to ascertain how much it was helping. At that time I was taking 30mg 3 times a day. After 2 weeks without it, it was clear that it was making a difference in my pain. I've tried every medication my gp, neurologist and pain specialist could prescribe. I'm now taking imipramine, which is the last medication on my pain specialist's list. It helped for a few months, but by now I'm not sure how much it's helping. I'm going to taper off it to test that question. In 2017 I had a spinal cord stimulator implant, which reduced my neuropathy pain in my feet by 75%. It was wonderful! But - there always seems to be a but - it began needing to be recalibrated every 3 months, up to the beginning of this year. In March, I turned the scs off, and over that month period, I couldn't feel any change oin my pain level, nor was there any change when I turned it back on in April. I do use lidocaine cream, only to numb the pain so I can get to sleep, and it doesn't last more than a couple of hours.

Morphine sulfate contin is the only medication that's had long term effectiveness. I don't consider myself dependent, and certainly not addicted. Yes, my pain is less - 4-7 - but having gone off it in the past, I don't think it would be any different now. Even with msc, I have days when I rate the pain up to 7-9. I can't imagine living with that level of pain all the time. Like you, I've never sensed a high from the use of msc. I continue to take it because it does take the edge off my neuropathy pain. It doesn't have an effect on my arthritis, unfortunately. I take tylenol and meloxicam for that.

I haven't given marijuana or cbd oil products a try, but it may come down to that. I put off using those things, even though the use of marijuana is legal in my state, because of the high cost. Have you tried any of those products? If so, did they have any effect on your pain?

I think that everyone with neuropathy pain and other related problems is hoping that a definitive treatment will be discovered. Until that happens, we do what we can to manage the symptoms.

I've found that many people have other conditions in addition to the various forms of neuropathy. Those things create a challenge in finding treatments. I hope that you'll be able to continue managing your symptoms.

Jim

@jdiakiw Is there a part 2 of your opioid story? What is your pain level now? About the same as before your first painkiller?

Maybe someday I'll be writing a similar story. But for now, I take 15mg of morphine sulfate contin 2 or 3 times a day. A year or so ago, I tapered off it to ascertain how much it was helping. At that time I was taking 30mg 3 times a day. After 2 weeks without it, it was clear that it was making a difference in my pain. I've tried every medication my gp, neurologist and pain specialist could prescribe. I'm now taking imipramine, which is the last medication on my pain specialist's list. It helped for a few months, but by now I'm not sure how much it's helping. I'm going to taper off it to test that question. In 2017 I had a spinal cord stimulator implant, which reduced my neuropathy pain in my feet by 75%. It was wonderful! But - there always seems to be a but - it began needing to be recalibrated every 3 months, up to the beginning of this year. In March, I turned the scs off, and over that month period, I couldn't feel any change oin my pain level, nor was there any change when I turned it back on in April. I do use lidocaine cream, only to numb the pain so I can get to sleep, and it doesn't last more than a couple of hours.

Morphine sulfate contin is the only medication that's had long term effectiveness. I don't consider myself dependent, and certainly not addicted. Yes, my pain is less - 4-7 - but having gone off it in the past, I don't think it would be any different now. Even with msc, I have days when I rate the pain up to 7-9. I can't imagine living with that level of pain all the time. Like you, I've never sensed a high from the use of msc. I continue to take it because it does take the edge off my neuropathy pain. It doesn't have an effect on my arthritis, unfortunately. I take tylenol and meloxicam for that.

I haven't given marijuana or cbd oil products a try, but it may come down to that. I put off using those things, even though the use of marijuana is legal in my state, because of the high cost. Have you tried any of those products? If so, did they have any effect on your pain?

I think that everyone with neuropathy pain and other related problems is hoping that a definitive treatment will be discovered. Until that happens, we do what we can to manage the symptoms.

I've found that many people have other conditions in addition to the various forms of neuropathy. Those things create a challenge in finding treatments. I hope that you'll be able to continue managing your symptoms.

Jim

@jdiakiw Is there a part 2 of your opioid story? What is your pain level now? About the same as before your first painkiller?

Maybe someday I'll be writing a similar story. But for now, I take 15mg of morphine sulfate contin 2 or 3 times a day. A year or so ago, I tapered off it to ascertain how much it was helping. At that time I was taking 30mg 3 times a day. After 2 weeks without it, it was clear that it was making a difference in my pain. I've tried every medication my gp, neurologist and pain specialist could prescribe. I'm now taking imipramine, which is the last medication on my pain specialist's list. It helped for a few months, but by now I'm not sure how much it's helping. I'm going to taper off it to test that question. In 2017 I had a spinal cord stimulator implant, which reduced my neuropathy pain in my feet by 75%. It was wonderful! But - there always seems to be a but - it began needing to be recalibrated every 3 months, up to the beginning of this year. In March, I turned the scs off, and over that month period, I couldn't feel any change oin my pain level, nor was there any change when I turned it back on in April. I do use lidocaine cream, only to numb the pain so I can get to sleep, and it doesn't last more than a couple of hours.

Morphine sulfate contin is the only medication that's had long term effectiveness. I don't consider myself dependent, and certainly not addicted. Yes, my pain is less - 4-7 - but having gone off it in the past, I don't think it would be any different now. Even with msc, I have days when I rate the pain up to 7-9. I can't imagine living with that level of pain all the time. Like you, I've never sensed a high from the use of msc. I continue to take it because it does take the edge off my neuropathy pain. It doesn't have an effect on my arthritis, unfortunately. I take tylenol and meloxicam for that.

I haven't given marijuana or cbd oil products a try, but it may come down to that. I put off using those things, even though the use of marijuana is legal in my state, because of the high cost. Have you tried any of those products? If so, did they have any effect on your pain?

I think that everyone with neuropathy pain and other related problems is hoping that a definitive treatment will be discovered. Until that happens, we do what we can to manage the symptoms.

I've found that many people have other conditions in addition to the various forms of neuropathy. Those things create a challenge in finding treatments. I hope that you'll be able to continue managing your symptoms.

Jim

@jdiakiw I too thank you for sharing your addiction lesson Part 1 I admit it scares the heck out of me. I was an addiction counselor for 30 years. I worked with people who were so addicted to drugs. There was marijuana, benzos, opiods, alcohol, methamphetamines, cocaine, and one last, the biggest is alcohol. More deaths long term than any other drug. You usually don't see an immediate death, but a long term suffering that eventually leads to organ shut down and death. Along the way, these drugs take others with them to their death. Your wife can attest to that. Those close to the addict suffer as severely as the addict. My family has experienced death due to addiction, My brother, a heroin addict, killed himself. My 1st husband, father of my son, died in a car crash after he and my son were celebrating my son's return from a Military med cruise, They left the bar with my son driving.. No more needed to be said on that. What I want to say is that through all the years of working with people addicted to chemicals, we never encouraged or even allowed them to go off any one of the drugs without medical supervision. Your story scares me because you might have died from the cessation of drug taking sooner than if you had continued using. I agree that we all have to experience some discomfort to reach our goal, but outward, extreme physical and mental pain does not need to be part of that process. I am more than happy that you made it through. It took alot away from your's and your wife's life.in the process. So now Tramadol. Tramadol is an opiod and is addicting, but can be very helpful for pain. Now getting to me. The addiction counselor who relies on percocet to ease the pain of peripheral neuropoathy in both feet, ankles and leg. This along with several other painful health issues made me rethink my objections to taking a narcotic pain reliever. I do not deny that my body is dependent on this drug and if I choose to go off I will need detox treatment. I have no intention of going off any time soon. I run a high risk of addiction so I must be extremely careful. I take as prescribed and see my doctor every month. This includes pain management and primary care. I am 75 years old and I am tired of pain. I am not completely pain free with the pecocets, but I am able to hold my Great granddaughter and take her and her dollbabies for a walk down the road, I also live alone and do the "live alone" stuff. I self check everyday on the addiction process and also question my need for the medication. I then remember crying because the pain took every ounce of energy from me. I do put a warning out there to all those using a narcotic pain reliever for relief. Always be honest with yourself and your doctor, have someone do a check of any behavior changes. Another part of this is DO NOT try to get off any medication without a doctor aboard and one that knows about addiction and medication. This includes not only narcotics but also antidepressants and other drugs that cause physical dependence.

@jdiakiw I too thank you for sharing your addiction lesson Part 1 I admit it scares the heck out of me. I was an addiction counselor for 30 years. I worked with people who were so addicted to drugs. There was marijuana, benzos, opiods, alcohol, methamphetamines, cocaine, and one last, the biggest is alcohol. More deaths long term than any other drug. You usually don't see an immediate death, but a long term suffering that eventually leads to organ shut down and death. Along the way, these drugs take others with them to their death. Your wife can attest to that. Those close to the addict suffer as severely as the addict. My family has experienced death due to addiction, My brother, a heroin addict, killed himself. My 1st husband, father of my son, died in a car crash after he and my son were celebrating my son's return from a Military med cruise, They left the bar with my son driving.. No more needed to be said on that. What I want to say is that through all the years of working with people addicted to chemicals, we never encouraged or even allowed them to go off any one of the drugs without medical supervision. Your story scares me because you might have died from the cessation of drug taking sooner than if you had continued using. I agree that we all have to experience some discomfort to reach our goal, but outward, extreme physical and mental pain does not need to be part of that process. I am more than happy that you made it through. It took alot away from your's and your wife's life.in the process. So now Tramadol. Tramadol is an opiod and is addicting, but can be very helpful for pain. Now getting to me. The addiction counselor who relies on percocet to ease the pain of peripheral neuropoathy in both feet, ankles and leg. This along with several other painful health issues made me rethink my objections to taking a narcotic pain reliever. I do not deny that my body is dependent on this drug and if I choose to go off I will need detox treatment. I have no intention of going off any time soon. I run a high risk of addiction so I must be extremely careful. I take as prescribed and see my doctor every month. This includes pain management and primary care. I am 75 years old and I am tired of pain. I am not completely pain free with the pecocets, but I am able to hold my Great granddaughter and take her and her dollbabies for a walk down the road, I also live alone and do the "live alone" stuff. I self check everyday on the addiction process and also question my need for the medication. I then remember crying because the pain took every ounce of energy from me. I do put a warning out there to all those using a narcotic pain reliever for relief. Always be honest with yourself and your doctor, have someone do a check of any behavior changes. Another part of this is DO NOT try to get off any medication without a doctor aboard and one that knows about addiction and medication. This includes not only narcotics but also antidepressants and other drugs that cause physical dependence.