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Abuse of Opioids takes away from all the good it can do
Hi, I'm Jaime- 68 year old male having chronic pain for 30 years.
I've had 14 sports related surgeries that began at age 18 and have just gone through 2 Posterior cervical decompression with multi level fusions during the past 18 months. I have been to numerous pain specialists, tried every supplement advertised, have every gadget that is offered online, and have had no less than 25 cortisone shots, knee replacement, epidurals etc. Throughout the 30 years, I have found that Opioids are the only thing that has allowed me a quality of life. Side effects? Show me a medication that doesn't have any. I had to be extremely disciplined to only take as prescribed. If a pain doctor doesn't offer opioids, they should find another profession. I take Hydrocodone 10/325 4 times a day max and less if not needed, Nobody seems to defend the use of opioids, but if you don't abuse it, it could be a life saver, not a killer
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I totally agree.
Agree with you 100%. NSAIDs and Tylenol are not for everyone. For me they are incompatible with the stomach problems I have. My chronic condition, tinnitus, is not helped with any available medication but if opioids would help what a relief that would be! No such luck for me. I do agree that the bad press opioids have received has resulted in a trepidation on the part of doctors to prescribe them even for people whose life would be greatly improved by them. One would hope that physicians would use their judgement. I am sure some do in the better interests of their patients. Sometimes people confuse the difference between opioids legally obtained through proper channels with street drugs that are dangerous for everyone.
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1 ReactionRay jay I’m sorry about your ongoing pain and health problems. I totally agree with you that opioids should not be withheld from those who could benefit by having a Quality of life otherwise out of reach. I don’t have pain but I am a sufferer nonetheless. I suffer from very loud constant tinnitus. There is no treatment, nothing to alleviate the noise I hear day in day out. It has had a major Impact on my life. If opioids could help tinnitus I would gladly take them.
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2 ReactionsI wish I had some cool idea on how to help you. I remember when vioxx helped me so much, before I had a diagnosis and meds. Then it was taken off the market. I moved to advil, which worked pretty good, then had the GI bleed. So now it’s Tylenol. I just read an article in Medscape about it not being very effective for chronic pain…
And then I read your story. I think I’d go crazy. At least I do have some pain-free time. Tinnitus would be very difficult. I have 3 friends with Meniere’s Disease. The stories they tell! Good grief. This forum is a great place to keep me from feeling sorry for myself. It’s important to understand other’s struggles. Perspective is everything.
Are they doing research for something to help you? I am sorry you have to put up with that constant noise. It’s so hard for me to concentrate when it’s noisy. Does it interfere?
Thank you for your kind words and sympathy. Tinnitus can definitely interfere with concentrating on a task. I have a few things that really interest me so if you have a passion for what you pursue in the way of interests that helps concentration. Each day when I wake up I can tell if Tinnitus will be bearable or hard to tolerate. I try to go ahead and do what I planned and only stop if its just too much to bear in the moment. Hard, but life is not necessarily easy, you just have to plough through,
live how you can and do your best. What I find most frustrating is that in a world where mankind can look back to the earliest forming of the universe but we still can' t find the causes of Tinnitus or help its sufferers, unbelievable!
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4 ReactionsI totally agree with you! I am in the same position, except haven't had my pain meds in 4 months! No doctor will prescribe them. My quality of life is now zero.....
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3 ReactionsHi, I'm Blake and 29. I have a rare condition that I was born with called Syringomyelia which is basically a hole in my spine, I'm in pain most of the day every day I get back pain, neck pain and migraines. I'm on Tramadol 50mg x5 a day and it makes life bearable, it's actually the only pain med that really works on me. It's on schedule 4 so some doctors are more willing to prescribe it, I have an excellent PCP doctor that cares about his patients and doesn't think that opioids are evil.
I totally agree. Politicians shouldn't punish us chronic pain patients because of a select few that are unable to control their addiction.
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4 ReactionsHello @issy, welcome. How frustrated you must feel about that. Hearing your quality of life is zero now makes me feel pretty sad. I remember when I felt the same.
How have you been handling your symptoms over these past 4 months?
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1 ReactionHey there, Blake @avalon11. Welcome to Connect. You must be a strong person having dealt with a Syringomyelia since you were a child. I'm glad you've found Tramadol to help ease your pain. What other tools do you have to help you with chronic symptoms? Are you able to exercise?
I have not been doing well at all. I just stay at home most of the time. Can't sleep at night due to pain. Thank you all!