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Grand Member
Member Since Jun 2008
Location: WYLTK
Posts: 766
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#1
why am I so scared of being on pain meds, like the really good kind, like for nerve-pain?!?!
I know some people with severe depression and other mental illnesses get addicted to pain meds - I know it happens. I doubt I would be one of those people, considering I tend to 'under-take' verses 'over-take'. but maybe I'm just nervous about 'starting' on a path like this BECAUSE of where it could end up. does that make me a bad person?! do medical people look at me differently because I'm hesitant to start pain meds I'd have to be on every single day for years to come?!? especially if I can't explain my fears to them?? my internal 'strength' has kept me away from all alcohol, tobacco, and drugs (the bad kinds)! so I know I have that going for me. at the same time, I'm basically alone IRL and not a single person would even know if I did get addicted or was 'fighting' against that. so are my fears justified or am I over-reacting (as some would say)???? |
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Anonymous45016
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Travelinglady
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#2
You are not alone.
I prefer natural medicine. I say no to Allopathic medicine. I love my body too much. Protect your liver and kidneys and not to mention your brain. To each his own! |
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jrae
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Legendary Wise Elder
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Member Since Jul 2011
Location: Tennessee
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#3
I think it’s good your hesitant to take a lot of meds.
You mention nerve pain. My husband has severe neuropathy in feet legs and beginning in his hands. My husband took Neurotin/gabapentin and now on Lyrica The meds help him be able to walk and enjoy life more. Nerve pain is horrific. He’s not “ addicted “ if he stops he will go back to the point of struggling just to walk across the house. He doesn’t get a high off it. They are not like a true pain pill like an opioid. I have Fibromyalgia and when my pain is just terrible I take neurontin/gabapentin until things settle down. I hope you can find a medication that will help you and your comfortable taking. __________________ Helping others gets me out of my own head ~ |
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jrae
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jrae
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Legendary Wise Elder
Member Since Sep 2010
Location: North Carolina
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#4
I actually take an opoid med and have been for years. I might be somewhat physically addicted (as in, my body might react if I stop cold turkey), but I have never taken more than I've needed.
I take it to survive much physical pain--otherwise, I'd get depressed. |
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jrae
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jrae
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Magnate
Member Since Oct 2018
Location: USA
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#5
My husband has reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), also known as chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS) -- probably one of the most painful neurological pain syndromes known. He has an implanted pain pump that delivers morphine directly to his sympathetic nervous system as well as an implanted spinal cord stimulator. Additionally, he is on oral pain meds and neurontin for breakthrough pain. He has always taken the meds as (and almost always less than) prescribed. Doctors have never worried about addiction with him.
Will he have a physical withdrawal if the meds are stopped fully? Oh, heck yes. But the reaction is due more to the pain increasing than the medication. His pain level is so high without pain meds that it would send him into physical shock. We actually had this happen a few years ago. His pain pump ran out (which should never happen but the doctor's office screwed up and miscalculated his refill date) and he didn't hear the alarm (very soft). He did have a serious physical reaction. Chronic pain syndromes are real. They have to be treated and the whole opioid crisis thing has been particularly difficult for patients like my husband. Fortunately, he already had the pump in place and over 30 years of serious pain control measures on record. But he still has to jump through the bloodwork hoops (which are ridiculously expensive) to pacify the government rules. He is very careful with his oral pain meds. Never takes more often than prescribed and takes as mild as possible. He has a family history of addiction so he is very wary, but it has never been of issue for him (probably because he is so careful AND his pain is so horribly real). I rarely take pain meds. I have taken them for things like kidney stones and most recently after some major dental work. But I take them only as prescribed (or less) and only for a few days. My doctors never prescribe more than maybe a week's worth, and I rarely finish a whole prescription. The people who seem to be abusing pain meds are getting refills after a procedure or injury that doesn't warrant refills (THAT is the doctor's fault) or worse, using other people's meds when their own run out, or even worse, doctor shopping for meds, etc. which is why the FDA has started tracking prescriptions. If you get pain medications from a doctor, use them as prescribed, don't get them refilled (and if you have to do so, only go back to the doctor who prescribed them so they are aware you are needing more which probably means something else is going on), you are less likely to fall into an abuse/addiction pattern. If you find yourself seeking more, particularly from different doctors or from other friends or family, that's a strong sign you have developed a problem. |
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jrae
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jrae
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Grand Member
Member Since Jun 2008
Location: WYLTK
Posts: 766
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#6
thanks so much everyone! it's interesting to hear / read the different responses & reactions.
one of the things here is I'm only in my thirties! I'm not 'that old' yet. so if I start anything now, the odds are I will be on it for a long long time. and in my case, it's spinal injuries from multiple MVAs and whiplash incidents! and as time goes on, things will slowly continue to get worse. I already have 4 bulging discs that are touching/pressing against my spinal cord (no compression yet), like 6 discs with tears, and like 9 bulging discs/protrusions! and also lumbar radiculopathy - which I am doing steroid injection shots for. now I've also added nerve-based headaches (thanks to multiple brain injuries). for now, it's not really a pain 'intensity' thing for me - it's a 'volume' of pain thing. there's lots to be figured out still, so idk..... |
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catches the flowers
Member Since Jul 2019
Location: Downtown Vibes, California
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#7
Something to keep in mind is that pain itself is hard on your mind and body. So many people scorn pain medication; frankly, I scorn the stress that comes from chronic pain.
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jrae
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jrae
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Grand Member
Member Since Jun 2008
Location: WYLTK
Posts: 766
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#8
it kinda hit me the other day -> maybe a piece of this...
I couldn't swallow pills until I was 'older'. by that time, I had only been swallowing pills for a year or two before I was thrown onto MI meds. and that I did for six years straight! so I never had an 'ease into things' period ..... just throw the toddler into the deep end and off ya go |
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