Failed........again........

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inkjunkie

inkjunkie

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Try to get off the pain meds a couple of times a year. Could not last year. Figured with it being winter and not being outside as much would be a good time to try. Started weaning myself off of the oxycodone about a month ago. First week was not that bad, just took one of the 5mg pills out a week. But it has been down hill since then. Manged to get off of the the oxycodone.....but it was replaced with aspirin & alieve. Tried taking some of the oxycontin out but it just aint gonna happen. Don't know if what I went thru last night was withdrawals or just a bit of the bi-polar creeping in because of the frustration from not being able to sleep. Past 4 days I might have slept a total of 6 hours. Spent most of last night fidgeting in the Lazy Boy. I do not take all that much of either, I take 4 5mg oxycodone a day and 2 20mg of the oxycontin. This is what I was afraid was going to happen when my doc & I decided to switch me from hydrocodone to both of the oxys. If I had known I was going to be this f&*ked up as I move along in life I might not have been such a knucklehead in my younger years. To all you younger folks, take it easy on yourself. I am only 47 but am paying for all the dirt bike crashes, repetitive motion jobs and poor lifting techniques over the years.
 
Sorry to hear about this. I was in a bad motocross wreck last year and broke my femur. It tore up my joints in that leg pretty bad also. I still haven't gotten a good nights sleep because of the pain since the accident (Sept. 2011) but refuse to take pain medicine for fear of going through what you are now. I'm only 19 but I already have buldging discs in my back and a ton of leg problems from high school football and my accident. I hope you start doing better with your meds. Hang in there.

-Forrest
 
Sorry Ink.

I'm only 31 and have degenerative discs in my neck and lower back and sometimes the pain in my neck is nearly unbearable and of course it just waterfalls into migraines, etc.

The doctor prescribed hydrocodones, flexeril, and two or three other pain/muscle relaxers.
I slept really good at night and woke up feeling invincable. So, I decided to do a test and not take any for one night....result, couldn't sleep at all.
I then decided to just completely get off all of them as I didn't want to fall victim to my body having to need them to even just sleep.
I just try and make sure that I stretch my neck and back whenever I can and just doing that has helped tremendously. Haven't been on any of it for the last 2 years or so.

Hopefully something will come about that will help get you off all that cuz surely it's not good for the other organs/extremities.
 
sorry to hear that Ink...

the only thing I wish I'd done different is use hearing protection when I was in the oilpatch- never thought the noise inside compressor buildings was bothering me, but now I have permanent tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Used to go away when I'd do the Valsalva maneuver (most commonly known as 'hold nose and blow') but it's always there now...

as far as back pain goes, I've had that for most of my life- so used to it now it doesn't affect me any more.
 
64 SRT8 Dart said:
Sorry Ink.

I'm only 31 and have degenerative discs in my neck and lower back and sometimes the pain in my neck is nearly unbearable and of course it just waterfalls into migraines, etc.

The doctor prescribed hydrocodones, flexeril, and two or three other pain/muscle relaxers.
I slept really good at night and woke up feeling invincable. So, I decided to do a test and not take any for one night....result, couldn't sleep at all.
I then decided to just completely get off all of them as I didn't want to fall victim to my body having to need them to even just sleep.
I just try and make sure that I stretch my neck and back whenever I can and just doing that has helped tremendously. Haven't been on any of it for the last 2 years or so.

Hopefully something will come about that will help get you off all that cuz surely it's not good for the other organs/extremities.
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Spoke with my doc about trying something else and he feels that both of the Oxys are the "safest" you can get if pain meds are not needed, they are not mixed with acetaminophen so the chance of organ damage is greatly reduced. I was taking hydrocodone before the oxys, to get any pain relief I needed the strongest ones around and needed to take at least a dozen a day. That much acetaminophen a day is brutal on the liver. He told me that in the near future the strong Vicodin/hydrocodone will be going away, as well as some of the other pain killers that acetaminophen is mixed with as they are lowering the maximum allowed daily dosage.
We talked about perhaps trying methadone, but in his experience with it it can be a bit troublesome to get the dosage right, his patients that have been on it have to vary the dosage frequently to get any relief and he said that one thing it is good for is causing you to be pretty dopey. He also does not like it because as addicting as Oxy can be it is far worse.
We are going to give dry needling a shot soon. He is not very hopeful it is going to be helpful as dry needling is more for treating short term acute type of pain. My first back/hip injury happened at the age of 14 or so, got pitched off of a dirt bike at about 40 mph and ended up being slammed into a berm while I was twisted up a bit. Couple it with the fact that I don't have pain in just one spot he is not all that hopeful. Time will tell I suppose.
Am hopeful that sometime in the near future I will be able to get back on a street bike. For me it was always a good escape from the problems of life. With my hand/wrist/forearm troubles I just do not know. Had carpal tunnel surgery on both sides. Surgeon told me that I am probably not done with him, said he sees signs of me needing surgery on the palms of my hands to remove the overly thick pads in my palms but he wants me to wait at least 18 months before even examining my hands for this goofy problem. This thick skin is what is causing me to have "trigger finger"....http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/guide/trigger-finger....
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
Has you doctor talked about Kadian? The generic for it came out very recently.
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No, but I will ask him about it next time I see him.....just read a bit about it......sounds like it is Morphine based. We did talk about Morphine. He said that one of my other meds is a diuretic which could cause problems with it. He was more concerned with mixing my mental health/sleep troubles with Morphine. When we were attempting to find something to help me sleep damn near every one of the meds we tried triggered some pretty strange hallucinations.......and in his experience with Morphine one thing it is good at is triggering hallucinations......But I am going to put this on my list of things we are going to be talking about.
 
inkjunkie said:
No, but I will ask him about it next time I see him.....just read a bit about it......sounds like it is Morphine based. We did talk about Morphine. He said that one of my other meds is a diuretic which could cause problems with it. He was more concerned with mixing my mental health/sleep troubles with Morphine. When we were attempting to find something to help me sleep damn near every one of the meds we tried triggered some pretty strange hallucinations.......and in his experience with Morphine one thing it is good at is triggering hallucinations......But I am going to put this on my list of things we are going to be talking about.
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I have to rotate my sleeping pills because they just flat quit working.
 
Your on a tough road for sure,I hope you can do it.It took me what seamed like for ever to get Cindy off the oxceysssssssss she suffers from nerve damage,dealing with someone who looks all dope up most of the time is no party,she now takes perks and they still make her look some what dope up.Good luck Ink.I am here for ya.
 
Snake said:
Your on a tough road for sure,I hope you can do it.It took me what seamed like for ever to get Cindy off the oxceysssssssss she suffers from nerve damage,dealing with someone who looks all dope up most of the time is no party,she now takes perks and they still make her look some what dope up.Good luck Ink.I am here for ya.
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Have tried the percosets/percodans in the past, did not do much for the pain. I have been on my doc about not having any get up and go. And that is what started the pain med discussion. Everything that can cause you to be sluggish looks good in my blood. He mentioned wanting to try to medicate my mental health troubles. I have had absolutely no luck in the past with it. Normally makes things much worse. That being said if he persists in wanting to try, I can not be held responsible for any one I offend on the site. Anyway, he made mention that the pain meds could be causing me to feel sluggish, that is why I wanted to try to get off of them. I have been battling the chills for months now as well. He has pretty much thrown in the towel on my sleep/sluggish troubles. He did make mention of sending me to an endocrinologist. Was told by a member here that with me being on testosterone therapy I probably should be seeing one any way. I know that lack of sleep is not doing me any good, but I have had this sleep trouble ever since my Dad had 5 strokes when I was 15 or so. And it has never caused me any troubles in the past, at least not to this extreme. My head doc is telling me that what I am going thru is just part of being bi-polar. Asked him that if that was the case how come I never had this problem until the last several years. Getting kind of aggravated with the all thing....again. This very well could be the reason that for a couple of decades I did next to nothing in regards to my health troubles......
 
Damn, Doug, I wish I had some good advice. Hang in there, we're all pullin for ya!!
 
inkjunkie said:
We are going to give dry needling a shot soon. He is not very hopeful it is going to be helpful as dry needling is more for treating short term acute type of pain.
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I had that done back in April and it actually works great. About once a week was the schedule.
Pretty weird when the therapist is pushing that needle through the back of your neck and you swear that you can feel it poking the back of your throat. lol
They go in pretty darn far too, prob an inch if not more in some places. He worked my traps and back of my neck as the pinching nerves keep the muscles around my neck and shoulders tensed which makes things worse obviously.
But like I said it works great, however, like you say, it's a short term treatment. Worth it though imo.
 
64 SRT8 Dart said:
I had that done back in April and it actually works great. About once a week was the schedule.
Pretty weird when the therapist is pushing that needle through the back of your neck and you swear that you can feel it poking the back of your throat. lol
They go in pretty darn far too, prob an inch if not more in some places. He worked my traps and back of my neck as the pinching nerves keep the muscles around my neck and shoulders tensed which makes things worse obviously.
But like I said it works great, however, like you say, it's a short term treatment. Worth it though imo.
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Glad to hear it worked for you. My wife had it done but she has psoriatic arthritis and it caused her to be in a lot pain for 3-4 days afterwards. I am going to try and get into see him when we go to town on Thursday. Just wondering, how many visits did you go for? How long was the relief? Doc said that most of his patients are on a 12-14 day schedule.....
 
Hang in there guys! I feel for ya. tmm
 
inkjunkie said:
Glad to hear it worked for you. My wife had it done but she has psoriatic arthritis and it caused her to be in a lot pain for 3-4 days afterwards. I am going to try and get into see him when we go to town on Thursday. Just wondering, how many visits did you go for? How long was the relief? Doc said that most of his patients are on a 12-14 day schedule.....
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If I recall I had it done twice the first week then once a week for the following 2 or 3 weeks, on Tuesdays. The relief actually started the day of the therapy and lasted through the next week.
I would've continued the therapy but my crappy insurance would only cover 10 or 12 physical therapy sessions so I quit going.
 
64 SRT8 Dart said:
If I recall I had it done twice the first week then once a week for the following 2 or 3 weeks, on Tuesdays. The relief actually started the day of the therapy and lasted through the next week.
I would've continued the therapy but my crappy insurance would only cover 10 or 12 physical therapy sessions so I quit going.
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Thanks, will be calling him tomorrow to see if I can get started with it......
 
Welcome, hopefully it works as good for you as it did for me. Also, hopefully the doc is good at the technique. The therapist's name here was Rusty Jenkins at Action Potential therapy. Younger guy, maybe around my age, but sure knew what the heck he was doin with it.
Oh yeah, I did have to sign a consent and release form, just in case he punctured a lung...if he was gonna have to work on my back. That's how deep they go with the needles. Not just a typical acupuncture procedure, lol. It's definitely a different feeling that's for sure.
 
I am on hydrocodone for back pain. And all that is bad for the liver?
 
64 SRT8 Dart said:
Welcome, hopefully it works as good for you as it did for me. Also, hopefully the doc is good at the technique. The therapist's name here was Rusty Jenkins at Action Potential therapy. Younger guy, maybe around my age, but sure knew what the heck he was doin with it.
Oh yeah, I did have to sign a consent and release form, just in case he punctured a lung...if he was gonna have to work on my back. That's how deep they go with the needles. Not just a typical acupuncture procedure, lol. It's definitely a different feeling that's for sure.
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He is one of the two doctors in Spokane that does it. He did explain that it is not regular acupuncture. When my wife had it done I surprised at how many needles he put in her, looked like a human pin cushion. He did tell me that if it does not work on my back we will just try it some where else. Maybe I can have him go after everything that is bugging me....
 
What he did to me was use only a few needles. He would find the muscle knots/pain areas and insert the one and then push the needle in and out and kind of work it around finding different nerves. If the nerve reacted (the muscle tense up or spaz out) then that was the problem area and he would leave it there for a few seconds.
He would then pull it out and used it multiple times doing the same thing until what I figured the needle dulled. He would poke me around 6-7 times in each trap and around 4-6 times in my neck.
Felt glorious afterwards! Nice and relaxed. Only thing I felt was just a little sore from the insert points but they would go away after an hour or so.
 
Old Tired Rebel said:
I am on hydrocodone for back pain. And all that is bad for the liver?
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Depends on the dosage of the hydrcodone......and if you are taking anything else with
acetaminophen in it. The recommended maximum a day is 4000 mg of acetaminophen....http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm239894.htm so look at your pills and see what the first # is. But also include anything else you may be taking with it in it. The link says that oxycodone (percocet) has acetaminophen in it, my bottles do not say it ( I think) so check the bottles. My doc has said while they are saying 4000mg a day is safe, but he would prefer you be under it if you are going to be taking it long term. If I remember correct the hydrocodone I was taking were 500/10. I was taking at least a dozen of them a day so I was way over the maximum dosage. Couple them with a few alieves a day for my head aches and I no doubt tore up my liver some.
He did tell me that when the new maximum dosage per pill is rolled in several of the hydrocodone/vicodin/norco etc. will no longer be available.
I really wish that I could stop taking this crap. But without it I can not even stand up straight anymore. Just getting out of bed will damn near put tears in my eyes. I am a bit concerned that down the road I will be on the high end of the dosages, but at the same time I don't really have a choice. Which is why I am really hopeful that the dry needling helps. I know it is not going to fix my problem, but am hoping that it will help in regards to pain management, I sure as hell don't want to end like a buddy in AZ, going to see a pain management specialist whose way of dealing with it is 5 different pain meds a day. Guy is so stung out he sleeps while standing up. Not to long ago he was standing at the sink, washing his hands. He slipped into his "sleep" mode and fell, breaking his leg. He is so strung out he can no longer work but with what is wrong with him he can not get thru Social Security's Disability process. Top it off with him being, or was at least, a recovering addict and he is screwed.
 
Getting away from meds like this is NOT easy, and slap anybody who says it is all in your mind! My wife went fell into the oxy trap about five years ago, or so. She was pretty much recovered from a car accident in 2005, but in May of 2007 we got rear-ended and that set her back to square one. She ended up on 75 mc/g fentanyl pain patches every 3 days and up to 40mg of oxycodone a day. And she was still in pain! If you aren't familiar with fentanyl, it's basically synthetic ******. Finally, her pain doctor decided that her body had had enough and decided to take her off her meds. ALL of them, all at once! He wanted her to quit cold turkey after about three years of being on them all day, every day. She convinced him to step her down off the fentanyl, but he wouldn't give her any more oxy. And let me tell you, her coming off the meds was a trip. Literally and figuratively. She hallucinated something fierce. She was up all night, thinking I was in the bathroom working and needed some tools. So she brought our big red Craftsman toolbox (which she normally can't lift on her own) all the way from our utility room into the hallway by the bathroom. She walked face first into our son's bedroom door. She even tried to put a pair of my jeans on. (I'm 6'4", 250 pounds. She's 5'2" tall, maybe 120) Once she got through the withdrawals (ever see Trainspotting, when Ewan MacGregor is being forced off ******?) she was better. She is still in pain, but her body isn't creating MORE pain so she would feed it with the meds.

As far as sleeping, have you ever tried melatonin? You can get it at any health food store, GNC, Walgreen's pharmacy, pretty much anywhere they sell vitamin supplements. It is basically the same thing your body produces to help you get to sleep. You might call it an all natural sleep aid. If you want to try it, I would recommend talking to your doctor about it first, as I don't know if it would interract with any of your other meds.

I'm sorry this is so long winded, but we are here for you if you need anything. We do know what you are going through and if you ever need to talk just let us know. Take care of yourself, brother. Let us know how things go.
 
do you live in one of the medical weed states? if so have you considered going that route far less dangerous
 
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