I know that look, being registered as a S8 user was bad enough, now I'm on sublingual temgesic also known as buprenorphine and this is a drug widely used to assist addicts get off whatever they are addicted to. When people hear I'm on temgesic they look at me like I'm an addict in recovery. My GP wanted to put me on methadone back in 2009 to help manage my pain but I refused because of the stigma. I wish now in 2016 some things had changed but sadly no. With pharmacy drugs now more widely blasted as prescription drug addicts we are in a no win situation. I take as small amount as I can to get by on a daily basis. I know I should take more to have a better quality of life but the stigma fear festers in me.
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Originally Posted by JoanB
Thanks for your reply, PamelaJune. The tapentadol wasn't helping the nerve pain, and my doctor thought that raising the dose wouldn't help. She put me back on methadone, which I had been on for several months. I really wanted to stay away from methadone because it makes me nauseous, I hate how it makes my brain (not)work, and the stigma from that particular drug is hard for me. People assume you're an addict if you take it, and I know addicts are not bad people--my nephew is one, and he can't help it--but the look you get at the pharmacy and even various healthcare people is disheartening.
Oh well, sometimes there just aren't any good choices.
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