First, all doctors are primadonnas. Even if he really didn't know how to detox you, no way he would ever admit that to anyone.

Second, I've never ever ever heard of a doc's office that was "only seeing new patients". What??? I've heard them say plenty of times that they are NOT taking on any new patients but I've NEVER heard of them say they are ONLY taking new patients. THAT makes NO sense whatsoever.

Every situation has two sides and yours is just one side of the story. I hope you are not living in the world of denial cause you and your loved ones will suffer.

Hi dllfo,

I stopped taking ms contin and norco cold turkey. No help with my doctor at all because she gave me one months supply and said cant accept my insurance anymore cya....medi-cal was the insurance.

The first two weeks were absolutely horrendous! After that things would get better day by day with the rls lasting well into the second month. About the second week into the 3rd month I realized that I was feeling quite normal.

It is a very difficult thing to kick, and please dont beat yourself up for taking any pain meds for the rls. I too took a few norco just to get the edge off the intense rls, and flu like symptoms.

I still have the pain, but I am sooo glad to be free of the morphine. I can take the norco when things start getting out of hand, and wont ever get dependant on the other stuff ever again. Everything will improve if the morphine was messin with your breathing, you will even think clearer.

Too bad the pain just wont go away lol.

Reasons for detoxing are mostly to stop the side effects of high dose narcotics, such as dyspnea (difficult breathing), and terrible constipation (for those not paying attention to the proper diet, and use of adjunct methods to help alleviate this problem). If your pain has diminished and you find yourself wanting to get off narcotics, here are a few pointers.
A SLOW withdrawal of the narcotics is vastly better than cold turkey, but you have to have free time to do it. The drug CLONIDINE (an "alpha adrenergic drug) can be prescribed to help with the nasty freaky movements that drive you to distraction. BENZODIAZEPINES such as CLONOPIN are anti-seizure, which is basically what RLS and the other movement manifestations are all about. The mixed-agonist-antagonst opiate drug Buprenorphine, often is used to slowly wean one from opiate agonists. Cold turkey opiate withdrawal is hell, but does not result in the propensity to cause death, such as cold turkey alcohol withdrawal does.
For chronic pain patients, one should NEVER get poor treatment from the medical community. Anything less than "all the help that they can give you" is malpractice. YOU didn't choose to become addicted to narcotics; they were prescribed to you by the medical community to control life ruining PAIN. If you have to be on them for the rest of your life, this is NECCESSARY. Few chronic pain patients feel the euphoric effects of narcotics and don't seek to rapidly increase the therapeutic doses that are prescribed, do not crush controlled release tablets (they are usually also given quick release tablets for breakthrough pain), and don't double doctor or seek illicit "extra supplies". The bottom line is, narcotics can be used long term, but pain relief for the "extreme chronic pain patient" gets tricky because side effects do warrant periodic dosage reductions.
A good pain doctor can recognize the difference between users and abusers of narcotic pain medication. Unfortunately, we are stuck with the status quo until opioids are developed which do not cross the into the brain, but can effectively block peripheral opiate receptors, so that brain penetrating opioid agonists can then be administered long term without the terrible side effects that limit their great effectiveness at stopping life disrupting chronic pain.

I have been taking morphine since 1997, although I did come off it for 2 years (05-07) but found myself having to take oxycodone IR to cope with the pain. The main problem I had once I had stopped the morphine was restless legs, it very near drove me insane. I tried requip and clonazepan, but with little effect, it was so bad, I was having major problems driving and sleeping very little.

I had an accident at home in early 08 and ended up having to go back to taking the morphine again. I have cut my dose by two thirds recently and want to try again to stop it, but the thought of going through the problems of restless legs again scares me. My pain threshold is so low after taking morphine for so long, but I really want to get away from any opiate use.

Anyone have any experience with dealing with these effects of long term opiate use?

NJPain:

I agree with you 100%. I already know now, IF my current Doc tries to Detox me ... I'm a dead man!! He knows about Dextox like I know about Nuclear Fission. ZERO!!!! I am on 100mcg of Fentanyl, 3mg daily of Xanax & 15mg x 3 day of Oxycodone IM.

My plan is to completely bypass the entire NIGHTMARE and check myself into a hospital. Mainly a detox hospital that deals with drug addicts. I AM NOT A DRUG ADDICT but the only people I am gonna trust is a Detox hospital that deals with this daily.

Most insurance plans cover it ... how are you feeling now? Today is Oct 9th?

Joe

More detox fallout...I took a VA disability hearing test --- twice.

One test is tones and the other is a "word" test. Maryland CNC or something like that. The dr. told me I had to answer before the next test sentence started or the test was over.

I came home from the first test and told my family I had a lot of trouble with being able to recognize some words. Not sure why.

After the second hearing test, Oct.24th, I came home and told them the problem is my cognitive skills. A side effect (for me) of the long term use of opiates. I can't remember nouns. The word "cowboy" was used in the word test. I heard cowboy....click, whirr my mind was processing it ...clank clank....yeah, I think that was cowboy, then by the time my brain told my mouth to say it, the next sentence was starting. I can no longer multi-task. Another apparent side effect of opiates.

I can tell you more of my problems, but let me summarize it by saying the first doctor said:
"Test reports are not reportable for adjudicative purposes at this time. Pure tone and speech testing was attempted; however, reliability of the test results was fair to poor due to inconsistent respones from Veteran. During testing he continually responded with half word SRT responses, extreme hesitation and inconcsistent responses. Behovioral testing was not consistent with DPOAE results (which do not require patient participation) indicating a misrepresentation of his hearing ability (padding thresholds). Vet's behavior indicated nonorganic indicated nonorganic tendencies."

SHE STATED IN WRITING THAT I WAS CHEATING AND MALINGERING. She and I and the California State Bd of Medical Review have a future date, she just doesn't know it yet.
She is NOT qualified to test and evaluate someone coming off long term opiates.

WATCH OUT AND WARN YOUR FRIENDS.

Another finding after being off opiates for over 3 months...... I sleep much less. I went to bed around 1am last night due to congestion, was awake around 5:45am. I seem to feel ok the rest of the day, so who knows. Before opiates I could sleep to 7am easily.

My Restless Leg Syndrome is back with a vengeance. I had RLS around 2002 or 2003, then it seemed to go away. MAYBE it was because of the increasing amount of opiates?

The normal starting dosage of ReQuip is .25mg for RLS (per my Neurologist). In order to calm my RLS I quickly went to 6mg. Not good. Nausea is my new companion.

My memory is still not good. Example is: You and I are talking and a friend asks you what time it is. You answer. I will have forgotten what we were talking about most of the time.
I am trying to be patient (like I have a choice .

The reason I am posting these things is to let all of you know that the opiates may mask our pain, but our bodies ... may have other problems we can't anticipate. I hope that makes sense. I can't remember nouns well. Really a strange feeling.

Again, if you go to a Pain Med doctor, ask him how he will help you detox on down the road..... IF you have to do that. I never dreamed I would leave opiates, but my body demanded it. As one Pulmonologist told my wife, "Get him off the Morphine before it kills him..." I understand most of you will not have my problems, but you MAY be masking a different set of problems with your pain meds.

Well, now that I have cheered you up , keep these things in mind. I had RLS before the opiates, I just thought RLS had taken a vacation.

I have been on oxycodone for 12 years from cancer and then other pain issues. I detoxed myself off all the fentanyls but am having a hell of a bad time getting off this crap. I was taking 45mg every 3 hours and up to 60 when very bad. I started weaning down Dec. 22nd. I am now at 15mg every 3 hours and I take my Xanax (.50mg with it along with a muscle relaxer Skalenx or something like that. It does not make you zonky at all.) I am in such muscle pain in my legs, irritable, and so miserable I don't think I can make it. Why is this drug so hard? Please any tips to get me to the end? I have reduced it by 70% in 9 days but I am not doing well at this dose. Body won't get used to it. Should I just go lower and suffer more? Help I promised my family and I want off so badly. I am using accupuncture and other things for pain. Any tips to end this last part? It is a horrible *****. Can' work or function.

Can u please answer some questions for me? I have been on fentanyl, actiq (took myself off about 15 months ago after being on huge amounts-worked great on arthritis, neck pain, stomache and other issues)but they put me on oxycodone and the others which I can't stand. The oxycodone does work on the leg pain. This leg pain is new to me. I am trying to detox myself off oxycodone myself. In 8 days I have weaned from 45mg every 3 hours to 15 mg but my legs are killing me! I don't have pins and needles feeling. They just hurt all the way down and I have to stretch them straight out and it goes on for over 10 hours! It is new. It did start a few months ago before I started weaning off the oxy, Is this restless leg syndrome? I agree about the Dr.s' Long story but I am filing complaints on 2 myself. Mentally I am so done with these damn opiods-they change your personality and ruin your life but after 11 days of weaning down I am exhausted and hurting so badly. Any advice on how to get from 15mg every 3hours to the end of this hell?

I wish you all luck with your efforts, for me, if I go off pain meds I will die! I have tried most and settled for the one that makes me feel in most control, but my pain will never leave, its a fact, and I have tried doing without, can't live like that! I take only what I have to, always have more then I should at Rx refill time, take all I have so they will know I am not abusing, when something is not working right I demand to try something else! My pain has never completely left me, just dulled, got off all the crazy nerve pain meds that was making me feel like I had dementia, Like Lyrica, Neurotin, stuff like that! They had me on Kadian 100 mg 3 x a day and Ms 15mg 2 x a day and valium 10 mg 3 x a day (so I can pee and keep away terrible muscle spasms) so I had them change the Kadian to Opana 40 mg 2 x a day and it helps a bit better but still hurts. Every month I have anywhere from 4 to 10 ms extra and this month so far halfway through have almost 6 extra Opana, and always have 20 or so extras valium every 3 months and this has went on for years so I know I am not an addict, no way! I have to learn to live with a certain amount of pain, no choice! So far constipation is not as bad on Opana, and other things wrong with my body is direct result of spinal cord injury from surgery caused it all, even the surgeon that did it said so, and my labs are perfect along with BP, ect, just this damm pain and curve in my back,sigh. I do know I am not an addict, my body is dependent on meds that help get me to bathroom and I have never felt high.I have not had alcohol since years before the meds! I agree if you can live without them, go for it, otherwise use it wisely and listen to Dr unless he is quack! I feel anyone that wants to detox should be under care of Dr, if at all possible!
I wish you all well that has a choice, some of us don't!