Morphine v Methadone Help please
 

Hello all i am new here and i live in a life of pain
i have had my back worked on 3 times my right leg 10 times and left leg 1 time

what meds i take i am on methadone for yrs 5 now and percocet for 7 yrs i use it now for BT pain now
and i take valium and zanflex

well i am wanting to get off the methadone and my pain doc has given me Kadian that's is moephine

anyone ever do this and what works better the mothadone or the morphine

with the methadone it's not helping much anymore and i do not get sleepy from it at all i take it 4 timers aday at 10MG pills

the kadian is 20mg i will be taking 2 aday

and anyone that had had taken methadone for a long time did you hert from not taking it anymore or will i be ok with the new meds i take i am scerd i will crash from not taking the mothadone

any and all info would be good

Thanks Rich

Hi Tofast2drive,
Had to click and read after seeing that name:D

I'll make a copy of this and post it in our Medications -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=32108
& Spinal -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=32109
forums.

and the main forum index page-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/index.php

Narcotics
 

Hi,
I read that you are on Methodone and also morphene? I was on Methodone for over a year, also oxicodone. I was seeing a pain management Dr. in Kansas city.
It seemed that every time I saw him he was suggesting a new narcotic.
While on the methodone I would phase out constantly. Its like if you go to sleep for a minute or so, and then wake up for awhile and do it again. I dropped things all the time. I am a smoker and I riddled the carpet with holes by dropping my cigarette. I would phase out with a smoke in my hand and would drop it to burn a hole. How lovely of me don't you think??
This past January I went into the hospital for a major surgery. (It was lifting up my insides) It has a real long name, but after having four big babys things were going down and needed to be lifted up. When the surgeon got me opened up
there was a problem right away. Because I was taking methodone , they
found several large balls of poop.I was suppose to be cleaned out.The infection rate just went up.
I stopped breathing two times and went to ICU on the vent. This was also because of the methodone. I had to have more anesthesia to get knocked out because my tolerance was high. This was also caused by the methodone.
While I spent two weeks in the hospital, my family Dr. took me off methodone.
Right now I am on NO narcotics. I didn't realize that the methodone had changed my behavior so drastically. I look back now and think of all the weird stuff I would do. I also would fall asleep in my chair and lean way over to the right side and me and the chair both would take a tumble. On one of these
occasions I fell over , hit this little heater we have, and split my lip.
I can't tell you what to do. I can only share my experience when I was taking methodone. It is nice not to have those weird behaviors any more.
Also very dangerous behaviors.
God Bless and I hope you can work things out
Doodle bug7

hello yes i am on methadone for 4 more days and then i will be taking kadian i have bean taking methadone now for 5 yrs and it do not help me any more thats why i am trying some thing new i do take percocet 3 times a day as well and some others but the thing that is scering me will i with drow bad from not taking the mothadone or will my other drugs help with the with drows
Thanks Rich

hi there

I have tried both and for me Methadone did nothing other than make me sick but Morphine helped a little.

Good luck!

Hello.
I have been on narcotic pain medication of different types now for 8 years. I was thrown from a horse in 1999, broke a vertebra, had a (failed) spinal fusion, and was at one time on 3 80-mg. oxycontins a day. That worked quite well, controlled my pain, and I was certainly not high or dizzy or phasing out. When I had the misfortune of moving to this city and state (can I say it openly?) ok, Erie, Pennsylvania- I found out that because there was a doctor arrested here in town, nobody will prescribe pain med anymore. I have to travel to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or Buffalo. Most recently I've been seeing a doctor in Cleveland but when I visit my son in Miami for Christmas, I hope to see a pain doctor there. Even the Cleveland doctor will not go above the 50 mcg. Duragesic patch (Mylan). I would like to get back on 3 80 mg. oxycontins a day.
Does anyone have a city to recommend where the doctors are understanding about pain?

meds
 

Methadone for sure

The VA has me on Methadosne and has just increased the doseage from 10mg a day to 15 for onw week then 20mg a day also I am dtill taking Perocet for brreakthrough pain I have osteoarthritis in my hip and my back. Thw main problem seems to be in my back I am also recovering from a brain Injury sfter I had brain tumor surjery in june 2003 I am 100% disabled and on SSDI they do not expect me to be able to return to work I just saw my Nero Doctor recently and she orderd a MRI/MRA done again I had one done over a year ago and I sometimes get dizzy and have balance problems, I just got up this morning and I am in pain I just took my morning medications and my Perocet 2 Now I cannot drive for at least 4 to 6 hours or the time period between doses. That is the main problem that has kept me at home is that if I want to go somewhere i have to plan to do it now after lunch and thats really no problem because I only have top pick up a few things today at the grocery store. But on other days when the pain is worse I have to stay on the medications all day.Im single and I have a female roommate who is my best friend she helps me and I dont have any social life to speak of now just the AAmate has to drive me meetings I go to and most of the tiome my roommate has to drive me to those. I will have 2 years sober at the end of the month so as you can see I have a lot of issues going on at the same time.And I am working with my treatment team at the VA my primary care Doctor, My Nero Doctor. The VA Pain Clinic,My Case Manager at the MISA program which is for Veterans witha Mental Illiness / Substance Abuse Problem, so its all of them working together for a solution I also called the county here about a abuse conseling program that the VA does not offer in a enviroment I would be comfortable in. I also have to complete a sleep study for sleep Apnea and the Pain Clinic are scheduling a fluro procedure injection in feburary of next year. and thats about all for right now whew!

hello i was on 40ms aday so 4 10's aday and i was ok but over time it stoped working for me i was on it for 5 yrs and i will tell you this to come off mothadone is a very very hard thing i thot i was going to die for about a week

my doc got me on kadian i was on 40ms aday now i am on 60 ms
i hope evry thing works out for you and never give up

i was about to give up one day and i sleep on it but wen i woke up my wife was there looking at me and i was able to see the love she has for me and thats all i needed pain is a funny thing it can make us think about thing the we would of never dremed of doing befor we got hert

but now i see thing in a better light i have my life my wife my kids amd my freinds most of all

if you can go out side as much as you can do it it helps the more you can keep move and going the better you will be this is my motel i say this evry day i get up and i do it anyway i went a little over bord i think but i hust had to say it

hello guys well all is getting batter for me i was on 60M of Kadian 30m in the morning and 30 at night now i am starting 50M in the morning and 30 at night

for a totel od 80M of kadinn aday i am hoping this help a little better i was taking 60M kadian and 3 7.5 perocet a day but with the 80Ms of the kadian my doc wants me to drop 1 pill from the perocet will i will let you all know how this works out

Thanks for all your help
Rich

>>>> " i will tell you this to come off methadone is a very very hard thing i thought i was going to die for about a week" <<<<
A word of advice, I don't know how rough quitting an 80mg a day morphine habit would be, but PLEASE whatever else you do, do yourself a favor and do not even attempt doing a cold turkey from a greater than 180mg daily, maybe greater than a 120mg a day, morphine addiction. I doubt many people could do it by themselves, and even fewer would be willing to try it twice. Have your doctor(s) assist you with it. Once was enough for me, My "PC" Dr. thought I was going to stroke out and insisted on locking me up in a hospital for a week, but I insisted on continuing. Turns out she had good cause for such advice, I did OK, but I seem to lead a rather charmed existence. But, once again, even though I know nothing about you and methadone (pretty much useless to me), or you and morphine either one, PLEASE do not attempt a self administered cold turkey detox from morphine!


>>>> "if you can go out side as much as you can do it it helps the more you can keep move and going the better you will be" <<<<
Absolutely correct!!! Getting up and getting going, no matter how bad it hurts, stimulates endorphin production, which helps to stimulate your opiate/endorphin receptors, making you and your meds work better together.

>>>> "anyway i went a little over board i think but i just had to say it" <<<<
That was overboard? LOL, I get more aggravated than that at weather! It's OK to get really mad about things sometimes, everybody needs to let off a little steam now and then. Some of us just let things build up a little more than we should sometimes...
Count me among the guilty

hello ya the mothadone was tuff as hell i would not get back on it agen to save my life it's just way to hard to get off but i did it i have some left over and i droped them in the big G i did mix water so know one can see what they are or try to use them

anyway i am starting the 80ms in the morning and will post in a day or so
if anyone here is on mothadone and have taken it for a long time like i did and you want off them do not do it with out your doc help trust me thats a ride you do not want

you all be safe and hope you get a day with no pain but i know thats tuff even with all the meds your just never out of pain

i will be going to have my back worked on soon agen they are going to be doing a Spinal cord stimulator had anyone had this or know anyone that has

(((gentle hug)))) I tried methadone only because my MD said she wouldn't have any issues with the FDA if she prescribed it (over the narcotic that works just fine for me!) It make me sick, literally (allergies?) Not only is it just as potent, but it carries the stigma of "drug addict" with it. No way would I do that again.

I hope the kadian continues to help. Yes, anytime a medicine "stops" working it's time to adjust things, whether that means increasing it or trying a different medicine. It just happens.

I have heard good stuff from some ppl who have the stimulator, and some not good from others. I guess it's like most thing?

Let us know how you are doing!

I continue to see a pain and stress management psychologist, and also my physical therapist 3x a week. It's one of those things I have to do for my life. (In addition to 3 sets of stretching exercises at home each day.)

Feel better.:hug:

Arthur is correct. Never withdrawl on your own. Please seek counsel from your Dr. It's fact you can die from opiate withdrawl. You have to be stepped down gradually. My sister takes methadone and just stopped taking it and ended up in the hospital. It is my understanding that methadone is the hardest of the opiate pain meds to withdrawl from.I have been taking morphine for 5 years now. 9 abdominal surgeries with three being major kidney surgeries and my insides are world war three. The issue inside is ARD,(adhesion related disorder ). Now Dr. is trying to decide if I have MS as well. Yipes :eek:
Good luck to all of you.

hi tofast2drive,
I have heard that some doctors prescribe a spinal cord stimulator only because they want to avoid having some right winger target them for prescribing opiates. People have had them put in poorly by docs not experienced enough, or in cases where it wouldn't be helpful, so, you have to rule out those 2 potential problems. Get second opinions, read up on the experiences of others, etc. Also, the stimulators work by sending messages to interfere with and hopefully confuse the pain messages that are being sent, so they don't work completely and you still have to take some pain killers.
I wonder if it might be true that a pain pump should be tried first? I know it can reduce the amount of opiates you take by more than a factor of 10 because it is local. Don't let any doctor convince you to try a stimulator until you feel that it will work better for you than a pump or oral painkillers.
Good luck,
Jane