Do pain meds really make you pain free>
 

Just curious.......I see where people are taking a variety of meds and say they are helped with their pain. They even have breakthrough meds. Wow/1
Ufortunately I have been on over 30 pain meds at highest doses with no relief. Just curious - do they completely eliminate your pain so you can function normally or do they just make it more tolerable and ramp the level down?
Also, I have no side effects from any meds. I recently took up to 400 mg of topamax with no relief as usual. My dr. would not go any higher. Then I heard another person say they take 1200 a day.
There is a test I learned about on this forum -p450 that tells if your system needs more meds than the normal person. I am hoping to get that test. Then maybe the doctors will allow me to take higher dosages.
Thanks,
Syndey

The lowest I have been on a pain scale in two years would have to be a 4 and I am very happy with that number......after being 8-10 for close to a year anything under a 7 is a Godsend for me! It is whatever you get used to.
I feel better right now then I have felt in over a year and I am guessing it is between 6-7. I don't do well on the anti seizure type meds...like Neurotin/Lyrica, ect. I take a combo of morphine, percocet and valium with a bit of advil thrown in from time to time...and I take omega 3's, multi vit and other suppliments recommended for low carb diets!
HTH!

Hi Syndey,
There is no such thing as complete pain free with CP. The meds reduce the pain and allow some function.
In my case--they keep me out of bed or in my recliner allowing me to do some of the things I like but I wont ever go back to work as a nurse again.

I have limits but I am very grateful to the meds in getting some of my lfe back.
What pain meds do you take?
Bubbi

Junie - I'd be interested in your supplements you take?
 

Junie,
Thanks for your quick response. I am given the impression that everyone is pain free from their meds. I guess that is not the situation in your case. My pain level varies from day to day- hour to hour. It is widespread FM and also RSD. It is totally unpredicatable and ranges from 2-3 to 10. Most of the time it is about a 6- 10.
I also take omega 3. Not sure I am taking enough. I'd be curious to know your supplements and wondering if you think they help you.
Also, I saw you take valium - is that for pain or sleep. My friend takes valium and it is the only thing that helps her headaches and then puts her to sleep.
Thanks for answering my questions.
Can't type much more . FM is in hands/arms also.
Sydney

Bubbi - no pain meds left to try
 

Bubbi,
My pain man. dr. is at a loss for any more meds. I have taken everyone on the market. I may start hydrocortisone - from my local dr. Pain dr. said "no'- too many side effects. I am so desperate I'm going to take it anyway.
If you have any ideas let me know. Nothing has worked so far.
Sydney

Sydney,
I take Valium for constant muscle spasms due to my arachnoiditis and yes..it helps me sleep. The 15mg daily helps but when I took 10mg 3 x day it helped much better. Plus it is greatly helping my anxiety!
I take super omega -3 formula from good health..it is a mixture of fish oil/flax/borage and I take 2 capsles daily and have for 3 years...and anytime I stop taking them I end up sick (flu/colds/ect) and pain seems worse. I buy mine from Dollar General fairly cheap and they seem to work well!

Gotta say NOPE
 

I have been on pain med for 6 years. They make it more manageble, but definitely not gone. I have no quality of life, but without them, I couldn't get out of bed and get to the bathroom 95% of the time. With my pain meds, I do have some decent moments and occassional drop below a 5 on my pain scale. Pain is definitely a constant part of my thought process in all that I do so that I don't push too hard and make it much worse - which I've managed to do too many times.

I'm curious, what are you considering the "highest dose" for the narcotics you have been on? I'm assuming you tried oxycontin and ms contin as long acting???

I have a three page double column list of meds I tried over the years for my migraines and 3 years ago, my doc hit on a combo with relative success which is much better than the NO success I had to 22 years! Don't give up.

Good Luck,
Suzanne

Pain meds only help with the pain not make the pain go away. When I was first on pain meds, I thought something was wrong with me because the pain was still there. Now 6 years later and 6 years smarter, I realize that it is only a major falacy that pain meds make it all go away. Now I live with CP instead of fighting it all the time. I just wish I didn't have to live with it so much.
I wish we all didn't have to live with it at all!

Gambles morphine doses
 

You asked my dosage for some of my meds.I checked my records and I was on oramorph ( I thnk that is oxycontin) 45 mg 2x aday, MSIT 15 mg 2x a day MS Contin 45 mg 2x a day, Methadone 20 mg every 6 hours. The list goes on forever. None gave me even the slightest relief. I am very frustrated. Signed up for the Ketamine trial but was refused as I have had the conditon too long and I have aching not burnng pain.
Maybe I need higher doses of meds - like lyrica or whatever. I am going to ask for that P450 test. I think I mentioned it in my other post.
Any ideas would be welcome.
I am so happy you found relief from your migranes. That is good news. Maybe a como of drugs instead of one at a time would help me too.
Sydney

No Way
 

I can tell you I haven't been pain free for the last eight years, except for a few years ago, for three and a half weeks I was in a coma and on life support.

I take pain meds 4 times a day now and they are~Oxycontin, Methadone, Hydrocodone and Neurontin. And, I still have pain. So, I don't know what it would take for me to have a pain free day. But, at least, now, I am able to do things without the pain consuming me.

So, no matter what pain med you are on or want the doc to put you on, don't expect to be pain free. It can help you get through your day easier though.
Good Luck,
Linda :)

Considering I don't do a heck of a lot during the day. It would be nice to be more comfortable. I know I keep saying this but I really gotta talk to my pain doc about this.:rolleyes:

Sydney
 

Sydney,

No, Oramorph is not Oxycontin. Oramorph is a brand of extended-release (long-acting) morphine. OxyContin is a brand of extended-release oxycodone. Oxycodone is 1.5-2 times stronger than morphine.

From the drugs you said you've tried, you were on relatively low doses, actually. Oramorph does not come in 45mg tablets so I'm assuming you were taking 2 different strengths to get up to 45mg-2X daily. MS Contin is another brand of extended-release morphine; 45mg-2X daily would give you the same relief as the Oramorph, give or take 30% (brands vary due to their absorption in the body, method of release, etc.) I'm not quite sure about Methadone; 20mg every 6 hours seems like it was a pretty decent dose. I know a few people who only take 5-10mg 3X daily and get relief.

I personally take Oramorph myself and I am up to 100mg-2X daily for my chronic pain condition (undiagnosed problems). I also take OxyIR (instant-release Oxycodone) for my breakthrough (BT) pain. A good friend of mine has to take 300mg of morphine 3 times a day just to get her pain levels down to 5-7. She has some serious issues though so it takes a lot of pain medication for her to be comfortable. Plus medication varies person-to-person as to how much it helps.

There is a new drug out called Opana. It is a formulation of oxymorphone, approximately 7 times stronger than regular morphine, I believe. It comes in both extended and instant release forms. Perhaps you can have a discussion with your doctor about this new drug at your next appointment. Also, I do believe Cortisone shots (per my experience) only last for a short while and don't provide *that* much relief. If all else has failed though you might as well give it a try as long as you don't have allergies to any type of steroids.

At any rate, no one should ever expect to experience total pain relief while being a chronic pain patient. Most medications are prescribed in the light of the patient realizing it will only minimize their pain levels and allow them to regain a somewhat "normal" lifestyle. Even with the morphine and oxycodone I'm still not able to work or go to school, so hopefully that will give you an idea of how some of us have to live; with the medicine I'm able to get out of bed and do what needs to be done around the house though and for that I'll be forever grateful to my doctor.

I hope that the information I have provided has been helpful to you. If you have any more questions or concerns, you can either post a reply or send me a PM. I wish you the best of luck!

If you don't get my message..
 

Sydney, I did get your message and responded, but I didn't really know how to do it. I was shocked when the messge box came up with your whole message in it. I didn't know if I was supposed to just type under it or erase it, and type my answer. Anyway, if you don't get it, just let me know, and I'll put it here. My reason for asking about doses was basically the same thing illusion129 said. I was concerned that the doctor put a ceiling on your dosing instead of what your body said - therefore leaving your doses lower than what might actually help you!

Suzanne

Pain Meds and Relief - Maybe, No, Sometimes, Yes
 

There is your answer...depending on the day, the stress, the weather, where the pain is and your activity level!

I am on Morphine, 120, oxy, ?, Diaz, 2 other pain pills, and Keppra, (seizures), something for inflammation that is out of control, and whatever else. (My husband takes care of all meds because of TBI on top of Chronic Pain.

Sometimes, the meds give me days that I feel almost normal for a few hours. Sometimes I wonder "did I take my meds" and find that I did. 8 mo ago, I was less than a 7. Haven't been there since. I like high numbers best! :)

The more pain meds, the chance of backfiring, and causing more pain. (can be found under high dosages of Morphine). What a deal. I seem to have a text book case of RSD, but no one will look at the full body info. The pain is ... well, you wouldn't understand@! lol. Don't you love it when someone says "I understand, I had a neck ache for a week one time...."

I would be on the ceiling with OUT my meds, and sometimes I still am. Pain pump trial this week.

Wish I had a magic pill for everyone!

Morphine is, for the most part, not very affective against rsd. I use methadone with other pain meds, and after being on morphine, oxy, fentanyl (just to name the narcotics) methadone has worked the best. Even at the low dose I am on now, works better than 100+ a day of morphine sulfate/kadian.
That is just my experiences and many others feel the same.

I don't think any medication can make you pain free for a long period of time. Your system seems to get used to them, or at least that is my experience. Try alternative methods??? drcandy

At times I am pain free, but it is rare. I am taking nucynta for 2 months and getting more relief than other drugs, FYI. Opana did nothing for me. Each of us are different.

Hello Sydney,
I can hear and nearly feel your exasperation and pain. I have a spinal cord stimulator and I have to take some pain meds three times a week along with the SCS being on all day. I contacted a naturpath and am taking quite a few supplements and I have much less pain and an improvement in mood. Believe me I have tried everything but am very happy with this recent combination. In the back of my mind I fear this will fail and I will be back into BAD pain, but then I do some meditation. drcandy:)

Lots of good input. I think the best you can hope for is to be back on top of the pain instead of the pain getting on top of you. Like a lot of others here, I have been dealing with chronic pain for decades and haven't found that magic bullet yet. ;). If you can get back on top of the pain, exercise will be helpful...........walking and pool therapy. Endorphins are my drug of choice. :D If you can get moving again and get those pumping, your mood will elevate and the pain will come down some more. Best wishes.

Endorphins
 

Wondrous!!
Prescription FREE
Not even over the counter...... and you will not have to show the Drivers License to get a "pack"
AND, they do so much of the "trick!"
besides....... my years of pain meds illustrated well for me the only medicated relief from pain was the unconscious state produced by so many of the meds prescribed to me when I had them.....
not truly living, that,
Hugs,
Mark56:grouphug:

i finally found med that helps me without, i call it doping me up,oxycotine 15 mg 2 times a day

unless they have changed the dosage, oxycontin doesn't come in 15 mg, nothing less than 10..

If you check the likes of RXlist you'll see that OxyContin currently comes in both 10mg and 15mg tablets in the US. Since the dosages are often different in different countries, it also comes in 5mg tablets in the UK.

checked it out. Why did they bother? 5mg is what you would get in on perc? One would have to be really little, or opiate naive for that to do any good......or is it to customize a larger dose? Or is this related to the fillers?more doses, less fillers from combining different dosage pills to get the dose you want?

The lowest I've been is 8. The worst 9. I've tried gabapentin, amitryptaline, fentanyl, codeine, morphine and regular painkillers such as paracetamol and ibruprofen but nothin seems to help me. The doctor said that the fentanyl would make me pain free bit really hasn't done much apart from make me ridiculously sleepy! But drugs that don't work on one patient may work perfectly on another, that's just the way these things are...