Hi, Sandy:

If Dilaudid (hydromorphone) is at least as effective as Duragesic, I am willing to try it. I am not sure if this medication is indicated only in cases in which the severe chronic pain is caused by cancer.

Do you agree with your primary care physician when he says time release opioids are too addictive? Your doctor is one of the many physicians who refuse to prescribe sustained or extended release opioids, supposedly because they are addictive. Yes, such opioids can cause physical tolerance, but I believe that if they are prescribed for the right indications and if they are taken like the doctor, pharmacist, or manufacturer says to take them, the risk of psychological addiction is very low, something like 1 in 10,000, according to a study I read somewhere in a medical journal.

I am afraid that if I complain to my doctor about the withdrawal symptoms or the side effects, he will wean me off or cut me off of Duragesic. Since only long acting opioids are effective against my severe chronic pain (from RSD or from Central Pain Syndrome), what will happen to me without anything to control this pain? I would just have to quit my job and become homeless with my two-year-old baby boy. I cannot let this happen; otherwise Social Services or Child Protective Services would be more than happy to take my baby away. This is something I cannot allow because I love my son more than anything else in this world.

Quote: "No one on this board can tell you what to do." I understand this, but I appreciate hearing about other people's comments, opinions, and ideas. I also enjoy the support I receive from them, support I do not receive from my family.

The medications I use at the present time are the following:
-Duragesic 125 mcg (one 100 mcg patch and one 25 mcg patch every 72 hours),
-MSIR 30 mg (one capsule once or twice daily, as needed),
-Flecaïne 100 mg (one tablet once or twice daily, as needed),
-Lidoderm 5% (cut off pieces of patch on my painful left knee, as needed),
-Keppra 500 mg (two tablets twice daily),
-Rivotril 2 mg (one tablet once daily),
-Relpax 40 mg (one tablet once daily, as needed),
-Celebrex 200 mg (one capsule daily until the 30-capsule box is finished),
-Paracetamol 1000 mg (similar to acetaminophen, one to four tablets daily, as needed),
-Inexium 20 mg (one tablet once daily, as needed).

Thanks for your answer, your support, and your information, which I appreciate a lot.

Priscilla