NeuroTalk Support Groups - Addicted to narcotic pain medication...for a good reason???

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- - Addicted to narcotic pain medication...for a good reason??? (https://www.neurotalk.org/traumatic-brain-injury-and-post-concussion-syndrome/205943-addicted-narcotic-pain-medication-reason.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpaceCadet (Post 1077478)

Just like the pain relief properties, my body is needing more and more every week or two that passes in order to help with cognitive functions (communication, processing speed, overstimulation, etc). It builds the same type of tolerance as if I were taking it for pain.

Never heard of those meds. Tried grape fruit juice once, don't think I noticed a difference? Maybe I didn't drink enough of it.

How do those meds work?

I believe they work by increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyndianne (Post 1077482)

I believe they work by increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain.

....The pain pills that is!

L-Tyrosine can help increase dopamine production.

Specifically opiates that improve mood, are sometimes used for
medication refractory depression.

Oxycodone is specifically most active for this, because it has obscure but definitive effects on serotonin release.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/805197

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/majo...ant-depression

We have some threads here on our Bipolar forum about this.
"Suboxone" is one keyword to try to search for them.

Doctors require a special license to prescribe Suboxone, however and sometimes it is difficult to find one.

There is one antidepressant that works on dopamine...and that is Wellbutrin. It might be worth a discussion with your doctor about trying that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpaceCadet (Post 1077386)

Not having the greatest day right now. So, I will try to make this short as possible.

I'm a long time member of this forum here. I see a lot of new faces, so I will quickly introduce myself...

My name is Nick. I'm 29 years old. I suffered a mild "complicated" traumatic brain injury back in 2011. My main symptoms are severe sensitivity to visual and auditory stimulation, and serious problems with communication. There's a whole plethora of other symptoms, but those are the most debilitating. The sensitivity to stimulation is extremely debilitating. I wasn't able to watch TV, listen to music, or go ANYWHERE without my brain shutting down....and I don't mean for a moment. It would shut down for days, weeks or months. I couldn't do anything while my brain was in that state. I spent everyday of my life locked in a dark, quiet room for years.

Long story short, I started taking opiate based, narcotic pain medication for my headaches about a year ago. I noticed at a slightly higher dose that I'm prescribed, it completely ELIMINATED my cognitive issues. Yes, I know that sounds funny but I'm 100% serious. I've finally got my life back!!! I've gone back to dating, I watch movies, go to casinos, play video games everyday...and much much more. Basically, I'm able to do everything I was able to do before my injury!!! I am now a very social person like I was before.

It's amazing....

But...it's NARCOTIC pain medication. I'm taking more than prescribed (of course at a safe dose). My tolerance raises more and more every week, leaving me with 2 choices: Stop taking them and suffer tremendously. Or, keep raising the dose, run out of pills and have to resort to the black market to obtain more.

I don't know what else to do. I've tried every type of medication, vitamin regimens, therapies, had every test performed under the sun and seen every type of doctor you could imagine. NOTHING else works for me. I somehow manage to scrape by every month, never going more than 2 days without medication...but...there has to be another way.

Does anyone else have a similar experience with narcotic medication to relieve symptoms??? Any suggestions???

As of right now...my plan is to try to bring my tolerance back down by teetering. Once my tolerance is back down, I'm gonna try taking them for 3 days, and stopping for 3 days. That way I don't run out, or it doesn't cost me as much. The three days that I'm not taking them, since I'm not working, I will just lock myself in the room and rest while my siblings help with my son.

Well, let me know what you guys think....

Nick

P.S. Judge me if you please. But, we all know only God has that honor. I was desperate to have my life back. This is what works for me!!! I pray that everyone here finds what works for them.

Firstly, thanks for posting this. I have resisted opiates, and the like, since my Mtbi. However, as the injuries continue to make my mind/body deteriorate, what quality of life I have is ebbing away. The last few weeks have just been a nightmare of pain. I'm wondering if it's time to give myself some relief - any relief.

That said, I agree with the others that you need to find a legitimate source for you meds. The consequences of your current arrangement, especially in your country, could be dire for you, and your friend.

It's a tragedy, and travesty, that people in pain are collateral damage in the futile, asinine "war on drugs."

I had similar experience while taking Xanax.
When I started taking it, I would get relief in my symptoms to the point where I would feel normal again.
I tried taking less than was prescribed to me, at first I only took a small dose each day only when I felt I needed it, but quickly had to up the dose (xanax only works for about 6 hours) to get the same effect.
This allowed me to be social, productive at work, etc...
Soon I realized that instead of getting better, I was actually getting worse, as every time xanax dose wore off, I would feel horrible.
At about three weeks in I figured out that I'm addicted to it, and decided to stop taking it cold turkey. The three days that followed were the most horrible days in my life.
Took me about a month after that to be able to work again.

I believe that Xanax was masking my symptoms and instead of resting and taking it easy, I made things worse by overtaxing my brain every day.

Last year I hit a plateau in my recovery for several months. It felt like I'm not improving at all, and sometimes would have really bad setbacks from very minor stuff. I tried several different things and found a good Atlas Orthogonal chiro, who was able to get my recovery moving in the right direction again.

I realize that my story is different from yours, but don't give up and try to find something that helps you, I don't think drugs are the answer...