Replies to 'Living with Chronic Pain'

i am glad someone spoke up for methadone as an effective pain management tool.  all too often, people assume that it is only used for heroin addicts in their effort to go clean.  

   

the methadone used for medically supervised pain management is the exact same formula -- but usually is prescribed in pill form.  it is very effective and very inexpensive.  more and more pain management doctors are prescribing it fot both of those reasons.  extended release forms of drugs, like oxycontin, are being widely abused.  methadone, because of its long half-life, stays in your system just as long but lacks the abuse potential.  

   

i have been on the same dose for about two years -- for help with avascular necrosis [hips, shoulders, knees, ankles] and RSD/CRPS.  to be honest, it doesn't help much with the bone pain but it is fairly effective against the RSD/CRPS pain... and that's saying something positive!  

   

everyone is so different when it comes to pain and how to relieve it -- as hard as it is to believe, pain is a subjective reaction.  [and tonight, for instance, i find that exceptionally difficult to believe!] if you have chronic pain, a pain specialist is really necessary.  

   

although i must say i am ticked off by my new one -- still wet behind the ears.  i have recently suffered new fractures in my left foot and knee.  he doesn't get the concept of acute pain on chronic pain.  my internist just rolled his eyes... and i didn't find that especially helpful either!  

   

so a word of advice to all those with chronic pain -- ASK  now how acute pain is handled, should that occur! 

  

music is a wonderful help for me [just to talk about something besides drugs...] as well as critters.  any work that i can undertake is helpful...  but god save me from daytime t.v. -- dr. phil's show excepted. 

  

be well, everyone, g'night! 

>>>>tried methadone for pain management. Not the kind of methadone addicts use but the kind they give people living in pain. Methadone, unlike morphine or any other opiate allows you to have a life, unhindered by walking around like a zombie.>>>>> 

  

So NOT true!  First, methadone is methadone.  There's no special formula for heroin junkies versus pain patients.  To say one can only use Methadone in order to function is ridiculous. 

One can use any opioids/opiate and not walk around like a zombie when the med is dosed and titrated properly.   

  

I've been on a 24 hr release of morphine for the last 2 yrs and am far from a zombie.  In fact, even taught science at an elementary school for 4 yrs.  Pain managment gives you your life back- methadone does not. 

  

Also, ANY doctor with a DEA number can prescribe any medication- scheduled or not.  Even nurse practioners with DEA numbers can prescribe scheduled medication (in CA). 

Pain specialists are not always the best choice for chronic pain patients.  They are usually anethesiologists who want to try procedures like epidurals, killing nerves, etc.  My pain management doctor is a family physician.  Any doctor can treat your pain if he/she's willing. 

  

  

>>>And by the way, no one get's addicted to opiates including methadone, if you are using it for which it was intended. >>>> 

  

This is true!  People who use pain medications for physical pain are less than 1% likely to become addicted.  When you use medication for your emotional pain, that is addiction. 

 

  

Nicole 

systemic lupus  

fibromyalgia 

hypothyroid 

restless leg syndrome 

hypoglycemia 

excessive daytime fatigue 

osteoarthritis 

tachycardia 

etc.... all before 30yrs old 

 

 Just had to chime in with my agreement concerning Methadone -- I've been taking it now for a couple of years, and it is by FAR the best medication I've been given for Chronic Pain. I'm cognitively aware now. Although I've never achieved "pain free" status, I've found it much easier to manage and cope with being in a world that often doesn't acknowledge people in pain. With the methadone, I've managed to create more of a daily routine for myself which means I'm on the way to having a life again that isn't completely pain centered. Pain will likely always be a part of my life, but I'm starting to see it on the periphery instead of something that determines everything else in my life. Yeah for methadone!!
On the downside though is the discrimination I've sometimes faced because people lack awareness of this drug. They usually only associate it as a treatment for addicts. I've gotten snarky looks from some pharmacists. Family doctors have refused to accept me as a patient. I've even been told by some medical offices, once I reveal that I take methadone for pain, that they "don't deal with addicts/addictions."
There is such a lack of knowledge in the medical community regarding pain and effective treatments. Often, I've been the one to educate care providers regarding methadone and its licensing requirements.