Aa
My history and situation
Hey good folks......i sent this in response to tomskat via PM but thought I would go ahead and throw it out to the general community...everyone here seems to be very supportive, understanding and non-judgemental (a hard combo to find in any group of human beings !!) So here it is.....any response/advice will be appreciated.
Hey tomskat thanks for reaching out to me.....where to start......I have had back problems beginning in the late 80's, early 90's. Diagnosed as DDD and bulging discs in early 90's, was given 5/500 vicodin for pain. I used one or two a day for several years, but as my tolerance increased of course so did my consumption. Ok....fast forward to the mid 90's. Was referred to pain management in 1996 by PCP as they weren't comfortable prescribing increasing amounts of meds.
Pain management docs over a period of about 3 years increased medication to 15mg Oxycontin 2 times daily, Norco 10 mg up to 8 per day, Soma 3 per day, Neurontin (don't remember the dosage) ambien for sleep, elavil, and a few other things I don't even remember. Well needless to say I became dependent and was at this level for probably 3 years. I was functioning at a very high level with regards to my job..I was the Manager and designer of Corporate communications (local/wide-area networking and telephones for a Fortune 100 DOD contractor here in Austin Texas. A very challenging, engaging and stressful job...and really good money. Anyway to cut to the chase...my marriage and job performance began to suffer greatly and I decided to cold turkey off all meds in december of 1999. I had been on all that medication and would still run out every 2 weeks in between refills. That had been the case for about a year and a half before I decided to quit in Dec. 1999. So....I did kick all the meds cold turkey, felt like I was gonna die for a while but i successfully quit. I was really happy about not being on the meds....then I had a bad motorcycle accident and that put me back into the pain meds. Had 2 back surgeries, a cervical disc fusion in May/June 2000.....was treated for a while at varying dosage levels and did ok for a few months, then right back to the abuse, taking more than prescribed running out early, etc...
Well I quit AGAIN in 2001 and was going along ok, I still hurt constantly but was dealing with it. Well I lost my job after being lured away from my Corporate Network Manager job by a start up internet company and really big bucks (120K +) year. Well they went under and I went with them.......I got out of the whole network business, was just burned out after doing it since the late 80's. I ended up doing pizza delivery just to be doing something and having some income. Well my wife of 23 yrs. was not happy about the new money situation (she really got addicted to the big bucks!!!) and she left me in summer 2002. I continued with the simple humble pizza delivery man identity and everything was good, no pain meds (did still have pain) but dealt with it. Well I had a slip and fall on the ice carrying a pizza order and re-injured my back in Feb. 2003. On Worker's Comp, back on heavy pain meds..... this went on thru 2004 and then they dropped me off worker's comp and thus pain meds taken away cuz' I didn't have insurance outside of WC. Completely quit again and stayed off 'till the end of 2005 when I had a blood clot in the left ventricle of my heart and had a bad heart attack. The blood clot was lodged in my heart so the only thing the doc's could do was hit me with blood thinners and hope it didn't cause a stroke. Well I got real lucky and the clot went to my legs, which is a really bad problem but better than the alternatives. At any rate they went in both sides of my groin and into my left ankle and pulled the clots out of my leg arteries. Back on pain meds.... now I also have stage 3 congestive heart failure.Off the pain meds again in summer 2006. Ok, I just realized I was writing a book here, my apologies....geez....at any rate suffice it to say I was put back on pain meds due to chronic intractable pain and here I am again enslaved by opiates!!!! And I have self-increased meds, supplemented amounts illegally, all the s*^& that comes with it and I want off again. Well the present finds me 3 weeks out from a surgery to implant a pacemaker/defibrillator, another blood clot in my left ankle and on pain meds but wanting off. I was cutoff by my pain management doc when i went in and was honest with them about what I was taking....real professional move.....so I am back at my family doc prescribing some norco's for me but no where near what I am currently using. I am currently taking 3 norco 10/325 every 4 to 5 hours aqround the clock, this works out to 15 to 18 a day....and that is where I was able to reduce down to from probably 30 norco or more a day with some oxycontins and or morphine tablets thrown in as I could find them. So I am currently stable at 3 norco's every 4 to 5 hours and 1 soma 3 times a day for the past several weeks. My concern is that I know what the cold turkey deal consists of, I just don't know if i can handle it this time with the heart condition/pacemaker defibrillator and declining health due to CHF and I am not getting any younger or healthier.
Ok , I could probably go on a while longer but I will spare you......thanks for letting me unload on you sorry for the oration.........
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
Hey tomskat thanks for reaching out to me.....where to start......I have had back problems beginning in the late 80's, early 90's. Diagnosed as DDD and bulging discs in early 90's, was given 5/500 vicodin for pain. I used one or two a day for several years, but as my tolerance increased of course so did my consumption. Ok....fast forward to the mid 90's. Was referred to pain management in 1996 by PCP as they weren't comfortable prescribing increasing amounts of meds.
Pain management docs over a period of about 3 years increased medication to 15mg Oxycontin 2 times daily, Norco 10 mg up to 8 per day, Soma 3 per day, Neurontin (don't remember the dosage) ambien for sleep, elavil, and a few other things I don't even remember. Well needless to say I became dependent and was at this level for probably 3 years. I was functioning at a very high level with regards to my job..I was the Manager and designer of Corporate communications (local/wide-area networking and telephones for a Fortune 100 DOD contractor here in Austin Texas. A very challenging, engaging and stressful job...and really good money. Anyway to cut to the chase...my marriage and job performance began to suffer greatly and I decided to cold turkey off all meds in december of 1999. I had been on all that medication and would still run out every 2 weeks in between refills. That had been the case for about a year and a half before I decided to quit in Dec. 1999. So....I did kick all the meds cold turkey, felt like I was gonna die for a while but i successfully quit. I was really happy about not being on the meds....then I had a bad motorcycle accident and that put me back into the pain meds. Had 2 back surgeries, a cervical disc fusion in May/June 2000.....was treated for a while at varying dosage levels and did ok for a few months, then right back to the abuse, taking more than prescribed running out early, etc...
Well I quit AGAIN in 2001 and was going along ok, I still hurt constantly but was dealing with it. Well I lost my job after being lured away from my Corporate Network Manager job by a start up internet company and really big bucks (120K +) year. Well they went under and I went with them.......I got out of the whole network business, was just burned out after doing it since the late 80's. I ended up doing pizza delivery just to be doing something and having some income. Well my wife of 23 yrs. was not happy about the new money situation (she really got addicted to the big bucks!!!) and she left me in summer 2002. I continued with the simple humble pizza delivery man identity and everything was good, no pain meds (did still have pain) but dealt with it. Well I had a slip and fall on the ice carrying a pizza order and re-injured my back in Feb. 2003. On Worker's Comp, back on heavy pain meds..... this went on thru 2004 and then they dropped me off worker's comp and thus pain meds taken away cuz' I didn't have insurance outside of WC. Completely quit again and stayed off 'till the end of 2005 when I had a blood clot in the left ventricle of my heart and had a bad heart attack. The blood clot was lodged in my heart so the only thing the doc's could do was hit me with blood thinners and hope it didn't cause a stroke. Well I got real lucky and the clot went to my legs, which is a really bad problem but better than the alternatives. At any rate they went in both sides of my groin and into my left ankle and pulled the clots out of my leg arteries. Back on pain meds.... now I also have stage 3 congestive heart failure.Off the pain meds again in summer 2006. Ok, I just realized I was writing a book here, my apologies....geez....at any rate suffice it to say I was put back on pain meds due to chronic intractable pain and here I am again enslaved by opiates!!!! And I have self-increased meds, supplemented amounts illegally, all the s*^& that comes with it and I want off again. Well the present finds me 3 weeks out from a surgery to implant a pacemaker/defibrillator, another blood clot in my left ankle and on pain meds but wanting off. I was cutoff by my pain management doc when i went in and was honest with them about what I was taking....real professional move.....so I am back at my family doc prescribing some norco's for me but no where near what I am currently using. I am currently taking 3 norco 10/325 every 4 to 5 hours aqround the clock, this works out to 15 to 18 a day....and that is where I was able to reduce down to from probably 30 norco or more a day with some oxycontins and or morphine tablets thrown in as I could find them. So I am currently stable at 3 norco's every 4 to 5 hours and 1 soma 3 times a day for the past several weeks. My concern is that I know what the cold turkey deal consists of, I just don't know if i can handle it this time with the heart condition/pacemaker defibrillator and declining health due to CHF and I am not getting any younger or healthier.
Ok , I could probably go on a while longer but I will spare you......thanks for letting me unload on you sorry for the oration.........
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
As vicki said - there is no rush. The good thing is that you know you want to get off the drugs and you are working towards a goal.
I hope you have a safe trip. Keep us updated on your progress.
I hope you have a safe trip. Keep us updated on your progress.
I wish you the very best! It's wonderful that you aspire to be free of all the meds but please remain realistic,okay? It may not be possible.
In the meantime, a very slow taper is a great idea and NOT before you leave for the trip. I like that for you!
Every detox gets more complicated because we DO get older. Given the cardio/pulmonary situation, I'd take it very slow. There's no rush here...
Thanks for joining us here!
In the meantime, a very slow taper is a great idea and NOT before you leave for the trip. I like that for you!
Every detox gets more complicated because we DO get older. Given the cardio/pulmonary situation, I'd take it very slow. There's no rush here...
Thanks for joining us here!
Greetings good folks.....just a note/update I went to my appointment with my PCP and he understood everything pretty well and is working with me to taper my dosage/use down prior to my trip to Ecuador @ the end of the month and said he will write for me so I can make this critically important trip and then we can go from there. My plan is to continue to reduce my intake as much as I can between now and then and then come completely off all pain meds (norco and soma) after I return from my trip and before my PCP refers my to a more multi-modality pain management doc. I think it is very important for me to be clean from the opiates in order to accurately establish realistic baseline parameters for my pain and then go from there....i know it means I haven't quit the drugs yet, but I am addressing as best I can givien the complex set of medical conditions and life situation I am currently in....rest assured my goal still is to be opiate free and at a reasonable comfort level with my chronic pain......thanks to all for listening and responses/advice/concern....
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
PS. sorry for any double posts, still getting used to navigating this site....
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
PS. sorry for any double posts, still getting used to navigating this site....
Greetings good folks.....just a note/update I went to my appointment with my PCP and he understood everything pretty well and is working with me to taper my dosage/use down prior to my trip to Ecuador @ the end of the month and said he will write for me so I can make this critically important trip and then we can go from there. My plan is to continue to reduce my intake as much as I can between now and then and then come completely off all pain meds (norco and soma) after I return from my trip and before my PCP refers my to a more multi-modality pain management doc. I think it is very important for me to be clean from the opiates in order to accurately establish realistic baseline parameters for my pain and then go from there....i know it means I haven't quit the drugs yet, but I am addressing as best I can givien the complex set of medical conditions and life situation I am currently in....rest assured my goal still is to be opiate free and at a reasonable comfort level with my chronic pain......thanks to all for listening and responses/advice/concern....
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
That is great that you have your daughter and son-in-law for support you will need them during WD. Not to scare you - it just helps to have the emotional support in addition to the help with food, drinks etc. Definitely ask your dr for Clonidine. It is a huge help with opiate WD symptoms. I could not have detoxed without it. I still take it once in a while when I am having a bad day.
gnarly1, thx. for the input, you read my mind and my plan actually, I have an appt. this Friday with my PCP to discuss exactly what you mentioned. I think if I get off the pain meds I can more honestly and accurately gauge my true pain level....hopefully I can stay off the opiates and handle my pain level with diet, exercise, meditation and OTC meds. As for support I am very lucky in that respect as I live with my daughter and son-in-law and they are completely on board and informed as to my situation, we have a very honest and open relationship and they would be able to hold/administer meds if necessary and they are going to go to my appointment with me on Friday. I really appreciate all of you guys I can that his forum will play an integral role in this process as well as aftercare support....thanks to all for being there as we say in Lakota "Wopila lila washte......Hoka hey !!!!! "
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
Mitakuye Oyasin
n8tiv_ndn
your situation is complex I would recamend getting off the pain meds since your abusing them but do it under carful doctors orders you have a lot going on congestive heart failure witch can be caused buy abusing the pills blood cloots you will need to be tapered off slowly it wiuld be best if someone like a cpouse holds the meds as addicvts we tend to over percsribe to ourselfs
tapering requires discipline and perseverance this is just a mess but it is fixable please dont try this on your own you have to many health conditions
good luck and God bless......Gnarly
tapering requires discipline and perseverance this is just a mess but it is fixable please dont try this on your own you have to many health conditions
good luck and God bless......Gnarly
I have a friend who got the pacemaker/defib package as well..it's like a miracle. i joke and say..everyone should have them!
My concern for you is your blood pressure even while tapering. If I were you I would talk to my Dr., ask about prescribing clonidine.
I don't even want to try to advise.
Can you have a sit down with Dr. tell him you desire to get off the pain meds so that you can see exactly what your pain parameters really are? That just possibly OTC might be the answer..but there is no way of knowing until you have these out of your system?
I applaud you for wanting to do this..just be very careful doing it.
God Bless and good luck
keep posting
My concern for you is your blood pressure even while tapering. If I were you I would talk to my Dr., ask about prescribing clonidine.
I don't even want to try to advise.
Can you have a sit down with Dr. tell him you desire to get off the pain meds so that you can see exactly what your pain parameters really are? That just possibly OTC might be the answer..but there is no way of knowing until you have these out of your system?
I applaud you for wanting to do this..just be very careful doing it.
God Bless and good luck
keep posting
I have already had the surgery 3 weeks ago (10/10/11) and the swelling has gone down quite a bit but not completely, still pretty sore. As for timing to get off the opiates, would like to do it as soon as possible as I am potentially scheduled to travel out of country at the end of Nov. It is a really complex situation with regard to heart condition as well my last MRI's showed disc problems at 2 levels (bulging and constricting the thecal sac) My PCP wants to refer me to different pain management doc, but at this point I would almost rather just detox and try to go from there, but that really scares me as I am not as young and healthy as I was the other times I did the c/t. Thanks for the support and info I will check back into this forum later today......
n8tiv_ndn
n8tiv_ndn
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