Aa
My story..& where to go from here?
Hi everyone. I'm a 27 year old woman. I'm new here, so sorry if this gets a little long!
Around the age of 5, my teeth had horrible issues. I was always in and out of the dentist with one problem or another, at such a young age. As the years went on, my teeth kept getting worse, and no one knew why.
At the age of 14, during a routine dental check up, Xrays were taken, and they discovered what they thought was a tumor. They scheduled me for surgery, then planned on biopsying this "tumor". I had it removed, and strangely enough, it was a benign tumor, made up of mostly tooth enamel. This now explained to dentists why i had so many teeth problems. They said that the enamel that should have been distributed throughout my upper teeth, had clumped together instead. Needless to say, it was removed and the dentist's told my parents I would most likely have false teeth in my early twenties.
Flash forward...through the first few years of my twenties, my teeth were still doing ok. I had a few abcesses and infections but i got through it with antibiotics, lancing the abcesses and lots of motrin.
Flash forward to this year, well, beginning of 2007. I started having constant teeth pain. I had no dental insurance, so I went to a dental clinic. The first time I went was a horror story in itself, and I decided to not go back. Throughout May, June, July and August, I dealt with alot of Motrin, antibiotics, ice packs, etc. In September, I knew a decision had to be made. Some teeth were breaking just from brushing my teeth. In early October, i found and went to an amazing dentist. He was wonderful. He drew up a gameplan, and said that I would need all of my upper teeth removed, because they could not be saved. He said I would wear an upper immediate denture so that I wouldn't have to go without teeth, and then after my gums healed, I could have them implanted. I was ok with this, because I knew it was a long time coming.
In the third week of October, we began surgery.I financed the 5 thousand dollar work and we started with the back teeth, and I had oral surgery every single Friday up until this past friday, which was 1/11/2008. It was drawn out this long because I needed many surgical extractions that could only be done one or two at a time, required alot of stitching and bone grafting. At this time, the doctor started me on taking Percocet 7.5 mg, as needed for pain, every 4 to 6 hours and at bedtime. I took the medication always as prescribed, along with motrin. On most days, I took a pill or two less, because while I was at work, I didnt' want to take the percocet.
This continued through each surgery. Each friday, I would have more work done, and leave wtih my percocet prescription for the week. I know some people say on the threads I have read that they get a good feeling from them and enjoy taking them. I'm not sure why, but that wasnt the case for me. Whenever I took one of the Percocet, I was nauseas and all I felt like doing was sleeping. So anyway, two Friday's ago, was one of the two "big"surgeries. On 1/4/2008, I had 8 upper teeth removed, some that were impacted into the bone. After these extractions, I had two bone grafts done, and went home on Percocet 10 mg. This was the first time I actually took the medication every 4 hours, because this was the most pain I had experienced so far.
On 1/11/2008 (last friday), I went in for the final stages of the surgery. I had the final 4 teeth extracted, and stitches placed, and my immediate denture was put in. The doctor gave me,a prescription for 10mg Percocet, 10 tablets. he told me that because the denture was in place, the pain will be minimal. He was right. By Saturday, my pain was only due to the irritation that the denture was causing, since i wasn't used to it yet. I only needed 3 pills out of that prescription, and by Saturday evening, I had switched to taking motrin to control any pain.
Well, Sunday morning, I woke up, and I felt a little weird. I felt sick to my stomach, i had a small headache, and I felt really sweaty. I thought i was just getting sick. As the day went on, hell came over me. I had diareah, chills but sweating, i felt like i could sit still, i honestly thought i was going crazy. I was yawning non stop and sneezing non stop. I was so confused as to why, and call me naive, but never thought that stopping the medication would do this. I guess im very uneducated when it comes to these medications because I had never taken them until these surgeries.
I called my father, who had double knee replacement surgery in June, and he told me that when he stopped taking his pain medication, he felt very similar. I felt so sick by this time, I took one of the pills. Within 45 minutes, each and every symptom was gone. It was at this time, I cried. I couldn't believe that stopping this medication had made me so sick. I immediately had my dentist paged, and he called back. he told me that three months being on the medication should not cause that many withdrawal symptoms. I'm like, "Withdrawal? How Can i be addicted to a drug that i didn't even enjoy taking"? He explained to me that my body had built up a dependancy to the drug and that in a few days it would go away. So I said ok, and figured it wouldnt be that bad. Monday morning, I woke up for work, and I could not believe it. The symptoms from the day before were back, and EVEN WORSE. Now, I missed so much time in the last 3 months from my surgeries, I couldn't possibly call in sick to work. I was aboslutely freaking out. I called my dentist, asked what i should do, and he said, "ride it out". Well, thats easy for a rich dentist who doesnt need the daily hours at work to get the paycheck. I took one of the pills, and again, all symptoms went away. I was immediately so depressed that I have to face this.
My boyfriend is away for work right now, and I called him and explained what happened. He said I should call my family dr and see what I should do. I called him, and he referred me to a different dr. Tonight, at 7 pm, I called this doctor that i was referred to. I told him my situation, and explained to me how the body builds up a tolerance and that basically when the drug is stopped abruptly, it begins withdrawal from the medication. he explained that it is very uncomfortable and that I should come into his office tomorrow at 9 am.
So here i am. Tomorrow I have an appointment with this dr, which obviously i have to miss work again. I have no idea what to expect from this appt, and its costing me one hundred dollars to see this doctor. I started reading online about what to expect, and there are things about rapid detox, and all these drugs to get off the drugs. I absolutely do not want to do that! I can't do that! Not only can I not afford it, but from what I read, those methods are for patients who had been on the medications alot longer that I have been.
What should i expect from this appt? Is there a way to take the medication and slowly go down in the amount so this way my body doesnt need it any longer? im so clueless to all of this and cannot believe i have found my self in this situation. I keep feeling like ive done something horrible, when I know i didnt! Apparently, he is an addiction specialist. I want to make it clear to him that I dont want to take this medication or any detoxing medications. Does anyone know if its possible for him to just prescibe the medication that i was already taking and slowly get it out of my system?
If you've made it this far, I truly appreciate it. I need to get to work after this dr appt, and I am scared to death. I cant sleep. Im afraid of those sick feelings coming back and im so afraid that he is going to want to do some kind of detox on me. Not only dont i need something like that, i cannot afford it at all!
Any replies are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Krys
Around the age of 5, my teeth had horrible issues. I was always in and out of the dentist with one problem or another, at such a young age. As the years went on, my teeth kept getting worse, and no one knew why.
At the age of 14, during a routine dental check up, Xrays were taken, and they discovered what they thought was a tumor. They scheduled me for surgery, then planned on biopsying this "tumor". I had it removed, and strangely enough, it was a benign tumor, made up of mostly tooth enamel. This now explained to dentists why i had so many teeth problems. They said that the enamel that should have been distributed throughout my upper teeth, had clumped together instead. Needless to say, it was removed and the dentist's told my parents I would most likely have false teeth in my early twenties.
Flash forward...through the first few years of my twenties, my teeth were still doing ok. I had a few abcesses and infections but i got through it with antibiotics, lancing the abcesses and lots of motrin.
Flash forward to this year, well, beginning of 2007. I started having constant teeth pain. I had no dental insurance, so I went to a dental clinic. The first time I went was a horror story in itself, and I decided to not go back. Throughout May, June, July and August, I dealt with alot of Motrin, antibiotics, ice packs, etc. In September, I knew a decision had to be made. Some teeth were breaking just from brushing my teeth. In early October, i found and went to an amazing dentist. He was wonderful. He drew up a gameplan, and said that I would need all of my upper teeth removed, because they could not be saved. He said I would wear an upper immediate denture so that I wouldn't have to go without teeth, and then after my gums healed, I could have them implanted. I was ok with this, because I knew it was a long time coming.
In the third week of October, we began surgery.I financed the 5 thousand dollar work and we started with the back teeth, and I had oral surgery every single Friday up until this past friday, which was 1/11/2008. It was drawn out this long because I needed many surgical extractions that could only be done one or two at a time, required alot of stitching and bone grafting. At this time, the doctor started me on taking Percocet 7.5 mg, as needed for pain, every 4 to 6 hours and at bedtime. I took the medication always as prescribed, along with motrin. On most days, I took a pill or two less, because while I was at work, I didnt' want to take the percocet.
This continued through each surgery. Each friday, I would have more work done, and leave wtih my percocet prescription for the week. I know some people say on the threads I have read that they get a good feeling from them and enjoy taking them. I'm not sure why, but that wasnt the case for me. Whenever I took one of the Percocet, I was nauseas and all I felt like doing was sleeping. So anyway, two Friday's ago, was one of the two "big"surgeries. On 1/4/2008, I had 8 upper teeth removed, some that were impacted into the bone. After these extractions, I had two bone grafts done, and went home on Percocet 10 mg. This was the first time I actually took the medication every 4 hours, because this was the most pain I had experienced so far.
On 1/11/2008 (last friday), I went in for the final stages of the surgery. I had the final 4 teeth extracted, and stitches placed, and my immediate denture was put in. The doctor gave me,a prescription for 10mg Percocet, 10 tablets. he told me that because the denture was in place, the pain will be minimal. He was right. By Saturday, my pain was only due to the irritation that the denture was causing, since i wasn't used to it yet. I only needed 3 pills out of that prescription, and by Saturday evening, I had switched to taking motrin to control any pain.
Well, Sunday morning, I woke up, and I felt a little weird. I felt sick to my stomach, i had a small headache, and I felt really sweaty. I thought i was just getting sick. As the day went on, hell came over me. I had diareah, chills but sweating, i felt like i could sit still, i honestly thought i was going crazy. I was yawning non stop and sneezing non stop. I was so confused as to why, and call me naive, but never thought that stopping the medication would do this. I guess im very uneducated when it comes to these medications because I had never taken them until these surgeries.
I called my father, who had double knee replacement surgery in June, and he told me that when he stopped taking his pain medication, he felt very similar. I felt so sick by this time, I took one of the pills. Within 45 minutes, each and every symptom was gone. It was at this time, I cried. I couldn't believe that stopping this medication had made me so sick. I immediately had my dentist paged, and he called back. he told me that three months being on the medication should not cause that many withdrawal symptoms. I'm like, "Withdrawal? How Can i be addicted to a drug that i didn't even enjoy taking"? He explained to me that my body had built up a dependancy to the drug and that in a few days it would go away. So I said ok, and figured it wouldnt be that bad. Monday morning, I woke up for work, and I could not believe it. The symptoms from the day before were back, and EVEN WORSE. Now, I missed so much time in the last 3 months from my surgeries, I couldn't possibly call in sick to work. I was aboslutely freaking out. I called my dentist, asked what i should do, and he said, "ride it out". Well, thats easy for a rich dentist who doesnt need the daily hours at work to get the paycheck. I took one of the pills, and again, all symptoms went away. I was immediately so depressed that I have to face this.
My boyfriend is away for work right now, and I called him and explained what happened. He said I should call my family dr and see what I should do. I called him, and he referred me to a different dr. Tonight, at 7 pm, I called this doctor that i was referred to. I told him my situation, and explained to me how the body builds up a tolerance and that basically when the drug is stopped abruptly, it begins withdrawal from the medication. he explained that it is very uncomfortable and that I should come into his office tomorrow at 9 am.
So here i am. Tomorrow I have an appointment with this dr, which obviously i have to miss work again. I have no idea what to expect from this appt, and its costing me one hundred dollars to see this doctor. I started reading online about what to expect, and there are things about rapid detox, and all these drugs to get off the drugs. I absolutely do not want to do that! I can't do that! Not only can I not afford it, but from what I read, those methods are for patients who had been on the medications alot longer that I have been.
What should i expect from this appt? Is there a way to take the medication and slowly go down in the amount so this way my body doesnt need it any longer? im so clueless to all of this and cannot believe i have found my self in this situation. I keep feeling like ive done something horrible, when I know i didnt! Apparently, he is an addiction specialist. I want to make it clear to him that I dont want to take this medication or any detoxing medications. Does anyone know if its possible for him to just prescibe the medication that i was already taking and slowly get it out of my system?
If you've made it this far, I truly appreciate it. I need to get to work after this dr appt, and I am scared to death. I cant sleep. Im afraid of those sick feelings coming back and im so afraid that he is going to want to do some kind of detox on me. Not only dont i need something like that, i cannot afford it at all!
Any replies are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Krys
I am wondering...is this a suboxone doctor? if so...you would be perfectly fine with a 5 day detox...all it will do is bypass any withdrawals you will have from the percocets...in your case i wouldnt take it any longer than 7-10 days...or you can become dependent...BUT it is an awesome tool for detoxing...no sickness at all, and you taper off the suboxone and its over for you...it will be an easy process for you because you are not an addict, but chemically dependant. i would recommend it only because as of now, you are starting the withdrawal process but then you take another percocet to stop the withdrawals, this is not good to do and this is how people cross the line from dependency to addiction...stay away from the percocets and give this addiction specialist a chance, just make sure to tell him you dont want or need long term...10 days tops...you will be happy if you do this the right way...no need for long term maintenance for you...
i am not sure if you ever talked to anyone about this....but....
no matter how much you don't want to believe it, yes, your body is dependent on this medication now. it is really awesome that you didn't get mentally dependent on this, or it would be a lot harder to go through.
i have a lot of health problems that give me severe pain, so that is how i started taking pain meds. the bad thing was that after i was taking them a couple of months, i started to get mentally dependent on them as well. i realized this, and got really worried, and then i found this site. some are totally aganist pain meds and some understand that when you are truly in pain, the pain meds are what to do if you can't bear it.
since these are opiates, and attach themselves to your brain receptors, maybe that is why you always get physically dependent, and not even realize it until you try to stop taking them.
read up on here and you will see that most times, the physical flu like symptoms subside by day 4-5. look up the thomas recipe to help with your symptoms....and i am sure your doctor you are giong to see will put you on a tapering schedule, so your body can get used to not having it in your system any more.
hope this helps....good luck
no matter how much you don't want to believe it, yes, your body is dependent on this medication now. it is really awesome that you didn't get mentally dependent on this, or it would be a lot harder to go through.
i have a lot of health problems that give me severe pain, so that is how i started taking pain meds. the bad thing was that after i was taking them a couple of months, i started to get mentally dependent on them as well. i realized this, and got really worried, and then i found this site. some are totally aganist pain meds and some understand that when you are truly in pain, the pain meds are what to do if you can't bear it.
since these are opiates, and attach themselves to your brain receptors, maybe that is why you always get physically dependent, and not even realize it until you try to stop taking them.
read up on here and you will see that most times, the physical flu like symptoms subside by day 4-5. look up the thomas recipe to help with your symptoms....and i am sure your doctor you are giong to see will put you on a tapering schedule, so your body can get used to not having it in your system any more.
hope this helps....good luck
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