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Pain medication tolerance ( it is not what you think, read on)
I learned something today from my PM doctor.
He said that as far as tolerance your body becomes tolerant to the meds after a couple months. Therefore the need for a raise in meds due to tolerance is simply bunk. Your body gets adjusted to the meds and the tolerance after two months and when the meds stop working as well as they used to it is because your body ( pain) has simply become worse.
Now I am like you and have always heard that after taking a medication for too long it becomes ineffective. But he says he has the research to back this up and is currently getting me copies to post here as I explained that no one would believe this because we have been told that tolerance is a huge issue when taking narcotics.
I had been explaining that I needed an adjustment because the dose I am on and have been on for years and years just isn't cutting it anymore. Well I had my annual MRI and he showed me on the scan results where indeed I am definitely worse off than when I had my last MRI last year. Anyone with degenerative disease knows it gets worse over time just as injuries to our back does.
So tolerance has to do with our bodies and injuries getting worse and the meds are effectively working just as they did we just got worse.
I will post the results and research when I get it. It does make sense to me and although it also makes sense that the meds lose its effectiveness after time. But My PM doctor is one of the best in the country, he actually got into pain management because he broke his neck and never got sufficient relief. He invented the blood transfusion machine years ago and is very up on anything to do with pain management. So I trust he knows what he is talking about. Something to think about in any case. We are not getting tolerant to our meds we are just getting worse. Not to scare anyone though:)
He said that as far as tolerance your body becomes tolerant to the meds after a couple months. Therefore the need for a raise in meds due to tolerance is simply bunk. Your body gets adjusted to the meds and the tolerance after two months and when the meds stop working as well as they used to it is because your body ( pain) has simply become worse.
Now I am like you and have always heard that after taking a medication for too long it becomes ineffective. But he says he has the research to back this up and is currently getting me copies to post here as I explained that no one would believe this because we have been told that tolerance is a huge issue when taking narcotics.
I had been explaining that I needed an adjustment because the dose I am on and have been on for years and years just isn't cutting it anymore. Well I had my annual MRI and he showed me on the scan results where indeed I am definitely worse off than when I had my last MRI last year. Anyone with degenerative disease knows it gets worse over time just as injuries to our back does.
So tolerance has to do with our bodies and injuries getting worse and the meds are effectively working just as they did we just got worse.
I will post the results and research when I get it. It does make sense to me and although it also makes sense that the meds lose its effectiveness after time. But My PM doctor is one of the best in the country, he actually got into pain management because he broke his neck and never got sufficient relief. He invented the blood transfusion machine years ago and is very up on anything to do with pain management. So I trust he knows what he is talking about. Something to think about in any case. We are not getting tolerant to our meds we are just getting worse. Not to scare anyone though:)
your right but i will be 48 this year and my body feels 78....lol..if i didnt laugh i would probably cry..lol
Sandee brings up a good point. Attitude is everything. Statistics say cancer and other grave illnesses have higher survival rates and faster healing in those that laugh and are optimistic. Healing is enhanced when one is positive and again....laughs a lot.
We all know it is difficult some days to be positive. But we need to find things that make us smile and bring joy into out lives everyday. Laughter release endorphins and speeds the bodies healing process. So I think we all should add that to our list of New Years resolutions, a laugh a day. Let's not lose sight of the joy in life.
We all know it is difficult some days to be positive. But we need to find things that make us smile and bring joy into out lives everyday. Laughter release endorphins and speeds the bodies healing process. So I think we all should add that to our list of New Years resolutions, a laugh a day. Let's not lose sight of the joy in life.
Sandee:
You give some great information and I agree but disagree at the same time. While I do understand that our bodys become worst over time..I also suffer from a degenerative disc disease..and the need for an increase is warranted but the tolorance in regards to pain meds is real and this also warrants an increase. I remember a time when I was first introduced to narcotics and I had pain that ravished my body. If I took the amount of meds back then that I take today, I would have overdosed. the degeneration that I suffer with hasn't changed much in the last 6 months or so but the need for an increase has changed alot as the meds are not as effective. I have also talked recently with my Doc and he agreed that my tolorance is definitly an issue with my added pain, therefor he increased the dose. He has stated that our bodys can become worst over time and the dose might not be high enough but he has also stated that the body builds a tolorance to the meds and doesn't allow the pain meds to work as effectivly as they should. So this is why I agree and disagree with your new information.
You give some great information and I agree but disagree at the same time. While I do understand that our bodys become worst over time..I also suffer from a degenerative disc disease..and the need for an increase is warranted but the tolorance in regards to pain meds is real and this also warrants an increase. I remember a time when I was first introduced to narcotics and I had pain that ravished my body. If I took the amount of meds back then that I take today, I would have overdosed. the degeneration that I suffer with hasn't changed much in the last 6 months or so but the need for an increase has changed alot as the meds are not as effective. I have also talked recently with my Doc and he agreed that my tolorance is definitly an issue with my added pain, therefor he increased the dose. He has stated that our bodys can become worst over time and the dose might not be high enough but he has also stated that the body builds a tolorance to the meds and doesn't allow the pain meds to work as effectivly as they should. So this is why I agree and disagree with your new information.
I forgot to mention that the amount of meds I took back in the day that I first was introduced to pain meds which was 1/4 of what I take today was enough to make me comfortable. Today it would be like taking an asprin because of my tolorance not my pain. Take care....
Maybe I am not understanding correctly but 3yrs ago when I first started taking pain meds I could take one 5/325 percocet and get hot flashes and sick feeling and now I can take like 6 percocets with hardly any effect what so ever other than feeling normal? I am not doubting anybody just wondering if that is what the tolerence after a few months is what you are talking about?
The doc said after two months your body has become tolerant of the pain medication. Now I like you was a little taken back because this is not what I have always thought. I asked if someone took say hydrocodone for a year then what exactly will happen. He said they will become tolerant to the medication in two months and if the medication starts losing its effectiveness then it is because the persons injuries are becoming worse.
If you were taking say one tablet then your body kept becoming tolerant over time as you raise your dose then of course you would have to take more to get the same relief. I look at it like this, we still have tolerance issues but we just become tolerant after a couple months instead of over many months or years. We become tolerant after two months our body does and even if we get worse the tolerance has reached its high point if you will after two months and will not go beyond that. I hope I am making sense. I know how it is explained and how I conceive it in my brain but my brain isn't quite working with my voice this afternoon:)
I do get what your saying Mollyrae and you have a valid point but if if you think about it and we become tolerant to our current dose after two months then both tolerance and our condition worsening plays in the sceanerio.
If you were taking say one tablet then your body kept becoming tolerant over time as you raise your dose then of course you would have to take more to get the same relief. I look at it like this, we still have tolerance issues but we just become tolerant after a couple months instead of over many months or years. We become tolerant after two months our body does and even if we get worse the tolerance has reached its high point if you will after two months and will not go beyond that. I hope I am making sense. I know how it is explained and how I conceive it in my brain but my brain isn't quite working with my voice this afternoon:)
I do get what your saying Mollyrae and you have a valid point but if if you think about it and we become tolerant to our current dose after two months then both tolerance and our condition worsening plays in the sceanerio.
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