Chronic pain sufferer with concerns about the meds

[cosmo1996]

Hello,
This is my first time writing. I have been on prescribed Lortab, Xanax, and Soma for a few years. I had a very bad accident that left me with a fractured verterbrae in my back, my rotator cuffs were both surgerized, and the C7 disc in my neck is ruptured. I also have just had a knee surgery. The accident happened on June 4, 2010. The doctor told me I may always have to be on pain meds. Is this true? Also, would you consider me addicted? I would like to be able to live without, but am truly in a great amount of pain, especially my neck and back. I take my prescriptions as prescribed. No more than what I am told to per day. Often, I try to take less. Do you think I am in danger. I am being honest here. Should I ask my doctor to.start weaning me off?

[IwillDoThis]

Hi - I'm going to post here because I feel like I fit into this category - I am physically but not psychologically dependent, have been in pain management for years.  femmy I think you gave a great description of the difference.  I guess I just want to add my two cents that long term opiate use will make your body become tolerant and you will need more to control your pain - that is how it gets you.  You rationalize why should I live in pain, this is legal I'm getting it from a doctor.  PLEASE make sure you are going to a responsible doctor who really cares.  My meds were no longer helping for my chronic pain and my doctor, I recently discovered, is just another creepy pill mill disguised as a kindly old doc.  Because my meds were no longer helping and I refused to allow myself to up the dose, taking more and more to get relief, I decided to detox and let me just tell you detoxing whether physically or psychologically dependent is horrible.  I don't care that it is just a physical dependence - it is still hell to endure.   It's a personal decision I made to try to live with my pain and deal with it in other ways but pain managment isn't without it's price.  You are right to be concerned and as long as you are not abusing your meds, just tread carefully, it becomes a slippery slope  before you know it.

[mkh9]

As femmy said I wouldn't worry about you becoming an addict. I couldn't explain that better than she. But I'll add that if you are still in a lot of pain I would stay on the meds for a while. You probably should have healed from the fractures, rotator cuff and knee if all were in 2010, but don't know how much pain you will have with the ruptured disk in the long term. All will take time. Try to excercise such as walking, once your doctor says it is ok. I want to add that I differ in that although morphine works well for a while it later causes more pain. It is harder to get off of than some meds. Have you thought of getting an epidural?  Some people get those twice a year for pain relief. I  personally can't take Xanax it makes me really sick maybe because I'm on Klonopin (for life for my migraine variant). But I hope you have  a good pain doctor or psychologist (who are great at knowing the pain/depression cycle). I have chronic low back pain for the last two years but it is either SI joint pain or myofascial. When I had high pain I was on Tramadol and/or Vicadin plus a muscle relaxer. I couldn't take the Vicadin as it gave me insominia after a day. It did work better but you have to sleep.  The Tramadol only took me a week to get off once I decided I didn't want to be on it and I had already tapered down by then to the lowest dose.. I also tried Neurontin (which didn't work for me) and it took me 2 months to get off of it because of insomnia and tapering down. Evevyone is different. I would Not worry about getting addicted if you don't increase the dose or you change drugs until get enough relief  you need it to survive. I have no problem being on Klonopin the rest of my life. My life was miserable in my 20;s before they diagnosed me. I'm not on any meds now but I need something too. I don't know what to try but I have moderate pain one day and low the next up and down every other day.It hurts but I don't know what else to try myself. Try not to worry and just try to feel better and do what helps your pain but do be informed.
take care,
mkh9

[femmy29]

Hi Cosmo and welcome to the pain management community!

I am also a chronic pain sufferer and I expect to have to manage my pain with pain meds for the rest of my life.  There are no surgeries that can completely rid me of the pain that I have suffered with for over 12 years.  Unfortunately, this is the case for many chronic pain patients; hence, many expect to be on pain medication for the rest of their lives.  But currently my meds are controlling my pain a lot such that as I type this I am experiencing no pain!  If I have to take meds for the rest of the life to live normally without being bound by pain, it is perfectly okay for me.  Of course, I wish someone could cure me so I don't have to take this medication anymore but that is very unlikely to happen.  Only you and your doctor know what other options are out there for your pain besides pain medications.  I would ask your doctor if there are any procedures or surgeries that can be performed to reduce or eliminate your chronic pain.  If he says no, you can always get a second opinion.  But taking pain medication long term is not necessarily a bad thing if it allows you to be more normal and join in on more of life.  If you add a long acting opioid medication and take the norco just for breakthrough pain you could just have to take 1 pill every 12 hours.  Of course, you would need to take your xanax and soma in between but adding a long-acting opioid medication could give you some more freedom from having to take so many pills per day.

Less than 1% of chronic pain patients become addicted to their meds.  You are taking your meds as prescribed so you are at an extremely low risk of becoming addicted.  Addiction and dependancy are two different things.  Many chronic pain patients are dependant on their medications such that stopping the medication abruptly will produce unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.  The addict will also get withdrawal symptoms as well if he/she stops abusing (i.e., snorting, injecting, chewing tablets, etc.).  The difference is the chronic pain patient has no psychological dependancy to the medication only physical dependancy.  In other words, chronic pain patients don't crave the medication.  The chronic pain patient in withdrawal simply feels sick from the withdrawal symptoms and aren't constantly thinking about taking or doing a pill.  

I am amazed that you are getting by on the pain medication you are currently on given your injuries.  How is your pain with the lortab, xanax, and soma?  

femmy