Hi, I am new here and just had a question. I am a 27 year old male that had the unfortunate luck of blowing 5 confirmed and 1 unconfirmed discs out of my back. 2 lower, 3 in my midback and one possibly in my neck. I am prescribed to 180 percocets a month and was just wondering if asking to switch to methadone would be a wise choice? The pain is unbearable at times and I have also read that methadone is used to curb opiate addiction. So my logic in this matter would be that methadone would be the wiser choice, due to the fact that it is used to wean people. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Limolene

Hi Jonathan, you said that you have a bad back and you take 180 Percocets a month. Are you going to a pain MGMT Doctor? If so, I would talk to your Doctor and explain that the medication that you're taking is not helping and your pain is unbearable. Methadone happens to be a very good Pain med but I 'am curious why do you want to be on Methadone? Have you ever taken it before? They're a lot of good new pain medication on the market,albeit, Methadone happens to be very cheap medication! Methadone is also used to Detox Patients from Opioid/Opiate Drugs and Methadone also happens to be a Opioid and it's an agonist Medication which is different to Suboxone which is an Agonist/Antagonist Med.
My best advice, would be to discuss with your Doctor about if he/she would prescribe you Methadone. I take it for back Pain and I also take MSIR for breakthrough pain and I also Take MS Contin. Hope all works out! LI

jonathan_1980

No I dont go to pain mgmt doc. That was denied by my work comp (gotta love the ol' work comp lol). I am prescribed by my neurosurgeon. I just wanted to change because i feel like I am beginning to get addicted to the percs and was hoping that the methadone would be a wiser choice. I wasn't sure if the methadone was a stronger pain reliever, but I have read that you can be "weaned" off the methadone. Now dont get me wrong, I dont think that I will ever be taken off of the pain meds due to my back. Also please dont think that I am a druggie just looking for a better high. I was just thinking that my doctor may look at me like that if I go in asking for a different med. But I would like to be on something stronger so I dont have to be on so many pills. Any thoughts on how to even approach my doctor with the issue? Thanks for any input

KeepItSimpleStupid

Addiction is less likely when you are taking the medication for real pain.

Tolerance is likely for any long-term user of pain medications.

KeepItSimpleStupid

Jonathon had some issues with my post and it's nice that Jonathon commented via PM.

Johnathon:

I too am in chronic intermittant pain and I kow first hand about addiction and tolerance and I am taking medications that are usually used for acute pain for chonic pain including Percoset and Oxycontin.

From your description You are in pain. I wanted you to knpw about the differences between addiction and tolerance. Taking pain medications for pain, won't ,in theory, get you addicted. Talking them continuously will eventually require more and more of the drug. This is not addiction. Taking pain medications for the purpose they are designed for will not lead to addiction. That's what I was try to say. I hope this clarifies things.

I would be concerned with taking Percoset because it contains Tylenol. Tylenol has been associated with liver damage and in my opinion it may not be the right medication for chronic pain. Tylenol does is an alalgesic that helps reduce inflamation which is something you need too. Vicodin is a very similar medication.

That out of the way, I'd ask for the possibilty to combine some non-narcotic meds to the regimin. Two, in particular come to mind. Soma which is a muscle relaxer and Neurontin which will help deaden the nerve pain. With these, you may be able to cut back on the narcotics.

It's important to take the pain relievers early in the pain cycle, otherwise they will have a reduced effect.

Now if your doctor would agree, you can combine oxycontin with Tylenol and "ADJUST" your dosage of the particular components.

For stronger pain relief there is the Duragesic patch which requires extreme care not to cut. Lidederm is also a patch.

You can also ask if TENS therapy might be effective. Electronic pulses from electrodes tend to short-circuit pain.

Do, som research and use terms like "Duragesic physician Prescribing Information" to get some decent hits.

I'll give you a reference to TENS. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

jonathan_1980

keepitsimple, i do have REAL pain. forgive me if that is not what you were impying. But as you say, tolerance is likely for long term users. what options do i have? like i said i am only 27 so i have a long road ahead of me. i dont want to keep becoming tolerant of every medication that i may be put on in the future. any suggestions? oh, and i only take as prescribed. sometimes i make my self suffer so i dont build up a tolerance to soon. hope you have a good suggestion because i am at a loss. ty

jonathan_1980

thanks keepitsimple. i think that i may discuss some other options with my doctor. i am just afraid of looking like a drug addict. I have read forums on chronic suffers that say when they go in to there doctor informed by research that the doctor treats them like an addict. and that is one thing that i do not want to be looked on as. i understand addicts have a hard time with addiction, but they dont realize how hard they make it on people like us that rely on our doctors for relief. it almost doesnt seem fair to those of us that hurt. ty for your input. oh yea. do you think that it would be wise to start a conversation with my doctor or just wait and hope that he realizes that i am in a tremedous amount of pain?

KeepItSimpleStupid

I did. Check out Vicodin, Soma, Neurontin and TENS. The latter three are not analgesics.

Yes, you do have real pain. My mom has severe degenerative arthritus of the spine.

If your supporting the back on your own, don't consider getting fitted for a corset or whatever the medical term is.

twinkiedooter

You said you were prescribed these by your neurosurgeon. Have you had surgery on these discs yet? If you have not had surgery - there are new techniques out there to relieve the ruptured discs and accompanying pain. Did he suggest surgery to help you? I don't think you should just take Percoset like that either. That is a very addictive rx in my opinion. Sometimes you can actually get into a viscous cycle of pain, take a pill, get relief, then get rebound pain even worse than before. I have 3 in my lower back, 3 in my neck, and two discs in my thorax that have been "out" for years. I take nothing rx wise now and have so for years. The pain is not from the discs but from the surrounding nerves radiating the pain into the spinal cord. I opted for no operation on any disc. The one in my neck is at C-2 and is too high up to safely operate on.

How long ago was your injury? That could also indicate your pain level.

jonathan_1980

december of 07 was the original injury date. I havent even considered surgery. Thats a road I do not want to go down unless absolutely neccasry. I was referred to pain mgmt but work comp turned it down. They were going to give me some kind of injection in my spine but that got totally denied. I cant afford to go on my own considering what work comp gives me is barely able to keep a roof over my head and diapers on my 7 month old. I am just at a total loss, sometimes I just feel like giving up. The days hardly ever get better. Wait a minute, that sounded totally selfish. I dont know how I could even think of giving up when I have a baby depending on me. Sorry bout that, didnt mean to get down and out. I dont know what to do though, like I said in the previous msg, I am afraid my doc will think I am an addict. But something has to give. Thanks for talking with me though. Just to have someone to talk to really helps. Thanks a bunch