Chris777 Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 I ahve been on pain medication around a year and a half, and back in november i was switched from methadone, to duragesic, I had some sort of reaction/whithdrawall, and i was wondering if anyone had gone throug h a real drug whithdrawal, and cared to share their experience, as I think that may have been part of what happened to me, only I seem to still be in pain , and i can't find any concrete info on how long symptoms can last., or even what it feels like Link to post Share on other sites
westernxer Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 You should talk to your doctor if your concerned about symptoms. You can also check out the Pain Aid Foundation for info about your situation (create a login to enter the site)... http://painaid.painfoundation.org/login.php Opioids are hell once you're addicted to them. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Chris777 Posted April 20, 2005 Author Share Posted April 20, 2005 And considering she blew me off mostly the whole time I lost , my job, and then she decided to tell me to go to a special clinic like emory , or mayo, thanks for the link "Opioids are hell once you're addicted to them." thats the thing I don't know if i am or was, because when she switched me back to my old med (norco) she told me that my "addiction symptioms" would dissapear as soon as i ate my ist norco, they didn't . I have also heard tha tdifferent narcotics, can addict differently. Like methadone being a replacement for heroine, but Most medica lpeople i spoke with acted like methadone was used exclusively for narcotic whithdrawal, whereas i was put on it for pain management. (it was invented during WWII as a cheaper morphine substitute. Link to post Share on other sites
westernxer Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 Sometimes I just don't trust doctors... they're so bent on prescribing different medications at the expense of providing the proper care a patient needs. Can you switch docs like you do pain meds? I would. Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 my husband was also prescribed methadone for pain management, and the VA's replacement drug of choice was morphine ... all just depends on the doctor and the meds available for him/her to prescribe. I can't honestly say I've seen DH go through a withdrawal, unless you count the times he's flipped out between the time the medicine ran out and the new Rx arrived ... and that has varied from being extremely irritable to being paranoid to showing symptoms of depression (sleeping a lot, turning the apartment into a cave, it was so dark). However, withdrawal symptoms are way different from a reaction, which I take to mean an allergic reaction. the best people I've found to talk to are nurses and pharmacists – they generally can better answer questions (and in real English, too!) and give you an idea what to look for when it comes to symptoms of the meds not agreeing with your system. some of the hospitals in town have a kind of question hotline that you can call in with questions about health issues, including medications. Check to see if any of the hospitals in your area offer something similar, maybe they can help some. Link to post Share on other sites
Numb Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 I was on them for along time and when I quit taking them it felt like I had the flu and was very shaky, it lasted about a week or so. When that went away then I had NO energy at all and that lasted for many many years, all good now. I was taking them for almost 1 1/2 years for back pain,from a motocross wreck. I decided to stop taking them myself since I always needed more for the pain almost like your body just gets used to it and doesn't work so good. I figured I'd be better off without them and deal with the pain then polutte my body with so much crap, I don't recommend this to anyone but it worked for me just took some time of being misreble. My Mom and brother both take methadone since they both had back surgury, the methadone is supposed to be "less" addicting and easier to get off then some of the other pain killers. Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 husband's main complaint/worry is that because he is given narcotics for the pain (a screwed up lower back where a disk slips in and out) he'll get addicted. Like you, he's trying to wean himself to the point where he doesn't take a full dose unless the pain's really bad. Fortunately, it doesn't get to that point unless he really overexerts himself, but he's going about being careful and pacing himself. mostly, I think his addiction is more psychological than not – like when he starts running low on the meds and replacements haven't show up. but, he gets that way when he's out of cigarettes, too. the methadone is supposed to be "less" addicting and easier to get off then some of the other pain killers I don't know – technically I think any prescription medication can become addictive when you're psyched up about it's healing properties and you're convinced that nothing but it will do the trick. Heck, generic Midol has become my cure-all for aches and pains Link to post Share on other sites
Author Chris777 Posted April 26, 2005 Author Share Posted April 26, 2005 I looked it up after i started having the problems, and I read several post suggesting methadone was more addictive than the heroine it is usually used to wean people off of. I asked my doctors , and pharmacist when all these problems started, but no one knew anything. I Guess i am going to have to keep trying new doctors until I find one that can explain it to me, (or has a clue themself) Link to post Share on other sites
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