Ever been addicted to pain killers?

[hzl eyed grl]

I know this is hardly the place to post any serious questions, but I'm trying NOT to think about hurting and taking something.

For years (as a lot of you know) I've had many health problems and many surgeries. I had a surgery on January 3rd of this year and a sinus surgery/tonsillectomy on March 15th of this year, which was my 9th surgery in 11 years. I also have a bad case of fibromyalgia and I have arthritis. Because of all the medical problems throughout the years, I was given pain killers. For a while I was addicted because I was horribly depressed and I would take them to feel numb and to just fall asleep. Now, I'm battling addiction again. I was on heavy duty pain meds for both surgeries and I take Vicodin on a daily basis for my fibro and arthritis pain. Right now I'm chewing on a low-fat cheese stick to keep me from taking anything else. (Also why I decided to post...keep my mind off of hurting.) I haven't been cleared again to take muscle relaxers because my liver function has been high, but that could be because I've lost quite a bit of weight recently.

Anyway...if you were addicted, how did you deal with it? I have real pain, but the addiction makes it worse. I try to only take it when I need it and I don't take more than I'm supposed to, but I know my body is dependant on it. Today my hands and wrists (also carpal tunnel and tendonitis in both wrists) have been hurting like a mutha. I just rubbed some kind of non-smelly arthritis cream and Blue Emu cream all over my hands and wrists to help....hopefully.

I'm SO angry. I'm angry that I let myself get this way. I'm agry that I have all these damn health problems even though there are people WAY worse off than I am and I'm ANGRY that it seems like the only thing that takes the edge off my pain even a little bit is a pill.

*Sigh*

 

[funboy6942]

Your liver function is high I am guessing because of the vicoden. That stuff will tear up your liver and dying of liver failure is not fun. I watched my best friends brother die of that and watching him turn yellow and stink really really bad made me kick the vicoden. I too was addicted to that till I found out the side effect of taking it all the time. I quit. It was hard but after what I saw first hand and the thought of me going throuhg that made me quit. I would highly reccomend doing the same.

I believe it was jaundice (sp) that he got. Of course it was from drinking but that drg will do the same to you.

 

[xXped0thugXx]

I saw my best friend get jaundice from it, and then end up in jail, and I told myself I never wanted to be like that. So I stopped an everyday addiction.

 

[hzl eyed grl]

Originally posted by: funboy42
Your liver function is high I am guessing because of the vicoden. That stuff will tear up your liver and dying of liver failure is not fun. I watched my best friends brother die of that and watching him turn yellow and stick really really bad made me kick the vicoden. I too was addicted to that till I found out the side effect of taking it all the time. I quit. It was hard but after what I saw first hand and the thought of me going throuhg that made me quit. I would highly reccomend doing the same.

I believe it was jaundice (sp) that he got. Of course it was from drinking but that drg will do the same to you.

Well, for a long time my liver was fine and started going down. Then I had a surgery in January and then I've lost a lot of weight. My doctors down South are thinking that my high liver function is because of the weighloss. My hormones and everything are wacky. Waaaay wacky. (Girl stuff you'd care not to know.) My rheumatologist doesn't think that the little bit of Acet. that's in it shouldn't affect my liver. I had blood drawn last week and I'll go back in a month. She's thinking it was the muscle relaxers that I was on. (Trading weeks on and off with the generics for Soma and Parafon Forte.) My regular doc gave me Oxycodone for a couple weeks before my rheumatologist would refill my script for Vicodin. It's just a vicious circle. I have to literally make the decision if it's my body craving the drug or if I'm really hurting bad enough to need it. I HATE IT! I'm so tired of hurting. *SIGH*

EDIT:

I saw my best friend get jaundice from it, and then end up in jail, and I told myself I never wanted to be like that. So I stopped an everyday addiction.

Good for you. This sh!t is hard to kick.

 

[Brackis]

Drink tea?

 

[hzl eyed grl]

Originally posted by: Brackis
Drink tea?

Yeeeaaaah, tea isn't going to help right now. I do love me some nice, hot decaf tea, though. Preferrably Constant Comment by Bigelow.

 

[Schrodinger]

I don't know what to say.

Perhaps coming to the realization that it does bodily damage is your best bet. That hasn't seemed to help me or family though heh.

Take one day at a time.

 

[aircooled]

it's the acetaminophen (Tylenol) in the vicodin that tears up your liver.

 

[sharkeeper]

I'm more addicted to pain amplifiers as of late. Hammers, pipe wrenches, large escape pipes, not to mention bulkheads that just JUMP right in your way as you make your way, yeah that kind of stuff. Gives a nice bump on the head and makes you well aware of their presences long after the collision.

Hate it when that happens.

 

[Boze]

Ha! Kvaerner Masa, tell me about it... I remember my first two weeks on the Honolulu... I'm tall and those passageways aren't wide at all; I was talking to someone and then turned around while moving forward at a brisk pace at the same time and I knocked myself unconscious on a light in the overhead... woke up with our boat's Doc shining a light into my frickin' eyeballs.

 

[hzl eyed grl]

Originally posted by: aircooled
it's the acetaminophen (Tylenol) in the vicodin that tears up your liver.

Yeah. My other doctor gave me Oxycodone for a while because it doesn't have the acetaminophen. I'm back on the Vicodin now, though.

 

[nater]

There's a large illicit market for painkillers out there. You should just sell them

no more nasty side effects + sold drugs = $$$PROFIT

 

[eplebnista]

Ever been addicted to pain killers?

No. I think it is mostly because I didn't have to take them for too long of a time after my neck surgery though.

 

[Ready]

I'm addicted to them right now

 

[cruzer]

fibromyalgia , carpal tunnel and tendonitis ...

You need to read a book by Dr. John Sarno called The Mind Body Prescription, you will see those pains are created by your subconscious.

Keep an open mind and spend an afternoon reading it, it cured my back pain, knee pain and migraines.

 

[Baked]

Strongest I've taken is Ibuprofen (Advil) when I closed the car door completed on one of my fingers. I had to cut my finger right open and bleed myself to relief the pressure.

 

[TreyRandom]

Replace the addiction with other behavior... like the low-fat cheese stick you're munching on. I know it doesn't take away the pain, but at least you can start to kick the habit by reducing the amount of pain killers you're taking. It helps fill the psychological need while you work on reducing the physical addiction. Do *anything* that takes your mind off the pain... post on forums, go shopping, alphabetize the books in your bookcase, whatever it takes.

To break myself from drinking sodas (and gaining weight), I put a Propel water near me while I work on the computer all day long - the weight came right off, even though I'm *heavily* addicted to caffeine. I get the sensation and pleasure of drinking without the sugar (and I can't deal with Nutrisweet in diet sodas - can't wait for Splenda-sweetened Cokes to come out). I'm not a smoker, but if I were, I'd replace the lung stick with a sucker (Dum-Dums rock) - keeps the hands and mouth occupied.

Best of luck in your battle. Every minute you're not under the effects of a pain killer is a small victory. :thumbsup:

 

[NorthRiver]

I feel sorry for your boyfriend. My wife has all of the same crap you do and it fvckin drives me up the walls. She is also the pill poppin queen, and you should see the amount of pills she can gulp down. My advice, get up off your ass and exercise. I made my wife go with me to the gym and exercise and she felt alot better. Now she is in a poor me mood and quit going, so she is hurting and sniveling again. I might sound like an ass about this, but I have been putting up with the sh1t for 9 years, and I am really sick of it! I really hope you can get this in order, if it is not affecting your boyfriend now, it will eventually.

 

[DangerAardvark]

I LOVE painkillers. Not addicted, but given a steady source I could see myself getting addicted easily.

Anyway, try Kratom.

It's effects when taken as a tea have been known to mirror opiates (which Vicodin is), only milder and with less liver damage. Of course, replacing one addiction with another is no solution, but trying it can't hurt.

 

[Chaotic42]

Nope.

I've taken four vicodin and two oxycodone over the course of my life. I didn't like the feeling and I was willing to deal with the pain (Which wasn't all that bad) to avoid the weirdness.

 

[Geekbabe]

You need a consult with a pain management specialist.You also need an agressive PT program and some sessions with a stress management/relaxtion group.

Don't forget,thereis a difference between physical dependence and addiction,just because you're physically dependent right now doesn't mean you are an addict.I'd say the fact that you are worried/concerned about the amount and type of drugs you're taking says you aren't an "addict".

You need an alternate pain management program and your treatment team is doing you a huge diservice if they don't provide you with it.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Nope.

I've taken four vicodin and two oxycodone over the course of my life. I didn't like the feeling and I was willing to deal with the pain (Which wasn't all that bad) to avoid the weirdness.

Well, you never really appreciate a drug the first time you take it. It takes a few times to really start feeling the effects.

 

[Siddhartha]

No

 

[Azraele]

I would recommend as much exercise and stretches as you can handle.

My neighbor has a medical condition that causes pain. She is hooked on painkillers, and is a virtual zombie to talk to. She has also reduced herself to lying and begging to get the medicine or the money she needs to get the medicine.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: hzl eyed grl

Originally posted by: aircooled
it's the acetaminophen (Tylenol) in the vicodin that tears up your liver.

Yeah. My other doctor gave me Oxycodone for a while because it doesn't have the acetaminophen. I'm back on the Vicodin now, though.

Don't take the oxycodone. That stuff will get you hooked for sure. Try just going to ibuprofen. I've got arthritis and although the docs will write a script for anything I ask, I jsut try to stick with an anti-inflammatory. I take the ibuprofen when the pain is pretty bad.