[nandm]

Welcome to our forum

1. Yes, it makes sense that a doctor would switch from a short acting to long acting medication if the short acting is not managing the pain. Personally, I spent several months on both oxycontin (long acting) and oxycodone (short acting) after an accident in early sobriety. The long acting kept the pain under control and I only took the oxycodone when for some reason the pain would break through and not be managed by the oxycontin. I am assuming that when you say long acting morphine you actually mean the long acating form of oxycodone. This is assuming that you do mean he switched rather than allowing her to take both forms of the medication.

2. What makes it a better option is ideally it provides a continuous pain control rather than allowing the pain to come through and the person have to continually chase it with the short term med. It is kind of like giving a child tylenol every 4 hours when they have a fever. The idea is that by keeping the fever under control by managing it before it becomes a problem it is easier to manage and deal with as opposed to trying to get the fever down once it has risen.
In my opinion though it does increase the chance for abuse if it is not taken as prescribed. But many doctors try to manage this by only prescribing and allowing one months worth at a time.

If she is experiencing enough pain to need oxycontin or oxycodone it might be worth it for her to check into a pain clinic as they can help to find other options that work rather than just a narcotic pain reliever. Personally, although I have a prescription for oxycodone, I have several other methods I use for pain management before I reach for the oxycodone. I have a TENS unit which interupts the nerve signals to the brain preventing or reducing the amount of pain registered by the brain. I also use ice packs, tylenol, ibuprophen, and do yoga. I have tried accupuncture and chiropractors as well. Personally, I prefer to do my best to utilize the non narcotic approach as much as possible as I do not want to wind up with an addiction problem to go with the pain problem.

Jazz also gives some great pointers addressing your concerns about her addiction issues. It does sound like she could use some help for that issue as no amount or type of pain medication is going to address the real issue which would be the addiction.