Off the wagon - injury!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 683
Off the wagon - injury!
Well, After taking myself off the prescription and being clean for nearly a month, I had an injury of sorts. I slipped on a muddy street (running to get out of the rain) and WHACK! Slipped and landed flat on my rear/lower lumbar. I did a number to it and x-ray showed a fractured tail-bone.
Docs put me back on Oxy (my pain mgn doc).
Fortunately, he knows all about my desire to stay off the stuff but I literally could not walk OR sit without excruciating pain. I took them for 9 days and that was it.
Last Sat was my last day.
Funny thing about my experience is that despite being clean for nearly a month, I experienced W/D only after taking them for a little over a week. My dosage was 40 at first and 20 the last day. I was supposed to take them for at least 2-3 weeks but I said NO WAY! I was not going through W/D again.
My W/D was no where near as severe as coming of Dilaudid but I had the W/D regardless. I'm over the chills on day 4 but dang it I have no friggin energy!
I'm glad I was able to be strong enough to toss the remaining script but dang is my rear hurting... I can walk though and that's all that matters.
Still waiting for my insurance to approve the spinal implant. I'm hoping and praying for that to come through... Perhaps I'll find some peace then. The implant is supposed to block the pain signals from my chronic condition. I never want to take this Cr@p ever again!
Chronic pain is no fun folks...
Docs put me back on Oxy (my pain mgn doc).
Fortunately, he knows all about my desire to stay off the stuff but I literally could not walk OR sit without excruciating pain. I took them for 9 days and that was it.
Last Sat was my last day.
Funny thing about my experience is that despite being clean for nearly a month, I experienced W/D only after taking them for a little over a week. My dosage was 40 at first and 20 the last day. I was supposed to take them for at least 2-3 weeks but I said NO WAY! I was not going through W/D again.
My W/D was no where near as severe as coming of Dilaudid but I had the W/D regardless. I'm over the chills on day 4 but dang it I have no friggin energy!
I'm glad I was able to be strong enough to toss the remaining script but dang is my rear hurting... I can walk though and that's all that matters.
Still waiting for my insurance to approve the spinal implant. I'm hoping and praying for that to come through... Perhaps I'll find some peace then. The implant is supposed to block the pain signals from my chronic condition. I never want to take this Cr@p ever again!
Chronic pain is no fun folks...
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Hi IvanKatz,
I'm sorry to hear of your re-injury!
I've wondered how I am going to handle having "touch-up" surgery on my knees, which I am told is inevitable down the road. I've only had these robotic titanium things in the middle of my legs since 2009, and it's what got me into oxy hell.
Good for you doing the right thing, which is not the easiest thing a lot of the time. I have wondered whether I might use the Fentanyl patch instead of pills if and when I need surgery again. I just don't want any pills in my hot little hands, and I fear them like they are hot potatoes!
A healthy fear, I think.
As to withdrawals after just a few days, I'm not surprised. The receptor sites you made extra ones of for oxys are still there and will never go away. They are just empty, dormant, until you wake them back up again with the drug. Feed them a little, they want a LOT. The tolerance is already built in, and so it doesn't take long for the dosages to be as high as they were before. You are no longer "opiate naive" as they say.
Thank you for sharing this, Ivan, because at one time or another, a lot of us will be faced with needing surgery or facing an injury. Or just chronic pain, which I have, too.
FT
I'm sorry to hear of your re-injury!
I've wondered how I am going to handle having "touch-up" surgery on my knees, which I am told is inevitable down the road. I've only had these robotic titanium things in the middle of my legs since 2009, and it's what got me into oxy hell.
Good for you doing the right thing, which is not the easiest thing a lot of the time. I have wondered whether I might use the Fentanyl patch instead of pills if and when I need surgery again. I just don't want any pills in my hot little hands, and I fear them like they are hot potatoes!
A healthy fear, I think.
As to withdrawals after just a few days, I'm not surprised. The receptor sites you made extra ones of for oxys are still there and will never go away. They are just empty, dormant, until you wake them back up again with the drug. Feed them a little, they want a LOT. The tolerance is already built in, and so it doesn't take long for the dosages to be as high as they were before. You are no longer "opiate naive" as they say.
Thank you for sharing this, Ivan, because at one time or another, a lot of us will be faced with needing surgery or facing an injury. Or just chronic pain, which I have, too.
FT
Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 379
Sorry to hear about the withdrawals again. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Everytime I think about all these greedy little receptors I have created in my body it reminds me how diligent I have to be with taking the subject of opiates/opioids deadly seriously - I have hardwired myself for usage and all I can do now is be cognizant of the fact that, for me, I can get out of hand in an instant.
It seems the only two things I have been good at creating over the past five years are fat cells and extra opiate receptors...time to me to find something a little more healthy to create...
Congratulations on your strength and determination and I wish you all the best as you work through your back issues!!!
Everytime I think about all these greedy little receptors I have created in my body it reminds me how diligent I have to be with taking the subject of opiates/opioids deadly seriously - I have hardwired myself for usage and all I can do now is be cognizant of the fact that, for me, I can get out of hand in an instant.
It seems the only two things I have been good at creating over the past five years are fat cells and extra opiate receptors...time to me to find something a little more healthy to create...
Congratulations on your strength and determination and I wish you all the best as you work through your back issues!!!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 683
When I fell and heard that "chicken bone snap sound", I immediately got pissed! Of course my wife was just holding her mouth giving me the stare.
My wife knows all about my issues and we talked about this on the way to the doc... well sorta... She just looked at me and said..."We're not going through those old problems again, understand"?
I love her more than anything on this earth (besides my little kitty girl : ) )
but love and tenderness is NOT in her constitution. She's more like an old farmer (in a beautiful woman's body)... If the dog's tail isn't wagging anymore, time to let it go! But hey, a little tough love isn't a bad thing.
Interestingly enough, despite being off for a month, I did not experience the Euphoria of the meds. Actually, they marginally kept the edge of the pain. My doc wanted to increase my dosage a bit to get me more comfortable but I said no way.
Interestingly enough, the doc told me that's what I was supposed to say.
I'm thinking the lack of euphoria was somewhat serendipitous. When I tossed the meds, My brain didn't crave them, only my body did. The meds didn't hit my "reward center" of my brain and I'm so thankful.
This tells me a couple of things though... Despite me being clean for a month, my brain had not recovered. My Chronic pain was manageable with non-narcs, I had no desire to use, and my depression had nearly disappeared. Plus, my energy was returning to about 75% Too... but the brain had not healed. I suspect it will take me a few months to get back to normal.
One thing I want to make abundantly clear is the fact that Chronic pain patients become mentally addicted just like everyone else.. DESPITE what any doc tells you!
On a side note, My addict brain was telling me that I have only been taking meds for 4 years. When I sat down and looked at a calendar, I've been taking them for nearly 5 and a half! Go to show you how a persons sense of time gets out of whack!
My wife knows all about my issues and we talked about this on the way to the doc... well sorta... She just looked at me and said..."We're not going through those old problems again, understand"?
I love her more than anything on this earth (besides my little kitty girl : ) )
but love and tenderness is NOT in her constitution. She's more like an old farmer (in a beautiful woman's body)... If the dog's tail isn't wagging anymore, time to let it go! But hey, a little tough love isn't a bad thing.
Interestingly enough, despite being off for a month, I did not experience the Euphoria of the meds. Actually, they marginally kept the edge of the pain. My doc wanted to increase my dosage a bit to get me more comfortable but I said no way.
Interestingly enough, the doc told me that's what I was supposed to say.
I'm thinking the lack of euphoria was somewhat serendipitous. When I tossed the meds, My brain didn't crave them, only my body did. The meds didn't hit my "reward center" of my brain and I'm so thankful.
This tells me a couple of things though... Despite me being clean for a month, my brain had not recovered. My Chronic pain was manageable with non-narcs, I had no desire to use, and my depression had nearly disappeared. Plus, my energy was returning to about 75% Too... but the brain had not healed. I suspect it will take me a few months to get back to normal.
One thing I want to make abundantly clear is the fact that Chronic pain patients become mentally addicted just like everyone else.. DESPITE what any doc tells you!
On a side note, My addict brain was telling me that I have only been taking meds for 4 years. When I sat down and looked at a calendar, I've been taking them for nearly 5 and a half! Go to show you how a persons sense of time gets out of whack!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,677
Hi IvanKatz,
The lack of euphoria at low doses is why people get addicted again so quickly. You only partly "re-inflate" the opiate receptors when you take small doses, and so if the euphoria is the object, you HAVE to take higher doses to get it.
If we can use this fore-knowledge to avoid the pitfall of increasing our dosage when all we really need is pain control, maybe we can all do like you just did and forego the pain meds early on in the process.
I totally agree with what you said about chronic pain patients becoming mentally addicted just like everyone else. And yes, DESPITE the doc telling you "it's just 'dependence' and not addiction". What the hell difference does it make what the doc wants to call it in order to make themselves feel better? You are STILL the one who has to pay the consequences, despite the label.
FT
The lack of euphoria at low doses is why people get addicted again so quickly. You only partly "re-inflate" the opiate receptors when you take small doses, and so if the euphoria is the object, you HAVE to take higher doses to get it.
If we can use this fore-knowledge to avoid the pitfall of increasing our dosage when all we really need is pain control, maybe we can all do like you just did and forego the pain meds early on in the process.
I totally agree with what you said about chronic pain patients becoming mentally addicted just like everyone else. And yes, DESPITE the doc telling you "it's just 'dependence' and not addiction". What the hell difference does it make what the doc wants to call it in order to make themselves feel better? You are STILL the one who has to pay the consequences, despite the label.
FT
Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: The Great White North
Posts: 448
Sorry to hear of your fall and re-injury, Ivan, and it does sound painfull! I fell down the stairs from a loft type second floor this past July and actually fractured my cheekbone, I landed so hard. I fell headfirst from about half way up, I was on my way down.
I injured my right arm quite bad but no break and my face. Just a bump on the side of my head I fell on but it was pretty painful all around. After two years clean I never even thought of painkillers. When I got home 4 days later, I went to the Dr. because the bruising and swelling of my arm and face were getting worse. After the x-rays and a thorough nerological check he asked me if I needed painkillers. I was surprised! I said maybe I could have used something that night but it happened 4 days ago - so no. For some reason it never occured to me that my pain was bad enough to need anything stronger than advil. What a difference from a few years before that, I would have been off to urgent care in a flash for meds!
...Ruby...
I injured my right arm quite bad but no break and my face. Just a bump on the side of my head I fell on but it was pretty painful all around. After two years clean I never even thought of painkillers. When I got home 4 days later, I went to the Dr. because the bruising and swelling of my arm and face were getting worse. After the x-rays and a thorough nerological check he asked me if I needed painkillers. I was surprised! I said maybe I could have used something that night but it happened 4 days ago - so no. For some reason it never occured to me that my pain was bad enough to need anything stronger than advil. What a difference from a few years before that, I would have been off to urgent care in a flash for meds!
...Ruby...
Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: manchester
Posts: 523
Originally Posted by Spica 
Good to hear Jazz. Here's hoping I don't break any more bones...but if I do I certainly hope I will be able to go the non-opiate route.
Hearing that others can make it through helps alot!!
Hearing that others can make it through helps alot!!
it was 6 monthes biffor i was totaly pain free
you get youst to it
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 683
Originally Posted by jazz66
Im suprized eny one would take opiat pain meds affter quiting taking them
knowing the pit falls .
ive had several broken bones since quiting opiats and always used none addictive pain relef
knowing the pit falls .
ive had several broken bones since quiting opiats and always used none addictive pain relef
Doing OK now, just can drive anywhere for more that 15 minutes!
Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Florida
Posts: 379
Originally Posted by IvanKatz
Imagine being hit in lumbar with a baseball bat every time you got up to do anything... For a week straight.
Doing OK now, just can drive anywhere for more that 15 minutes!
Doing OK now, just can drive anywhere for more that 15 minutes!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: The Great White North
Posts: 448
Ouch! That sounds awful. Will it heal in time to where you have no pain or is it a chronic pain? I'm glad you're 'sittin' a little prettier now' ! I'm going to look up some of the medical terms so I understand a bit better.
...Ruby...
...Ruby...
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
