a little here

[MROBI]

i was wondeing based on others experience, what the usual course of action is when i go to pain mng. appointment and tell him i recently detoxed from opiods.
any info on your experience is appreciated.

[HopeTo180]

The truth will set you free my friend. Always the truth! Prayers

[MROBI]

i just feel like i need narcotics to function at all, period. hav'nt slept in 3 days.

[nandm]

I have been completely honest with my physicians about my alcoholism since I got sober. What I have found is my honesty helped build trust and my physicians work with me regarding pain medications and management.

[barb dwyer]

I am completely honest and even keep a BOOK on what I've been on,
to help the doc in what ever way I can.

I'm in this to feel better - not to be high.
I want to be IN the world and IN my life,
not obliterated out of it any more.

honesty is all the way around .. the best policy.

[MROBI]

thank you for your responses

[jazpoppy]

MROBI;

First, make sure you have a physician who is compassionate and willing to work with you. If you already have one, great, then be honest about what you were on, why you were on them, and why you got off of them. If you really feel that your pain is complicating everything you do in life, tell you doctor this. He or she will then work with you openly and honestly on a plan that can work for you. It may go slow at first, the doctor may not feel comfortable with putting you on narcotics if you were abusing them before, you may have to start with other alternatives, give these alternatives a chance. If they REALLY don't help at all and you get very little to no relief, then be honest and see what the doctor can come up with next. You and your doctor will soon find out if you NEED narcotics to manage your type of pain, or if you can benefit from alternatives. Be honest with yourself, do you want to be buzzed or high, or do you want to have your pain relieved? Anyone that takes narcotics from their doctor and gets buzzed or high all the time is not benefitting from them theraputically. If you take them and your pain goes away, and after the first 3 days or so you feel "normal" you should also feel satisfied with having less pain. If you don't feel satisfied and have "cravings" for a buzz, then you should discuss this with your doctor and get more active in NA, and possibly go to a rehab program while working on your pain without the use of narcotics first, not saying that you will never be able to take narcotics for pain again, only to get clean first, get some clean time, and if you can function well with non-narcotic therapies, re-examine your reasons for wanting or needing narcotics in the first place. I wish you the best. I am NOT a doctor so I do not know if your pain requires narcotics for relief or not, you should never be deprived of the level of pain relief that you need. Good luck.

God Bless;

Jaz

[grumpyoldman]

I haven't posted on this side but feel I must jump in on this one. I've been on narcotics by way of a pain management clinic for 4 years. I was introduced to this site by way of the substance abuse side as I was trying to get off narcotics (Fentanyl and Percocet). What I found out was narcotics not only should serve as a last resort bandaid.

They also decrease your body's natural endorphines. If you ever hope to get off of them you not only have to overcome the original pain level but the more intense pain level brought on by the narcotics. In other words, your body can't deal with the pain like it use to.

There seems to be, at least with me, a level of drugs that give you the warm fuzzies and another level that helps, but doesn't totally get rid of pain. Tolerance builds fast to the fuzzies. Much much slower to the part that helps with pain. I cannot use one level to assess the other.

I would give my left @&*# to be where you are. Do every thing you can, PT, Yoga, swiming, massage, etc., to keep from going the narcotics route.

[MROBI]

ya thanx. i have done alot of pt, stretching, diet all kinds of workouts on the body for life program, and deep tissue message, i dropped from 235 lbs. to 170 in 3.5 years and was really hoping once i got past the withdrawal pain that i would be o.k. with all the exersize, but it was really frusrating to be gripped by incapacitating pain.
i had a bad crash and jambed my pelvis and hip up into my spine and a bad contusion on the biggest nerve in the body. i dont think the nerv healed right and there is a short circuit, also have numbness in my legs wich is takin my out of the game of life, along with worn out kness the keep dislocating and chronis shoulder pain. its really too much to deal with all of this at once. i really hope that the pain doc can help diagnose some of this stuff and help get me to and co-ordinate getting to other docs to help fix some of these issues, if i could get my knees and shoulder fixed then maybye i could deal with some of the other stuff without narcs,
man fentanyl and pecrs, if that doesnt work your really screwed. thanx for your reply's.