you have to know this

Old 05-05-2007, 06:03 PM
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you have to know this

If I am going to post here I must tell you something about me as I did in the f/f of A..
I have fibromyalgia-lupus-sjogrens-osteo
I am on Morphine.
I realize this makes me an addict as well.
I spent 5 years practically bedridden from pain at the age of 43
I tried every non narcotic medication
every kind of treatment
alternative treatments.
It was a hard choice to make when confronted with the fact I should try narcotics.
I am a nurse so I am familiar with medicines
I tried Vicodin-didn't work
The morphine has saved my life
I can walk now without crutches
I am out of bed-(before 2 hours was all I could handle)
I can walk my dog
Do small amounts of housework
make a meal
things most of us take for ranted.
I will most likely be on this for the rest of my life.
If I have to come off I will have to go to detox/hospital
I am under the care of a pain care specialists-who at any time can call me in and count my pills to make sure I am not abusing.
It has been a year now-I still have pain--but I can function
I have never wanted more than prescribed.
I have had to go without it once for 3 days so I kindof get the withdrawl thing-powerful-you would do anything to get it.
I want to know I won't offend anyone by being here.
let me know
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Old 05-05-2007, 06:10 PM
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That does not make you an addict at all! I am on the pain committee for my hospital and we would all tell you that you are definitely NOT an addict. You have medical conditions where you have a prescribed medication that is carefully controlled. An addict is someone that abuses a substance to the point that it interferes with their life. Doesn't sound like that is what has happened at all to you.

Hope that helps - Donna
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Old 05-05-2007, 06:34 PM
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Hi Sunflower. Boy, you really do have an awful lot to deal with.
I have to agree with lightseeker. There's a big difference between people who take their prescribed and necessary medicaton the way they are meant to be taken and the addict who gets a script and they're gone in a few days.
My ex h was the second one. He has degenerative disk disease.
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Old 05-05-2007, 06:43 PM
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Sunflower, Thank you for sharing that. It takes courage. There is a difference between dependency and addiction. You are still more than welcome here. Hugs, Marle
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Old 05-05-2007, 06:50 PM
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sorry that you are going through so much, you are welcomed here, like someone said, there is a big difference,i'll keep you and yours in my prayers
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Old 05-05-2007, 06:56 PM
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welcome to S.R. i do not think of you as an addict.you & your drs. are in contol of your medication.it is not in control of you.i am sorry u have so many medical problems. prayers, hope
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Old 05-05-2007, 07:19 PM
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((Sunflower))
So sorry you are going through so much. There is a big difference between recreational drugs and necessary drugs for treatment of illnesses. I wish you well and recovery. Please keep being here for me. We need you and you need us.
Hugs and God bless.........Lo
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Old 05-05-2007, 07:29 PM
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((((((Sunflower)))))

I agree with the others - you have a medical condition that warrants the medication, and you follow the prescription. You won't find any judgment from us...it's not our place to judge anyway - only to support.
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Old 05-05-2007, 08:28 PM
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I'm not offended..Huge difference...I'm a nurse too... Hi
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Old 05-05-2007, 08:41 PM
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I'm very sorry for the pain you have and continue to expereince and I am glad that there is something that can help you. It does not sound as if you are abusing your medication and it is not negatively affecting your life. Regardless, as Trish said, no one is here to judge...we are here to support each other. Hugs
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Old 05-05-2007, 08:42 PM
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You are doing what you need to do to survive - not to get high. You are so very welcome regardless of the circumstance. We can learn so much from you. Thanks so much.
Washbe
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Old 05-05-2007, 09:29 PM
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I am on Morphine.
I realize this makes me an addict as well.
No you are not an addict. You take your morphine as prescribed for a medical condition. That is not addiction.

I understand, I wish morphine could help my chronic pain, it does absolutely nothing.

I too live with chronic pain. I have alcoholic and peripheral neuropathy which I have to take high dosages of Neurontin and Lyrica for, and I have degenerative disc disease caused by my ostioarthritis which I am on tramadyl for and get the muscles spasms in my back and have to take a pretty heavy duty muscle relaxer for.

I am a recovering alcoholic. However, I have not found it necessary to abuse my medications. I take them as prescribed, which then allows me to be functional.

You're functioning now, that is great. I know how hard it can be when the pain gets bad and every movement is excruiating.

Glad you have some semblence of life today!!!!!!

Love and hugs,
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Old 05-06-2007, 10:09 AM
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Sunflower,
Nope, that's a legitimate reason, so it doesn't count.

But this is a great subject, perhaps someone can help ME.

Well actually, help Mr. Moose.

He is in chronic pain, nothing diagnosed, but was in a MVA back in 1970.
They set his fractured femur incorrectly, and one leg ended up shorter than the other.
So for 30 something years, his body has adjusted to this disalignment.
Which in turn has caused 2 lumbar herniated disks, 1 herniated cervical disk, and 2 bad knees, one bad hip, and now that he had ONE total knee, the others next week, his ankles and calf are causing severe pain. He takes on occasion a vicodin, or percocet,(those prescriptions are about a year old) but now the Drs. have said "Take ibuprofen"

Let me tell you, with both of the sons histories of addiction, this scares ME.
Do you think perhaps after the Left total knee if the pain doesn't ease, he should maybe get a referral to a Pain Clinic?

He is very happy for the fact of having the Left knee on the 14th, he knows for 3 days he'll have an morphine epidural and be pain free, and looking forward to it.

Glad this topic came up, I'm really concerned regarding the pain he's having, and the potential for abuse.

HELP!

Thank s all....
(sorry sunflower I think I somewhat hijacked your thread....)
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Old 05-06-2007, 04:39 PM
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I highly advise anyone with chronic pain to seek out a pain management program
I have to admit I had to go to 3 of them before I found the right one. By that I mean a staff that cared and listened and was well educated in pain management.
It is so hard to fight for yourself when you are sick--I look back and still don't know how I did it.
The pain meds are made for a reason--for people who need them--unfortunatley a lot of the times Doctors are afraid of us because of all the ones who do abuse. My program makes that impossible which is why the abusers are weeded out quickly.
I am an addict thought--in the sense that I would have to be hospitalized to go off this med.Amd like I said once because of a pharmacy screwup-I had to go without the morphine for a few days-wow-never felt anything like it never.Burning churning sickness. Gave me a new perspective on substance abuser and why they sometimes do the things they do to get their drugs.
Thank you all for the warm welcome here--like I said there are more parents here so I will be skipping back and forth.Thanks
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Old 05-06-2007, 04:53 PM
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M<y stepdad has herniated discs and is soon to have surgery, actually a complete fusion. He has to take Morphine just to get out of bed, he ought it and flat out refused to take it until pain management drs told him it was the only way theyd work with him. I think that like your situation is continually different. He actually gets random UAs to make sure he has the right levels in his system
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Old 05-06-2007, 08:28 PM
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Sunflower,
You're definitely not an addict. It sounds like your body is physically addicted, but you're not emotionally or mentally addicted. It sounds to me like you WOULD go to the hospital to detox if your condition got better so that you didn't need the meds. It sounds to me like you're only taking your prescribed meds to be physically healthier feeling and functional for a better quality life. That's nothing like any addict that I've ever met or heard of. I don't even begin to see you and your situation in the same light as a drug addict. I hope that you'll continue to come here to be with us because you belong here with us. ((((((((HUGS)))))))
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Old 05-06-2007, 11:49 PM
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Sunflower said it, PAIN MANAGEMENT. Pain meds do NOT take the pain totally away. They put enough of a blanket on the pain to make the pain tolerable.

A person can learn to live with some physical pain. On a pain grid of 1 to 10 I function daily at 4 or 5, that is tolerable, that is where my meds keep me at, but let me tell you when that pain starts to rise toward a 6 or 7 then I start to lose it.

After Mr Moose's surgeries are all done, he really needs to be evaluated, by pain clinic and work with them to figure out a treatment that he can live with.

J M H O

Love and hugs,
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Old 05-07-2007, 01:39 AM
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Dear Sunflower, I am really glad you started this thread. After reading all the answers you recieved, I felt I needed to share my story with the dear people here because it just might help someone else. I sent you a PM about your post as it upset me so to see you say you are an addict.
I am a nurse also. In 76 I had my 1st Laminectomy for 2 herniated disks, In 80 I had my 2nd. Both times I was off all meds after surgery & went bk to nursing. In 83 I got hurt again & after a couple of yrs of conservative treatment had an Ant/Post Fusion with Harrington Rods. I was in a body cast for 3 mts. I was no better after the surgery. I had terrible pain. This went on for many yrs & in that time I had 4 more bk surgeries & none of them helped the pain. I had many epidurals & was on every pain reliever & any other type of drug you can think of. In 92 I finally found my present dr & he put me on MS Contin. It did not take the nerve pain I had from Adhesive Arachnoiditis away but it made it bearable. In 1999 I started walking pitched forward. I went from dr to dr & none of them gave me the correct diagnosis, I finally read a paper from Elizabeth Minney & found out I had Fixed Saggital Imbalance or Flat Back. The reasons no dr would tell me is it was caused by the Harrington Rods. I belong to a Support Group online for people with this & I found the names of drs that are specalists in operating on people with this condition. I went to 5 of these drs before choosing one to do my surgery. I flew to AZ & to Missouri to see drs & also saw 3 in NY City before having Dr Boachie do my revision in 2005. Before surgery I had been bent literally in half, could not walk without the aide of a rolling walker & was headed for a wheelchair. Now I can walk & by the grace of God am leading a relatively normal life. I still need to take pain meds for the Adhesive Arach & OsteoArthritis etc but I now take a quarter of what I needed before. I do not consider myself an addict though I know my body is physically dependent on it. You know I have been dealing with pain since I was in my 20's & how I have been treated by the medical profession in the 70's & early 80's would make anyone crazy. I was not believed, called an addict by nurses etc etc. Thank God over the last 15-20 yrs there is a realization that severe chronic pain must be treated.
Love,
Diane
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