StPeteGrad

I was wondering what others here - those with successful recovery periods - do to manage severe temporary pain?

Last weeken I was pretty sick and had a high fever for two days. I never let myself back off from my schedule after one day off work and basically just worked through it. I had 4 days that started at 6am and ended about 10pm. As it turns out, this was a very bad idea.

Yesterday I woke up with huge fever blisters on the roof and sides of my mouth, throat and lips - a reawakened virus that caused cold sores as a child.

This is extremely painful - like having cavities in every tooth. For pain my Doc offered some hard core meds but I'd only agree to vicodin. I've been taking 1/2 pill and supplementing with tylenol every few hours. It's just enough to dull the pain but nothing more.

Without giving medical advice, of course, are there strategies any of you have used or heard of for dealing with acute severe pain? I'm a believer that every alcoholic is an addict in training so I respect the pain meds as effective for pain but terrified by what lights they my turn on my brain.

Anna

That does sound painful! I agree with you 'working through it' isn't always the best thing to do, but I'm glad that you went to your dr and got his advice. I have always had migraines, since my teens. I used to use Tylenol3 a couple of times a year for those, but I changed in the past five years or so. I realized that, 'if' I listened to my body, I could feel the migraine coming before the pain started. I would get nauseau and see the aura of lights. I found, that if I took Advil at that point, the migraine would be manageable.

I would definitely not reject pain killers if I had a legitimate reason. I'm a bit of a coward. I think it's just a question of being honest with yourself and only using something for the short term.

Terminally Unique

Ask your doctor for the minimum dosage required to alleviate the pain, and follow the directions on the bottle to the letter. As soon as the problem goes away, discontinue use of the pain-killers.

Dee74

I have to deal with chronic pain - most times I find that, like Anna says, I can feel the pain building so I can often head it off at the pass with some exercises and other non medication techniques I have.

Sometimes tho - I need meds

I usually ask the Dr about my options, take the minimum dosage, follow the instructions to the letter, go back to the Dr if I have any issues, and discontinue once I feel I can and the Drs told me it's appropriate to do so.

D

augustwest

honestly i am scared ******** about having to take opiate pain meds b/c they were my drug of choice. my plan is to avoid them until absolutely necessary, get minimal quantities prescribed, take below or at the minimum amount, and ask someone else to be in possession of the pills. i told my doctor straight up when i got clean what i had been up to and she put in my chart that i am an addict who was/could abuse prescription narcotics and am not to be prescribed them unless it is absolutely necessary.

sugarbear1

there's a Pain Management Thread if you scroll down from the first page where the Newcomer's Thread is located. Maybe there's more information there.

I wish you fast healing.

StPeteGrad

My wife made me go to the doctor today since the condition was getting much worse and the 1/2 dose of Vicodin isn't doing much but make me sleep. I'm being treated by the same doctor now that first saw me through detox so we have no secrets.

The diagnosis was shingles, and when I heard it was painful- they weren't kidding. Once the anti-virals start working and it stops spreading we're going to get onto a pain management program to minimize addiction and dependence potential since it could be 4-8 weeks of intense nerve pain.

I have to admit, I'm pretty scared about having to go on pain management. Even good programs can leave people dependent afterward.

GirlFromCO

Shingles? Facepalm. Well you're not getting off easy this time, are you? Somebody somewhere has gone through this before though and you can too. My 80 yo granny spent 6 months with shingles and just advil. I know we're not all as tough as grandmothers... but you can get through this. It's going to take some focus.

Dee74

Not always though SPG

I've been on a Pain Management programme for around 4 years now - I'm always looking for the lowest amount of meds, highest amount of other treatments ratio and I'm still good

FWIW my Dad has had shingles too - fair enough he's carved out of primordial stone - but Advil was good enough for him too

D

StPeteGrad

I've always had a pretty high pain tolerance. If advil will be enough then that's what I'll use. I can't function at my job all jacked up on pain meds anyway.

PaperDolls

Wow, my dad, sober now for 39ish years, went through this a few years back.

At that point in his life he had not ever had to take any narcotics or heck, even cough medicine with alcohol. He just wouldn't do it.

Finally, after the pain was great enough , he went to the doc. It was shingles. The doc wanted to give him some narcotic, my dad refused. The doc said, well if it doesn't hurt that bad may be it's not shingles. My dad said, no it hurts like hell and then explained the situation. So, if I remember this right, the doc gave him a non-narcotic pain med. Turns out it wasn't strong enough so he did end up on a narcotic. He was nervous about it but sometimes you just have to listen to your body.

I know what he did was talk to people about it. Me, for one and he upped his meetings too.

Keep being mindful. I think you're doing the right thing.

macknacat

Lots of good ESH here- great that you have a doc who understands what you are up against. When i was in hosp from a bike accident , i made sure i had another recovering addict monitor me and my meds every day. She was able to short circuit the one RN who wanted to just knock me out every night- we promised i would not add to her work load and she agreed to immediately get me on to ibuprop. instead of opiates.

I had shingles but they were on my head and neck and a little on my torso. Very painful indeed - i just stood under a shower a dozen times a day and was able to pull thru w ibubrop.

Seems like you are doing it 'right' w/ a doc who understands.

LoftyIdeals

StPete:

I had shingles last year as well, and the first thing I was offered was Vicodin, which I accepted, but really never needed. But, I think we caught mine early enough that the big gun antibiotics was able to stave off a severe infection. But, if you have them in your mouth and gums, I'm betting you are on an entirely different plateau of pain. I had them on my back, wrapping from my armpit to my spine. I feel for ya, man.

I have had abusive episodes of Vicodin over the decades, as I have a bum knee that needs replacing. I have sometimes kept on them to avoid returning to inevitable pain, but have eventually decided they were not doing me any good, and tapered off, with withdrawal. That said, it's a fact of life for me. Percocet doesn't work for me, and Tramadol, which my doctor said "use away! Its not addictive" (he's an idiot) is not an option. Nor is not using my knee.

You have my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. Has the doctor advised to use a mouthwash? Hydrogen Peroxide or anything?

Almost forgot...after you recover, you should ask your doctor about the vaccine. I'm not yet 50, so mine wasn't covered by insurance, but my doctor will still prescribe it. Haven't gotten it yet, though.

StPeteGrad

Thanks all for the support. I'm rambling a bit here...sorry in advance.

The doctor prescribed gabapentin. I don't know much about it so I've been reading up on it. I see it does have potential for abuse and can cause dependence but I haven't read anything about it causing drug-seeking behavior.

My lips and face look like hamburger and my eye is swollen shut so I don't really want to leave the house at the moment but I promise I will make it to more meetings very soon so that I don't forget where I came from and what I need to do.

Frankly, vicodin and tramidol just **** me off. They relieve the sharpest pain but leave me groggy and my head cloudy. I was playing a game on facebook last night and I had that feeling I used to get when I drank way too much- groggy and disoriented. I guess I'm lucky that I don't feel "high" on them like I used to.

Once the gaba starts working I won't need the others.

I went to the ophthalmologist today since I'm getting sores under my eyelids. They were concerned the corneal nerve was affected but luckily it's not.

Thanks again for all your support. Since GP is likely the route I'll go for the pain management any input on staving off dependence is much appreciated. If I could do it I would just be on OTC meds, but this is way beyond my tolerance.

RedRaider

Magic mouth wash, a mixture of Lidocane, Benadryl, and tetracycline. I had over 40 cold sores in my mouth at one point, all in the corner of my mouth, my tongue, roof of my mouth, down my throat, trust me, I feel for you. Ask your doctor for some magic mouth wash, really worked wonders for me.

PaperDolls

Oh geez StPete, hope you start feeling better soon!

StPeteGrad

Much better day today! No vicodin, just Advil and the Gaba. My head is clear and it was the first day it wasn't worse when I woke up. This is very positive!

I went to work to get a few things done that I can't do at home and learned people are terrified of catching something that can make them ugly! This apparently trumps egos and resentments so they sent me home for the rest of the week.

This is a very good thing. No guilt, no worry, no suspicions. Now I can work on rest and healing.

StPeteGrad

The past two days have been very interesting. Yesterday I was in really bad pain on my face and scalp from the moment it woke me up at 5:30 until I went to bed at 9pm. This surprised me since Saturday was really good. I ended up taking about 4 vicodin just to be able to lay down comfortably. Head was in a fog all day because of it and I hated that.

Today I woke up about 5am because of pain, took a GP and two Advil and slept for another hour. I got up for work at 6 AM and felt great. I felt great all day, in fact. I just took the GP and Advil again at noon.

Now it's midnight and I can't sleep. No bad pain but I think my body already expects vicodin. I don't like that at all! I'm out and have no intention of getting more so hopefully I'll get straightened out in a couple of days. I also feel pretty edgy and wired.

I'm glad I'm writing about this since it makes me think about it carefully. I really don't like where this could go. Definitely time to quit the V.

LoftyIdeals

That sounds like a good call, so long as you can keep the pain at bay. I really feel bad for you, StPete. I hope today is a good day for you, relatively speaking. And, yes, keep posting here. I use SR to sort my own feelings too, and it really helps.