Chrisy

My name is Chrisy and I just joined today. I have a very bad neck and shoulder that causes me very severe pain. My pain management doctor gives me oxycodone 15 mg and I have been on that for a long time. before that I was given percaset, and before that vicadin. So I have been on these pain pills for many years. I ran out so I am feeling really lousy. I go back on Wed. I never really thought of myself addicted and a drug addict because I don't use street drugs, but this starting withdrawals made me realize that I am a drug addict too.

I have a good friend who also is in severe pain for her back and she is on the same oxycodone 15 mg. And I was talking to her and saying I think we are becoming drug addicts. She said no, that we aren't because we take prescribed from the doctor, but I think we are.

I think when I go to the pain management doctor on Wed, I am going to talk about getting off the oxycodone and see if their are alternives for my severe pain in my neck and shoulder. I am taking pt now. Not looking forward to going tomorrow, as I started the withdrawals yesterday.

I have alot of muclse spasms so I take flexeral and meloxicam 15 mg along with my thyroid, diabetic, and high bloodpresure.

My body is in rebellion as it is going through sugar withdrawals and oxycodone withdrawals.

I wish I had a bath tub, but I don't and I can't stand up for long period of times. I am just trying to get through this. I hope that we can workout a pain management plan without oxycodone. If it only takes three days by Wed, I should be starting to feel better, so why would I take those pills again, even if they do work on the pain?

I wonder if I would qualify for NA?

Look forward to hear suggestions.

God Bless
Chrisy

Sapling

Welcome to SR Chrisy...Any way you can talk to your Doctor sooner?....And I'd say if you wanted to check out an NA meeting...Nobody would have a problem with that.

laurie6781

Welcome Chrisy.

I have sent you a private message (pm).

Love and hugs,

gordano

Hi Chrisy, unlike myself you have become addicted from no fault of your own. For this I really have a lot of sympathy for your situation. Kudos for realizing that you are addicted even though you have a prescription from a Doctor. I was addicted to opiates at one point and they steal your soul and crush all enjoyment you can get from life. Keep going strong. I would suspect that within 7 days you will start feeling better. Days 3-4 will be the worst and it may take a few weeks for you to feel like normal. Please PM me if you have any questions about the withdrawal. I've gone through it at least a half a dozen times before I kicked it and replaced the drug with alcohol - now I'm trying to replace alcohol with the best drug of all LOVE (my wife, son, and soon to be daughter).

Anna

Welcome Chrissy,

I think it's great that you are going to look for alternative treatments for your pain.

Chrisy

Thank you for your kind words.

I sent an email back to Laurie, giving you my phone number and email address if you have facebook and want to add me as a friend. I am open on my facebook and have posted there, that I think I am a drug addict because of the pain pills and need to find a way off the pain med merry go round.

I know my good friend doesn't see it yet, but maybe reading my facebook page her eyes will open too.

It all started in 2002 when I went to the doctor about the pain I had and he said I had fibro and they just gave me pain pills. My shoulder doctor I have now, plus the neck doctor and the pt guy are pissed that for years they just said I had fibro and gave me pain pills. In 2010 the primary doctor I had at the time ordered an mri because he didn't think I had fibro, and they found a lot wrong with my neck and shoulder and said there was good reason for the pain and it wasn't in my mind or fibro. We are working on the neck and shoulder now. Yet, I don't think oxycodone and all the other meds is good as I need it in order to feel normal and not feel sick. What makes us different then any other drug addict? I hope my friend will see this too.

I looked for na meetings and there is not one really close so I think when I finally feel human again I will go. Good idea to call the pain management doctor and tell them that I am taking myself off the oxycodone.

I will let you know. I am so grateful I found this site. I just have to remember there is life after pain pills.

Love
Chrisy

Chrisy

I just called my pain management doctor to let them know I was taking myself off the oxycodone and going through withdrawals, that I felt I had become addicted and wanted to get off the merry go round. That Wed. when I come I want to talk about new forms of pain management. Thank you to the person who suggested I call them and not wait until Wed.

Laure I will call you later. I want to wait until the pain management doctor's office calls.

I wish everyone who is on day one and best of luck in overcoming our addictions. I believe that there are some people who become easily addicted. Me I have always had some addiction, for many years it was sugar and now that I am diabetic I have to cut my use of sugar and my body doens't like it either. I don't know if it is good to face both addictions at the same time, but I really have no choice.

Love and Blessings to all.

Chrisy

Sapling

Just be safe Chrisy...You can get out of that mess.

Dee74

welcome to SR Chrisy

D

Chrisy

The pain management doctor called me back and they said they were going to call in somthing at Target that will help with the withdrawals. Don't know what it is yet, but will tell you when I get them. I made it clear that I want to find a non opiate to use for pain management for my neck and shoulder. For me first doctor was wrong to say I had fibro and just put me on pain pills, when I have neck and shoulder problems that they can see on the mri. We are doing Pt to see if we can fix things and not have to do surgery. I know the shoulder doctor was pissed as now they can't use pain pills if I have to have surgery.

doctors need to be carefull and not just say fibro when someone has pain, but do some testing or an mri to see if the person has a valid reason for pain. fibro is real as I have friends who have fibro, but I don't have fibro. My neck and shoulder is in very bad shape.

Please pray that I can find a way to deal with the pain and not take an opiate, as I want off the opiate merry go round.

Sapling

My prayers are with you Chrisy...I admire your courage and strength. I knew a lady when I got into AA...She was very helpful to me when I came in. She had 17 years sober in AA and was prescribed painkillers by a doctor. She ended up getting addicted to them and wanted to give up her sobriety date...It totally destroyed her. I could see the pain she was going thru and I tried to my best just to be there for her.....I haven't seen her in four months...And have no idea what happened to her. It saddens me to see the way these doctors throw these drugs around....So when I pray for her....Which I do daily...I'll add you in there.

Chrisy

Sap,

Thank you for your kind words and prayers. I too will pray for your friend. it is terrible that pain pill are passed out as candy and people get addicted and what is worst, that I am finding out with a good friend who has a bad back is that people deny they are drug addicts because the med is from the doctor. My friend Julie doesn't see the connection yet. I pray she will, as I will be set free and learn to live a life without opiates while she will still be on the opiate merry go round, going round and round and taking pills to not feel sick but normal. Please pray for Julie too. That is why I am posting my journey on my facebook so she will at least have to read it, and hopefully the light will go on and she too will join this forum.

Went to the pharm. and picked up the rx's from the doctor to help with withdrawals until Wed. They gave me clonazepam o.5 mg and Promethazine 25 mg and told me to stop taking my allergy pills.

If I hadn't made the decision to get off the oxycodene I would still be on it and getting a refill on Wed. Now by stopping on my own, they will have to find a way to treat my pain without opaite.

Love and blessings
Chrisy

Sapling

This lady had a bad back too...I don't even know if she's alive. Good for you for making the move you made. I still think it would be a good idea to check out a couple NA meetings....See if it's a fit for you. It can't hurt.

sugarbear1

I'm glad your doctor is helping you with the withdrawal process. Did you taper off of them? How long did that last?

SSIL75

There is a difference between addiction and dependence. You will become physically dependent on the pills and should taper off them. But that is different from addiction. The two are not mutually exclusive, obviously. I'm glad you're talking to your doctor!

Chrisy

Sugarbear, No not really but i did try to in one small way to taper off of them. Today is the first day that has not been been taken. I just have to stop cold turkey as for me as if I just taper them off I never quit, but don't ever stop. I need to just stay off oipate. In my youth I smoke Pot and I got through this and now I am having to go throgh the oxycodone withdrawal. Hope I am able to stop the use of drug this time. I have been taking opiates since 2002 my doctor's perscription. I don't think they would have dealt with it today if I hadn't stopped on my own.

gordano

Be careful with the clonazepam. I think that can be addictive as well.

artsoul

Welcome Chrisy!! All the best on detoxing..... it's great that you got some medical help. A lot of people try to do it on their own (often because of shame) and have a hard time.

I agree with SSIL that a person can be dependent but not have the obsession/compulsion that addicts have to get high or escape from life's problems.

Have you ever tried Chiropractic or Acupuncture? Just a thought......

YIQuit

Welcome Chrisy,
I pray you feel better ASAP and that you find an effective solution.

Chrisy

Thank you for all the nice comments and your well wishes and advice of people who have gone through this. My neck is so bad that I was told the massage would not help but make my neck worst. I know my insurance won't pay for anything like actupuncure. My nephew in Hawaii is doing it and he says it helps him, but it is very expensive. I am not working and am applying for disability as it will be awhile until I can go back to work. Part of the problem is that in 2002 the doctor said I had fibro and gave me pain pills. for years the doctors treated me like I had fibro, but I didn't have fibro. After my last doctor suspected I had something else and not fibro he ordered an mri and found the reason for the pain in the neck and shoulder. My shoulder is like frayed rope, I have bone on bone and my neck is even worst. My shoulder doctor and my neck doctor and my pt man are pissed that all those years were wasted and they just wrote it off as fibro and not come to the truth. Now because I have been on these opiate drugs for so long they had no effect on me, except letting me feel normal and not sick.

He is pissed because if pt doesn't work on my shoulder and neck then he has to do surgery and he can't give me any pain pills with opiates, because for so many years they said I had fibro when i didn't.

I also know if I hadn't made the decision to quit them today that they would have continued on giving me oxycodone 15 mg 3 times a day, and sometimes I would take 4 a day.

I don't intend to stay on the clonazepam for very long, just long enough to get through the opiate addition. Hopefully it won't be long at all.

I took the meds they gave me plus my muscle spasm pill and the aleve pm to help with the pain so hopefully I will be able to sleep. I posted this forum on my facebook and blog, so maybe others will see themselves caught on the opiate merry go round and want to get off it and be clean.

I bet pot in my youth and I can beat this too, plus the sugar addition that led to my becomming diabetic.

Thank you for your kindess. You have been a big help on day one. Today I made it through thanks to this forum. Tomorrow is day two. Just take one day at a time and remember the Serenity prayer about accepting things we cannot change and the courage to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference. This prayer helps me.

Good night, I will check in tomorrow.

Love and Blessings,
Chrisy