Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why anyone would put even 1 opioid pill in their mouth and swallow it, knowing what know, is just beyond me.

All these teens with the sports injuries and the parents are just like “Here! Have some opioids!”

Because surgery hurts. Because chronic back pain hurts. Because chronic pain hurts. Hurts = laying in bed screaming and moaning, unable to work or take care of the house or anything.

There are other ways to deal with chronic pain, including yoga, meditation, PT, and acupuncture, some of which work for some people.

My c- section hurt like a motherclucker, but I didn't rely on anything stronger than Motrin. I won't let my kids take opioids. Motrin, and cowboy up.

Just because you are in pain doesn't mean you need pain meds.

That's temporary pain. Trying living with chronic pain for years and then get back to us with your Motrin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fighting a dependence on Vicodin right now. I have a legitimate prescription but I don't want to take it anymore. I've been taking it (very low dosage, 15 mg daily) for 5 years. I have tapered down to 5 mg per day. It's really hard.

I'm really curious about this. Tell me why it's hard -- do you feel lousy when it starts wearing off? Do you feel good on it (like sort of high) or do you just feel normal, and without it you feel terrible? Is the pain unmanageable without it?

Thanks in advance for sharing, if you're willing to. Good luck to you!

I'm the PP-- they don't make me feel high (I take a very low dose). They are, instead, a miracle cure for my lifelong severe anxiety. They make me feel normal. If I stop taking them, I just have bad cravings and some low level withdrawal symptoms-- headache, nausea, chills. Like a mild flu. It's hard to stop,taking them because they work better for me than any anxiety med, and I've tried many. But I know I need to stop taking them because I am physically dependent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fighting a dependence on Vicodin right now. I have a legitimate prescription but I don't want to take it anymore. I've been taking it (very low dosage, 15 mg daily) for 5 years. I have tapered down to 5 mg per day. It's really hard.

Maybe soberrecovery.com might be a good resource. Lots of people trying to taper down, and I understand the struggle. Sounds so difficult and painful. Wishing you well, and know that you can get to the other side.

Hope you are still reading. When you go to the site, click on "forums." People discuss their challenges, and it is moderated well. It has been a godsend for many people struggling with addiction issues. A few alcoholics I know got sober through SR, when they couldn't attend AA or Smart Recovery meetings.

I don't want to presume anything, but lots of people get addicted to pain meds without knowing it. Meaning, they weren't trying to get high or abuse a drug. They got bad advice from their doctors, and then the doctors didn't know what to do when they couldn't get off of them without bad effects. I have seen this happen so often. I saw a post on this board from a woman who had been taking benzos (different drug, but dangerous), and she stopped suddenly. Doctor wouldn't take her calls, and she ended up in detox. That will kill you. I so wish the medical community would be more informed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why anyone would put even 1 opioid pill in their mouth and swallow it, knowing what know, is just beyond me.

All these teens with the sports injuries and the parents are just like “Here! Have some opioids!”

Because surgery hurts. Because chronic back pain hurts. Because chronic pain hurts. Hurts = laying in bed screaming and moaning, unable to work or take care of the house or anything.

There are other ways to deal with chronic pain, including yoga, meditation, PT, and acupuncture, some of which work for some people.

My c- section hurt like a motherclucker, but I didn't rely on anything stronger than Motrin. I won't let my kids take opioids. Motrin, and cowboy up.

Just because you are in pain doesn't mean you need pain meds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fighting a dependence on Vicodin right now. I have a legitimate prescription but I don't want to take it anymore. I've been taking it (very low dosage, 15 mg daily) for 5 years. I have tapered down to 5 mg per day. It's really hard.

I'm really curious about this. Tell me why it's hard -- do you feel lousy when it starts wearing off? Do you feel good on it (like sort of high) or do you just feel normal, and without it you feel terrible? Is the pain unmanageable without it?

Thanks in advance for sharing, if you're willing to. Good luck to you!

I appreciate your curiosity, and will share. (NP). Opioids rewire the body. You suffer withdrawal if you have been taking them for extended periods, and then suddenly stop. It isn't feel normal, it is brutal. Imagine the flu times 20, with all sorts of mental anguish. This is why people seek out street drugs. It stops the pain from withdrawal. It takes a medicated detox and lots of hard work to get through it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the flip side my parent needs a low dose to leave her bed every day. She can only get a 30 day supply and is treated like a criminal every time she goes to the pain clinic. There are no surgeries for her condition and she's tried everything. She's not an addict and never takes more than her low dose. When she runs out, she just cries in bed and is unable to move. We've had to carry her to doctors appointments. The lack of availability of Percocet has limited her life. She has to schedule vacations in between her doctors appointments and often misses holidays and birthdays because she can't travel close to her refill dates. She would like to move closer to her granchildren but can't because she can't find a doctor. She carries her MRI results with her in case of emergency.

I'm worried what happens when Percocet is banned

My dad and I worry that if Percocet is banned that she would turn to the black market or heroin. She's so crippled physically in pain daily. I think this is why a lot of people turn to heroin.

Serious question, but how would she know where to get it? That's what I don't get from these stories of people who supposedly got addicted to prescription drugs first then turned to heroin out of desperation, it doesn't seem the me that your average upstanding middle class person would have an easy connection to a heroin dealer. Personally, I wouldn't have a clue where to get it from.

Anonymous wrote:I am fighting a dependence on Vicodin right now. I have a legitimate prescription but I don't want to take it anymore. I've been taking it (very low dosage, 15 mg daily) for 5 years. I have tapered down to 5 mg per day. It's really hard.

I'm really curious about this. Tell me why it's hard -- do you feel lousy when it starts wearing off? Do you feel good on it (like sort of high) or do you just feel normal, and without it you feel terrible? Is the pain unmanageable without it?

Thanks in advance for sharing, if you're willing to. Good luck to you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fighting a dependence on Vicodin right now. I have a legitimate prescription but I don't want to take it anymore. I've been taking it (very low dosage, 15 mg daily) for 5 years. I have tapered down to 5 mg per day. It's really hard.

Maybe soberrecovery.com might be a good resource. Lots of people trying to taper down, and I understand the struggle. Sounds so difficult and painful. Wishing you well, and know that you can get to the other side.

Thank you! I will check out that site.

Anonymous wrote:I am fighting a dependence on Vicodin right now. I have a legitimate prescription but I don't want to take it anymore. I've been taking it (very low dosage, 15 mg daily) for 5 years. I have tapered down to 5 mg per day. It's really hard.

Maybe soberrecovery.com might be a good resource. Lots of people trying to taper down, and I understand the struggle. Sounds so difficult and painful. Wishing you well, and know that you can get to the other side.

I am fighting a dependence on Vicodin right now. I have a legitimate prescription but I don't want to take it anymore. I've been taking it (very low dosage, 15 mg daily) for 5 years. I have tapered down to 5 mg per day. It's really hard.

I had a back injury, and went to see a specialist. While waiting for him to come in after the nurse, I saw a chart detailing opiod abuse on the wall in the room. Guess what he prescribed me? Opiods, and a huge prescription. I had a discussion with him about this, and had to lobby hard for different medication.

Baffles me.

Feel like I dodged a bullet. Two knee surgeries (2006, 2008). Both times given oxy. Took some but stopped once the pain was manageable with Tylenol..still had like 30 oxy pills left.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a fairly minor dental procedure done recently and they handed off a prescription of Vicodin with no warning about it being addictive or anything. I was shocked. Didn't get it filled and did just fine with ibuprofen.

Yes -- this is the problem. Doctors need to be giving this prescriptions with a huge warning and hopefully talking to someone else in the patient's family about the dangers.

It strikes me that the above is a pretty straightforward and free way to break the cycle of this crisis. I’m 40 now, but when I was younger, opioids were prescribed for acute, not chronic, conditions. Like, here’s your three day post-op supply. And even then, extreme caution was used. I remember my mom cutting my pill in half instead of giving me a full dose after surgery. If the medical community knows there is an issue, why does the practice continue?

The medical community was given deliberately bad information and propaganda that Oxy wasn’t habit forming.

But now they know, no?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a fairly minor dental procedure done recently and they handed off a prescription of Vicodin with no warning about it being addictive or anything. I was shocked. Didn't get it filled and did just fine with ibuprofen.

Yes -- this is the problem. Doctors need to be giving this prescriptions with a huge warning and hopefully talking to someone else in the patient's family about the dangers.

It strikes me that the above is a pretty straightforward and free way to break the cycle of this crisis. I’m 40 now, but when I was younger, opioids were prescribed for acute, not chronic, conditions. Like, here’s your three day post-op supply. And even then, extreme caution was used. I remember my mom cutting my pill in half instead of giving me a full dose after surgery. If the medical community knows there is an issue, why does the practice continue?

The medical community was given deliberately bad information and propaganda that Oxy wasn’t habit forming.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a fairly minor dental procedure done recently and they handed off a prescription of Vicodin with no warning about it being addictive or anything. I was shocked. Didn't get it filled and did just fine with ibuprofen.

Yes -- this is the problem. Doctors need to be giving this prescriptions with a huge warning and hopefully talking to someone else in the patient's family about the dangers.

It strikes me that the above is a pretty straightforward and free way to break the cycle of this crisis. I’m 40 now, but when I was younger, opioids were prescribed for acute, not chronic, conditions. Like, here’s your three day post-op supply. And even then, extreme caution was used. I remember my mom cutting my pill in half instead of giving me a full dose after surgery. If the medical community knows there is an issue, why does the practice continue?