July 2, 2008 - 1:15am
I have long term chronic pain, going on ten years/details of my injury should anyone ask later. I am being taken off AVINZA 120 mg once daily and it worked. The doctors' office is changing their policies. I am now on (2) Hydrocodone 10/325mg I feel sick and the pain relief that AVINZA gave me isn't there and I do want to be on that much Tylenol. Any suggestions. I appreciate any suggestions to present to my doctor. AnnHurts
July 2, 2008 - 6:02am
#2
Tylenol concern, Thanks for your concern
I am taking a total of 8/10 tablets of hydrocodone 10/325 a day. I prefer no tylenol at all. I have learned alot tonight about compounds, I hope to talk to my doctors about them. Avinza was working great for me, I actually thought that I had received a miracle and all my pain was gone. I now have to find a new doctor that will write me scripts for Avinza or do more research with hydrocodone.
Before the hydrocodone. . .
My doctors had me try TRAMADOL 50 mg (2) every 6 hours my face and lips swelled so bad I looked like I was trying out for a part in Plant of the Apes. . . I did not look human. It did work with management. Thanks again for your concern.
July 2, 2008 - 9:11am
#3
med drop
Hi Ann, so u were taking avinza once a day 120mgs, and they switched u to hydrocodone?? thats a big jump down, even though u are still having the opiates in your system, the dr didnt mention anything about u going into withdrawal a bit? thats like taking away an orange and giving u a piece of an apple! no wonder u feel sick and have pain. he could have ATLEAST given you percocet 10/325 or roxicodone 15mgs (no tylenol) although people have been posting about the roxi being gone or something, i didnt read them yet. Still, i feel real bad for you. morphine is strong, its not the strongest, but its stronger than what he replaced it with. I would definately tell him that you are in w/d and in pain, and you want him to do something about it. good luck to u
July 2, 2008 - 1:48pm
#4
Roxicodone, please educate me on this med.
Thanks Mdonia,
The withdrawls from the Avinza was b-a-d. I think alot of my doctor but his office is no longer working with the type of classification of med Avinza is. But Avinza was working for me. I have learned so much from this fourm and I appreciate it and your input regarding roxicodone, I will do more research.
I wish I could detail better my injuries I recieved in a car accident. New hips, new knee, pins and rods. . . from the waist on down I was totally reconstructed. . .( I lost count of the operations) I had to learn to walk again.
Thanks again for you concern and I hope you are doing well.
AnnHurts
July 2, 2008 - 3:51pm
#5
What do u mean the class it
What do u mean the class it is in? The fact that it is a schedule two or a morphine based med?
if he doesn't want to prescribe schedule II meds then the hydrocodone is your next best choice
If he just doesn't want to prescribe morphine cased meds I would go with codeine based like oxycodone, or fentanyl
July 2, 2008 - 5:37pm
#6
Just something obvious to
Just something obvious to point out here, but if your doctor is not willing to prescribe the class of drugs that Morphine is in, then you are not going to have any luck with getting Roxicodone/Oxycodone. Both drugs are CII, the only difference being that there are "instant" release forms of the preparations.
I doubt a doctor unwilling to script for morphine will be willing to script for oxycodone. I may be wrong though.
gtrplayer
July 2, 2008 - 6:11pm
#7
It makes no sense to switch
It makes no sense to switch a well controlled chronic pain patient from Avinza to hydrocodone/APAP, other than price. Avinza is difficult to abuse, has good 24 hour effectiveness, associated with minimal euphoria. 120 mg of Avinza (long acting morphine) is about equivalent to 120 mg of hydrocodone. Did you mean the doctor switched you to 12 hydrocodone/APAP 10/325 a day?
The only reason to switch you is if you are in an HMO plan that has financial disincentives for doctors to prescribe expensive medications, or the doctor is having problems with his own license for over prescribing narcotics, or for some disciplinary reason cannot prescribe C-II narcotics. I would definitely fight this change since clinically it does not make sense and is a step backward as far a rational pain management goes.
July 2, 2008 - 8:46pm
#8
No such thing
I am sorry, but there is no such thing as a "miracle" opiate, even for people living every day in pain. For if there were ever a time you wish to cease taking them, you're going to be in for one of the scariest rides of your life.
And Lois, Avinza is hardly "difficult" to abuse. It merely takes a little more effort, and maybe 60 more seconds.
July 2, 2008 - 11:41pm
#9
Thanks for defining Avinza
Thanks for defining Avinza as a schedule two med. I knew it was a controlled med. It manages my pain. However my doctors are changing their approach to pain management and it does not include these types of meds.
Hydrocodone Qty 8/10 daily at 10/325mg does not do much for my pain, it makes me sleepy and I get a stomach ache. Tramadol mademy face and lips swell.
I guess a search for new doctors, does Avinza come in generic form?
Thanks for sharing some of your time with me and my problem, it is greatly appreciated.
AnnHurts
July 3, 2008 - 1:16am
#10
gtrplayer Thanks for the
gtrplayer
Thanks for the explaination on the meds. I will do a little reading on them and their side effects. I do think that you are correct in your feelings about their attitude towards Roxicodone/Oxycodone. I appreciate the information.
Thanks again
AnnHurts
July 3, 2008 - 1:38am
#11
Thank you for your comments
Dr. Lois,
I sure would love to have you at my followup visit. I do not understand their changes too. What I know is that hydrocodone makes my stomach ache, I can not continue with it. I do not want to change doctors but what else can I do, Avinza has been working great or me.
Thank you so much for your time in sharing your comments with me. I truly felt your caring nature.
Thanks
AnnHurts
July 3, 2008 - 2:02am
#12
Avinza withdrawl was bad
Hi, Wordworth
I have chronic acute pain from the waist on down. For the past several years, I take Avinza in the morning and feel that I can participate in life. I still feel pain but I can function with it. The pain is tolerable. I am greatful that Avinza works for me.
You are right about the withdrawls from Avinza it was BAD. But the benefits of being on Avinza gave me my life back. I now must change doctors after 10 years.
Thank you for your concerns, I hope that no one would try to take Avinza for pleasure, it was painful going off it.
AnnHurts
July 3, 2008 - 9:10am
#13
avinza
wordsworth, maybe it was a miracle to her because she could do daily things again without as much pain, i think thats what she meant.
July 3, 2008 - 9:14am
#14
ANN
Hi Ann, if i was you, i would ask your dr why they are doing this change in policy regarding pain meds. If they dont explain it to you, or give an answer that sounds fishy....then its prob the dr doing bad things and no longer being allowed to rx scheduleII narcotics,esp if he gave u hydrocodone which is a c-III.
July 3, 2008 - 10:17am
#15
Hi mdonia,Your so correct. I
Hi mdonia,
Your so correct. I know that Avinza has not cured my injures and that I am not a walking miracle, but I can function.
I feel bad talking about my pain, I know that their are many many more individuals that are experiencing more pain than I am.
In this forum I have read so many individuals life struggles with pain and I truely hurt for them. Thank you for understanding my feelings and expressing them, that was very kind of you to share your thoughts. . . Thanks
AnnHurts
July 3, 2008 - 10:43am
#16
Hi mdoniaI agree I do not
Hi mdonia
I agree I do not understand the changes, but I will just have to readjust to them. My pain management doctors have been great to me. I lost my health insurance because I could no longer afford it. Their office continued seeing me at $25.00 a visit. They always treated me like I was their only patient. They are truly caring individuals.
I plain to continue seeing them and find another office/doctor to handle the Avinza scripts.
I do understand your concerns. I do hope that what ever new objectives they have outlined for themselves they reach.
I have truely appreciate your interest in helping me. I hope that you are doing well and continue sharing your knowledge of meds with people like me. I think I'm ready for isomething sweet to eat. If I could share I would.
Thanks again
AnnHurts
July 3, 2008 - 12:22pm
#17
I also am puzzled why your
I also am puzzled why your doctor would do such a thing,but it happens. I certainly am no doctor but without a doubt you should have been weened correctly.I hope you get the med's that are needed for you
July 3, 2008 - 1:01pm
#18
I do suspect that something
I do suspect that something happened. But I would feel bad asking.
I was given a script for Tramadol 50mg 6/8 Tablets a day along with Zanax. I stayed at my Moms, just needed her there for me if I needed 911.
Weening was very very hard and very very bad, no details needed. The last thing I expected was to get a allergic reaction from Tramadol.
My face swelled really bad and my lips too and I got a very bad headache, I still have it. I would appreciate someone explaining to me why I still have a headache.
I have contacted a new pain management doctor to see Wednesday.
Thank you for sharing some of your time with me and for your concerns in with my medication, I sincerely appreciate it.
AnnHurts
July 4, 2008 - 1:15pm
#19
HI ANN
ohh a sweet tooth huhh??? TELL ME ABOUT IT!!! now that im on a methadone clinic that is one of the "symptoms" of the mdone, it gives u the biggest sweet tooth ever and then u gain weight. Even when i was using opiates/oids they would gimme not just a sweet tooth, but an appetite like u would not believe. I used to use it all, and most users dont eat at all and getall skinny. not me, im a rare case coz i have ALWAYS had an appetite, and using opi's just made it worse, so i didnt get all skinny. i ate like a pig and still can. plus im a big dude in general so i can put down a lot of grub anyways. But the sweets are the worst, for people on mdone clinics its usually ice cream. me, i go thru phases of different things. right now im on those oreo cakesters, theyre like soft oreos......oh my ..sooo good!
But as for sharing info and knowledge, im sure any1 on this site will tell u its no problem at all. I suffer from chronic pain in my neck, bad discs DDD, etc but i was an opiate addict long b4 i got hurt, so i have been on both sides of the issue of narcotic meds and thensome. But now since im in recovery i feel the need to help other addicts, not saying u are an addict, but i like to help people that are taking the meds legitimately also, because believe it or not, there was a time when i did too, but it didnt last long. But I have a TON of knowledge and info to help people like yourself with questions about these meds and the side effects and withdrawals, and all the other stuff that goes with them. Just like most of the other members of this site. So dont ever hesitate to ask for help, even if u feel kinda shy about it or weird, then send me or someone else a PM. Your question could save your life...u never know.
Happy 4th and hang in there.
July 5, 2008 - 1:40am
#20
Oreo sounds like the perfect med
mdonia
Will, now thinking about it a Oreo does sounds good, but it's too late.
The 21st of this month will be 10 years since my car accident. WOW
No violin here, but the doctors did not think I would live through the initial operations to put me back together. Then their was the big question would I be able to walk again.
The only question I asked after the accident was if the other driver was ok, and when I was told that he had died, I shut down, I still hurts. I feel so so bad about it. I was told that the driver fell into a diabetic coma and lost control of his car.
The entire time I was hospitalized, I didn't ask questions, I didn't ask what I had broken, I didn't ask what was wrong with me, I didn't want to see my stitches, I never asked why I was taking the meds they were giving me, I did not ask any "why's" about anything. I. . . was. . . scared. I did what ever the doctors, the therapists, or the nurses told me to do. I was hospitalized for 6 months. I had another 4 or 5 other surgeries since than and still need two more.
I have the same Pain Management doctors since the day of the accident, so they know my story and they know me. I do not know why they will no longer write scripts for schedule 2 at their office, but I will be meeting with a never PM doctor this week.
Avinza make me functional. I think you might have read about my Tramadol allergic reaction, I was taking that in replace of Avinza, and since that occurred I have been on hydrocodone and that makes me feel sick, sleepy, gives me a stomach ache, and makes my brain feel fuzzy, Yuk. I am taking a total of 80mg to 100mg of Hydrocodone a day.
I know that going of Avinza was bad. My life since I have been off Avinza has not been at the level it was at. I am in alot of pain, my back was never an area that caused me pain before it does now.
I am sure I am not an drug addict, but legitimate drug addict? One who depends on medication to function yes! I will admit I am an addict of sweets, oh yes I am, oh yes I am.
I am sure that all the folks in your life are glad that you are doing well. I hope that you continue to stay well.
I do appreciate your assistance and insight to information. I have learned more here than from the pharmacy. I do have other question so here you go. What caused my bad headache from the Tramadol? I still have the headache!
Thanks again for sharing some of your life experiences with meds with me. I sincerely appreciate it.
AnnHurts
December 21, 2008 - 3:33am
#21
you got dupped!
Thats too bad. Hydrocodone x*#&s. Why does it even exist. It does hardly anything for pain relief. If you wanted a bunch of fillers and some apap you could get it over the counter right. Thats too bad. I would try to get some methadone. Good Luck.
December 21, 2008 - 3:25pm
#22
I dont even understand why he
I dont even understand why he is doing this. Subutex although its used for addiction it is still a partial opiate agonist. So if he was willing to prescribe avinza and hydrocodone with the subutex there should be no reason why he cant prescribe them without the subutex. I could understand if you werent normally prescribed pain meds and only subutex and then went in asking for pain meds and had no subutex in your system but if he knows you and has been giving you monthly scripts that makes no sense to me at all.
December 21, 2008 - 11:47pm
#23
I Know!
I did not know I could not use my personal email address in my posts if I wanted to. I am new to this stuff and was just looking for some help understanding the world of pain management. I am sorry if I offended anyone here and I won't bother you all any more. I will say that I was never using my pain medicine for anything but pain and I never got a high or extra energy from the pain meds because I really was in pain. I do not think I would be in the PM clinic or the MS study if I weren't. I was afraid that I was going to be in pain and diagnosed with a life altering sickness and have to do it on my own, with only my family for support, I though maybe I could find an online forum where I could share with people who understood where I was coming from. I am sorry I was mistaken. Sorry I wasted your time and space.
December 21, 2008 - 7:24pm
#24
I can tell you from personal
I can tell you from personal experience you can still get euphoria off the normal opiates when taking bupenorphine it just takes a much higher amount than normal. You shouldnt really be trying to take them for any effect other than pain though if you are on the subutex in the first place.
(edited)
December 21, 2008 - 11:49pm
#25
Pain only
Thanks for the input, again, not using for "fun", if this is fun, I am not a fan.
is that 2 10/325 a day? 4000 mg and above is the danger range for liver damage....12 tabs a day of the 10/325 is 3900 mg daily...
I am not a Dr. I just play one on TV.