Opiate Abuse: Methadone Facts

Question: Percocet (oxycodone ir), vicodin (hydrocodone) v.s. suboxone for pain & (opiate abuse)?

(Posted by: haha1000 on 2009-12-17 21:20:03)

Oh dam!!! Im May of 2008 I did something really bad to my back. In September of that year, I was in a car accident. After the accident, I was in so much damn pain. It showed that I had herniated a disk. I was getting 120 Noroco (Vicodin 7.5 Hydro, 325 Apap) and 120 Oxy Ir (Oxycodone 5 mgs) anyways I did abuse them big time. Five months ago, I was taken off of those pain medications. The pain went away. It was the most awful pain ever and I never ever want it back EVER! (BTW any advice on keeping it away) ? ? ? ??? I didn't have surgery. The L4L5 S1 are herniated. It's a "large " herniation according to the doctor. Don't know why the pain decided to go away. While I was on Percocet/ Oxy/ Vicodin for that year I still felt moderate pain but I guess the pain meds were working right? Anyways I was put in Suboxone 24mg for withdrawals. I still felt no pain. Not sure if it was because I was constantly on an opiate medication? ? ? I am off of Suboxone. I had to go to a Methadone Detox. It took about a week to detox using Methadone. I NEVEr want to go to a detox again, EVER. I've been opiate free for about a week. This past week all the tooth pain is coming back and just a little white ago the BACK PAIN STARTED. WHAT IS GOING ON? So I see all these post OXYCONTIN VS SUBOXONE. Well let me tell you. Suboxone is a pretty good pain reliever. I didn't find Oxycodone to work THAT well. I mean i was still in moderate pain. ON Suboxone, I felt nothing. Is this wierd or what Has this happened to anyone else? I Don't like pain. Especially that PAIN that goes RIGHT DOWN YOUR BACK and LEG. NO THANKS MISSY. What shouuld i doo? Should I tell my Phsycatrist about my concerns? PAIN = DepRession!!!!!!!!!! Depression = suicidal. I'm already a nUT i don't need to be more of a nut with out some sort of pain relief. TYL, ADV. Does nothing for me. So do you think Sub is a pain relever. I sure do Should I tell my DR that some pain is coming back

Posted by: Peaches (The Original) on 2009-12-18, 10:34:08

Suboxone can be used as a pain reliever, although most people find it is not that effective. It is a better choice for you though since you have a history of drug abuse/ addiction. Since the Suboxone is a partial opiate agonist and does adhere to the opiate receptors in the brain, it can relieve your pain. If you have found that it worked for you in the past, then you can ask your doctor about using a small dose. Not all doctors can prescribe Suboxone. It takes a special DEA license for a doctor to be able to prescribe it. Most pain management doctors can write it for you if you are referred by your doctor. As far as the herniation, this is something that needs to be fixed surgically 85% of the time. Most people can not deal with the pain and that is why they do the surgery. But, since the injury is in your lumbar spine, the recovery can be very long and painful, and there is a good chance (20-30%) that the surgery may not make the pain go away. You need to see a neurosurgeon for this since your spine contains all of the nerve roots in the body. I would not let an orthopedic doctor work on my spine. I have herniated discs in my neck and have to get them surgically repaired since they have not gotten any better in the last two years since I hurt my neck in a car accident, so I know your pain well. To supplement any pharmaceutical treatment, you can try physical therapy and traction. I have found traction to be the best pain reliever ever when it comes to treating my neck. When I am laying in my traction machine, I feel almost no pain because the weight is being lifted off my injured discs. You should really look into it. There are several companies that make traction machines to use at home and they work very well. Good luck with your back. And please be careful with the opiates. They are very addicting and getting off them once the pain is gone/ better is a horrible process.

Posted by: Douglas B on 2009-12-17, 21:36:45

You have been living with tight/ pinched muscles all this time. After being on hte pain killers that long it didn't even register as being painful for your body was so used to it that nothing went up as a red flag. Something kind of broke the pain loose and now it is going to let you know about it. One of the best muscle releasing exercises I have come across is this one. It took me from being a regular at the chiropractors office at least 2x a month to not having been there for a year now, the time that I have been doing these releases. My back was really messed up from falling out of a car when I was 3 as well as being hit by another when I was 7. I had spent the last 30 years giving my money to people who never even got close to doing me any good. Here is the way to release your back muscles: Back: Place your left hand on your left knee. Place your right hand over your left shoulder and with your fingertips find the muscle next to your spine. Press on it and hold. Relax, take a deep breath and exhale and don’t tense up any part of your body. After about 30 seconds there should be a release happening and when it does slowly lower yourself forward onto your right leg. If you can lean over the outside edge of your leg it will be better for your release. Continue holding for a total of one minute. Then release but rest your body there for one minute longer. Then reverse and do the right side.

Posted by: Lone on 2009-12-19, 07:37:35

Sub is actually 50 times stronger than morphine, and a 24 mg sub dose is equal to 1,200 m.g.'s of morphine...Obviously way more than you needed. Suboxone is a very poor choice for pain. It really doesn't work any better than Advil. The problem is, now after using that much sub, your brains opiate receptors, which regulate pain and pleasure, are totally screwed up. Your brain can not produce endorphins at this time, which is why the pain is coming back. Your doctor was a complete and total idiot to put you on sub, especially on that dose. You should have gone to rehab instead of going on sub and you would be all better now. Because of your sub use, it will take 6-24 months before your pain levels off. The best thing you can do at this point is to exercise, which will force your body to start producing endorphins again. Your brain has also grown millions of extra opiate receptors in your brain, which are currently screaming for you to give it some food (opiates). In time these will calm down, but they never go away. take opiates for 1 day and they will all start screaming for more and more opiates. This is the reason addicts can go right back to their level of abuse in a matter of days without overdosing. Bottom line is you are going to feel like crap for a very long time, thanks to your brilliant doctor, but if you stay away from all opiates, you will feel better in time. The 1st 30 days are the worst. I'm 21 months off sub and still have some lingering issues myself, but I'm getting there. Oh, just to give you an idea how screwed up American doctors are, Sub (buprenorphine) has been used in Europe for pain for many years, but it only comes in 0.2 and 0.4 mg tablets, where in the US it only comes in 2 and 8 mg mega doses. It actually works better in small doses, but suboxone is NOT intended for pain....You are a victim of a doctor using drugs off label. And the real reason he put you on it? he didn't want to be liable for giving you oxy and hydro and getting you hooked!