Ok, so most of you know me by now, and I've confessed to a lot of things on here, but this one is something I'm really ashamed to mention.
I've gone and got myself 'addicted' to pain medication. Codeine specifically. Initially I took it to help me sleep at night. Sigh. I have myofacial pain syndrome as well as PMR.
No wonder I'm depressed, eh? Throw in pred and Lyrica (another pain medication that makes you drowsy) and it's no wonder I'm not motivated to do anything - I'm drugged to the eyeballs all day.
I know I need to tell my Dr, I know I need to get off it, but like all "drug addicts" the thought of doing so scares the hell out of me.
I'm currently taking 4 tablets of 15mg codeine/500mg paracetomol three times a day. That equates to 6mg of paracetomol a day! OMG!
I KNOW this will cause liver damage, if it hasn't already, so no need for the lectures, thanks.
I'm only mentioning this so that if any one else has found themselves on the slippery slope they know they are not alone.
I also hope that by actually telling someone (everyone) that I confront my problem and actually do something about it.
It's time I fixed this one.
Admitting it is your first step! Now move forward and do something about it!
Thank you for sharing, This is your first big step to getting better. We are here for you. I hope you discuss this with your Dr. So he can get you on a healing path. One day at a time.
Get addicted to meditation, mindfulness, Google you are the placebo.
Will do. You are not the first person to adivse meditation. Maybe there's something in it? lol
I have seen your posts on this forum...you have contributed often.
Vety courageous of you to admit this predicament of yours. Others, more knowledgeable than myself will make suggestions. Wish I could be more helpful, but don't be too hard on yourself for looking for relief from the pain.
It is so easy to become addicted so please don't be too hard on yourself & I applaud you for being able to admit it. Cliches & the usual sayings apply & I'm sure you know them already but I genuinely wish you success in not only being able to 'do something about it' but to stay off them.
I think that is a big step to take to freeing. The next step is seeing your doctor as you know. I hope you get the much needed support and we will all be rooting for you and can give support here. There is no shame as it could happen to anyone of us. Pain is so difficult because it affects everything we do from sleepless nights to extremely difficult days and these will likely be the good days. My best wishes for your recovery.
I'm surprised that your doctor has not been keeping tabs on how many
pills he prescribes for you....seems like that would ring an alarm
bell for him. And now......you know what you need to do so go and do it.
May not be the same but if I can quit smoking.....and it was the hardest
thing I've ever done.....you can get a grip on this problem
We're with you every step.....keep us posted.
Yes, I'm shocked how much meditation is helping me, I just got to 2 mg Pred.
It's teaching me so much, but it must be done daily, so that's why I said "get addicted to meditation", I've never been a very disciplined person, but this PMR is teaching me so much. I drank too much wine before and now it messes with my stomach and taste buds, I struggle to not open a bottle sometimes. If you want to talk more about meditation we can PM each other.
Bless you sister. Hugs.
It took a lot of courage to admit your problem to all of us. Now use that strength to get yourself straight. We are all behind you. Report in often - or whatever you need to do. Don't feel guilty. With pain, lack of sleep (or too much sleep in my case) etc. I understand how this could happen. Sending hugs - wish I could do more. Jan
Dear Flip
Try not to get down or beat yourself up. You have contributed much to this sight and we are all pulling for you. I have thought about this alot. Two years ago I would have a bottle of wine on the weekend and that was pretty much it. I still have my bottle of wine but addedto that currently take 50 mg of Tramadol most mornings and 2mg of weed as an edible in the afternoon. The way I look at it is I didnt do this before I had pain. If I didnt have pain I wouldnt do it. I am on 2.5 mg of pred 18 months in sarted at 20. I have tried Lyrica and Gabapentan which did nothing except make me fat and mindless. Let me ask you if the Lyrica had of worked for me or anyone else we would have for sure taken it every day the same as steroid. IS THIS NOT ADDICTION. I think so. So brave of you to come forward I myself struggle so I try to keep busy but in order to keep busy I need less pain and Pred has never left me pain free. I have a neighbor that has PMR and will not even try to reduce PRED he is 82 and says its quality not quantity of life. Im 59 and of couse still trying to maintain both.
Huge lightly given Hug for you. Joanne
Saw on Facebook advice on how to meditate, from a monk. Simple simple simple. Just become aware of your breath. He said we can all of us meditate anywhere, any time. Even focusing on the breath for a minute or two is "meditation". How can this be? It gives our busy monkey brain something to do, and that frees up the higher processes we want to encourage.
Meditate, don't medicate!
If Flip's jurisdiction is like mine, you can get codeine with either aspirin or acetaminophen just by asking the pharmacist for a bottle, no prescription required. I've had the opposite problem - trying to find a small enough bottle that the darn pills don't expire before they're all used up!
Oh as far as the dosing of all the pharmacuticals offered by these doctors that either your mind or body can get addicted to. the dose im allowed to take of tramadol is 2 50mg tablets 4 times a day. I take 1. The lyrica was 1500 mg per day (couldnt remember peoples names) Apparantly these two options were better than staying on steroids. As I said if the pain was not there I wouldnt take anything but even though my doctor will only presribe 60 pills you could really become much more dependant before he would have a problem. So now that Im on a rant for all of those members that are pain free or nearly on pred lets see them give it up for 2 weeks so that we can all be addiction free. Sorry pain does make you rather grumpy at times. Joanne
Pain does things to us so that you just take what you can to feel better. I'm sure this is what has happened to you. Do you have a family member or friend who you could confide in and perhaps go with you to your doctor. They will be able to help you to reduce the pills gradually. Hope you are able to overcome this. My heart goes out to you as I would never have believed that I would take so much medication to help with pain before PMR.
such a change from the hoiday mood.
Its a long time ago, about 57 years. I missed about a third of my schooling with headaches. A bottle of aspirin every couple of weeks.
My very wise mother, probably out of desperation, offered me a pound note if I could go a whole term without missing a day.
I managed it. One day at a time. Success bred success. But far from easy. The headaches didn't go away. But how I thought of them, their impact, and the need for aspirin changed radically.
I'm very certain that little experience helped me through chronic back pain, and now pmr.
Have you thought about setting some sort of stretched, but achievable, goal. And single mindedly setting off towards it.
Meditation, exercise, a new hobby to concentrate on, write down the progress, and any other trick. Anything it takes to reach the goal.
Just an example. Lying in hospital bed after back operation I hatched a plan to walk the Milford Track with family. It took 10 years (had to wait for youngest to be old enough)..It doesn't have to be something simple like "stop taking panadeine", it can be something where not taking panadeine is an outcome.
By coincidence I'm at the stage with polywhatsit where I've done the things I said I would. I'm comfortably walking up steep hills without a flare. Pred is down to 3mg/day and stubbornly difficult to reduce further. Life is reasonably normal, though still a bit constrained and lacking energy. I'm looking for the next goal. But it seems to get harder as I get older....
I really sympathise with the codeine. I was given it for my recent sciatica and the thought of taking it would give me a warm feeling. The only thing against it was I could not drink, which perhaps saved me. Having just drunk a bottle of Moet et Chandon with friends of mine in the middle if the afternoon, perhaps I am becoming an alcoholic instead. I think there are hundreds of thousands of people hooked on pain killers also on anti depressants, sleeping pills ... I know I can get a prescription very easily for quite strong opiods by just asking, it seems to be easier than having to make a diagnosis or arguing with the patient and gets the patient out of the room quickly. I was talking to the local pharmacist recently and she was saying it is quite horrific the mixture of drugs people are taking and she was trying to do a check.
Well done realising you may have a problem, try some Moet et Chandon!
Where in the world do you live that you can get codeine by asking
for it at a pharmacy ? In the U.S. have to sign for OTC sinus and allergy pills that contain Dextromathorphan, the med that is used in
processing meth. It's kept behind the counter in the pharmacy
and have to ask for it....you have to sign for it and show driver's
license.....hard to imagine you can get codeine just by asking
for it.....
Just thought of what I do with pain meds.....I cut them in half....I find that half
a pill works okay for me when i need it. Maybe do that with half the doses
each day and slowly cut down the amount. Pain does wear on you and it
does'nt have to be back pain, just constant pain.....just a thought.