Back ground:
I am 34 years old and in pain management, for three herniated cervical discs, which are in my neck, and for degenerative joint disc disease of my lower back (lumbar area). In 2005 I started having severe pain in my neck, i was 28.
For two months i was prescribed Hydrocodone 10/500, for about three to four months. I had no previous injury to my neck other than the normal wear and tear from doing gymnastics, when i was younger and the lack of an anterior curve in my cervical spine that I had inherited.
At that point I had a cervical fusion done then I was on medication for about a month and then quit cold turkey and did not have any withdrawals.
Although my neck issues had become better they weren't resolved, due to the three other herniated disc in my neck.
At that point i asked my surgeon what could be done about my lower back and they told me that there was nothing that could be done but it was going to by a chronic thing that I would have to live with the rest of my life. My surgeon then referred me to pain management.
My PM Dr. has been prescribing me Hydrocodone 5/500 two times a day for four years then they increased it to 7.5/500 two times a day for two years and they increased it to 10/500 for the last three months.
I truly do hurt in my neck and back but three a day is not lasting me because i usually take four per day, so I typically run out 10 days early because they will only give me three a day instead of four.
Now for my real question for you guys to help me with is:
When and how long should these withdrawals last?
I am trying to come off the suboxine now myself.....the thing is that one of the pill form 8 mg will last me an entire week. So, i'm not sure how much i'm taking daily. An it seems strange to me that i would have such horrible aches an pains coming off of what little i do a day....is this normal????? or is it really all in my head?
I'm not sure I've been wondering about getting on Suboxone to get off the hydros you think that's a bad idea?
I did the hydrocodones, then moved to percocet, then I was going to the ER for shots of demerol and after 15 years of chronic pain ( fibromyalgia, pain from a car accident that broke my R femur and tore all muscles in R side of my shoulder) L2 disc damage, sciatic nerve pain...etc...and on top of all that female problems leading to hyserectomy at 24..Im 43 now. SO pain meds I know about...Im on methadone now because the last 3 years of my addiction, the pain was so bad i couldnt get relief from the pills anymore and began injecting to controll the pain and the addiction...it helped neither and made both worse...The withdrawals from the meds are rough but coming off suboxone or methadone is a hundred times worse. You have a genuine pain issue and probably are looking at some form of maintenance the rest of your life. I dont want to say you need a stronger med but thats what it sounds like..the meds are not controlling the pain because your body is tolerant to them. Thats why they upped the mg over the years. You have to decide where you stand...can you take the pain ? If you can, get off the meds and go ahead and get thru the detox period ( appx a month for hydros) Just know if you go up to a stronger med, the detox takes longer and is more intense. I wish Id never gotten on anything more than the hydros Id be ok now...I went off the deep end trying to stop the pain and now I have a pair of liquid handcuffs on tied to my methadone clinic...and its for life. I know I will be on it forever. You know what you can and cant do..you know who you are and what youre personally capable of. Some can quit easily some cannot. I am not capable of being off methadone and I KNOW this...so Im not going to put myself thru the hell of trying. I have seen some make it. Id hate to see you go from the frying pan into the fire so to speak going from hydrocodone to suboxone. This is a personal journey..everyone is different as everyones pain is different. I cant tell you whats too much or not enough only you know that, so its hard to tell you what to do safely. If I had your situatiion and I knew I could find a way to deal with the pain somehow, Id get off the meds, stick out the detox from the hydros( dont get me wrong its rough) but its better than moving up to the next level or getting a worse addiction on top of your pain issues. Im not a dr, I dont want smart remarks from others saying Im giving bad advice..Im saying I dont have all the answers..its what I would do if I could go back in time. I hate pain and I cant take much..but thats me...I just wish I had it to do over cause now Im stuck in a living hell. Im off the pills, off the needle...but I still have pain AND Im on a maintenance med for life to keep from using again....am I any better than I was? Yes in some ways and no in others. Weigh the consequences, you know what you can and cant do personally...then do it.
Don't let the number 8 fool you. 8mg is a lot of suboxone. The drug also has a long half life of 72 hours and stays in the body a very long time. Like methadone which also has a 72 hr half life,it can take the user up to 7 days before the worst of the withdrawal symptoms to set it.
It gets a whole lot better after 3 or 4 days. Taking suboxine is just prolonging the pain. To me it's harder to get off the suboxine. Just nut up and hurt for a few days
I have a severe nerve problem in my lower back and I am on lortab 10 and I'm taking two at a time. Will the oxycodone 30 mg work for me so I can reduce my pill intake?