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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Opioids Oxycodone patient forced into cold turkey

JKVJMJH

Greenlighter
Joined
Sep 19, 2022
Messages
6
Hi everyone!

I’m not even sure if this is the right place for this or if this is something I know how to explain succinctly but here goes nothing.

I’ve been a chronic illness patient for almost ten years. I have several diagnoses, almost all pain disorders. I’ve been on opiates for all ten years. But never could get my doctor to go past 10mg 4x/day. Would sometimes take an extra here and there when things got bad. So I recently started at a pain clinic and thought it was my saving grace. Finally an impending quality of life!

The woman I saw at my eval was so kind and compassionate and understanding and saw where I was coming from. She wanted to switch me to buprenorphine and go from there. I was open to trying it. Did my urine test and booked my next appt three weeks out.

That appt was today. Where I got one of the cruelest doctors I’ve ever seen. She explained there’s “no reason” why I should need pain control and she wants an MRI of my spine (Had three. All fine) to prove that I’m fine. And I’m out of my oxycodone. She gave zero fucks about me going cold turkey after 10 years of round the clock meds.

I know this is nothing compared to the dosages I see on here. But I’m in utter agony because *shocker* I’M A CHRONIC PAIN PATIENT WHO NEEDS MEDS.

How can I help myself with this cold turkey drop? I’ll worry about what the next forty years of degenerative pain looks like after.

As a side note: I did have Valium but that’s been taken as well. The only med I currently have that I’ve seen talked about is Lyrica (pregabalin)
 
What country are you in?

Based on your story, I assume you're in the US.

Pain clinics mostly cater to addicts these days. Did you go there willingly or did your doctor cut you off?

Did they not give you any buprenorphine?

You have some options but we need more info.
 
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Hey and welcome to bluelight!

Sorry to hear what happened to you. It's torture to force people into cold turkey imo, independent of dosage and time but even more when it have been 10 years on pills. Do you have the possibility to get some oxy for the meantime, like by explaining to your old doc what happened?

At least you have pregabalin, it is a good aid with opioid withdrawal - what's your dose of it?
 
Hi everyone! Thank you for the quick response!

I’m in the US. I went to a pain clinic of my own volition because my doctor hadn’t changed my dosage in over five years and it wasn’t actually helping my pain anymore, it was really just keeping me out of withdrawal. I needed help with pain so I went to a pain clinic. Bad idea.

My original doc is retiring in a few months so he will maaaybe taper me but him and his office are slow as molasses and I’m not counting on it.

I’m on 100mg of pregabalin 3x day but am fine with taking more if it will help me here. I feel like the withdrawal isn’t as bad as the return of the worst of my pain.

When I had my eval they told me they’d be putting me on buprenorphine. Went back for my follow up and they just said nope no medication bye!
 
I’m on 100mg of pregabalin 3x day but am fine with taking more if it will help me here. I feel like the withdrawal isn’t as bad as the return of the worst of my pain.
If your doc agrees you could up the dosage to 3x 200mg, this is the usual target and max dose. It helped me to a great deal to get off my 600mg/d morphine (was on it for 2-3 years) - tapered down to 120 with pregabalin, was actually not too hard, and then did some megadoses of memantine to kick the rest.
 
Hi everyone! Thank you for the quick response!

I’m in the US. I went to a pain clinic of my own volition because my doctor hadn’t changed my dosage in over five years and it wasn’t actually helping my pain anymore, it was really just keeping me out of withdrawal. I needed help with pain so I went to a pain clinic. Bad idea.

My original doc is retiring in a few months so he will maaaybe taper me but him and his office are slow as molasses and I’m not counting on it.

I’m on 100mg of pregabalin 3x day but am fine with taking more if it will help me here. I feel like the withdrawal isn’t as bad as the return of the worst of my pain.

When I had my eval they told me they’d be putting me on buprenorphine. Went back for my follow up and they just said nope no medication bye!
Well, the new reality in this country is that getting prescribed opioids is much more difficult and every nurse/doctor will judge the hell out of you. It's sad, but that's real.

I don't understand why the pain clinic turned you away, though. They typically do that if you refuse to quit the drugs you're on and don't want to prescribe to their system.

Pain clinics don't exist to evaluate your pain and refill scripts. After the opioid crisis, their main scope is to deal with hardcore addicts and give as little of bupe as possible.
 
Well, the new reality in this country is that getting prescribed opioids is much more difficult and every nurse/doctor will judge the hell out of you. It's sad, but that's real.

I don't understand why the pain clinic turned you away, though. They typically do that if you refuse to quit the drugs you're on and don't want to prescribe to their system.

Pain clinics don't exist to evaluate your pain and refill scripts. After the opioid crisis, their main scope is to deal with hardcore addicts and give as little of bupe as possible.
I definitely get this to a point. I had been to a pain clinic about seven years ago whose focus was giving me a quality of life, however that looks. this pain clinic just keeps telling me there’s “no way I have any pain” while they stare at 10 years of records in front of them. I have no problem leaving opiates behind IF there’s a backup plan that works. Not this cold turkey garbage that’s going to exacerbate my seizure disorder and make everything worse.
 
You should ask to at least get a suboxone taper since regardless of your pain/injury issues you have a long-term tolerance and it is bad practice to force you off cold turkey.

If you cannot get suboxone elsewhere than as others have said Kratom & Loperamide (generic Immodium) will alleviate your withdrawal symptoms. Kratom is likely to manage your pain as well.
 
that’s going to exacerbate my seizure disorder and make everything worse.
FFS did this doctor of yours find his license under a Xmas tree?? This is utterly, utterly unprofessional conduct. If you have a seizure disorder the same goes as for heart conditions, you do NOT put such a patient through cold withdrawal because that might bring on serious complications!! Any doctor should know this! I'm speechless 😶
 
It’s appalling I know. She walked in the door and immediately treated me like an addict. My dosage is SO low. Come on.

I’ve heard about Kratom but am not well-versed in it. Where would I even get it?

And is loperamide helpful only for the digestive issues that come with cold turkey? Somehow I’m not experiencing those yet. But my seizures are ramping up hardcore.
 
But what bothers me the most is 10 years of records in front of her. Pristine drug tests. X-rays. A hysterectomy in my 20s. Genetic testing. Endoscopies. MRIs anything you can think of. And her answer is “in your MRI if you have a slipped disc we’ll do steroid injections but otherwise you shouldn’t be in any other pain.

My MRIs are always fine. I don’t have that kind of medical issue. I have a connective tissue disorder and fibromyalgia. You can’t SEE those in scans. And I can back them up from multiple opinions. But she still sees fibro as a “junk” diagnosis given to people who claim they’re in pain to get drugs. I don’t even want opiates my whole life, my liver will flat out die.

But offer me a decent alternative. What will spinal injections do? She asked where my pain was and I said EVERYWHERE. Then said cold Turkey after round the clock pills for 10 years would be “you’ll be nauseous and feel funny for 2-3 days”

excuse me?!
 
I’ve heard about Kratom but am not well-versed in it. Where would I even get it?
Online, Kratom is fully legal in many countries like the US. Just use Google and some common sense. There are different strains and origins, for opioid withdrawal you want Red vein which is said to be the most narcotic. There are also capsules and extracts available but I usually advice against them for monetary reasons.

And is loperamide helpful only for the digestive issues that come with cold turkey?
Mostly for digestive issues yeah, lope is actively pumped out of the brain by a protein called p-glycoprotein and thus works only on peripheral receptors unless seriously overdosed which can be dangerous.

Do I understand you correct that the pain clinic also stopped your valium? That's sick specially when they know you're having a seizure disorder. Do you have some remaining?
 
I’m worrying less and less about the withdrawal and more about wtf the next 40-50 decades of my life will look like with zero pain control at all. They asked me to bring my Valium and oxy to the appointment to count them and instead they took them. So I’ve got nothing.

I can fight through withdrawals if I have to but I remember what life was before my illnesses were taken seriously and I can’t do that for the rest of my life. I’m just flabbergasted. Cold Turkey after 10 years is so dangerous for a doctor to force!
 
I’m worrying less and less about the withdrawal and more about wtf the next 40-50 decades of my life will look like with zero pain control at all. They asked me to bring my Valium and oxy to the appointment to count them and instead they took them. So I’ve got nothing.

I can fight through withdrawals if I have to but I remember what life was before my illnesses were taken seriously and I can’t do that for the rest of my life. I’m just flabbergasted. Cold Turkey after 10 years is so dangerous for a doctor to force!
Kratom is considered by many to help manage their pain, this is one of its primary purposes, in addition to preventing withdrawal and maintaining motivation/functionality for opiate dependence. Purchased in leaf powder form by the kilogram it is also very affordable.

Loperamide is actually an opiate just not one that crosses the blood brain barrier so it will alleviate withdrawal symptoms in the body beyond digestive. It can be considered a life saver when forced to detox cold turkey. I would start with 10mg max 20mg and see how that helps.

Is it legal that they just take your medication like that? I don't have much experience with it but I wonder what did they say as justification? Is there any reason they are treating you like this?

Hope you find your way through this. I would keep advocating for myself at least for a taper to deal with "discontinuation syndrome"

If I needed pain management and could not get a prescription, kratom can be an effective option.
 
This is simple , order some poppy pods, pretty much morphine tea…. if you have any questions drop me a PM and I’ll do what I can to help you get some relief…also, getting suboxone is super easy in the US, pretty much just find a Dr. That prescribes it and tell them your a junkie and want to change your life, will cost $ but you’ll have subs later that day, if I remember correctly the Dr. Visit cost 150-200$ and the script of 30 - 8mg strips was around 250-300$, not cheap but you’ll have them as soon as you can get an appointment to see the Dr., good luck
 
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If you search Google for "kratom near me" you will see a list of local stores (often smoke shops) that sell it (unless you live in one of the few states where it was foolishly banned). Get any kind that features the word "red" on it, and take anywhere from 5 to 10 capsules each dose (every 4-6 hours). Drink plenty of water with them.

In the interest of harm reduction would definitely recommend against any poppy products, which produce a level of physical dependency that is a bit worse than most common pharmaceutical opioids.

And frankly, if I were that pain management physician and saw a medical history and MRI for a patient like that, who's predominant indication for past oxycodone scripts was fribomyalgia, I probably wouldn't want to write more oxycodone scripts for that patient either, but would instead transition said patient to buprenorphine. That is what should have occurred here.

In any event, I'd recommend getting kratom in the short-term, or start suboxone treatment. Depending on what state you are in, if you search "suboxone telehealth" you may be able to find a doctor willing to prescribe you suboxone on an ongoing basis. You will have to pay out of pocket, but your insurance may reimburse you.
 
I’m so sorry to hear this. My God the medical people and pharmacy’s have made getting help almost impossible.
I am also a chronic pain patient. Severe pain. I literally cannot function on any level without pain medication.
It took me so long to find help. Don’t give up. There are Doctors out there who do care and are reasonable.
Keep looking. Go to another doctor.
In the meantime, take some loperamide (Imodium). 20 mg (ten 2 mg pills). That helps me and I have a high tolerance due to years and years of chronic pain and injury.
Kratom is also helpful and very easy to get. You can just order it online and have it delivered to your doorstep.
The pregabalin should help quite a bit also.

I hear you about being worried about the coming years living with chronic pain conditions.
You just need to focus on one day at a time. It gets WAY too overwhelming to consider the future.
You can find a new doctor. Go back to your old one for now.
I know and you know that when we go without our pain medication, it is not just the withdrawal that is the problem, oh no not for us chronic pain people. It is the pain that was at a manageable level coming back and compounding hour by hour.
That is enough to drive anyone to a Bad place and bad thoughts.
You need to get this handled as soon as possible.

I’m so sorry for what you are going through. I’m so sorry that people with serious pain are not getting the help they need.
I don’t know what has become of our medical system.
It is absolutely illegal for them to take your medication from you. That is your property.
I have never heard of that before.

Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing.
I worry when I hear chronic pain patient cannot get needed pain medication.
Especially with your seizure disorder. They just put you in benzo and opiate withdrawal!
That is unacceptable.

Sending a warm hug and lots of understanding.
❤️
 
Is the connective tissue disorder EDS?

I would advise against taking loperamide, it can be dangerous at high doses. You’d be better taking kratom.
 
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