Why worry about prescription addiction?

Question

I have moderate to severe knee and back pain. I am a waitress, and it is necessary to take medication so I can get through my shift (usually 7 hours on my feet). I am prescribed vicodin however only 5mg/500 with the maximum dose not to exceed more than 2 tablets a day. I have to take 2 every 4 hours just to make it through work. My doctor won't prescribe me a higher dose or more pills because she is affraid I will become addicted. Some people take pills every day to keep their heart, blood pressure, diabetes,...etc. regulated. So what if I have to take something for my pain to be relieved so I can get though work. Can anyone recommend an alternative to the vicodin. She has prescribed 50mg. of Ultram to reduce my vicodin intake however, it just doesn't help, the same goes for advil or aleve.

Answer 1

ok.

ADDICTION IS BAD, BUT YOUR LIVER SHOULD BE THE REASON FOR NOT WANTING TO GET ADDICTED.
LIVER DESTRUCTION IS A REAL THING, TRY WAKING UP COMPLETELY YELLOW ,ITCHING LIKE CRAZY,..THROWING UP AND WISHING FOR DEATH,..

Answer 2

Generally speaking, your doctor is wrong. She also needs to be educated on chronic pain. So do most doctors, so whe's not alone.

The difference between a med for medical purposes and a med as an addiction is what it does to your lifestyle. If a med allows you to function reasonably well on a routine basis, if, in other words, it improves your lifestyle, then this is legitimate need. If taking a given med sends your lifestyle down the drain, you are talking about an addiction.

It's very rare for a chronic pain patient to become an addict. Generally, we (I have multiple types of arthritis and as a result, I am a chronic pain patient) would give up meds completely and immediately if our pain could be removed and the underlying damage reversed.

You have an excellent point about daily meds for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. These are all chronic illnesses, and pain can also be chronic.

Chronic pain patients will develp a tolerance to a given med or a given dose of med, but that's not the same thing as an addition. A tolerance is similar to going from a dark room into a brighly lit one, Your eyes need time to get used to the light level. In a similar way, your body gets used to the level of pain meds. But the difference between tolerance and addiction is still measured by the lifestyle changes that I listed above.

WIth the physical problems that you mentioned, you should probably see a rheumatologoist (arthritis specialist), just to make certain. A rheumy can prescribe different meds for you. In addition, you might benefit by seeing a pain specialist, as a doctor who treats chronic pain patients has a large number of drugs of all types at his/her disposal, as well as non-drug management tools. A combination is generally best, but finding the best med or meds and the best combination of other tolls is always trial and error. That's just because every one of us is different from everyone else. Just think of DNA and you'll understand that one.

Answer 3

There are several points I'd like to make:

1. Pain medication and diabetic medication should not be viewed equally. While not having pain relief sucks, diabetes and other diseases that are not treated can be life threatening.

2. What is the cause of the pain? Poor posture? The wrong kind of shoe? Bulging disk in your back? The type of pain can determine what medication and/or treatment is best.

3. Have you seen a pain specialist? Research one in your area that you can go to for adjunct therapies. Epidural injections, chiropractic care, acupuncture. Again the cause of the pain is an important factor.

4. Addiction to narcotics can be as real as addiction to street drugs. People have scammed doctors, scammed pharmacies, emptied bank accounts, and other manner of nasty results in order to get their fix. Just because a doctor wrote the prescription doesn't make you immune from becoming addicted. Please proceed with care.

Answer 4

Narcotics, dihydrocodiene, and sedatives can be addictive. However, if you have chronic pain that cannot be relieved by other means (surgery, therapy, and/or non-narcotic medicine), it may be appropriate to take narcotics. You may well get dependent (go through withdrawal is the drug is stopped) and tolerant (need progressively higher doses over time). However, most people who take narcotics for legitimate reasons do not become "addicted". Addiction is more than physical dependence. It is the seeking of a substance such that it injures your health and social relationships. Addiction can start with the treatment of acute pain, and can happen with the treatment of long term pain.

Answer 5

Find another doctor. My doctor gives me 90 10mg tablets with a refill and tells me to take 1 every 4 hours. Yes you can get addicted, but with the right help and willpower you can get off of them when you feel the time is right. I have been taking them for over 5 years and I am 27 years old now. I have been able to slowly get off of them several times. Good look and I hope you can find a doctor that cares more about your pain than you getting addicted, and I know what your talking about on the ultram, you might as well be taking regular tylenol.

Answer 6

You have my sympathy and I commiserate with you.

I'm racked up most days with bursitis (don't laugh, it hurts like hell) and arthritis, too. It's painful sitting still, but even worse moving. I can only imagine what it would be like to wait tables with that going on.

My doctor has given me an anti-inflammatory that takes the edge off during the day, but is useless at night. My doctor, also, is afraid of possible addiction; although I expect he's right, I don't see how it would be possible to be addicted taking one damn Vicodin every other night to get some sleep.

It's no wonder so many people look on doctors as adversaries.

Answer 7

You should get an MRI and go to a pain management dr. Depending on the issue you may need to take pain meds, but only for a short period of time.

The pain management dr may find a bludging disk, or a degernated disk which may require meds. I'd recommend a chiropracter to see if they can provide help.

I recently had an epidural crotozone shot for my degenerated/ herniated disk...NO HELP! It may be an option for you but never again for me.

Answer 8

If i were you i would get another job!!!!!!! Your knees and back are only gonna get worse being on your feet 7 hrs. a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT if you want to keep that job you need to go to a pain clinic. I have to go to one bc of severe scoloisis, bad knees (i just had minor knee surgery) so that i can have a total hip replacement!!!!!!!!!! My lumber (lower back) is fused!!! So i take Lortab 10/500 every 4 hrs. and muscle relaxers (Skelictin) and for sleep i take Ambeim CR 12.5 the best. I also take Xanex sometimes like right now bc i'm stressed out about the upcoming hip surgery. I get 180 Lortabs a month, yeah, 180 a month so get to a good pain clinic. They won't give you that many at first until they get to know you and KNOW you are not drug seeking or just faking it.............but they KNOW me now through MRI's and Xray's plus i get disability bc of my back.......................anyway, good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Well from personal experience, leave the vicodin alone, or use it minimally, vicodin is a narcatoic, habit forming opiate...and it can seriously mess u you up, because it really doesnt take away pain, it blocks signals from your brain relaying pain, but in the 6 hours after it is done, you will hurt again, I was in the hospital for a whole week with obustructive bowels, the drug binds you up, and can really tear up your digestive track. I have chronic pain and arthritis, ask your doc for Mobic, I think is the name, its a stronger NSAID, non steroidal anti inflammatory, ultracet and ultram will do the same thing as the viocodin, so just make sure to follow the doctors orders, My doc had me on ultracet and viocodin for 4 years...I had to take myself off of it!

Answer 10

now a days its really hard for a doctor to prescribe meds to ppl because there are ppl out there that really do abuse their meds i have a sister with degenerative disk disease and she complains with her back hurting all the time which i have talked to ppl that has this condition and they say it is really unbearable at times and she is on meds but she really does abuse hers but those are the ones that really hurts the chances of others really getting the meds they need for their pain the only thing i can tell you would be to go find another doctor or get her to send you to a specialist someone that could do more tests on you and try to pin point your pain and prescribe a stronger meds i know it is more expensive but if you really have that much pain it would pay to get a specialists opinion....good luck

Answer 11

The people that take medication for heart, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. are taking tings that are not potentially addictive. As your doctor said, vicodin is addictive, it is a narcotic. Hope you can find something else that works as well.