My brother-in-law did. He had severe back pain. His mixing alcohol and pain pills did him in. Yup, he died. Just stopped breathing.

I was way to young to get alcohol prior to treatment as I am only 21 now. But I am sure quite a few people have even if they won't admit it.

Not a good idea! *shaking head* Nope, not a good idea atall

Yes a good stout boubon every night. I am post med. The meds prescribed for med did not work. And do not drink during the day. The only med I take is naproxen which works on the pain in my leg. The bourbon and naproxen do not interact with each other. But I get about 45 min of relief, enjoy it and go to bed.

Yes I did. I had been off of all meds for many years. The last 3 years the pain was back and I was having a really hard time dealing with it but I was dealing with it. I have Lupus, TMJ and ICC. So last fall on top of all of that I had several teeth that were infected. I made and appointment with an oral surgeon it was a 6 week waiting list to get in and I was counting every hour and living on extra strength tylenol. So go to my appontment he says yes you need these teeth pulled come back in 3 weeks. So I go home and 3 hours later it was a friday 5 called his office back and talk to his nurse and asked her if they can give anything for pain??? and she sounded pissed!!! She said you were not in earlier today.. YES I WAS. She said no we cant give you anything for pain.OMG OMG OMG These are not the people I am going to let operate on my mouth in 3 weeks. I hung up the phone and drove to the liquor store. I was 50 years old and have never used a whole bottle of vodka in my life. So I bought a fifth of monoplova vodka and went home and started cocktail hour.
This was alarming to family because they had never seen me drink. It did help my pain or at least I did not care as much about it. The hard part was waiting for 5 oclock to come so I could have a drink. I would be in so much pain til 5. I switched to a new oral surgeon and after he saw a panogram of my TMJ he said how do you sleep at night??? You must be in agony! and you need to be back in pain management. He said he could not even work on unless I got back into pain management. So I did and it has been almost a year. I gave up the vodka as soon as I got the meds. They work so much better than vodka and Im really glad to back with my PM I will not leave again.

Tamale Molly

I am lucky as I do not care for alcohol enough for a second drink but if I was desperate I dont know I might think about it. If I did not receive any type of medication management I think I would and that is scary to say but pain is not something that we can just not pay attention to.

I like to drink beer. Years ago when I had no insurance, no meds at all and a severe case of IC the only thing I could do was drink beer. It actually helped.

This is my account of alcohol and medicine. Not many people know about this but I feel like its a good time to say:

I have rsd/ crps/ trigeminal neuralgia, bursitis/ and investigating chronic fatigue. I am 22 years old and I am teacher training.

I have been and am on a cocktail of heavy meds-morphine, tegretol, bu trans, cymbalta, you name it Ive probably tried it.
And I drink like a mad woman.

Ive drank from a young age like all kids do, probs from about age 12ish, and because of the way it is around here, I would drink, as all kids do,every weekend blah blah. I hit around 17 and started university, drinking heavily then as my house was the party house. Then the chronic pain began in its horrific form. At first it was, a whiskey to help me sleep at night. Then I found excuses to drink. 3 years later I finished uni, with the reputation of the one who parties hard and got myself a job. I realised then, I couldnt stop the drinking habits...what was ok at uni was not ok in 'real' life. So I used my pain as an excuses to drink. Docs couldnt find any pain relief that worked so I 'self medicated'. No one knew I drank heavily, and at social events where I would drink, my friends and family didnt know I was taking medication too.

So to recent times...I am now teacher training..and I still drink. Im on my heaviest load of meds for a while. Many nights of laying in my own vomit, not remembering actions, wondering why my pain suddenly got worse. In the summer, I was admitted to hospital with severe stomach pains-a stomach ulcer. A few weeks ago an ambulance fetched me as I was unconscious from mixing drugs and alcohol. Funnily enough, no one knows I drink this badly...stomach ulcer was put down to meds, and the recent admission to a and e was put down to 'aw bless her, she wasnt to know-she just wanted to join in with her friends'. So amazingly no one still knows.

I am not stupid and I know what a dangerous game I have been playing. This is to anyone who thinks of mixing drugs and alcohol, its a deathwish...dont do it. I havnt drank now for 7 days which is an achievement for me and I plan to keep this up. It is sad that having chronic pain issues can lead to more problems such as alcohol abuse. Normally I would never admit this, but I feel its a good time to. Alcohol at first may help, blot out the pain, forget your worries etc, but trust me it brings more problems.

Apologies for the essay but I hope this has helped.
Hugs x

Kate,

It was very brave of you to reveal so much and I take that as an indication that you've really made a decision. I know 7 days is big for you, but remember...it's one day at a time!

Thanks for sharing in such an honest way. You may have helped a lot of people with your 'essay'!

Kate and all, thank you for sharing. I am thankful that I never mixed alcohol and drugs. It is extremely rare for me to even drink and if I do, I do not drink at home. With my son's alcoholism we have chosen not to keep any alcohol in the house. But I applaud you all for your honesty. It is dangerous and I understand that sometimes it in all you have. Just be careful to not mix drugs. I saw too often in the ER what can happen. Kate, you will be in my prayers this week for continued sobriety. Once again, thank you all for sharing.

Melinda

I am so for the honesty & experiences ppl have left for me & us all to share about.

I did say PRIOR to meds, which is how I knew something was up & needed pills.

My inlaws & I had spoken cus they my one had a accident that left him with 1/2 foot & horrible hip pain.He was the 1st person I had ever spoken to bout pain period.Within weeks of chatting I was in the DR office trying out new meds for the 1st time!

Kate You're awesome ty for your honesty, keep up the good work.O.D.A.T!

Thank you for this post. It made us all think, that is for sure. I am glad your medication is working for you.

Keep us posted,

Melinda

It would be hard to believe that anybody in enough pain would not turn to alcohol.
Glad to hear that you found a good oral surgeon and someone with "feelings" and capable of having "compassion" for another human being. It must have been h*** what you went thru. How crueal of someone who is in medical care to treat a person as you were treated. Expect there will be others after you who will also go thru what you did, unfortunatly.
As for me, I also have been in your shoes, in terrible pain n had Drs. walk out without helping/treating my pain. If we were to go there I'm sure there would be many "horror" stories of people suffering and Drs. not acknowledging(sp) it.
After a long time I finally have found relief due to a good Dr., we need to hold on even when things look gloomy.
Thank you all for your transparency,understanding,support n advice.

Sorry, thought it was still relevant

Not a good idea to mix both ! And definately never tell your PMD that you drink !I'm not a drinker, don't especially care for it. So just be careful if you do, depending on the amount ... you could sustain a nasty fall and end up in more pain ! Hugs