1. All hospitals have "patient advocates" and you should talk with one.

2. You could have a nurse administer meds, a home health care nurse.

3. Be honest about the past if you think they will find out and show them that you are a different person now and willing to be open and honest and will alert them immediately if you start slipping.

4. You still have a right to pain care, past addiction issues or not! Insist on it!

5. Get a pain psychologist on your side. They can advocate for you with the doctor.

6. Try alternative therapies such as acupuncture, meditation, therapy, or distraction techniques.

7. Lie and hope no one finds your records from that era of your life if it was long, long ago. (I do not like to lie, but fortunately haven't anything major to hide!)

8. Some docs will not help and are opiophobic even with patients with no "history." In these cases, learn to move on. Move on until someone helps you!

i can see your concern..maybe you could not tell the medical comminuty that you can't take narcotic..but will if you are in bad pain.if you can handle them,,usually when you are in such bad pain, you don't get high..or addicted.that is my experince.best wishes.

I know what you mean about # 8. I was actually honest about a new dr I was seeing and he told me he didn't give opiate pain meds unless the patient was dying! So I obviously moved on when he told me to grin and bear it!

I will keep this list for future reference, Thanks!

Bob,
If your problem is chronic pain, you need to go see a pain management Doctor, seeing a GP is like calling a plumber to fix the electrical in the house, they don't know what to do! Most of them anyway's..... There are some members that I know that had addiction issues and still get narcotic medications prescribed to them, just because you are an addict it does not mean that you don't deserve pain relief.

Are you following a 12 step program? Do you have a sponsor? If you are and have one, talk to your sponsor about going to a pain management Doctor, and be honest with the Doc, if they know anything about pain and the cycle of addiction, they will have no problem helping you out.
Just remember, take your meds as prescribe, don't take more than you are supposed to, and if you ever feel that you are going to relapse, call your sponsor, or the one person that you can trust and that can be there for you.
Take care and I hope that you get some help soon.

Bob, i'm in the same boat and i'm scared to death and on the other hand my life sucks i can't do anything and sometimes i cry just to get relief. Some nights i lay there with my legs jumping and piercing pain in my hips and my feet are on fire and then it feels like i have cobb webs on my face( idk ) and i let god know that if he did not wake me up in the mourning i would not be mad at him. i have a dr. appt tomarrow and i'm just going to cross my fingers and she knows my history so will see what happens. very scared of medsd but i want some kinda of life back.

Bob,
I wish that I had some advice to give, you have gotten some of the best advice, from some of the best people here already. I don't know what else I can say except that I am here to support you and commend you for asking such a hard question. I hope that you don't ever have to experience more pain and that IF you do, you get the relief that you deserve.
Many Hugs and Lots of Support to you,
Beck

I see what you mean about being in the hospital. I don't know of many IV drugs that they can give you for sever pain for issues like if you have surgery or kidney stones or other sever acute pain. I know when i have showed up in the ER and they have thought i was seeking drugs they have givin me toradol and that did help quite a bit but for kidney stone? probably not.

they do have lots of meds depending on what type of pain you have for chronic pain for everyday chronic pain if you see pain managment specialist.

methadone, suboxen, and tramadol are a few i know of

and of course depending on the source of your pain (nerve, migraine, inflamation ect) there is, amatriptaline, gabapentine, tompamax, imatrex, naproxen, cymtalta, savella

i'm drawing a blank but you get the point.

i'm sorry i don't have an asnwer for what they can do in the hospital but getting an advocate like the others have mentions in case you do end up in the hopital is a very good idea

Good point CinamonBay, when people are in severe pain it is nearly impossible to cop a "high." I have never felt high off pain meds--- ever! But I never recreationally took them and did not receive them until I was very far along in my chronic pain journey, about 2 years and after greatly escalating pain levels...

You people are priceless! Such a wealth of information in this group!

Thanks!

toradol (spelling) is non habit forming I believe. Woks as an anti-inflammatory and pain killer.

Bob,
Congratulations on your 26 month anniversary!

Have you considered that ONCE you were an addict, unable to control you ability to take medication as prescribed (and that yes, you will always be labeled a recovering addict, probably by yourself and others), but your attitude and ability to properly take medications has changed over these last 26 months? We are capable of change, but it's a never-ending process and for some, a daily challenge.

Just by asking the question you're showing that you are looking at life and medications in a different light than you did. While I'm sure you always did know it, you truly do see and understand that there are legitimate reasons for pain control and that you if need it at some point in the future you will need to enanct some signficant measure of control over yourself, and maybe with outside assistance as well. But just because you were addicted to a drug once doesn't mean you will always get addicted again, regardless of the medication and the situation.

There are many doctors who understand that recovered/recovering drug addicts can have severe pain and will treat them with the appropriate level of medication, just using caution to keep their patients out of harm's way. Not all doctors are opiophobes (like the one who wouldn't prescibe them to anyone but a dying patient; that's simply inhumane, as the living deserve pain management just as much as the dying do (his implication almost sounds like he'll give them an extra dose to put them out of their misery!).

You may need to follow ChronicIL's fabulous advice and have someone advocate for you. But you ALWAYS have the right to pain management, regardless of your past addiction issues or not. #4 on her list is the most important of all the issues she lists; you have a right to pain management.

There are also other medications available that may provide the pain relief you will need without giving you sensation your sought from your previous addiction, whether that was a high or a mellow, out of here feeling. There are many types of medications, not all of them providing the same psychological effect. So if drug A was your drug of choice, work with a doctor to find a drug that will treat your pain but has the opposite psychological or mental effect (every drug has a different action, both medically as well as in each individual). There are also medications now that help bind to some of the opiate receptors in the brain and cut off feel good sensation while still giving you the pain relief you need. Medicine has made some signficant advances and some of those may be good for you.

As a side note, if you're concerned about kidney stones (voice of painful experience), please be sure to drink plenty of water to keep those kidneys flushed out and remove any mineral build up now before it has a chance to calcify and become a stone. There are things you can do to be proactive and ward off some potential problems as well (having had the kidney stone from hades, I wouldn't wish it on anyone).

And for now, try to focus on the positive. You're clean, sober and living your life! Try to get active and get outside and live your life instead of worrying about the "what if's". Just print off the list of recommendations and tuck them away for a rainy day that hopefully will never come.

I wish you all the very best! :)

PS Toradol is fabulous and is the ultimate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. It's only avaiable via injection, but it works wonders on severe pain (at least it did on mine (a level 10 migraine), even though it should never have been prescribed as I have have severe kidney disease; I'm just lucky it didn't cause irreversible kidney damage!). Good stuff in terms of pain relief; wish it was a realistic option for me!

You are NOT alone!!!!

I am not an addict. I have never abused drugs in any way shape or form!! I do not drink, smoke, or do anything illegal at all. My nickname around work is "goody two shoes".

I tell you all this because I run into these same jerks. I finally joined this group when I was scheduled for surgery and the jerk refused to give me post op pain control. He claimed that my daily medications would take care of the "break through pain" after surgery. He prescribed a very mild pain reliever that had tylenol in it. He ignored the fact that my daily medications include the max dosage of tylenol currently accepted as safe for the liver. Not once did he or anyone in his office suggest that I should not combine the "daily" meds with his mild medication because of the toxicity of the tylenol.

These jerks are everywhere. You are NOT at fault!!!!!!

Sadly, you are not alone!
Thankfully, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
We all have to deal with these jerks.

You do have the right to pain control for acute situations. No one should have to suffer in ER with acute problems. That is why pain is one of the vitals that every medical professional checks.

I would suggest that you try to focus on who you are NOW! Your past is NOT you. If you have support in place, use them. You know who will stand by you with support. Let them help you! You can't be the only person who must face pain with addiction in their past.

I will keep you in my prayers.
God bless you,
Sunny

The only problem with Toradol is that is TERRIBLE for the liver! And that in pill form is as good as aspirin. The Torodol shots are awesome and work right away, but my PM told me that Doctor's are very, very careful not to give too much of it or too often because of the consequenses to the liver, and he was the one that told me that the pill form even though is not as bad for the liver, it doesn't work well, so I don't know........... I am just given you info. directly from the mouth of my PM Doc. Take care,

I though toradol was safe???????

Oh wait, that is Tramadol! My dog is on it because his liver is in trouble and he can not take other arthritic meds.

Sorry,
Sunny

I read this whole thread and you received so much good advice.

One of my friends "S" was a heroin addict in the distant past mid 80s- mid 90s. She was stricken by cancer circa 2000, approx 5-6 yrs into recovery. She had chemo, radiation, and surgery. She was able to find an excellent doctor who put a fantastic program together for her. He kept her comfortable and provided other resources such as a pain psychologist and a support group to keep her on track. He and her pain psychologist also worked with her husband and 2 adult kids.

Ironically, I faced a lot more issues getting pain control, though I never had that background. (I did experiment with some drugs as an adolescent, never h. I also find mj agreeable.) I am 12 yrs younger than "S" (She went to kindergarten with my hubby!) and it was originally thought that I "just" had fibro and was "drug seeking." Here's why--- my first pain doc was an opiophobe who only did pricey procedures. They helped some, but it wasn't enough to interrupt the pain cycle. After a year or so, I broke down and requested opioids. He denied me and said that he wouldn't give codeine to a dying man---he was Chinese and went into the Opium Wars and the British! (What an uncompassionate idiot!)

I found someone else, but apparently he wrote a bad report about my "drug seeking" and gave the new doc's office a "heads up." The PA brutalized me on my first day, but I put up with it, desperate for help. (This same clinic helped my elderly mom-in-law same day, no hassles. That is why I had so much hope.) She gave me Tramadol, Darvocet, and other BS stuff that doesn't do much, if anything. She cut me down relentlessly for being a "drug addict." I did do some procedures. The 1st, facet joint injections to the neck, worked great! I had hope! But ultimately, I could see that I would not get anything that worked and I already went through the injections only route.

Then I went to "S"'s doc and never looked back. He spent 3 hrs personally evaluating me. I did not have "fibro" but "fibro-like" symptoms due to a severe vitamin D deficiency, anemia, and other nutritional issues that were confirmed by lab testing. I had joint and disc problems that were a separate issue entirely.

My novel has a point... keep going until you find someone to help you. All these docs are NOT the same. My current doc is so nice and understanding and does NOT under-medicate me. His staff is Heaven-sent. He provides other resources like the pain psychologist, PT, support groups, yoga, massage, chiropractic... Yes, there are disadvantages, the 3.5 hr RT drive, his chronic tardiness, and his absenteeism due to his own health issues, are the biggest. But, overall, I could not be happier. I just don't schedule anything else for that day and take the whole day off from work. Then I see our old friend "S" who is in his neck of the woods and cancer-free and addiction-free.

You need to find the right person with the expertise to handle chronic pain and addiction simultaneously.

I know that there is an online resource with coaching and books that can be used with a pain psychologist http://www.addiction-free.com/ (I have not read the books.) They have a free newsletter, articles, and other resources.

I strongly suggest you combine a pain psychologist with opioid pain management if you are in that much pain. Then keep a pain diary where you record your pain levels at different times, meds taken, exercise, supplements, appointments, other treatments, emotions, addictive thoughts, unusual events, then you color the front and back of a person to show where the pain hurts, etc... They are available through the American Pain Foundation and other places. This will give a good clinical picture to a quality doc who is interested in working with you--- a doc who sees a complex person not just an "addiction" claiming chronic pain.

Good luck!