Chronic Pain Support Group
Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...
After 15 years I feel I KNOW the long-acting med I take, which is MSContin. I know how my body reacts to it, how long it lasts, how long it takes to work, etc. I feel like It's been a steady in my life, or, at least 15 years worth. I have RSD and I think it's a GOOD med for ME and works well for my RSD. That's MY opinion.
Now, 15 years after I 1st took it and was titrated to the right dose, I'm having more than the normal amount of pain, and it's possible that my RSD has spread. POSSIBLE. I will not admit to that until my doctor confirms it, and even then will have a difficult time accepting it. But I digress.
I'm wondering what everyone here thinks of long-acting meds. If MSContin is one of them, I'm especially interested, but I'm also wondering about other long-acting meds. I had to try Oxycodone years ago, so I've taken that one, but once we got to MSContin, we found a med that worked. Still, I wonder, how well does it work for others?
One of the reasons I ask is b/c MSContin is supposed to last 8-12 hours. It doesn't for me. I don't think it EVER lasted 12 hours, but maybe at the beginning it lasted 8 hours. Now, it starts wearing off at 5.5 hours. By 6 hours, I'm hurting.
I do have 3 "breakthrough pills"- MSIR- which is a quick-acting form of the same drug that MScontin is. I only call them breakthrough b/c my new doctor does. They were always more just a part of my med regime before the new doctor.
But now I am wondering if I'm the only one who is NOT getting the full treatment of the long-acting. If they're supposed to last 12 hours- then why don't they? I take them on time and as prescribed, and I always inspect them in case one has a crack or crumble; I've discarded of hundreds of possible broken or cracked long-acting pills over the years. My biggest fear with the medication is that it releases too fast and I overdose. Over the years I've gotten pretty confident, but it'll always be in the back of my mind. Luckily the brand I take now are small and tiny and coated, unlike the kind my pharmacy in Texas carried. THOSE pills looked like they'd crumble in your palm. I threw out a LOT of those. I trust the medication now, but still look for cracks, LOL! Fear doesn't ever really go away!
Many of you have heard this several times when I talk about RSD or pain relief, etc. I've read a few people talk about the patch form of pain medication, but I don't think it'd work for my lifestyle. I don't want to ever go through what I did when I was 1st diagnosed and titrated to the right med and dosage. What I'm on allows me to live a good life. I'm busy, I'm working, I'm a wife and mother. I don't want to lose that b/c the med I take makes me too tired. Yet I have to figure something out b/c the meds aren't working as well or as long as they're supposed to. I do have more pain than I used to, so I have options.
So, that's ME. But who else takes long-acting? Do they work for you? Does MSContin work 12 hours for ANYONE? Maybe the other long-acting meds work that long? I remember oxycontin didn't work well for me and I was switched to MSContin. But I read here often that it's the other way around. I KNOW I respond better to a combo of both, but with more leeway with quick-acting.
I really am curious about this. I understand why the long-acting is necessary and that it is a good base. I just wonder if I am some freak for whom it only works half the time it is supposed to. 12 hours is a long time- I would be amazed if mine lasted 8!
Is it possible that we all react differently to different meds? Ot do docs and pharmacists overestimate the "contin" meds? 12 hours? Anyone get that relief? Add in the insomnia that has been ruling my life as late, and I'm really looking for a solution. I almost wonder if my suggestion years ago for a amputation would've solved the problem. At the time they thought I'd have phantom pain anyway and said it wasn't a real option. I don't think it is any longer- the RSD spread too far up the leg. But back then, maybe? No worries- I'm in no way considering it this far into the RSD. And I wouldn't want to scare my son.
Forget back then. I'm just curious about the long-acting meds. I see my doc next week and I want to go in with knowledge- such as if I'm the only one that starts hurting again after 6 hours when it is supposed to last 12. Am I some weird creature who reacts oddly to that medication?
Sorry to bother you- just looking for clues. It really is a huge change in my life that I'm down to 6 good hours before I must use the "breakthrough" meds, of which I get 3 a day due to "guidelines". According to the MSContin bottle, it should last longer than 6 hours. Is it only me?
Now, 15 years after I 1st took it and was titrated to the right dose, I'm having more than the normal amount of pain, and it's possible that my RSD has spread. POSSIBLE. I will not admit to that until my doctor confirms it, and even then will have a difficult time accepting it. But I digress.
I'm wondering what everyone here thinks of long-acting meds. If MSContin is one of them, I'm especially interested, but I'm also wondering about other long-acting meds. I had to try Oxycodone years ago, so I've taken that one, but once we got to MSContin, we found a med that worked. Still, I wonder, how well does it work for others?
One of the reasons I ask is b/c MSContin is supposed to last 8-12 hours. It doesn't for me. I don't think it EVER lasted 12 hours, but maybe at the beginning it lasted 8 hours. Now, it starts wearing off at 5.5 hours. By 6 hours, I'm hurting.
I do have 3 "breakthrough pills"- MSIR- which is a quick-acting form of the same drug that MScontin is. I only call them breakthrough b/c my new doctor does. They were always more just a part of my med regime before the new doctor.
But now I am wondering if I'm the only one who is NOT getting the full treatment of the long-acting. If they're supposed to last 12 hours- then why don't they? I take them on time and as prescribed, and I always inspect them in case one has a crack or crumble; I've discarded of hundreds of possible broken or cracked long-acting pills over the years. My biggest fear with the medication is that it releases too fast and I overdose. Over the years I've gotten pretty confident, but it'll always be in the back of my mind. Luckily the brand I take now are small and tiny and coated, unlike the kind my pharmacy in Texas carried. THOSE pills looked like they'd crumble in your palm. I threw out a LOT of those. I trust the medication now, but still look for cracks, LOL! Fear doesn't ever really go away!
Many of you have heard this several times when I talk about RSD or pain relief, etc. I've read a few people talk about the patch form of pain medication, but I don't think it'd work for my lifestyle. I don't want to ever go through what I did when I was 1st diagnosed and titrated to the right med and dosage. What I'm on allows me to live a good life. I'm busy, I'm working, I'm a wife and mother. I don't want to lose that b/c the med I take makes me too tired. Yet I have to figure something out b/c the meds aren't working as well or as long as they're supposed to. I do have more pain than I used to, so I have options.
So, that's ME. But who else takes long-acting? Do they work for you? Does MSContin work 12 hours for ANYONE? Maybe the other long-acting meds work that long? I remember oxycontin didn't work well for me and I was switched to MSContin. But I read here often that it's the other way around. I KNOW I respond better to a combo of both, but with more leeway with quick-acting.
I really am curious about this. I understand why the long-acting is necessary and that it is a good base. I just wonder if I am some freak for whom it only works half the time it is supposed to. 12 hours is a long time- I would be amazed if mine lasted 8!
Is it possible that we all react differently to different meds? Ot do docs and pharmacists overestimate the "contin" meds? 12 hours? Anyone get that relief? Add in the insomnia that has been ruling my life as late, and I'm really looking for a solution. I almost wonder if my suggestion years ago for a amputation would've solved the problem. At the time they thought I'd have phantom pain anyway and said it wasn't a real option. I don't think it is any longer- the RSD spread too far up the leg. But back then, maybe? No worries- I'm in no way considering it this far into the RSD. And I wouldn't want to scare my son.
Forget back then. I'm just curious about the long-acting meds. I see my doc next week and I want to go in with knowledge- such as if I'm the only one that starts hurting again after 6 hours when it is supposed to last 12. Am I some weird creature who reacts oddly to that medication?
Sorry to bother you- just looking for clues. It really is a huge change in my life that I'm down to 6 good hours before I must use the "breakthrough" meds, of which I get 3 a day due to "guidelines". According to the MSContin bottle, it should last longer than 6 hours. Is it only me?
I think we definitely all react differently to meds. I think we probably
metabolize medications at different rates just like we metabolize food at different rates.
So no, I don't think you are a "weird creature", lol. I think our doctor will have heard this problem many times before.
Good luck, and I'm sorry to hear that your RSD is spreading.
Hugs,
Theresa
There was a plant that closed because of problems. Not all pills are equal. Some put in fillers and binders that cause absorption problems. Some have guestimated the actual amount absorbed thru some complicated procedure that I don't understand and not everyone gets the full dose.
I can TAKE mine every 8 hours, but it never lasts that long. I take 3 a day, too. It's just difficult when the pain starts flaring before it wears off. Maybe it's b/c it's been 15 years? The instant release (I used to call it instant relief, LOL) works for 4 hours, so THAT still works pretty much the same. I just have less of them on this schedule.
I had heard people mention that oxycodone doesn't last the long time for them, so I wondered if anyone else had the MSContin problem that I do. I hope I see my doc next week and not just the PA. It's time to do SOMETHING. They're so nice and they offered to help last December, but I wanted to wait and as we had a mild winter, I'm glad we did. But now I'm not sleeping and the pain is just so...aggressive!
It's like my pain is a monster and I HAD it under control. Then we switched the meds around a bit and the monster stirred, yawned a bit, and opened one eye. It's not fully awake and attacking, but it's much worse than it was. It's kicking a bit and stretching, just waiting to see what I'll do. And it's waiting for me to attack back by taking the right meds. But maybe, after 15 years, I'm just out of luck? There's added pain from back and my knees, and insomnia makes everything worse.
Look, I realize I must sound ridiculous, but I honestly have always seen my pain as this monster, lol. I mean, it's the enemy. I had a great doctor and the right meds and doses, but then my doctor died and it took a year to get me settled on a new dose. Now I have additional pain and wham- the pain monster is awake.
Sunny- no, it's the same pill, but you're thinking the same thing I was. I think it must be me- I react oddly to some pills. And I have an odd metabolism, too. Still, I thought some people were having a similar problem with the contin meds, but I could be remembering incorrectly. Could be I'm just not good with the long-acting. I mean, I am, it WORKS, but only for 6 hours.
TO be honest it only ever worked for 6 hours for me when I tried that one. I was just hoping that perhaps it could be easy to solve for you. We face so many trying situations! Some days it just seems like it ain't worth getting outta bed.
Have you read this:
http://foresttennant.com/pdfs/intractable-pain-patients-instruction-manual.pdf
There are several suggestions for things to combine with your meds to make them work better.
Good luck
I was on the patch before this and those did not last 3 days pain was not controlled at a constant. Even when I went to changing them every 2 days there is no comparing to the morphine er
If you have been on this med for so long than maybe every 8 hours would be the next step up for you.
Good luck
Sunny- I tried a lot of different breakthrough meds when I was 1st titrated. The one that worked best was MSIR. The problem is just that the "guidelines" allow me only 3 a day. Most other doctors don't worry about that, but my doc follows the letter of the guideline. I can't fault him for that. I just wish they made MSIR in a higher strength. They have 15 and 30mg. I could get a lot more relief by going back to taking 2 MSIR at once, at least when the pain is this bad. But b/c of the mg, my doc can only prescribe the 3. I got permission to take half of a MSIR when things are really bad, but if I did that as often as I really need it, I'd run out of msir fast.
I guess they could increase the MSContin, but that's the one that doesn't work AS well or as long. I just want to avoid having to change medications. Morphine has worked for me for 15 years. Now that I'm having extra pain and I'm taking less than I'm used to, it's really making a difference. I think it's just trial and error- we need to get as close to my old routine as possible w/o breaking any guidelines. And it's only for the flares- they don't usually happen this often.
I'm STILL interested in the long-acting problems if anyone has them!
I'd say 15mg more twice a day would help a bit. I KNOW that 30mg more twice a day would work (and I wouldn't need it everyday) but that's way too much to ask for. Still, if I can find a way to stay on morphine and just take enough to keep my life as is, it would be better than having to switch to a stronger med. I'm trying like crazy to avoid a stronger med, b/c this works for me, just in a slightly higher dose.
It does make me wonder why these guidelines were put into place. Doctors KNOW what is best for their patients, and the guideline is stopping my doctor from prescribing what we both know works. This "you can't take more breakthrough meds than long-acting" is ridiculous! Should I get an extra long-acting per day just so I can get an extra MSIR? I mean, meds work how they work and everyone is different. They are so worried about drug addicts getting instant release meds that they screw over the real CP patients. And from what I saw in that awful movie "Oxycontin Express"- addicts don't NEED instant release b/c they smash their long-acting meds!
Ugh- that made me shudder. I triple check every MSContin I am given for "cracks" and throw out anything that looks odd, and those addicts are smashing them! Sorry- it's not as if I'm without sympathy for people with the disease of addiction, but honestly, they're affecting MY life now b/c the govt makes rules and laws to protect against THEM instead of protecting me and the other CP patients here. I'm SICK to death of my meds, therefore my LIFE depending on what the druggies are up to!
I'm really not a mean person- I have a lot of compassion. I'm just trying to deal with a flare up, sun poisoning, horrific sunburn and trying to figure out how I'm going to get through the crazy weather changes this summer, keep my job, and be a good mother to my son. He's 3 on Monday, and I can't even concentrate on his party Sunday b/c of my pain. If it's this bad now, what am I going to do when he gets married? I want to BE THERE for all of it- his life and mine.
Okay- I digressed again. Sorry. Just so much to think about before my appt next week!