painkillers
Hi Jeff, I haven't been given demerol, but not long ago I was involved in zolmatriptan trials and was given Leritine (also a narcotic) as an "escape medication". The nurse administering the study was sure it would put me right out, said it's used for post-op patients. Well, I had much the same experience as you with the Demerol. I ended up taking twice as much as she originally specified (on her directions) and still my head was killing me although I felt a little loopy. The nurse was rather floored that I was even conscious after a dose that high. I then switched to fiorinal, which never really helps that much, but compared to the leritine it sure helps the head pain. All in all it turned out to be a rather miserable 6 months! -Lena
All this talk about pain killers. I feel giulty, and thought to ask here. I have been treated also for tendonitis, which is a slooooooooooooow process of healing. My goodness it takes so long. It's in my left shoulder, and now I learn it may never be normal again. Anyway, my ortho perscribed Darvecet for me, and I feel giulty because i still have some... and some days when I've been at work and fighting it all day and just want an end to it, I willt ake a Darvecet and go to bed. So now tell me, anybody else take those kind of pain killers for headaches? Should I not feel giulty about that? I don't take them all the time, just when the head hurts. Cindy
The only thing to be wary of if you're taking something which was not originally prescribed for you is that if you have other conditions that drug may be contra-indicated. For example, asthmatics have to be careful of aspirin and its relatives. As long as you know what you can and can't have, you should be okay. I don't use anyone else's meds unless I know exactly what's in them, just in case. Eve -- `Before you meet your handsome prince you've got to kiss a lot of toads!`
I've read so many stories about tapering off of some narcotic or other and the difficulties involved. I'm not trying to get you to see things my way, but please let me tell you what happened to me. I became addiced to Vicodin. It wasn't prescribed for me for migraine but for a wicked toothache on a late Friday afternoon by an ER doctor to hold me over until I could find a dental clinic or dentist to help me the next week. It was a broken wisdom tooth that had become infected. I happen to have the addictive profile, was already an active alcoholic, come from two families filled with alcoholics and drug addicts, so if the gene hypothesis of addiction is true, I definitely have that in spades. Whatever the case, I was hooked literally on the first pill of the Vicodin I took; I got a euphoric sensation and everything in the world seemed right when just a minute before everything was wrong. I thought no wonder people get addicted to this stuff. Before long, I was binging, taking large amounts in a small amount of time, taking it to get stoned, taking it "in case I get some pain", taking it becuase I needed to repeat and reinforce that "ahhh" feeling it gave me. I ended up vomiting all the time, walking like a chicken, more zoned and nonproductive than I normally would have been on all the "legal" meds I was taking as well... I crashed into the worst depression of my life, ended up being emergently hospitalized, and went off the Vicodin and booze at once. I go to AA and NA meetings regularly, have about two years clean and sober behind me, and often people in meetings have said (many of them who are medical professionals) that one has to be very careful with what their doctor prescribes--you doctor can make you an addict without you knowing it, or make you active again if you are a clean addict--because s/he just doesn't know about your sensitivity, or that you're being pushed beyond your limits. If you need to, hospitals have addiction specialists you can speak with. Just because you're taking something doesn't automatically mean you're going to become addicted to it, and I know the intensity of pain that will make you do anything to make it stop, but if you feel like narcotics are getting a better part of you, be proactive and see what can be done to taper/replace/etc. If you just can't stop--get help. Along with the pain of migraine, I know the pain of addiction--the craving long after discontinuation, the fear and the vulnerability, and I'd like to help any of you avoid that extra burden in your life. Meetings and all that other stuff are great, actually. They espouse "principles" that would be good for anyone's mental health and well-being, whether they have a "problem" or not. But the lifestyle of an active addict, a detoxing addict, and a recovering addict is not easy. If you do think you need help in that area, there are many websites where you can get information. I would be happy to speak to you as well, but my only qualification is that I've "been there". Best wishes to all of you. Ben
Ben, Congrats on being clean for the past 2 years. That is way AWESOME!!! Sybyl