Gabapentin withdrawal

[Aimless Ryan]

I'm down to 100 mg every 12 hours. The amount of time between doses has grown every day lately, while withdrawal symptoms have become much less intense. Thankfully I feel like I'll be able to stop taking gabapentin very soon.

From educating myself about gabapentin via message boards and whatnot, I'm inclined to think gabapentin is probably excellent as a heroin detox tool, when used for a very limited time (to avoid physical dependence). But other than that, I'd call it dangerous poison that should be avoided or taken very carefully, in the smallest effective dose possible; only when needed (rather than on a schedule).

I'm not trying to pretend I'm a medical professional, though. So don't take any advice I have shared until thinking it over very carefully. Or at all.

 

[Baron23]

I just did some math. Even if the 3 oxycodones I was allowed every 2 hours by OSU were 5 mg (the weakest oxycodone dosage available in whole pill form, times 3), three pills every two hours comes out to 180 mg per day. Yes, having second and third degree burns all over your leg, ass, and dick hurts like shit, but Jesus.

If you (@Baron23) were prescribed even half that much oxycodone per day, I can understand why you have an aversion to oxycodone.

Right now, even if I had a truckload of oxycodone, I still wouldn't take any more than 30 mg on any particular day. But since I don't have a truckload (or any certainty that I'll ever receive any more oxycodone), I limit my daily consumption to 20 mg.

I'll take it when I have to but it needs to be compelling. Getting burned would definitely fall into that category for me.

I had to have a tendon reattached to my arm last spring....they drill a hole in the bone to do that. Doc said take the oxycodone starting NOW while I was till feeling nothing from the neuroblock. Reason, you heal better when not in pain and you manage pain better sticking to a regular med schedule. But you already know this.

Most I was prescribed was 15 mg every four hours. That's 90 mg and that was after back surgery.

I have a very checkered past....when I was quite young....and feel I know quite a bit about drug addiction and withdrawal so I am always very cautious with that stuff. But it does have a time and place IMO.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Didn't expect this: I haven't taken any gabapentin today. Last dose I took was last night at around 8:30 EDT. 18 hours. Don't believe I have gone longer than 12 hours between doses prior to this. And I don't feel any withdrawal symptoms coming on. I may be done with this shit.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I may not quite be done with gabapentin. I took 100 mg at 5:30 yesterday (21 hours), and I'm feeling kinda "withdrawy" in the stomach this morning. I may stick with one pill a day for now.

Yesterday morning, instead of taking gabapentin poison, I filmed and edited a video; probably specifically because I didn't have gabapentin making me as useless and stupid as most days. It's an uncut video in which I'm barely able to stand (with aid), then I take 10 mg of oxycodone. The next 30 minutes of uncut footage is sped up x 10 (with me and a clock never leaving the picture), then I try to stand again.

This video may not seem on topic here, but it is to me, for many reasons I can't necessarily explain in a few words. I was kinda hesitant to share it here, but then I decided to share it because I made it in an effort to hopefully reach others in my position, who may be able to benefit from oxycodone how I have. I may make some pretty strong and uncommon assertions in the video, but my assertions are very well backed up by video evidence.

I guess I also made the video because of all the fucking clueless, sadistic doctors who have refused to help me (with an oxycodone script) specifically because I (very openly) use cannabis medicine in an effort to receive medical help they refuse to provide me (and other ridiculous shit that may only occur in opioid-hysteria-filled Ohio).

If oxycodone can help others who are left with only shitty alternatives like gabapentin, then I feel I need to help them if I can; at least share an alternative point of view. After taking oxycodone every day for five months last year, then never withdrawing, I was forced to reconsider and reject something I thought I knew for the previous 30 years or so. I think the key is to take very small doses, only when pain is unbearable.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Yesterday I didn't take any gabapentin until 28 hours after the previous dose. Even though the withdrawal I experienced leading up to last night's dose wasn't nearly as bad as just a week earlier, I realized it was still pretty bad; bad enough that I felt crappy all day, which made my normal 20 mg of oxycodone kind of useless, and I ended up having to take another 5 mg of oxycodone pretty late last night. So with an appointment pretty early today, I decided to take 100 mg of gabapentin right after I woke up, then again about 12 hours later. Even though I would like to take no more than one per day, I guess I will allow myself as many as two per day until hopefully I get into a pain management program.

Today I made a much shorter version of the long video (1:12); kind of as a preview for the long/intimidating video. If any of y'all would kindly take one minute and 12 seconds to watch the video and let me know if it makes any kind of impact, I'd really appreciate it. Because I know something big happened during the hour I filmed, but I don't know if anyone who is not me can see what I see.

Thanks.

 

[Diggy Smalls]

My sister gives me these from time to time and they help relax and ease some of my ankle and back pain. I think I'll be wary. The last time I used one it made me loopy...like high. Didn't like that. COULD have been from mixing with weed? I don't know.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I was thinking about this earlier today; don't think I've mentioned it previously. Long before I had any idea I could become physically dependent on gabapentin, it was already trying to kill me. It damn near succeeded.

Just as halftime of this year's Rose Bowl was ending, I went out to my garage to smoke half a cigarette. (I don't smoke when I have appropriate oxycodone dosage.) At this point I had been taking gabapentin for two or three weeks. While trying to return into the house from the garage, I somehow steered my chair off the side of the ramp (backwards). It was scary as hell, but thankfully I crawled away without a scratch. I'm fairly certain gabapentin caused this potentially deadly accident (by making me dizzy and stupid).

As a result, I asked someone to move my medical alert speaker/receiver to my bathroom, where I can hear it when I may be dying in the bathtub, then started wearing my medical alert necklace for the first time in at least a few months.

(I'm almost certain the following picture does not show the chair exactly where it fell, as I had to try to get it out of my way so I could crawl back into the house.)

A week or two later, to warm my ice cold bones, I took a very warm bath. I couldn't have known at the time, but I'm pretty sure this chill was caused by gabapentin withdrawal. In the bath I overheated big-time. Thankfully I had the medical alert necklace on, which allowed me to call for help. I think if I had not been able to do that, I probably would've drowned that day.

I had a similar incident in the bathtub maybe a couple weeks later. Then I had a slightly different kind of incident in the bathtub not long after that. Each of which I feel was most likely caused by gabapentin withdrawal (or gabapentin usage).

I don't want anyone to freak out about these incidents, because I am very weak regardless of whether I'm overheated. So this probably will not happen to you. But I think y'all should know about it. Especially because your doctors will never tell you anything about these or anyone else's horrible, potentially deadly experiences.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I just found out I have an appointment Friday at a pain clinic. Which I guess is based largely upon my EMG results from a couple days ago. Anyone have any good ideas that may help me piss clear Friday? I've only been using maybe 0.1 g per day lately; possibly less. Going to try to stay "clean" until then.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

When I wake up in the morning, it will be 72 hours since my last gabapentin dose. I don't want to speak too soon (again), but it seems like I'm done with this shit.

It feels like I'm still withdrawing a bit, but I really don't know anymore. For example, I've felt nagging nausea for a while (days). Also, in the video I just finished editing a few hours ago (below), which I filmed about 24 hours after my last dose, my leg shakes significantly an hour after having done what pretty much always puts an end to these kinds of shakes.

I love this video. I didn't feel great about it while filming or working on an uncut version (with sped up parts). But once I made this practical version (5:26), I felt like almost everything came together perfectly, with almost no effort. Especially because my documented results essentially mirror my documented hypothesis. I have the feeling this video may end up changing lives other than my own. I hope so.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Update: I still haven't taken any more gabapentin. I think it's been around 8 days now.

It feels like I may still experience some withdrawal and "side effects," but I can't say it's been too bad. I've noticed some of what feels like the same kind of itching I experienced when I went cold turkey for a day, as well as stomach pain/discomfort (both as recent as right now). Nowhere near as bad, though.

If @Snappo or anyone else ever chooses to get off gabapentin, I think it's safe to say go slow. And if you ever feel any kinds of unusual sensations, either while on gabapentin or while stepping down your dosage, it's probably safe to assume it's most likely caused by gabapentin in one way or another.

Patience probably helps immensely. Maybe don't rush or plan your step-down schedule. Take baby steps.

 

[Snappo]

Update: I still haven't taken any more gabapentin. I think it's been around 8 days now.

It feels like I may still experience some withdrawal and "side effects," but I can't say it's been too bad. I've noticed some of what feels like the same kind of itching I experienced when I went cold turkey for a day, as well as stomach pain/discomfort (both as recent as right now). Nowhere near as bad, though.

If @Snappo or anyone else ever chooses to get off gabapentin, I think it's safe to say go slow. And if you ever feel any kinds of unusual sensations, either while on gabapentin or while stepping down your dosage, it's probably safe to assume it's most likely caused by gabapentin in one way or another.

Patience probably helps immensely. Maybe don't rush or plan your step-down schedule. Take baby steps.

I quit it (600mg/day) cold turkey after a week. Gabapentin made me nuts... it did however curb somewhat my Burning Tongue Syndrome and 7 year insane back itch, but not completely.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I was already nuts, but it made me nuts, too.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I learned for sure last night that I'm still not off this shit. I was itching pretty bad all over the torso and scalp, so I decided to take a 100 mg pill. Itching went away. This was after not taking any gabapentin for at least 10 days.

I think something like this had been going on for a while but just became too present for me to ignore anymore yesterday. But I don't know. Fucking poison.

 

[Mirimi]

Hello there.
I was taking gabapentin for months - chronic pain sufferer for several years. I've been under tens of medications and never bothered to taper off, because I was young and not really giving a damn. One week-end I forgot to refill my gabapentin prescription as it didn't help my pain and I suffered from withdrawals - nothing compared to the hell you described, but shaking like a leaf, being too cold or too hot, etc. It's been years and I still remember the dread I felt.
Tapered it and was fine again, every body is different though. Good luck for your ordeal and I'm really sorry you had to go through this.

 

[Baron23]

I will NEVER take that shit. Dr's keep trying to throw it at me for peripheral neuropathic pain but I'm not taking it. I have a well informed by personal experience view of addictive substances and I just ain't going there again.

Cheers

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Since the pain clinic fucked me over (along with everyone else who could possibly fuck me over), I've been taking gabapentin again for a few weeks; about 1200 mg a day. If I was receiving oxycodone, more of this would happen:

I've resorted to spending my days holding up this sign beside that busy street you may have seen in one or two of my videos.

 

[mikek9]

You risk looking like an addict to be honest. Every post you talk about Oxycodone and the way you reference it is wth reverence. Now to a chronic pain patient who experiences the relief opiates can offer it will have you revere it. But you sadly can't show that to doctors as those are the signs they are trained to look for with medication seekers.

Walking around wth a homemade sign saying with opioids I can walk isn't going to help you look like anything other than a homeless addict. People will think you are a hillbilly heroin addict immediately. You mentioned something about being in opioid stricken Ohio which could account for the reluctance of doctors to prescribe them, but they are not doing their job as medical care practitioners if they are denying you an incredible pain medication.

It was a world famous physician, William Osler hailed opium as "God's own medicine" for the remarkable pain relief properties never before achieved. So yes, oxycodone can be a wonderful drug for those who need it, but you have to be careful as you don't want to appear as a seeker. I always have paranoia myself around it and I am legitimately prescribed it so I know the stigma and frustration that goes with it.

The sad thing though is another well known Canadian doctor which I can't recall right now said if you take the pain meds away from a cancer patient they are going to appear as medication seekers tomorrow. So take that stigma.

But the truth is, you appear you are seeking it, you will be denied even if you need it.

The trick? Coming from someone with significant complex chronic pain issues who went for years until properly treated. I am on OxyNeo (Oxycodone Controlled Release) for my pain management as well as medical cannabis and Percocet when the cannabis doesn't do it like for the movies and loud events like a car race. I take the OxyNeo twice a day and it lasts all day, it's the reformulated oxycontin. Usually just cannabis is enough for the breakthrough pain and my anxiety as well. Though I have the meds there if needed.

Basically, to get the proper pain relief you have to sort of play the game. Go to the doctor for pain, get told to take Tylenol and sent for imaging, then go to physio. That doesn't work? Try NSAIDS for some time? That doesn't work? They might refer you to a specialist that deals with pain in your area. You have to play ball I repeat.

****To those of you that say I'm not ever gonna try gabapentin consider this - they won't ever give you Oxycodone or any real pain relief if you don't try why they are most comfortable with first****

BTW, to the fear mongers. Gabapentin is not a monster drug that you all make it out to be. It makes most people really tried and unable to function at therapeutic doses of 900-1200mg/day. That is what it did for me. The doctor saw that, and said ok, next is narcotic meds. So you sometimes have to take one for the team and suck it up and try a med the doctor is comfy with, even if it's just for kicks. Also, the people above that are talking about severe withdrawals that only happens when you abruptly stop taking the medication. It is NOT as bad a heroin withdrawal. The worst psychotropic drug to come off of is an SNRI called Effexor and that is proven and accepted by professionals - this is exclusive of pain meds. You just have to taper off with a health professional and you can stop any medication. Even Oxycodone can be stopped after years if you want and taper correctly though this one isn't too fun because eventhough you taper it still causes some nasty side effects, especially gastrointestinally.

Oh before being given pain meds I also had 38 needles in my face (trigger point injections) 3 times, diagnostic nerve block injected into my jaw joint (that was fun, worst pain ever) and tried a two courses of NSAIDS which cause bleeding. Most of the doctors in the clinic still were hesitant and the residents were always telling you got the good stuff now just be careful lol. This was a hospital pain clinic in the UHN (University Health Network) in Toronto so it was far from a pill mill. It was a teaching clinic.

Oh I also had to first see an pathologist for my kind of pain before entering the clinic.

I went through everything.

Sorry, I also had surgery. However I was on the pain meds for a few years prior and the surgery was the clean up the bone and tissue and hopefully relieve some pain, but it only made it worse.

My next appointment after he surgery follow ups was to start me on long acting opioids for the rest of my life. They gave clear instructions and discharged me to my family doctor (was a pain clinic patient there for 4 years). Oh and I was also using medical cannabis the whole time I went to the pain clinic legally prescribed through my family doctor and they were fine giving me the pain meds with the cannabis. It's all about treating the patient and making them comfortable. I fee angry when people who need it are denied it.

BUT, maybe take the gabapentin for a month or two, it may be hell but then your doctor will see that and be willing to try alternatives.

As I said before, sometimes with doctors it's a game and you have to play it. They like oh to listen and follow their direction so do it and give it an honest shot. Then if it doesn't help go back.

Since the pain clinic fucked me over (along with everyone else who could possibly fuck me over), I've been taking gabapentin again for a few weeks; about 1200 mg a day. If I was receiving oxycodone, more of this would happen:

I've resorted to spending my days holding up this sign beside that busy street you may have seen in one or two of my videos.

 

[looney2nz]

what Mike said.

Here's my relevant and recent experience that kind of puts it in a nutshell and simultaneously scares the SHIT out of me

I've gone through the whole Pain Management Clinic - BigPharma guinea pig thing... NEVER EVER AGAIN.

Admittedly I think I've GOT to be a statistical outlier and their systems have no way to deal with them
As someone who used to design stuff for a living, that's just bad design, period.

The Pain Management group I paid out of pocket for (along with the prescriptions), and the doc is one of the best in so cal. After hitting me with every opiate (including fentanyl, although they never gave me dilaudid) as well as record levels of Neurontin (2400mg) at a time I could ill afford the (unknown to me at the time) cognitive impairment it causes, and various flavors of muscle relaxers, large doses of benzos, lyrica, effexor... twice I came close to having a seizure 'cause the doc and pharmacy had crossed wires and I ran out of meds and went cold turkey separately from lyrica AND xanax. I weaned off of the Neurontin pretty slowly as well. At one point I tried to ditch Lyrica, but my pain level was better with it and probably a year after weaning off of it I went back on it. Neurontin never gave me anything positive and it was positively detrimental to my bank account!

Recently to humor my oncologist ('cause I'm viewed as a 'non-compliant' patient by other doctors) I agreed to wean off of Effexor to try Cymbalta. Good lord... I took my sweet time weaning off of it, having had a nasty response weaning off of Paxil decades ago. Halfway through my pain level doubled... I persevered and weaned off of it, tried the Cymbalta for 3 days, that's all I could take, and started titrating my dose back up on Effexor. To no avail, what I didn't know was that my myeloma was progressing on a new route (hence the jump in pain)

It was the Pain Management Group that recommended my 1st Medical Cannabis doc (on the QT of course!), Dr. Denny (Lake Forest, CA., last I heard he was up around Sacramento now) was a cool guy, he read my records and just shook his head and said 'ok, you're opiate system is pretty weird, let's see how your cannabinoid system works', and he was prepared to prescribe me large amounts due to my resistance to other medications.

But I digress...

I recently experienced my first ambulance ride to the hospital, the long sit in an ER bed, being admitted at 4am and LOTS of repetitive questions that about drove me crazy.

Due to the myeloma, the bone around my hip is 'soft' and my hip dislocated (and popped right back in)... it was one of those 'cartoon stars' kind of things I screamed bloody murder and was trying to deep breathe while my friends peppered me with questions (are you ok? what happened? what can I do?).

In the ER and after being admitted, they had a parade of medical folks coming through and every ONE of them asked me 'what are you doing for pain management?' 'what is your pain level, would you like pain medication?'... I explained in detail to them that I was HIGHLY resistant to oral, transdermal and intramuscular Opiates, muscle relaxers, etc. and that I used a medical cannabis decoction of my own design that came from organic crops and was lab-tested. It wasn't until probably an hour or so before I was discharged (I normally save the decoction for trips out of the apt, it works very well for around 4 hours - it used to last almost 7, but my pain level is insane and it had worn off by this time) a nurse I'd seen before came in and saw me eating some chocolate and asked me what kind it was... so I showed her It's a 1-1 CBD-THC ratio dark chocolate that I use for emergency medication when I'm out of the apt. She broke into 'standard approved hospital procedure' mode and started telling me 'you can't do that in here', to which I replied 'I just ate the evidence and I'm headed home'.

I called the hospital in a few days and asked to speak to someone about their policies... this person who worked in 'patient advocacy' there proceeded to castigate me for self-medicating and the dangers of drug interactions, etc. I reminded him that I had not been given ANY medication while in their care, so there was no potential drug interaction (and I asked him if he understood the cytochrome P-450 mechanism!).
After some useless trips down logical blind alleys, he admitted he'd have to ask a number of people to find out exactly what the policy is and that he'd get back to me. No word back yet
He persisted for the longest time with the 'prescribed' and 'filled' model, until I reminded him that in legal states those things did not fit his model (at least in CA) and that there was a difference between a legal recommendation and a prescription. A hospital doctor cannot write a prescription for organic varietals and have the hospital pharmacy fill it. (the optimist in me wants to add 'not yet!')

Considering my diagnosis, I'm scared shitless that some idjit who doesn't see or understand that the new paradigm includes legal medical cannabis is going to decide that patients like me are excluded unless we toe their line Has anyone else experienced this in other legal states or other parts of CA?

 

[mikek9]

what Mike said.

Here's my relevant and recent experience that kind of puts it in a nutshell and simultaneously scares the SHIT out of me

I've gone through the whole Pain Management Clinic - BigPharma guinea pig thing... NEVER EVER AGAIN.

Admittedly I think I've GOT to be a statistical outlier and their systems have no way to deal with them
As someone who used to design stuff for a living, that's just bad design, period.

The Pain Management group I paid out of pocket for (along with the prescriptions), and the doc is one of the best in so cal. After hitting me with every opiate (including fentanyl, although they never gave me dilaudid) as well as record levels of Neurontin (2400mg) at a time I could ill afford the (unknown to me at the time) cognitive impairment it causes, and various flavors of muscle relaxers, large doses of benzos, lyrica, effexor... twice I came close to having a seizure 'cause the doc and pharmacy had crossed wires and I ran out of meds and went cold turkey separately from lyrica AND xanax. I weaned off of the Neurontin pretty slowly as well. At one point I tried to ditch Lyrica, but my pain level was better with it and probably a year after weaning off of it I went back on it. Neurontin never gave me anything positive and it was positively detrimental to my bank account!

Recently to humor my oncologist ('cause I'm viewed as a 'non-compliant' patient by other doctors) I agreed to wean off of Effexor to try Cymbalta. Good lord... I took my sweet time weaning off of it, having had a nasty response weaning off of Paxil decades ago. Halfway through my pain level doubled... I persevered and weaned off of it, tried the Cymbalta for 3 days, that's all I could take, and started titrating my dose back up on Effexor. To no avail, what I didn't know was that my myeloma was progressing on a new route (hence the jump in pain)

It was the Pain Management Group that recommended my 1st Medical Cannabis doc (on the QT of course!), Dr. Denny (Lake Forest, CA., last I heard he was up around Sacramento now) was a cool guy, he read my records and just shook his head and said 'ok, you're opiate system is pretty weird, let's see how your cannabinoid system works', and he was prepared to prescribe me large amounts due to my resistance to other medications.

But I digress...

I recently experienced my first ambulance ride to the hospital, the long sit in an ER bed, being admitted at 4am and LOTS of repetitive questions that about drove me crazy.

Due to the myeloma, the bone around my hip is 'soft' and my hip dislocated (and popped right back in)... it was one of those 'cartoon stars' kind of things I screamed bloody murder and was trying to deep breathe while my friends peppered me with questions (are you ok? what happened? what can I do?).

In the ER and after being admitted, they had a parade of medical folks coming through and every ONE of them asked me 'what are you doing for pain management?' 'what is your pain level, would you like pain medication?'... I explained in detail to them that I was HIGHLY resistant to oral, transdermal and intramuscular Opiates, muscle relaxers, etc. and that I used a medical cannabis decoction of my own design that came from organic crops and was lab-tested. It wasn't until probably an hour or so before I was discharged (I normally save the decoction for trips out of the apt, it works very well for around 4 hours - it used to last almost 7, but my pain level is insane and it had worn off by this time) a nurse I'd seen before came in and saw me eating some chocolate and asked me what kind it was... so I showed her It's a 1-1 CBD-THC ratio dark chocolate that I use for emergency medication when I'm out of the apt. She broke into 'standard approved hospital procedure' mode and started telling me 'you can't do that in here', to which I replied 'I just ate the evidence and I'm headed home'.

I called the hospital in a few days and asked to speak to someone about their policies... this person who worked in 'patient advocacy' there proceeded to castigate me for self-medicating and the dangers of drug interactions, etc. I reminded him that I had not been given ANY medication while in their care, so there was no potential drug interaction (and I asked him if he understood the cytochrome P-450 mechanism!).
After some useless trips down logical blind alleys, he admitted he'd have to ask a number of people to find out exactly what the policy is and that he'd get back to me. No word back yet
He persisted for the longest time with the 'prescribed' and 'filled' model, until I reminded him that in legal states those things did not fit his model (at least in CA) and that there was a difference between a legal recommendation and a prescription. A hospital doctor cannot write a prescription for organic varietals and have the hospital pharmacy fill it. (the optimist in me wants to add 'not yet!')

Considering my diagnosis, I'm scared shitless that some idjit who doesn't see or understand that the new paradigm includes legal medical cannabis is going to decide that patients like me are excluded unless we toe their line Has anyone else experienced this in other legal states or other parts of CA?

Yeah you guys still can face discrimination in your hospitals and clinics because of it still being considered illegal federally and having no medical benefit which means most of the current health care professionals are going to be trained and have the view that cannabis is not of medicine and only degenerates used it. Maybe in legal states they have made some progress.

In Canada 12+ years ago if you said you smoked cannabis the nurses and doctors looked at you as if you had just been sniffing cocaine off a strippers ass while twirling you gun. They would withhold medications they few might be abused because of your pot smoking label they assume you would shoot up heroin had the tools and substance been provided to you. Modern medicine teaches not to withhold meds for certain conditions even when someone can abuse it as we have a very controlled dispensing system-all pharmacies are linked and show when you last filled a opioid script and they will all refuse you until your refill date no matter where you go. So it is tightly controlled and hard to abuse since you only screw over yourself as you won't have enough for the month for your pain. But if you have a strong addiction history they may want to use methadone or something as it has analgesic properties. Most pharmacies are scared when I had to transfer to them and sometimes want to call my doctor and specialists to ensure they all know I take such a crazy combinations of controlled substance medications lol. In my defence I do have a lot of medical conditions that need to be managed and I don't experience any ill effects from my combinations of medications or my use of cannabis together for over 12+ years.

Things have got much better over the years as in the past 3-4 years or so in Canada when going to hospitals, specialists and other clinics and etc. It was more at the lowest level like emergency room doctors and social workers and etc that would be concerned sometimes but that's when you just educate them. There is nothing they can say too cause it's prescribed by my family doctor which is closest and most broad level of care you have and they manage most things like results from specialists and etc unless you are followed by them specifically. So if it have more doctors in your circle of care it is a good idea to ensure they are all on board with your use and don't see any conflicts. Then when that nurse or social workers or even doctor that says something snarky you can drop your knowledge of them and as I said, they can't say shit cause they aren't going to openly criticize another specialist with far more training and respect than they have or even just your family doctor who out of most doctors know you the most - with the one exception of psychiatrists and I guess also psychologists but they have no pharmacological experience so their opinions are only worth so much.


The great thing about the past few years is I go to a local hospital for an issue and they see I am using medical cannabis to help manage a few of my conditions going through the notes of a specialist at that hospital that follows me and sometimes comically ask me, this is the doctors, does it work? Same thing they have asked me before about my use of dextroamphetamine for my ADHD and wakefulness from all the shit I take just to manage.

Anyway, I hope soon more hospitals won't discriminate about your use of cannabis to treat your conditions. I think Canada might be the most progressive there because of the federally legal medical status for 15+ years if I'm correct.

 

[KidFated.]

Yeah you guys still can face discrimination in your hospitals and clinics because of it still being considered illegal federally and having no medical benefit

isn't it strange the DEA claims no medical benefit yet the US government holds a patent on cannabis for medical benefits?

 

[Mirimi]

It's "funny" how things change from country to country.
I'm in France, and in pain management clinics they will either :
- pump you with any drug they find, anti-epileptics, anti-depressants, opiates, whatever you ask. They just want you out of their way, and then your GP can prescribe that shit.
- refer you to a psychiatrist, because it must be all in your head - same logic.
- freak out when you mention cannabis - still illegal here, even for medical use.

I had a psychiatrist who refused to treat me while I was taking (microdoses of) cannabis, because it might "change my brain chemistry". Never mind that I have been under a high dose of tricyclic for years. When I mentioned that I could maybe deal with the pain but not with the insomnia, he prescribed me an antipsychotic. For sleep. When I have no psychiatric symptoms apart from mild depression caused by living with pain for years. The worse thing? I tried that shit. Slept like a baby, but the dreams were so vivid it scared me. I'm plagued with nightmares, so I didn't want to risk it... Then he tried some other anti epileptic, which fucked me hard and prevented me from working because of the fatigue... and that's when I finally stopped seeing him.

My pain doctor wants me to stop taking cannabis because of the risks. I know there are some mild risks, did my research - I know some people freak out when you mention it, but cannabis is a drug, so obviously it has side effects and some people won't do good with it. However she has no problem with me taking a drug that makes me tachycardic everyday and everynight, and will probably kill me by messing with both my liver and heart. Whatever.

However, I also want to chime in on drugs like like anti epileptics or antidepressants. I have terrible experiences with most of them (cymbalta ugh), but when I found one that works (clomipramine in my case) they work better for my pain than opiates. Side effects suck, but pain sucks more. I'm dependent on it because well i've been taking it for 6 years. But coming back to a life stuck in bed by severe pain is worse than dependence. Would you berate a diabetic for needing insuline? Addiction is better than suicide or no life.

 

[TeeJay1952]

I have a daughter and granddaughter who are Bipolar. When they change Doctors you get a new cook who wants to try a different recipe. There is a huge difference as each Doctor seeks an optimal level.
GD lives in group home and stops over with D. She can be a inert butterball, a raging lunatic, a drooling fool (I cannot believe the volume, almost seems impossible without a hose connection someplace) and a rather pleasant Millennial. She has an a problem with raising her shoulder like there is an invisible parrot on it. Yesterday (after a med switch) she had it raised like she wanted to be called on. There is no doubt in my mind that the Doctors are "practicing" rather than "performing".
You or your people are the deciders of what is working and what is not. A Doctor who prevents full blown psychosis accepts side effects that we may not.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Most of the people who see me with that sign have also seen me walk. They also see that I live in a chair.

They don't see me walk anymore.

Also, watch my videos. I don't care what people think anymore. If people thought, I wouldn't need to go out there with that sign all day every day, because people would already know what I learned by taking opioids. But unfortunately, people don't think. Instead, they believe what they hear on the news. Which has nothing to do with news. I'm not a junkie, and that sign does nothing to suggest otherwise; except to people who don't know shit about shit. That sign is about education. It's not about getting me drugs, and it has not gotten me any drugs.

Watch the videos. The videos don't lie, and they also don't show a lot of the benefit I get from oxycodone. Still, they do show something no doctor has ever been able to show anyone. That's why they're important.

People with progressive MS don't get any better; they only get worse. In the video below, this person with progressive MS got visibly better in 45 minutes. I also got better long-term, as shown in the video above. Then the oxycodone was gone. You won't see me walking now. Or standing. Because I can't.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

Since I've had no luck receiving appropriate pain treatment, I've been taking gabapentin again for about a month now; as little of it as possible. I desperately hoped I'd be able to stop taking this poison within a few weeks of resuming it, but that would've required opioid treatment that never came (even though I was told by my doctor I had been accepted at the pain clinic). However, I do currently have a small quantity of oxycodone.

Here's why.

Two nights ago I managed to run over my lower right leg with my very-heavy power chair, after falling forward off the chair with my shirt catching the chair's control joystick as I lost my balance. I ended up breaking my right big toe, and I'd say I'm very lucky I didn't destroy my lower leg/foot.

Since I now have a small quantity of oxycodone (for the broken toe), I took no gabapentin yesterday. Taking no gabapentin didn't cause me any trouble yesterday, but it is now. I'm definitely withdrawing; my torso and arms recently began the familiar itch of gabapentin withdrawal. Consequently, I just took 400 mg of gabapentin.

If I had taken any oxycodone two days ago, I wouldn't have fallen off my chair or broken my toe, because I would've been sharper and stronger. Or, if I had not been forced to resume taking gabapentin, this would not have happened. This happened first of all because gabapentin made me too stupid to turn off my chair before bending down to pick up something at my feet. This happened second of all because gabapentin makes me too weak to be able to safely reach down in front of my chair without turning it off.

Oxycodone makes me stronger and sharper, while gabapentin makes me weak and stupid.

Every injury I suffer infinitely increases the likelihood that I may get seriously injured again; if not killed. I am very injury prone, as proven by the stunt I accomplished two nights ago. If I can accomplish that kind of injury without already being injured, just imagine what I can do to myself when I am injured.

 

[mikek9]

Since I've had no luck receiving appropriate pain treatment, I've been taking gabapentin again for about a month now; as little of it as possible. I desperately hoped I'd be able to stop taking this poison within a few weeks of resuming it, but that would've required opioid treatment that never came (even though I was told by my doctor I had been accepted at the pain clinic). However, I do currently have a small quantity of oxycodone.

Here's why.

Two nights ago I managed to run over my lower right leg with my very-heavy power chair, after falling forward off the chair with my shirt catching the chair's control joystick as I lost my balance. I ended up breaking my right big toe, and I'd say I'm very lucky I didn't destroy my lower leg/foot.

Since I now have a small quantity of oxycodone (for the broken toe), I took no gabapentin yesterday. Taking no gabapentin didn't cause me any trouble yesterday, but it is now. I'm definitely withdrawing; my torso and arms recently began the familiar itch of gabapentin withdrawal. Consequently, I just took 400 mg of gabapentin.

If I had taken any oxycodone two days ago, I wouldn't have fallen off my chair or broken my toe, because I would've been sharper and stronger. Or, if I had not been forced to resume taking gabapentin, this would not have happened. This happened first of all because gabapentin made me too stupid to turn off my chair before bending down to pick up something at my feet. This happened second of all because gabapentin makes me too weak to be able to safely reach down in front of my chair without turning it off.

Oxycodone makes me stronger and sharper, while gabapentin makes me weak and stupid.

Every injury I suffer infinitely increases the likelihood that I may get seriously injured again; if not killed. I am very injury prone, as proven by the stunt I accomplished two nights ago. If I can accomplish that kind of injury without already being injured, just imagine what I can do to myself when I am injured.

I honestly don't want to watch the videos because I don't believe in self pity being helpful to anyone. For a while it's ok, after a breakup, after a divorce and it can last years, but at some point it has to end. Making more and more videos is only further solidifying your fate as a patient without hope and nothing will ever change. It will be impossible to change when you don't believe in the possibility of it.

I will however accept that if you are living life in a chair that certainly adds an enormous amount of difficulty to one's life. Have you considered an assistant dog? You can train them yourself and they can be an excellent extension to someone immobilized in any way or part. As well, living with chronic pain is also one of the most challenging things I have had to manage in my lifetime and I have "seen some shit and been through some very extensive other shit", uphill both ways kinda deal to give you an idea of my experience- some call this having some serious legs. I have been there done that and I'm as proper looking and friendly as Tim Allen and I have generally excellent social aptitude except in certain situations that trigger anxiety.

Anyway, my point being is I look as proper and accomplished as the next guy on good days and have still been treated suspiciously by doctors I didn't know at various stages and even from a Doctor that was actually part of the Hospital's Pain and Research Clinic. In the beginning I would be going here ever 2-3 weeks as we tried various procedures and did exams of all my nerves, muscles and then. They already had radiography that brought me there showing severe osteoarthritis and a deteriorated TMJ disc on one side, but they were all so astounded that I was my age and had deteriorated patients that life to 90+ don't ever develop. So they sending imaging to the university for review and it comes back with an even worse analysis by a special radiologist who has specific experience in MRIs done of the TMJ.

Long story short they sent me to the surgeon and the first day I saw him he stuck a needle, well 3 actually, to do a nerve block on the side of my face - OMG did that hurt like you can't imagine, but felt amazing after it was all knocked out, but unfortunately there isn't a long term solution like this as there are no 6 month nerve blocks like there are in trigger points, but that's into muscle which is different from a nerve block. We also did try trigger points (38 needles deep into my facial and neck muscles) - YES than god I was under general that would literally be torture.

Also the surgeon started with Percocets and after he figure out how much I needed a day to managed the pain her switched it to Oxycodone immediate release and figured out how many I needed a day with a max 4 hour dose of 20mg recommended. Then after a few months they switched me to OxyNeo which is the long acting and that helps manage my pain. The pain meds were hopefully not going to be always needed as the last resort option was surgery for my issue and I was waiting for that. But with the deterioration there they didn't think it would ever take away all the pain, just some of it. They cleaned up the bone and tissue and removed any nasty stuff and flushed the joint and at the end of it off it did nothing for pain, but it did significantly improve he mechanical function of the joint. And it actually exacerbated the oubfor months after as did each and every procedure I had which is a sign to just leave it as found in medical journals about my issue which I have read as I try to understand it. I was told the reason is because my pain is 50/50 from nerve pain due to damage and etc and from the joint degeneration itself. I have also had arthroscopic surgery too on top of all the nerve blocks, trigger point injections and before the heavy pain meds I had I work up and play guinea pig and let them try stuff as I said in my other dose.

We did all the NSAIDS, SNRIs, Neurontin(Gabapentin), Lyrica(pregabalin), physiotherapy, ultrasound therapy, mindfulness training pain, CBT training for pain, oh my goodness I could go on.

When that didn't work they just tossed the drugs and made sure my access was easy when I was eventually discharged from the clinic with many clear reports about the clear benefits to the patient that no doctor could refuse it in my lifetime.


Onto the discrimination in the clinic. I used to go monthly and it was also a teaching hospital so I often saw residents before the doctor quickly who when they saw the reports and read he MRI analysis they would be like are you sure you don't need hydrocodone and I was always like no, in ok, as I was completely fine and I'm also not someone who would abuse it and who would of jumped at that opportunity. Anyway, one day I saw some senior doctor from a different non pain clinic who did the exam and all that after a resident saw me and he seemed annoyed he had to read all my files and then out of nowhere he said I can't give you any narcotics. I was like WTF? I looked confused and he said he can't refill my prescriptions because this is the first time he met me and blah blah blah. I laughed and said I didn't even ask or come for a refill, I came for the MRI results and when I need a refill I just call my doctors secretary and she gets it taken care of for me. And doctor is head of the dept so be looked stupid and literally just walked out. I said to the secretary to never book me with that joke of a doctor again.

Also in the ER once after a car accident I told them all the meds I was on and the doctor started asking me why I'm taking OXYs and every time I tried to answer he would say, "sorry, that isn't right, that would never happen, I'm not convinced" then promptly checking wrists which were inflamed as they are sometimes and he tries to write me a script for an NSAID which has a life threatening contraindication which one med I take and he also refuses to believe it cause he was obviously dense. Then I told him he was rude and he called security. Who I promptly showed explained the situation and then pulled a bag with all my meds including the narcotics filled to brim since I had just picked them up and flaunted them in the doctors face who then looked incredulous at everything that had transpired. Security left he stood there looking stupid. I ask the ethics department and submit a complaint and the result was he doctor for in shit and had to take a sensitivity course for patients with multiple and complex illness.

Oh and to learn not everyone is an addict.