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  • #16
    Quoth Golden Phoenix View Post
    Mr Phoenix has EDS and is in chronic pain from his joints, they keep insisting on trying to give him codeine and he keeps asking for prescription strength ibuprofen.

    Last time I had a cough they tried to give me a codeine based cough syrup but we can't even have it in the house, I got a lecture about how it is really the best thing for my cough.
    I had someone try to give me naprosyn [which is effective as blue M&Ms] when scrip strength ibu was working.

    I gave it up - just go to the warehouse store and buy the 500 count 200 mg ibu and take multiples. Only difference is the scrip strength lets you take 1 large pill instead of 4 small caplets. <shrug> I would be good with injectables - I shoot up 3 different things a day [insulin twice, victoza once] so another needle is no big deal.

    Now what scared me was Dad's fentanyl patch. You can seriously overdose with one of those if you are not titered in properly and have never used one previously. Towards the end he was on a pretty hefty dose.
    EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

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    • #17
      Quoth paxillated View Post
      Last month the stinkers made Tramadol, the only non-controlled drug that has any effect on my fibro, a controlled drug.
      Have you tried Lyrica? I call that my miracle pill, as it takes care of the vast majority of the pain. I also take Savella, which helps the symptoms. Though, for the rest of the pain that breaks thru, I'm on Percocet
      "People can be relied upon to assert, with vigor, their god-given right to be stupid." from Seize the Night by Dean Koontz

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      • #18
        I should point out here that benzonatate (Tessalon) is not, strictly speaking, a cough suppressant, insofar as it doesn't actually interfere with the cough reflex like the opiates (codeine, morphine) or opioids (dextromethorphan, heroin) do.

        What it is, in fact, is a highly-volatile local anaesthetic. You swallow it, it gets absorbed into the bloodstream and floats along until it encounters air, whereupon it evaporates and leaves the bloodstream. First place it's going to see air is inside the lungs, so that's where it evaporates, and it numbs the inside of the lung, thereby relieving the tickling sensation that is (possibly) causing the cough.

        Of course if the cough isn't caused by that tickle. it might not work as well.

        (The 100mg capsules are a royal pain to count, by the way. They're transparent, so the automatic tablet counter won't see them, and they're completely round like little BB's, so when you try to count them by hand they roll all over the tray, over the end of it and right down your countertop to disappear under your terminal or wherever, rather than staying put like most tablet would. The 200mg ones are oval, so they don't roll as much.)

        Just incidentally, heroin was initially marketed as a cough suppressant. It happens to be a very good cough suppressant. Of course the addiction liability caused it to be pulled from the (legitimate) market in 1927.
        Last edited by Shalom; 09-14-2014, 01:37 AM.

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        • #19
          Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
          I was on morphine when I broke my back 30+ years ago. I know exactly *why* people get addicted to it. There is absolutely NOTHING like the feeling of being snuggled in a giant fluffy kitten pile and absolutely everything that hurt is far far far away.
          I hate this feeling, actually. I don't like not feeling in control. I'll take opiates for severe pain when I need to, but I am always so glad when the pain goes away and I no longer need it.

          Quoth Golden Phoenix View Post
          But the number of doctors who don't want to believe he's allergic to Codeine is mind boggling.
          That is mind boggling considering that Vicodin (hydrocodone) was developed to be an alternative for people who were allergic to codeine. Unfortunately it turned out to be so much more addictive and powerful than codeine ever was.

          I have the opposite problem. I have trouble getting doctors to prescribe Tylenol #3 (with codeine) for pain because so many doctors think (incorrectly) that it is useless. For me it is very useful; it's enough to deal with my pain, not so much that it knocks me into next week. And I'm allergic to both Vicodin and Percocet (throat swells, rash), and have sensitivity to morphine (severe anxiety; I start to think I will stop breathing). Last time I took Dilaudid, I started to itch. No rash and no swelling, but I'm going to have to be careful taking it in the future. I'm allergic to Demerol, as well. My options for opiate pain relief are shrinking

          Quoth mathnerd View Post
          I think it's more that the moment you say that you're allergic to codeine, doctors immediately think you're drug-seeking for the more potent stuff. I can't take actual codeine, but I can take the synthetic versions, which does sometimes happen. I always get a funny look every time I list codeine as an allergy, and I'm pretty sure it's because doctors are so used to seekers telling them that they're allergic to everything under the sun except morphine.
          Granted, when someone tells me they're allergic to so many things BUT a specific drug, I tend to be skeptical as well. But for me the red flags are only raised when the non-narcotics are "allergies" and the opiates are "ok."

          Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
          I had someone try to give me naprosyn [which is effective as blue M&Ms] when scrip strength ibu was working.
          That's interesting since naproxen (Naprosyn) is a stronger NSAID and chemically similar to ibuprofen. Well, everyone's body is different. If ibuprofen works for you, take that.


          Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
          I gave it up - just go to the warehouse store and buy the 500 count 200 mg ibu and take multiples. Only difference is the scrip strength lets you take 1 large pill instead of 4 small caplets.
          I wasn't going to say this; don't want to give medical advice


          Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
          Now what scared me was Dad's fentanyl patch. You can seriously overdose with one of those if you are not titered in properly and have never used one previously. Towards the end he was on a pretty hefty dose.
          It should scare you. Fentanyl is a dangerous drug. But it is also highly effective for some kinds of pain, especially neuro pain. The problem with the patches is people don't get relief as fast as they think they should so they put on additional patches and overdose themselves. It takes about six hours before you start to feel it. You also have to remember to remove the old patch and rotate the site every 3 days when you change patches.

          Quoth kmariem View Post
          Have you tried Lyrica? I call that my miracle pill, as it takes care of the vast majority of the pain. I also take Savella, which helps the symptoms. Though, for the rest of the pain that breaks thru, I'm on Percocet
          Lyrica isn't for everyone. Some people have bad, bad reactions to it. If your skin turns red, stop taking it and call your doctor at once! You are at risk for Stephen Johnson Syndrome, which the skin literally peels off of you like a sunburn. This happened to me when my doc put me on it (I recognized the side effect and stopped after one dose, thank god).

          Don't know much about Savella. But a good friend of mine has tardive dyskinesia from Abilify. It's always a crap shoot with these drugs. They work great for some people. Not so great for others.
          They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

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          • #20
            I tell people that I am allergic to codeine as it's easier than explaining that after one tablet I will start going through withdrawal symptoms. If I have to explain that then I get the question am I a former addict and they rarely believe my answer of no. The longest I have ever had codeine for was 10 days for a lung infection, followed by 4 days of mind numbing migraines. The next time was a single dose suggested by my GP following a 3 day migraine, which did clear the migraine, but then the withdrawal migraine started about 3 hours later. That lasted another 4 days. My GP then advised me to tell people that I was allergic to codeine.

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            • #21
              Unfortunately, in Britain, Ibuprofen is controlled in the same way as Paracetamol and Aspirin, you can only buy two boxes at once, so we can't get the 500 count boxes, wish we could, it'd be a darn sight easier. Silly in a way the LD50 of Ibuprofen is very high. (Although it has some nasty gastric effects)

              I was on 800mg tablets for a while for TMJ dysfunction but that prescription ended a long time ago, at that dose you'll get through two packs of 200mg's in no time.

              Incidentally, both paracetamol and Aspirin do nothing for me, same with Morphine, but ibuprofen works on most things like a charm.

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              • #22
                Quoth Sapphire Silk View Post
                That's interesting since naproxen (Naprosyn) is a stronger NSAID and chemically similar to ibuprofen. Well, everyone's body is different. If ibuprofen works for you, take that.
                I'm the same way with ibuprofen vs. naproxen. Ibuprofen works fantastically for me, but naproxen is no more effective than a bag of sugar. Like you said before, everybody's different. I'm really glad there are so many options.
                At the conclusion of an Irish wedding, the priest said "Everybody please hug the person who has made your life worth living. The bartender was nearly crushed to death.

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                • #23
                  For me, naproxen and ibuprofen work well for different kinds of pain. Naproxen is good on joints and some types of headaches. Ibuprofen works great for muscular pain. So, with a migraine, I take a sumatripan and then chase it with one naproxen and one ibuprofen. Usually has me feeling much better in half an hour.

                  Morphine IV leaves me itching like fire, but no rash and no hives. I don't think I tried the pills, so no idea if they do the same thing. Both leave my dad itching.
                  If I make no sense, I apologize. I'm constantly interrupted by an actual toddler.

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                  • #24
                    The only thing naproxen ever did for me was make me ill, without ever touching the pain. I got prescribed 800mg ibuprofen A LOT while in the military (jokingly referred to as Vitamin M). Since the fibromyalgia diagnosis almost 11 years ago, I've been on 3.5 rounds of pain meds. I say half because my Percocet pill dosage was recently increased. Hell, it was doubled. Some days, I wonder where the pills stop and I start. Yet I know that, without them, I'd be MUCH worse off, unable to sleep, barely able to crawl out of bed due to the pain. So, unfortunately, it's a situation that I have to accept. Atleast for now.

                    Oh and codeine? Something I'll never be on. Uncertain if I am actually allergic, but since my father is deathly allergic, every single doctor I've ever made aware of the potential allergy has said it's something they aren't willing to try out on me.
                    Last edited by kmariem; 09-15-2014, 01:16 PM.
                    "People can be relied upon to assert, with vigor, their god-given right to be stupid." from Seize the Night by Dean Koontz

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                    • #25
                      My daughter has been battling a wicked case of bronchitis. She went to the dr's a week ago when it first started (she has asthma and a cold always turns into bronchitis). The dr wasn't in (great guy) but his PA saw her. She prescribed her a zpack which my daughter said won't work by itself, she needed a steroid too. PA said "no, I will give you cough syrup with codeine". Daughter says "No, I have issues with it (messes with her bi polar disorder), the steroid will help me" Nope, so 4 days later, when she was coughing so hard on a bus home from work that she passed out, she called dr's, he immediately apologized and gave her the steroid. Within 2 days she was no longer living on an inhaler/nebulizer/steamed showers. I know my daughter's chart is huge and may be a lot to read, but I also know, in the 19 years the dr has been seeing her, he keeps notes on the first page regarding her medical conditions for a quick over view, but his PA just wanted to treat her generically instead of as an individual.

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                      • #26
                        I've been on both types of Ambien (10mg and 12.5mg), two of each, every night for over 12 years now. I have to see one specific dr to get scripts every 5 weeks (1 with 5 reps), and when I get the script, I have 5 minutes to walk the 50 metres up the road to the chemist, where it's held. I have a backup dr at the clinic I go to, but it is all but impossible to get a dr to prescribe Ambien now.

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                        • #27
                          I've never had issues with painkillers but its become phenomenally difficult to easily get the Adderall I use cor my ADD.
                          "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

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                          • #28
                            Raudf, be careful about taking too many Benadryl at night...2 nights ago, I had run out of my pain meds & couldn't get an appointment to get a new 'script 'till today, anyhow, I had taken 1 Xanex & 2 Benadryl about an hour before I was gonna hit the sack, well, I was still not sleepy enough, it was like 1 am & so stupid me, I took a 3rd benadryl tablet.

                            At about 5 am that morning, I woke up & had to go to the bathroom & I very nearly passed out sitting on the toilet. I felt like I had been put under general anesthesia & the GA hadn't wore off yet or something, scared the shit out of me, so yeah
                            "Much butthurt I sense in you, cry like a bitch you should"

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                            • #29
                              Yeah.. I know. I asked the Nurse practitioner about it when she refused the Ambien. She said three was fine.. but I don't like taking Bendaryl for sleep because it makes me very hard to wake up, and I'm groggy for hours. Ambien doesn't. I can snap to with ease on that stuff and then fall back to sleep during the night.

                              She was worried about it's addictiveness... like Benadryl isn't? I know, the ads say non-habit forming, but if you can build up a tolerance for it, that should be a sign...
                              If I make no sense, I apologize. I'm constantly interrupted by an actual toddler.

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