[dlkk]

Hello. I am worried about my mom who is 73 and on three different pain medications:
Darvon 65mg 6x's day
Dilaudid 4 mg 6x's day
Oxycontin 20mg 4x's a day & 40mg 2x's a day

She insists that she needs all of these to control her pain. I told her she was nuts to be on all of these. Besides the above she is also on Protonix, Ativan, Lyrica, Glipizide & Synthroid. Would she need professional intervention to get off these drugs? She is sick all the time and has been in and out of the hospital. None of her doctors seem to worry about what she is on or they don't even know what she is taking (she doesn't even know).

[mpvt]

I agree the oxycontin should be enough.I can see using the dilaudid once in a while for break thru pain but the darvon is useless ****.Is she getting these pills all from the same doctor,I doubt it and if I were you I would look into it.She could be headed for trouble.Oxycontin and dilaudid are pretty strong opiates and she can accidentley overdose.Try and go with her to the doctor....Dave

[Miles]

dlkk:

What are the sources of your mother's pain? You state that she is "sick all the time." Is that because of her pain, or is she reacting to the meds? You didn't mention any "bizarre" behavior that she manifests as a result of her drug intake - is she handling the meds okay?

Some folks, even the aged, can handle polysubstances, although as Dave said, she is on some rather powerful combinations. You might consider talking to her PCP and/or pharmacist to get direction.

Good luck!

Miles

[dlkk]

Miles and mpvt thank you for responding.

My mom is a physical mess. She has had many surgeries and just recently had back surgery. She has never done any rehab and is over weight (200lbs on a 5 ft frame). The doctors have given her the pain medication because of her pain in her spine and legs. She has diabetes (type 2) and the pain in her legs is from her neuropathy. She is taking the Lyrica for that.

I believe she is sick all the time because she is on so many different medications, but it is hard to tell because she has never been off any of those drugs for a long time.

She is seeing several doctors and for some reason they all do not know what she is taking. She doesn't even know what she is taking, so how can she even tell them. Her husband is the one that told me of all her medications that she is on because he was worried about her.

Would it be best to get off all of them, and then start with just one? I think she has built a resistence to all of them and seems to need more.

[Miles]

dlkk:

To ease the spinal discomfort, your mother needs to lose weight. Sounds like her docs are all too willing to treat the symptoms (pain) and not the cause (excessive weight, and perhaps some spondylosis). Not knowing the specific back procedure she had performed, she may be a candidate for water therapy (water aerobics in a heated pool) for her spine. Spinal problems are most painful and the pain is with the patient 24/7.

There is nothing inherently wrong with pain meds. One can choose to manage them or one can choose not to. I would not recommend that she cease and desist all meds at once. Again, her pharmacist should be able to work with her to manage usage. Insist that she see a Pain Management physician as well.

Good luck!

Miles

[dlkk]

Miles-
You are so right about my mom needing to lose weight. I have been at her for years (since I was a teenager) to get into shape and not be over weight. She takes it as a criticism and complains that she can't do anything becasue she is hurting, sick, tired, etc, etc. The damage is already done to her body, but I know if she starts moving and exercising and losing some weight she would be better off. When she came out of the last surgery I ask when she was going to start physical therapy and she said "what do I need that for?!", so you see what I am trying to work with.

I agree that she should not stop taking her meds. I did suggest to take it one med at a time and very slowly.

I just want to help and am trying to gather all the info I can to help her.
Thanks.

[zippysgoddess]

I suffer from chronic pain because of a chronic, acute, degenerative spinal condition. So I have some experience with this, she should really only have 1 long acting med to use, such as the Oxycontin, and a short acting for breakthrough pain, like Dave said.

I guarantee that if she is using Dilaudid and Oxycontin, then the Darvon is not doing anything for her. She could stop taking it and never even notice, is the weakest narcotic pain killer on the market, and only effective for people who have never used other narcotics, and even then, it only helps them for a very short period of time.

As her body builds up a tolerance to the other meds, Oxy and Dil, she will gradually need stronger doses, so right now, the Darvon might not be causing much of a problem, but later it could really be harmful to take it with higher doses or other narcotics.

verwon@gmail.com

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[zippysgoddess]

Sorry, just wanted to add a comment on the irony I find here, her doctors have her taking, literally, the mildest (Darvon)and the strongest (Oxycontin) narcotic pain killers on the market at the same time!

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[dlkk]

zippysgoddess-

my mom's spinal problems are degenerative. She has had 2 or 3 surgeries and the last one they put a metal rod in her back. Her problem is that she has different doctors giving her different drugs. I'm not sure which one she has been on the longest. It is ironic that she is on the mildest and the strongest ones. I think the docs are tired of her complaining and just give her the medicine without checking on what she is already taking.

Why would she be on two doses of Oxycontin? Would it be best for her to just be on one and then maybe adjust up? What happens when the highest dose doesn't work for you? I really would like her to get off the Oxy, it seems so bad for you.

Thanks for your input.

[mpvt]

Most chronic pain patients take a sustained release opiate like oxycontin.Some even take a quick acting with the sustained release but most pain doctors are moving away from this and just upping the sustained release dose.Also your mom could get into alot of trouble by double doctoring.You are going to have to phone these doctor's and let them know what's going on as their liciences can be suspended for giving narcotics to a patient that's getting them from another doctor.You need to put a stop to this before someone either gets charged or worse overdoses and then watch the police tea your lives apart,not worth it..Good luck and act quickly....Dave

[EasyMeds]

Keep in mind your mother's age. If you believe that she should be off the medications then take her to a pain specialist, let them know what all she is on, and then work out a way to SAFELY get her off of them if they are not needed.

At her age and with all of her ailments it would be very risky to try and take/get her off of the meds without professional help and monitoring.

[zippysgoddess]

Another reason for the two different doses of Oxycontin is that the doc(s) might intend for her to take the higher dose as her regular pain med, then add the other on days when he pain is very bad, or she has severe breakthrough pain.

My doc did this recently with my MS Contin, I have a 60mg that I am supposed to take regularly, then a 15mg that I can add if my pain is severe that day, or if my breakthrough pain is getting really bad and the 60mg wearing off to fast. I can space them out and adjust how I take them as necessary.

I also have an instant release Oxy to help with breakthrough pain, or to take in the interim of taking my morphine as it takes longer to kick in.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~