does anyone here take these medications for pain and not for pleasure?!

[prettypain]

I got the wrong idea about this site. Its good for those who have opiate issues but what about those who have such severe pain that the "highs " aren't even present and they just have questions about medications and effects? I guess that s what a good physician is for...

[melinda7.5]

Hi prettypain
LOL,I started out taking pain meds for pain, But it took hold of me and took me down 3 years of misery of being addicted to them, It took every bit of life I had in me to stop them...
There are allot of us here that started out taking them for pain...

Have a great day...
Melinda

[Robert_325]

I got the wrong idea about this site. Its good for those who have opiate issues but what about those who have such severe pain that the "highs " aren't even present and they just have questions about medications and effects? I guess that s what a good physician is for...

What are your questions and about which drugs? Try us. God bless.

[prettypain]

Dude, I know you are trying to be helpful and "give advice" about various medical conditions, medications, etc. But it seems to me you spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME on this site. Period. There is lots of really great, interesting stuff on the www.
If you like drugs and trying to diagnose, maybe you should go back to school and get your MD license.
Sorry if this sounds harsh, not meant to be, just an opinion.

[Robert_325]

Wow! Thanks. I never thought of that. Now I can sleep tonight.

You don't have to worry about what I do. I'm not asking any questions you are.

[Lost83]

Oh man, I'm gonna butt in here, listen pretty pain, you've obviously been lurking since you see all the advice Robert gives. You posted 2 threads in one day and pass judgment on that man, I strongly consider you take a long look in the mirror and answer this, how many people have you helped today?

If you aren't willing to take advice why ask? Go talk to your doctor since you know he has the credentials to give you the best possible advice. Good luck.

[money_chick]

Trolls live under bridges so they're easy to ignore.

And thats what this is.. a troll. Probably one we already know. ignore...

[kimchicheese]

ill give you some good advice...A good doctor will tell you that pain is real and go excercise. You have no idea what wonders it does. Pain pills will help....ohhhh willll they help....for a while.....then they won't....THEY WONT. And you know what then? You will be on this forum asking for advice like the lot of us on WHAT IN THE WORLD you got yourself into...I have kidney stones and sometimes they hurt so bad I wanna die...I'd rather go through kidney stones than opiate withdrawal PERIOD. If your in pain for whatever reasons seek alternate methods...goto a spa...get a message. If you have terminal cancer then I would only recommend to then take pain pills since you are going to die and won't have to go through w/d...I know that sounds like nasty advice but opiates are SO SO SO SO SO SO SO bad...We aren't telling you this because we judge you but we sincerely have NO idea why ANYBODY would want to do this to your body. Let me give you a little lesson which i'm not sure you know of or not. But the only reason you function AT ALL is BECAUSE of your endorphiins in your brain. They give you the urge to even get on the computer and ask about medicine. Opiates will empty your natural endorphins. You will be crawling to your mail box to get mail. And that will be the most god aweful experience you will experience. And you know what? It lasts for weeks....And if you are in withdrawal seconds are hours, minutes are days, hours are weeks...This is NOT an exaggeration...So my advice to you for your pain is go excercise...do yoga...It will help..I have sciatica and SUCKED...After starting up capoeira the pain is completely gone...this is ofcourse BEFORE I MYSELF got addicted...to methadone. So don't think we are being mean...we just want to knock some sense into you. We are HELPING YOU. People here that seem like addicts are because they were in the situation you were (not all). They started pain killers JUST for pain but trust me, I don't care who you are YOU WILL LIKE THEM TOO MUCH. And then your entire soul gets sucked. Go watch requiem for a dream, or Trainspotting...Even though these movies are about addicts who abuse for pleasure, the pain you see them go through is VERY VERY real.

[learning_to_be_free]

basketball diaries is a great movie....good motivator to STAY AWAY from opiates

[musicman48]

I got the wrong idea about this site. Its good for those who have opiate issues but what about those who have such severe pain that the "highs " aren't even present and they just have questions about medications and effects? I guess that s what a good physician is for...

Wow ,you are familiar with the lives Robert is changing and his posts but you got the wrong idea about this site.LOL..which part confused you ? .this site recomends different types of pain meds all the time for short term use.Its strange that you got the wrong idea about this site....but you joined anway.We help good, decent people and we help ????holes too.I also bet that you find the time to read all of these responses.I hope you find some positive energy with these other websites you visit.You could use some. I certainly hope you get through this ok.You sound like you have better things to do than visit this worthless site.I bet you will be back for more though.lol....waiting for your best comeback.....so far I am not impressed.We have had great bashers on this site.Your bashing leaves a little to be desired.Maybe you will get lucky and some of the more talented bashers will jump in and help you out.

[Psyched]

Pretty,
Maybe you should read Robert's disclaimer before you try and berate him. I do A LOT of lurker here and offer what I can, but for you to pass judgement on Robert and all he has done is just wrong. Wait until those he has helped with his advice and wisdom get a hold of this post. He claims not to be a doctor, but I'd dare say he could probably come close...I like to think of him as the "Drug Guru" myself. Maybe after you've talked a few people back off of that ledge that drops into the pit of addiction, you can START to be critical, but I son't think you'll have many ears.

KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON, ROBERT!!!

[prettypain]

!So much anger. Wow. I wanted to get a response and I did! As someone who is getting a masters in human service, I found this experience to be very interesting. I have seen the aforementioned movies and cannot relate to the addictive mind, although I see it on a daily basis working with the mentally ill. At least I gave some persons on this site something to chat about- I put my feelers out and they were snapped off. I meant no harm with any comments, yet they were all taken personally, even down to my screen name.

[prettypain]

And I am hardly a troll. That was unnecessary. You all have seen me before.
I guess I will say adieu as I am not welcome into the dialogue. Luck to all.

[MaisieC]

Holy moley! OK, so this person joins the community, responds to Robert's kind offer of help by attacking him and then asserting that he doesn't mean to be "harsh." He spits out the word "addicts" like he's calling us Christ killers. Tells us in another thread that he drinks while taking oxys and vicodins; it's "social drinking" so that's OK. Then calls US "uneducated." And he calls this behavior "dialogue."

And to top it all, he says he's studying for a master's degree in human services!?!?! Where, Joe's University and Grill? This one doesn't need drugs to get messed up. Looks like he's that way naturally.

Let's hope that he really means "adieu" and not just "au revoir." But I'm betting we'll see him again with another screen name; in fact I think we already have.

[Darlene468]

Pretty pain,

I do not take pain meds to get high, never have, and very seriously doubt that I ever will. I perceived your posts as judgmental and intended to provoke. If you are going into human services, how can you help people if you judge them before you get to know them? I hope you do not plan to work with anyone who has become addicted to meds. I do not see how you can be an effective social worker or psychologist when you are so quick to judge people you see as different from yourself and when you are not open to questioning your own assumptions or beliefs.

I'm not sure I agree with everyone who says that it's inevitable that you will become addicted to the meds; I know many pain patients who haven't become addicted. But I don't know a single pain patient who wants to take the meds, at least not after taking them for more than a couple years. If nothing else, the way the pain management system is structured and the laws *make* you focus on your meds. When I get my prescription, I go directly to the pharmacy, then home with my meds. I am terrified I will misplace or lose my scrip, or worse, lose my meds. I lost my prescription, not my meds, once - one of the worst experiences I have ever had - my doctor refused to replace the prescription. I spent two days retracing each of my steps but the scrips were just "gone." It was a nightmarish month. I hate to travel b/c I'm scared I'm going to lose my meds or have them stolen. Many chronic pain patients lock their meds up in a safe and tell only a few family members about taking meds for chronic pain. One mistake (losing a prescription for example) can mean you will have a very difficult time finding a doctor who will give you the meds your body has become completely dependent upon. In the chronic pain world you are expected to be perfect. Most CP patients I know who have lost or had their meds stolen have gone thru withdrawal rather than risk telling their doctor what really happened since they could be cut off from pain control for the rest of their lives.

I don't know why you would attack a highly respected member of the boards who spends his time trying to help people - addicts or not, get off pain meds for free. He makes it abundantly clear that he is not a doctor. Perhaps you have had unusual experiences with doctors. I have found them to be wrong as often as they are right. I have been cut off benzodiazepines w/o warning several times by ignorant doctors who don't realize they are putting me at risk of a seizure, delirium tremens and death. B/c I am not a doctor, telling them that they are risking my life by suddenly deciding to substitute a diff. med they like better gets me nowhere. It can be incredibly stressful to be a chronic pain patient - you always worry that you are going to lose your meds, and if you don't have a great doctor (and by great I mean kind & compassionate as well as highly educated about the meds), you can wind up in trouble very quickly.

With the web, patients can now do a lot of research on their conditions that doctors do not have time to do. I think everyone is responsible for their own health - in my mind, this does not mean blindly entrusting a doctor with your health. It means getting 2nd and 3rd opinions, doing your own research (no one is more interested in your health than you are), and coming up with the best solution based on multiple sources of information. Sometimes patients know more than the doctor - doctors receive almost no training on pain in med school - a few hours, and know very little about painkillers. I have been surprised by how little my pain management specialist knows about various aspects of pain management.

I have received so much incorrect information from doctors at this point, that I never take a doctor at his or her word for something serious - I always get another opinion.

From the little you posted here, I hope human services means you will be working at a bank or similar institution and "serving humans." IMHO, you may have a ways to go before you have the capacity for empathy, ability to appreciate the different contributions people can make, and above all, the ability to withhold judgment that is required to be a good social worker or psychologist. This is, of course, just my opinion.

I am new to this site, but am not even remotely surprised by the responses you received - why come in swinging? Most people respond to attacks with counter attacks and defensiveness. I suspect that if you returned here later requesting help to get off painkillers, Robert would still help you, though I can think of many people who would not give you the time of day after being attacked without any reason or provocation. Why do you care how Robert spends his time? What business is it of yours? If the site isn't right for you, it's easy to move on without venting anger or attacking anyone.

From my perspective you are angry about something/someone and venting that anger in inappropriate ways. Then again, there are people who believe they are right about everything and feel some odd missionary duty to impose their worldview on others. Either way, I think you might benefit (and we can all benefit) from the help of a non-judgmental and empathetic human service *professional.* I hope you are young . . . .

Best wishes - no sarcasm. If you are just getting started taking painkillers for a painful condition, I strongly recommend you get on a few chronic pain boards as well as addiction boards and "listen" as well as ask questions - see what it is like to become a chronic pain patient for life - once you start these meds, it is very very difficult to turn around. I'm not talking about addiction, but the physiological and psychological changes that occur. I wish I had spent several months on internet boards before I started down the opiate painkiller path. I was so relieved to get my pain under control that I didn't bother to do the research I usually do. I consider this a huge mistake now.

I can't emphasize this strongly enough. Before you get too heavily in to taking pain meds, I strongly recommend lurking and, if possible, participating respectfully, on chronic pain and opiate addiction boards. If, as one of the posters here said, you are mixing alcohol with pk's, you may be headed down the path to addiction - your behavior suggests that you do not value your health (or the doctor's orders) enough to restrain yourself from a potentially deadly combination.

There are different schools of thought on opioids for non-malignant pain - I recommend reading Suboxdoc's thoughts on the use of opiods for chronic pain. David Arneson is another good source. There are some great links on this board. I also recommend reading Dr. de luca for a different perspective- I would try to inform yourself on the range of perspectives from both doctors and patients. I restricted myself to reading the perspectives of those who argued that reluctance to prescribe opioids in the long term reflected an old-fashioned opiophoibia, that less than 3% of chronic pain patients became addicted, and that opiates had no long term ill effects on the body. I now know that opiates have many long term effects on the body and some may be irreversible.

Again, good luck with all...

Darlene

[Darlene468]

Melinda,

Thank you, but I think I could have done a bit better! I was pretty critical and people are surprisingly averse to criticism and feeling attacked! :-) If I really wanted pretty pain to listen, I should have tried to be more empathetic and understand why he/she was on the attack....Next time, perhaps? Hopefully, the constructive suggestions at the end weren't lost b/c I responded somewhat emotionally . . .

Darlene

[Robert_325]

!So much anger. Wow. I wanted to get a response and I did! As someone who is getting a masters in human service, I found this experience to be very interesting. I have seen the aforementioned movies and cannot relate to the addictive mind, although I see it on a daily basis working with the mentally ill. At least I gave some persons on this site something to chat about- I put my feelers out and they were snapped off. I meant no harm with any comments, yet they were all taken personally, even down to my screen name.

You come on here shooting off your mouth telling ME what to do with my time and complain now that you were treated unfairly? poooooor baby! Your damn right I take it personally when you shoot off your young mouth at me and now come back whining about how unfairly you've been treated. No one here needs anything to "chat" about from you. My response ... go back to school and attempt to learn something about human relations because you have none. I've been to school probably much longer than you have, don't tell me what to do again with my time jerk weed. You can leave! God bless.

[mitchigan]

Is there a full moon this week?? LOL

[Robert_325]

Is there a full moon this week?? LOL

Hi dude. I get tired of bending over backwards trying to do things for other people to have some punk like the fool that started this thread come along and pass judgement on what I do and others do here. He is an idiot, I should have refrained from speaking my mind I suppose. But I get tired of this BS. There are several people here to try too hard for this kind of nonsense. Even I get my fill after a while. Take care buddy. God bless.

[mitchigan]

Oh , I don't blame you for venting. Had it coming. Seems like it been one of those weeks though, doesn't it? I'm sure with all the contacts you make you get some "interesting" ones. As you already know, everyone on this site respects the work, help, and effort you and others put in trying to help people. Sighhh...it can be a pain to deal with "future geniuses" can't it?......LOL God bless!