My condition started 2 yrs ago. I started on lortab 10 3x daily, increased to 6x daily. Taken off and put on oxycodone 15mg 4x daily. Didn't react well, made me very groggy and disoriented at work. Went to ms contin 30mg every 8 hrs and lortab 10 3x for BT pain. The ms contin didn't help at all so relied on lortabs and taking up to 10 daily to take the edge off. I'm a server btw, and on my feet and at a brisk walk 40 hrs weekly. I was referred to a pain clinic and he's starting me on the fentanyl patch 25. I just put it on tonight and was wondering what everyone's experience with this was. How long until it starts working? Will it help someone with as high a tolerance as mine? Do I need to use bt medicine? Is this a high enough dosage to help the pain? He didn't really give me time for questions, just wrote me the scrip and pushed me out the door. My rheumo is pushing for surgery but my ortho wants to wait. I'm so depressed being in this constant pain. It has totally changed my life and I'm miserable. Any answers will be appreciated.
I am 34 yo and suffering from a very aggressive and degenerative form of arthritis?
- Asked
- 4 Aug 2012 by hollycat1977
- Updated
- 10 Aug 2012
- Topics
- lortab, rheumatoid arthritis, pain, fentanyl, oxycodone, chronic pain
Added 4 Aug 2012:
Btw, they aren't sure exactly what type of arthritis I have. I tested negative for rheumo so they were treating it as psoriatic. But I've been on methotrexate for 6 months and no change so he just pulled me off. My rheumo's plan is to keep my pain as tolerable as possible until my ortho agrees to surgery. My ortho recently ordered an Arizone brace for me as well, if anyone has any experience with that.
Responses (4)
Holly,
Fentanyl usually takes at least 8 to 12 hours to start alleviating your pain. It is good for pain like yours. As your tolerance builds, if need be, you can go up on the dose. Do you have bt meds? That would certainly help until the fentanyl kick in 100%. I have severe arthritis and was stuck in a back brace, don't remember the name. I didn't like it, but I don't like anything that feels tight on me.
I really hope the docs get your pain under control.
Peace,
Sweet Hippie
It's been right at 20 hours now and still no relief. I haven't taken the ms contin since yesterday afternoon. He didn't tell me to discontinue them or not but I'm assuming I was supposed to. I took 2 lortabs about 5 hrs ago and 2 more an hour ago but I don't feel much better. My tolerance to the lortabs is so high they really don't help anymore and the ms contin never has. I was praying that when I woke up today my pain would be better but no change at all. I've been at a strong 8 and sometimes a 9 the last 2 weeks. My right ankle has completely collapsed and waiting tables for a living definitely doesn't help lol. I feel bad to burden my friends and family with all this bc they have no idea what I'm going through. And you don't meet many other 34 year olds with arthritis this bad. What should I do? Let the dr know they're not working? I always hate the look they give you.
I would let him know that so far its not helping. He will most likely increase your dose. He most likely knows that that small a dose will need to be increased and won't look at you strangely.
With long acting meds, you wont feel the same "kick in" that you feel with short acting meds. This is because short acting meds flood the receptors with the opioid. Long acting drugs dont do this and this is why some people feel like they are not working. Go by pain relief, not whether or not you can "feel" the medication kick in. Fentanyl is very strong, much stronger than Morphine. I'm surprised the MSContin didnt work. Were you taking it every 8 hours around the clock or only when you needed it? MSContin is not an "as needed" or PRN medication. It is to be taken round the clock no matter of your pain levels and is usually much more effective than hydrocodone. You wont feel that "rush" that you do with hydrocodone though. If oxycodone 15mg made you too groggy, I'm really surprised that the morphine didnt work but we are all different.
Have you tried Percocet? Since he jumped you from hydrocodone to oxycodone 15mg and that made you groggy, perhaps 5mg, 7.5mg or 10mg oxycodone/ apap would work better than hydrocodone. a Percocet 10 is stronger than Hydrocodone 10 (at least to me it is) Perhaps going to a dose of oxycodone less than 15mg would be a better breakthrough med for you.
I was taking the ms contin every 8 hrs as prescribed but it didn't feel like it was helping at all. I've never tried percocet. Just the lortab, which helped until recently; the oxycodone, which would help for an hour or so and then wear off very quickly and make me groggy when it did so; the ms contin, and now the patch. I am supposed to put on my 3rd patch tonight and still no change. The dr's nurse called me back on Monday and said to give it a few more days. I called her back this morning to let her know it still wasn't working but didn't return my call. I'm so frustrated right now. I can't afford to miss work at all but I can barely put weight on my foot. I'm not sure what to do at this point.
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Its strange but interesting how different we all are. Fentanyl 50 every other day and I was in constant wd's, switch to oxy 15 mg four times a day, was ok, but in Florida, one never knows if they will be available at the pharmacy, so I switched to Ms Contin 15 X 2 a day with 15 mg IR morphine and am fine so far.
The human body is unique unto its owner. Again wishing you relief.
Hip