Hydromorphone and Tolerance: What Users Say

• you...
• February 14, 2012

Hydromorphone for Pain "This is the only medicine that will help me when my pain hits. I have multiple conditions that cause pain, but the most painful issue I have to deal with is kidney stones. I get them at least every 4 months, and when they hit, they are incredibly painful. Dilaudid is the only thing that gets me through it. There are times I've had pain attacks where I have seriously considered suicide because I couldn't take it anymore. Dilaudid has saved me. Nothing else comes close. The only bad things are 1) tolerance is a huge issue. I have had to steadily increase my dosage over the years. 2) withdrawal is so painful. Be sure to taper off when you are stopping it. Otherwise, be prepared to stay in bed in pain for at least a week."

• Anonymous
• June 4, 2011

Hydromorphone for Pain "After being on various hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine drugs for a couple of years with no pain relief, I was prescribed Dilaudid (hydromorphone). I was amazed at how well it worked to eliminate 100% of my back pain. However, I quickly built up a tolerance to it, and within a year, I went from being prescribed 2mg 3x/day to 8mg 3x/day (very few pharmacies even have 8mg Dilaudid)."

• Anonymous
• March 15, 2008

For Pain "After permanent SCI (spinal cord injury), I've had a lot of experience with pain. Hydromorphone 4 mg was prescribed for breakthrough pain and has worked pretty well. I agree, better learn to live with a level of 4 (out of 10). I don't worry about addiction; I've got this the rest of my life, but every doctor I've talked to warns of building a tolerance; better learn to live with a little more pain now rather than more pain later."

• Anonymous
• March 2, 2009

Hydromorphone for Pain "For those in Canada suffering from chronic pain, the long-acting version, Hydromorph Contin, is wonderful when combined with the Dilaudid for breakthrough pain. I take 9 mg (6 mg, 3 mg pills) twice a day, plus the 4 mg of Dilaudid for the breakthrough pain. Only bad thing I can say about it is that my tolerance level for this, and other medications, is very high. And I'm only 27 years old."

• Run...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 5, 2014

Hydromorphone for Chronic Pain "Gained tolerance quickly on this med - maxed out dosage/frequency and had to add additional pain meds to address pain issues. Have not had issues with dependency, thankfully."

• Anonymous
• February 7, 2009

Hydromorphone for Pain "Dilaudid is a powerful drug that works great. I found my tolerance for it raised, and an increase in dosage was needed."

• Mik...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 17, 2016

For Chronic Pain "Best pain reliever I've ever used. The only negative is how quickly tolerance develops."