morphine

[Mari]

Is there anyone taking morphine who finds the side-effects very manageable?

I decided to try again to find pain meds that would work, but my doctor is reluctant to give me anything stronger than Tramadol (she said it's morphine next). She thinks I'm too young, that I would become dependent and accustomed to it, therefore needing higher and higher doses. She also thinks the side effects would make me too drowsy to teach.
She means well, and could be right. Of course the dilemma could be, without stronger pain meds I couldn't teach anyway. I manage without pain meds because I have to, not because I'm not in much pain.

Anyway, any thoughts, please?

Mari

[nonyanomemory]

Hi Mari and I am sorry if this question sounds out of context I just can't remember if you have ever attended a pain management course or similar?

nonya

[Mari]

Hello Nonya,

No, its a relevant question. I've been referred but I'm still about 11 months away. However, I am about to be referred by my Disability Employment Advisor to a course that helps you deal with pain when working. Apparently it's a few days long and there's not a long waiting list. Certainly worth a try while I wait for the other course. She asked if my doctor could up my pain meds to help with my work problems. That prompted me to try again to find something that would give me any sort of relief.

Mari

[jo-jo]

Hi Marie,
I have PM'd you but thought that others might be interested in the fact that I have had a lot of help from a referral to a 'Pain Specialist' - I see him once a year and he is a consultant anethetist - he has juggled my meds and is very understanding and believes me 100% ( always helps!!!), he has explained to me about neuropathic pain and how it works - didn't take the pain away but the explanation helped. I realise that everyone's pain is different and not everyone has this type of pain. He also understand about HMS pains too. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from 'pain free' but I believe that I am better off than I would be without the meds. I also use tecqniques that I learned on the pain management to help me!!

ho hum at the end of the day, we just have to plod on eh?!!!!
painfree hugz [/b]
Xxxx em xxxX

modnote: text size and colour reduced for accessibility

[nonyanomemory]

Hi Em, I know you like using the coloured fonts but do you think not the bold yellow as it gives me a headache. Hope you understand. Nonya

[jo-jo]

Hi Nonya
The reson i like to post in orange is because it was quinnys fave colour ... but ok i understand... i will go back to blue or purple!

painfree hugz

Xxx em xxX
modnote: text size and colour reduced for accessibility

[nonyanomemory]

Hi Em. its the bold orange Em not necessarily the orange that gets me. nonya

[libby]

Mari, i think your doctor and my doctor may be communicating telepathically, or possibly channeling eachother

i'll try to be serious now, though GP's hysteria when it comes to opiates is making me giggle uncontrollably. i think it's because it's made me mad for so long that i'm now beyond anger when i think of it. they just won't read the recent studies and won't realize that what they're saying is simply not true. it's what they learnt in med school 20 or 30 years ago, but it isn't what they teach nowadays - one of my best friends just finished med school and she told me a while back that to her great surprise, she was taught that when a patient who has chronic pain takes morphine, they do not get addicted and there is absolutely no reason what-so-ever to prevent them from having a better quality of life by denying them the proper pain killers than could make their life manageable.

personally it seems a bit nuts to me that since we're yound and have many active years ahead of us, we're denied the possibility to live all these years without being under the control of unbearable pain, whereas someone who is 97 and has a terminal illness, for whom quality of life doesn't mean that much anymore, isn't denied this simple little kindness. it seems so illogical to me.

is your doctor open to new information? there is a lot of information you could print out (online, in pain clinics, 'etc. 'etc.) and perhaps give her. i've given a lot to my GP and while he still holds to the same views, at least i know i tried.

i think part of the difficulty lies in the fact that since we're used to very high levels of pain, we don't limp into the doctor's office crying and screaming, but very quietly say that we'd like morphine. this makes it hard for the average doctor to realize how much pain we might be in.

having said all that, personally i wouldn't want to take morphine. i've taken it this summer, when i was doing very badly and in a wheelchair, my GP gave up and gave me some slow-release morphine for one week. but it made me feel so groggy and so dull that i really hated the feeling and prefer to have more pain but still have my brain connected to my body. this is only with regards to the slow-release morphine, though. i found the regular morphine (the immediate release) just like tramadol, in terms of grogginess. so i really hope it works out somehow and that you can control your pain better very soon.

sorry my thoughts are so confused - i just had a conversation with two well-meaning friends who told me i must be positive and agree with them that my HMS will soon pass. ...sigh.

libby

[Mari]

Hello Libby,
Thanks for your post, it was really helpful.I'm not sure how my doc would react to the info. I left her with info on how EDS affects me, including a description of the type and intensity of pain I experience, so maybe that will help her to appreciate my situation. Also, I'm to do a Pain Management programme for working in pain, before long. So maybe they'll suggest pain relief and I can carry that message to my doctor for back-up.

What you said about being used to high pain levels and not going in crying is absolutely right. People (including some health professionals) who are not dealing with chronic pain don't realise that you don't behave like they would, if they were feeling the same pain.

Thanks again, Libby, and by the way I understand your frustration about your friends. I think some people think they are being helpful by trying to minimise your experience. Perhaps you could print out info and hand it to them?

Mari

[nonyanomemory]

Hi Mari, I was prescribed buprenorphine patches (transtec) which I changed every 72 hours a few years ago - they worked well for some three months until out of the blue they gave me headaches from hell - until that time however they really helped. because I understand you are trying to battle through at work - it may be worth discussing these with your gp. I asked about the pain management course because I did find it helpful - it did make me change mainly in myself and the way I am about pain but it was a very personal journey - it wasn't a cure but it did make me and I mean make me look at my relationship if you like with my pain.

Perhaps discussing buprenorphine patches or similar may at least for the meantime offer some way forward.

nonya

[Mari]

Thanks Nonya.
I hope I find my Pain Management courses as useful as you did. I spent 2 weeks in Bath a few years ago, but it wasn't on the pain course. I had physio, hydro and OT but also had talks about pacing and lifestyle changes. But I've never had input specifically about dealing with pain.

I'll mention the patches to my doctor, thanks.
Mari

[Guest]

Hi, i've been taking morphine for nearly two years now, having tried tramadol which i didn't find helpful at all. there is a lot of literature regarding the fact that for chronc pain you won't get addicted, nor v=necessarily have to increase your dosage. let's face it, the pain is distracting and influences your concentrations levels. I do find that the morphine does have these adverse side effects too, but it is a relief to know that there is somethng i can take that enables me to function to a greater degree than I was and that enables me to, wen hving a rest as well, reduce the pain significantly, even if for a brief time. I work as much as i can and am lucky that I work from home with a partner who takes the burden most of the time. The most significant and ongoing side effect that you really have to keep on top of is the constipation that morphone induces. I have a variety of different strategies for this, sometimes with more success than others. I do need to go and chat to my gp about it though as if I don't have 'movement' is affects me feeling able to take the morphone in the morning, thus influencing when I can start the day without being in dire pain (my pain is worse first thing in the morning often) I hope this helps and I'm happy to chat and pass on any tips/answer questions you may have. Good Luck!

[Mari]

Thank you Anna,
Welcome to the site!
Your reply was really helpful.
Do you feel drowsy or do you feel distracted (or both)?
Are you able to drive?
Have you increased your dose in the last year? (We're not allowed to discuss exact dosages, but you can tell me if you've needed to increase it.)

Thanks!
Mari

[LucyM]

I hope you get on well with morphine as the last month my GP has had me on various forms and it is now official I am allergic to morphine and all forms of opiod.

But one bit of advice for morphine which my pharmacist gave is that liquid morphine is the most tolerated and you can control how much you have - so you can avoid being very drowsy - because you can take it only when the pain is bad - hope this helps.

Take care
LucyM

[Guest]

Hi Mari,
I'm glad you found my reply helpful. I do sometimes find it very difficult to concentrate and do feel distracted but it does vary (I'm not sure what on exactly as I can sometimes feel like this after just one dose,and sometimes I don't seem to be badly affected at all) Perhaps making sure you eat is important.
I have increased my dosage over the last year but really this was experimental on my part in order to get te maximum amount of pain relief whilst still feeling able to function mentally.
I drive when I feel up to it, both mentally and physically. I tend to do my food shopping over the internet and other than that my partner tends to do most of the driving as its difficult for me to sit up. I'm lucky in that I work mostly from home so it is very rare for me to 'have' to drive.
I mostly take liquid morphine but do have tablets for when I'm out as its so much more convenient. One other thing to mention is the fact that its important to plan when you eat. I find it impossible to eat anything heavy like bread after taking the morphine. things just fell stuck in your oesophagus. You may also feel nauseous at times, this can go off after your system gets used to the drug. I find that sometimes if I'm travelling I need to wear travel bands or even take a couple of anti-sickness tabs esp if I've just had a dose.
Also I have started to have things called 'sleep paralysis' which are like nightmares but you are convinced you are awake,that someone is coming in the room and you can't move. They are not very pleasant and some people can experience this more than others. I have to sleep on my back and research has been done which shows that this is not a common slepping position but that people, if they are going to experience sleep paralysis are often in this position when it happens. I have no choice as I can't lie on either hip, nor on my tummy because of knees that 'go walkabouts' if they do!
I don't mean to put you off at all. Having the morphine has enabled me to carry on working, albeit in a limited capacity, and enables me to get out a little more and enjoy my family so it has improved things for me tremendously. Its just a shame there are such side-effects!
Keep in touch and feel free to ask anything else.
Good Luck!
Anna