Someone posting in another thread that they were waiting for their meds to kick in to do some housework reminded me of my routine, and how I've gotten so used to it that I don't even think of it as out of the ordinary anymore.
Several months ago, after my boss let me know that my lateness to work would no longer be tolerated (he had been very lenient for a very long time), I adopted the routine of waking up at 4:30 am to take my Vicodin ES, going back to sleep and waking up again at 5:45 or 6:00 to get ready for work. Not to say that I still don't have late days, but they have been drastically reduced. I also plan other activities around my pain med schedule, knowing that I shouldn't do anything too physical for the first or last hours of my 6-hour dosage.
It used to kick in within 30 minutes, but after long-term use, it now takes 60-90 minutes and with a lot less "kick".
Anyway, I was wondering how many of us live like this, planning around our pain med schedule, and how long it takes for your meds to "kick in".
PS - I saw this quotation today from the television show House, MD: "If I'm in a buttload of pain, I need a buttload of pills."
I was wondering, if your doctor gave you some sort of note, would your boss be more tolerant of your lateness, especially since you've demonstrated your willingness to try and comply with the proper work schedule? Unless he's dealing with a chronic pain issue himself, he can't possibly understand what you're dealing with on a daily basis.
Jesse, I appreciate the thought! I actually met with a lawyer last winter to help determine whether I could get an ADA accommodation (Americans with Disabilities Act for anyone reading along outside the US) allowing me to come in later as needed. I always work my full 40 hours, but mornings are really tough (like last year when I was having stiff, numb hands for hours each morning).
The lawyer said that I would need a note from my doctor specifically listing the exact medical reason preventing me from coming in on time, preventing me from getting up earlier so that I could be on time, and yet not preventing me from doing my job. Unfortunately, many days I have customer groups that I need to greet first thing (standing and handshaking, my two "favorite" things
Because my boss has been very accommodating, I am hesistant to rock the boat. I try to keep him informed about what's going on with my medical issues and treatment so he will have some understanding, and I think that's all I can do at this point.
InnerGlow- Is there a different med that would help you and allow you to take the pain med at a different time. Like one that works for 12 hours, if there is such a thing?
I have some of the same problems with my pain med- oxycodone at this point. I find it really frustrating to be on such a roller-coaster with pain control. Feel good for a while after it kicks in, then tank before the next dose. There has to be a better way!
I also plan to do some activities when I know the pain is less. I think that there is a real possibility of overdoing and then paying for it later. I have learned that the hard way. Currently, I am recovering from extensive foot surgery and cannot put weight on the right foot. I know that if I do too much, I will be in too much pain at night to get to sleep, even with my regular dose of pain med. I hate to have to take an extra oxy, which is the only thing that helps.
Well I was using Ultracet/Tramadol for awhile (still use it sometimes to give my body a break from the Vicodin) and my rheumy gave me the extended release version, but it just doesn't help as much. It evens out the curve, but the curve isn't "high enough".
After being on round-the-clock Vicodin or Ultracet for oh, about 10 months now, I'm still clinging to the hope that at some point, we're going to find a treatment that will let me relegate these pain meds to breakthough-only status.
Innerglow. With almost all narcotcis, you will develop a tolerance to theLori, I was trying to avoid going up for as long as I can, so I don't run out of meds to go up on, and so I don't lose my safety margin. A year and a half ago, when I had only used the Vicodin for breakthrough pain, my surgeon (missed/burst appendix) was chastising me about it (he was an all around "winner").
The Percocet doesn't do much more for me, the morphine did nothing at all for me (but a great idea Deb to take a low-dose 24 hr release in addition), and the only help was Dilaudid. The surgeon actually told me it was only available via IV, although I believe I saw afterwards that it can be taken orally....true, Lori?
Inner Glow,
Due to the same kind of issues you and others have described here, I am now on a low dose of Oxycontin ER in addition to my 4-6 hour dose of percocet. I take the Oxycontin every 12 hours which really help smooth out those highs and lows you get with shorter acting meds. It has made a BIG difference for me.
There is also a lot of clinical evidence out there to suggest that being on these longer acting narcotics is beneficial in a couple of other ways as well which I will try to explain here as well as my NON-clinical mind can manage, so here goes. Supposedly handling pain with this methodology lowers the possibility of addiction because you aren't experiencing such drastic highs and lows. It is also thought to help stop some of the "extra" pain that we can end up experiencing when our brains react to processing so much chronic pain (and play a cruel trick on us) by making us feel even more pain than what we should be feeling when the cycles of pain go so long without interruption.
Maybe you could talk to your Doc about this as well. My bil who is a pharmacist is who originally clued me into this (and talked to my Rheumy too about it for me) but I do know there is a lot of supporting information on the internet as well.
Best of luck to you with this!
Melly
Oh and I just noticed you were inquiring about the Dialaudid as well being avaiable in an oral form or not. It is. I am also prescribed now a limited supply of that in the lowest dosage as well for instances of really severe breakthrough pain.Mellymel: Yes, some take the oxy in 10 or 20 mg two hours before getting up for the day, then during day take a vicodin, then later on take 20 mg of oxycodone and that levels it out. Makes me so very angry that people in drastic pain have to jump through all these hoops like having to physically go to pick up the prescription, can't have it called in to pharmacy, etc, have to get it only one or two days before it's day, not earlier and yet the DRUGGIES run around finding it everywhere and also the druggies make it hard for people who need the pain meds, so they keep on making the rules harder.
In Florida when former Governor Jeb Bush, our idiot president's brother...well Bush's daughter got caught forging a prescription drug for painkillers, she was in court, had to go to rehab etc. THEN right after that, Bush wanted to change all of FLorida rules making it extremely hard to get pain meds for EVERYONE, just because of his daughter. He also wanted law enforcement agencies and all pharmacies to have a list of your pain meds and what you were taking. So all cops would know in your hometown what drugs you were on. They said it would not be used for anything else and be private. Like that's going to happen!.
We have a new governor now, thank god, and things are settling down.
Take care
Thanks, all, I guess I'll need to talk to my rheumy about it again when I see him in late September. It would be nice to stop waiting around for my meds to kick in, and then waiting for them to kick out before I can take them again. I'm especially in agreement today because my right shoulder, elbow and hand are so painful I can't see straight, and I have a full day of work ahead of me.
Jerome, one of my husband's favorite singers (and a resident of FL, BTW) was caught prescription-shopping for oxy and other painkillersa few months ago. Hubby doesn't understand why I don't want to go see this guy in concert, and I have tried to explain to him that oxy won't be there for me when I need it because of lawmakers reacting to people like this. Hubby tells me this guy has hip problems and needs some meds, and I say that I'm not touring the country giving concerts because I can't stand for 20 minutes, much less 2 hours of hopping around under hot lights...if this singer can, then he don't need the meds!
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com