Fibromyalgia Support Group

I really overdid it on Monday at PT and pool therapy. I was in as much pain as I've ever been in, and had to resort to pain meds. All I have is Tramadol, so that's what I took. I don't like taking pain meds. In a way, I'm paranoid (terrified actually) of getting addicted to them. I've never smoked, never tried drugs. I'd rather hurt, than get addicted or abuse a drug and wind up in jail. I'm petrified of jail. Got a cousin who spent a couple months in jail cause she couldn't pay some court ordered fines, to her it was nothing, she just shrugged it off. I'd have been devestated if I'd had it happen to me. Maybe I'm too much of a product of the 70s, but to me, pain meds=addiction=abuse=jail. I know that's stupid, but that's what my knee jerk reaction is.

I know that having a pain med is just that. A medication. They aren't meant to be taken long term, yet by the very nature of our syndrome, we must resort to taking pain meds all the time. I can usually make a single 60 tab prescription of Tramadol last me 6 months or more. I only take them when I absolutely have no choice, like Monday. But in taking the Tramadol on Monday, my other pains (like my tush pain) eased up by a LOT. Yesterday, I wasn't hurting as bad as on Monday, but I was still hurting more than usual, so took Tramadol and slept 12 hours last night, good, hard sleep. Sitting here playing Star Wars online tonight and guess what? Tush is hurting enough for me to consider taking more Tramadol.

I don't hurt as bad as some here. My pain isn't a 10 everyday. But after a couple days of relief, I've come to realize what my "normal" everyday pain level really is, and how tired I am of fighting it. But to get relief, I have to take more pain meds, and that depresses me, and frightens me. I feel trapped. I don't want to hurt, I want relief, to get relief, I have to take pain meds, that means I might get addicted, and that scares the fool out of me.

I don't like feeling trapped. It's depressing to know this is what I have to look forward to the rest of my life. Pain, or prescription pain meds, possible addiction.

There's nothing I can do about it. But I just needed to vent a bit. I'm upset and depressed, and sitting here crying because it scares me.

Pain expert Dr. Scott Fishman answers questions about pain medication:

Q: What is the difference between being addicted and being dependent?

A: Fear of addiction has prevented many physicians from prescribing needed pain relief and many patients from controlling their pain and reclaiming their lives.

Pain doctors have known for years that taking opioids over long periods of time for medical reasons does not have to lead to addiction. More than a decade ago, neurologist Russell Portenoy, who was most recently President of the American Pain Society, reviewed studies of almost 25,000 cancer patients. Most of those patients had been on opioid therapy for many years. Of the whole group, very few showed any signs of drug abuse, drug craving, or drug-seeking behavior.

Every one of these cancer patients was dependent on their medication. However, their physical needs were worlds away from addiction. Addiction is a biological and psychological condition that compels a person to satisfy their need for a particular stimulus and to keep satisfying it, no matter what.

It is a compulsive behavior that demands more and more drugs, regardless of the consequences that lead to dysfunction. A person who is addicted to opioids has a disease that undermines optimal function and drives one to compulsively use a drug, despite the negative consequences.

The pain patient who is effectively treated with opioids finds life restored-even if he is dependent on them. With the pain muted by stable and steady controlled use of long-acting opioids, a patient can reclaim his life, go back to work, return to family life, and pursue favorite pastimes. Dependence is a physical state that occurs when the lack of a drug causes the body to have a reaction. Physical dependence is solely a physical state indicating that the body has grown so adapted to having the drug present that sudden removal of it will lead to negative consequences such as a withdrawal reaction. This can occur with almost any kind of drug.

A good example of dependence is a heavy coffee drinker's use of caffeine. If you are used to drinking several cups of coffee each day, you soon learn about physical dependence when you miss a day or two. This does not mean you are addicted to the caffeine; it only means your body is surprised not to see what it has come to expect.

In the case of opioids, a certain amount taken every day fills the glass, and no more may be needed or desired. If the medication is removed, the consequences are physical (sweating, running nose, diarrhea, racing heart, or nausea), not psychological.

As any diabetic will testify about insulin, or any heart patient will testify about blood pressure medication, dependence is not necessarily indicative of addiction or drug abuse. In fact, regular use of these medications may be essential for good health.

The difference between a patient with opioid addiction and a patient who is dependent on opioids for chronic pain is simple. The opioid-dependent patient with chronic pain has improved function with his use of the drugs and the patient with opioid addiction does not.

I hope that this article is helpful.

I don't mind dependancy I guess. I just don't like the idea of addiction, because I don't ever want to give control of my life to a drug. I gave control to a husband once, and he abused that trust in so many ways, I'm still trying to get over it and we've been divorced 18 years. I won't ever do that again.

BTW, I have Major Depressive Disorder, as well as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and PTSD, so being down about something isn't unusual for me.

Thank you for the article Angel. It did help distinguish between dependance and addiction.

I'm so glad that Angel posted that again about the difference between addiction and dependance. I"m sorry, but it really bothers me to see people suffering in pain, when a pain med can help them so much. I used to not like the idea of taking pain meds everyday, but then when I read the difference between addiction and dependance, I changed my mind.

I'm dependant on my pain meds, b/c I do take them everyday, the same way I'm dependant on my celexa and the coffee I drink every morning. I just think it's terrible for a person to suffer with pain everyday, totally disrupting their lives, when taking a med for it can make their life so much better.

I've read that a person who's in pain and takes their pain med according to doctor's instructions cannot be addicted. It's when a person takes it for the high feeling, not the pain, that they become emotionally addicted.

Please take the med for your pain. That's what it's there for.

Hugs, Liz

I have a LOT of trouble with those little voices in the head (no, I'm not schizo, I'm talking about those little angel/demon on the shoulder kind of arguments you have with yourself). I'm not good enough. I'm lazy. I'm going to get addicted. I'm fat. yada yada

First husband, after I'd gained almost 100 pounds after marrying him, told me I had to stay with him, no one else would want me. THOSE kinds of voices. I really need to get a pschiatrist. *sighs* I need help with self-doubts and self-destructive thinking.

I've been on prescription medication since i was 7 years old for (anxiety and ADHD. According to my parents the meds changed me into a "perfect" child lol as if. When i grew a little older and I started going to my doctor by myself around 13 years old i remember the fear of the unknown and being really scared when the doctor wanted to try upping my medicine or switch my medicine.

Its a pretty normal fear, What if the meds do something to your body that makes your worse, or what if you cant live without them, or will it change me as a person? These doubts where always in my head and it scared me. But i kept telling myself that these people know what there doing.

For 12 years i have been on lexipro and cymbalta ( generic versions) and these meds really do make a difference for me. You just have to trust that they know what there talking about and have faith that it will help.

No worries ok If you ever need to talk just leave me a message or something, where all here for you