Posted by greenhornet on December 7, 2005, at 19:18:37
In reply to Re: Vicodin » med_empowered, posted by jerrympls on December 7, 2005, at 14:51:16
What a wonderful discussion! I am over 60 and have very severe arthritis. I know that I have posted about this before so I'll try not to bore you.
I go to a group practice. about two months ago I had a REALLY bad flare up. The doc I saw prescribed Vicodin 500q4h -- limited it to one prescription and was willing to renew it once when I called.(ten days worth each time). When I called to have the script filled again the nurse called me back and said that Dr.___ wouldn't renew the Vicocin unless I saw him as he wanted to be sure I wasn't "overly dependent on the Vicodin"....BUT he was going to be off for a week!! I scheduled with another doctor in the practice (still not my own regular doc) This guy was willing to give me a script for Vicodin 750mgm and a month's worth with a refill!!
I was once an alcohol abuser (over 25yrs ago) and my own regular doc knows this and KNOWS that I am very careful not to increase the dose. These other docs can also see this on my chart, and, with the exception of the last one I saw, go bonkers when I ask for a pain killer!!
HELLO ?! Celebrex, Vioxx and the other "arthritis meds" were taken off the market -- so what are we supposed to do?? It is a giant pain (no pun intended)--What? -- "former addicts" are not allowed to be in pain? (and I am not even sure that I could be classified as an addict - but that is another story)
They all have the DEA breathing down their necks and as a result folks like me are in pain -- HUMM what is wrong with this picture??
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> > Vicodin and the others (Lortab, Norco, etc.) are schedule III substances; Oxycontin, etc. (Perocet, Percodan, etc.) are schedule II---its understood that Vicodin **usually** isn't much of a problem, as long as its properly RX'd (correct dosage, correct period of time, do a nice, slow taper). I think a lot of the "addiction" has to do with patient mis-management...docs are too busy apparently to do a nice, slow taper, so they either suddenly take patients off the Vicodin (inducing withdrawal that I imagine would make some pursue illicit sources of the drug) or they dont even bother and keep the patient on it for a good long while. Either way...opiate "addiction" isn't so terrible; it doesn't damage any of the major organs or anything, and "withdrawal" basically consists of intense nausea/vomiting for a bit, and then...nothing. No seizures, psychosis, or anything like that. In general, the US has a *big* problem with *under-treatment* of pain, not "addiction" to pain killers. There's a tendency to use "non-addictive" meds in the place of meds that actually work. Its a sad state of affairs.
>
> GREAT post! I currently am being prescribed hydrocodone as part of my med cocktail for treatment-resistant depression. I've been on 5mg 4x daily for a year now with no tolerance or need to increase the dosage. It helps a lot.
>
> Jerry
poster:greenhornet
thread:586113
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051203/msgs/586656.html