which med??

[Briza]

If, big IF, I decide to go on a time release/long acting med, where should I start, what should I try, what dose?

At my first pain clinic appt last month, the dr brought up some to choose from, but we decided to try Lortab 7.5 til my next appt April 20 and see what happens, if this flare continues...and it has, and if history repeats itself, this flare could be 5-6 months long. Anyway, the dr pretty much told me I could pick the med I want, after doing some research if I needed to.

So I'm asking those of you with experience, what med/dose is good to try first? I don't really want to do the Fentanyl patch...I've read the warnings about it and spend a lot of time swimming at the beach, and regardless what they say about it sticking, I've had experience with other patches, and improved or not, I've had problems with them sticking when I spend a lot of time in the waterr.

Any suggestions on where to start? I'm currently taking Lortab 7.5, it's working ok, but before the 8 hrs is up I'm hurting again. And I'm concerned about the amount of acetominophen I'm ingesting on a long term basis.

TIA for any suggestions!

[IC SARAH-CPP]

Well I am not totally sure which one is "best" to try first because we are all so different. But my doctor tried me on Oxycontin first because I was already taking percocet, which is the same med as oxycontin, just not in time release formula. After that I ended up trying just about all of the other meds too and oxycontin still worked the best for me!
I am wondering why you are taking the lortab every 8 hours though? Before you try a long acting med, you might want to try taking the lortab sooner than 8 hours. I took the norco version and was able to take it every 4-6 hours. There is no way I would have been able to take the lortab every 8 hours!
I am happy your doc is at least willing to work with you! That is great.
Sarah

[Briza]

Thanks Sarah!
On the bottle it says take every 8 hrs. I didn't know I could take it more often than that...I'll call the pharmacy.

[ICNDonna]

Please talk with your doctor before you change your dosage schedule on any medication.

Donna

[IC SARAH-CPP]

Yes, I didnt mean to tell you to take more than the bottle said! I was just saying that before you try a long acting med, you might want to ask the doc if you can take the vicodin more than 3 times a day.
You could call your doctor or pharmacist and ask them, they might be able to help you now to get more relief.
Love Sarah

[Sarojini]

As for a long-acting med, we can't really give you an answer to which one is "best," because everyone is different, and this is a decision you must make individually with your own health care provider.

For example, Sarah takes OxyContin and finds it works well for her; I tried it and it worked for about two hours and quit, and I was in pain again. I have tried MS-Contin as well, but am now on methadone, with Percocet for breakthrough pain, and find that combination works the best for me.

It may be trial and error for a while, but don't give up. Hopefully your clinic is willing to work with you to find the best treatment plan for your individual needs.

As for Lortab (a.k.a. Vicoden), it can be taken every 4-6 hours, but please speak to your prescribing physician before you change how you take the medication.

[Briza]

Thanks for the input! I put in a call to the pain dr and the pharmacist this afternoon, but both have yet to call me back.

I know that meds affect us differently, and what works for some, doesn't always work for others. I feel very lucky that this pain dr told me to do some research if I wanted on other meds, to see what I feel comfortable taking if we need to make a change.

I just wanted to get some input from people to see how they were affected by different meds, since I work full time (teacher) and would like to know what a good starting point might be....I'm not familiar with the doses of these long acting meds, and don't want to get in over my head and not be able to work because of side effects, when right now I've already missed a lot of work recently because of pain issues...just would like to hear from others what their experiences have been with different meds, dosages, etc. Thanks!:)