Got my dosage increased today!

[jersey_emt]

Today was a good day! Before my pain management doctor's appointment today, my (legitimate) prescription for my chronic low back and leg pain has been the following:

60mg MS-Contin three times daily
15mg immediate release morphine sulfate as needed for breakthrough pain, up to 45mg / day
Total of up to 225mg of morphine sulfate per day.


I told my doctor that the MS-Contin was working fairly well, but the 15mg MSIR was hardly doing anything for my breakthrough pain (which is completely true). So, he upped the dosage from 15mg to 30mg, giving me the following daily regimen:

60mg MS-Contin three times daily
30mg MSIR as needed for breakthrough pain, up to 90mg / day
Total of up to 270mg of morphine sulfate per day.

This is a 20% increase, which is great! My pain should be better controlled now, and I also should have some more 'extras' left over for recreational use. Not only that, when I got it filled, I received one extra 60mg MS-Contin (ninety-one pills in the bottle instead of the ninety that was prescribed)! I guess karma was paying me back after I gave 60mg of MSIR to a friend two or three months ago. He desperately needed it because after his wisdom teeth came out, and the Percocet 5/325 prescribed to him did well for his pain but made him very nauseous. The dentist was unwilling to prescribe a different opioid, so my friend had the unfortunate choice of being in pain or being rather nauseous. One-half of a 15mg MSIR, while not taking the pain away completely, had not a single negative side effect on him.

So, to reiterate, today was a glorious day!

[jersey_emt]

Oh, and needless to say, my pupils are pinned real tight right now :)

[GoddessofRATs]

Glad to hear the Morphine is working for you. Morphine actually doesnt help my pain, meaning in the pill form, Pods do help my pain. My apt with my pain doc is Monday and I'm gonna tell him these 3 things which are true 1)My tummy can't handle the MS contin anymore 2) it's not helping with my pain and 3) It makes me to sleepy. My Roxicodone does wonders for my pain though. I'm hoping he switches me to Oxycontin instead. I do know he prescribes Fent patches pretty easily so it could be that as well but i think I'd rather have Oxycontin, better to stick with what i know- pills.

Anyway, don't wanna hijack your post/thread. It's always nice when a doctor is willing to help you and increase your meds. Sounds like you got a good doctor.

GOR

[jersey_emt]

Glad to hear the Morphine is working for you. Morphine actually doesnt help my pain, meaning in the pill form, Pods do help my pain. My apt with my pain doc is Monday and I'm gonna tell him these 3 things which are true 1)My tummy can't handle the MS contin anymore 2) it's not helping with my pain and 3) It makes me to sleepy. My Roxicodone does wonders for my pain though. I'm hoping he switches me to Oxycontin instead. I do know he prescribes Fent patches pretty easily so it could be that as well but i think I'd rather have Oxycontin, better to stick with what i know- pills.

Anyway, don't wanna hijack your post/thread. It's always nice when a doctor is willing to help you and increase your meds. Sounds like you got a good doctor.

GOR

Yes, I have an excellent doctor, and yes, I realize how lucky I am for it. He's not a 'pill factory' who prescribes massive amounts of opioids to anyone who walks through the door, but he is very compassionate and understanding, and truly wants to see his patients have their pain controlled enough to lead a normal life. Because he truly cares about his patients, and truly understands that everybody reacts differently to different drugs, I was on trials of just about every opioid out there -- from OxyContin to Duragesic to Opana to Dilaudid, etc., until we found what works best for me. This turned out to be extended-release morphine sulfate, with an immediate release formulation of the same for breakthrough pain. Morphine takes away the pain with minimal side effects.

Also, my doctor is willing to increase his patients' dosages agressively, but safely. I mean, he won't have someone jump from 20mg OxyContin twice daily to 200mg MS-Contin three times daily. But, realistic increases, say for instance, 30mg MS-Contin twice daily to 30mg MS-Contin three times daily, or my case -- increasing my breakthrough pain dosage from MSIR 15mg to MSIR 30mg -- are not a problem if you truly need it.

I wish you the same luck with your doctor's appointment as I had with mine. People like us who truly need opioids for relief from chronic pain often have a rough time getting what they need to live a normal life.

[Inspektahdek]

fent is god

[reddragon3668]

Great to hear things area going well! There is nothing better than a compassionate doctor that is willing to work with the patient. Morphine has always done fairly well with my pain, though I only recently got switched to it as my main long acting med. I took the MSIR for years for breakthrough pain. I have found that taking it in a larger quantity has constipated me pretty bad. Thank God for colace! lol

GOR, I hope things go well with you doctor's appointment Monday. I've sort of wanted to try the fent patches; I guess I might get there with my new doctor one day. But, I have heard that the WD's from fent are near about as bad as they are with methadone. So, having went through that whole 'done withdrawl crap, I am not sure I want to take that on anytime soon. Do let us know how it goes with you. Keeping you in my prayers and sending good thoughts your way. Peace!

[insaneike]

fent is god

word up!