Friday, March 25, 2011 crish asks

Q: What is a good alternative to morphine sulfate? I take 30mg 3x day with hydrocodone for breakthrough pain & making me sick and morphine is not helping.Dr says just Methadone as alternative

I've been on Morphine for over 5yrs now and it does not help my pain anymore and I feel sick all the time. the Norco for breakthrough pain is making me very ill so I've cut down to 1 a day but am not getting any relief. When I ask my Dr for an alternative he says just methadone which I will never take again! But, my pain levels are out of control and I don't know what to do? I'm afraid if I push the issue my Dr might take me off my meds all together because there is such an abuse issue in my community and they are just cutting people off left and right. I'm unsure how to approach this issue
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Answers (2)
3/25/11 9:47pm

Some doctors are only comfortable prescribing certain medications depending on experience, training and local situation. I would recommend finding another doctor for a second opinion, maybe in a different town. Some may call this doctor shopping, but sometimes you do need to shop around to find a better solution.

 

Many alternatives are available, but it is not my place to state what is right for you. Only a treating physician who has examined and talked with you can do that.

 

Dr. Christina Lasich, MD

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5/18/11 11:41pm

I think it is ridiculous a doctor would refuse to offer you alternatives.  I just saw a PA (under my doctor's supervision of course) at a pain clinic in Oregon 2 hours north of my home & they were telling me about treatment options I had never heard of.  Many of these new pain pills they mentioned are indeed new & not all doctors know about them, so be sure to consider the cost of a namebrand medication (assuming that is a fctor); plus it would be the merri-go-round of trying new medications that may or may not work.  But I would seriously encourage you to research other pain medication options for yourself & speak to your doctor about your concerns.  Additionally, I would encourage you to look up what the best pain clinics or neurologists are in your state and consider driving a distance that feels comfortable to to you or less painful, what have you, and see if a physician that is more experienced in working to find a solution rather than making accusations or assumptions. 

 

Good luck!

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11/ 3/11 8:57am

I have been on that very regiment a while back, and actually it worked pretty well for me, but I had to change clinics because my Dr. went out of my ins. network,had to change and now am on Lyrica, which does help, and only 4 hydrocodone, oh, and he did give me 1 Oxycondone, short acting, for emerg. but on really bad days that is not enough. He did say I could start the morphine when I decided to do that, but I know he will just give me 15 mg.s and then cut out my hydrocodone, and the hydro. works as somewhat of a stimulant for me as well as helps pain and I am afraid to change. Sometimes when you change you wind up with less because they have to start you out low. I was wondering if your morphine is time released or not. But, it is easy to get into trouble with taking those meds together because if you are not eating enough or you just take a little too much, it can get you to feeling pretty bad, with being sick, and sweats. The Lyrica does work pretty well, and it kind of has a calming effect. It is expensive, but with my insurance and discount card, it is only $25.00. Boy, this is a tough one, because if you go up much more you probably will be sick, but like the other person said I do think there are some new meds out there. I would be happy to get what you're on now, that worked pretty well for me because the time released was not affected by food. They use to give me Soma, but that is a nasty word with the pain clinics, giving it with hydrocodone, because of the abuse on the streets, but now that is what really helped my pain, in combination with the hydro.because I have muscle spasms in my pelvic area, but I dare not mention it because when I even told this new doctor I took it before and it helped, he really jumped me, said "Soma is the same as LSD" I don't know where he got that, I haven't taken LSD but Soma is not a hallucinogenic, not with me, anyway but if you take too much it can be dangerous. Good luck, I'm sure this was more than you needed, and I do hope you get some help.

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By crish— Last Modified: 11/03/11, First Published: 03/25/11