Pain Management w/ Hx of Addiction/ Alcoholism?

Speaking of pain, my neck and hip are bbothering me right now. I have tried Voltaren gel it seems to help. What kind of pain do you have? Maybe heating pad?

Hello Llizz, we're so sorry to hear you're in such a vulnerable position right now. It sound like you are very aware that pain meds could be a trigger for a relapse. Did you speak with your doctor about any alternative way to ease your pain?

Warm thoughts,

From the mods.

Hi LLizz, I am too a recovering alcoholic and addict to pain pills. Been clean and sober for 5 years thanks to me attending meetings. I am stage 4 bc with mets to the bones so I do have pain, I'm currently taking 800mg of Ibuprofin. My daughter dispenses the one pill a day for me and since my right hand is disabled I cannot open the baby proof bottle from the pharmacy. I take it once a day in the morning when the pain is worse. I also take 400 mg of neurontin (gabapentin) and 60 mg of Cymbalta (anti depressant) The neurontin and the cymbalta have shown to help with neuropathic pain. I focus on taking them STRICTLY as prescribed. Before I got clean I used to swallow tons of Excedrin PM or Excedrin Migraine whether I had pain or not. Now I only take them when it's absolutely necessary. After my surgery last year I was in the  hospital for 3 and a half months and was given dilaudid and I was afraid I would become hooked. After I left the hospital they gave me an rx for oxycodin but I only took it for a couple of weeks and only for break thru pain. It is a delicate balance but suffering through pain at least in my case also exacerbates my depression so no good. If you would like to talk more you may feel free to pm me.

Aurora

WarriorWoman, I too have had to accept pain killers, when I spent 3 and half months in the hospital last year. I've been sober/ clean for 5 years now. As soon as I left the hospital I left the pain killers too. Right now I only take Ibuprofin ( I have mets to the bones plus the medication I'm on (Arimidex) one of the se's is joint pain so I take it but I only do it in the a.m when I wake up and I am stiff and in the evening before going to bed. At least is not a narcotic. But yeah it's something to keep in mind. Here;s wishing everyone  24 hrs of sobriety!

auroaya

I acknowledge seeing my old addictive behaviors resurface.  I manage my own pain meds.  No chance would I turn them over.  I have many more surgeries to come and one is really major - bilateral LD flaps.  Cripes.  On the positive side, despite the worst year of my life, I am extremely happy with my life and have no desire to destroy it.  

LilacBlue

I read the blog post, it is true life is still hard even after becoming sober, but there are also happy moments. Either way nowadays whether I am having a sad moment or a happy one, without alcohol/drugs I am free to either: enjoy the happy one, or: face the sad one with the knowledge that "this too shall pass" (even if it means death). It is touching to read about others facing Stage IV AND alcoholism/addiction at the same time, I often feel I am not understood at AA meetings because of this. I don't know how many more of "us" are here in BCO but I sure wish we would "talk" more often.

Aurora

Lilac, I agree, it is a difficult thin line to walk between sharing too much and not sharing for fear of being misunderstood. I have kept my discussions here specific to cancer, but in my AA meetings I have brought up some of the emotional issues and death confronting issues we deal with and feel ostricized. I tried for a while the online AA but I find the chats don't focus enough on the program and the meetings, I don't have a camera on my computer so I can only watch. I would love to continue talking with you privately if you'd like. My email is auroaya1960@hotmail.com and I'm on facebook as Aurora Ayala from Orlando, FL if you would like to add me to your friends and we could chat over there. I can't wait until BCO actually gets the chats going that would be awesome. Once we connect on a facebook chat I can also give you my phone# if you would like. We can actually start a  thread like the one you propose and maybe others would join, and we could discuss how a diagnosis of cancer has affected our outlook on life and how has the program helped us deal with it. And viceversa we could also discuss how a cancer diagnosis has affected our sobriety. We could make it inclusive so that other 12 steppers could join? I don't think it would offend anyone anymore than a thread by/for catholics offends protestants on BCO.

Let me know if you want to do any or none of the above, I won't be offended if you don't.

Aurora

macatacmv, welcome to the thread and thank you for the detailed intro - great to get to know you and yay to 27 years!  Aurora, I sent you a email! Got so much from what you expressed as well. I guess what we need to do is open a thread for, I don't know, umm, 12 Steppers or, hmmm, recovery to addictions, I not sure on either of those.  Let's kick it around and take action and perhaps more will appear.

I'm back from the gym and feel dead - well, not exactly that, just in need of a hot shower.  I'll come back in later.

Cheers! LB, x

Edited to add: Aurora, the email address above was unable to be delivered.  I PM'd you so please check your BCO private messages.

macatacmv welcome and like lilac said wow! 27 years! that's awesome! I, too try to be careful with the pills, I refused the hydrocodone and only take ibuprofen the 800 mgs. I also take cymbalta 60 mgs (antidepressant) I don't feel I am falling off the wagon when I take those as I only take them as prescribed. The cymbalta has the added benefit of helping with pain. I've been diagnosed with bipolar disorder so I also take a mood stabilizer Risperidone which as an added benefit it helps with the hot flashes I get from my cancer pill which is a hormone blocker (Arimidex). A lot of pills! But each one serves a purpose and is not like before I was diagnosed with bipolar I used to take a bunch of Excedrin and Excedrim PM whether I had a headache or not -- that to me was abusing-- what I do now is getting treatment; that's just my opinion though.

I think maybe we should stick to this thread and see if it attracts more people, I think we have to keep the focus in the comorbidity of addiction and cancer (again just my opinion). 

Lilac, I read your PM and sent you an e-mail.

Hope you guys are doing well.

Aurora

Hi ladies, I just picked up my 30 year chip in July. I'll always remember what my boss, who was an Addiction Medicine doc, told me when I was going to be having surgery some years ago.  He said, 'full stregth meds for ACUTE pain'--he said this 3 times and then I got what he meant about acute pain and not just for having a feeling.  I also had a little advice from one of my coworkers (who was sober) and she shared with me that when she had surgery, she gave her pain meds to her sister who then gave them to her according to the schedule.  Of course when I heard this I really got angry!  I ended up giving my neighbor my pain pills and telling him not to give more than was prescribed.  Fortunately the pain wasn't that bad and I never needed the meds. I was willing to go to any lengths.

I'll check in again.

Liz

I am feeling much better today, thank you, blue. I am relishing drinking iced tea and chewing my food. 

I just finished my yoga class this noon. It has helped so much in stretching my muscles and loosening my body. 

Lilac, I love Sausalito.  What a great place to have lived and especially on a houseboat.  I live in San Francisco and have lived here for years. Where do you live in the UK?

Lilac, yes I sure do remember Frank and Friday Night Live was such a good meeting and so many old timers and new comers. I sometime miss the old meetings, as they were, but I am very lucky to have a wonderful home meeting where you can talk about anything--not just strictly a 'looking good meeting'.  Last month a woman picked up her 49th chip. 

I have a great fascination for all things British...have for quite a while.  Someday I hope to be able to travel to England.  In the meantime, I have watched countless English mysteries on Netflix...Foyle's War, Midsomer Mysteries, Inspector Lewis, Inspector George Gently, and many more.  

Nice to touch base with you.

Liz

warrior woman I tota hear you as long as I dont abuse them and follow doctor s orders it's not a relapse here's sending you wishes of pain free recovery

Auro

Hey! Tis the season! It is so hard keeping the happy face on. I have no energy and am so frigging tired all the time.

I had a sponsee relapse last week. I only have one sponsee. It is all I can handle. I gave up my service positions right after dx, but have added some service work back in. This woman has been struggling for years. She almost got a year once, but mainly it is one or two weeks, one or two months. Her co workers took her a little Christmas tree because she had not been to work for 2 days. They found her smashed and one called me on her cell phone. I took another person with me and went over there. Boy, did that keep me clean for a few more days. She was a wreck. I lost it at one point and yelled at her. She doesn't remember that. She was willing to do what ever it took, but when she sobered up the next day, she doesn't want to do detox or any treatment. Makes me wish I could wrap surrender up in pretty paper and give it as a gift.

I am going for my mammo tomorrow and a visit to my BS. I am debating taking a .5 lorazapam. I get so nervous.

I am also thinking about starting a new med. Low Dose Naltrexone. It is a very low dose of an opioid blocker. One of my docs wants me to try it. It is suppose to boost my immune system and increase my endorphin production while lessening my pain. She likes her patients that are fighting cancer to be on it. Anyone here heard of it?