Yes you should take the prescribed medication to help you.
I recommend adding a magnesium supplement to your nightly regimen to keep your bowels healthy. Because opioids will cause constipation and then you will potentially have other issues.
I hope that you find some relief, chronic pain is miserable and messes with your head.
If it brings you immediate and much-needed relief, then yes but maybe start with half of the prescribed dose just to see how your body reacts to it. Call the pharmacy and ask if the pills can be broken in two and still be effective. Opioids can make you loopy, so if you can be with someone while taking the first few doses, I would do that. If you are on other medications as well, please consult your doctor or even call the pharmacy before you add an opioid into the mix.
Without knowing all the details of what is causing the pain, it is possible to use the opioids as temporary relief while you look into other pain relief options. Some medical centers have pain clinics, so call your insurance provider to see if this is an available option.
For example: if the pain is from osteoarthritis, there are excellent, non-opioid, minimally invasive therapies covered by insurance. My mom is 91 and has issues with arthritis and cartilege loss in her knees. She had gel injections and it worked great and continues to work great.
My MIL is in LTC, is 85 yrs old. In 2009 she broke her back, which already had osteoporosis. She has a lot of back pain now since she is barely mobile. They put lidocaine patches on her, which work pretty well. When she takes pain meds she does become severely constipated, so this is a very real side effect. I wish you relief now and in the future!
Hi Geaton! I sure wish the series of gelsyn injections would have helped me. So glad it helps your loved one! My right knee is bone on bone and im trying to hold on til covid subsides and can get the vaccine. Im 66 and live with constant, chronic pain as well....my low back is toast. And today has been the absolute worse. I sure hope speaking with the dr and taking the prescribed medication can bring the OP some much needed relief thank you for all the good info you provide on the forum!
90 years in dire pain? And you are just considering this now?
Yes, yes, a hundred times yes!
Don't take this remark the wrong way but if you are over 90 years old the odds are that you won't be alive long enough for long term damage from the opiods. Again I apologize if that sounded harsh.
Yes, definitely. And be sure to add in stool softeners or Miralax if constipation becomes an issue. What good is an Rx if you don't use it as needed to relieve terrible pain?
Cali, what I said was that opioids are seldom the answer to long term pain. And in fact, they seldom are. This person should be taking this issue up with a pain control physician. We may all have differing opinions on this and that is fine. I do believe in opioids being given, absolutely, for specific cases, for specific ills, and for specific amounts of time. Having seen the side effects of opioids often as a nurse, in patients who have serious problems secondarily to them and ARE still in rebound pain, I will continue to believe as I believe about them overall. Again, that is that their use is appropriate for many things, generally they are of no help (again of NO HELP) for chronic due to rebound pain. Certain the OP should see his or her own physician. Sometimes things actually require more than a pill. In some cases it is necessary to address the nerves themselves with ablation. I wish this OP luck.
How do you know she’s not under the care of a pain control dr? You don’t. ASSumptions. You don’t know a single thing about her situation yet your answer was no.
Yes, by all means. This current panic over the so-called opioid epidemic is leaving a lot of people in excruciating pain for no reason. The main cause of addiction and overdose is illegal drugs, not prescriptions. Yes, some people do become addicted after having a prescription, but that can be managed without denying patients the pain meds they need. In someone who is 90-years-old, the idea that they are somehow going to become an addict in the few years they have left is absurd.
Why would you hesitate? Sorry, I don't usually disagree with Alva but I can't understand why anyone would choose to suffer when relief is available. The medication has been prescribed by a doctor that knows the diagnosis, and IMO addiction is a boogey man that causes far too many to hesitate far too long (especially in someone who is 90). If side effects are a concern then pay careful attention to dosing and diet and use laxatives as needed.
Opioids often have a lot of "rebound" pain problems. I have a friend now admittedly addicted, severe pain, uses them, xanax, and weed with now almost no relief. As her doctor tried to explain to her, the Opioids will not relieve her main anymore. It's a very complex problem, chronic and severe pain. Opioids are seldom the correct answer for chronic pain. I definitely DO agree that opioids are now not given when they SHOULD be and same goes for the Antibiotic Cipro. BUT, not a long term answer in my humble opinion. Just won't help.
If you have lived 90 years in dire pain then now is no time to start on meds. If you mean that you are 90 years OLD and in dire pain, then we need a diagnosis, and what your MD has suggested to you. Opioids have more side effects than addiction. At 90 you may not worry about that latter, but you may well worry about a bowel that goes cement real fast, confusion, falls.
Please don’t remain in dire pain.
Certainly speak to your doctor about meds to manage your pain.
Hoping that you will find relief very soon.
I recommend adding a magnesium supplement to your nightly regimen to keep your bowels healthy. Because opioids will cause constipation and then you will potentially have other issues.
I hope that you find some relief, chronic pain is miserable and messes with your head.
My advice to use the meds remains the same.
Without knowing all the details of what is causing the pain, it is possible to use the opioids as temporary relief while you look into other pain relief options. Some medical centers have pain clinics, so call your insurance provider to see if this is an available option.
For example: if the pain is from osteoarthritis, there are excellent, non-opioid, minimally invasive therapies covered by insurance. My mom is 91 and has issues with arthritis and cartilege loss in her knees. She had gel injections and it worked great and continues to work great.
My MIL is in LTC, is 85 yrs old. In 2009 she broke her back, which already had osteoporosis. She has a lot of back pain now since she is barely mobile. They put lidocaine patches on her, which work pretty well. When she takes pain meds she does become severely constipated, so this is a very real side effect. I wish you relief now and in the future!
thank you for all the good info you provide on the forum!
Yes, yes, a hundred times yes!
Don't take this remark the wrong way but if you are over 90 years old the odds are that you won't be alive long enough for long term damage from the opiods. Again I apologize if that sounded harsh.
Good luck!
I think that knowing more about your conditions could help with responses.
Certain the OP should see his or her own physician. Sometimes things actually require more than a pill. In some cases it is necessary to address the nerves themselves with ablation. I wish this OP luck.
Sorry, I don't usually disagree with Alva but I can't understand why anyone would choose to suffer when relief is available. The medication has been prescribed by a doctor that knows the diagnosis, and IMO addiction is a boogey man that causes far too many to hesitate far too long (especially in someone who is 90). If side effects are a concern then pay careful attention to dosing and diet and use laxatives as needed.
If you mean that you are 90 years OLD and in dire pain, then we need a diagnosis, and what your MD has suggested to you.
Opioids have more side effects than addiction. At 90 you may not worry about that latter, but you may well worry about a bowel that goes cement real fast, confusion, falls.