I hurt my shoulder when i was younger in a motocycle accident. Over the year it has been operated on 5 times, I went to physical therapy for a few years,then about 5 years ago they told me there is nothing they can do. there is no more soft tissue in it to operate so it is just bone on bone. It is so painful and useless that i cant pick up my grandchildren close the car door or do any thing with it. It cracks and locks in certain places and on a scale of 1 to 10 in pain the only thing that hurt worse are the 3 heart attacks ive had but that pain dont last long before you pass out and then when you come to your stabilized and full of morphine or you dont wake up becouse your dead. Anyways back to my question. I was taking vicodine then percasets and they dont help anymore (the doctors call it frozen shoulder because you cant move it). Now they have me taking 2 40 mg of oxycodone, i went up in dosage for over a year and i wont go no higher. I have been taking it for about 6 months and realize i am addicted to them, but they really work i am able to do things i could not do the pain is minemum i am 50 years old what i would like your opinion on is it worth being addicted because it works so good and i have no side effects or should i just stop and live with a use less shoulder i know i will be on them the rest of my life if i stay on them now sorry this was so long any answer would be appeciated thank you.
#1 by mistify on February 16, 2010 - 10:17 pm
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Have you considered shoulder replacement surgery? Although the function of your shoulder might not be as good as new, it is typically very effective at pain reduction.
I know you’ve had a lot of surgery, but this procedure is meant for people with end stage arthritis or “bone on bone” as you state.
#2 by constanc on February 16, 2010 - 11:01 pm
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im in a similar situation, without them i have no quality of life and with them i do. so i have decided for now to take them and not worry about the addiction, if it gets out of hand i will talk to my dr about it
#3 by melissa j on February 17, 2010 - 12:55 am
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there is a difference when your addicted to something that you actually need and when you are addicted to something you don’t need, if it were me i would not worry so much that you are addicted to them b/c they are helping you, you have have to weight the pros and cons…yes they are a powerful narcotic pain killer, that help live a normal life, or do you want to be in so much pain that you can’t even pick up your grandchildren, its not like your taking them and you don’t need them, as long as you only take what is prescribed for you and you don’t go out looking for them then i think that you should stay on them
#4 by Gonzo!!! on February 17, 2010 - 7:54 am
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i’m sorry to hear you are in so much pain. having chronic pain is really demoralizing and makes you feel so alone because even though from the outside you might look completely fine, inside you know the pain and how excruciating it is! this is what i think, you have a REAL, LEGITIMATE reason to be taking this potent medication!!! please don’t make it a moral issue, you’re in pain, real pain, and you truly need these medications to live your life! there is a HUGE difference between being addicted to painkillers for no reason and taking them to get high or to escape your reality and taking them for legitimate reasons. narcotic painkillers are a God-send for people who are truly living with chronic pain! what are your choices? either take your meds or live with what sounds like excruciating pain every day of your life! you’re still young, 50 isn’t what it used to be, people are living longer and longer. so do you really want to be living in pain every day when there are medications out there specifically for people in your situation? if you were just taking them to get high, well then i would suggest you think about weaning off and quitting for good, but it sounds to me that you need them in order to live a normal life. i know that oxycontin has gotten a bad rap because a lot of people have become terribly addicted and will do just about anything to get them, BUT that isn’t your situation! you really need to take them and you’re taking them as directed! there is a difference between addiction and TOLERANCE/DEPENDENCE, if you really take them as prescribed and truly have the pain you describe then you are not an addict, you have become TOLERANT to different pain meds and are now DEPENDENT on this medication in order to live your life but that does not make you an addict or a bad person. think of it this way, if a person has diabetes, should they not take insulin to control it? if a person is severely depressed, should they not take anti-depressants to live a happy, normal life? i think you should take your medications as long as you take them as prescribed and live a happy life, as painfree as possible. there are so many other wonderful things that you still have to do!
good luck!