What would you do if you had trigeminal neuralgia, and experienced the sensation of having hot knives stuck in your face twenty four hours a day, and your doctors cut you off from all of your painkillers?
Consume enough psilocybin to cure myself at the molecular level.
suicide
Neurofeedback.
Kill the doctors…
Yes, I’m sure tripping is the answer to his problem.
I’d find a new doctor.
Did yours cut you off from your painkillers, or is this hypothetical?
They didn’t completely cut me off, they just keep limiting me and limiting me, shortening the amount I am given.
That usually means you’re either going through them too fast, or not fast enough. I have a friend with neuralgia in his leg and Chron’s disease that has been on a regular dose of painkillers ranging from hydros, to oxys, all the way up the fentanyl patches. They decreased his meds once because they piss tested him and he didn’t have them in his system [the life, even for a regular user isn’t more than 2-4 days in your system]. Then, at one point, they threatened to stop them altogether because he got a false positive for some other drug on one of his tests. When he called them to see what happened, they told him he’d just have to face withdrawal. That, to me, was such an utter act of disregard. He would have experienced a hell the likes of which most doctors dare not dream. They showed no concern whatsoever, and just told him to go back to be retested [which he passed].
What I would suggest is to first get to the bottom of why they are decreasing your meds, then I would look for another doctor or pain management clinic. If they aren’t treating you in such a way that allows you some comfort, they aren’t doing their god damned jobs as far as I’m concerned. Now, on the other hand, if your use of “recreational” substances has led to an increased tolerance and lower bioavailability, you may want to examine your habits and the effect they are having on your body.
I also have a neuralgia, and I am using them too fast. Their excuse is that opiates are not very effective in treating neuralgia, and the fact that I am using them so much just indicates I am addicted to them psychologically. But I know for a fact they are effective in treating neuralgia, many people agree with me.
I’m 20 pounds underweight because I can’t eat, and what I do eat I vomit up because the pain makes me nauseous. Every day, every second, it feels like my eyes are being pushed out of my head, and like hot knives are being jammed into my jaw.
oh i didn’t realize this was something you were experiencing. sorry man, that suckssss!
I’ve experienced pain so intense it made me vomit several times, in the form of migraines. No fun, man. I can’t imagine that being my permanent state. Personally, I think I’d probably at least consider Humpty’s suggestion of suicide, but I’m not suggesting that to you. Statik has the right idea, talk to your doc and find out what is going on, and if need be find a new one.
I’d rob a pharmacy for every pill in their possession before I contemplated suicide.
And the mushrooms?
Look, fuck you, and fuck the mushrooms.
It wasn’t meant to be taken as sarcasm, shiter.
This thread isn’t even about giving me advice. I just think the absurdity of my situation is interesting. There is no helping me. Even if I got all the drugs in the world, they would quit working in a few years, and I am only 21. Then what? Then nothing.
Sorry to hear that… it sucks more than I can really comprehend. I studied briefly at a chronic pain clinic as a student, I saw how debilitating it can be. There are implants that can deaden the nerve action; they can cut the nerve - although if you get phantom pain you’re further fucked. I have no idea if they could do that for the trigeminal nerve.
What does the consultant say when you ask what then?
That is the same scenario my friend went through. First it was too fast, then not enough, then they claimed he failed a piss test. It’s a mind fuck when you are so desperate for some relief, and half the people dispensing these pills have no idea the depths of pain, anguish, and addiction that chronic pain sufferers endure.
I know, by both observation and experience, that opiates help. However, they help by masking the issue rather than treating it, which is what I think they are getting at. The problem is that I don’t know of an effective treatment for neuralgia – is there even one?
I wouldn’t discount the physical dependency either, as that half the reason tolerance builds as it does. I know of things like grapefruit juice, and Advil, that when taken with a dose will potentiate the effects in a manageable way [meaning it won’t kill you, but changes how the opiates are metabolized]. Other than that, have you considered stepping away from the pills and trying the patch? Both my friend and Uncle, who has rheumatoid arthritis, have used them with success in the past. Many times, it’ll be left up to you to request a change of meds. Even jumping from oxy to hydro, or some other synthetic opiate, will help offset how quickly the tolerance builds.
Also, if you want to “live immensely” as you’ve said, withdrawal may be a wonderful thing to you. However, I guarantee that attitude will only come in retrospect. I couldn’t see appreciating withdrawal as it is taking place. I wish that hell on no man.