how many pills are you prescribed, monthly?

[DanaW]

Hi again, Just wondering how many Percocets or pain pills you are prescribed every month? I get 30. Which sometimes can be tough bc. I only take a half a pill, when I should be taking 1 whole one. I have pain every day. Thanks

[Dixiefireball]

i wouldnt make it threw the mth on 30 perocets i take the 10.325 i get a 120 per mth. and i normally take them a half at a time.

[dandy8]

Hi Dana,

Usually my uro prescribes 60 MS Contin for the month. BUT I just had a bad flare and saw my gp (uro was gone) who gave me 50 percocet. Those didn't last long! I took 2 every 6 hours.

In the past my uro has written for a 3 month supply of oxycontin so I could use the mail order pharmacy.
Right now I'm not stable enough on the mscontin to have him do that.

Cheers,
Wendy

[emeralds333]

My urologist would only give me 30 vicodin a month but would call in more if I needed it. My pain management dr is alot better. I don't know how many he calls in, enough for 1 every 8 hours for an entire month so I usually always have more than enough. I think it's that the urologists are nervous about the painkillers so they don't call in as much. That's part of the reason I started going to the pain management dr.

[DebraLeeS]

hi I get 100 every 25 days with many refills
I dont know how anyone with this pain could survive on 30 My heart goes out to you angel
Talk to your Dr or find one that isnt against PainPills.
The reason many Drs dont like to give them is because its all over the TV about painpills all the time with many Drs being audited and there records have to show just cause and with IC pain he would be right in giving them to you.
Give him the addy to this site and let him read about what we all go through my Dr comes here we talk about it sometimes in my appts. I am lucky to have him!

[kiffy313]

My Dr. prescribes Lorcet, and has been very kind to listen and help me with my pain control. I am not sure how many I get, I just know that I always have enough to make it until my next appt. with him. I am very grateful to have a Dr. who recommended this site, and understands about the ic, I wish we all could have understanding Dr.s...
Take Care,
Kandy

[Dianna]

I use Duragesic which is a pain patch which gets changed every 3 dys so I get enough for the month. But I also get breakthrough medication: B&O suppositories and he just recently upped those to 260 per month. He also gives me Morphine liquid and I get a litre of that but of course the morphine is decided by how much is in each mg. My pescription is very high and has 20mg in each cc or mg. This is alot and I am trying this month to add MS Contin which is a slow release to add it to the pain patch in hopes that I can take less medication for breakthrough if the main medication will work better on the pain.
I consider all of this very personal. However if it helps even one person not feel guility by the amount of pain medication they are taking or if one doctor reads it and realizes that IC is a severe agonizing pain and without pain meds I would never be able to walk upright or get out of the fetal position rocking myself back and forth - which is how I was prior to getting the pain medication

[Pain_Man]

First thing: I'm not a medical man. Nothing herein is medical advice. I only relate personal experiences for the benefits of others. I have had pharmacy training so I know a great deal about certain drugs, but again, consult your doctor before changing anything and always tell them all drugs legal and illegal you take.

DanaW, I feel for you, I really do. You MUST find a Pain Doctor (get a referral from your uro, which shouldn't be a problem since most of them dont' like prescribing CII (e.g. Perkies, Dilaudid, Morphine, Duragesic patch)

30 Perkies a month is a joke for an IC patient. Hell, it's an insult.

As for those taking Viodin/Lorcet/Lortab, etc, you might as well be popping M&Ms or Smarties (admittedly better tasting). Vicodin is a "semi-synthetic codeine analogue." In non-scientific terms that means it does what codeine does with a different chemical formula.

Vicodin's appropriate if you sprain your wrist at a softball game. 30 perkies would be appropriate if you gave birth or had a root canal. Maybe. But for chronic 24/7 pain? That's condeming you to torture. This doc should be reported to your State Med Board for malpratice.

I took Oxycontin 20s, 40s, & 80s for several years. They never provided the wall to wall coverage I needed. I took Perky 10s until my Tylenol intake was getting dangerously high. Then I switched to single-agent oxycodone (not Oxycontin here) caps. That means no acetaminophen or ASA (asprin).

DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN 4000 MGS OF TYLENOL A DAY. And don't take that for any extended period of time. Tylenol can be far worse for your liver than a hundred bottles of tequila. Just a dozen (at once) can put your on the Organ Donor's List. Many a silly little girl's attention "suicide" attempt with APAP has cost her her liver. I'm not saying never take Tylenol but its only appropriate for ccasional use; not treating chronic pain.

Presently, I'm on the 100 microgram/hr Duragesic patch. BEST THING YET. It gives me a constant, steady flow of the drug and I don't have to remember to pop pills at regular intervals--which I never could; when you take enough legal dope on a daily basis to kill ten junkies, short term memory can get spotty. Because of this, I was getting spikes/troughs in my plasma levels which--as any narcotic dependent patient-- which does NOT mean addict --will tell you can be extremely unpleasant. I get a months supply.

For breakthru I use hydromorphone or Dilaudid (it's first trade name). this is drug somewhat more powerful than heroin; indeed, it's a heroin analogue. {b}The Duragesic patch is 3000 (yes THREE THOUSAND) times stronger than Heroin so keeping them away from your kids (always, always, always, flush the old ones down the john) is imperative beacuse just a small amount could easily kill a small kid in mere moments.[/b] Some people think because its a patch it's not as dangerous as a pill. It's far more dangerous!

Several derivatives of fentanyl--the drug in the patch--are used as general anasthetics. This drug has a powerful affect on the respiratory system, so if you use other "downers" make your doctor aware before slapping Patch No. 1 on. Like a firearm, narcotics will kill if not properly stored. ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER REMOVING OLD AND APPLYING NEW PATCH. With small kids, this is especially important--since we all know how ingenious they are at getting into stuff we don't want them to.

Another excellent aspect is the very long 1/2 life (17-34 hours) which means if you forget to apply a patch for 12 hours--as I once did--you still get the benefits of the drug absorbing thru your skin. It's kind of a back up for misremembering the new patch.

Finally, I also take Valium 10s to control my pelvic floor spasms (than you to Dr. Moldwin for that idea!!!) and this aids me greatly. Sometimes, I don't even need the breathrough meds, the Valium helps a lot by itself.

Sorry this is so long.

[Ginny]

I have a question about the patch. Where on your body do you put it to get relief from the bladder?

Ginny

[Hangin' Tough]

Ginny,
The medication in the patch is absorbed through the skin and into your bloodstream, just as when you take a pill it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the stomach. People put patches in many different places for many different reasons.

[Biohazard]

hehe there are people here who probably couldnt get through one day on 30 percocet(well the percocet without the tylenol, you can kiss your liver goodbye if you took that much tylenol in one day lol)

[ICNDonna]

People react so differently to pain medications that it's impossible to predict how much relief an individual may get from a pain medication. For example, I can be in severe pain and a Vicodin will knock it within an hour. Ultram is also very effective for me. I understand that there are some who get no relief from the same medications that work very well for the next.

I feel it's very important to work with your physician on pain control. And, if necessary, a pain center.

Donna

[Lara30]

I have to agree, people react so differently to meds that you never can tell. I started out on hydrocodone, then went to percs, after about 2 weeks they switched me to duragesic patches and I had one on for maybe about 4 days , ended up with such a severe migrane that I thought I was dying. I am now back on 10/325 hydrocodone , 160 a month, which works well for me and when it doesn't, they switch me back to percocets. Different things work for different people. It takes time working with your doctor to find what works for you and sometimes it's a combination of things but like the others here are warning you, be careful of the tylenol intake because it can be very dangerous.

[tcbc1989]

What a topic...it is amazing to talk to people that have such different reactions to different medications. I am a RN and was aware of the effect Tylenol had on the liver and was always concerned when giving patients pain meds with tylenol. My doctor just switiched me to Roxicodone which does not have tylenol in it. I am so thankful to have a urologist that is sympathetic to me about my pain. I had to sign a pain contract with him. I took it upon myself to keep a record of when I take my pain medication to see if there is a pattern or change. I take that to the uro when I go for my visits because I was so paranoid that they think I am abusing my pain medication...but of course i take it because i have IC!!! Why do i feel such guilt!!! tina frown

[marcy]

I wish I read this site earlier. I have been so guilt ridden with asking my uro for more that 30 percocets a month. Breaking the pills make them last longer but now that I've been on them for six months I need a stronger amount. On another board I asked whether or not I should be in pain management. Well after reading this site I'm making the call tomorrow. I'm so tired of worrying will he (my uro) fill my Rx this month or say I've had too many pills. I can't live like this. I'm sick of huring!! I'm going to make that call tomorrow. Thanks everyone!! kissing