Fighting the pain, and the pain medications

When I first became ill, I was one of the lucky few who did not have the muscle and joint pains that plague those with connective tissue disorders such as mine. However, as the years went by my luck dwindled, and by the time I left work due to disability I had significant pain, enough so that I was put on serious pain-control medications.

At different times I've been on narcotic patches, Oxycontin, morphine, gabapentin, and a host of others, singly or in combination. Because I don't care for the side-effects that can muddle thought and interfere with sleep, I've forgone the long-acting versions of the drugs, and for the last few years I've been taking MSIR (morphine sulphate instant release.) Unfortunately continued use of morphine invariably leads to both an increased tolerance requiring higher and higher dosages for the same efficacy, and to physical dependence.

I have been taking 30mg every morning, and another 15 to 45mg throughout the day to manage pain, but these doses are beginning to lose their efficacy. I do not wish to take higher dosages.

Step 1 on my road to a new me is reduction or elimination of morphine in my pain control regimen. Reading about weaning/detoxing from morphine tells me that the symptoms of morphine withdrawal are almost the exact same symptoms that I'm taking it to relieve: muscle pain and fatigue. So while I'm trying to reduce the meds, I get a double-whammy: the original pain, and the pain associated with withdrawal. Big fun ahead, eh?

So how to manage the pain while I'm trying to reduce/eliminate the morphine. I've long noticed there is a huge psychological aspect to pain and feeling sick. Nobody feels pain when told they have won the Lotto. For at least a moment they will feel no pain as emotional wave of elation takes over. Since winning Lotto tickets are a bit tough to come by in the quantities I might need, they don't make a sensible alternative to morphine.

However it doesn't take a Lotto ticket to made a difference. Any positive-emotion-producing activity will help distract from pain. A good book, and entertaining show or movie, or the distractions of activities such as driving or shopping, although the latter can be fatiguing which is counter-productive as fatigue increases sensitivity to pain.

...to be finished a bit later.