Guest guest Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 P G wrote: > I am not taking this medication, but I know some people who are. Yesterday we (a friend since junior high school) were chatting and she told me she had just seen her doctor about getting another epidural and he ended up cautioning against it because they discovered some heart damage that has been caused by taking methadone, which had been prescribed by a different doctor some time ago. This new doctor told her to stop taking it immediately and gave her something else instead. > > From what I've learned this is not an uncommon thing with prolonged methadone use. The bad part is that her prescribing doctor knew this could happen and never told her. Now she has heart damage that is irreversible. All, Everyone on any medication, pain or others should read the inserts, have lab reports done especially if you are taking Tylenol combination, and you have to weigh what the problem of being on the medication rather than off the medication and your body. There are other medications also cause heart problems and pain not controlled itself can cause heart problems. The Survival Guide for Patients with Intractable Pain by Dr. Forest Tenent discusses many aspects of this and the following syndrome: CARDIAC-ADRENAL-PAIN SYNDROME Severe, constant IP, causes the mid-brain area known as the hypothalamus to over-activate the pituitary and adrenal glands, which in turn produce excess blood levels of adrenaline, cortisol (the bodies natural cortisone), and related chemicals. Excess adrenaline causes the pulse rate and blood pressure to rise, and excess cortisol, overtime, causes loss of bone and teeth, osteoporosis, weight gain, hypertension, diabetes,and immune suppression among other complications. IP patients MUST find out if they have this syndrome, because it causes too many serious complications it is not controlled. For example, a pulse rate or blood pressure that remains high, over time, may cause any one of several cardiovascular complications including arteriosclerosis, angina, heart attack,and stroke. It is the author's belief that most IP patients die prematurely of heart or stroke complications. Due to these complications, IP patients must obtain the pain control they need to keep their pulse rate and blood pressure in check. So, it is very important to keep pain in check and opiates have been safely used for long term usages. I don't know how the doctor would know it was Methadone without following the patient. Patients should be rotated at times and she should be on something to not irritate her condition but she could have had the heart damage from uncontrolled pain control which causes high blood pressure (which I have to deal with). Many people do well but pain patients must do lab tests and take care of themselves as the pain itself can cause more damage than the medication. I always read the inserts on my medication and I know that my pain does more damage to my body than the medication as when I do not have my pain in control, my blood pressure has been as high as 230/115 and to leave it that way would surely damage my heart. Physicals are necessary and discussion of invasive procedures and their long term effects. It is not one thing. I also talk to my pharmacist about interactions. If I did not take my pain medications, I could not walk nor live and I would die from high blood pressure so I guess I have made the better choice. My Mother took darvocet for fifty years from an auto accident and her back and died at 84 so I guess the pain med got here but it was actually her smoking. Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Bennie wrote: > If I did not take my pain medications, I could not walk nor live and I would die from high blood pressure so I guess I have made the better choice. Hi Bennie I'm with you on this one. My family tor and my pain doctor and I have often discussed the long term use of pain meds. Basically, it has boiled down to - keep the pain in check or have high blood pressure kill me. Every time my pain escalates, my blood pressure escalates right along with it. Methadone keeps my body pain down quite well, unfortunately it does blessed little for my head pain. Every doctor I've dealt with agrees that the chronic head pain, coupled with the instant huge rise in blood pressure, is likely gonna get me in the end. (If I don't get run over by a bus).doc I'm not nervous about taking either fiorinal/fioricet or methadone. They are old drugs, with a fairly proven track record. I also take " old " blood pressure meds. The side effects of these meds are well known and I know what to watch out for. Both intractable and chronic pain can be killers. The sooner more doctors and more lay people figure this out, the better off all of us will be. The adage " pain won't kill you, " is completely false. Lyndi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 I have been trying to get moved FROM methadone for the past YEAR. Iam told it is VERY DIFFICULT because of the life of mthadone in our system. Do you know HOW he switched her (instantly) and have there been any complications)? Mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 --- Mickey Hillis wrote: > > > I have been trying to get moved FROM methadone for the past YEAR. Iam told it is VERY DIFFICULT because of the life of mthadone in our system. Do you know HOW he switched her (instantly) and have there been any complications)? > > Mick - If you're simply switching between opiates, there's absolutely no reason to stop taking one before you can start another. Your doctor simply switches you to an equivalent dose of the new drug, and your body never knows the difference. You just take the new pill in place of the old one, right on your regular schedule. Cheryl in AZ Moderator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 11, 2010 Report Share Posted April 11, 2010 Lyndi wrote: > Hi Bennie > > I'm with you on this one. My family tor and my pain doctor and I have > often discussed the long term use of pain meds. Basically, it has > boiled down to - keep the pain in check or have high blood pressure kill > me. Every time my pain escalates, my blood pressure escalates right > along with it. Methadone keeps my body pain down quite well, > unfortunately it does blessed little for my head pain. Every doctor > I've dealt with agrees that the chronic head pain, coupled with the > instant huge rise in blood pressure, is likely gonna get me in the end. > (If I don't get run over by a bus).doc > > I'm not nervous about taking either fiorinal/fioricet or methadone. > They are old drugs, with a fairly proven track record. I also take > " old " blood pressure meds. The side effects of these meds are well > known and I know what to watch out for. > > Both intractable and chronic pain can be killers. The sooner more > doctors and more lay people figure this out, the better off all of us > will be. The adage " pain won't kill you, " is completely false. > Lyndi You have to have a base line to make assumptions and blaming it on medications cannot be done without baselines. (What the other person said)If baselines with a Cardiac work up while on the medications and with pain, that would be different as you could tell what the variables were. I have no damage to my heart yet but I have to keep my blood pressure down. the one way that they know that the pain is causing blood pressure to go up is when they sedate you and your blood pressure goes down as if it was organic it would still be going up. I guess since I am not yelling, screaming, puking, bleeding, or saying I have chest pain, the nurses don't get me. I also did not know how dangerous mastoiditis was when I had this and slurred speech and the radiologist says take this seriously, as my brain scan showed and infection that needed treated and I was having a mini TIA from my hypothyroidism also. Does Topamax help you head pain? I never know. Oh, and I just can't handle the the suzie cream cheese nurses that say, " Do you know you blood pressure is that high? " Uh geez NO, that is why the machine inflates again before it can complete going to 200 and does it again. that is when you should do a manual blood pressure on both arms lying and standing, uh duh, but I don't much, that nursing tuition was useful sometimes. I just state, it is because I am in a high level of pain and I reflect it by my blood pressure, and then they want me to list it from one to ten, oh please help us for Nurses who could chart, patient is experiencing high level of pain reflected by blood pressure being 230/115, don't you think most medical people would get it and a pulse rate of 115? I give up sometimes and go to my biofeedback place and wonder if they could sign these nurses up for blood pressure, the fifth indicitative for pain. Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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