Health - Morphine Alternatives for (really bad) pain relief?

[Pachanoid]

Hello folks. My friend MOE is taking Morphine for really bad pain. However he would like to know if there are any alternatives.

His main complaint is that the Morphine makes him too sleepy (he doesn't like the 'nod'), and yet he doesn't sleep for very long. When he's awake he's groggy and can't see right.

MOE would like to know if there is anything that's equivalent (or better) than morphine for his pain, something that gives him a full night's sleep and alertness when awake - all this without pain. Is MOE's question realistic?

Any help would be much appreciated by MOE. Thanks.

[coelho]

Do swiy know what is the cause of the pain? Depending on it there can be different alternatives to morphine.

[Grabnar]

Originally Posted by Pachanoid

Hello folks. My friend MOE is taking Morphine for really bad pain. However he would like to know if there are any alternatives.

His main complaint is that the Morphine makes him too sleepy (he doesn't like the 'nod'), and yet he doesn't sleep for very long. When he's awake he's groggy and can't see right.

MOE would like to know if there is anything that's equivalent (or better) than morphine for his pain, something that gives him a full night's sleep and alertness when awake - all this without pain. Is MOE's question realistic?

Any help would be much appreciated by MOE. Thanks.

Any info on MOEs dosage or route of administration? tolerance info? this is something very important to know before giving advice on such subjects. oral hydrocodone is much less drowsy but with all opiate use sleep becomes more difficult after tolerance builds. swim personally has to take xanax with his hydro to sleep well. if MOE has a pain management doctor this is something he will have to discuss with him as combining CNS depressants is very dangerous and can lead to vascular collapse and other unhealthy issues. Dosage of these combinations should be administered only by professionals who understand the respiratory and cardiovascular concerns involved in the central nervous system in relation to these drugs.

[Pachanoid]

Originally Posted by Grabnar

Any info on MOEs dosage or route of administration? tolerance info?

MOE has been 'building up' his doses since he first started taking it sometime around last month - now he's at 10mg, orally. However, if MOE misses a dose for too long he's in hell.

He complements it with low doses of Novalgin (Metamizole?) and Neurontin as well, which he hates and has only begun to take properly.

MOE's pain was diagnosed as neuropathic pain at first, but it got a whole lot worse after chemo and radiotherapy sessions which also left his lower body in a pretty bad state.

He has heard of Marinol, would it be a viable alternative or at least, a good complementary medicine?

this is something very important to know before giving advice on such subjects. oral hydrocodone is much less drowsy but with all opiate use sleep becomes more difficult after tolerance builds. swim personally has to take xanax with his hydro to sleep well. if MOE has a pain management doctor this is something he will have to discuss with him as combining CNS depressants is very dangerous and can lead to vascular collapse and other unhealthy issues.

Agreed. MOE knows this can be dangerous stuff. Of course, he's seeing a doctor (several in fact), but not one specifically for pain management. MOE shall like this idea.

The main reason MOE is asking all this is because he feels his doctors could be doing a much better job, at least about the pain. He told me he may in fact have to look for third and fourth opinions the way things are going.

[coelho]

Well... swim did read that medical marijuana can be useful for treating neuropathic pain.

There are some articles about this:

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/...ource=r_health
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/...ow.php?s_id=96
http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medli...s_related_pain

Swim thinks it is worth a try, as cannabis is way safer than opioids, regarding tolerance and addiction potential issues.

And swims best wishes for your friend!

Reputation Comments on this post:

thanks a lot for the help and links