Pain Meds Cut Causes Dizziness

Since cdc mandated 90mg morphine or equivalent as daily max amount to be prescribed my pain management clinic has been reducing my pain meds..... i was receiving 75mcg patch & 6 hydrocodone for breakthru pain. First drop was to 50mcg & 6 remained same thats a major drop of like 80mg morphine equivalent if i remember right.... but wasnt drastic effects other than pain increase (over 15 years of pain medications experience) but following month dropped to 25 &12mcg patch & 7 hydrocodone but had major dizzy spell after being on my feet for awhile was like a major vertigo attack that lasted 30-45 minutes when mentioned to dr they started running tests after test, i told them it was from med cut but they wouldnt believe me. Primary dr sent to ent & ent sent to audioligest for more intense middle ear examination no new facts. So ent dr sent for an inner ear mri again no new fact. This over a couple months i am down to 25mcg patch & 7 hydrocodone for second month. Still having regular dizzy spells (this is reason for not cutting it last visit). Not sure where the road from here goes as far as med cuts go. Has any one else had an issue of dizzy spells with pain medication decreases? I do have terrible back structure as not 1 disk is not damaged or missing & there is also some bone missing near the lower hip connection point. Back in early 2000s my first ortho that checked my back could not believe i walked into his office; i kinda shrugged & said i dont see what other choice i had. But anyway does anyone else have similar issues? I think the dizziness is pain induced due to the reduction in pain medications but none of drs want to hear it. I have found a few confirming articles on line. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

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Hi Roro,

Sorry to hear about your recent drop in pain medication and the challenges that imposes. I hate to say this, but it seems to be a very common occurrence across the board for all legitimate pain patients. I completely agree with you that the symptoms you experienced were likely from the medication cut and could be a form of withdrawal due to shocking the body, so to speak. It's almost like the pain medication had propped your body up and helped keep it going strong and all of a sudden the crutch was snatched out from underneath your feet, leaving a weaker foundation. That may or may not be the best analogy, but it's sad to hear about doctors lacking even basic levels of compassion to the point where they are unable to relate to their patients or at the very least offer some suggestions to mitigate the seriousness of the situation at hand. In such cases, maybe it's time to change doctors? But even that's a gamble unfortunately... Some suggestions for mitigating the dizziness/nausea (outside of restoring your former dose of medication) may be to supplement with ginger, peppermint, staying hydrated with plenty of water, finding ways to reduce stress in your life, trying an antihistamine (which are sometimes touted for alleviating dizziness), vitamin B6, vitamin C, and perhaps researching other natural options so you don't have to take another prescription with more side effects.

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Re: David (# 1)

Thx david well dr stand in didnt cut and agreed that it was the problem not sure whats gonna happen this time at dr ..... have been considering a change they keep quoting cdc acute pain mandates .... acute is not chronic ... hope they figure out diferance will need to explain the down grade this has caused in my survival .... which i wont go into great detail ... but imagine what you can do when you get dizzy spell after 15 min on your feet ....actually the foundation anology was right on point i have 2 vertibra missing bone at hip & below one is missing at least a 1/3rd & other a 1/4th so ya pressure on spinal cord pressure is the issue but theydont wanna listen ... hhhmm

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I about fell off couch when I saw this, YES! I 1st thought it was the cymbalta/lyricha add ons. (seperately, of course) it's been over a yr & I'm still having these same dizzy spells. They range from mildly annoying 2 flat on my butt w loss of consciousness (fully passed out 4 seconds) I was on (60 & 30) mscontin & msir, 180mg total max to new dosing of 15 mg = 90mg total! I weaned myself down prior 2 dr doing this, as of today, I had assumed low blood sugar was culprit.... Idk, I just get up very slow so as I don't end up on floor. Hope this helps, ur not alone!

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Re: Cathie (# 3)

Thx Cathie .... my issue is more prevalent after getting up it starts at 10-15minutes on my feet read post 2 for more details thx for responding

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Try Methadone. It has a long half life of 65 hours. So to explain the half life meaning. When you take 100mg of methadone you will still have the effect of 50mg after 65 hours and 65 hours later you have 25 mg and so on and so on. Trust me this has been a life changer for pain management. The pain relieving effects last 24 hours so only one dose per day keeps you out of most pain. Also it is much less expensive than pills....

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Re: Cathie (# 3)

My spine is way worse than any I've seen listed and am bed bound for 3 yrs now because I get NO MEDS AT ALL solely due to cover up after firing my Neurosurgeon.....I can't even turn my head 1" sideways w/o my brain spinning! When I get up, it's as if I'm trying to pull myself off of an industrial magnet and I am full of steel... I live in Oconomowoc, WI... ANY suggestions would help. They tell me to go to PT yet can't get to the bathroom via crawling.....no exaggeration!

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Well dr not doing anything to help ...(thank you lord 4 the things i went througb upto nowif this was 35years ok well never mind) dr flunky said cant do anything ... i told him i read cdc .mandate all you need to do is put note in file with why the exception is being done....... he had to pick his chin up off the floor & then said if he doesnt reduce every month dr wont sign (interesting other flunky didnt reduce last month .... things that make ya go hhhhmm) ...i just looked at shook my head just do what ya gotta do and i will do what i gotta do (i think that he turned whiter than this anglo saxon & he is hispanic (hhhhhhhm?mm guy last month was white ... am i allowed to play race card .... interesting didnt even think about that till just now) .. but anywho go back 30th they are suposed to have my records ready & i am suposed to take them to new (literally p m center at local hospital explained the situation & no bad mojo yet they said they would send for records i told them i dont want them knowing yet i am getting them 30th will bring them asap .....not a problem (which did actually suprise me a meduim amount)
BUT I GUESS TIME WILL TELL oh & the new place is 30miles closer or so ...... 30 coming up a lot

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