Chronic pain meds & switching back and forth?!

Chronic pain meds & switching back and forth?

I have a chronic pain condition that is worse at times than others. usually comes in waves of 2-3 weeks of moderate pain and then 2 or more weeks of pretty bad pain.

i've been taking darvocet and soma for a few years now but it is starting to not work well enough. plus the soma makes me pretty tired. i don't know if stopping it and upping to a stronger pain med will be any better.

but my question is:
my doctor has mentioned upping me from the darvocet to either tylenol+codeine or vicodin. but i know that the stronger the pain med, the stronger the physical addiction & dependence is. so if i use the darvocet for the moderately painful weeks and switch to say vicodin for the worst weeks --- probably 2-4 weeks at a time, will my body have any type of withdrawal each time I go back to darvocet from the stronger ones? or am expected to only take vicodin from now on? [i would really rather not take stronger unless i need it]. thank you!

You should discuss this scenario with your doctor. Also discuss with your doctor the nuances and differences between "dependence", "tolerance" and "addiction" and ease your mind a bit. The chances of you becoming addicted (REQUIRING THE MEDICINE TO FEEL A EUPHORIC RUSH) are not high. You have a chronic pain issue. It's highly unlikely you'll experience withdrawal symptoms of any kind - even if you switch - if you're taking the meds to address a PHYSICAL problem.

Having taken the same medications for several years now, it's quite common for an increased dose to be required now to get the same degree of pain relief you used to. This is medication tolerance. It is not evil, bad or anything you can control. It's merely a chemical reaction to the medication inside your body. It is a reality for many who are managing chronic pain conditions with medication.

One thing you might consider speaking to your doctor about is going to a pain clinic. I was in a similar situation - had built up a tolerance to my meds, was considering transitioning to opiates for pain management, and I found several non-prescription complementary therapies (massage, biofeedback, hydrotherapy) to use which made my current meds more effective.

Talk to your doctor.