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How To Stop Taking Pain Pills?

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Posted on Wed, 9 Apr 2014
Twitter Wed, 9 Apr 2014 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 6 May 2014 Last reviewed on
Question : I. want to get off all pain pills but am in a lot of pain. I have bad arthritis , fibro and herniated discs. All I do is sit and watch tv or sleep from my pills. The oxygen make me tired so I have to take wake up pills to get going . Just a bad cycle I am in and feel it is hopeless. I am 64 and on disability insurance for 10 yrs. The pills are ruining my life. I XXXXXXX t go out of the house anymore except to Dr office. and I always seem to have a cold or flu. Help me to take some steps to a better life.
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Answered by Dr. Saumya Mittal (8 hours later)
Brief Answer: Taper slowly Detailed Answer: Hi XXXX I am very happy that you are trying to get off the pills. Most people just prefer to keep taking the pills, and avoid the pain. I am Dr Mittal, MD And have had some experience with fibromyalgia. I am quite sure I tell you nothing new when I tell you that fibromyalgia has no treatment and the pain is persistent unless medications are taken. So you need to know that when you stop the pills, pain is going to happen. There is not going to be an end to it. However, dont try to stop the pills all at once. That will make your pain come up severely and cause lots of discomfort. Instead slow down gradually. Say supposing you are taking 4 pills daily now. Then taper it. initially take 3. This will make the pain come up mildly, and you might be able to control it and hold on till the next tablet is due. Over a period of time, when you get ok with 3, you can reduce it further. You will find that it is easier at first but difficult to stop. So you might reduce the dose faster initially, but slowly later. And of course if the pain shoots up, and becomes unbearable, you can always take a dose in between. Also, I hope you have been on vitamin D supplememtation. Besides L carnitine is being quite effective in some of my patients. So you might try it. 2 of my patients today are on nothing more than Lcarnitine and are relatively comfortable I hope that helps Bets of luck Dr Mittal
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Dr. Saumya Mittal

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How To Stop Taking Pain Pills?

Brief Answer: Taper slowly Detailed Answer: Hi XXXX I am very happy that you are trying to get off the pills. Most people just prefer to keep taking the pills, and avoid the pain. I am Dr Mittal, MD And have had some experience with fibromyalgia. I am quite sure I tell you nothing new when I tell you that fibromyalgia has no treatment and the pain is persistent unless medications are taken. So you need to know that when you stop the pills, pain is going to happen. There is not going to be an end to it. However, dont try to stop the pills all at once. That will make your pain come up severely and cause lots of discomfort. Instead slow down gradually. Say supposing you are taking 4 pills daily now. Then taper it. initially take 3. This will make the pain come up mildly, and you might be able to control it and hold on till the next tablet is due. Over a period of time, when you get ok with 3, you can reduce it further. You will find that it is easier at first but difficult to stop. So you might reduce the dose faster initially, but slowly later. And of course if the pain shoots up, and becomes unbearable, you can always take a dose in between. Also, I hope you have been on vitamin D supplememtation. Besides L carnitine is being quite effective in some of my patients. So you might try it. 2 of my patients today are on nothing more than Lcarnitine and are relatively comfortable I hope that helps Bets of luck Dr Mittal