has your doctor ever talked about a stimulant with you? sometimes, giving people on long term opioid-based pain management a stimulant can help with depression, fatigue, sedation, etc. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the combination can also (somehow...) help get more mileage out of the pain killers.
the most common stimulants are in Schedule II, which means they're regarded as highly addictive. each prescription requires a new, written prescription. some states have laws that state that each written prescription for a Schedule II prescription is only valid for a couple days, others don't. They're commonly used in ADHD, narcolepsy, now and then some forms of depression, weight loss. Amphetamines are currently the most popular option, but Ritalin and Focalin can be effective, too, and those tend to be milder than the amphetamines.
Wellbutrin is sometimes used, too. Its a non-addictive, stimulating antidepressant that's also used to help people quit smoking. Now and then, its used in some cases of ADHD, too. I think Wellbutrin may have more drug-drug interactions than stimulants, so that could be an issue.
Other than that...I don't have any major suggestions, lol. If you and your prescriber decide to taper, I'd obviously recomend doing so very, very slowly and cautiously. No need to inflict pain on yourself, after all.
Sorry about the pill talk, lol. I just...I've known of people on long term, relatively high dose pain killer treatment, and I've seen how it can get rough. Now, with the "opioid epidemic," there's this ridiculous situation in which people who want to get high find pill pushers, while people with chronic pain are being drugged to the gills w/ "off-label" stuff (anti-seizure drugs, antidepressants, etc.), so the doc won't have to worry about the DEA. Its...more than a little bit ridiculous.
I hope this helps. I'll keep you up in prayer.
