Weird complications from pain medications?

[Katie]

Does anyone else have weird side effects from the medications they are taking for pain, etc?

Ever since I started on the heavy duty doses of Morphine, my body has seemed to crash, like the immune system has broken down or something.

A little background that may also spread some light on my symptoms...about ten years ago, near the same time as I first hurt my back by picking up something heavy from the right side, I got a bad lung infection from tearing up the flooring in a hundred year old house. Lots of bad dust, etc. It took quite awhile to clear it up and I ended up with asthma for some time.

One day when driving to work, I had an anaphylactic episode. Huge hives, throat closed up, and I passed out just as I pulled into the parking lot. After a trip to the hospital all was well, but after that I was very sensitive to chemicals, scents, etc. Allergy testing did not give any explanation for the event.

Fast forward to two years ago when I started taking pain meds, serious ones. I started on straight short acting morphine and all was well, once we sorted out the dose. The doctor wanted me to try other types, oxycontin & family, fentanyl, lyrica, etc. Fentanyl had me in an ambulance four hours into the first twelve hour patch, and all the others have me either hallucinating or wretching in the bathroom and with breathing problems, among other effects. So, I've stayed with short acting morph. Even the long acting does not seem to work...it does not reduce the pain by itself, even when I use the short acting at the beginning to let it catch up.

I have been feeling physically ill since last summer, and the best way to describe it is a cross between the worst hangover one could have and the flu, rolled into one. I also had a month long bout of vertigo and could hardly get out of bed last July/August. Somewhere in there a doctor tentatively diagnosed fibromyalgia because he said I had 14 of the 18 trigger points. Of course getting a specialist is nigh on impossible here, so I went on the internet and it said to try a restricted diet, eliminating grains, dairy, etc.

Dairy was OK, but I felt so much better with out the grains, including rice....which makes no sense according to my GP. I stayed off that food, but last September I was sitting on a load of wheat straw while my husband was unloading it for our horses. Within 15 minutes I was severely ill, another anaphylactic reaction, and spent the next six hours in hospital hooked up to IVs. The docs said there should be no correlation between the wheat taken internally and that external exposure.

After extensive testing, an allergist said I was only truly allergic to mold, not anything else, but I have not yet been able to get testing by a gastro specialist. He did say that he believed I had developed chemical sensitivities from the medications I've been taking. And that I need to have surgery as soon as possible before this becomes life threatening. That meant nothing to the insurance company I'm battling though, of course.

I have been getting bad again...very congested, no energy-exhaustion really, ache all over, just no joy of life, and that is on top of the pain from five bad discs. I am still on a very restricted diet. I am just recovering from a month long bout of pneumonia.

I am starting to believe that the medication is the root of all this...that the morphine really is affecting my whole system. I am taking 20-30 mg every 2 to 3 hours, depending on how active and hurting I am. It is barely keeping me comfortable and able to function.

My very good friend, a very sensible and down to earth person, is a veterinarian and is very sensitive to many medications as well. Morphine would kill her, as would exposure to latex. She said there were studies that redheads (which we are) are very susceptible to this sort of thing.

Has anyone else had this sort of problem with medications? I think I have a buildup of this gunk in my system, and it is only getting worse. I have had problems with general anesthetic in the past too, so am a bit worried about my possible upcoming surgery.

Sorry this is so long, but I thought the background is important.

I really need to get over this before surgery; I'm very run-down and am sure this would affect my healing. Any feedback?

[dshobbies]

Katie,

It appears you are very sensitive to your environment.

A book, Eating Right for your Type, hypothosizes; all blood types contain sugars, all foods contain sugars. For those chronically ill or overly sensitive, your blood, not necessarily you, is basically allergic or sensative to the sugars in certain types of foods. Each blood type has triggers that when avoided can make a huge difference in the way you feel.

For instance, I have type A blood and my biggest trigger is milk. I also have asthma. When I refrain from eating all milk products, I feel better in a matter of days. No doctor ever warned me about milk products but the difference cannot be denied. (Too bad I love cheeses) This book is very specific. For some, like my cousin who seems to be sensitive to everything and has adhered to this diet without fail, the difference is amazing. He no longer dreads each day.

I'm sorry you're having such a bad time with your meds. Maybe this will help. It's worth a try if nothing else.

here's to better days, Dale

[Katie]

Dale, that's very curious. I actually suffered for over a year with the severe congestion and asthma, going to ENT specialists, respirologists, etc., till finally a friend suggested a naturopath.

She in turn told me that I had candida and got me on grapefruit seed extract and acidophilus. Withing ten days, I was fantastic, and within six weeks, had lost 35 lbs and was the healthiest I had ever been. I was off all sugars, etc at that time, in order to rid myself of the cause.

My health food store had types of fresh trail mix that corresponded to blood types. I'm B-, and bought the 'right type' for me, but didn't really think much about it. I remember him mentioning that book as well.

I was single at the time, and met my fabulous husband not long after that...it was easy since I lost all that weight I gradually fell back into my not so healthy ways...back to sweets, etc. A very restricted diet is not easy especially when dating!

So maybe I need to take a second look at that. I had gotten back on probiotics after the antibiotics with the pneumonia, but it just isn't enough.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention, and for slogging through my much too long post. Editing was never my strong point

[jentop]

Wow, another horsewoman who has also experienced vertigo, mold sensitivity, fentanyl reaction. I feel for you! I had recurrent, chronic vertigo for over a year. (I think that my spine is now somewhat twisted from sleeping on only my left side for so long to avoid the vertigo.)
Anyways, I also had 2 level cervical and 2 level lumbar DDD with cord compression in the cervical. I was lucky enough to be able to afford the recent 2level ADR surgery in Germany which has made my daily life so much better. I also felt sick or dizzy or just not right nearly everyday before the surgery. It was scary to get out of bed each morning not knowing if I would immediately upon standing up feel like puking. I really think it was to a great degree myelopathy related.
I also feel that the diet suspicions are very valid. I don't know what to tell you other than to try an elimination diet. Also, avoiding sugar is really important too. Despite all my problems, my inflammation marker (CRP)is very low, which I attribute to all the supplements I take-ie; fish oil, CoQ10, tumeric, etc etc. and my attempt at eating healthy.
Good luck with getting your surgery approved. I really think it will make a huge difference in your life and is so much a better option than fusion.

[Katie]

Hi Jen,

So you have horses too? How did you manage before surgery? My dear husband has taken up the slack for the small farm, and I live for the day that I can play with my girls, and make them do a little work for a living at last. I used to do combined driving, and the equipment has been sitting inside, waiting for a nice trip through the trails around us. I have been very afraid to do much of anything after having the diagnosis of extreme risk to quadriplegia from any small bump or fall.

I have changed my goals to have surgery in NYC with Dr. Fabien Bitan, after seeing him last week. He wants to do hybrids, with a combination of fusion and ADR at both cervical and lumbar levels. This is the only way I can see getting approval by the provincial insurance, as they are so adamant against multi-level ADR. His explanations of why to use both made a great deal of sense to me, and I am happy with the compromise. It is amazing what happens when you 'click' with a doctor! The confidence level grows and the way ahead finally seems clear.

Can you explain what an inflammation marker is? I am very close to eliminating almost everything except very basic foods...no preservatives, chemicals, grains of any kind, yeast, etc. I do have a weakness for some sugar, and am fighting hard to get off that completely. It is just a craving for some kind of carbs, I suspect.

Thanks so much for verifying the vertigo, etc. I truly have felt like I have been going nuts. Who else has weird symptoms like this, after all...my local doctors certainly think I'm tripping down the yellow brick road.

Dr. Bitan seems quite confident that many of my problems will disappear after the cervical area is looked after too. It is interesting to hear you say that the myelopathy is the source. I was bouncing between that and the medication sensitivity.

This is exactly what I was hoping to receive...confirmation that others have gone through similar symptoms, and there is hope at the end. Thank you so very much.

[Jakea222]

Well I was upped on dose on lyrica and it knocks me out - and just before I feel like I am in some time warm where everything is going in real slow motion - ans slows reaction time and complete fractions of a second are gone --- I drove a golf cart up to take an employee to her cart and was slowing down to let the valet park a car and the next thing we are in eachother! I said it was like I was playing a game and I was going to blow you up by hitting you and he was actaully fooling around - but fraction of a second was gone...

[Katie]

Wow, Lyrica put me in another time and space as well. It was hard to describe, but I did not like 'losing time' like that. I got off it after a couple of weeks of that.

My PM doctor tried me on amytriptiline (spelling?) to help reduce the pain as well, but it gave me horrible nightmares. Of course she didn't warn me about that, but finished my sentence for me when I went in for an assessment after she prescribed them. "How are they working?" "Awful, I said, I am awake all night because..." "...of nightmares?", she said. A rare side effect, apparently, but I was one of the lucky ones, again.

Is anyone aware of a toxic buildup from these drugs? They are simply chemicals, after all. I am starting to feel like a farmer's field that has had too many loads of fertilizer...take that any way you like

[melodyl]

My experience with narcotics confirms your belief that they could be the cause of many of your problems. I was on almost every pain medication available for 4 to 5 years prior to a revision lumbar surgery and then a 3 level cervical ADR surgery. A combination of fentanyl patches and short acting oxycodone helped with the pain....but the side effects made life challenging at times. I could deal with the daily fuzzy feeling.....but sometimes....for no apparent reason, I would be overcome with exhaustion....so extreme that I could hardly get out of bed or off of the couch. These episodes of fatigue usually lasted for 3 to 5 days. During them, I had zero appetite and felt depressed. When I talked to my G.P. about the symptoms, he suggested it was from a build up of the medication in my body. Sometimes my body and organs processed the medication without causing problems and other times it built up and pretty much knocked me out for a few days. My last surgery was over 3 months ago and I have tapered off of most of the pain meds I was on. My energy and appetite are increasing with each reduction of the narcotics! Although the withdrawal symptoms have not been fun.....the return to life without a bunch of narcotics in my body is well worth it! I took off my last fentanyl patch 4 days ago (Yeah!) I bet you will feel a whole lot better after surgery and recovery. Good luck! Keep everyone posted on your situation. Melody

[Katie]

Melody, thanks so much for confirming my suspicions. It feels good to have someone relate to these weird feelings. I can't wait to get off these drugs too. I'm not sure what I hate worse some days, the side effects or the pain itself....pretty bad!

I hate this feeling of Russian Roulette when trying a new medication...when will I have to pull out the Epi-pen or call the ambulance again? I think it's harder on my poor husband than on me at times like that.

[shar57]

so weird, I have been taking pain meds for neuropathy for many years no prob. about 2 years ago I also started getting strange reaftions to my meds, actually it was at the same time that everyone was dying from methadone.
I beleive there was a bad batch going around, fortubatly i also had a stash of about 200 extra pills just in case my doc was out of town or something,
I started getting horrible heart palps, couldnt breath, lost 30 pounds in a month, felt like someone was pulling my gums backwards off my teeth, my ears were on fire, and just didnt feel right, it took me a while to realize it was my methadone. I got inot my old stash, that medication did NOT do this to me. IT was the exact same brand, Roxanne 10 mg but it looked a little different, larger, whiter, and had a faint tan line running thru the middle of it( from the side view) luckily I have a great PM doc has known me for many years. he swithed me to MS CONTIN, this worked for me for about a year then I got weird reactions to it, I compared that last batch to my stash, and it was lighter in color and thicker, but I only had about 15 of those stashed,this time I got really really sick. My doc was good enough to let me try having some methadone compounded for me at a compounding pharmacy, they made it in liquid form using only water, guess what no reactions AT ALL! WHAT A RELEIF.
here what ive figured out for me, I have becaom allergic to ALL PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, this include things like irsh spring soap, cleaning solvent, like my husband uses in his shop, deisel, paint, gas, some deoderants, have petroleum in them dish soap, so many things, laundry soap, you would be amazed.
here is what my doc thinks, that when the pharmacutical companies, are amking these drugs, they are somehow coming into contact with petroleum, either when cleaning the machinery, when they make different batches, or somshere in the processing, the thing is all of the opiates we get in this county are made mostly in asia, and who know WTF they are doing over there.
I was potter for about 15 years, buying my clay, sanding breathing in all this stuff, let alone dealing with glazes.
I have a tendancy to get vertio also, but for me it is dairy products, dairy creates mucus which get in you eustashia spelled wrong Im sure tubes (in your ears) the mucus unsettles the crystals, and then when you move your head this is what gives you the spins.
you would be surprised how many food have dairy in it.
creamed soups pizza, bread, yogurt, sour cream, everything.
but ill tell you if you want to lose weight, get off dairy, you can get your calcium from something else.
humans are the only animal that continues to drink milk after they are done nursing, and then its not even from our own species, the dairy industry is a HUGE money maker.
it also cause iner ear infections in kids, which is what the number 1 thing pedatritions treat! hope this helps someone, love this sight!

[Katie]

shar, there were reports about bad batches of Fentanyl not so long ago, that the patches were releasing too much medication at one time. My prescription was not one of them however.

Thankfully the vertigo has disappeared, and just the weakness is hitting on and off.

jentop, I so relate to this. "I also felt sick or dizzy or just not right nearly everyday before the surgery. It was scary to get out of bed each morning not knowing if I would immediately upon standing up feel like puking. I really think it was to a great degree myelopathy related."

I was told that the compression on my cervical levels has already caused permanent damage and the chances of having the symptoms disappear are pretty slim. I sure hope the doctors are wrong on that one. I am glad to hear that most of your side effects listed above have gone away. There is hope!

May I ask how bad the compression was with you? How long did you have to go before getting surgery?

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[fireyangel76]

Hi Katie,

I am also a redhead and have bad reactions to most pain meds. I prefer the pain to the side effects.

Fentynyl patches also had me sick as a dog and hunched over the toilet after only 4 hours. It took over 24 hours to wear off and start feeling human again. I had a lovely colonoscopy a few months ago and the nurse decided my fentynyl allergy wasn't truely an allergy. She gave it to me IV push...and as I told her before it causes a extreme reaction in me....and it did again. I am not sure why they bothered with the big red allergy band on me and then ignored it....she is lucky I didn't have an anaphylactic reaction!
Lyrica....yuck...I couldn't get out of bed. Morphine not good at all...basically all of them cause really severe nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and headaches.

I also have many symptoms as you and had a diagnosis of FMS. I think I have something that they can't explain, or are tired of trying to figure it out and so I get the FMS dx. Do I have it...I have most of the things associated with it so I don't really know. I just noticed that you mentioned candidias (sp) or yeast. It is one of the proposed therory's of FMS.

Hang in there and I hope you feel better after surgery and have less need for these pain meds.

[Katie]

I am so happy to hear from someone else who has this problem. Misery loves company, as much as I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Today was another bad one, or tonight actually. A storm came in too (coincidentally) ??

Morphine is the only thing that both relieves much of the pain and doesn't push me over the edge or doubled over the toilet as you said. But it is a very fine line, and the short acting has me in constant stages of withdrawal, especially at night.

I am horrified that the nurse gave you the fentanyl against your wishes and warnings on your file. I would be going back to the top of the hospital over that one. She could have killed you under different circumstances.

Please keep in touch. Is there any relief in sight for you?

[fireyangel76]

Hi Katie,
Lucky for me I am not in severe pain any longer (knock on wood). I have not found anything that doesn't make me sick and take cares of my pain. At my worst before my first discectomy I could not get out of bed and nothing I took touched the pain, but only gave me more pain from vomiting. I finally took high does of valium with anti nausea drugs. The combination would just knock me out. There is no middle ground for me. It is either deal with the pain or get knocked out.

My pain I have now is managed by rest, ice, and activity limitation. I wish I could find something so that I could be active and comfortable. Depression is my worst enemy now because I feel pretty useless on most days. I try to just do something each day to feel productive and valuable. I still do floors but not windows! LOL! However on those days I sweep or vacuum I can count on the next 24 hours on ice. I'm not complaining because at least I am able to do those things every other week and I still remember the months unable to walk to the BR.

I hope you find some relief for your pain and you win your appeal for ADR surgery.

Betsy

[dshobbies]

I too am a redhead and have unusual and 'rare' side effects from drugs, sometimes even exact opposite effects. I've found holistic remedies worthwhile. I'd like to suggest both acupunture and a holistic doctor who may or may not be an MD. A word of caution though, just as in the medical community, quality and caring varies.

Also a book, Eating Right for Your Type, suggests those with chronic medical problems have something that can be described as blood allergies. The four types of blood are made up of sugars as are foods. Depending on your blood type, some food sugars do not agree with your blood sugars. As an example, when I stick to this diet, my asthma completely disappears. This also hypothosizes that pain and inflammation can be reduced when your blood is not at war. Though giving up foods that you love may be difficult, living with pain and the negative side effects of possible helpful drugs is so much worse.

Please understand that I was never a 'believer' until these things worked for me. Though I can understand the blood thing, it does make some sense, I was beyond skeptical about sticking needles in my skin for whatever remedy was needed. I still don't understand how raisins soaked in gin can diminish the pain of arthritis but it does. And even medical science agrees that cinnamon decreases blood sugar (which I put in my raisins to kill the taste of the gin)

I'd never advocate ceasing any medical care. But sometimes your personal solution may be elusive. Finding other options may be in your own best interest.

Good luck, Dale

[fireyangel76]

Thanks for the info Dale.

I saw you post about the blood type diet before and I looked it up. I saw that I love everything it says I should avoid which didn't make me happy. On the other hand it did make me wonder about the validity of this since I overdo on everything I should avoid. I am thinking about it seriously. The avoiding caffine is the big one...not sure I could live without that. Being an old night shift nurse I am convinced that coffee is what keeps me alive!
I have tried accupunture and it didn't do much for me. I was in much more pain at the time so maybe I will revisit that one. After so many years of pain there comes a point where you start to give up on chasing relief. With all this activity limitations my body looks like I am 80 and I am only 50. What I wouldn't give to be able to get in some sort of shape. At 50 I know I will never look 30 again, but I would settle for looking 50!

I started on cymbalta a few months ago and I thought I was doing ok with the side effects. Recently I have had major headaches, vertigo, and some nausea. I find it strange that it is just now starting after a few months. Anyone else try cymbalta? Were there any side effects? I especially want to hear from the redheads.

I hope everyone is on a road to a comfortable way of life.

Betsy

[Katie]

Hi Betsy,

As to your new symptoms, it may be that you are developing new sensitivities. I discovered something new that upsets the apple cart which I have been around for years with no problem...wood shavings. We live on a farm, and wheat straw sent me into an anaphylactic shock twice now, and I had been using it for years with no problem. Two nights ago, we changed to shavings for animal bedding, and it looked like all the capillaries under my skin had broken where ever the dust had touched, along with a mild itch. Again, we had used it before for years. Just weird! I have used a double mask ever since the first attack with wheat; the second attack must just have gotten past the mask and was fairly mild. I'm much more careful now and limit my exposure significantly.

Dale, I have read that book before and follow it somewhat. My diet is severely limited now as it is with no grains at all, not even rice, etc. and I think the only thing I should be avoiding is potatoes, but I just can't cut them out too! The local health food store used to carry fresh dried fruit and nuts that were packaged for the right blood type, and I loved it and it loved me I guess I should go back and read the again. I have eliminated sugar in the past when I had a problem with Candida, but fell back to my evil ways when I recovered I've been very careful with it lately and hope to see some results, at least with my waistline.

I was very skeptical as well at the beginning with such things, but when they worked when nothing else did, I became a believer. Betsy, I haven't used Cymbalta, but a friend has, and I will check with her about side effects.

Good luck with everything.

[jchebert1979]

Are you on any type of GABAergic drug? These include the benzodiazepines (valium, xanax, lorazepam, etc.), lyrica, neurontin, baclofen? If so, this may be contributing to your problem. Check out The Tranquilliser Recovery and Awareness Place or BenzoIsland.org for more information. It might be scary and overwhelming at first, but it might be able to answer a lot of your questions.

[Katie]

Actually I am on a low dose of one. How did you come to find out about a potential problem between them and why would my pharmacist or a doctor not catch it? Thanks for the link. Off to read it now.