Methadone & Morphine in SCD Pain Management

For nearly ten years now, the doctor's at my pain clinic have prescribed methadone and morphine to manage my pain. Both of these are controlled substances and are powerful pain killers. I know a lot of people are afraid of taking these medications. Drowsiness, nausea, constipation, and risk of addiction are some of their concerns.

For me, as long as I eat something when I take them, nausea isn't a problem. Because I've been on them so long, drowsiness also isn't an issue. Constipation, however, is an problem. If I don't take a laxative called senna every day, I will be constipated in no time. As for addiction, this is a risk with any prescription pain killer. To prevent addiction, one must be disciplined.

My prescriptions allow me to take 1-2 tablets of methadone every four hours, and 1-2 tablets of morphine every six hours. To prevent addiction and building up tolerance to these medications, I always ask myself the following questions BEFORE I take them:

1. Can I use meditation to reduce my pain? 
2. Do I really need to take these now, or can I wait another half your? or hour? or longer?
3. Do I need to take two tablets, or will one be enough? or maybe half?

By asking myself these questions, and through daily meditation, I have been able to avoid addiction and building up a tolerance to my pain killers. My doctors marvel that I've been so stable for so long with my medications. I know the reason is because I ask myself the above questions every single time I go to take my pain medication.

For me, these medications do what they are suppose to do, they manage my pain. 95% of the time, they do not cause nausea or drowsiness; I don't get any kind of buzz or high from them; and they don't cause me to zone out in any way. They simply reduce my pain. While on them I am able to drive, think, and behave normally. However, on occasion, because of increased pain and dosages, my pain killers do cause me to become drowsy and/or mentally cloudy. When this happens, I NEVER operate a vehicle.

Although my pain medications provide pain relief on a daily basis, there are negative side affects which I experience in varying degrees. For me, the biggest drawback is how it impacts me spiritually. Faith and spirituality are a huge part of my life. I often feel as though the combination of my pain and pain medication dull my spiritual sensitivity. It's hard to put into words exactly, but I constantly struggle to counter-balance my spirituality against the effects of my pain and medications.

I will also admit that the effects of my pain killers dulls my intellect in almost imperceptible ways. Sometimes I feel that my memory isn't where it should be; my thought processes aren't as quick as they could be; and my intellectual capacity isn't where I would like it to be. Whether this is a result of Sickle Cell Disease affecting my brain, a consequence of the medications, or a combination of both, I don't know. I personally feel it is a combination of both. Lets be honest, how can these drugs not have negative effects on the brain? And since sickle cells don't carry oxygen the way they should, how can that not affect brain function?

My purpose in writing this post to help inform anyone who is considering taking methadone and or morphine to manage their chronic pain. All I can do is share my experiences with these medications. The problem is, prescription pain killers and the pain from Sickle Cell Disease affects everybody differently. What works for one person may not work for another. For me, these pain medications work and allow me to function "normally" 95% of the time.

Anybody taking prescription pain killers should know, if you take them daily, your body will develop a dependence on them. Dependence is very different than addiction. For example, I once ran out of my pain medication; and because it was a holiday weekend, the pharmacy couldn't fill my prescription until Tuesday. After about twenty-four hours without my medication, my body began going through withdrawals. It wasn't a pleasant experience and I wound up having to go to the hospital. So, with regular use, physical dependence is unavoidable; addiction, however, IS avoidable with careful and responsible use.