Morphine

[barn24]

Hi,

some time ago you contacted me about my experiences with morphine. Firstly I must say sorry that I have taken sooo long to reply to you but truth to tell I have been pretty poorly and in hospital with pneumonia and a massive pulmonary embolism (large blood clot on my lung). Glad to say I am slowly getting back to my normal self.

As for morphine well..... I was eventually diagnosed with fybro some 6 or 7 years ago. I went down the usual tract of mild pain killers, nerve relaxators etc. All of which did not do much if anything at all.

I was eventually referred to my local Hospital (Hillingdon) pain clinic. My consultant was a fantastic man (retired now regrettably) who obviously had an understanding of the pain associated with the awful condition. To cut a long story short he got me started on Morphine and changed my life. On a pain rating scale of 1 to 10, I was off the scale before starting Morphine .

All of the multitude of meds prescribed by my Gp were stopped and I started taking Oramorph (liquid Morphine) . It worked like a dream. My pain clinic guy sees me every 6 months or so and adjusts the dosage as necessary.My pains ( as they were multiple ) I would rate now as 2 on the 1 (mild to 10 (horrendous) pain scale.

I take MST 30mgs (slow release morphine tablets) every 12 hours with added doses of Morphine 20mgs (quick acting) should I have any "break through"pain. This is necessary very little as the MST works so well.

There are a few minor side effects which I can live with. My memory is not as good as it used to be. Morphine tends to give me constipation so I take an off the counter laxative as necessary. Initially I got a bit sleepy but that has worn off now.

Travelling abroad can be a pain as some countries do not like me carrying Morphine at all. I always check with the travel agent as to the rules/requirement are and how the land lies to where ever I am visiting. It is not usually too much of a problem but some countries insist on a letter from the Home Office to prove that you are not a drug runner and the Morphine is strictly for personal medical usage.

The only other mildly annoying problem is that, at times I do a very good impersonation of being drunk as Morphine does seem to affect my sense of balance. I now walk with a stick as I find it helps.

I also take a drug at bedtime called Mirtazepam. It help me get off to sleep and is a mild anti depressive.

Well that is about it. If you have any further questions pleas do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards and I hope that you are having a good day !

Ian B

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee]

hi barn24 you make this post as if it is a reply to a request but it seems to be your first post. Just wondering if it is meant to be somewhere else?

[GillyGangGong]

Interesting I too was given morphine a year ago, it changed my life for a while and still does to a certain extent. I have to go to pain clinic every couple of months but my doctor will not entertain a higher dose I am on MST 30mg twice daily and liquid 5mg when required which is 4/5 times a day I am still in pain but manage it better than when I was on ER tramadol. I must remember to get a laxative as I suffer with constipation too.

[Peggy76]

Hi Barn 24. I have numerous afflictions &so very painful cry at times,I take 25 mg throughout the day of oxynorm ,+paracetamol 4x2 daily , yet the pain clinic want me to come off oxynorm &manage with lidocaine patches +all my other medicines for heart/ blood pressure ,sadly I cannot take any antifinflamatory pain killers because of my ckd which is at stage 4. I’m so fed up with pain ,& worried about coming off the oxynorm I’m on a small dose .

I’m also sorry for talking so much about myself ,but pain is so debilitating .

Keep safe & well Peggy76 😘