Help with neural pain, and Morphine addiction.

[Satuna]

Hi there, I two problems really. The first, I got infected with the Chicken Pox virus, which infected almost half of my brain. After a long stay in hospital I suffered over a year in which I was fed, washed and so on.

Slowly I got my strength back to do more for myself. The pain was horrific! Still to this day I suffer post Chronic pain syndrome. My nervous network constantly fired up. Any exercise leads to pain.

I take 500mg Gabapentin 4x times a day. 200mg Carbamazepine 2x times a day. 20mg Citalopram 1x times a day. Morphine 2.2mg 4x times a day.

My other problem, morphine!

I had to wait over a year to have my Gall Bladder removed. The pain of having the gallstones was horrendous. I was given morphine for the pain. My body is now addicted to the dam stuff! I get no help from my doctor, or Brain Specialist.

I have awful belching sessions an hour before its due. I try to drop the dose slightly, then later am in terrible pain all over.

Where can you get help? Please does anyone know. Thank you.

[PainConcernHelpline Moderator Community Champion Pain Concern]

Hi Satuna ,

I'm very sorry to hear about the things you have been through. Spending so much time in hospital must have been difficult especially followed by the long recovery and pain. But it sounds like you have made very good progress over the years, which is fantastic!

I understand that you are using various pain medication to help with chronic pain, and morphine specifically has detrimental effects on your well-being. I'm very sorry to hear that your doctors have not been giving you enough support with this, even though you had the right idea turning to them.

In fact, it is the job of your healthcare provider to offer you treatment when you seek help with your morphine-addiction. If your doctor consistently proves unhelpful, you have the option to be seen by someone else.

Just to be sure though, it would be useful for you to schedule one more healthcare appointment to discuss your addiction. Perhaps take someone you trust with you for support - did you know they can sit in on your consultation as well? To make sure you get the most out of your appointment, take a look at our leaflet containing tips for managing healthcare appointments. You can find it here: painconcern.org.uk/managing...

Otherwise, if you want to understand more about morphine and what is happening in your body, make sure to use reliable sources. Our leaflets on the Pain Concern website are assembled by experts, so you can always refer to these. Here is the one on opioids: painconcern.org.uk/managing...

I hope your consultation goes well and you can keep making amazing progress - you already have come so far!

Best wishes,

Moderator 3 on Behalf of Pain Concern