never took Avinza, so not sure what it is. I took Methadone or either Oxy w/hydro breakthrough. Hope you ffind some relief but I would be hesitant about asking doc for specific meds.

Avinza is a time release morphine. So you don't think I should ask for something else? Should I just wait and see what the doctor thinks?

Thanks for the feedback
Kristi

you start asking for specific meds and they naturally assume "drug-seeker"

Hi agree. I dealt with this at my old PM's office.
They would have me fill out a quick paper each time I went in. Like as in sleeping, daily activity, pain level with meds.
I let them change them. I never brought up "well can we try this"

Plus all PM's are different. Mine would only RX 4 different long acting meds. With no breakthrough meds. It was just his belief. Not that he couldn't RX them he could. He just was set in his beliefs

Not one med works the same as it does the other.
Morphine does nothing for me even in IV form.
So it is very possible its not the med choice for you.

So they may raise the dosage for you at the next appt.
Or switch meds. So just wait till you get there hun and let them figure it out is your best bet.

GOOD LUCK!!
Terri

I was on this for 5 days and it did seem to be working within a day or so. I had to stop taking it after a severe adverse reaction. Scary but disapointining since it was helping. Even though it is long acting I believe that it takes effect quickly. You can always call the pharmacy and ask what the normal time for effectiveness is.

Good luck!

I am on 360 mgs of Avinza each day. I take two in the morning and one at night (120 mg) It takes at least 72 hours for your body to get used to the drug as it very slowly releases a small percentage of Morphine Sulfate for a 24 hour period. I have stated this before, you don't get buzzed with Avinza, it just controls the pain. That's probably due to the slow 24 hour release. You don't get the narcotic buzz that other drugs that are immediate release or even 12 hour release meds will give you. So if I were you, I would talk to my Dr. about increasing the dosage of the Avinza because 30 mgs is the lowest dose made, you can always go up to 60 or 90 and even 120. I started out on the 90s but that wasn't good enough so I was switched to the 120 and after a couple of months of getting night sweats, I was upped again to 240, and eventually where I am now at 360. It works fine for me. It just takes time and a bit of working it out with your Dr. It is a super long acting drug and therefore it is understandable that someone would say it isn't working. Just takes some time.

Hi Kristi,

I have taken Oxycontin as my long acting med for years and it has always worked well for me. When I first heard about Avinza, I asked my PM doc about it. It wasn't an option for me, because I have severe reactions to any form of morphine. But he did say that according to the feedback from his patients who take it, that it is not a 24 hour med. More like 12 hours.

I know that with Oxycontin, the manufacturer insists that it is a 12 hour med (or 2x/day) but I can assure you that it isn't. I started out with 2x/day and within 2 months, my doc had upped my dose to 3x/day. He said he hasn't had a patient yet, who had any luck with twice a day Oxycontin. He did have to get a special authorization from my insurance, because of the manufacturer's recommended dose, but they gave it without hesitation.

Do you feel comfortable asking your doc about a second dose? I know I can talk to my PM doc about anything, but not all docs are the same. Sadly, a lot of docs are more suspiscious these days, because of all the bad press out there.

I would, at the very least, let your doc know that it hasn't made any real difference and see what he/she says. You never know...... I wish you the best with getting this figured out. Let us know how it goes, OK? Take care, Mitzi