I was just wondering how others are handling things like driving while you are on pain meds. I do alright, but every once in awhile I will have a bad dizzy spell and then there are bouts of double vision. I also have moments that I call "black moments" when I forget where I am for a minute. I am thinking it might be time to limit my driving. But I am 36 and giving up that freedom scares me. What are your thoughts?
I see what u r saying i drive a truck for a living and i am thirty years old. Im tired all the time and i cant imagine saying i would have to stop doing what i love because of the meds but at the same time i have to protect others on the road. Tough decision
will clark said:
I see what u r saying i drive a truck for a living and i am thirty years old. Im tired all the time and i cant imagine saying i would have to stop doing what i love because of the meds but at the same time i have to protect others on the road. Tough decision
Will: As a CDL holder, you know that you will have to under go yearly medical test. When you take your next test the MEDS are going to show up. Some states (do not know which ones) will hit you with a DUI even if you can well tolerate them. I started Lyrcia and it wiped me out at 50 mg and the doctors wanted me at 150 mg. Had to have them change me to tegretol 800 mg daily. It still wiped me out for the first 3 months and I still have brain fog and forget words a lot. I have to take Percocet when the pain gets bad (I have ATN) so driving while on that is a real no-no. The double vision and blurred vision coupled with the pain, being blind in one eye and being older then dirt, stopped me from driving and working (on full disability now). I know where you are coming from on the driving, my brother is a long haul trucker and the only way you would get him out of the cab is if he is dead or in hand cuffs, and I am not to sure about the hand cuffs.
Short answer, if you get pulled over, it would be a crap shoot if the officer hit you with a DUI. If you are in an accident and they do a blood test, you could be in deep do-do. Just something to think about.
I know what you mean ... I am 34 and have 2 preschoolers I need to drive around. I also need to get to work when I can actually go back (am on sick/annual leave at the moment while my meds are sorted out). I often need opiates to get the background pain under control (I have ATN). I simply would not get in the car if I felt dizzy from the meds. Luckily I live within walking distance to the shops and my daughter's preschool if it came to having to walk. But yes, I love my independence and driving licence! And I just sat my full motorcycle licence on Monday and passed despite the meds and the helmet making my head ache!
i believe driving on the meds is way less distracting then driving w face pain
Hey Will,
"Tough decision.", is a good call; because it is.
Also, by realizing that when driving a truck you're responsible for other drivers out there and yourself, is solid thinking. Most of us need to work and drive, so this issue can present a real problem.
In Tinah's case, those dizzy spells and black-outs are serious bad news while driving. She really needs to think this out and maybe hide her keys until she gets stabilized. Rick
will clark said:
I see what u r saying i drive a truck for a living and i am thirty years old. Im tired all the time and i cant imagine saying i would have to stop doing what i love because of the meds but at the same time i have to protect others on the road. Tough decision
Yes it is a tough decision i do know i have to take another test in september i did not know that they can hit me with a dui thats crazy might have to choose to do something else but i really love what i do but would not want to kill myself doing it or kill someone else doing it. tonight will be the first night taking the lyrica so ill keep u posted its 75mg.
thats true too i drove from florida with the pain this is before i knew i had it it was the worst ever but i finally made it to jersey. So its a give an take thing
2345woody said:
i believe driving on the meds is way less distracting then driving w face pain
Will: You are right about driving with the pain, and once you have adjusted to the meds and they do not bother you that much you would think that the cops would prefere it that way, but no. I was advised by my lawyer, that if I take the percocet, drive and get pulled over it is down town with me, script or not script, in fact it would be worse as they could see I knew what I was taking. The Lyrica wiped me out at 50mg, put a bib on me and set me in the corner. Tegretol worked better for me. However we have some folks on here that are very happy with the lyrica. Each person is different.
I would check with your local PD or maybe the temsters union on the rules for driving with the drugs. In your case, you really need to know as the folks that just putter around in 4 wheels could be in a little trouble, being a pro and they would most likely throw the book at you.
I wish you well man, good truckers are hard to find and those that love it are a breed unto themselves.
So why aren't we told by the dr's or the pharmacist's that we shouldn't drive? I feel for you Will, because that's your livelyhood. That's a tough call. I don't have that problem. I do however have 5 kids that have to be in school, dr's appointments, etc. I have already limited myself to no more than 40 mph, so that means I have to stay close to home. Meaning, elementary school, grocery store, Walmart. That's the extent of my driving these days. I didn't drive at all for the first 3 weeks of the meds, but as my body started to get used to the meds, I started feeling a little more confident. Anything over 40 mph, and I start feeling like I am overdriving my reaction time. My husband has had to leave work many times to run after kids or run sick kids to the dr. But if I don't drive at all, then he will run the risk of losing his job. SO, we are back to what to do, drive, or risk losing the only income we have.
That said, I would not want to hurt someone by driving. So that's where my conundrum lies. I did not know that it would be considered DUI. That is so weird. Would they consider the same thing if they pulled over someone on Heart Medicine? or Cancer patients? I realize we should excercise good judgement and know when we shouldn't be driving, but in my case, most of the time I feel fine. It's just the random moment of "where am I?" or dizzy spell. I usually just pull over into closest parking lot til it passes. I fight myself as I don't want to be the one that caused an accident, but is it really necessary to go distance of actually giving up driving. Ugh.
Will, have you ever been on anything before the Lyrica? I didn't have the problems on Lyrica, but I had gone thru a mess when I was on Tegratol before that. So it really is basically a getting used to a drug and it could take up to a month for that. I've been on Tegratol, Lyrica, Gabapentin, and something else I can't remember right now, the worst was the first one. Good Luck and let us know how you do on it! :)
I was just on Tegratol but i found out that the dose was to low at 300mg. So now im on Lyrica since yesterday at 75mg and it doesnt really work in my opionion I dont really feel a difference as far as not feeling the pain but im taking one pill the whole day so now im feeling pain the whole day and having to take something else for pain. To me its a glorified sleeping pill. Maybe have to go back to the Tegratol.
Wow, Will, that’s a pretty low dose. Maybe they can redose your tegratol? I was taking 100mg of lyrica 3 times a day and it seemed to barely be dealing with the problem. Tegratol took away the pain, but man, the side effects are so bad. There are alot of different meds out there, lots of options. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out which cocktail works for you. Unfortunately there is no magic pill. If you give it 3 days and its not helping…call and have it changed. No need to suffer. Prayin for you Will, I know how frustrating it is when your are adjusting the meds. Ugh!
I don't believe you'd get a DUI for Tegretol or Lyrica. For Percocet, or any opiate based pain killer, yes, that would be a DUI.
here is an excellent previous discussion which covers many of the points you are all concerned about
http://www.livingwithtn.org/forum/topics/possession-of-controlled