Hi, I am worried about the medicine they are giving my husband. He has several health issues, and the hardest for him is the pain from diabetic neuropathy, and from breaking his back and they put steel bars and clamps in to hold it all together. That was 15 years ago, and didn't hurt him to much until the last 2 years or so as arthritis sets in. He is only 46, but has all kinds of health issues. He is diabetic, the back, the neuropathy, colitis, sleep apnea, gerd,depression,obisity,(350LBS).
Anyway his current doctor is giving him so much pain medicine it is scaring me,,and I am not sure if it is safe or not. He is taking 50mg. of methadone twice a day, 60mg of MS contin (morphine) 3 times a day, and 10 mg of flexeril up to 3 times a day as needed. He takes other medicines for his other health problems, and is also on a pain pump with suefintia,(probably spelled that wrong, sorry not good at spelling) and marcaine that is pumped directly into his spinal cord.
The same Doctor prescribed all this medicine, except the pain pump is done by a neurosurgeon, and the Doctor is aware of the pain pump. I have asked about it being to much, and she says as long as he is breathing she can keep giving him more until his pain is under control. That is the other part, he is still in crying pain daily. It is like no matter how much medicine he takes, it is still horrible pain. and I am getting concerned that he is going to go to sleep one night and not wake up. With sleep apnea he has to wear a mask because he stops breathing in his sleep anyway.
  The nuetosurgin told him along time ago, and allot less medicine ago that he was living very dangerously and that it was to much medicine, and wanted him to stop it all, but then I don't know how he would handle the pain. I know you arnt doctors(at least most of us arnt) but appreciate any advice and suggestions. thanks to all my SA friends, help me out guys I am to young to be a widow and like my hubby even if I have had him along time.lol

Well, if you are worried, have you considered a second opinion?  That is where I would start.  

My husband has severe arthritis.  At his last visit, we discussed the new meds to treat it.  The side effects, although rare, can be deadly and we had a long discussion.  His doctor put it in these terms, "Maybe you will die at 60 living your life or you can die at 65 never knowing what living is."  Maybe that is something you two will have to face too.  It put things into perspective for me, as his wife.

I also know the things he is unable to do because of his pain.  I know how severely his personality has changed because of the pain.  His doctor is right, he isn't living life, he is merely enduring it.  

I guess what I am trying to say is I admire your concern.  It comes from a place of love.  I really understand that.  What you probably need to do is shut that off and look at him from as objective a point of view as you can.  

Here are your issues:

Diabetes which is probably not managed well if he has neuropathy.  
Pain from prior back injury
Arthritis
colitis
sleep apnea
gerd
depression
Weight

Well, I would say, because of his complex medical situation, he should be seeing specialists for all his conditions, not just his back.  He should be in a diabetes clinic or seeing an endocrinologist first and foremost.  That would be my primary worry at this point.  I am sure he is seeing a specialist for the colitis.  The same person should be consulted for his Gerd.  All of those conditions would improve if you can get his weight under control.  Now, that is part of the battle here.  My hubby has gained a substantial amount of weight because he is unable to move, therefore, no exercise.

Also, the depression is a result of the pain.  Nothing is going to help that until you get some kind of pain control.

If you haven't already done so, have your hubby authorize you to talk to his doctors.  Trust me, your head is much clearer than his.  Also, you will be able to tell the doctor what is going on if hubby is reluctant to.

I would then either set up an appointment with a new primary care physician or tell his that you want a second opinion.  Then, from there, you want a team of doctors, with the proper specialties assembled to work together.  That way they can come up with a team approach to his treatment.  

Tobby, something else I am really reluctant to mention by perhaps lapband surgery might be a good idea.  Getting a lot of weight off him will make a huge difference.  That kind of excess weight is weighing down on his back.  Like I said, Hubby is in the same situation.  It is making all his problems worse.  The more you can get off him the better.

You need to take charge with the doctors.  Question them every step of the way.  Believe it or not, they will respect you for it and they will get to know both of you better.  Read up on his conditions.  Find out what works for some people (medically, not these miracle cures) and talk to them about it.  The more knowledgeable you sound, the more they will want to talk to you about it.  Knowledge is power.  Make sure you stick to real medical sites.  

I am here for you if you need support.  You are not alone!  My husband is borderline to becoming diabetic, has high blood pressure and chronic pain.  I have to go with him to the doctor to make sure he remembers to talk about what we have been talking about at home.  I hate going, but he gets better results when I am there and I also hear what they say so we both understand.

I'll be thinking about you two and hoping for the best.

thanks pmeek, no the pain clinic wants to much money, but the docter does ask about his pain and keeps uping the moriphine, they just raised it 60mg at noon, and he said he could hardly tell, but he does sleep allot.

Everyone else has given such good, thorough advice that I could only find one small thing to add that might help.

Is your husband using artificial sweeteners or eating products that contain them, stuff like equal, nutrasweet, sweet & low? I would bet so as most diabetics do. What many people do not realize is that these artificial sweeteners can cause neurological symptoms, or make neurological symptoms worse. It has been scientifically proven that they also cause you to be hungrier than normal.

It will be a bit difficult, and will take a good amount of work to keep his blood sugar even, but I would bet you that your hubby would start dropping weight and feel a bit better within 2 months of cutting out all artificial sweeteners. You will have to be a diligent label reader to avoid them, but I assure you it is worth it. When I cut them completely out of my diet, my appetite dropped by half, my neurological pain decreased noticeably, and I lost 15 pounds in 2 months with no other deliberate change in what I was doing.

The first 2 weeks are a real bummer, but you lose the cravings for that stuff pretty quickly once it is out of your system. I noticed that my sense of taste improved dramatically by that time, too.

I am not trying to say it is a cure-all, but it may make things a little better for him, and it sounds like even a little bit would be a big help for him right now.

Best wishes to you and your family! 

Thank you I will check into that more. It does sound somewhat familure in the symptoms. thanks again