I have Scoliosis but I did not develop until I was in my late forties. I have Scoliosis and Kyphosis and my spinal cord moves and when it does I can't hardly stand the pain and it evidently is hitting a nerve and it is like I feel cold blood cursing through my veins and then it turns hot and I start hyperventilating because it is so strange to me and scary.

When it first began happening I had no idea of what it was that felt like it was going from my head to my toes and it was cold as ice and I could feel it moving and I would turn really hot and seriously I thought I was going to die and then my left arm would turn numb along with my left leg and foot and if I dared to move it would scare me and hurt so badly pain wise I could not stand it.

I went and had a MRI and they diagnosed me with Scoliosis, Kyphosis, Degenerative Disc Disease and Neurological damage and they tried me on various pain medications and none of them worked very well. I was finally put on methadone and it worked much better than all the rest but I have been taking it thirteen years. I have been on my dose of 280 mg for 3.5 years and I am going into withdrawal ny morning.

My Doctor which is Psychiatrist and I have an Orthopedic Scoliosis Specialist has conversed and decided to put me on Luvox instead of increasing my 280mg because they say the Luvox will make the methadone last longer and I can start to reduce my dose. No way! I have not heard anything good about Luvox and why should I take it just to increase my methadone dose or will it help reduce my anxiety and relax my muscles.

I have not been able to take Flexeril or any of the muscle relaxants. Xanax works almost as great as the pain medication because I suppose I tense up and begin to have back spasms and it makes everything worse.

What is your opinion of Luvox (flovoxamine maleate 50mg)
taken three times a day with methadone 280mg. I do not use crutches or a wheelchair yet but I cannot walk very far or stand on my feet very long. It has totally destroyed my shopping trips and I barely can take a bath and roll my hair
without it causing me agonizing pain. My has progressively become worse through the years but I feel if He would increase my pain medication it would help me do what I must do. If you have always been able to bathe, fix your own hair, clean your house and go shopping with your friends and family and now you find yourself hardly able to do these things it can become very frustrating.

I still do not approve of prescribing Luvox when I am not depressed from endogenous sources and I am not a canditate for OCD. He is only prescribing it because He does not want to increase my methadone. He thinks my dose is too high because He has never treated a person on such a high dose. I have been on methadone since 1993 and my dose has gradually been increased due to my pain and now I have been on 280 mg for 3.5 years. I have developed a tolerance to the medication and I need a dose increase.

Please what can I expect from Luvox and have any of you ever taken it? How do you feel about the medication and did it have any side effects and how do you think it would react with methadone? Is it difficult to discontinue the medication?

Help? I need some answers before I see him again. Please someone must know something about this medication. Help me?