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Managing Arthritis Pain
When to Start and When to Stop
It is interesting that I overheard two clinicians speaking recently and this is generally what I heard:
Clinician 1: I got a call from Doctor X's patient while I was on call and he was away. The patient was 2 months after arthritis surgery and was asking for a refill of pain medications.
Clinician 2: What did you do?
Clinician 1: I don't give pain medication to drug seekers.
OK. Now I am only paraphrasing but this happened somewhat like this. It brings up an interesting point. Doctors are often blamed for being on both sides of the problem. I hear that doctors are blamed for prescribing narcotics too freely and also blamed for holding back pain medications in many situations. What is the truth?
There is no right or wrong answer here. The problem is that pain is an individualized problem and while there are numerous guidelines, many patients break out of those guidelines. Additionally, most physicians are not formally trained enough in the science (and art) of pain management. Considering one of the most common complaints any patient has when walking through a doctors doors is, "I have pain," most medical schools have little to no curriculum on pain management.
In my experience as s surgeon for over 16 years I think that most patients are undertreated for their pain. For, example, I see many junior faculty prescribing Oxycodone 5 mg for postoperative pain which is fairly low dose. In general, the current approach to pain management is referred to as "multimodal." This means a combinations of narcotics, antiinflammatories, acetaminophen, ice, exercise, and possibly alternative methods. Most hospitals, though, do not have well-developed pain management services and even fewer have modern cold treatment or ice therapy machines and continue to have nurses put on ice packs at irregular intervals.
Knowing when to start aggressive pain management after surgery is easy. Knowing when and how to stop is more difficult. In a non-surgical setting in the case of arthritis even knowing when and how to start is a challenge.
What has been your experience in the management of your pain -- good and bad?
Dr. K.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: arthritis, pain management, health-and-wellness, medicine
It is interesting that I overheard two clinicians speaking recently and this is generally what I heard:
Clinician 1: I got a call from Doctor X's patient while I was on call and he was away. The patient was 2 months after arthritis surgery and was asking for a refill of pain medications.
Clinician 2: What did you do?
Clinician 1: I don't give pain medication to drug seekers.
OK. Now I am only paraphrasing but this happened somewhat like this. It brings up an interesting point. Doctors are often blamed for being on both sides of the problem. I hear that doctors are blamed for prescribing narcotics too freely and also blamed for holding back pain medications in many situations. What is the truth?
There is no right or wrong answer here. The problem is that pain is an individualized problem and while there are numerous guidelines, many patients break out of those guidelines. Additionally, most physicians are not formally trained enough in the science (and art) of pain management. Considering one of the most common complaints any patient has when walking through a doctors doors is, "I have pain," most medical schools have little to no curriculum on pain management.
In my experience as s surgeon for over 16 years I think that most patients are undertreated for their pain. For, example, I see many junior faculty prescribing Oxycodone 5 mg for postoperative pain which is fairly low dose. In general, the current approach to pain management is referred to as "multimodal." This means a combinations of narcotics, antiinflammatories, acetaminophen, ice, exercise, and possibly alternative methods. Most hospitals, though, do not have well-developed pain management services and even fewer have modern cold treatment or ice therapy machines and continue to have nurses put on ice packs at irregular intervals.
Knowing when to start aggressive pain management after surgery is easy. Knowing when and how to stop is more difficult. In a non-surgical setting in the case of arthritis even knowing when and how to start is a challenge.
What has been your experience in the management of your pain -- good and bad?
Dr. K.
Related Topics:
- WebMD Video: Arthritis Drugs Provide the Help Patients Need
- WebMD Video: New Medications Ease Crippling Arthritis Pain
Technorati Tags: arthritis, pain management, health-and-wellness, medicine
Labels: arthritis, pain, pain management
116 Comments:
Chronic pain is the worst. I've had severe acute pain - childbirth, major abdominal surgery (long midline incision xyphoid to pubis), etc) - but the pain from my fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis is very difficult to manage. Some days are almost "normal," but some days there is severe (8/10) pain in both joints and muscles. Some of the time it is more joint pain, some of the time it is more muscle pain. I'd say that my pain level most days is 5/10. I don't take pain meds for the most part - I worry about dependence / addiction, but I also don't like being "zoned out." NSAIDS are out because of gastritis (brought on by NSAIDS). As you pointed out, pain is very individual, but I wish I had something that didn't "zone me out" or make my stomach hurt that would ease the pain so I could be functional.
Unfortunately, this is a subject for which I am all too familiar, having suffered a multitude of injuries over the years resulting in arthritis in my knee, ankle, shoulders and back. Finally, it was a mountain bike accident that landed me in the care of a Pain Management doctor a couple years ago. But before that happened I suffered long and hard. A knee injury at age 15 brought me grief for over 30 years before I finally had a partial replacement a few months ago. Back in the 1970’s there was no such thing as Physiatrists and/or Pain Management doctors. At least I’d never heard of them. I toughed out my life with knee pain by biking, swimming and mostly living with ice packs. Oh yeah, I drank a lot of beer and margaritas (among other things I won’t mention) which really did help a great deal. However, once out of college and into the work force that became less of an option. There were more injuries and surgeries which provided temporary relief. What I have found over the years (no offense Dr. K.) is that orthopedic surgeons are okay at pain management after surgery but they pretty much suck at it the rest of the time. I didn’t realize until I switched surgeons a couple years ago that some are much better than others post surgery. My previous surgeon just really didn’t get it at all. He prescribed just 15mg of hydrocodone no matter what kind of surgery I had. Usually sufficient enough for a scope of the knee but he’d obviously never had shoulder surgery or had an ankle rebuilt. But, I didn’t know any better so I didn’t complain and I lived through the hell of the first couple of sleepless nights post surgery. When I tore up my other shoulder I decided to try a different surgeon for a variety of reasons, none of which had anything to do with my doctor’s lack of pain management skills. What a huge difference in pain management! The new doctor sent me home with oxycodone plus meds for nausea, and sleeping pills. He also put a pain pump in my shoulder that was full of Marcaine to keep my shoulder numb, and an ice machine thingy. They shot me full of something (who cared at that point) before I left the hospital and when I got home I thought I must be dead because I was feeling no pain. After living through the first shoulder surgery I would not have thought it possible. For the first time in my life of many surgeries I actually slept on the night of surgery. When I next saw my doctor he refilled my prescription without me having to ask, a first for me. He told me he did not want me in pain. Say what? I won’t say I didn’t suffer after that surgery but the difference in pain management between those two surgeons was like night and day.
As for the chronic pain I’ve suffered since my fateful bike accident, what a nightmare. My family doctor just flat out refuses to treat pain for more than a couple of days. I still had my old ortho doc at that point and he thought that surgery on my back “might” help. But after several opinions and much research I decided against that. By chance I ended up with a Pain Management specialist. I didn’t know much about them other than a few stories about them being drug dealers of a sort. I was pleasantly surprised when I met this guy. He suffers from several herniated disks of his own so he totally gets it. He uses the “multimodal” approach. He explained everything to me and also told me flat out that I was probably always going to be in pain. There was no sugarcoating; I am a chronic pain patient. This is not something you ever expect to hear out loud even after years of living with pain. You always think that someday you’ll get better. This guy got me to a point where I didn’t spend my after work hours and weekends in bed curled up with a heating pad. The pain is always there but it’s finally manageable enough for me to live my life. God bless the doctors that “get it” and are willing to treat us.
I stumbled upon a pain management specialist 2 years after BCA with MRM. At the time he was a godsend. But over time I began to worry about addiction to morphine. My doctor always maintained addiction was very very unlikely when you are taking meds for real pain. Anyway I eventually gave morphine up with no problem.
I continued to take trilisate a NSAID that was easier on the stomach. I was pain free most the time, and I had Norco if I had breakthrough pain.
Then my prescription ran out and I was of Trisilate for about 30 days.
Then every day was a new pain.
Bone pain was so bad I began to suspect I had bone mets. A bone scan cleared that thankfully and pointed to 3 areas of "mild" joint degeneration. Lower cervical, L5 and base of my right great toe.
The chemotherapy used to save my life came with cardiac toxicity, neuropathy, bone pain and a host of other side effects.
Don't think I'll let the Trisilate run out again.
I have severe RA and fibromyalgia with chronic fatigue. I have pain every day with swelling here there and every where. I have tried all types of meds with no luck. I no longer take pain meds because all they do is zone me out. So now when I hurt I just take a Benadryl pill and off to sleep I go.I am so tried of taking pain pills that don't take the pain away so why take them.I have accepted my illness and now I just deal with it.I have tried herbs and they don't work. Humira injection and I had to stop them because I had a blood disorder. Humira did work for me while I was taking it.I am so scared to take anythong because I am scared to get another blood disorder.So now I am taking an antibotic call minocyline and hydroxychloroquine and I still have severe pain and swelling all over with no strength on both hands.I depend on my husband and kids to help me with my daily tasks.I have learn to deal with Gods Blessing. Helen
Ihave realy bad bone pain cant use right arm had neck surgery tree lower back syrgies and a leasions on my hip i can feal the pain when i walk through head to toes doc say they dont no and cant keep giving med i want to kill myself from pain what do pain pepole do a nife would not hurt as much as the pain i feal i just stay in one spot 40 years old and it gets worse every day on death row
Hello good Doctor: As a nurse, I have to trust what the patient is telling me. I am sure that some patients do abuse pain meds, but I would not want to punish one person on someone else's account. Also, too often pain management is taken as the focus of care; it is just one part of the clinical picture. For example, the patient that is overweight with bad knees. Losing weight takes a lot of stress off the affected joint, lessens the need for pain meds, helps that patient to participate in therapy ... The overall health of the patient needs to be addressed.
I am a disabled nurse and I always tried to keep my patiences as free from pain as possible. I worked labor and delivery and I had been there and I know it hurts like hell to have a baby. I had vag. and c/s. But it is hard to get anyone to do the same for me. I have lupus,arthritis,fibromyalgia,hypothroid,RA,reverse lordosis,COPD,and my pain level is 6-8 with pain med. I want to be fixed. I moved back home and I could not find a doctor that would give me my pain med. so I could get out of bed, so i had to move back to my reg.doctor. It is sick that drug abusers,addicts,and dealers have made it people that need it can't get it. Doctors treat everyone like a criminal.
I have JRA and fibromyalgia, and I've been lucky enough to have a very supportive PCP who's willing to aggressively treat my pain. I have 3 medications available for me to take when I need them: tylenol 2, ultram, and flexeril (for when my muscles spasm). Medical marijuana is also quasi-legal in my state, and that has been added to my anti-pain regimen. Out of all of the anti-pain options I have, that's my favorite. It has the least amount of side effects and, in my experience (I've been using these 4 options for about 2 years now), the least chance of developing a dependency or tolerance. (I'm still using the same amount of marijuana now as I was when I started, whereas sometimes I have to take double the amount of T2, Ultram, and Flexeril that I used to.)
Pain can be terrible at times of extreme weather. During cold speels i prefer not to take any medicines but try to take natural remedies such as white willow bark. The side effects of NSAIDS are not to my liking and has caused unwanted stress on my behalf!
Michelle
http://arthritis-treatment-painrelief.blogspot.com/
I have been in pain since I broke my Tailbone at 9yrs. old, as a teen many days I had to crawl around, still with a 'step-stool' I did the dishes, laundrey,ect. I saw my first M.D. in my early 20's, his advice?..'LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT', gave me a few 'trigger shots' a mild pain med. So I set out to learn everything I could about 'Back Pain', I picked everyones brain, in the waiting room, or out.I had an HMO as my Ins. so to them as long as I was still breathing & they were getting there money, they thought they were doing there job, this was durring the 70's. My G.P. was the one who gave me 'Vicidon' but on a limited bases, he tried to send me to the 'few' pain mang. Drs. who were finally coming on the sceen. Still even after looking at what they called an 'MRI' & X-rays, I was 'belittled', talked down too, told to get a 'Hobby',a job, even to find a boyfriend,quess they didn't look at my chart 'enough' or not at all, they would off seen I was married & had 3 small children. Many-many times all I 'wanted' to do was leave there office, I was close to crying out of 'frustaion'& I wasn't going to let them see that they had me in that state, I would get to my car & sit crying for 10-15 mins. many times I would have to pull off the road cause just think about how I was treated & 'talked to' I started crying again. I don't know if it was cause I was a woman, or they didn't know what to do for me & many Drs. didn't understand about pain patients & 'ADDICTION'..'HOW I HAT THAT WORD'!!
I stayed away from surgey, partly cause of the Drs. & my Ins, or talking to people that had surgey only to come out with more pain. I FINALLY found a 'pain Dr.' who 'belived me'..worked with me, wasn't afraid to give me pain meds.He would give me the shots & if he heard of a new treatment & went to be trained about it, I would agree to let him 'try' it on me & I would report back how it helped or didn't. Still the meds would only calm my pain down, Yes I have been to Chiropractors, in fact my G-Parents were chiropractors, I did the 'Natural' way with vitiams, Really I did it all.
Still for 35 yrs. I have pain 24/7, I sleep 2-3 hrs. at night & NO! I don't have everthing done for me, I do it all even though my Kids are 'Adults', my Husbands Cancer came back after 7yrs, so he had 2 'Free-Flap' surgeys, was layed off his job the day before his first 'Free-flap' operation, we were lucky he was 63, or maybe not, I live in So. Calif a place others save yrs to come for vacation. To see 'Disneyland' Hollywood Blvd.,places that when its mentioned to me all that comes to mind is..'SCREAMING PAIN'. Many people or friends don't understand the pain we 'live' with every day & why we can't go to 'Disneyland', or paint our house, they have an idea..well it will calm down after a few days, then you'll be alright. Isn't it so frustaing 'trying' to make them understand? & then they tell us what 'Aunt Betty' did for her her 'bad back you should try it'..WE HAVE!! & more, still were in pain.
I'll try to list a few things wrong with my back, 4 bad dics, 2 our 'buldging' one to the left one to the right, one disc is paper thin, one has 'taken off somewhere' & has allowed 2 vertabrays to grow together, 2 vertabrays overlap each other when I move certian ways. I hurt my sholder, or my neighbor HURT my sholder, long story & I just add it to my pain list. Well my G.P. takes a X-Ray of my sholder & sees that my upper back has 'compressed' more & the ddd & arthritis in that area is worse...Didn't he hear me 'complain' about pain between my sholder blades for the last 15-20 yrs.? which makes wearing a bra adds to my pain after 3-4 hrs...Don't the Drs. 'hear' us tell them how our pain has changed? I of Course have Arthris, up & down my spine I started on 'Osteoporosis' meds. in my late 30's, I'v been told I have CFS, Fibro, I know there are a few more things wrong, well the curvical, has been going on since I can remember. I even joke I know more then the Drs. ..Haven't I had pain longer then they go to school?
On any given day my pain is more then 10, it goes down to a 10 after I take my meds, so call me..'ADDICTED' if you want, all my blood test come out normal & 'you are NOT ME. I don't say to my family...'my back hurts' I'm tired of saying it & they know & now I WON'T LISTEN TO 'ANYONES' STORY ON WHAT I 'SHOULD' DO FOR MY PAIN, I'll be rude then hear that 'tape' AGAIN. One treatment that 'HELPED' was having an I.D.E.T., I was able to walk 2 days later without the knifes stincking me in each hip, I sleep 5-6 hrs. at night, was able to do more, like 'clean my house'...'Don't you love the ones who tell your husband to 'get on you, to keep it cleaner'...when you see what amess their house is, the kitchen is grimey & greasie, all along their base boards is 'stuff' an inche of cigaret butts, dog hair, pieces of paper & they 'BREED' Doxies, so the male 'markes' every where. or cause on a few of your 'really bad' days, so bad your thinking of 'where is a train I can jump in front of', so you pull out something from the freezer, you have made & froze some of...well there wife will 'teach' you how to cook'...ya she burnes everything & I'm a great cook...'Thank you very much. had to get that B out, now back to the I.D.E.T., well for 6 mons my mood was better, then as I'am putting Christmas boxes away, we have a boat in the garage which makes it handy for me to reach the rafters. As I'am getting out I slip on the fender & fall hard on my 'full lower' back ..both legs straight up, for 3 wks. I couldn't sit, lay or walk without 'screamin'pain & yes I'am sorry I didn't go for x-rays, now my Ins. won't pay for another one, saying 'even though it has been done for yrs, it hasn't been approved in the U.S.A.'
I have another 'bad dr. story' but i'll spare all of you, but one thing he did was back me against the wall & told me if I didn't say some people get addicted to 'pain meds' he wouldn't write me anything, this was after he again looked at my x-rays & said...'Yep I see why your in pain', then he writes me '800mg. Motrion'. So if I see a new Dr. I now put a tape recorder in my purse, NEVER AGAIN will I be 'BLACKMALED' to say something I don't believe...just a tip for you 'painers'. So I'am an 'Addict' if you want to think I am, one thing about 'Nancy Regan' who started this 'War on drugs' ...lets talk about the 'Drinkers' yes I got close enought to her to make sure it was coming from her. Also I NEVER say..'HAVE A PAIN FREE DAY'...i DON'T REMEMBER WHAT ONE IS & WHO EVER THOUGHT UP THAT'so cute' saying, hope she or him got shot...LOL. Thanks for reading my book, I have more this is the 'short version'...LOL. Hugs Painers, Pegi
I'm in my 50's and I've been dealing with idiot doctors and their pain "solutions" since I was a little kid. The problem is that doctor's see pain as a
1) reason to write a prescription, or
2) a reason to indicate that the patient has a mental health problem, or
3) a "life-style" problem that the patient can resolve by means of following rules presented in
physician lecture
when the real problem is that the doctor does not view the situation as a reason/opportunity to **resolve** pain(s).
The research money goes to drugs, not resolutions because resolutions do not perpetuate an industry.
And I can also say with certainty that there are many many more bad doctors in 2007 than there were in 1955. (At least in 1955 they had the excuse that there wasn;t much that they could do.) But the medical school model produces businessmen who if they have to spend more than 3 minutes on a problem will blame the victim and send them on their way, devoid of solution(s), devoid of compassionate care, devoid of hope.
Its not right. And the "Boomers" moving through the U.S. medical system will change it radically in the next 25 years...legislatively, if necessary.
And the docs will have no one to blame but themselves.
I read everyone's comments with such sadness and I relate to almost everything said in one way or another. This is all such a tragedy!
My story is that I have tried over 60 modalities, treatments and medications and paid out of pocket after good insurance $250,000 and lost a fantastic loving ballroom dancing husband in large part to not being able to "find a cure". He even learned craniosacral manual hands on therapy (similar to physical therapy) and worked on me almost every night and it did keep me more functional and helped tremendously with the chronic daily headaches and migraines but as a researcher and rocket scientist (literally!) he wanted a cure and believed in medical science way too much as he was a scientist in hard metals (aerospace). I went 4 years laying around in a lazyboy with no pain relief wanting to slash with a knife along the dermatone route of the cervical radiculopathy pain radiating from my neck and had thoughts of starting to amputate my arm outside of an emergency room as the pain was so bad and I'd just live with a prosthetic....but I knew I'd probably have phantom pain so I didn't..... I had mild to moderate episodic pain from age 10 with headaches/migraines and neck pain and a few years after that back pain and always low energy (I also have fibromyalgia/myofascial pain syndrome and probably chronic fatigue). My pain became severe/suicidal and constant in 1990 and has remained there ever since and will not change. My diagnosis from Johns Hopkins (I went to the best) is "chronic intractable failed neck pain syndrome (status post cervical surgery C5-C6 with titanimum screws and bolts) with chronic daily headaches complicated by a migraine disorder" with fibromyalgia/myofascial pain syndrome, hypothyroidism, Raynaud's syndrome and chronic fatigue. Through extensive internet research I found Dr. William Hurwitz who is the best pain doctor in the US in my opinion but the DEA has been after him and he has had his license suspended numerous times for prescribing opioids to pain patients. I have had my opioids stopped twice; once under Dr. Hurwitz' care and once under Johns Hopkins Pain Center. That is beyond traumatic....to be on a pain management program that does help and find out that the doctor can no longer prescribe and there is no one else that is available and you are left scrambling....or your incredibly horrible pain will return as well as going through withdrawal... We are physically dependent on pain medications...but that is just like a diabetic or a heart patient or high blood pressure patient is on their medications. They must take them or they will go through a withdrawal....their bodies "require" them and they will have various severe problems if they don't. Addicts are psychologically dependent on opioids. Chronic pain patients are not. We don't "live" to take opioids. We take opioids to have a life. Therein lies the difference. When you go to the doctor, keep emphasizing what you want to be able to do.....more housework, be more of a spouse, do a little work, do a hobby, whatever.....they want to hear that you are taking the medications to have a life and to improve your life. You should ask to be "titrated to effect" which means getting sufficient opioid to handle the pain as well as handle any side effects, ie. constipation, nausea, drowsiness (which will probably be psychostimulant like Dexedrine or Ritaline), rash, etc.) Just because you have side effects at X level of opioids does not mean you should lower the opioid amount. You should have as much opioid as you need for the pain. PERIOD.
Good luck to one and all....for we need it.
I'm lucky to have a PCP and rheum doc who has followed me for years and knows I've reached the point of needing stronger pain control.
Most doctors worth their salt should be able to see your pain patterns and know when it's time to up the ante.
Chronic pain is as debilitating as the diseases of the joints and muscles we all suffer from.
At 52 I've taken just about every anti-inflammatory, anti rheumetic drug known to man. It wasn't hard for my docs to see that I wasn't 'faking' pain especially since I've gone through all the usual pain meds already.
If your arthritis is moderate to severe, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that your pain becomes progressive in correlation to your disease process.
If your doc is intimidated by DEA then find one who isn't. My doc didn't batt an eyelash when I asked about pain patches. We had a lengthy discussion of pros and cons, of course, but the DEA wasn't even a consideration.
Any doc with a solid rep, shouldn't have to concern themselves with DEA pressures. I'd be concerned if I had a doc who couldn't take a little heat or be willing to champion my medication needs. If they didn't believe I needed it, then they shouldn't be prescribing it in the first place anyway. Are they going to call my doctor a liar when he says that I have had years of chronic pain and his best medical opinion is that I need to go on a long lasting potent pain regime? I doubt it. The DEA aren't medical professionals first of all, and secondly, they don't have the right to interfere with my doctor's treatment of my arthritis pain, unless what he was doing was illegal. Opiates are legal when prescribed by a legitimate doctor for legitimate reasons.
Don't take no for an answer if you are medically appropriate for strong opiates like Oxycontin, or Fentanyl patches. Find a doctor who has some back bone and who's first concern is his patient's well being, not his own comfortability range.
Thanks for sharing your stories, I dont' feel so alone when I read of others struggles with their pain and arthritis.
Take care
Colleen
I'm 53 and had RA for years. I live in eastern KY there is no such thing as pain meds here. If I go to a pain clinic I have to travel 50 or more miles,with RA that is no fun. The DEA needs to get out of esp. the older generations pain and leave our Drs. to do what their supposed to do help their patients. Many of our understanding Drs. have lost their narcotic lic. for (over prescribing) I am severely allergic to asprin, Ibroprophen, naprosen, any of the inflamatory drugs. so I'm up the creek.
I have RA and OA and have damage in almost all of my joints, proven thru testing, X-rays and MRI's..I have become "used to" the everyday pain but during flares or bad days I do take pain meds to take the edge off...
When I get to that point of the meds not helping I go to the doc and get either an injection (steroid) or a systemic injection if too many joints are flaring..
I have also used a medrol dose pack to help me through the rough times..
I do find that alot of docs don't like to prescribe pain meds and I have quite a few friends with RA that can't seem to get them at all and just have to suffer through the pain..
It has to be frustrating for them, I know that at times without my pain meds I wouldn't be able to sleep at all..
Even with them there are times that I can't stay in bed because of the pain..
I think pain is individual to each person and that would be hard to gauge but my docs seem to know that when I say I am in pain, I am in pain or I wouldn't bring it up at all.
Cindy
Umike07
I have to live with it every day some parts feel like someone hitting me with a hammer and thats almost every day, my Dr. and I manage it and all with pain meds and glucose sulfate which helps the large joints but nothing for all the small ones, the bad things is I can't take anti- inflamatories, so I have to watch I don't get in trouble taking to much .
I have had 3 cervical fusions in as many years. My first year was the most horrific. My wonderful neurologist didn't believe in pain medication. I was on a waiting list for 3 months. He prescribed Darvocet after my primary had given me Vicodin. I was literally at his mercy. Due to his impending retirement and fear of litigation he refused to offer anything but Darvocet. I went to the E R 34 times. Many w/ 3-4hr waits. They would give me 5-10 tablets. I was told to find a "friendly" doctor, I was told I was a drug seeker etc. Had I known this doctor's agenda re RXs I would have told him no way. I was stuck. After a 3 level anterior fusion and a 8 inch slash, he gave me more Darvocet. Although I have tried to "forgive" him I still have dreams of castrating him and giving him Darvocet. Anyways, his fusion failed. Second one 1.5 yrs later. No one told me this was an ongoing surgery. Rigid stabilization causes future disk degeneration. DO NOT HAVE A FUSION!! There is new technology on the horizon. Went to number two doctor for a 3 level posterior fusion. Thank God he had a conscience and gave pain meds which I weaned myself off. Unfortunately his 10 year time was reduced to 1.5 yrs after which I had another Posterior 6 level fusion at LARGE clinic. I have a 3 plus allergy to Nickel. Had been tested for Titanium. Unfortunately Neuro "forgot" to check allergy band for NI allergy and I now have stainless steel with 15% Nickel. What a nightmare my life has been for my family. Still have pain and have to convince doc that nickel can be dangerous to me as a foreign body I can develop all kinds of wonderful things. I can only warn people to WAIT! There is pending flexible disks soon. I wish someone had told ME. Now I am not even a candidate. Not too happy with the "practice" of Medicine at the moment. Had last fusion Nov 06. If a patient needs pain medication. It must be given. My blood pressure would go 180/120 with pain. I'm only 46. I had months of fetal position pain just wanting to die. No doctor should have the right to hold back medicine. I should have taken him to the State Board. Dependency and mental addiction are two different ballparks. Doctors are so scared. No wonder people buy off the internet. You have to go to major pain clinics to get medication. Something is definitely broken in our medical system today. The almighty dollar! Thanks for listening and please don't get the current rigid stabilization fusions. Patients are not warned this is an ongoing procedure. If I can help just a few people not have to go what I and hundreds of others are going through now. The doctors KNEW there was new technology around the corner but they needed to pay their bills now and couldn't wait for FDA approval. Wish I had gone to Germany.
I am from northern Iowa and had a pain specialist at one time and she had to up and move to Colorado. I have multiple sites of severe OA, severe Fibromyalgia and suffer from not only migraines but severe regular headaches. My GP gives me 50 Vicodin a year for my regular headaches, I take Topamax for my Migraines which has helped tremendously plus Amerge for the migraines I still have and I'm on Celebrex and Ultram for my OA. I still have a 7 for pain every day and I thought I wasn't getting any relief but when I ran out of medicines I realized the medicines do help. I've lived with this pain for several years and I'm 47 now. My last OS did not believe in pain meds and didn't give much after surgery. My new one I'm not sure yet, I've only have one surgery with him and it wasn't a big surgery and I got through it fine. I usually take myself off the pain meds if I feel I don't need them. I live with quite a bit of pain now. I can live with some pain after my surgery's without taking some medicine. I am looking a 2 tkr's very soon and an ankle replacement within a year or so, so maybe I will revise that statement. I also have severe OA down my whole spine, I also had my L-5, S-1 fused and my L-2,3,&4 are all bulging discs badly so I have quite a bit of pain in my back. It's not fun to live with. I can't stand for very long and I can't walk hardly at all only with a walker. To the person who said not to have fusions in the back, I didn't have a choice. My L-5 disc was totally gone and I couldn't sit for more than 10 minutes without a great deal of pain. I had to have surgery because I couldn't stand either. My L-2 disc was already bad and I knew that my other discs could get bad because I had a OS at that time that had already had back surgery and he explained it to me. But, I didn't really have a choice. I agree though that people who abuse narcotics do make it harder for us who have chronic pain. Doctors don't want to hand out the drugs. To the person who smokes marijuana for medical reasons and thinks you can't become addicted to it, think again. My son smoked marijuana and that was his drug of choice. He didn't smoke alot. But he was addicted to it. Not only that, it has impaired his thinking abilities and his ability to handle everyday things. We have to be careful around him, what we say to him and how we say it. He can be a ticking time bomb. And let me tell you, he didn't smoke it for alot of years and he didn't take other drugs, he only smoked marijuana. Why people think that drug is innocent and is not as bad as other drugs is beyond me. It may help your pain, but what is it doing to your brain? Think about it! I know what it did to my son's. He is now 29. Linda Kennedy
Hi,
I am a 49 year old lady living in west central Florida. Iam a registered nurse and an opiate addict in recovery for 10 years.
I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the cervical spine, knees, and hands when I was 27 years old. I was able to manage my OA with nutrition, exercise, rest, ice, heat, and NSAID's. I lived an active lifestyle until 10 years ago when my knees became more painful and limited my activity.
I had a C5-6 diskectomy with auto fusion in August 1994 in Gainesville, Florida and have been pain free in my neck, shoulders, back, and arm ever since despite the fact that C6-7 and L5 are herniated...they don't hurt YET! My PCP started me on Darvocet and Soma for the pain in 1992 and I was addicted to pain pills without even knowing it initially. I knew when I took the pain pills when I didn't need them, took more than called for, and begged, borrowed, or stole more that I was addicted.
I asked for help,joined Intervention Project for Nurses in Florida and got clean and sober. I have tried every treatment possible for chronic pain without narcotics for the last 10 years and now I am finally getting a partial left knee replacement Tuesday May 8th. I had a brace made for my right knee and will pick that up tomorrow. With artificial synovial fluid injections and the brace I should get 2-3 more years before I have to face a replacement on the right knee.
I have bilat carpal tunnel syndrome, bilat ulnar nerve compression at the elbows, motor neuron dysfunction, but these haven't bothered me since I modified my lifestyle and activity level.
I have been fortunate. I tell all of my doctors in Citrus, Marion, and Alachua counties that I am a pain addict in recovery. I have a pain management specialist from Hernando who is happy to help me and appreciates my honesty with my past addcition to pain pills. He is better able to help me. For this upcoming surgery he will use a multi-faceted pain management regimen. Initially including the PCA morphine pump, methadone, then patches and oral meds. This physician has ensured me that I will obtain adequate pain relief and I believe him because I have cared for his patients on a cardiac step down unit, many who are opiate tolerant. My physician knows I want as much as I can get and more because my tolerance to opiates is so high in order to have adequate pain relief and he knows that I want to be off the opiates as soon as possible. My sobriety is number one, the knee second.
I will probably have a short run off toradol which is a wonder drug as far as I am concerned. Too bad it is only feasible for short term care.
I am sorry so many people suffer needlessly. I am fortunate to be in a semi-rural area and find so many people willing to help me. No one is taken aback when I tell them I am a pain pill addict in recovery. They state they are in awe of my honesty and appreciate my willingness to speak so openly. I have to be...that is how I get the help I need.
I didn't ask to be an addict. I didn't plan on becoming addicted to pain pills. But when I was ready to get help I was honest with everyone. That is why I have been treated with respect. I have been brutally honest. Thank God for the 12 step recovery program. The most challenging patient for a physician is an opiate addict in chronic pain. Just because I am an opiate addict does not mean I am not entitled to adequate pain relief. I would encourage all of you who judge addicts to pray for their recovery so they can become useful members of society again. It is possible in some cases.
God bless everyone who still suffers needlessly. My suggestion is to search high and low until you can find someone willing to work with you, because the technology exists. It is out there so find a practioner willing to use it and compassionate enough to care.
Karen
Dr. K.,
This is a great topic. I, in 55 years was never treated so badly as i was following my Total knee replacement, from any Doctor. The pain control was so bad as to be almost missing completely. I came home from hospital on day 4 with 15 darvocets and instructions to take 1 every 3-4 hours. IMPOSSIBLE. this was no kind of pain control at all. I spent the worse couple of months trying to get over the pain from this surgery that in honesty I ended up hating this surgeon. I also think Drs. should look at past history when they are deciding if someone is look for a fun time on pain pills. I have NO history whatsoever with abusing any pain pills or anything else. I have ulcers in my esophagus so all arthritis meds are out as is even an aspirin a day.
1 darvocet every 3-4 hours! GIVE ME A BREAK!
I am new to all of this. I had 2 surgeries last year and now am being told that I have OA at the L5 level and they are treating it with celebrex. My question is I have gastritis and my understanding is this is hard on the stomach. I was just hospitalized for bleeding ulcer and many other erosions in my stomach. My PCP has me on Lortab but keeps reducing the strength so I wont get addicited. I have told her numerous times I dont use it unless I need it but that does not seem to matter. I fell on my right knee that has OA and bersitis in it and now they tell me to learn to live with it.I am not sure that it is strong enough for this at all. I live with pain everyday and am told to just learn to live with it.I am overweight and they tell me that, that is my problem and if I loose weight it wont hurt so bad. Thanks for listening and if any advice please sent it my way.
Most Dr.s are afraid of the dea. This and drug addicts hurt those of us in need of true pain relief. I had seen about 50 Dr.s befor I found one that treated my pain, I always got the DEA spill. After finding my pain Dr. I had surgery and still have pain. My PAIN Dr. understands this and prescribes me 60mg of methadone a day. I can say I am addicted but not an addict. I live my life now mostly pain free. You need to decide if you want to be addicted or not live your life!
I am 21 years old & the pain of my RA can become very unmanageable. Before I was diagnosed I had spent a couple of months bed ridden & completely unable to move. My parents had to do everything for me, shower me, turn me, sometimes help feed me, all because I could not move. Now with treatment the pain is bearable, but still the flare ups make it to where something as simple as turning a key to my apartment is an absolute chore. There are so many times when I wish I was just your normal 21 year old. I know there is no cure for this & all I can do is "live with it". I am in the same boat w/ these other bloggers as far as the medicines go. I get so sick of taking pills, & if I don't just one day of skipping treatment throws me into 3 more days of trying to get over the pain. A lot of these otc painkillers dont work for me either. It took me about a year to just be wiened off of prednisone. I noticed that in my case humidity makes me feel a lot worse & a steaming hot shower makes it feel a lot better! :) Every night before I go to bed I take a hot shower & the first thing I do when I get up is take a hot shower. It helps me to begin & end my day a little more easier. My parents & grandparents keep telling me that if there were ever a time for me to get RA, it would be now. Especially since there are so many treatments for it & each one can be modified to best fit me. I feel for those who had to live w/ RA before now & there was nothing for them. For them there was no hope of getting better or dealing w/their chronic pain. I indeed feel blessed
I have had several artho surgeries on both knees (right knee worse)over the past 2 years. however right after surgery the pain is back. My Dr tells me not to do steps are walking alot, My Dr also told me that the cartilige is gone in my right knee which means I have bone on bone. I have tried the injections and they only last about a week maybe. I am trying to lose weight but I cant walk even a little before I am in so much pain. I would appreciate any help or suggestions you might have. I am only 56 and I want to play with my grandbabies and If I get down on the floor with them I cant get back up without help.
Thanks Mary
Hello;
The above situation tends to be a common one, not that it happens all the time but most chronic pain Pt's have experienced it at some point in their Pain therapy. The problem I feel has more to do with our view as a society with regards to people who take these meds, all of them from the start are viewed as drugies or someone who is drug seeking etc. Have you noticed on average in a Pharmacy someone who drops off a script for a narcotic or pain med has to wait almost 2x-3x as long as someone lets say whos filling a antibiotic, why? Allow me to give some unique insight & behind the scenes knowledge. I have previously managed 2 of the nations largest retail pharmacy's (u know them) that's when I began to notice the trend & Pt's complaining of wait times, I even would have the Pharmacists or Techs say directly to me that all these people are just wanting to get high, never mind Mr. X who came in with a Halo bolted to his broken neck or Mrs. Y who has had multiple knee & back surgeries, nope stillthe same feeling back in the Pharmacy these people are wanting to get high.
Things progressed to where the staff would make a game of it seeing how long to make them wait until they would show the beginning stages of withdrawl, or how they would pick Pt's out as they approaced & say yeup this guy I bet has a script for happy pills. I later married a Pharmacist who's opinion was that of what I just mentioned, she would actually be angry at these Pt's not the Doc's who the Pt needed in order to get the meds, and the person who was more qualified than any of us to decide who needed these meds or not.
Oh by the way I am a Nurse Pain Specialist & while working in the pain clinics things there went from bad to worse, initially pt's were placed on a strictly monitored opiate program for various disorders, then when the negative stuff hit the media I began to see all the doctors start to become more reluctant to write for the meds, due to not so honorable doc's who got busted selling scripts illegally for big money. So the gov set it sites on all doc's who wrote alot of pain meds, therefore the doc's would now stop writing them & the Pt's would suffer greatly, then the Doc's came up with a dangerous plan, now Pt's had to agree to the Doc's course of Tx which almost always included some form of risky surgical procedure, leading Pt's to feel obligated to allow these surgeries so they could get their meds, if they refused several of the Doc's would write in Pt's file that "Pt has ignored or refused the appropriate treatment regime, begin discontiuing opiates immediately, or over the next month". You see Pts dont know they have the right to be involved & choose their course of treatment, and for a Doc to do this was one illegal & immoral.
The Kicker is one day the Pain Doc just laid into a Pt who he moved off of opiates to Gabapentin (a non opiate, at the time farely new med, really not desired for pain) without any stepping down he told the Pt withdrawls wont kill you, that they should tuff it out & give the meds (Gabapentin, which he presented to Pt's as the next thing in Pain meds, which it has many uses & pain is at the botton of desired uses) time to work, so the Pt is in terrible pain coupled with withdrawls & I know this med isn't going to touch their pain.
I stepped in informing the Doc of all that I've monitored in my short 3 mths their & how he's crossed the malpractice line, violated Pt's rights, and black mailed Pt's into procedures they didn't need to have, I then informed him that it hurt me deeply because I too am a long time chronic pain sufferer & have taken opiates for the better part of 7yrs now, so that getting high part of everyones can just go out the window. True Pain Pt's do not get a high if u will from pain meds they first of all get relief though never total relief, allowing us to function at a level that without the meds we otherwise would be on the couch all day. Dont get me wrong there are those Pt's who take the meds incorrectly as I have myself before, and trust me it's not a cake walk you get dizzy & sick to stomach & can't function, so the idea that all of us are seeking a high well that one time for me if that's the high everyone has rumored about I never want to see it again.
This is a subject that really gets me riled up! I was diagnosed with RA and Fibromyalgia 6 years ago at the age of 20. I started having JRA symptoms when I was 10, but they were dismissed as "growing pains," and I was told to deal with it. At 10 years old! Nevermind that I stopped growing then, and the pains continued until I got pregnant at 18. They were "growing pains." Right before I turned 20, I was suddenly hit with adult RA, and a few months later Fibromyalgia. Luckily, when I first got sick, I was going to college, and had access to a good medical school and got a diagnosis. I couldn't take care of myself and my child while going to school anymore, so I had to move back home to southern West Virginia, where opioid addiction is an enormous problem. Until recently, there have been no rheumatologists anywhere near me that would take my insurance. I've been limited to GP's and Internists. Every doctor that I have been to in the past 6 years has automatically looked at me as a drug addict as soon as I tell them my symptoms! I have taken every NSAID on the market, every over the counter pain killer and anti-inflammatory, and combination thereof until I have dammaged my liver. None of these work. At all. Steroids help some, but the Dr.s I've seen are reluctant to prescribe those because of the side effects (like I care at this point!). I did find a doc once that I thought was compassionate, but he was just using narcotics as a marketing tool! When I tried to tell him it wasn't enough, he threatened to take my meds away! He took me as just another addict! (And in re to pharmacy attitudes, I was once accused of changing a date on a narcotic script that this doc wrote, in the middle of wal mart pharmacy! I literally cried for days!) That's the only pain relief I've ever had, and it was just a taste of 10mg Norco. He wouldn't let me take anything else because of my liver, so I didn't even have a chance to try any other options! No one will even TALK about it! You'd think the DEA had the offices tapped! I've finally found a PCP who will at least give me steroids and ultram (but he still won't talk about it!)and a Rheumatologist out of state. I'm tired of fighting off the pain every minute of my life! I can't sleep, eat, think or do ANYTHING because of constant, mind-numbing pain! I can't handle anymore, and its criminal that Drs make people live like this! If you call this living!
I am 41 yrs old living with RA fibromyalga inflammatory collites hypothyroidism and now bilateral lower lobe ground glass infiltrates. I was diagnosed at 35. I had to stop work at 38. I have 5 doctors I see on a regular basis. I am currently on 28 meds including medrol methatrexate flexeril and remicade. My problem is getting diability to pay. I take percocet 7.5 daily without this meds I could not live! I have people in my family who say I only want drugs that I don"t need them.They blame the drugs for my health problems not the other way around! I helps me to read others stories so I don"t feel so alone.Yhanks for reading.
Qote: my fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis is very difficult to manage. Some days are almost "normal," but some days there is severe.
I live with this problem also, I also read everything I could. Most doctors will say they don't beleive in pain medication,It is time to get away from that doctor because he is a qack! My doctor said he does not beleve in pain, thank god! 90% of people on pain medication use it correctly. After all alternative pain relief, my doctor sat me down and said take the Hydro/codone Mike! We have done the others and they where not working! For 1 year I had great success, then my doctor was tranfered and it has now been two years before I was assigned another full time doctor and thus far he has been great. With the words: I do not beleive in pain Mike. If you are taking to strong of meds simply take less. however if you are taking to little the pain will stop your hart or create high blood pressure and kill you! I also hate it when I talk with someone whom has been procribed psch meds! Cronic pain does not mean we are crazy. Treat the pain properly and then ask if I have lost my mind!!!!! I have lived with this pain for more then 4 years now. I get very little sleep, my stumick is torn up because of the low dose approch. Yes I took the so called great drug also Vioxx with little help for my pain. Doctors can do blood work to see if you are using your medications correctly and if you have even been using it. So for you drug abuser, your time is coming. The old doc can tell. America wake up. Once my medacation was correcty I went back to work. However when it is incorrect I draw SS. It is my body, and the doctor resonsibility to properly help me. I even ask My Doctor once: It seems like maybe I got "HIGH" from my meds! He stated; no mike, we manage to releive your pain and you got rest and your energy level shot up. He was right that is not getting high. If you are in pain I do not care how much pain meds you use it is almost inpossible to get high! They place blockers in them to stop that. Be careful with the meds, do not give them away, you may need them one day.
hello, I am a young student at a medical class around 25. I chose to go to med school because of the brutal construction work I have been doing since I was 15, one of the worst (tile) I know tile work is very bad for the knees among other important joints... my knees hurt every day, some times my muscles. when I am on my knees doing tile on the concrete my knees some times pop. it seems like they pop back in to place but when I get up it is no different, maybe my knees adjust to being on the concrete. but even when I move wrong moving buckets of cement (with my right hand) I force my hip out of place and it hurts on the left side and in my tail bone for a week or two, until it pops back in to place. when I carry the bucket of cement with my left hand I can hold it much more sturdy and have less pain. although my knees still experience a lot of pain the more I am active almost like a sharp pain and a burning combination. although I am only 25 my grand father had crippling arthritis when he was 16 so maybe I inherited some of the hereditary disorder that plagued his life.. thanks doc
I have personally experienced a big reduction in osteoarthritis pain since adopting a plant based diet. I have since recommended this to my arthritis patients. Dr. John McDougall, M.D. and Dr. Dean Ornish M.D. both have great programs.
I've had a long history with managing pain and Doctors. I suffered a compression fracture of C6-C7 in the early 80's that went undiagnosed for too long. I suffer with a herniated disk in my neck now which, if ignored or abused by too much computer work or reading, causes knots to form all across my scapula and shoulder right side. Trigger point injections were my only relief then. No meds prescribed short of tylenol and codiene on rare occasion.
1990 saw me suffering a fall on my tailbone. Again my injury was ignored. Not just by emergency room staff, but several Orthopedic doctors. I even had one of them tell me it was due to my poor financial status. He said had I been Joe Montana, I'd have been healed. Some muscle relaxers, bio-feed back and ice mixed with condescending attitudes from treating physicians was my experience with medical care.
1998 I was diagnosed with osteoporosis and told to take calcium. A year later I ruptured my first lumbar disk lifting a high chair. Prescribed Hydrocodone 5/500mg and flexerils. On the advice of a friend, I saw a leading Neurosurgeon in Wilmington, N.C. He put me through a mylogram and then a diskogram before telling me there was nothing he could do for me. He did prescribe injections in my right facets at the pain and treatment clinic though. Doled out pain meds as if I were an addict, but upped the dosage to 7.5/750mg.
On my own I have learned to tolerate high levels of pain and only take my pills when it is so bad I get suicidal. One 60 count prescription has been known to last me 6 months. I've also been known to break them in half.
2005 ushered in the second disk rupturing in my lumbar region after moving furniture back once repairs from hurricane damage were completed. This time it wasn't one week of hell but three before I began to see relief. I've been so programmed to believe my doctors will only send me home with a "sorry nothing I can do", I chose to bear it until the simple act of breathing caused me to cry and pray for death. My current physician sent her nurse in to inject me with an anti-inflammatory which began to help with my pain the following day, but also caused me to bleed internally less than 15 minutes after I left her office and upped my dosage to 1000/750mg. She's a good physician and I love her the best of any I've been to in my entire life.
Just recently my hips began to cause me problems along with my shoulders too. I waited 8 months before telling her, but when I did, she sent me for blood testing to determine if I developed rheumatoid arthritis. And yes, I can now add that to the list of issues I must deal with.
The question is you ask is how do I rate my experience with pain management? Poor! I moved 1.5 hours away from my doctor and I won't switch to another physician because I refuse to argue for what I need. I'm scared to see a Rheumatologist even though I know I should because the meds used to treat it will cause me to bleed internally, so why bother?
I find most male physicians to have a condescending attitude towards women thereby missing or misdiagnosing health problems as a neurosis. That's even prior to talking in terms of managing pain. In my opinion Freud's theories are very much alive and well still today.
I have been living with RA for about 7 years now, most of that time without any type of pain control. I also have Fibrcystic Breast Tissue, and Osteoartheritis. When I would hurt really bad, I would just double up on NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen. As the disease started spreading, I was sent to a Rheumatoligist. So far, in 2 years of treatment, I have been given Plaquinil for the RA, and told to take Advil or Tylenol for the pain. He doesn't "believe" in strong pain medication, as he believes I will need narcotics when I get older. Now the RA is in my fingers, wrists, knees, feet, shoulders, and lately I have been having problems with my eyes. Still, he insists on no pain meds. How do I cope? I self-medicate. I take 9-12 ibuprofen a day, plus 6-8 acetomenaphin on top if I'm in a flare. On the nights I get less than 2 hours sleep (which is about 2x a week), I take me a nice shot of Nyquil. I used to take a Benadryl to sleep, but the last few times I have, it felt like my flesh was crawling off my bones, heart pounded, and it kept me awake for hours feeling like I could not set still. Last year, after having a tooth pulled, my dentist gave me 10 Vicoden, of which I took 3. When I had a flare, I remembered those pills in the cabinet, and took one. The relief was great! When those ran out (2 months later!) I went back to my RA doc and explained my predicament. Am I addicted? No. I can live without them, and have now for quite awhile. What is harder on my body (and mind), living with terrible chronic pain, or taking a narcotic when I need it? Of course he refused to give me any pain meds, and prescribes steroids for my flairs. I have gotten to the point that I got rid of all the firearms in my home, as well as have my oldest son hide the knives when I am in a flare. This is NOT living, and a doctor that lets a patient suffer the way I do should have to live my life JUST ONE DAY! Cause people, this ain't living. Why would anyone want to live when almost every day is hell? Addiction and dependance are the least of my worries. Getting through another flare without eating a bullet is.
my husband had a hip replacement in 2002. it was bad from the start. his blood was so low and no transfusions, home a week without blood thinners and he had a blood clot from his knee to his ankle and spent a week in hospital. It is 4 1/2 yrs later and he is still in pain altho they cannot find any reason why. do you think he should have it done again in case something has came loose.donna m
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Want a great OTC medication for the pain of osteoarthritis? It's called SAMe. I've been using it for years and it always works, and right away -- not like some of those other homeopatheic stuff! The only bad part is that my health insurance doesn't cover it, nor can I get reimbursed on my flex benefits. But you know what? It's worth every penny. I have tried for YEARS to stop my pain from osteoarthritis and this stuff ot onlu takes away the pain, but it also strengthens the joints. Works great and it's also good for the liver.
i feel so bad for all of you, as i was 24yrs old when i could not walk. thanks to awonderful rheumatologist, he told me my pain was quite real.when i had flare ups, i can usually get in to see him the same day. i have been injected in every joint in my body. i have had several surgeries as a result of the arthritis. when one drug does not work, he tries something else.i do not have ra ,but inflammatory arthritis.i am now over 50 yrs old and i do not know what i will do when my dr. retires. i have a regiment to do lidoderm pain patches, aspirin, vicoprfen because vicodin does not help my pain.to be honest folks, use your computer to find better or top doctors in your state. i found a very caring and wonderful endocronologist at the cleveland clinic. also found excellent orthopedic surgeons by typing in top specialists in the state you live in. also look under clinical trials going on in the country and see if you can get in one of those.my pain level on a good day is a 6. it seem when we get diagnosed with arthritis we have other disorders going on. it seem like thyroid problems, migraines, diabetes and fibromyalgia are things we share in common. also the majority of patients with multiple problems are usually female. i count each day i can still walk ablessing. like someone else said we live in atime where is new research going on.back surgery i will not have. also to the person who was told her weight was causing her pain,bull crap. less weight on a joint makes less pressure, but bottom line ra was not determined or caused by being overweight.my form of arthritis can run in families so what caused this to happen to my family members who have never had aweight problem? i am glad i finally had a total knee replacement. was in hospital less than 24 hours.only wish i had done it sooner. take care all
In Alabama You are a DOPE HEAD SEEKING DRUGS!!!
They treat me like that ,with my pain from this arthritis.
I hope the Docs rot in HELL!
I have suffered for 7 years with this crap..I was a machinist for 30 years and now I can bearly walk without pain meds.
And GOD bless dont smoke any POT!!
God bless us all with this pain!
I was shell shocked at Emory University Emergency Department. I had somehow gotten a "crick" in my neck, and initially went to (forgive me) a doc-in-the-box. Never actually saw the doctor, just the practitioners. Ultram, Celebrex, and some muscle relaxant later, the pain was still unreal. I tried ice (did work best), heat, praying and since my pain was in the cervical area, spending my days with the affected arm straight up in the air, or folded across my head. I could not get away from the pain.
Went to Emory at around 10:00 PM. ER's are busy, but they gave me a script for hydrocodone with acetominaphen (sp?) I hate even taking an aspirin!
Days later , pain kept getting worse and the ever so well taught "Doc-in-the-box" actually told me to return to the ER! At which point they flat out told me they would not fill another prescription after the second "visit". They treated me like a drug seeker! The Hydrocodone never worked, so I wasn't even takeing it!
It was a unusual, I suppose, slow day in the ER (Graduation Day), and I was shunted back to a room. Could not help it, I cried, I couldn't lay down, sit or stand.
A nurse finally came in to take the particulars. She wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my sleeve. Then left. A Doctor came in and listened to my breathing, tapped on my back a bit, and then returned with TWO hydrocodone tablets, and a tiny cup of water. She then said to follow her the get my release papers, not noticing I was still cuffed to the BP machine (which never was used). I kinda thought, great, I'll follow you and also haul this big ass machine out the door as a parting gift.
Here's the kicker. I emailed the doctor and let her know I felt like I might have been keeping her from something vastly more important, like a McDonald's biscuit getting cold on her desk. I know that sounds rude but that's how I felt.
Next day I get a call from a consumer satisfaction person, and granted he was very nice, and concerned.
I blew my stack when he said that my initial heart rate was this, and my exiting heart rate was that!! No one took a heart rate! He further described my initial blood pressure, before and after medication! No one took a blood pressure, temp or heart rate! That is agaist the law to fill in those blanks!!
I've hear that ER rooms are monitored at Emory, but it seems too much trouble to go through to complain.
Didn't mean to be this long winded, but bottom line I WAS IN PAIN and they made me feel like a pill seeker. Maybe I should drop off the 18 tabs of hydrocodone I have left after their scipt of 20. It didn't work. Advil does just as well. Keeps me from gnawing my arm off, anyway! :)
Hi All,
I would like to say that I am sorry for you all and the pain that permeates every aspect of your life. I have worn similar shoes. 'Still wearing those old rotten shoes. I am weary of even mentionong my ailments, suffice to say, I am no stranger to pain. I am also no stranger to doctors who apparently could care less. I have suffered, I have watched others suffer, some until they passed on. I just do not understand it, the whole "no pain med angle". I reckon' I'll just keep sky watching, wating for it to split! MARANATHA!!!!!!
I completely understand where the Dr. and the readers who left comments are coming from. I am 30 years old. I have had severe back and neck pain for almost 10 years. 3 years ago I finally found a doctor (after about 10 specialists) who diagnosed me with Degenerative Disc Disease and a curvature of the spine. I have a bulbous disc in my neck that gives me migraines 2 to 3 times a week and at least 3 others that hurt tremendously. The curve in my spine is probably the worst though. It causes my right shoulder blade (and everything around it) to sweel a LOT! The doctor who diagnosed me made me happy that I could finally KNOW what was wrong...however he will not prescribe pain meds unless he "cuts" you. My PCP prescribed for almpst 2 years and then one day decided that was enough. These doctors don't know how to start someone or to properly stop someone. I am trying to "live with it" but I haven't been able to work for 8 months! Now that I have no insurance I cannot even find another doctor. My old PCP won't see me and the guy who diagnosed me won't refer me now becasue the PCP told him not to send me to anyone and that I should be able to "live with it". My pain is at an 8/10 every single day and if it weren't for 1 person in my life who is taking care of me right now I would be in a gutter or on the street...or even worse...becasue I cannot deal with this pain I experience. What is a person to do? Are you supposed to "shop" for a doctor who will help you?
To anonymous 1:34pm:
I'm sorry you're having such horrible pain! You have great questions -- I hope you'll visit our Back Pain Support Group. The members there are very supportive and might have some suggestions that would help you.
What is the drug in tablet form blue with the number 787 and West Word on it. A local physician prescribed this.
I have had two back surgeries for lumbar disc and now have arthritis in my hands and arms. There is a pain management group in Dallas but they charge $600 for four weeks of medicine (which is 15/80 hydrocodone/tylenol) Is this normal?
I have to have something for pain or cannot work.
I believe that Doctors have moved away from treating each individual patient to a gross generalization in pain management. It has gotten to the point that I no longer trust Doctors very much because I believe that I have not received the best available care possible in treating arthritis in my hips and chronic back pain from a herniated disk. I also believe that Doctors don't understand that most patients seek pain medication in increasing doses or variations because the medication provided simply does not work.
If there is a safe alternative, most patients would gladly leap at the opportunity to finally live "pain free" or with minimal pain. I myself, have reached the point where I no longer go to the Doctor. I will only hear the same old song. There needs to be a change in patient care. Afterall, we do pay for treatment and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
I have arthritis pain and a bulging disc in my neck for 2 1/2 years now. I have had MRI's and x-rys. Because i have a history of depression, which is controlled by meds. The Dr's read that on my medical history and throw me in a basket marked crazy and pain is caused by depression.I have dealt with severe pain all of this time because of this. My life has changed. I have to plan my days activities around my constant and severe pain. I have learned one lesson though and that is to leave depression off of my medical history and any meds that I am on to control the depression. I don't know what srep to take next. Can anyone give me an answer on how to control my pain and lead a normal life again?
I'm 36 years old and have suffered with lower back pain for almost 8 years, after an accident. At the time I would lose feeling in both of my legs and be forced to lay where I fell for hours, waiting for the feeling to come back in my legs. I was told it was a bruise, the doctor didn't even look at my back. After years of "chronic bruise pain" I was broadsided in an accident in March this year. This then the pain has been unbearable most days. After months of physical therapy and methocarbinal and vicodin for 'whiplash', I was finally referred to a pain clinic. The pain clinic then informed me it was "in my head" and I 'could see a shrink and stop taking the Vicodin, but here's some cyclobenzaprine instead' and 'lets get an MRI to see why you have incontinence problems now.' Today I get the call that it's degenerative, 'mildly with implications of osteoarthritis' but keep going to physical therapy and don't take your pain medications anymore. Why should anyone have to go through that?
I've spent the better part of the past two hours reading posts on the site concerning pain management. I'd like to add info I have come across and throw a general question out there for folks to consider: I am 48 and provide support for my 73 year old parent. She had an accident in 1986 requiring a prosthetic right elbow implant. The same accident caused damage to her left sacroiliac (sp?) which has now been invaded with arthritis. She is in constant and severe pain. I underwent 10 months of therapy with interferon and PEG-IFN. Had to stop because I became so anemic and my sed rate had dropped so low I had started bleeding everywhere and didn't have the strength to get out of bed. My GI that was supposed to have monitored my chemotherapy did not prescribe the IFN, the rep from the pharm company did, she came in the tx room, showed me the new pen for injections, stamped the Rx and the MD signed it. Later I learned (calling the mfg hotline) that the "normal tx" is to start you on something like Zoloft or Paxil for 10 days BEFORE the IFN. When the chemo put me in the hospital, my GI packed up his office and left the state, literally, overnight. I was then terminated from my job after 17 years for "missing too much time", I worked during the chemo even though I was told to take off instead of taking extended sick leave, but then I was told that I was still "on-call 24X7". Long-story made short, I went almost two years before I couldn't stand the pain everywhere. Every joint and major muscle group in my body hurt, and continued getting worse until all I could do is sit. The only way I can describe it, and most people don't remember what I'm talking about, is the feeling of a "stone bruise". The entire bottom of both feet and the palms of both hands feel like huge stone bruises. My knees, wrists, ankles, and elbows, neck, back, etc. ache, and even clothing touching my skin caused goosebumps. I finally submitted to finding a new MD, one fresh out of med school who had a 2 yr GP before moving to his hometown and joing two other MDs opening a Family Practice Clinic. I did not ask for meds, but provided him with a copy of my records (I suggest YOU keep copies of all records you have, tests, X-Rays, MRIs, etc-YOU PAID FOR THEM AND THEY BELONG TO YOU! If the techs give you any problem in having your XRays and MRIs, invoke HIPPA, it clearly states they belong to you! Anyhow, my new dr never gave me a chance to ask, the first thing he did was run bloodwork, next thing he sent me to a neuro, then told me something that blew me away! A largely unreported side-effect of the IFN, mostly the PEG-IFN is the destruction of the "myalin" cover over my nerve endings leaving me with, literally, every nerve in my body being "raw". He did not hesitate to write an Rx, but he said my liver panel indicated the lack of some proteins necessary to metabolize codeine based meds, so he wrote me an Rx that I actually sat in my car and cried when I left his office. He gave me 50mg Demerol tabs qid! He told me to take one in the morning and one at night, and save the other two as "rescue" doses through the day. For the first time in almost three years, I woke up without being disappointed that I did! Of course, addiction became a concern, and he did end up seeing me in the ER. Not from overdose, but after developing a tolerance, I had taken 100mg, felt better to the point that I was irritated that I cannot continue this and flushed the pills. I wound up in the ER dehydrated and going through serious withdrawls. For almost two years now, I get 480 5mg OxyIR, 20mg qid prn. I prefer this over the Oxycontin because I control how much is in my system at any given time instead of the pill being release at a consistant rate. Now here's the only problem: two months ago my MD told me that he and his two partners decided to "get out of the pain mgmt business", but he would make an exception for me. He's a great guy and a wonderful dr, but if he isn't available (Drs w/o boarders, vacations, new family addition, etc) the other two will not write the Rx. Now, I suppose to prove the point, my parent uses the same dr, he won't even give her 1 grain codeine, 7.5 hydro, etc. So-I'm forced into committing a felony. I take my meds as needed, staggered doses to reduce tolerance and dependence, but share these with my Mom. I dare anybody who may read this to try and convince me that they wouldn't do the same thing. After she's had too many surgeries to count, the last being a CABG-5 (her cardio gave her Darvocet for post-op pain), she may take 5-10mg oxy in a day. Then I find her crying in her bedroom because she's depressed (taking Lexapro) about taking my meds and afraid I'll run out early and she'll get in trouble. Considering the recent outbreaks of contaminated food, I feel the FDA needs to concentrate more on the F and less on the D, but they don't get funding for the Food part, more for the War on Drugs which all should know is no more than a political cash freefall. If the DEA and FDA put half the effort into closing down these meth and crack labs as they do harassing legally licensed doctors and patients we would have a much more productive, happier, and contributing senior and disabled population than a semi-police state. I've also introduced my Mom to THC-the pills are crap, the pharms can only synthesize 12 of 18 compounds in THC, so don't let anyone tell you that Dronabinol or any other sythetic THC is the same as smoking a joint is either trying to set you up or simply a liar. In any case, now with an adequate supply of pain meds along with 1-2 joints (shared) a day, we are returning to where we were before the chemo destroyed my life, income, reputation, and will to live. I have told my doctor, do not even suggest anything that has not been on the market for at least 10 years! These greedy pharm companies should be closed down-most useful drugs aren't made here anyhow. This blatant lie by the FDA about foreign meds is pure nonesense, the PEG-Intron I got was made in Puerto Rico, the Ribovirin was made in India, but distributed by the company in the US. If our government wants to reduce the federal debt, I suggest doing away with the DEA (they are useless), realign the FDA to do away with their drug oversight (useless also, when they get paid enough, yes I said the FDA got paid by the drug mfgs, they have the authority to "fast-track" approval for a drug in as little as six months, whereas if they don't get paid by the lobbyists, it takes up to 7 yrs!) most of these drugs you see on TV as causing all kinds of problems and lawyers (mostly useless) are watching better than the FDA, and the fast-tracked drugs are the same ones that the pharms are getting sued over. WE have become their test subjects-be careful when trying something "new". My problem with pain management is not with my doctor, but with the useless and greedy federal and state agencies that are second-guessing the doctors and threatening them with suspension, restrictions, etc. that would impede their ability to treat patients. I have experienced the lack of control with the PEG-IFN and the over-control with pain meds. Get the govt out of medicine-after all, my personal feeling is that all politicians are liars, lobbyists are crooks and thieves, and the State Medical Boards are primary composed of MDs with a chip on their shoulder! In short, I want my state and federal government to keep their collective noses out of my personal medical business and relationship with my health care providers. If I have a problem with them, I WILL LET YOU KNOW, otherwise, back off, shut up, and close down the DEA. They're the real root of the problem when it comes to pain management-I've never met a physician that wasn't willing to treat pain, but always had reservations because of possible sanctions! I'm ready to plan my own Thebane and THC, process it myself, and take my chances. What else are we supposed to do? Isn't pain treatment protected under the "pursuit of happiness". I wish someone with funding would challenge the DEA all the way to the Supreme Court on this issue!
I have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis as well as lumbar stenosis and "degenerative" arthritic disks in my back. Have been in a lot of pain for several years. Since I must drive (only way for me to get around) I cannot take most pain medicine that make you drowsy. I have put together recently a combination that helps me ALL DAY. I use OTC eight hour Arthiritis strength Tylenol 3 times a day along with one 100MG pill of Ultram ER in the AM. The Ultram is a once a day pill, so the only thing I have to remember is to take the Tylenol every 8 hours. The results are amazing. I am 85% pain free. Check with your doctor on using the Ultram ER.
I came to pain management shortly after a kidney transplant in 97. It began with severe hip pain shortly after the transplant surgery. After some exams it was found that I was going to need both hips replaced soon. The pain continued after total hip replacments. The docs at the hospital thought it was normal post op pain and that it would "go away" in 6 or 7 years!! Then someone else took over the pain clinic and I and others were told they were no longer going to treat long term pain. After my wife was in a serious car accident, I was waiting for her outside her pain clinic one day and some of the people in the waiting room had invited me to there group meeting and said I should see one of there docs. I followed there advice and found that I have 2 buldging herniated discs in my back and 2 in my neck also. Currently what myself and my doctor do is switch between meds about every 6 months or so, so that the tolerance to one med or the other isnt that bad. Currently take 125mcg duragesic patch and 30 mgs morphine every 4 hours for break through. seems to work and im also able to function.
Methadone. Will not "zone you out". It stays at one level, no up or down as with oxy-codone. I've been at 40 Mg. a day for over a year.
I am a PA with severe chronic pain from OA I have had since age 12. I had a hip replacement this year, an X-STOP in the spine and 4 prior fusions at age 19. At 24, I had a swanson silastic implant in my foot. Life has been VERY difficult without good pain control and I have done therapy, accupuncture ect... I asked my surgeon if he had been "burned" before because he was so afraid to give me meds after surgery.
I am 38 and I have suffered with RA since I was 10 yrs old....the last 15 or so being the worst, I have been to doctor after doctor never satisfied with any of them. I've finally found a wonderful specialist that actually takes the time to listen to my concerns and is willing to help. It's odd to say that I'm lucky to have had this horrible disease most of my life, but I would rather be in my situation than most people who develope it midlife. I've never known anything but pain, so I have been able to come up with my own types of "pain management. I lived on advil and alleve for many years and when I finally found a doctor that wanted to treat the disease not just the symptoms my life was so much better. Less pain, less fatigue, shrinking nodules....now my problem is fighting to get the insurance company to cover the meds. They need "letters of medical necessity" and other absurd papers from my doctor...like I would take these medications if I didn't absolutely need them. The doctors need to stop handing out the pain medications that don't even really treat or relieve the symptoms of these devastating diseases and treat the disease itself....or better yet....work a little harder on finding a cure.
Kim said...
I have a condition called Klipple Trenuanay Syndrome of 1/4 of my right side (mostly my right leg and pelvis and lower back) this is a vascular problem that is painful. I have to sleep with my right leg elevated 6 inches above my heart to drain the blood out of my leg to circulate thru my body. I also have sleep apnea (I use a breathing machine at night). Also, I have Type 2 Diabetes that is uncontrolled right now - I'm on 4 different meds for this. Also have recently started sweatting at night. I'm very thirsty at night -ever tried to drink with a breathing mask on? So, then I use the bathroom about every 30 minutes. I usually only get about a total of 3 1/2 hours sleep. My main problem is when I go to bed after a couple of hours on my back because of the machine I find it very painful to move my arms-elbows & shoulders, knees and lower back. It is almost unbearable. I don't know if is because of my medical problems I already have or my matress which is only 4 yrs old. I also, have depression, high anxiety, and alot of stress with a 17 yr. old with alot of medical problems that goes to the doctor almost every two days. I don't go to the doctor like I should because of being on a limited income. SSI Disability and unable to work anymore I'm only 49. My daughter is on medical assistance until she is 18 yrs. old and can go to the doctor and get medications. I, on the other hand have to stretch out my meds because they cost me about one thousand a month even with insurance-Humania). Any simple remedies for my painful movements at night????? I'm already on 13 different types of medicines for everything else.
pat w.
I have had 3 disk cervical surgery with 2 plates and 10 screws august 10 of this year. After the surgery I had no pain at all in my neck and did wear a brace for 3 months but then I began having a lot of pain in my joints ,and my three fingers I also noticed peeling on my hands as well as a weakness and pain (could not open a door or a jar) after being treated for different skin conditions a biopsy was taken. I am now told I have psoriatic arthritis,and also carpel tunnel for which I have just had surgery. I still have the pain in my fingers except it is not as bad.
I do not understand how every thing came about after my cervical surgery. I never had any of these things before. I have been a very active person all my life having my own restaurant and working very hard. All I can say is am 72 years old and should be grateful for a healthy life up to this point. I just don't understand how all this happened because of the surgery in august. Any comments to help me understand would be appreciated.
I have had mostly back pain since I was twelve y.o.a., and my then G.P. blew it off as "growing pains ",at thirteen y.o.a. I was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis and was relegated to a Milwaukee brace for the next six years ,and the doc at that time said that although the curve had been halted he really had no idea why I was in such horrific pain in just about every joint and muscle group in my entire body ,and suggested that I take Bufferin ,and learn to live with it .After doing this for about six years the background pain was so intense that even opioids did little good ,and he sent me back to the orthopod and a neurologist.after several consults with them I was fitted for yet another Milwaukee brace ,at the age of 47 ,for pain control .I am not that far away from sixty and am still wearing this brace for pain control on a daily basis (12-23 hours per day) and although I no longer have the degree of spinal discomfort that I once had ,several other areas of my body are starting to cause a great deal of distress ,and I was put back on opioids ,and they just whack me out ,and make day to day life just a might foggy ,and I hate them ,but can't ambulate without them ,I am having a pair of leg braces built ,that will attach to the Milwaukee brace in an effort to garner some relief from this blistering pain. We can put a man on the moon ,but the medical profession cant seem to figure out to reduce a persons pain...WHY ? Although the braces do a wonderful job at reducing the pain in my joints and spinal column ,they are more than cumbersome,and make doing things like ambulation difficult at best ,let alone the recreational things I used to love ,hunting ,fishing and the like ,I cant even walk through the local wally world with out using one of those little cart jobbers '..and taking a couple oxy's .There is one other problem that needs to be addressed here ,and that is ,most of the docs that will write for pain meds.don't seem to take into consideration that we are not all the same size ,and I get a script for a strength that would work fine for a person that is "normal"sized ,I am significantly larger that most of my peers (6'10"" and 351 pounds ) admittedly that might be a bit outsized ,but it is my size and to try to get the doc to understand that a 5 or 10 mg oxy is much akin to trying to extinguish a forrest fire with a garden hose ,they just dont seem to understand ,even with multimodal therapies ,the braces and herbes and pain meds ,all help a bit put the background pain I have to live with on a daily basis still runs in the 8-9/10 range and breakthrough pain goes off the chart on a regular basis as well ,why dont these docs figure it out ??
At the age of 39 SUICIDE was going to be my answer to pain. I went to an orthopedic, he did an mri and told me I had syringomyelia, a straw from the base of my brain to the middle of my back that was causing all the pain in my upper right quadrant. He sent me to The Pain Center at the University of Washington, there I met with the head neurosurgeon and he prescribed methadone for me. It helps a lot, does not give me a high, but takes the edge off if you will and allows me to function. I thank God for that man, he really saved my life. I am now 60 yrs of age. I just wish more Dr's would listen, for a time I taught physicians at the U of W so they could learn that not everyone was a druggy. Thank you.
mom said...I had a 37 year old son who kept telling his doc about his pain until his doc told him he would no longer give him drugs as "he was a drug seeker" two weeks later he saw a PA and she noticed his blood tests and sent him for a scan..he was in stage four with pancreatic cancer...we lost him the next year...
About 2003 it seemed that my whole body just came to a screeching halt after major stress and working two jobs for the most part and trying to fit going out in there. One day at work I had to pick up a box of sauce packets and I heard and felt something in my stomach area just rip. After that my body started a downhill spiral of problems. (Well so it seems to me). Actually found out I have a Hernia...no one has decided important enough to fix it.
I feeling like chronic fatigue, I went to the doctors and no one could find anything wrong with me. I went thru the scans, blood tests, you name it I went thru it. I still have it but this is the chain of events I have gone through with no relief.
One doctor stated that my gallbladder needed to be removed. So I went for pre-administration at the hospital and being nervous, my heart rate was weird which alarmed the techs and they rushed me over to Treage. The cardiologist on duty stated that I have an unusual heartbeat. Had tests done (imaging ), breathing tests, and the doctor stated that if I did not stop smoking that I would be dead in 10 years. Have been smoke free since 2004 after 36 years. Also stated that the fatigue is due to sleep type apnea after sleep studies done. Supposed to have a C-Pap still have not gotten it now 1 year later. Also states that I have COPD, Chronic Pulmanory Hypertension...but nothing is being done about it.
November 2004 received my disability money.
Thyroid tests were fine, blood tests were fine, another doctor decided to do a liver biopsy, stated that I have Hep C. So I get to have this kinda experimental drug Peg-intron w/Ribaltol for 48 weeks. I called it the longest 48 weeks of my life every week give myself a specified dose shot and 6 pills a day. Since 10/2006 I am now Hep C free but now I have this neurological pain. This pain started while on meds and doctor said that was normal. Gave me Tramadol for the pain. 1 every 6 hours. I was told that afterward about 3 months I would feel like a new person and have extreme amounts of energy. I am still waiting!
Went to a doctor in Pittsburgh for Fibromyalgia, cost me $515 for 1 hour with an IV loaded with vitamins, minerals, etc but I don't have that kind of money for 5-10 visits.
Still taking the Tramadol now 2 years later but after 1 1/2 years the doctor who 1st prescribed it to me, thought I was extending for some reason unknown to him and that the pain should have gone away. I went to family doctor, she accused me of scamming her for drugs and told me that I was an addict. Changed doctor.
New family doctor has me on Cymbalta and Tramadol, been like that now for 3 months and the cymbalta is not quite enough now. Doctor thinks I am depressed and thats why I have fatigue.
No, I am depressed that I still do not feel any better yet. Memory loss, to boot!
On Memoral Day weekend 2007 Emergency room for what turned out a pacemaker...almost died on them. I am only 52.
Finally got an appointment with Rheumatist, she asked if I had any pain when she torched my arms and legs...well no, not at that time, because I had taken my pain pills.
DUH! Shortest doctors visit yet. No return with her scheduled.
I SILL HAVE FATIGUE AND STILL HAVE PAIN! Don't know what to do!
Hi.....Im on four pain killers and two anti inflamtory...No doctor knows why im in pain the pain is all over....What is this....
What are the side effects of Medrol Tabs. You talk about pain management but nothing relating to side effects of this medicine.
Thanks,
Mary
I have a +ANA, +Lupas Anti-Coagulant, 63 ESR, and as of lately an unusually high white count. I've been seeing the same rheumatologist at The hospital fo special surgery in NYC for over a year and haven't been given a real diagnosis. She was treasting me for RA but my body was just getting more wrecked my the methotrexate. I was on 15mg/wk along with 5mg prednisone/day and 2mg/day of folic acid. What this doctor doesn't seem to realize is that my body doesn't react to medications well at all. I am not a drug seeker. If anything I try to avoid all addictive drugs as much as possible because addiction runs in the family. I am under psychiatric care for depression and always fought against ativan as a prn. I asked for thorazine way back when. When I needed something to boost the antidepressant, they reached for every anticonvulsant around-allergies, one anaphalactic. One of them should never have been advertised as a mood stabilizer. I tried to kill myself while in it and wound up in the icu then psych for two months. I have a very high tolerance for pain. My psychiatrist knows it and so does my internist. They both have seen me in there offices barely able to walk, using a walker, I'm forty and have been an athlete and an Irish Step dancer performing until two years ago. I can't take NSAID's because of severe gastritis that has hemorraged-miss Vioxx very much. Had it for two knee surgeries. Medial meniscus and acl reconstruction both R knee. Both gain full ROM within two months. I was told by the PTs that I was hyperflexive. Now my doctors beg me to take the pain meds. I was on dilaudid as a prn 2-6mg/6 Hours. The doctors trusted me to make my own decision on the dosage I usually made on the time of day. During the day 2 or 4 mg. took the edge off a little and made me a little hyper and able to get through a full day. I would then need the 6mg. that night because of the pain from running around all day and the 6mg made me tired. I always had to take it with food otherwise the gastritis would wind me up screaming. The gastritis pain is worse than I felt with the gallstones. It seems that any surgy I've everhad was nothing compared to trigeminal neuralgia, migraines, joint pain, and spinal osteoarthritis which has cause disk and nerve damage. Now just this week I had another anaphalactic reaction to the doctors believe dilaudid. My internist sent me a prescription in the mail for oxycontin. I hear so much about the drug it terrifies me and it doesn't work as well as the dilaudid. I guess that's why I'm up at 3:31 am writing this. I usually write in a journal but my fingers couldn't take the pain anymore. I don't know if I can take the oxycontin onan empty stomache. I live with my parent they have been halping me out and brought me back home from Florida gosh almost two years ago when the pain and unusual things started happening. Like seizures, pulse going down to 36, the immense pain so a cardiologist stopped my psych meds. I couldn't get on a plane after the man in Miami was killed by an airmarshall because he thought their was a bomb on board. The man was bipolar and was in South America and without meds for awhile. I blame his wife. His wife should have made sure he had enough meds if he had psychotic episodes before. I guess most of all what I want is an answer what is wrong with me and the rheumatologist, the last time I saw her said, I have no idea. Oh, saw my opthamalogist since returning, beginning to show signs of macular degeneration. I know that can be vascular and I have often asked her to look into different vascular diseases because of the hemangiomas that have shown up on mri's the bloody show in the cyst's in my breast, and the discoloration of my skin.
Where to begin ... with four damaged disks in the lumbar region, and other pain associated with these problems, I live most days with anything between a 6 and a 10 on the pain scale; the acute/breakthrough pain level.
I have a wonderful Pain Management doctor who understands that with real pain, addiction is not a problem nor even a possibility.
He has me on 100 mcg Fentanyl patches (Duragesic - generic) which I change every three days. For breakthrough, he has me taking Actiq (in generic now) at 800 mcg every 4 to 6 hours. At bedtime, he prefers that I use Fentora (no generic yet) but this is where the catch hits me. My Blue Cross Blue Shield doesn't want to approve the use of Fentora pills. They don't seem to understand the danger of putting an Actiq - or generic copy - in my mouth and running the risk of having the plastic handle/spike on which the medicine is mounted, piercing my palate, or throat, or falling out of my mouth and sticking me in a different part of the anatomy. They are fighting it as it is expensive, and is for end-stage cancer patients.
The problem is that it dissolves in my mouth and is not a danger when I am in bed, or if I awake in the middle of the night in terrific pain and need a Fentora - again, as it dissolves - to fight the pain.
The doctor is a brilliant man; he understands, he has seen the MRI and has done diskograms on my lumbar disks and knows the extent of the damage to my disks.
But trying to get Emnpire Blue Cross/Blue Shield to "pre-authorize" the use of Fentora, along side the usage of Actiq and Duragesic, is impossible. They still don't get it and I still run the risk of having that 4 inch long plastic nail/screw from Actiq stick through my palate, my throat, my neck, or some other part of my anatomy, which will either kill me or come close.
I have read others' descriptions of what they go through and can honestly say that "misery does love company," in the sense that I am not alone and feel better knowing that.
But the problem of having the insurance company deny me the proper medication, all due to the expense, is incredible to me. Not because it is an inappropriate medication, but because it is an expensive medicine.
Truly incredible!
Glad that there are others here who understand and live through this, too.
God Bless you all. May your pain go far away and may they find a surgical solution to your problems. And finally, may true enlightenment find the clinical review people at Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, such that they learn to provide relief to their subscribers who actually do need assistance and relief from terrible pain.
I sent my comments, and the URL of this page, to my Pain Management Doctor. He read it and other postings here, and then emailed me back. This is what he sent me:
Dear AlexH,
Let’s try and get a group of patients and fight the insurance company. It’s not fair to you and people like you who are suffering with pain. I congratulate you for the courage to speak up.
Dr. "X"
Naturally, I do not want to post my doctor's name here, as I do not want him to have any problems from those who might monitor these postings. But his suggestion is on target.
I am willing to buy a domain name and use that domain to host a site on which people, like this site, who are enrolled in Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, can send their complaints about Empire giving them problems due to the cost of the medications.
If you are on the wrong end of this situation, in which Empire denies you the appropriate medication, due to the expense of that medicine, then I want to hear from you.
I want to find out how to create a blog; one on which I can post your complaints about Empire - and only Empire for now - and their problem approving medicines due to the expense, not the appropriateness of the treatment. If it starts to look like there are going to be enough complaints about this aspect of Caremark and Empire - Caremark/CVS being the pharmacy who handles all prescriptions for Empire - then I will start posting them and we will see if giving them bad publicity helps them to move towards approving expensive medicines which will help people in pain.
So, once I get the domain name set I will post it here and give an email address to which people with Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield - people being denied their medicines based solely upon the cost, by CVS/Caremark/Empire BC-BS - can send their true stories to be posted. We will then see if any changes can be seen.
Stay tuned for more information on this.
Thank you all in advance for - as my doctor said - having the courage to speak out on this, in order to help your fellow pain sufferers.
-a.
I have had chronic pain for several years. The dr.s could not figure out what was wrong they just kept prescribing vicodin. They began telling me it was in my head. I had a knot above my belly button. Only 1 dr. measured it. Only 1 dr. took it seriously enough to say have surgery. I had exploritory surgery as an out patient and ended up in the hospital 3 days because I "bled out". It was determined that I had the Kugel meshing. They did not remove it at this time. That would be a later surgery. during the next 7 months I was sent to a PM dr. who put me on a fytenal (sp?) patch and perkoset (sp?) I attempted suitcide. It made me nuts. That 7 months was a blurr. I went from a successful business to nothing. All this time my dr. still telling me "it's in your head". I had the meshing removed and my abdominal wall reconstructed 7 months ago. I still am in pain and now I have arthritis or fibromialsia (sp?). I feel as though I have been beaten with a baseball bat from the top of my neck to the bottoms of my feet. Every day is a struggle. I have come off many meds and weened down from 8 norco a day to 6 500/5 vic a day and still I get lectured by drs. (if I go to urgent care) that I need to get off the vicodin. I had the gastric by-pass. Not a lot of options for me. I defend myself with I come off alot this year; you just don't know. What an insult to my doctor. If I could have made a fist I might have hit this last dr.. She was down right rude and basically calling me a drug addict. Well...UP HERS! I would like to see her not be able to pick-up her 8 month old grand daughter, loose her great occupation, and live a life where your world evolves around your pain. Just to know what it has done to my children is bad enough.
I have been diagnosed with Lupus and with Fibromyalgia. My pain level is usually around a 8/10 on a daily basis. i have lost 2 jobs can bairly keep my house clean. Let alone take my 10 year old son to the park. I have been shuffled from one doctor to the next with each one telling me that there is nothing they can do for me. I ended up at another doctors office yesterday and found out that the 10,000 mg of tylenol I was taking for the pain is killing my liver. The doctors don't want to help I can't function, and when I go to the emergency room because I can't walk they think I am drug searching (which I'm not)and give me more tylenol and send me on my way. I am at my wits end. There are days that I feel like just ending it because nobody can or will help!!!! I can't take the pain anymore and I don't know what to do about it either.
PAIN CLINICS DON'T WORK!!!!!
I have done many things to get rid of my pain and still have it. I have autoimmune hepatitis/cirhosis and hypothyroidism and degenerative disc disease and probably other things I am unaware of I am in constant pain and cannot take oral pain meds. I must take the lowest dose of medication possible. I do go to ER a lot because of pain. If you have chronic conditions good luck they will not treat you after awhile because they think you are a druggy. I am not a druggy!!! I wish someone could get to the bottom of this problem and help me I have lost faith in the medical profession. Yes I am aware it is not an exact science.
I have systemic lupus, fibromyalgia, and now atypical collagen vascular disease. I can't find anything on line to tell me more about my new diagnosis. Any help would be appreciated.
I have systemic lupus, fibromyalgia, and now atypical collagen vascular disease. Can you please direct me to some literature on this? I'm having no luck in me search.
morning star,
Here are some links to help you find information:
Lupus Health Center
Fibromyalgia Health Center
I wasn't able to find any specific reference to the third condition -- atypical collagen vascular disease -- but a search of the web suggests that the Scleroderma Foundation might be a good place to start.
I hope that helps!
Unfortunately I live in an area of New York State were the doctors are very conservative. I have RA and Lupus but receive no prescription help for the pain. I have lost many days from work because of the pain and lack of sleep. That doesn't seem to matter to the doctors around here. Take tylenol they say. But it doesn't help even at higher does (9 -12 a day), and my stomach can't take Advil or Aleve. So, I understand the uncaring attitude of doctors portrayed in your article. Most are useless, and simply run and hide when a patient says they are in pain. Do they know how hard it is to ask for help, to admit that one is in pain, to know how doctors hate seeing us? As an educator I once had a lot of respect for physicians. Now I distrust most and don't think the profession is much better than politicians.
I've suffered with chronic severe lower and mid back pain for the last 2 years thanks to a couple of serious car accidents. I discovered I had Spondylolisthesis along with 3 bulging discs, now to top that off I have arthritis forming in my spine. I'm 25 years old. The pain sometimes is so bad I will do anything to releive it, including drinking heavily. I have been shuffled from one orthopedic surgeon to another over the years. Fortunately they have each been accomodating when it came to pain meds and muscle relaxers. I was on Vidodin 5/500 for the first 2 years, but recently realized I became tolerant and I was advanced to Percocet 350's. Luckily I think I finally found a doctor that will help manage my pain. I have been told the only surgery that would work for me is fusion, but unfortunatly it seems the risks outweight the benefits. I work in an office environment, even getting up and down from the chair to the file cabinet is proving to be challenging. I take the pain meds almost everyday, without them I don't know how I would function. Whether I'm addicted or not, I could care less. There are good docs out there that understand the pain and are willing to provide the proper pain meds to help, but they are few and far between. If you are my age and find it frustrating your grandparents can do more physical activities than you can, your not the only one.
Wow, this is awesome to read. I am in pain day and night. I don't have a "clear" diagnoses. My GP has said I possibly have LUPUS and some form of arthritis. I have been averaging 2 surgeries a year for the past 10 years on various joints. I do take 1/2 to 1 Loritab a day. Because of all of the press about drug abuse lately, my college age daughters think I am a drug addict.
I use to think noone should ever take any pain meds. I have lived with pain for years. I am only 47 years old. I ruptured disks in my back about 18 years ago. I refused surgery for the very reason some people have written here; fusion can cause more disk ruptures on up the spine. I didn't take any pain killers at all for it. I just suffered. I have always been active and worked out as well as played sports. I finally had to give up the sports. About all I can do now is stationary bike.
I finally got improvement in my back by backing off of my usual regimine and starting over with "water walking" and progressing to swimming.
I swam competitively in high school and so it was hard to exercise in the water and not actually swim!
Now I have severe shoulder pain and I can't even swim.
My tale of woe with the pain killers were the worst last summer. I had CMC joint replacement surgery, complete with pins. I told the surgen that I am alergic to many pain meds, I have had an ulcer and have esophogeal erosion and can not longer take IBProphen, the drug that this surgen gives. In the hostpital I was given a pain IV pump. I was alergic to the meds and the nurses would not come into my room to give me Benedryl or a different pain killer. I suffered all night in pain and with hives and itching until a new shift of nurses came in the morning!
I was sent home with a 3 day supply of meperdine. I called my doctor, when I needed more and they called me a druggie and refused to give me anything and told me to take Ibrofen. I told them once again I could not take it. I finally endded up in the ER where they unbandaged my hand and found that they had bandaged it so that the pin was sliding in and out when I moved. They gave me a shot of Toridol and another very strong pain killer and I finally, after over a week of severe pain, got some sleep.
I had to go to my GP to get a perscription for pain meds. I had knee surgery about 4 weeks after the wrist surgery. I don't know if it really helps or not, but they keep going in and 'cleaning' out the joints. Calcium deposits keep building up.
With my wrist the surgen had cleaned it all out about 9 months before the replacement. When she went in and did the replacement she told me that the arthritis had progressed to the point of totally destroying the joint.
I am now in constant pain with my hips, back, knee, shoulder and hands and wrists.
Am I an addict because I take a Lortab in the evening so I can sleep? or if I take 1/2 of one during the work day so I can make it through the day? I am on my feet all day as a school teacher and I have to be on top of the game, not in severe pain. Pain meds don't take it all away, they just take off the edge.
Thanks for listening! Noone else does.
Excuse me , I'm new at this. Colleen mentioned oxycontin or fentanyl patches. What is a patch? Thank You. rusty
My daughter-in-law needs help... She is 32 years old,in Mokena, IL and has recently been dx'd with rheumatoid arthritis, affecting her hands, ankles and feet. Her Rheumatologist put her on a steriod therapy, of which her last dose has been taken this week. As she was born with only one kidney, she is not able to take any of the normally prescribed anti- inflamatory medications. Yesterday, a cold and rainey day, (and as any RA patient knows, these conditions are not friends), she saw her Dr. for a regular visit, who offered her no relief information for her pain. She was told that maybe they could look into "organic therapy". But offered no explaination at this time, told her to make an appt. for a month and left the room. She has, what I would call above mid-line tollerance for pain, and at this point, Tylenol and a heating pad are her best friends. She says the heat helps some, but usually, Tylenol does not "touch" the pain. She is a CAT Scan tech, specializing in the 3-D Heart scan, and manages that department at two hospitals. She works three 12-hour shifts a week, and is "on Call" one weekend a month. However, because she is the manager, she is literally on call 24/7. She has 4 daughters, 12, 11, 3 1/2 yrs. and 23 months of age. She has a VERY busy life. And as shown above, is on her feet for most of the day. She is a "worrier" by nature and is so afraid of not being able to do her job when her hands are so swollen that she cannot grasp the intricate tools of her job or take care of her children. My son is very caring, works nights so he can be home during the day when she is at work, to take care of the little ones and do the housework and run errands so she does not have so much to come home to after work. She also has a fear of not having any means to manage her pain and the swelling ending up in a wheelchair. I fear her dwelling on the negative because of her pain is putting a strain on their relationship and that with the older girls as they are relied upon to do for the little ones from the time my son leaves for work until she gets home (average of 2 1/2 hours) and any lifting , bathing, etc. that is too painful for Mom. Our 23 month old has recently been dx'd with a form of autisium w/possible hearing loss, that due to her age, the hearing tests were not conclusive. So she has all of that on her mind, too. She worries about how she is going to be able to manage her care with so much pain on some days, that she cannot even pick up the baby let alone work with the baby with any of her therapy, a large amount of which is physical.
Are there any RA doctors out there, or anyone who has heard of "organic therapy" that can offer us a detailed explaination as to what this entails? Is there anything out there that a person with one kidney, unable to take anti-inflamatories can take or do to relieve the swelling and terrible pain other than steriods? Please e-mail any replies of help to me @ bobonifigg@juno.com
SUBJECT: Amy's RA
Thank you, anyone, for any help you can offer.
I was diagnosed with "SI Disfunction" last october. My doctor couldn't give me any useful information about this and I've checked everywhere. Can you help me understand what si disfunction is and what I have to look forward to as it's getting worse?? My pain level for the past week has been 10 and even reached much higher levels, PLEASE HELP!!!
ST Dsyfunction: Go to this website:
http://www.orthogate.org/patient-education/lumbar-spine/sacroiliac-joint-dysfunction.html
Dr. Davis,
I am going to check out that site. I am a Physician Assistant that has suffered with osteoarthritis since I was 12 yrs. old and now that I am 57 everything has gotten MUCH worse to the point I can barely function.
nsmiceallI know and understans is that I can't get out of bed in the moring, hate sitting anywhere, because the pain in my knees are UNBEARABLE!! All my Ra docs says is that I should have warm pool therapy...doesn't help right nowsomeone please help me!!!!
We really appreciate everyone's comments and input. However, we do ask that you refrain from making doctor referrals in comments, because our terms and conditions require me to delete them.
Thank you for your understanding.
i have had chronic pain for about 8 years now due to accidents, work related injuries, and drug addiction. i have tried ALL of the medications listed and talked about in ALL kinds of doses and even illegal drugs. Of everything i have tried and done in my life i finally came across a pain management doc who is prescribing a new drug called SUBUTEX. i have been on it for about 2 and a half years now and let me tell you, it is AMAZING! it has almost the same pain killing properties as opioids but without any of the side effects( except for a slight withdrawl effect if you go without for more than a day.)but it is nothing compared to opiate withdrawl. but all of the other usual opiate side effects are nil. it is not an opiate but derived from opiates to have the same chemical structure. this is a VERY new drug so your doctor has probably not heard of it. but if you have chronic pain and are tired of taking opiates and being looked at as adrug addict, then this might be something you want to look into. it controls basically ALL of my pain except for flare ups. but when used in conjunction with a regular analgesic or other otc pain med, it controls ALL of my pain. So ask your doctor about checking into or even trying SUBUTEX. it has little to no interactions that i can find or have experienced. i think this med is a GODSEND! So do some research and ask your doc, you might just be pleasently surprised.
--tim in va
Here's my opinion on pain and pain management. I think there is WAY TO MUCH FEAR about addiction and it keeps people from getting the treatment that they need. Either you are the type of person that will use a drug ONLY for pain relief or you are the type of person who will use it to "solve" other problems. It's a personality or behavior issue. For instance, I've had access to narcotics for years because of a chronic condition, but never abused them. Why? Because getting high or dulling my emotions isn't high on my priority list. Living my life is.
The state monitors how much Sudafed we buy these days. Shouldn't it be relatively simple to make sure that people aren't getting too many addictive drugs? You show ID to get Sudafed; you show ID to get narcotics. Thus, allowing doctors to make them available to those that feel they need them?
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I'm 6'4", 220 lb., 49 years old and I was a machinist for 20 years. Until running machines made for people 5'6" ruined my lower back. Degenerative discs has progressively caused increasing pain in my lower back. Ten years ago I had a ruptured disc operated on to try to repair it. My doc would only give me Darvocet for the pain. Those aren't any better than baby aspirin, as one nurse told me. A year after surgery I had a bad fall and sever sprain of my lower back rupturing the one disc again and damaging two others. After two weeks my doc wouldn't even give me Darvocets.
Now at that time it was Feb. in the Colorado Mountains. I had got a chunk of black Pine bark stuck in my thumb while splitting some wood for the cook stove. A week later it was infected and I had three red streaks running up my arm. Blood Poisoning. I went to my doc and got a shot for it and he wanted to see if there was still anything stuck in my thumb. He gave it a local (that hurt worse than just poking around in it would have) and dug around in my thumb for a while. When he was done he gave me a prescription for 30 Vicodin! With out even being asked he gave me more pain pills and stronger ones than he had ever gave me before. Why? To him my thumb LOOKED LIKE IT SHOULD HURT. It was something he could see. But for my back that really did hurt since he cant see it he wouldn't believe it.
I changed doctors to one that would work with me managing my pain. After being with him and taking narcotics, morphine, for 5 years he just dropped me.
With no explanation and no warning he dropped me and at least 25 other patients that were taking narcotic pain medications. I never did find out why but it had to be the government got on him for proscribing narcotics.
I was forced to suffer withdrawal and to go without any thing for my Chronic back pain for a year while waiting to get into a Neurologist and another pain management.
When I fell and sprained my back I also damaged some discs in my neck but that went unnoticed till 2 years ago. I had to have the middle part of the back of two vertebra, C5 & C6, removed to relieve pressure on the spinal cord from the discs on the other side. Now that was the most painful thing that I have ever been through. (I wouldn't wish that on anybody, except maybe my ex wife.)
The last 4 years I've been able to control my pain with Morphine and Dilaudid. And yes, I'm physically addicted to them. So what?
Thats what I don't get about most doctors and those buisy body people that have never suffered from chronic pain think. That being addicted to narcotic pain pills is a bad thing. If you need them, and they improve the quality of your life, so what if your addicted to them. Being addicted to them this way and being addicted to them from taking them to get high is two different things. In fact just to let you know, after taking narcotics for so long to manage my pain I couldn't get high on them if I wanted too!
But because a few kids taking them to get high have died and others have got addicted to them the "absolute moralist" want to ban and outlaw all narcotic pain medications. Like my dad said about them (the absolute moralist) may all of there teeth rot and fall out, but one, so that they can still have a tooth ache.
Any who, those of us that have constant chronic pain need the narcotics to manage it. And for all of those people that have never been in real pain and are against the use of narcotics for anything. May you be in chronic pain until you ask for the narcotics to relieve it to see what its like.
I am only 24yrs old and im in chronic pain with my back. I have 4 degenerated disks and a herneated disk in my upper back in between my shoulder blades. i also have a tear in a disc in my lower back. its the same thing with my current doctor, he gives me 60 oxycodone 7.5's every 5 weeks and tells me to take only 2 a day?? ive been on and off pain meds for the last 6yrs b/c of this pain so needless to say 2 a day just doesnt cut it any more. ive tried just about everything, physical theropy, 2 series of joint injections, and 2 series of radio frequency ( burns the nerve endings off) NOTHING to this date has worked for me. ANd forget about it if i asked my doctor for an increase in MG's with the pain meds, you are automatically a junky and just want to get high!!! NO, i dont want to get high, i want to be able to live the rest of my life with as minemal pain as possible so that maybe i could get my life back and do the things that i used to and the things that make me happy!! im miserable 5 out of 7 days a week, and on my days off from work, i just lay in bed trying to find the most comfortable way to rest so i dont feel like ripping my spine out! most days with out meds my pain level is and 8 out of 10, but everyone with cronic pain knows there is always those atleast 2-3 days where its at a 12 and theres nothing you can do. im just tired of hearing the same thing all the time, "your going to hurt your liver",-"You must be taking too mush of this your script should last you 5 weeks". at this point i dont care about my liver, ill deal with that when the time comes, just do something for the pain i have now so i can just be me again and not this miserable person who doesnt want anyone around EVER to see how bad the pain has taken over my body and mind... if and one has any suggestions about a pain specialist in southern New Jersey i wood greatly appreciate the advice.. Thanks for the venting session
I have RA and fibromyalgia.The pain is most of the time severe. Went to my PCP yesterday and explained that I was not sleeping well and constantly had to use the heating pad for comfort. She gave me Naprosyn. Told me there was nothing that can be done for the pain. She seemed almost shocked that I had even come into the office. After a full day of work I can barely move. The pain in my hands is so bad that I cry(silently). My sisters and husband and daughters think that all I want is drugs and that is why I go to the doctor. Daughter says why do you go there so much. I have not been there since March and that was for my annual exam. Ibuprofen does not work. I do have Ultram and take Tyleno with that. There is so much reluctance out there to help those that are trully in pain. I do wear braces on both wrists to get me through the day. What options do we really have? I don't want heavy drugs just something so that I can get a good nights sleep. I think that if I slept better I could cope with the pain better. I asked for a referral for a rheumatologist and she said that she didn't feel that one could help me that much, but would do it if I wanted. I felt so guilty asking that I left the office without the referral. It is so unreal that there are so many people who think that chronic pain complaints is just a demand for drugs. If anyone has any suggestions on getting rid of the horrible guilt that I feel for requesting something to make my pain bearable I would appreciate it.
the best thing i can tell you that may or may not help is to get your RA and fibromyalgia completely documented and to try and find a good pain Mngt. specialist. that way you have the proof that it is actually there, and if they tell you to go to physical theropy or whatever they tell you to try even if you know it wont work, just do it anyway. Because then they see than your making a concious effort to help yourself without the pain meds. then tell em its not working (BUT ONLY IF ITS NOT WORKING) and then you'll get a better chance of getting some kind of decent pain med that will take away the pain even just some of the day... and in the meen time try Ambien, its a decent sleep aid and no matter the pain you will sleep away the whole night. trust me im in chronic pain ALL the time and the ambien helps when i cant sleep because of the pain
P.S. with doctors the way they are today you cant feel guilty because they say no or whatever, you have to be upfront with them and sometimes just NASTY to get them to listen to what you really have to say, because alot of them just want to talk over you and say whatever it is that they want to say and dont give a damn what your thinking or saying.... just put your foot down and be straight forward with them.... Its worked for me in the past...
That is very good advice. Thank you. I plan on pursuing pain relief whatever that will take. I have been with the same PCP for 10 years and maybe she is just not right for me anymore. She had referred me to a Rheumatologist for a few sessions about 2 years ago, but when referral ran out it was not renewed. I feel bad for anyone out there who is not being heard and is suffering. Many I know suffer in silence. Perhaps all this information regarding some peoples inability to be treated effectively will do some good. God Bless and prayers to all that are in pain.
You are more than welcome for the advice.. I really hope it works out for you. I completely understand how you feel, as i also suffer from daily severe chronic pain..im just blessed to have found the doctor that i now go to that has had the same types of problems that i currently have and can really really help me out with the Mngt. of my pain suffering... GOOD LUCK to everyone on this blogg finding relief from the 24/7 horrifc pain that plaques us!! and again thank you for being the only people that actually listen and care because you ALL understand
The kind of doctor that said this has NO clue as to what chronic pain is like. Every day is a struggle for me with Sjogren's Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Raynaud's Syndrome, POTS, Irritable Bowel, Acid Reflux, 2 Cervical Disc surgeries and all the pain that follows, Sciatica, Degenerative Disk Disease, and Arthritis in the neck and spine. I could list more, but I think this is enough.
I had a doctor who would not help me deal with my pain and it was TERRIBLE. I hurt so badly that I felt like ending it all. If I knew that my pain could not be controlled, I probably would have to.
This is the way chronic pain is. Unless doctors give us medicine, we can't control it. Yes, I am dependent on my pain medication, but no, I am not a drug seeker or addict. Doctors need to know their patients well enough to know the difference. If they have the kind of patient, doctor relationship that they should have, then a doctor will know the difference.
hello to all! my name is Rodney. i am a recently divorced 31 year old man. i have lived with pain for the some of the past 12 to 13 years of my life. i had a really bad car wreck in 1996,i was 19 yrs of age at the time. my car flipped 6 times ejecting my two friends along with myself. i shattered my right femour with the doctors putting a pin in right femour. this was only the start of my now painful life. since then i have had the pin rmeoved and two ortho scopes done on my right knee. with my left leg being 'my better leg' i have had two ortho scopes done on it due to having to carrying the weight for many years. keep in mind i was in my twenty's when most this happened. well as most married men know, when you get married you were a much smaller man than when you get older and gain weight and become divorced. i of course was in a size 30 pant and wieghed about 130 pounds. ten years later getting divorced i weighed 260 and wore a size 38 pant. needless to say i too have all the ortho doctors along with the family doctors and i of course found it hard to lose the weight and exercise like i was told to. my ortho doctor in oklahoma city was one hell of a doctor. he did two of my scopes on my knees. anyhow he was the one who told me i had o.a. in my knees. told me that i was a 30 year old man with the knees of a 65 year old man. i was a perfect canidate for knee replacement. problem being that i am so young and the knees only last bout 15 years. by the time i was 45 i would have to have them replaced again. plus i know i am like everyone else out there, who the hell has that kind of good insurance and money for that? so with all of that being said he was a wonderful doctor. he keep me with my lortabs 10mg and with my relfain and my flexirl for resting at night. then my family doctor would keep me with lortab 5/500 for the day time and my somo's to use as prn. i had such wonderful doctors in oklahoma. well now being recently divorced, i have found myself back living at home with my family. you know growing up in texas your whole life, i did everything i could to get away from here. but for the last 14 years i was doing everything i could to get back. but i am know in the same situation like much of you. getting the doctor to actually believe that your in pain is bout like pulling their teeth. along with my o.a i have now learned that i have the early stages of parkinson's disease to add to my list of my health problems. so on top of it all i am now on 9 different medications with taking four 10mg flexirl per day and only two vicodone 5/500 per day to manage my pain. talk about wanting to pull my hair out!! there really are some days that i can't possibly get outta bed. i never realized how good my doctors were in oklahoma until i no longer had them. i have honstly thought about moving back to oklahoma for that reasons. just so i can manage my pain.
so for many of you i have read, are lucky enough that have good doctors who actually believe that you hurt. PRAISE YOUR DOCTOR AND MAKE SURE THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU APPREACIATE THEM!!! please do that for all of us who don't have those doctors.
well here is to living with the pain...take care to all of you and god bless. my he help in your pain.
sending thoughts and prayers to all of you from texas. Rodney
Dr Kirschenbaum,
I am an avid reader of your blog and would like to felicitate you on it and thank you for sharing so much insightful information.
If I could be so bold as to ask a question of you it would be this: I am suffering from chronic arthritis in my neck and back. now, i am usually against drugs but sometimes the pain is so severe, especially on rainy and cold days, that i succumb and take pain medication. On a blog i found a link to this website: http://www.chiactivate.com (please remove if against your blog policy) claiming that both the neck stretcher and the mineral lamp help with arthritis induced pain in my problem areas. could you be so kind as to take a look at these products and put a post or reply to this comment as to whether these or similar products are any good? thank you so much!
I've lived with arthritis pain for years and can't use NSAIDS either. I just don't do anything to make the pain worse...feel like a prisoner in my own body actually. Then I had nodes removed from my chest three weeks ago. When I woke up in recovery, I asked for something to lesson the pain and was asked how long I had been using vicodin. I told the nurse three weeks. I thought, how odd they'd ask me that since I had been in the same place those three weeks before having a lumpectomy. She told me I couldn't have anything for pain because what I was feeling was a craving for vicodin. So, I lay there, trying to inhale through searing pain thinking I had no option. I was taken back to my outpatient room and as hours went by, they kept asking me about my pain level. I kept telling them it was at 8/10. Finally, a nurse came in with three squeeze vials and slammed them into the IV in my hand....it burned so much I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I asked what it was and she called it Dilated. Suddenly it felt like I'd been hit in the back of my head with a sledge hammer. She told me I could get up and get dressed to leave then walked out. As I sat up for the first time in the bed, I felt terrible. My side still ached but not as bad. I dressed and got the hell out of there and was glad they gave me a prescription for more vicodin.
A week later, the surgeon took the drain out. I asked about pain med refills and was told no. When I alomst went off on the nurse, she said, ok, but this is the last time.
I am out of meds now and I still can't lay down in bed to sleep. I don't understand these doctors or nurses. It's not my fault I needed surgery and it hurts.
I'm terrified now. I'm facing further cancer treatment and all I can think about is, if I don't beat the cancer, do I have to buy a box of shot gun shells and wait till I can't stand the pain anymore then blow my head off?
I would like to say that I am fortunate to have a pain specialist who doesn't hold back pain meds. I am like the rest of you who have chronic pain OA, and degenerative discs. I have been on paid leave from work now for three weeks. Now the fouth week my work put me on LOA because........? My PCP gave me a 14 day trial of Requip for resless leg syndrome. It started out 25mg then every third day it would double in strength. B the 7th or 8th night it was @ 1mg. So I went to work that day and went I went in the kitchen (I am a Chef) among other culenary arts. I did'nt know where I was what I was doing and could barely stand up. One of my co-workers brought it to the attention of my Super. and then I was immediately take to a clinic for a drug screen. Of course I take opiates have been for the past oh 5yrs. No secret when I was drug screened before I go the job I tolded them what I was taking and they said "we don't test for that anymore. So to make a log story short I can't go back to work until my doctor says I am of opiades! Go figure.
I have to agree. Criminals and drug abusers have made it very difficult for patients with REAL pain! I broke my tib/fib 2 years ago, had no insurance and had to let heal on it's own. My ortho sucked and was too scared, or whatever to give much meds. so I suffered thanks to all the bad people with a broken leg and only 5mg. of lortab every 6 hours!!!!!! Seriously, no lie, honest truth...5mg. every 6 hrs. for a BROKEN LEG! After a year of agonizing pain (now delayed union of tib/fib) I was on search for a dr. to help me. My pain was/is REAL! I finally found a dr. that prescribed me 7.5 mg. of lortab every 4 hrs. Better than what I was on, but still in pain. So, dr.s do need to ease up a little on us who really are hurting. I mean come on if someone has a broken leg I think it's okay to have them on a strong pain med. and as it heals up, less and less. Now if someone who "looks" like an addict and is complaining of backache with no signs of real backache(xrays, mri's, exams, etc.) instead of turning them away why not offer real help to get off the meds. like methadone? I just think dr.s do need to be a little more compassionate and try to help addicts.
Since April of 2005 I have had 4 knee surgeries and two back surgeries. This all started when I complained of pain down the back of my leg. The first OS I was going to said my cartilage was hanging on by a thread and he did an arthroscopy and said my knee was filled with arthritis. After the arthroscopy and debridement the pain was worse then ever. The OS said I needed a TKR but at the last minute changed his mind on the way to surgery and said he thought I could get by with a Partial Knee Replacement. The pain down the back of my leg kept getting worse. I had been going to this doctor for 15 years , but it seemed he wasn't listening to me and I was advised to switch Doctors so I went to another OS who said the PKR should never have happened and I should have had the TKR. After the TKR the pain down the back of my leg continued and so I was sent to a back doctor who found multiple things wrong with my back and said I needed back surgery. The pain down the back of my leg was a pinched nerve from Spinal Stenosis. I ended up with two back surgeries three weeks between as the bone broke in my back after the first surgery and I had to have corrective surgery. After this surgery the pain in the leg was gone but my knee was not stable and PT didn't seem to be able to do anything for me and discharged me. Before this my OS did a spacer exchange and thought this might help the unstable knee. Both PT and my OS thought I might have nerve damage and so I went to a Neurologist and a Neurosureon who both said that I do not have nerve damage and that no back problem would cause a knee to overextend that I clearly had a knee problem. I go back to my OS next month and I don't know what to expect now. It is believed that I have a failed knee replacement and I'm not sure if I should let this doctor operate again or if he has the training to do so and correct this problem Since the knee surgery I can't work and am so limited in what I can do as I have to push a walker around for balance. How do I go about talking to my OS about this and what should happen next. I'm 61 and weigh 120 pounds and not willing to live my life this way if it can be corrected but I know the more surgeries I have the worse it can be for me and I want this to be the last and done right.. Could you give me an idea what you think is wrong and what I should do next. Rebecca Russell
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WHAT NOW
Posted: Jun 16, 2008
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I really could use some advice here. I thought this Dr. K. was supposed to answer our posts and give us advice. What happened to him'
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WHAT NOW
Posted: Jun 16, 2008
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Dr. K. only comes in every few months. At that time he will answer several posts at once. He's currently looking for patient stories on his blog. Check it out here:
http://blogs.webmd.com/arthritis-and-joint-replacement/
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I just got diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I am 22 years old. I had to convince my rheumatologist that I had RA, until i got my test results back. He refuses to give me any pain medication. He gave me prednisone, but it makes me feel worse. And he is the only rheumatologist in 50 miles of me that takes blue cross. Im done with feeling terrible and done with the depression that comes with it. I don't know what to do...
I am 46 years old and started with mild joint pain, several weeks later had increased pain and marked joint swelling. I let this go until it continued to get worse and then I broke out in a rash on my lower legs and started feeling "spacey". I went to an urgent care center, where blood tests were taken. I was told I had one of three things, RA, Lupus, or Human Parvovirus B19. After a week of increasing pain and swelling I got a positive on the parvo. I was sent to a rheumatologist who says my levels were very high, he also stated that I had other levels that were very elevated such as ANA. He is running other blood tests and will have some results in about a week. My mother and other members of my family have RA, so this was a concern to me. I have had a migrane and nausea for several days since the visit and am wondering how long this will last, is it normal for the symptoms to worsen through the course of this illness and what is the likelyhood that this could be a precursor to RA or lupus?
I was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and CHF in 2004 and arthritis and fibromyalgia enlarged spleen fatty liver disease, anemia,intercranial hypertension that causes severe headaches. I spent many years suffering bouts of what I thought was heart attacks. Chest pain, shortness of breath, sweaty, dizzy,weak and feeling like I was going to die. My PCP ( who is great) did not have direct admit privaldges to the hospital so he would send me to the ER and have his MA call to request that the treating DR. call him before any descion was made to release me or admit me. He wanted me admited so testing could be in a timely manner instead of waiting wks. The Dr. either ignored the request and never called or called and did what they wanted to any way. I had a particulary bad week once where my PCP sent me to the ER 5 times in 1 wk and I was basicallly treated like I was crazy they even called a psych consult on 2 of the visits. Once things began to be diagnosed I was treated with more respect and things were looked into more closly.
This past May I was driving home from a singing compitition when I either fell asleep or passed out behind the wheel. When I went left of center into the grass, I realized something was wrong, overc corrected,did 2 360's across the freeway and slammed into a ditch on the other side. I hit my head on who knows what, the seatbelt caught me across the throat and had many bruises.I was taken to the hospital they checked my heart and pacemaker, and they didn't see anything alarming and released me. The next morning I went to stand up and my legs were like wet speghetti noodles. I also began began to wet my pants. I went to the ER and after testing it was discovered the I a oxygen sateration of 48% I was transferred to CCU. This is when life becam fun.
I tske Ambien to sleep but it was not on my med sheet ( even though it wasw written to give my medications that I take at home. after about a wk of no sleep, I was so frustrated and a little ticked off,that I decided to go home.( this was at about 3:30am) I called my parents to come get. While I was waiting remembered that I hadn't taken a little change purse out of my purse and t had 4 ambien in it. I grabbed it and got one out,at the same time my parents came to the hospitaland to my room. Just as I was taking the Ambien the nurse walked in. She got the ambien and gave me a lecture on how they need to moniter the medication blah, blah,blah. She then asked if i would take a drug screening test. I agreed and did the test. That day I was transferred back to the main floor. That afternoon while I was in the bathroom, someone knocked on the door then yelled at me thru the door that I came up positive on the benzodiazapenes. I didn't even know what this was and asked her to stay there that I was coming out as soon as I washed my hands. She didn't . I began looking up my meds on the internet and found that a medication I was on a med that a Dr put me on was a benzodiazepine and that it would come up positive on drug screens for 30 days after my last dose. I am now having severe headaches and need to go to the ER per my Dr. but I am afraid that I will br labeled a drug seeker or crazy and not really get any help or relief from the pain.
Does Glucosimine and chondroitin help?
Many times I've read the "theory" is that taking glucosimine provides the building blocks for making new cartilage and protecting current cartilage. But that's always followed up by a disclaimer that professional experts on joint health cannot confirm that taking Glucosamine supplements really does provide a benefit. Meanwhile many thousands of consumers are paying for and taking these supplements and hoping they work. It seems to me this would be a relatively straighforward topic for clinical research studies to confirm, refute, or at least provide some better info. Who can shed some light? thank you
I am sorry for all those out there suffering from acute pain. I have worked as a hospital RN for half my life, and have seen it's debilitating effects all too well. Not to mention the many side effects from conventional treatments.
I am becoming more familiar with alternative treatments for myself and my family. Although I do not suffer from chronic pain, I use an all natural pain relief gel called Arnicare for muscle pain with good results. I believe the company that manufactures this also makes an arthritis medicine. For those of you in need of a new, alternative treatment, this may be an answer.
I am 37 and have arthritis but since I am that young and don't have a ton of records of me having it, the doctors I see don't want to give me even an NSAID for it. Unless you consider Ibuprofin one. They are but not much help. I can't seem to get a doctor to listen to me about the pain I have especially in the mornings. I ended up having to get into a methadone clinic to get any relief. Of course, I am not looked at highly by many people due to that fact now. I was sent to a pain management doc one time around 3 1/2 years ago to see if they could help me. He came in asked me only one question, "do you have any back pain?". I didn't lie to him and told him no at the time. I now do. But when I said NO he sent me aways with no answers or help at all. And to top that off, he got my referring doctor to cut off my small Vicodin script. They do treat most people as criminals and it's not fair one bit. Doctors need to have a class in college to learn to detect people with real pain from drug seekers. But instead all they doo is assume everyone is after something they "don't need." And it's not the least bit right. There are real patients with real pain that are having to go out and "find" there own pain pills when a doctor should be allowing them. There has to be a medium between doctors that will not give anyone meds and the few docs that still give out scripts like a legal dealer. I hope in my lifetime I end up with an intelligent, caring Doctor someday.
I have had rheumatoid arthritis for 13 yrs. I am not on any type of meds except what they give me in the ER when I go. U see I am one of those people that cannot afford health care. My body aches 7 days a week 24 hours a day. I have a knot the size of a quarter on my wrist. The meds they give zonk you out. The side affects are worse than the pain sometimes. So I just deal with the pain.
I have had 4 flares of Still's Disease - 1981, 1983, 1990, 2001 - and pain management has not been a serious concern of any physician. I suffered terribly in 1981 and 1983 from daily fevers up to 105F, lasting up to 6 months. I recently discovered that moderate levels of methylprednisolone makes an enormous positive change in my disease. Who cares about 'steroid sparing' if everyday you wish you were dead? I should have a say on the trade-off between immediate quality of life and long-term complications from steroid use.
I am 18 years old and have cronic joint and muscle pain and discomfort in every major movable joint intersection in my body, even my jaw. I have been to so many different specialsts i dont know where to turn. I was referred to a Rheumetologist finally and we have ruled out all autoimmune and rheumatiod related diseases, but i feel like she has just given up on diagnosing me and has just decided to pass me over. She said if my pain persisted, which it has, then we would try cortizone shots in my joints but i feel like i should have a proper diagnosis before she tries pain management.. i have been dealing with these pains since i was fourteen and i have heard every diagnosis from growing pains to thrroid problems. i am growing tired of being pushed aside by doctors and with somone would take the time to find out whats wrong with me, before i start any painful treatment options. Should i just check myself into a hospital and hope someone can figure out whats really wrong, or should i just take the shots and hope they work? i need an unbias opinion, and wish someone would help me.
18 yr old: you should have been seeing a rheumatology specialist all along, and the fact that you just got there suggests to me that you are not getting good health care.
There may be answers, and you'll need lots of money to find them. Johns Hopkins, Mayo, etc: these are places that will take your big bucks and try to find out something.
Or there might not be answers. A lot of this is guesswork. If your pain is that bad, why not experiment with DMARDs, for example?
So I'm 25 yrs old and very worried. You see I've lived with several symptoms of serious and painful illnesses since the onset of puberty. Almost a complete loss of my sense of touch (I can feel constant pressure, but someone tapping me on the shoulder would get annoyed very quickly.) I entered military service when I was 19. At about 20 I began to feel some intense deep-bone pain especially in my joints... all of them, except my hands toes and ankles... At first I was glad in a way, to feel anything, regardless that it was pain, it was something. But the novelty wore off fairly quick because lets face it pain is your body's way of telling you there is something wrong, and more obviously pain is painful. When I went to the doctor they said that I was probably just putting to much stress on my body then gave me a pat on the back and sent me on my way. after repeated visits for the chronic pain they did MRIs on my knees, ankles and elbows, where I had the most pain, and found that I had been losing cartilage with no injuries or trauma to explain it. No Diagnoses, no treatment or pm to speak of. Fast forward four years, I am in immense pain everyday, not seeing any medical professional of any sort, and still trying to keep up with my two and three year old, one day I'm carrying my sleeping two year old daughter down the stairs to put her in bed and both of my knees buckle, i wrap myself around my daughter and take the entire fall on my back. my mother insists I go to the hospital they X-ray my back and find that while nothing is broken I have scoliosis to the extent that they are surprised that i can even walk at all. I once again decline surgery (I've been to several physicians who have recommend joint replacement, hip, knee, shoulder, elbow)... regardless of the past my current doctor didn't believe i was in pain until i complained long enough to get proof that there was something wrong (the army lost my medical records so my previous mris are long gone) so now that she's seen the new ones i have an appointment with an ortho in two days. But seeing as I like to be informed about my health I came to webMD and did the little symptom checker, which came back with some type of neuropathy, while i was looking at that information I saw the word Lupus and decided to look at that cause it sounded interesting...
now i'm a little freaked out...
outside of swelling joints and the rash, I have every other major symptom (concentrated protein in the urine since I was 14, retrograde ejaculation since I was 16 BTW someone needs to tell people that that's not normal because i had no idea, Raynaud's phenomenon once again since my teens and didn't realize that it was a sign that something was wrong, hell i didn't even know it had a name, bruising with no trauma, and i'm very sensitive to the sun and tend to blister if i burn at all. and while the doctors had explanations for the singular problems, no one has thought of it on a systemic scale, not even me)
anyway how do i approach the ortho about getting an ANA test without sounding like a self-diagnoser, and if it is lupus can i still manage the pain without NSAIDs (interacts with depression meds) or Opiates (don't want to feel sick all the time and non-narcotics are easier to get a doctor to perscribe) and how bad is it going to get if I can't find a way to manage the pain?
I have a very responsible rheumatologist who prescribed Lortab for me for psioratic arthritis and fybromyalgia. I was scared of it, and took it sparingly although it worked. this past 4 months i went without it and felt awful. I had no medication other than advil and it just wasn't enough. I can't take steroids because the withdrawl is so bad- ie swelling, migrianes, joint pain. So- i have just now renewed my Lortab feeling very uneasy, but physically so much better! This past weekend i could barely move from the sofa. I have two boys and two dogs and volunteer commitements so this is not a choice for me. I have to be able to function. My doctor said that if i feel good, not drugged, when i take the pain medecine then that means i needed it. My head is more clear on it, because the pain is gone. I know there are people out there who don't understand this, but the doctor is right and doing the right thing for me.
After several years of dealing with very bad pain, my doctor said only narcotics are effective for you--I gladly signed a contract that allows for drug testing. Thanks to morphine I have a life again. I guess I had to reach an age along with a firm resovle to end my pain. Don't count on your doctor--you insist, then insist again until someone hears you in pain praying for help. Finally THEY saw the light and put me on powerful enough pain relief. Thanks to the doctors that care--most are more concerned with their own butt. In sum, I don't care if I'm addicted--I'm living a life again. I'm back to vacations, yard work, school--all because of the proper pain relief--in my case morphine for a disk problem and knees that feel nuch older than 53 yrs old.
I champion all comments re: long term pain medicine to be used for acute pain. Ive had arthritis due to Crohns disease for 4 years + require knee replacement in right knee and the pain has escalated to 6/8 on a daily basis WITH pain meds. Prednisone was originally the rheumatolgist drug of choice(tried remicaid & any/all RA drugs which didnt help). 4 yrs ago was started 5mg Prednisone + several 7.5 Lortab a day. Due to escalation of pain and decrease in drug effectiveness, I now require 10-14mg prednisone, 3-4 percoset, 2 60mg oxycontin + 90 mg of Cmybalta daily. (not including Crohns disease meds)
My Dr. isnt concerned about prescribing these meds as (1) I see him every 6 weeks to discuss pain & disease mgmt, (2 he knows why more pain meds are required over time (3)I ask him for substitutes for these drugs almost every visit (HATE prednisone & am fatigued on codeine meds) (4) he's been my Dr. about 15 yrs and has seen progression of disease(s).
Many yrs ago I complained about taking meds for pain-was always concerned w/the drug addiction issues. His response was simple: its a quality of life issue, i.e., would I rather be in unable to function w/pain or take meds and have a life? Besides, he said, pain meds are created for people like me.I know Im physically addicted to them but SO WHAT? Since there is no cure for Crohns or Arthritis I'll be on them the rest of my life unless a non-opiad is found that can control pain. Since I can function, e.g., walk, drive, think, read, etc, then I have quality of life. So what if I have to take meds daily to function...am being treated just like anyone else w/a chronic illness.
Anyone with real pain will find a doctor to help them manage it thru therapies (have been to physical therapist 6 seperate times in 4 yrs) Plus Dr will prescribe drug meds, vitamins and all other strategies that provide relief.
And to anyone in pain or Dr's who read this I want to make it clear that(when taking our meds as prescribed) THOSE OF US WITH SEVERE PAIN DON'T GET HIGH FROM THE MEDS! Tired/fatiqued yes, but we couldnt get stoned if we tried...I fall asleep if I took took much pain meds.
I can only surmise a Drs who think pain meds are for only addicts is someone who's never experienced extreme pain & really believe we just want to be stoned out of our minds. In reality, all I feel is an absence of pain...and for pain sufferers there is no better feeling. Only those without pain who take opiads get high on them and become out-of-control addicts.
And one day those Drs WILL, unfortunately, experience or a loved one of theirs will and then they'll understand prescibe themselves the very strongest opiad,or herion or whatever med they can find to make it go away.
Hello, I feel sad for all of you who either has a rude/inadequate pain Dr., and has found no relief.
I lived in West L.A., working at a
job making $8500. per month, and then I fell and got injured. I went through a lot of the same steps that happen when a person has Chronic Pain. I was lucky...even though I had a Beverly Hills surgeon, he did two surgeries on my neck for hernaited discs, and both were unsuccessful. He had seen me for a couple of years during physical theapy, and told me that it was time to have the surgery because I was not progressing. The first surgery, they used bone from a bone bank, and my body rejected it. The second time they used my own side, and although my body "accepted" it, I still had pain. It turns out that when I was fused, there were little bones of fragments that were fused right up against my nerve. Now, this time I went to a Dr. well known for being one of the finest in his field...Dr Rick Delamarter. He is at St. Joseph in Santa Monica. He is not a real talkative guy, but his staff is really nice and well equipped, and he concentrates on the surgeries.
My surgery was done in 1996. Due to arhtritus, deterioration of the bone, and another herniated disc, I am having pain still, but it was way better than before. I find that a combination of a pain Dr., chiropractor and massage combined with vicodin, duregesic 75mg patch, and ice packs and heating pads that I can make it through the day.
I am like every other person with chronic pain. We try not to complain, because it is boring.
I feel frustrated because I was 119 lbs and beautiful when I got injured. Now I am 190, in pain, and cranky. I do whatever my mind tells me to do...I do not wait for some mystery guy to ask me out, and I will live happy for ever and ever. I have pets, and I sleep with my 6 cats and a Minpin, and would not trade it for the world.
I also give thanks for all the good things in my life. I find that if I concentrate on the positive right before I go to bed, I usually wake up feeling better.
If you are in the Santa Monica area, check out Dr. Rick Delamarter. And, if your pain doctor does not give you a satisfactory regimen, find someone else. There are pain Dr.s on every corner in LA...surely a good one can be found. Becca
From age 36 to early 40's: a double hip replacement, lumbar discectomy, cervical strain/trauma to upper body, tmjd, migraines, temporary paralysis from neck down, dx with fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and undiagnosed but experienced damage to hands from ionizing radiation from personal exposure. I know pain. I know it well. Before my lumbar discectomy I was losing the use, with sciatic pain, of my right leg. Before hip surgeries, my right leg was turned 90 degrees out from the hip joint.
Until finally getting a surgery, my primary care doctor had a tendency to blow me off on all complaints.
I've been ignored, refuted, and given minor help like ultram. I am now totally and permanently disabled, for pain, while I am in far less pain than in the past. I believe in getting help; that is to say I believe more could be done to elminate the causes of present pain than is being done. A tendency for ulcers prevents me from taking an anti-inflammatory, but I take soma or darvicet or amitriptyline or imitrex for help now. These meds are great but I don't think I should be relegated to taking them for the rest of my life. At age 52 I am hoping to find real help for pain...without being drugged up.
Still...my doctor could do more to help with pain management. While I do not want the drugged up wacked out state of being in official 'pain management' care, some changes to meds could help. I don't know what the long term effects of these drugs are, for example. Doctors don't listen when a woman says she's in pain. They tune you out when you talk about mitigating circumstances such as mine (associated with employment and medical malpractice). I think my primary means well, but lacks the aggressive treatment plan I seek. I want to work and live again. Trapped in this body, all I want to do is 'get out' and live.
What stands in the way? The body?
The doctor? Me? I think some of each. The one thing my doctors could have done so easily to help me, however, they would not do...
help with pain relief. Had I been a "drug seeker" it's clear I would not have needed the surgeries. Yet still...my primary will not do more. So I just go other places now...and with Medicare, I can...
and hopefully I will find the doctor who will make the difference.
Im not in a contest to be the one in most pain. I was misdianosed with RA when i was 23 and pregnant. I spent most of my pregnancy on bedrest and the last 3 months on vicodin. Thank god my baby girl was 3 weeks premature but healthy. within 3 years i had 4 surgeries to try to help with my pain and other problems, including a hysterectomy to stop the endometriosis and abdominal pain. It was the hardest and worst decision of my life because I DID NOT HAVE RA therefore did not need to lose my ability to have more children. I was on all different pain meds for almost 10 years until a psychiatrist put me on suboxone. it helped for a while but when the weather was bad it might as well have been a tic tac. just didnt taste as good. if anyone has help for me in this area -- please let me know!
You all sound like Medicinal MJ activists to me. I to live with chronic pain the best option is MJ. I don't like the high feeling but it the only drawback compared to prescription drugs. It works perfect for neuropathy nausea, pain, headaches, anxiety, the list goes on... We all need to push for decriminalization !!!! For our own sanity.
I am 21 years old and was born with a deformity in both of my arms. My Ulna sits on top of my metacarpals and causes my Radius to grind over my ulna every time i rotate my wrists/arms. I've been battling pain since i was about 12 and never thought much of it such i knew no different. I used to try to play certain sports and even simple activities like opening jars and lids but for some reason i would feel such crippling pain I'd have to drop whatever was in my hand. Now I'm 21, and I've been in pain management for almost 3 years. I've NEVER experienced such a struggle to get help! Luckily i have a pretty awesome pain management doctor that I see every month, but he can only write me medication to mask the pain... which doesn't actually mask it completely. I'd have to get surgery on my arms in order to reset the bones and THEN I'd have to go to years of physical therapy to reverse the years of permanent nerve damage thats been caused. Now I'm all for surgery, but why does it have to be SO hard and expensive to do? I lost my parents when i was 17 so I don't have anyone but myself to help me. I'm terrified I'll be ruined for life by the time I can afford to fix myself. I have Permanent nerve damage, arthritis, and something in my neck. It seems like doctors view me as an addict because I've been treated with Oxycotin for nearly 3 years. I didn't even know anything about the drug, or how so many ppl abuse it. It really frustrates me to be put with those that lie about pain just to get medication, that they abuse.. because it effects me in being able to obtain help. I'm so exhausted from all this and i can barely keep myself afloat. I wish this was easier.
Hi, I was touched by your story, and I am so sorry about the pain you have received. You have been dealt a lot in life, and at such a young age too. You qualify for being disabled, and your pain doctor could write that for you. I have no idea if you were ever able to work, but regardless, you will get some money, but the main thing is you could get really excellent insurance. SSdi now has policies thru Humana, which cover drugs and surgeries. You can also make a deal with your Dr's to let you pay the co-pay for as low as 5 or 10 bucks a month. You will need a disability attorney, and they only charge when you win. The sooner you start, the better. It takes approx. 3 yrs to get disability, as EVERYONE will tell you that you cannot. You can..just go thru the process, pray and be patient. Find out who your state representative, and call them, once you have a case. they can help track it and push it thru court. I would say go through with surgery...I have had 3 neck surgeries, and am about 80% pain free. I seem to be having restless leg (nerve related, due to damage), and have been having a lot of belly aches...I take each day at a time, pray to God knowing that a power so great that can create us can heal us, and He will help guide you to the right Dr. you are in my prayers..also, fellowship at Unity Church is a great way to find others who are willing to help...you can do it. Do not feel your life is over at 21..blessings, becca
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