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The Pain of being Overweight
The other evening I watched a movie about a teen who researched a school population on the issue of obesity. By wearing what was called a "fat suit" she was able to transform her slender proportionate body into one of a heavyset female and interact with various social groups within a local school. The students--some actually her friends--didn't recognize her.
She quickly began to realize the painful difficulties many heavyset people go through. The cruel jokes and rediculous comments kids spewed from their mouths, the non-verbal and judgemental postures often demonstrated by thin people cut deep and left lasting impressions. It was true -- slender people had no clue what it was like to be overweight. I felt it was a very good movie and really left the viewer with food for thought.
Pain patients are also seen through judgmental eyes. Just read the pain management and migraine boards here on WebMD and you can see and feel the hurt experienced by those in pain. Healthcare providers often label their patients and treat them with disrespect. People are denied treatment and accused of being drug-seekers. Employment opportunities are denied for capable and willing people because they are seen as more of a liability than an asset on their workforce. Loved ones and friends turn their back on family members in pain while others become accusatory and demonstrate their ignorance regarding issues of addiction, dependence and tolerance.
Unfortunately there are folks out there who are drug seekers and it is they who make it so difficult for true pain victims to find adequate treatment programs and physicians willing to manage their care.
It is not uncommon to find heavyset folks suffering from at least a couple of painful physical problems. It doesn't mean their weight was the cause of their conditions; however, their weight may be a contributing factor. Regardless of whether a person is heavy or light, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They should not be made to suffer any more than they already are.
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78 Comments:
My wife went through this (no pain management)for a ridiculously long period of time and was labeled a "doctor shopper" because she went from one doctor who refused to treat her pain to another. This went on for approximately 10 years before she found actual help in the form of an office that did nothing BUT treat pain. This was not a pain clinic, but a doctors office(about 8 doctors) with doctors who had degrees in things like "pain management" and the like. I guess it IS a pain clinic, they just don't call it that. All the other doctors she saw in these 10 years all wrote her off as "fat" and/or "crazy" saying it was all in her head. Well, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and her pain level is usually twice mine. Yes, she is very much overweight. Super Obese even. But that started as being a bit overweight to obese then to morbidly obese and so on, as she could no longer get any exercise after her disease progressed. The pain was too bad to move, let alone exercise. And SHE has the knee replacement, not me. She not only has degenerative arthritis, but Fibromyalgia(a condition most doctors still don't seem to recognise or even "believe" in)and a host of other painful conditions. And because no doctor would treat her pain for those 10 years,except for letting her kill her kidneys by taking massive amounts of Ibuprofen,(Advil,Motrin,etc.)which didn't seem to help that much anyway. So now her kidney function has to be monitored closely, and is. There were a few doctors during that 10 year period who would give her a "few" narcotic pain relievers(10 to 20 maybe) and she said they were the wonder drug she needed. But don't you DARE ask for a refill! Of course anytime you "ask" for narcotics, you are labeled a drug seeker or addict. She has mental issues over this, even though she is FINALLY being taken care of and being given proper medication.(10mg Norco usually) But she'll never get over the mental anguish of all those doctors not believing her when she told them she was in horrible pain. She is still, and I'm afraid forever will be, very angry and have the mental issues, over her "mistreatment." I had no problem getting pain relief because my diseases showed up in the blood tests. Hers did not. Even though she went in for some special test(I can't remember the name of the test) and it showed how "inflamed" her whole body was. But still no treatment other than stronger Ibuprofen.(800mgs 3-4 times a day! Yeah, lets keep killing her kidneys)These doctors who had to have known about these pain doctors and clinics, but never, till the last one of course, (Thank God!)suggested she see one of them. She would have committed suicide by now if she had not, after 10 years of looking for relief, been directed to her new "pain doctor." I will go to this same office when I get my Medicare I'm waiting for. For now, my Rheumatologist keeps me in Norco and a host of DMARDS and anti-inflammitories. I get my Enbrel for free because my wife knows who to talk to about these things. I always say that God put us(my wife and I) together for a reason, as we are both disabled. Geez! At least we have each other to lean on for mental support. So if a doctor reads this, and I hope many do,please don't immediately dismiss someone who says they need a narcotic pain medication as a "drug seeker" even if they have a record of "doctor shopping" because they are possibly just trying to find someone to treat their pain and don't know pain clinics or "pain doctors" exist, or can't get a reference to one. Tell them there are PAIN CLINICS! They actually have a name for this when someone goes from one Dr. to another trying to get pain relief. It's called "pseudo addiction" or something like that.(most insurance companies don't cover pain clinics so you have to find the "pain doctors" like my wife finally did. At least my old insurance didn't cover the "clinics" but DID cover the "pain DOCTOR"!Go figure.) Give them enough Vicodin or Norco or whatever your choice of pain treatment for them is, and send them to a PAIN CLINIC or PAIN DOCTOR if their pain is chronic. My wife's pain was not only chronic, it was also acute! Now,a story of my own: I once went to a doctor when I had a gout flare in my knee and he gave me Daypro and Prednisone but told me to fill the Prednisone only if the Daypro didn't work.(this was a doc-in-the-box because I had just moved to a new town and didn't have a "regular" doctor yet)I asked if I could have a "mild" pain reliever like Vicodin or Tylenol#3 and he told me the "Daypro," an anti-inflammatory WAS a pain killer. While this is true to some extent, I needed some Vicodin or SOMETHING as my knee was twice the normal size and the pain was unbearable!Oh, did I mention he refused to believe it was gout even though I had had gout a million times, because it was in my knee and not the "big toe" as gout usually is. I knew more than the DOCTOR! One problem was that I TOLD him so.LOL He said it was probably RA,which was undiagnosed at the time. But after getting my knee drained a week later at the Rheumatologist he sent me to,(who also gave me Percocet at that time)it was indeed gout as I had suspected. No! I KNEW it was gout, having had it about 15 times before in DIFFERENT joints. I'd had gout in my big toes, where most people get it, but also in both knees, both ankles, and once in my elbow. I told this "quack"(sorry docs, I just can't call this guy anything else) this was a reccurring condition I'd had many times and my doctor in the town I just moved from always gave me Percocet or at least Vicodin. He thought I was looking for drugs or maybe he just didn't prescribe narcotics at all. I don't know which. I DO know doctor shopping IS a problem with drug addicts or a patient who just wants to get "high". It was funny though, because my wife went into the pharmacy to fill my prescriptions (I couldn't walk very well at the time)and noticed she was filling two anti-inflammatories,even though I now take Indocin AND Prednisone when needed. The pharmacist called the doctor and told him I was trying to kill pain and needed a "pain killer."So this reluctant Dr. decided giving me 20 Tylenol #3s might not be a bad idea, thanks to the pharmacist! I am now very good friends with the pharmacist. I still use that pharmacy exclusively and became good friends with the pharmacist because he has the exact same conditions as I do,(RA,gout,diabetes,high blood pressure+cholesterol)right down to the fibromyalgia that goes along with men with RA. But I'm happy to say I no longer have to break the law by giving my wife one or two of MY Norcos when she wanted to kill herself because her pain was too much to handle. Oh,now that she has her own pain doctor they've tried many pain killers out on her, some that are supposed to be stronger like morphine and methadone but they don't work as well for her. And I must agree with her on this. I too, have taken time released morphine in the form of Kadian,Avinza,etc. just like my wife but we have both found that Norco and Percocet work much better. Oxycontin would work fine if the second dose you're supposed to get at 6.9 hours after taking it would kick in, but it doesn't.Or doesn't seem to.(I do my research and know how ALL my medications are "supposed" to work) Something with time released pain medication just doesn't seem to work for me.(or my wife) So doctors: Unless you've actually taken these drugs, you DON'T know what's best. Your patient knows what works for them, not you. Morphine and methadone are NOT stronger than good ol' hydrocodone or oxycodone. And Oxycodone is NOT really much stronger than hydrocodone. I've tried them all. One 10mg Norco is equal in pain killing power to one 5mg Percocet. Personally, I prefer Norco to Percocet as it works just as well. And why use Vicodin at all when Norco comes in 5,7.5, and 10mg doses? Vicodin has too much tylenol in it for a patient that has to take one of these drugs for an extended period of time. I'm no doctor but HAVE taken about every pain medication out there. For some reason morphine works fine in your "IV" when you're in the hospital, but the time released kind like I mentioned before didn't work at all for me. Nada. No pain killing power. Nothing. And how could that possibly be? Now, I was taking six 10mg Norco per day and switched to one 30mg Kadian/Avinza that didn't work at all. Now that's just me. But my wife agrees because she tried the very same medications so it must be true for more than just my wife and I. Maybe the stronger 60mg extended release morphine capsules would have worked better but I chose to go back to the Norco. When I DO have to change to something stronger it will have to be Oxycontin more than likely. Probably 40mg twice a day. Now. There's a lesson for all you pain specialists. Please don't take offense at my arrogance but I HAVE tried almost every pain med out there so please use this as a reference. Let your patient tell you what works and what doesn't! Don't tell your patient morphine is stronger when it may not work for them.
Thank you
Chronic Pain Patient
I know what you and your wife are going through. I always sought help from chiropractor and other nontradional methods. I hate to take any medicine. almost two years ago now i was rear-ended and i have been dealing with pain that did not respond to months of physical therepy and months of chiro..I finally had to go for steriod injections last year, they only helped for about two months. I was in so much pain that i was taking 2400 mgs of advil with that only taking the edge off. drs kept trying me on different anti-inflamatory pills, just like advil only take off the edge..my one dr prescibed vicodan but only for two weeks. my orthopedic would not refill my prescription. I dont know of a solution, supposely my back is not bad enough for surgery but i know i cant live the rest of my life like this. Im only 41
Hey, Anonymous: CPP here, GOE to one of the pain clinics! Or better yet, a pain doctor. Your regular doctors know of these places and just TELL them you can't live this way and mention that it makes you want to die. Be dramatic. Overdramatic if you have to. They just don't listen and you have to make them listen. I don't know where you live but I live in Boise and know of pain clinics and my wife's pain doctor, who will soon be mine too, when my Medicare kickes in. Pain medication is omong the safest of all drugs. They just worry about dependence. I am completely dependent on mine and will never be off them. So weigh the good and bad because chances are you will become dependent(we're not allowed to say "addicted" because there is a difference.) If you need pain relief, you deserve it. I thought the "nerve root injections" did me a world of good. But the epideral injections did squat except for the day I got them, then they helped till the "caine" they used wore off. There was also the dpomedrol(steroid) in the shot that did no good. Of course my problems are different than yours. I take my pain meds daily for "agressive" RA and Fibromyalgia(yes, I'm male). Most of the time Fibromyalgia is a women's disease but for some reason, men with RA get it. It's very painful. I call it my "body throb" because it is relentless. It never stops and I would have wanted to end my life if not for opiates. So, MAKE your doctor listen to you. Keep going back or go to a different doctor till you find one who will send you to a pain clinic or a pain doctor. Try "Googling" pain doctors on the Internet. You may be able to put in your city or if you live in the country an adjacent city and you may come up with something. Thing is, you ALWAYS need a referral.Are there ANY days when you are pain free or relatively so? I hope this helps. See, unless these doctors have been through it themselves they just don't know, even if it's their life's study.
CPP(chronic pain patient.
I also have fibromyalgia, but I find that pain meds are not nearly as effective as treating my sleep cycle and stress management. I need around 9 hours of sleep a night, and when things are bad, I take a muscle relaxant a few hours before bed to force my muscles to sleep at the same time as my body. I'm probably only on over-the-counter pain meds about 25% of the time now, where I used to be on prescription pain meds 100% of the time. Granted, other painful conditions can reenforce the fibro, so whenever possible treat your other conditions agressively.
pponpsHello All,
Reading your stories has brought up a lot of my memories and present problems. I too am a chronic pain patient and have been since I was 17. At that time I got many "get up and go to school" comments (senior year of high school - already graduated) which really tore into me. I have spent months in hospital with no true diagnosis. I have been through my share of doctors and was very pleasent about it all at first when they told me I was looking to get 'high'. Yeah, I was the elite athlete over-achiever - definately not looking for the 'high'. As a matter of fact I absolutely hate the side effects of medications. I have tried the controlled release meds and found they were more sedating then pain-killing and refuse to take them. The Pain Clinic does not understand this on my level. I do. After causing a stink in the hospital about a few doctors one came to see me that is absolutely amazing. He has saved my life in more than many ways. Not only is he the one who got my pain as under control as Im sure it will ever be but he cares for my whole being. He trusts me and I trust him. I respect him more than any doctor who has all the credentials offered (although Im sure he has his own). Because of him I was able to finish university, continue being an athlete and go on with my life. I still see all kinds of doctors in search of the magic 'cure' yet have not found one (out of about 50) that even comes close. He is the first to refer me to another 'specialist'. I guess my point in this is that the trusting doctors are few and far between but they are out there. I respect him so much that when my pain got too much to bear I would even think of using 'his' meds to 'check out'. Now I still have my bad bad times but I am comforted in knowing that a real doctor cares for me and my illness. I wish all of you the best in finding someone as great as this man!
If your primary problem is fibromyalgia - get thee at once to one of the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers of America - fibroandfatigue.com. They actually diagnose and address the multiple causes (yes, there are causes) and will move you toward a much more normal life!
I have CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION Syndrome) -- I was diagnosed by one of the two doctors who identified this syndrome and put it in the major journals, and got it a diagnostic code, etc. The IMMUNE part is really important, because like RA, it causes your immune system to attack your own body if there is no "beastie" infecting you to attack. Sometimes it's on full-blast, so you feel like you have some horrible illness, sometims it's almost gone, so you catch anything you're exposed too. I also have RA, osteoarthritis in my spine, knees, and hands, and lupus. I have found very few doctors here (I've moved away from where I could be treated by my first wonderful doc) who understand any of these conditions; I find that I often am better-informed and more knowledgeable than the physicians, because I read everything I can find about my problems. You MUST do this, whatever your illness, or you won't get the help you need from your doctor(s). They don't have time to study everything, so YOU have to study your own illnesses so you know what to ask for. My Family Practice doctor is wonderful; he actually admits when he doesn't understand something, and either learns about it, or sends me to a specialist. The rheumatologist he sent me to didn't believe me; she seemed to think I was a lying malingerer. After my FP doctor tried a number of different drugs (Percocet, Tylenol 3, etc) he sent me to a Pain Management specialist, who is a godsend. Now I'm taking a narcotic, and yes, I'm dependent -- but I can function now. I've had three epidural injections of steroids, and while they have helped the back and hip pain (from arthritis and disk problems in L3-L5, not ready for surgery yet) as others have found, they aren't very good for a long term solution. Even with the pain meds, I still have the back and hip pain. It's not bad right now, but I can feel it getting worse. I know my weight isn't helping (I'm not morbidly obese, but am overweight - like so many others, the pain limits exercise, and so my formerly active life has become sedentary), and I am trying to eat a healthy diet -- not a fad, or pills, just a healthy way of eating that I hope can last a lifetime. I fear that this will get worse, and that my kidneys and liver will suffer in the long run, but I am so thankful to have found a doctor who understands my condition, has other patients with the same or similar problems, and who treats me with respect, instead of the disbelief and scorn I've gotten from some doctors and even some family members. So my advice to ANY with chronic pain, from whatever reason, is first to learn everything you can on your own, so that you know as much or more as your doctor, and second, demand that you be referred to a pain management specialist. They really can help, and they will believe you. And I too have "mental issues," but with the pain managed (not gone, but managed) I am much healthier mentally as well. It's hard to feel good about yourself when you're in constant pain and overweight. And about migraines, I have found a wonderful doctor who has a subspecialty in accupuncture, and one accupuncture treatment makes my formerly 3-a-week or more migraines go to next to nothing for about three months. If you have migraines and haven't tried accupuncture, please give it a try -- it was a miracle for me, and might be for you too.
I would definitly be leary about telling my doctor something like: "I want to die", as CPP suggests. Along with rapidly progressing psoriatic arthritis which causes painful compression of the nerves that does not respond well to NAISDs I have been diagnosed as Bi-Polar. If I were to say, "I want to die" it is entirely possible that I would end up being subjected to a 72 hour preventive detention and having the pain medication (fentanyl) which I am prescribed removed. One needs to be careful about unintended consequences of our statements.
Unlike many, my medical diagnosis was extremely well documented as I had Lymes Disease and it seems to have triggered a series of medical conditions which snowballed to the point in which I am now on full disability having been a supervisor for a state agency just a few years ago. Having full insurance when things hit the fan certainly helped - I know of others who did not have as good of insurance coverage and it seems to have made a world of difference in how we are now treated due to the documentation trail of our medical conditions.
Unfortunately, tolerance and dependance are disregarded all to often. I am on a constant narcotic treatment, but even with a pain specialist treating my condition the doctor seems to believe that the amount I need should go down over time rather than increase with tolerance. Part of the problem I created as previously I was prescribed extended release morphine (which did work, to a point...). After a while the morphine did not cover the pain, and I do not expect to be pain-free, rather I hope to not live in constant pain that is to the point of complete physical intolerance. My morphine level was not increased, even though I requested this and stated my reasoning for months - and it was documented in the doctors notes (get copies of your medical records! I can not stress this highly enough! Know what your doctors are documenting about you!). After a while I began to crush the tabs, and finally to use them in a non-prescribed manner with the optimal delivery system. Obviously this was a mistake on my part, an incredibly horrid one. Luckily my marriage survived and I received treatment. I was taken off the morphine and given fentanyl patches under extremely monitored conditions. Now, close to a year later, I find that the level of fentanyl no longer provides adequate coverage - yet when I said this to my pain management specialist (who is also an addictionologist) my fentanyl level was LOWERED! The fear of addiction was highlighted, not tolerance or dependance. Having misused the morphine it is "assumed" that I am now "drug seeking". The fentanyl level was lowered two months ago, last month I was given some tramadol... but it is under controlled conditions and I can only have 100mg every 12 hours, and there certainly is not enough to take every day.
I do not know what the future holds, but I am scared to say that my current fentanyl level and the meager amount of tramadol is not sufficient to treat my pain. I fear that my levels will be reduced even further... and since I made the horrible mistake of misusing the morphine I do not have any doctor to turn to, the one treating me currently is one whom I aquired while being detoxed from morphine and who specialized in pain management for those who have "issues". He is basically the end of the line for me.
My pain is not going to go away, it is only going to get progressively worse. But I may not be able to find a doctor willing to treat me... this sucks, and it is for life.
Be very cautious in how you phrase statements to your physicians, make sure you get copies of your medical records and be willing to challenge anything that is blatantly incorrect, do not lecture your doctors though as this is an ego-threat and certainly going to bring about a backlash rather than the respect you would think you would get for doing the research on your health condition, and finally be sure not to misuse your medications or ever state that you shared any with another pain patient.
I am a 51 year old female with fibromalysia and cervical disc disease, and up until 6 months ago, was 80 lbs overweight. I have been on pain medications since giving birth to my second son 28 years ago. I ended up with chronic deep vein thrombosis, blood clots, headaches, chronic pain. Back in those days, You could not get pain medication without being accused of being a drug addict, or doctor shopping. I had a hard time finding doctors who would give me pain medication, and when I did, it was a few here and there, and they were not strong.
I used mary jane as a pain medication when I could. It helped me a great deal, along with xanax.
Thank god when pain manangement came into existence. I had to sign a contract not to use recreational drugs. I said that in the past, I had used mary jane to help alleviate pain, when I had nothing.
Along with fibromalsia, cervical disc disease, chronic dvt, I had a few car accidents over the years, broke my fema, broken heal, had a few operations, had a pulmonary embolism, etc.
My pain doctor put me on methodone. I started on 30 mg a month, and progressed to 140 mg a month. even at that amount, it did not help much any more.
I told my pain management doctor, that a change was needed. So we started on Avinza, 30 mg, and each month we progressed up to now 120 mg a month, and 30 mg of break threw pain med. morphine, 3 times a day. which seemed to work fine for a while. but within the last 3 months, on 120 mg on Avinza a day, and 30 mg of morphine instant release, I was still having too much break-threw pain, so recently, my doctor, changed my breakthrough pain medicicine to 30 mg of oxycodone. I am glad that I finally found a good doctor of pain management that understands me, and does not question me. He trusts me on my words.
After like 20 years of trying to fight the medical system of doctors being afraid to prescribe narcotics to patients, I am glad that there is now pain management to help patients in need.
In August 2001 I had emergency surgery for my back. It wasn't what the surgeon had in mind - he was doing an x-ray study to send to a top-notch referal site so I could get a better outcome than what he could provide. Instead, the procedure precipitated a problem than required immediate attention least I become paralyzed from the waist down. So be it, he did the surgery instead. However, I have a compromised immune system, and I devloped an infection at the surgery site. No one beleived me when I said that something was wrong. The infection went untreated for six months. I was in unbelievable pain. My husband was going to leave me because I "wouldn't" carry my end of the household work, and I was very crabby. I complained constantly about the pain, but every doctor I saw kept saying that it was in my head. I tried to walk - my exercise of choice. I cried, and I walked; I cried and I walked. I was close to killing myself. Finally, I insisted that I be taken to the hospital, so my husband took me to the doctor's office instead. together, they got me admitted to the mental health unit through the ER because there was obviously nothing wrong with me physically. During the admission process, I begged that a nurse catheterize me. They would not beleive me when I told them that I couldn't urinate. The nurse doing the catheterization filled a small container, then a small basin, and finally an entire wastebasket with urine. Finally, someone was starting to pay attention. In the end, the infection was found only just before it abcessed and what a mess that would have been! After six weeks of IV antibiotics, the doctors proclaimed the infection gone, but my back permanately damaged. I am still in pain, controlled OK by epidurals every four months and a hefty does of oxycontin daily. I recently began taking Cymbalta for the combinination of depression and advanced peripherial neuropathy. As advertized, Cymbalta does relieve the problem of breakthrough pain very well. My doctors beleive me now when I tell them something is wrong. BUT, I am still angry, after six years, I am angry for the "it's in your head" treatment and the permanent damage to my back. Just thinking about it causes me to seeth with anger.
Reading these sound like my normal life. I fell when I was 16 and have been on some type of pain meds ever since. I actually collapsed in school as the codiene in Tylenol 3's would make me too messed up and I was taking them as the Dr. prescribed not by need. Once I realized that Dr. was a pill pusher and would give me anything without imforming me of consequences I started to read up on anything he gave me. At one time he gave me Haldol (I was 17)and did not tell me it would make me sleepy-I went to work and they called the EMT's as I keep falling asleep. They explained the med to me.
I was told when I was 18 that I would be in a wheelchair when I was 25 and moved because of it. After several months of pain I found a Dr. who understood and kept me on pain meds, steroids and what I needed. He was the one who found out I had Fibromyalgia before it had that name and helped me get treatment for it.
My problems stem from being allergic to the NSAIDS -they cause bleeding - my current Dr. tried to pass one off on me and I didn't even check what it was but 2 days later ended up in front of him spitting up blood so he wrote a note to NEVER give me NSAIDS again on my chart. He's been good and in winter or storm time when its worse has given me a stadol inhaler or other break thru meds when needed.
I am now 46 and have had several MVA's, 4 back surgeries, 1 neck, left shoulder, left knee and I fell again recently. Went to the ER and after ages saw a Dr. who prescribed Tylox for me. Well I told him aobut triplicate C2 forms and no one listened. The pharmacy called him and said yes they had to have the form. That was Thurs, no one at the hospital had the form and he did not come in on Monday as scheduled -this is Tues and I am still trying to get with him to get the pain med prescribed. I've been back to the ER 2x trying to get someone to rewrite his script as I feel like someone is stabbing me in the back. This is crazy as he gave me the RX and even changed it from Oxycodone to Oxycontin (which I am hesitant to take) as that is what the pharmacy had BUT I still can't get the meds. I know I did some more nerve damage but am dealing with county hospitals and it will take 6 months before I get to a MRI machine. I have to go call to see if he made it in today.
Along with everything else I can't work and have been fighting with SS since 1992. They orig. gave me 3 yrs of benefits as I had 6 surgeries in those 3 yrs but then cut them off. I lost my house, my job and most of my life. I feel so lost most times but my current Dr. is pretty good with meds. He did give me a stadol inhaler RX 3 months ago but I can't afford to buy it - and that happened last yr too.
Cpp, reading your wifes story was like reading my own pain history, so much so that I had to double check that it wasn't my husband who wrote it. My problems started with a on the job injury to the nerves/muscles but after the first 6 weeks of pain the doctors said I was cured. The pain wasn't too bad then but once an area is hurt the more likely it will get hurt again. I didn't get hurt again for another 5/6 years then from that point it was a uphill battle for pain relief. I was labeld so much and told "your fat", "your hooked on pain pills", "your crazy", those were just a few of the things I was told was my problem. Nothing the doctor's tried helped the pain except for the few T-3's I could get and a treatment a German Doctor gave me in Belgium. I called it my "Novacaine" treatments. I couldn't understand what it really was but I was willing to try anything. Basicly the doctor shot up and down my spine and along my sholders and neck with little needles of novacaine then put MUCH larger needles in the same spots but thoses went deeper into the muscles up to 54 shots at one time twice a week for 6 months. Those shots helped but not for long only a few days each session.
I could write a book but I won't. I went from the early 80's to the mid 1990's before I got some regular pain relief. I found a family doctor who beliefed that "if your in pain yoou need pain relief and if your in pain you won't become addicted". However, if you have by way of pain pills been out of pain (or in less pain) you can be addicted to having that pain pill-- I'm addicted to being out of pain 70% of the time. But even with pain pills I have times when I can't deal with the pain and I pace all night long or my body says it "quits" and I passout for 6 to 14 hours at a time. So all this leads to finally being told I have fibromyalgia in the sholders and neck, plus overuse syndrome and a couple of other things in my hands. Well I'm rambling and thats not what I wanted to do. I wanted to tell you that your discription of the pain of fybromyalgia as a "Body Throb" hit the nail right on the head for me now i can discribe it more to people. One problem I have now that I have trouble with is I have gainned weight without eatting a lot but because it hurts to cook so I eat a lot of frozen micowave foods. Even my very best friend had a bit of a problem understanding that moving hurts (I don't want to move but I need to move). The only one who really understands me is my husband of 30 years. That's because he is disabled and in more pain than I'm in - not more but a different pain. Well Thanks all for this chance to vent
I can certainly identify with all of you chronic pain patients - and thankfully after about 8 yrs of "doctor shopping" and diagnosis like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, myofascial pain syndrome, lumbar and cervical stenosis, sponsyolosis, surgery, connective tissue disorder, arthritis, osteoarthritis, a host of autoimmune disorders etc. etc. I finally got a good doctor to refer me to a pain specialist and my life started all over again. Sure I'm sure some thought I was pill seeking or doctor shopping but nothing deterred me because I couldn't live that way - couldn't stand more then a minute or walk more then 2 minutes -- it was a nightmare, and then some. I was my own best investigator, research agent and advocate -- no one else would bother so I had no choice. Don't give up or give in -- there are many great doctors and places and you will find them -- persist and don't let anything or anyone get in your way. I now have a semblemce of a kind of life - a couple of days up and then a few down -- but that's better then not being up at all! Have been tried of many different opiates - it's all trial and error until you find one or some which help. No, you'll never be pain free - but you'll get from a pain level l0 down to a 2-4 and that's great! There are a number of wonderful associations - like pain associations with board members - you can always research them to find names of good doctors in your area - or contact you local hospital for names of pain specialists. Don't ever give up the good fight -- it's worth everything to get a part of your life back. I had to leave my pain specialist when I moved but when I relocated and asked my records to be forwarded, my new pain specialist was very familiar with his work and reputation and that was a blessing. He was the very first one who suggested I take an "anti-depressent" -- even when I told him "I don't think I'm depressed" -- he said, "you've lived with this so long you probably don't realize that pain and depression go hand in hand. He was right--but I only found that out when I took a "trial" anti-depressent (to satisfy him). After about 3 months I did feel much better and my outlook was much better. I guess that's why he has an MD after his name and I don't! You can and probably will be called fat, lazy, addict and a lot of other not so nice names -- but who cares -- YOU know what you're dealing with and that's what matters -- not the words of some less then compassionate people. And don't forget, our esteemed medical institutions only give doctors-in-training about 48hrs. TOTAL throughout their entire medical career training on "pain" issues -- and unfortunately in those 48hrs. they focus on "addiction" not on the real person or pain. And the DEA is thrashing the bushes threatening doctors/licenses about prescribing pain medication. Entire offices and clinics have been shut down just on DEA investigators orders for doctors prescribing medications to pain patients. Until our government enforcement branches dealing with medicine get educated, "regular" doctors who don't have pain specialist training are scared for their lives and practices to give out anything more then asprin. You can read up on these poor doctors who are jailed or lose their practices -- just trying to help chronic pain patients. Even if some want to help, there's always a threat over their heads of having the DEA come down on them - and it's very real. Fortunately in the past 5 yrs. or so, most cities/states now have "pain specialists" within a reasonable distance -- and only l0 yrs. ago that wasn't so. For those of you who haven't yet found a pain specialist, pull up those boots and start looking again - you'd be amazed at the resources we now have that we didn't a few short years ago.
I want to thank you all for sharing. I feel so alone most days because of my pain. I am blessed to have family and a few friends that try to understand and help, but if you don't walk in these shoes that we walk in, you don't truly understand. I am thankful to have a good doc - one that cares, is open to trying different things (although conservatively), and treats me with kindness and dignity. I am still working at this point, but I don't know how much longer I will be able to... that scares me. I had been proudly independent and strong until my back injury, which never really resolved, but worsened into neuropathy and Fibromyalgia. This was about 10 years ago. I have also tried numerous, numerous meds and treatments - the latest disappointment was Lyrica. I say disappointment, because at first it was nothing less than a MIRACLE! I weaned off 80% of my other meds: muscle relaxants, Neurontin, Vicoprofen - I was happier, more active and closer to living a normal life - not pain free, mind you, but a 2-4/10 rather that the 4-8/10 that I normally live with. Then the cardiac side effects hit - I thought I was having congestive heart failure - extremities with huge pitting edema - could hardly fit into any shoes, could hardly breathe, could not even walk up 3 or 4 stairs without being winded. Found out that I could not have my miracle. Since then, I am back to my 4-8/10 pain level, fighting my way through each day, thankful for my wonderful husband who still loves me, even though I certainly am not the strong happy girl he married. I can't think about the big picture, to be honest. The idea of being unable to care for myself, being unable to walk loom as large likely shadows in my future, and I can't bear to think of that. The pain is always always always there of course. Some days I can keep my mind on other things besides the pain, other days it is hard. Usually I put on a "good face" (stiff upper lip and all that) for my family and friends - I know it is hard for them to helplessly watch me suffer - but putting on "the face" is hard too. Some days I just can't talk to anyone, because I don't have the strength not to fall apart. It is hard in so many ways - I feel like my life is over, and yet I am only 44. I will keep on fighting as long as I can, keep meditating, keep trying different things, keep praying for strength to get through each day. I don't know what the future will bring for any of us, but I continue to hope.
I can associate with all of you that have pain. In 1999 I passed out and was rushed to the hospital and was checked for everything dealing with my heart. Nothing showed up there and I heard in the background a doctor said she has an anursym. Then I didn't even know what the word was or what it meant. I was sent to another hospital in the state, and my insurance refused to let them operate on me. They reported that yes indeed I had an anursym in my brain. But still the insurance refussed to let them operate. Because I was a teacher at the time, I could not just change insurance companys or anything, and if I did, they would not let it slide because it was a preexisting condition. Finally after two years, I could change insurance companies through the school system. During this entire time, I had very high voltage pain in my head. They told me if I had unbelieveable amount of pain get to the hospital fast, because it could burst on me. I never went back to the hospital or anything, because I still had the same insurance company and knew it would do no good to try. Finally after 2 years, I got to change the insurance companies. They planned my surgury and I went in for the operation. I was scared to death, working on my brain and I am a chicken when it comes to doctors, but I knew this had to be done. When the doctor opened up my skull the did not find one anursym, there were 3. Two had bursted and the 3rd one they recapped. They scrapped off dried blood and dead brain cells. Then several years later I developed fibromyalgia. I had even one doctor stick his finger in my face and tell me that there was nothing wrong with me because exrays showed nothing. I was so outraged, I looked at him and I told him I knew something was wrong with me, that a person hurts for no reason at all. Finally I went to a doctor that had come from India, he knew exactually what I had. I will be honest with you, I did try to kill myself twice. I have a good shrink now and he does understand the pain I go thro and we talk openly about what bothers me and such.....and my belief in God. This took years before I could be open with him. Plus I must add that I have a wonderful boyfriend.............he doesn't understand the pain I go thro but he is a christain and tries to keep me upbeat. I have no immune system to speak up, my T1 cells attack and destroy the T2 cells or vise versa, can't remember which now. The point is, if you never have had fibromyalgia, you will never understand the pain one goes thro with it. Doctors need to be educated on the disease. It is real and it is here for the duration.
I myself do not take pain meds. That is my choice, and I will tell you why, I have not found any that will help and only causes me to be upset with my stomach.
7 years ago I began having pain at about the front left ribcage area of my body. I went through many, many tests trying to find a diagnosis. CT scan, MRI, total GI work up, cardiology consult and treadmill test, bloodwork, neurology work up, physiatrist visits, orthopedic visits, PT, etc. etc. No one could give me a diagnosis. Everything was normal. However, the pain continued and worsened continually. I was desperate, could not enjoy anything, felt my life was over basically except to stay home and deal with it the best way i could. After 7 years, one of the doctors trying to help me sent me to a pain specialist. I feel that my life was saved. I take long lasting oxycontin every day with small amounts of oxycodone for breakthrough pain. I told my understanding doctor thathe saved my life. I do not feel any buzz or anything else except pain relief. I thank God someone finally helped me.
I have chronic pain.My wife does not understand why I am not getting better or why the pills do not work as good.I make sure the Doctors understand what I am saying. I told one doc that I was out of painkillers when he asked how I felt. I told him being out didn't help,what he heard was that the pain meds didn't help so he started me on Neurontin which is an epilesy med. I took this for 8 months and was in a lot of pain I was taking 8 a day. I could not understand why they did not help. I did some research and found out this med was not a painkiller. I felt really stupid for plodding along in pain,and not checking sooner,but honestly when you are in a lot of pain it is hard to think. I am sure all chronic pain patients understand this.I went to my last pain doctor to see if he would give me something that worked,I gave him all my records of all the tests and procedures I had been through.He read my records after I told him loratabs worked. He read the report from the doc that said painkillers did not work for me and said what I told him was inconsistent with what the other doc wrote.I tried to tell him the other doc misunderstood me,but he would not listen to me anymore. I had to find another doc and I have been going to him for 10 years now.This doc checked my nerves with an emg and found the problem. I do not have faith in a lot of docs now. Do not take their word as finnal they are not gods even if they think they are!!!!!!!
I have been taking opiate based pain meds for 8 years so far and no sign of them ever stopping. I have had 5 spinal surgeries to try and repair the problem with no effect, I have been told by my surgon that I have nothing to look forward to but a lifetime of more increased dosage. By the way the doses I have been taking, up to 6 times a day do almost nothing to relieve my pain. And my Dr will not change my meds. due to his fear of my addiction
TO CPP
I live in Boise to. Could you tell me the name of the pain doctor you love so much????
Geekygranny
WOW, THIS IS THE FIRST VISIT HERE FOR ME .I'M 40...I HAVE SCOLIOSIS.A 44%RIGHT CURVE BETWEEN SHOULDER BLADES AND 32%LEFT CURVE THORACIC SPINE.spinal pain and rib pain huge muscle straining all the time.DETECTED IN MY SENIOR YEAR,1984 THEN IT WAS 9%, NO PROBLEMS THEN.I WAS TOLD IT WASN'T GOING TO PROGRESS"I WAS DONE GROWING "..SO, I WORKED HARD PROVIDED FOR MY FAMILY CARED FOR ALL THE HOUSEHOLD NEEDS 1991 BECAME AN CERTIFIED NURSES AID.HAD SOME TYPICAL MUSCLE PAIN AND BACK STRAINS ON AND OFF FOR 3-4 YRS CAME WITH THE JOB I LOVED.HAD 2 MORE CHILDREN TO EQUAL 4.DECIDED TO MOVE ON TO BEING AN LPN..LESS BODY STRESS.BEGAN TO NEED MORE THAN JUST HANDS FULL OF TYLENOL AND ADVILL..SOMEONE GAVE ME 2 HYDROCODONES 5MG/500MGS..IT WAS A MIRACLE!!!WENT TO MY DR. ASAP AND SAID I NEEDED SOMETHING FOR PAIN NOW.SHE AGREED.4/DAY..WORKED GOOD FOR AWHILE.? 1 YR. I TOLD HER IT HAD TO BE UPTE,SO I GOT 2 AT A TIME IF NEEDED..COOL..SWITCHED UP TO 10'S 4/DAY LAST SEVERAL YEARS..1996 WENT ON TO NURSING SCHOOL BECAME AN LPN.NEEDED TO EASY UP ON THE BACK..OCCASIONAL PERCOCET HERE AND THERE TO TRY TO DECREASE DEPENDANCE.NOT AS GOOD WENT BACK TO HYDRO'S. SEVERAL ORTHOS AND PT TREATMENTS..YEARS GO BY AND THE MED IS WORKING LESS AND LESS..I HAD TO SWITCH DR. D/T INSURANCE CHANGE.UNDERSTANDING AT FIRST.NEEDED TO SWITCH UP.AFTER 2 YRS.HE LECTURED ME ABOUT TAKING THE MAXIMUM NOW.NOTHING MORE HE COULD DO..THAT WAS 6 10/500 OF HYDROS.."WHAT WAS I GONNA DO WHEN I EXHAUST ALL THE PAIN MEDICINE AND AT THIS RATE I WAS GONNA DO IT SOON." THE FUTURE DOESNT MATTER TO ME AT THIS POINT I TOLD HIM..I HAVE TO FUNCTION TODAY RAISE UP MY LOVED ONES WITH INTEGRITY AND MORALS..ECT..UNFORTUNETLY, I WAS NEEDING 2 AT A TIME RAN SHORT EVERY MONTH..TERRIBLE ROLLER COASTER..OH BY THE WAY "SCOLIOSIS IS NOT PAINFUL"HE RECOMMENDED THAT I SEE A DR. SAME FACILITY. THAT WAS STARTING A PAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM..NO PROBLEM..I SEEN AND FELT HOPEFUL. 2 VISITS LATER SHE HANDS ME THE 'CONTRACT'I HAD TO SIGN. I HAD ONE STIPULATION.SHE WANTED ME TO GO DOWN TO 4 ADAY AND SEE HER FOR 1 HR. EVERY 7 DAYS.WHAT A JOKE..I REFUSED TO SIGN.WAS DROPPED. HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT TO MY DOCTOR.HE DIDNT SAY MUCH..ABOUT 8 MONTHS AGO I WAS ASKING MY DOC AT EVERY VISIT TO AT LEAST CONSIDER SOMETHING EXTENDED RELEASE I HAD TO HAVE ALEAST 4 BY 11 AM TO BE PAIN FREE.HE DIDNT KNOW, WOULD HAVE HAD A STROKE AND DROP ME LIKE A HOT POTATOE AND ALREADY GIVES ME MY MEDS EVERY 30 DAYS TO THE DAY. 180 OF THEM NO EXCEPTION.RECENTLY I HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH FORGING PRESCRIPTIONS FROM THE DR.'S OFFICE I WAS WORKING WITH FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.ONLY HYDRO'S AND ONCE IN AWHILE PERCT'S..MY BACK PAIN WAS NOT GOING TO CONTROL MY LIFE.I'M A HAPPY GIVING PERSON AND YOUNG I WANT TO PROVIDE AND HELP OTHERS.I STRESSED THIS TO HIM SO MANY TIMES I CANT COUNT..WELL, I GOT CAUGHT.14 FELONY CHARGES-I FACE.DRUG TREATMENT TO GET CALLED IN BEFORE CONVICTION THANK GOD 'CUZ I'M LOOKING AT JAIL TIME. NEVER DREAMED I'D CONVERT TO THAT. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TEMPORARY UNTIL I GOT MY DOC TO LISTEN..ABOUT 10 DAYS AFTER ARREST. HE SWITCHED ME UP TO THE DURAGESIC PATCH 50'S..GOOD FOR 24 HRS. NOT 72 LIKE THEY SAY.AND 6 HYDROS PER DAY FOR BREAKTHROUGH. HE WASNT AWARE OF THE ARREST YET I WAS ALMOST IRRATIONAL ABOUT MY PAIN RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF HIM THEN HE AGREED.I HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED FROM WORK WHICH BY THE WAY I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO HAVE BEEN A PART OF.AND DISCHARGED FROM THE LOCAL FACILITY I'VE BEEN BEING SEEN AT. AFTER THIS HIT THE NEWS ..OH, HE'S(DOC)GOING TO PRESCRIBE THIS LAST PRESCRIPTION BUT I HAVE 15 DAYS TO FIND A DOC..WITH THIS RECORD..WHO IS THAT GONNA BE??I ASK MYSELF.SO, I'VE READ ALOT OF BIBLE, NEW FOR ME, I HAVE HAD ONLY A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD, SEEMED GOOD ENOUGH TIL NOW. AT LEAST THE PAIN MED IS A BIT STRONGER..I HATE ALL THE PILLS NEEDED TO STAY 'AHEAD' OF THE WORSE PAIN THAT I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH AND NEED TO AVOID. THAT WAS ALWAYS MY GOAL STAY AHEAD OF IT..I HAVE BEEN OUT OF MEDS FOR 5 DAYS, AND TODAY THERE DUE TO BE WRITTEN..NO CALL YET ITS 1122 AM..GO FIGURE..I DONT WISH VERY GOOD THINGS ON THE PROFESSIONALS RIGHT NOW.ALSO ATTENDED MENTAL HEALTH FOR MIND OVER MATTER, I HAVE BEEN GAME FOR ANYTHING.UNFORTUNATELY, MY MIND DOESNT AGREE WITH THESE TECHNIQUES. I DO TRY IT VERY HARD. BUT ITS NOT IN MY HEAD..ITS IN MY BACK.NO SURGERY STATES LAST ORTHO(THAT WOULD BE A LAST RESORT FOR ME, NO TIME TO BE LAID UP). BUT HE STATES "IT HASNT PROGRESSED ENOUGH,QUICKLY ENOUGH, IT ISNT WARRANTED..GAIN WEIGHT AND BUILD MUSCLE TONE." OH OK?? I WEIGHT 94 FROM 120, AND BABIED MY BODY TO GET RELIEF FROM PAIN OVER THE YEARS.I WOULD LOVE TO BE IN BETTER SHAPE. BUT FEEL QUITE LIMITED ON WHAT I CAN TOLERATE, UNFORTUNATETLY.WELL, I HAVE ALOT ON MY PLATE RIGHT NOW..THANKS FOR READING. OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS..SEEMS KINDA TRIVIAL TO WHAT SOME OF YOU ARE ENDEARING..GOOD LUCK
Well God Bless you all, I too are among the chronic pain group I wish all the doctors should have a class a week to understand pain I broke back in half 2x's and after the 2nd surgery I now have permanent nerve damage. I wish all of you well and write your congressman and senators between insurance companies and docs we out here in pain don't stand a chance
I am not overweight but I have a major problem. I have pains like veins crumps..not muscle crumps..
i have this on my both legs at the middle of the night when i am sleeping and i am screaming because of my veins as if they are shrinking..can u help me?
I have been so upset over the years of bad treatment and no real explation of what was wrong with me. When I lived in NC I was set up with a pain doctor and was getting percocet 10's before I got to go to my pain management. Well i was in an abusive relationship and I left and moved back home to SC on the drop of a dime. After being mentally and phyically abused for 3 years straight. We'll I had to start over here in SC and I went to a doctor and told him what I had been on and how the doctor never told me what was wrong with me.. just said I had big breast and that was what was causing me three back spots but only one is chronic and takes me out of commision. But, why have I been hurting since before I had breast and it just kept getting worse. Well, he would only give me the 5/500's and told me to go to the pain management in Florence, SC and tell him to raise it to my normal dosage. Well, i went and the doctor did tons of xrays and found out I have scolious. And was really kind for that day. And he gave me 5/500's for a month and soma's. Well the 5/500's don't even touch my pain and make me sick because of all the tylonol. So I asked him to raise me up to my orignal doseage and showed him the bottle from my old doc. He knew the whole situation and denined me. Even when I said they didn't help, and made me feel sick. Well he's really arogant and likes to role his eyes at me all the time. (even if i'm crying because of all the pain). THe first day i went he found out and told me to relax and lay down in the room and told me i know it hurts really bad. Well that was the only time he was nice. He treated me so poorly and I did EVERYTHING HE ASKED ME TO DO. I went to physical therapy and went to a chiroprator and then I went and he said he was just giving me a refil and that was the last of the pain meds. The only thing left was he was going to go into the spot in my lower back (which doesn't bother me that much... it's my middle back.) and i told him so) but he rolled his eyes again, i'm crying. And he was going to give me a shot on the spot with an antinflamotry.(had them they don't help at all) And i told him I know that med. doesn't help and he told me that's all he's going to do so come back in a few days. I went down and requested my files and xrays. They were hesitating and tried to not let me get them. i had to wait till i came back to get them then had to pay for it. Asked if it had my xrays and they said yes, it was really small. But I went and put the papers in my car and waited for the procedure. It hurt so bad and he was telling me it shouldn't hurt you should only feel pressure. But it hurt really bad and I told him that. Finally he was done and left the room with a big arogant smile on his face. And I asked for a copy of what they gave me so i could show my family. And the nurse was really hesitating to give it to me. And it showed that I remained calm and the procedure went perfect. (but, i was screaming in pain and crying...) Well once i got back home I opened the package of my records to find in astoshment. The first page says I didn't follow the doctors requests and refused other treatments (the shot) and that all i wanted was pain pills. And he didn't sign that paper but he number all of them with a big num in red ink. So i couldn't just take that page out. He lied, treated me like an addict even though he told me he knows It's painful... and said i didn't do any of the treatment...the physical therapy and such also! Also, one day when I was at my apointment I was crying and he said how are you doing. I said i'm still in pain as always and he said well you should be feeling better. I said well i'm not. And he mumbled under his breath (well, it doesn't even really hurt). I just cried even harder. I felt like I was sent to hell because the Cheraw doctors at the hospital are all in cuhoots with this clinic and he treats you so bad. I am planing on a lawsuit for discrimation, and lying about what I am and what i did. He never had ANY reason to say ANYTHING bad about me. HE, like alot of doctors, feel like they are god and can't be wrong about anything. His name is DR. George Bitting at McCloud (can't remember the full name of the clinic. But I feel like I can't go to another doctor because he smudge my name and he WANTED to make it so i couldn't go. Even though he told me I could go to another doctor at anytime if I needed something different. He made my records show me as something i'm not, a drug addict.
WHY! WHY!?
thanks,
Melanie
please contact me.
www.myspace.com/vamptress_jade (personal site)
www.myspace.com/jadedview (my music site)
Hello everyone, I wanded to start off saying i now what some of you are going threw. Im going threw the same thing. Being lable as a drug addict and so forth. Yeah it makes you pretty mad. The sad thing is that im 21 years of age and i have cronic pain my left wrist. (carpul tunnel) Believe when i said i been to many doctors. Many doctors who didn't believe me or would not do anything. I recently went to have a test done on my wrist to see how severe it was and now telling me its mild. The doctor who i seen was a piece of work. He made me feel like i was making this up (my pain and all). See before all my recent pain i was in a car accident last year and he was the one to see me for my therapy. And i have a 18 month old daughter who was 6 months at the time. but anyway i didn't keep all my appointment with him so in his mind i wasn't a serious patient he felt like he needed to attend to.(it crazy how low doctors can make you feel). He made it seem like i could just pick up my child and go. But when your in pain you just want to stay home. And when you have to do therapy you can't just take you child with you. So i had problem with keeping my appointment. Then he had the nerve to ask me what i was taking for my pain and i told him my now doctor was giving pain killer and he look at me like he was in discuss. Even though he wasn't the one who prescribe them. So now i looking for advice on what i should do. Like you guys say they don't know what we feel. My mother is going threw the same thing. She has lupis. And does she have a hard time. In the morning i have to help her with her meds and her daughter my sister. cause she can't move her joint. Believe it hurts me to see my mom like that. And i seen all the doctor and med and pain killers she been threw and to this day she still taking different med all the time. Giving her this and that. So that tell you right there doctor don't know everything. God bless
this is my first time using this site i'm amazed and shocked to know that there are so many of us who suffer so severely. i would love to learn more.i will continue to read and learn more please feel free to respond who knows our pain and results may be helpful to others.
thank you, sincerely
3-laminactomy's
7+ dr.s
I know just wgat some of you are going through. Im 20 years old and I weigh 280 lbs.I have had chronic pain in my back and feet since I was 16. I work at McDonald's and it sure doesnt help the pain any. I have been to a couple doctor's and they all say the same thing, that my pain is because im obese or I am just an addict. I have lost 75 lbs since I was 16 and my pain has only gotten worse so evidentally its not obesity. I am flatfooted and I can barely stand for an hour I also have kidney stones constantly and pass one usually once or twice a month. The last doctor I seen gave me 20 5mg Percocet and it was a miracle, I could actually go to work and do my job like I should be able to. When I went back to him and told him they worked he gave me one more prescription and told me that no more narcotic's would be prescribed from his office, I left his office in tear's. Everyone tell's me how bad pain medication is for your body but you know what I would rather have 20 happy years than 40 miserable one's. What give's these doctor's the right to judge us? They have no clue what pain is.
I too am a long time sufferer of chronic pain. I was a 120 lb athlete in school but started having major difficulities after the birth of my second child in 1989. I Had to have a complete hysterectomy in 1990. Then a gallbladder removal in 1994. Then a bladder-tuck in 1997. I had already gained 100lbs by this time and was in chronic pain always. I thought I had to do something about my weight so I took Phen-Fen for almost I lost the weight but never the pain and the meds caused my mitral-valve to prolapse so I added heart trouble to my long list of complaints. I began having even more pain in my whole body and my DR. couldn't figure out what was going on. I broke my right ankle in 1999, and again in 2001. I broke my left ankle in 2002,2004 and 2006. I have IBS,GERD,HEART DISEASE,ASTHMA, FIBROMYALGIA AND RA. Also chronic migraine. I just had to have a complete resconstruction of the bladder-another tuck but more extensive with abdominal and vaginal and rectal incisions. I weigh 300lbs and am in such pain it is hard to function. My DR. is a nice person but I need some real pain relief! I am 39 and feel 100! I live in Arkansas and have found it very hard to find anyone who doesn't beleive that if I just lost the weight again I would be cured. That unfortunately would not be the case. I am not proud to be so heavy but my diseases were there and then I gained this weight not the other way around. People are very cruel and even the doctors act like I am just looking for pills to pop. This is so far from the truth that it saddens me. I just need relief from this never-ending agony! TJ
I think that they need to do shows on true pain instead of an intervention on striaght up drug addicts that never mention pain of any kind.My husband was a hard worker untill 2000.He wrecked a company truck and has had chronic pain ever since and has been labled as a drug seeker also.But no one wants to hear the truth about pain and they do say it's in your head.
I was told I have osteo arthritis in my hips and lower back with lots of pain. I lost alot of weight still with no relief. I have been taking oxycodone 40 mg for some time now. I started having hot flashes so Dr put me on horomone replacements. I still have non stop pain. I started feeling very tired, weak and light headed, my ankles and feet swell real bad, sometimes my kness swell like I can't move or walk. My feet are really bad right now. They are so swollen that they feel like they are going to burst. What is wrong or could be wrong. I hate Dr so much. If I die I want to die at home. Please help me. Claudine at rainerinn@msn.com
Hello All - I was glad to see that a quick search on this website revealed that there are many others out there with chronic pain. I am a college athlete and as well an over achiever. Roughly 4.5 years ago (27 at that time) I awoke to a strange sensation in my right leg. Over the next couple of hours I went from mild pain to severe gut wrenching tip roaring pain in my right leg. I could not straighten my leg and I felt paralyzed! I could not stand, sit, sleep, or basically move. I took IBP and it had no effects. I thought that there must be something very seriously wrong with me and I immediately went to the Dr. Of course he referred me to a orthopod and gave me some Lortab 5/500 until I got in. I could not get into the orthopod for a couple of weeks and I was much panicked about my condition. The pain killers did nothing for me besides make me high WITH pain and I continued to call the orthopod to get in. Finally they had a cancellation the next day and I was in getting evaluated. They did a MRI and gave me a stronger pain med until the results were reviewed from the MRI. The pain was solid 10+! I was paralyzed essentially and could not sleep, eat, or do ANYTHING. Finally the results were back two days later. (I was ready to check into the hospital by then!) and they said that I had 1 herniated disc and 2 ruptured disc’s in my back. They insisted I had surgery but made me sign this agreement that stated my changes of improvements were roughly 10%-15%. I am the youngest of six and all of my brothers are 6’5”+ with me being 6’8”. I also weighed about 325 at that time and was considered obese by the Dr. All of my brothers had back surgeries due to back problems and they wished that they never had any of the surgeries because none of them had helped! It does not take much to put 2 and 2 together to see the writing on the wall when the orthopod states that I have a 10-15 percent change of getting better and a family history of back problems. I opted out and got a couple of shots in my back to relieve the pain. Finally after a month or so it was 100% gone. To make a long story short – Over the past four years now I have episodes of this that occurs about every 3-4 months. I would go in – they would prescribe medication, and I would be done. Well – as time went on the back pain started to persist for longer durations as well as more frequent. My orthopod just kept prescribing Lortab 5/500, 7.5/500, or 10/500 depending on the pain levels. I was OK with this because it took care of the pain and I could continue with my busy life. Well, again, the pain was getting worse and worse and the orthopod said it time to cut that disc out and move on to a fusion of those joints. I asked about the % of success and he stated that it was 10-15 percent. Again, the PA came in who I built up a report with said, “We will do more damage trying to fix this and you will be in even more pain!” I said then why? This seems wrong – He stated that I cannot continue with the narcotics and there diagnosis was surgery. I sough on opinion and that Dr. took about 5 minutes to review my file and agreed with the previous diagnosis. I asked about my options and the 3rd option was pain management. I had never heard of this, but he says this is were people go when we have failed with surgeries to resolve conditions such as yours. I called the pain management and they said that I could get on a waiting list and fill out the paper work, but realistically I could not get in for 4-6 months. I got the paper work and it was a book. I spent over four hours answering all of the questions. I would call every two weeks to check in and with no luck. I finally had a flare up and could not deal with it any longer. I said that schedule my surgery or I will do something I regret. As soon as I schedule the surgery the orthopod prescribes pain medication, but unfortunately it was in effective. I asked several times about taking too much of the Tylenol and IBP etc…they stated that as long as I was under 4 G daily I would be OK. Well – I was taking more than that on several occasions and said that I need something stronger without the Tylenol. He gave me darvon and some other junk and no changes. My surgery was no scheduled for over a month and I really did not think I could make it! I then was scheduled for a pre-surgery procedure called a discography (sp?) and one day, really, the day before I went in, the pain management clinic called with a cancellation. I told the orthopod that I had to reschedule this procedure because I wanted to hear what my options were. I met with Dr. Hxx and he was very thorough, read ALL of my paperwork, went over the information in detail that I provided and said “We can beat this!” I was so shocked to hear this after all of the orthopods said surgery was the only option. He prescribed an opiate based drug, and I was not familiar with any of these drugs or what they did, I just knew they did not work. After one pill of this (Oxycodone) the pain was reduce down to a 1-2. I was so relieved! I am going to wrap this up, but YOU MUST GET TO A PAIN CENTER for this type of pain. Orthopods get paid A LOT for fusions – it’s a business and that is cash cow. I am now on the downhill slide of taking the drugs and with INTENSE physical therapy and the drugs he made it possible. I thank god for him and his duties as a physician and I think that people with pain have options, but because these doctors only work on referrals and waiting lists, people are not willing to wait, like myself. I ended up losing over 50+ lbs, got in shape, and understand now that I must condition my back in order to keep this pain away. I was saved by this doctor in more than one way and I feel for all of you out there with chronic pain. Never give up hope and stay positive! If you tell yourself you will never get better then you never will! The drugs are a tool and certain tools work for different types of problems. I cannot stand people that abuse these drugs and make it difficult for people that need them to get them! If you are on narcotics for the high – STOP – People with real problems need them and every time a Dr. get’s burned by the abusers they are less likely to prescribe them!
Anonymous Ex-Athlete!
I have been going through this for years now. It started with pain in my stomache, when i went to the dr. the first thing they told me is that it was my weight that was causing the problem. After that visit i suffed at home in silence having to sit on the floor of grocery stores or where ever i was at.. i felt like i was going crazy i knew deep down that something was wrong but didn't know how to make anyone listen.. I dealt with this pain for 2 years before it got so horrible that i had to go to an urgent care facility. When i was there they did some test and then told me that i had a big cyst on my ovary... I went to see an obgyn to have the cyst removed and when they went in to take it out they found that i also had endometriosis so bad that my: blatter, ovaries, intestines, and uterus were all stuck to gether with the edometriosis. They took out the cyst and the endometriosis, and i folowed up with this dr. after. A few months later i had more pain in my stomache and they did an ultrasound and told me that i had had some small cysts that had ruptured. This dr. started me hormonal treatments to try to stop the cysts and the endometriosis. I did this for another 6 months then the pain got so bad again that they took me back to surgery. When they went in this time they took out 1 of my ovaries because it had a cyst on the back of it and took out more endomentriosis. i then did another 6 months of hormone treatments before they went in and did a hysdirectomy. they had also found more cysts and endometriosis when they did this. about 1 year after all this was done i started to have pain in my right hip, the dr. did x-rays and ct scans and more x-rays and then told me there was nothing wrong with my hip. i took pain meds for 6 months after this.. finally one of the dr.'s i had seen sent a message to my dr to do a mri of my lower back... when they did this they saw that i had degenterative disc dissease, and two herniated discs along with some fusing of the higher vertabrea. i now go to a pain clinic witch i thought would be a good thing but this dr. keeps telling me to learn how to become friends with the pain embrace the pain. i don't know what world he is living in but i have figured out that he has probably never had to deal with anything like this. but i have figured out that now that i am having more symptoms they will not do any more x-rays to see if it is getting worse. i am now barly able to walk in the morning and late at night.
I am a survivior of so many chonic illnesses. M y life is full of pain and and dr,s that only believe in what they think is best . I was just given fentanyl and am scared to start taking it. can anyone give me heads up on this med?
I am in my early 40's, female, thin, and one of the most frustrating parts about being in pain for almost ten years now is that people assume that if you look ok on the outside that you must not be in any real pain. WRONG! For some reason there is this perpetual myth in our society that to be in true pain you have to be slumped over with a cane or look like a complete wreck. It isn't that way! It takes me a couple hours to shower, fix my hair and put my makeup on but just because I do that does not mean that I am not in pain. It is on the inside. The other thing is my pain meds make me feel so sick, and I've tried everything, and yet people will say things like "gosh I wish I didn't have to work like you" or "so you just relax and take it easy all day". Gosh, how I dream about going back to work but I am in so much physical pain that most of the day I have to stay in a reclined position and every other day of my life I am sick to my stomach from my pain patch. Chronic pain is exhausting and frustrating and having others make so many false judgments only makes life harder. So, those of you not in pain, please DO NOT PASS JUDGEMENT ON US. Also, I may not be over-weight but I totally know what the over-weight pain patients are saying--often times people that haven't met me assume that if I am in pain I must be over weight and that must be the cause. That too is a WRONG and ignorant assumption. Sure, it might contribute to a few people's pain but for the most part chronic pain is a mystery. Doctors will tell you that it can be difficult to locate and difficult to treat and nobody knows why. Please, help us out, and don't assume things about us! We have trouble just getting through the day and this would be a big help. Thank you.
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Fentanyl is ok, give it a try cause it does help with pain for lots ofpeople. If it makes you feel nausea dr. can give you phenerghan.
It's good to know im not the only one who had truble with dr.s not beleiving me. I hurt my sholder 2 anda half years ago at work and they sent me to the er. the er took me off work for 3 days and told me to have a follow up with my primary if i had tingling or numbness in that time or it didnt improve at all wich i did. So not even thinking about work or workmens comp i go see my doc in 3 days and he takes me off work for a month telling me that if its not better by then hell send me to a speicilest becaues he thinks i tore somthing. after a month is over he sets me an appointment with a speiclest and takes me off work another 3 weeks. The next day i get a call from work telling me i had to come in and set up and appointment with their dr. or they wouldnt cover me and i would be fired fo missing so much work. I do as they say and when i go see their dr He treats me like i dont know what im talking about and actualy tells me that for as much pain as im saying im in it sure is strange that i dont have any swelling or bruising. Now its been over a month since my acident and the swelling had all but gone in that time but he sends me to a speicalest and he puts me on anti inflamatories and takes x-ray wich showed nothing so he sent me to work on light duty. Lite duty at my old job ment folding towles for 8 hrs a day. It just about killed me. By the end of the day i would be in tears and the other workers would make me stop and cover for me. when the month was up i got a letter from work saying that my injury was not bad enough to qualify for workmens comp. so i went back to my primary who was amaised that i was still hurting so much and all i was on was an anti inflamitory. he gave me a subscrption for a pain med(i cant remember wich) and told me he still thought somthing was torn.unfortnatuly the speiclest he sent me to was in the same clinic as the one workmens compsent me to was in. i told the dr how much pain i was in that i had truble lifting things and anytime i raised my arm it made a poping sound he took an mri wich also came up negitive at this point he tell me and i quote "im a surgen i fix things you have nothing to fix" so he sends me to a rehab dr who says i have some of the symptoms of fibromysla but not all but were going to asume thats thats what it is. he then shoots me up with a steroid in my sholder and puts me on a low dosage pain med that usualy help people with it. i had a bad reaction to the steriod and gained a lot of weight and the pain med he gave me helped some but with the work i did it wasnt enough. eventualy i ended resiging from my job after i nearly droped a client i didnt want that kind of truble and the dr.s wernt helping me and i thought mabye if i stoped lifting so much everyday it would get better. im going to school on line and live at home now and have delt with constant sholder pain for over two years now. my mom dosnt understand it and gets frustrated that i cant do everything she wants me to do,and that she sees im in pain and cant make it better my boyfriend treasts me like im made of glass hes so scared that hes going to cause me more pain. though i must say hes been great though this and i dont know that i could have handled it this long with out them. I just reicently found a clinic that takes uninsured people when my pain level got so high that i was hardly sleeping at all and when i did i would wake up crying from the pain in my sholder or wake up wiht no feeling in half my arm at all. their treating me like im not making it up theve giving me some meds that actualy help though i dont like them cause they make me loopy but im not hurting. she told me that she dosnt think i have fibromysla and that she definitaly things somthing outta wack with my arm i just got back from an mri and im hoping the scans show somhting that they can fix. im tired of hurting all the time im only 23 and have been hurting so much i ahvent been able to enjoy a time in my life when im suppose to be able to go out and do what ever i want not limit myself becaue it hurts to much. I went from being well proportned to obese from the storiods and from forgetting to lower my calorie intake when i wasnt as active as i used to be. I cant imiagin having to live with this the rest of my life and admire all of you who have its insperational and lets me know im not the only one going through this, and even if i have to just live with it its not the end of the world. Thank you for sharing your stories.
i have had problems with my back since i was about 11 because i had scoliosis and i was going to a doctor for it and they told me after 3 years that it should not bother me and that i needed to loose the weight and the pain should go away i am now 17 and still having the same problem and cant find a doctor that can help me.But i also had a really bad accident when i was 15 and tore a ligament in my left ankle and i was going to an orthopedist that told my mom that the only reason i am having these problems with my ankle is because i am obese.so i changes doctors and the doctor told my mom that it was a contributing factor but its because he didn't fix my ankle for about a year and a half that is why i was in so much pain.so there are doctors out there that care and some that miss diagnose the problems because they dont want to deal with it.But the doctors still cant figure out my back problem but im in the process of getting my ankle problem fixed. now i have to go for surgery to remove the cartilage and where a brace again for another 8 to 10 weeks when the doctor could have just solved the problem in the beginning.
Does any know how long pain drugs last in your system?
I know how you both feel as well, I have had 23 surgeries, and have been to so many doctors that kept telling me and my husband that it was in my head. I went for around 10 years as well before they put me on meds. I was on Avinza then the patch, now I am on Ms Contin which is another morphine. I have been on all the little one like Percocet, Vicodin, they don't do anything for me but make me sick. The ms contin was working but I think that they have kept me on the same mg for so long thats why it doesnt work. I know people that says Vicodin works and morphine doesn't it just matters what your body type is I guess. I have a lot of different things wrong with me, I did find a great pain doctor, and she understand me better then anyone ever has, I thank god for them, I have had people say well they are just doctors that make people drug addicts well maybe in a sense they do but they do it to help you not hurt you if there isnt any other way to help you. I have had probably 10 family doctors over the last 10 years and I just fired another one, she is the one that sent me to this pain doctor and she doesnt' like how she is doctoring me she said, well I do because she dont keep me where I am a sleep all day and she don't tell me that it's all in my head, I have been said to be a shopper, well thats not right and we have the right to be happy with our doctors. So good luck to the both of you. I know how you feel and what you have been through, now its still the fight with SSD I have been fighting that for years now and I have about just givin up
June 1, 2007 2:30amEST
Hi. I am so sorry for ALL of you who are in such pain...and especially when you cannot get the correct HELP you need from a doctor...such as narcotic pain medications. I was injured back in August of 2002...5 years ago, almost. Since then, I have gone through a Pain Management Course at a Pain Clinic...2 months worth...I thought that would help, without question, after I had been seeing a Doctor at a Spine Center at a Regular Hospital for a couple of months. At the "Regular Hospital," they did acupuncture, pulling of the spine, physical therapy, hanging upside-down, shots down the thigh on the backside in the nerves...everything! I had, at the time, terrible low back pain, which turned out to be my left sacroiliac, and my "L5-S1" disc area which was "herniated" and a bulging disc. Nothing at the "Regular Hospital" helped me, so finally they had a meeting with Doctors, etc. and one Doctor who was there happened to be from a Pain Clinic that is well-known. "HE" decided that he would take me on a a patient...which I appreciated. Well, I have been seeing him now for almost 5 years, went through "their" Pain Management Course for 2 months, 3 times a week, 6 hours per day. It DID NOT help! Then, the ONLY option was for the Doctor to keep seeing me, once every month, and give me a prescription for Narcotic Pain Medication(Oxycodone). I had tried others(and even non-narcotic meds) but nothing in THAT line helped. Even medications STRONGER than Oxycodone were tried, but nothing. So, I am STILL taking the Oxycodone, 2/3 times a day...at least it "takes the EDGE off," but, naturally does NOT take AWAY the pain. Not even the "Lidoderm Patch" helped me...even though, I understand, it has helped many, many, people. He even tried Oxycontin, but that is time-released and DID NOT help! So, right now, my pain has gotten MUCH WORSE, and, I had had someone come into clean my apt. recently...they went into the bathroom to clean, with the door closed, and ended up "stealing" my pain medication! Can you imagine doing that to someone who NEEDS the medication SO badly for actual PAIN...not for PLEASURE! I told my Doctor what happened, and I was crying....he said, he COULD NOT make up for the pills taken...why?...because I "did not file a report with the police" about the theft! The reason? Because I have ENOUGH problems going on in my life, with this PAIN being the MAJOR one, and I just knew her 1st name, the person she "cleaned for before" is no longer "with us", and I did not know how to get hold of her...she just said she'd be back, and naturally, never came. I was FURIOUS to put it mildly. That someone like her, took MY pain medication that I needed so badly, and did not even care! I had to go for 2 weeks without medication...absolute HELL!! My doctor said he could "loose his license" if he "made up" for the pills...even if he made out a prescription for "another" pain type pill. I find that hard to believe, with using another...but, there was nothing I could do, and I was "afraid" to report it, because of any kind of "retaliation" from her or a friend if she DID get caught! So, I just suffered. Two weeks of searing, gnawing pain. No relief! You know...I feel, that whomever becomes our next president, should definitely have this "problem" with looking at everyone in the country as a "drug addict", when they are NOT, instead of looking at the "individual" and realizing that this person has been monitored monthly by a doctor for almost 5 years with no incidences. That SHOULD count for something! Anyway, the 5/325mg of Oxycodone DOES, as I said, at least take the "edge" off. I have also become very depressed, which I understand is normal with chronic pain, so I pushed my doctor to have me see a psychologist who deals with people who ARE in pain all the time. I just started going to him. We'll see if it helps with the frustration, depression, and anger that such horrible pain can bring to a person over a number of years. Some of these doctors(actually most), have absolutely NO conception of what your pain is like at all. I also, just today, "pushed"(which you have to do now), for another MRI after 3 years! Obviously, things have changed in my back, whereas it is worse. I asked for one several months ago, but all I could get was an X-RAY...which shows NOTHING...but broken or fractured bones...or, degeneration. Yes, I have some degeneration, but, that could be from the INJURY from over time, also! An MRI is MUCH more detailed and shows "soft tissue" and details of inner places of the discs. THAT is what is needed. I have to say, that I am fortunate with my doctor for the mostpart, because he is usually very understanding and compassionate...but, he was afraid of loosing his license, and I CAN understand that too! There SHOULD, however, be more lienancy with regard to actual "Pain Patients" vs. Drug Addicts. If you are being monitored each month, then, as long as you can get your pain medication...that is ALL you care about to take away that tremendous pain! No one understands...unless they've been there....right? Yes, also, depression and edginess go along with chronic pain...no question. I know that I have changed as a person because of it, and I can't stand it. But, it goes with the territory. Thankyou all for listening....it is good to have a place to vent. God Bless All of You and Good Luck with your problems....but, get to a "Pain Clinic" even if you look one up in the computer and it's in another state, and you are able to go for 2 months to a "Program"...it MAY help you. Even if it did'nt...you'd have the documentation to take to a doctor where YOU live to show them that you at least....tried! To the person that said that people on th "outside" see you without being hunched over and screaming in pain, and think, possibly, that it is an "act"...they MUST see "proof"...well, I try my best NOT to shwo the wicked pain...because it IS inside, not OUTSIDE. It just makes you SO upset with people in general when they are like that. Some doctors need MUCH more training with regard to pain, and some people need much more COMPASSION!!!
If you live in San Francisco, CA, UCSF has a really good pain management department. The attending doctor I have (as of 6/11/07) is leaving in a month, and has been absolutely wonderful, but I have been going there for a few years, and they change out attendings and fellows, because they are a university, and the doctors there have been consistently good to wonderful. I have done research on meds, and brought up different options for meds to try on my own, and they have been open to them. Two muscle relaxants I asked to try were Skelaxin (which did nothing, but wasn't sedating), and most recently (as of 1 1/2 weeks ago)Zanaflex, which is helping a lot, but which is fairly sedating, depending on the dose you decide to take (I have 2 mg pills, and can take 2 mg up to 8 mg at a time, depending on if I need to drive). My doctor, at the same time as prescribing Zanaflex, prescribed Norco, because we had tried everything else and nothing had touched the pain. One thing I did to research different pain meds to suggest (because I find that with almost every flavor of doctor I see is that I have to be extremely well informed and do the mapping of the course of treatment, finding specialists that they should be recommending for me, etc. -- I'm not a hypochondriac but I have a handful of medical issues), anyway, as far as researching different medicines to try, I went to a really great, friendly pharmacist where I pick up my meds and asked for some time when he wasn't too busy, whether in person or over the phone. He was a WEALTH of information. He obviously had a record of everything I had tried, knew the classes of those drugs, and so could tell me the other drugs in those classes, and from there could recommend other possible classes of drugs pertinent to pain that would be possibilities to bring up to my pain doctor. That's how I came up with Zanaflex. In all of my web searching, and I've put in zillions of hours, it never came up as a muscle relaxant, and my Rx is a generic, so it's been around for a long time. Anyway, I don't have the pain levels that a lot of you have; some days it's a 10, most days it's a 7, now and then I get a 3-4. My rheumatologist, who I saw originally for Raynaud's Phenomonen (perpetually cold toes; can be, and usually is fingers, and is mostly in women), asked about pain so I told him my story, and he also put me on Lodine 400 mg 3x per day. Helps minimally, but minimally is something and I'll take it. He said the next step is Vicodin, so I'm glad I found researched and found Zanaflex. For me, it works. As an aside, for those with migraines that last more than a couple of days: If your doctor does not know about Toradol, as my neurologist didn't (INCREDIBLE that she didn't know -- many doctors and my nurse practitioner who serves as my GP have been incredulous at this), educate him or her. It is an NSAID, and if it didn't tear up the liver so badly, it would be over the counter. You can only take it for 5 days max, but it will 99% wipe out your migraine. I believe the dosage is 10 mg 3x per day, however, my insurance only covers 15 pills every 23 days...?? whatever, one can never understand their (lack of) logic. Toradol is often used IV in place of morphene after surgeries for people who can't tolerate opiates because it is such a good pain reliever. However, because it tears up the liver so badly in a short time, it has to be used short term only. TOO BAD because it really works. I hope that, even though I'm not in as much pain as most of you, that this information might be helpful. Zanaflex and Toradol have been very helpful for me.
In June 2003 I was fired from my job which I loved very much. A person can love a job all she or he wants but if you miss too much work being ill then it is bye bye birdie. My son and I were homeless and or living with friends and family until fall of 2005. I moved out of state and my son got an apatment with my odest son. Let me tell you I felt guilty as much ans a mother could. Just recently I was granted low income housing (348.00 a month) sounds great but my income is only $905.00 a month. Please do not misunderstand I am so very thankful for our system in the USA and I feel blessed that I am no longer homeless however; if I could get the medical help I need then perhaps I could once again work and not have to be on the "system" If this is not bad enough I have had to fight my way to every single doctor and tell my story numerous times and guess what it never fails that the doctors fail to treat me. Today I was told to see a neurosurgeon specialst because I have such terrible herniated disc. The exays and MRI's have been seen by other doctors (WHO DID NOT PRESCRIBE ME PAIN MEDICATION) Because I have another condition called interstitial cystitis I am just damn lucky this doctor has prescribed me medication to ease the pain, even if it is only an hour or two a day. I sleep maybe an hour or two a night. Constantly thinking of suicide because this pain is too much, too severe, takes my breath away. I dream of dying yet I constantly give myself excuses to live. A lot of people complain about those who are on social security disabiity or state disability etc... Let me just say that if the doctors offered the correct treatment then it wouldnt be a problem. All this time I have been out of work and the doctors either thought I was seeking pain pills should have stopped to think about getting a MRI and really look at it instead of sending me to physical therapy over and over and over again just so that I could do it a few times before I had to stop because I could not tolerate the excruciating pain. You see if medicare or medical would of covered some of the alternative therapies then perhaps I could have been recovered by now and back in the working world not having to be on low income housing, in debt till I am 157 years old if I live that long (please Lord no). I am angry, I am hurt and I am in so much pain I can not think clear so if I sound like I am going on and on and on about nothing, well then it would be like when I go to the doctors office. If any cares to reach me im redhotbluehot at yahoo.
Thanks for reading. God Bless,
K
I am so sorry you have had to go to so much pain. I hope you get my comment. I really care about you and your wife.
It is so hard when doctors do not understand your pain. I hope you have solved it be now. I just found your blog. I am overweight, so I know what you are going through. Ruth
Has anyone ever heard of bipolar being treated with pain meds
I too was in chronic pain for 40+ years and was shopping for a wheelchair, taking 4 hydrocodone pills a day, wearing a TENS unit on my back every waking moment and getting steroid shots in my spine every 6 months. Doctors had given up on me - told me that I would be in a wheelchair, in pain for the rest of my life. Then I accidently found Myofascial Release treatments and my life was transformed. I have been virtually pain-free for more than a year now. Because of my healing experience, I became a Myofascial Release Therapist and am now helping people who are in pain. I work with people who have back and neck pain, fibromyalgia, migraines and so much more. I want to point out that it was John Barnes' approach to Myofascial Release that was so helpful. There is another form that is not nearly as effective because it is much like rolfing and people in chronic pain cannot take deep tissue work. And John Barnes' approach is much more effective. If you are in Central Arkansas, you can go to my website at www.mygentlehands.com. If you are elsewhere, go to John's website at www.myofascialrelease.com to find a therapist in your area. There is much to be learned about this highly-effective form of pain relief. Oh, I no longer take any meds and do Myofascial Release treatments on my clients every day. It is physically demanding work - and I do it with ease because I am now pain-free. I pray that all of you will find relief from you pain so that you can live in a pain-free body.
What a great topic. And, unfortunately, so true. The obese are already humiliated every single day on every social level possible and add to that the pain that the medical community dismisses, life can become unbearable. The obese person has not lost all reasoning or common sense, they are aware of how much better they would feel if they would lose weight, but there is no magic wand that can make that happen quickly. In the meantime they are labeled "obese" and basically told "take two Motrin and don't call me". Until someone walks in the shoes of the obese person they cannot know how much pain the whole body is stricken with, the pain on the joints, the feet and ankles, the back, just everywhere hurts which makes a simple trip to the bathroom a chore. Society looks down on the obese, seeing a lazy person with no willpower or self respect. And so does alot of the medical community. Surprise but doctors and nurses are people. All of this adds to a person's lowered self esteem, leading to deeper depression and more pain. I have lived all sides, very slender and healthy to morbidly obese, patient to becoming a nurse. The medical community needs further education on empathy and respect and treatment of the obese. The days of ridiculing and discriminating against the obese need to be eliminated. Obesity is becoming more common everyday. The stone-aged thinking of doctors should change.
Just wanted to say that I feel your pain, all of you...chronic pain sucks terribly. I was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy about 2 years ago after a MRSA infection left a hole the size of my fist in my ankle. The RSD has spread up my leg, to my back and down one arm. Basically what it feels like is having a limb be asleep (pins and needles) and then set on fire at the same time 24/7. I am so lucky to have a plethera of doctors that understand my condition. My primary dr did not know much about RSD but has been willing to learn through my experiences. I have a great neurologist who initally diagnosed me with the condition about 4 months after my infection and sent me to a pain management dr. I have been through multiple narcotics, physical therapy, steroid injections, and epidurals in both my back/leg and arm. I have also developed gout in the same leg which compounds the problem. Yes, I had to sign a pain contract and have to adhere to it, but it is worth my effort because my drs put in 110% back to me also. I was told that I would be on crutches/wheelchair for the rest of my life and with the help of my pt (I love her to death, we have become such good friends, b/c we spend up to 3 days a week together) I have upgraded to a cane and brace to walk. My gait is off, which screws up my hips, knees and back, and we do therapy on that too. The RSD is so painful sometimes that even a slight breeze puts me in tears. But I have my kids to live for and have sought the help of a psychologist to vent to. My experience with RSD has been a roller coaster, but believe me, there are good drs out there. If you don't like one opinion, or diagnosis, then YOU research and find another one. YOU live with your pain, so find out as much as you can about your condition and educate the ignorant. I have learned that managing my chronic pain takes a delicate balance of mental and physical determination. I am only 27 and will live with this condition the rest of my life, but I cannot let that stop my moments, with loved ones, and children and friends. I found a job that gives me my FMLA and I can work from home. I am lucky to have great insurance through my work and not have to deal with SS or WC. THERE IS HOPE AND ALWAYS A SYMPATHETIC EAR. You will always find people like that in chronic pain support groups. Just reach out and grab your own destiny. Hope ya'll have some pain-free moments and loving support. aggiroux56@msn.com
for what it's worth... i've been living with lupus for 14 yrs and for the past 5 years my joints and muscle's have been torned apart my Dr has had me on norco's the yellow guys for about that long along with my predisone till now i'm on kadian and methylprednisolone with i say hum bug the steriods are okay but the norco's are the best i think for pain and the fatigue......
I am 18 years old just two years ago I was diagnosed w/ arnold chiari, syringomeylia, and tethered cord. I have had two brain and spinal surgeries and one lower back one also. I was perscribed oral oxycodone. But five months later after my 10 1/2 hr. brain surgery, my other is scared and saying I will get addicted. So hence she has been pressuring me to stop taking it and just take a lortab. It works okay but not on thos intense pains i frequently still get. Is she in the right or am I just hurting because of her fear?
There are so many posts here from very knowledgeable people. We have all had severe pain issues. Does someone have the knowledge so we can start our own site for pain support and management. I would love to be able to chat and share ideas. I have had fibromyalgia for over 35 years and can tell you so many stories also...........
I just read your blog and felt a little better about my own situation.
I am young, only 21 and have chronic back pain from sports injuries and severe scoliosis. I take narcotic medication to help manage my pain. I am also always looking for ways to avoid excessive medication.
I recently started running (using an eliptical) again, mainly to get in shape for my wedding but my pain has been dramatically reduced from my exercise. I also get terrible stress induced migraines but they also have been reduced because of my continued exercise. After a few years of off-and-on exercising spurts, I finally believe, 100% in order to manage my pain I must continue working out. It feels liberating to have the ability to help my pain without medication.
I have been looked at as a drug seeker and as an "adict" from friends. I have even been begged to sell my medication (which of course I have not, for many reasons but also because I actually do need it). It isnt easy dealing with pain and it also isnt easy being called a drug seeker.
Thanks for your blog.
Kat said (first one)
I can really, really really, understand how you feel. I have been rear-ended 3 times at speeds over 35 mph and once at 60 mph. I had pain in my upper back so bad I could not sit or stand for more than about 30 min. I saw my regular MD, who is a great guy and knows if I say something hurts I'm not kidding. He sent me for an xray. I thought great, they'll xray and see the knife in my back and them they'll take it out problem solved. But the xray showed nothing. It was a nightmare, no sitting means no driving, no standing means NO SHOPPING! Shopping I tried, but this also affected my arms. If I went to the clothing store I had thirty minutes, but I found as I tried to drape things over my arm time got shorter and shorter that I could be there. When I tried to play with my cats with a string-type toy I did it for maybe 3-5 minutes and my upper back would throb. The doctors could not understand, nothing showed on xrays, CAT scan, or MRI's. I was miserable. I owned my own busniess. I worked jobs I hated most of my life, but I so to support my two kids whose father walked out on us. When the last child was a senior in high school I went back to college part-time to study my passion, photography, and I was finally doing a job I loved. As a matter of fact I was photographing a big job and at lunch time went and bought a new camera out fit (about $700.00 bucks) and then had the accident on the way home from the job. I acyually had to threaten sueing the ambulance people if they did not bring the new canera and accessories in the the bad with us.
I had this pain for three years, which for the stories I have read is nothing, but when it is happening with no end in sight you feel hopeless. I saw doctor after doctor, no help. My husband and I could not go out for dinner or a movie. He is the couch potato and even he began to complain of our lack of activity! I did acupuncture, after several times of seeing her she suggested I see a western doctor that there was something really wrong and she could not correct it. My son got the name of a doctor who helped his friend's mother, so I set up the appt to see him, which was 6 weeks away. On the way to the appt. with xrays with me, I got rear-ended while getting off the freeway. I had my neck turned completely to the left checking traffic when I got the hit. My vision blurred and I instantly got a headache, but I was more concerned about missing the doctor's appt!
I called the doc office and told them what happened and to please still see me, and they said they see me. After police report and exchange I finally got there. He checked a few things, one thing I couldn't understand was the "doctor's exam" they did hardly a thing. Then this doctor referred me to a Pain Management Doctor. I went, I got the nerve block injections in my upper back, which helped for about ten days, then pain came back. Then I tried nerve block injections in my neck, which helped take the edge off, but turned me into a non-sleeping, grouchy, never-ending food munching bitch! I started to see a therapist to help with the depression that had now taken over 'cause I had to let my business go. She said I know you've seen several doctors, but could you try just one more. I waited 2 months, then I asked her who? I saw this dcotor in a clinic that specialialized in back injuries. He sent me to a physcial therapy place.
Now here's the difference!Check it out. They were using a technique that was relatively new (this was in 2003) only 7 other physcial therapy places in Calif. were certified to use this new technique. The technique was invented by a doctor who had injured his forearm arm in a car accident, and when nothing showed up on any of his tests to explain why he still had so much pain he deduced it was scar tissue covering a nerve. He began rubbing his forearm with a large serving spoon. He noticed when he rubbed on a healthy muscle in the direction that particular muscle went that it flowed easily and when he rubbed on the injured muscle in the direction that muscle went that it felt like cottage cheese, lumpy. So, even as painful as it was, everyother day he rubber that muscle in the correct direction, it hurt and it bruised but it got looser and more flexible. So he came up with a whole system of plastic "tools" to fit any size muscle and put onto patients. They found the process painful and they turned black and blue, but when they walked out the door their injured area felt more flexible and loose. He worked on the system and found that it required training for a physical therapist to do it or they could do damage if they did not completely the tool they yeilded. So he found a two-week training session would educate any physical therapist with a Master's' degree in physical therpay.
I went there and they did a comprehensive exam (something I thought the doctor's should have done) and found that I had a set of muscles that were overworked and so they would give out quickly, and a set of muscles I did bot use at all, because it was too painful. I went to them for two month's, they worked the painful part my upper back, then the front of my shoulder's as I had been slumping to compensate for the pain, then they worked my neck. They never worked the same place more than twice a week, it would be too painful. Finally after two month's I felt good enough to begin to do exercises to strengthen the muscles I had not been using at all. By the fourth month, though I looked like someone a truck had rolled over I felt better than I had I those three years. I went to my pain doc and told her I wanted to cut down on my pain meds. She almost fell off her chair!
From the reading I have done, I know I must be one of the lucky ones. But I have learned, IF you injured yourself, you also have to worry about compensatory pain as well as the initial pain spot. I now also know that if nothing shows up on xrays, CAT scans or MRI's it is probably scar tissue or as some docs prefer to call them keyloids Scar tissue is as it sounds, you have an injury and as it heals your body produces keyloids to help hold the injured area in place for healing. You know your body is producing keyloids because the area will become very warm. Once the body has healed the keyloids have no way of knowing and there doesn't seem to be a natural process for it to go away. So you find a physcial therapist with a Master's degree in physical therapy, ask them if they are "ASTIM" certified, that is the system the golfing doctor invented so that he could golf again.
I'm hope this can help even one person. It has changed my life. My neck still give me enormous problems, I guess getting rear-ended that many times is hard to compensate in any way, it's just plain pissed off.
I did notice that injured sports people seem to be treated better than almost anyone, I guess doctors feel they have a good reason for wanting to get better 'cause it's what they do, but when a wife can't chop ingredients for her husband's dinner, if a man who checks blue prints can't bend over them, or if a photographer can't squat her neck down to look through the view finder or lift her own equipment, that's what they do and to that person it is every bit as important as it is to a football player to play or a skier to ski. Just 'cause we don't do what we do a TV doesn't mean it's any less important to us, to say nothing of living a life free of pain. I agree with many of the writers, if you haven't been there, you just don't know. I have a friend who says, If you have to explain it, they'll never understand, if they get it, you don't even have to try. That is the perfect montra for people who suffer from constant chronic pain. We also need to come together as a group about the legislation for pain people. Did you know that you can never buy long-term care if you take ANY narcotic or anti-depressant? This is wrong. Even if a person is 30 years old, if they just lost their whole family and are taking anti-depressants, they can not purchase long-term care. WRONG! We need to have a voice, and the only that will be heard is a loud one, that means many of us will have to speak for all of us.
Wishing you all a little laughter today, I find that helps, and of course, love.
Gremma
I'm so glad I stumbled onto this! I'm also a sufferer of constant chronic pain. I have several medical problems that can cause pain including: MS, FM, RA and I'll stop there because it is a very long and boring list. I am 41 now and haven't found a doctor willing to treat me with narcotic pain medications on a long-term basis.
However I can get any anti-depressant I want because I must be depressed. I have yet to find a doctor that understands that I am frustrated and angry not depressed. Just in time for xmas I have what I think is cervical spinal stenosis...my GP agreed and gave me a referral for the neurosurgeon that did my last laminectomy. My appointment is for 1/14 and I've had no x-rays or mri's. My insurance requires that I see a specialist before an mri.
Since the numbness isnt subsiding I will most likely go to an ER in the next few days and try to get some morphine. I think it's disgusting how many people walk around in real pain and the physicians are willing to let it continue.
Hope there's better days for all pain sufferers.
One thing you must also factor in, here: We women are often judged to be exaggerating pain or discomfort. If you want to read a heartbreaking proof of this, I would suggest Gilda Radner's book,"It's Always Something" She died of ovarian cancer, that took far too long to be diagnosed, because her problems were dismissed as 'stress'.
When you are in pain the only thing you can think about is how to make it stop - it is the destroyer - it destroys your ability to do, think or concentrate on anything but making it stop.
I am 27 and have a 3 year old. I recently had carpal tunnel release in my right hand. I have had problems with it since I was in high school but I was told I was too young to have anything more severe than tendonitis. Which I also have. I had been dealing with the pain on an as needed basis - it would come and go. It got better for a few years then after I had my son and went to work (for an insurance co) on the computer full time. I had to file a Work Comp claim to get something done about it. When you file a WC claim all the docs look at you like you are making it all up and are trying to rip off the company. Asses. The first doc I went to was actually a doc in my PCP doctor's office. She said I should get some wrist braces take some tylenol and come back if it got worse. The braces (I tried 4 different types) put my fingers, and whole hand to sleep. I went back and told her that and she refered me to the biggest joke and the biggest quack of a doctor I have every been to. If you live in Kansas or Missouri do not see a Dr. Michael Hall. I don't remeber the name of the clinic but I am sure you would not mistake him for someone who cares when you walk into his office.
The first thing he did (when I finally got back to a room and after waiting forever for him) was "Didn't they tell you I do not believe carpal tunnel is caused by data entry?" He had not even reviewed my records yet. He did that while I was sitting on the table waiting for him to look at me. Long story short I had a mild to moderate case of carpal tunnel with continued numbness in 3 out of 4 fingers in my right hand. Decreased grip and all the other symptoms associated with the syndrome. But I was lucky enough to find a great lawyer (Leah Burkhead) and two great doctors L. Ketchum at Menorah Health and Dr. Toby with KU Med Center. Both agreed the other guy did not know what he was talking about and treated me to the best of their abilities.
It is a pain in the butt and wherever it hurts to find someone to believe you and to take your cry(s) of pain seriously - do not give up hope - continue to seek help - if you can not find a doctor try a work comp lawyer they may be able to refer you to a local clinic they prefer to use. Work Comp lawyers are in the business of making sure their customers find the right doctor. Don't let your pain destroy you. There is some hope out there you just have to look in the right place.
the only thing that works for my pain is percs. so if my doc won't give it to me then i see a different doc. so the DEA said i was doctor shopping and now i cant even get any kind of pain reliever
I AM A MOTHER OF 6 WELL BEHAVED CHILDREN AND WITH MY HEALTH GOING DOWNHILL I HAVE EXPERIENCED BAD THINGS WITH DOCTORS THAT THINK I AM IN NEED OF MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST AND WEIGHT LOSS. I ONCE WENT THE EMERGENCY ROOM COMPLAINING OF A MIGRAINE AND THE DOCTOR DECIDED TO GIVE ME A MEDICATION THAT I WAS ALLERGIC TO AFTER I TOLD HIM I WAS ALLERGIC TO IT. WHEN HE HAD DONE THAT MY BLOOD PRESSURE DROPPED TO 78/50 LUCKILY MY MOM WAS WITH ME AND SHE YELLED AT THEM BUT NOT BEFORE PUTTING ME IN A PADDED ROOM AND SENDING A MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST AND INJECTING ME WITH A STEROID DIRECTLY INTO MY HEAD- I MEAN A NEEDLE INTO MY SKULL TO DULL THE PAIN! I HAD TOLD THEM I WAS NOT CRAZY JUST IN PAIN. BUT THEY WENT AHEAD AND PUT ME ON A REGISTRY TO WHERE IF I GO TO ANY DOCTOR IN THE UNITED STATES THEY LABELED ME AS A NARCOTIC DRUG SEEKER. WELL I FOUND A SPECIALIST AFTER 4 DOCTORS AND SHE FOUND OUT AFTER DOING SIMPLE TEST THAT I HAD HYPOTHYROIDISM,
FIBROMYALGIA,ALONG WITH MIGRAINES AND VON WILLEBRANS(A BLEEDING DISORDER) MY QUESTION IS EVEN THOUGH MY DOCTOR THAT TREATS ME NOW SHE GIVES ME ENOUGH MEDS TO LAST ME A MONTH, HOW DO I TAKE MY NAME OFF THAT LIST? IF ANYONE CAN HELP PLEASE TELL ME.NOW I HAVE LOST 30 POUNDS AND HAVE MIGRAINES ABOUT 3 EVERY MONTH BUT OF COURSE WITH FIBROMYALGIA THINGS WILL GET WORSE. I AM SURE THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT DO GO TO HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOMS THAT SEEK NARCOTICS BUT SOMETIMES THERE ARE INNOCENT PEOPLE THAT REALLY DO NEED MEDICATION AND THEY WILL BE DENIED BECAUSE OF THERE REPUTATION. I WILL NEVER GO TO SALEM HOSPITAL AGAIN!INSTEAD I GO TO A NEIGHBORING TOWN HOSPITAL WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN NAMED IN THE TOP 100 TO BE THE BEST AND I AM GLAD IT IS THERE WHEN AND IF I NEED IT. I SEARCHED LONG AND HARD AND SUFFERED TO FIND A GOOD DOCTOR NOW I DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER ANYMORE!
this is my first time here. and i feel for all of you with chronic pain. i have been in pain since 1999. mri showed that i have degenertive disc disease and several herneated disc. i am 52, female. i have had 5 surgeries on my back, 2 cervical fusions' and rotator-cup repair and bone spurs on my left shoulder. plus many other surgeries.i have been lucky, my doc's do not treat me like a addict. i have been to 3 ortho surgeons and my 3rd is the best in ky. after my last surgery he said there wasnt anything else he could do for me because he dosent precribe the strong pain meds. so he sent me to pain management doc. he had me on several diff kinds of pain pills trying to find the right one for my pain. i was in pain 24 hours a day. sometimes at night i would dream that i was waking up from surgery and when i awoke the pain was real it was'nt just a dream. kadien helped some but never stopped the pain. at times i think i am losing my mind because i dont know how much longer i can take this. my pain doc really listens to me and he does his very best to help me. he is the greatest doc. after so many pills not helping he implanted a Medtronic pain pump. i was getting 19 mg of morhpine a day, and it helped alot. but didnt stop all the pain. then about 4 months ago it stopped helping me. i went to get it refilled and i told the PA that i had been hurting alot more, when she drew the old med out i still had almost the amount she had put in the month before. after having ct's and mri they found a blockage. seems that morphine can cause something like scar tissue and cause it to stop. so now i am on Fentanyl. they start on low doses so i am still taking up to 4 Norco 10's a day, i was on 6 and still having so much pain that i cant hardly walk, i have to sleep in a recliner because i cant lay flat. i would recommend anyone with chronic pain to talk to pain mang doc about the pain pump. i am hoping as the dose goes up i will be able to get off the Norco. i hate taking so much meds. i could go on and on but i think i have said enough. i hope each and every one of you get some releif from your pain somehow. and i wish you could find dr's like the ones i have. i would like to talk to someone with a pump to see how you are doing. good luck everyone
i welcome your emails at alleecat209@aol.com
I’m sorry to hear about your wife’s problems with ignorant doctors. I hope everything is easier. I know a little about what your saying. I have a regular pcp and I don’t even know them, I never want to go in and see them I try a doctor for awhile maybe 2 appointments and they start to blame everything on my weight. I just went to the e.r. last night because my hands and feet had swollen and I had severe joint pain for no reason with no other symptoms. The staff all treated me like I was some kind of baby. And the e.r. doctor was so rude to me rolling his eyes when I tell him that I actually do eat healthy low salt meals. I know I am over weight and I live with that everyday, I am just surprised someone with so much schooling can be so judgmental. The doctor could find nothing wrong with me and told me to make sure I lay off the salty foods. The way people act makes me never want to go to a doctor no matter what's wrong with me. It seems like every ailment is blamed on me being heavy. I just hope more people get to read how bad it makes people feel when treated like disgusting outcasts.
I can certainly identify with each and every one of you. I am currently overweight and would love nothing more than to shed these unwanted pounds. However, I have been diagnosed with mononucleosis twice in the last two years. Each time it has completely wiped me out. This lates episode was diagnosed at the end of January and since then I have been struggling with severe joint and muscle pain. I have horrible stiffness in the morning and it seems like everyday activities are going to kill me. I cry at least once a day, sometimes out of pain, sometimes out of frustration and sometimes just because I feel sorry for myself. I have also suffered from depression and anxiety in the past. My anxiety issues seem to be getting worse, too. I've found myself not wanting to leave my house, or if I do leave my house, I only go places where I feel comfortable. I have been seeing the same doctor for two years and she keeps telling me the same thing...."LOSE WEIGHT!". Believe me, I'll be the first to admit I need to lose weight. But when it hurts your whole body to just get out of bed, how am I supposed to excercise enough to lose weight? When I started talking to her about the severe pain I was having we started on a course of tests;XRAY, MRI, CT scans, urine, blood, stool (oh, the humiliation of collecting a sample at home and having to pack it to the lab in my purse). Everything came back normal. When I asked about something for the pain, she asked if I take any OT pain relief. Why yes, yes I do. I take two Aleve in the morning, IB 800mg twice before lunch and twice before dinner and then 4 tylenol PM's at bedtime to help me sleep (I'm still up at least four times a night and awake almost 2 hours before I actually get out of bed). When I brought up fibromyalgia, my doctor kind of brushed it aside, even though, in my opinion, I have a lot of tell tale signs: muscle pain and weakness, joint pain, stomach issues, insomnia, depression, anxiety and tender points. I've also read that people with an infections disease like mono have a higher chance of being diagnosed with FM. My mother also suffered from crippling rheumatoid arthritis since she was in her late teens (she passed away at the age of 42 from heart diseas, another effect of RA), and again, I've read that family history plays into RM. But back to my doctor asking if I was taking any OT pain relief. I told her what I was taking and then asked if she could at least give me something to take at bed time. She gave my hydrocodone. A prescription for 15 with no refills. At this point I wanted to lay on the floor and die. Those 15 pills helped ease the pain so I could at least feel like a human again. When I asked if she was able to give me a refill, she started talking about more tests. I don't want to keep taking tests that are coming up negative. I know if I could lose weight, it would be the start of beginning to feel better. But the fact of the matter is, it hurts too much. It's a Catch 22. I live in a small, rural area in Idaho, where there aren't many doctors and surely no one who specializes in pain management. It's nice to read these other comments and know that I'm not alone. Sometimes I actually want to die, but I know that is a permanent solution to a treatable problem. If anyone could give me advice, words of wisdom, comfort or motivation, please email me at morgan.brinton@gmail.com. I look forward the beginning of the end of my pain.
i read and can understand the frustration of most of these comments. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 12 years ago. On and off I have been on almost every med possible for that in all sorts of combos. Most of the meds for this disorder make you gain weight. My whole life I have been considered average for my height. until the past two years when these meds have been changed over and over. Forgot to mention the cancer surgery i had which caused permanent nerve damage in the front of my thighs and pelvic region. Then I had the laminectomy on my neck for cervical stenosis. Then came the first back surgery. then last july came the removal of ovaries before they exploded. Throughout all of this I have gained about 70 ponds in the past two years. Due to my back that I still need another surgery on and my neck that didnt get better, I have problems with normal exercises. So coupled with meds that make you gain weight and pain that prevents you from exercising what is a girl to do??? No one wants to give you pain meds due to "controversy". I've already been through physical therapy three separate times, shots of all kinds in my neck and back, tens units, weight therapy, behavioral therapy, drug tests, etc. Just for a PAIN CLINIC to tell me they dont write scrips for pain meds. Again I got sent back to my primary doc who doesnt write scrips for pain meds. Now back to the surgeon for my spine who doesnt give pain meds until its close to your surgery date. These docs have appts that you could wait for at least a month for. Could someone explain to me what i am supposed to do inbetween the wait??? Every doc so far has told me I really need pain meds so they send me to someone else to get them. I have all the tests (mri's, catscans, x-rays, emg's, etc). I am in no way a pill chaser. but due to the number of drug addicted people in my city and in Boston where some of my docs are, everyone is VERY hesitant to give anything to actually help anyone who is really in pain. I can go to my local bar and buy any of these pain killers from paople who lied and ruined it for the rest of us who need them to live a normal life!!!!! I have so many other things wrong that all add up to a lot of pain on a daily basis. I just turned 40 and I feel like I should be in a nursing home!!! I am still going to try to be persistent and hope to find the right doc someday. Until then I keep gaining weight and being in even more pain due to that and no regular exercise to try to lose it!! Its a vicious circle. Most docs just go by tests and studies done years ago or they are scared to give pain pills to everyone. The drug companies dont make the pills for nothing. Give them to the right people and there wouldnt be so much controversy!!!! Thanks for letting me vent!!
I was in an auto accident Nov.30, 1993. I was 24 yrs. at the time. Since then I have had multiple surgeries on both legs and knees. I had a compound fracture of the tibia on my L leg, a torn acl and pcl and destroyed the meniscus in my R knee, there was also damage that occured to my L knee, R shoulder, neck, and mid back. I now have some small pockets of fluid that has built up directly around diffrent areas of my spinal cord. I had alot of difficulty getting my broken leg healed. I had an external fixater, then a long leg cast with a bone stimulating unit, then I had to have an osteotomy to rebreak and place a rod in my leg. My fibula (the smaller bone in the lower part of the leg) would not heal completely together. Instead it would begin to touch and then the bone ends would try to form cartiliage joints there so I could feel them work back and forth in the muscle and it felt as if it were just ripping through my muscle. So, the Doc. removed approx. 4 inches of the bone so it would not heal. Because there is no exact need for the fibula other than what the good Lord put it there for. But, it is something you can do without. When looking at an x-ray it really looks wicked, and when a Doc. sees it without knowing it was partially removed it sometimes takes them by surprise. Anyway, the acl and pcl was completely ripped into. So I received an acl and pcl from tissue donors. Then after many clean up surgeries in that knee, I received a total meniscus transplant from a donor as well. The physical therapist didn't want to follow Docs. protocol so within 2 weeks of that surgery it had been badly torn. My body started trying to finish breaking it down and destroying it. Finally after having to wait because of my age, I finally got a total knee replacement. I have found out that Doctors just don't want to replace a joint hardly in anyone much younger than 55 yrs. unless all other treatments have been exhaulted. I had a knee replacement in 2000 and it has been wonderful, but as the years go by it gets very irritated very easily. I had a slap tear of the muscle in front of the R shoulder that had to be repaired in time, and now I recently had some of the cartiliage removed and repaired in the L knee so its a matter of time till I will probably under go total knee replacement on the L knee as well. I have had in all approx. 20 + surgeries from this accident. It has taken a toll on my life, it has lead to Fibromyalgia, and Post Traumatic Syndrome which lead into Bi-Polar 2 Syndrome. I would have never thought something like that accident would have left me so permanetly scared physically and mentally. I have found out that going through these kinds of problems and having such chronic pain from this could sometimes leave you very lonely. If others have never experienced Chronic Pain, or Bi-Polar issues then they just can't imagine what you go through. I have found out that a lot of people just can't handle it. Therefore sometimes you lose friends and people that you always thought you could count on. I am beginning to understand why they react this way from my Psychiatrist. So, I know that chronic and acute pain suffering is real. It was actually nice reading some of your stories, So I know I am not alone either. I go to a pain management clinic and they have given me some of my life back. At the pain management clinic I go to, every patient that is being treated there with pain meds. has to attend Meds. class. There they explain everything about your meds. and your treatment there, and your family is invited to attend with you so they can get all the information also, and any questions they have are answered as well. Then, you sign a pain contract so you cannot get pain meds. from other Docs. And, they keep a very close eye on all your meds. that makes me feel safe there. They also explain that there is a big diffrence in having an addiction for your personal meds. as compared to being a straight out addict. At any time you choose you can come off your meds. with their help without going through severe withdrawl. This place I go to is wonderful but if you break any of their rules you will be immediately dismissed without help from having withdrawl. You have suprise drug tests sometimes, just to see that you are taking your meds. the way they are prescribed so they pretty much have full control as far as people wanting drugs to just sell. But, I to get very angry, because this whole mess started with a drunk driver that was legally blind had no drivers license because of his vision disorder, had a loaded 38 in the glove box with no permit to carry it, and had been to a party for his son who was on house arrest and was preparing to report the next day to start serving a prison sentence. I often wonder why me wht did I do that was so wrong that I was being punished for. Now I think well why not me, if it were someone else they may have been killed. I do realize I am very lucky, because I can walk and I am not paralyzed, I have a wonderful understanding family that stands behind me all the way. They are very supportive and caring and they are always right there if I need anything. So I am blessed. But at this time of the year in November I can't help but get angry. The man who hit me was an older man and he suffered no injuries. I even had my jugular vein cut. That scar goes from behind my ear to just under my chin. But, now when I see it in the mirror I feel lucky to be alive even though I have to suffer for his driving drunk. Before this auto inncident, I was very happy with my career as an Veterinary Technician. As of the past few years I had to give up my job due to my pain and the many problems it was causing me at work. I do get disability and some people say how I've got it made and that it must be nice not to have to work. But, the truth is it breakes my heart not to have my job any longer. And, it has caused a drastic change in my lifestyle. So I understand living with chronic pain on a daily basis. It can be devistating to your well-being. I am so sorry this is so long, I guess I just needed to talk to a group that understands. Thanks so much, for letting me talk and vent some of my feelings here. May God Bless Each and Everyone of You who suffer with chronic pain.
Hi All. Add me to the Chronic Pain bandwagon. I, unfortunately started suffering from pain from a MOSQUITO!! I acquired WEST NILE POLIO from a damn mosquito. I am very angry and depressed from it. and Dr just informed me that I am also Bi-polar. I have been like this since Labor Day 2005 when I developed excrutiating pain over 2 days (when I thought I was getting the flu). I ended up in the ER/hospital fighting for my life. I was 38 at the time with 3 kids (my youngest was 17 months). I didn't care about my kids and I still thank God for my Mom for taking care of them - esp since my baby was a 33 week preemie with special needs. I spent 3 weeks in hospital going thru soooo many tests, xrays, MRI, CAT scans, etc. I even lost 30 pounds in 3 weeks. the idiot Dr was very neglegent with me and waited every thing out until WEST NILE came back positive. then he released me when a damn hurricane was heading to Houston (after Katrina). I was paralized from the waist down from the Polio version of WEST NILE. When I closed my eyes I would picture myself cutting my legs off the pain was so bad. I was confused, angry and so mad at the Dr for giving me a low dose Vicodin and telling me it was "his job to get me off of the narcotics" I told him it was his job to find out what the hell was wrong with me. We spent 5 days without power because of Hurricane Rita and once the power came back on - I hit the internet and discoverd the version of WEST NILE I had was POLIOMYELITIS. I printed the info and took it to the Dr but he dismissed me. I ended back in the ER 2 more times - once was for MAJOR ANXIETY. I literally could not breath. I finally called every Dr in my insurance to find another Dr to help me but NONE would help me. I thank GOD every day for the LAST Dr on the list. He is a pain management Dr and I am on percocet, neurontin, fentenyl patch, xanax and soma. I have gained 50 pounds and my marriage has all but disolved. He can't stand my weight gain (I weigh 175 and 5'6") so not obese. I also take Adderal because otherwise I'd be lethargic and asleep. all it does is keeps me awake but no extra energy. I have also taken at least 20 spinal steriod injections in the past year(part of the weight gain/bloating). I have accepted the fact that a damn MOSQUITO has changed my life. I had a 12 yr career at a prominent company in Houston that let me go when there own Dr couldn't help me. I pray for each and every one of you dealing with such horrible pain. ~Blessings~
This is also my first time reading this site and I'm so glad that I came across it! For about 2 years now I've been having chronic pain that started with my feet and ankles and now seems to have settled in my knees and hips. I too went for testing like xrays and MRI's. What really baffles me is that my MRI showed so many abnormalities like torm meniscus, stress fracture, partial tear of ACL, Baker's cyst, and most of all severe degenerative joint disease from OA. I too had to basically compromise with doctors for pain medications. They would give me 30 Vicodin and then have no refills! was my pain suppose to vanish after the 30 pills were gone? Well, guess what? IT DIDN"T!! I had an arthroscopy done back in April and my knee felt OK for awhile, but now my opposite knee is mimicking and the original knee is acting up again. It takes me awhile to get from a chair and begin walking...just too much pain and stiffness. My doctor asked me what I wanted to do...go for surgery again? He didn't want to give me pain pills but was asking me to decide if I wanted surgery. Doesn't he think he should be the one that recommends the surgery for pain alleviation or at least some other form of treatment? It's so frustrating! Well, I decided for now to not go for surgery and search for other alternatives for pain management. I am overweight...which my dr. reminds me of everytime I go see him. I started my own diet and I'm hoping that the weight loss will end some of my chronic pain. The question is what am I suppose to do in the meantime? I've been told to rest...right!!! Unfortunately, I have to work and can't stay at home with my legs elevated. Well, thanks for allowing me to give my version of my personal journey.
I stumbled upon your comments by mistake and I am glad I did. I have alot of the same things alot of you do. I would love to know about these pain doctors who can help. I do get treated and was labeled a pill shopper for not taking a higher dosage of pain medicine that made me sick and for taking a weaker one that made me not sick and relieved the pain. That was three yrs ago now going thru alot just to get alittle something to help me. Would love to conversate more with someone on this. My email address is mawmawsusie44@yahoo.com Please contact me
I am so looking for any help I can get!!! My dad is 70 years old, obese, heavy drinker and when he gets his blood work done is always perfect. Now here is the mystery, every once in a while his whole face swells up even his tongue. His doctor can't find any problems, but in the last two days his face has swollen up and his tongue and when he tried to sleep last night he had a hard time breathing. Please any suggests would be greatly appreciated...
Mainly for Mary Ann> Alcohol creates poisonous toxins in our body, they remain in fat tissues and joints> In combination with dif't meds the efects are not even well known for science. Meds intertoxic reactions and booze is a virgin territory, and we all know the labs and corporations hide the negative worst factors of meds.Thanks to Big Brother people.
Anyway, I have pain also> Lower back, left side ribcage and back in general. I injured my heel and I have to start Phis. therapy to relese pressure so tendon can heal. If not They'll operate the tip of the heel> inside so tendon has better traction and movement.
I am 52>5:10 and overweight 245'ish
In the past walking on soft sand (beach) and drinking lots of water has help getting rid of the pain, and my suggestion to all is: NO FAST FOOD> LOW FAT AND HEALTHY EATING. exercise and distress as well as a better resting at night and a better way of BREATHING. All this factors that we oversee in our lifes bring pain, and also> POSITION POSITION POSITION> How many hours seating? computer and phones and work? how many hours WALKING a week? THIS I KNOW AND FIRMLY BELIEVE WILL HELP ME get rid of my pains. I will keep you posted and happy new year without pain to you all. Pills will stop the pain, not the reasons, and after years of taking them they won't work anymore for you. The price to pay for taking painkillers is high in the general health in our body, besides the dependance factor. proven track is that if we do not find another way to stop the pain, painkillers will increase through the years. They give me nightmares also, and the risk of loosing control because of the ammount that remains in our bodies, and also as I said eventually we will take another medication that can have reactions unknown to science> Therefore the risk. I'll keep you posted.Jazman
Thanks jazman, I appreciate the info. He doesn't do any movement except setting and watching TV. I know he has alot of issues but the swelling on the face, lips and tongue which is affecting his breathing. It doesn't have any reason for popping up. Can anyone give me even a thought to what it might be??? All blood work has comeback perfect???
My name is Donald, and I am a current pain patient. I currently see a pain specialist here in the metro Atlanta area who is really good. I had a few guys who just passed gas, and basicly were morons. I am also overweight. I lost thyroid function in 1995 after contracting my only bout with oral herpes.
I have had several accidents since 1984, but being in the restaurant business I was subjected to falls and repeaditive motion injuries. Since 1991 I have been hit by a car while walking, open heart twice, and over 42 surguries. I also have been wearing a nitro patch since 2001. I currently am suffering from gout that my doctors are trying to rein in, and i have lost forty pounds since September. I know pain, I believe better than nobodies business. I do take pain meds daily due that because of my heart condition I can't take take drugs such as asprin or Aleve due to bleeding complecaitions.
Even though life really sucks right now, I got to do the best I can. Even the daily migrains from wearing a .06mgr/hr dose nitrostat patch, I try to the best I can. Nobody expects to grow up and have crap like this handed in their laps. The best way to find a good pain doc is to ask your doc which pain specialist they'd see if it was them. To expect to be pain free is maybe a bit of a stretch, and I thought as well that when I whent to him I would find the end to my suffering. My doctor has eased my pain, not erased it.
My doctor trusts me to do the right thing, use my meds as perscribed, and live up to my contract. yes a lot of these folks have seen their batch of liars as well. Pain sucks, real pain sucks even worse. It took me four years to find a good doc. I hope those who read this ind what you are looking for.
I am trying to lose weight now, to get off the damn boat loads of meds I am on to keep my ass alive. I have got to believe again that I have to eat to live, not live to eat. Its the last night of Chanukah, and I still have a spiritual side that tells me that I must go on. G-d Bless you all, and best of luck.
I must look in the mirror and tell myself that what I see I must change period.
First, let me say that my heart goes out to all of you suffering such pain in so many different ways. I have suffered with OA, Fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, TMJ, myofascial pain, severe allergies, severe degenerative arthritis (2 hip replacements and now the knees are going), and so many other things. For those of you who are looking for pain doctors, look in your yellow pages under "physiatrists" as that is their title. For those of you who suffer from fibromyalgia, check out "Inside Fibromyalgia" by Dr. Mark J. Pellegrino. He gives advice on ways to work with FM and a better understanding of this syndrome. He has fibromyalgia himself, so he knows of what he speaks. I have run the gamut of pain meds and many make me feel worse than the initial ailment, so I am looking for other more natural ways to deal with my pain. The physiatrist I was seeing (until I moved) was an extremely caring, compassionate individual who LISTENED to me describe my pain and worked diligently to help me. I hope some of this information will help some of you. Nothing is worse than LOOKING "fine" and people expecting you to BE fine! Good luck and God bless
I almost feel not so alone. I have had severe chronic lower back pain for 7 years now. I had a wonderful doctor at the beginning of the condition. Unfortunately, she and her family could no longer afford to live in CA anymore and moved out of the state. I never had relational problems with any of my drs. prior to her leaving. I trusted them and listened to them; they listened to me and trusted me. I had the required MRIs, Xrays etc. and was given oxycontin, valium and antidepressant as stipulated treatment. When she left I was in the hands of the vast disarray known as the medical community.
From that point on - because of the incongruity of treatment options and the fulfilling of them by the current medical doctor and bureaucratic rulings inhibiting their full capacity for service and insurance availability, I am fatter, wiser, physically destitute, morally outraged - a wrecked car on the rollercoaster of the chronic pain patient. Being directed here and there. Not the one who prescribed any of the medications I once took and currently take. I am the one who, by choice took myself off all the "crap" drugs. Why? Because of the humiliation, hassle, crying, being viewed as a "drug seeker", mentally ill, addict,over prescribed (who did that?!) you know all the tags! It is hard enough living a "normal" life. A pain riddled life - and the ones you go to for help, betray you. What happened to the hypocratic oath? Bedside manner? Compassionate physician? Anyway, I agree with all of you. I am currently awaiting my appt. to have an epidural which will last about 2 months and not do as much good as an epidural with "narcotic pain med". I am unable to sleep, exercise, eat much - but am still 45 lb. overweight, groom with shower in 45 minutes, do anything without distracting horrible pain. THANK YOU DOCTORS, FOR YOUR CRAPPY CARE AND HANDLING! Good luck and God bless to you all. I am just another wounded "animal".
To all you people that are in pain most all the time, If you cant not find a Dr. that will help you, then you will need to look up a pain managment clinic and ask for a spine stimulater... It is a device that runs 2 leads along the spine were the most pain is at, and it WILL block your pain.. If you need more releaf, just use the magnet dial and turn it up or down. If you have any kind of insurence at all, they WILL PAY FOR IT!!!!!
joe_vaughn2003@yahoo.com
People who are not in chronic pain cannot understand what it is like to try to live a normal life but are unable to. I have had experiences where I hand in a prescription for oxy and the pharmacist, says something like "you need this much?" He isn't a doctor and he doesn't know me or my level of pain, so why does he feel that he can judge me? I am so sick of people mixing up tolerence and addiction. I take meds by pain level, some days I take 2 pills, some days I take 5. Any more than 5 I get sick so I couldn't abuse them if I wanted to. I was in a bad car accident and also have fibro and Hashi and hypothyroid. I don't remember the last time I slept for more than 4 hours at a time. I have tried PT, Chiro, surgery. Recently I tried Reiki and actually had some relief in the nerve pain in one leg for about a month. I am trying more non-traditional methods, but still need pain meds to be able to do minimal things around the house. I hope people will understand that there are people in pain who need the meds, we aren't all addicts looking for a high (which I have never experienced), we just want to live as normal life as we can.
I am a 50 year old women who has a long history of osteoarthitis,degenertive disc disease, fibromyalgia,among othyer things. When Drs. want to give me pain killers,shots or other stuff to cover up the pain I say NO! I tell them to fix the problem. I am over weight and that make some of it wosrt. I am now walking and exercising pain or no pain. I take extra strenght Excedrin, only when the pain is unbearable. I have had surgery on my back which has taken a lot of my pain away, the disc like to press on nerves. God has blessed me with a high pain tolerance, so like some of you said you look okay even when you are not. Everyone is different, but keep the faith,go to whoever you need to find relief. When I get told you are over weight and that is why you are having back trouble I find someone else. I have an orthopedic doctor who listen to ME! My discs in my back look like they belong to someone in their 90's, staying positive helps a lot. Thanks for the readings. Take care God bless you all.
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Ok...so I'm not alone...I'm a 33 yr. old amerasian who was diagnosed with rsd in my right wrist that has spread thru the arm and fibromyalgia in my lower extremities... The RSD has continued to spread but because this happened from a fall at work I've been fighting with worker's comp. and SS since 05. I haven't seen a doctor for my conditions since 06 and have since moved to another state for the warmth...Couldn't tolerate snow anymore. I rely on my partner to support me because I don't have children,drug or alcohol problems I can't get state help. I have a hearing with SS coming up and I've no lawyer to help me deal with them. I have a worker's comp. attorney and haven't heard from him since feb of last year! I call and call but he never returns my calls. Addtionally I feel like crud all the time. My whole body is racked in pain. Now my new issues are I can't keep my eyes open! My stool is black, didn't get my period last month...But yet I bleed out of both places (front and back) I've found a free clinic that's trying to help me deal with that but they haven't even touched on my rsd...they did give my cymbalta at 60mg which I'm grateful for since that's supposed to help my legs...(well it does help a bit with my pity parties or depression a bit at least) If anyone can figure out how to help me I'd appreciate it. If you know why I can't stop sleeping, or what would cause me to bleed out of my rectum, and my vagina...(yes this is not my period it's way too heavy to be and has been tested but found not to be) I have anemia because of this too. Jesus is anyone out there that can help me...I feel like because I'm not getting the help I need I'm dying a little each day...--Scared in florida
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Dear CPP:
Having went through many years of chronic pain following bone cancer and 14 major surgeries I know exactly what you are talking about.
The problem is that the DEA and other Federal Agencies are basically threatening doctors with prison if they prescribe very much narcotic medication. And their idea of a lot is much lower than what you or I would think of as a lot.
The reason is that too many people have overdosed on doctor-prescribed these medications and then the people overdosed on them making them look incompetent.
By the way, Ibuprofen is hardest on your liver, not your kidneys. I fully understand what you are talking about because I have been there and done that as well.
Unfortuately it would appear that nobody high up wants to do anything to change this situation.
The best of luck to you,
MGM
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