Pain management - something to consider

[Guest guest]

Hi friends,

I have been following the threads on pain management closely, and there's

something I'd like to add for those of you who feel that your pain management

needs are not being met.

I waited for a long, long time for my doctor to offer up some medication for

pain management, and couldn't figure out why the strongest thing she would offer

me was Darvocet. Finally, at an appointment about a year ago, I told her that

Darvocet was not cutting it, and that in order to function and not go on

disability, I needed something stronger. I was met with *no* resistance

whatsoever, so I asked her why she hadn't suggested other drugs. While it

probably varies from practice to practice / state to state, my doctor's policy

was to offer the mildest drug that she felt would cover my pain. Since she is a

specialist who no doubt prescribes loads of narcotics, the implication was that

offering up the " big guns " was frowned upon by the FDA and doctors in this area

(St. Louis) have been taken to court repeatedly for " overprescribing " narcotics.

In short, it may not be that your doctor doesn't want to prescribe stronger pain

management medications to you, it may just be that your doctor treats pain

conservatively and is waiting for you to ask for the medication outright. I

realize that this can feel awkward, but I have found that my treatment regimen

relies on me to speak up openly and honestly about these things, even if I'm not

100% comfortable with it.

I take Ultram / Ultram-ER, and the occasional Vicodin as needed. I also take

60mg Cymbalta daily to manage nerve pain from the FM. I am still having pain,

and will likely ask for a referral to a pain management specialist when I see my

rheumatologist a week from today. I'll keep you all posted!

Take care,

Kate P-B

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

[Guest guest]

Kate,

I'm happy to hear that you asked for help with your pain.

What you describe is probably often true, but I wish more

rheumatologists would ask their patients about the pain they are

experiencing at each and every visit. Allowing so much suffering to

occur is unacceptable.

Not an MD

On Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 3:08 PM, <microminimalist@...> wrote:

> Hi friends,

>

> I have been following the threads on pain management closely, and there's

something I'd like to add for those of you who feel that your pain management

needs are not being met.

>

> I waited for a long, long time for my doctor to offer up some medication for

pain management, and couldn't figure out why the strongest thing she would offer

me was Darvocet.  Finally, at an appointment about a year ago, I told her that

Darvocet was not cutting it, and that in order to function and not go on

disability, I needed something stronger.  I was met with *no* resistance

whatsoever, so I asked her why she hadn't suggested other drugs.  While it

probably varies from practice to practice / state to state, my doctor's policy

was to offer the mildest drug that she felt would cover my pain.  Since she is a

specialist who no doubt prescribes loads of narcotics, the implication was that

offering up the " big guns " was frowned upon by the FDA and doctors in this area

(St. Louis) have been taken to court repeatedly for " overprescribing " narcotics.

>

> In short, it may not be that your doctor doesn't want to prescribe stronger

pain management medications to you, it may just be that your doctor treats pain

conservatively and is waiting for you to ask for the medication outright.  I

realize that this can feel awkward, but I have found that my treatment regimen

relies on me to speak up openly and honestly about these things, even if I'm not

100% comfortable with it.

>

> I take Ultram / Ultram-ER, and the occasional Vicodin as needed.  I also take

60mg Cymbalta daily to manage nerve pain from the FM.  I am still having pain,

and will likely ask for a referral to a pain management specialist when I see my

rheumatologist a week from today.  I'll keep you all posted!

>

> Take care,

> Kate P-B