pain control (Cait)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/12/2004 5:54:34 PM Pacific Standard Time, chaospearl@... writes:

It always upsets me to hear that people refuse to take something that could help them so much simply because of idiotic media stories about celebrities who abused painkillers. USE and ABUSE are totally different things.

Jenni

GREAT post, Jenni,

I agree with you 100 per cent.

I think with both Percodan or Vicodan, the less the use them, the better they work.

Even if I had all the scirpt I wanted I would only use them VERY sparingly and would take the minimum dose.

Otherwise, your body developes a tolerance..

You really have to take them sparingly. Is there anyone who takes them every day and they still work?

For me, aspirin helps.

I wish there WAS a pain killer as strong as Vicodan that can be taken every day that worked....well, actually for me, Prednisone takes away the pain much better than any narcotic.

But we all know what it does to you, long term...

My advice....never "depend" upon ANY painkiller that is a narcotic. Don't take them more than once a week, minimum dosage. NEVER increase the dosage because it is not working anymore...instead, cut down. Wait for your tolerance to get back to normal.

Pris

[Guest guest]

<< I'm on Percocet every 6-8 hours as neededand it isn't working anymore. Talked to my PCP and myrheumy and no one wants or is able to give me anythingstronger. >>

Cait,

Ask your rheumy for a referral to a pain clinic. They'll be able to either give you something stronger or help you with other methods to deal with pain. And there's really no reason for your doctors to refuse to give you pain meds... I assume you take one percocet tablet every 6 hours? That's nothing. There does come a point where taking more pain meds won't help any further without ruining your life by making you too fuzzy to live it, but you haven't hit that point yet, not at that dose. It should be your choice how much quality of life you want to sacrifice in order to keep pain at bay. IMHO you're not really "better off" if you're able to feel pain-free but the price is that you sleep 16 hours a day and can't remember your name the other 8 -- but that's only my opinion. Sometimes when you've been in constant pain for a long time it's worth the relief, just to get a break from it. You can always stop taking the meds. I've never had a pain med prescription that said "you must take X pills every day" -- it's always "as needed" and if I don't need, I don't take. I think you're overdue a serious talk with your doctor about this... if they're refusing to give you adequate pain medication something is wrong. That is inexcusable. You DO NOT have to feel like a "druggie" or any other derogatory riff raff because you're in extreme pain and asking for relief. If that's what your doctor is insinuating you need a different doctor. I've bopped through half a dozen rheumatologists in the past five years (insurance problems, and changing addresses because of college) as well as two PCPs and a couple surgeons and hematologists, and not one MD has ever refused to prescribe narcotic pain medication. In fact, usually it's the other way around; they start suggesting it before I'm ready to take that step. I'd rather have the pills in my cabinet and know that they're there if I choose to take them.

You may want to ask your doctor about prescribing a painkiller called vicodin instead of the percocet. Percocet is a schedule II narcotic and the 'scrips need to be filled out in triplicate and filed with the DEA. Some doctors avoid prescribing that simply because it's a pain in the arse to handle the paperwork. Vicodin is a schedule III and much less controlled. It can even be called into the pharmacy with no paper prescription or visit to the doctor's office required. And I've never noticed a difference in effectiveness between the two.

Sorry if I sound militant about this. I've been on pain meds as-needed for a long time and they have improved my life immensely. It always upsets me to hear that people refuse to take something that could help them so much simply because of idiotic media stories about celebrities who abused painkillers. USE and ABUSE are totally different things.

Jenni