Re: Re: Pain Doc - was Bound Away....

[Guest guest]

Jodi,

I've had major back issues since 1982, resulting from a nasty fall. The

doctors' response -- " Oh, just lose some weight and it'll clear

up. " Also knee problems.

In 2002, after about 8-9 months on SCD, and losing somewhere between 80

and 100 pounds (I'd have to check my records to see how much I'd actually

lost at that point), I started having hip pain. I'd be fine when I went

to bed, and would wake up in the middle of the night with my hips aching

and preventing me from going back to sleep, unless I took something.

Which, fortunately, I could -- Salmon oil and evening primrose oil, both

SCD legal. The doctors' response -- " Oh, just lose some weight and

it'll clear up. " When I pointed out that I had lost as much as

I had, I was told that I couldn't have lost that much, or I wouldn't be

as fat as I was. And clearly, I needed to lose more.

I had the hip pain mostly under control until around early 2005. Couldn't

sleep, even with the oils. Was referred to an orthopedist. Who of course,

said, " Just lose some weight and it'll clear up. " I told him

how much I had lost, and he said, " Hmm, " and gave me a

cortisone shot. Which worked fine for two weeks. Then he said,

" Well, my next step would be NSAIDs, but since you say you won't do

those, I'm going to recommend some water therapy. "

Which works really well... and I'm doing it even yet. I'm reduced a bunch

from pre-surgery -- pre surgery I did two hours of exercise and an hour

of lap swimming 3x a week. Now I'm doing half that three times a week. I

was off pool exercise for seven weeks after the surgery, but demanded,

and got, home therapy, which mostly kept the pain at bay.

However, ALL of the pain meds for post surgery contained illegals.

Insurance will not pay for compounding, and I was in no mental or

emotional state to explain it to the doctors before hand, and definitely

not afterwards.

What I think I'm getting is a reverb effect. My gut aches, and says,

" Hey, I hurt, " and the hips say, " No, we hurt worse, "

so the gut yells, " No, I hurt more! " while the hips... you get

the picture.

Narcotics work fine on this sort of pain. But our society is so paranoid

about addiction that they get you off narcotics as fast as

possible. In some cases, sooner than you should be.

Motrin is what is typically prescribed at that point, and Motrin is what

the insurance would pay for.

Motrin gives me diarrhea -- within a half hour to 45 minutes after taking

it, my gut empties with a vengeance -- something I haven't had in YEARS

on SCD. Is it the motrin (ibuprofen)? Or is it the illegals in it? I

don't know.

But I have two options: Motrin (because that's what they'll prescribe),

or unremitting pain from two sources -- the hips and the gut. Elaine says

that unremitting pain does no one any good, so I'm dealing with the

Motrin.

That, however, is why I am now seeing a pain specialist.

The gut issues will gradually clear up -- it can take as much as a year

to heal from major surgery. The hip issues... who knows?

Oh, and then the week after the sleep test, I have my first set of

post-surgery labs to make sure the cancer isn't coming back. First of 15

tests, 4 months apart. WHEN I stay clear for 5 years, they declare me

cured... but they'll keep an eye on it for the rest of my life.

Fun. NOT!

—

Marilyn

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund