Re: QUESTION ABOUT INCREASING PAIN MEDS.

[Guest guest]

The question of pain management was the hardest for me to deal with.

In order to get any relief with aspirin or tylenol I had to take so

much, and really got very little relief while causing irreparable

damage to my kidneys and liver. So I talked to my rheumy about it

and she said she wasn't comfortable prescribing anything stronger. I

went to the urgent care center because there was a really good doc

there and he gave me pain meds, but advised me that I would need to

get a regular family doc to handle " chronic " problems as opposed

to " acute " . He said to avoid being typed as a drug seeker to ALWAYS

use the same pharmacy, and ALWAYS get your narcotics from the same

doctor. He advised me to bring a copy of my rx list to the doctor

with me, and to have an idea of how much medicine I would need to

take to be more comfortable, without feeling " high " . He said to

discuss it rationally, not emotionally, because crying can be seen as

depression or drug " neediness " rather than justifiable upset over a

long existing problem. Using the Percocet 7.5 mg he prescribed I

determined that if I broke the tablets in half I could get by on just

2 tabs a day. (I didn't tell the doc I ALWAYS broke them in half,

just that sometimes 1/2 was enough) When I went to the doc that was

to be my family doc I told her just like Dr D had advised me. She

said she had never had a good experience with narcotics, but was

willing to give it a chance, as long as I understood that we would

NOT increase the dose- she would prescribe exactly 30 tabs every two

weeks. Then we worked it out to 60 tabs every month because every

two weeks was harder to tell if I was " increasing " because of

holidays and vacations, etc. We went on that way for 6 months until

I accidentally found a neurologist who is a pain management

specialist. I did cry in his office after they handed me

prescriptions to take care of the pain... I was so overwhelmed with

relief to have finally found a doctor's office who understood and did

not judge me! They told me that the avg person with chronic pain is

not going to become addicted because pain makes us appreciate the

medication and be more likely to use it appropriately. They said

they can tell a " functional " patient from a " dysfunctional abuser "

very easily. I'm glad I was so easy for them to read!

Maybe with all this rambling I'm just trying to say that the right

pain management doc is much more of a relief than an ordeal --- and I

wish you the best of luck finding one!

Deb

> Blank

> Question.....

>

> I have been trying to get up enough nerve to ask my Doctor about

prescribing a little bit stronger pain medication. All I have ever

taken is Vicodin, and I just feel that I need something a little

stronger now. ......I am in constant pain, and although the Vicodin

takes the edge off..... (and that is only if I lie down after taking

it).....I never feel that I am getting any real relief.

>

> I know that when I go to the Doctor on Monday, he is going to

decrease the amount of Prednisone I am on, now that My rash is

cleared up. I am on 20 mg. of prednisone a day, and I really do want

to eventually get off the cursed stuff. .......But everytime I

decrease the prednisone, the pain gets worse, and I am tempted to

bump it back up just to get more pain relief......you've all been

there, right?

>

> I would just like to be able to move around a little easier, and

do more things without being in excruciating pain. I have always

had a high pain tolerance.....but it has gotten past the point that I

can tolerate most of the time......My Lupus is in remission

now .....but the Fibromyalgia and Sjogren's Syndrome is causing

plenty of pain without The Wolf .

>

> I know that many of you have much more severe pain than I

do.....and I feel like a big baby to complain......but I think our

pain is a personal thing.....when we own it , it's ours to deal with

as best we can, and sometimes I am just in tears when I try do any

housework or shopping or any of the things that I CAN still do for

myself , but not without suffering.........How do you convince a

Doctor that your Pain is just a little bit more than you can take

most of the time? I 'm not so naive that I expect to ever be

complelely pain free again.....but how do you convince a doctor that

you need more relief than you are getting without having to argue the

point.?