NEED ADVICE DESPERATELY!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Hello:

My name is . My fiancé has had Pancreatits for the last 5

years. It has been horrible. He had a Frey Procedure on January 27

at St. Marks Hospital in Salt Lake City Utah. Dr. LeGrand Belnap was

the surgeon. The surgery was somewhat of a success. The doctor was

surprised at how much scar tissue there was, but he was able to

successfully perform the procedure. I don't have pancreatitis, so

there is no possible way for me to understand what a person goes

through in dealing with this disease. However, I am seeing some

signs in him that cause me great alarm. I am very concerned that he

is addicted to the pain medication. He does see a pain management

doctor, but he also makes very frequent visits to the ER at least 3

a week. He also never goes to the same hospital; he goes to about 4

different hospitals in our area. His pain doctor has prescribed him

Roxicodone to be taken at home. He takes, Roxicodone, Valium and

Ambien. For the last three weeks, he has done nothing but SLEEP.

He does not shower, does not brush his teeth, he just sleeps. When

he is awake, he is very incoherent, slurs his speech, and drools

terribly. He has fallen down twice in the bathroom and once in the

kitchen because he has been so incapacitated by the medication. He

even falls asleep on the toilet and when I have to wake him up he

gets very angry and screams at me " I am not asleep " even

though it is very apparent he is asleep as his head is bobbing up

and down and he is snoring. I cannot imagine that his pain

management doctor would want him to be in this state of constant

vegetation. When I try to address the issue with him, he gets very

angry. Also, every time I take him to the emergency room, the very

second we get into the hospital, he starts moaning and groaning,

while the entire drive to the hospital he is completely quiet. When

we get into the room at the ER, he begins telling the doctors what

to do and exactly how much pain medication to give him. He always,

always demands that they give him 50 mg of Benadryl. If he does not

get at least 6 doses of Dilaudid, he gets very upset. Sometimes, it

is very embarrassing for me to be there with him. Since his

surgery, his Amylase has been much much lower than it normally has

been. Before the surgery it was in the 1,000 and up, now it runs

between 300 and 450. After he is treated in the ER he wants to eat

and he does. He eats whatever he wants. Everything I have read

about pancreatitis and in dealing with it for the last 5 years, I

have been told, do not eat. Wait at least a day, drink small

amounts of water, DO NOT EAT. He eats hamburgers, breakfast

burritos, turkey sandwiches etc. Also, when he is hospitalized, he

is very very very demanding about getting his medication. He calls

the nurses on the exact time his next dose is due, never fail. If

the nurses are late in getting his medication to him, he is very

rude. They are not late on purpose; there are other patients in the

hospital. When he is in the hospital, he puts a great deal of

pressure on me to bring him food. Everyday, like clock work, he

calls me when I get off work and gives me his order for that night.

Even if he is on NPO, he still expects me to bring him food. I just

don't know what to do. Am I being overly cautious about him

being addicted? Any advice suggestions etc. would be very much

appreciated. THANK YOU!

[Guest guest]

,

It does sound like your fiance needs help. I cannot judge and say if he is

addicted to pain meds. That would be for his doctors to decide but I can say

that he needs to take better care of himself. When the pain is that horrible and

he is supposed to be NPO he should not eat. It makes the pain so much worse.

I cannot eat when mine is that bad because I just throw it all up anyway.

He is really hurting his body if he is not listening to what his doctors

orders are. You may want to address this situation with his doctors and let them

know that he is going to the ER that much even on pain management meds. If he

is on pain management that is an awful lot of times to go to the ER.

I am sorry I cannot be of more help. Maybe someone else on here has some

better advice. I will keep you in my thoughts. Do try to talk to his pain man.

doc.

Take care,

Angie in SC

" The happiest of people don't necessarily have the

best of everything; they just make the best of everything that comes along

their way. "

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

This is a very serious message in response to your posting on the Yahoo Panc.

Board.

Briefly, and directly to the point

1. You as the fiance have no legal stance whatever

2. Your fiancee may or may not have Pancreatitis

3. From your description, you most likely have an addict (Opiates) on your

hands

The situation for you isn't good. First your fiancee needs to get detoxed, he

cannot deal with his addiction problem until he is " sober " enough to admit

there is a problem and he cannot " hear " anything from anybody except his drug

needs until the detox process is effective, so save your breath.

Is there anyone like a close relative or a close friend of his that could be

called upon for assistance?

A report to the police would likely have jail time until trial and that could

be a long time interval between arrest and trial

A call to " Narcotics Annonomus " (check the telephone book) might make a good

contact in your area. They might be able to provide a list of detox centers,

rehab, local meetings, written lititure, etc.

Others on this board may be able to provide more opinion, ideas, comments, etc

Ihave for you my

Best wishes, Poncho - GA

[Guest guest]

Hi Sam, first let me say that Brock is very fortunate to have such

an understanding, patient and loving woman. I hope that when he has

regained his strength he will appreciate all that you have and are

doing to help him. I am sorry that he is having so much pain and I

can empathize with that. He obviously is not getting adequate

coverage of his pain by the current medications he is prescribed.

However, the fact that he is going to different ER several times a

week doesn't sound too good. He recognizes that he cant get the

same meds at the same ER and that is why he is going elsewhere. I

dont know for sure, but it does appear to be addictive behavior and

that is something he needs to addressed. Since he is taking the

meds to the point of constant " passing out " and neglecting his

personal hygiene as well as his hostility, those are also indicative

of addictive behavior. I can not say definetly, but it sure does

appear that way.

Also, when he started seeing the pain management doctor he most

likely signed a contract saying that he would not take meds from

other doctors or facilities outside the contracted one(s). Most

pain docs do require that. His may not, I dont know. When you tell

the pain doctor all that, he may choose to not treat him any longer

until he has agrees to do just that. They often will also require a

certain number of visits with a therapist to help deal with the

disease process and the medications.

Perhaps talking to the doctor about your concerns regarding

addictive behavior and that you may think he is developing those,

without going into great detail, and enphasizing the need for him to

see a therapist may be a good move. You may be able to get him the

help he needs to deal with the mental anquish while not jeopardizing

his relationship with the pain doc.

Becoming addictive and becoming dependent upon pain meds are often

confused. We become dependent upon the medication in order to

regain our lives in an attempt to reduce to pain to a tolerable

level. However, often times the desire to be pain free can lead us

to take too many pain meds giving one the feeling of euphoria. That

can lead to physchological and physiological addiction to the same

pain meds that are used to alleviate pain.

His pain issues definetly need to be addressed. Nobody irregardless

of any form of addictive personality deserves to suffer. However,

if in fact he has become addictive he is not helping himself in the

least. He is only creating another illness on top of one that is

already difficult enough to deal with.

Talk with the pain doctor about his chances of seeing a therapist

and your concerns regarding how his condition has worsened. You are

a very loving woman and he is a very lucky man to have you.

Good luck and keep us informed on how things are going. If there is

anything else you need, please dont' hesitiate for one second.

Warmly,