Re: Pain Management to Rosie

[Guest guest]

Rosie,

My advice would be to change doctors. Your pain is NOT imaginary, and

needs to be treated appropriately. A good GI and a good PM doctor

know this and will prescribe suitable pain meds to manage the pain.

If the doctors you see now aren't willing to do this, you need to find

new ones.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

Bluffton, SC

SC State & SE Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

www.health.groups.yahoo.com/group/pancreatitis/

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should

not be substituted for professional medical consultation.

Rosie wrote:

If things continue along their present course, I'll soon need to seek

permission to increase my pain control again. I honestly do not want

to have to sit through another lecture.

Has anyone on the list found a way to cope with such idiots?

[Guest guest]

Heidi,

Thank you so much. I hope to get some new medics soon. I've made a start

by getting a new GP (General Practice) doc who can deal with day-to-day

issues, and write my prescriptions. Unfortunately my first meeting with

him was not overly encouraging (within a few minutes he had told me

" those are very high doses " ) but maybe I can train him. Always look on

the bright side....

I know that my symptoms real - but when I encounter so many instances of

incomprehension I naturally question whether my experience is valid -

maybe I have exaggerated things... maybe it wasn't so bad... maybe I

should have coped... maybe there is no point in bothering the medics...

BUT when I have a bad night (and have woken up 4 or 5 times because of

pain) I remind myself never to doubt myself again!!

My pain memory is also (fortunately) very poor so that once I have pain

relief working I can forget the detail of what a specific pain was like

or exactly how long it lasted. I can just about say it was a 5 or a 7 -

but tomorrow's 5 or 7 might not be exactly the same (if you get my

drift). I am sure that I can seem a bit bumbling and vague to the

doctors. At one time I started to keep a pain diary to help me recall -

but found that I was paying far too much attention to bad things and

getting myself down.

It is so great to have found this group - reading the posts has given me

real deja vu - so many of us have gone through so much of the same

thing. I wish I could wave a magic wand and get us all the care we

deserve. When I read the terrible stories that some of you are telling

(e.g., poor Debs!!) it does put my own problems into perspective.

Love to all

Rosie

Heidi wrote:

> Rosie,

>

> My advice would be to change doctors. Your pain is NOT imaginary, and

> needs to be treated appropriately. A good GI and a good PM doctor

> know this and will prescribe suitable pain meds to manage the pain.

> If the doctors you see now aren't willing to do this, you need to find

> new ones.

>

> With love, hope and prayers,

> Heidi

>

> Heidi H. Griffeth

> www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

> Bluffton, SC

> SC State & SE Regional Representative

> Pancreatitis Association, International

> www.health.groups.yahoo.com/group/pancreatitis/

>

> Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should

> not be substituted for professional medical consultation.

>

>

> Rosie wrote:

>

> If things continue along their present course, I'll soon need to seek

> permission to increase my pain control again. I honestly do not want

> to have to sit through another lecture.

>

> Has anyone on the list found a way to cope with such idiots?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Rosie,

Actually, the pain diary is an excellent tool, so if you start feeling

differently

about it, you should start it up again. It's a wonderful way to validate your

complaints of pain with a physician, especially one who may feel that your

dosages are too high.

Don't let it get you down, don't dwell on it, but if you could just enter the

rating

of your pain level, (according to the pain scale of 1-10), where it was and how

long it lasted, it would be an eye-opening document for even the most

doubtful physician. It also shows the doctor that you are serious about how it

affects you, that you are willing to commit the time to recording it so that it

could be used for their review and recommendations.

That's good news about locating a new GP, and a step in the right direction.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

www.pancassociation.org/anthology#Heidi.html

Bluffton, SC

SC State & SE Regional Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

www.health.groups.yahoo.com/group/pancreatitis/

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should not be

substituted for professional medical consultation.