Another sleepless night!!!

[Guest guest]

Hi all, Had a busy day today. I went to my endocrinologist and my A1C

was 6.2%. He was elated and I was surprised. I then went to my GP and

told him about the troubles I am having with the patch (very

hyper/anxious, nausea and sweating like Ewing). He thought I

was suffering from withdrawal from the MS Contin. So, I went from the

100 mcg patch to 150 mcg. I am more hyper and restless than I can

ever remember (notice that it's almost 3am as I write this). The 1st

patches I got were generic, that was all they had, but this time I

got the Duragesic patches. For 5 50mcg and 5 100 mcg patches my copay

was $117.00. Ouch, needless to say, I can't afford that every month

on just a fixed income. I will be going back tomorrow to the GP and

getting back my MS Contin. Well, I'll go lay down and watch the

ceiling again for a while. I am so restless that my dog left her bed

and went into the living room to get some sleep. Wow, no respect even

from the dog..Thanx for letting me vent..I hope you are all well and

pain-free..Jim

PS I also hope you are all getting some sleep, cause I sure ain't.

[Guest guest]

Jim,

It's a shame that the fentanyl patches aren't working out for you. I had

already

been cautioned by my doctors that the generic patches " had a lot of

problems, " and neither one would write a script for substitutions, so I've

always used the Duragesic's only.

So it's too bad that the generic version was what you started out with, but if

you've changed to the Duragesic now, and are still having such

uncomfortable side affects, it would indicate that this type of pain medication

just isn't suitable for you. It only goes to show us what kind of differences

there are with each individual............what one person can tolerate well,

while

another has tremendous problems with it.

It shows us that the warning statement, " that no one should ever share their

medication with someone else " , makes all that more sense now, doesn't it?

Even to treat the same symptoms, there are such tremendous variances in

each individual's reaction to medicine.

I know you must be disappointed, since you were looking for a better solution

for your pain control, but it's not worth if if you have to suffer through those

kind of reactions. Hopefully your doctor will continue exploring other avenues

of pain control with you, different dosages, or different combinations, until

the

optimal effect is reached.

You're fortunate, though, to have a doctor who is willing to try different

approaches like your man has. So often the attitude is that you have to settle

for whatever the doctor feels is best, or is the most comfortable prescribing,

whether if's effective for you, or not. Your physician sounds like a person who

is willing to keep looking until the best control is achieved, and for that you

are

a lucky person. I trust that he'll continue working with you on this, and that

eventually you'll find the right solution. Meanwhile, try to get some better

sleep once you return to your previous meds.

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.  

[Guest guest]

Heidi, Thank you so much for the supportive words. I've said it before

and I'll say it again...my GP is the best. Always looking to make my

quality of life better. I saw him again today and went back on MS

Contin, 3 60mg pills a day. I know I'll be sleeping tonight, today was

a beautiful day in Vermont. 80 degrees and clear skies. I was out with

Layla my dog for quite a while. It still goes down in the 50-60 range

at night, so sleeping is real comfortable, granted that you can. I

hope everyone is pain and trouble free...Jim