Pain Medications cause of pain?

[Guest guest]

I downloaded a bunch of research articles from the journal

" Gastroenterology " recently and ran across a statement in the

patient seletion section that mentioned that pancreatitis patients

on long term narcotic use were excluded from the study because

it is well known that long term narcotic use alone causes

abdominal pain that confounds the determination of " real "

pancreatic pain.

So my question is, if this is a very well known phenomenom,

how do we as patients, determine if our chronic pain isn't due to

the pain killers instead of the disease? Is there a way to tell if

our pain is actually caused or worsened by narcotic use? Or is

this reference to narcotic pain something that hasn't been well

substantiated and is more a knee jerk response to our society's

moral repugnance of pain medicine usage? My " MOM " (mind

over matter) experiment has not elucidated this for me - that is,

how do I tell if my pain is true pancreatic pain or side-effects from

the oxycodone or an effect of not taking the oxycodone

(withdrawal). I fluctuate between taking one 5 mg pill a day to

needing 6. Is this an example of the more I take the more I

need? I really want to get to the bottom of this so I can figure out

if this pain really is a figment of my imagination as I have been

told so many times.......

I become quite disheartened when reading close to fifty of these

published studies (and from well regarded researchers and

institutions, by the way) and to run into phrases over and over

again that calls us " addicts " and that a total pancreatectomy is

the recommended course of action if the doctor believes that the

patient has a good chance of needing daily narcotic meds to

control pain. I am aghast and extremely put off by this attitude

that these pancreas specialists will take the position that it is

better to sacrifice a painful, but still functioning pancreas (that is

no diabetes, no malabsorption, etc) so that the patient doesn't

become dependent on narcotics on a daily basis. It might be

just me, or what...but I would rather take 20 mg of oxy a day than

have to stick myself a dozen times to monitor my blood sugars

and / or to inject insulin.

The other impression I am gaining from these studies is that

most doctors do not believe in chronic pancreatitis that is

idiopathic....that this pain is a psych problem in some why (one

article kept refering to " personality disorders " ). I am considering

that this may be the reason why we get no respect or

sympathetic care from our personal physicians or the ER docs.

The professional literature out there, written by some of the

doctors that you mention you have seen, is quite discouraging

and disheartening. It has made me realize that this is all a trial

and error process............and that it may have been a blessing in

disguise that my doctor gave up on me.

[Guest guest]

It is discouraging to hear you imply that it is good that your

physician gave up on you. I cannot honestly believe that you are

going for all of the nonsense you read on the internet, after

posting on this website and hearing and or reading all the posts, it

is not possible that we all have the same symptoms, pain levels, and

same treatments.

I know that it is possible for some narcotic medications to

cause sphinter of oddi spasms and that med is morphine. Most

educated physicians are aware of this and that is why they usually

don't order it.

If you really doubt yourself, take some time and start a

journal. It would be wise to monitor when you take your pain

medication and why rate your pain, write down what your doing and

what your though process is at this time. It is not unusual for pain

to increase during stressful times, anything that stesses the body

even situations that we are unaware of can cause undo stress.

Keep an open mind, think things through and continue seek

support through this group.

Atwell LPN