Re: Percocet & Pain Management

[Guest guest]

Tammy wrote, " So far, I am getting by on 20-30 mg of Percocet. I'm going to

stick with it as long as I can. "

Karyn wrote:

<it's important to be aware that Percocet is a medication combined of

Oxycodone and Tylenol. The two reasons why this isn't the best long term

medication for chronic pain is that long term use of Tylenol is toxic to the

liver.

The other reason is that Oxycodone is a fast acting version of the slow

release Oxycontin. For chronic pain it is better to 'manage' the pain vs

'chase' the pain, hence the name pain management.

If you wait until you are in pain to take a pain pill it takes a lot more

medication to get the pain under control.>

Karyn,

Thank you for bringing up this important topic once again. It is for that very

reason that I finally asked my doctor to rethink his pain med treatment for me.

I was taking so much Percocet that I was concerned about future damage to

my liver, especially when one ultrasound showed some enlargement from the

last one done. He immediately switched me to Oxycontin, and arranged for

me to meet with a Pain Management physician. It was a smart, considerate

and sensible move that benefited both the doctor and me.

It took the responsibility of prescribing class II narcotics into the hands of a

professional PM physician who deals with these drugs every day....something

my GI didn't feel comfortable doing. Having this alliance with a pain

management physician has made the whole pain med dilema so much easier

for me. This doctor tried every med, in all different combinations, until we

were able to come up with the most effective meds for my situation. I liked

having different choices and having the opportunity to try them out before we

settled on what we did. He also seemed much more flexible about offering

choices and is willing to make adjustments whenever necessary, to reach

optimum coverage.

My GI is happy knowing that he doesn't have to deal with this anymore. I'm

happy having someone else that seems so receptive to finding the right meds

for me, so it's worked well for all.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

SC & SE Regional Rep.

PAI

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

substituted for professional medical consultation.