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Chronic Pain MEGA Thread

Forgive me if this isn't the right place to post, but I don't know where else this would fit.

I have had chronic joint pain for 10+ years, and 6 months ago was officially diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. My RA doctor has repeatedly stated that she "cannot give anything more than Tylenol" and suggested that I see a Pain Management doctor. I began seeing a PM doctor a few months ago with all of my lab reports, xrays, MRIs, etc. He started me off on a dose of 5mg hydro 2x a day. I immediately discussed with him that previous providers were giving me up to 30mg a day for my chronic pain. Nevertheless he has never budged to more than 20mg a day.

Which leads to my dilemma...

I went to immediate care this morning in order to get extra meds, as I'm nearly out of what the PM doc gave me 2.5 weeks ago, and I don't have an appointment for another 3 weeks. (Thanks holiday season). The immediate care doc pulled up my RX history and gave me discharge instructions for "drug seeking behavior". I explained to her that I have explained to the PM doc that his current dosage is not enough, and I typically run out well before my next appointment. Regardless she stated that she would contact the PM doc about my visit.

Two questions: 1) can they do that without a signed, specific consent? 2) could this prevent future PM docs from helping?

It's a catch 22, as I have legitimate chronic pain that my doc doesn't fully treat which forces me into a situation where I have to, essentially, doctor shop. As it stands I have been in the process of finding a replacement PM doc as this one just doesn't seem to listen. There is no doubt whatsoever that I am physically dependent on these meds, the same as a diabetic is on insulin. However I know for a fact, as a substance abuse counselor, that I am not *addicted* in the sense of the actual disease and negative behaviors that are associated. How much is this trip to immediate care going to screw me over? I'm in Illinois if that matters.
 
kratom is no joke. works better than 1 norco pill, especially easy to buy too
 
Yeah, the arthritis and fatigue have been distressing me madly in the last few months. I haven't showered in............. doesn't matter how many days.
 
I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia (I'm 22 and I've had it, I swear, since I was 11), a partial sacralisation are my 5th lumbar, and my knee has problems as well. Before diagnosed with the two skeletal problems I swear I thought my hip felt literally fractured, I couldn't lay down, or do much really. I've been put on neurontin for the fibro. However I have awful fucking flare ups where I'm temporarily disabled due to the pain. How in the hell do I get pain killers for my flare ups? How the hell do people get them for things like this? I have a toddler, I need to function!
 
Been there!

karona said:
I have a pinched sciatic nerve in my back. Sometimes the pain goes all the way down to my shins. I was being prescribed a couple different pain killers and a muscle relaxer.

After a couple injuries. Actually a few over the past couple years or two. Doctors do not want to prescribe me anything for it. Saying that since i am young i shouldn't be on painkillers/addiction yet. I also have L1 and L2 compressed. And no cushion in between.

What should i do? I am tired of having to obtain pain killers illegally and due to a certain situation should not have lower back surgery for a couple more years. As they want to fuse the L1 and L2 together.

Input would be great. I'm starting to be frustrated after years of this BS.
Click to expand...


I am in the EXACT ...same ...situation! Its horrible and frustrating and as a young person we don't get taken seriously and are immediately pegged as drug seekers... I have tried every alternative solution under the Sun.. unfortunately none worked for me so I am getting surgery within a month..

BUT.... there is a solution that many people find helpful. I forget exactly what its called but its like a TENs unit that they implant on your spine.. you first go through a 2 week trial to see if you like it, and if its successful they will put a permanent one inside. Same day surgery, virtually no healing period. Its actually really cool.. you have a little remote that turns it on and off and that can control the speed and intensity of the vibrations... and I believe it's very low risk and doesn't need much maintenance AKA.. more surgeries...( :p hate them.. lol..) personally, I didn't like it because I don't like the TENS unit, but I have talked to many people who have had it and say that it's life changing! One person I know had it so bad the pain went all the way to her feet.... and now she feels nothing... well, no pain I mean..

There's also something similar that they can then plant on your ear, and what that does is mimic acupuncture. It's temporary however, and a little uncomfortable and kind of looks weird... but I found it helpful..

Also you need to find a new doctor... if this one is perceiving you as a drug seeker then that's not the right doctor for you... there are doctors out there that understand and will treat you accordingly but on the flip side there are other pain management doctors who just don't believe in handing out drugs... are you seeing a chiropractor? He may be able to refer a good pain management doctor for you..

Chronic pain is one of the hardest things to have because all the doctors are so worried about people getting addicted and whatnot... but there's no reason that you should be living in pain that severe... or obtaining them illegally BTW!!!!

I know it seems like a good idea but you can get into a lot.. a lot.. a LOT of trouble... even if its from somebody you know, and you feel confident you won't get caught, if you get randomly pulled over for a traffic stop and they sense something's up with you, search your bag.. and you have with them on you without a prescription you are going to jail... that almost happened to me fortunately I was able to obtain my bottle before they booked me..

Also, seeing that you have a game plan to eventually have surgery and address the issue they should be supporting you until you reach that goal. I understand totally.. it's a tricky situation..

one of the things that really works for me was the fentanyl patch... it's a really strong pain killer (opiate based) but it's not addictive the same way that pills are. You just slap it on your skin somewhere and over the course of three days the medicine goes through your body and knocks the pain out of the park. I've tried many extended release painkillers over the past 4 years, and this one is the best by far... if you have a problem with abusing opiates, (not saying that you do per say, just putting it out there) it comes in a form like a bandaid and there's no way to abuse it. It also has fewer side effects... for me it gave me a little bit of insomnia but it passes... but you have to find that new doctor first... lol... ;)

What about epidurals? Have you tried them yet? I've had like a dozen... they are relatively short term but pretty effective... at least something to hold you over if they're not going to give you opiates, ya know? And thats actually is a pretty pleasant experience. They put you under just a little bit of anesthesia, wheel ya in.. wheel ya out... and when you wake up feels like the best nap ever...(cus it's just quick light anesthesia) and no pain... just do NOT let them convince you not to get the anesthesia... I did that for my first one and had a panic attack... like total meltdown...lol.. not fun...

I really hope you find something that helps you.. this is no way to live, but we have to keep trying!

The only good thing about the sciatic injury is being able to take a wheelchair through the airport and cut all the lines.. hehe...

Be well.. and let me know if you have any other questions... cuz honestly I literally have been through it all I know exactly what you're going through!

I have a really scary and intense surgery coming up.. because of a botched surgery they now have to cut through my gut to get to my spine then flip me over halfway through and fix what the other surgeon fucked up and do even MORE stuff... (I have like 4 or 5 bad disks plus a vertebrae that is shifted a centimeter out of line with the rest.. like, how the fu¢k? ..lol) and so now they're talking fusion, bolts, plates, and I don't even know what else! but I really hope it takes care of this sciatic nonsense!!

Anyway... best of luck! I hope something I said helps, even if it just makes you feel better about yourself that your vertebrae isn't trying to jump ship...haha..
 
My classic trigeminal neuralgia that has been attacking me for almost a year has now gone bilateral. It was an excrutiating stabbing pain in my eye cheek nose and jaw on the left hand side of my face. Now its in my eye and cheek area on the other side. This is too much for me to bear. I have dreaded this outcome. I am sad today because I had so many attacks but can't follow my own advice and hang in there.
 
Karona and Kitty K you sound like two brave people I wish I could be like that. Best wishes to you both. Chronic pain is the worst :(
 
I have seen so many doctors and no one will help me :(

"you're too young for all that medication"

well stfu pain doesn't care. I can't walk today, is that real enough?
 
that's so awful to know that doctors are so fucked that they won't help your pain with legitimate medications unless you're pretty much past thirty. i know too many assholes prescribed heavy scripts like opana and oxy at once and then to see the person blow both scripts up their fucking noses within two days... makes me feel hopeless and sad. i feel like to get tramadol for pain in my neck that leaves me barely able to move certain days takes so much effort, like pulling teeth. for thirty fucking tramadol a mnth. gabapentin helps sometimes, but have you read up on the side effects and long term effects of that shit? the list consists of losing hair, gaining a ton of weight, ''dental problems'' i've read several cases of people's otherwise healthy teeth turning a greyish hue and or falling out, or getting gingivitis from the ever so lovely and harmless gabap. it makes me crazy to know the shit exists, and can and does cause serious issues for people who are seemingly benefitting from it's oddly high number of random uses from stopping manic episodes to stopping pain, to help with social anxiety??? this is all sorts of fucked up. i hate that it helps me because i am terrified every time i take it of getting closer to losing my hair or waking up with grey teeth. GREY TEETH. and of course it gives me munchies worse than any weed i used to smoke, including concentrates and waxes and shit. so nasty. i'd much rather deal with a real painkiller script and the habit and shit that comes with that rather than this mysterious new med that helps everything yet makes no sense on paper and may ruin any dignity you may have left that real fucking pain hasn't already taken from you. i just can't with this shit. and tramadol and the seizures and how it's a narcotic now or whatever? please just stop the madness, i'd rather be immobile and handicapped and a shell of a human being than fuck with these meds. i mean just give me an opiate script and assume i may be responsible with them... for fucks sake.
 
i'm not about to trust a chiro with my skeletal system either, haven't you seen that intervention episode of the chiro who lived in his parent's garage at like 30 and shot up meth and H all day while doing this work of his? thankzbutnothankz
 
lol
get some sleep adrenaline

Besides, I've always had pretty good results with chiro
 
it's a legitimate rant, i think gabapentin's side effects are really fucked... compared to the side effects of percocet or something like that.
 
Wez,

Did u ever look further into ketamine infusions?

I recall a while back u asked if anyone had tried them, think so far I'm the only one who replied. Haven't read the whole thread sorry if I missed something.

Rtp
 
I originally made a thread on its own for this, but found this thread which is perhaps better:

I am not sure if this is the right place to be posting this, I am also not sure what I am looking for out of the thread.

For over 5 years now I have suffered from chronic pain. Most of it is spinal, with at least 3 problem areas including lumbar discs, cervical disc. There is then the associated nerve pain down limbs, my arms go numb when I lay on my back, like you have slept on a dead arm but but I get it just laying down.

Not sure there is really an answer here. I do all of the non-med psych stuff and it does work to a point, but not all the time. I really do feel like I have no choice but to continue coping like I am.
 
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Funny, well not so much.. Sfter yrs of chronic pai I now get this'd symptom too.

Go to sleep & my hands could not possibly grasp a pen or have any feeling! Gosh I find ur so hard ti use mu iphone.

Ill lk for ur thread x

Rtp
 
I have all sorts of nerve stuff (can't call it pain, more like sensations and/or lack of sensation) going on. When lying down in bed my hands and arms frequently get numb. When I get up in the morning I get "pins and needles" in my feet and up my shins for about the first 10 minutes. The arthritis in my hands is making me drop things if I move too fast. Joints stiff and aching some days and other days just fine. Ah, the life of the body.....
 
Herby...I empathize with your pain and discomfort, as with others here who suffer, no matter the cause. I have horrid arthritis in my spine and joints. My hands hurt to the point of tears, especially upon awakening. I also notice my dexterity is waning, and my grip is weaker in both hands. I take Voltaren by mouth for inflammation and sometimes massage the cream into my knuckles. I have to be careful due to potential for ulcers, but have found I have little choice. Opiate trials through PM for close to 2 years have raped and pillaged my "already near-death" GI system.

The pins/needles/numbness as you know, is nerve related. Have you had testing to rule out compression of nerves in your spine? With several herniated discs (cervical and lumbar), annular tears in discs and blood tumors along my spine, I get those sensations quite often. It's almost like a feeling of being "shocked" when I've severed the cord on my trimmers! It'd be a good idea, if you haven't already done so, to get an MRI to make sure your nerve compression is/isn't threatening. Gabapentin has been known to help, but IMO at low doses, rather that the "therapeutic" overkill levels most doctors recommend.

Ah, the painful existence of my body...Can't eat, sleep or shit...What else is there? :X
 
I'm sad to see all these posts of people in pain, though these posts from people are enlightening to spread awareness... I have had fibromyalgia for 3 years, I stretch 3 times daily, I cannot sleep, must get up in the night to stretch, I wake up with a stiff heck and a throbbing headache. My job is more physically demanding than I can handle at times, so I plan to look for another job soon. There's just a lot of running back and forth for customers at my job and lots of lifting and rushing around during Christmas time and I get burnt out halfway through my shift! I use a therapy cane to massage my muscles and relieve some kinks but they always come back. My arms and legs go numb and tingly sometimes with the slightest movement. I lose circulation in my fingers. I get dizzy and blurred vision when the pain is bad. And when my muscles get overworked it takes so long for me to recover, like 2-3 days from one day of working. So I am always feeling so behind in life. I also have ADHD associated with it and I have it severely too. My doctor told me that it is shocking how severe my fibro is for my age, 22. We just started lyrica so I'm crossing my fingers for some results! I am desperate for an answer!!! No one realizes I'm always in pain too and think I use it as an excuse to get out of things. After working 6 hours I go home and I struggle to ever see friends because I'm in pain and freaking exhausted. I need to do more with my life but my body can't handle much right now...
 
I'm not sure this thread is still active, but maybe that's ok. I've got so much pent up inside and just need to spill it somewhere. Here is as good as any...active or not.

Prince is an asshole.

I know, it's not kind, nor is it PC to be upset with addicts. I, myself, have always been chubby. I love to eat. But not even I can stretch this to a point where I can 'relate' with drug addicts. Prince was the straw that broke the camel's back. Now, I'm really, really bitter.

17 years ago, I went to walk outside with my 2 yo son. I stopped in the doorway, feeling incredibly sick. I was so weak. It hit me suddenly; completely out of the blue. Then came the aches and pains, and the feeling of some kind of gnawing of the bones in my legs. Then the pain. Holy God...the pain. They said it was fibromyalgia and put me on tramadol and Elavil. For over ten years, the pain continued to grow. So did the exhaustion. I went to so many clinics. Was dismissed as a drug seeker by many. I was taking up to 20 tramadol a day and out of my mind with pain. Pain in my back (I had fractured a vertebrae at 19 and quickly develops arthritis, spinal stenosis, had 3 back surgeries) pain in my legs and arms. I couldn't wear tight clothes. And the fatigue would see me go to bed on a Friday night and literally not get out until work on Monday.

I struggled for 12 years, trying to get someone to listen. Twelve years. That's what it took to finally get the correct diagnosis of Dercum's Syndrome, along with the worsening of my back. Two weeks ago, they found another bulging disc in my neck. And so the wheels continue to turn.

I am currently on tramadol, fentenyl patch, oxychodone, and ibuprofen for pain. An extended release adderall and 2 additional addrall for the fatigue. Not to mention blood pressure meds. Two years ago, at 46, my conditions cost me my career. I have worked since I was 13 and never less than 2 jobs until my 40s. You would think that the pain would be the worst part of my life. But it's not. It's the treatment, and fallout from addicts and the high profile (no pun intended) drug deaths like Princes, that have made my life hell.

I have signed every every drug contract, passed every drug test, picked my meds up at the right time and have never lost them or had them stolen. I take them as I'm supposed to and, before ever moving up to a stronger dose, I max out the current drug until the efficacy is exhausted. For example, I stretched hydrochodone to 6 years before oxychodone.,.i have to do this because neither Dercum's nor back problems are kind enough to kill you. Dercums simply causes moderate to severe pain from lipomas forming under your skin and grinding on the nerves in your legs and arms (imagine dreading a shower because the fucking WATER hurts) and the back pain is simply an additional misery thrown in to ensure that, on the days the Dercums pain is more managed than average, the back pain can kick in and prevent me from having more than one or two days a month where I can honestly say my pain level is a 3, instead of the normal 5 or 6.

For the record...our technological advancements in the past 50 years are almost unfathomable, but we're still relying on paper with faces ranging from happy to sad to treat pain. How goddamed ridiculous is that??

i didn't share this for sympathy. I wanted to show you a bit of my world in hopes you won't judge me too harshly when I say that I would really like to take the people who are adding yet another hellish layer to my life (and others who suffer from shit they don't deserve) because of goddamed addicts and the Princes of the world. Addicts have no idea what we...the VICTIMS...have to go through to get the meds that never take the pain away...they merely damp them down so I can make it to an occasional baseball game or awards ceremony or birthday party for one of my three boys. None of whom, mind you, has ever known a mother that wasn't sick. But even now, the proverbial noose keeps tightening around our necks as more and more doctors stop prescribing pain meds and the FDA intensifies their witch hunts. So, not only do addicts fuck up their own lives, they're fucking up the lives...or the bits that may resemble a life....of people like me. People who suffer due to no fault of their own. I have never gotten 'high' off my meds. Maybe I'm not predisposed to become mentally addicted to pain meds (although I am physiologically addicted...no one who takes meds for chronic pain can avoid that...I remember going cold turkey off of tramadol 10 years ago...almost ended up with me seriously considering suicide) I realize there are people who ARE predisposed to become addicted easily. I'm no different...25 years ago, I tried cocaine and loved it. Loved it more than I could put into words. So, I never did it again because I knew I'd be lost. So that's another reason I despise addicts. You can stop. You have a choice. I don't. Now you might see where you piss me off.

Again...I realize I'm just a mean person who has no empathy for people who just like getting high and don't want to stop. You're right. I AM feeling quite angry, resentful and unsympathetic. Because it is these people who are so fucking self-absorbed with getting their high that they couldn't care less about people who suffer from illness such as cancer, leukemia, Dercums, and many other illnesses where the only treatment available is managing the pain (and notice I say 'manage'. If you're in chronic pain, the goal is to manage...never get rid of pain. Do that and you'll be snuggled up beside Price before too long) That's ALL we have. And we-along with our families-get precious little quality time together. I have missed so much of my kids lives, not to mention my own,,,adding further, unnecessary complications to getting my meds is just fucked up evil and I despise you for it.

I'm glad there is a place where I can vent. I realize I am not going to win any popularity contests, but addicts need to get their heads out of their asses and understand that your boredom and dissatisfaction with life (that you could change, but don't want to because it's too hard) or those who weren't hugged enough by mommy and daddy, isn't an excuse to sit on your ass and get high. You do it because you're lazy. And you think YOUR pain is the only pain that matters. You are selfish and self-absorbed. And while you may be thinking the same about me, you need to remember that I am the one who is doing the right thing and holding up my end of the bargain. My way allows me to get treatment, while setting a positive example with doctors so that they will be available and willing to help for others who suffer. Last but not least, I have chronic, severe pain. Your way closes off avenues for others and causes so many go suffer because you want to subvert the system and get fucked up. So, if I'm self-absorbed, it doesn't affect anything. Yours affects everything. So stop being assholes and simply stop. Take up vaping, pot, exercise, religion or what ever it takes to stop all of this insanity. Whatever it takes for you to stop causing innocent people, who are victimized by diseases and illness, considerably more hell than they're already dealing with.

And if if you don't, just know that Prince....and YOU...will always be complete assholes. Neither of you deserve the lives-lives not spent struggling with physical pain and the anguish from missing out on the lives of our children and families-you were given.
 
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