Harm Reduction The Pain Management Mega Thread - for all your questions on dealing with chronic pain

[Cane2theLeft]

What about going to the ER when it gets unbearable (minus the walking in front of the car)?

 

[Jabberwocky]

Because some doctors just happen to like seeing your suffering and usually suffering in the eyes of some doctors = payroll. Why would they give you medication and not have you come back every month , or every 2 weeks or even everyweek and lose out on all that money that they need for their brand new mercedes , or their houses or even their own substance abuse problems.

thats the LT i know unfortunately it's true 90% of the time, they want repeat customers as often as possible.

a lot of dr's are bulk billing here in australia, so the more patients they get in the more $ they get. plus pain meds cant be handed out like other meds and their are those criteria's every patient has to meet in order to get the support needed. it sucks but it is fair. i used to be angry a lot because i wasn't getting the help i needed but after finding a good doctor and going through the hoops needed, im a happy patient now. except when i sell myself short...

 

[Jabberwocky]

What about going to the ER when it gets unbearable (minus the walking in front of the car)?

it's worth the wait sometimes, the ER, not walking in front of a car. though generally you're quickly assessed and given a few codeine tabs at the most and maybe a small script of benzos.

when my tramadol dose stopped holding me i went to the ER and saw a very understanding doctor who assessed me and put my dose up and wrote a letter to my doctor explaining that i really did need it and everthing went sweet in my case.

 

[nguboi]

Heyo everyone. I have posted in this a few times, and would just like a general consensus on what I might need to try next about my chronic pain.

Im in my early 20s and have had a buldging and herniated L4-L5 L5-S1 that recently partially ruptured and has been causing me pain for 7 years now.

I finally talked to a pretty good Doctor who tries to help me, but sometimes I just feel like she just doesn't want to help me sometimes? I don't know, its really strange, she has been a family doc of ours for a long time, and is knowelable about my conditions, and she thankfully prescribed 30 7.5 hydrocodone for my back.

My back always hurts. Pain meds help very little. I finally decided to go to Pain Management, and I have ranted MANY a times before about the absolute shityness in which they treated me. I got NO meds from them, and had 3 selective lumbar nerve blocks done to me, and thats it.

So now I am where I am. I don't ever want to go back to that pain clinic, as they NEVER followed up or even remotely tried helping me, I supplied clean UA's and they always treated me like shit.

I feel hesistant to go back to my doctor, as usually I call in my prescription for the hydro every month, but it really is not sufficent. It helps, say it brings my pain from a 8 to a 5, but I still hurt. Still have trouble sleeping, makes me depressed, everything.

What do I do now? I don't want surgery yet, I am way to active, and I don't let the pain get in my way of what I want to do on a certain day. So if I want to play tennis, fuck it, Im going to and just deal with the pain it will bring, because I can't waste my life sitting here doing nothing my whole life.

They all said only 3 nerve blocks a year, but now what? Should I just try to find another pain clinic? Maybe I should have a very serious talk with my doctor, as my insurance company recently contacted me I agreed to join their Disease Management Plan where they get follow ups on my issues and try to help me the best I can, and tell my doctor how I feel etc so we can discuss it.

I am scared of mentioning maybe more meds to my doctor, I just get nervous about that stuff, ever since I messed up my back doctors have treated me so, well, not sufficiently. No doctor should have any reason to suspect me of anything, I don't do illegal drugs, Im in good shape, ex-college athlete, working on getting my RN. I guess I should just suck it up and complain. Living every day in pain, arggggh@#$&(*@&GYF

 

[Jabberwocky]

^have you had MRI'S and x-rays, etc to back all this up? maybe it's time to see a new doctor or bew PM Clinic if possible. it's a tricky road getting the treatment you need for a lot, myself included.

i suggest being honest with your doc about the pain and what it's resulting in (im not saying youre not being honest at the moment). but seeing how theyve been a family dr for years, im sure you've built a good relationship with them. maybe theyre just one of the doctors who don't like to prescribe opiates. dont be nervous, be straight, tell them you feel like you could do with a small bump in the dosage. in most cases theyll monitor you pretty tightly to make sure youre not abusing it, so dont go abusing it (hypocritical of me, i know)

best of luck!

 

[2muchpain]

What about going to the ER when it gets unbearable (minus the walking in front of the car)?

yeah looks like i may have to. i think i'm going to tell the doc that i'm going to have to have stronger meds somehow and dont want to end up having to go to the er and how i would rather walk in front of a car than bear the pain and maybe she will realize how serious this is.

it's worth the wait sometimes, the ER, not walking in front of a car. though generally you're quickly assessed and given a few codeine tabs at the most and maybe a small script of benzos.

when my tramadol dose stopped holding me i went to the ER and saw a very understanding doctor who assessed me and put my dose up and wrote a letter to my doctor explaining that i really did need it and everthing went sweet in my case.

they only do that if they think you need opiates to stop wds usually. as my pain problems are all on record accessible at the hopital through computer files they will know i'm waiting to see a specialist. And where i'm going they only send you in severe cases rather than just your local clinic. So they will give me something for the pain. i think the out of hours doctor is a better option and i've had to go a few times after my operation and they have been happy to give me morphine in the past but that was for post operative pain. i don't want to have to do this though if i can help it as either way i'd only get a two day suppply tthen would have to go to the doc anyway so really i need to speak to my doctor again. i hate it though as she always tries to make me feel bad for having to go back again and take up her time. and she makes me feel like a fuck up and a failure for the medication not being enough.

 

[Jabberwocky]

just try not to let it get to you darl i know it's hard sometimes, but you're there for a legitimate reason and you have no reason to feel bad at all. you're definitely not a fuck up or failure so don't think like that

do you have any idea on how long you'll be waiting for the specialist appointment?

 

[2muchpain]

just try not to let it get to you darl i know it's hard sometimes, but you're there for a legitimate reason and you have no reason to feel bad at all. you're definitely not a fuck up or failure so don't think like that

do you have any idea on how long you'll be waiting for the specialist appointment?

the letter hasn't even come in the post yet but i reckon i's going to be about three weeks to five weeks. i'm going to callmy doctor again tommorrow and if she wont help me i'm going to go to the ER. they have records of me having had pain since 13 years old (now 31) on file so really i should be getting this shit. she told me she KNOWS i'm not just drug seeking and i've tried everything else they've given me without comlaint but i need stronger drugs now and even they told me i need them they just wont give me them

 

[Jabberwocky]

it seems as if she one of those doctors who's reluctant to prescribe opiates/oids to patients because they don't want to be hassled by the FDA or whatever it is (i cant remember the governing body for doctors).

at least its only a couple of weeks. on the public health scheme here in australia it can take up to a couple of years to see the doctor. though it's pretty much instand with private insurance. though im not financial enough to afford private cover unfortunately

 

[2muchpain]

it seems as if she one of those doctors who's reluctant to prescribe opiates/oids to patients because they don't want to be hassled by the FDA or whatever it is (i cant remember the governing body for doctors).

at least its only a couple of weeks. on the public health scheme here in australia it can take up to a couple of years to see the doctor. though it's pretty much instand with private insurance. though im not financial enough to afford private cover unfortunately

i'm going to need something better before then or i'm going to go crazy or end up hurting myself. i've been shaking from the pain today. horrible.

 

[Jabberwocky]

does OTC codeine aid you at all?

 

[2muchpain]

^its one of these ones that i'm really sensitive to in the way that it gets me really high but wont take away hardly any pain. luckily i now have a LOT of dihyrocodeine. the doctor prescribed me 90mg four times a day as i told you. and two of my friends, who dont know each other but both know my current situation, are both currently on the same thing and have both helped me out with some extras. i'm wondering if plugging them would help. i have done it with dhc before and it felt great but would it increase the analgesia or just mean i dont need as many at once (what i mean is will it take away pain in a different way?)

 

[Jabberwocky]

i would assume so. i've never used dhc but im pretty sure it would be effective by plugging it. maybe have a search around to see if other people have done it. i dont normally get high from codeine but it does give me some analgesic effects, though nothing significant. are you still on the lyrica?

 

[2muchpain]

i would assume so. i've never used dhc but im pretty sure it would be effective by plugging it. maybe have a search around to see if other people have done it. i dont normally get high from codeine but it does give me some analgesic effects, though nothing significant. are you still on the lyrica?

dhc is different from codeine its not just codeinex2 it works differently i think. i find it very effective for pain til you need more than a certain amount then taking more doesnt really help. i know you can plug it not like codeine which needs to go in the stomach as far as i know so i'm going to see if it takes away the pain better

 

[Rexeh]

Can someone answer my question? Pretty please with a cherry on top.

Off-topic (kinda):

Clear your PM inbox mate.

Peace o/

 

[Artificial Emotion]

^ Cleared.

 

[Eagleman]

Fentanyl gellies, Dilaudids and Vyvanse are required to get me out of bed everyday.

 

[Cane2theLeft]

^where did that come from? Was it in response to something?

I am sorry you require that, I feel your pain. It really sucks to need drugs to function. It frustrates the shit out of me when people call me lucky or something for being prescribed these drugs. I'd much rather not need them and what I am prescribed is insufficient anyway.

 

[Medic11]

I feel you brother- I'm back on pain management again after 2 more epidurals and a hip injection...it's never enough to control the pain and despite taking ashwaganda, shilajit, bacopa, melatonin, passionflower, green tea extract and whatever NMDA antagonist I can find my tolerance seems to outstrip my interventions....

waiting for surgery next month and then another surgery after that....fuck me.

worst part is I can't work as a medic anymore. that right there is the roman spear in the flank...man dangling while they look up my loincloth and laugh...

nothing to do but take it for what it is I guess....lucky? ha!

 

[alicat72]

hey everyone...

just an update. i am done with my epidural injections (for now)....they workd while i was getting them and for about a week after the last one, but now i am back to the same pain level again. the methadone doesn't seem to help anymore than the tramadol. i actually take tramadol for breakthough pain and it seems to help a bit more. doesn't make a whole lot of sense. i finally got my doc to script phenergan and that helps the nausea.

went to my primary care doctor and she seemed a bit pissed that they had me on the methadone. i would like to get off of all the meds i take and see if i feel better. i almost think they are making the pain worse! does that happen sometimes?

and i also started getting these huge bruises for no reason. i have not fallen or bump into anything....so, here we go with a ton of blood work...maybe we'll figure something out...