Long Post, Sorry
Question:
I was venting to my sister this morning, and I told her how my pain tolerance has increased greatly, and that if I gave her all my pain at once on really horrible days (I’m at a 9.5 today, needless to say I didn’t take my tests this morning, will post on that when I feel better) it would probably kill her. She agreed. I don’t know if she understood half of what I was saying between the tears and hiccups, but she sat there and listened for an hour and a half. Boy, did I need that. I had shoulder surgery to sew my bicep ligaments back together in March of 2000. I took vicodin for a week, but the side effects were horrendous. I was nauseous, had flu-like symptoms, and it knocked me flat on my toosh. When I take vicodin now, I take 2 and it barely takes the edge off, and I experience no side effects. With my surgery I would struggle to stay awake, now I can drive and it doesn’t impair me at all. AshleyC. — Ashley C. www.ashleycanterbury.com www.livejournal.com/~ashleyc_medical
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> pain medications than to deny them from the patient. I found a great > resourse on chronic pain & various meds used at: > http://www.theacpa.org/resources/ACPAdrugsupplement2002.pdf > I found a number of stronger antidepressants work better with chronic > pain. > Ashley, > Thank you so much for posting that link. I plan to print it out for my > husband, as he sometimes makes comments about how much pain medication I > take during certain bad days/weeks. As someone who has a serious kidney > disease with only about 30% kidney function left, I can’t take NSAIDS or > Celebrex, etc. Tylenol is a definite no-no. So, sometimes the safest thing > to take is opioids. When I broke my leg in 7 places in September during my > motorcycle wreck, the orthopedic doc questioned why I was still taking > oxycodone. He told my husband (who is a big bodybuilder), "if you were to > take one of these, it would probably knock you on your butt". They don’t > even make me sleepy, but sure do make the pain manageable. I’ve been doing > better lately. Only had to take them one day out of the past 10 days. > Thanks again for the link > Mag
Response:
You go girl. Prayers for finding the path that gets you to contolled arthritis and good pain control. M
Response:
> Good for you Ashley, There is no reason other than indifference to > the real pain everyone here suffers. An RD who really thinks tylenol > is suffeciant for pain relief is seriously out of touch. Go get em.
That’s exactly why I dropped the old bitch who screamed, "I KNOW WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU!" when I gave her a list of new drugs I had read about right here in ASA. Changed medical groups within the same HMO and found a D.O. for my PCP. She instantly referred me to an RD who is tops in San Diego.
Response:
> pain medications than to deny them from the patient. I found a great > resourse on chronic pain & various meds used at: > http://www.theacpa.org/resources/ACPAdrugsupplement2002.pdf > I found a number of stronger antidepressants work better with chronic
pain. Ashley, Thank you so much for posting that link. I plan to print it out for my husband, as he sometimes makes comments about how much pain medication I take during certain bad days/weeks. As someone who has a serious kidney disease with only about 30% kidney function left, I can’t take NSAIDS or Celebrex, etc. Tylenol is a definite no-no. So, sometimes the safest thing to take is opioids. When I broke my leg in 7 places in September during my motorcycle wreck, the orthopedic doc questioned why I was still taking oxycodone. He told my husband (who is a big bodybuilder), "if you were to take one of these, it would probably knock you on your butt". They don’t even make me sleepy, but sure do make the pain manageable. I’ve been doing better lately. Only had to take them one day out of the past 10 days. Thanks again for the link Mag
Response:
You go girl!! Duckie – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > *sigh* > Yes, I’m still awake, but it has been an informative night/morning. I’ve > found a lot of information to combat my PCP & RD with, although I wish it > didn’t come to this, and I wish I could see another doctor without having to > change my medical group. If it does come down to that, I am going to find a > PCP at USC or UCLA, and a medical group that has a variety of RD’s, and one > that LadyAndy, or any other LA people recommend. > I’m putting together a concise document that has about 4 different credible > resources that describe how patients with chronic pain benefit more from > pain medications than to deny them from the patient. I found a great > resourse on chronic pain & various meds used at: > http://www.theacpa.org/resources/ACPAdrugsupplement2002.pdf > I found a number of stronger antidepressants work better with chronic pain. > They are more sedative as well. (Anything that makes me sleepy as a side > effect is a major plus right now.) > When I get through with my doctors, they won’t know what hit them.. I’ll do > it in a respectful, but assertive manner. They need to understand that I > educated in medicine far beyond the average patient. I am willing to risk > "addiction" in order for pain relief. I’m getting desperate to stop the > pain, and I need to be taken seriously. I’m not sleeping either which is > further compromising my medical condition. I feel helpless, because the > doctors who are supposed to help me won’t do anything. I’ve also found some > sources that show how the newer sleep aids aren’t as addicting as the older > ones. I’ve also included a list of medicines that have worked for me in the > past. Maybe if they don’t like a specific drug, they will prescribe me one > from the same family. When I was having severe migraines, an ER doc wrote me > a script that had barbituates in it… that worked excellent and knocked me > out too. My migraines were at a 10+…. I could not move. > I’ve never been more desperate to have some relief. I have my test in a few > hours, but that seems like an eternity. I just need to get through the next > 10 minutes. When I go to whichever doctor I have an appt with first, I’m > taking my mother. I need someone to corroborate my plea for help.. my Mom > has seen how slow I walk when in pain, she’s seen me physically not be able > to get out of bed. She has seen me almost pass out from pain. I’m so > desperate, I’m willing to add MTX to my treatment, but only if it’s > injectible. Oral MTX made me too sick. > I just want to be normal… to go to school, parties, dates… and not have > to leave early because of pain or fatigue. And I don’t want an evening out > to take a week to recover. > Thanks for letting me vent… and I’ll post what I’m writing for my docs > when I finish, right now it’s sticky notes. > AshleyC. > — > Ashley C. > www.ashleycanterbury.com > www.livejournal.com/~ashleyc_medical
– _(‘> (_<_) _ _(‘< -quack (_<_) _ __(‘< *QUACK!* <_{__) _(‘< "|,,|_" (_<_) _(‘< "AFLAC!" (_<_)
Response:
Ashley, it sounds like you’ve put together an excellent plan to be more assertive about this with your doctors. It’s a shame your docs are forcing you to do this just to get some relief and rest, but you’ve got a good plan for doing it. I think you’ll be a huge asset to the gimp posse the next time we have to ride! — Nann remove the Gator cheer to email me I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells. – Dr Suess
Response:
I’m glad you are taking a assertive approach with your doctors. One thing that helped my GP understand my point of view was when I told him there was a difference with physical dependence on a narcotic and psychological dependence. I told him I had plenty of opportunities (I was 38 at the time) to become an addict to alcohol or any of the recreational drugs that were around in my college days and it just wasn’t a part of my personality. And I told him that I accepted the fact that my body might become physically dependent on a narcotic that was used properly to treat pain. It did help him understand better but I eventually ended up getting my pain management from my RD who is much more in tune with the "Less Pain" theory. Good luck on your test and on your approach to your doctor! — Cyberhugs, DianeW It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. –Antoine de Saint Exup
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