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Horace
Journeyman
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 81
Loc: Earth
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Hello,
New to the board. Found what's been written to be illuminating. Though, I've got to stop reading and get back to work before I really get sucked into 5+ hours on net!
I came to this board because recently, I've had pain in legs and lumbar for 3 months. It's gotten worse. I have great insurance, thank god. A top-of-the-line PPO.
Went to my old doc who had previously performed surgery on me (my only surgery), as I thought the pain could be related. He said see another specialist for this particular ailment. But the next day I called my old doc and asked him for enough pain killers for a few days until I saw a this specialist. His secretary rx'd for 40 hyrdocodone 7.5/750's.
I go to this new specialist - in more pain, and the guy frowns on the fact that I was prescribed these hyrdo's. He gives me Skelaxin and Motrin 600's. But his tests were useful and I've just gotten an MRI and started PT.
But, in the meantime I'd run out of Hydro's - and couldn't get a hold of this f*cking doc. So my old doc was cool enough to call in on a week-end evening, 30 hyrdo 5/500's.
I didn't want to have my old doc do it, because I figure he's not the primary guy here, and didn't want to get him in trouble with the DEA or some such sh*t but he said it was no problem.
Anyway, so I came to this board because I wanted to order pain meds to have in case something bad happened again. I ordered darvocet and codesic from pharm88. I know it's not strong, but I wanted to be prepared with something in case the d*mn pain flared up again.
At this point, I can't wash dishes, cook or stand in one place for very long. Can't sleep for very long. Have to lie on a hardwood floor. It's puts a f*cking strain on my relationship with my girlfriend, to say the least.
Anyway, I go back tomorrow to th specialist who wouldn't rx narcotics (I've been through 10 NSAID or other types of things with _no results_ and the f*cking meds are expensive even with my insurance), so.
I guess I am just going to ask him this:
1. You seem to not be addressing or taking seriously my complaints about pain. If you feel "uncomfortable" about rx'ing strong pain-killers or believe that my condition as I've described it doesn't warrant them, then please let me know, because I need to find a doctor who can treat the pain.
2. Do you think I am just here to seek out rx's for recreational use? Because if so, it's certainly cheaper, considering my deductibles, and most importantly _time_ to not have to have been to several specialists, gone through all these tests, waited in waiting rooms, begun PT, and hustled around to the RX every other day to try a new NSAID. If I really wanted something for recreational purposes, I'd go to a dealer where I could get what I wanted for a price that would actually be less money considering the time spent dealing with insurance, the doctors visits, and my lost work time.
The whole ordeal is frustrating. I certainly don't want to be addicted to pain killers and treat the thing seriously. But at the same time, I think it POSTIVELY BARBARIC THAT A DOC COULD BE SO INSENSITIVE TO PATIENTS' PAIN IN THIS DAY AND AGE. I don't want to live my life on pain-pills (and I feel for those who have to -- some of the stories on these boards are depressing) but neither do I want to sleep for 3 hours a night and have to endure this pain.
What I am hoping is that I could have pain relief, while my problem gets sorted out.
I am hoping to calmly and rationally and unemotionally lay out my position to him and see what he says.
Let me mention one other thing that sucks, from what I've gathered on these boards.
People pay a lot of money to use OP's. I mean people who are taking a lot of hyrdo, etc. My insurance for narcotics is about $5 for a bottle. People who don't have good insurance end up paying all sorts of money at OP's. And the working class is totally f*cked. I am a highly educated professional (don't hold that against me!), articulate and well-spoken, so I am usually, it seems, treated with respect by docs. (not that not rx'ing meds is necessarily disrespectful), but I am just wondering what the motivatioin for not rx'ing narcotics is?
I don't want to have to pretend that I don't know what pain-killers are, or that various NSAID's don't work for me. But maybe that's how you to play the game with some docs.
Sorry, I seem to be rambling.
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potatoboy99
Permanent Fixture
Reged: 02/04/03
Posts: 1317
Loc: Deep North (East)
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Quote:
What I am hoping is that I could have pain relief, while my problem gets sorted out.
Ditto that. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
I think I am vaguely an optimist at heart. I do see a future without the necessity of narcotic analgesics, I do hope my insurance gets re-instated and I can get my (second) hernia operation, and that the orthroscopic surgery on my elbow won't reveal necrosis as the doc suspects, and that the fog of fatigue will finally lift etc. I actually think all of this, or most of it, or anyway some of it, is likely to come to pass. But right now this is where I am because this is what I need to function productively.
A couple of Norco and a pot of black coffee in the morning, "while my problems get sorted out".
Enjoyed your rambling, Horace. Welcome to the freeboards!
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Tred
Enthusiast
Reged: 10/18/03
Posts: 266
Loc: USA
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You hit the nail on the head, when it comes to dealing with doctors and pain. That's why 90% of us are here on this board. Welcome by the way and sorry to hear about your experience with the doc and the pain!. Anyway, it's a sad day in this age, but it's true.... doctors won't prescribe pain killers unless your bleeding out your ears.. It's very rare to find someone (doctor) that will continue with opiate type meds for pain. They will RX a few, like in your case, and then start laying out the other crappy ones in about a week. They have a few reasons for doing this...
1. They don't want to see you get dependent on the meds and they have good reasons behind this, but....they also tend to not even give them a try.
2. They are scared to have their license reviewed for giving narcotics to unqualified people. (even if they are qualified)
3. They are mean and don't want to deal with it.
The best thing to do is act dumb and say the prescription you last had seemed to help the most with the pain. If you haven't already talked specifically about hydrocodone, then you may have a chance to get it again. You never know how a doctor will react if a patient seems to know to much. It's actually really lame if you ask me.. Just because I'm educated in certain medication, doesn't mean I'm a drug seeker or addict. They also (doctors) can write nasty things in your medical records for just asking about narcotic pain relievers.. Like I said, it's a very sad thing when a person can't get the medication they need to get them through a tough time. So.. all in all, it's really up to you and how much patients you have with the doctor. He will probably try a million more different types of medication before he listens to your side. Anyway, good luck and now you know why most of us are here...
By the way... the same thing happened to me and I even had lab tests, reports, x-rays, ultra-sounds, otc meds, and array of crappy usless meds, before I said enough was enough and I will do things on my own.. Yes the legalities of OP's scare me, because I'm a regular person that doesn't hurt anyone and only wants to live life a bit better... Sue me!!.. hehe.
Take care,
Tred
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Entertainment Specialist!
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Vicaroo
Newbie
Reged: 08/27/03
Posts: 44
Loc: Where the heart is...
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Horace,
I felt the emotion in your post and know that everyone here reading it knows empirically about which you speak. I too have been given every bogus new non-narcotic Best if kept off the board pill that the pharma-companies come up with and nothing cuts to the chase like hydro. With it, I take less medication (which is good for my liver - and my wallet)and I feel BETTER. I function at work at normal levels - hell, I even just got a promotion last week! I'm not walking around in a narcotic haze, I'm pain free; a productive member of society not chewing the heads off of those around me because I'm in abject agony.  (I don't know about you, but I get CRANKY when I hurt!) It seems to me that we are forced by the paranoia of our PCP's to take this route. I, for one, thank God that I found OPs and this board. My life has improved immeasurably.
Best wishes to you Horace. You are among friends.
~ Vic
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"In heaven all the interesting people are missing."
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
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potatoboy99
Permanent Fixture
Reged: 02/04/03
Posts: 1317
Loc: Deep North (East)
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Quote:
I'm not walking around in a narcotic haze, I'm pain free; a productive member of society........ I, for one, thank God that I found OPs and this board. My life has improved immeasurably....
Well put, Vicaroo. My sentiments exactly!
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lovepink_new
Goddess
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 47
Loc: NYC Metro Area
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Quote:
I am a highly educated professional (don't hold that against me!), articulate and well-spoken, so I am usually, it seems, treated with respect by docs. (not that not rx'ing meds is necessarily disrespectful), but I am just wondering what the motivatioin for not rx'ing narcotics is?
Welcome Horace!
Believe me - being an educated, articulate, & well-spoken individual will not help swing the pendulum toward one's physician ultimately prescribing narcotic painkillers. If it did, a great many DB'ers would not be here.
As you read through personal experiences on this board, you'll probably be surprised to find that the vast majority of doctors feel threatened by patients who are educated about their medical conditions & the narcotic medications that work for those conditions.
As much as it has pained me to swallow my pride & "dumb-down", I've had to do just that in order to finally be prescribed the Schedule II meds in the quantities that I require.
If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.
Lovepink
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soulsister
Journeyman
Reged: 03/14/03
Posts: 95
Loc: Bama
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Besides getting into the OP world, you might want to try going to a pain clinic/pain managment doctor. I went after being RXed 12 Hydros a week with no refills...I mean I had to call my Ortho once a week just to get the 7.5's and only 12 at a time. He ended up sending me to a pain doctor, he couldn't have done me a better favor! My pain doc RXed me Oxys...right off the bat too! Not all are like that, I am sure...and most will treat you in other ways, with PT and sometimes injections too...I get both.
I have Degenerative Disc Disease, Arthritis, Sciatica, Coccyxdynia(tail bone pain) and a host of other ailments all documented with MRIs and Xrays and such. I too am a professional and have great insurance. Even with the Oxy though, I still have pain that is untreated and that is why I am here.
Good luck and WELCOME!!!
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PEACE - soulsister
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shelley077
Newbie
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 37
Loc: Indiana
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Welcome from myself also. Your situation is exactly as mine was a little over a year ago, when I found these boards. With all the increasing lawsuits, street sale of pain meds, they have their motives, and it totally SUCKS!
Actually, A Dr. in my medical group actually got reprimanded, investigated a few years back for overly prescribing them, and ever since, every doctor in that group has quit prescribing them. I got sick of begging, for what I knew I was justified for having, for a script of 10 lousy low dose darvo's or hydro's. Also, the attitude of the Dr.'s nurses, that would give me everything but, making me feel like a junky.
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lemongrass
Board Addict
Reged: 09/23/03
Posts: 363
Loc: IL
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Welcome!
Wow! You spoke (wrote) eloquently. A man after my own heart.
Good luck in your quest to find the help you need with you pain management. It's a battle in and of itself.
Have a pain-free day!
lemongrass
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pescado1
Journeyman
Reged: 07/22/03
Posts: 86
Loc: The Southwest
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Whatever you do I would suggest not saying a word to your doctor about going to see a dealer. I know you are just trying to prove a point but there is no better way to be labled a drugseeker right off the bat than to mention the fact that you even know drug dealers exist. Doctors do not take kindly to patients who are looking for narcotics and then mention visiting a drug dealer. On everything else I think that noone could have said it better  .
Pescado
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"One man gathers what another man spills"
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Horace
Journeyman
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 81
Loc: Earth
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First,
My most sincere thanks to all who've responded. Please allow me to give you an update.
With my MRI tests, and what not, I visited my doc.
He said that I seem to have a low threshold for pain. Prescribed more Skelaxin (wch actually seems to be helping) and some Bextra for the morning.
So far so good.
I also wanted more vidodin. I asked him a) Do you believe me and are you taking my claims to be experiencing pain seriuosly? He said yes. I replied b) do you think I am some sort of drug addict, seeking meds? He said no. c) I replied, that I'd tried 10 diff. NSAID's with another doc and I listed them. He said he'd give me vicodin if I wanted it but he didn't think would help with treating the condition but it would help with the pain. d) I replied that I would take his advice, but that I needed pain relief (I was on the verge of tears from pain). He wrote a script for what I wanted.
So it turned out okay -- I made mention that I needed to know if he thought I was a drug seeker -- that I couldn't deal with the pain. He understood.
He said his only concern was that, after taking narcotics, I might not "listen" to my symptonns, and that I might engage in activity, under influence of narcotics that "felt" okay at the time, but that excerbated problem in the long-run.
I told him I'd be careful.
So, a heartfelt thank you to all those who were supportie and understanding on this board. YOu really helped me. I was at the end of the rope. I've never done illegal drugs (with the exception of college 15 years ago - and then not much) but I was ready to try heroin of all things (my god! sounds soooo stupid now). - but I needed pain relief.
I suppose I'll hold on to the narcotics I have coming in the mail from Pharm88 for emergencies.
I just feel like a real wimp -- but I guess I couldn't handle the pain anymore. Now the vicodin helps with the legs (the doc called it "referential pain" that was coming from lumbar area of back.
I am just so glad that I had the opportunity to post on this board and find out there were others like me. I really mean it. Thank god, my problem (accd'ing to the doc) isn't going to be one of those things that affects me for the rest of my life.
My legs were hurting so much when I'd sleep that my girlfriend was getting upset and it was affect out relationship.
I now know what it means when a chronic pain sufferer mentions that all this pain take s atoll on the whole family.
My heart goes out to you who have to live with this all the time.
I thought, for some crazy moment (but then crazy is the operative word when you are almost in tears for three days from pain and some a**hole tells you to take Motrin -- that you'd have to end up drinking booze and popping Oxycontin just to deal).
Once again, thanks. Pains not over, but a few vicodin have made a huge difference.
More postings later.
Be well,
Horace
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