Pain Meds needed

[jrnyc]

yes, i know...it would be like a whole new world, not needing pain meds!
it is amazing to me that it takes 100mg to get relief!
for now i just stay on my hydrocodone, and take the oxy on "bad" days...
i'm glad you found something that helps to some degree...
i wonder if anything really takes all the pain away...

jess

[mbeckoff]

well, the oxcodone and the oxcocotin did. I cannot get any from any doctor. Glad that you are able to get what you need

Melissa

[Lilysaidwhat]

oxycoDONE is short-term pain relief. It lasts about 3 hrs. OxyconTIN is long-term and lasts about 12 hrs. I take contin every 12 hrs and codone every 3-4, valium for spasms, and tramadol or tylenol to fill in for breakthrough pain so i can get off the codone faster.

Unless you have a history of addiction, I would really push to get the oxycontin with codone for breakthrough and if rejected, ask for a specific reason why. Be your own advocate and remember that the doctor is working for YOU.

[mgs]

Ummmm. . .the docs are not "working for you", they are (most of them) trying to provide quality care that is within the scope of their specialty (says this wife of an MD and mother of an MD). They are not the waitstaff, even if someone likes to think they are. (I must be having an estrogen surge today.) Regarding pain management, different physicians have different approaches, which is well within their rights as practitioners. (Thanks to the "SUE HIM/HER!" mentality, many physicians now operate on the premise that "I can't get in trouble for pain meds I don't write for, I can only get in trouble for the pain meds I do write for", hence. . .) So, I could not obtain my pain meds from my surgeon (who, though it may be inconvenient for me, is within his rights to limit his writing for narcs to just a few weeks after surgery). How he chooses to practice medicine is his choice, not mine. I might have the opinion that he should handle this differently, but see how far that takes me. I might as well expect to "tell" the IRS that they should go to a flat tax, and expect them to do it because "they work for me".. .

I have seen pain management, post surgery, be a "hot button" issue in the MD world. Surgeons usually feel that their job is SURGERY. Read through many a thread in this forum: many of us have had the experience that our primary physicians pick up (out of kindness to us) where our surgeons chose to leave off. Pain mgmt is one of several issues that has caused a rift between primary care and surgeons (and other specialists). Don't think for a second that the internists and Family Practice guys haven't noted that the surgeons have just made a nice chunk of $, and they (answering our phone calls, and writing our scripts) made [relatively] little or zilch $ for their time and risk.

[Lilysaidwhat]

Ummmm. . .the docs are not "working for you", they are (most of them) trying to provide quality care that is within the scope of their specialty (says this wife of an MD and mother of an MD). They are not the waitstaff, even if someone likes to think they are. (I must be having an estrogen surge today.) Regarding pain management, different physicians have different approaches, which is well within their rights as practitioners. (Thanks to the "SUE HIM/HER!" mentality, many physicians now operate on the premise that "I can't get in trouble for pain meds I don't write for, I can only get in trouble for the pain meds I do write for", hence. . .) So, I could not obtain my pain meds from my surgeon (who, though it may be inconvenient for me, is within his rights to limit his writing for narcs to just a few weeks after surgery). How he chooses to practice medicine is his choice, not mine. I might have the opinion that he should handle this differently, but see how far that takes me. I might as well expect to "tell" the IRS that they should go to a flat tax, and expect them to do it because "they work for me".. .

I have seen pain management, post surgery, be a "hot button" issue in the MD world. Surgeons usually feel that their job is SURGERY. Read through many a thread in this forum: many of us have had the experience that our primary physicians pick up (out of kindness to us) where our surgeons chose to leave off. Pain mgmt is one of several issues that has caused a rift between primary care and surgeons (and other specialists). Don't think for a second that the internists and Family Practice guys haven't noted that the surgeons have just made a nice chunk of $, and they (answering our phone calls, and writing our scripts) made [relatively] little or zilch $ for their time and risk.

I'm going to assume positive intent and that your tone is coming off differently than you anticipate. I too am a med spouse - year 12 of what's become a 14 yr program - and the reality is that they ARE working for the patient. You are paying for their expertise. At no point did I say to tell them HOW to do their jobs, but if I were still having pain management issues you can bet your bippy I'd like to know exactly WHY that was the case.

What I was trying to say is that a lot of people tend to be intimidated by their docs, and are afraid - or don't know how - to advocate for themselves. Docs are humans and far from mind readers. They can't help if you don't communicate clearly with them, and that is the biggest part of advocating. THAT was my point. Believe me, we've lost plenty a dinner to treatment of the Worried Well and Dr Google. It's critical though that her doc understand what is happening from a pain perspective. *That* was my point and I don't know if that is happening since apparently her only interaction is with a front-staff nurse who may or may not be conveying info to the doc.

I wasn't trying to get into a pissing match here. I was trying to help.

*steps off soapbox*

[mgs]

Of course, positive intent. We can agree to disagree about the semantics of the doctor working for the patient. . .I do not consider Dr. Tribus as someone who works for me.

14 years?!?!?!?!! What specialty is your husband going into? My daughter's program is "only" 9 years, at the end of which she'll be a transplant surgeon (5 years clinical surgery residency, 2 years research and 2 years fellowship).

Anyway. . .hugs. I am so happy that you are doing well.

[jrnyc]

hah! working for you...hah! not even close!

any "intimidation" factor will quickly disappear for any patient who has an illness not easily diagnosed...many doctors just plain bail....many seem to want the easy to diagnose and easy to treat cases...any respect will likely disappear with the "intimidation"

i don't really care if someone is a doctors' wife, husband, sister, brother, mother or father....plenty of folks in this world work hard...and don't make a whole lot of money...so i am not crying any tears for any doctors! the good ones are worth their weight in gold...the crappy ones should be drummed out of the business...because they can do a whole lot of harm...and delay treatment by a physician who actually cares!
i couldnt believe the complaints from a GP in Manhattan who shall be nameless, whom i knew for many years....no longer see him...he complained of not being able to retire because, between HMO's and Obama's plan, he just doesn't make a ton of money anymore...he said this to a former special ed teacher and current social worker...who never made a lot of money!

yes, this is just my opinion...not to insult anyone on this forum...just to express the experiences i have had with the medical community...
ask anyone who had problems getting a diagnosis...i suspect many had the same experiences!


Melissa...none of it takes all the pain away for me...it does stop me from grinding my teeth in pain...

jess

[jrnyc]

thanks for your kind concern...

jess

[mbeckoff]

Well I had to stop taking nycenta. I could not get past the dizziness. I have a call into the pain management doctor. I will let you know what happens

Melissa

[jrnyc]

sorry to hear that, melissa...i hope that they can find something that will help with the pain....and not make you all wobbly!
i just got back from pain doc in Manhattan, and we discussed the same medication...he told me i was on 75mg of it...i told him i thought it was less, and it did nothing for me (he was right...it was 75 mg)

he is keeping me on oxycontin and hydrocodone, but wants me to take the oxy every day instead of just on "bad" days...i am not crazy about that idea...i also got another script for Nuvigil, for the exhaustion from pain meds...you know, they give you a medication to deal with the side effects of the other medications they are giving you!

i downloaded a wicked virus by mistake, and it destroyed our computer....so til we get it fixed, i am using an ancient one my husband had...
if anyone happens to write to me and i don't answer, it could mean i have no access to ANY computer if my brother in law(computer wizard) is working on fixing the computer that has the virus....hope he gets here soon! (watch out for the "UPS virus")

jess

[mbeckoff]

I am so upset with the pain management DR. They never called me back on Friday and now I had use the nucentia all weekend. Tomorrow I am going to call the office manager and tell her exactly what I think .

Melissa