How do I talk to my new Dr?

You may have built up a tolerance to your pain meds or maybe they need to approach this differently for you. If it's your back there are a couple of options. A spinal cord stimulator helps many people with back pain, or radio frequency abalation which is burning the nerve root that is causing the pain problem. By all means talk to your pain doc! Start writing down notes to talk to him about. When your pain is at it's worst, & what you are doing at that time, like stting for long periods, or standing to long. Does it go down you legs or arms, what positions help your pain if any, what makes it worse if any, & so forth. If you can't be honest about all of this eventually they wikll think you are a drug seeker no the other way around. They can't second guess how you are feeling, you have to tell them. As I siggested, when it's bad, make a note as to why & what & so forth.

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It really helps as we all get a little white coat shy I believe with our doctors. My regular doctor walks in & says " Well, where's your list"?Then we talk about each tiem I have written down. Just a thought or two... Mary632009

Top of the morning to ya cleo,

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I am so sorry you are having so much pain and so much anxiety related to your pain doc. And YES, all the drug seekin, drug abusers do make it SUCK for us real chronic pain sufferers. I'm with you 100%. Some people think I am an idiot, but being a disabled MSN, one needs to know what the problems are to treat the problems propely. So... I always asked my patients' to tell me everything that was bothering them... EVERYTHING. I can tell a drug seeker a mile off, and act accordingly (when I was the one dishing out pain meds) as I was taught and believed that the patients' pain level was what ever they said it was. I am a chronically, honest (blatantly if need be), try not to cry, as pain is such a personal disease, I'd rather see a NP than MD (my choice)... and I let it all hang out. Of course, I have everything documented from nerve damage to MRI's, CT Scans, X-rays, etc. Toss all of my stuff out for all to pilfer through, and then the discussion starts. I simply state all of the meds I've tried, what worked, how long it worked, where I went next, what med seems to manage my pain the best (which happens to be oxycodone, NOT the new formulation of the OxyContin, which I find totally ineffective and does not relieve my pain) and the discussion begins. Why take something ineffective or something that I don't like (Fentanyl, for a number of reasons too numerous to list here)? There must be a medication we all can agree on... tell me the one you are thinking about, I'll think about whether I want to try that for two weeks or a month, let the doc know what I think, if I disagree, or I want the rationale behind that decision (like I don't know)... yada yada yada... until we meet a mutally satisfactory medication to TRY. There is never anything chiseled in stone cleo. Everyone is different... everyone. Our drug tolerances are different, the other medications we also take are different, have differing pain tolerance levels... each and everyone of us humans are a unique individual, we just sometimes share the same health maladies. Ah, this is the way God created us.
I am 56 and have been on pain meds 10 years. Cleo, there comes a point when Quality of life means a whole lot more than Quantity of life. Who do you know that wants to spend their final years in incurable, intractable, intolerable pain? That my dear is the fast track to suicide. Just saying again!
Now, you have received just about all of my thoughts regarding your present issue. If you can think of anything else, just ask, and I'm sure you will get alot of responses to your missive,
Wishing you a more painfree day...
The Suffering Hippie Herself,
Laura

Poor Cleo! I could have written your question-we sound very much alike in our pain! I take a lot of meds too and I feel the same way. what I'm on now doesnt always touch my pain but I dont want to keep going up either! I'm 45 y/o and I hope to be living a while longer so I know what you mean about dreading what the future holds! I have learned that I have to think of my pain differently. I have now accepted that I will no longer be "pain free". I consider a good day one where my pain is tolerable and I'm comfortable enough to get done what I needed to. I'm at a point where no matter how much I take I'll never be pain free unless I take enough to be unconscious! I have tried it all too-epidurals, blocks, ablations, new bed etc. I havent tried a stimulator or an implanted pump nor do I want to at this point. I also have decided I dont want surgery right now either. So I take my pain in degrees.

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I have good days and very bad ones! I try to use ice and heat when I can. I try to get some exercise when I can. All these things help. I think that it is best to be honest with your Dr. Tell them what you have tried in the past, what worked and what didnt. Try to have an open mind because you never know what will work! Be willing to try drugs other than opioid pain relievers. It takes time and patience (and tenacity) to find the combination that works. Sometimes a drug rotation can work wonders too. You might try morphine for a while (or some other drug than oxycodone) then after a while when you come back to oxycodone it will work again for you. It all comes down to working with your Dr. He is a person. He can only know what you tell him, so it is best to be honest! Tell him exactly what you told us! He has to have all the information to make the best decisions. If he isnt willing to work with you then he is not the right doc anyway so its best you know it now! Hang in there girl! We are all here for one another and we all know what it is like! Sometimes it is therapeutic just to have someone who understands.