WOW do I feel the love! You are all so AMAZING! I wish I had found you sooner! Oh, and thanks for the compliment on the name
My actual name is Elisha Rae but everyone calls me Leesha.
Thank you for all of the suggestions. Yes, I swell up even if the heat is on too high in my house and I eat a very low sodium diet and I drink a lot of water.
I only see my pain Dr. once per year, unless he is doing an injection or something, and coincidentally I am scheduled with him during my next pump refill at the beginning of April. He is an extremely intelligent and friendly Doctor and he is precise and a perfectionist but sometimes I want to chain the guy to his seat because he can be all over the place. Sometimes he is all about "doing whatever it takes" and sometimes I can tell that he is rushing me out. I told him about the water retention and was told to wear compression socks that go up to my thighs- like when you have surgery to prevent blood clots. Gee those will look fashionable and be comfortable at my aunt's pool this summer
I will sum him up-
He knows that I prefer to avoid pills but on occasion I have taken BT meds. I've had the pump for 4 years and it took about 2 years to get the right mix of meds to make a dent in my pain. This is the #1 thing I would like to stress to anyone considering it. I had weekly appointments for what felt like a year and then BAM we switched from Morphine to Dilaudid and started it all over again (I wanted to cry- actually what am I talking about- I did cry!) So typical me was suffering in the midst of all this but didn't speak up enough and my hubby kept telling me to ask for meds and I let myself suffer rather than come out and ask. There is a stigma with that due to the people that abuse prescription drugs (don't get me started on that). So I realized I was being stupid and asked for some meds. He prescribes me 1/2 of an Ultram every 4-6 hours! I was on 100mcg Fentanyl for months..um I might as well eat a gumball and at least enjoy it because it would have the same effect on my pain. So a few months later I was basically in the same situation and when asked to rate my pain I was honest and gave a number fairly high on the pain scale. I didn't ask for meds or tell them that Ultram didn't work for me last time (I should have, I know). So the nurse returns with my papers to leave and says that my Dr. also wrote out a prescription to ease my discomfort. I didn't bother looking because I was expecting it to be Ultram/Tramadol. So I'm on the elevator leaving and look at the prescription and it's for morphine pills.
He is so confusing and I never know what I am getting with him..insert the line from Forest Gump
I have grown close to most of the nurses there so I think I will start with them. In the meantime I will have a GP check out some of the other things that you mentioned.
Again I am so glad that I found this forum and I will be a regular now and would love to help anyone out there considering a pain pump, that has one, or is having issues, etc. It's also nice to talk to people that understand CP, not just the pump.
Thank you all so much!
I will keep you posted on everything. You've also sparked my interest on the SCS. I may just browse through previous posts and read a little more about it.
Enjoy what is left of the weekend!
