I have degenerative disc disease, bi-polarism, arthritis. I have always told my docs upfront
About all three of these diagnosis so they know what meds to give. Well was given a very bad
pain medicine "methadone" for long term pain- hydrocodone for "breakthrough" pain...I told my provider it was makin me sick and she gave me a stomache pill! My therapist flipped out due to my heavy pain meds interacting with psych meds. Long story short we had it out and I no longer take those meds, but do take lyrica..was tryin what u r tryin but been havin a breakthru sine all day yesterday but too tired of ER rooms and same ole lecture! Just once I wish these damn docs could jump in my body and then tell what I should do! Bet it b different story huh! Well I just wanted u to know I am in same boat and hoping for either a rizotomy or surgery so "normal" can b somewhat in my life again. Not worry if I am moving wrong or Doing too much? Haha I got four kids and a grandchild in my home, docs outa come live with me for a week and get a reality check. I believe docs have too much power over our bodies, minds, and what they put in them. Don't we have a say in our progressssion??

Yeah, most doctors don't know about that interaction. I have actually made a few go look it up. I have been on strict avoidance of ibuproferon since starting lithium 9 years ago, but after I had a serious toxicity my doctor made it very clear that I could not ever have any NSAID again while on even the small dose of lithium I take now. On the other hand because I can't take aspirin because I can't have caffeeine and tylenol can be rather useless my psychiatrist is totally supportive of using vicodin both for things most people would need only ibuproferon (severe headaches, minor dental surgery, sprains, etc.) as well as I use hycodan (vicodin without tylenol) for colds since I can't have cold meds either (I think that's lithium as well) and for an extended period a year ago when I had a powerful respiratory infection or vicodin for about a month surrounding surgery recently. It's much safer than ibuproferon.

Hi, Mickeycbee:

Before I started using fentanyl patches in September 2002 for my severe chronic RSD pain, I was taking hydrocodone tablets alone. They were totally ineffective at controlling my pain, so I would often go to the Emergency Room for help. The ER doctors would usually refuse to help me because they thought the hydrocodone tablets should have helped me. At that time, no doctor knew I had RSD. Neither did I.

One day, in the ER, I met a great and funny doctor. He was the first one to ever find out I had RSD, even though I went in denial when he told me about his diagnosis (I knew what RSD was from reading all the chronic pain books I had borrowed from the local public library). I complained to this doctor about how ineffective my hydrocodone tablets were. He could not prescribe anything stronger for me (I guess that is how it works in an ER), so he re- prescribed the hydrocodone tablets for me, which I was to take with a Valium tablet. This helped for a while but, unfortunately, not that long. Afterwards, a primary care doctor prescribed the Oxycontin tablets I had asked him to prescribe for me. A few months later, another primary care doctor prescribed fentanyl patches for me to use instead of Oxycontin tablets. Since the patches were effective, I had no reason to refuse them.