Pain medication
 

I have been on Lortab for a year and it just does not help anymore. I have neck pain issues along with really bad headaches. I also am recovering from a fracture to the T3 and T5. Any suggestions on how I can approach the dr about changing my medication to something better without seeming to have drug seeking behaviors. I am just tired of taking something that does not work anymore and still being in such great pain

Great to have you here!!
 

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Happy to see you have come to be with us. Just let us know if we can be of any help.

Check into the following there willing some fellow members to assist you:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum10.html

There are great and caring fellow members here to assist you. Our shouders are here for support in many ways. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene :hug:

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/r...CHANWEL-vi.gif


Hello, and welcome to NT! This is such a nice place with many friendly, caring, and helpful people.

We're so glad you found us! :)

i just joined today been on meds for 20 yrs. just tell the dr. straight if he does nothing time for new dr. after all u r paying him but I know dr. are hard to come by try to stay away from perkoset bad for liver and kidneys . i am takeing 15.mg.oxycodone3 to4 a day seems to help try a regular dr not a pain therapy dr they seem all to be crooks i live in fla. and seems they are all closeing or under investigation so for I lucked out with a regular dr please get back with me to make sure i"m doing this right hang in there

Hi Linda ~ I'm so sorry you have these pain issues. It certainly is no fun. If I were you, I'd ask the doc for a "long-acting medication" because your meds are not working anymore. As you know, you don't want to mention any specific medication as that looks like drug seeking. Just say that you've heard about long-acting medications, and how they work better than the shorter acting meds, and wondered if you could try them.

Hopefully he'll put you on something different that will help to relieve your pain. I certainly hope so. Best of luck and please let us know what happens. God bless and take care. Hugs, Lee

Wow it seems that when someone has true issues and needs meds its so hard to find a dr that can prescribe the "right" way. I have been through the military hospital then was referred to a 'pain" dr. Went through injections to the tspine needless to say they didnt help so I was referred back to my primary care dr for further care. I thought a pain dr was suppose to go through A-Z to help in every way they can. It just seems that its a insurance scam with most of these drs. I got a prelimary bill in the mail for tricare and omg the each injection was $500. And seeing now that they arent helping so its no since in doing them anymore I cant be treated. I feel helpless!

Hi Hon.

I am so sorry that you have been in such pain. Have you ever tried acupuncture? It really helped my husband some years ago.

Have you ever looked into it?

Melody

no i havent tried that. ive asked about it and was told that my injury was to severe for that to help. at this point im willing to look into anything.

Oh, I do hope it works for you. They say, in some cases, where meds don't do anything, that acupuncture (if done correctly) does bring relief.

Here' hoping that 2011 brings you relief.

I'm praying for you.

Take care and Welcome to Neurotalks
:hug:Melody

hi linda and welcome to NT.
i'm sorry you're in such pain. i can relate.

can you find a pain dr who's related to a rehab hospital?
i found someone like that when i was in denver and he was great.

thankfully i also found a good pain doc when i moved to FL. i went thru the injection thing too. but most of my pain was muscular. after seeing him a few times and developing a relationship we found something that worked and i don't take very much.

good luck to you. don't give up. keep looking.

I know I'm new to this site & all but having RSD (a chronic nerve disorder that causes hyperalgesia or supper pain in relation to normal stimuli like not being able to wear pants b/c they hurt or sleeping with blankets) & being a nurse I might be able to help. I know all about the drug seeking thing & constantly being labeled as an addict it's totally discouraging.
Anyway I've found after doing this dance for 14 years the best way to approach it is by being calm cool collected & informed. There are plenty of meds out there, that when combined in the right cocktail can let you lead an almost pain free life.
The best way to ask to be switched from a short acting med like Lortab aka Vicodin... Is to present your case non emotionally. Start by stating that the short acting med has lost it's effect, as it's only meant to be taken for a month or 2. That the switch to morphine sulfate contin (MScontin or Oxtcontin) can be started @ a low dose & taken once or twice a day which is easier for you to manage. However, you may need a med like Lortab @ a lower dose for break through pain. It might also be helpful to suggest that you're willing go slowly, & at lower doses to find what works for you. At the same time offer to try non-narcotic meds like Neurontin, Amitriptyline or Nortriptyline. That & that sometimes after being in pain for so long it helps to have a psych med on board, just b/c chronic pain contributes to depression. And some of the available psych meds at the drs disposal really do contribute to not just your well being of the brain, but also aid in the absorption & uptake of the general pain meds.
Best of luck to you & your next drs appointment! Sorry you have to go through this... I really hope you have some support close by! I'll keep you in my thoughts... Be strong, you have a right to appropriate pain relief without being treated like a drug addict & if you were able to get to one of the pain clinics I volunteer at we'd make sure you had a pain plan. Just know you're not alone...

Carrie

Hello CarrieBriana
 

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Happy to see you have come to be with us. Just let us know if we can be of any help.

There are great number and caring fellow members here to assist you. Our shouders are here for support in many ways. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene :hug:

Hi Carrie,

I have had RSD and PN for going on 11 years this April, have had 7 surgeries to correct the injuired arm, titanium inserted to replace my elbow and if all of this did not work I would of been left with a useless limb or the worst no limb at all. Just wanted to give you some history. I have been on every pain medication under the sun. I just wanted to warn everyone of the danger of long lasting pain medication that is a morphine sulfate. I was on Avinza at one point for a short perioud of time which is a morphine based long lasting pain med, very expensive. When I started to take it after about 2 weeks I started to get a extremely dry mouth. At the time I did not think much about it. Well I started to have pain in my mouth/teeth which happened very quickly so I went to the dentist and he could not believe what he saw and if he did not know me it would of thought I was abusing some kind of drugs like methanphamine(spelling). I had decay that was destroying my teeth. He asked what meds. I was take and he new immediately it was the Avinza. Morphine Sulfate dries your mouth, that natural saliva we have helps protects our teeth from decay. Anyway they gave me a medication to bring the saliva back into my mouth while I made a switch in medication which I did. I was very lucky this all happened within 3-6 mths. We all know narcotics in general hurt your teeth but I have been told the morphine sulfate based are the worse, so please all be carefull. I only had to have a few back teeth pulled and a bridge made which was pretty bad to me since prior I had great teeth. My dentist explained this was very odd because my kids and husband also go to the same dentist and said you and your children have great teeth and that's comes from the genes. I did not have my first cavity until I was 25, now 49, my children 20 and 16 have never had a cavity yet. So to end just be careful of those type of medications it can lead to big problem. But if you do want to stay on it there is a medication called "Rest.....", sorry I can't think of the name but it brings saliva to the mouth which will safe your teeth. If you ask your dentist I'm sure he can get it for you.

Good Luck...

Gabbycakes

where u at in florida?

I really appreciate your time and effort to respond to me. It really warmed my heart. This has been such a rollercoaster ride. Im ready to get off for sure! I went to my pain dr with suggest something different then the meds that Ive been on and they looked at me funny. I was going through injections to my tspine and the clinic told me that since they wasnt helping that I might need to be discharged from their clinic. I was dumb founded. I went back to my primary care dr and they requested that I move from that clinic asap! Im so afraid to start all over in a new clinic but I will for sure take your advice with me when I do go! Thanks for the support!

New pain med regulations as of Oct 2010
 

So sorry for your pain. Pain sucks. I am new here but thought I would add that Oct 1, 2010 brought new federal regulations for pain mgmt docs becuz 55 docs in South Florida were supplying 95 million narcotic pills per year to people flying in from all over the country. My North Florida pain doc just dumped me last week because I lost my Cobra in June and she claimed that cash paying patients were not allowed to get pain relief under the new regs - she allowed me to make a follow-up appointment for March and then had her office call the next day to tell me that the doctor had explained this to me which was a flat out lie. She never mentioned any of this at my previous appointments following the loss of my Cobra and was one day back from Christmas and New Year vacation so maybe just in a bad mood. I learned from the pharmacist that the regulation is simply that one has to go to a pain specialist within a certain mileage from your residence and paying cash because of job/insurance loss has nothing to do with it. I am a Florida native, legal resident, tax payer, and voter in Florida with recent frequent long term travel seeking a new job but with prodominate domicile on Florida - she's Indian so maybe did not understand completely that I am not moving anywhere until there is a signed employment contract althoug I might spend severl months in a big city seeking employment. She recommended that I apply for SSDI and Medicare. My regular family doc in Florida said the pain doc was full of it and that she would take over my 'scripts.

As for amping up the medication type - I tried oxycontin but it made me vomit so I have taken 5/325 hydrocodone (Vicodin) for about 3 yrs. it was explained to me that anyone caught with the "wrong" amount of drug in their urine would be knocked back to Lortab which is apparently not nearly as strong as Vicodin. I am a minimalist and a former competitive athlete so I have never taken enough Vicodin to achieve 100% pain relief - if I can get to a 5-7 on the pain scale on any day - enough to keep from going mad and beating my head against the wall, it is a good day. I was never even drug tested once by this doc as she knew I was a poster child for very careful use and brought every alternative, nutritional etc thing possible into the mix.

Be very careful with recommendations for Oxycontin - you will have to guard your script and never ever let anyone know you have it, even "trusted" family members/friends and keep it in a secure location (not in the medicine cabinet or by the bed, lock it in the safe at a hotel). Also, never ever break or chew on Oxycontin unless you want to ruin your life forever. People in pain will not get high unless they exceed the doseage needed to bind the pain receptors. Fakers and abusers who do get high have no active pain receptors and that is why they get high. Can't imagine why anyone would want to get high on a drug that suppresses heart rate, respiration and causes constipation but they love and crave any type of narcotic. A truly tamper proof narcotic system is 3-4 yrs in the future - I know the researcher developing it - it's one doctor all alone - not a pharma comp as they have no vested interest in lowering their profits by cutting out the abusers. Keep your fingers crossed he gets his patent protection and finds a pharma who will develop it as it will help every one on this board. The abusers will have to use heroin or nothing as the tamperproof will not get them high and this one cannot be seperated out.

If I were you, I'd request Vicodin first. Be prepared to be articulate and not whine (i've heard the whiners behind the other curtains and they are pathetic and annoying). Clearly describe your symptoms, the length and level of pain relief achieved with Lortab and how it limits your ability to function, go with the list of enzymes, herbs, vitamins, foods you eat - I suggest organic whole foods as much as possible, foods you avoid (cigarettes, coffee, alcohol, processed foods of all types, fast foods all increase pain) etc. Also be able to describe how you use biofeedback or self hypnosis, yoga, water exercises, rubber band resistance training, ice packs, heat packs, epsom salt baths etc to help reduce pain. If you are a responsible pain patient and do as much as possible to relieve your pain, use as little narcotic as possible and keep your digestive tract moving, it will be evident to the doc.

Very best of luck to you. Hope you feel better soon.:)

Thanks alot for the information. You have educated me on some things I had no clue of. Now Im a little scarred to move to Florida as I am scheduled to in July.

To Fairyqueen:

That was the best post on pain management I have read in quite some time.

I thank you very much.

You did a heck of a job explaining it all.

Melody

Hi Linda - are your neck and headaches in the back of your head or the front of your head? Are you working with a neurologist, or what kind of doctor are you working with?

Hi Linda,
I know exactly what you mean about the Lori tab. I have been taking 10 mg 4times a day for over a year now and I might as well be chewing bubblegum (if I had any teeth). I did ask my doctor about it and he says that my body has become immune to the Lori tabs effect. They won't prescribe a stronger dosage because of my seizure disorder. He also said it wouldn't do any good to change to another narcotic pain medicine because it would just do the same thing. What he recommended to me was to take about 600 to 800 mg of Ibuprophen a day along with the Lori tab and it does seem to help a little. Please don't do this until you ask your doctor about it. Almost all medication has different side effects on different people.

Good Luck with it, rlj1959

I sure wish I could take IBP but I have a stomache ulcer. I went to the DR again yesterday and they changed my meds up some. To Embeda 30 twice a day and percocet 7.5 3xs a day. I would think thh emneda would be working but it doesnt help at all. I explained that to my Dr and he was like we just need to figure out the right dose. I explained that when I get my migraines about once a month I have to go to the ER and they have to give me 2 shots of morophine 10mg each. So I have such a high pain tolerence to it. Im gonna have to go back to My primary care dr and explain hes not listening to me and im getting no relief. I also have a consult in March for an anasteologist to hopefully help with the pain. FINGERS CROSSED

Fab job
 

Yeah she did a fab job!