I went to my primary care doctor who has been handling my pain management. i have been getting a fentanyl patch 50mg and methadone20mge twice a day. it barely takes away my pain. i have needed to go back to him once a month to get some percosett because i have had horrible flareups. at first he was understanding and compassionate. now im a bother to him and he is sending me to a pain mgt clinic. i have been to them before , but that was before i had a diagnosis. so i will be going to a hospital pain mgt clinic and they say they no how to work with RSD patients.

I am SO tired of being looked at like im a drug addict! Like this hell im in is a choice. i have RSD on my abdomen and i have 75lbs of swelling on me where i had 2 big surgeries and all my nerves were cut hip to hip. i am sad, mad, frustrated and just wish they were all educated on how to help rsd patients.

no ones situation is exactly the same! why dont they understand this?
if i knew of a doctor some where in the country that really knew how o treat this. i swear i would consider moving just so i could be treated properly.

i was trying to go on vacation for a few days and asked my doctor to fill my meds 4 days early...he acted like i was committing a crime. so he said no i would have to wait. well im going out of state and dont want to deal with a prescription for narcotics to try to get filled out of state. so my doctor said if they have a problem just have them call me. he went on to say that i am addicted to the pills maybe i should be off them. i said r u serious? of course im addicted, i have been on them for 5 years! yes i have built up a tolerence. yes i need more. its not like i am going to get well and the pain will go away!

So frustrating...ggrrrr i think i need a break from this illness! i wish i could wave a magic wand and take away all of everyones pain so you never have to get that look from your doctor like i got today!

peace to all sorry for ranting!
Lori

there has to be an easier way to live.

This may be the 3rd (or is it the 4th) time that I have told you that Fentanyl and methodone don't mix. You take either one, OR the other, but NOT both, at once. Because they offset each other.

Sandy

Yes Sandy you did tell me and when i told my doctor he said they were fine. maybe the new place will say something different
its very frustrating when i am at their mercy!

Check it for yourself,,
Drug interaction checker - Google for that wording to find some infor sites.

here's a few -
http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.php
http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/dru...110310230841:s
http://www.drugwatch.com/interactions/

many others out there, some even include vitamins & supplements

Maybe this will be an answer to prayer and some real answers for you, dear Lori.

I wish we could interview Doctors before we had to be under their control.

I had the sweetest kindest dr when I had my SSDI physical exam. I'm trying to figure out where she practices, and what she practices.

hope for the future,
pat e

Lorigood,
I'm so sorry to hear that your primary physician is giving you so much grief. He has been treating you for a long time and treated you as if he was unfamilar with your case. Unfortanately, I think every CRPS patient has very simular story's of being treated poorly by a doctor. After I had my diagnosis I had to stay in the hospital for 30 days and I had to spend alot of time with nurses and I was told to look at my pain medicine as a nessicity and when I brought up my body becoming dependent on the meds, I was told that it is no different than a diabetic being dependent on insulin. However, a pain management doctor is really who you will need to see as that is their specialty. Either way, I would complain about your primary to a patient advocate because everytime we allow these types of situations to happen then it just fuels the ignorance of the bad doctors. How you were treated is not okay and please stand up for yourself.
Sarah

I totally understand your frustratations. I really wish that doctors would get a clue and it is really frustrating when those doctors who know us best and who we trust let us down. Going through a similar but different situation with my PC doc where he let me down in a lot of ways...and the man was the one who delivered me in the delivery room for goodness sakes. But he referred me to someone who I think (hope) will be a good fit for me as a pain management doctor in the sense that at least she cares.

I hope you end up with a good pain management doctor. I know how frustrating it is when you have to start all over with a new doc. I've had to tell me story to so many new people in the last month (and can only look forward to telling it more if I get admitted to the hospital). Hang in there. My thoughts are with you and I really do hope you get a good doctor who understands the pain you are dealing with and who is really interested in taking care of your pain.

My strong belief is the federal FDA and DEA are putting the squeeze on doctors and have been for several if not many years.

My doctor at the University Pain Clinic is LEAVING the pain practice.

I haven't found out just why yet.... got the letter in the mail yesterday.
I have a feeling it has to do with the restrictions the DEA/FDA put on doctors.

I'm not sure what is going to happen to me... he is the first doctor in many years that completely understood my pain and RSD.


*** Sorry...didn't mean to hijack your thread.....

Abbie

Meds wise, I think you have a few different issues Lori........

The obvious main problem is what you have isn't working. Because it's Fentanyl and Methadone together is probably a big part of the problem. I'm not sure why they even tried Fentanyl for you as you can take pills, so you don't need the transdermal route AND with your issues with ascites absorption could be an issue.

I also can't figure out why they would have you on 2 different longer acting meds. The normal formula is a longer acting med and a shorter acting one for break through pain.

Your doc just does not seem very knowledgable about prescribing narcotics.