Physical Tolerance | Arthritis Information
How long is it before you break down and seek medical intervention - RD visit, ER visit or pain meds - for painful physical limitations?
Example - You wake up not being able to rasie your right arm no higher than a few inches before it gets really painful and you know it is not going to improve.
Me, I usually do not give in to it unless it has really wore me down mentally, than that is when I decide to take action either by calling RD for something to help it, or to take extra muscle relaxers and give in to taking pain meds. Calling RD is my last resort. If I know what it is and what I have to do for it I don't go but if it's something I don't know I go right away.
My ex-RD wouldn't do anything and told me so. He said he only prescribes a 5-day steroid blister pack for any of his patients who call with problems in-between visits. He always referred me to my primary for everything, including RA symptoms. All I know is about once or twice a year I just have to give into the symptoms and the pain and go to the ER as its too much to handle and I need the extra pain meds. At least four times pre-diagnosis I have been hospitalized after finally going to the ER, and put on IV pain relievers while they ran tests, and no one could come up with anything. Joonie
one of the things over the years that I learned to do was to set up a contingincy plan with my doctor since I know I won't go to the ER and I have to be in really bad shape to call him. I have instructions about what meds to take and how to take them in case of an acute flare. If thtose don't work then I call the dr
Of course learning to take the pain meds on an ongoing basis as opposed to as a last resort eliminated much of the acute pain flares. I know its hard if you become loopy on pain meds but I speak from experience that side effect does go away. Maybe you would be better off with something like Ultram (non narcotic) in your system 24 hours a day than you would with stronger meds that you take haphazardly
Over the years I've learned when to call. I also have a plan set up with my RD and have pain meds, pred. pack, etc., and instructions on how to take them. Also, if my RD's office is closed or out of town my primary has intstructed that I call him. So between the two of them I'm covered. My ER visits were because of costochondritis and a pulmonary embolism. I'm a firm believer that you stop the pain, inflammation, swelling earlier rather than later. Lindy
Thanks for the replies.
I think Iam understanding it now. Which is should me on some sort of pain releiver even if the pain is ingnorable or bearable. Right?
you got it..pain that takes hold is virtualy impossible to get rid of. You need to stay ahead of it. Keep in mind that you don't have an injury that improves over time..you have a chronic pain inducing disease and while you have acute phases with increased inflammation many of your issues are caused by the increasing joint damage. That pain does not get better over time. If you can control that daily underlying pain that you considerignorable or bearable the hopefully that acute pain is more easily treatable.
Look at it this way. Say you normally need pain meds at a 7 on the scale if your normal pain that you consider bearable is a 5 it doesn't take much to hit that 7. If you can knock that daily 5 down to a 3 then you have some room before.
Joonie, this is a great post. My pain is still not well controlled, even though I take Vicodin HP regularly. Yesterday, my pain hit about 9.3 and I spent the day not moving much, yelping in pain, and crying. Today it is down to an 8 and I'm hoping tomorrow will be even better. When it gets that bad, I may increase the Vicodin dosage a bit, but I only generally call my rheumy when the pain is extreme two days in a row, especially since his answer is usually a medrol pack which doesn't help me all that much. I have never gone to the ER for the pain so I think that is one of those situations I'll "know when I get there".
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