I now know why I had to sign a "contract" with my reheumy.Apparently she keeps very close and tight control on giving out narcotic drugs.I had to agree that she would be the only one to give me pain meds and if I was to have surgery I would have to let her know if I was given pain meds. before hand,I had to agree to use the same pharmacy everytime,if I were to go to an emergency room she would have to be informed about me recieving pain meds.And if I ever not show up for an appt. she will dump me.I have to agree to urine tests if she feels is needed...let me see what else....oh one more thing,if ever she needs an organ I must freely give her what she needs.
So there it is folks...my reheumy. is hard core on controling pain meds. with her patients.Which I guess is a good thing. So the mystery has been solved.
Now back to the pharmacy to get my DRUGS!
Love, All that for Ultram? Seems excessive. Hope it helps. Mike I'd tell her where to stick it!! Give me a break....AND GIVE ME MY PILLS YA FREAK!!!! I agree totally with Mike; it seems excessive!! I'd tell her where to stick it!! Give me a break....AND GIVE ME MY PILLS YA FREAK!!!! [/QUOTE] LOL Lovie. I am sure glad you are on my side
Give me a break....If we were going to abuse drugs I think we'd look for something a little better than Ultam for crying out loud!! The DEA targets some Drs passing out pain meds. (It's hard to say what sets off the DEA or the IRS ) Let's just say the RD is covering her butt. She did give you the pain meds and as long as she takes good care of you for pain management - she can butt cover all she wants. But if she leaves you hurting, you dump her on her butt AFTER you tell her she didn't manage your pain and did not meet HER obligations of your SHARED contract. Um...got to say this is wrong! Ultram is not a narcotic at
all. So she's going way overboard on this. Definitly a case
of covering one's A$$. I can understand this in the case of
narcotics but not for ultram. I don't think its very right but
its understandable given how much the DEA likes to involve themselves
in pain management. I saw a lot of that from researching my
article.
1. How old are you? 2. Over 21? 3. Can you think for yourself? 4. Are you aware of your surroundings? 5. Do you need a caretaker? 6. Do you have Altzheimers? If you answered NO to questions #....3, 4, 5 and 6 Then it can be safe to assume you can take care of your own affairs with out a signed agreement from a medical guardian. Toni I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I was addicted to ultram. A pretty serious addiction that started off innocently enough. I asked for some "non-narcotic" pain meds (because of fear of addiction) and my doctor freely prescribed ultram. I ended up needing to take more to control the pain and then when I no longer needed them for pain, realized I hated the way I felt OFF the meds. I had energy and felt good and happy on ultram. I started sneaking around to get them because I couldn't function without them. I have to work part-time in order to feed the family, so feeling crappy and not working was not an option I was willing to take. So...I spent the better part of a year "doctor hopping" to get my meds. It soon turned into me going to an online drugstore where I found it was easy to get ultram, as well as strong narcotics (darvocet, then percocet, then norco...my favorite). I got to the point where I was waiting for a Fed Ex package several times a week. No one knew. My friends and family thought I had been cured from my heart condition (congestive heart failure) because I had so much energy and felt so well all the time. It was my little secret. I began to feel sick from the pills and was broke and tired of panicking of the thought of running out of drugs. I began to research "ultram abuse". There are thousands of stories out there of people who became addicted. People like me...who started out in pain, then got hooked. I'm not the scum of the earth. I am a well-educated professional, have a good career and family, I'm involved in my sons' school and the PTA Vice President. I was also a drug addict. After much resarch, I found a doctor who could help me. I began taking a medication called "suboxone" in order to stop the drug abuse. I have been on suboxone for nearly 8 months. It is similar to a methadone clinic, except I go in once a month to get my meds, rather than daily. It is expensive. The visit alone is 5 and the meds are nearly 0 a month. It is better than being hooked on ultram. Technically ultram is not a narcotic. It does have some opiod-binder recepter things that I never understood that can make it act like an opiate in your body. It CAN be addictive. Trust me on that. Do a web-search...there are thousands others who will tell you it was worse than heroin to get off of. I'm not writing this to scare anyone who is taking pain meds legitimately. I AM writing to let you know that I understand where this doctor is coming from. love and hugs, juliah Good one Toni For anyone interested...this link should take you to a discussion on ultram and shows that it truly CAN be addictive. http://www.medhelp.org/forums/addiction/messages/30188a.html (let those without imperfections feel free to judge me
Thank You Roxy. I hope it hits home...Sometimes the best of intentions come with some very bad ramifacations... Juliah,I really do appreciate you sharing your story with us.I never thought of it to be addictive.Your story was really an eye opener for me and I'm sure others.I am very proud of you for getting help and sharing your secret with us,takes alot of guts to admit to having an addiction. I can see where dr. is coming from now.I just hope she takes my pain seriously and if this stuff doesn't help she kicks it up a notch.I just took it 15 minutes ago and so far nothing.I am waiting for it to kick in.I pray it does. Love, PS.Even saying all that I just said. I admit I did feel humilated by having to be monitored this way and under such strict guidelines.While I was at the pharmacy I ran into my neighbor who has OA and osteoporosis.He is 46 yrs. old and is in so much pain.I told him about the contract I had to sign, he said he had to do the same thing with his dr.Maybe it is just a North Carolina thing.Maybe they think that us rednecks can't take care of ourselves
One more weird thing about this whole ultram thing.It says on the bottlle take 1-2 tablets a day twice a day but reheumy. told me to only take 2 a day.Kinda confusing
Love , Another good link to help understand the properties and effects of Ultam over the course of use. We all need to be informed as to what we are going to be putting into our mouths and it's effects on us...and especially over a course of time. http://www.medicinenet.com/tramadol/index.htm Here is another good article to read... http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_1_54/ai_n 8705004 My doctor told me if I wanted to use it to help me sleep to take two. I have noticed it doesn't make me nearly as sleepy if I just take one for pain. Were you the one Sheila who's doctor would only prescribe your pain medication 6 pills at a time? Some here had that problem...I was thinking maybe it was you. And I'm from NC and I haven't had to do that at any of my doctors offices. All of my doctors have prescribed stuff for pain without batting an eyelash. I've never been one to really need or want it...and I do suppose maybe they know that so don't consider it a problem. Roxy.....see, now I really like the "high" that pain pills give me. I enjoyed a good darvocet energy burst. You seem like you are really on top of things and given that you have not become addicted to your valium and are keeping a close eye on your other meds, you should be ok. As much as I used to hate getting a cough, I'd love the fact that I could always get a good bottle of narcotic cough syrup out of it. I guess that is the addict in me speaking. I'm imagining non-addicts don't go around thinking that way, do they? Anyhow, I was never vigilant about my usage as you are and if something made me feel good, I'd take it. You don't sound that way from what I've read about you. Hope that eases your fears a bit. Love, juliah Juliah~I like the good cough medicine too I'll admit it. Actually I like them all!! Pain pills, Muscle relaxers....cough medicine with codine....but after all these years I can honestly say I'm not addicted. I do see how it's possible though because I'm like you. I do enjoy the high. Well, time for another useless ultram.I am gonna call dr. in the morning and get the dose increased ,this is pointless.I sure don't feel tired or high,now I could go for the high feeling though.
Love, Juliah~I like the good cough medicine too I'll admit it. Actually I like them all!! Pain pills, Muscle relaxers....cough
medicine with codine....but after all these years I can honestly say
I'm not addicted. I do see how it's possible though because I'm like
you. I do enjoy the high. [/QUOTE] Me too Lovie...something about being able to unwind, relax and sleep
really well when I take something with codine in it. I have some
leftover pain pills from my surgery. Once in awhile I'll take a
demoral, vicodin, or darvocet just to relax. I don't do it often...so I
wouldn't call it an addiction. If the doctors have a hardball policy like that I can't understand why they can't explain it to patients so it won't seem so personal and demeaning. Structures like that can protect people from becoming addicted or relapsing but if they're not explained it feels like you are being the victim of someone's power trip. Sheila; I'm afraid none of the pain meds actually make me feel "high" either but they do relax me to a point I just get comfortable like Murph said. The only thing I take during the day is tons of advil. I can't drive and be out when I'm on these other things...so I just take them at night to rest, relax...sleep; you know? I have taken muscle relaxers at work before...but that was just when my back was so bad I could barely function. And I can't say they have ever made me feel more confident or smarter.
Sheila
Sheila
Sheila
Some people can use it to help with sleep like Lovie said...me, I have
a completely different reaction to it. I don't get sleepy with
it. And actually there seems to be a subset of fibro patients
that do have a reaction to it and a few other meds (paxil, zoloft are
two) where it makes them a bit hyper. (I've got the source on
that if someone wants it, I'm just too lazy to dig it up right now)
you're so right about the feeling on the cough meds. i personally hate
them because of the taste. you're unfortunatley one of the people with
chronic pain who did get addicted....part of that though shows how your
docs weren't properly monitoring things.
for me, i don't get a high so much as i revert back to my normal happy
bubbly self. when i'm not in pain, i'm a bouncy, happy almost
tigger-like person. and when my pain is properly controlled, i revert
back to that state.
i did learn something very interesting from a drug and alcohol
counselor. she seemed very shocked that when i lost my insurance and
went off of my meds, that despite being on high doses of ultram i did
not have any withdrawl...uh no...i knew i had to taper off of pred so i
tapered em all. she did tell me i obviously did not have an addictive
component.
one thing i did learn in researching my article on pain and addiction
that had to be left out due to the fact i could not find a way to word
it well is that even people who have had past addiction issues can
successfully be treated with narcotics for chronic pain. it just takes
vigilance on the part of the doc treating the pain. i can dig that
stuff up if you'd like....i've still got it all.
Sheila
Interesting about all the info on Ultram. I was given
it for shingles pain. Actually, I have to say that I really
feel no different when I take it....not even pain relief!
Maybe it will start working soon.
Also, i guess I can understand about the reason the
dr. gave for signing the paperwork, but good grief, so
many rules!! I would have felt humiliated too to know
that she felt she had to do that without any previous
issues with addiction and stuff.
Juliah-thank you so much for you openness and
honesty when sharing your story. You are very
courageous
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com