Help, pain med questions!!! | Arthritis Information

Share
 

for my worst flare ever, my primary has me on 75mg fentanyl patches, and vicoden for breakthru pain. Lyrica was prescribed by my neuro for peripheral  neuropathy. After my car accident I had to go see my primary and he put me on oxycontin. At the time I didn't want them, but he said to take instead of vicoden. I called a few days later and told his nurse they were't working as well as the vicoden for me, and he said give it a few more days, but also stop the lyrica. Now it is Monday. I call again to say my pain is unbearable and his nurse called back and said Dr. did not realize I was on fentanyl and to stop asap! At this point I tell her I give him a list of my meds at every appt. and he knows EXACTLY what I take and who prescribes - My rheumy, except for Lyrica. meanwhile, I called my rheumy and told him what was happening and he suggested I meet with primary to find out his "master plan". So I go in to see him and he starts yelling at me telling me I am going to 4 different docs for pain meds, and Either he does it all or I find another dr. I said "wait a minute. The only dr. up until YOU prescribed oxycontin is Rheumy. You cannot name another single dr I have been to that I got pain meds from" He tells me "yes I can, me. I prescribed oxycontin last week" and I reminded him of my 3 phone calls saying they weren't working. I was just in a very bad car accident and the ER said I had to come see you the next day. I am in excruciating pain and you took away everything that works in lieu of one that does not. He all but called me a drug seeker.

He had a melt down like this about two years ago and I ended up in the hospital, actually two hospitals, they had to take me by ambulance to a different one after 3 days here because I was so sick. I am not kidding when I say that at every primary and every rheumy appt. I ask if there are any meds we can cut down on or eliminate and as early as 3 weeks ago, rheumy said he wanted everything kept the same for the time being. Now I do not know what to do.
 
My chiro and ortho and rheumy have all said I was very fragile before the accident and it will be a very long recovery -  as in years, not months
 
Sorry for the rant,  but life keeps getting worse and worse. Oh, and on a side note, Hubby, whom I was finally able to get away from is pushing very hard to have thanksgiving together. I just want to be left alone
Sorry, Owie, this is my quick answer as I have to go and do something...get yourself another PCP. You need someone you can really work with, it's essential when you have RA. While you do that, call your Rheumy and explain what has happened and how much pain you are in and, if he doesn't know, about the break up and resulting stress etc etc. Ask him to help manage your pain until you can find a new PCP.

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED. YOURS AND ONLY YOURS.

Of course, you are fragile and in lot's of pain right now. Just the stress of the breakup alone would be enough.

You need to be put on a balanced pain plan and left there to stabilize.

Trust your instincts about ex hubby too. Your health is at stake here. I found ridding myself of violent ex partner helped my RA amazingly.

And find a Pain Management Psychologist, they can help you make huge changes in your disease. 

Sorry, I don't have time to write more right now but you hang in there.
Cordelia2008-11-19 03:57:25

you may need to find a new pcp.. but whatever you do make sure your PCP knows all the meds you're taking... See, this PCP thinks you are taking too many drugs and is questioning who prescribed them because he thinks it s too much.... which it would be if you were taking them all at once... but you aren't..

sorry about all that mess w/ the meds, owie..

how do you feel about having turkey day w/ the ex?  if it's going to stress you.. something you realllllllly don't need....... then take a pass on it

I want to share a recent story.

My family doctor who is only 40 something and has a lovely wife and a new son, he just quit! He went to a Med Express Facility. Now he only works a shift and can go home with the family. The thing is a doctor that was in his group did this to me 3 years ago and I switched to this doc and now he did the same.

My point is I am looking for a new family doc. someone at the grocery store I see all the time recommended this lady doc. I called to get an appointment and they wanted to know the medicine I was taking and the dosages and that the doc would look at it and decide if she would take me. Huh? Anyway,

As I started to give her my list of meds , vytorin, lisinipril, synthroid, plaquinel, methtrexate, vicodine. That is where she stopped me cold. She stated "We do not prescribe those drugs here" She said the doc would never give or write a prescription for pain med.

I felt like a drug seeker. I take vicodin everyday right now. I called the office of my old doc and they apologized for the other doc. Said that it was rude. Said she is just setting up office and is discouraging drug seekers. Well she discouraged me.

Don't feel bad because you want and need your pain relief!

Have a nice day.OH Deb- so sorry to hear you are in so much pain and cannot get relief! Prayers going up that you get a resolution to the prescribing doctor problem and get something that works!

 
Trust your gut with Thanksgiving- you have not come this far to go backwards!
 
I'm here if you need me.

So sorry you have to go through all this.  It's definitely time to find a new doctor.  In addition to all you've already mentioned (which is unbelievable), you're not supposed to go cold turkey off of Lyrica...it needs to be tapered.  And of course if a new med doesn't work as well as an existing one, there's no reason he should be telling you to wait it out.  Ugh!

I keep my wallet card/medication list on the computer in Word, and before I go to any of my doctor's I print out a copy for them so they have exactly what I'm on, how much, and what it's for.  If I forget to do that ahead of time, I have their staff make a copy of the one in my wallet.  Also, whenever my ortho suggests a med, he either tells me to ask my rheumy about it, or gives me an initial script and let's my rheumy take it over, so that way my rheumy is the point doctor on all meds that are pain and inflammation related.  My primary takes care of the other meds, like bp and allergies.

I must have missed what was going on with your hubby, but if he is pushing for something you don't want, tell him you are not ready and you don't want to feel pushed and the stress is bad for your health.  Hopefully he will see that if you're feeling pressured, it's not going to work in his favor, and he will back off.
I just re-read what I wrote and I goofed. My RHEUMY prescribes ALL my pain meds including the fentanyl patches. At every appt with primary, I give him a copy of what I take, even though there have been no changes until he prescribed oxycontin after my car accident. He sits there during the first five min of my appt. copying from my list onto his notebook computer. I suspect one of his nurses alerted him of his mistake of adding oxy. on top of my others and he freaked and pulled me off everything cold turkey, except the oxy. Then at the end of the appt. when he was yelling at me, he made me come home and get the bottle of oxy and bring it back to him!? I have never felt more humiliated and I didn't do anything except what he told me. grrr...... 
I have always had rheumy in charge of all pain meds for a reason! I will be looking for a new primary after things settle down from the accident. The only thing I normally see my primary for is my AD, and he pulled me off that too, so  no reason to see him anytime soon.

Copyright ArthritisInsight.com