Hi, My name is Jana.
I was recently diagnosed with RA and fibro. about 1 year ago. I am seeing an internal medicine doctor because of the lack of rheumatologists in this area. He seems to be taking care of me, ok I guess. I am currently taking Methotrexate, Lyrica, Cymbalta, Nexium, Lunesta, and Mobic/Celebrex. I have been begging him for pain meds. since I started seeing him. He is against it! I have pains in my feet that affect my ability to walk and also shoulder pain. I am missing a lot of work. Now, I have nerve damage in my left foot. I called him the other day and asked again for something for the pain. The last time I called they gave my Naproxen, Whooopeee!!! He finally gave me Darvocet. I took 1 this morning and I felt like I didn't take anything. My General Practitioner used to give me Vicoprofen and Vicodin.
I don't know how to tell him that I need something for the pain!!! Why do doctors not want to give these out?? It is so frustrating. Is anyone in the same boat I am?
Hi there Jana,
I am sorry your internist is not helping you with your pain. I think some of the pain (but not all of it) is handled best when being treated properly for the RA/FM. If it isn't, then surely he/she can prescribe additional pain meds. When my pain increases and doesn't abate, it usually means my dosages need to be increased. Darvocet didn't help your pain? Maybe you need to be referred to a rheum doc/pain specialist.
Hope you find some help. I am reconciled to the fact that my life has some pain in it everyday. When it keeps me from doing what I need/want to do, I call my doc. He has told me to let him know what works and what doesn't.
Hi Jana
If I were in your situation I would see if some of the things you are on can be substituted with a decent pain killer. However I'd be loath to be on more than one or two drugs at the same time because of side effects and undesirable interactions but I only have osteo-arthritis and it's not too bad with joint pain being what bothers me most. In your case the Celebrex/Mobic or one of the other medications might be able to be substituted with a pain killer and the doctor might be more willing to do this than add another drug to the cocktail you are already on.
In my case being someone that likes to know all about what I'm taking and if it is necessary to take it if I was prescribed the list of drugs you are on I'd want to be damn certain I needed all of those things and I'd be very concerned about what undesirable side effects such as raised BP or liver damage etc they might have.
Whenever doctors have gone on strike in a country the death rate falls because suddenly people can't get the drugs that doctors prescribe that have side effects like ulcers, raised blood pressure etc and so they stop dying. I will only take what I feel benefits me in terms of quality of life after carefully considering the cost to my body and life span.
I take Tramadol because it is good at relieving my joint pain and lasts all day. The Tramadol raises my blood pressure and so does Celebrex/Mobic but after weighing up the risks versus the benefit I choose to take it and run a slightly increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Your doctor might be mindful of the damage a lot of different drugs can do versus the benefits they bring and may be reluctant to add any more medications. He may also feel that prescribing pain killers might lead to addiction but there are pain killers that are reasonably effective that are not very addictive.
My doctor knows I take only enough Tramadol to relieve my pain and even though my body is now used to Tramadol and I suffer quite horrendous withdrawal symptoms if I stop taking it this is not a problem as I can always reduce the dosage gradually and the doctor has told me I will probably be on it for the rest of my life. If you are in pain and there is a drug that can effectively relieve pain which can be safely taken long term there is no reason why a doctor should not prescribe it so that you have improved quality of life but I’d be asking if a pain killer could take the place of at least one of the medications you are already on as taking 5 or 6 medications at the same time is certain to be taxing the liver and possibly other organs like your heart.
I recently switched doctors because the one I was seeing wanted to give me drugs to counteract the side effects of the ones I was already taking and saw no problem with this. I did see a problem with it as I could have wound up taking 10 or 15 different drugs as the doctor prescribed a new drug to counteract the side effects of the one before it and this to me was western medicine gone mad!
Edward