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I was diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome about six years ago, and on top of that it turns out I have a genetic defect where both ulna in my arms are a bit too short which causes extra stress on my wrists and hands in general. All of this sort of spiraled downhill from never being "well" as a teen, and then later in my early 20's while working as a dog groomer I managed to herniate two discs in my back, and that was the the beginning of the end of my ability to do just about anything that required long periods of standing or lifting. I see a specialized doctor - here in North Carolina I guess regular doctors aren't allowed to prescribe any kind of pain management medication. Frankly, I hate my doctor but as I had to sign a pain contract to even get 'in the door' to be seen, I can't even try to get a second opinion because that would be considered breaking part of my pain contract (not seeing more than one physician for this condition at the same time). I waited for almost two years on a waiting list just to get in at this doctor. He refuses to address any specific complaints I have (lately I've had so much trouble with my back and hip that I literally can barely limp along) and will only prescribe narcotic pain killers. In the past I've inquired about other things like Lyrica - fibro is a very close cousin to MPS - and I just get a hostile response. My last appointment, however, he did change my medication. Previously I was taking hydrocodone/acetaminophen 10-325mg 3x a day. Now I'm taking morpheme 15mg 3x. The worst part is it just doesn't give me relief from the pain I'm having, which he won't even hear about. Sorry for the rant. I think this might actually be the first time I've ever posted on SA about my diagnosis.  To answer your question though, I feel eternally frustrated and quite depressed and hopeless about the whole situation.
That Damn Satyr fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 05:11
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WildWanderer posted:I suffer from a herniated disc with a pinched sciatic nerve. Has your doctor tried spinal steroid injections? I've had them done three times - the first time I didn't feel that they worked, but the second and third time they did give me quite a bit of relief. As I understand it, it's basically a cortisone-type of thing that they inject directly into the disc in question so it calms down. It sounds awful but it actually doesn't hurt at all beyond the very mild prick of the first needle with the numbing solution in it.
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Apr 21, 2014 17:07
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Desert Bus posted:Also, try doing whatever you have to to get a good night's sleep as often as possible. Pain can and will gently caress up your sleep, and not sleeping well will wear you down making it easier to be susceptible to the baggage that comes with chronic pain. This is the best advice, a million times over. I keep a bottle of Tizanidine in the nightstand for nights when the pain is too much for my normal regiment of meds to handle. The muscle relaxer does nothing to combat the pain, but I know if I take a full pill I'll be knocked out for at least four hours. It's lovely, but you end up finding these 'nuclear options' to get through the pain. :/
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May 28, 2014 17:38
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You guys are so lucky to have pain clinic doctors that actually treat you like real people and not just another cash cow. My most recent appointment went a little something like this: I go in, the very first thing through the door is I get to pee in a cup for ~mandatory drug testing~... Then am taken back. The Dr. Come in and makes a little small talk with my husband (incidentally about how OBAMERCARE GONNA PUT HIM OUTTER BUSINESS) So then, my visit. I've been seeing this doctor for FOUR YEARS and only once, at my very first visit, did he examine any part of my body at all. We sit and he reviews my paper and notices I'd marked on my intake papers that I had a specific issue today - I usually do. And it's the same 2-3 major issues (hands/wrists/forearms, lower spine, and right shoulder) In all of the time I have brought these concerns to him, they're ignored or blamed on other things. But I digress. To my appointment. (Dr.)  How're you doing?(Me) Not so well. I've been having this pain in my arm where the whole side of my hand like... Spasms or something and then all my fingers go numb and draw up into a crab claw -makes hand gesture- It's very painful and is now happening g so frequently that hours of my day are spent doing nothing but holding heat or ice on my hands, both of which seem to help but only a little. :Well the government says I gave to tell you that you're over weight. The key to living with no pain is to lose weight. So... What should I do about my hands? If it hurts to do something, don't do it. If they start hurting, stop whatever you were doing and don't do it again. Then he leaves the room and the nurse returns with exit discharge papers and my med refills. This is how all appointments here go - and when the itemized bill comes in from my insurance I just can't figure how ol' 'Bamer is running him dry when he can somehow justify charging $946 for pissing in a cup and putting a dip stick in it. The paper print out I get at the end of my visit says my actual diagnosis is Myofascial pain syndrome, a close cousin to Fibro. He is currently treating me with the following: Morpheme 15mg 3x day Celebrex 200mg 1x day Tizanidine 4mg/day or pen I feel like nothing I'm on really works to contain and stop the pain, only dull it and make me so loopy that I don't care or something. On top of all this other bullshittery, the past few times I've gone, as he walks out he says poo poo like, "This is not a long term solution". WELL SHITBAG HOW ABOUT YOU EXAMINE ME WHEN IM IN YOUR OFFICE SO YOU HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT MAY BE THE SOURCE OF MY PAIN and maybe THEN we can use a treatment meant for whatever it is that makes my entire body feel like my muscle fiber is going to shred apart at any moment. e: fixed autocorrect blurp That Damn Satyr fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Jun 8, 2014 |
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Jun 8, 2014 07:40
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brakanjan posted:You ever thought of getting another doctor. I do not know how hard that is to do in your situation. But If I am paying for them now I literally walk in and ask them all the questions I need to written down on a piece of paper. If they try and end early and I am not satisfied I will tell them I exactly what I am paying them for. If they do not like it - I leave. Saves me more in the long run until I find someone who knows what they are talking about. After 12 years of misdiagnosis I do not take to kindly to people who cannot admit they do not know. I once read an article about this guy doing a study on risk management - especially important after the economic collapse in 2008 - he wanted to find out who had the best way of dealing with risk and wanted to apply it somehow to the investment sector. Anyway, he went to professional gamblers (and I mean pros not ones who remember their winning moments but ones that only look at their losses and analyze how to avoid, prevent or minimize it) he went to lawyers , bankers and a whole heap of professions that involved high risk factors. So he devised this test to test risk and when it came to testing doctors he found that they had one of the worst risk maintenance scores ever - he was surprised by this as he thought here are these guys everyday they have to make a vital decision on many patients all day - so he thought they would be good at it. But he found that they to positive they try to treat something as soon as they come accross it and most have to believe they can help or can cure or fix someone. They failed when it came to cold hard diagnosis and because, unlike the pro gambler, they remembered the positives and did not over analyze the negatives and perhaps realize they could not treat this from day one and refer or suggest alternatives --very little scored high that way. Anyway I remember that now when I deal with them. The big issue is that in North Carolina there's a sort of network thing that tracks all of your doctor.. stuff(?), and I've signed a pain contract with the current doctor I have, and by even going to a different doctor just for a simple second opinion and not seeking any medication at all it's a breach of the pain contract I was essentially forced to sign with this current doctor to receive any treatment at all. Beyond that, I've been found disabled because of the issues I have and therefore have Medicaid and Medicare, and finding doctors around here that take it is a whole circus on it's own. As well, far as seeking a different doctor, I would have to get this one to 'release' me from the contract, or sneak behind his back and potentially get caught 'going behind his back' per se and possibly get put on whatever doctor blacklist bullshit they have statewide to keep people from doctor shopping. I'm sorry for the huge vent post last night. This poo poo just gets to me really bad sometimes. :/ That Damn Satyr fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Jun 8, 2014 |
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Jun 8, 2014 22:37
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brakanjan posted:That is the most fked up poo poo I have ever heard a pain contract with a doctor. OMF. Really sure Hippocrates rolling in his grave. Just WOW. I swear only in America. Unfortunately in the US pain contracts are par for the course in most places. Some of the stuff that was on the one I had to sign was, for example, that I agree to not mis-use my medication by taking more of it than prescribed, not give it to anyone else, and so on which is basic sense, but also things like that I will only use one pharmacy, the one I have declared to this doctor that I use, that I will use no other painkillers prescribed by no other doctor and if something happens and I need to take meds from another doctor I have to call them ASAP and report it. IE: I had surgery and was put on some other heavy painkiller and I had to save all the bottles and take them with me to my next visit, even though they were all empty. Every visit I go to, I have to take my bottles that I've filled since the previous visit and they count all my meds and track it. I also, as mentioned, get a drug test every single time because god forbid marijuana might help relieve some of this pain. It's really a whole pile of bullshit... but there's not much else I can do right now but bitch about it on the internet, so... here we are.
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Jun 10, 2014 01:04
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Locker Room Zubaz posted:I have a question: What do you guys do when your pain is a 10 and you can't get it under control? As I've said before, my doctor gives me the time old prescription of "if it hurts, stop doing it" for breakthrough pain. Which means on a bad day I don't get out of bed with all the lights off and as quiet as possible because when my body goes lovely I get really might/sound/scent sensitive, and weep pathetically if the cat tries so much as to lay next to me or shakes the bed.  Without a support network, I don't know how I wouldn't have killed myself by now. Thankfully my husband is very patient and understanding and knows when it:s beat to leave me alone, and when it's best to bring me a beer and a morphiene.
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Jun 12, 2014 05:12
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