Re: Re: Old... but with new questions

[Guest guest]

I have such a problem with how all of this society looks at narcotic use for

chronic pain. I had to stop watching " House " on Fox because they had his chronic

pain so very poorly managed. He would throw back a handful of pain pills while

his fellow 'doctors' called him an addict and told him he needed to get off

drugs. I would yell at the TV, saying he needed to see a pain specialist and get

on a managed schedule of pain meds. My husband would say " it's just a TV show " .

Which of course I knew, but it was a reflection of how narcotic use is viewed.

I also noticed that the methadone that was responsible for Nichole's

son's death was never reported as useful for pain, rather than just for heroine

addiction treatment. I was actually a little relieved when I had to go on

morphine along with my methadone so when asked by other doctors or dentists

which meds I'm on, their staff won't think I'm really on methadone because I

have had a heroine problem! Just silly, and at this point I don't worry so much

what anyone thinks, but it was just a different feeling that maybe I wasn't

judged the same, and that perhaps it could be an education for the staff- that I

take both meds together, legitimately. And that I function quite well, driving

and acting like a regular person, not a 'drugged' person. I guess my main fear

is the one that is in the back of my mind at all times- that the meds that help

me so much will become impossible to get.

My goodness- I didn't mean to go on for so long! I hope everyone has the best

possible weekend!

God Bless,

Bea

Carole Myron <scolioly2@...> wrote:

Did you happen to notice that, when 's son died,

people thought that he was on methadone to cure a heroin habit and

never gave a nod to the idea of chronic pain? I do not know if he

suffered from " anything " , but that did hit me. My doctor has told me

that, before long, he would recommend that for my spinal pain. It is

just awful, I think, the way " people " talk about drugs, without any

knowledge of what it is like to be one of us!

Just meandering!

Carole (PS -- I so hope that your son is doing well!)

>

> My son, who is 21 and has had several spine fusing surgeries, has

been

> successful controlling his pain with methadone, 10 mg three times a

day. Before

> that he did patches, oxycodone and other meds with limited

success.

> Methadone is a very old tried and true pain medication and it is

amazingly

> inexpensive. With insurance coverage, patches had been costing

around $100 a month

> and Methadone is $10 a month.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh, , that is just terrible! Our local drugstore went " chain " , but the

pharmacist stayed the same. The advertise that they do not stock the pain

killers, but they do order them for specific prescriptions. I had one time

when the pharmacist came around the counter and asked me if I had considered a

" pain clinic " . I told him that my prescriptions were FROM a pain clinic, and

named it. His response was, " Say no more! " , and he disappeared behind the

counter. I guess they thought that, since I did see different doctors in the

clinic who wrote my same prescriptions, I might have been shopping around! We

have had no problems since then. There are people, though, who just do not

" get it " ! I've gotten to the point where I just don't care what they think.

They have no idea where we are! You hang in there, my friend, and do what

is best for you! Please be well!

Carole

[Guest guest]

Hi friends,

Anyone who is questioning whether or not they should take pain meds,

especially opoids, should check our the American Pain Foundation's web site.

There you will find the most up to date info on pain meds, why you shouldl not

let others dictate to you how to control your pain level, and much, much more

info. The APF is a wonderful source of info. As a pain advocate myself for many

years now, I highly recommend the APF as a source of support.

americanpainfounda@...

All the best,

Beth

---------------------------------

Check out the all-new beta - Fire up a more powerful email and get

things done faster.

[Guest guest]

Hi Carole,

Thank you! :0)

scolioly2@... wrote:

Hi, Bea ~~

I have mentioned before that my doctor has told me many times that those of

us taking medications for pain are not taking it to get a " buzz " . In fact,

we do not get a " buzz " , because we are actually using the meds to their best

advantage. Don't let anyone make you feel " different " . I feel so lucky to

finally have the help that I had needed for so very long!

And a very good weekend to you, as well! ~

Carole

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

You are so right about how it feels to take MS. Your problem with pharmacies

is a new one to me. I'm beginning to realize that I am very fortunate in so many

ways. In another back support group, I heard from a nice lady who would be

called by her pain clininc to come down (an hour long trip) to have her pills

counted. This happended fairly often in her clinic to all patients. I've never

had it even mentioned to me. Plus I have a cousin-in-law who is my pharmacist at

a big chain store and he makes sure they always have all my meds in stock.

Life is pretty darn good!

Bea

Leger - C74 <legerpj@...> wrote:

I can honestly say that I have never had a BUZZ from morphine. Now if

you want to feel lazy, worn out, run down and slightly muddled all day

it's the drug of choice. Seriously I have taken a lot of narcotic

medication over the years for my pain and I have yet to figure out why

anyone would take this stuff for fun. Unless I sit down and

consciously think about it I don't even notice the effects anymore and

it's pretty mild at best.

You know the other problem now is that a lot of pharmacies won't stock

narcotics any longer which leaves some people in a bit of a situation

when it comes to getting their prescriptions filled. There are several

chain pharmacies in town that have big sign up about it and when I

dared to ask what they would do for someone who had a valid

prescription they said basically too bad. I said I guess that makes us

second class citizens in your eyes then and she just shrugged. Isn't

that a wonderful attitude.

[Guest guest]

My son is son is being treated for chronic pain by a pain management doctor.

He, too, is on methadone which is working well. He's 21, has had 3

scoliosis surgeries and is fused T3 - L3. The more recent surgery was to treat

pain that developed 3 years after his T11 - L2 fusion surgery due to a failed

fusion.

[Guest guest]

To KnightonND@... ;

Isn't your name ? I remember, at any rate, about your son! I am glad

that he seems to be doing well. I am fused from T6 to L5 and am 'way past

his age! God love him! I really hope that his trials and tribulations are

over!

Carole

[Guest guest]

Beth,

Just wanted to acknowledge that I believe you may be the one who encouraged

me to join the American Pain Foundation. I have a dark blue bracelet from

them that I wear regularly now. They are a wonderful group!

I've seen them mentioned quite a bit lately, and wonder if people really

know of all the good that they do.

Carole M.

[Guest guest]

Folks..

When it comes to managing this horror of a deformity called Flatback Syndrome

and all the side-effects that come with it, I believe that at some point in time

we have ALL said, in one way or another, " NO ONE is EVER going to talk me into

more back surgery!! " or " I don't care how 'relatively minor' they say this

procedure is, it's NOT for me! " or my personal favorite, " I CAN NOT LIVE with

this

f-ing pain for one more minute...somebody, PLEASE make it stop!! "

I've already been thru the revision thing; now I focus on pain

control/management. My mantra now is, " I don't care how many pills I have to

take...I AM NOT going to have yet ANOTHER surgery to plant some sort of pain

pump into me!! " They might as well put me back together with velcro at this

point...make it easier on all concerned! 5 surgeries for this horror is my

limit!

All the best,

Beth

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

Bea,

You should see the looks and double-takes I get when I tell people that I take

120mg of OxyContin CR 2X's/day, have Oxy IR 5mg tabs to take as needed for

breakthrough pain, 3600mg Neurontin/day and SOMA 1-2X's/day and often at

bedtime just to relax my back muscles enough so that I can lie down!

It's those double-takes and whispers that prompted me to become so involved

as a patient advocate for better pain management programs for the over 500,000

people in the US that suffer with chronic pain.

All the best,

Beth

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

,

I recently moved from a very metropolitan area back to my much smaller

hometown. I have been taking OxyContin 120mg twice a day) for almost 4 yrs now.

I used to get my rxs. filled at a privately owned pharmacy that was located in

the same building as my Pain Mgmt. doc. When we moved here, the very FIRST thing

I did was get on the phone and find a pharmacy that would not only order/stock

the Oxy but would also fill it from an out-of-town physician. No one will be

suprised to learn that quite a few of the pharmacists either quickly said,

" Oh!no, no, we can't fill that! " ; but my favorite was the ones who actually

laughed at me! I kid you not! What kind of professionalism is that??!!

I finally found a pharmacy that would fill my monthly rxs. It's a Rite Aid

that is located directly across the street from the hospital I worked at for

many years. They know that I get my rxs.filled on or about the same day every

month; so they order the # of tabs I need a couple of days ahead. They are a

wonder group of pharmacists and pharma. techs. who not only DO NOT judge my

medical needs but are kind and empathetic to boot! I know I just got lucky!

All the best,

Beth

---------------------------------

Want to start your own business? Learn how on Small Business.

[Guest guest]

Oh Beth, I DO know the looks, and I know the work you're doing is needed by

everyone, but to me the most important people to educatre are the doctors. They

get next to no training about chronic pain and narcotic treatment, so I hope

your work is reaching that group! Bless you big time!

Bea

Beth <bethann0917@...> wrote:

Bea,

You should see the looks and double-takes I get when I tell people that I take

120mg of OxyContin CR 2X's/day, have Oxy IR 5mg tabs to take as needed for

breakthrough pain, 3600mg Neurontin/day and SOMA 1-2X's/day and often at bedtime

just to relax my back muscles enough so that I can lie down!

It's those double-takes and whispers that prompted me to become so involved as a

patient advocate for better pain management programs for the over 500,000 people

in the US that suffer with chronic pain.

All the best,

Beth

---------------------------------

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.