Guest guest Posted January 1, 2002 Report Share Posted January 1, 2002 What you say here seems to me very reasonable. I just have to toss in a situation I had that I put up with much longer than I should have. When I first relocated to Las Vegas, I was glad to have an HMO with a good reputation that accepted medicare, but didn't know what to expect as an individual chronic patient. I had a long history of treatment, where things seemed to me in balance, and I was not looking for changes. I chose both psychiatrist and general physician by credentials. Things went along fine for awhile. Then my psychiatrist retired, leaving me stuck with someone who lacked the patience to read my chart, or get physical medical information on me, and decided to taper me off meds. At about the same time, the general physician decided to do the same. It was a slow process so I didn't catch on right away. But then the body dock refused to renew my meds at all, and it was impossible to communicate with him. I also was in bad shape for months & couldn't kep appointments. Finally, in a moment of clarity, I called & verbally haranged the service reps & made a serious verbal complaint. My main point here is that I was really at their mercy & it took so long to realize I was being mistreated. Did get an apology from one doc, and just demanded a change in the other. Fortunately these worked out well & I got a lot of medical control on newer, more appropriate meds; and quantities I needed. & changed to more alert docs. But I was so depressed could have killed myself in the meantime. 2nd point is that though I had been fighting for others much of my life, it was still so very hard to fight for myself. Ken At 01:30 PM 1/1/2002 +0100, C Hayton wrote: >As a chronic pain patient, I've thought a lot about this subject. >I think a lot of time people in a chronic pain situation are more aware of >their medication taking than other " short lived episode " people. >We take our medications (however the combination and strength prescribed) >as a way of being able to function from day to day. This is the main >reason. At least for me. A lot of times when I'm having a " better " day, >I'll forget to take my medications that are supposed to be taken twice >daily. I also have other medications to take the edge off of the " peaks " . >A lot of doctors don't even take the time to study our cases - they just >see the level of medication and compare it with " normal " people. And of >course, we are way over the top. But NOT for our individual situations. >That's the catch here, and this is the point that is so degrading and >frustrating. > >The addiction risk is 0.02% (in a study I read), as our bodies use up the >meds in a totally different way than they would if we were not in the >situations we are, and still taking the levels of meds we have to now. >Nobody wants to be in our shoes, and we haven't chosen to be in our >respective situations. But since we are, a lot of us are not able to take >other types of treatment, due to lack of knowledge in the health care >systems in different countries. > >We do not take our meds to " get off " . Yes, there are times when our meds >will knock us out, but this is usually a sign of how tired our bodies are, >and if the meds to take the peaks away, I know I'm left with 1-2 days of > " recovery " , as I'm left with no energy at all. We could try to " run away " >by taking extra meds, but it doesn't help in the long run. I'm sure that >most here have felt relieved when they feel the meds kicking in, but this >is not usually something that is directed towards misuse, but simply that >our bodies need the " break " they give us for the short time they work. And >yes, it does feel good to get a short time of pain relief, but that does >NOT make us addicts!! >I know I am grateful when my evening meds work so well that I'm able to go >to bed without taking any sleeping pills. This to me is a good thing, but >it varies from day to day, depending on many factors that we haven't been >able to map. > >Just my thoughts on this matter, and I hope 2002 will be a more positive >year for all of us - maybe even some here can find solutions to their >problems that can help to live productive lives!! > >Best New Years Wishes, >- - > > >Kathleen previously wrote: " We have struggled for years to > >separate those of us who have a true need for > >medication to have a life, from those who miss use medication to > >get high. " > > > >Thanks, Kathleen, for your very astute observations. As a drug > >abuse counselor who is also a chronic pain patient, you have a > >unique position to help us make a definitive difference between > >what a drug addict is and what it means to be a chronic pain > >paitent seeking a better quality of life with the help of > >pain-relieving medications. Keep adding your two cents worth! > >Ray > > > > > > > >Know someone who could profit from our list? Send our direct sign-up > >URL: http://www.yahoogroups.com/subscribe.cgi/chronic_pain or write us > >at: chronic_pain-listowner > >Manage your subscription with several special email addresses: > >chronic_pain-owner - Sends email to the list owners > >chronic_pain-subscribe - Subscribe to the list through email > >chronic_pain-unsubscribe - Unsubscribe from the list > >chronic_pain-normal - Switch your subscription to normal > >chronic_pain-digest@... - Switch your subscription to digest > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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