Is the DR right???

Hi everyone sorry havent posted in a while i had gastric surger in 2006 in august i weighed 506lbs...since then i have lost 270lbs..yea i know its good..but have had 6 kidney stones ..one stent put in...and my mom died four months ago in my arms..so its been a long road..but im grateful though because if i didnt loose the weight i would have never been able to take care of her during the last 3 months of her life ..so there has been good in bad..but i just had a strangleated hernia not sure if i spelled it right...and i had to have emergency surgery..it was a nightmare from the beginning my dr..told me a month ago not to have the surgery she said wait until i got the skin removed..well i couldnt wait...so anyways..the surgeon ended up doing the surgery and not putting a drain in..then i popped and fluid everywhere..then to top it off he told my dr i was on too many pain meds ..and she cut me in half the month i need them the most ...these pills help me walk and live and she knows this ...but this surgeon scared her and she just cut me in half ..now im in pain and only enough meds from a week left...i dont understand should i contact a lawyer...she wants me to go to a pain clinic to be put on methadone im like im on percocet now and you want me on methadone ?? no way!! im just so confused and scared as to i have come this far and i never catch a break now i worry i wont walk in a week and end up in some detox...the 500lbs did a number on my back and knees they are permanently crushed...im just scared and just looking for some advice..if you cant reach me here you can always email me at [email protected] everyone sorry to go on..how are you all doing? im still starting the support group god willing probaby in may now ..because nothing will stop me...!! i have to go on...!! but just down and sad now..wondering if i should look into getting a lawyer..its just been a nightmare then my 19 year old daughter refused to be my nurses aid on the surgical floor..i had no aid...not even a replacement...because she's not talking to me ..and im the one who got her a job..i just feel the world is turning on me...either that or im going crazy..sorry i will stop now..thanks for listening to this girls story...Donna from mass....

HONEST ANSWER?   I think you should try to do the pain management program. You sound confused and angry and desperate...And those are the sounds of a person needing percoset.  My husband got into a fix with that and vicodin after his dual knee replacement.   The drugs make you need and want them and hit your coping and mental well being in a bad way...It's not a joke it's an addiction...Your not going crazy..It's the percocet. Your daughter knows this is not you...so does your doctor...It's ok...a snag . yes,... but you can heal. Let go of the problem and let the doctor put you in the pain program...It will work and you will be ok. You will get your life back and be yourself again... As soon as my husband got off the narcotics ( yes..percoset and vicodin are those..)  he started feeling like himself...now he copes with the pain and uses tylenol and ibuprofen and feels better.....probably alot of that is because his mental state is again capable of handling the pain... Addiction to pain meds makes you mentally and physically incapable of dealing without them...It's not your fault but you will never get your life back in order unless you get them out of your system and life.   Coming down from 500 pounds is a huge accomplishment...It's a gift to be alive!!!! Grab it and do the right thing here...  LOVE...Really ...Let go and let god..( or in this case a pain management program...) You can heal ..with help!!!! Bless you and I hope you will keep in touch...Hugs and prayers..Suzle

Hi Donna, My heart goes out to you - it sounds like you have had so many ups and downs in the short-term that your head is probably spinning.   I do agree with Suzie that you should heed your doctor's advice and try pain management.  I am also very close to someone who had become addicted to narcotics (vicodin, percocet, oc's) that were initially prescribed to her and then over the years she started to get her own from other sources.  She was sent to detox last May against her will and very upset.  Then in August after a few months of struggle admitted herself to McLean for 28 days and has been clean since.  It was a LONG hard road, but she started by saying many of the things you are saying.  She knows now that it was the addiction to the narcotics (NO fault of her own, she was initially over prescribed and ignored by doctors) that had her convinced she could not live without the drugs.  She is incredibly happy, productive and pain free now.   RX addictions are sadly becoming more prominent with the number of drugs being approved and doctors who are willing to continually script.  I suspect that is why someone spoke to your doctor on your behalf out of concern for how long you were just given meds.  You spoke of getting a lawyer.  I don't know of any legal recourse that would require the medical community to supply you with a prescription for narcotics. I would imagine that you might feel a level of desperation to get another prescription with yours running out, especially if you have been taking narcotics for a long period of time.  There is a physical withdrawal that would occur if you have been on them for a while.  That might be why the doctor has suggested methadone.   I wish for you the best and I hope you can open a dialogue with your daughter that will provide you with a good support system. Good Luck, Julie

oh Donna, You have been through so much. There can be an end to all this pain. We found out last September that two members of our family had been on vicodin for six years. At first they were prescibed doeses, then the doses weren't enough and they got their meds through other sources. All this time we knew nothing about what was happening. They had two children during this time. We finally found out when looked at my bank statements and they stole checks from me to pay for their meds. They almost lost custody of their three children at the beginning of this process. They have been in rehab since then - at home rehab, visiting local psychiatrists to get suboxone - a methadone like drug. They are doing so much better now. They look healthy and are much happier. They are dealing with the pain in better ways. Please go to www.suboxone.com and search for a local prescibing psychiatrist.  Please contact me if you have any more questions. I certainly know what you are going through, but from the other side. please accept my hugs, Jayne

Thank you for your reply..i do believe that some people need not be on narcartics..but for others they can be  lifesaving drug...for me they let me walk and live...i weighed over 500lbs..and it crushed every joint in my back and knees and i have lympademia ...chronic kidney stones..so pain is a very real thing for..me they wanted to put me on oxycontin at one time and i refused i dont want to be on anything stronger than what i need ..im not all doped up ..i function ..walk ..talk...and do daily activities..for some people pain management is a life saver and im one of those people...without them I cant even walk or get out of bed in the morning..i dont steal..i go to one doctor..my urine is always tested...i do what they say...nothing more and nothing less..if i feel like im not in that much pain that day i take less..some people have to understand pain management for some people is a gift ..its not to get high because if you use it for pain relief you dont get a high ..you just can function ..so getting off the medication is not an option for me...it lets me live my life..i know  a lot of people over the 500lb mark that need chronic meds because even after a 270lb weight loss the bones just dont heal...and they need them too..im sure there are people out there that dont need them...every person is different. and this is just one persons story...I just need to find the right dr who is willing to take care of my whole body as a person..not just the pain ..and who understands my pain needs...going to the pain clinic scares me ...they want to put you on methadone and open your back up...it very scary to me...I dont know i just want to walk and live its been a tough year...i just would like to catch a break after coming this far...i dont want to give up now...but please listen to each persons story..you cant knock pain meds unless you really know the story..yes some people do abuse the drugs..but for others they let them function...

I am so sorry if I offended you with my candor.  Just relaying the experience I have had with my family.  You will do what is right for you... Perhaps one of our great research type hospitals in Boston have some special programs that might be helpful.  They are so often on the cutting edge and I think have so much more combined information and science available to them that the average primary care or internist. Maybe if you google Brigham and Womens and Tufts and ne medical and look at pain management docs you will find some helpful-help...I live on the cape and usually find the lieelt extra drive will worth the trouble.  You have come a long way, are really beautiful, and I wish you all the best of everything!!!! Prayers and hugs...and my apology

Donna, I, also, would like to apologize if I offended you. It is obvious that you are in acute pain. There are many things going on at the same time. I would give your PCP one last chance - just lay it on the line. Pain was under control before - it is not under control now. There are other issues that need to be addressed. You are going to have to find a new doctor. We are very fortunate to live so close to Boston - there are world class hospitals there. You have several issues going on at once. A teaching hospital may not be a bad place to be. I just looked up Pain Management and Brigham and Women's is one of the six Centers of Excellence in the United States in Pain Management. Suzie gave you some good advice. Ask your doctor for a referral. Jayne

Dont worry about it guys I know everyone is trying to help me..thank you so much im going to talk to the surgeon today and my primary told me to get my meds from the surgeon..i just dont understand..ever since the surgeon said something to her..i dont know just feel like the world is going crazy..just 3 weeks.....ago my dr told me i could wait to fix my hernia because i went there with pain then 3 weeks later in for emergency hernia surgery...oh well..i will keep you updated...thanks and dont worry...Donna...you guys are alll friends..

And my love and prayers to get the mess straightened out!!!!!  Springs coming so one way or another things are improving...Hugs...Suzle