OT - my back - and emotional distress
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
One thing that my PCP said regarding the narcotics was that there are two issues involved with them. Dependence and Tolerance. He said that addiction -- as in abuse of the meds -- isn't likely because I am taking them for a known reason. He said if I stop taking them, I'll hurt, because I'm taking them for pain, and without them I'll feel the pain. More insidious is the "Tolerance" issue.... in that as the body becomes more and more used to the narcotics, they have less and less effect. I can tell you now that the meds I take today -- four years ago and I'd be a mind-muddled mess and unable to function .... but I've had issues with tolerance, so the pain meds the way they are now don't really affect me cogntively like they would have when I first started. I need to have a conversaton wth my doc about the background meds, upping them, or increasing the frequency so that they are more useful.
In any cases, I just wanted to point out that my PCP was far less worried about addiction than he was about tolerance and the side effect of pain if I come down off the narcotics.
One of the things that used to bug me.... mum was dying of cancer, and the docs kept saying, "we don't want to give her too much pain medicine, that will get her addicted." I was like Really? really? she's going to die in the next couple of days, and you're worried about addiction? Made me want to smack a few docs upside the head. Idiots!
~Lady Lithia~ 200 lbs lost!
March 9, 2011 - Coccygectomy!
I chased my dreams, and my dreams, they caught me!
Not all "pain specialists" are the same , I took my daughter to one ( because she couldn't drive) , we went in and she was USING A WALKER , pale , unable to stand straight , looked like death warmed over and the "doc" jumpt on the ground and told her she needed to do yoga and he showed her all these things she should be doing...I said what the F???? she can barely breath without passing out and YOU want her on the floor??? fat chance, she went to him a few times and then we fond someone else.
Just because you have a DR. in front of your name does not mean your aren't an idiot.
My PCP passed me off to the phisiatrist - sports/pain management , he thought I would be mad at him and I told him I would go to ANYONE who would help me, and I love my 12 year old doc, I am not out of pain , but I am so much better than I was !!!

Donna Q. --5'8" -60 years old
Band 2005
hw320 sw276 lw with band 195 gw 160-180?
Bypass 4/4/2012
pre sw 258 lw RNY 162 cw 203
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.

Donna Q. --5'8" -60 years old
Band 2005
hw320 sw276 lw with band 195 gw 160-180?
Bypass 4/4/2012
pre sw 258 lw RNY 162 cw 203
I asked her what should I do if the intense pain returns she told me there are other meds that I can take that aren't nsaids that could help control the pain.
I right now am not in intense pain although I am in pain daily. I use Lidoderm patches when it gets above tollerable and those help, but as far as intense pain, I know that fentanyl patches have worked for me before and I am sure I could go back on those again if an oral med just doesnt work.
If your ins. covers seeing a pain management doctor, I would recomend it. (might have to get a referal from the doctor you just saw depending on what ins requires).
They dont all shove oral pain meds at you and if they understand your cir****tances, most are willing to work within those restrictions to find something that would help.
I plan on using the fentanyl patches again if pain gets out of control.
I hope this helps in some way. I really like my pain management doctor.
She helped me go from 85% bed ridden to now where its barable (I have a high tolorance also).
Leisa
In my case that didn't work out as you know, and I ended up having it removed. But I was truly impressed with the Pain specialist in that he didn't get me on a pain contract, and he didn't even begin to go to a pain-medicine mentality in the entire time I saw him. Like I said, he gave me pain meds, but it was never as part of pain control and meant to be a permanent thing. In fact, once he realized that nothing that he could do would eliminate my pain, rather than just saying "Okay, let's get you on a pain contract and dope you up for life," instead he said, "Let's get that sucker out," and he actually had to do the shopping around to find a surgeon who would remove my tailbone.
So my point is, an orthopedic pain specialist might be able to look more clearly at your issues and discuss methods of helping you to conquer the pain. Yes he or she might give you pain meds to help in the interim, but there is Radio frequency Ablation, the nerve block you mentioned, and they even have some fancy things they're developing using Botox of all things.
~Lady Lithia~ 200 lbs lost!
March 9, 2011 - Coccygectomy!
I chased my dreams, and my dreams, they caught me!
I'm always amazed that doctors attempt to predict pain by looking at MRI's. While you can see orthopedic damage with and MRI, you cannot actually see pain. It's such an obvious concept that I'm always a little surprised when doctors try to tell me that I shouldn't be having so much pain from my knee damage. It's always such a clinical opinion, too. I'm like... so I can't climb stairs, but I should be able to? How does that help me? A few years ago, I had a bumper fracture of my left fibula (left knee, rear quadrant) when an SUV ran into me as I was crossing the street. I went to an orthopedist who said that although they could see my fracture on the MRI, they thought that my pain was referred pain from some degenerative knee damage I had. When I pointed out that the pain was in one knee only at the site of the fracture, I got a blank look.
Oh well... one of the reasons I had my RNY was to delay the need for knee replacements. Even the weight I've already lost has helped immensely, BUT the knee fracture still hurts all the time (especially when it gets rainy).
I'll be thinking of you and hoping you find some relief soon.