Chronic Pain Patient With Severe Anxiety And Panic Attacks (Page 2)

I'm a patient going to pain management receiving OxyContin for chronic lower back pain and nerve damage in my feet and legs! I'm also seeing a psychologist who has diagnosed me with severe anxiety issues and ADHD disorders! I have hardware in my lower back (plates and screws), back fusion from S1 through L5 L3 L2! I've been disabled for 14 years!

My question is, can my pain management dr tell me I have to pick and choose which meds I need the most? She's telling me I can't receive my pain meds and my Xanax too! I have a contract with a comprehensive pain specialist. Can she kick me out of pain management because of the new guidelines in Tennessee? I'm going through a divorce and I've lost my son in a car wreck! I'm in constant pain and I'm having a panic attack right now! I'm scared to death and don't understand what's going on! Please help me?

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Hi Timothy, I'm truly sorry to hear of your situation. I too live in TN and underwent back surgery with your same synapes of symptoms. It is unfortunate about the laws across the US regarding the opiates, however, TN, FL, KY, AL and other southern states were somewhat lax in there prescribing methods and the government is cracking a little harder on those states as examples. As to your question, I WAS on xanax and oxycontin but have since been weaned and removed from the pm drugs. Basically, you have 2 separate medical issues and they have to be handled separately but cojointly for the betterment of your health. Your psychologist will need to submit a CMN detailing the necessity of your xanax while you seek alternate medical treatment for your back, leg and neuropathy pain., i.e., Tai Chai, Accupuncture, Physical Therapy. Also you have to be weaned off your medications and not abruptly stopped. I hope things work well for you and I will put you in my prayers. On a positive note, I know it doesn't seem like it now but less medications and you will feel better but you need to get through the withdrawl period first. Good Lucky!!

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Re: Vinny (# 10)

Wow!!!! Who do you think you are to judge someone that you know nothing about. You need to get off of this site because you get off on judging people. Unreal. I'm glad I'm not your friend or related to you. Take a seat, no one's needs to be judged. Bye bye.

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Hi Timothy, I realize you posted this awhile ago and hope you were able to get something tolerable figured out. My advice to you would be to get yourself some red vein kratom. It will help immensely with the anxiety, it even helps with pain. I got cut back quite a bit off my pain meds and have suffered bouts of anxiety as well as the pain. My pain medication doc won't give anxiety meds either! Kratom is legal in most states and won't come up in a U/A. I take the powder, 1 tsp. 3x a day. Bali, borne, Sumatra, or maeng da (Red vein). It is non-addictive and works wonders. It is considered an herbal supplement so it's not fda approved. Honestly if you don't know about it, just Google it....I've been in your shoes a little....I understand how depressed and frightening it is to lose medications you desperately need. I'm so sorry this is happening to you, and so many others. I will just say, kratom has been a literal life saver for me. Good luck hon.

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Re: Susyq (# 23)

Very good advice! I use Kratom also. Fantastic for Pain and Anxiety!

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Re: Susyq (# 23)

Great advice. I take 2 tsp Green Malay twice a day. I totally quit pain management because they took me from Norco to Fentanyl. Fentanyl was horrible. I had bad nightmares, homicidal ideations and have acne (I'm 43 and never had acne). After 2 patches I was over it. Been taking Kratom for 13 months now. Plus it's inexpensive.

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Re: Susyq (# 23)

Thanks susyq! I've heard of kratom I will have to try it! Talked to pm doctor today and she wants me to be weaned down from 3 msg of xs a day to a half of a milligram a day! Or nothing is what she really wants! Don't know why they act like they care! There just scared of the government and won't admit it!

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I'm not sure why your dr would remotely risk your life saying that? You can't quit xanax like that! The others gave you great advice and in GA they seem to send you to a psychologist and I was given xanax and ask to be switched so I'm supposed to take 3 a day but I take one. I don't have severe anxiety as you but will say half hasn't shown in my drug panels at pain management and I had to show the bottle was full Bc I don't need 3 a day. Drs do not have it together and are too afraid to stand up for us. You can have severe seizures or death if you come off those to abruptly. I'm not saying you will but you can. Don't risk it and document everything! Keep a journal in your phone if you have the notes app or at least write it down. Pain patients are paying a hefty price we didn't ask for because of the ones who take illicit drugs and mixed things. The government lies and in all my years working in the lab I never once had a pain patient overdose! It was a few and each time illicit drugs or alcohol was involved and they had taken numerous other things. The media fails to tell that! I'm sorry for your loss & I don't feel your pain but please know there's a few of us left who have compassion & must work together to stop how we are being treated. It seems we have too many uneducated chiefs with the DEA and medical community who seem clueless about the damage their doing. A few legal cases on them should stop them and make them rethink how to separate addicts from chronic pain patients.

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Re: Vinny (# 10)

Vinny, you need to be very careful with what you put out into the world with your words. Your lack of empathy and compassion might come back to bite you and I promise you, I would not wish "severe nerve pain" on my worse enemy. They cannot get through initially without being medicated. Drugs such as Lyrica and Neurotin can be harmful on the long haul to some patients. As the saying goes: " What works for one does not necessarily work for another". We are all different and require different treatments and methods. Show some compassion and empathy you yourself may need it one day. GOD bless.

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I totally understand how you’re feeling. I to have an anterior, posterior 2 level fusion from L4 L5 to S1, and have been taken off all pain meds except for acute flare-ups! I now have epidural shots which helps some but I also have to learn to live with pain! I know where you’re at and I’ll pray for you! The medicine became my best friend and I’m so glad that I worked with the Drs. and got off the heavy narcotics because I was addicted and I definitely was slowly dying! I know what you’re going through my friend, but do what you can to get your life back! I am now in recovery and the benefits of helping others who are going through the same thing I’ve been through is so rewarding! I see a great pain management psychologist, here in Maine! I hope you get your life back and not become just a statistic! Please let me know how you make out with things, all my best!!!

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New FDA rules ..guidelines. Restrictions. On pain meds. Combined. With. Hypnotic benzo"s xanax ..restoril

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I am a chronic pain patient as well with hardware in low back as well been taking both oxyconton n oxycodone n Xanax n I have been taking for 25 years or so n I had to make the choice as well u have to decide what one is more important to u pain meds or Xanax I had to let go of my Xanax a couple of years ago cause I have two broken screws in my back n Dr.swont fix yes it's a bumb deal to choose but it's not all the doctor's fault it's also the government n saying that you could overdose cause both pain meds and benzo's decrease your heart rate n breathing and u can die from it even though u have been taking both for years it's just away for them to get people off there meds so it's your choice which one helps you more n go with it cause both dr.s could let you go if u don't choose one or the other hope this helps you out in making your decision best to you

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I think since you need to follow the rules, and also you're under contract with ur pain management group. It is extremely important to follow their rules. I would think to manage ur anxiety would come second...& since you kinda have a med to help calm you, I'd remain there & follow the rules! Ask the pain management group if they can recommend or refer you to a psychiatrist or teg pc doctor, that will prescribe you an anxiety medication that is not xanax! There are a couple, well a lot that work like xanax and will help your anxiety, and wont have the same feeling that xanax has. But yes, the same effect, that will help your anxiety! It is called buspar & it is common and has been around a long long time! You have to take it a couple of times a day, I think, till it gets in your system, kind of like an antidepressant! & it works. Two of my family members took it and I was on it back in the 90s! Good luck! Don't mess your contract up... I'm sure the pain medicine is very important to ur well being, & to get you through every day with your back pain issues!

If there's somebody nice that you can talk to at your pain management clinic, like someone else besides the nurse and doctor like a "Case worker" or a manager that can help you with this question, I would talk to them. But in the meantime, look up anxiety medications that are not xanax! Okay have a good one. I hope you feel better!

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Re: Vinny (# 10)

How can you say to someone there are other ways to deal with pain and anxiety? Are you that person or do you know what they have been through? There are to many dying from overdoses and things need to change, but why judge someone based off a couple of paragraphs. When you have chronic pain it's not unusual for anxiety and depression to have an impact as well.

Being someone who has chronic pain daily I get upset when others just assume anyone who takes pain meds/anxiety meds are druggies. My chronic pain comes from a genetic disorder that causes large/recurrent kidney stones. For the last 11 months I have passed at least 1 kidney stone everyday. Most days I pass 5+ and have had several days where I "showered stones" (meaning I passed 20+ stones at one time). My worst day was a month and a half ago when I passed 85 kidney stones in 1 day. My close friends and family know about my condition (my sister passed from it in 2015) but I've been judged for taking pain medicine and anxiety/depression medication. Someone who doesn't know why I take these medications has no right to assume that because I take pain medication I am just a druggie.

May I ask what you would suggest for someone to do when they are limited in natural remedies and they are in constant pain? The depression and anxiety just get worse with each stone, because I know the damage will ultimately kill the one kidney I have. So again a suggestion on what to do since "back in the day narcotics weren't needed."

TN has one of the highest Opiate prescriptions in the nation. Benzos aren't far behind. I would suggest talking with your PM doc and see if it's just that they don't want to write a script for both or if they will drop you as a patient if you stay on both. I personally can't find a PM doc that will treat me, because my kidney issue is very rare and no one wants to accept the responsibility of handling my meds. With laws in TN and all the new changes my urologist is limited to writing a script to cover just a week at a time. It really sucks that all the overdoses and misuse of meds have made it so difficult for those that really need them.

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Re: Vinny (# 10)


I honestly don't have much to say to you man. You're not worth all the words I would write! Bottom line is you're extremely ignorant so you shouldn't even comment! You should be logging off and stay off of this site because you're not helping anyone making that type of comment.

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Re: Jamie (# 33)

I came across your post and noticed you have a lot of kidney stones! I have lupus and was dx 4 months ago but I get stones a lot too and my daddy, uncles, aunts and sisters do as well. I have 4 small ones but never large. I guess the pain is all the same but what I was wondering is did you get a nagging pain like someone stabbing you in the kidney area? My psi is different from before and I have the protein, leukocytes & blood on my U/A. It's worse whenever I walk so I've stayed in bed and made my son run our family business the past week Bc my gosh it is weird how that stabs me and hurts to touch. Did you find anything out about what causes yours? And your right about the person who commented on pain meds so rudely as if they have all the answers to something they know nothing about! I bet if he/she had a few stones they wouldn't say that!!! Anyways, I hate that for you! Their beyond painful and I get them about 2 or 3 times a year so I couldn't imagine how you function. I think it feels like labor (back) pain or worse!!!

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Re: Timothy (# 26)

Hey buddy, I hope you're doing ok without the x. Maybe kratom will work for you. I tried it and it didn't do anything for me unfortunately. I was bummed because a lot of folks swear by it. Maybe I didn't have the right vendor, but they had good reviews. Make sure you do research on the vendor before you buy. Good luck brotherman.

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Re: John (# 34)

To Vinny: I'm sure you have more compassion and empathy than you seem able to verbalize or demonstrate but please unless you know of someone's else's pain don't demean them. Everyone's pain threshold is different so there is no right or wrong to it. Let's take your genetic disorder, isn't passing a stone like giving birth? Millions of women do that daily. Are we suppose to be supportive of you? Please be compassionate; offer positive feedback and well wishes or don't respond. On a positive note I'll pray for you both as both conditions are bad. Good Luck and GOD Bless to you both.

P.S. My point is my statement is off base and lacking emotional affact as I don't know all your case history or you. Don't be that kind of person.

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Have you tried to use CBD Oil? It can help with anxiety, feet, legs and back pain as well as headaches. It also has no THC. Just a thought. Hope things will work out for you. Good Luck.

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Re: John (# 34)

Yea, I feel the same about Vinny, but he probably has no friends, and the only way he can get attention is to be an a**hole to people cause that's the only way he gets attention. Just look at all the posts that people made to him. He took the attention off of Timothy and got them to focus on him... Not worth the words, as you said. Take care bro.

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Re: Verwon (# 4)


Right. Doctors can do that BUT more likely it's because they're paranoid over the FAKE "OPIOID HYSTERIA".
You can thank the CDC for that!!!

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