Continual Chronic Lower Back Pain That Makes Me Cry And Scream From The (Top voted first)

My lower back pain is severe, I can only do some house work at 5 to 10 minutes till I have to sit down, and if I'm doing dishes I can lift my body us with my hands to give it some relief. I'm not sure if it is related but my pain now in my lower abdomen and shoulders with extreme pain. I have acquired some vicodine yesterday at least I think they are. I'm going to use a couple tomorrow when I'm doing my chores and TRYING to get dome restful sleep. The pills are white round with a #10 on one time and course; Thank you for my long winded explanation. Tanya Perry

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BL, BELINDA, TRACEY - I am also a nurse, and the difference is when a doc decides he cannot adequately care for the patients pain and does not refer them on to someone who can. if the doc does not refer the patient on then this is a failure to care for the patient. all of this is ridiculous because all the doc has to do is keep adequate records to show a legitimate need for the meds, just like with any other meds they prescribe. if they cant keep up with their own records they should be reported and I don't want to see them. also about the alcoholism I went thru a very ruff patch and I fell really hard, allowing alcohol to be my solution. it wasn't, I got help for the depression I was suffering from, and got the alcohol under control. it wasn't the alcohol that was the problem it was me. there are 2 types of alcoholics, ones who cannot properly metabolize the alcohol or have an allergy to it, and those who are suffering emotionally and use it as a crutch to get away from an event in their lives. mine was the suicide of a spouse. I hurt so bad I wanted to die, so I tried to drink myself to death and almost succeeded. ive never been a very religious person but only by the grace of god did he pull me out of the darkness and back to my family, I do drink occasionally and have no problem with it. although I am always aware of it and see my psychiatrist regularly. I have chosen not to continue my nursing career because the alcohol did take its tole. i do however withhold this information when i see a doc because it does effect how im treated. should i never be aloud to have pain medicine ever again? that's just unreasonable. in fact ive been thru 2 surgeries and was given morphine and Vicodin with no problems. you have to be ready to get thru the hard times, sometimes there are those who are never ready. but we all deserve appropriate care.

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BL: I'm wondering why, in your response to Tracy, you found it necessary to denigrate her, i.e., "you obviously know nothing about addiction." I suspect that if she has a brother who is/was/whatever an alcoholic, it is quite likely that, sadly, she knows a great deal about addiction and the affects it can have on a person and their family. Why not simply explain, kindly, that once addicted to alcohol, a person is always at risk of relapsing instead of resorting to putdowns? In any case, if a recovering alcoholic has broken bones, it is still cruel to make them suffer from the terrible pain this creates.
Let me reiterate a couple of the things Tracy said. First, this doctor MISDIAGNOSED the patient's broken bone as a strain! When he returned for a check-up, this doctor again misdiagnosed his condition, saying the ribs were "healing great" when, in fact, the rib was broken in half! This is not a doctor in whom I'd have ANY faith! Secondly, the infectious disease doctor apparently recognized that, alcoholic or not, severe pain must be treated and prescribed Norco for this gentleman which his own doc then refused to refill because--why? Because he's so much smarter than the other doctor? Probably not. Because he's a sadist? Possibly. Because he's arrogant? Very likely! Is there a chance this patient would become addicted to a narcotic pain reliever? Of course there's a chance--just as there is a chance with lots of other people and PERHAPS even more of a chance because he was a recovering alcoholic. That doesn't mean the doctor should nonchalantly allow this man to live in agony. Yes, AGONY, because, as Tracy stated, a broken rib is one of the most painful breaks one can have. To me, this is an example of "man's inhumanity to man." To allow a fellow human being to suffer to this extent because he MIGHT become addicted to the medication rather than relieve his pain with carefully supervised prescribing is nothing more than deliberately torturing a patient when it is within the doctor's power to prevent the torture, while self-righteously pretending you're doing it for the patient's own good. As a chronic pain patient for the last 20+ years, I have been victimized by this same self-righteous attitude and have been ASTOUNDED by the behavior of many doctors and their "I AM GOD and I've decided you'll just have to suffer" attitude. When I told one nurse practitioner (this was about 10 years ago) that I hadn't slept more than having occasional "catnaps" for four months in addition to having severe pain from my illness, I was sobbing and hysterical, desperate for help to sleep and for pain relief. Believe me. when you don't sleep, your mind goes! Her response? "No matter how sleep deprived you are or how much pain you're in, you have to be calm and courteous to everyone in the office." I wasn't being rude, just sobbing and begging for help. And THAT was what she considered an appropriate response? My husband was even with me, telling her that I was telling the truth about the severity of my pain and about not sleeping, which itself can cause additional pain. She told him it didn't matter; I had to be "nice"--calm and sociable--or she would have to discharge me as a patient.

I only bring up this incident as confirmation of the fact that there are plenty of doctors, PA's and NP's out there who really don't give a _ _ _ _ if a patient is suffering. They like "tidy" patients who respond with worship, adoration and gratitude to whatever is done for (or to!) them.

One final point: If Tracy's brother ever developed a cancer which was curable but caused severe pain in the meantime, I'm willing to bet his oncologist wouldn't refuse pain relief for him because he had abused alcohol in his past. Broken ribs an be just as painful as cancer. There are NO excuses for this heartless MD's behavior. He has definitely done more harm than good, no matter how much he may pat himself on the back.

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I agree 100% and there is NO reason for a doctor to leave a patient in pain....yet many are doing so. My brother in law has broken ribs and because he was an alcoholic, quit and went to treatment almost 3 years ago.....the docs do not want to treat his acute pain! It is totally unethical for a doctor to do that but what I am going to tell you next makes you wonder about some doctors.....This happened about a month ago where he broke his ribs. His doctor prescribed nothing and told him he did not have any problems with the ribs...it "must have been a strain." Anyway, it gets better, the radiologist read the X-ray and found the break....seriously! The doc still would not prescribe anything but tylenol since he had been an alcoholic but not drank in about 3 years. It keeps getting better......He went back to the same doctor the other day and he told him he is healing great, there are not fractures and therefore he needs no meds. When the X-ray was read it came back that his rib was actually broken in half and not healing. That, in and of itself, can cause a whole host of problems including punctured lung, etc. The doctor STILL would not give my brother in law anything stronger than tylenol....not even tramadol for the second time. He had to see an infectious disease doctor for cellulitis of the leg that didn't heal on vancomycin, and he gave him Norco. Well, for any more he would have to contact his own family doc.....the one that refused him any kind of pain med and actually LIED to him about the results of his X-rays!!!!! Where is the "first do no harm" oath in ethics in this case? I think that doctor should have his license suspended until he goes through some retraining as a doctor! It doesn't matter if someone has been a previous drug addict or alcoholic, doctors HAVE to treat acute processes like pain! And, broken ribs are one of the worst bones in the body where pain is concerned! They also take a very long time to heal. What is with these doctors these days? I am a nurse and am actually embarrassed to admit I belong to the medical field! Patients, especially chronic pain patients, are not treated with the same respect and dignity other patients are treated with. We are looked at as nothing but drug seekers.....those of us who are younger and not disabled by the states definition of disabled! Another thing we have trouble getting is the right combo of meds ore even the right med to help enough with our pain that we can lead some semblance of a normal life instead of locked up in our homes because the pain is so bad we can do nothing else! I don't foresee this problem ever getting any better either! I don't know what we, as a pain community, can do about any of this and how we are treated! Its sad and I feel stuck. What do we do?

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Not addressing the pain of a patient who is in agony is wrong. Plain and simple, it's just wrong. If the doctor was in the same kind of pain, it would be treated. A patient who is suffering is at the mercy of a doctor's opinion, fears, whims, whatever. To all those who would defend a doctor who allows a patient to remain in terrible pain, shame on you.

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Thanks for clarifying that, BL. I'm sure that's true. I know there's a "movement" to hold U.S. physicians accountable for leaving their patients in pain and not treating their pain adequately. I think that's good; Lord knows the drug abusers have made it difficult for the true pain patient. But I understand the doctors' fears because of the DEA, etc. It's tough being a chronic pain patient in America--heck, it's tough being in chronic pain, period!:-)

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Had to change complete hospital network,some Doctors cannot give you any help whatsoever cause they don't have time, it's the girl that does the scheduling in doctors office which causes us to get no help whatsoever, local doctors are all tied up with big hospitals and gets worse as time goes by.

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Re: Belinda (# 6)

I think you left out a reason why this doctor did not prescribe the pain medicine. The Federal government has passed laws quietly which make it hard for doctors to write prescriptions for opioid meds.This particular man just happens to very likely enjoy inflicting pain. That would make him a sadist. Some states have followed suite and passed laws making it hard for anyone to get pain pills which actually work. Those who do not agree with these laws must organize to get poliical.

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Are you under a doctor's treatment?

As to the pills, is that the entire marking and what country are they from?

Vicodin contains Acetaminophen and Hydrocodone, which is a narcotic analgesic and it can cause side effects, such as: nausea, dizziness, dry mouth and constipation.

In addition, too much Acetaminophen in any 24 hour period can be toxic, so you do have to be careful about how many you take. I am not sure how much is in these tablets, but you shouldn't exceed 1,000mgs of the Acetaminophen in any single dose and no more than 4,00mgs in day.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Vicodin/­

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Unfortunately I too have the same symptoms, I lost my insurance and was forced to go to a clinic rather than my pain management doctor he had me on MS Contin 12 h. and dilaudid 4mgs. for break through pain which managed the pain. My new doctor changed my medication to a Fentanyl patch and tyelnol which doesn't control my pain, I can't stand long enough to even cook let alone anything else. There must be some relief out here. DOCTOR tells me jst have to suffer some pain




















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Tracy, when someone has an history of addiction, which is what alcoholic is. It would be irresponsible for the dr to give them an addicting drug, even if it is for a legimate medical reason. You obviously know nothing about addiction because you think that he "was" an alcoholic. He will always be an alcoholic. He doesn't have to be currently drinking.

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I could have written this I lost my oxy 10 and now I am given 5 mg oxy 4 times a day. I am in so much pain with no relief he trys to tell me a 5 mg oxy will last 6 hours... My god a dentist gives or gave more help than that. I am living with sever back damage and neck degeneration as well both knees replaced and failed back surgery. I am out of my mind with pain. Do any of youknow a Virginia doctor who might help me I am compliant always with my meds they took my breakthrough Oxymorphone completely away.. I am unable to do my job now and am at risk of losing it.

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Superpain - my heart goes out to you. You have a lousy doctor who has decided to participate in medical malpractice. It is considered malpractice for a doctor to leave a patient in terrible pain and tell them they'll just have to suffer. You can bet your life this doctor wouldn't allow their spouse or kids to "just suffer." And they certainly wouldn't allow THEMSELVES to just suffer! PLEASE, if you have the strength to do it, get a new doctor! There is definitely adequate pain relief out there for you; your doctor is simply choosing to withhold it. Once you get a better doctor who actually cares about their patients, get yourself a lawyer and sue the pants off this doctor for malpractice. The USA is one of the worst, if not THE worst "civilized" countries when it comes to treating pain. There is NO excuse for his/her behavior.

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Suzie , it isn't considered malpractice for a dr to refuse to treat a patients pain the way the patient thinks it shold be treated. If it was, there wouldn't be many dr doing it for libality reasons. Just because someone thinks a situation is malpractice doesn't mean that it is.

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Mae Anne, I'm not defending it. I'm just saying it doesn't meet the legal defination of Malpractice.

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Belinda, she is complaining becasue the dr won't give an alcholic pain meds, Clearly, she knows nothing about addiction or she would understand why the dr won't give pain meds and be thankful he won't.

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