My Pm Doctor Suggested I Find A New Pm Doctor (Page 3)

Hello everybody, my name is Lisa. I have been seeing my pain management doctor for nine years. In the beginning he started me off at regular doses of Morphine Sulfate ER, Roxicodone, Diclofenac, Valium (for my horrific spasms) and Duloxetine. I have had 3 surgeries on my back, two laminectomies and the last one was a complete spinal fusion at L4-5 and S1 wherein they went in and took out a piece of my hip bone and fused it to my lower back along with plates and screws. They went in through my stomach and my back. I was opened in 3 places and the fusion took 17 hours as it was much worse than originally anticipated and my Dr. found another new herniation at L3. None of my three surgeries worked and this is due to an accident when I was 17 years old. I am now 47. I have done everything known to man through years upon years of different therapies, had all the inj's. and even had a spinal stimulator implanted in my back which did not work as my diseases are too far gone. My spine is 98% covered with arthritis. I have RSD. I have a disease called arachnoiditis (sp?) I have spinal stenosis, failed back syndrome, degenerative disc disease, disc desiccation, nerve root impingement…the list goes on.

I saw a doctor at the Rothman Institute. It was one of the best neurosurgeons in the country who told me at 32 years old I had the back of an 80 year old steel mill worker and he had never seen a back in worse condition than mine; ESPECIALLY SOMEONE AS YOUNG AS ME. I was 25 when he first saw me and 36 when he put me on full Disability and told me I would end up paralyzed one day and literally cried with me when he told me after my spinal fusion did not work that there was literally nothing that could be done for me for the rest of my life and that I would be in Mortal pain equivalent to a cancer patient for the rest of my life. And that the only thing that could help me would be medication. I held off on taking medication until my two children were over 18 because I did not want them to see me on any pain medication and before that the only time I had taken pain medication was after my surgeries. So for the past 10 years I have been under pain management care. When I got to the doses that finally helped me I was taking three 60 milligram morphine sulfate pills, four 15 milligram Roxicodone for breakthrough pain, three 10 milligram Valiums for my spasms (which were absolutely the only medication that works for my horrific spasms as I had tried every other anti-spasm medication) and the other non-narcotic pain pills to help stop the signal of pain before it got to my brain.

Literally after years I got used to all of this medication and yes I know it seems like a great deal but as I said he compared my pain to that of a cancer patient. I had to give up a lucrative career as a paralegal and became homebound and extremely depressed. My life completely stopped. As we all know, we have all been cut down to the bare minimum because of these new regulations. After several cuts in my medication, I now take three 15 milligram morphine sulfates and three 10 milligram Roxicodones and he has completely taken me off of the Valium as he said you cannot take Valium with Morphine any longer and put me on 4 milligrams of Tizanidine three times a day, which is now interfering with my liver function.

The last visit I had with him, which was a week ago he took my hands into his and looked into my eyes and told me, "Lisa you need to find another pain management doctor who is willing to help you and give you more medication. I just simply cannot do it, I'm not willing to risk my license. I know you need more medication but I'm very conservative and I just can't do it but I know there are doctors out there that will give you more. I will do anything I can to help you I will speak to the doctors. I will let them know you need more medication and if for some reason you find someone that's great. I will give you all the help you need. If for some reason the doctor's office gets closed down you can come back to me with open arms but whatever medication they have you on I will have to put you back down to the regiment I have you on now."

I feel like I've literally become a vegetable I can't even walk up and down my steps without going down my steps on my backside. I have been living on disability since I was 36 years old and received one check a month. I went from living on $4,000 a month to just under $1,200 a month. I am not used to living like this and it is literally killing me from the inside out. The pain is completely unbearable and most nights I cry myself to sleep and most days I cannot function or get out of bed. Never have I gotten high from my medication because my pain level is just simply too high. I do not do street drugs I don't drink at all not one drop. And I need to find someone to help me before I literally literally die from this pain. I live in North Philadelphia and have been traveling down to Ardmore to see my doctor which is in Montgomery County and I'm willing to go to Center City Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia or and Montgomery County in the areas off of Lancaster Avenue.

This is my last hope because I'm completely drained and have run out of all hope. If there is anyone who can help me suggest somewhere to go I would be forever grateful. I have been under pain management care. When I got to the doses that finally helped me I was taking 360 milligram morphine sulfate pills for 15 milligram oxycodone for my horrific spasms and the other non narcotic pain pills to help this signal of pain before it got too my brain. Literally after all of these years my body got used to all of this medication and yes I know it seems like a great deal but as I said he likens my pain to that of a cancer patient. I had to give up a lucrative career as a paralegal and became homebound and extremely depressed my life completely stopped. My pain is NEVER below a 10. I have been living on disability since I was 36 years old and one check on month. I pray No one ever has to go through what I've been through. This is not living. It is merely existing. I want to be able to see my grandchildren again whom I have not seen in a year as my children feel my condition and my depression are not good for them to see. I have the most beautiful 4 year old grandson in the most amazing 3 year old granddaughter. Being a Mom-Mom to them was the light of my life and that has been taken away because of my diseases.

My life has completely all but stopped. I need help and I am finally asking for it. I don't know where else to go or what to do. Believe me my heart goes out to everyone who is on this forum as I know we are all being treated unfairly by the DEA as some of us need this medication to merely survive. I have all of the x-rays, MRIs, medical documents, everything you could possibly need to prove all of the diseases I have as I have been going through this for 30 years. If there is anyone who can give me any advice on where to go or what to do I'm willing to travel to Center City Philadelphia northeast Philadelphia Montgomery County as long as it's not too far and Montgomery County like off of Lancaster Avenue is great around the Lancaster Hospital area. I am just desperate to find someone. Bless you to all of you who are suffering through this horrifying ordeal and hopefully the DEA will let the doctors be back in control and help us with what we need. We are not addicts, we are simply people who have been hurt and are suffering horribly and need this medication as a diabetic would need insulin to survive because if I don't end up controlling my pain it will consume me. Thank you for listening everybody and I wish everybody on here well. Thank you my friends. God bless you all.

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Lisa,
Are you referring to me? I stated facts, that you are unable to currently admit to. Ask why you can't see your Grandchildren. Being depressed I would guses is low on the list. Mention meeting at a park.

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Boo Hoo. I just saw your post. No i wasnt even referring to you but i am now. First of all my pain management doctor has not booted me and I have never come up hot or too high and concentrate in my U/A for drugs never. Second I am not allowed to see my grandchildren because my child has bipolar schizoaffective disorder and has serious mental issues and has been hospitalized over half-a-dozen times for things you have no business knowing and is clearly not your business. Has nothing to do with me being depressed, a drug addict or anything to the above about my issues. You do not know me, you do not know what my pain is like, you do not know what I have gone through for over 30 years. Therefore do not comment on my page. I will not even go into anything further because you are pissing me off beyond anything I have ever come across. You have no right to go into what I am going through because you do not know me and you do not know my diagnosis. How dare you judge me when you do not know anything. Get the hell off my page.

Do not ever refer to my children or my grandchildren. You have no clue what you are talking about. My pain management doctor is trying to find me a doctor that will actually give me more medication than what he is giving me because he knows my pain level is equal to that of a cancer patient. Do you hear me? Someone who has incurable pain on beyond known to man because you are a simpleton and do not know what these diagnosis are maybe you should look them up. I couldn't even list all of them because I didn't want to sound ridiculous but you have no clue the amount of specialists, the amount of acupuncture and the amount of procedures that I have had done that aren't even accepted by the regulatory surgeons or that aren't even approved yet, to get things done to my back before I even started any medication, which was only nine years ago when this accident occurred, when I was 17 and I am now currently 47.

My children have never seen me drunk, my children have never seen me high, my children have never seen me under the influence. Therefore your claims are insignificant moronic and do not mean anything. Get a life stop and trolling on pages to try and make people who are suffering feel horrible about what they are going through, as you know nothing. I apologize to everyone else on here who is going through horrific pain and being caused by the DEA who know nothing about medical situations to be caused more pain because they think we who suffer from intractable pain to be denied our sometimes LIFE SUSTAINING medication because of drug addicts. YOU CAN DIE FROM THIS KIND OF PAIN... IT CAN CAUSE HEART ATTACKS, HEART ARRHYTHMIA AND OTHER LIFE ENDING SITUATIONS. I THANK U BOOHOO NOT TO COMMENT ON MY PAGE ON THINGS U OBVIOUSLY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.

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You did a very good thing. I like you live every day and night with chronic pain. I cannot exercise because of a heart condition in which I have to have surgery. I choose not to get hooked on prescription pain meds nor street drugs. There are alternatives to meds. Meditation, acupuncture, mind over matter etc. I'm glad you found a way. I hope others can do the same. I've watched the horrible medical problems that longterm pain meds caused for people I love.

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Yes Lisa do everything in your power to get switchedto the oxymorphone their a God send!! Even the 20mgs ER'S are good dose to start with. If he won't give the liquid morphine that's what I would switch to but he has to write it exactly: Oxymorphone 20mg ER
O.K. LET ME KNOW

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Southernbelle. I totally agree. It just so happens all of my doctors and my Surgeon is a Sports doctor. They are the best!!! Thanks for answering!

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Lisa did you ever find a new doctor ? Going thru the same problems with a lot of your same pain problems too ! Love Valerie

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Hey Ray. As u can see they edited yoyr address so i cannot contact u. I would so have tried your dr as like i stated my PM dr is actually encouraging me to try and find a new PM dr if i wish. You are very sweet to want to help me. Im sorry ee could not connect... Thank u for your kindness...

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Dear Valerie. No i have not my dear. My search contines. But i still see my PM dr. He just feels so bad for me and wishes he could help more but his practice is VERY STRICT and he cannot bend the rules for me. He truly is a wonderful man... Just bound by ridiculous new laws...

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THANKS RAWDOG I WILL TRY WHEN I SEE MY PM DR ON THE 14TH. HE TOLD ME THE MAX AMOUNT OF MORPHINE ALLOWED TO BE PRESCRIBED IN PENNSYLVANIA IS 90MG A MONTH SO WITH THE ROXYS IM ON...(10mg 3 x a day) THAT EQUALS 45 MG OF MORPHINE SO I CAN THEN ONLY STILL TAKE 3 15mg OXYMORPS A DAY IF THEY ARE ER's. DO U THINK THAT WILL HELP OVER THE 3 15mg MORPHINE SULFATES I AM CURRENTLY TAKING? THEY DO NOT HELP MY PAIN AT ALL UNFORTUNATELY......IS IT WORTH THE SWITCH??????

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Thank u for your response Goldie. I too was on a Fentanyl patch after a procedure short term but got a bad patch and it leaked on me!!!! I felt drunk and nauseous and immediately went to ER. I was lucky i did not wait as they told me had i waited 10-15 minutes longer my heart would have stopped! The patch had been from a recalled box thst was never checked!!! Here in Philadelphia it is very rare Drs prescribe these patches but they are DEFINITELY TOO STRONG FOR ME!!!! Thank u!!!

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Dear Older Mom. Thank u for your reply. Yes i have been on the Fentanyl patches. They could not regulate them to help me as actually i kept having allergic reactions and vomitting and actually got a bad patch that was recalled but not taken off the market and almost died. My PM DR. took me off of them. He said my body could not handle Fentanyl. It did help with the pain but it is now noted in all my mefical records that i have SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTION TO FENTANYL.... Thank u for your response!

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Dear Angry 65 year old. Wow sounds like you have been thru sheer HELL!!! I hope and pray things get better for you sweetheart!!!

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Dear Ryan. Do not feel bad Dear friend I am happy you are doing well and are clean!!!! I blame the goverment for not allowing the doctors to decide who needs what medications and how much!!! If my children and grandchildren were not so important to me i would consider moving to Canada but i cannot leave my family. They are literally all i have. Thank u 4 ur respone and good luck!!!

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Dear Realvalady: thank u for your reply. Good luck on your journey. I wish you much success!!!!

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I was put on Butrans patches last year. Of couse i had a reaction to one but theyre a 7 day patch and it was helping though your pain sounds worse than mine. Just wondering if you ever heard of them? I used a coupon to fill them so the initial cost was neligible

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Lisa,
Get off your page? If this was your page, you wouldn't have you ASK me to leave. This has turned into a Boo Hoo for you thread.

Honey, I know way more than you think about chronic pain. I wasn't lucky enough to wait for my son to turn 18 before taking meds. You may need to read back, as I post under different names, and you have personally thanked me.

I had broke my tailbone, and bottom vertibre in the 4th grade. Herniated L5S1 and couldn't walk, so had surgery #1 at age 14. I was given Tylenol #3. (No pain meds until surgery #2) 5mg Percoset. I am now 46 and have had #7 spinal surgeries. I have have had every injection, facet block, epidurals, PT, OT.

I have been in so much pain, it hurt to breathe! I won't bore you will my other medical problems. So for you to claim you have more pain than any of us is bull. I am here because my husband was on morphine before his hip replacement. This is a public forum. If you don't like it, you may leave.
BTW, I was the one who suggested you write to other people that were giving you information. Look back.....

You talk like a dependent (we all are) person who needs help with their meds. One doesn't tell a doctor, new or old, what meds they should be on. What you need is to get medically off all of the meds and start from the beginning. You're too caught up on the names and dosages. Let a licensed hospital start with A then try B, C, D, etc.

Doing conversions to get yourself to the highest level isn't physically or mentally healthy.

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Boo Hoo. Kindly stop commenting on my post as you do not know me or my FULL HISTORY or what I too know about chronic pain and pain management. I am not looking for negative comments or negative people like u. I have enough problems. Thank u.

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Yea I do think 3 15mg oxymorphone is the way better choice over that worthless morphine. I love my 30mg ER Oxymorphone it's done wonders. So if you can definitely switch.
And who ever told me to try the IR morphine I want to say to them I have tried it and again I find it garbage and would never give up my Roxicodone 30mg IR's in place of morphine IR'S. Also like I said before if I was ever forced to change my ER medication it would either be 60mg Oxycotin or 100mg morphine for some reason the only morphine ER'S that work for me are the 100's don't ask me why it's just that way for me hope this helped

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Lisa,
I am not making negative comments, you just don't like them. You will feel SO MUCH BETTER once you get medically detoxed from your meds. Your body will then fix the parts of your brain that it can. I know because I did it after my doctor had me on Oxycontin for 10 years. I actually had less pain. Coming off the Oxycontin scared the crap out of me. I was so scared, yet to my surprise a lot of pain was reduced to a certain area. Before it was my mid back to my feet. Later it was only in my lower back and right leg.

Am I totally pain free? No. But I have a better quality of life, and I look a hell of a lot better. At 5'9" I weighed 114 pounds! That's a size 2. Now I am a healthy 135 size 6.

I know you are afraid. I thought I knew better than the doctors. I found a fabulous pain management doctor, and to my surprise, he knows more than me.

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Thank you RAWDOG. i will be seeing my PM dr on the 14th and will ask to be switched to the Oxymorphs. You are so right these Morphines do nothing and there is no point in taking them. I will keep u posted! Thanks 4 all your help my friend!!!!

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