Re: My pain med update
From: Angie (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed May 4 10:26:22 2005
Hi there,
I'm glad your doctors responded so quickly to your letter... that in
itself is a very good sign! I myself have never used Tylenol 3; I'm
allergic to codeine. But unfortunately constipation will always be an
issue with any pain medication, and the stronger the medication the
worse the constipation will be. I will give you a few tips: you can use
an over the counter stool softener called docusate sodium which may or
may not work for you (it didn't work for me). I use a prescription
laxative called Miralax, it's awesome. It's the only laxative I've ever
had that didn't cause horrible cramps and gas. It's a powder you mix
with water or juice and you can take it up to once a day. I have been
on 3 different kinds of long term pain medications (MS Contin,
Methadone, now Duragesic) and find that taking it 1-2 times per week is
sufficient. I would suggest trying the docusate sodium (over the
counter.. take it maybe 1-2x per day) and if that doesn't work ask your
doctor for Miralax.
If you are still unhappy with the Tylenol 3 keep asking for different
things, your doctor may eventually refer you to a pain management
clinic. They have experience with long acting narcotics and other
methods of pain treatments. I've been going to one since August and it
has been a life saver. Most primary care or family physicians don't
feel comfortable prescribing narcotics for long periods of time but
they'll be happy to refer you to the pain mgmt clinic.
Take care of yourself!
--
Angie
At Tue, 3 May 2005, S.S. wrote:
>
>Hi everyone, I want to thank everyone again for the help I have gotten
>on this forum. My problem was getting pain meds from my doctors, they
>just did NOT want to give me anything stronger than darvocet.
>
>So, last Friday, after reading and rereading so many posts here, I sat
>down and wrote a letter to my 2 doctors (my general doc and my gyno).
>The basic gist of the letter was "LOOK, YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME. THE
>DARVOCET DOES NOT WORK!!! AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE HORMONES!!!!" But I
>phrased it a little nicer than that, haha, and hand delivered both to
>their offices that day.
>
>I used to think I was the only one who had doctors ignoring their pleas
>for help until I came here. After seeing so many other women going
>through the same thing I am, I just got completely ticked off and told
>my doctors exactly what I thought of their current "treatment" plan, if
>you can even call that.
>
>Long story short, I got 2 phone calls back within a few hours! I was
>*shocked*. They seemed genuinely suprised I was hurting so much. It
>took everything in me to keep from banging my head against the wall at
>that point! What part of "I'm in agony" did they not hear the 5,000
>times I have said it before?!? Guess they needed to see it in print, or
>something. Good news, they gave me a different pain med, but I don't
>think it's stronger really. Bad news is I discovered Tylenol 3
>constipates me like nothing else on the planet. So Tylenol 3 isn't an
>option, even though it helped with my cramps, the constipation cramps
>were not a decent trade off in my book. But at least it does appear the
>docs are now LISTENING, and I feel like maybe, just maybe, we can find
>something else which will help.
>
>I wouldn't have gotten up the nerve to talk to them without coming here
>and realizing it isn't just me, lots of women have the same problem, and
>"just deal with it" isn't a valid treatment!
>
>So thank you all for sharing your stories and I wish each of you the
>best of luck in dealing with this monster inside us.
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