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Re: I don't think I can do this anymore!
From: Angie (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu May 24 20:01:15 2007
The advice I have to offer may not be great, but sometimes you have to
keep looking when it comes to doctors. I went through a dozen doctors
before I found one that listened and cares. It's horrible to say it but
some just don't understand, and the funny thing is my doctor is a guy, I
thought it would be a girl that finally listened but he is a great
doctor, so maybe if this one wont help it is time to move on to the
next.
At Thu, 24 May 2007, Candace wrote:
>
>Thanks for the link to the pain journal. I bookmarked this one so that
>I can print it off this weekend. I'm thinking I may need to see pain
>management, but I can't afford the psychological and physical therapy
>that they will probably prescribe. I just don't know how much longer I
>can take all of this..
>
>Make sure you click that link Kelly it looks like an extremely good pain
>journal. The other ones I've seen are much more confusing. :)
>
>At Thu, 24 May 2007, D wrote:
>>
>>I agree with Erica - it's not an immediate solution, but my pain
>>management specialist has pretty much given me my life back (well, part
>>of it, at least!). I was in so much pain before I got the referral that
>>I could only work one or two days a week, the rest of the time I could
>>barely get out of bed.
>>
>>Here's a site that explains pain management much better than I can:
>>
>>http://www.painfoundation.org/
>>
>>With the pain under control, you'll have a lot more energy for dealing
>>with doctors and finding one who understands endo - I'm sorry, but your
>>current obgyn doesn't sound likely to help you much.
>>
>>Please don't be embarassed or ashamed! Most of us have been through a
>>number of doctors who similarly didn't know much of anything about endo
>>and couldn't help us. I personally have seen at least 8 different
>>obgyns in the past two years, none of whom had the skills or knowledge
>>to treat me effectively. I finally "gave up" and went to one of the
>>excision specialists for a consult, now I'm waiting for my insurance to
>>change in July so I can have a lap with him. If I tried to stay with
>>the HMO doctors I don't think I'd ever get any better!
>>
>>There are a couple links at the bottom of this post that may be helpful:
>>one is to the endo docs yahoo group, a good place for seeking an endo
>>specialist; the other is to the Endo Research Center's yahoo support
>>group - it's very active and I've gotten a lot of good advice from the
>>women there. (both require registration)
>>
>>One other bit of advice - if you haven't been keeping a pain diary it's
>>a good idea to start one. It can help the doctors understand what is
>>going on, and in my experience it helped to convince them that I need
>>meds for the pain. Here's a link to a "pain notebook" you can download
>>(it's a pdf), it explains how to use the notebook and gives you examples
>>and blank pages - I haven't used it (just found it!) but it looks like a
>>good format to start with because it allows for a lot of detail. The
>>link:
>>
>>http://www.painfoundation.org/Publications/Notebook.pdf
>>
>>If the current pain is too much you could go to the ER - I know how
>>unappealing that suggestion can be, and it's completely up to you to
>>make that decision - no one else can know how much pain you are in. If
>>you do decide to go, I'd call the obgyn one more time to let them know
>>you can't take it anymore and if he won't fit you in, you are going to
>>the ER. That might be enough to get you an appointment, and since the
>>ER will likely call them anyway it's good to give them a heads-up.
>>
>>I hope this helps!
>>
>>At Thu, 24 May 2007, Erica wrote:
>>>
>>>I'm not sure what others think but I would suggest asking for a referral
>>>to a pain management specialist. I would think they would be more
>>>willing to listen to your symptoms and more likely to prescribe meds for
>>>it. I've recently asked for a referral myself b/c after 3 years my
>>>doctor too has become more restrictive in prescribing pain meds and may
>>>times what he prescribes isn't good enough when the pain is at its
>>>worst. I'm really sorry that you are going through this. I have to say
>>>it sounds like this isn't a good dr. to be seeing for endometriosis.
>>>Obviously he doesn't seem to understand how you could still be in pain
>>>after Lupron (as if Lupron is a cure). Thats crazy that he's saying
>>>based on your pelvic exam that your pain isn't endo related espeically
>>>when its been confirmed through surgery! My advice-Get a new doctor when
>>>you are feeling up to it but get referred for pain management now.
>>>
>>>At Thu, 24 May 2007, Kelly wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Hey everyone. I have reached my breaking point. After calling all week
>>>>to my OB's office to see if he had any cancellations, I finally asked
>>>>the nurse if he might be able to call me in something for the pain. (I
>>>>see him Wednesday). This is my new OB, he saw me three months ago when
>>>>I was on Lupron. Well, he determined I had IBS, and referred me back to
>>>>my PCP. I saw him and after finding out my trigger foods, I am able to
>>>>control my IBS without meds. As I wrote, I just started my period again
>>>>Saturday, and the pelvic pain has been terrible ever since. Well, the
>>>>nurse calls me back today and she said the doctor does not think it is
>>>>the endo causing my pain, and that he cannot call anything in for my
>>>>pain. He said after looking at my chart, nothing in my pelvic exam
>>>>three months ago looked like endo. Mind you, I had a diagnostic lap in
>>>>Jan. confirming the endo. So, I am just stuck now. I have been crying
>>>>ever since. I feel so embarassed and ashamed. Like I'm crazy! I was
>>>>told, call the doctor who gave you the colonoscopy, or call your PCP.
>>>>Well, my PCP is on vacation and my colonoscopy was clean. This is my
>>>>second OB doctor, I feel like I do not have the energy to find another
>>>>one, it seems like no one wants to take me seriously anyways. Thanks
>>>>for listening, I jsut don't know what else to do.
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Kelly
>>>>
>>--
>>Find an endo specialist in the ERC's EndoDocs group:
>>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndoDocs/
>>
>>Try an excellent endo support group:
>>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/erc/
>>
>--
>Candace
>
>Wishing for pain free days for all!
>
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