Re: Having yet another bad day......it's so hard to try and be positive!
From: D (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sun Jul 29 11:46:45 2007
Hi Kelly -
I agree with Andrea's suggestions, also are you keeping a pain diary?
When I was trying to get better pain management I found that keeping a
daily pain diary and bringing it to doctor visits helped convince them
to prescribe for me. It's another way to document that the need for the
meds is legitimate. Typically, you just keep track of pain levels, 1-10
with 10 being worst pain imaginable, and as much detail about the pain
and symptoms as you want to include. It's important to know that pain
doctors will usually try to get your pain down to a 4 or 5 - don't
underrate your pain! Here's a link to a site that has a lot of info
about treating chronic pain:
http://www.painfoundation.org/
The publications section has some really good info, and blank pages for
a pain notebook/diary you can print and use.
Have you looked into have excision surgery with one of the endo
specialists? Good excision of your endo can increase your chances for
pregnancy. Also, has anyone suggested that you stop your periods
altogether, skipping the placebos?
I hope this helps!
D.
At Sat, 28 Jul 2007, andrea wrote:
>
>Hi Kelly,
>
>Yes, most pain doctors ask you how many pain pills you take EACH period
>or if you need to take them daily. Your doc should have asked you those
>questions before assuming your meds would last you a month. I told my
>pain doctor that I usually only take my Lortab for 3 days a month, when
>my period is REAL painful, so he gave me 60 to last 3 months.
>
>That would have been no problem, but I have had an ovarian cyst since
>the beginning of July and have been taking about 1 pill a day - a half
>of one when I get up and a half of one when I go to bed. I have been
>having a bad achy feeling in my right ovary.
>
>My doctor saw in my sonogram that I did have the cyst, so he will most
>likely understand if I call him early for a refill. Did your pain doc
>do any tests on you to document the reasons you have pain? My sono also
>showed that my ovaries would NOT move at all, because they were most
>likely fastened down by endo lesions. He did that test to document WHY
>I need the pain meds and it is legitimate.
>
>Tell your doctor that it's an emergency, that you just need enough for
>your period and that you will come in right away again to see her
>afterwards. I've had to do that a couple times over the years- I'm
>like, either give me 10 pain pills for my period, or I will have to go
>to the emergency room!
>
>I don't think it's that she doesn't believe you, but doctors really have
>to cover thier asses when it comes to prescribing narcotics because so
>many people abuse them. I've also gone to a PrimaCare (they are open on
>weekends) with an empty Vicodin bottle just to show them that I DO get
>them prescribed to me, and explained to them that I could not reach my
>doctor and my pain was coming. They had no problem giving me just 10 to
>last me the few days. I know how desperate and scared you feel when you
>are low or out of pain meds. The pain is torture without them. Hope
>you find a solution! :( Take care!
>
>--
>Andrea
>
>At Sat, 28 Jul 2007, kelly wrote:
>>
>>Hey all, sorry I'm about to whine and rant. I saw my new OB, he seems
>>pretty good. Everything he said made sense to me. We discussed my
>>pain, he did an exam, and we talked for a while longer. Since I'm
>>having such bad endo pain, I was thinking another lap. He brought up
>>that since my hubby+me are seeing a fertility Dr.a lap would not be the
>>best choice.He said that doing another lap might give me some relief for
>>a little while, but my pain will most likely come back as it did before.
>>Also, doing another lap right now would create more scar tissue and
>>potentially hurt my chances of carrying a pregnancy. So I am to start
>>Yaz when my period starts and see if that will help. He said to
>>continue going to my pain doc (who i've only seen once) till the pain
>>becomes tolerable. Here is the problem: almost a month ago I had the
>>first visit with pain doc. She gave me 80 lowest strength percs.
>>Fine...all she said to me was to let her know what was going on, whether
>>I was having another surgery, etc. She said to call if I needed more,
>>whatever. I called a couple days ago leaving the message that I only
>>had a few days left of my meds, and asked if she could maybe call in a
>>partial refill. No call back that day, so I called back the next day.
>>The receptionist said she would see what Dr. has to say. Sorry, that
>>was the script for a month. I did not know that. I always used them as
>>directed and never even took the max allowed for a day. So, I wish I
>>would have known that, I would have tried to be more conservative. It's
>>not as if I was taking them for fun...I took them because I HURT! Now I
>>have 4 days with nothing to take for pain and my period is starting to
>>come on. I hope she can look past 4 days and give me another refill. I
>>am just so mad at this disease, the pain, the doctors, our fertility
>>problems. It just feels like it will never stop. I thought at least
>>the pain doc will be sympathetic...now I am starting to wonder. Thanks,
>>I would appreciate any feedback, suggestions...
>>
>>Much Love To All,
>>
>>KellyBell
>
--
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/
Info on pain management:
http://www.painfoundation.org/
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