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(Andrea) Re: At what point should a dr be concerned about prescribing pain meds?
From: Sunam (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon Jul 30 20:11:33 2007
Our situations sound very similar. The surgery I had in March (my 4th
so far) was the result of a ruptured cyst that blew out my ovary and
landed me in the emergency room where my dr was on call. At first, he
thought there was no reason a cyst could cause that much pain but an U/S
revealed what he thought was a 10cm blood filled mass. When he got in
there, my organs were totally obscured by over a liter of internal
bleeding. Afterwards, he said that he couldn't believe I held up as
well as I did. After all that and after comments he made after the
birth of my son (relating to my high pain tolerance) I wouldn't have
expected it to be an issue. What I think may be happening here is that
the nurse is throwing her own spin on things. I have had trouble with
nurses in the past who think that I am exaggerating or blowing things
out of proportion so they take their interpretation and relay my message
differently or more accurately, they relay their opinions to me that are
totally unrelated to what the dr would say. Interestingly, after I
talked to the nurse today and she gave me the verbal eye roll, there was
a prescription at the pharmacy for me for 20 Lortab (she had told me
that the only thing he would call in was Darvocet)
When I go in next week, I'm going to tell him that I'd be happy to see a
specialist for either pain mgmt or endo, although, I'm not sure what's
available for endo around here and after the last surgery, finances are
a factor for the next 6 months or so. I just need him to take all of
that into consideration and hope that he will. I'm really hoping he'll
be open to running bloodwork and approaching it from a more natural
direction but so many "medical" drs aren't very supportive of
alternative approaches (not an easy prescription that they can just call
in)
Thanks again!
Rachel
At Mon, 30 Jul 2007, andrea wrote:
>
>Hi Sunam,
>
>It seemed that EVERY gyno I had been to over the years wouldn't even
>consider giving me pain meds or even discuss it. My general
>practitioner who I found about 7 years ago finally started giving me 30
>vicodin and those would last me 3 months. I had explained to him that I
>had been to the emergency room several times because my pain would get
>so bad.
>
>Some periods would require about 12 pills over 3 days, while others only
>required 6 over 3 days. But, I would try to stretch them out and was
>always worried about running out like you, taking too many or my doctor
>thinking that I was taking too many. He was always nice though.
>
>Now, I have more proof of my endo and pain because a pain/endo
>specialist did a sonogram that showed my ovaries were glued down by
>lesions and I had a cyst and an abnormally thick uterine lining. So, he
>is pretty nice about giving me what I need. His nurse said they have
>patients who go through 60 lortabs in only 10 days! I was worried about
>going through mine in 2 1/2 months. I called him today, actually to ask
>about it. I have been taking more than usual because my ovarian cyst
>hurts!
>
>If your doctor is hassling you about only 30 pills over 3 months you
>should probably see a endo/pelvic pain specialist because your pain is
>legitimate and you should not have to feel stressed over it. Tell them
>all your symptoms or get an ultrasound like I had to document your pain,
>then they won't be able to turn you down.
>
>Hope everything goes well for you!
>
>--
>Andrea
>
>At Mon, 30 Jul 2007, Sunam wrote:
>>
>>Just curious because with the chronic pain often associated with Endo, I
>>have known many women who require prescription pain meds (narcotic
>>level) for several days a month. As a general rule, I have cramps for
>>about 3-4 days each month that Advil just isn't touching nor is any
>>other anti-inflam that I have tried (rx or otherwise) A prescription of
>>20 Lortab can last 2-3 months if I really stretch it and endure a couple
>>of tough days to make it last. My dr, however, (or maybe its more his
>>nurse because so much gets lost in translation) seems to think that
>>every 2 months is a red flag and I need to see a pain specialist. This
>>coming from the same dr who after the birth of my son (no epi) and an
>>emergency lap a few months ago was amazed at my pain tolerance. I have
>>friends whose drs prescribe everything under the sun with multiple
>>refills and seemingly no questions asked. They just trust the patient.
>>I'm having a hard time not getting the umpteenth degree grilling when I
>>call and ask for a prescription. I understand that there are people out
>>there who abuse the system and that drs have to be careful. But stories
>>I have heard are people with addiction issues who are taking 20 pills a
>>day if not more. We are talking 10 a month here.....is that really at a
>>level that I should be concerned about and the drs really are
>>"protecting" me or is it more likely that this dr or clinic has been
>>called on this before and having to be over-cautious or what? I just get
>>so tired of the mess that Endo brings with it much less having to dread
>>calling the dr for relief. Is this typical?
>
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