New member Razzman's post

Razzman writes, "Hi everyone,i am new to this site,just wanted to talk to people who are familiar with chronic pain and the type of meds i am taking...i`ve had chronic pain now for some time,it all started with my hand and arm about 15 to 20 yrs ago!..with numbness and pain,all the way up to my shoulder,i guess it`s all because of what i do for a living,which is welding.i`ve been a welder for about 25yrs...i`ve got a lot of test done to my arm for nerve damage and so on...but the most recent pain came this year with my neck and lower back,got a couple MRI`S...which showed moderate spinal stenosis in my neck and the last MRI of my lower back which is very painful showed arthritis...but my lower back seems to hurt worse,along with my hips, legs and groin area...i finally got in at the pain center,and the Dr.there prescribed me at first opena ER10mgs for extended relief and oxycodone 10mgs k-56 IR`S for my break through pain,but i had to get the opena`s changed because they upset my stomach and made me fill agitated,and really did`t help much...so he gave me oxycontin 10mgsER`s but the pain in my back just would`t go away!...so i told him about it on my last visit and he up`d the oxycontin OP`s to 20mgs ER`s and kept the k-56`s the same...but im still getting the spike of pain in my back and hips from time to time and it seems around 10:00 at night when im at work,my lower back starts that continuous hurt,and i already have taken my last oxycontin around 8ish, in which i have 4 more hours of work to go..not to mention driving home,45mins and laying down to sleep in pain!.this is only my 3rd or 4th visit to the pain center so im hoping the doc and i can get the meds adjusted correctly...i guess i can go on,but ill quit for now..lo!...im glad to be here!..hope you all fell better!!...God Bless!

Hi Razzman Welcome to our chronic pain forum. I'm glad that Lanie moved your post here, because we all know what you're going thru with the chronic pain. We are a very supportive and loving group of people. We feel like a family here. I'm sure you'll get all the support that you need here. I hope that your pain decreases very soon.

hugs
Loretta

Welcome Razzman! I also suffer from chronic low back pain- degenerative disc disease, arthritis, facet syndrome and si joint problems...I am on Percocet 10mg twice a day and Baclofen 10mg 4 times a day. I have to say that you have a good Dr- I've been seeing mine for over 6 months and cannot get my Percocet prescription upped- only taking those two pills for the pain is not working for me. I am in constant pain and over the last two weeks it's been extremely severe. I am glad that you have a Dr that is willing to work with you with your medications. What type of welding do you do? My father was a welder until his body told him he can't do it anymore- he used to weld fences and fire place screens, decorative gates, candle holders....He's very artistic and was so good at it and I hate it for him that he can't do what he loves anymore. Welcome again to the forum, you will love it here. I hope you get some relief soon. *hugs*

Hi everyone!!..thanks to responding to my post!..and thanks for welcoming me to your forum,im guessing this post goes to all of u?...im not sure!..lo!...i was trying to respond to each of u individually,without going to your e-mail`s don`t seem to be able to...but im sure you all will let me know how...again,Thanks!..and hope to be talking to you all soon,getting ready for bed,got work in the morning!...wish you all good health!...chat to ya l8r!

thanks everyone for ur concerned comments,ill try to respond to you all individually as soon as i can!...i got 2 months before i see my pain doc again,but i pick up my 2 scripts fri...thats the way they do it here at the pain center,u call in every 30 days to refill,but the doc does`t see you...he only see`s you every 3 months,unless something comes up and you need to see him,than they`ll make an appointment for you...hope everyone is doing well!..today was a tough one,had taken all my meds for the day but my lower back started hurting real bad,and had no break through meds that i was allowed to take!...thats what messed up about the pain center,you can`t anymore meds once you`ve taken what was prescribed for the day( they may call u in for a pill count)...in my case i take 1 oxycontin (ER) every 12 hours so thats 2 a day..and 3 breakthrough oxycodone 10mgs k-56 a day..which means at the end of the day when i need a breakthrough med,when im working,i`ve already taken the 3...the ER`S don`t help when u get a big spike of pain...at the end of a 10 hour shift,it does`t seem like i`ve taken anything,although i do know the pain would be worse if i had no meds in my system!..been down that road!!..and thats not pretty!...i think we just need to get the breakthrough meds adjusted properly,either stronger or more a day...if i was seeing a ppl than i could take a breakthrough med when ever i got a spike in pain...ok you guys time for bed!...4:30 comes fast!...lo!...have a pain free day!!..God Bless!!

Razzman- Yeah, I'm a little frustrated with my Dr, who is by the way a pain specialist, but I like him so much and am so afraid to look for another Dr to find one even stricter with medications. I see him next Friday, so we'll see how things go after that visit. I am hoping he will be willing to work with me because what I'm taking now is not cutting it.
Sorry you have so many things going on right now....when it rains it pours :(
I get pain in all sorts of places as well and have given up on trying to find the source of one of my pains- it starts in lower right abdominal area (groin area I guess) and goes shooting down the inside of my right leg and my right foot is numb. I've had every test known to man and nobody can figure it out- that's been 8 years now...one of my Dr's put me on Lyrica to see if it would help and it does a little bit.
about the Gabapentin- it is known to make you sleepy at first. I think it took my husband about a month to get used to it and to the point where he wasn't falling asleep all day. I hope that goes away for you soon!
Good luck & God bless to you as well!

Hey fireflyhillary how are u?...hey i was just curious,how did ur vist to ur doc go?...did he do anything for you?..ok! let me know!...feel well!

Razzman, I do not blame you one bit about being upset over the bill from the lab. Did your dr order a drug screen or was this for a bunch of regular lab work? I do not know if you are in the states or not, but here in the states most people with insurance coverage is either on an HMO or PPO and you must use providers that are on your plan to get the bill paid 100%. If this is for a drug screen I would contact the drs office that ordered it and let them know you are unable to pay the bill and perhaps they can work something out with the lab especially if they are using this lab exclusively. A lot of times they will just charge the balance off. Your drs office needs to know how much they are billing for this lab work.

Good luck.

Razzman you can contact the Human Resources at your job and they can tell you what and how your insurance pays. I know everyone has a deductible to meet, but once that is met I am not 100% certain you should be getting hit with balances. Most cases with HMO's & PPO's if you stay in network they accept what the insurance pays and adjusts the rest off.

Sure hope you don't have rotator cuff problems. I am sure since you are a welder it keeps things pretty much stirred up. Let us know....Susie

Razzman glad to hear from you. You need to get back in to see the dr about your shoulder before it gets real bad, maybe if you can catch it early this time.

Steroids generally work wonders for pain, they kept me working for several years. Keep in touch and let us hear from you....Susie