mayo clinic

Hi Kei_18 I guess the first question I have is which Mayo Clinic do they want you to go to, the main Clinic is in Rochester Minnesota, but they also have a satelite clinic in Arizona and one in Florida I believe. My daughter is a nurse at the main Mayo Clinic up in Rochester Minnesota, and I have also be evaluated there many many years ago. They do have a good detox program there to get off of prescription opoid medications if that is indeed a problem. One of the big advantages of going there is they can order a host of different test, and you don't have to wait weeks and weeks and weeks to have them done! They have you see a doctor that evalatuates you and then orders all the different test that he feels is apporpriate and then you get a sheet with all the times and scheduled test on it. Everyone's experience is different up there, some people think their service is top notch and great, others, well they have different oppinions. For myself when I went up there it was at the urging of my daughter, so I went, I found that all they did for me was rerun all the same test that I had already had done before, and the test that my personal doctor at home wanted done were not done! I was disappointed with the whole ordeal and my daughter was not happy either, becuase in the end I did not get to see the doctor that she had wanted me to see, that she had already breifed about my condition. Anyway after spending over a week up there, I have never been back, except to visit my daughter and grandchildren. But remember this was just my experience and it was quite a few years ago, so please do not make up your mind on just what I have said, you might go up there and find that you may have a completely different experience and they might do you a world of good!  Like medications everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for someone else!  It is definitely a place worth seeing anyway! I wish you well and good Luck to you!

 

White Beard

Thanks for your replies. Here are some answers to the questions -
I do not anticipate going on a med holiday and then being good to go without meds. I just want to get off and see what is causing some of my side effects. My thought is to get off pain meds and muscle relaxers but stay on psychotropics. I have worked with my PM for years and she said she is out of options for me. She did not necessarily think a med holiday is the first plan of action right now but is not against it. She recommended getting off Trileptal and reevaluating, which I am doing, but my side effects (primarily memory issues, dizziness, and a hand tremor) predate the Trileptal. My psychiatrist likes the idea of me getting off the pain meds, getting a base line of how i am doing and see if the side effects go away etc and then starting over. I know I will likely still need something but I am not satisfied with how I am feeling right now. Still in a lot of pain plus the side effects.
The pain pump was recommended by a different PM. I had an issue where my PM doesn't provide refills once a patient is stable but when I was on anything stronger than norco (opana, methadone, butrans etc) my PCP didn't feel comfortable writing for them. I had been with my PCP for 8+ years and didn't want to leave her so I saw a different pain dr just to have him maintain the plan I had been on. He was the one that recommended the pain pump since the butrans wasn't working all that well at the time. I was generally stable on it but still in a decent amount of pain and having some grogginess issues. I did not feel comfortable going forward with the pump trial without checking in with the PM dr with whom I've worked for the past few years and initially she did not think it was warranted. At this point she thinks it may be worth doing the trial but they do not do them at her office.
I am currently taking Norco 1-3x a day. Opana worked great for me before but now makes me groggy. Vicodin used to make me itchy if I took it in the evenings (I felt itchy when going to bed but not the rest of the day) but now it doesn't and Opana does. It is so weird. I did not get back on Suboxone because it made me too groggy. Helped a lot with pain though so it is sad that I cannot seem to take it.

Sorry, that was a long rambling response to your questions. :) I just want to get the side effects figured out first then go back to figuring out PM. I know it will probably be very difficult to be off pain meds. That is why I am hoping to do it as an inpatient. That way if things are very out of control they can help me out. I guess I just feel like I am at a loss.

Sorry it's been confusing. I know there's been a lot going on which can make it hard to follow.

I am back with the old PM because she'll prescribe while getting patients settled. I spoke with my PCP who said since she's known me so long she can work something out once I am settled with a plan. Wish she had said that before!! The PM I saw 2x is the one who recommended the pump. I am afraid to do that before figuring out what's causing the other issues.

I do not remember the dose of suboxone off the top of my head... pretty sure it was the lowest dose of the strip. 5 maybe? Does that sound right? We talked about trying half in the am and half at night. I still may try that. I was on Opana 5 - what's weird is that dose did not make me groggy a year ago. So weird. I have tried benedryl and a prescription itch med (completely forget what it's called) and they help some but not great when I am trying to go to bed.

I've tried methadone and it felt like a sugar pill - aside from the horrendous withdrawal when my dr forgot to send me a refill script once. That was terrible. Haven't tried MsContin or Nucynta. Maybe those would be good options once we get the side effects settled. The memory loss is very disconcerting. My therapist said it could just be a result of having chronic pain and depression though. There is no way to tell until I get off the meds and see if it improves. If I can do that on an in patient basis so I do not need to worry about being home and in agony then I like the idea. I know my PM dr at home would restart me on pain meds when I got back on the off chance that Mayo doesn't restart me on them and I still need them, as I assume I will.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Otherwise I'll keep you all updated!