Nerves

Hi all

Just wanted to vent because i know ill be listened to here. I am getting very bad nerves and anxiety about my upcoming visit to the pain specialist in a month mainmy after the last one i saw was very narrow minded. Ive told my GP that im nervous. She said she wants to do right by me so wants things checked out which i do appreciate. But shes also mentioned again that she is worried about me taking strong meds andd in my referral that she wrote 'denies any bad side effects from medication' which i think sounds like she doesnt believe me. I honestly have hardly any constipation or nausea any more. She said i am worried i'll be taken off the meds suddenly but it will be over a period of time if it does happen. I believe i wont be suddenly cut off but my worry is having to go through trials of meds all over again when i dont need to as my meds do give me considerable relief.

I asked the pharmacist today what the long term effects of opiates if taken as directed for pain were and she couldnt tell me any. She said perhaps the doctor is worried about dependance and side effects. I said i have no side effects but am not sure the GP believes me and she laughed and said oh well its great you dont. She said usually people dont stay on it for so long but if you need the medication for pain i completely understand. I know she cant do anything but it was nice to be understood and did make me think perhaps im investing too much time in a gp who is already not on my side. I am thinking of getting a second opinion from another GP since this one seems overly concerned and doesnt seem persuaded when i say i have backing of a previous pain specialist and four GPs. I asked her if i could see someone else if i couldnt get an appointment with her and she said that was fine and would note it on my file. Obviously i wont ask for meds but will just ask what their opinion is.

She has mentioned that the drugs i take are addictive and i said as far as i knew people who take them as directed just for pain are very unlikely to get addicted but will be dependent and she said there is not much difference between them both. Im sure im right about the dependance thing as this has been discussed many times on this forum so im thinking if she is using arguments like that her mind is already made up so perhaps i should see someone else. Im hoping like hell the pain specialist i see is compassionate. My GP is quite young too and i now i think about it usually older doctors have been more understanding (though i know thats not all).

I did discuss switching to buprenorphine with the doctor and she seemed ok with that and said to mention it to the PM specialist. Ive tried it before and it was quite effective so maybe if i mention that ive read it is considered not as addictive it might sound good.

Thanks for listening i really appreciate it. Love di xx

It's all about not calling a plumber for an electrical problem. They just don't have the knowledge nor experience to get the job done. Not saying some haven't took the time to learn or further educate themselves to the world of pmsome hhave and are very knowledgeable about the issues of Cp,more are not. As for the difference between addiction and tolerance she's spouting just shows she's in the category of not and really shouldn't be treating Cpers. The simplest explanation is yes we will have withdrawal if suddenly removed from the meds just as severe and long and uncomfortable as any junkie but we will Not battle with the psychological need for the high after we are done. When the physical effects of withdrawal are over we are done but an addict will battle that want and yearning for the rest of their existence!

Hopefully the pm will be a good thing and although medication changes are scary they can be beneficial as well. I don't know what or how much you take or how old you are and none of the issues your being treated for but if you are on the lower end of the age scale then yes they're not going to want to see you on much medication and thats for your own benefits in the long run. You already have an idea of how tolerance works and the younger you are an the longer your looking at being on opiates the more it will take and one day if your pain issue's increase and your tolerance is shot nothing will ever work and youcould be eextremely miserable for a long time. So no its not wise to stay on them if you can find other things to help if your on that side of say 40.

There's no mention of any kind of alternative modalities you use to fill in the gaps and help lower the need for medication and if you are not using any or the ones you are do not help you should try finding some that others have had success with.

There's definitely long term effects from any chemicals being dumped into your system for long term periods. They're hard and damaging to,many organs and systems including liver and kidney as well as GI tract. Take a look at the hep forum and you can get a idea of how hard on us some of these things are, do you know any old heroin addicts? They're not many lucky enough to escape liver disease and damage and no matter the reason or basis of opiate use, addict or Cper we don't rank high on the transplant lists! !

The truth about bup is its not any less addictive then oxy, fent or hydro and some studies say more so.

Good luck with the pm and try to think positive about the change because your finally being treated by the right kind of Dr.