Have to prove again my chronic pain for medication

Dunno if this is the right forum but my doctor who had been prescribing me pain medicine for my chronic pain moved and her replacement saw me for the first time this month. He has issues about giving me pain medicine and now is telling me if I want to continue with my current medicine I have to go see a specialist to verify if the medicine Im taking is the right thing to continue doing. It pisses me off, I already had to prove this to get the medicine in the first place. Its the only thing that has given me any relief. Yes Im referring to oxycodine.

My current conditions:

Spinal Stenosis

Degenerative Disk Disease In My Back

Osteoarthritis in my back and both ankles (Doctor told me I barely have any cartiledge left in my ankles)

Had micro fracture surgery on my right knee, my knee has never been the same since. You can hear and feel the cracking when I bend my knee. I was told I have arthritis in my knee and a torn ACL, dunno if that causes pain.

Scheuermann disease

They wanted me to get a new MRI, been a couple of years, but its so painful to lay down I start getting dizzy and sick from the pain. I just cant lay down long enough to get the MRI done. Im in constant pain for years from this. I cannot sleep in my bed longer then 3 or 4 hours because of the back pain. They tried cortisone shots, tardel shots, celebrix, meloxicam, prednisone etc. I cant even do much exercise, just a walk down the block and back and the next day Im having to use a walker just to get around, the pain is so unbearable. At one point a doctor prescribed me a wheel chair.. Im 36 years old! Nothing has helped, at least on a long term basis. The only thing that has given me any relief is the pain medicine. I hate using it because I know what happens with long term use, but what can I do? Surgery has been brought up but I dont have the money to pay for it and I also do not want to do any surgery on my back or ankles. I was told it was a high risk low success rate anyway on the surgery they recommend.

Anyway, sorry for the rant.. But thanks for listening...

Post Edited (silly2988) : 1/22/2016 4:20:55 PM (GMT-7)

Each dr is different. Not all drs agree with what the drs before them did. When a dr prescribed Schedule II meds for chronic pain, they must have current medical evidence that proves that there is a physical reason for the amount of pain that requires Schedule II pain meds. Conditions do change, they can become worse or better on their own. At least your new dr is willing to continue to prescribe you pain meds. There is nothing that says another dr has to prescribe a patient the same thing a previous dr did.

silly, I know where you're coming from. We can sometimes barely walk and they want us to jump through hoops? Unfortunately, that's the name of the game these days.

Every year I have to 'recertify' for SSD and 2nd Injury Fund. So far, it's just been paperwork, but they tend to send folks to doctors for their opinions. I'm not going to get better. "Not a surgical candidate", but they still need the paperwork!

You have the Right to refuse surgery. You have the Right to refuse other treatments. Problem is, exercising those Rights can make us appear as 'drug seeking'. Well, darn right I am! If that's what works then of course I'm going to seek it! Just not the way they make it out to be!

All you can do is jump through the hoop and take your meds. Do it now, while you still have them for relief! Make sure the technicians document your difficulties when they are doing the MRI. You have a Right to have your procedures Well and Properly documented.

I had an incident at a Physical Therapist office while undergoing a Functional Capacity Evaluation. Something 'popped' in my elbow (my 'good' elbow). I made sure they were going to document it! This way, the next time, they may not be so quick to order an MRI for you if it causes so many problems for you. Get a copy of the report and if it is not noted, you can go back and they can 'correct' the report. It probably won't be in the diagnostic report but there should be documentation of the procedure itself. You can ask them ahead of time to document it all.

All that being said...the sad fact is since the military has been experiencing so many injuries, new therapies and treatments are being developed at an astounding rate. There may be something 'new and improved' that may very well help your present condition. I'm still waiting for my 'miracle'.

One thing that you might want to consider is that the lack of physical excercise, is going to lead to flare ups, at least until you build up some strength and endurance again.
Start small, walking a shorter distance inside your home, building up to several times per day, do leg lifts, ankle stretches and excercises using large rubber bands or tennis balls, even towels, several times a day.
Find a local YWCA or physical therapy place that has aqua therapy classes. The warm water, combined with swimming and pool weights results in strengthening, and at the same time, eases pain.Especially arthritis pain.
The lack of regular exercise and stretching leads to muscle wasting and atrophy, stiffening and more pain from lack of use. It needs to be regular, smaller distances until you build up some strength and endurance, before you start walking down the block.
DDD is a huge misnomer, if anyone was sent for an MRI, and they are over the age of 21, they will show a "diagnosis" of DDD somewhere in their spine. It is not a disease, like diabetes or heart disease. It is something that occurs naturally in our spines as we age. The discs don't have their own hydration systems, so over decades, the discs loose a tiny amount of hydration, kind of like a jelly doughnut....at first, it's fresh, soft, the jelly is soft, pliant.....if you leave the jelly doughnut sitting on the counter, eventually the jelly will thicken, get hard as the moisture evaporates....this is DDD.
Stenosis means narrowing....in your spine it is a narrowing of either the spinal canal or the foramen, where the nerve roots exit the canal. What is important with stenosis is the severity of it, and the location, along with any cord or nerve root compression. Stenosis by itself can be very, very mild,
but not causing any issues with the cord or nerve roots,to very severe where it blocks off the cord containing the nerves , or pinches off the nerve roots.
With Schuerrmans , again it comes down to how bad it is, or isn't.
As far as getting an MRI goes, the table and machine are made to accomodate all heights, that's the reason the sliding section of the table is so long, to move your body in and out of the tube. They can sedate you if the pain is too much to lay still during the scan.
It sounds to me like you have been seeing a primary care doctor for these medications. They aren't exactly the right doctors to diagnose, let alone offer the best options to treat spine or ortho issues.
Going to see a board certified spine surgeon more often than not, doesn't result in surgery, but they are the best option to make the right referrals and treatment options.
This request for new testing and consults could be a very good thing, with the right doctors, to get you into places that can offer you more options than sitting and eventually giving up on your ability to stay on your feet.
Some of us won't have that option due to our own serious spine issues and if your situation is treatable, I encourage you to fight for staying on your feet as long as possible by doing everything you can to get proper treatment.

Post Edited (mrsm123) : 1/23/2016 8:59:32 AM (GMT-7)

There was no intention to "burn" you at all. I was trying to help you and explain what those terms meant, in case you didn't know.
I apologize if you took anything I said in the wrong way, but I promise, I was not trying to hurt you or blame you in any way.

I stand behind mrsm.

You have many conditions, no diagnosis. Your CP journey is just beginning, yet you are in agony. You need to learn the ropes to achieve any success with PM. A good start is listening. You have been given some good info here, offered free but priceless, use it.

mrsm has no ill intent.

This is the reason we say take the actual films to a consulting Dr not the report. You could read a 100 different ones and the findings say pretty much the same thing. Did you know that the latest scanners actually interprets the images leaving very little actual human eyes on them?

I really think that people are trying to help and pass along advice.

It's true, most people will have those findings on an MRI report. It's the location and amount of damage that makes a difference. Example, up to 80% of the population will have TMJ issues. For most, it's no biggie. TMJ will often be listed as a diagnosis. Is my case, I had to have the jaw replaced. So yes I had TMJ, but obviously to a different degree. Pretty much everyone will have DDD, but the location might make the difference.

Before you see a specialist, you really need to have scans done again. Most will require up to date tests and scans, or they won't see you at all. For the MRI, best way is to try and tough it out. If not, there are Drs who will prescribe valium to help relax you, and loosen up muscles. Drs really try to avoid sedation in adults, since it will compromise your airway. Your hight really shouldn't make a difference.

You mention being told by Drs that you will lose the ability to walk. That sounds like you have something more serious going on. I'm curious as to which specialist told you that, and that's a pretty odd statement without a diagnosis.

You mention having problems exercising, but you really need to find something that you can do. Most Drs will tell you, if you don't move it, you will lose it. There many different types of pool exercise that can help. There are classes that are for those who have joint issues. I've done them before, and I was the youngest by at least 30yrs, but it was exercise.

It definitely sounds like you need a fresh set of eyes. I may have missed it, but you use the term "my doctor" but I haven't seen a specialist listed. As far as pain meds go, you need to go to a pain management doc. I know it might be a pain, but if you have issues with anything in your body, you see a specialist for the best care. Heart issues-cardiologist, digestive issues-gi, so it makes since it pain is your issue-you would see a pain doc.

Again, without a diagnose and up to date scans, you might have a hard time. Please don't think that anyone is trying to brush you off, or be rude. I honestly think that the replies are meant to help.