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1st time poster - need advice

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Chronic Pain
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Posted 12/19/2007 4:10 AM (GMT 0)
This is my first time posting here. I have chronic pain from a shoulder injury 5 years ago. I've had 2 surgeries which have stabilized it but I'm still in extreme pain. I get lidocaine injections and take oxycontin 20mg twice a day. Neither seem to be doing anything. I've been taking my medicine up to 4 times a day and it does nothing. I know that I should not take more than prescribed, but it is hard not to when I am in serious pain. I have a call into my doctor to increase my medicine to a higher dosage and an appointment next week. It is just so tough dealing with this constantly. What do you guys recommend that I do? I just don't want to be in pain. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.
Posted 12/19/2007 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hi grad and welcome to our forum family! I'm so sorry you're in pain. Your doctor should be working with you to keep that under control. It sounds like you need your medication increased to a level that it does some good. Get in there as soon as you can get an appointment.

Also, keep a pain journal. Write down times of day, your pain level from 1-10, what you took, how it helped or not, activities, etc. Take this daily log to your doc when you go and he'll get a good view of how your pain is and that you are very serious about needing some help. There's good pain control out there. You just have to get your doctor to work with you to find a level that works for you.

Keep us posted,
CHutz
Posted 12/19/2007 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your kind reply. I'm going to start keeping track of things. I would also like people to know that for those who think we are drug addicts they are flat wrong. I've been able to complete a BA in Psychology and work at the same time while being in serious pain and taking narcotic pain killers.
Posted 12/19/2007 8:06 PM (GMT 0)
Grad - I agree. We all know there is a difference between being dependent and addicted, but it is trying to educate the rest of the population where the problem lies. I personally believe that many of us CP patients are somewhat defiant, if you will, by starting out with a refusal to believe that it is going to get us down. For me personally that is where the depression deepened, when I had to start giving up things that I liked doing, losing a small piece of my life at a time and then coming to the realization of how big the little pieces added up to be. I can no longer even do 45 minutes of grocery shopping without paying a price in pain.
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