what should i do?

The best thing you can do is be open, honest and upfront in how you are feeling, how the pain is effecting your life, etc and be open to any and all suggestions and be prepared to give them an honest chance to work.

The worst thing to do is to go in demanding a specific treatment or drug therapy.

First and foremost, let this new doctor know that 1. your pcp has been trying to help with your chronic pain up until now,
when it seems very very bad, and ask if he would take over your pain management care, you'll know if he will be willing to help,
I sure hope he'll do you good with your treatment and if not you can always try someone else..
Good Luck tomorrow and keep us posted as to how it goes..
Take a list of the medicines your on as well as what your allergic to, so far my list takes up only one page typed.
Lots of soft hugz
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I took a list of medications with me and went over it with my doctor and he explained what would be good with my problems and what would not work in my situation and if you by chance have a doctor that will not discuss it with you then find a new one right away because he will not be of any help if he has a closed mind. Make sure you let him know what current medications you are taking and how they work or don'r work for you. Let him know that your pain is still coming through even with your current medication. How long have you been diagnosed bi-polar? What medications do you take for that? My daughter is bi-polar and she has alot of unexplained pains (joint and muscular) that they can't find any explanation for so I was just curious. Remember you have to be an advocate in your own health care, I found that it also helped when I took my husband with me as he also explained my situation from a loved ones viewpoint and the doctor was impressed by him. Okay keep us all updated and if we don't hear from you before your appointment, good luck to you and we wish you the best.

Kel

Although it wasnt the 1st trip to my PM Dr, I took a laundry list of terms, ideas, and questions to my last appointment. I hope you have had time to go through a lot of posts here and compile a similar list. As was previously mentioned, please mention not only your physical pain, but also how it is affecting you emotionally. I mentioned to my PM how I thought that the wellbutrin wasn't doing anything, but he didn't budge, and I am glad he didnt. Between the Lyrica and wellbutrin, I don't want to know how things would be different without them.

Best wishes to you with your appointment today, and let us know a) how it went and b) if there is anything we can do to help with how you are feeling!

N8

you all rock! im so appreciative of all the interest, suggestions, and caring. i took alot of your advice to heart and made sure i handled myself well with the dr. as i said my husband went with me for support and also as a kind of "eye witness" to all my suffering. this dr. seemed to "get it". he said, as my husband and i have both been saying to ALL my drs. im on too many meds! he did seem to belive everything we said and didnt treat me like a druggie. he prescribed oxycodone for me to take 3 times a day, as long as i agreed to limit my hydrocodone to 1 at bedtime. duh! i had no problem with that. the hydrocodone that i take is for my restless legs syndrome. its alot worse at night and the other he prescribed should take care of any daytime symptoms. he also made some suggestions about what meds. i might taper off. im excited about this protocol. i think some of my meds. are actually making me worse. i think if i can get a handle on the pain i will have more energy and just feel better in general. thanks to all of you for caring enough to take the time to let me know you care. to answer the question about my bi-polar: i had a psychotic break after a long period of almost no sleep, followed by a bad fall, and a regimine of steroids. ater the 2nd day on steroids, came the break. my husband took me to a psych. drs. office and she put me on seroquel and lamictal. i slept that whole night for the 1st time in months. the next day my husband said he could tell i was "back". i was still very sick but was able to get better at home without a hospltal stay. my dr. told me that what happened to me was tantamount to a heart attack and that it would take me 6 months to a year to get well. she also said that had become bi-polar and that i would probably have to live on these meds. for the rest of my life. there is no cure for bi-polar disorder. i have my ups and downs and my dr. keeps a fairly close eye on my condition. i hope your daughter will receive the best of care and that she will be surrounded by caring and understanding people. its obvious that she already has a great start! be proud of yourself for loving her so much. thanks again to everyone! its been a long time, but im finally. cautiously optimistic about the future! ill keep you posted!

Cbear, wow,
I agree with what edt said, and it sounds like your heading in the right direction, that always helps..
Don't let it bother you when they say you'll be on these medicines for the rest of your life, the Important
thing is whether the medicines are helping...I wish you continued success...
well wishes and hugz...
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thanks to all of u who replied to my post. you all gave some good advice and gave me the courage i needed. i wanted to update u on what has happened since. i met with my pyschiatrist, and my pyschiatrist nurse practitioner, and another dr. at the pysch. office. they said, and my husband and i agreed, i need to come off some of my other meds. and then my pain specialist can better deal with my pain. the onle thing that really upset me is that they are taking me off xanax, which i use rarely for severe panic atacks. they want me to learn how to deal with severe panic attacks in other drugless ways. this scares me alot. they want me to start intensive psycotherapy. i can remeber having panic attacks as young as 6 yrs. old. i have depression at least all my adult life. the thought of delving into my past since i was a child, is so scary and depressing, i dont know if i can do it. i know its in my best interests to do the therapy.but im worn out at the thought. ive never gotten the kind of support and love that i needed from my parents. that layed the ground work for all the things to come. there were obviously other things that happened to get me where i am today. my therapist said that it would not be easy and that i would have a great deal of suffering because of all this. she is being very caring and says she wants to see me once a week at least while im coming off all the other meds. she said once i came off alot of these meds, they will be able to give me more pain med. relief. im scared but i feel somewhat better at the thought of having my life back. all i do right now is try to sleep as much as possible to escape the pain. they want me to get my life back and thats what i want, too. but going through all the c--p to get there i am not looking forward to.

smoochie,sorry its taken me so long to respond. my drs. appt. with thw pain specialist was a disaster, but thats another story. i want to address what you asked me. first of all im so sorry to hear your daughter is bi-polar. ive always had issues, but did not become bi-polar until an accident plus steroids caused me to have a psychotic break. that led to my becoming bi-polar. did anything like this happen to your daughter? you asked about my meds. i take 400 mg. of lamictal, actually the generic. also i take 400 mg. of seraquel. in my opinion, and my husband's and dr's, these meds. kept me from a stay in the hospital. i didnt start out at these strengths, but have had to have them tweaked over time. that being said, there are alot of other great meds out there that may help your daughter. how old is she? i was diagnosed 5 yrs. ago. i was 44. most people with bi-polar have first episodes in their late teens or early 20"s. As for your daughters aches and pains, i was wondering if she might have fibromyalgia. i have that too and you might want to have her tested. however, i do know that emotional pain can also cause physical pain. i hope ive answered all your questions. i hope your daughter gets the help she needs, whatever that may be. you, obviously love your daughter very much and can be a great support that she will need. good luck to both of you. please keep me posted and thanks again for answering mine.