I just have to ask the pain med question...please indulge me...

I take pain meds if I need them, and my GI will give them to me if I tell him I need them.

I don't see any reason why a person shouldn't take pain meds for CD with the caveate that you and your doctor know the source or are willing to find the source of the pain. You don't want to take pain meds and not treat whatever's causing it, if it can be treated.

I do believe that pain is just a symptom of something (usually) serious going on. In the past, if I had pain, it usually meant an inflammatory obstruction and/or fistulas and abscesses. It meant trying new medication protocols to control it or in the end surgery if nothing else could.

Today I'm going in for a CT scan with and without contrast (oral and injected) and then an MRI with contrast. I'm doing this because a few weeks ago I had unexplained abdominal pain. My doctor gave me pain meds, and got the ball rolling for my insurance to approve the tests. My pain has dissipated for the most part now, I'm not on the pain meds anymore, but my doctor feels we should still investigate.

I do not believe that pain should be "lived with" because you have CD. I feel that you should do everything in your power to find out what's causing it, and try to fix it, whether that means changing meds or surgery. This, however is my personal opinion based on the history of MY disease.

I take pain meds when i really need them, but my GI doctor will not give them to me. I have used pain clinics in the past. My pcp will also give me pain meds if I ask for them.

I get my pain meds from my GI. That's the only way I can get through the day with the flare-up I'm in right now.

my GI wont give them to me at all :(

Said it would do more harm than good but looking at everyone elses post I think I need to ask another doctor.

I was on pain meds but not directly because of my Crohn's. I had terrible joint pain but my CD is in remission. I will only take pain meds when absolutely necessary. I'm now on an anti-depressant that helps tremendously with chronic pain.

I have been on pain meds for about 5 years now, started with darvocet & hydocodone 7.5

given to me by my gastro,and have progressed up now to oxycodone 20 mg and hydrocodone

10 mg for breakthrew pain, now given to me by my rheumy, as i have been dxed with fibromyalgia

this past year.  I just let him do my pain managment now rather than get meds from different dr's.

I have to admit I have a great Gastro (Shout out to Dr. Thomas Eckert :) and a great Rheumy

(Shout out to Dr. Henry Davis :) and have never really had to suffer and suck it up as it pains

me to see some of you do.  BTW, I think is BS.  But getting these meds have their drawbacks as

well......... here is a example.

I suffer with migraines and have 4 different meds to take to kick them, but I had one that could

not be kicked, and had to go to the ER which I have done quite a few times.  I go and update

my med list and they ask what I am wanting..... duh..... I tell them I need a shot of what they

gave the previous time, cause it worked.  Mind you my BP was 156/124 (Heart attack stage or

Stroke maybe) and the actual Dr. came in and told me that I would get no narcotic from there

and if that was my intention then I should forget it.  Well BP's don't lie and can't be faked ppl,

and I told him nastily, give me whatever they could as long as the migraine went away, but I

did remind them that I wasn't supposed to take nsaid's as I have CD, so to do what they could.

He was just nasty, and made me feel like a junkie, just because I do take strong pain meds,

whick had no bearing on the migraine.  That is the down side to them, I guess from my perspec

-tive anyway.

You should talk to your dr's, both if need be, and tell them that you feel it is your right to be

treated for the pain as well as the DD.  One goes right along with the other and maked it hard

to function beyond it.  I did suffer for a few years and finally had to ask for treatment.  And

pain meds are better than a cork...... they play double duty.... no pain and less "D".  Win/Win

Good luck !

I'm a social worker (NO medical training) But as I understand it, we actually have seratonin receptors in our gut, so the antidepressants do seem to help some folks with chronic pain. So maybe she really thought the increased Zoloft would help. I'm so sorry to hear you have both CD and Scleroderma....clearly your pain is quite real. You need doctors who believe you and support you....if that is not the case, then maybe you need a new doc. Good luck

Well, I was able to speak with Dr's nurse today and explain my problem. So I will be able to trade new prescriptions in for old prescriptions. (If that makes sense.) Meaning, I am going to give the Zoloft increase a definate try for the chronic pain and I will have the vicodin for the acute pain. I feel much better now. I am sure many of you know what it is like to be sticken with unbearable pain in the middle of a store or somewhere away from home (or even at home for that matter), and then you have to try and get it together to find the restroom and drive home etc. I've had CD for 20 yrs, been hosp. countless times, two obstructions recently, but luckily, no surgery.

my gi had no problem giving me vicodin. i felt funny taking it at first, cause i was worried about ddependency but there are some days where i have no idea how i would have gotten through my days without vicodin. i am talking, can't even stand up or breath cause the pain is so bad though. i usually try and wait it out but i have had 2 vicodin days.

Currently, I'm on Lyrica ( partly to help sleep) & Tramadol (Ultram) for pain. Also, I'm taking Celebrex for the ongoing arthritis & back pain.
Background: CD of course, but it is in remission mostly. CD related arthritis plus Osteoarthritis. There are a couple of disc issues due to the Osteo..
I use a Pain Clinic to get my medication. They also have supplied a couple of Physical therapy devices to help with the back..
I never ask GIs for pain meds, most are afraid to use them.
No I don't worry about addiction, people in moderate to severe pain on a chronic basis rarely become addicted. Oh we have dependancy issues, but a knowledeable doctor knows how to taper dosages to correct that.
As for being a whiner? When I was in college, I had a lung collapse while riding my bike. I rode home & rode it off & on for about 5 days before they found the problem when I went to Hospital for tests. Also, I suffered hellishly for years with the CD because I initially believed narcotics hurt IBD patients. Yeah, I'm a whiner.

Matthew

I agree with several posts here that it isn't fair that the primary doctor is stuck prescribing the pain med's because the specialists won't.  I'm very lucky to have a great primary dr too, but I just don't get why a gastro or a rheumy won't treat the pain - that seems very selfish of them to me.

Just a little information.

I've had joint pain for years. I didn't realize it was from Crohn's until I was diagnosed last year.  My back has been terrible along with my knees and ankles.  After finding arthritis in my back last year my PCP started prescribing Hydrocodone.  I only took it when I really needed it and usually before or after I was at the YMCA.  Stressing about other issues my doctor thought it might be a good idea to start me on cymbalta to see if it would help with not only GAD (general anxiety disorder) and the chronic pain I was having.  Would you believe that the very first day after starting my ankles and knees felt 1000% times better.  I could get out of the car at work without having to slowly rise and I could get up steps with no problem.  I was amazed.  I haven't had to take hydrocodone since and that was in July.

When I started suffering from tail bone pain I was concerned that it was really worse then it felt because the cymbalta was masking some of the pain.  My doctor told me that anti-depressants relieve chronic pain but does nothing for acute pain.  What I'm gathering from that is, it helps alleviate constant pain but anything that is out of the ordinary doesn't get masked.  Does that make sense?

Happy Birthday to Me!!!