What do I do

Ok, here's the thing...my gastro dr says my pain is all in my head and not to take pain meds EVER...he thinks that soon I will not be treated for my pain because they'll start to think all I want is pills...which isn't true...I'm sick of pills...I want to get better so I don't have to take pills...But that's not the whole of my situation...I have been diagnosed with Crohn's for about 3 years now.  I've had everything from Uveitis to the Iron injections.  I have to start the injections again soon.  But here's the thing...I'm losing weight...I can't hardly get up and do anything...the more pills they give me, the more I throw up...there is blood when I go to the bathroom, which btw is very frequently...my stomach and abdomen hurt so bad that I have a hard time even moving or it gets worse...eating makes the pain worse...and my doctor says it's all in my head, that I'm not coping well...what do I do?  My primary care physician has given me vicodin but I think it's making my pain worse and I do not want to rely on pain meds to function...I requested another colonoscopy or any other test to find out why it's so bad and was told no...neither my primary care physician nor my gastroenterologist will help me...they do blood tests and give me more pills which don't work even after I've taken the entire amount prescribed...obviously, something is not right...unfortunately I live in a town where the majority of people ARE looking for drugs...and I am getting NO help...I am expected to just deal with this...I have a 3 yr old and I can't even get up long enough to make her dinner...what do I do???

welcome Grace and I am so sorry you are having such a rough time. many of us here are on pain meds. often we get them from a PCP rather than a GI.
what is your GI doing for you? take care, yp

well I HAD vicodin...now they've canceled it...I was getting it via my pcp whom I can rarely get in to see...my GI dr thinks it's in my head and suggested I go see a psychologist...so as of now, I have only Asacol, Lonox, Hyoscyamine, Imipramine, Cipro, Flagyl, and a number of other medications that aren't doing anything.  But my pcp isn't that bright either...he upped my pred and left me on a high dosage which caused toxicity and that's not the first thing he's done that's caused problems...All that is happening now is blood tests...lots and lots of blood tests...to which my GI dr responds "the results are probably the cause of the medication you're on"...but doesn't tell me what they are or what they mean...I've been told I have diabetes...but I don't...unfortunately it seems as if I have doctors who never should have gotten a degree...

i really send you good thoughts and prayers on this.

i would run so fast to a new dr the old one would taste my dust. who does he think he is? you are entitled to a copy of all your tests, and if you cant read them, come online and look up the words you dont know. i did this when my dad had cancer, and man, i learned a lot real quick. it just isnt as hard as they want you to believe. it doesnt take any magic to understand lab values or definitions. just a common sense brain. (i only have a high school diploma).

i hope you find a good dr real soon.  jody

 

Welcome,I am so sorry that you are having to go through all of this and I know how hard it is to have to go through all of this.I know where you are coming from I seen a GIone time and before my ex-husband and I could set down the first words out of his mouth was I do not script pain meds because people with Crohns do not hurt yea right.Well I told my other GI this and this was what he had to say how in the h***does he no because he want me and that was a bunch of b*******because people with Crohns did have pain.So my GI scripted my pain meds untill I got divorced and moved back to my home town in another state.If I was you there is two things that I would do and one of them is to is to get another GI and to get your PCP to referr you to a Pain Clinc.I for one don't like having to take all of these meds either and I don't like having to take pain meds either but with out them I wouldhave no life because I would stay in bed curled up in a ball all of the time other wise.Good luck and please let us know how you are doing you are welcome any time.

Hi Grace Would think about a change in DR's at least have someone go with you if you can till you are feeling better. You mentioned that you are vomitting up your meds. There are meds that can be given by infusion like Remicade, and given by needle like Humira. Has your Dr. suggested these drugs? What are the results of your scopes are they showing inflamation or narrowing and have you had a CT to rule out abcess and fistula's ?How long have you been loosing weight and how much? Can you take ensure or boost to help you with that ,it helped me alot. Are your BM's all water just wondering if stool is getting threw sometimes I get C and have to get things working again. What is he saying about the bleeding? What is causing this? You need to take someone with you to your app. and get some answers .Best Wishes and let us know how things are going .lol gail

The federal legislation referred to as HIPAA allows you to have copies of your medical records. I think you were always allowed to have them but it may have been state legislated and also, sometimes even when something is legal,people can still give you a really hard time. Not so anymore.  The law also allows them to charge a reasonable amount of money for these copies.   The problem with this is in a hospital record, for example, there are pages and pages of nothing more than maybe a few words and a signature. The hospital where I work charges $10.00 for the first page and I think either 25 or 50 cents a page for the rest. This can really mount up so if cost is important to you be selective in what you request i.e. operative reports, discharge summary, whatever.    I have never had the experience of a doctor's office charging me for copies of any of my test results. I just tell them I like to keep copies of any significant test and procedure, what do I need to sign for that?  They have never challenged, or charged, me.  

I believe that you absolutely need another GI. It's bad enough to be sick and in pain...your doctor should be working WITH you to help you get better, not work against you and make you feel bad about yourself. I like my GI but my internist was a real jerk, and I believe I would have been diagnosed sooner if I had an internist who listened to me instead of telling me everthing was "Stress related." It is worth going to another town for a consultation if there is no one in your town who will help you properly! Go to the Crohn's foundation website www.ccfa.org and get a physician referral. Good luck!