Hi Twinklestar and welcome!!
I sure can understand the things you are saying about
medication. The side effects sometimes aren't worth what little relief you get. As far as stopping the Ultram, I would talk to your doctor about
this before going any further. Let him know what the pharmacist said and see if he agrees or maybe more appropriate would give you something different.
I have been taking Effexor for quite a while and I also have been on oxycodone for a long time also. Neither my doctor nor the pharmacist have any concerns about
it. BTW, the doctor and pharmacist both are here in our local community and we're not in a big city situation. It's wonderful that the people who take care of your health are also people who know you.
Besides that, ask your doctor for a better pain regime. You are entitled to help with pain control. We all have been shy and worried about
asking for pain medication and many of us will always be. The stigma it carries is like having a black cloud hanging over us. That's why most of us don't broadcast to friends and family what we are taking. Not only is it a very personal thing but if word gets out you have these medications in your home it's setting up a situation where they might just 'disappear'. The fewer people who know the better. I hate saying that because we shouldn't have to but I've had to face the facts in the past and now I'm very cautious.
But think about
it....if we have strep throat, bladder infection or cancer we won't hesitate to get to the doctor for proper medication. But if we are in pain the brakes go on. Ya, I'm off on a tangent here so I'll stop..lol But the majority of chronic pain people go either under-treated or untreated and that's not right! We have good medications that can be used safely. We just need the media to keep their noses to themselves. And the ...OK...I'm stopping!...lol
I do think you would benefit by getting an appointment with your doctor and ask about
pain control or a referral to a pain specialist. In my case my doc treats my pain and I much prefer it that way. I agree with his type of treatment and we have a strong mutual trust. But that's just me. Everyone has different situations and ways they prefer to get help.
Before you go to your next appointment I would strongly suggest you keep a pain journal. It's a daily diary of your pain levels, where the pain is located, things that affect it, etc. You can download a free journal page and then print one page for each day. I usually filled mine out at the end of the day and sometimes during the day if the pain was bad. It only takes 5-10 minutes out of your day and it will pay back way more than you can imagine. Keep a page a day and put them in a binder, folder or whatever and take the collection of pages to each and every appointment you have. Ask the doctor you are visiting to review them while you wait. He may ask that you leave it with him so he can review it when he has more time but if he won't look at it regularly you might just think about
changing doctors.
Why use the pain journal? By letting your doc read the pages he gets a very clear and detailed picture of you pain and everything that affects it and how it affects your life. This way he is in a much better position to help with controlling your pain. If you go in and answer the typical questions..."My pain is a level 6 today"...that doesn't give the doctor any idea what the rest of your life is like. Plus by bringing this along each time the doc will realize you are very serious about
wanting and needing help.
The page to download in noted in the Fibro 101 thread but here's the link so you don't have to look it up. I hope it helps and please keep in touch. I won't always go chatting on like a jaybird.
Nice to meet you!
Chutz
www.painfoundation.org/learn/publications/files/TargetDailyLog.pdf