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My latest, PSA, the rocket still is climbing away

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Posted 1/5/2012 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
Purgatory:
Sorry to hear about your latest PSA.
Regarding your pain, just thought I'd relay my father's experience - he had/has lots of ongoing pain from the radiation treatments.
During the treatments, and for a short while after, they were trying to control it with both pills and shots of morphine, yet no matter how high they went (and they went high!!), it couldn't control it.
They then put him in the care of a palliative care team, given their expertise in pain management, and the best they came up with was a ketamine drip, which did control the pain but slowed his breathing too much.
Then, finally, his rad oncologist stepped back in and tried him on a high dose fentanyl patch (100mg x 2), this worked for him, and didn't knock him out, etc.
A year later and he has gradually brought the patch dosage down, now to about 50mg, and it does a good job at controlling most of the pain, and leaves him fully functional (ie. not tired from the medication).

As strong as morphine can be in high doses, it just doesn't work for everything, and didn't for my father at all.

Maybe it would be worth asking your doc to try a fentanyl patch?

Take care
Posted 1/7/2012 4:00 AM (GMT 0)
Hi David ~ I was reading your original post and you wrote: "I am scheduled to meet with my oncologist on January 4th, the next PSA is scheduled for June. Still awaiting (after 5 weeks) the scheduling of an advanced PET scan test, don't know what the current hangup is all about." 

 

I am here checking up on you and to find out if you kept that appointment.  It is so discouraging to know that the cancer doubled indicating it is quite agressive.  Do you have any more news?

Peace,

Aimzee

Posted 1/7/2012 5:26 AM (GMT 0)
aimzee - thanks for remembering. i was wrong, thought the appt. was this week (4th), but its on the 11th, next Wednesday, I will update when I am through seeing the good doctor

gibson - feel bad for your dad, but glad they are finding the right mix to mostly control his pain. i am on fentanyl patches, have been since about august. started me on the 12.5 micro grams, then a month later upped it to 25 micrograms, expecting the doctor next week to double it to 50 micrograms. right now, my break through pain med is the Loratab 10/500's, but they actually control better than the fentanyl. good luck to your dad

david
Posted 1/7/2012 11:50 AM (GMT 0)
Not that it is necessarily comparable since everyone is different, but just so you know, 50mg is the lowest he was ever on, and there have been a couple of times he needed to put an extra patch on.
So ya, don't be afraid to bump the dosage up as needed. Believe it or not, he was fully functional even on a 200 mg patch dose.
If you are needing the breakthru meds too often (and if they aren't working anyway), then definitely try 50 - 100 of the fent.

Once they gave my dad the high dose patch, it was like a miracle!
Posted 1/8/2012 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
gibson, I have read your posts with great interest as my husband deals with great pain daily.  Thank you for sharing!

Ron's PSA results were .01.  Still a member of the ZERO CLUB!  For this, we are most grateful!

David, I have sent you an email.  When you get a chance, it would be nice if you could read it.  Thanks so much!

Post Edited (Aimzee) : 1/7/2012 9:21:44 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/8/2012 4:53 AM (GMT 0)
gibson - my dr started me low, for 2 reasons. he knew i was real cautious about strong meds, and he didn't want to scare me off. we started at 12.5 micro, went to 25, and expecting an increase to 50. as you probably know, the only way to be safely on fentanyl is if the patient is fully considered to be opiate tolerant. after 2 years plus on Loratabs, he knew that I was, or else the fentanyl even in low doses can be potenially deadly. glad your father tolerated the higher dose and is doing well on it. so far, i have no problems keeping a sharp mind and staying on top of things. proper pain management is about the doctor and the patient communicating properly, and making adjustments as needed, of course.

aimzee, got it, read it, and responded already. glad at least ron is getting the benefit of having the "zero" despite his other issues and his pain. wish i could say that.

david
Posted 1/8/2012 12:42 PM (GMT 0)
Oh Aimzee, such great news!!! Congratulations to both you and Ron.

I hope that Ron finds a solution to his pain though. It has gone on for too long.

Regards,
An
Posted 1/8/2012 10:39 PM (GMT 0)
Way too long for Ron, as well. That's for sure.

David
Posted 1/10/2012 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
David:

Word got to me yesterday of this new challenge. My thoughts and prayers are with you to kick this this in the rear.

Alex
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