Incidentally, I have found that Indian doctors are the worst and I try to avoid them at all cost as they absolutely refuse to get with the program with modern medicine. So, try to stay away from...
Okay, I thought that might have been the case. On last suggestion: The University of Virginia Pain Managment Center 1-434-243-5678....They offer the type of acute and chronic managment that you need....
Okay: I have some good news and bad news for you. First, the bad news. As you are in central Virginia, you are in one of the worst possible states for good pain management. This is because your...
Leigh Ann, The PM doctors that you have seen in the past, from your description, are all Interventionalist physicians. These physicians, by nature, do not treat pain in a comprehensive way. In...
Hey thank you for the update. Gramps is one of the more experienced and knowledgeable CPers on here, not to mention a pretty helpful guy. When I need advice, he is pretty much someone that I would...
Hey all, does anyone know how Gramps is doing? PainKiller...
Hey Just out of curiosity Susie, what medications are approved for use in the pain pump? PainKiller...
Leigh Ann, Hi.. Your primary care physician is one of those PCP's that probably does not have too much experience with treating chronically painful conditions. He may also believe that your condition...
Hi Tom, Thank you for the compliment. I'm not in pharmaceuticals, but my background is in human biology and chemistry. I find that knowledge truly is power, and the more I know about my condition and...
Tom: What's so sick about this whole thing is that Cephalon, the maker of Actiq, really screwed people when they gave Barr a liscense to produce a generic. When the original Actiq was available...
Pamela: I take methadone too. Unfortunately, one of the negative side effects is that methadone binds to the normal opiate receptors found in the body. These receptors are known as mu and kappa...
HI Scarred: I've been through what you're about to go through, so I'm kinda interested now. Some advice: First, has your current pain doctor given you a referral to a new doctor? If not, thats okay...
Lucia, I have quite a bit of experience with Actiq. Like any opiate, it really takes a little bit of trial and error before you know if it really will benefit you. I took them for a year and a half,...
Hey guys, I could use a little advice here on this one. I got my refill on my meds today from my pharmacy, which is a mail order pharmacy from a few states over from where I live. Usually, I count my...
PAlady, I could not agree with you more. But honestly Nizzan, I'm not talking about threatening to sue verbally. All I'm suggesting is to have an attorney write a letter to the doctor asking the...
Nizzan, the last thread was getting a little long and I wanted you to consider an alternative idea. I'm not saying this will work, but its worth a try. Sometimes, with professionals that have a stong...
Hi Freya, thank you for the nice words. You know, for so long, I have heard psychiatrists and medical doctors explain that "light" that a person sees as he or she dies as the brain and body dying. I...
Gramps, you've always been helpful and kind to me, to I hope that this trip nets you what you are looking for. Best of Luck! PainKIller...
crohnie: I take methadone as a pain relieving medication, and I honestly believe that your doctor is trying everything he can to get you the best pain relief that he knows about. Methadone, as a...
Hi Kara, I have that issue too. I have an obliterated disk at L4 which has caused nerves to pinch. When I move in a certain way, I get shooting pain through my hips. My pain doc says that this is...
PAlady: Yeah, I know exactly where you are coming from. I was 19 when my 15 year old brother committed suicide. After a long night of talking to the police and paramedics, and going through the...
The reason that you all are experiencing this is because of the original lawsuit filed by the government against Purdue. When the jury found for an award/fine of $600 million against the company, the...
Hi Freya, I have to confess that I have that happen to me as well, every single night. But I don't usually have nightmares. Here's the really strange part. I usually dream about things that I wanted...
Nizzan, if you are truly interested in getting some attention to the situation, then you need to contact JCAHO (the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations). To recieve...
Hello Shannon, I have the steroid blocks done at the L2, L3, L4, and L5 sacral-lumbar levels. I go through this process because my doctor believes he needs to try everything in the book first. They...
Hi ladies; thats really good info and I appreciate it that you have shared. I would like to mention something for the guys. I don't know if pain medications affect women the same in this regard, but...
Crohnie, I live in the same area as you do and If you are really in need of a good physician, I can refer you to one or two to try and get in to. When you first try and get back out there to find a...
What needs to change is how doctors are trained in medical school. Yes, a well-trained pain managment physician understands concepts like pseudo-addiction and physical dependance vs. addiction, but...
Freya, I have not found relief from Oxycontin, but I was in the same boat as you. Really, many of us are in the same boat. For one reason or another, its difficult to pay for the med's we need. This...
Hi there LassieLuv, Yeah, I had what you had happen a while ago. I had a respiratory infection and the doctors did not want to operate because they were afraid that while I was under anesthesia,...
Porteyoz, The best advice that I have seen anyone give on here is to be straightforward with your doctor. For one thing, many pain doctors require that you use only one pharmacy and that you fill...
Okay, for those of you who don't already know and are enrolled, Cephalon all of a sudden has made the decision to cap monthly supplies of Fentora to 120 tablets, regardless of dosage or what your...
Hey all, I'm kind of trying to connect with some people around my age that have chronic pain issues. I am kind of struggling with understanding what my life will be like long term and knowing that...
Razzle, this is an intensely personal decision that you have to make. I, like Gramps, have been on methadone for about the same amount of time...approximately six years or so. In my honest opinion,...
The two are completely separate. Your personal medical condition is completely separate from any employment you possess, and as such, your medical history is confidential under HIPAA. As long as you...
Extreme, Suboxone contains Buprenorphine and Naltrexone. Naltrexone blocks the mu and kappa opiate receptors from binding with ligands like morphine, methadone, etc. So, if you are addicted to a...
Butterfly1414, missyprissy, that is really valuable information. I have heard only positive things about the buprenorphine based drugs. I'm looking in to it because if I get to a point where my pain...
Hey guys, just an addendum to this event: I just got this month's shipment of Fentora today. This time, I had the foresite to hold the Fedex driver there until I opened all of the boxes and verified...
Hey, has anyone tried Subutex or Suboxone to limit the w/drawal symptoms of stopping pain meds? I have heard wonderful things about it because not only does it lock out other types of opiates from...
Southern by the grace of God. Good luck with new pain clinic, Belynda...
Just a thought on the injections/shots. My first pain doctor I went to for five years. The majority of my procedures were injections at the facet areas. I never got any relief from them, but still,...
Hey guys, I'm wishing you the best today~Anyways, I vented last week about a situation that I had with my pain doctor. When I first came to see him, right after my initial MRI, my insurance put me on...
Gramps, thanks for that I appreciate knowing that their are other people in my area that feel like I do. Yeah, I originated in the Rockford area. The very first pain doc I saw treated me for a few...
Hi pain, All that I can give is anecdotal evidence that the fusion should not be undertaken. My father, at 45, underwent the fusion surgery in the same exact place as you. I remember helping him when...
Hey guys, just a thought. Although I cannot site the source for this (probably their are clinical trials and research in JAMA and Medline), I do believe that opiates themselves can cause headaches. I...
holmesla, I know exactly what you are talking about. Im your age, and i have been given that exact same line. "You're too young to have the pain that you have," is the standard company line. I have...
Bible, In my experience the best way to ensure that you are not wasting your time is to do a little investigating into the clinic that you are being referred to. Most places have websites that...
Stephanie, are you really only ten pounds? lolj/k I will say that unlike any other opiate, morphine made me feel so much more groggier. I don't feel like oxycontin worked as long and as efficiently...
Chutz: No, thats the problem. The box was completely sealed when I opened it up. There was no sign of external tampering, only crushed edges which is normal wear and tear. When I opened the box up,...
Hi all..I could use a little advice myself this time. All was going well with my current pain doc. about 8 or 9 months ago, my pain doctor of five years went out of business. Talk about screwy! You...