Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
Yanno... sometime I just wanna SMACK THE SNOT OUTTA SOME PEOPLE!
It goes like this...
When I started at my Pain Clinic a year and a half ago..., I was put on Oxycontin(20mg/ 3 Xs a day) w/ Roxycontin for breakthrough pain(10 mg/ 3Xs a day).
Several months ago I was switched off of Oxycodin pills (40mg/3 Xs a day) to the Fentanyl patches (75 mcg/hr) because my pain specialist doc was taking all of his patients off of the Oxycontin due to various reasons. He promised that my meds could be adjusted as the switching was inexact and there was "room to play with" when it came to dosage.
Had an appt. with my Dr's assistant a month ago. I told her that I didn't think the patches were working so well & that the Roxycontin I took for breakthrough pain was not handling it either. I started to cry while trying to explain things to her, but She starts giving me this garbage about how high the doses of my med are already and finally asks: Are we treating you medically or psycho-logically? My husband & I just stared at her!
So... despite my telling her that I have indeed seen shrinks and that they have indeed put me on 5 different types of anti-depressants, and that the anti-Ds do help with my depression, BUT... in ME, they cause a severe movement disorder. I don't know why, but after taking anti-Ds for a week, I start to get painful muscle contracture as well kicking/jerking/twitching seizure-like episodes that can last up to 2 hrs! And when it's over my pain levels went nuts because of what the muscle contracture/kicking did to my muscles.
So the assistant chick decides that despite everything I've told her, that antidepressants are the way to go. She gives me a script for Cymbalta (which I've tried already!!!) and sets me up for a follow-up visit with the nurse practioner. And yes, folks, within a week, the seizure-like episodes are back... so I quit the Cymbalta.
When we get to the follow-up visit, I tell the N/P why I stopped the Cymbalta after only a week. I also gave her a printed out history of MY history of antidepressant use & the subsequent seizure-episode-things. I tell her that the breakthrough meds still aren't working & want to know about changing the dosage.
So what does this woman do? She changes my Roxycontin to Vicodin (7.5 / 3Xs a day)... after me telling her that I was on that when I started at the Pain Clinic and that it doesn't do much when it comes to my pain levels.
I was told that because of the switch from the Oxy to the Fentanyl patches:
A) the dosage level was roughly the same, but the delivery system was diffent ...which effects how each person gets pain relief,
B) that it would take a while to get my levels straightened out
C) that I'd most likely be having withdrawl symptoms from the Oxy while adjusting to the patches.
And as an added plus... she's referred me BACK to the same psych clinic that I went to before, saying I should talk w/ someone. Sorry, but I've been there, done that. And I seriously doubt they'll be able to help me since they were the ones that RXed all those other anti-Ds to me last yr!!! Except for the Iranian guy who wasn't very fluent and thought Electroshock therapy was a viable option! WTF?????????? (yes, I ran from his office!)
So here I am with my main pain meds not doing an adequate job and they've just LOWERED my breakthrough pain meds.WTF????? Now I get to go through TWO kinds of withdrawl???
I'm completely baffled as to what to do now. Winter is coming, I can't see my actual pain Dr til late JANUARY (!!!) and my pain meds are just shit!!!!!!!!!
I have no choice but to call the clinic this week and ask them to fix this, but I KNOW I'll get a lot of resistance from everyone except my 'real' Doctor. (who's extremely busy & hard to get a hold of). I'm also thinking of writing all that's happened in a letter and sending it to him in hopes that he'll do what he promised-- give me adequate pain relief. I don't expect to be totally w/o pain, but we could get it down to a dull roar, right???
I'm so angry! I'm tired of dealing w/ ppl that have NO understanding of chronic pain... or those charming folks that think being on an antidepressant will fix everything for me!
I've tried very hard to be proactive in my healthcare, I've researched fibro & asst other disease. I've researched my meds, alternate meds, vitamins, various treatments & protocols... so why can't THEY do THEIR blessed homework as well???????
(Ummm...thanks for reading)
It goes like this...
When I started at my Pain Clinic a year and a half ago..., I was put on Oxycontin(20mg/ 3 Xs a day) w/ Roxycontin for breakthrough pain(10 mg/ 3Xs a day).
Several months ago I was switched off of Oxycodin pills (40mg/3 Xs a day) to the Fentanyl patches (75 mcg/hr) because my pain specialist doc was taking all of his patients off of the Oxycontin due to various reasons. He promised that my meds could be adjusted as the switching was inexact and there was "room to play with" when it came to dosage.
Had an appt. with my Dr's assistant a month ago. I told her that I didn't think the patches were working so well & that the Roxycontin I took for breakthrough pain was not handling it either. I started to cry while trying to explain things to her, but She starts giving me this garbage about how high the doses of my med are already and finally asks: Are we treating you medically or psycho-logically? My husband & I just stared at her!
So... despite my telling her that I have indeed seen shrinks and that they have indeed put me on 5 different types of anti-depressants, and that the anti-Ds do help with my depression, BUT... in ME, they cause a severe movement disorder. I don't know why, but after taking anti-Ds for a week, I start to get painful muscle contracture as well kicking/jerking/twitching seizure-like episodes that can last up to 2 hrs! And when it's over my pain levels went nuts because of what the muscle contracture/kicking did to my muscles.
So the assistant chick decides that despite everything I've told her, that antidepressants are the way to go. She gives me a script for Cymbalta (which I've tried already!!!) and sets me up for a follow-up visit with the nurse practioner. And yes, folks, within a week, the seizure-like episodes are back... so I quit the Cymbalta.
When we get to the follow-up visit, I tell the N/P why I stopped the Cymbalta after only a week. I also gave her a printed out history of MY history of antidepressant use & the subsequent seizure-episode-things. I tell her that the breakthrough meds still aren't working & want to know about changing the dosage.
So what does this woman do? She changes my Roxycontin to Vicodin (7.5 / 3Xs a day)... after me telling her that I was on that when I started at the Pain Clinic and that it doesn't do much when it comes to my pain levels.
I was told that because of the switch from the Oxy to the Fentanyl patches:
A) the dosage level was roughly the same, but the delivery system was diffent ...which effects how each person gets pain relief,
B) that it would take a while to get my levels straightened out
C) that I'd most likely be having withdrawl symptoms from the Oxy while adjusting to the patches.
And as an added plus... she's referred me BACK to the same psych clinic that I went to before, saying I should talk w/ someone. Sorry, but I've been there, done that. And I seriously doubt they'll be able to help me since they were the ones that RXed all those other anti-Ds to me last yr!!! Except for the Iranian guy who wasn't very fluent and thought Electroshock therapy was a viable option! WTF?????????? (yes, I ran from his office!)
So here I am with my main pain meds not doing an adequate job and they've just LOWERED my breakthrough pain meds.WTF????? Now I get to go through TWO kinds of withdrawl???
I'm completely baffled as to what to do now. Winter is coming, I can't see my actual pain Dr til late JANUARY (!!!) and my pain meds are just shit!!!!!!!!!
I have no choice but to call the clinic this week and ask them to fix this, but I KNOW I'll get a lot of resistance from everyone except my 'real' Doctor. (who's extremely busy & hard to get a hold of). I'm also thinking of writing all that's happened in a letter and sending it to him in hopes that he'll do what he promised-- give me adequate pain relief. I don't expect to be totally w/o pain, but we could get it down to a dull roar, right???
I'm so angry! I'm tired of dealing w/ ppl that have NO understanding of chronic pain... or those charming folks that think being on an antidepressant will fix everything for me!
I've tried very hard to be proactive in my healthcare, I've researched fibro & asst other disease. I've researched my meds, alternate meds, vitamins, various treatments & protocols... so why can't THEY do THEIR blessed homework as well???????
(Ummm...thanks for reading)
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