The Circle Community Group
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Hello all:
Would like to broach a subject that I imagine most are familiar with. Hopefully not beaten to death. I call it the Pain Game. Or more specifically the Pain Clinic game. I have an appt on Thursday. I ran 3 days short on my meds which is not bad I suppose.
It is hard to manage your meds when they dont give you enough to begin with and you are always fighting from behind. Some months I make it and some I dont.
Let me just say that the Pain Clinic I go to is very strict. It is really the only clinic in town. When I first started going there the waiting room was packed. Now it is empty. They are either better staffed or weeding out the drug users.
Let me just say that my clinic treats you like a drug addict from the minute you walk in. They are not very pleasant, some are downright rude and they are always trying to push you on to some different med. When I first went, they kept guinea pigging me from one drug to another and another until I finally said THIS is what works, lets not fix what isnt broke.
But if you ask for more or stronger meds, they treat you like a drug addict. They treat everyone like that. I have had to beg and plead to just get an average to below average level of comfort. A really cool PA once told me that 40% of their patients are not really sick and are faking dug abusers. My response was I'm not so please dont treat me that way. I work full time in alot of pain and my life is difficult. He gets it but you get a different PA each time. You cant ask for the same PA becasue they rotate between hospitals.
Last time I went three months ago I was coming off a stroke due to high blood pressure. I asked for a stronger med and the doctor said no. I was pretty pissed off. The PA said yes and the doctor overruled. I said to the PA you are not understanding my condition very well and she agreed and said sorry.
Trust me I know how to play the GAME. But should I have to? If you get your pain meds from a regular doctor it may be easier. They are typically less stringent.
If you say you are doing better, they want to reduce your meds. If you say you are in pain anddoing worse, they look at you like a drug addict. How do you win?? So I say thank you for your service, the meds allow me to have a much better quality of life and I am doing ok. They move me along.
I suppose this is just a vent but I wonder what other people's experience is. We all know we have legimate pain issues and are cross examined due to the people who abuse it. My advice is to be calm, thank them and keep it moving. Sadly, it puts me in a state of under managed pain but if you push it they will kick you out. A sad state of affairs my friends.
Any comments?
Would like to broach a subject that I imagine most are familiar with. Hopefully not beaten to death. I call it the Pain Game. Or more specifically the Pain Clinic game. I have an appt on Thursday. I ran 3 days short on my meds which is not bad I suppose.
It is hard to manage your meds when they dont give you enough to begin with and you are always fighting from behind. Some months I make it and some I dont.
Let me just say that the Pain Clinic I go to is very strict. It is really the only clinic in town. When I first started going there the waiting room was packed. Now it is empty. They are either better staffed or weeding out the drug users.
Let me just say that my clinic treats you like a drug addict from the minute you walk in. They are not very pleasant, some are downright rude and they are always trying to push you on to some different med. When I first went, they kept guinea pigging me from one drug to another and another until I finally said THIS is what works, lets not fix what isnt broke.
But if you ask for more or stronger meds, they treat you like a drug addict. They treat everyone like that. I have had to beg and plead to just get an average to below average level of comfort. A really cool PA once told me that 40% of their patients are not really sick and are faking dug abusers. My response was I'm not so please dont treat me that way. I work full time in alot of pain and my life is difficult. He gets it but you get a different PA each time. You cant ask for the same PA becasue they rotate between hospitals.
Last time I went three months ago I was coming off a stroke due to high blood pressure. I asked for a stronger med and the doctor said no. I was pretty pissed off. The PA said yes and the doctor overruled. I said to the PA you are not understanding my condition very well and she agreed and said sorry.
Trust me I know how to play the GAME. But should I have to? If you get your pain meds from a regular doctor it may be easier. They are typically less stringent.
If you say you are doing better, they want to reduce your meds. If you say you are in pain anddoing worse, they look at you like a drug addict. How do you win?? So I say thank you for your service, the meds allow me to have a much better quality of life and I am doing ok. They move me along.
I suppose this is just a vent but I wonder what other people's experience is. We all know we have legimate pain issues and are cross examined due to the people who abuse it. My advice is to be calm, thank them and keep it moving. Sadly, it puts me in a state of under managed pain but if you push it they will kick you out. A sad state of affairs my friends.
Any comments?
I also was willing to try other avenues to reduce my pain, whether I believed in them or not. I also realized that there isn't one single med out there that will take my pain away from me and I had to toughen up like a piece of old leather. tee hee. I look at the long term risk of narcotics too and how I will need them the rest of my life and I don't like what I've read. I keep the dosage as low as possible.
If I was you, I'd ask to see the doctor instead of the PA since they can't make the decisions on their own. Tell him that the med is helping, but with work it isn't quite enough and what are other things that you can being doing to help. This shows that you are making effort besides the meds. If that doesn't work you might have to try something else, but then he's going to up your med at some point if all efforts don't work. Hope it was alright to make a suggestion :)
It really has to be hard working with your pain and I'm really sorry you're going thru it all and I commend you for it.
Sheesh did you make me ramble on!
i ask for more scans and other tests of whatever kind are appropriate although it's a total bother. i print out articles for them. i have kept a pain journal although i don't any more. a body chart with all the types of pain.
i dress nicely enough b/c if you look too nice, you're not in enough pain or if you're not too nice you're a druggie - how do you look like you're in CP when you have to put on a front for everyone else.
it's a sick sport we have to play these days and it truly disgusts me that people who are truly dealing and living with CP are having to deal with kind of crap.
keeping you in thoughts and prayers along with seek who has to go days short b/c of being badly managed by his docs.
My second experience was the exact opposite they didn't believe I was in pain thus the RX's didn't work well. One day I asked for Vicodin the Dr (he is the Director of this large pain clinic) said "you know, when a patient asks for a specific med that tells me your probably an addict. Inside I was furious, but I maintained my composure & asked if he would mind taking a look at my X-rays he said sure. Went to the car & brought them in. & I kid you not the first two things out of his mouth were & I quote "oh my God ", I am so sorry"! He then asked if I would wait there for a few minutes. Five minutes or so later he walks back in and behind me is all the doctors staff. I told him I need someone to believe IN me, not mock me. I never went back.
I decided then & there to stay with my current PM Dr. Who is a pa. I've been with him about ten years. Since I haven't had any recent surgeries he won't increase my meds (actually his boss won't let him). I know that the meds I'm on are my baseline meds. & they keep me around a 7, 6 on a really good day. If I'm injured other Drs have permission to treat me with stronger meds. I had him write that out on a Rx slip so that if I am taking stronger meds like I am now for my ankle, I won't be breaking my pain contract. It took jumping through a lot of hoops to get where I am today.
I know I've mentioned that since your pain is directed to your legs. & head a pain pump would probably work really well for you...... Just a thought. As mentioned above distraction is key. I know for me guided imagery, self hypnosis, meditation EFT & using Calm.com have played a vital role in helping me to keep my pain level at a 7. With those tools I'm often able to get it down a couple of points. I just got sick. & tired of being the queen of "the game " & jumping through hoops.
I am really sorry your going through such a rough time. I hope you are able to find things that distract from your pain & that sooner rather than later you'll find a good PM Dr. that will be willing to work with you instead of against you. There are good ones out there, you just have to keep looking.
Love, Hugs & God Bless,
Lisa
You all make some excellent points. It appears it is a game. I just feel like we all are individual "cases" and should be treated as such. I noticed the very first time I walked in to the clinic how I was treated.
I'm glad I made you ramble on Toni, thats what I need. Somebody to slap me occasionally to try new things.
Seren mentioned that she dresses a certain way. She is absolutely correct. You dont want to look too "well" or too sick either. Kinda ridiculous eh?
Ty Sren for mentioning Seek, I was not aware he was not well managed. He is in my thoughts also.
Lisa you are perhaps queen of the "game" but why should we have to? I know you been on me about other methods. Beat me with a wet noodle. I appreciate the suggestions, I really do. Im stubborn eh? But you're asking a person who is ADD to meditate. Try asking a person who is OCD to calm down. It is difficult.
I like all of us just want my voice to be heard. If I say I am in pain, listen to me. I had to nicely lay the hammer down with a few PA's along the way and let them know that I would not be treated like an addict becasue I'm not one!
I am just frustrated because the pain at times is unbearable and try being nice to a customer at work when someone is beating you in the legs with a baseball bat. It is not fun.
Thanks to all for responding, maybe I can get the weed card too :)
martin
It is a shame the steps we have to take to justify our pain, when who of us can justify pain :(
Possum I keep copies of all of my records too and show them to the docs, glad you're spreading that message. I remember you saying you are on 4 pain meds I love and admire how you classify the other treatments with the chemicals, now that's what I'm talking about when I said avenues........you made different roads, bridges and toll booths tee hee! ((HUGS))
I don't want to slap you Martin I just might slap the orneriness out of you! kind of like you the way you are ;)
So hope you find what helps you and without the ridiculous struggle it takes,
Toni