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Since my PM doctor was shut down, I can no longer function. I was able to work 10 more years and lead a productive life thanks to the pain meds that I was able to take. I have had 5 surgeries on my back plus hip replacement. Now my hip replacement is broken and I need to have it replaced. The pain is at a level 10 and I have nothing to help me. If I have the surgery for my hip, they won’t give me anything for the pain. So, with the back pain plus the hip, I am unable to do anything and I live alone with 3 dogs and 2 cats that I am responsible for which is now extremely difficult.
The problem is since the government can’t control the street drugs, they have gone after the people that needed the meds and got it legally, they came after us because it is something they can control. Wish they had our pain, and if they did, I can guarantee that they would get the pain meds that they need. They don’t bother looking at our files to see what horrible shape we are in and why we to need pain meds. It is just so pathetic. Is there any hope for us?
I suffer from spinal stenosis, Spondylosis, advanced disc degeneration, Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS. I did well on a 75 mg pain patch for 8 years with injections in my back. But about a year ago, my pain specialist had to lower everyone who didn’t have cancer down to a 25 mg patch due to new laws in Florida. She is willing to give me pain pills but that is what actually gets many addicted. Some pain pills only lasts four hours for me before I start getting sweaty, cramping, etc from withdrawal. But you can only take it every 6 hours. I realized that it was a recipe for disaster for me and now only take those when I can’t stand it so my body doesn’t get used to them. This is just my experience, many other patients can use pain pills without this issue so please do not take this and use it against those who are on pain pills. My doctor and I both know that the news media is responsible for demonizing the patch because they show the boxes of patches when they are talking about people overdosing on the drug in a powder form. BUT, the drug people are dying from is powder imported from China and Mexico not the patches!!! It is punishing patients in pain for something that has absolutely no relationship to the actual problem!! There are never any Pain Specialist doctors or patients involved in making these radical decisions according to my doctor. She is considering leaving the specialty because she feels like her hands are tied. Suicide rates for pain patients have sky rocketed in the last five years but no one talks about that. They only consider the street overdoses. It is time for lawmakers and the FDA to make logical decisions not flying by the seat of their pants!
I’m Susie Tune, 66-yr-old female & chronic care patient. Went to dr last year when 65. Didn’t have ins before March. When I first went I didn’t know what was going on. The dr & staff were kind of weird. I knew I had lumbar spinal stenosis from paying out of pocket for CT. Urgent Care asked if I could get one. I also have degenerative disc disease, loads of arthritis in back & osteophytes. Now pain is unbearable at times. I have fibromyalgia, too. Nothing dr gives me seems to help. Before I knew about opioids, what is going on, I asked for stronger pain medicine. Well, he won’t give me anything stronger. Does he have his hands tied? Or does he not understand difference between dependence vs addiction. I’ve taken tons of pain med in past when I tore a muscle in my left leg. I wasn’t addicted. I might not be dr but I understand my own body. That’s why I asked for pain medicine. I take Tramadol, Tylenol #3 every 8 hours. Definitely not enough to help with my pain. Whoever is acting like Hitlers up in DC, they need to be fired, pronto.
I have had five back surgeries three spine surgeries two fusions and brain surgery and I cannot get doctors to prescribe me pain medicine any longer because of the ongoing politics it’s so sad my life has changed for the worse please help
This Dr. At pain clinic was and is completely heartless, what he has done to my boyfriend and countless other people in serious and chronic pain, is unethical, this is a quote from him “I DON’T EVEN GIVE CANCER PATIENTS PAIN MEDS” people in these situations go to dr.s for help not to be scrutinized and degraded because other people don’t do what’s right, what is going on with insurance companies, u pay for your service not other people’s, I pray this changes, where is the morality,
I am like many others, a victim of the opioid epidemie. 12 surgeries to includes 5 laminectomies, R.A., disabiliting chronic pain for decades causing depression,anxiety attacks P.T.S.D. My Dr. with great reluctance precribe50mg of
fentanyl patches.The pharmacist takes me aside and counsels me about addiction…I am truly embarrassed and in tears. I run back home alone ,an other anxiety attack. The pain gets worse and I pray to God for the disabiliting pain to go away. I am 78 years of age ,no dementia but P.T.S.D. My
family cannot deal any longer with my condition ,I find myself in complete isolation.
Why should I be a victim of a
pharmaceutical company like
Perdue??Please help me find again : La Joie de vivre” .I am robbed of the minimum plaisirs of life not having too many years left ..Please spear me of more embarrassents. I am only asking for compassion,understanding and kindness. No more tears please….
I am 26 years old and diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis, fibromyalgia, & osteoarthritis. Since I was 13 years old I have struggled with severe stomach/pelvic issues and was turned down by PCPs, ER doctors, & specialists saying I was too young and making my symptoms up in my head (aka drug seeking). From the ages 13 to 25 years old, I would be in-and-out of emergency rooms because the pain was so severe, I actually would pass out in my bathroom lying in my own vomit. Doctors would constantly mock me and write on my records saying “drug seeking behavior” when I just needed relief and answers why I was in so much pain! I went to several different OBGYNs and they declined to give me laparoscopic surgery because they’re afraid of me wanting more drugs off of them & used my mental illness as a way to abuse medications. My PCP thru 2017-2018 did prescribe me pain medication, but one day he forced tapered me without safely withdrawing me from it. I went through the worse withdraw because I was cut cold turkey! After withdrawing from pain medication, I was in more pain than ever and ended up in bed most days because I could not even function. Fast forward to 2019 of April… I finally had my laparoscopy procedure and my OBGYN who is the sweetest lad, she said I have one of the worst cases of Endometriosis she’s ever seen in her practice. The endo spread to my colon, bladder, kidneys, and bowels! All these years of begging for the pain to stop, it was justified! I was never a lying, and all these specialists and emergency room doctors made me feel like I lowlife junkie loser. My OBGYN is actually super mad at doctors who dismissed me in the past and made me feel like a drug addict when my pain was very real and validated! I am supposed to have a second surgery to remove all of the endometrial tissue or possible hysterectomy, but now I am worried because I have read stories of people being denied post OP pain treatment after surgery. It is not fair that chronic pain patients or any type of pain patients have to suffer because some people had to abuse their medication. Everyone deserves to get help and treated with dignity and respect. Nobody should be left in agony because of the stigma that “narcotics kill” because that is false! I hope America/the government wakes up and realizes they are doing more harm than good. I am currently on pain medication, but every month I fear one of these days my OBGYN will take me off because she’s afraid about losing her license, and I don’t blame her. The government needs to get out of the doctors office and let the doctors do their jobs. They don’t understand how severe pain is when you’re up all night, crying in fetal position, and debating if you should go the emergency room when it gets worse. Pain is very real and I would never want anyone to go through what I have to go through, or other chronic pain patients who are dealing with other severe pain diseases (CRPS, RA, & etc.) Chronic pain patients deserve to have their pain medications because it gives them quality of life. I would rather see chronic pain patients take opioids to get through the day and have a better functional life, instead of being in bed for the rest of their life wanting/thinking of killing themselves because the pain is agonizing. It’s not fair! I hope non chronic pain people realize that opioid therapy helps tremendously for chronic pain patients.
I am a 66 year old woman who grew up downwind of a lumber treatment plant that poured out chemicals into the air in the form of ashes that fell on our property and into the swamp waters that flooded our back yard every heavy rain. Much of the area affected by this plant became not one, but two separate government Superfund environmental cleanup sites focused on dioxins and PCB’d. There is very little research on dioxin’s affect on people, but I have read that “there is no safe minimum for dioxin in the human body.” I have had body pain as long as I can remember, being told as a child that it was “growing pains.” In high school I was injured on a trampoline, damaging my lumbar spine area, but because of my family’s poverty I received no medical care. My back has hurt my entire life, despite every exercise and physical therapy I tried in later years when I had medical insurance. The pain gradually became more widespread and severe, and at age 29 I had exploratory surgery for endometriosis but no conclusions were reached. In my life I have been thrown from a motorcycle, fallen on ice on my back, been thrown from a horse several times, and fallen multiple times from stairs and ladders due to difficulty in lower body strength and coordination because of the back pain, which has been my dominant pain problem since my trampoline injury in high school. I have also had laser heart surgery to fix a high-speed arrhythmic tachycardia (280-300 beats per minute) which nearly killed me, and came out of that surgery with fibromyalgia, although it took 5 years for a diagnosis of that pain syndrome. Although my doctors wanted me to go on disability immediately when the heart problem was diagnosed at age 36, I loved my career and tried to continue with it, and certain controversial medications enabled me to work first part-time at an office and then full-time from home until I was 56, when the complexity and intensity of pain from my herniated lumbar disks and spinal stenosis, fibromyalgia, arthritis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, kidney stones, bladder infections, muscle spasms, plantar fasciitis and bursitis made work as well as many personal tasks impossible to perform. By this time my husband had left me because he didn’t want to deal with my health problems, and I had many financial problems as a single senior woman struggling with health issues that required paid assistance from others. As my health worsened, I was granted disability at 58 but within six months was diagnosed with both diabetes and malignant melanoma (skin cancer). One month after two separate surgeries to remove the cancer, I was hospitalized with metabolic encephalopathy, a type of brain inflammation for which the doctors could find no specific cause. Although I had lost nearly 70 lbs to control the diabetes, I developed a blocked lower intestine at age 63 and was hospitalized for several days. The side effect of having a tube from my nose to my stomach to remove the blockage caused a long-term sinus pain complication, which I am still dealing with. Last year I developed eye pain as well, learning that I have dry macular degeneration in one eye (I am legally blind without corrective lens); additionally, I had to have 30 days of antibiotic treatment and subsequent removal of an abscessed cyst. Both the cancer and abscess surgeries have severed nerves, causing additional ongoing pain in those areas. Because of so much pain, I can no longer sleep more than one to three hours per night and am constantly exhausted. Needless to say, my life is extremely difficult, and I have lost the ability to do many of the things I need to do to take care of myself, as well as the things I did for the joy of the activity. I am unable to get out to visit family and friends, to date and develop relationships, to garden, to go camping, to play music, to sew and embroider–all things I used to enjoy. My insurance company has overridden my pain doctor’s recommended treatment and reduced my pain control medications significantly, and I live in absolute terror that the government is going to take away what medication I am allowed to have and replace it with something I can’ t afford or that doesn’t work, that my insurance won’t cover or which has unknown complicated side effects, instead of allowing me to continue to use an undeservedly controversial medication which is cheap, effective, and has well-known and controllable side effects.
My chronic pain from neuropathy and fibromyalgia is CONSTANT. Some days are better than others but Every day is filled with pain. I take Lyrica and Tramadol. The doctors will not give me anything stronger. Every other month I end up in the ER seeking something stronger to knock the pain out so I can get a good night’s sleep. My last visit at the ER the physician told me there’s really not much they can do for fibromyalgia. Some days the pain is so debilitating I can barely get out of bed and the neuropathy is so bad I can barely walk. I’m still young. I’m in my early 60’s but feel like I’m in my late 80’s. I NEED RELIEF!!
I’m a 63 year old, RN for 40 years, and on disability since 2017. I have fibromyalgia, scoliosis, and two bulging lumbar discs. I was taking the weakest form of Vicodin 3 times a day for two years. It enabled me to remain fairly active because it took the edge off my pain. My doctor is now afraid to lose his license, so he doesn’t prescribe narcotics anymore. Now my daily pain, in multiple areas of my body, is totally uncontrolled. I stay in the house and cannot even take walks. My quality of life has gone down the tubes. Chronic pain patients are being punished because of people that have abused narcotics. I’m totally disgusted.
I have been a dialysis patient for 19yrs and I am only 36yrs old. I live with pain everyday besides the 4 hours I spend on a machine every other day Just to live. I cannot find a doctor willing to prescribe pain medication simply because they are scared of losing their jobs.
-please help me-
I had broken my back I had two spinal infusions in addition I had broken my tibia my fibia my ankle my kneecap though they thought that my leg would be amputated and I would not be able to walk ever again due to my back also I am down here walking in severe pain. In addition to all of this I have anxiety problems severe panic and social disorder! I had to choose between pain medicine which was additionally cut due to people abusing it! I ask myself how is this my fault my problem? No idea what would the exact sense be of not being able to leave my house and the pain of not being able to walk around my house! These regulations and rules doctor restrictions need to stop! Want records want proof! Feel free to contact me. Stop making people suffer because of other people’s mistakes if they want to ruin their lives so be it!
Hi my name is liz ricci, my dr stopped my pain medication and my anxiety medication after years of being on them, it pushing ppl to go to the streets to but these pills and that’s where the bad things start to happen, fentanyl, robbery, all kinds of things can happen, this needs to stop and just monitor the ppl on the medicine, it’s that simple
I have nerve damage as a result of being electrocuted in 2002 the pain has worsened and become unbearable at times. Years later while working at the Postal Service, I was locked in a fence with 3 dogs and mauled obtaining numerous serious injuries. I battled with pain for years. I am older and the pain is unmanageable. I use over the counter creams, medicines and taken any list of remedies I have been prescribed resulting in severe stomach issues. I live all day every day in pain and at times I can not get out of bed for days. I have been begging for help. My Doctor’s office refused to give me pain medicine and has sent me to a Neurologist, Spine Center, Gastrologist, Physical Therapist, Counselor, Phychiatrist and still refuses to prescribe pain relief medicine. I have two MRI scans proving severe damage in my spine, discs and now I developed arthritis. No one will listen to my cries for help. I am constantly accused of trying to obtain medicine for addiction purposes as opposed to the documentation and lengthy medical reports. The opioid crisis has caused me to suffer. This sickens and saddens me. Forget going to the emergency room! There I am deemed an addict automatically even after blood tests prove I have nothing in my blood system. I am treated with distain and passed off and over looked. My Counselor and Phychiatrist are supporting the pain is not made up and I am not trying to feed an addiction. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and Severe Anxiety and have Panic Attacks. EVERY
time I ask for help I panic….. I have valid injuries and because of this “Epidemic” I am not getting the help I need. I feel hopeless, depressed, sad, defeated….. I cannot live with the constant untreated pain…. I should not be cast out or accused of being an addict because of other people’s personal actions or self destruction. I would like to fight for MY RIGHT to NOT BE IN PAIN. I want to FIGHT so I DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER.
I’m 60 years old. I was born with Crohn’s Disease. I have experienced pain almost daily. I have been prescribed pain medication throughout my life. I haven’t been addicted to my pain medication. I have lived a productive life. I graduated from college. I worked as a Social Worker. Now I feel as if I have done something horrible. I feel “less than.” To add to my physical pain, my emotional pain grows. I also suffer from depression and anxiety. The doctors are afraid to prescribe medications and if you are prescribed pain medications you experience the treatment of a second class citizen. This is a result of the Opioid Crisis. I don’t believe that this appropriate. I believe that my Civil Rights are being affected. As I experience pain, I’m not able to participate in my daily routine. I have to stay in bed. My depression increases and I suffer alone. Please listen to me. I don’t abuse my medication. Why am I being punished?
I have been on pain medication since 2005 after my back was broken and I required spinal reconstruction surgery. I have two metal bars, six screws, a metal plate at the base of my spine, three cadaver discs and cadaver bone. My surgeon predicted at the time of the surgery that I would be in a wheelchair full time within seven years. That was fifteen years ago. I can still walk with the assistance of cuff crutches to help with balance and on bad days I use my walker or wheelchair on really bad days. I was also diagnosed by a positive blood result with Lyme Disease three years ago. I have severe arthritis, systemic staph infections as the result of my spine surgery and an immune system disorder that causes my immune system to randomly crash. Two years ago, after a bad immune crash, I became allergic to all plastics, rubber and adhesives. I break out in hives and become very sick if I am in a room with carpet or sit on a sofa that has foam rubber cushions, if I wear my glasses for too long, if I use my keyboard without cotton gloves, need to wear a band-aid and the list goes on and on….In the last fifteen years that I have been on my pain medication, I have NEVER tried to fill my RX early. I have never lost my meds, had them stolen, dropped them down the drain, or any other of the hundreds of excuses I have heard other people crying about in line at the pharmacy. I take only what I am prescribed. I have NEVER abused my medication. I do not get “high” from them. If you are getting “high”, you are on too high of a dose or not in pain. I have been with my same doctor for 12 years now and currently not at risk of losing my meds but TERRIFIED that I soon will be if the government ties my doctors hands. I cannot change my dose any longer. I would typically go down in my dose during the summer and up in my dose during the winter but this is no longer an option for my doctor and myself to use as part of my pain management. I understand that there are a lot of people out there abusing these drugs but the government is trying to make their problem my problem and that is simply just wrong. It is like saying that thousands of people are killed by drunk drivers every year so we are no longer going to allow anyone in this country to drive a car. Everyone must take public transportation because these people over here are killing themselves and other people by drinking and driving. How does that make any sense? This has got to stop. People who live every day in excruciating pain and rely on pain medication so they can walk, function, get up out of bed, not become suicidal, to maintain some quality of life should not have to suffer because of the actions of others. I am not against monitoring doctors and patients or drug screening but the answer is not to take away the medication that allows myself and others to have some semblance of comfort and a little less pain in our daily lives. Trust me, anyone who lives with chronic pain would give up anything, including their pain medication, to have a life free of pain.
Our 40 y.o. son passed away about 1 1/2 months ago. He had severe back pain from a fall about 8 years ago. He could no longer get pain medication that would help. He unfortunately resorted to buying from “a work mate” it was laced with Phentenol. Two other workers overdosed 1 week later, they were lucky, they survived! He made a mistake, yes, out of desperation, he was trying to keep working to support his family. He leaves behind a Wife, 11 year old daughter, and devastated family and friends.
My name is Diann, I was in a car accident approximately 13 years ago and had to have my L4 and L5 replaced with morphogenic bone then stabilized in a titanium cage with rods and pins that sits on my sacrum and causes extreme pain I also have I left greater trochanter of my hip is messed up to the point I have to have injections or I can’t sit or stand for any length of time. My neck is messed up so bad I’m actually scared to go have surgery and both my shoulders have so much pain I get injections in one and try to avoid getting injections in the right one as long as I can. I still receive my medication and I do keep it as low as I can at 7.5 mg. They do offer to raise it I keep it where it is for my kidneys basically. However I now live 3 hours away from my doctor now for about 2 1/2 years, but I’m scared to change doctors because I’m afraid I’ll lose my medication so once a month I have to put my body through hell to go get my prescription 3 hours away. They’re nice enough to let other people pick it up for me most of the time and then I can meet them and save myself part of the drive. I shouldn’t be afraid to change doctors because I’m afraid to lose my medication that I could not function without.
Hi , I suffer from a debilitating form of Arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis, it attacks the hips and spine, I also have degenerative disc disease and have so far had 2 spinal fusions and one is needed as I write this . But I’m trying to hold off for as long as I can with my neuro surgeons help. But we both know it will be inevitable. VERY long story short, I suffer with chronic pain every day, Taking away my medication would be cruel at this point in my life. As you see I really don’t have much of a life right now due to the pain I wake with every day That is if I sleep at night. And every day I have no idea just how bad it will be. The arthritis affects my eyes as well and some days they just throb with pain. I have a different medication that helps with that. I’ve unfortunately had to stop working due to all of this. NOT MY CHOICE and not what I wanted to do. I had to for my own well being as I just couldn’t function any more. Until you have lived with a chronic pain condition , you have no idea just how challenging life can be. I didn’t ask for this and in my wildest dreams I never thought I’d be in the medical condition I am now. Now I push through days in a fog from the arthritis that is slowly taking my body, So if I can get some relief to make my day just a bit better and tolerable, allowing me to get the necessities done. what harm is there. I’m not addicted to my pain medication, I’ve never craved or felt withdrawals from the medication I take, as I have had sort periods of time I’ve not had to take it. So what is the harm. I sign a narcotics contract with my Dr. as well. People should not have to suffer when there are medications that can help one’s life a bit easier, And to help sleep, I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights I’ve had due to pain as well. Give relief where it is needed. Don’t punish people who are responsible. I know this sound off because I say I have pain medication and am in pain. I choose to live with some pain, and medicate only when it is not tolerable.
I am 61 years old and have had 5 back surgeries with 4 vertebrae that are fused. I am on fixed income and hurt all the time. Without medication I can’t function. I am having to spend money on a second Dr. that they say is a specialist just to get my medication. The price keeps going up and I need the money for other things. I do not get enough medicine to handle the pain well and they act like you are a criminal if you tell them you need more or something stronger. I know there are people that are taking meds that shouldn’t be but why punish the ones that do need it. It would be great if I could not hurt and not have to take the medicine but after 5 surgeries and it still isn’t fixed, what else do you do. I have heard that allot of the people they are counting as overdosing on meds are people that just can’t get the meds they need and have had to go to extremes to deal with the pain. I hope no one has to hurt needlessly.
I have chronic shoulder pain as well as arthritis . In many cases I can use ice and Motrin. However during fall clean ups and winter it is especially painful . I had shoulder surgery about 15 years ago and was told I would eventually be a candidate for shoulder surgery. In my case the ability to obtain a prescription of one of the perceived problem opioids for occasional use is virtually impossible , when i have a 30 day supply will easily last me 5 or 6 months My plan is to have shoulder surgery when I retire next year to avoid the pain but wonder about the initial recovery pain.
Because of those (no different than alcoholics) who have an addiction we all must suffer . The media and government attention ( also now vaping which I never have done ) will force people to buy the illicit product like heroine and other black market products causing the majority of these issues . People should not be penalized for those with no self control. Ban alcohol to stop drunk drivers ? The media has focused one sided on this issue .
I suffer the affects of chronic pain from multiple illnesses that all lead to one thing… pain! I have been through every test, surgery, therapy, procedure, and Specialist to seek relief in order to live some sort of tolerable life. Now, because of some that abuse drugs, I am being punished for needing pain meds to live. The pain I suffer from prevents me from having any kind of normalcy.
Don’t punish all for some. They can be monitored…. I am!
I was diagnosed with a blood clot four months ago and was also diagnosed with severe arthritis in the shoulder and elbow of the same arm was given a five day prescription for pain medication ok so I try to begin working with my doctor to continue with pain management he sent me to a pain management doctor this doctor refused to help because I had thc in my system but this doctor is a medical marijuana doctor so i begin to try and work with my doctor again he refused to help only telling me to go to the emergency room after several visits the doctors in the ER are getting feed up with me go to your primary care physician after calling once a week for over three months he still refuses to help well in this time I also had to go see my therapist several in emergency state I will admit I have contemplated suicide because the pain is so bad I am also a care giver for my fiance and three days ago I get a letter stating he was dropping me as a patient but would see me for emergencies for 30 days while I find another doctor at 2 am this morning I am wide awake and in tears because the pain is so bad so I take a chance and call said doctors office and ask in tears and barely able to speak I ask for some non narcotic pain relief because I was close to a bad poisoning from an OTC medicine I was told that that would not be possible at all. SO please add my voice to the battle cry of WE ARE PATIENTS NOT ADDICTS
Wednesday October 9th, I just watch a report on kezi news concerning the use of opioids and the importance of use by many people living with chronic pain.
Unfortunately I am also in need of prescription painkillers. I take oxycodone each day.
I’m 64 years old and still work 40 hours a week and hope to continue working as long as possible, primarily because I enjoy my job and perform an important skill that is crucial to my employer.
Trying to tell my story in a few paragraphs my be challenging. But I will give it a try….
In 2005 I was involved in a head on car accident where a young man crossed the line and hit me head on at a combine speed of 110 mph.
With multiple injuries including a doubled compound fracture to my right leg. I spent three weeks in the hospital and six weeks in rehab, my wife was experienced in caring for terminally ill patients and eventually nursed me back to health.
I was heartbroken when she passed away from breast cancer in 2013.
She was able to saved my life but I was unable to help save her!
Within six months I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, went through chemotherapy twice along with radiation and three surgery’s.
With a titanium rod remaining in my leg and sciatic pain from spinal surgery, the oxycodone is necessary to get up and make it through each day.
I have three dogs that I love and keep me company but struggle to care for each night as the pain is intense after working a nine hour shift.
I plan on staying in contact with this website and will participate in any event possible!
Sincerely,
Les
I started having pain back in 1995 for a workplace injury. I have a bulging disc at the L3 and L4. I also have fibromyalgia and degenerative disc disease from in my neck all the way down to my tailbone. I am in pain 24/7. With these new “guidelines”, my doctor tried to wean me down on my opioids. That was about 5 months ago. I finally just last week got him to put me on the old dose, but he refuses to go any higher. Also does not believe in medicinal marijuana. I would love to be able to relieve some of the pain, but they don’t give you any options. It’s frustrating and it angers me. I can’t even get on anything stronger that Hydrocodone. The government does’t care about the people that NEED it. The only way the see it is stop all the opioids and then there will be no addicts to take care of!
I am great full to see a group like this to try to fight back. My husband was cut off his meds . When he was given 5 years or less to live . & He has lived over 9 years with A.L.S. But now he feels he got punished for not giving up and not dying !!! So now he is in bad pain and has to suffer for how ever long he has left. Since he was cut off. His disease and health has actually gotten so much worse since he has to suffer daily. We would like to help in any way possible.
I was a fit 63 yr. old female, riding my recumbent trike 12-15 miles a day and traveling as I pleased, enjoying life to the max. I’d had back pain over the last 20 some yrs. but I still backpacked, hiked, etc. Then, as I was getting ready to exercise one morning, I bent over to put up my slacks and boom….a mild snap in my sacroiliac joint and I had the most unbelievable pain from the upper lumbar region of my spine all the way down to my feet, and my left arm was painful and achy and tingly too. I had a fusion in 2015, and the pain continued. I had a spinal cord stimulator placed at the thoracic 9-10 level to try and reduce the 24/7 pain…there was perhaps a 20% reduction in pain, far less than I had been told the implant would do. I couldn’t sit without immediate pain, it hurt to lay down and my feet were increasingly painful due to all the standing I did. I had a peripheral nerve stimulator, 4 -3inch long leads, place in my buttocks to relieve the peripheral pain so I could sit…again the pain didn’t ‘go away’ as hoped and I still find it so painful to sit, I get some relief by sitting on cold packs, but this is temporary relief. So having neuropathic pain from the thoracic region down to my feet, and in the left arm, is overwhelming. It feels as if my buttocks and legs and feet have been beaten with a baseball bat, and the constant burning is devastating. My life has changed dramatically. My long dreams of traveling to distant places has vanished. Having to travel to doctors and endure the 12 hr. trip laying in the back of our SUV and praying we don’t have an accident, as I am not restrained as I lie there…laying on severely injured nerves is unbearable at times. The multiple neuropathies messes with my strength, my balance, my patience, my endurance and the stress of pain has produced, I think, the development of a chronic, incurable oral disease called oral lichen planus. Oral lichen planus causes ulcerations inside the mouth and on the lips which are incredibly painful. So the pain is multilplied. The stress of pain, I think, can trigger such autoimmune diseases.
Ive been a chronic pain patient for over 15 years now due to getting run over while walking to work and having mutiple back surgeries since. It all started when I was on 23 years old and never even heard of opiods let alone taken any. A few years after my accident, I finally gave in and took the advice from my orthopedic surgeon and went to the pain clinic. After a little trial and error, they got the right combination for me to have somw quality of life! I went back to school to get my degree, went camping, my husband said I was myself again, went to family functions, went to dinners and movies with friends, I was living my life that I thought had been stolen from me for 11-12 years! Then they changed laws and scared all thr doctors to where they cut me way back and when I moved to Kentucky almost completely off! Mind you, I always passed my random drug tests, always had the right amount when they counted them and I never called for early refills. I took them as prescribed. Now I had to drop out of college, I just stay at home in bed and will myself not to load my shotgun to take myself out of all this pain, my husband of 19 years and I are separated because I’m just horrible because of the pain I’m in.
Things HAVE to change! I in Michigan when it first started and moved to Kentucky a little over a year ago. Things were bad with the doctors in Michigan but really bad here in Kentucky.
I don’t know how much longer I can do this! Please help us change this, not all people that take them are abusing them, some of us really need them to live their lives.
I have suffered from severe back pain for over 10 years due to hard work and sometimes doing stupid things ..lol. I have been to therapy (not much help). I have taken Hydrocodone off and on for 6 years and finally found a doctor in the last 4 years that will prescribe me Hydrocodone and believes me that my pain is for real. In the meantime, I’ve had an MRI done showing that my spine has a bad disc that has rubbed the lining off the nerves that run done my spine causing a severe case of Sciatica. I live with pain and it’s constant. Hydrocodone doesn’t totally relieve the pain but takes about 75% of the pain away (I also do stretching exercises and some yoga. I’ve had 2 Cortozone shots that did absolutely nothing but screw up my blood sugar( I’m diabetic). So now at 70 years old, my next option is what I call experimental back surgery because there’s absolutely NO guarantee that it will work. I’m an active 70-year-old and refuse to die in front of the television. But what really pisses me off is this attempt by politicians to make doctors who prescribe pain relievers criminals. I take my prescribed medicine, I don’t overdose and I can read. All those who supposedly overdosed and died, it’s to bad, but you can die from overdosing on about anything. And it’s always been the person who died thoughts, More must mean better. But are so-called Hydrocodone Cops are puffing up in front of the camera and thinking they have done a good thing by ruining a good doctor’s career and taking old people down who need medication for pain. We need to stop this stupidity and realize a person’s pain and prescribe the medication that works.
I was diagnose at 58 years old with degenerate spin and anxiety from painting cars all my life the bad news came back in last November that they would not treat me for anxiety with pain pills low dose so long story short im battling anxiety and also i believe there wont be doctors to treat pain except for injections that dont work very well after 8 years of them I pray that you can change it Good Luck and God Bless
At 46 I was an Accountant and fitness instructor, when I first started having pain in my leg. Fast forward, now I’m 57 and have severe assymetrical degenerative disc from L5 to S1, that leaves me in chronic sciatica nerve pain from buttock to bottom of my foot, I also have and 3 thoracic bulging discs, and arthritis throughout my pelvis region. I began in PM and was on Lortab for 8 yrs. In Jan 2016 I was informed I was being tapered off with no explanation. I could write a book on PM nightmare I have been through. Now, I no longer can work as being an accountant requires sitting for long periods of time. Obviously, I don’t teach fitness classes anymore either. My life now consists of just getting through each day. I have an 84 wheelchair bound mother that needs me, and I’m able to do less and less for her. I have had one back surgery, countless injections. Nothing has changed. My spine is screwed up. I’ve spent a small fortune on supplements, physical therapy, chiropractic. I do go to a swimming pool 4 mornings a week and to try and do something good for my body, but lately that has started to be a challenge. I have days I don’t hardly get out of bed. I look out my window and see a beautiful day. I think about what I’m missing out on, what I’ve lost, and fear a future with more pain and less quality of life. Some days I power through the chronic pain, so exhausted by the end of the day from it. Many days it is almost all I think about; pain causes anxiety…some mornings I have so much anticipatory anxiety about facing another day.
This has changed every aspect of my life. Everything. Sitting is torture, sleeping is just as bad as my pelvis is like it’s on fire. Same for sex. I am a law abiding citizen, I followed the rules, didn’t misuse or sell my meds. Why are heroin addicts more important than someone has worked and paid taxes most of my adult life. I’m so angry because this is like torture and being in chronic pain, sometimes I feel it may kill me… some days I wish it would.
I have dealt with chronic pain since the early 90’s and through every surgery or treatment something else has gone wrong, so that now I have a long list for my diagnoses and all of them are painful and chronic, from disc degeneration occurring in every vertebrae (started in just neck and lower back to now affecting my whole spine with bulging discs and thecal sak impingement from spinal canal stenosis), to dystonia, and fibromyalgia for just a few of the tings I deal with, plus add osteo arthritis, bursitis, chronic sciatica, to the list and there is still much more, that it is just too long of a list to put on here for what is causing all of my pain, all starting after the first neck surgery which was botched and ended up collapsing in on my spinal cord inflicting damage to my nerves. I have great doctors, but their hands are tied and my dosage has been cut by 75% to a point where I am in bed crying more days than not. I was at a level of medication for only three months where I had adequate relief, and I was actually seeking employment again so I could have a decent life and get out of the hole I am in, when the CDC guidelines ripped it all out from under me. And now I am back to having such low functionality that even partially cleaning my home at all is a huge event. The pain is excruciating and people need to know that dependence is different from addiction. Patients and doctors should not be victimized or criminalized. If someone is addicted after one prescription, then they must have had a genetic predisposition for it, and every other pain patient shouldn’t be punished for those scamming the system, nor should the doctors who prescribed the medicines be punished, unless they were an actual pill mill and in it for greed and not for helping the patient. To those wanting to make opioid pain medicines illegal, the lives that will be lost are on you, the suicides due to not having proper relief will be your fault. And every politician pushing this line of thinking should be voted out or jailed for practicing medicine without a license and inflicting pain on so many. I know this is getting rather out there or sounds like a rant now, but sitting here in pain while it takes over an hour to write this due to the pain and numbness in my hands, I tend to get a bit angry at the thought of those who are ruining hundreds of thousands of pain patients lives including my own. I want to work, I want a life, to be a part of my community, and I want just to be able to go to a movie or maybe out to dinner or even lunch with my son, which I can’t do now because of the type and degree of pain I live with.
At the age of 13 years old I’ve been dealing with endometriosis I have had over 26 surgeries for endometriosis! Nothing has helped! This pain is something I wouldn’t want to wish on no one! An now at the age of 49 I’m still dealing with it, it has spread already to my colon an on top of it I have Crohns also! So besides having all of this pain I also I have D.D.S. Dics an need a fusion on my back but to scared to have it done because of the Drs cutting out pain meds back! I also have had a total ankle replacement an ankle fusion that cause me a lot of pain also! I had gastric bypass surgery witch has now caused my body to not absorb the meds I take so it now takes me a lot more to keep my pain under control! I have tried smoking marijuana but it does nothing for my pain at all! The only thing that helps my pain is my Oxycodone! It’s really sad they already cut my morphine off that I was getting one pill at nite to help me sleep an they cut that out! since they cut it off I now only sleep maybe 3 hours a nite an have to sleep on a heating pads to try to help with the pain I deal with though my body. Just found out that now I have to see a cancer Dr because of my blood I need blood now because of gastric bypass surgery has caused me so much problems, I also have sugar where my sugars stay too low! I also have high blood pressure too! So I stay in pain all day along if I’m not on my meds my oxycodone helps me a lot I’ve been on this drug for 10 years now An never have had no problems with it ! When I’m on my meds I’m able to move around an when I’m not on anything I can’t even get out of my bed because I hurt to bad! I also have bad bad arthritis in all my joints from not getting the right amount of vitamins! An all of this has to do because of the gastric bypass surgery I had! My body is breaking it’s self down to nothing! I stay very depressed about it! How sad it is that we have to live our life’s under so much stress on having someone to tell us what we can have for our bodies! I thought the last time I check we live IN AMERICA !!!! That means FREEDOM OF SPEAK! Freedom to do what we want!!! That’s a joke!! Because look it’s now something is always trying to control what we do with our BODIES AN OUR MEDS!!!!!
All this is going to do is cause people to find street drugs to do or buy meds else where! It’s really sad that our country has came to this!
We all need to come together An work together to fixing this issue instead of hurting us!!
I was in an auto accident in 1985, in which I flew through the windshield, taking the entire windshield with me, and ended up landing face first on a giant boulder which stopped my van and myself as well. After several plastic surgeries to make me look somewhat like my old self, I was informed that I had severely compressed two spinal disks in the cervical area of my neck. They tried to talk me into a laminectomy in my neck area, saying that since I’d already exceeded all my deductibles insurance wise, it wouldn’t really cost me any more. I’m pretty sure they were more interested in the money than curing me… Since I wasn’t in any neck pain at the time , and had surgeries up the wazoo, I refused. They told me I would eventually end up having problems with it later in life, but I refused. After ten years I began having minor neck pain any time I turned my head to the right. It worsened further over time, becoming constant pain, 24/7. I spoke to 5 people that had the type of surgery they wanted to do, and out of the 5 people, only 1 had been fully cured by the surgery. 3 ended up still being in the same amount of pain after recovering from the surgery, and the last man I spoke to was in a wheelchair permanently, unable to use his left arm at all! The neurosurgeon I spoke to said I had 2 options: 1) Have the surgery and roll the dice (As he put it) or 2) Control the pain with drugs and try to live a normal life. The wheelchair did it for me! There was no way I was having that type of surgery! I have been going to pain management clinics for years, and had been able to keep my pain at about a 2 out of ten, which is reasonable for me. I can keep it out of my mind with the meds I’m using, opioids obviously. The first clinic I went to for 5 years, suddenly told me they would no longer just give meds for people in pain, but insisted on spinal injections instead. So I went ahead and tried one. It was the most painful injection I have ever had, but it did completely stop the pain, leaving me ecstatic! The only problem, other than the extremely painful injection, was that 3 days later, the steroids wore off. The following visit, they told me I could only have 3-4 injections per year. Well, that won’t do it for me! So I have been using the drugs, AS PRESCRIBED and living a fairly normal life. Now I have to worry about this media frenzy calling this an epidemic??!!? I am very tired of this media fair and will be writing to my congress person, but I am afraid to include my name. I am afraid they will come after me. then my doctor. He’s a very compassionate man, and feels the same way I do about this situation. All of his patients who live with pain must supply him with real proof of their conditions before he will keep them on as patients. I have been with him for 7-8 years, and have had three MRI’s over the years which show the bulging discs I have, one of which is close to herniating. He has also given me advice on several other methods I can use to increase the relief provided by the prescriptions, one of the biggest was to simply improve my posture. Then he advises ice instead of heat, for nerve pain. He says that heat is good for muscle pains and spasms, but not for nerve pain. I tried this and it does help. About a month or so back, I was driving and was about to change lanes to the right, when at the last minute I noticed a truck in my right blind spot. I jerked my head around to the right, and felt a very sharp pain in my neck, which was followed by an electric shock down my right arm, which left my fingers tingling for over a week. I really paid for that maneuver ! I was in excruciating pain 24/7 for about a week and a half. No one should have to live like this! I take 2 ER (extended release) tablets a day and 4 IR’s (instant release) tablets for situations like this. It works, and though I have developed a tolerance for the drugs, I’ve never asked for an increase, since I know I’d just develop more tolerance if I did. The drugs still releave my pain, I just don’t get giddy anymore. That is fine with me, as it was an impediment at first. Ah, I feel a bit better! It’s sad that there really isn’t any one else I can discuss this with, except my doctor. This is not a joke to me, but thank God for the existence of these types of drugs. I know I am dependent on them, but as long as they are there, I know I can live an almost normal life. It just makes me so angry that so many people just take them for a fun, like a ride at an amusement park! Now, people that really need these prescription drugs are going to pay the price! Life is very unfair, eh? Good luck to all of you out there!
I am 62 and have been fighting cervical ( neck) pain for three months now . I have mri and waiting to see my neurosurgeon but my pain specialist and pcp would not give me even one norco to take at the end of a long 9 hour shift of work because of their fear of prescribing opioids . I take ibuprofen and Tylenol, but fear the damage it can bring to my body as I have been a long time user. I need a tad stronger medication to help my pain as I await a neurosurgery consult . I am not an addict or an abuser of anything and am a leader in my thirty year career with an impeccable reputation . Please ease up on these extremely strict requirements on drugs that are medically needed to improve quality of life . I have also tried alternative methods to pain management to no avail . Please listen to our pleas .
I am 54 years old and been living with RSD or CRPS,resulting from a 1995 crush accident and followed by two failed surgeries ,for 25 years. I llved with debilitating female diagnosis as well. Endometreosis and Ovarian Cysts from yteenage to age 34 .By 2001 my Lumbar spine had stopped me in my tracks. Affecting left leg for 19 years . I was steered away from surgery with the CRPS diagnosis . Fourteen years of lumbar/Cervical Epidural inj. And 25 years of Trigger Point Inj. Many years of PT. Today I cannot endure it. I have Spinal stenosis, multiple herniations both Lumbar and Cervical. DDG and my childhood Scoliosis diagnosis . I have Fibromyalgia,Osteoarthritis, and Post Lyme Autoimmune Arthritis. I have been successfully treated with Opioid rx medication since 2001. Over the past year, I was weaned against my will until no more. The days are filled with tears, no life and thoughts of an early death. I am Hypertensive on four BP meds. The very hospital I was born in , turned me away with a 113 bottom reading. I was judged by my old Dr , who never came into the exam room. Post hospital appointment was with different provider same bldg. He instead, put a flash on my file and gave me a referral to Conifer Park. May I add I am a non addict with no mental health diagnosis. I am still being told, to check into medical marijuana. Been told to “clean myself up” by uneducated ex friends. Medical Marijuana is unreachable to those of us living poverty level. I also have a painful hernia .I will not be able to have my Mammogram or any other tests with no pain med. It is severe and as late I have bowel leakage. Our lives are at stake . Thank you !!
I have been diagnosed with Still’s Disease at 21 years old. Now I am 41 years old and still have it and have had several knee and other surgeries. I am not allowed to have pain control for anything. I just had another knee surgery ( number 6) on right side and this time pain has been hard. The doctors can not give anything less than OxyContin if you are allergic to Tylenol. If you can take Tylenol then you can go to Narco that has Tylenol in it. I do not understand that they can have pain control and I can not unless I break the OxyContin in half. For any full knee replacements I have had only one script of OxyContin each surgery and now can not get off due to pain is to much if do not keep it in control. I do not like being on the OxyContin sand would like to go down, but tramadol is not enough to keep it in control. The state says they can give xanaflex and gabapentin for pain but not enough even just after two weeks postopt from 6 knee surgeries. They need to let the doctor’s practice and not the state or anything else. The doctors need to also say no after awhile so they do not give anymore scripts for pain. You do not need pain meds for 6 months after surgery. Just maybe tramadol. Even after having still’s disease (arthritis). I still take Tramadol and gabapentin for tingling in my feet, and xanaflex for back spasms. I still can not take Tylenol. I took all of it before surgery and the only one added was the OxyContin and how I take tramadol, xanaflex, and gabapentin. I will go back to the way I taking it. It worked better for me. Tha kicker is I will not take meds if I am not in pain.
I also understand the addiction part of it. The family members should speak up also to the doctors who are treating these drug additive patients. Most of the time the family is scared of the additics. My brother is one. I will speak up so he does not get to much.
The opioid epidemic is not my fault. The doctors overprescribing pain meds to people with no apparent medical issues is not my fault. But I, a person with a real medical issue, that really does need pain meds has been cut off by my doctor. I’m assuming due to new prescribing policies related to the ‘epidemic’. The doctors are scared for their licenses, if caught prescribing too much. All of this doesn’t matter to me I’m just PISSED Off; I’m paying the price for things that other people have done!
I’m 58 years old and have had chronic migraines since 9 years old. Recently my long-term neurologist retired. The new neurologist was young, she is a headache specialist and sounded like she had some good treatment plans to try out nerve block and DHE infusion.
My treatment plan with her was: she promised not to make any changes to my meds until she could find something that would work to replace them. I was looking forward to try some of these alternative methods. I figured that after trying some of these new technics that a tapering of my pain meds would come about – eventually. When I to the pharmacy to pick meds, and she had reduced my pain relief meds down to 15 pills for the month. I was shocked given the treatment plan we had discussed.
After many trial and errors my old neurologist put together a plan that worked for 9 years!!! My rescue kit contained – Botox, Phenergan (pill and Suppository), ketorolac injection and Hydrocodone. I only used the rescue meds when I had a chronic migraine. I did not abuse my meds or ask for more all those years. Passed all drug screenings. I was a responsible patient.
My beef with new doc is why such a drastic cut? Why not gradual? I had no issue with reduction of meds, but not to that drastic point. She assured me her special strength Botox injection would work and I wouldn’t need anything else – WRONG. I’ve been on Botox for 6 years. After her special Botox injection, I’ve had 2 major migraines. One ended me in the ER. My body was experiencing withdrawal from the radical decrease of meds. I had saved the precious 15 pills for a severe migraine; I mean they have to last 1 month. I had asked 3 doctors about what kind of procedure my insurer has for tapering down or maybe a program where there is doctor supervision. They all said nothing available. So, by this point I feel terrible, blood pressure 203/198, nauseated, crying, panicking about what will I take for the upcoming migraines?
I was desperate for help. I looked on the internet and found the Kaiser Chem Dependency unit. I called they took me right away! They said the doctor never should have cut back the meds so drastically! I received support and meds for withdrawal from them. And ongoing counseling. Now the newbie doctor said she won’t give me the DHE infusion we discussed as an alternative to pills. I asked about AIMOVIG the answer NO.
I have filed a grievance with my insurer against this doc and a doc from the pain unit. The was an investigation and my insurer has moved me on to another neurologist! Thank you very much. And there is mention in the report that the neurologist will be dealt with by her chief. Don’t know what that means…I did find out that she has had numerous other ‘issues’.
Right now, I have NOTHING to take for migraine, which I get once a week for 3-4 days at a time. I’m upset with her as she was not medically taking good care of me. She made many mistakes! How this has affected me: I’m scared to death of getting one of those horrendous migraines, and needing and now having nothing to take. I’m a wreck every day. And often suicidal, because I can’t imagine the rest of my life with these massive headaches.
What I want is: nobody should have to go through this, especially if there is a program at their disposal. I don’t want doctors to have this one size fits all approach to all patients. And I’m willing to cut back, I just need something for the migraine days I suggested 1/2 my dose, 30 pills for the month and I will try to make that work. There is a sense of despair and depression around the fact that I now have nothing to take for a migraine. I know how bad the pain can get and have plans in place to release myself from this ongoing pain. I hope things get resolved before it gets to that point. There are many women, on my Facebook migraine/Chronic pain that have taken their lives after doctor has taken away pills. There is a growing epidemic of lack of hope, and these women feeling that there is nothing for them as all the emphasis is on the opioid overdoses and doctors prescribing to people who have no medical conditions. I’m mad at them and the doctors who prescribed to them! What about me? What about all of these mothers, grandmas, working women that have had their meds taken? What about us?
Im in chronic pain 24 hours a. day
I’m a CPA and work in the government. I suffer from spinal disc degenerative disease. I work with a pain management doctor and just to refill my medicine I have to wait until the day my prescription needs a refill (that date changes depending on what they think I should have used not in how it was prescribed). I was helped with epidural injections for the past 2 1/2 years and physical therapy but my last 2 injections did not help and am getting severe pain in my hands. I had a spinal fusion of C5 to C7 in 2013 for which I received a little more than 2 years of pain relief. Unfortunately the pain came back even worse. I take long term nerve pain medication which has side effects of constant drowsiness and effects my memory. I’m 60 years old and saw my father suffer terribly until his death at 86. He had multiple spinal surgeries that did not help him with his pain. I was on Tylenol #4 which when I tried to stop taking that medication when I had a brief period of no pain. Unfortunately when I tried to stop taking the codeine I had a drug withdrawal and had to get help from my doctor to get past the withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately when the pain came back they had no choice but to put me back on the medication that I had a withdrawals. The best drug that helped me and I did not have withdrawals from when I stopped was Vicodin. I took it for over 1 year and after my surgery was able to stop without withdrawals. Too many people such as myself that need these pain medication inside a pain management situation are deprived of the best pain medication in a complete overreaction to people who abuse and die from a drug overdose. I feel bad for those people but to put millions of people in distress over pain medication that help to make their lives more bearable and still make a contribution. You are treating us as drug addicts and categorizing people in constant pain with those people that abuse pain medications. You need to get the DEA out of our doctors lives so they can treat patients. Last time I was at my doctor’s office I was in so much pain they had to give me a steroid pack to get the inflammation down. I’m tired of having to pee in a cup to keep up my medications, and now my pharmacist requires a diagnosis on the prescription for people like me who require medications. I wish that there was a miracle cure and I no longer suffered from spinal degenerative disease, that a surgery could insure me of not worse pain as the degeneration but until that day comes you need to change the laws for our doctors and patients.
I don’t typically like medication, but after being in the military for almost 20 years, the things done to my body have started to impact my quality of life. My once active lifestyle has become a burden. I read the stories of how people don’t get out of bed if they don’t have their medication and I now understand that. It is the same for me. The pain is real, needing pain medication helps alot and I feel that if we have to live 20 years in pain, rather than 10 years without pain, then it really isn’t worth it. All we remember is how horrible it is.
I haven’t been treated badly, but I do think that it should be our own choice to be in pain or not. Some people like living in pain, but if we don’t have to then we shouldn’t. Alot of people who put a strain on this opioid epidemic probably dealt with someone who abuses drugs, but people who abuse drugs do it with everything, they’ll even breath wd40 if they have to. We shouldn’t all have to suffer because other people are doing what they do, regardless.
Pain is not a criminal offense-nor is treatment of pain by a qualified medical professional. Allow physicians to treat pain
I have had several chronic illness which I experience moderate to severe pain . I dont it like due to life experiences, being continually exposed to opioids or stronger pain medicines unless,my ability to function such as walking grooming, or working and bathing is grossly impaired.. I know what has happened in my city crime wise but the increase in the use of illegal opioids has skyrocketed and is directly related to violent crime in my area. Im more of a drain on resources because.I dont think we should make medical addicts out of people but I do believe that those who need pain medicines ought to have them. if it works dont fix it unless its for a more beneficial form of treatment instead of no treatment at all. FIRST DO NO HARM.
I watched my late husband of 33yrs suffer with severe chronic back pain.Dr prescribed opioids for approximately 20 yrs.when the “crisis hit the news”Drs stopped prescriptions added meds for depression and sleep for withdrawal symptoms.My husbands back condition continued to get worse.My husband had an MRI on a Friday then committed suicide the following Sunday.Some people really need that pain reliet!!!
I was rejected my pain meds for alternatives because a Doctor in Utah who doesn’t know me restricted me. I used hydrocodone and now I have to take oxycodone instead. I take a long lasting morphine and used the hydrocodone/ibuprofen as an equalizer. I have osteoarthritis (advanced), CPPD, diabetic, my back looks like a road map because of DDD. So far 2 surgeries on my backbone and my right knee is going to be next. We are already talking about hip replacement surgery. It’s not fair that a doctor representing a drug plan can dictate and overrule my doctor’s I NEED MY MEDS!
I was in incredible pain and seriously sleep deprived with a long list of health issues. My doctor said he wouldn’t prescribe narcotic pain killers because he was afraid I would become addicted. I asked him if he was aware people can die from sleep deprivation and that I had no quality of life. I told him being addicted to a pain relieving drug was the least of my worries and concerns. I’ve been on narcotic pain pills for 29 years now. The prescription needs to be renewed each time I’m almost out of pills and while the Rx says I can take 6 pills per day (every 4 hours or as needed) I never have. I always go past the 30 days because I take them as needed for pain and I keep a log what time I took the last pills and how many hours it was between taking the pills. I have discussed this method with my doctor and she highly approves. I never take any pills if it hasn’t been at least 8 hours since the last time I took my pills. Depending on my activities I can sometimes go 24 hours before pain is intolerable but during the times when I take longer than 8 hours before pain causes me to take pain pills I never experience withdrawal symptoms. I know people that self medicate and have run out of pills before their Rx can be renewed because they expect instant relief and they do become addicted. That is called “drug abuse”. Like my doctor has said to me, “nobody ever got into trouble with pain meds following the directions on the pill bottle”. What I see in this whole “opioid crisis” is totally political. Politicians have never had an opportunity to “sue” anyone for drug abuse since drug dealers are never blamed for what happens to people that buy and abuse illegal drugs. This is an opportunity for the politicians to dislocate their shoulders patting themselves on the back telling people to “sue” drug companies for them having abused drugs. Without my pain meds I would have no quality of life. Unlike drug abusers I will endure a certain amount of time between taking the meds and I make it a point to follow the instructions for my meds. I don’t self medicate and have NEVER used up the total Rx before the time period of the Rx. We recently had a situation where I live a high school student broke his arm. The attending doctor wrote an Rx for narcotic pain killer and gave it to the parents with instructions for the parents to give pills to the teen. After a short time the parents were irritated with the boy asking for pills so they (illegally) handed the bottle over to the boy (drug abuse). The boy told a school mate the pills didn’t work fast enough to relieve his pain. His school mate told him to grind the pills into powder (drug abuse) to take them and he would get faster relief. The boy did as his friend told him, took the powdered opioid meds, immediately went into shock and died. BIG headline in all the local newspapers was “Opioid Crisis Strikes Bradford County Again”. BS, so many violations of drug abuse and of course the parents went along with everything because the should have been charged with child endangerment and weren’t. It was too easy to blame the drug company. I’m very involved in politics in my state and county and time after time I have asked politicians and people that say we have an opioid crisis to give me an example of “opioid crisis”, that I don’t want examples of “drug abuse” which has been a problem in America for many, many decades. Just one tiny example, I don’t need 2, 10, 27 or 100 examples of opioid crisis. Everytime they give me examples of “drug abuse” and they hate it when I shoot back at them that they are telling me instances of drug abuse because you can insert the name of any drug besides opioids and what they said to be is clearly instances of “ABUSE”. We have a serious “drug abuse” problem in America. We’re told its an opioid crisis totally for political purposes. Attorney generals all across America have set up sting operations to entrap doctors trying to help people with intractable pain and no quality of life as if legal pain med users are somehow criminals and contribute to the “opioid crisis”. I don’t care what the government does with drug abusers, but the government needs to stay out of the healthcare of legal users and their healthcare providers, PERIOD.
People are suffering. Give them their quality of life back to them. We deal with chronic pain syndrome, we are not pill-seeking addicts.
I had an injury almost 20 years ago and began taking pain meds to be able to function. I had no problems getting them until the crackdown began. When that happened, I had a much harder time getting what I needed to be able to lead a normal life. Since the crackdown I have had only half of what I need to take to function. My daily life is now so hard and I am unable to take care of my housework, shopping, cooking, and I can’t even *think* about any type of physical exercise. I now wake up in pain and live in pain all day every day! The quality of my life is so much less than it was when I had the pain relief I need.
I am a 62-year-old registered nurse that just retired in March. I could not handle the 12 hour shifts where some days I walked 5 miles and when I wasn’t walking I was standing. Most of my pain is in both of my legs and feet. I have started having a lot of back pain. In the last 15 years I have gone to every type of doctor and have tried everything that they have suggested. I’m really kind of a mystery because they really don’t know what’s wrong with me. Several of them believe I have fibromyalgia. With the studying and reading about that I believe I probably have that among other things. I have degenerative disc disease and I don’t know why. It’s just there! I have had injections, a cervical fusion and I have a spinal nerve stimulator that helps about 25% When I started having pain, Tylenol or ibuprofen relieved it. Through these last 15 years I’ve had to increase and try different types of medications to help control my pain. My pain is Only controlled by taking Norco now. Without that I could not function and live a semi-normal life, be able to do my activities of daily living. My PCP sent me to a pain center to see what they could do for me. Basically, I am down to taking medications. Do you think I like them?! They give me no high or buzz they just help my pain! They also have side effects that aren’t fun in the least!
The regulations that have been set are making it so hard and difficult. You’re putting strain on us and the physicians that we go to because our insurance require all of this crazy stuff now. The doctors are constantly having to send the drug companies and insurances explanations, getting pre-approvals over and over again! They don’t have time for this craziness!
I am on my husband‘s insurance and they recently changed to blue cross and blue shield of Oklahoma. I went to my scheduled pain management appointment they tell me they don’t take that insurance. They say they’re too hard to work with. So now I have to pay cash $125 a visit. I can’t afford that but I have to make it a priority or I can’t get my pain medicine. I called 33 doctors offices that Blue Cross Blue Shield gave me that were under pain management. I was so humiliated and felt like a drug addict!! NONE of them would take me as a patient that just need my prescription every month. They would only do injections. I told them I had already been through all the tests, injections and surgeries and medications were all that helped!
As I said, I am an RN. I worked in a women’s center. I can tell you that meth is probably the number one problem in Oklahoma. It is so cheap to make and I guess it gives them such a wonderful high that they can’t even give it up when they’re pregnant. Then they have a baby that’s also addicted. It is ridiculous! There is not enough foster homes to take in all of these babies because their parents do meth and more!! There needs to be a solution to this problem because it affects so many families. It also leads them to criminal activity where they will do anything to get money to buy their drugs.
Please don’t punish us who really have chronic pain that have done everything that the doctors suggested. We are trying to make it better and go away and it doesn’t! We need our pain pills! I honestly think your laws and rules that have been made are going to backfire because people will go on the streets and get them illegally or will commit suicide! I am serious about that because no one can live with pain like that! We wish we were dead! Please think about these laws and rules that have been made. What if you are in a car crash on the way home today and have multiple severe injuries that cause chronic pain? The only thing that helps you is a pain pill but you can’t have any or you might get addicted! Think it through!
DON’T PUNISH US!
I’ve had six spinal surgeries, I have severe nerve damage especially the whole right side of my body. I’m old. They want to do more surgeries but I’m not going back under the knife unless absolutely last resort. I am in constant pain, sometimes can’t get out of bed. My pain was somewhat controlled by opioids, I could function. Since the government started playing doctor, my meds have been cut and limited to where I used to be painfully moving but not functioning to the point where I can contribute to society. The pain brings on depression which doesn’t help. I’ve been seeing my same physician for years and don’t doctor shop or take more of my prescribed pain medicine than prescribed. There is nothing to completely take away the pain but they could make it bearable if the government would stick to their business and leave medicine to the doctors.