Share Your Pain Story

999 Replies to “Share Your Pain Story”

1. My pain started after I was in an abusive relationship he came in high on something at 3:00am & pulled me out of bed by my hair. I ran out & when I got to a neighbors trailer I slipped on ice & he repeatedly kicked me with steel toed boots. I curled up in a ball & blocked my head so he kicked me several times in the back. About a year after that is when I started getting severe back, neck & shoulder pain. I went to several docs, which most accused me of just wanting pain pills. I finally found one that believed me & she put me on 3 different OxyContin prescription’s. She told me I have fibromyalgia. Then she was moving out of state so I had to pick a different doc in the same place. That’s who I have now. She kept telling me in the last year I’m going too have to start weaning you off some of these. So I worked with her & I got off both the Oxycodon 5mg, then shortly after that she started telling me again I need to work on the 20mg one at a time well I was so scared that they were gonna rip them away from me that I weaned off to of them. And that’s when she just started taking the other 20mg. And one 40mg. So after years of being on all these. I would say 23 years I was down to 2 OxyContin. I’am in the worse pain ever in my life now. I have nothing for the break through pain in between the 2. I went to ask her for one or two of my 20mg ones back. And she told me she couldn’t no way go back up. So I have just been suffering. She started running test on me I now have fibromyalgia, arthritis & bone spurs. And I just had a test done she is checking for cancer. I’m waiting on the results. I feel like I’m going to Court every time I go for my follow up appointments now. They treat us like we put ourselves on these. Like they are totally in denial of having any part in this horrible nightmare. And I feel like they are just waiting for a reason to cut me off the last two. I have never abused them, I always pass any drug test she gives me. And it’s random so I don’t know when she’s giving me one. And I have no problem with that. But all the questions. What time did you take this one today, what time did you take your next one. I feel like they are trying too find a reason to take my last two. This is such a horrible thing to do to people. Theirs so many of us suffering now. My only hope is that we can all get our message to the President not to sign that paper & give us our meds back. I only want 2 of my pills back for the in between pain. Please help us someone. PLEASE! Thank you.

2. I too am in the same boat. My pain doc would no longer accept me because I take xanax. That is his own policy. He says its because of I may accidentally overdose. Geez…if somebody is in constant pain, they are anxiety ridden and pissed off. Ive been on xanax for 25 yrs.

3. I have a spinal implant and been in pain for 18 plus years now ! I’ve had over 10 operations and always in constant pain !! Now the drs are taking away the only thing that helps me have a life? They had me at a very high level of OxyContin at one time was up to 12, 80 ml a day and now want me under 80 ml a day ? How can they think it’s gonna help relieve my pain ? I have permanent nerve damage and can’t function without pain meds? I’m a single father of two kids and Dont understand how they can do this to people ? How do I get pain relief when the laws r not setup to help people in severe pain always? My quality of life is terrible now and it has been done to me on purpose and the drs don’t even care? Please help me and all the other people get our quality of life back !! I just wanna be able to function and raise my kids the best I can !! Please fix this !!! Take care thank u , best wishes from pain in California!😢

4. I have been experiencing back and neck pain for the last 16 year’s. Yes I have had more doctors and chiropractors poke and test on me. I have been see at nerospine institute in my home state and was told that surgery was not an option. It took many years of trying many non opioid meds which I was fine with trying them I mean after all who really wants to damage their internal organs with opioids. I was unable to do a job that I loved due to my pain never mind that I didn’t tell them I was on these opioids. My pain was so bad that I was unable to enjoy family activities. My travel to see my parents and my in-laws where greatly limited since sitting or even worst driving a car caused more pain. I do understand the concerns that people have and that old saying about one bad apple ruining the bunch. I have been on a med regime now for five years that included opioids but also allows me to do work as a para professional and do more with my family. I did miss out on visiting my father who lived in a nursing home for years before he passed away. I counted on my wife to do the driving of any distance over half an hour. I’m finding it more difficult to find my meds every month never mind the cost of them keeps going up. Now I found out that the insurance company will not cover one of my opioids starting in December. Without this med my pain will increase to the point that I will not be able to have a productive or good quality of life.

5. Wow I thought I was the only one having this problem. I am a 63 year old man who has had 3 back surgeries 2 shoulder surgeries and neck surgery. I have been under the care of a pain management doctors for 15 years and never abused or failed a drug test. They cut my pain medicine in half which does me no good. I recently suffered a massive heart attack which destroyed 80 % of my heart. So now being in constant pain is raising my blood pressure and destroying the rest of my heart. I worked hard all my life as it sounds like most of the other people on this website have. In the meantime 99% of the overdoses from drugs are coming across the border. The border is wide open and is causing the opioid crisis not us. The law biding people are the easy targets. We have to let the politicians know that they have to fix this Now. I think the president would correct this problem if he knew about. I will be praying for everyone.

6. Did you know that thug drug dealers ACTUALLY deliver their drugs like illicit Fentanyl to your door like a Dominos Pizza? I did not know that until April 29th, 2017 in the dark damp hours of a rainy spring pre dawn hour. My younger brother died just last year in April 2017 of a Heroin/Fentanyl Overdose. I ❤️ my brother immensely, always have, always will. The sheer pain of his death alone saddens me. What makes matters much worse is knowing that the sins of my own brother (and many JUST like him) would inadvertently affect my chronic pain control just a year after. It’s like double the pain — and it honestly plays tricks with my head. I understand the opiate epidemic — but honestly, my brother didn’t actually die of a Heroin overdose. You know what he died of? He died of an illicit Fentanyl Overdose. That is the TRUE epidemic going on! Let me tell you, the medical examiner was absolutely dumbfounded and shocked at his toxicology report. The amount of illicit Fentanyl in his system was one of the highest he has seen. More than 4 shots of Narcan couldn’t touch the amount of illicit Fentanyl that was in my brothers system/blood stream. Seeing him lying there dead on the basement floor is a sight I can not unsee. I wished I had not looked because that was NOT how I wanted to remember my brother.
   My brother had an ADDICTION! It was an addiction of his own choosing and why are chronic pain sufferers being pushed aside like pond scum to help the “masses” of folks that choose to die from this illicit drug?

   So to my point …
   On the other hand, chronic pain sufferers have a physical /chemical DEPENDENCE on the opiate — big, big, HUGE difference. But the mass media has been taught otherwise. The pharmacist, the news outlets, many in the general public, physicians, the government in general, ect. do NOT know the difference between the two. And they want to lump BOTH the chronic pain sufferers in the SAME bag as folks just like my brother who, unfortunately brought an addiction upon themselves (not purposely) but nonetheless, his disease brought about his own demise.

   Last but certainly not least, the Mexican drug cartels and the drug smuggling in from countries like Canada and Mexico are to blame for the illicit Fentanyl abuse, and more importantly deaths/overdoses. Why? Illicit Fentanyl is coming from a much more potent drug — an elephant tranquilizer called Carfentanil. This drug has its appropriate uses — but when you put a drug meant for an 8,375 pound animal in a human being with let’s say an average size of 137 pounds, it is an ABSOLUTE recipe for disaster! I mean, come on, even the first responders don’t want to touch this stuff. Even the smallest amount of powder wiped on a hand can absorb into a persons body and cause an overdose.

   Carfentanil is an analog of the synthetic opioid analgesic fentanyl. A unit of carfentanil is 100 times as potent as the same amount of fentanyl, 5,000 times as potent as a unit of heroin and 10,000 times as potent as a unit of morphine. So go inject some of this stuff, only it is sliced, diced, and laced with a little other “Great Stuff” for your body like baby powder, a little bit of Heroin to boot, even some Valium. There you go! They wanna make this stuff good so you get hooked and come back for more and more, thus sending more abusers there way, and become a customer for life (or whatever amount of life the drug dealer can get out of you)! Then when you die, they just move on to the next Tom, Dick, Harry, or Mary!

   This illicit use of Fentanyl, cut from Carfentanil, is honestly, in my humble opinion, the worst conspiracy hidden by the government for some time. Why? I think because they know they are losing the overall war on drugs. If you think about it, if you were in charge of drug control into the country, wouldn’t it be quite embarrassing to know that people from OUTSIDE our country are actually smarter and more instrumental at smuggling this drug in successfully and the government in charge of drug enforcement simply don’t know how to put a stop. That is embarrassing! So what a better way to shield their own embarrassment by blaming a completely different set of people as the problem — chronic pain sufferers. How inhumane.

   Grow some ball governmental agencies, get your act together. Figure out how to STOP this insanity of this elephant drug getting into OUR country that is the TRUE cause of killing so many people! We have an “illicit Fentanyl epidemic” — get your facts straight! Even the CDC couldn’t get their facts straight and had to recant their original testimony about this supposed opioid epidemic — their numbers are highly skewed!

   If we could manage to put a man on the moon nearly 60 years ago, why in God’s green earth COULD’NT we stop this deadly elephant drug from becoming so pervasive in our country?
   I would love to know the answer!

   ~ Sheri Owen
   Chronic pain sufferer & Sister of Vincent Winterer, just 1 tens of thousands in 2017 who died as a result of illicit Fentanyl in his system 😢

   C.O.R.E.
   Change Opiate Regulations Emergency
   http://www.facebook.com/groups/changeopiateregulations

7. My pain story starts at a very young age I suffered with joint pain in my hips my abdomen my head I started working physically in the woods doing cordwood I was always tender to the touch and didn’t know why somebody would come up and poke me in the ribs and it would feel like so painful or just tapped me on the back and it would be so painful I had this thing on the roof of my mouth which I found out in a medical book me and you could have a autoimmune disorder I worked very physically hard in the automotive industry doing a lot of heavy lifting repetitive fast-paced motion lifting heavy objects above my head of my chest repetitive standing in one spot a lot of physical and mental abuse in relationships a car accident neck and spine injuries and worked for 32 years I was diagnosed with severe fibromyalgia in 2013 because I was having such burning pain and joint pain that I felt like I was being cremated alive so I went to the doctor and that’s when he diagnosed me with severe fibromyalgia I tried Lyrica Cymbalta Gabapentin and besides Motrin ibuprofen nothing was touching this pain so I kept going back crying my eyes out saying I needed something that worked instantly because they’d say all it takes a while to get into your system well I was in such severe pain I need something instant or something that works instant so he put me on hydrocodone this is 2013 I was so grateful that this worked so I had been on it since then it’s what really works for my pain even though opioids aren’t recommended for fibromyalgia patients everyone is different everyone has been through different things I fit the criteria of all the symptoms the accident the hard work physical labor the physical and mental abuse neck and spine issues now I am having trouble getting enough of the medication that works for me because of the opioid crisis I really wish that because of my documentation because of getting approved for disability that it would make it easier for me to get the amount that I need for a month without having to worry about running out I have had to go through this several times and ended up in the hospital twice the third time they wouldn’t let me stay they treated me like I was a drug addict and I said I’m not here for opioids I’m here because I’m very sick can’t you check my to see if I’m dehydrated and can’t I stay and she said no you can’t she said we will check and if you are then we will run an IV she never came back in 2 hours so I went home miserable I just got cut down from a hundred and twenty hydrocodone which was for a day of 10 325 two three a day and I tried a new long-acting hydrocodone instead of the morphine sulfate ER twice a day tablets I was on I’m not sure about the and I only get one a day of the high singular I am really trying but I told my doctor 2 months ago that I was having a hard time making it last and if I could get another 20 that that would really help it’s when I’m physically trying to do things that I don’t last long weather is walking in the store or trying to do housework laundry I just get so fatigued and pain so she gave me 140 but then got a letter stating that if your mme was over 200 that they were cutting down 2 90 per month I just wish that I could get enough of what I need that helps my pain so I can have a better quality of life I am tired of being compared two other people and being told that opioids are not recommended for fibromyalgia patients everyone is different and I have been through the mill a few times I just don’t know what to do anymore tired of repeating myself to my doctor that is what pain care is for and you should be able to get what you need that works for your pain and enough of it

8. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2006. I had the symptoms for about five years prior to that. The doctors told me to lose weight and exercise; however, anything more than a brief walk would leave me not functioning for several days and the medications the doctors had me on was on made me gain weight rather than lose it. The doctors tried Gabapentin, Lyrica, various antidepressants, muscle relaxants, Tramadol, and Guanfacine. Lyrica and Gabapentin both left me so foggy that I almost lost my job. There was an extended release type of Gabapentin called Grilease that worked fairly well; however, it was $850 for a 30 day supply and my insurance refused to cover it. I couldn’t afford to take it. One of mydoctors had me on a prn dose of Percocet for really bad days. It worked for me and I stayed on the same dose for a year. Then my insurance changed, and the new doctor told me that opiates don’t work for Fibromyalgia and she cut me off. I told her that the other meds didn’t help me on bad days and she sent me to a pain doctor. The pain doctor sent me through multiple trials of different medications and surgical procedures, eventually landing on Vicodin for bad days. Because I couldn’t take Lyrica anymore, I ended up white-knuckling it through work and taking Vicodin in the evenings after I was home for the night. The dose I am on barely brings me down to a tolerable pain level, so there aren’t any real pain-free days. I had to sign a pain contract that says I won’t ask for pain meds anywhere else.
   The contract really bit me when I got uterine cancer and the mass outgrew its blood supply, leaving me with a fist-sized, infected mass in my abdomen. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced. I went to my primary care doctor, who misdiagnosed me and sent me home with a pain prescription that I was then unable to fill (I didn’t have any opiates prescribed to me at the time). So I went to the emergency room, where they gave me Fentanyl via IV and found the mass with a CAT scan. They refused to diagnose it, however, and referred me to a specialist who said I would have to wait a month to see him. No pain meds while I waited and I could not reach my pain doctor. I ended up back in the ER twice before they finally admitted me for pain control and got the specialist to see me three days later. The doctor operated on me to remove the tumor and then the hospital discharged me the next day, without pain meds for the surgery. I had to hobble over to my pain doctor and wait in the office until he could see me. He gave me morphine pills for the pain. I took them for six weeks, then began to taper – no instructions on how to do it other than I should do it slowly over the next week or so. That was when I learned that one week was way too fast – I was absolutely miserable with the withdrawal symptoms; I couldn’t sleep at all for the first three days and didn’t sleep well again for another week or so after that. So I see both sides of the opioid epidemic. Due to my own experience with withdrawal symptoms and due to the nature of my job – which puts me into contact with many addiction sufferers – I know how dangerous opioids can be. I also know the misery and deep depression pf being in chronic pain, with no hope for a cure and no real relief, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I know the frustration of not being taken seriously by doctors when I tell them I am in pain and the pain can’t be seen on an x-ray or a blood test. I know the discrimination of being looked at sideways by my employer because I have a disability (they are actively trying to get me fired because they don’t think I can do the job with chronic pain and depression) – and knowing that I will never qualify for disability with Fibromyalgia, because the judges think that pain by itself couldn’t possibly prevent me from working. I have tried yoga, meditation, massage, and countless herbal supplements, all to no real effect. I am dropping UA’s as if I was in rehab because my pain doctor has to do that in order to prescribe the semi-effective medication that he can prescribe me under the current legislation and hysterical atmosphere. So I would ask the legislator to please stop threatening legal action against our doctors. And please, please, please – put more money into researching pain alternatives. Put pressure on insurance companies to cover pain treatments and stop trying to take opioids off the table until a universally effective treatment is found and covered by insurance. People like me don’t deserve to suffer more just because we are sick.

9. I was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis at age 13. I’m now 70. My pain increased with age. I’ve been wearing a TENS unit for about 30 years. About 12 years ago, I was getting burning pain in my lower back. I finally found a doctor who would give narcotic pain medication to chronic pain patients. They have made my life liveable. If I can’t get them any more, I honestly don’t know what I’ll do… possibly stay home and stay in bed or my recliner. What kind of life is that? PLEASE help us.

10. I suffer from severe, intractable chronic pain. I have always fulfilled my obligations as a patient of over 13 years at a chronic pain management clinic in Texas. I only take my prescription pain medications as prescribed to relieve my chronic debilitating pain from CRPS, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, failed back surgery syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, entrapment neuropathies, radiculopathy, myelitis, and Synovitis and tenosynovitis. My condition will not get better; it has continuously worsened. I can no longer take NSAIDs (Ibuprofens, naproxen, etc.) because of three bleeding ulcers I developed from that regimen. I was hospitalized through emergency care, and received a transfusion that saved my life.
    I have chronic pain every day. I have had four back surgeries, two knee surgeries and tarsal tunnel syndrome surgery. I have Radio Frequency Ablations and Epidural Steroid Injections at four levels both in my lumbar and cervical spine approximately every six months. I try to religiously do my stretching and physical therapy exercises. I have gone through, and exhausted all of the other drug and non-drug treatment options over the past 13 years. Still, I have pain. I hate that I am being treated like a drug abuser when I am just trying to make my life more manageable on a daily level. I try to participate in being part of our family, making a contribution to society, but it’s hard. Not everyone who needs pain relief is an abuser. My prescription pain medications have been forcibly reduced as a result of the “opioid epidemic”. As a result, my functioning and quality of life is diminishing. Please don’t force me further into a life of debilitating pain and suffering with the across the board laws restricting life saving prescription pain medications for non-cancer, intractable and chronic pain patients. We are real people with intractable and chronic pain, including our Veterans, the elderly and the disabled, who have been forced by policy changes to receive less or even no prescription pain medications for their pain. Unfortunately, there are many that have already committed suicide because they could not stand the pain.
    The crisis stems from illegal, illicit fentanyl and heroin used by people with drug addictions. Law abiding people with legitimate pain and a need for prescription pain medications have been caught in the crossfire and are being made to suffer horrific pain by being denied opioid prescriptions because of the new restrictions that have lumped us in with people with substance abuse disorders. Please, walk a mile in our shoes before you judge. We are just trying to live with dignity as contributing members of society. Please protect the chronically ill and their doctors from the unintended consequences of the laws that are being enacted to curb the problem with addicts overdosing. Hospitals are experiencing shortages of scheduled drugs and patients are being endangered because of past unjustified restrictions on production. The DEA & CDC are at fault. Restrictions on prescription pain medications for legitimate pain are ineffective and unjustified. To put restrictions on pain medications that are needed with a comprehensive pain management program is cruel to those with legitimate, documented chronic medical problems. Actively managed pain patients are seldom involved in opioid overdose-related deaths, and in the few cases where they are, it is plausibly as a consequence of under-treatment of pain and depression, forcing the patient to seek relief in street markets. The DEA has already damaged countless lives by creating a hostile regulatory environment, driving doctors out of pain practice and forcing the discharge, and/or coerced tapering of patients in chronic pain. It is inhumane.

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