Posted by medlib on December 1, 2000, at 0:41:05
In reply to help, anyone? Cam? pain relief questions...., posted by CarolAnn on November 30, 2000, at 19:12:42
Carol Ann--
I'm so sorry about your pains--facial and M.D.! Sometimes it's a tossup whether they relieve as much pain as they cause. FWIW, his abrupt cutoff of your meds probably is related to guidelines from his practice, HMO, state medical board, insurance carriers, etc. regarding maximum number of narcotic doses to one patient/diagnosis over given time period. The hassle of justifying an exception may be bigger than his supply of compassion.
I second the recommendation of a pain clinic:
--They treat chronic pain and have more lenient narcotic restrictions.
--They are conversant with *all* types of pain relief--med and non-med. (Muscle-based pain like TMJ sometimes can be helped by biofeedback; nerve-based pain like TN can sometimes be helped by acupuncture or antiepileptics; some conditions can be alleviated by surgery.) The best pain relief is not only diagnosis-specific; it is tailored to the individual.
--They often are covered by insurance, although some require a referral.
--There are clinics that deal specifically with facial pain (i.e., at NYU).Perhaps, a different doctor could refer you to a pain clinic and supply you with enough meds to cover the period until you're able to see them.
If you are interested in, and up to, finding out more, try www.google.com. Searching on "treatment facial pain" brought up a number of useful hits.
Hope you're able to find some relief soon. Please keep us posted.
Well wishes---medlib
Long story short, I'm being treated for chronic facial pain, and after some improvement have relapsed, and NOW the doctor cuts off the prescription pain meds(hydrocodone), there's no reasoning with him. I've never asked for extra drugs, in fact have consistently stretched each one week script into two weeks of doses. He won't switch meds. either. OTC stuff has only minimal effect, even large doses, example: today at 10am I took three Aleve, at noon three extra strength tylenol, at 2pm three Ibuprophen, and never had significant pain reduction.
> Any recommendations for other OTC stuff or effective mixtures of stuff? AND how much of this stuff and in what mixes can I take without killing myself. I am NOT good at being in pain! CarolAnn
> p.s. also taking Doxepin (antidepressant for pain)100mgs. thanks ya'll!
poster:medlib
thread:49714
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/49733.html