I recently wrote about the concerns I was facing before my first appointment with a new primary care provider. Thank you to everyone who offered well-wishes and suggestions! I'm happy to report that it went quite well, I really like her approach - with one key exception.
Most importantly, she didn't express any disbelief in fibromyalgia (which is always the big worry!) She was familiar with my medical history when she came in the room, which is always a good sign, and she was far more interested in listening to me than in rushing through the appointment and telling me things I already know. She recognized that I'm knowledgeable about my conditions and appeared to trust my judgement in treatment decisions.
I'm also happy to say that she was absolutely in favor of getting me a TENS unit, and I had one within 24 hours of leaving her office. (Yes, I could have bought one on eBay or craigslist or something like that, but this way my insurance will pay for the unit, as well as replacement parts that I may need down the road.)
She spent a lot of time looking over my list of supplements, which many doctors simply disregard, and she was very positive about what I'm taking. That's a big difference from some doctors, who make the asinine (in my opinion) comment that all supplements do is give you expensive urine.
But then there's the one thing I'm concerned about - she doesn't want me taking Vicodin (hydrocodone acetaminophen) and said she doesn't generally prescribe it except for major injuries and cancer. This makes me nervous. I firmly believe that all serious pain should be treated in order to help people be more functional. When pain controls our lives, I take offense to the idea that our pain is somehow inferior to that of cancer patients. Pain disrupts sleep, puts life on hold, and can lead to desperation, depression and despair.
She did note that I frequently go 90 days between refills of 30 pills, and I told her I'd been on the same low dosage for 6.5 years. For now, because I have a tailbone injury that's causing a lot of pain, she's going to continue filling my prescription. I'm hoping after that, I'll be able to convince her that pain control is necessary for me to be fully functional. I wish I could manage without an opiate, but the fact is, with 9 separate pain conditions, sometimes I just can't.
So, all in all, I'm hopeful that she'll be a good doctor for me. I continue to be grateful for my medical clinic, which consistently seems to pick doctors who treat people with respect and stay current enough with research that they don't have the antiquated idea that fibromyalgia "isn't real."
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I am glad to hear that you had such a good visit with your new Primary Care Physician. I recently made a switch of Primary Care Physicians as far as a permanent change (this doctor had been taking care of me while my regular doctor had been away due to medical problems) and I am glad I did. However, now that he has the records from my other doctors I know we are going to have a chat about some things so I understand the issue of being concerned about the pain medication issue as I am a bit concerned also even though I have a Pain Management doctor that gives me my medication.
My suggestion is that if in the future she decides not to continue to give you your medication ask for a referral to Pain Management. Best thing I ever did for myself, and I am especially grateful that my Pain Management doctor is knowledgeable about fibro. She has a massage therapist that works for her so I try to make sure I get a massage from time to time. Especially if I know I am going to need surgery like I did back in Dec.
May you continue to have wonderful results with this new PCP of yours.
I wish you the best of luck with your Vicoden prescription. I have the same fear- it won’t be there when I need it. I was prescribed 30 pills last May and I only use them when the pain is to the point where death is preferable. (LOL!) I have exactly 15 and a half pills left and here it is October. I have not discussed opiates with my new PCP yet but I did show the nurse all my prescription bottles and vicoden is logged into my chart. Is anyone (or everyone) else insanely protective of their emergency go-to? When they pulled Darvocet off the market, I literally cried.
I too have been a hoarder of my percochet my rhuemy wont prescibe it for fibro says its not effective bull it is effective for me I was prescribed 30 in march I have 1 pill left and just refuse to take it when I am flaring because I fear I may feel worse the next day I wish that there was some research on opiates and fibro and chronic pain that shows it is effective in controlling the pain.
Oh yeah. Totally insanely protective! You nailed that one. When I finally couldn’t take the narcotics any longer I thought I’d never survive. I freaked just a little. (ok maybe more than a little) I’m learning to cope, but there are times when I just wish I had some relief.
It does sound like pain management is the way to go. Your doctor is probably worried about her job…these days most go to great lengths to avoid prescribing narcotics.
I found that pain management doctors wanted to push a lot of intense narcotics on me. My current GP rarely will prescribe hydrocodone to me. I just want a dr to prescribe pain medicine in keeping with the level of pain that I have when I need it. I’m at a loss of where to go. They say Rheumy’s are best for Firbomyalgia, but I’ve been to several and they just seem annoyed that they have to deal with Fibro patients. Does anyone have any ideas of how to find a dr that will help me with my Fibromyalgia? By the way the reason they say narcotics don’t work for fibro pain is because it is a long term chronic illness and they don’t want you to become dependent on it. I usually take tramadol, but it just barely takes the edge off. I have fibro, spinal stenosis, arthritis in my spine, torn cartilage in both knees, diabetis & depression. I don’t qualify for disability either. When I hear of people who get disability by fraud it infuriates me !
I have found that the best Dr to prescribe my pain RX is my (long time) Rheumatoligist. He truly understands how when pain is untreated , it effects a person’s quality of life. I wouldn’t see a Rheumatoid Dr who thought fbro pain wasn’t painful enough to prescribe a pain medication !!
For those of you who are hoarding painkillers, a good alternative to prescription opiate analgesics may be DLPA (DL Phenylalanine) which can be purchased at health/vitamin stores in the US.
DL-phenylalanine markedly potentiates opiate analgesia – an example of nutrient/pharmaceutical up-regulation of the endogenous analgesia system.
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/dl-phenylalanine.htm
it makes me so sad to hear so many of you going without adequate pain meds. i go to a pain mgmt dr now. in the past i’ve gone to just a reg dr. and i’ve been taking the same thing for over 10 years, methadone. i know some people think it is just for herion withdrawl, but it was originally intended for pain relief during one of the wars a long time ago. it gives me decent relief, ofcourse it doesn’t stop all the pain even though it is a narcotic. and it makes me mad to hear about people with chronic illness not getting narc cuz they will get dependant. that’s horse huhhie! when you take a pain pill for pain, your body reacts different. i don’t get high from methadone. and i don’t have withdrawl if i run out. ofcourse it has drawbacks, i have chronic constipation from all my meds but i also have ibs, so who knows what it causing that. i’ve been sick 17 yrs. and i had hell the first few years getting what i needed. doctors make me CRAZY. sorry for yelling.
Re: hydrodcodone issue. Your Dr sounds great, however, you may want to get an additional Dr who also might help you. I have a rheumatologist in addition to my primary care Dr. She is the one who prescribes Vicodin for me. I also use very small doses (1/4 to 1/2 pill at a time) and can stretch out a rx. Good luck
Hi I am new to this site but it seems like a good one. I am curious about the tens machine. Is this a full size one? My chiropractor had me but many years ago this very small portable one that was hard to use. This is to be used for back pain and or fibro and how would one word it to insurance company? Thanks, Leslie
Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after looking at many of the posts I realized it’s new
to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back often!