Yes My Lord IBD (sorry.. e-venting)

[Crohnadian]

Pvt

Pvt

 

[Jennifer]

What I do when I feel my GI isn't treating me properly is find another GI who will take my illness seriously. I've had GI docs in the past who treated me like dirt and its hard to go from the best GI ever to complete scum. Yours may not be complete scum but they seem to not be both treating the cause of your pain and managing your pain while its being treated. Same with a GP, if I'm not comfortable with the way they are treating me, I find a new one. I've switched GPs more often than GI docs but it needs to be done no matter what their specialty.

If switching isn't possible at all then all you can really do is keep pressing while you use the ER at your disposal (and that gets old so I'm sure you'll find a way to convince one of your doctors).

 

[25times]

Getting pain medication has been very hard for me as well. My GI doesn't have a triplicate prescription pad, so he's unable to give me anything stronger than tylenol 3's, which are a joke when I'm in a flare. My GP is the same way. He got rid of his triplicate after a patient stole a pad of them and ruined it for the rest of us. I need percocet for my pain. That's it, end of discussion. I'm not a drug addict, I don't abuse them when I get them, and I've always gotten them legally. I get treated like the scum of the earth when I ask for them, and I think that's ********. When someone has a well documented, legitimately painful, chronic illness, they should be able to live as pain free as possible. And if narcotics are the only thing that can help them acheive that, so be it.
I recently saw a different GP, who gave me 40 percocet for the time being, but made me feel like **** for asking. He said he would "help me out" and "do me a favour" but "only this once" and he's "not the percocet guy." Ok. I get it. Sorry for having crohn's and being in pain EVERY SINGLE DAY.
When the day comes that I can't get any painkillers, and if I still really need them, I won't hesistate to get them illegally. Judge me if you want, but I refuse to live my life curled up in a ball crying, or in the hospital. I can function perfectly on percocet. I can drive, carry on an intelligent conversation, work, everything. I'm more of a mess when I don't take them, if I'm in pain. I do have almost pain-free days, and on those days I don't take them. My diarrhea comes back, and my joints kill me a little bit, but I only take them when I really need them.
I've tried to find a doctor who will prescribe them to me on an as-needed basis, but it's impossible. You have to be physically in front of a doctor to ask him. I haven't found one yet, but I hope you can. I know how it feels to be in pain with nothing to take it away. And to be treated like a bag of crap because you need painkillers. I see you live in canada though. If your pain get's really bad, go to the ER. That's what I do if I have no painkillers, or if the pain gets too bad that they don't work. I'm sorry I can't help you more. All I can really say is I know exactly how you feel, and it sucks.

 

[Silvermoon]

Being a nurse, one of the things I remember vividly learnign in nursing school is "Pain is what the patient says it is, occuring when he/she says it does" and I have always lived by this.

No one can tell you you are not in pain - if you feel pain - you feel pain - full stop.

If I was your health care professional, I would want to know WHY you are in pain - whether or not it is physical or psychological. I am totally not saying your pain is psychological - I believe that addicts ARE in pain - otherwise they wouldn't "abuse" (and I hate that word) whatever medication they do - legal or not.

SO - I like to find out WHY people are in pain - and I am not exactly sure where you live in Canada, so this may not be an option, but have you ever given any thoguht or has anyone ever mentioned a referral to a Pain Clinic for you? I knwo there is one in Alberta associated iwth the University of Alberta - so I am only guessing there are others across the country.

A genuinely caring doctor should be more than happy to refer you. From what I understand from clients I have been able to have reffered to the Pain clinic - you are NOT treated like an "addict" - but specialists in the pain feild assess your pain, try to find what is causing it, and you get you on the best treatment to manage your pain.

Then you can go back and tell your GP/GI - "See? it's not ALL in my head!!!"

I hope this helps.....and wishing I could do more.....

(PS this is a rather morbid thought, but one other thing that kinda sticks in my mind - I remember gong through a particularly bad time with pain - and got the same treatment you are getting ("oh you are just 'drug-seeking' ") - and I remember my hubby looking at the ER doctor who wouldn't give me pain meds and said "You know, if an animal was in this much pain, soemone would at least shoot it to put it out of it's misery... are you telling me my wife's pain is of lesser consequence than an animals?" - I got the pain meds I needed....... )

 

[SarahAnne]

The pain issue has become a hot point for me lately too...GI will put me on anxiety meds and up my depression med dose, but won't prescribe painkillers. I don't want to have to cry in front of people to make them understand that I'm in pain. Last time I went to the ER, my nurse was the most fantastic person ever. As soon as he found out I had Crohn's, he told me he had a friend who had it. He put a rush on my IV and personally brought in morphine for me before I even had to ask for it, right after my IV was in. No waiting for 1-2 hrs after the line was put in. He clearly understood the pain of IBD and I am so grateful for him.

Hoping next time I go to ER he is working! Good luck finding a doctor who will help with the pain. Like Samantha, I will resolve my pain myself when the doctors won't help me. I can't get a medical marijuana card in my state, but it helps to smoke, so I do when I need to. And I don't make any apologies. I'm a great mom, productive when I'm not in pain, and I don't deserve to live with it. No one does.

 

[SarahAnne]

**Turns out I had pancreatitis. It's really painful, and it was in my pancreas, not my head. My GI still hasn't apologized.:thumright:

 

[scottmyster]

this is only a short post i was on easy meds or normal pain killers like atasol 30's stuff like that but, the only thing that calm down my crohn's pain is oxycodone it really works for me and so be it. i only take them when i am i real pain though. but like i said they work for me.

 

[LonelyIBD]

This is a serious question, have any of you ever tried smoking marijuana to help manage your symptoms? I'm not some random pot head that likes to light up all the time. I can swear on my life that when I am having a flare up smoking makes my symptoms easily manageable. While medicated on marijuana I noticed A LOT less pain. I also went from having 10+ bathroom trips a day during a flare up to only about 3 a day. It also helps my appetite
I don't know the laws in Canada, but I live in California and I have my medical recommendation so I'm not smoking it illegally.

 

[MaineGirl93]

Hi People's,

What you need to do is find a Pain Med dr ~ I have my Gi, reg family doc, etc but I see a dr every 4 weeks just for my pain meds ~ THEY ARE OUT THERE! It is NUTS that these doc's won't give you pain meds ~ I know that w/o mine I can not function ~

I was lucky to find my current pain med dr ~ He "gets" it ~ What it's like having to deal day in & day out living w/ pain that is not in my control ~

If anyone has futher questions, feel free to ask me!