controversy over pain management

In 1994 I was dx with MS with a lesion at rt side of C2 on the spinal cord. Conventional drugs do not work. Occasionally I have severe rt side headaches that will put in the bed and useless. Norco will knock them out if caught in time then the pills go into hiding. I have severe rt side muscle spasms that require Soma if needed. With the uprising of against pill addiction this has become an up-hill battle. I wrote the FDA and they gave me the go ahead for this therapy but pharmacies and doc's do not agree. I explain that I can stay active until an atack and the rest of the time the pills are in a safe. That does not matter. When these headaches occur I want to commit suicide but I have others to concider. I just lie in bed and cry. This is not fair! When GOOD Doctors want to help but feel they are in jeapordy and I suffer. I am responsible fo rmy meds and do not seek any other street drugs. I am afraid there will come the day when I will leave this earth in an unconventional way. HELP!

[Sumanadevii]

I am not understanding the problem.  My doctor gave me Soma without a hitch.  Are you asking about another drug?  Is your doctor disagreeing that you need the meds?  The pharmacy should have no say.  Either a doctor prescribes it and they fill it or a doctor doesn't prescribe it and they can't fill it.

I am confused by your post.

[HVAC]

Are you a Medicare patient by chance? I went to a Government meeting on Medicare and they have tied Doctor's and Pharmacy's hands in a lot of cases with Medicare Patients. It started because of unregulated pain clinics popping up all over the U.S. Doctors and Pharmacists are frankly afraid of running a foul of the Government. Some other insurers are also taking the power away from Doctors in prescribing medicine.

Next month my Doctor will be limited on Prescribing sleeping pills and opiates by my insurance carrier. The doctors can get overrides but it is a hassle so many just do not want to do it. Have you asked is this the problem?

I have super bad please kill me head aches a lot too. I have had them for over 30 years. Until 2001 I did not know I could be treated at all. I used to just get violently ill and pray to die. There is nothing like hoping this is an Aneuryism. "Please God let this be something that kills me once and for all".

Also for me it is all the drug interaction potential. My Doctor really does not want to stroke me out, kill me, wreck my organs or get sued. I am on so many MS drugs it gets complicated and frankly some of my combinations could be deadly. I have come close to bad results a few times taking what was prescribed with interactions. For example a small amount of Oxycodone and and 1/4 Immitrex the same 24 hours almost killed me.

I am on 13 prescribed drugs for MS, asthma, hypothyroid, allergies, and headaches and 7 over the counter supplements and medications. It is like a Science Project ready to blow up any day.

Alex

There may be more to it than just a Doctor covering their but.

[LMonty]

find a reputable pain mgmt doc. its well worth the search to have one on your team. i totally understand the life isnt worth living in all this pain". scares the heck out of me when i get there for more than a few days at a time...probably because my mother committed suicide when i was 19, she couldn't take the migraines and neurological symptoms anymore.

i couldn't understand how she could get that desperate until the last few years. now i do. so i think i can empathize with the desperation i think i hear in your post.

if it wasn't for my pain mgmt doc, i might have given up long ago. i hope this is an option for you and turns out to be as helpful to you as it is to me.

it takes time and effort from both of you to come up with a treatment plan that makes life worthwhile again. but its so much better than NOT doing it!

<<<<>>>>>, you aren't alone! and it can get better, i am sure of that cause i know lots of folks beside myself that good pain mgmt helps. you can do this.

[Lulu54]

Bonnie, you've gotten some really good answers here .  unfortunately pain medicine abuse has become so rampant that doctors are afraid to prescribe these powerful drugs, for fear of losing their license.  

It sticks patients in a horrible quandry when you need pain relief and doctors have to question the motives behind the request for help.

Find yourself the best pain management doctor you can and make that doctor your best friend.  Be open about your concerns for treatment and don't leave anything to the doctor's imagination.  

good luck with moving forward - it can be done with the right team.
lulu