pain management

[westajul]

I am currently on 50 mg fentanyl patch and I take hydrocodone (7.5)  for breakthrough pain (3 to 4 times a day), but after speaking with my doctor's office today I am getting a new prescription for 75 mg of fentanyl patch and I think another pain med for break through pain...I pick up the prescription tomorrow. I have had 3 chemo treatments of carboplatin and etoposide.  I am experiencing three different types of pain...one is bone pain in my hip on my right side, the second is pain on my right side like an appendix pain and third pain is strong menstrual like cramps( feels like someone is twisting an ovary...which i no longer have). A bone scan showed no mets.  My question is what  med or alternatives have you used for pain management?
Thanks, Julie

[westajul]

Thanks for the support and advice. My oncologist is trying very hard to get me pain free. He just upped my durgesic patch to 75 mg and instead of hydrodone he prescribed 15 mg morphine sulfate every 6 hrs for break through pain. I think hydrocodne is oxycotin...he had me taking it every 4 hrs. The patch is changed every 72 hours and I am scheduled to change the patch on sunday ...so I will go to 75mg then. He prescribed me 25mg patch to go with the 50 mg I already have but I think it will be easier to keep track of when I need to replace the patches if they both happen on the same day, so I will hold off from the increase until sunday.  I will start the morphine after my hydrocodne wears off tonight. Thanks again for all your support. I am glad to hear that you haven't had problems with the pain. Take care.
           Julie

[Teresa222]

I don't know much about the patch you are using...but I do know that many doctor's use a 30 mg. Oxycodone med for breakthrough pain.  Your 7.5 is not enough perhaps to handle the level of pain you are having.  You might want to check into hooking up with a pain management group to prescribe the type and level of pain meds that you now need.  As Bohan said to another poster just recently, MANAGING pain is one of our main goals as cancer patients.  If your doctor does not give you the meds you need, find one who will. It is their responsibility to keep you as close to free from pain as possible. It irks me when the doctors do not do that! Hopefully, the new prescriptions they have written for you will take care of your pain....If not, again, find a doctor or group who will.
Teresa

[dian07]

I have no answers for you, but I know someone out there has dealt with pain or knows one of us who has.
I'm just going to bump this up so someone sees it.
So sorry you are suffering so.....I wish I could help.
Peace.
dian