I often wonder what qualifies some people to work at doctor's offices. It certainly isn't always knowlege of the medical field they are in or customer service. I hope you do talk to your doctor about the nurse. I have done that a few times and it's definetly worth it. Most doctors don't want "Nurse Rachet" causing problems with their patients especially in their office.
I would definetly recommend a long term med with BT meds. I've been on a few and I still felt the pain, just less. With BT meds the pain can be well controlled. For some reason my doctor put me on LT meds without the BT meds and it was difficult. I am going to work on weaning soon for when the baby is born, so right now the ST meds are best for me but when the baby is born I'm going to talk to him about LT meds again.
I hope your pain is well under control now!
Tuck
You always make me feel so much better. Thank you. I agree with all of what you said about the nurse and the meds. I have not yet decided what to do about the nurse. This is the forth time I have had an issue with her. I am always scared to call for refills or have the pharmacy fax things because she gets so upset. I think I have posted this in the past. As far as the meds I am more open to the long acting after what you said. Thank you for sharing that. Maybe after this 4 months I will talk with the doctor about it again.
Thank you =)
Sorry so short kids are home so got to go hug my babies
That's for the update Luv2be. It's always good to hear from you. I am so sorry that you had a bad experience at the clinic. However I am very glad that you were assertive and were able to get your RX straightened out.
How upsetting and humiliating to be treated so unjustly by your physician's nurse. It is NOT acceptable. You pay her wages every time your insurance company pays your physician's billing and you pay the co-pay. Just thin that you pay to be treated so despicably!! Unfortunately you cannot fire her without terminating your relationship with your PMP. However someone is her superior and they need to know how she has treated you. Don't hesitate to pick up the phone or put pen to paper and report her actions. Certainly you are not the only one that suffers the actions brought on by her very poor attitude. It is her job to cater to your reasonable needs. Your 90-day RX request is more than reasonable.
In my opinion you should not be tolerant of your current meds in four months. It normally takes longer and accompanies a deterioration in condition. I was on the same narcotic for six years and only required two minor increases in dosage. My goal is to tolerate the lowest possible dosage with the least potent opiate. Personally I wouldn't be too quick to jump to a stronger opiate.
Roxicodone and Percocet is oxycodone. You're right that the Roxi does not contain acetaminophen (tylenol). I'm surprised that he gave you the same med basically for breakthrough pain but I am sure he had his reasons.
I have a good idea where my pain levels are even on a long acting opiate. They are prescribed every 12 hours but as most will attest they often do not last the 12 hours. I can tell when that long acting med is leaving my system, my pain increases. Sometimes, on better days I don't notice any significant increase in pain. Other days I can tell about three hours before it is due to be repeated. I beleive other PM members have described the same. Sometimes physicians will prescribe long acting meds every 8 hours instead of 12. But in my experience you do have at least some idea of where your pain level is even on long acting meds.
You may benefit from a long acting form of your current short term pain med. Obviously this is a decision that will be between you and your physician. What works well for one does not always work well for someone else.
I hope the medication is effective. :) You deserve proper pain control. We'll look forward to hearing from you soon.
Peace,
~Tuck
I am so sorry you were treated that way by the nurse. Doesn't the doctor hear her when she is yelling at patients? Wow, I know this is easier said than done - but he should really be told how she treats his patients. He could be losing patients because of her and that's not good.
On another note, I do not know much about your condition but if it's chronic and no cure, you might as well try the long acting meds. I assume you have been trying massages and accupuncture for a while. if they haven't been helping yet, it's likely they won't help you too much more in the future.
I hope you are feeling better with the meds he gave you. And, if you are saving over $200 by using a mail in service, that is nothing to sneeze at! That's huge!
Wishing you well,
Mum
This is awful! Is this the only doctor around for you? I agree it's the nurse's job to be the gate keeper but to bring you to tears is a bit extreme. Have you discussed this with the doctor? She may not know just how mean the nurse is. Those of us in pain certainly do not need a medical professional making us feel worse and causing more stress.
If you like your doctor and want to stay with her, if you're comfortable doing so, you might want to bring this up. We pain patients have enough to deal with. You simply don't deserve or need this. It's bad enough when medical personnel treat us like fakers or addicts without being rude and ugly.
I do hope you are able to stay relatively pain free. But I really feel badly for you. Maybe someone who's had a similar experience with Nurse Ratchet can help you with this.
Good luck sweetie!
Alison,
Thanks for the info. I think after the 4 months I will be very tolorant so maybe I will give in to the Dilaudid and Hydromorphone. I was just not mentally ready I guess. Maybe I should have tried it but I didn't know anything about the meds and he wasen't telling me much. I was scared to go to something that didn't work and not be able to go back to what has been working pretty well for me minus the breakthrough that he gave me the Roxi for.
The nurse there scares me. She has brought me to tears so many times. She makes me feel so bad everytime I ask her for a refill or anything. That is her job! Anyway, I had to just let it go and focus on the fact that I don't need to go back there for 4 months.
Thanks for the support
I take Hydromorph Contin which is the extended release form of Hydromorphone, and I take Dilaudid for breakthrough, which is the short acting form of Hydromorphone. I have had great success with these prescriptions; I started them after my tolerance to Oxycontin and Percocet went too high. I live in Canada, so I know that we don't necessarily have the same narcotic medications available than in the USA, but I am happy with the combination of meds I am taking now.
I'm so sorry you have to deal with that crabby nurse! It almost seems like most of us have to deal with someone like that at our many doctors we have to visit! It is such a shame, because in our position of chronic pain, it's really best to avoid stressful situations if possible, and dealing with things like this only increases our stress and pain since they often go hand in hand. The doctor's office should be a place where we get relief, NOT grief! I am very happy you do not have to visit there for a while! And I hope today ends up better for you:)
Love, Alison