constant chronic lumbarl back pain with shooting pains down my left side

[Pukad347]

I have been prescribed up to 6 5/325 Vicoden per day with Milwaukee doctors. We retired to La Crosse to take advantage of the prestigious Mayo clinic. My DR there first put me on Vicodin, then fentyinal patches, which constantly fell off. When I had them fall off during naps or sweaty activity,pain would return and I would replace the patch.  After a short time my DR made me sign a pain med contract and cold turkey quit the oppiods for a med called Gabapentin . This helped some during fall, but winter snow shoveling drove my back pain to a 10 and bent me over so I couldn't walk. Over the last 10 years I have tried physical therapy, disc ablation therapy, now a back surgeon is giving me periodic back shots of steroids, which helps bring the 9-10 pain down to a 4-6 level . I just moved to La Crosse with my wife and without more pain control I can't walk a block.My Dr seems to think I am a 60 year old druggie when I ask for more the 2 5/325 Vicodin for bad days.

I blindly trusted my Dr and signed a drug use Contract w/o reading it first .
Can I cancel this DR's contract and seek more humane care elsewhere ?

Anyone have any ideas ?

[Pukad347]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply ! How does a patient start searching for a pain specialist without appearing to be " DR shopping " ?

[sblythe]

You perhaps need to find a physician who has experienced pain!  While we don't like to see people taking pain medication all day long - it makes it more likely for you to build up a tolerance - it sometimes is necessary. On the other hand, I have patients who average 3 Vicodin daily, and that means some days are two and some are four. Obviously you have chronic pain - you have had surgery, epidural injections, etc., and have tried non-narcotic pain medication. You sound like a pretty reliable patient to me, and you are not on a lot of medication. You certainly can - and should seek care elsewhere. Is there a pain specialist that you can see?  I personally would recommend that you stay away from Fentanyl patches - it is too challenging for patient and doctor when you have them falling off and need early refills, etc. And again - I think that unless you develop severe unremitting pain and need constant opiate medication, you should vary your medication based on need.  I am probably too easy a prescriber for some patients - but I have experienced the horrific pain of a ruptured disc that required emergency surgery - and at that time experienced the fact that none of my physicians seemed to understand how severe the pain really was.   Good luck with this.