what do i do now?

[erin8580]

in august of 2008 i had several medical problems. i had to have several surgeries including mitral valve repair and several sets of chest tubes. its been several months and i am still experiencing extreme pain in my sternum and in my ribs-i was on dilaudid 8mg which worked well, but now i lost my health insurance and cant afford the dilaudid. my dr, has been giving me lortabs and or percocet and nothing is seeming to work. what should i do? is there something else i should be taking that would help better?please help!!!

[Dezdon]

HI,
Im sorry you going through this.I hope you find something that works out for.
Some drug manufactures can provid free meds if you quailify for low income.Go tothe website manufacture of the meds you take that can work for you and look for a link for assistance.Fillout theapp, have your Dr fill in his/her part.
  Te methodone is not a bad idea,its very inexpensive,if it will cover your pain.The patch would be a good idea, your on the stronger meds,but they are VERY expensive.
Good luck to you

[erin8580]

thank you so much for responding tomy question. i am new here and you are one of two people that have responded to my question. i have posted several diferent questions in this community and the heart disease community and you are the only one who has taken the time to really write a response.so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[nick30]

methadone is also cheap and worth trying

nick

[Tuckamore]

Hello Erin,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am sorry that you have lost your health insurance and are unable to afford pain medication. It is very sad when this happens.

You physician is kind to provide you with medication but unfortunately lortabs and percocets cannot compare to the strength of dilaudid. Dilaudid is one of the Big Dogs. Long acting morphine or regular release morphine is stronger than what you are taking now and quite a bit less expensive than dilaudid. You may want to look into the actually cost. Fentanyl is very expensive so it probably would not be an option.  

Have you looked into state insurance? Some times states will cover some medical expenses. It sure won't hurt to ask.

Good luck to you. I hope you can find a solution soon. We are here for support or to chat if you need us. I'll look forward to your updates. Take Care, Tuck