igy76

As I believe I've posted in the past, my relationship with my old PM doc ended badly. I've had a bad 2 years medically, having multiple conditions causing me basically chronic pain, and am dealing with my second go of kidney stones (and have been since Sept02) The old PM doc (gee, being such an expert in urology) said he didn't see a stone on the KUB xray film I brought to him, thought I was making the pain up (I saw that notation later on my chart)to abuse or maybe even sell the meds on the street, and would no longer see me.

Well as strange luck would have it, earlier this month, after seeing a new urologist who told me to go to an internist (he didn't think the pain was stone related), and then HE told me to get a 2nd urology opinion, as well as giving me the name of a new PM guy. I did also go see the 2nd urologist (who is performing a lithiotripsy on me tomorrow) and I went to see this new PM. Now, I told him the whole deal with the last guy, even how it ended. He was quite surprised. I'll tell ya, this guy is FANTASTIC. In addition to being pretty young (I mean, I've only seen two PM docs so I don't know their average age, but this guy is no more than 35, if that), he is flat-out AWESOME. I have found the best PM guy in the country. When I saw him that first time (almost 3 weeks ago), I really feel like he listened to my whole story (and its a long one) and even ordered an MRI to rule out that my pain isn't from a problem that the old PM doc diagnosed (but w/o the aid of a test, but because back then I didn't think I was insured). Now at the time, he said (admitting he was no urology expert)the pain was probably from the stone, in which case it was malpractice to treat me. It sucked, but I understood. I'd have to go thru the urologist for pain control. Weeeeelllll..... it became evident over these last couple weeks, that while we've been waiting for delivery of ALL my old notes from previous docs, and the urologist's examing of all those said notes, this guy was NOT used to prescribing anything more than a couple of 5mg vicodin for somebody's pain. And that used to work great. A couple a day would do me fine. 2 years later, and I've got one hell of a tolerance. The pain I have now, I need to take AT LEAST 4-5 vicodin at once for any pain relief, so I'm killing myself with tylenol (to say nothing of the WORLD of pain I'll be in tomorrow night,after the lithio, and for the next 2 weeks). I've repeatedly asked the nurse when I call for a refill to ask for at least some norco, and it comes back every time, 'you're getting vicodin, and you're getting 10'. I went to the ER 3 times in 2 weeks. I finally literally went in there the other day and told him I can't afford to be coy about this anymore. DO SOMETHING, because I need pain relief. The linch pin of all this was that he and my new PM doc did finally speak, so that was removing a major blockage in the treatment issue. So just in time (with the lithio being tomorrow like i said) the PM doc saw me today (and we still dont know the MRI results, btw) listened to what I had to stay, and promptly put me on KADIAN 30mg, twice a day, and METHADONE 10mg for breakthrough. Both I've never had before. But when I mentioned my stressing over the tylenol, we both agreed the Methadone was a way to go. And he gave me a whole month's supply of the Methadone (an anvil of relief lifted from my shoulders when he handed that to me), and the funny part is I'm getting the Kadian for free, because I'm part of some test program. I'm his guinea pig, and I get 14 free pills, and to take the 2 a day (I thought it funny when even HE admitted that they don't last 24hrs like they're supposed to. That came after talkin about Oxycontin and that, after using it for only a few days I told him there was no way in hell it lasted 12hrs - he agreed to that too), yeah to take the 2 a day and see how it worked, but have the Methadone in between if it got bad. If I have to take more meth than he'll up the Kadian (though I don't know how long it'll be free). The one interesting thing - he mentioned that if by some miracle I pass the stones very quickly after the lithio (my urologist said 24hrs, YEAH RIGHT! I've had 2 lithio's before and each time it took several weeks to pass all the pieces) and so the pain dissapates, than I'll hand in what I have left of the Methadone and Kadian. In all the times I went to my old PM guy he never mentioned that. I mean, I don't know if that's anything to do with the fact that the old guy never had me on anything really strong (worst was Lorcet) until the last month or two that I saw him, when we went through Percocet 10/325, Dilauded 4mg and OxyC 20mg. (not all at the same time). What's your guys experience with that?

By the way, I'm sorry, I hadn't intended on this being so long. And I'm a writer, so, you know....
But despite what happened with the doc I otherwise had an unbelievable crappy day, and when I thought back on the good parts, it just kept flowing. Sorry to make you read so long. But thanks.

[This message has been edited by moderator2 (edited 01-30-2003).]