I am astounded by the fact that so many of the PD persons involved in this great blog are having to deal with pain beause their doctors won't prescribe medication. Their doctors feel they are already on too many meds. or they are afraid of addiction. PLEASE.........In this day and age no one should have to contend with dehabilitating pain. Not one single person. If you must take medicine every four hours for pain do so. Do not worry about addiction.Do we tell diabetics they are addicted to insulin? We need to find a life of quality. Our lives are short enough. Who is it that can tell us how much pain we should endure? Who is it that has the power to tell some people they must suffer? Anyone who thinks pain should be endured is NUTS. Unless the doctor has PD he shouldn't presume to know our pain. He should trust us and our evaluation of our bodies. We have the right to live without pain. We have the right to choose. We live in our bodies. We are adults.
Take charge dear ones and be the master of your own destiny.We can and should determine our needs and go forward without pain.
Written by
Koko
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I agree with some of your sentiments but I wish it was that easy. It goes beyond chosing to be pain free. There are some types of pain that are extremely difficult to treat and it isnt all down to doctors who wont prescribe nor to patients afraid of addiction.
There is a Health Unlocked site here called Pain Concern and there are many conferences world wide devoted to pain management. I think that suggests it is not just down to choice to being pain free.
I am sure there is no simple answer. There are not many simple answers especially in the medical field.
What I am seeing ever day is people who are not getting pain relief. They either say it is because ther doctor doesn't want them to be an addict or he thinks they are0 on too much meds now. Quality of life......my thought is I would rather have a shorter no pain life than a long painful one..
Some people are afraid to ask their doctors for pain medication, while others, for fear of looking weak or being a "whiner,,".don't get help.
We ask only for quality of life for those who want,, need,, and can handle pain relief medication. It was very difficult to watch that 91 year old lady suffer.
We can't do it all, but we can help a few while we are waiting for the answer.
The pain siuation is not always simple. Conflicting medication causes problems.
For instance, in addition to PD I have osteo-arthritis, a trapped nerve, low blood pressure and atrial fibrillation. So I am on warfarin to prevent strokes. That rules out anti-inflammatories. The most effective painkiller I can use is codeine, but that exacerbates the constipation caused by PD.
So I take codeine in limited doses which doesn't take the pain away entirely. As far as the PD pain is concerned, I only suffer from discomfort from my toes clenching when my PD meds (Stalevo) begin to kick in.
It is all a matter of managing it as best you can.
I live the pain day and night. The Neuro has a non approved substance he ordered for me in pill form. The RX was denied. The Neuro sent a letter and again denied so the Neuro sent another letter and again denied. He now is at a loss on wha to do. If the gov't was
not in the health care business then perhpas I could get the rx and see the results.
BRAVO!!!!!! WISH YOU WERE MY DOCTOR. ACTUALLY I HAVE NOT ASKED MYDOCTOR YET, SEEING HER ON THURSDAY, AND WILL FIND OUT IF SHE IS IN THE MINORITY OR MAJORITY!!
JUST WANT MY LOWER BACK AND NECK TO RELAX AND NOT HURT FOR JUST A FEW HOURS A DAY????
I KEEP TELLING MYSELF....'IT COULD BE WORSE'UP UNTILL 3 MONTHS AGO...I WAS PAIN FREE.... I COULD USE MY"POT-POPS" BUT THEN I WOULD SLEEP ALL DAY AND THAT IS A WASTE OF TIME..........BUT HEY, NOT REALLY COMPLAINING....JUST MOANING A LITTLE. HARD TO LIVE ALONE AND COMPLAIN, CUZ MY DOG DOES NOT LISTEN...
I encouraged my husband to get a massage. He was very reluctant at first and agreed to a 1/2 session. When his neck pain improved he went for another and last time went for a full hour. He is now asking when he should make his next appointment. If you cannot get your doctor to help, then help yourself by trying alternative therapies. What helps one may not help another but it is up to you to try to help yourself.
Boy do I agree, I live in Florida and have been told that state government are all over the Dr's about pain pills. So my Dr wants me to see a pain management DR. I no longer can work I guess they think money grows on trees.
Regards;
Eric
I have heard of a Tens Machine (you can buy over the counter) I know it does help people with Arthritis.
Has anyone actually been connected up to one to see if it works in PD?
I have a small hand electric massage machine which has infra red, it does help joint pain.
I honestly think sometimes we just have to get up and make ourselves do.
I do a lot of cursing, and it helps me. The air is often blue, but who cares?
There are all sorts of rubbing lotions creams etc some work some don't.
My husband had very painful knees but only when he tries to walk . When unerload !
He also has atrial afib so is unable to take inflamatory meds . Paracetamol is useless . He has already had 1 patella femoral replacement . withput a lot of success. Wish he had just replaced the whole knee .Don't really know if that would have helped or not
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. This topic is near and dear to me. I have watched a 90 yr old lady suffer in pain because her doctor is afraid she will become addicted to it! That is more than rediculous, It is abusive. Yes, I understand that some people are going through drug rehabilitation., That would have to be considered by the doctor and patient before and if, the patient chooses to take the medication.And of course the assurance that the drug chosen would be appropriate for a person with Parkinson. . I refer back to my blog,, we are in charge and responsible for our bodies. We are adults. We have the right to choose and to live our short lives pain free.No one should have the power to withhold the medicaiton that will grant us this peace. I am not talking about teenagers partying or college binges.I am speaking of adults with Parkinsons DIsease as well as people who are dealing with other diseases such as cancer, Lou Gehrigs, etc.Anyone who is mentally defficient would not be a part of this .I am talking about the majority, the average patient who need not suffer. Thank you. .. .
The example you give is totally rediculous as you say. Addiction is hardly a consideration at her grand age. I worked in a hospice in 1980 and it was prejudice such as this we fought back then and it still continues in some countries and situations. However having cared for many dying people since those early days my experience is quite different now. Pain relief was never witheld in my experience. Quite the oposite.
The pain that is long term and intractible is a different challenge, i wish it was a thing from the past, i wish we had treatments that worked in every situation. And then there is the pain of childbirth, it is not a pain of the past either.
Yes we need to persist in looking for answers from health professionals and finding ways to help ourselves .
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