Freaking OUT! My doc lowered my DOSE!!!

[Kara Isabel]

I am absolutely flipping out! My pain doc lowered my MsContin from 30mg to 15 mg, so he could add a benzo to my regiment!!!

I don't know what to do! I don't even WANT to try the benzo, my pain levels are already back UP and I woke up CRYING this morning!

I feel like I'm obligated to atleast try this new plan, to see if it works, but I'm already SO DEPRESSED over it!

Historically, I can't take benzos every day because they make me depressed! I end up crying over everything if I take them too often!

What do I do????????????

Should I atleast TRY this? Or call him and tell him its not working after the weekend???

I haven't even eaten for 2 days because I'm afraid of aggravating my bladder. That...and I'm so upset I haven't even had an appetite.

I hate life right now

hugs,
Kara I.

[Bessie]

I know you are scared because of the pain but maybe you could at least try if for a couple of days to see if it works. That way you know that you did try and who knows.....maybe you will get lucky and it will work. If you try it and the pain is too intense you should call your doctor.

Don't be so hard on yourself......everything will be o.k.

Hang in there and please let us know how it works out

[DaniBelle]

I understand how scared you must be...

We've most all had those jaw-dropping appointments when the our pain mgt. doc's decide seemingly out of the blue to change our medication. What led up to his/her decision to lower the dose of the Contin and add another med? He/she needs to know about your past problems with the benzo meds. I am the same way. Right now, you are understandibly stressed which makes the pain and stress so much worse. I would have thought if your doctor wanted you to try something different, he would have kept you on the Contin at your regular dose, gradually add the benzo, and gradually decrease the Contin. I HATE when docs do things so abruptly like this. Don't they know stress makes pain so much worse. Once, I told my doctor that my breakthrough meds weren't working effectively, so she totally discontinued them!!! She didn't even add another kind, or increase the MS Contin. Currently, even though I told my doctor I had much better pain control with MS Contin @ 30 mg, 3xdaily, he said "I'll let you take it twice per day". I couldn't believe that after I'd just finished saying "My pain is at about 80 percent controlled now with the extra dose", she did the "I'm the doctor weilding my rein of power over you..and you don't tell me what to do" speil. So, because of this, instead of being able to do things around the house and take my sons to get a movie,etc. (I'm not asking for much), I am in the bed or on the couch most all of the day. I am on fire today and have 1/2 of an instillation left (had 1 left for the weekend and used 1/2 this afternoon trying to spead it out), I'm soooo tired of all this. Anyway, I would advise calling your doctor NOW and letting him know that you have experienced problems in the past with benzo meds...could you please continue on what you were on before because it was working. Best of luck!

[Sarojini]

I think you should try it, but at least let your doctor know that you have taken similar things in the past and had a bad reaction to them. You may have already done that, but it's quite possible he forgot.

[ICNDonna]

If you have already told your doctor about how you reacted before, it might be that he thinks this combination might work well for you. You might want to give it a try for a few days just to see.

Warm hugs,
Donna

[Kara Isabel]

Thanks for all your replies so far! I'm just beyond frustrated and surprised because I was doing so well, and I guess I just wasn't ready for the
"lets try decreasing your meds".......especially following a week that I had FLARED quite a bit

I know I have a really negative attitude towards this, which doesn't help matters much, but at any rate, every time I think about it I end up crying, so I haven't even been mentally stable enough to add the xanax xr....that might throw me into a full depressed state, I mean......it IS a depressant!!!!!!

I had a few extra 30's, and I haven't even switched to the 15's yet....but the change is inevitable.

I'm so upset about it, I feel nauseous I know that is probaby ridiculous to anyone that doesn't rely on pain management to have a life.

According to him, he wants to add the xanax xr or valium to help with the fibro symptoms and he doesn't want me "oversedated", so he lowered the mscontin.. but my bladder bothers me WAY worse than the fibro does

I just want to scream! Why do doctors feel the need to yank the rug up from underneath you?????

Off to cry again

hugs,
Kara

[Bessie]

Sending you and

[Portia17]

I would call your doctor first thing Monday morning and explain what you told us to him

hugs
Mary

[SandyRN]

I totally understand why you are so upset. Why take away or lower something that was WORKING? You said you already know how the benzo's affect your body, so you have a right to be upset, and worried. I know by now it's late Sunday afternoon, but if you are in pain in the morning I would call and ask to be taken off the benzo, and put back on your dose of MSContin. I totally understand what it's like to be dependent on pain meds, and other meds for that matter, to give me a life, and to anyone giving you a hard time about "not giving it time" I think you already knew the answer when he gave it to you. It's intimidating to talk back to a doctor who holds your pain control in his hands. It's HARD to say "Hey, NO, I will not take this or that because I know my body" because they are the authority figure sitting there deciding basically on how you are going to live your life. Are you going to submit to him and take what he says or are you going to call him back and say that this plan is not historically what helps you and heres why.

I rambled a bit there, but it's a VERY sensitive issue for me. I know what it feels like. I've had doctors in my past take away ANY sembelance of a life that I had on my meds because they thought they knew my body better than I did. They were wrong!

I'm sorry you're going through this and I hope you get your normal routine of meds back. I can see his point, he doesn't want you to become oversedated, but cutting your pain meds by that much is downright SCARY!

[Kara29]

It it aint broke....

Kara,

I will be thinking of you! I often wonder why Doctors do such strange things sometimes. If it "aint broke don't fix it" would seem to apply. I am so sorry you are feeling this way. Seems like if he wanted to lower how much medication you were taking he'd not add the benzo.

Big HUGS!

I hope it can be worked out somehow so you can feel good and be pain free or at least pain less to the point of being able to function and live some.

Kara

[Kara Isabel]

Thanks Kara and Sandy!

I feel like I'm being such a big baby about this! I have stayed in my pajamas the last two day (its pathetic) I'm just so frustrated with it all.....

Doctors baffle me sometimes!

Atleast I was getting moderate relief from the 30 mg's.....I just feel like my life was yanked away from me.

Oh....the stress.

I probably WILL call and beg for my old regiment back! BUT aren't I stuck with the 15's for the rest of the month???

Love,
Kara

[rachann]

[SandyRN]

I really don't know. I guess you'd have to talk to your doctor about that. Sometimes insurance companies freak out over things like this too and will not let you get a refill during the month simply because.....just because! They don't want to pay for 2 rx's. He could verbally tell you to take the 30's but I would get it in an RX in WRITING so that when, and if you present it to the pharmacy they can see that the doctor authorized the change, so you wouldn't have enough to get through the month without another RX. I wish it didnt have to be so hard! I've come home many times from my appt wishing I'd spoken up more....this time I did and got what I wanted. My pain doc is a very nice man, but I'm STILL intimidated by him because he holds so much power over me.

Please let us know what the doctor says.

[Kara29]

Pain and Power

Like Sandy mentioned. Pain Meds and the Doctors that prescibe them don't always realize how much power they have over our lives. If they don't give us the pills that work for us, we don't function. One doctor visit one way or the other can change our whole lives. Let's hope Kara, that you can talk this over with your Doctor tomorrow.

A little side story while I am thinking of it:

I told the surgeon before he reconstructed my new bladder, that the pain was like if I stuck a needle in his eye and then asked him to try to drive home, eat, spend time with his wife and kids, sleep, and then get up the next day to perform major life altering operations with the needle still there. I asked him if he thought he would be able to live, laugh, love, play and work with the needle in his eye. He looked at me and said, "So in other words, the pain is debilitating?" YES! He understood after that. He did an awesome surgery on me. (I'm pretty sure there were no needles in his eyes)


Kara

[kjd]

Kara

Take a deep breath and remember that at the end of they day no matter what your doctor says its your choice what meds you take!

I know how horrible you feel right now and I know how it feel so be taken off a medication which you NEED and rely on to get you through life!!! I've been there trust me but IF its not working for you dont be afraid to tell your doctor what you want to do!

He/She will be doing the best for you so why not give the new meds a try?! at the end of the day if they dont help you can just go back on the other meds which you know help you.

dont worry about it though and if you feel you cant cope with the pain then ring your doctor back asap and make sure they listen to you!

Never ever stop eating because you will make yourself feel even worse as you are depriving your body of nutrients which you need! Just eat plain food if you are frightened of it irratating your bladder but never ever starve yourself.

good luck
x