Going to pain doctor this tuesday 10/11

[rosechild12]

Hey everyone,

So my cyst/hydro worked in terms of freguency and urgency and my terrible nocturia but my pain is still an 8 or 9 everyday. I hate my pain and when my doctor looked in my bladder he said the glomerulcerations were all on the bottom of my bladder wall so even if I have 10 mL of urine I'm still in pain. Anyway he referred me to a pain management doctor and I see him this tuesday. I am glad to finally be finding some relief from my pain but I'm not quite sure what to expect. If anyone could give me some advice I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Jessica
(Normally I would post my meds but I am on a different computer so I apologize)

[Jocotter]

I hope you get some relief and tell us how your pain managment visit went. I have never gone to one myself, because my regular doctor gives me pain pills when I have a flare. However, sometimes I wonder if there would be a better solution.

[rosechild12]

Went to the pain doctor

So I went to the pain management doctor and now I feel as if someone was actually listening to what I needed and will do his absolute best to help with my pain. Jocotter- I wasn't sure what to expect either and I felt like my doctor gave me pain meds when I needed it so why ask for a referral? Here is my answer after learning a thing or two, your doctor will more then likely cut you off eventually. They just can't give people with chronic pain conditions the meds we need to control our pain, the government just won't allow it. My doctor finally said I can't give you any more pain meds but I will give you a referral which I appreciated but until I could get in to see the pain doctor I had no meds. So my advice now would be go ahead and ask for a referral while you have a doctor willing to help, that way your pain doctor can just fill in things that may be lacking from your other doctor pain wise. When I saw this doctor he listened prescribed the fentanyl patch for 72hours and then percocet 5mg for breakthrough pain. He also gave me two nerve shots to numb the nerves that were giving me the most pain in my abdomen. I see him in a month to see how I'm doing but I really feel good about this treatment plan for now.

Hope this helps, just remember everyone is different and my experience is just that MY experience every case is different.

Jessica

Jessica
Take:
Elmiron 2 twice a day
Cymbalta once a day
Low dose Valium once a day
Atarax once a day
Lydocaine gel as needed
Fentanyl patch change every 72hrs
Oxycodone as needed
Orthro Evra patch continuously

Diagnosed with severe IC April 2011

Suffered for 8 years without a diagnoses
I'm 23 and have always had issues but when I was 16 things got much worse. I saw urologists, pediatricians, and gynecologists and nobody had any answers it was either in my head or an infection. Finally found a wonderful doctor who diagnosed me with IC.

[sailawaygrl]

Just another experience with pain treatment:
My urologist treats my pain and has for quite some time. I know that it is difficult for Drs to feel comfortable treating our pain but they can do so. If you have a Dr treating your pain and it is working out for you I would suggest speaking with him or her about long term management. Some Drs are aware that we are most likely going to need continuing pain management, if yours is comfortable with helping you then it is easier to have one Dr handle everything. I know it is for me. Less co-pays and waiting in Drs offices for me! I don't think it was very kind of Jessica's Dr to tell her he couldn't give any pain meds and leave her hanging like that. If you are worried about that happening then addressing long term solutions would be a good idea.

Jessica,
I am glad to hear that you found a pain Dr that is giong to help you. I went to see one once and he suggest pyridium! I knew right then we weren't going to work out. Then on top of that the office charged me two co-pays for the visit, one for the Dr and one for the office. I have never heard of that before, and I refused to pay two. They kept sending me bills and I kept calling my insurance, it was crazy. That was just my experience, so glad you found help. I know that my life wouldn't be worth anything without pain management, I suffer constant pain.

[Jocotter]

Jessica, I'm glad the pain doctor could help you. It's good to know about that resource. Fortunately right now, my regular doctor understands my need for pain meds and she has been good about working with my urologist to get me what I need. I've brought my pain med bottle to each visit to show her that I still have some left and that I'm not abusing them. She said that she knows after several years, that I don't abuse them. She said I would be asking for refills every week, if I had an addiction problem. So far, so good in that respect.

[polygon]

Just another experience with pain treatment:
My urologist treats my pain and has for quite some time. I know that it is difficult for Drs to feel comfortable treating our pain but they can do so. If you have a Dr treating your pain and it is working out for you I would suggest speaking with him or her about long term management. Some Drs are aware that we are most likely going to need continuing pain management, if yours is comfortable with helping you then it is easier to have one Dr handle everything. I know it is for me. Less co-pays and waiting in Drs offices for me! I don't think it was very kind of Jessica's Dr to tell her he couldn't give any pain meds and leave her hanging like that. If you are worried about that happening then addressing long term solutions would be a good idea.

Jessica,
I am glad to hear that you found a pain Dr that is giong to help you. I went to see one once and he suggest pyridium! I knew right then we weren't going to work out. Then on top of that the office charged me two co-pays for the visit, one for the Dr and one for the office. I have never heard of that before, and I refused to pay two. They kept sending me bills and I kept calling my insurance, it was crazy. That was just my experience, so glad you found help. I know that my life wouldn't be worth anything without pain management, I suffer constant pain.

My family doctor, who manages most of my files, gave me the referrals to a urologist, pulmonary specialist and a psychiatrist, does my physicals, diagnoses allergies, etc, gave me naproxen.
After explaining my level of pain, reminding him of what interstitial cystits means in terms of compatible meds and pain, giving him a list of what DIDN'T work, gave me naproxen. Which had been on the "didn't work/flare causing" list.
Now I've been in a major flare for the past week. *sigh*

And Jessica, I know what you mean about the 10mL pain. On first consult with my uro, he noticed I was uncomfortable, and I told him I was in pain. He checked out my bladder via ultrasound, only 10ccs in there.

[Daisy Mae]

I really feel strongly about having a pain mgmt doctor. For one thing, it's their specialty and that's what they focus on. Another thing, when you see your uro and other specialists, you can use that valuable time to discuss what treatment options there are, etc. If you feel like you're constantly having to discuss pain meds it can be a little frustrating.
One thing to keep in mind, it's important to repay your pain mgmt doctor's kindness by stickingwith the plan. Some of them have an actual pain mgmt contract which states you won't obtain narcotic opoids from other doctors. Makes sense, and makes the DEA happy. You'd be surprised how may patients doctor-shop and seek pain meds from multiple sources. If you rely only on pain mgmt doc for pain meds, he'll appreciate and trust you for it. Another suggestion is to stick with one pharmacy only. This will again allow them to trust you more and also minimize the chance for interactions between meds. Ok, I'm getting off the soap box. 3 cheers for pain mgmt!