Posted by zoolin on November 22, 2005, at 4:00:24
In reply to Re: ritalin .. » ed_uk, posted by greenhornet on October 26, 2005, at 10:45:39
Yea, you are right I believe. Each time I see my pain management DR I must fill out a pain questionare and one of the questions is "do you feel you are becomming psychologically dependant on your pain killers" ..not physicaly but psychologically. Those questionres are so odd anyway. "Rate your pain on a scale of 1 to ten and then you have to say HOW it feels.IE: burning, tingling, so on and so forth. Its bizarre to me because pain is many things over the course of a day. (at least for me it is) Usuay its al of the things but describing my pain is a hard thing for me. It is severe I know that ! OH!!...thank you for the link to that acticle. I feel sad about what happened to you. Something similar happened to me after a back surgery one year and I had a family Dr that had presc...gee I forget now but..OH!! Firinol or something ike that for migraines and I went to the dentist later on who gave me a script for a few ( you know how dentists give like..8 pills.. ) anyway....then after I had my first back surgery the Dr gave me a script for loratab5 and when I went to fill it the pharmacist decided to call the back surgeons office and tel them "several" other doctors had prescribed me pain meds. That caused the back surgeon to FREAK out and give me ONE script (I had to retrieve it in person) once per mo for 2 tabs per day. It was not enough for my back as the surgery was unsuccessful anyway. I was so stunned and felt like the people in that office saw me as a junkie in spite of the fact Id listed every med I was taking and why on the origional questionare at the back doctors office. I am sure Id listed the firenol as needed for migraines..I cant recall if the dentist was before or after the fact but I never had hid anything from any of my doctors. BUt I know how it feels to have something happen and all the sudden you are portrayed as a person after meds. I feel it is remarkable you sued! Right on! I wish I had energy to seek remedy for some of the wrongs Ive suffered ( ~a ongoing BAD situation with an orthodontist/dentist in fact..bad..BAD dental situation..:( ) ..but I simply dont have the energy to pursue it . I admire you for fighting for what is right though. Heck, I look back at all the unfilled scripts I have here for methadone 10 mg ..270 tabs and think...They thought I was going from Dr to Dr for pain meds..??? I dont even want to take any med that leaves me feeling all tired and sleepy. I wish I didnt have to take any med. I would love to me able to just eat right and exercise and try to be healthy. Well..anyway , I guess we all wish for stuff huh? :) thanks for your thoughts OK? Take care..Linda> As one who was at one time in a somewhat similar , situation, and believe me, you have my prayers. There was a wonderful article in AARP magazine about people who must live in chronic pain mainly due to physicians who are afraid to prescribe opiates in the proper doses or fail to prescribe them AT ALL because they feel the DEA is breathing down their necks and/or they are afraid of the patient becoming "addicted".
>
> From this article:
> "in reality, for those using opioids as prescribed, the likelihood of addiction is extremely low, according to research. "It's really an unwarranted fear," says Christine Miaskowski, former president of the American Pain Society. Many patients do become physiologically dependent—meaning they'd go through withdrawal syndrome if they quit cold turkey—but this is a normal condition that can be managed by tapering down the dosage. It's not the same as addiction, which requires psychological dependence. Experts say patients with a history of drug abuse can safely use opioids too, as long as they are carefully monitored by their physicians to avoid a recurrence of their abusive behaviors."
>
> You can read the article in its entirety at"
> http://www.aarpmagazine.org/health/prisoners_pain.html
>
> While I was on Ritalin (prescribed by my psychiatrist) I developed sever and debilitating pain from an old injury. I was given Fentnyl by an orthopedist. I took both medications AS PRESCRIBED. When my then-family-doc found out about both meds, he flipped out. Worse yet when I came in to see another physician in the same practice, I overheard my former MD telling the second guy I was seeing (For what turned out to be a broken foot) that I was a "med seeking addict who is already on all kinds of crap" -- Needless to say, I do not see those docs any longer. I sued for slander - it was settled out of court and the first doc had to pay!
> So -- is it ADDICTION? is it ABUSE? or is it relief, that brings with it the ability to function as close to normal as possible?? Can you tell me??!
poster:zoolin
thread:571265
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051119/msgs/581146.html