Pain Doc Day

Tuesday was interesting.   Pam’s car broke down Monday after she helped me.  I feel bad for her, but glad it didn’t happen before or during our trip to the U to see my pain doctor.  I had to use a taxi and it cost a fortune and took an extra half hour waiting for him to pick me up when the appointment is over.  I was in such agony by the time I got in the cab I was crying.   He looked at me in the rear-view and actually told me to try Ecstasy!  Everyone is a doctor.  He told me it took care of the pain from a motorcycle accident years ago.  I’ll take his word for it.  I gave Pam his number so she can call him for a ride to her appointment at the U on Wednesday

My real pain doctor, not the taxi driver, told me he wanted to add Lyrica, but it’s expensive and it might not be covered.  These insurance companies are nuts.  They stopped paying for the drug I used to take to keep urinary tract infections away, and that one is dirt cheap.  If I get an infection, and I will, eventually since I cath myself, it will cost a lot more for an antibiotic.  But I guess they figure one of those a few times a year is cheaper still than paying for this every month.  Who cares how the patient feels?  I take D-Mannose now, a supplement to keep things at bay, hopefully.   They have me scheduled for a brain scan next month but never mentioned it to me; I asked if I really need to put myself through that if there isn’t anything they can do anyway.  He said no.

But this is the kicker.  He cleared his throat and warned me not to get upset.  I thought, well, we haven’t done an MRI recently; it can’t be anything too horrible, can it?  He wants me to go back on very small doses of methadone.   2.5 mg three times a day to help the Fentanyl.   I said I’d think about it, but my first reaction was (in my head) just shoot me.  It took MONTHS to get off the wicked stuff and I stopped using it because it wasn’t working.  So I really have to think about it and ask more questions.  AND, I don’t really want additional gastro issues….I have a full plate already.  And not gaining weight.  But not losing, either.   I do not get it about these drugs “helping” another drug work better.  I hear that all the time now.  Where does it end?

He also said he had the name of a surgeon who could help me with the tumors in my legs that are killing me.  I can barely lift my legs to go up stairs now.  Luckily, I don’t have to do that often.  But I’m going to wait on that for a while.