I am SO tired of being in constant brutal pain I want to cut my foot off

[greenbriar]

about 15 years ago, I shattered the navicular bone in my right foot. I stepped in a floor safe when I was shift manager at Pizza Hut.

Workman's comp is a joke and they think everyone is out to screw them...all I wanted was the use of my foot pre-injury and to be pain free...

had several surgeries including screws and pins ect...

I am left with chronic severe pain

I take 5-6 low dose 5 mg hydrocodone daily and have to really make it stretch...my doctor is really stingy as I think I should get the 7.5 dose as all the meds do is lesson the pain


there really isn't more surgery to have at the moment as the doctors do not want to permanantly "freeze" my foot.

I am ready to say cut the damn thing off



I am NOT looking for advice, I am just ranting

I hurt all the damn time

thanks for letting me rant...............

[Archae]

1. All I can give you is my sympathy.

Ever since 1980, I've had frequent severe headaches, there are times I'll get 4-5 a week.
And all I feel like doing is staying in bed. :hug:

[greenbriar]

2. I am sorry

it is hard to live life when you hurt all the time

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. *hugs* Chronic pain sucks eggs. It really, really does.

[applegrove]

4. So sorry you are in pain.

[buzzard]

5. I can empathize with you completely about ten years ago I had pain in my ankle it was ex rayed

scanned MRI and finally a bone biopsy. By the time I got a diagnosis of Avascular necrosis I was ready to cut it off if a surgeon was willing, I now have severe arthritis in the ankle joint and every day is a reminder. I get by with drugs but I wish there were an alternative to the chronic pain. I am curious about permanently freezing the foot it might be a good option it was never offered to me. Hugs to you chronic pain really sucks.

[greenbriar]

6. I am praying that when I call my meds in on Friday the doc doesn't

refuse because of the time frame...

With Monday being a holiday, I will have to call them in 3 days sooner than I need them, but if I don't I will run out and be totally USELESS in addition to having withdrawals as I have taken about 5-7 a day just to function.

I don't get any buzz of them what soever, I just need them to ease the pain.

It has gotten so bad that at night I take my 2 prescriptions in addition to 2 Advil PMs

just to be able to try to sleep through the pain

[buzzard]

8. I am so sorry to hear about your chronic pain, if you have not lived through this it is hard to

understand how it defines your everyday you wake with it and try and get through the day and hope that someday the pain can be relieved even if the function cannot be.

[Juche]

7. Damn, sorry

Chronic illnesses are hell, esp when you realize that one wrong move can trigger years of problems. A coworker's mother once stepped to the side on a sidewalk at night and fell 4 feet into a ditch. It took tons of surgeries and she is still injured. When you realize how vulnerable we all are it is terrifying to think about.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear greenbriar...

:hug:

[ThomCat]

10. That really is stingy.

:(

:hug:
I am sorry you are in pain and not getting the pain management, or the orthopedic care that you need.

Yes, worker's comp sucks. It was designed to protect companies from lawsuits, and only secondarily to help workers. The whole process is hostile, very drawn out, and infested with people who make lot of money while you get almost nothing.

:grr:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. That's a small hydrocodone,

and you're not taking a whole lot, although the medical people will say you should only be taking them every six hours. I learned that the span is about four hours, five if you really want to take a risk.

If your doctor doesn't understand about pain, and makes you anxious about getting refills, get a new doctor. You don't need the additional aggravation of fearing the return of the untreated pain. That's horrible.

I had that happen once - a close call - I was taking Vicodin, and my orthopedist went out of town, just as my scrip was running out. I went batshit insane on the phone with his nurse. She was great, got another MD in the office to write the scrip, and I didn't miss a beat.

But, I'll tell you - it was a few bad moments when I didn't know what the outcome would be, so I can relate to your predicament. Would this physician prescribe oxycodone for you? That works very well for me, and the side effects are only a slight drowsiness, which is easily taken care of with a quick nap.

If you can find a more compassionate doctor, do it.

In the meantime, damn, rant whenever you want. Pain sucks, and, my friend, I feel for you .....................................................

[greenbriar]

14. so you don't think I take too much

because my doctor makes me feel like I am


I try to wait as long as I can but then it is almost too much to bear

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. No ............

I know people taking 30 mg oxycodone.

You need a new doctor - one who understands pain and isn't into punitive attitude.

My physician writes me scrips for 240 or 180 5 mg oxycodone at a time - a month's supply, if I'm having a bad time.

There's a thing about pain - the "window" - it was explained very nicely to me by a nurse with a Ph.D. It goes like this: You take the painkiller, and it does its job, so you're comfortable.

Then it starts wearing off, and you start having pain.

That's when the "window" is opening, and pain starts sneaking in.

If you reach that point before you take another painkiller, you have to start all over to subdue the pain, because the window has opened and pain has re-established its stranglehold on you.

That's why I know that 6 hours between doses is too much. 4 hours is more like it.

Get a new doctor. Seriously. And good luck ..............................

[greenbriar]

16. Wow, If my doctor wrote my scrip for 240 I would NEVER have to worry

How much different is oxycodone than Hydrocodone?


I am going to make an appointment and have a serious talk with him after school is out and we take our cruise in June!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

23. Not much difference ........

You can google them and find out that there's very little difference, except hydrocodone is usually Vicodin, and it contains 500 mg of acetaminophen (RS) or 750 mg (ES).

Oxycodone contains nothing like that. Just plain old opiate. Easier on the liver. Tylenol's rough on the liver.

Yes, you should do that right away, see your doctor. And don't wait - make the appointment as soon as possible.

You gain nothing by waiting.

Just do it......................

[greenbriar]

17. my scrip is only 90 at a time and I end up filling it within 16-18 days

and once in a while they call and ask what is going on


I tell them that I am IN PAIN constantly

[Tangerine LaBamba]

24. I have to get a new scrip each time ;

it's the kind of controlled substance that cannot be refilled - oxycodone, that is. My physician gives me a handful of scrips whenever I see her, which is, maybe, every two or three months, so I'm always ahead on the stuff.

I can get them filled every 30 days. No one's ever asked me what's going on. Who calls you? The pharmacy?

Jeez, if that doesn't suck. The other day, I picked up two scrips - one was for 90 Vicodin and the other was for 180 oxycodone. No one blinked.

You also need, it would appear, a new pharmacy .............................

[greenbriar]

26. the pharmacy is fine, it is the DR that balks

I call in my scrip and they have to call the DR and if the DR is in a pissy mood, I get a phone call from the nurse.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

27. Horseshit......

Whaleshit.

Get a new doctor. You've got a Puritan, and no one needs that crap.

I once said to my doctor that it sucked that I couldn't get high from the oxycodone, that it just knocks out the pain and I function normally, She said that you don't get high when you're having pain. The drug can either get you high or get you relief - but it can't do both.

Boy, do you need a new doctor. Do it as soon as possible. There is absolutely no reason for you to be in pain - none...........

[greenbriar]

28. school is out next week and then we get on a cruise ship

after that I am going to fix this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

29. Good .......

Come back and report, ya hear?

And have a good time!

:toast:

[elleng]

12. Take Tangerine's advice.

Don't put yourself thru this. I hope you can find another Doc in the vicinity.

[raccoon]

13. I feel your pain. I totally agree, Workman's comp is a joke. It was in my case.

I developed RSI on the job and was stuck holding the back. Lawyers couldn't help me because no doctor was willilng to say it was caused by work.

Luckily for me it got better but I am quite limited as to what I can do, and for a long time.

Best to you. :hug: :pals:

[GCP]

18. Is there a pain control clinic anywhere near you?

They can be excellent for chronic pain control - there are different pain meds and modalities which can be tried - such as a fentanyl patch,or oxycontin (that's oxycodone with sustained release - you take it twice a day). Oxycodone is stronger than hydrocodone and the sustained release form is a god-send to people in constant pain. Your doctor would need to refer you to a pain clinic, but once there, I think you'd have a hugely different reaction to your problem.

[greenbriar]

19. we actually have several and one of the Drs at the one I am looking at

has a brother in law that hubby works with and is friends with

In June I am going to strongly request that my Gen doctor refer me to them!

[GCP]

20. That's good!

:thumbsup:

[RandomThoughts]

21. I really hope you can find a helpful doctor or a way to ease that pain.

Not only for your relief, but so you can get back to life without all the pain meds and doctor visits, I would guess that's no fun either.

:hug:

[Sanity Claws]

22. Have you thought about acupuncture?

I don't know about acupuncture and the type of pain you have described but acupuncture is very good for pain generally.

[Shell Beau]

25. That sounds terrible. I am sorry.

I hope for you to be pain free soon! :hug:

[greenbriar]

30. Okay, think good thoughts, I am calling in my script

if I don't get it tomorrow, I will be out and in severe pain

sooooooo

think good thoughts and PRAY

[greenbriar]

31. Okay, got it ... no problem

and in a month, I am going to see a pain management doctor


maybe things will be better

[Haole Girl]

32. About a month after my neck injury...

the doc refused to refill my pain meds. Yep- not even one refill. I had a complete meltdown. Really. I first cursed at the nurse, who said, "IF it's really that bad you can go to the emergency room." Then, when I realized I wasn't getting any more Norco (or any narcotics of any kind) to help me, I broke down sobbing. Then something really interesting happened. I call it "mind over matter." I got so pissed off at medicine in general I sort of (for lack of a better expression) achieved mind-over-matter. I'm not saying everyone can do this. I also credit physical therapy, traction, stretches steroid shots, and a rhizotomy (redirecting the nerves) as ways I've managed it. And I will probably have to have surgery to remove a bone spur between C5 & C6. But I will probably never depend on drugs... not with the doctors I have.

I wish you could find something that would work for you, too, rather than hydrocodone. It really sounds like you're dependent on it. And I am not being judgmental... I'm speaking from personal experience.

Please take this the way I intend it, and not as harsh criticism. I truly hope someday you will find a better solution, or way to manage the pain, than addictive pain drugs.

Please take care. :hug: