advice anyone?????

so i've got some health issues, both mental health and now physical health ones. the physical ones are incredibly exhausting and in basic terms making my mental health worse.

is it okay to ask a different doctor for a pain med or something like that, even if another doctor doesn't want to and just wants to do the 'wait & see' thing???

I saw my optometrist today, and I asked what could be done about the pain I have around my eyes. he pretty much said nothing he would do, and we'd have to wait and see what happens over the next three weeks.

well, my eye symptoms ARE playing a factor in the headaches I get and the nausea, maybe even the lightheadedness. fyi, I have a brain injury.

SO... if I know the 'waiting around while experiencing pain' thing is negatively affecting my mental health, especially my D, should I feel bad for wanting to ask my B.I. doctor for 'something' to help me out?!?! after all, I know things aren't going well as they are and if I have to continue in these circumstances for weeks and weeks more, isn't it in MY best interest to ask for something? cuz that's basically what it is, I am literally asking for 'help' - admitting that this is too much for me.

am I right or wrong or what the h**l is a person in my shoes suppose to do????????? do I ask my B.I. doctor for a prescription, whom I see next week?? anyone , please.......


ps - I'm the person who usually toughs it out without pain meds, so me even thinking about this is saying something

[sorry if this post isn't in the correct place]

I don't have any great advice to give, but I am fed up with the current MD attitude of Gee, you're in pain? Yeah...hmm...guess you have to live with it...*shrugs* and walks out of the exam room.

Opiates not the best idea? Okay, so give those of us with chronic pain something to work with, don't just take away all hope.

An exceedingly frustrating situation. And given the issue, I certainly believe that you need and deserve pain relief. Just be smart about how you get it. I believe that asking your BI doctor is perfectly legit, given the situation.

Have you asked outright the doctor who refuses you pain relief what their reasoning is?

i strongly recommend you see an actual ophthalmologist. Optometrists are not MDs. They have done a fantastic job of convincing the population that they are equivalent to ophthalmologists by constantly referring to themselves in marketing materials as 'eye doctors.' They are not eye doctors. They are experts in fixing people up with glasses and contacts. They have an extremely rudimentary understanding of eye disease and its management.

I do not intend to bash optometry here, because it does have its place, but if you are really having eye pain, you need to see someone who can really help you. That would be an ophthalmologist.

their response was it depends on the 'cause' of the pain. and also something like once the eyes get better the pain will too.

I guess I can understand that optometrists usually don't 'deal' with actual pain in their patients, so it's not something they are familiar with or comfortable with.

I thank you - I understand - and I sympathize with you

actually, I am doing one better -> I'm seeing a neurologist!!! which is actually happening on Thursday, my first appt with this doctor. :s

and I don't want to bash anyone either. this person has done my eye care for 25 years! but today kinda showed me that maybe I do need an 'eye specialist' - or in my case, most likely a neurologist since most of my eye symptoms are on the 'brain end of the line' & not the eyeball-end!

I will 'feel things out' with the neurologist being this is our first appt together. if it doesn't come up, then I can ask my B.I. doctor next week. I'm just nervous how this 'wait & see' thing with my vision is going to play out

thanks everyone -> keep 'em coming
I greatly appreciate it

Seeing a neurologist is an excellent idea. Please let us know how your appointment goes.

boy you guys hit the nail on the head!!!!!


I was pretty dam scared when the neurologist walks in and says 'I'm a little confused as to what you're here for' (or something like that).

she was nearly great! I love medical people who actually want to 'help' their patients!!! she didn't say these exact words but basically 'I can't help you with that but i'll get you to someone who can'!!!!!

she thinks I might have something called Post Traumatic Migraine (or PTH). she already put in 2 med orders for me: one is a 'preventative' that I take daily and the other is to use at 'onset' of pain!

-> side note: can you believe that?! how can one doctor understand things so well, while another seems almost clueless?!?!?

she doesn't do 'eyes' but immediately put in a referral to an ophthalmologist. and if they can't find anything, she will send me to an 'eye specialist' whom she knows!!! (don't remember their exact job-title so i'll just say specialist for now)

she said things with me are "complex", she used the word 'muddy' like 5 or so times! so she will work with my BI doc, along with 1-2 other specialists to basically, divide and conquer! (aka, sort thru the mud to find out what is tied to what)

the downside to all this is more doc appts, more traveling to GET to those appts, and continuing symptoms for months or years to come

That is wonderful, jrae! Every doctor should be as compassionate as your neurologist is.

exactly!!!

I am sooooo thankful that she took that incredibly tough decision 'out of my hands'! I've been with my optometrist for twenty-five years now. I don't think I would have been able to tell him, sorry but I need someone else! and now I don't have to!!! the specialist expert did exactly what they should do, make the medical decisions & referrals.

and after having my appt at the Ophthalmology center, for the first time in like six weeks, I might have a slight idea what is going on with my eyes and vision. it's still scary though..... :s