I don't understand why mental health staff get concerned about pain meds?

I have two bad knees, pain gets so bad sometimes I can't walk without pain or even stay asleep at night...I get the cortisone shots about every three months or so, but the relief takes at least a day and pain from the injection is hard to manage with just Tylenol or ibuprofen sometimes...yet sometimes mental-health staff get concerned about having to take anything stronger than those. Why do they worry so much about addiction, in someone like myself who has a medical condition that is far from 'in one's head'? The pain meds I take don't get in the way of living my life, doing the daily things I have to do to care for myself, my cat, and my home..

I have to wonder if mental health people really know about physical pain or have the knowledge to understand it. And how would, or do, they deal with stuff like knee problems, or any kind of physical issues?

Maybe they are concerned with long term cortisone? Cortisone/prednisone can bring on depressive feelings and also edema.
Maybe they are being too overcautious or ignorant.
I hope you'll do better with your pain managment soon.
Please take care,
Roe

Being a sufferer of PAIN myself from RA & Bursitis.... I say: Do what you must to live in the moment and let tomorrow take care of its self, for that we are not yet promised.

LoVe,
Rhapsody - ((( hugs )))

What they are concerned about is the Ultracet I sometimes have to take to relieve post-injection pain and knee pain flareups...I have tried stuff like NSAIDs but honestly, they make my acid reflux a problem and don't work for me.

My medical clinic knows I have a mental illness, and yes, they take that into consideration whenever they treat me.

I am looking into Synvisc for the knee problem.

I have to wonder if they know how really painful two bad knees can be...or if they think certain people with physical pain have 'issues' or use it to not have to deal with life?

I think physical problems and how they really affect those with mental illness should be taught to mental health staffers by an M.D. who has training in pain treatment/management.

yup, Ive experienced this.

I have a bad back and suffer severe headaches and backaches sometimes from it, and they are even hesitant to give me my Toridal - which is only an NSAID.. the sub doc I saw while my doc was on vacay wouldnt do a refill for me because the doctor didnt note in my chart (either that or he didnt find it) and Ive been about miserable since. Hes back tomorrow though and I intend to go see him.

I know exactly what you are saying. Last year my nurse and my ex watched as i threw most of my pain relief out- they were concerned i had too much in the house!!! Then when my (new) nurse found out i had stronger pain relief she took it off me, til i needed it. This week tho my doc gave me a new script for pain meds, and bewtenn the codeine and the panadol i have about 300 tabs, which sounds like a lot but handy to have when you are taking 8 a day during bad periods. I am pleased to say that, while i have had probs with pain relief in the PAST there are no issues now, and i finally have that respect. GL

I sometimes get that too. I have cerebral palsy. so I get alot of muscle spasms to various degrees. some are so severe they can (and did in one situation with me) cause bones to break from contractures. anyway my physician is very careful about what pain medications I take for this either over the counter or prescription. The reason being if on any pain medications for any length of time the body builds up a tollorance to that medication then the person needs more of and stronger and stronger medications. to prevent that from happening my family physician has me go off the medications and or changes then when he sees my starting to need more and more so that later on down the road I am not adicted. not all adictions interfere with daily funtioning. There are many adicts that can funtion with in their daily life with no interfeence. For example a friend of mine is adicted to tylenol with codiene. her taking the medication does not interfere with her day. She still holds down a full time job and in fact just got a promotion. Her family life does not suffer either. She cant go without the medication or she will go through with drawal symptoms of hyperactivity, headaches, and feeling like there are spiders crawling up her legs but when she is on the medication she has no hyperactivity and can take care of everything just fine.

for some people like my friend medication adiction is just like self injury -

it does not interfere with daily activities but the person craves and needs it. in order to be able to funtion and get through the day.

having 2 bad knees and a hip problem from a car accident we know what pain your feeling, we take napersen for the knees as needed, then awhile back I fell causing more damage and pain, my HMO (insurance) won't pay for some of the pain meds because of addiction worries this might be the reason , your insurance
Angie

It never ceases to amaze me why so many doctors don't understand proper chronic pain management. You'd think they, of all ppl, would understand the body and how, with chronic pain, it needs and responds to pain medicine differently than those who have intermittent pain med needs.

Except for one or two recent pain meds (though I wonder really, if it isn't the popularity and street use of them)... there isn't any addiction to pain meds with chronic pain. And I don't know why doctors are worried about any tolerance..for chronic pain patients... I mean, the goal should be to alleviate as much pain for as long as possible with the medicine that works. If tolerance should happen, then give more... it's chronic pain and isn't going away. Like, gee they let us deal with the pain... in case of ??? what???? for fear it might go away if we take enough meds?

So if MDs don't all get it, I have little hope for the average mental health worker.. unless they deal with chronic pain and have worked//dealt with it with a pain specialist who really knows the score

Good wishes... don't let them get to ya!

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have read somewhere that terminal cases have a morphine devise attached to them so they can adjust the level of medicine themselves, so why not do the same for chronic pain?

Have any of you ever been involved with pain management? I have chronic pain, but rarely if ever use any pain medications. I do understand why doctors are reluctant to give certain meds-they do cause physiological dependence. Also, some of these meds while taken in conjunction with one another metabolize differently in the liver, can cause the meds to be used at a faster rate, or some combos can cause toxicities.

Chronic pain is real, and too often too many do suffer by the inability or reluctance of some doctors to prescribe (let's face it have you seen the malpractice suits out there for them, and their personal costs). Try getting into seeing a sports doctor or a doctor that deals with pain management-they know how to handle prescribing these things in a manner that makes it very liveable for those that suffer long term. I hope you all can find someone where you live, it's so worth going if you can do it. They deal with this stuff all the time AND they have the most up to date (usually) meds & techniques.

Much luck, Lisa

(Yes, I,too, have chronic pain. My T is a pain management specialist. If it weren't for my pain med, life would NOT be lived.)

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