I have a policy with myself for when to call my back pain doctor. When I get to the point of needing 2-3 breakthrough pain pills to get through the day, its time to make the call for an appointment. I have been at that point for a while and got in to see him yesterday afternoon.
My points of discussion with him were two: My right SI joint is in serious need of having its nerves killed off and my varying total back pain needs to be discussed. We don't always change my pain meds at a single appointment, we often discuss them over a few appointments before making changes.
My right SI joint (which is the long seam joint down the side of your tailbone if you are wondering) has been giving me problems for months. We have had the treatment discussion before but previously we have focused on other pain areas.
Yesterday afternoon, he had me lie on the exam table and he moved my legs around and pressed on my hip. That hurt. Then he had me lie on my side and he pressed right on the SI joint. That was like a live wire running through me. I had to catch my breath after.
I think he realized how much it hurt and said he would send the nurse in to schedule my treatment. It took a while for me to recover from the amount of pain. I know he had to make sure he knew where the pain was coming from before heated needles to kill the nerves - because you really don't want to kill the wrong nerves.... But, yowza!
October 25 is the date for the treatment... It will be three years from the last one, which was the second one on the same place. These treatments (radiofrequency) can be repeated over and over again and each time the nerves come back, it takes longer and longer and they are weaker and weaker so the pain levels are less and less.
On a side note, my pain management doctor says I can actually take up to 8 break through pain pills a day and he considers 2-3 a day a very low dose. But my rheumatologist tells me that from her point of view, 3 should be the maximum because of convulsions. Its the different perspective from the two doctors that gets damn confusing.
Showing posts with label ouch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ouch. Show all posts
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Mouth sores and other medical adventures
I never really had a problem with mouth sores. Until chemo that is. For those of you who are uninitiated, think canker sores.Ouch
During chemo, I was lucky enough to end up with mouth sores fairly frequently for the first few months, until my protocol changed to Taxol. My oncologist prescribed what is known as ''Magic Mouthwash" which his mixed by the pharmacist. Until that point, I never realized that the pharmacist at Walgreens or CVS would mix things to order in this day and age. I was under the mis-assumption that everything came out of a prepared bottle and was just resorted and relabeled.
But I digress. During chemo, I enjoyed Magic Mouthwash to solve my mouth sore issues. So why is she blogging today about life six and 1/2 years ago you ask? Because I am now on Methotrexate for my RA and it causes mouth sores. I have two on the tip of my tongue. Ouch.
So Wednesday afternoon I went to see my rheumatologist. She prescribed Magic Mouthwash for my then one mouth sore. I asked what is in it and found out they usually prescribe a combination which contains Benadryl, lidocaine (pain), Maalox (coating properties), and an anti-fungal. I said I am allergic to Benadryl. She had to find a combination without Benadryl.
She said she would have it, and another new prescription, called into the hospital pharmacy so she could communicate directly with the pharmacist. I had another test and then stood in line at the pharmacy to find out that my prescriptions had not even made it to the pharmacy yet, never mind be filled. They called the doctor's office and found out that the nurses had a question on her notes and had to wait until she was done with her next patient. I said fine, please have them sent to m y local pharmacy and I'll pick them up later.
Two hours later, I called the pharmacy and they did not have the prescription yet, only another one which I decided to pick up in the morning. But it was too late to call my rheumatologist back to find out about the missing 'magic'. And my mouth sore still hurt.
Yesterday morning I was back on the phone with the doctor's office. It was a computer glitch the prescription was in the system but the doctor hadn't signed off on it for some reason so it could be sent to the pharmacy. A second mouth sore started to emerge as well.
At 2pm I called the pharmacy to see if the magic was ready. No it wasn't. I called the doctor back and the secretary said it had been sent to the pharmacy but my insurance company wouldn't cover it because it contained Maalox which is available over the counter so it had been punted back over to my doctor for another revision and signature.
At 4pm I called the pharmacy again and found out they had just received the prescription and wanted an HOUR to fill it as they had to mix it. I went home and got comfy because my feet hurt and my tongue hurt, with its second mouth sore. They called 30 minutes later to say it was ready. Grr.
I got back in my outdoor clothes to go back to the pharmacy and picked it up. The second I walked in the door, I grabbed a spoon and swished it around my mouth. Relief finally!
After a lot of red tape, my tongue stopped hurting... That was just one day in my life as a patient. And my tongue still hurts when I eat anything.
During chemo, I was lucky enough to end up with mouth sores fairly frequently for the first few months, until my protocol changed to Taxol. My oncologist prescribed what is known as ''Magic Mouthwash" which his mixed by the pharmacist. Until that point, I never realized that the pharmacist at Walgreens or CVS would mix things to order in this day and age. I was under the mis-assumption that everything came out of a prepared bottle and was just resorted and relabeled.
But I digress. During chemo, I enjoyed Magic Mouthwash to solve my mouth sore issues. So why is she blogging today about life six and 1/2 years ago you ask? Because I am now on Methotrexate for my RA and it causes mouth sores. I have two on the tip of my tongue. Ouch.
So Wednesday afternoon I went to see my rheumatologist. She prescribed Magic Mouthwash for my then one mouth sore. I asked what is in it and found out they usually prescribe a combination which contains Benadryl, lidocaine (pain), Maalox (coating properties), and an anti-fungal. I said I am allergic to Benadryl. She had to find a combination without Benadryl.
She said she would have it, and another new prescription, called into the hospital pharmacy so she could communicate directly with the pharmacist. I had another test and then stood in line at the pharmacy to find out that my prescriptions had not even made it to the pharmacy yet, never mind be filled. They called the doctor's office and found out that the nurses had a question on her notes and had to wait until she was done with her next patient. I said fine, please have them sent to m y local pharmacy and I'll pick them up later.
Two hours later, I called the pharmacy and they did not have the prescription yet, only another one which I decided to pick up in the morning. But it was too late to call my rheumatologist back to find out about the missing 'magic'. And my mouth sore still hurt.
Yesterday morning I was back on the phone with the doctor's office. It was a computer glitch the prescription was in the system but the doctor hadn't signed off on it for some reason so it could be sent to the pharmacy. A second mouth sore started to emerge as well.
At 2pm I called the pharmacy to see if the magic was ready. No it wasn't. I called the doctor back and the secretary said it had been sent to the pharmacy but my insurance company wouldn't cover it because it contained Maalox which is available over the counter so it had been punted back over to my doctor for another revision and signature.
At 4pm I called the pharmacy again and found out they had just received the prescription and wanted an HOUR to fill it as they had to mix it. I went home and got comfy because my feet hurt and my tongue hurt, with its second mouth sore. They called 30 minutes later to say it was ready. Grr.
I got back in my outdoor clothes to go back to the pharmacy and picked it up. The second I walked in the door, I grabbed a spoon and swished it around my mouth. Relief finally!
After a lot of red tape, my tongue stopped hurting... That was just one day in my life as a patient. And my tongue still hurts when I eat anything.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Why do they do that?
I have a policy with myself for when to call my back pain doctor. When I get to the point of needing 2-3 breakthrough pain pills to get through the day, its time to make the call for an appointment. I have been at that point for a while and got in to see him yesterday afternoon.
My points of discussion with him were two: My right SI joint is in serious need of having its nerves killed off and my varying total back pain needs to be discussed. We don't always change my pain meds at a single appointment, we often discuss them over a few appointments before making changes.
My right SI joint (which is the long seam joint down the side of your tailbone if you are wondering) has been giving me problems for months. We have had the treatment discussion before but previously we have focused on other pain areas.
Yesterday afternoon, he had me lie on the exam table and he moved my legs around and pressed on my hip. That hurt. Then he had me lie on my side and he pressed right on the SI joint. That was like a live wire running through me. I had to catch my breath after.
I think he realized how much it hurt and said he would send the nurse in to schedule my treatment. It took a while for me to recover from the amount of pain. I know he had to make sure he knew where the pain was coming from before heated needles to kill the nerves - because you really don't want to kill the wrong nerves.... But, yowza!
October 25 is the date for the treatment... It will be three years from the last one, which was the second one on the same place. These treatments (radiofrequency) can be repeated over and over again and each time the nerves come back, it takes longer and longer and they are weaker and weaker so the pain levels are less and less.
On a side note, my pain management doctor says I can actually take up to 8 break through pain pills a day and he considers 2-3 a day a very low dose. But my rheumatologist tells me that from her point of view, 3 should be the maximum because of convulsions. Its the different perspective from the two doctors that gets damn confusing.
My points of discussion with him were two: My right SI joint is in serious need of having its nerves killed off and my varying total back pain needs to be discussed. We don't always change my pain meds at a single appointment, we often discuss them over a few appointments before making changes.
My right SI joint (which is the long seam joint down the side of your tailbone if you are wondering) has been giving me problems for months. We have had the treatment discussion before but previously we have focused on other pain areas.
Yesterday afternoon, he had me lie on the exam table and he moved my legs around and pressed on my hip. That hurt. Then he had me lie on my side and he pressed right on the SI joint. That was like a live wire running through me. I had to catch my breath after.
I think he realized how much it hurt and said he would send the nurse in to schedule my treatment. It took a while for me to recover from the amount of pain. I know he had to make sure he knew where the pain was coming from before heated needles to kill the nerves - because you really don't want to kill the wrong nerves.... But, yowza!
October 25 is the date for the treatment... It will be three years from the last one, which was the second one on the same place. These treatments (radiofrequency) can be repeated over and over again and each time the nerves come back, it takes longer and longer and they are weaker and weaker so the pain levels are less and less.
On a side note, my pain management doctor says I can actually take up to 8 break through pain pills a day and he considers 2-3 a day a very low dose. But my rheumatologist tells me that from her point of view, 3 should be the maximum because of convulsions. Its the different perspective from the two doctors that gets damn confusing.
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