Side Effects
Pain Spectrum - high-red (with lots of shakes added for a bit of spice!)
BM/RD Index - 20
Fuzz meter - 6
First off, a nice bit of news - the stack o' bills are gone! At least that stimulus package from the U.S. gov't worked for something...
In one of my previous posts I talked about painkillers and their effects. As I mentioned before, I am now working with a pain doctor and am back on medication. The impact has been astronomical. With the help of the medication, I have been able to exercise, which helps me move around more, which gives me more energy, which lets me write - more than I have in years. It is a good cycle. But it has hiccups. Big hiccups. The side effects.
I am on two medications right now that are working in tandem with one another. One helps with the pain levels, while the other counters the side effects of the first. In order to find these medications I have had to experiment with over a half dozen. But even these meds aren't perfect. Besides the side effects that we already knew about (extreme drowsiness and cloudiness) the pain med seems to be impacting my breathing a bit, and the counter med effects my heart rate. So it comes down to, for me, an age-old question: are the benefits still outweighing the costs?
I am VERY fortunate with my latest doctor. I see him every six weeks to discuss how I am reacting to the medicine. But he is only as good as the info I tell him. I admit it. I have known about the breathing issue for a month or two and have not mentioned it. And my doctor is going to ream me for it. But it is frightening to contemplate going of the meds - I know how bad it is without them, and I know how many problems there are with having me respond favorably to medicine, period. So I balked.
Yet I am luckier than most. I have doctors who recognize and respond to not only my pain levels but my difficulty with medications in general. That's two out of two that most people do not get. I know - until the last year I was in the same boat. How many of us struggle to make our doctors understand what the pain levels really feel like? (Smiley faces or unhappy faces? Really? I want to admit that I am about to cry, I am in so much pain? Do I even think that these strangers, these doctors, are going to believe me? Nah.) And then, when you do actually get some medication, what do you do if, all of the sudden. you have problems that were not there before you started taking the medicine? Do you tell the doctors? Will they believe you? What are the alternatives? Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
This question is difficult enough to contemplate when you have a support group of good doctors and the scbf's who love you. But if your doctors appear to be unsympathetic, it becomes an overwhelming question. I wish I had an answer. All I can say is this: TALK. Talk to yourself - keep a journal that maps out the problems that you are feeling. Talk to your family and friends to see if they are noticing the same things you are. And talk to your doctors. Make sure they understand the difficulties you are having. Trust them to understand that you are having serious problems. Ask about alternatives. Treat them as what they are (or should be): professionals who are invested in your long-term health and happiness. And if your doctors do not seem interested in how you really feel, do the hard thing: leave them and find the ones that do.
BM/RD Index - 20
Fuzz meter - 6
First off, a nice bit of news - the stack o' bills are gone! At least that stimulus package from the U.S. gov't worked for something...
In one of my previous posts I talked about painkillers and their effects. As I mentioned before, I am now working with a pain doctor and am back on medication. The impact has been astronomical. With the help of the medication, I have been able to exercise, which helps me move around more, which gives me more energy, which lets me write - more than I have in years. It is a good cycle. But it has hiccups. Big hiccups. The side effects.
I am on two medications right now that are working in tandem with one another. One helps with the pain levels, while the other counters the side effects of the first. In order to find these medications I have had to experiment with over a half dozen. But even these meds aren't perfect. Besides the side effects that we already knew about (extreme drowsiness and cloudiness) the pain med seems to be impacting my breathing a bit, and the counter med effects my heart rate. So it comes down to, for me, an age-old question: are the benefits still outweighing the costs?
I am VERY fortunate with my latest doctor. I see him every six weeks to discuss how I am reacting to the medicine. But he is only as good as the info I tell him. I admit it. I have known about the breathing issue for a month or two and have not mentioned it. And my doctor is going to ream me for it. But it is frightening to contemplate going of the meds - I know how bad it is without them, and I know how many problems there are with having me respond favorably to medicine, period. So I balked.
Yet I am luckier than most. I have doctors who recognize and respond to not only my pain levels but my difficulty with medications in general. That's two out of two that most people do not get. I know - until the last year I was in the same boat. How many of us struggle to make our doctors understand what the pain levels really feel like? (Smiley faces or unhappy faces? Really? I want to admit that I am about to cry, I am in so much pain? Do I even think that these strangers, these doctors, are going to believe me? Nah.) And then, when you do actually get some medication, what do you do if, all of the sudden. you have problems that were not there before you started taking the medicine? Do you tell the doctors? Will they believe you? What are the alternatives? Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
This question is difficult enough to contemplate when you have a support group of good doctors and the scbf's who love you. But if your doctors appear to be unsympathetic, it becomes an overwhelming question. I wish I had an answer. All I can say is this: TALK. Talk to yourself - keep a journal that maps out the problems that you are feeling. Talk to your family and friends to see if they are noticing the same things you are. And talk to your doctors. Make sure they understand the difficulties you are having. Trust them to understand that you are having serious problems. Ask about alternatives. Treat them as what they are (or should be): professionals who are invested in your long-term health and happiness. And if your doctors do not seem interested in how you really feel, do the hard thing: leave them and find the ones that do.
posted by KS at 10:51 AM
1 Comments:
Right on!
(The desire to offer a more extensive comment is thwarted by the fact that there is nothing else to say.)
Post a Comment
<< Home