This is just an FYI, but I'm not clear where it should be posted.
As a person with pain problems, and as a person who worries about others with chronic pain problems - this troubles me. I am not just talking TN here. I know the risk of addiction is really high, and we really have to be careful with these drugs. But at the same time I also know my specialist is a two hour drive for me, and I live outside of Boston. How many people, across the country have to drive further from their Doctors? Sometimes finding someone to drive us (depending on the side effects of our daily medications) is really difficult.
Dr.'s already hold onto the power of prescribing painkillers so tightly. I used to have a Dr. who would send me to the ER instead of prescribing me any breakthrough pain medication. I am talking wanting like 5 pills to have in case of emergency of pain. She is no longer my Dr. I think she thought because I was young I must be a drug seeker. It is beyond frustrating when someone doesn't believe that you are in pain, especially your Neurologist.
At the same time, I do understand the motive behind this new regulation. I just worry how it will negatively impact the people painkillers are truly meant to help. Since there is nothing I can do about it, I hope it makes a huge positive impact on decreasing addiction problems. I guess I can only hope for the best.
I have found that if I go to ER and a diagnosis is in my file I am likely to get immediate care as needed and that that information goes to my primary care immediatel and she calls the next morning to see how I am.
Please tell me what pain killers work for you. Vicodin or Norco (same thing don't work at all) I take that occasionally for severe arthritis pain, but not for TN pain because they don't even make a dent in it. If I have a drink, within minutes my pain is gone. I have discussed this with my PCP and she is aware of it, perhaps not happy about it, but aware. Maybe it might induce her to give me a pain killer more beneficial. In the meantime I remember from my 1970s experience with the left side which was much worse, I hated the way I felt on the pain meds. It was ion the 70s that I first discovered alcohol took away my pain for at least a little while. After my MVD in the 70's I had no pain and no need for alcohol and I didn't miss it. For me at this time it is merely stop gap emergency help for physical pain of TN. I do not use it for other pain that I have and I do not use it frequently or carelessly. Thanks for your concern, but what works for some may not be a good idea for others. A lot depends on one's personality.
would very much like to know what pain meds you use successfuly for TN pain.