Thanks to those that wished me luck and prayers. I went in crying and came out with a smile for now. My husband went with me for moral support and to drive as I couldn't drive since Friday. Everyone at the office kept trying to keep me from seeing Dr. S. and we kept insisting that we would wait all day as he was my doctor and prescribed the oxycontin for me, and was not the one that changed it. I knew that he would not let me suffer, and you only had to take one look at me to see that I was suffering badly, although I had taken the MS-Contin before getting there (I wanted them to see that it didn't work). We stood our ground, and said we would wait all day for Dr. S. to see me and sure enough he came in two minutes later, took one look at me, and said, "well, the ms-contin doesn't work for you, the oxycontin does, so you go back on it." I asked if this was done to me because they were afraid of the DEA and he said, that yes, they went through everyone's files that were on the oxycontin, decided to try them on another medication, some were able to make the adjustment to another drug, but I couldn't so that would be noted in my files, if and when the DEA came in. He spent over an hour with me. We discussed all the options, and there really aren't any right now, but to stay on medication. He understands this, that if there were any other alternative that could help me, I would gladly take it. He is a great big bear of a man and I gave him the biggest hug I could.
After being on narcotic pain medication for over a year, my blood levels were read, and everything came back normal, so they aren't doing any damage to my body. I was given a patch to put on the right sided rib pain. He said now if the pain lessens there from the patch that would mean that it is skeletal, if the pain doesn't lessen then it means that this knife-stabbing pain in my right rib is adhesions and the patch will not work. On the MS-Contin, I felt every attachment of the adhesions. I hadn't felt this pain in so long, I had forgotten how horrible the pulling and ripping feeling felt like. The pelvic floor pressure was terrible and I could feel the pulling off the vaginal cuff and rectal area. Also, I could not put any pressure on my right leg as it produced a lot of pain of pulling and burning up to my rib cage area.
I made a victory, but the war is not over. At any time the DEA can come in there and shut his doors. I feel so badly about this; he is such a compassionate man, and just doesn't want to see people like myself suffer. He is not dealing drugs, he is not doing anything criminal, yet he can lose his license at anytime for trying to help all the chronic pain patients that other doctors won't help.
I wrote Skip the other night at ASAP. He said if all the DEA Agents were to get cancer and couldn't find the necessary drugs to take away their pain, then, and only then, would they understand what we the chronic pain patient are asking - only that we be kept comfortable and if the oxycontin is enabling us to live as comfortable a life as we can, why take it away from us because a few addicts have figured out a way to abuse it.
We all need to write our senators about what the DEA is trying to do. I will forward the letter from Skip's site as a guideline to use. Please take the time to write. Just maybe we will make a difference.
Love,
Helen C.