At Fri, 7 Sep 2001, Claudia wrote:
>
>Hello everyone! I've only posted once before here & I received some very
>supportive letters & posts. Thank you very much for your responses -
>they made me feel not so alone. I've had a lot of things going on in my
>life over the past couple of months & haven't been checking in like I
>had planned to. This is a wonderful site & I'm hoping to be able to be
>more a part of it.
>Now for my dilemma.....
>Like many of you, I have had a tough time getting my pain under control
>for one reason or another - doctor who will listen, insurance, money,
>etc,etc,etc. I now have a very good doctor who listens to me & wants to
>help me. I had been taking Percocet 5mg, 1 three times a day. It was
>working ok, not great, but ok. Then my dr. had me add the Duragesic
>50mg patch. I felt "drugged", something I never felt with the Percocet
>& also got an itchy rash where the adhesive was on my skin. He took me
>off the patch. Also the patch didn't control the pain as well overall
>as the pills. I decided to experiment on my own. I put the patch lower
>on my upper arm than I had had it before. I had a few patches left
>(good for 3 days apiece). I continued taking the pills 3 times a day &
>wore the patch too. The drugged feeling went away & by putting the
>patch in a different place the itching is only slight. Now I have
>virtually NO pain, just some achiness every couple of hours or so. Now
>for my questions. Has anyone else been on both the patch & oral
>medication at the same time? Is this too much medication? Because of my
>past experiences with doctors (I'm sure most of you have had the same
>problems),I feel funny telling my doctor that this is what is working
>for me. I hope you all understand what I'm talking about. We, as
>patients, are made to feel uncomfortable asking for pain relief. But
>this is working for me, I haven't been this much pain-free in years! I
>feel normal. I can do my housework & play with my kids! Any
>advice/support would be SO much appreciated!
>Thank you in advance. Peace.
>Claudia
>traycla@aol.com