Pain meds and fibromyalgia

[Drummer76]

Recently got diagnosed with bulging disc in my lower back. The pain meds don't work for it,So I had an injection done this past Friday. Not sure if it worked yet since it hasn't had time to work,but so far the pain seems worse.
What's the best way to approach the pain management dr about this without him thinking I'm looking for a higher dose to use and not look like I'm an addict who is pill seeking? I honestly hope this shot helps because it's the last step before surgery which I will not do.
I'm not even sure pain medication will work for me. I don't get any sort of buzz off them at any dose but it doesn't really touch the pain much. The only thing that helps isn't legal in my state and the muscle relaxers put me to sleep. Having a parent that is terminal,I can't sleep all the time. It's been a rough year for me and my health.

 

[sunkacola]

What's the best way to approach the pain management dr about this without him thinking I'm looking for a higher dose to use and not look like I'm an addict who is pill seeking?

I honestly wish I could give you excellent advice on this, but how a doctor will respond is very individual. About the only thing I can say is that it usually works better to describe the level of pain you are in and talk about how debilitating it is for you on a daily basis, than to ask directly for medication.

It may be that a higher dose isn't what you need, but a different medication altogether, and perhaps your doctor will suggest that.

Also, unfortunately there is no medication that really works all that well for most of us with fibromyalgia. Other things, such as exercise, eating a healthy diet, managing stress and getting plenty of rest and sleep, while pacing our activities carefully, are the things that seem to help all of us. But, those things do not mean we are not in pain, just that we may not be in as much pain. Most of us just learn how to live with it and manage our lives with it.

I wish you good luck and hope you will let us know how it goes.

 

[JamieMarc]

Recently got diagnosed with bulging disc in my lower back. The pain meds don't work for it,So I had an injection done this past Friday. Not sure if it worked yet since it hasn't had time to work,but so far the pain seems worse.
What's the best way to approach the pain management dr about this without him thinking I'm looking for a higher dose to use and not look like I'm an addict who is pill seeking? I honestly hope this shot helps because it's the last step before surgery which I will not do.
I'm not even sure pain medication will work for me. I don't get any sort of buzz off them at any dose but it doesn't really touch the pain much. The only thing that helps isn't legal in my state and the muscle relaxers put me to sleep. Having a parent that is terminal,I can't sleep all the time. It's been a rough year for me and my health.

I feel for you. I am fortunate enough that the pain medication I am prescribed works wonderfully, but it is as the previous poster said, just one of the many different things that I take or do to manage my pain.
I won't take injections and my pain management doctor has even told me that they frequently are ineffective for people with fibromyalgia because of the way the brain processes pain. But I know there are some people here that have been helped by injections. I just won't take them because I've heard too many horror stories of people actually being worse off after injections. But I digress.

I agree that I think the best way to approach your doctor is to describe in detail and at length specifically how your pain is debilitating, the things you can no longer do that you need to do, the fact that you need to be able to care for your parent, and yeah you may find that a different painkiller works better for you. Personally, I found that I could not tolerate hydrocodone, but tramadol works great for me and still does after 2 years. Knock wood!

When I had to approach my doctor for an increase in dosage, I came prepared with a written speech. For me, and especially with fibrofog, I knew that would be the way I would have to do it. I sat down with my doctor and told her that I had written down some things that I wanted to say to her about my condition. She was very receptive, listened to everything I had to say and immediately agreed that a higher dose would be appropriate for me.

Like the previous poster said, every doctor is different so some may not like this approach. But don't go in there being scared of your doctor's reaction. Be calm, open and honest, sincere and genuine. I would hope that most doctors would appreciate this but sadly that's not the case. I hope that you have a great doctor.

Like @sunkacola said, please follow up with us and let us know how it went.
Big hugs!