Another issue with getting appropriate treatment is sometimes the doctors are constrained by insurance companies or managed practice networks as to which meds/treatments they can prescribe and in what order. They might not be able to give you something useful even if they want to.
They are also incentivized by insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies to have patients on two or more medication’s in order to see higher kickbacks. Of all Americans from age 0 to 100, something like a third are on at least one medication and over half are on at least two. And these medication’s are long-term if not lifelong.
I find this problem really ironic because I've personally had the opposite experience (which I think is way less common). When I had surgery they basically threw opioids at me and when those didn't control my pain they refused to try adding anything else. I was 18 and taking 10-15mg oxy every 4 hours, and still in severe pain. luckily I was able to taper off when the post op pain subsided, but I know a lot of people get hooked from situations like that. On the other hand, I know a lot of chronic pain patients who truly need opioids to control their pain, who are treated horribly for trying to get them. really shows how broken everything is.
My man broke his back a couple years ago and is always in great amounts of pain. He is contently going on and off meds because they decide to not give him more at random. Like, the man can't walk & his legs are beating him up. Give him drugs so every waking moment doesn't have to be misery.
It's really not the system that's broken. It's just a shitty choice for everyone involved. Do you want to live with pain or addiction? Neither option is good.
@@jotarokujo3603 You act like addiction and pain are the only outcomes. There are countless people who take these medications and aren't addicted. You're just adding to the stigma that chronic pain patients face.
@@jotarokujo3603 As a pain patient (in two countries!) the system is *absolutely* broken. Most patients who would benefit from opioids have very little choice in the process as many doctors will categorically refuse to prescribe them. Not to mention, many doctors have very little knowledge of treating pain and of the non-opioid options that exist (for the example in this video, muscle relaxants might be helpful). Some newer medications are also not covered by insurance. There are absolutely cases where there are no good options, but there is also a general lack of understanding of pain and pain management among doctors that massively exacerbates the problem.
Basically had the opposite conversation with a doctor. I went in for back pain and asked for a referral to PT. He was super pissed when I said that I didn't want a muscle relaxer. Absolute fight to get a PT referral; I had to go to multiple doctors before someone finally sent me to a PMR doctor and he finally gave me a PT referral.
Meanwhile I have my doctor treating me like i'm TRYING to get drugs when I keep asking for actual treatment (not drugs) for my severe backpain and they won't even sent me to PT! He offloaded me to a pain management clinic, didn't even try to help me find a way to get it treated/fixed. I'm 32 and I cannot walk more than 5 minutes. I keep being sent for procedures that don't work and have effectively made things worse. I just want to be able to walk again.
This video gives me horrific flashbacks to being gaslighted by my primary care for almost 10 years when I'd complain of back pain, Plantar's Fasciatis, heel pain (horrific!!), elbow pain, inability to turn my neck to the left or the right (ok, I did get sent for PT 10 times over that many years doing 100s of sessions as I had unlimited coverage for it), wrist pain and finger pain, and jaw pain. I finally could no longer walk due to my Achille's issue and the surgeon (orthpedic foot specialist) queried me repeatedly about arthritis. I finally had to tell him "my PC gets angry when I suggest that to her. She says I DON'T HAVE arthritis as she has already checked it out." Yes, turns out I have both Axial Spondyloarthritis and Peripheral Spondyloarthrtis. By this point I either needed 2 canes to walk or a rollator (a type of walker). If I hadn't started using NSAIDS, I swear my doctor would still be saying you need more exercise. Because of my BP (220/105 on 3 meds) my PC finally sent me to see an Internal Medicine doctor. This doctor was concerned I was walking with 2 canes at my age but had never been given a meducal reason to be so crippled. (I'm thinking but I'm here for my HBP, whyis she asking qustions about my walking ability?) She asked me why I thought I had such high blood pressure and I told her the pain was driving me insane! Well, she ran more blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, and an MRI, a Nuclear Bone scan and another bone scan looking for Osteoporosis. I got my answer, I had inflammation in all my joints, all throughout my body. She sent me onto a Rhrumatologist and after being put on a weekly injection of Enbrel (biologic), then added Methotrexate, and eventually a third medication added (Hydroxychloroquin), after 3 years of these drugs, I no longer use a walker or my 2 canes. Primary Care doctors can take years of your life away. This doctor had a fabulous reputation as a PC and was actually physician in charge of the Family Meducine program at a large hospital near me. She was fabulous caring for my 3 children all the way to adulthood but for some reason she wouldn't/couldn't listen to me. Doctors don't always listen. Oh, I decided I must be like my mother who had all the identical symptoms as me (when she was alive) and did see a rheumatoligist. She was put on NSAIDs. I know now she had the same disease but her rheumy just said she had the skeletn of a 100 year old lady at age 45. At that time, doctors said only MEN developed AxSpa and Peripheral Spa, women DID NOT get them. I've learned don't 2nd guess yourself, tell your dictor he is WRING!
It sounds like you have similar conditions to what my dad has. He had a terrible time getting diagnosed too, although more so because they just couldn't figure out what was wrong at first. They initially thought it was a foot issue because that's where the pain started, but it was actually originating in his back. He's had multiple major back surgeries, some of which didn't work correctly (they put metal pins in his spine and one snapped, and he was in pain for weeks before they realised it). It's really hard to watch what he's gone through. 😢
Disclaimer for people who don't want permanent injury to their body: NEVER EXERCISE OR DO PT ON PAIN KILLERS. Dear GOD, that is a HORRIBLE idea. You WILL hurt your body and not even know it until the meds wear off. Ibuprofen at MAX for PT. Please use the smart part of your brain on this.
@@jaimereneewissner7032 yes, I didn't do back exercises until my body was ready for me to do most stuff on my own. Perhaps a little Naproxen (OTC). Frankly, I probably wouldn't have been capable of it until I was ready.
I get you’re coming from a place of wanting to help, but you’re not. I can’t even physically get out of bed without painkillers, and I’m on the extended release crap that lasts 12-18hrs. The only way I’m even making it to PT is with painkillers. And my physical therapist knows this and makes sure I don’t overextend or overexert myself. That’s why he’s there. So please, don’t talk about stuff like this from a very limited perspective
I literally travel 4 hours away to a different state to get pain management that barely makes my life livable. The GP I have there is also a hospice doctor and that definitely a reason he will do pain management because he gets less scrutiny due to the hospice patients. I’m 40, he is 70+ and a genuine saint. I just hope i die before him the way things are going.
I've been treated this way. I've had lower back/hip pain since I was 5 yo. I was told at that time that it was caused by muscles and ligaments being too short for my spine?? Anyway, the pain never went away. I've done physical therapy most of my life, which helps very little as the pain is always present. I've been called a liar so many times, by so many 'medical professionals.' I don't want opioids. Ibuprofen hardly helps. The ONE medication that has is baclofen. Oh, and I have 'arthritis-like' inflammation in my spine and hips. The doctor's said that over a decade ago now. I'm not even 40. They don't even try to help. The pain keeps me from working. It keeps me from doing daily chores, let alone exercise. I've had no answers and doctor's seem to think I just want drugs. No. I want to know what's wrong so I can treat it properly and live as normal a life as possible. You don't getthat while taking opioids. Duh.
I live a perfectly normal life in pain management. I've been on norcos for about 3-4 years now, and my body is so accustomed to it that it has no effect on me mentally (no drowsiness, etc). But, it does help me to do everyday tasks that I couldn't do before. I have rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and a couple of fractures on my spine... I also am waiting on surgery for my foot b/c the RA has utterly destroyed one of the joints in my left foot.
@@meghamcdowell PMR = Genius + Ortho + Physical Therapy + Spine and Nerve Expert + Sports Medicine Expert + Car Accident Expert + MORE, all wrapped up in a human-sized package. They are LIFE & SANITY SAVERS!
As a 3 time cancer patient, the hospice for metastatic cancer line damn near pushed me over the edge. Ha ha ha And guess one, even cancer patients have a hard time getting pain meds. Lord knows i did.
My step father had terminal cancer and refused his last few chemo sessions due to the insurance hospice laws. Live slightly longer in absolute misery or die a little faster on morphine. It was so messed up he had to be in hospice to get pain management.
this is what happened to my partner (minus the blood pressure part). she ended up getting hospitalised because it was so bad. she ended up getting an epidural injection to relieve the pain. the solution, in the end, was physical therapy. but saying that isn't much help if you're in so much pain you can't get out of bed.
If you're in so much pain that you can't get out of bed, going to the hospital is the right move and that's not your doctor's fault. You go to your doctor when the pain is tolerable. You go to the ER when something's wrong. Your problem is you went to the wrong type of care for the issue and got an answer you didn't like. Yeah, that's how that works.
The answer would NEVER have been "Live outside the hospital on pain killers" cause her back would have gotten more fucked up. Your doctor did very good. Right choice, doc.
@@jaimereneewissner7032 up to hospitalisation, the response she got (from multiple doctors) was "go to physical therapy and do more sport". but they gave no short-term help (and also physical therapy is hard to get), so the pain kept getting worse and worse. by the point someone started to take her seriously it was too late and the same weekend she was in hospital.
Same! Outside of acute care/acute rehab, I’ve never seen it in my area. I did work in a clinic that discontinued weekend hours before I even started school, if that counts?
@@minipet487those “limited side effects” include “puking your guts out”. My sister (t1) and MIL (t2) are both on it. And you don’t even lose that much weight on it. Neither of them have.
I was at a point where my back hurt so much I couldn't even lay down. The only position that hurt the least was standing. So I was left standing...all...day.... And I had to take benadryl to be tired enough to lay down to sleep. Otherwise I would be awake with the pain. I was maxed on Tylenol and nsaids. My muscle relaxant wasn't working either. When you're in that position, yeah you need physical therapy which I did get and it did get rid of that pain...but you also need something to get you there. Because I wasn't sitting in the car long enough to get to pt. I'm just glad I worked at home.
It's honestly really ridiculous how a lot of doctors refuse pain meds and act like a simple pain pill is like handing over a horse tranquilizer. If you have a bacterial infection, prescribe an antibiotic. Depression? Antidepressant High blood pressure? Blood pressure med Moderate to severe pain? Gaslighting and blacklist patient as drug seeking in their file. make it make sense
Doctors used to hand out pain meds like they did all the others, and then that resulted in a catastrophic narcotic epidemic. For chronic pain it’s not as effective, and if you take it for something that’s around a lot / for a long time, your odds of getting addicted rise, and it becomes less effective.
@@konstantingruenwald185This, and even for short term pain the efficacy and side effect profile of opioids is… not great. Morphine, for example, barely helps with pain but causes nausea. Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen may be equally as effective. If the patient is in so much pain that they are not an option, disinhibiting them and causing vomiting with morphine is not going to help anyway; at that point you’re talking about sedation with ketamine or similar.
@@konstantingruenwald185physical dependency and addiction are two different things, 1. Second, prohibition will never work. Personally, I think they pushed opioids hard in the early 00s so they can sell you the cure now, aka suboxone and methadone, etc. But even then, people are DYING from this prohibition on opioids. You understand the risks, you need the medication, shouldn’t fight tooth and nail to get it.
Basic pain pills are easier to get that any of those, though. Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc., are available to purchase in virtually any store with no prescription limits or education on negative health effects if used chronically, unlike any of those you listed. The pain med market is already a lot more generous than it could be.
@@silllykitten329 Nobody’s prohibiting anything. But I’m not going to prescribe pain pills for a chronic condition that’s 1) evidentially been proven not to work well and 2) evidentially been proven to increase your chances of addiction. I promise, your doctor understands addiction better than you.
Yes , a cruel joke. The medical providers may not even point you to where this pain management is. Is there a pain clinic? A hypnosis? A program? They won’t tell you.
Sometimes pain meds, not OTC, is indicated for back issues. Voice of experience here. The only thing that touched it was the muscle relaxant, Flexeril. There was also a dedicated pain med, too. It would take me 20 minutes to get out of bed, and when I drove, I couldn't get out of my car without having to drop down to the pavement and haul myself up using the car frame. (I was not about to be hauled to an ER to be in pain for hours before someone could see me). Other types of treatments can and should come later. There are back exercises, but they won't do SQUAT at the beginning of a serious back problem. Nor will Tylenol.
Had my doc skimp me on pain meds after being released from surgery. I had to somehow figure out how to get my asss to the pharmacy. Half way drugged up with the last bit of meds I had so I could even make driving movements. Now…was that really a good idea? Did he think I was going to drop dead dead from an overdose or become a heroine addict if he had actually prescribed the proper dosage?
started having daily headaches, started taking ibuprofen, started getting more headaches, took more ibuprofen, saw a neurologist for said headaches, ‘oh yeah, you actually cant take too much of it otherwise you start getting reverse effects’ NOBODY PUTS THAT ON THE BOX
And that's when I fire a doctor. Doctors are memebrs of your own personal team. If they aren't helping you work toward your short and long term goals they aren't the right team member.
I haven't had the need for pain killers yet thankfully but it took me until 28 and 30 to get dxd with ADHD and hypermobility respectively. I do great with PT and ADHD coping strategies but whenever I sought testing I was treated like I was seeking painkillers or Adderall, even though I never asked for either
* and there's nothing wrong with painkillers or stimulants, they were just not what I ever asked for but I was still treated like a drug seeker. I can't imagine if I DID feel like I needed them!
For my severely arthritic back I can take a Norco or I can take 3 to 4 ibuprofen. Multiply that by several times a day, isn't it better on your organs to take 2 or 3 Norco in 24 hours than 12 ibuprofen or naproxin tabs?
@@tommyprunty1922 it's not the best option but it is better than the pills. Just be careful to take t-breaks so you don't get cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. And get a weed card if you can since medical stuff is usually cheaper than recreational.
@@tommyprunty1922weed is not a cure all. it has many negative side effects. this is coming from someone who used to be a daily using stoner for years. just because it works for YOU does not mean it helps everyone. and some people have jobs that discourage or entirely prevent you from smoking weed.
The doctor laughing just gave me flashbacks! I have a chronic illness, sickle cell disease. I mostly need pain management, which requires pain meds. I have learned over time what helps , what doesn’t, and what doses. But when you tell a doctor that you need meds like morphine, dilaudid, IV Benadryl, etc…. You either get laughed at or called a drug addict. Oh, how fun it is to be in pain. 🙄🤦🏾♀️😢
After years of playing the chronic pain management game while dealing while a not so slowly deteriorating left tmj, the only option left to me was to go to a methadone clinic. Not ideal by any means but it bought me time. I just had a complete joint replacement this valentines day at age 37 and I'm just holding my breath that my pain levels continue to decrease.
Yeah I got Dilaudid for the first time when I had some minor internal bleeding and boy was I expecting that to hit a lot harder than it did. Norco is nothing
Junkies don't think anything is that potent they just want more and more and more they've abused it so long that nothing is going to help them when they go into pain you can give them a Tylenol and they'll be just fine
@@kyratompsett4409Got into a terrible car accident and my face was really messed up. I'm not sure on the numbers exactly but I got at least a half dozen doses of Dilaudid and more of morphine and I still screamed when they scrubbed the asphalt out of the wound. I took expected it to do more. Oxycodone after a surgery always took away the pain. It was scary to learn there is a level of pain that narcotics can't fix. The initial adrenaline rush was so much more potent than any meds I got in the coming week.
Hydrocodone always worked well for me. I prefer it to Percocet. But then again I onlyp ever used it when it was absolutely, positively necessary. Now I use mmj and Tylenol. It's not as effective but it gets the job done.
When I could barely walk die to sciatica, they were having me do physical therapy ever though I was already doing yoga and weights. When I told the doctor that I couldn't do the pt because of spasms and asked for a steroid shot or something, he told me to just do the pt. Soon, I was driving with my opposite foot and having panic attacks at bedtime. Eventually, I was able to pop my back off of my nerve myself. Then I was able to do exercises on my own without my broke ass paying hundreds of dollars for pt because I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO BRIDGES. So sick of "healthcare".
The way they treat pain nowadays is absolutely horrendous! I was in 2 serious motorcycle accidents, one where I ended up with 4 seriously herniated disks and another where I needed rods and plates to put my leg and shoulder back together and they wouldn't even give me anything stronger than codeine when they sent me home from the hospital, and when I finally found a muscle relaxer that actually worked they stopped giving me that too because they don't want to give out Soma anymore because it can be habit forming. They basically just tell you that it's more important for you to not take any drugs you might like than it is for you to be able to function or sleep.
@@nicholase2868 Addiction to pain meds is the same for any drug--2-3% of long term users. As a Stage 4 cancer patient, hydrocodone is nothing. That's better for you than long term use of ibuprofen (eats away at your stomach lining) or acetaminophen (top cause of liver failure) . And we literally have nothing for people with neck and back pain. Esp older people who have joints that are bone on bone. PS Blood pressure meds have A LOT of side effects
@@nicholase2868 which is sad but now millions of people have to live and die in excruciating pain because of people who are already gone. It's not right.
At least back pain is recognized as painful. I saved all my pain meds from getting my wisdom teeth out, just so I wouldn't have to take 4 ibuprofen and 2 extra strength Tylenol every 2- 4hrs during my period. Yes, you read that correctly, having teeth pulled from my head was less painful than my period cramps. 2 Tylenol every 8hrs was enough to manage the tooth extraction. 4 ibuprofen and 2 extra strength Tylenol every 2- 4hrs still barely touches my cramps, but it usually gets me to a more functional level.
Ugh yes straight to the physical therapy. Tried that, it made my back pain WORSE. Then they gave me some serious muscle relaxers that had me losing balance. Turns out I have rheumatoid arthritis and they didn’t test me for it until I made them test for it
To be honest, I can see both sides. But you really should listen to patients, though, and come up with concrete strategies to address the problem. For example, discuss stretches and exercises to do at work to reduce back pain, taking ibuprofen only at work and in small doses. (Be specific about how much ibuprofen they can take and when to take it.) Open up discussion about triggers and how to avoid things that might trigger the pain. (Bending down, sitting for long periods, ect....) These are things that have helped me with similar pain issues that couldn't be medicated.
This is exactly my situation. I have a herniated disc. I was told losing weight would help but that I can’t work out… also the medication I take for the pain affects my blood pressure and blood sugar so I can’t do drastic diet changes. Whenever I bring this up the answer is: “lose weight”. Well thanks
Gotta love it when they say just lose weight despite being the one to diagnose the condition or prescribe the meds that makes it harder for someone to lose weight. On the other hand they don't take unexpected rapid weight loss seriously at all until you are approaching being underweight. No one saw an issue with me losing a third of my body weight in under a year until I got within 5lbs of being underweight even though I brought it up in multiple appointments. Sure I needed to lose weight and when I was finally able to switch my meds up the weight came off easy but the issue now is I can barely maintain my weight thanks to another condition that makes eating extremely painful 🙄
I’ve tried the physio, I exercise regularly, do the mindfulness nonsense but have to beg my doctor for one box of co-codamol for my arthritis and genetic joint disease every couple of months. Apparently suffering is better 🙄
I injured my ankle back in October the worst I ever had. Physical therapy was a god send! After months of suffering my ddr prescribed PT and in six weeks I was hiking again! Those therapists really know what they're doing.
Jep. Went to my doctor "My Bloodpressure is to high, I feel like I got hit by a freightrain" "You gotta lose some weight" "I know but I feel like I'm running a marathon while sitting. I can't do anything right now" "Yes, just lose some weight." "What do I do in the mean time?!" "Lose weight" Fricking hate it!
When I first started experiencing back pain I got sent to physical therapy and the therapist did not take my problems seriously. They would end up only seeing me for 30 minutes max even tho I was paying for an hour session and when I complained to my regular doctor so I could go somewhere else I then started getting treated like my pain wasn’t real
i’ve been observing medicine in the US since the early 70s from the inside and the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction. Many people are now suffering and we are withholding opioids when they could be used safely by many who are truly suffering.
This sums up my back pain problems so well. Except I wasn't told the "too much" and ended up getting a GI bleed because I was told to keep taking it "until I was better" because they thought it would get better on it's own because I'm young. As for laughing at hydrocodone? I'd take that over doctors assuming I was a drug seeker...
It’s so frustrating dealing with this stuff. I’ve suffered many injuries; broken bones, dislocations, car wrecks, tendinitis, cluster headaches, numerous dental surgeries, and a thrown out back. I asked for painkillers and was told I have drug seeking behavior and pretty much barred from getting anything stronger than Tylenol.
I have pretty serious back pain and my doctor took me really seriously. He got me xrays and then PT. Because it was so bad i couldn't sit up. The X-ray first was to make sure there was no issues with my actual spine. The PT helped quickly! I'm 2 weeks into the first 6 weeks. I'm getting there!
I spent years being treated at a hospital in central Missouri that shall remain nameless, but starts with an U. The docs there were prob the worst I’ve ever dealt with. I was being rushed to the hospital (from clinic 3x) because my long QT was at a point that they considered dangerous. Months before they had pulled my central line and stopped fluids, demanding we get my tube feed higher. So, I have gastroparesis, short gut (rapid transit of less than 7 min from Jejunum to colon), EoE, Long QT, 2 types of anemia, compromised immune system, MRSA positive, etc. I would beg them to at least start my fluids back if we were going to do TPN, it was a no go. I moved to KC and I’ve got the best team in the world. My GI handles my IV phenergan and Benadryl, primary manages TPN, I have a great surgeon, and they all understand that I’m a straight up zebra, my body goes every direction except the right one that all the other horses follow. I thought the pain med bed was actually somewhere accurate with some docs. I’m on fentanyl patches for my GI failure and my pain doc had to fight like crazy to get it. I wish people would understand it’s not just cancer patients that are in pain. I know people take advantage of the system, for years I got accused of drug seeking and then I guess they looked at my chart and said there were surprised I wasn’t in more often because of pain. That would be the nonverbal son with autism, he needs me. I wish we could all get along
If you’re in pain and ask for pain meds - you’re a pill seeking junky. If you change doctors to find one that will help- you’re a doctor shopping pill seeking junky. If, after 30 years of begging doctors to pay attention to you and do literally anything to help, you stop going to doctors and accept you’re just going to die like this.. you’re crazy for “not trying”… so the only option is “don’t be in pain” at least in America. I’d kill for literally anybody to give a damn to even try to figure out the underlying cause, or drop the god complex long enuf to say “I don’t know” over just finding out a new way it’s all my fault and dismiss me as a pill seeking junky. I don’t want pain pills. I want pain relief, preferably in the form of figuring out and fixing what’s wrong, but in lieu of that.. I just don’t want to hurt anymore
I have been saying for 2 years now that I have daily back pain that didn't get better with pain meds, ice, or heat. I wasn't put into PT until 4 months ago and it still didn't help the pain. I was also attending massage therapy every single week for 1-2 hour sessions (not cheap at all) for 4 months. Then 3 weeks ago while I was working, I felt numbness and tingling shoot down my low back, all the way down to my feet; this is called sciatica. When the sciatic nerve is being pushed or pinched. I went to urgent care, was informed I should have had MRI scans 2 years ago given my symptoms. I was set up to receive a scan for June 2nd, the earliest I could be seen. But I developed leg weakness and was instructed to go to the ER immediately. They did my MRI right there, and wouldn't you know it! I have a herniated disc that has protruded so far into my sciatic nerve that a "significant" section of my disc has broken off and is now floating in my spinal canal. So now I'm gonna be meeting a nice neurosurgeon for surgery next week. I just turned 30.🙃
Oh but they'll give my grandma trazadone and oxycodone and leave me home alone to deal with her susiqent delirium when she mixes them I hate this place
As someone who is on disability I deal with more of the insurance not exactly seeing eye to eye with my doctors. Talking to either one makes me feel invisible almost instantly. I’ve been trying to get approval for an mri for eight months and counting for my back pain. All of this is now on top of looking for a new place to call home. I’m slowly getting more depressed and considering suicide as viable option for the end of my problems. 😢
Please don't commit that act. Keep looking for doctors who will listen. You are worthy of pain relief, and honestly if it gets that bad try a methadone clinic or a suboxone Clinic I know you're not an addict but they can't help with pain. I love you
@@melissamccall709My doctors listen fine. It’s the insurance company that likes to drag its feet. Sometimes it’s like insurance doesn’t want to pay for something other times you find them hemorrhaging money. Still find it odd how I have two doctors in the same building and yet I’m forced to visit them on different days wasting time and money on both sides.
See, I was in a car crash and was MISERABLE, but was doing physical therapy. I wasn't offered any kind of pain management, and it wasn't until SIX WEEKS AFTER THE CRASH that two MRIs revealed that I had SIX HERNIATIONS IN MY SPINE. My physical therapy IMMEDIATELY downgraded on how much they were having me do, and I still didn't get ANYTHING for pain. I could barely walk, but I was told it was, and I quote, "a miracle [I] could walk at all". It's been a year and a half, my PIP coverage for physical therapy has been gone for a year, and I STILL have severe back problems, but being essentially disabled by the crash has left me without a job and relying on my fiancé for basically anything and everything, but us being low income means I can't seek out more help for my back without incuring a LOT of debt. Shit sucks all over, sorry for dumping this.
Who can afford physical therapy? $150 for initial visit followed by two to three visits per week at $50 each, most of us in pain cannor afford that. Three visits at $50 is $600 month, sure. It is a cyclical problem, cant work due to pain and can't get care because I can't work.
I told my physician that drugs were my very last option. So we went physical therapy to radio frequency ablation. After learning what I have about neuroscience, I’m surprised we don’t invest in RFA more to handle all kinds of pain. It’s barely intrusive; non-permanent; and absolutely NO ADDICTION. My only fear was pushing myself to hard because a lack of pain would give me false confidence, but it seems like dealing with back pain for most of my life conditioned me to limit my self subconsciously.
This reminds me of when I went to my GP for very severe, recurring back pain (I'm talking so bad I wouldn't be able to walk) asking if there were any alternatives to NSAIDs that would help me without risking an ulcer in the long run (would've also been fine with stomach protectors or anything else to just help me treat the pain so I could move in the immediate moment without risking other health problems in the future) and he told me I was just anxious and gave me Zoloft. I have 2 disc protrusions, signs of disc degeneration on half of my lower back discs and stenosis in my last lumbar disc (L5-S1), it is very much NOT anxiety
This is hilarious! The only time I got pain meds was when I was having a surgery. Sometimes, the constipation is worse than the pain. I asked for phenergan with codeine for having this annoying cough lasted more than 2 months, my primary doctor of 16 years laughed and said "No". I had to see another family physician, who actually listens to me and helps me. I appreciate him so much.
Doc, the PCP whom you portay here could use some additional mentoring. I know it's a skit and meant to be funny. But those if who have been burdened by Docs who don't listen know acutely how being in pain and untreated feels. Do we have to have limbs lobbed off before pain is treated? Shouldn't a PCP take sudden-onset pain a little more seriously? Shouldn't a PCP Doc at least TOUCH his back before suggesting the fix is physical therapy? And is it wrong to give a person 3-5 days of paineds while setting up PT? In my experience, setting up PT can sometimes span into MONTHS while you wait for approval, an appropriate therapist to have availability, and then slots in the therapist's schedule that will minimize out-of-work time. Not all jobs give unlimited PTO or even sick time that you can take with little to no notice. Most jobs expect full-time employees to be full-time employees.
Not me going to my PCP, getting referred to a neurosurgeon, who then referred me to a pain specialist, who THEN referred me to physical therapy, and the PHYSICAL THERAPIST was the first one to actually explain what was wrong in words I could actually understand
As someone with chronic pain this is so real. And the problem is I've been going to physical therapy when i can but i now have a job that is less flexible with schedule changes. Just over the last week I've been having debilitating jaw/dental pain. Have gone to 3 different urgent/express cares, the ER once, and have gone to my PCP and I still have to wait until the end of July to get my wisdom teeth removed. I've called probably almost a dozen places at this point trying to get anything sooner or just a visit. I literally broke down today cause I was told to come in at 12:30 today and when I showed up they said I was never put in the system. I had literally cancelled a doctor's appointment and left work early to go to this dentist today. I haven't been able to sleep or eat properly for a week, I'm so tried of this.
Wow I didn't realize hydrocodone was used for shit like that... I got a bad double ear infection a few years ago and was giving hydrocodone for it. No fucking wonder I was rehospitalized and having severe dizziness and vomiting. I physically couldn't stand I was so dizzy. it was way too strong a medication !!!! I'll also mention I was 17 at the time and never took any pain medicine besides like, ibuprofen. Crazy shit.
Since when do doctors actually care about the root cause? Not very often in my experience!! Myself, my mom, my husband... we've all had bad experiences with PCPs who didn't care about the root cause and gave potentially damaging "medical advice" as a result. I flat-out don't trust them anymore. I'll refer myself to a specialist from now on for specific issues.
My boss and I have very similar back issues. And we have the same weird nasal thing going on. His doctors approved him for surgery the first time they saw him. I've been seeing doctors about these issues for years but because I'm a woman of childbearing age, no doctor wants to suggest surgery. Especially being in the south, doctors think they know what's best for women when it comes to anything to do with children. I'll never want kids of my own, and doctors should respect that. If I have scoliosis and keep dislocating my SI joint and slipping discs when I cough, it sounds like maybe a surgeon should go in there and fix it like they did my boss.
What if he has some kidney issues and he's having back pain because of that what if he's having spinal compression and he's having back pain because of that
Or what if he has multiple myeloma that is eating at his bones like me...? So mad my doctor threw ibuprofen at me instead of a ct scan that I later got that immediately showed cancer......
All this, I went to VA over and over and the best I got was gabapentin. When I almost lost my job and they refused to sign paperwork covering me under ADA since I’m rated for my back I found a new doctor. Paperwork done the same day and bulging and herniated discs after MRI.
@@Joy21090 thank you. My treatments have been going well and I'll be getting a stem cell transplant this summer. Myeloma is not curable but I can be in remission for quite a while.
No offense, but not everyone has weekends off. I work retail and rarely have a whole weekend off. Please remember that in you suggestions to patients. When doctors tell me to try a new med over the weekend to get used to it, I just roll my eyes, I even barely get two days off in a row. I can't help be a little snarky, because it blows my mind that stores and other businesses are obviously open on the weekend. Yet people assume everyone had weekends off. If no one worked weekends, there would be no stores to shop on weekends, no emergency services, no police to help us, no restaurants open for the church crowd to treat wait staff like crap and tip them in religious pamphlets.
Pain can increase your blood pressure... I agree about not taking something for the back, but there should have been more of a discussion. I also agree with physical therapy
Currently going through this rn. In severe pain and because I got my flu shot my isual massage therapist refused to work on my back. My doctor has referred me to the physio again and finally referred to a pain clinic. But doesn't help with the pain in the short term. Can barely sleep with it.
I went to a PT finally because of lower back pain I've had for a like two years that one got worse and worse recently. Turns out, it's not back pain but ass pain. A specific muscle in my right cheek is tensed up beyond fuck and it's pulling on the attachment in my lower back, next to my spine, which is what causing the pain. I also had an open shin/calf fracture April 30 2023 that I had to get immediate surgery for, and while I can walk again, I did the PT of it on my own (bc I didn't know you needed PT for it) and the tensed muscle is the only thing I got left from it, something I'm trying to actively unlearn. We've had two sessions, and my "back pain" is now as good as gone, since I do some extra stretching twice a week at the gym, and I stopped doing back extensions. My PT also said that 90% of back pain isn't true back pain, it's usually some sort of ass pain, lol. So yes, PT is good and usually it doesn't take many sessions to fix the pain, even bad, long standing pain. The only bad side effect now is, since my back/hip stopped hurting, the pain in my broken leg reared its head even more, bc the back pain was drowning out the leg pain. 😅 And there's nothing the PT or anyone can do about that, because healing from a break like mine takes a couple of years. Apparently the fact that I can already walk so well without any aid is unheard of.
I have the reverse problem, I think. I mention a symptom in response to one of the "review of systems" questions, and my doctor immediately gets started on trying to find the cause and an effective treatment. Meanwhile I know what's wrong with me, don't want treatment, and only said anything because I believe in being honest to doctors.
I’m getting confused when my insurance keeps contacting me with their own nurses to go over my medical history. Like… I just went over this with my doctor. I don’t need your diagnosis
Well read all the comments about a PMR Doctor and then ask to be referred to one if the pain is functionally messing with your life on a regular or frequent basis. If it's just a one-off from pruning a tree in the yard, then you probably don't need a PMR Doc. But in my case I was sent to PMR because I frequently couldn't walk and other Docs had been unable to diagnose why. PMR Doc diagnosed in about 5 minutes, did a treatment 2 weeks later, and I walked pain-free for 18 months before I needed another treatment. PMR saved my sanity and keeps me functional. A PMR Doc is also referred to as a Physiatrist (fizz-EYE-a-tryst).
I have fibromyalgia and scoliosis and when I went to an appointment with my Dr I told him the gabipentin wasn't helping me throughout the day despite taking 800mg 3x daily. I would take it and it would wear off before my next dose. I asked if I could do physical therapy or maybe an alternative method to treat it that doesn't involve loading me up with pills, his solution was increase the gabipentin and put me in another med on top of it. Then he said I'll see you in a year... yeah I wasn't happy with that
I go to the urgent care bc of a nerve/muscle spasm were I can't walk for two days. They just give me prednisone and a muscle relaxer. Thanks, my guy. I am not going to take 6 prednisone at once. That just seems a bit much. And this really isn't going to stop this from happening again. So now I am in PT and v excited to actually being working on the root cause.
@@XxLadyxGaladrielxXI mean if you couldn’t walk then I would have thought you would have wanted pretty urgent symptomatic treatment. PT is great but takes forever to get an appointment and even longer before it does anything. But if you can wait the months for the fix then by all means. I have found prednisone to be great at relieving pain.
Granted that back pain is a widely heterogeneous category, but I can attest that one form of it is from lack of exercise of core muscles. Nothing fancy, just sit-ups and push-ups and such. When I got back to doing calisthenics after years of not exercising enough, my nascent back discomfort problems went away. Obviously this won't work for other causes of back pain, but I can't recommend it enough for the type that was beginning to develop in my case.
not really related but it loosely reminds me of when my dad had major knee surgery with a one-night hospital stay (at a place that barely did anything inpatient at all). they discharged him the next morning with enough hydrocodone to last maybe 24 hours at the dosage he was being prescribed. days before christmas. so we were calling every pharmacy in the area to learn if they had hydrocodone in stock and if they were open on christmas. all the while wondering why on EARTH you would discharge a patient to whom you cant prescribe enough medicine to last more than a day
