Do we expect too much from our doctors ?

[connie104]

I have recently been attending the pain clinic at my hospital after being referred there by the traumatology dept as I am high risk for a hip replacement .
I have been prescribed an assortment of different heavy duty painkillers some helped some made me so ill that I thought I was going to die ! In the end I have been on oxicodone for the last 3 months each month the dose has been increased and I am now on 40 mg twice a day which has controlled the pain quite well. The downside of this is I drop off to sleep the moment I sit on the sofa for more than a couple of minutes and I have completely lost my appetite and have lost an awful lot of weight some 20 kilos plus which I did not need to lose and my husband now calls me little sparrow!. The consultant said to me that this is the best he can do for me now and has referred me back to traumatology . I can't believe this is me for the rest of my life always asleep and stick thin. Maybe should cut back on pain killers ? Any ideas ?


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[Yorksman]

I can't comment on your condition but we all know that one doctor can take a completely different approach to another.

My mother for example was in poor health and on all sorts of drugs. Her lungs were failing and she had to have oxygen at home. The bottles used to last a couple of months but she needed more and more. She started getting though them one every two weeks.

A consultant investigated her medication and said that her problems were caused by the medication. He changed it completely. She took about a quarter of the pills that she used to and never needed oxygen again.

You can ask for a second opinion you know.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi Connie,

It must be dreadful to not be able to lead a normal life and you have my sympathy. Permanent pain and tiredness are hard to bear.

You say you are high risk for a hip replacement. I take this to mean that your medical team do not want you to have this operation? Are there any factors or past medical history that makes this operation impossible for you?

This article may be of some help to you and although it is produced by the British Pain Society there may be something similar in Spain.

http://www.britishpainsociety.org/patient_faq.htm

As Yorksman says, you can always ask for a second opinion and I am surprised that your Consultant wants to leave things as they are. In a situation like this I always ask the Consultant what his advice would be if I was one of his relatives.

 

[connie104]

Thanks Catherine and yorksman for your replies. I am considered high risk as I have had 2 strokes and have high blood pressure and of course diabetes so they did not want to do the hip replacement at the moment although I believe it can be done by epidural .
The doctor said to me that there is a price to pay for controlling the pain and I suppose this is it . I know a lot of people feel drowsy with opoid pain killers but they seem to effect me very badly . I suppose the choice is what quality of life is best


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