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