clueless doctors

jc2008 · Veteran Member

clueless doctors

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Hi Jen,

My mother has been plagued with lower back issues, rumatiod arthritis, depression, kidney stones, and a few other goodies. She's been sober 32 years and hasn't done any pain medication or anti depepresents. She doesn't even do novacaine at the dentist (hard core old timer

). I not comparing just saying that she'd rather manage the pain then to be crazy and risk drinking again.

Have you tried going to some alternative medicine? acupuncture, homeopath.....? If you look carefully on your insurance provider list, you may find that there are some MDs that are also homeopaths or Osteopaths. Perhaps
a group with an MD, chiropractor, homeopath, massage, herb....in one complex. My wife is in one now dealing with a torn rotator cuff. What cool is she can go in there for 3 hours, receive treatment from 4 different sources for one $25 copay! They even have there own xray/radiologist on site!

If you keep looking, you'll find The solution. Pain pills is no solution. I'd see how much advil, ice, and heat would do. Do you have a jacuzzi? I bought one 12 years ago for my lower back (constructions work) and my hip,which will need replacing some day.

Dean

lani · MIP Old Timer

Hey Jen
Thats a tough one! What about non-narcotic pain relievers? Just took an Aleve for my aching ovaries lol and it seems to be helping. Deans suggestions sound helpful.....Maybe talk to some people in the program that have the same issues and see who their MD is......Best of luck to you!
lani

jonijoni · MIP Old Timer

Hello Jen.

I have a friend in the program that goes through the same thing you do. She has had fractures in her lower lumbar vertebrae and has had chronic lower back and hip pain, and she is in her mid 30's, and it sucks for her. She had to manage the pain with medication for awhile, but had her sponsor and her sober husband actually monitor her meds for awhile while she started some alternative therapies.

She ended up doing some alternative stretching and exercises religously, and is now close to being pain-free without medication, although it will never completely go away. But the thing is, she is functional, because she was willing to try something different until she found what worked for her. And she sticks to that program that works for her.

Dean had some very good ideas here. It is worth a try to think outside the box. We live in a culture where we do not trust that there are ways to heal ourselves that do not require surgery or pain meds. And this is coming from a medical professional!! My dad uses a TENS unit for his back on a regular basis. He was a candidate for disc fusion surgery, and refused to get it. He rides horses again now, using only TENS and anti-inflammatories with no side effects. A lady I know with a chronic neck problem purchased a traction machine and she is also managing quite well without meds. I do know that there are other alternatives out there, you just have to try them, and see what works for you.

Good luck to you on this, and you have my encouragement, thoughts and prayers.

Dave Harm · Senior Member

Oh doctors - for people who want us to be healthy - at times - they don't have a clue.

Years ago when I was still drinking, I'd go through parts of the day just shaking. I always thought it was DT's. The more I drank, I less I shook.

But after I quit drinking I still shook, in fact, years later it was worse.

To make a long story short, I went to a doctor and found out that I have Essential Tremors (ET). When I drank the ET's were "relaxed" so I didn't shake. I did tell the doctor that I am an alcoholic, but his best advice was maybe trying "just one glass of wine" every night at supper time.

I made the point that there is no such thing as "one glass of anything" for me. I left that office thinking how dumb some of these "professionals" are.

Now, my family doctor is another story. He knows I've got an addictive personality and is very leary about giving me anything.

Creating dreams, from the nightmares of hell

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Hey Jen,

like Joni mentioned, I also use a Tens unit, and have been for 16 years. If you've not seen one, it's the size of a cell phone and it generates micro volts of electricity thru wires to these sticky rubber contact patches. the unit is cool, it allows you to modulate the strength, pulses and frequency of the charges. It blocks the nerves from being able to send pain signals to the brain. It also seems to massage you muscles by making them vibrate with the electric pulses, very relaxing. I've fallen asleep with mine many times.

http://www.bodyclock.net/

http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/treatment-36204-5.html

jc2008 · Veteran Member

Wow -- that TENS thing sounds really cool. I appreciate all of your help, everyone. It's good to know that maybe I'm not trapped -- maybe there is a way out. There is a lot packed into this issue for me. I'm a control freak (I imagine some of you can relate to that), so it makes me very uncomfortable when I have a problem that I can't fix. Also, my mom was severely disabled, and for most of my life she was either on crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair, and was in constant pain. It affected all of us, but we never talked about it -- it was the ultimate elephant in the living room. My dad drank, my sister became angry and withdrawn, and I became the ultimate people pleaser who tried to make everyone happy so we'd all forget about the shit. You all know how that turned out -- I always fell short. And it gave me a perfect excuse to drink. So anything that makes me feel like I'm anything like my mom (physically, that is -- otherwise I worshipped her).

I just totally psychoanalyzed myself. And guess what? None of it matters. It's sad, but we all have/had painful stuff in their lives. I need to remember that. If I dwell on it, I get depressed and want to drink. No more self pity, no more victim crap. I just want to be done with it and get better.

So tomorrow is a new day. I have my favorite meeting in the morning. I'll think about the TENS. Thanks again for all of the helpful input.

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Jen, if you want to borrow mine, you'll just need to buy a set of pads for it ($20). A girl, in the program, gave it to me a long time ago. I'm not using it right now. Also your health insurance will buy one for you if your Dr. prescribes one. I think that they run about $200.

Dean

jonijoni · MIP Old Timer

Yay, jc!!! Good attitude, and what you seem to be doing right now in recovery is discovering the Causes and Conditions- relating WHY you have become the perfectionist you have become, and also WHY you have become accustomed to trying to control things in your life. That stuff plagues us all, in our own ways.

But seeing how your past experiences and childhood environment ENCOURAGED the thinking and behavior should at some point let you start to realize this: "No matter what neuroticisms and control issues we picked up in the past and during our growing up, we were only Doing Our Best With What We Had At The Time." Once we stop beating ourselves up because we did the best, at the time, with what we had available (coping mechanisms), we can start to chuckle when we see ourselves continue these controlling behaviors, instead of being depressed and angry about them.

Seeing WHY- what events in our lives made us the way we are, can be a great comfort and a big step forward in recovery. This is what Step 4 is all about. Once we get down to causes and conditions, we can start to embrace the fact that old thinking doesn't work, and we can start to move on to things that WORK.

You are doing such an awesome job at some good mental spring cleaning, and right on time. So pat yourself on the back, and kow that you are on the right path.

:o) :o) :o)

Jim S · Member

Jen, I feel your pain and have felt this way for many years. It's a real craw in my throat. The vast majority of doctors out there just don't have a clue. Unless it's a Head Doc....

This actually came up at a IOP/SA meeting yesterday (I go on a voluntary basis).

One young lady hit the big leagues right off the bat after recovering from liver surgery. She started using Heroin.

She mentioned that she had a cold and went to the store and picked up some Nyquil and was concerned about the ingredients. Our counsoler explained to her how she needs to read the labels on the bottles....

With this I piped up immediately and suggested to the young lady that if she ever had a question about something like that to consult with her Pharmasist (Pharmasists are bound by the same confidentially laws as the rest of the medical profession) as most doctors don't have a clue and even if they did they can't keep up with meds and often consult with Pharmacys....

Well, this didn't go over too well with the counsoler and another young person there who just happens to have a husband thats a doctor... The counsoler stood by her suggestion on the young lady reading the labels her by her own even after I stated she'd need a PDA to interperate the chemicals and even then she's playing a risky game....

Sorry, I'll call it as I see it.... I'm not there to make friends....

It's a Pharmasists job to stay on top of meds, time most doctors to have or care to take the time to have....

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

good point Jim. every time that I've consulted with a pharmacist, they've been very helpful locating alcohol free products and they also identified over the counter products to stay away from, that had narcotic like effects. when I had 4 years clean and sober, I had to have a liver biopsy. I asked the doctors to not give me any narcotics during it. They laughed and said that the procedure is so painful that they didn't want me jumping off the table when the stuck me with this 6" long syringe the size of a 10 penny nail. They used "veracet" which apparently was pretty strong. It screwed me up for about a week. 2 days later I was making some business calls and was getting customers mixed up on the phone. They thought that I was nuts until I told them that I just
got out of the hospital and maybe had gone back to work too soon. I took a few days off and went to a lot of meetings, where I didn't make much sense either weirdface

. My tollerance had dropped so low that it did a lot of damage to my system.
I hate to think what it would be like now weirdface

-- Edited by StPeteDean at 11:28, 2008-04-22