I won't go into a extremely long story but within the last 4-5 mo. the effectiveness off my Medication (oxycodone 20 mg's 3x's a day and Fentanyl 75mcgh tid 48 hours) has not been as effective as it used to be. And...in the last 3 weeks has become really difficult. Monday I called the doc's office and well he's not there on Monday. But I tell his "receptionist" (I use that term lightly because since she started the office has changed. she's got no bedside manner what so ever and she proves my point during this phone call) So I tell her what's going on. down to the withdrawals. She proceeds to tell me that he doesn't have any appointments before my scheduled appointment on Thursday. well I tell her I can try to make it but I'm going to have to add 1 extra oxy onto each dose and 2 at 1 a.m. cuz that's worse. That she should call dr. b. and talk it over with him. and if he has a problem with it to call me back. No call back so it's what I do. Like my daddy always said. "Ya gotta do what you gotta do"
Well today I go into see the doc after being seriously miserable for the last few days. Im crying, he questions why and I tell him that obviously that his "receptionist" didn't tell him I called on Monday. That's great because I went and did something I wasn't supposed to do without permission but assumed that I didn't get a call back it was permission.
Long story short we are taking me off the two listed in paragraph 1. Don't know what we are putting me on for replacement of the Fentanyl but for the Oxycodone we are trying the Nucynta ER or aka tapentadol. Has anyone tried this yet? what's your thoughts on it?
Hi you. Not seen you for a while. I have tried tapentadol and not helped much. Not tried the other. We’re all a but different though so it may work better for you.
I'm sorry about your situation, Danielle; I know dealing with healthcare professionals can be quite frustrating. I have been on Nucynta for about 2 years and I love it. My doctor prescribed me Nucynta because I was having problems with nausea/vomiting/other GI issues from the oxy-derivatives so Nucynta is equivalent to oxycodone and still a schedule II drug. I would recommend it for those who don't do well with other pain medications. It doesn't make you loopy or high, it just takes the edge way off. Personally though, I would start out with Nucynta instead of Nucynta ER just to help you identify your pain and evaluate how well the Nucynta works for you. I had also tried Nucynta ER but found that my pain broke through during the 12 hours it's supposed to be effective so I went back to Nucynta three times daily. I hope this has helped!
P.S. Maybe it's time to find a more compassionate doctor.
No I have not tried it, but have heard very good things about it from this site and from members on the Psoriatic Arthritis site! I am very hopeful that it will do good things for you too!
It's always good to hear from you, please take good care of yourself!
Laura, the doc is one of the most compassionate docs I have ever seen. Even when I told him I hadto go over my prscribed directions he was okay with that and ddidn’t chastise me for it. Which typically you can get into huge trouble for doing it. Even loose your pain management contract. The person I have an issue with is the lil beyo7ch that is his office worker. In 2008 I was freaked out because my bill was $720 well I usually pay off my bill in february. Well i told my doc i was stressed about it and he told me not to worry about it because he knows I don’t let my bill go higher than $500 usually and i bring it to a zero balance every year and that I am one of his best patients. Well for the past year and a half my bill has hovered right around $500 I make a payment when I go and then pay my co-pay in addition to a payment. Anyways in the last 2.5 months I’ all monethem. Everytime I talk to her she would ask me about payment. It gets really annoying yshe gets snotty when you tell her that you’ll give her a check but can she hold it untill the next monday when i get paid. In june i paid $200 on july 25th I paid $200.00 and two weeks later she’s calling me to see if I can make a payment for the $172.00 left on the account that day. I told her. Look, #1. I’ve been a patient of dr. B’s since 2006, in that time my bill has NEVER gone over that $720.00. #2. I pay off the bill in full once every year then make payments on what is due in the next 10-11 mo. #3 that I had a discussion with dr.b about my stress with the Bill and he tells me not to worry about it that I’m one of this best patients. #4 that I had just paid $200.00 the week before!!! And why is she calling me about it when the balance isn’t even over 30 days old!.
I understand! My Rheum is going through a run of recepetionists. The amount of my bill varies, so once it goes through the Insurance company, they send a bill, I pay it immediately, and I have to tell each new employee that over and over!
Yeah work has me tied to my desk for the most part. I went from being a little worker to now. Now I am the operations manager, accounts payable manager, computer support specialist, accounts receivable manager and I’m sure there’s another one but just can’t figure it out. Lol. Just put it this way. They are paying me double what I was making when I first started lol. Its nice but I don’t have much time for myself
Its great to see everyone. Is petunia still hanging out?
I tried 100mg slow release. They didnt try a stronger one. Just changed to Celebrex which was about as useful as a strong coffee.
I’m glad you are doing so well at work. Really pleased for you! Petunia is still here somewhere… Maybe her ears are burning now… Haha! I hope you get some rest and fun time soon. Nice seeing you again,
My APNP started me out on Nucynta 50mg three times/day. That was ineffective so she increased it to 100mg three times/day. I was interested in trying ER so she put me on 150mg Nucynta ER twice/day. I found that my pain comes crawling back around 3pm with either medication so I switched back to the immediate release so that I can take them three times/day. However, the Nucynta ER would have worked better with me if I could take anti-inflammatories for breakthrough pain, but now I know I can't tolerate NSAIDS because the adversely affect my liver :(.