why?

[alex44]

OK to start things, i USED to drink quite a bit of beer esp. in my younger years. as my illness's have progressed, my doc's, the few that I trust anyway, have advised me to slow down even more - I am now down to two 12 Oz. beers a day. Soon it will be one and then none - this should help my health and my wallet. The part I don't understand, my dose has not changed but my pain levels have gone thru the roof. I did have a brief setback when the VA sent a letter to all chronic pain patients were going to be re-evaluated (N0n-Cancer) but other then that, I am back at two a day with a day off once in a while. I know from past history that it is possible to wash Methadone out of your system, if the clinic nurse had not been at the same resort, and not seen us drinking to excess, we would have been in a world of doo-doo. (we were on our second honeymoon) - so should the medicine not be MORE effective since I am not washing it out? I am drinking mu Last night my legs and feet hurt so bad from the peripheral Neuropathy, I almost called 911 - not to mention my back was almost as bad. Folks, I am used to pain,I am under medicated, and can stand a lot but now ????? HELP

Thamk yo
Blessings to all
Skypilot

[tortoisegirl]

From my own experience I can say that alcohol really helps my pain. Its an immediate dramatic difference. However, my pain is a constant headache, so that may be why (a vascular thing). I definitely keep it safe though due to the meds (and I'm not one to drink in excess anyways), and as I don't want to start relying on it for pain relief. I just enjoy a drink or two a few days a week.

It could be related to your decreased alcohol consumption, but maybe not. Something could be going on health wise (exacerbation or new), tolerance increase, etc... I hope you are back to your usual pain levels soon, and congrats on your progress cutting back. Best wishes.

[alex44]

Discretion being the better part of Valor, I pulled the post , I am still angry but I don't need the wrong eye's seeing it - shame that but that is what the world has come to.
Blessings
Alex44
Skypilot
Yes, I am an ordained Spiritualist minister
A.

[Mark N]

Alex, sorry to hear that your pain meds aren't doing the job right now. My guess is alcohol masked the additional pain and now that you are cutting way back, a good thing I think, you are more aware of the pain signals your body is giving you. I know in my case of only using pain meds that I still have periods were increased pain makes life unbearable but it quiets back down to my "regular" level of pain. I use aspirin to help my pain meds when things get to be too much. I hope your pain levels begin to drop back down to the levels you had previously.

[alex44]

Thank You Mark, as well as Everyone. I was glad to see B/T come in at the top of my S/E. The drinking - Working on it. My partner (Cynthia) has developed a sensitivity to Gluten. This has been a real Game-Changer for us. As in, I Am glad I have a lot of experience W/Cooking - both baking and being a cook - Not a chef. ( I wish I was) anyway , I got a good recipe book on cooking Gluten Free. I am now ready to take over the cooking Gluten Free meals. This is my Partner. I love her forever and 25 years together says it all. So , to sum up things, I hope everyone is doing as well as they can, We are hanging in there, not easy (we are BROKE) till Monday but have it covered - saw my shrink - a positive experience.
Blessings
Alex44
Skypilot

[Mark N]

Alex, Cynthia is fortunate, as I know you are for having her in your life, to have you there for her. I would struggle with a gluten free diet but I wish you both luck with it. My broke spine is getting worse or I should say the bad thoracic disk I have. The pain level and muscle spasms that go with it are getting to the point I can't ignore the pain any more. I still have a few things to try so I hope I can get the pain under control.

[alex44]

Mark - I am sorry about your back. I am dealing with DDD and all that goes with it. So I am not supposed to climb ladders, BUT.........exactly where i fell, I don't know of any bones in that area - just the tail bone and the hip - neither, I am quite sure is broken. It does feel like I am sitting on something on my left side so We will see. I hope that you and your family are doing well, you are right, I could not exist without my Partner -you are right - FAMILY is EVERYTHING. And yes, a glutin-free diet is hard - but not impossible. I made her a cheesecake today that is gluten free. Still learning other dishes.
Take care
Alex44
Skypilot

[Eva 14]

Alex, so sorry to hear about the VA cutting your dose of pain meds. In those circumstances, I don't blame you for trying to get some pain relief through alcohol.

Back when I was undermedicated, I used to have a glass or two of wine in the evenings. It did help the pain. I've never been much of a drinker and I was really only drinking to get some pain relief. Now that I'm in pain management and on a sufficient dose of pain meds, I basically never drink alcohol at all anymore. There's just no need to.

It's okay to have maybe one drink while on pain meds, but always remember that moderation is best. Congrats on cutting back on the beers.

I think it's disgraceful that most doctors prescribe inadequate levels of pain meds. They are almost forcing pain patients to seek pain relief in alcohol or possibly even street drugs. I've never done street drugs, but back when I was in excruciating chronic pain 24/7 and undermedicated, I was so desperate for pain relief that I literally did not know what to do. I'm grateful that those days of intense suffering are behind me ever since I found a great pain doctor.

It must have been terribly stressful getting a letter informing you that all pain patients will be 'reevaluated'. Years ago, an unsympathetic doctor informed me that I needed to be 'reevaluated'. Turns out that's code for cutting a patient off and/or greatly reducing one's dose. I hadn't done anything wrong, so I was stunned. Oh well, that doctor was NOT a pain doc, so he had no compassion for the pain I was suffering. The doc who said it actually had never even seen me, either. He was just a new doc who joined the practice who suffered from opiophobia and arbitrarily decided that NO ONE in the practice should be prescribed ANY pain meds.

Good luck to you and I hope things get better for you!

Best,
Eva