What do you tell your GP?

[Melusine]

They gave me a diagnosis and told me there was no cure and that treatments didn't do very much and pretty much left me at that. I don't think my GP does any research on my condition at all. It's pretty much all on me for 90% of what goes on.

That'll be the experience of almost everyone with a prolapsed disc or regular old back pain.  Steroid shots are supposed to be temporary and often do nothing, surgery might do nothing except steal your bladder control or worse.  That just leaves yoga-type exercise and time (and lifestyle-improvement).  And, sure, that works for a lot.  Years ago I got some pretty good painkillers from my GP whenever my back bothered me and they didn't work great but they took me down 1-2 points on the 10 point pain scale and let me function.  Now everyone's decided opiates don't work on back pain.  Try and explain that they do for you and you've got history on paper of being a responsible medicine-taker?  Nope, no pain relief for you!

I have found out through my own ways that certain things help quite well that "officially," aren't supposed to be helping my one bit. The last thing that I found that really helped with my condition was a significant improvement, but my specialist just flat out said that "nope, that wouldn't help with your condition at all."

And since I found out that it helped on my own, what kind of argument could I make? So I just shut up and went about things my own way just like usual. 

This whole "game," is just so ridiculous and tiring.

Yes, this game is a lose-lose situation.

I underwent close to 10 surgeries in the past 6 years alone. That's not counting chemo and radiation. And, let's not forget the infected abscess under the tooth some overpaid butcher pulled out, one root at a time, who threw an exasperated "Take some Advil" at me when I asked him what kind of pain killer he was going to prescribe.

Except for one of the said surgeries and painful treatments, I always had leftovers by the time I felt my pain was under control. I kept them in a dark, cool and dry place, with the prescription label inside the vials. Still, experience dictated that it wouldn't be a bad idea to stockpile some pain medicine from the internet. I did. I rarely use it, but I'm glad I have it.

Where I live, every pharmacist, doctor, their staff, the world and their cousin have access to one's national medical file, including one's prescriptions, medical file and test results!  Pharmacists have become especially irritating, puffing their chests and second guessing your doctors on every prescription you get. 

This winter, I went to my usual pharmacy for some anodyne antibiotic for a mild but everlasting upper-chest respiratory infection. Nooooo.. It apparently interacted with my prescribed medications and it could be very dangerous for my heart. I DON'T have a heart condition, but I felt extremely sick from that bad cold.
I waited over an hour as she tried to reach the doctor who had prescribed it at the emergency clinic.
If I had been sitting on a thermometer, it would probably have exploded from my rising fever. She then sent me home, without any antibiotic, and called me two hours later to tell me she had finally gotten though to the doctor and replaced the nefarious antibiotic with amoxicilline. I'm fortunate enough to have a loving husband who mercifully went to the pharmacy for me.

Let me tell you this: I will certainly NOT volunteer any information about extra curricular classes I've been taking, especially those I take at night .

I did, however, make a comprehensive list of the supplements I take, such as bona fide vitamins, omega 3, etc. It's not, thank Buddha, in my national medical file, but every doctor or hospital who happen to treat me have a copy of it. It was every useful to the hospital oncology pharmacist who analysed it and made sure I stopped taking the supplements that could hinder the chemo cell killing process.

For the rest, I'm, like another member said on a previous page, a good researcher, and I can figure out dangerous interactions. As I did not develop an addiction to any medication I take without a prescription, it's easy enough for me to avoid them completely during the week preceding a surgery. I know not everyone is so fortunate.

But, you know, getting in a state of withdrawal before a surgery, as somebody suggested, might be more harmful than having drugs in your system when they put you under. I guess it depends on the drug concerned and the quantity involved. I know that the more rested and relaxed I am before an intervention, the easier and faster I recuperate.

Like all of you, I could write books of infuriating anecdotes on the subject but, for now:

Thththaaath's all folks,  

M.