Among her many ventures, Jenny Lawson, A.K.A. The Bloggess, co-blogs for the Houston Chronicle at a site called Good Mom/Bad Mom. After I read this post, I decided to write her this letter. SInce there are thousands of chronic pain sufferers out there, I am sharing it here. If you live within 100 miles of Detroit, and need a compassionate, wonderful pain specialist, please consider Drs. Rosenberg and Kimpson at Prizm Pain Management. I think they saved my life.
This is not a sponsored post. I am not a doctor. Find a good one.
Hi Jenny. I just read your GoodMom/BadMom post about the emergency room and the opiates the doc gave you. I have been taking them for a while now for chronic back pain, so if ever you have any questions, please feel free to email me, because I won't think you are loony. I've been there.
A good pain management doctor NEVER gives up. There are ALWAYS other things they can try. My first pain doc was a complete asshole, and after I quit him, I was afraid to see another one for years. The guy I see now? I will remember this man and his staff in my will. They get the whole Pokemon collection, even the limited edition Mew-Two. I'm not even kidding.
Some advice: Opiates will make you really constipated if you don't counteract with something. Docs usually say Colace, which is a stool softener, but I've found that the best thing is lots of bran/fiber, and Activia yogurt, which at my house is now called "poop yogurt" as in: "I need to go to the store for some more poop yogurt. I hope they have peach this time!"
Also, don't wait until the pain is unbearable! Opiates work best as a preventative of terrible pain. I know you were surprised, but it's true...if the pain is bad, there is no "buzz" from the pain meds. If there's a "buzz" it probably means you are over-medicated.
On the plus side, they are appetite killers. I am never hungry. Never. So, if I can keep myself away from the Jelly Belly jelly beans, I can keep my weight decent with very little effort on my part! Woohoo!
I hope it's okay with you, I am also going to post this as an Open Letter to The Bloggess on my blog. This is important shit. People with chronic pain need to know that there is hope for them, too.
Lots and lots of love,
Mary
