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Sam2
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Default Mar 01, 2014 at 05:01 PM
 
Chronic pain can definately cause emotional issues. I suffer from chronic, dibilitating migraines, back pain, bilateral leg pain and falling all the time as my legs won't bend so I can't stop if I trip on even a small change in the rug.

Knowing that you have pain that may never go away, may get worse and is slowing taking from you everything you had ie job, recreation, sleep etc, can cause severe depression, hopelessness, anger, panic, control issues. You get the picture.

There is no magic opioid cocktail. Each person responds to medications differently. When nothing else would help my migraines, I was put on methadone. That was about a decade ago. Now I take methadone, dilaudid and clonazepam on a daily basis and have eight injections of phenergan and meparidine per month. Prior to that, they tried fentanyl, morphine, codeine, butalbutol etc. etc.

I don't have any info on psychiatric therapy for chronic pain, but if you are not already a patient of a pain management clinic, I suggest you find the closest one and see if they will take you. Unlike most clinics and Dr.s, pain management clinics are not afraid to break out the big guns if they have to.
Its not a free ride though. You will be required to sign a contract stating that you won't take prescriptions for pain meds from any other Dr. unless they first call your pain doc and check. You will be subject to urine or blood tests and pill counts with only 24hr warnings. Mainly that is for the clinic's protection, a DEA mandate and your protection. Its well worth it though.

I don't know all the meds you have tried, but there may be medications that are not opioids that work better for you. The downside of opioids is buiding a tolerance to them (they no longer help at that dose), constipation, tooth decay over the long haul and physiologic dependency. Unfortunately, nothing else worked on me. My dosages are very high and can't be raised without danger of death now. If you can avoid them, do so.

Anyway, look for a pain clinic. They are most likely to help you. Sometimes they give anti-depressants as part of the medications. It sounds like you should stay in therapy as well, at least until they can figure out how much of your emotional turmoil is secondary to pain and how much is primary.

Sam2
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