"How did this happen," We ask ourselves?   

"We just wanted to control our pain!"

Well, we went about it the wrong way.  Any time a patient asks for narcotics, any doctor's warning bells are going to go off.  They don't like that.  It's just a knee jerk reaction that's been beaten into them over the years. 

So what do we do?  Well here's what works. 

First we've got to show them something they can deal with.  Doctors like numbers.  So keep a pain diary, and every day write down your pain level for that day on a scale of 1 to 10.  There's a sample pain chart on this site.  Use it to make one of your own that relates to you.  Over on the left is a "Sample Pain Graph".  Open that up to see what I'm talking about. 

Take that with you to your doctor.  Tell your doctor you want the LEAST amount of narcotic that it will take to control your pain, but you want it controlled.  They will love that.  They never hear that. 

Then let them decide what to give you.  Take it for a while (a few days should be enough).  Continue to keep your pain diary. 

Then go back and show the doctor what effect it's having on your pain.  Let the doctor decide what to do to provide better pain control.  Accept more narcotics reluctantly.   Ask if there's not something else that would help so you wouldn't have to take the narcotic.  Who knows, maybe there is. 

It might take a little longer to get to a theraputic dose and to where you're staying ahead of the pain curve.  I guarantee you though, this will cut down on your doctor shopping. 

Couple more things. 

Always communicate clearly about your narcotics.  If you're going to need an early prescription for a trip or something, tell your doctor as soon as you know that you're going to need it, even if it's six months early.  Make sure it's OK with him or her for you to get an early prescription for a trip.  Don't spring it on him or her at the last minute.   We've seen disasters from that. 

If you loose a narcotic prescription, that's a very big deal.  Don't do it.  Well, you can do it once every 5 years or so. 

OK I hope this helps.  Good luck.

Dan