Pain management for QOL

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tangandchris
tangandchris Member Posts: 1,855
edited November 2020 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

Is it unreasonable to expect pain meds to cope with treatment side effects? If quality of life is impacted shouldn't that be a priority to try and make better as metastatic patients?

I'm still very early in my diagnosis, but I have concerns about pain from treatment. Pain from AI's greatly impacted my life. It was enough for me to quit taking them. Now I am metastatic and must take medication regardless of pain.

Are pain meds part of your daily routine?

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited November 2020

    They're part of mine. I take gabapentin bid and Tylenol, advil and muscle relaxants prn. I have hydromorphone on hand as well and took my first dose ever last night.

    I will be talking with my MO about this actually because in the pain treatment steps there are weaker opioids like tramadol and codeine which can be used before moving up to the stronger opioids so I will chat with her about getting some of those in my arsenal.

    Also considering pot.

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  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited November 2020

    Not only is it not unreasonable, my MO prescribed pain meds when I started chemo. While I appreciate that, it really threw me, I told her I was not in pain and asked if chemo was supposed to hurt. Fortunately I've not had pain but I know of many who do and take pain meds regularly, if not daily to manage it.

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited November 2020

    my chemo hurts a lot :(

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited November 2020

    moth,

    I have managed my pain, AI induced, with high dose Ibuprofen or Naproxen during the day and cannabis in the evening. See if there is a dispensary in your area that works with medical patients. That can be very helpful in getting you started but it’s still a bit of a trial and error process.

    I do worry that I may have to go towards opioids eventually and that is not a pleasant prospect as I hate that stuff but understand that it may be necessary. I have heard that some doctors have become very strict about prescribing opioids even to cancer patients! That is very wrong

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited November 2020

    thx exbrnexgrl. you'd think pot would be simple here in Vancouver lol. I'm still looking around for a reputable place.

    I tried naproxen on Sunday but not sure it did more for me than ibuprofen.

    My MO and gp both have no issues prescribing opioids so at least that's a relief. They just feel "end stagey" to me so I'm resisting them emotionally; not logical at all....also I just fall asleep on them which is fine but not useful during day for long term use.

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