I'm Mad Now!

I have been using Tramadol for over 2 years as my main pain reliever for fibromyalgia.  I use 4 a day on average, but occasionally require a fifth one if I do something out of the norm.

I can generally call in my prescription 3 days in advance and have no problem getting it refilled. Not so this time.  I called on the 27th to my doctor as my refill was out and I needed to make sure I wouldn't have any problems.  The nurse  called over to our pharmacy and ordered the prescription.  When my husband went to pick it up he was told that this was a "watched drug" and that it cannot be refilled until the exact day it was due and that I would have to wait the 4 days.

Of course I called back my doctor and was told by the nurse that the pharmacy was quite rude to her and even accused her of sounding like she was driving in a car while she was reordering my meds.  Apparently the pharmacy made it a point to call the doctor's office back to confirm that they were indeed the ones who called it in at all.

So now I wonder; is there a new mandate about certain controlled drugs or was this pharmacist on a power trip? Either way I am the one who suffers.  I had to go 3 days without any medication at all. I can't take Advil, aspirin or Tylenol as I break out in hives.  My doctor did call over for another pain reliever (Darvacet) for the interim time but it has never worked for me so the pain just escalated.

I couldn't sleep as my arms and hands were throbbing with pain. I would try to get comfortable in bed but found myself getting back up and trying to figure out what to do. This must have happened at least 5 times as I was so tired.

Have you ever been so exhausted you can barely function but cannot go to sleep due to pain?  I have experienced this before when my "restless legs" were at an all time high, but this was beyond anything I have ever endured.

Finally at around 4am I decided to take a very hot bath to see if it might calm down the throbbing and jerking of my arms.  It did seem to work so I was able to sleep.

It's a very scary thing to realize how dependent you are on drugs to get you through a normal day.  It is also quite sad to realize that your life as you once knew it is forever gone.  You will never be normal and function as others do.  You will forever be subjected to the doctors whim as to whether they will continue your medication.  Fortunately I have a great doctor who was the first one that realized I have fibromyalgia and works closely with me on medications.

I finally got a new prescription and am doing much better but I can guarantee you that I will never allow myself to get so low on my pills again. 

Until next time. :)