Bloody christ wolffish...how did you end up breaking your sternum and sustaining multiple spinal fractures?
That had to fucking hurt.
Definitely make a fuss though, about that history of stomach cancer, ask for a referral to get a MRI done, and get a biopsy taken to rule out cancer. Don't take 'no' for an answer. Docs can be bloody stubborn at times even in the face of common sense and obvious need.
I'm still trying to get a referral from my GP (who isn't, unlike many drs I've seen up himself, I count myself lucky to have the dr I do, he is a compassionate guy, and really knows his stuff) to another pain clinic.
I saw a pain specialist already once, after waiting months, and months and months and months more, the guy was worse than useless. Basically took my medical history and then spent the rest of the appointment yammering on about how I would only come back in two weeks and tell him that the drugs aren't working, they are addictive, cause tolerance and dependency and that he wasn't going to do a damn thing to help me and never was.
Guy just totally wasted my time. I KNOW opioids cause physical dependency and told him so. I've been on one or other painkiller for at least a decade and will be for the forseeable future. Until my joints are fixed if ever; I can't avoid physical dependency being on them that long, its just the price I have to pay in exchange for my mobility.
So I'm trying to get referred to a pain clinic at another hospital, so I won't have to listen to a pointless and deadly tedious lecture from the pompous crow fodder I saw last. What I want is something instant release, and potent, for breakthrough pain. As all I have for controlling my pain are OC80s twice a day, plus a topical NSAID spray (diclofenac)
And over the counter morphine/codeine/opium tincture etc (yes the morph cough mixture is OTC here, 20mg a 100ml bottle, but its an incredibly expensive way to get an emergency extra bit of relief, I'll usually use the opiate cough mixtures when I'm going out to manchester city center, as there are several pharmacies on the way there, and one can only buy a single bottle of those cough syrups at any one time)
All I want really, is for the docs to let me have something instant release and strong for when it gets so bad that my pain levels exceed what the oxycontin is capable of relieving. I've gotten physically stuck in town before because I just couldn't take another step without resting every couple of meters, in absolute screaming the fuck agony;
I got really, really lucky that day, in terms of getting home safely. I'd gone to the local head shop, dr.herman's, was my 27th b/day that day, and I was out of cash after getting what I came for, but the guy that works there is always giving me discounts and freebs of various kinds, and after realizing what a situation I was in, told me to take a pack of kratom extract and just pay him when I next came round. Once that kicked in it dulled the pain long enough to get back to the met stop and catch a tram home.
(Kratom is an opioid plant, a small tree whos keaves produce a mixture of alkaloids, including mitragynine and a hydroxylated derivative, amongst many others, some of which are pretty respectable opiate analgesics, legal almost everywhere apart from thailand and a few other countries round there. I'd quite like to get some young plants to grow myself)