Dec 21, 2007 12:20 PM - Chisgirl, I will shoot you a PM with more info so I don't drag this thread off topic, but yeah, it was mentioned to me at one point but none of the stuff done to me apparently showed any signs that that could be so.

Jan 29, 2008 05:47 PM - I have chronic pain, I have RA and ankylosing spondylitis. Nearly impossible to get a doctor to adequately treat my pain because they are afraid of addiction. To me it's like what does it matter? I'm going to have both of these conditions for the rest of my life.

Jan 30, 2008 03:40 AM - I feel like you do!!!! I work in the mental hospital with DD clients. We had one client that would get so angry that he would throw furniture or try to hit the staff. The charge nurse and I started watching that client closely for patterns to his anger. To make a long story short, he was in fact suffering from knee pain. I am not too sure now, but I think that he had osteoarthritis. In the end, the RN and I were able to communicate to the Dr's the client's need and once he got the pain meds he needed, he turned into an extremely wonderful client and was able to be placed into a community setting.

Jan 30, 2008 07:05 PM - I consider myself a compassionate nurse who readily gave meds as needed and often offered them before the patient would ask. However, I see docs who do not give the amount of pain meds the patient needs, nurses who dont' want to get up from looking at a magazine to care for the pt. After having my own pain issues which is likely to become a chronic issue if I stay with traditional ways of treating pain ( which I won't), I have new understanding of pain, the need for rest, and most of all, the need for understanding and not judgement.