Help! Single Disabled Mom Wrongfully Kicked Out Of Pain Management (Page 4)

Ok, this will be lengthy to include all the necessary details but can someone help please? My being able to raise my daughter depends on my necessary medicine. I have no clue where else to turn. I have DDD with 4 herniated as of 2014 MRI, adv & degenerative osteoarthritis of the spine, tarlov cysts, neuropathy and nerve compression so badly that my left leg will give out with little warning. My father and I went to our PM last week, only a few days after unexpectedly burying my oldest sister. I've been a very trustworthy patient of his for four years and my Dad just about one year. Doc puts us both in same room which he's never done before. Doc starts talking to my Dad who is clearly morose & then says to my Dad, I don't like your attitude, which again just answers to his questions in a monotone voice. I explained to dr we just buried my sister, my dad's daughter so he's not doing well. Honest to God, that pos says "So, we all go through stuff". My Dad & I exchanged looks as if to say did he really just say that? Then doc asks how the super-charger script that begins with an N is working & Dad said yes a bit. Then the Dr flat out lies and says yeah I've had patients on that for 6 months and they're down to 1 opiate a day. That's a lie. He only began prescribing them two months ago. My Dad says Doc Ido, I hope but don't see how that's possible. Doc says I'm not going to argue to which my Dad replies I'm having a conversation, not an argument. And he was...if my Dad was wrong I'd have called him on it. So we head out and his daughter the receptionist asks to reschedule, my Dad says he's not coming back and I said I was unsure. Called today to make an appt and I was told I'm no longer a patient. I asked why and she said you released yourself. I said no I didn't, my father did. This is a family run practice so no one to complain to. Oh and they also declined to send my records & said have your new Dr. request them. My question is I know I can't do anything just because he was a jerk to my Dad, but can I report him for lying about releasing myself thereby avoiding having to prescribe me one last time and for giving me no notice to go find a new Dr before I need my meds refilled? This last appt he was going to force me to continue inj's. suddenly when I haven't had one in a year because they don't work for more than a week on me. Dr got all weirded out a few months ago when his anesthesiologist was busted for supposedly not keeping correct docs & was fined $455k. My Dad thinks it was a set-up from the start...despite being excellent patients who never abused anything, never had dirty U/A, very rarely rescheduled appts and not once missed an appt, proof we're both permanently disabled from SS Disability... he wanted to dump us. Only thing we can figure is doc is or was def up to something sketchy & he knows my Dad is a retired cop and he doesn't want that around. So now my poor father and I are searching for new Dr at worst time. Does anyone know a good PM anywhere in the Chicagoland area who isn't afraid to prescribe, though I'm pretty far S/W of the city in Plainfield? I've tried everything in the world prior to getting on opiates and it is the only thing that has made my pain significantly retreat. I will take a new fancy OTC aspirin if it's strong enough, I just need to function and be in less pain. Custody of my 6 year old daughter depends on this...my life depends on this. How do they not see what this opiate crackdown is doing to legitimate chronic pain sufferers. Anyway, ty for those few who took time to read my novel. If you refer a good PM I would never use your name. Thank you all very much.

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Re: pamelaQ (# 13)

No they do not HAVE to give you a 30 day supply. Hate to inform you. But you are giving false info.

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Re: Kat (# 7)

NOT sure where you are in Kansas, but I do know of a pain management Dr. In Lenexa. His name is Marvin Faulkner....he practices out of Kansas Institute of
Medicine. Fair warning he is seriously like bi-polar....never know what kind of mood he'll be in when you see him. But he does do pain management.

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Re: pamelaQ (# 58)

Oh i always had an extreme pain tolerance. I've gotten root canals, dealt with breaking both bones in my wrist&dislocation of my elbow, even my hips&upper leg bones deteriorating and dissolving in my body all without meds. I had a pain Dr that couldn't believe my pain threshold so he did some tests on me finding a few interesting things that made sense to this threshold. Basically pain that would cause most to go to the hospital is mild to me, so if I'm complaining it's extreme. I've been off meds before&I still couldn't focus thanks to the pain, actually can't even stand on my own two legs thanks to the surgeons screwing me up in the 1st ops. I can't even get them fixed so far. If i had my choice, if get the problem fixed instead of having the bandaid, but sadly I can't get that done. I'm alive but not living&just pray I could go back to having some form life again.... one way or the other. That's what politicians and dr.s forget. I actually went head to head with my Dr the other day&tried to explain but he just said "Well if someone o.d.'s them i could lose my licence, then how would i work?" I took him "That's exactly why many need meds. To be able to go to work, earn a paycheck, care for their kids, etc. So those who were irresponsible are causing everyone to in essence lose their lives as well?" He just smiled&said "well yeah cuz I gotta feed my family&need my licence so..." I just hope there's some kinda solution soon! Although I'm certain there won't be.

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Re: Silverlining (# 63)

Hi! I'm sorry you are going through so much trouble but at the same time glad I'm not the only one hearing from Dr.'s the truth. I was getting on the record ( meaning it would be in my medical records) and off the record (meaning his word against mine) same deal as you. It was a tough 14 months for me coming off those pain meds. Now I live with the pain and have had procedure upon procedure but unable to fix the back or permanent nerve pain in rt leg/foot. It is what it is til a solution is reached. I am a positive thinker so I am hoping a positive result will yield but get frustrated it's been since 2008. Just hanging on. Good Luck to you to.

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Re: pamelaQ (# 64)

Sounds like I'm in the same boat as you. only my Dr is weaning me terribly fast! Over 3 weeks only! I also am a positive thinker, my mom always reminded me in any situation there's that silver.. just gotta find&focus on it and all will work out as it's supposed to. I just fought way to hard for to many years now to have this take me out! But it does get aggravating as my fiancee and i were getting ready to find a house, start our lives together and now it's all, including regular day to day normal activities all put on hold because I can't get outta bed most days. Plus we're now having 2nd thoughts on a house due to the high possibility of me having a heart attack or stroke. I'd like to see my Dr or one of the many politicians out the live like I'm forced to.... then we'll see how against being medicated they will remain!

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Re: Silverlining (# 65)

Your experience is a good example of how the political climate of today impacts the health care that those that are legitimate pain med users have to go through on a daily basis. Doctors and PM clinics are under such duress from the DEA and the public that they have to err on the side of what the DEA or others in a Supervisory position THINK. ALL patients are different and need to be diagnosed and treated INDIVIDUALLY. Not as some cookie cutter pattern that many Supervisory agencies think should be implemented. We are all individuals that do not deserve to be all grouped into one big group. I just talked to my Doctor today. She said that the Supervisory agencies are putting heat on them every day It is getting more and more difficult to treat each patient in the manner she would like to see them treated. FORTUNATELY, this Doctor can still have civil conversations about your treatment plan. That is NOT the case for many. If you attempt to discuss your situation with many Doctors they just get pissed and throw you out of their Office and they could not possibly care less if you agree or like it. Or are totally out of your pain meds.

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Re: Silverlining (# 65)

I know how you feel, can't do any home with stairs. Everything must be ground floor. We have a moderately sized home (2500 sq ft) and it kills me walking around. I'm trying to convince my husband to down size because daily cleaning this baby it too much. You keep holding onto those positive thoughts and I wish you Good Luck with your upcoming marriage.

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Re: pamelaQ (# 67)

Thank you&back at ya! I feel sooo bad because my fiance has to do pretty much all the housework as now my prosthetics lock up preventing any leg movement. I swear he deserves an award for sainthood! I can't even have him go into the dress with me as he's ready to flip on them himself!

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Re: w john (# 51)

This is more a general comment than specific to yours. I am noticing that in this forum pts are using the term "compassion" to described being given the amount and kind of meds they want. That's not accurate of fair. Regulatory agencies have begun to place grave sanctions and hassles on prescribers who prescribe more than 100mg Morphine Equivalent, or allow pts on opioids to also take benzo's. this is not the doctor's fault, nor is it the fault of big pharma. This is a political process. How quickly your are tapered from your meds does not have to be dependent on your side effects. One could argue that if you have severe side effects to tapering, you should go through a rapid detox in hospital. I've been a pain psychologist for 35 years, so I know the drill.

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Re: TIM (# 69)

I have been saying exactly the same thing. Patients are NOT allowed to decide unilaterally what they will be prescribed, how much, and how fast they will titrate down. I have gotten much blow back from people saying "this isn't right or compassionate". Okay, maybe but. That has nothing to do with how you will be treated. I am glad there is a person on this thread that says basically the same thing as I have been saying for weeks that has many years of experience in the field.

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Re: TIM (# 69)

Why haven’t pain doctors banded together and risen up against all the political/legal interference on our and their behalf! What a bunch of overpaid cowards! Clearly they had not compassion to begin with if it never occurred to them to stand up for the patient...It’s no longer a career field but strictly business and they only care about the money!

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Re: TIM (# 69)

Dear TIM and JOHN,

Thank you. I appreciate statements made by professionals, but at times feel their opinions are jaded by the narrow parameters they have to operate in because of politics or the most recent war on....you name it. In this instance, it is war on opiates. Seems whenever a societal correction needs to be made, we end up with an over correction before there is a happy medium. This happy medium will not be happy for all, but it will probably be happy for the majority. Happy in that they are not denied their pain meds, in which hooefull they are grateful, but their meds will be modified. To modify the meds should not normally throw us into withdrawl, but in some cases, it may.

A "compassionate" response by doctor in the case of say...an over opiated patient, imho, would be to taper them. For more reasons than the physical symptoms of withdrawl, but also the physchological aspect. The people, depending on their pain meds....mentally, their boat is severely rocked. They firmly believe that without that particular dose, they will no longer be able to function, work, mother their children, be productive. A taper CAN work on both aspects, psych, and physical. They have time to wrap their heads around the fact that they really don't need their pain med to be at that dose, and they have time to adjust without the discomfort of withdrawl. Seems this would benefit both doctor and patient.

For those poor patients that are just sent packing because the clinic needs to cull the high number of chronic pain patient scripts, it seems discretion is not always used by the professionals. Look, nothing is perfect. Of course, we know that, but to cut them off with the goal of lowering the numbers and not the goal of helping the over prescribed patient, ends up with some in true need being thrown overboard without even so much as a farewell taper! Seen this and know it happens more often than it should.

Surely, I would hate to see a great doctor have to defend his prescribing practices, and risk losing his hard won liscence. But even more I hate to see patients in severe need denied. Still waiting for the pendulum to shift back to a middle ground, where doctors and patients are out from under the microscope and simply enjoying a working relationship. Again, JMHO. JMJ

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Re: w john (# 55)

Ive been in the methadone program for a year now and was at pain management before for about 7 yrs and i would just like to say thanks. I hear all this complaining over and over and no one says how it really is. What these people don't realize is this is not a given right to be placed on these meds and the doctors have to lookout for themselves because they cant lose there livelihood just to satisfy a patients addiction. Because lets face it thats what these meds do!!!! And before anyone says it i do understand that pain is hard to deal with and these meds are needed but you still do get addicted to them ive been there. And also they need to ask themselves would you give up your great high paying job just to satisfy another person with what they think they need or are supposed to be given the answer is HELL NO and if it isn't there lying. So of course there doctor thinks there life is more important than theres because thats what everyone believe weather they want to or not. By putting your doc in a position that he could lose his livelihood is putting your life ahead of his.

PS Its because these people feel like they are intitaled to what they think is necessary is one of the reason that things are the way they are.

Anyway thank you for stating the simple FACTS if you dont like it stop or find a different doc!!!!!

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Re: Jethro Tull (# 73)

Entitled? Sorry Jethro but i've never seen anybody mutilate the word entitled so bad. lol. Sorry no pun intended but wow!

When it comes to chronic pain patients doctors need to find middle ground. Of course they can't appease them! I've seen some cases where patients are taking ungodly amounts of opiates due to building up such a tolerance. When it comes to pointing fingers there that is a slippery slope. Do the patients REALLY need that much? Did the doctor really NEED to give them that much?

More so than pointing fingers and saying who's at fault let's remember that this war on prescription opioids has been skewed by media and politicians. They lump in heroin overdoses, concomitant use with other CNS depressants (benzos, alcohol), and other drug fatalities that have nothing to due with those who responsibly take prescribed opioids for managing their pain.

If the government would have stayed out of health care, which in a free society they SHOULD have, this wouldn't even be an issue. I can drive to the liquor store right now and buy enough hard liquor to kill an elephant but who cares!? The whole idea that all of this is for the greater good is total baloney!

Of course, doctors need to protect themselves from the government too. However they did take the hippocratic oath which means that they should handle pain patients in a somewhat "compassionate" manner. That doesn't mean that have to dole out truckloads of oxycodone but it does mean that they need to be ethical. Sending a chronic pain patient packing without even trying to help them taper or find alternatives IS unethical, IMO.

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Re: Jethro Tull (# 73)

Jethro, much truth in what you say. I consider myself addicted, but I do not exhibit the behavior attributed to a true ADDICT. Which is stealing others pills, buying off the streets, doctor hopping, etc. My withdrawals alone suggest addiction. I prefer the word dependant because I am, dependant on my med for productivity and quality of life. My body's decline came first, then came the meds. I did not get hooked because of the occasional use and found I enjoyed the feeling, therefore went seeking them. I don't know many 60 year olds that are seeking that sweet high. Most of us have serious issues by this time and are on morphine for quality of life. To enjoy life with our grandkids and to be active participants. Oh, they exist (60 yr. old high seekers) but I think they are the exception, not the rule. My meds keep me from withering due to lack of activity caused by serious pain.

That all being said, I am grateful for the very modest dose of 10mg IR every 4 hrs. Though I now only take it 4x a day, this dose allows for manageable withdrawal if for any reason I happen to be without. The stigma attached to this use actually benefits me because it keeps me in check. Makes me think real hard about requesting an increased dosage. This is enough, but just enough, to keep me functional. If I want to keep a good working relationship with my doctor I need to stay within her guidelines and judgment as to what is best for me. I have to submit to her medical judgment. As with any authoritative relationship, it doesn't work unless I have respect for her authority. It doesn't always please me, but it has served me well. Truly, my dependence tells me to be very careful. It's a slippery slope and I don't want to be one of those that has to keep increasing.

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Re: JMJ (# 72)

Very well stated and covering both sides. Congrats!

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Please visit the website for Pfizer. There is a drug that is morphine and naloxone, tamper resistant. Here in Louisiana only 2 docs in the state. I'm trying to make them understand at correct dose,it is wonderful.Send info to state reps, Pfizer,and anybody who will listen.

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Re: JMJ (# 72)

Your post is a little long but I understand what you are trying to point out and it takes some time. My opinion is not "jaded" by the narrow parameters I have to operate in. I try and deal in the "today". Where we are RIGHT NOW. We can talk about the politics and the "over correction" that is being made and how it is unfair. However, that does not change the facts of what is going on right now. I think most people understand that a "happy medium" needs to be found but until more than the "patient" side of the issue is working on the issue we are screwed. Most pain prescribers I know do try and "taper" their patients off of an addictive substance. It is the RATE of the taper that the disagreement comes in. Patients want to "taper off" at a rate where they will experience almost no, if any, discomfort at all. The Doctors have a different philosophy of what "tapering off" means. THIS is the rub. If you have been on a pain med for years THERE WILL be a withdrawal period no matter at what rate you feel is reasonable. Many patients will NOT "wrap their heads around" the taper process at all. Why? They just do not want to taper off. In fact there are many that enjoy where they are and scream bloody murder if they are told they will have their meds reduced. I was accused by one poster of posting "all pain med users are criminals". NOTHING could be further from the truth. What I said was "all opiate users are being grouped into one group the legal, justified, responsible pain med users and the street criminals that steal their medication, and the street heroin users". I agree with your post for the most part. I do think there is a lot of where we SHOULD BE as opposed to where we actually are. It is okay to state how things should be and expressing a hope that an issue will be more "centered". Normally, like the Stock Market that deviates all over the place, there will be a correction that goes more to the center and stabilizes but until then we are stuck with dealing with where we are right now. Thank you for your post. It makes sense if only ALL PARTIES would cooperate and work towards a middle ground solution but right now that is just not happening. Until it does we are forced to deal with the facts as they are right now.

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Re: w john (# 78)

OMG! YOU and I agree on something WOW! No matter what level of "tapering" the patient is going to go through withdrawls. Been there, done that and thankfully my Dr. worked with me on the 15% -20% tapering. At first, they went for 40-50 and it was way to painful, but the lower tapering still painful but tolerable. Your body is accustom to the medication at a particular time and sensation much like cigarettes , alcohol or even coffee. It is unfortunate about the withdrawl symptoms and the pain for PM patient's but like you said until a "Happy Medium" is reached it is the here and now the other side of that reality is that we have pain patient's in panic mode and some doctors in panic mode of this is what I'm told to do. The "compromise" needs to come sooner than later.

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