Wellness

[CatLoverDogsToo]

I read the thread and was disgusted with many of the replies. There are too darn many "know it alls" that have no experience with chronic pain and multiple medical problems. Anyone suffering from chronic pain should not automatically be assumed to be "drug-seeking".

As usual, the government, in trying to solve an addiction problem, is going at it full steam ahead and hurting people truly in need of these medications that make life bearable. 

True "drug-seeking" individuals will find a way to obtain meds, not necessarily through a doctor's office.  Just my opinion.

[Q4u]

Last July I started on a journey of pain from a sciatic injury, a direct injury to the sciatic nerve and not related to my back.  It became so severe and with no break in intensity that I went to the doctor and was on two courses of steroids.  It reduced the severity by about half but it didn't go away.... never lessened with the ache day in and day out, waking me from my sleep, never ending..... it literally took my breath away.

I got to the point that I never thought it would go away and nothing took the pain away, not heat, ice, over the counter meds, lidocane patches, nothing... it was 24/7. The doctor brought up pain management but I kept thinking I needed to give it a little more time.... a little more time.... seven months later and it has finally gone for the most part.  I still get twinges once in awhile but it took 7 months ......!!!  

Chronic pain is debilitating.  it changes everything.  It changes personalities, it's all you can think about and for those that don't understand that there HAS to be something to help get rid of the pain truly don't understand .... that you'll take your chances with addiction (or consider it) because living with the pain is intolerable.  Those that have never been in this position have no voice because they really DON'T understand.

[KarenQVC]

I don't know why the doctors are going after sick old people.  People should be given what they need to control pain.  If all the old people who are being hassled now were meant to be addicts, they would have killed themselves years ago.  No common sense is being used.

[Lindsays Grandma]

The DEA has put so much fear in all doctors, particularly pain management doctors and the people who need the relief from pain medicine are now being treated like drug addicts.  I don't need or want pain medicine for the rush, I don't get a rush from my medicine, what I get is relief.  Believe me when I say that even with the pain meds I am still in a great deal of pain, a small relief is better than none.

 I have been on pain medicine for years due to three failed back surgeries, sciatica pain down the back of my right leg which never stops and lower back pain.  I broke my hip in February of 2015 resulting in surgery and months of physical therapy with ongoing pain.  I also have arthritis on my knees which is painful during the night as they get stiff and changing positions causes the pain.

Recently while in Florida I witnessed pharmacies refusing to fill prescriptions while patients were standing on line in pain.  The doctor I saw had to give me two prescriptions for my Oxycodone because pharmacies would not fill the amount for a month.  When staying with friends in Colorado the pain doctor there was willing to give me the same meds I was getting in AZ, however, had I stayed there they wanted me to have a stimulator placed in my back which is something I don't want to do.

I am back in AZ, went to the pain management facility I went to for years and unfortunately it is under new management.  The doctor's I used to see there were so kind, caring and compassionate but they are gone.  I was able to get my prescriptions and was told because they don't have enough people to see all their patients they would not be be able to see me again.  While waiting for my prescriptions in the waiting room a man was sitting there filling out papaerwork as a new parient, under the circumstances I thought it rather odd.  I was given the name of a pain management company and after doing research I discovered the doctor I saw who said they can't see me again was affiliated with the company they reffered me to.  I found that rather interesting.

He asked me if the medicine helps relieve the pain and I said yes, then he asked me what I would do if I no longer had the medicine...my reply was I would not be able to funtion with the pain I would live with and would rather be dead.  He made no comment, just kept entering notes in his computer.

The saddest thing that is happening now is that the people who are not drug addicts, do not buy their pills off the street and deseperately need relief from excruciating pain are now being treated like drug addicts. 

For people who have never suffered 24/7 pain to give advice to those who do and require pain medicine to get through the day is ridiculous.  Instead they should try to put themselves in the place of the ones who are suffering and instead of accusing them of being addicts try to have compassion.  You never know if and when you may one day be one of the suffering, be careful how you treat others, it may come back to bite you.

To all those suffering and not getting the care you need, I feel for you and hope and pray you find a caring docotor to help you.  And please ignore the ignorant people who call you drug addicts, for they know not what they say. 

God Bless all of you in pain.

[Poodlepet2]

@KarenQVC, its not the doctors so much as it is the Fed Govt.  That is not to say however, that just a few short years ago, unscrupulous doctors weren't prescribing it.

In our office, we were seeing people who were on OxyContin and addicted-because family practitioners were prescribing it.  Pill mills were rampant here in Florida.

All of that changed however-not entirely a bad thing : the Feds and states cracked down on prescriptions for sale to whoever wanted them no matter what the reason.

The "black cloud" there is that they went too far, and people who need them can't get them now.  There are many conditions of intractable pain for which heavy hitting pain control is absolutely indicated.

I feel this bozo sfnative saw was way out of line-and to his own detriment, wasn't even protecting himself!

He easily could have checked her usage records. IF he indeed thought she was addicted-  he should have handled it differently.  It is a liability to the doctor to suddenly cut somebody off if they are addicted because sudden withdrawal after abuse or long term use has medical consequences.  Withdrawal can be life threatening- and can kill.

If he was uncomfortable with prescribing it, he should have said "Sorry: I am not comfortable with this.  Here is a one time refill or partial refill, but I feel you need to see a Pain Management Specialist".

As far as I'm concerned, he totally failed. All of this being said, California is a funny state and I don't know if some law changed between sfnatives' last visit and the present time-but if it had, I think we would have heard about it.  What he did is one of the reasons people turn to street drugs. 

I don't believe for one second that sfnative is addicted to anything, but if she was, it's understandable. She indeed has intractable pain-and with all of her problems and age, it's not going to get better.  I am a Realist-nobody suffering what she is going through should have to suffer.

Poodlepet2

[Poodlepet2]

@Lindsays Grandma,  great minds think alike: we must have been posting at the same time!

Poodlepet2

[sfnative]

@Lindsays Grandma@Poodlepet2@KarenQVC@Q4u@CatLoverDogsToo@LTT1@hckynutjohn

Dear Friends,

I don't know who I've missed and apologize profusely right now, if you are missing from the above list.

First, I do want to bring to your attention the fact that I asked for the thread to be closed for further commentary, per one of the kind people above: she explained it here and included the language verbatum.

You're all correct.  There were quite a number of smart alecks over there to the extent that from the get-go, I was rolling my eyes and kicking myself for ever starting the darn thing.  That's why early on I told one poster my IQ and also indicated I knew the difference between a placebo effect and the real deal.  Geesh!

But most of all, I'd like to thank all of you for your most kind and intelligent words.  Many of you spent quite a bit of time and thought into your pieces and that means something extra special, believe me.

This "interim" Internist also bashed my Neuro several good ones, telling me that he should have me off this med and should have me 50% off another med(!!!)  What this ijiot fails to use his head for is you don't mess with anyone with seizure disorders, of which I have 2.  Just simple don't mess with meds.  Period.  What I hope will be the upside to this is that I have an initial eval with a new Internest mid-May.  She went to UCLA through Residency, then joined the Air Force and spent years with them.  She's now in private practice.  Having recently retired from a Navy position, I hope we can get along and trust she can be more open and intelligent than the person I've recently seen.

All of this has occurred because it was finally published that my previous and wonderful Internist simply had it with what the bottom line has become for physicians in the 21st century.  So, I went searching for a new Internist, only to discover that in the interim patients with medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO are unwelcomed and unrecognized patients.  Internists now want Medicare Advantage ONLY patients.  This means that there is a co-pay at every PCP visit and who knows what balances remain down the road if and when something major occurs.  We simply won't go this road.  Our current combo, with the exception of PCPs/Internists, is fabulous.

I agree with so much of what everyone has said about controlled substances and why those of us who need it are in such a pickle.  Though I'm taking a minimal dose, I'm now branded a "drug abuser" and "drug seeker."  Oh, and found out yesterday that my previous Internist's office in forwarding records, deleted all references to Dr. L. having prescribed Oxycodone in the past.  It's simply not there, so am glad to have Walgreens on my side.  Am going to make sure I make a trip to Walgreens to see if they can print out a record of the oxycodone prescriptions since we've made the move from CA to OR.

With an appointment with a new Pain Mgmt doc coming up in the later part of May, I believe he'll probably be turning to alternative pain control medications, which is fine with me, as long as they work and leave my brain alone.

Thank you all for offers of help and advice.  This has meant so very much, especially at this late hour, when I finally decided I could not go to bed until I had check on the status of the original thread, only to find the new one started by "Lindsays Grandma."

Bless you all - Rebecca  XXX

[Poodlepet2]

@sfnative, you need to talk to a lawyer: I am sure you know this, but IT IS ILLEGAL TO DELETE MEDICAL RECORDS- unless the patient has not been seen for seven years.

IT IS ILLEGAL TO WITHOLD MEDICAL RECORDS.. 

Begin by contacting your County Medical Society-and make sure this goes all the way to the State....I have never heard of such audacity in my life!

Have you spoken to Blue Cross? About two years ago, the Blues dropped a huge number of doctors in their network....and a year later, invited some of them to come back. They should be able to help you find another internist-but to be safe, I would seek out a physiatrist for the simple reason-and I don't know if California is one of these states- in many states unless you are fellowship trained in physiatry or in a field such as oncology, rheumatology  etc, you can no longer prescribe narcotics within a certain schedule. Here in Florida, you can't even get Ambien from a family practice or internal medicine doctor. 

I just can can not believe what hoops you are having to jump through...I am still in disbelief over how you were treated. This doctor blabbed that he thought you were an addict without investigating anything-and if you were indeed-and went into withdrawal-and died- he could have been held responsible. I am in so much disbelief. It's all surreal and frightening.

About five years ago, hard drug abuse skyrocketed among kids. Parents who sought treatment were being told to help their kids get drugs-yes-not a typo- because there were no beds in treatment centers or facilities- and it was too dangerous to attempt cold turkey without medical supervision....what those parents were told sure seems more reasonable and compassionate than what you were told. 

I can't believe he was treating you as if you had a sprained pinky....your situation is complicated and I have tried to piece it together-and you are under no obligation to explain, but it did not take me too long to realize what you suffer and that each day is a monumental struggle....with everything you have going on, your paper chart has got to be a couple of inches thick....and yet he brushed you off....

You are gracious in saying there were smart Alec's in your original thread- as others here said, we chose not to respond because we probably would have been banned-for life!

Hugs,

Poodlepet2

[151949]

I so wanted to answer certain posts here but decided that is useless because you can't make people in denial accept what they are denying. Many people not only have to live with daily pain without taking narcotics for various reasons , but also have to work every day with that pain. When I was working i was living on celebrex, which really only slightly numbed the pain.I would sit in my dialysis patient's room after I started the treatment and have an ice bag on my back. However, I couldn't work and take narcotics, so I couldn't take narcotics. 

Various people also have a higher tolerence to pain.

I was fortunate that surgery relieved my nerve pain. And after having nerve pain I think other pain , like arthritis pain, pales in comparrison. Now, due to kidney failure I can only take one slow release Tylenol  for my arthritis in my back and I can take that twice a day. Being retired though I can get by with that and not over straining my back. 

Anyway, the point is -- pain doctors use many means to evaluate  a patients pain. Not just what they say they feel - but involuntary nervous system responses they should be having when in pain. If the patient is saying they have terrible pain, but they don't exhibit these other responses, naturally the doctor will be suspicious. Believe me , every nurse and every doctor gets a ton of experience with drug seeking behavior by addicts. And, to be honest, I do , on this board, often read responses that are just typical pain pill addicted behavior. But when I read that a pain doctor has turned you away or sent you elsewhere -- that would be a red flag to me. I think I'd ask the doctor right out if he felt I was addicted and needed to be cutting back - and he would be happy to work with them on that. Believe me - it would be a refreshing change for him.

[hckynut]

---

@151949 wrote:

I so wanted to answer certain posts here but decided that is useless because you can't make people in denial accept what they are denying. Many people not only have to live with daily pain without taking narcotics for various reasons , but also have to work every day with that pain.

When I was working i was living on celebrex, which really only slightly numbed the pain.I would sit in my dialysis patient's room after I started the treatment and have an ice bag on my back. However, I couldn't work and take narcotics, so I couldn't take narcotics. 

Various people also have a higher tolerence to pain.

I was fortunate that surgery relieved my nerve pain. And after having nerve pain I think other pain , like arthritis pain, pales in comparrison. Now, due to kidney failure I can only take one slow release Tylenol  for my arthritis in my back and I can take that twice a day. Being retired though I can get by with that and not over straining my back. 

Anyway, the point is -- pain doctors use many means to evaluate  a patients pain. Not just what they say they feel - but involuntary nervous system responses they should be having when in pain. If the patient is saying they have terrible pain, but they don't exhibit these other responses, naturally the doctor will be suspicious. Believe me , every nurse and every doctor gets a ton of experience with drug seeking behavior by addicts.

And, to be honest, I do , on this board, often read responses that are just typical pain pill addicted behavior. But when I read that a pain doctor has turned you away or sent you elsewhere -- that would be a red flag to me. I think I'd ask the doctor right out if he felt I was addicted and needed to be cutting back - and he would be happy to work with them on that. Believe me - it would be a refreshing change for him.

---

hnj