Share your stories of how chronic opioid use changed your life in a positive or negative way. PROMPT is doing this for patients specifically because of the July 25 2012, Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) petition to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) which requests significant label changes for prescription opioids that could prevent honest non-cancer opioid-requiring patients to live in agony. The full PROP proposal to the FDA is available HERE. Our PROMPT response to that proposal is HERE. Please note the blog policy when submitting comments.
Summary: PROP’s proposal, if approved, would limit opioid therapy to non-cancer patients beyond 12 weeks, a maximum daily dose of oral morphine 100mg (or its equivalent in another opioid narcotic), and the diagnosis must be for severe pain only (compared to current FDA approved labeling of moderate to severe pain). PROMPT believes that many legitimate patients fall outside of these parameters and would suffer as a result!
History & Background: Over the course of many years, numerous pain patients nationwide have contacted me seeking advice on what to do, often in a panicked state because their long-term physician caregiver was relocating or retiring. As you might imagine, it frequently involved opioids. To be clear, some of them probably didn’t belong on opioids, some were on the incorrect opioids, others perhaps were drug-seeking, but many seemed to be legitimate patients that honestly were completely dysfunctional without long term chronic opioids. Some couldn’t receive non-opioid analgesics because of certain chronic medical disorders that made non-opioid analgesics far more dangerous than opioids.
Professionals for Rational Opioid Monitoring & PharmacoTherapy (PROMPT) is a multidisciplinary group comprised of many pain clinicians nationwide. PROMPT members include healthcare providers that have direct patient care responsibilities specific to pain management. PROMPT has serious concerns about the safety of chronic opioid use; we are therefore in favor of mitigating these risks by encouraging careful and reasonable patient monitoring to maximize patient care and public safety. We advocate for clinician education, proactive risk stratification, and appropriate therapeutic monitoring.
We would like you to tell your story here by making a comment on this blog. Please feel free to use an anonymous name (or not) in the spirit of confidentiality, as this site is public. We encourage patients also to comment on the FDA U.S. government site, where they are accepting public commentary. The URL link is: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2012-P-0818-0001.
Also, see related Blog Posts below:
Label Changes for Opioids, For or Against
We Intend to be PROMPT with a Challenge to PROP FDA Letter
Visit our new In the News page with links to updates.
Florida pain patients, please be sure to view Living with Pain: Patients Fight Back in Florida, September 2, 2012.
THE FLOODGATES ARE OPEN! You may comment below…
I suffered in chronic Intractable Pain from a job related Accident that placed me on Permanent SSD and as a result I Have an intramedullary rod in my Right Lower leg, and Several Herniated or Injured disc’s in my lower back, resulting in spinal stenosis and sciatica in my left leg, Tendonitis in my right arm and the list goes on! When this first transpired in 2008 I was Placed on Opioids (Methadone) for treatment for Chronic Intractable Pain until Apprx 2015 when this “Opioid Crises” kicked in to high gear, Being treated with Methadone in concert with Epidural injections and Physical therapy Granted me to live a Somewhat normal life for a time, until I missed ONE appointment with my pain management Dr Because my mother was Diagnosed and hospitalized for Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer and upon my return visit he refused to see me Leaving me High and dry and in Severe Pain Everyday, Not to mention the withdrawal symptoms!!! I went from 120 mg’s of Methadone a day to “0” Forcing me to try and find another Pain management Dr ( in n.j. ) Good luck with that!!!! I found a few Wich placed me on 30 mg’s of Methadone a day which didn’t do nothing for my pain , it only kept me from getting ill!!! After bouncing from Dr to Dr in search of another compassionate Dr that would help me in my situation, I Could not for the life of me find ONE!!! , Everytime I call for an appointment they pull up my records and see my past pain meds and before Even allowing the Dr to see me , They tell me over the phone, ( we do not prescribe opiates!!!) This lead me with No choice but to find a Suboxone Dr in my area that prescribed me Suboxone for Almost 4 years 8/2 – 2 x a day unt I found out that he was charging me $100 a month to see him and he was in my Network of Coverage! This caused me to Leave him abruptly and file a grievance, But now as of 10/09/20 I am trying to find a replacement for him in Network and cannot for the life of me find One, Lest I pay an exorbitant amount of money to an addiction Specialist and for what? It does Nothing for my pain!!! And I’m suffering, Having to take care of Two people in my family as a Caregiver , One being my mother, who is Battling stage 4 Metastatic Breast cancer and the second being my uncle who is suffering from Heart Failure and Diabetes, while I can barely get out of bed in the morning and take care of myself!!! This is a Ludicrous scenario to say the least, Especially with the Fact that the Dr that dropped me flat after seeing him for five years of treatment with not ONE single Negative urine for Any Nefarious Substances!!! Why is this the case , The People who Truly need Opiates to manage there pain and are using them as Directed without any negative urines or Disciplinary problems are Suffering unneedingly!!! This situation must be rectified Because it’s causing people as myself to find Alternative sources to manage our Pain, It’s making Normal patients that are good people, Nefarious Substance seekers , Because they cannot receive the Proper care from a licensed physician as they previously were!!! This is making the Problem worse, causing people to seek meds to Grant them relief from Nefarious sources that are not FDA licensed!!! Please Stop this Madness so the millions of people as myself can get much needed relief. Now it’s to the point where one cannot even get a Suboxone Dr to write them a script for Addiction withdrawal caused from this Disastrous decision made by the powers that be. What does an Honest Person suffering from chronic Intractable Pain do to do to get treatment, Get Stage 4 cancer? Or something worse? This madness MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY!!!!
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I read your letter I feel so bad for you I really do. I don’t know if you said where you are from but most cities have methadone clinics. You may have to lie and say you’re on something else and they’ll put you on methadone. Here they start you out on 40mg. Then up 10 a day until you get to 120. After that you can see your counselor and he/she will let you go higher. You may have to lie and say that you are on oxycodone or heroin but they’ll put you on methadone. I know this is kind of wrong I guess but I feel for you. I’m sorrry it’s like this for you
I was injured at 16 years old by a doctor’s botched (and completely unnecessary) epidural steroid injection. I believe that my dura was punctured during the procedure, as I felt the most intense, lightning bolt of pain through my entire body, and that’s definitely not supposed to happen. She injected at that point, so i fear that she ended up doing a subarachnal instead epidural injection.
Both the trauma to my spinal cord, as well as the injection of the non sterile steroids (that are also all off brand) near such a fragile area, contributed to the disease I now suffer from, Adhesive Arachnoiditis. It’s now 22 years later, and I’ve been in severe, constant, intractable pain every day since. I have also been treated absolutely terribly more than I’ve been treated with kindness and compassion… even though it was a doctor who put me there in the first place.
When I was 17, one of my doctors told me that I would probably have my condition for the rest of my life. I went home, and swallowed a bottle of pills. How was I going to survive this if doctors wanted so badly for me to be the enemy? I was in terrible pain every second of every day. I just needed help I just needed compassion, and most of all, I just needed relief. Without these things, adhesive arachnoiditis steals your will and/or want, to live.
They call the pain from AA “cancer level pain without the sweet release of death”. The description sounds dramatic, but it is unfortunately pretty accurate. It also causes other extremely painful conditions. The only way I’m able to get out of bed in the morning, or function throughout the day, is opiate pain medication. Years ago when I was weaned off after being on high dose fentanyl patches, I turned to alcohol to numb the pain, and became an alcoholic. I don’t even like alcohol, and I very rarely drink now. Usually just special occasions.
I don’t understand why it would make sense to force taper or withdraw medication that is helping someone to actually be able to live a (very very semi) normal life? Much less, a life that was stolen by an overzealous, inexperienced doctor in the first place. How is that fair that they can injure me, cause an incurable, excruciatingly painful condition, and then take away the only thing giving me even the smallest bit of quality of life??
They say they’re trying to “save us” from the opiate crisis, but for severe, long-time pain patients, what they’re really doing is giving us a different kind of death sentence. Albeit, one that they at least they won’t have to feel as guilty about. It’s pretty clear that they’re not trying to save us, they’re trying, once again, to save themselves. I’ve seen the absolute ugliest side of the medical community. These people take an oath to “do no harm”. They’re supposed to be looking out for our best interests. It’s heartbreaking and pretty terrifying when you realize that you’ve only ever been a statistic to them, ultimately, they’re looking out for their bottom lines first… hence the epidemic of anesthesiologists’ injection mills, and all of the others who get injured by them Just like me, every single day.
They’re hurting us, and then abandoning us, and it’s so infuriating and unfair. Please, please think about people like me. I want to be able to play with my 4 year old son. We just want to live. But we can’t live like that.
Well I have been misdiagnosed for most of my life and then one day my Dr ( PCP) back before they were labeled as such told me due to his inability to rid me of my chronic pain that had him injecting me pretty regular with the combo drugs of Staydohl/Phenergan that it was time for me to visit a Pain Mgmt Dr something until that day I had never heard of.
On my 1st visit this Dr in Houston TX sent me for my 1st ever MRI and then had me back to discuss the test.
And just prior to this talk, I had went on to tell him all my life since I was 5 yrs old and began having terrible horrific headache pain that always resulted on my vomiting. And during these headaches if I was in school or driving, I had to drive myself home and suffer it out alone. And many Dr’s made me believe that these headaches were migraine in nature but the meds for that type of headache only made me sicker and that my pain was all in my head.
He looked me in the eyes and said its in your head alright but not in the manner that you have been treated. So, this was to be day one of my awakening to my spine disease( beginning w/ cervical) this occured in 2001. And here I am 20 yrs later and I could literally write a novel on my lifetime in pain.
And over the past 4 years I have begun to have other major areas. But, what I do not understand is the Hospitals that I no longer go to even in an emergency because I am forever labeled as a “Drug Seaker” so now I have made the statement over and over to my family and my Dr’s that if I am bleeding out or coding, under zero circumstances do I want to be sent to a Hospital I would rather be dumped on the side of some random road. They get angry when I say this but when you can not recall even five minutes or less where by you were pain free then you would understand. And when my medicare insurance co has discontinued certain meds and they ask me over the phone if they can do anything else, my answer is always yes, you can send me the bullet to stop all if this.
I’m in extreme pain and my doctor prescribed gabapentin. I was increasing the dosage, but when I reached 1,000 mg three times a day, my doctor became alarmed and told me not to exceed that. I am still in lots of pain and need to get my gabapentin from a Mexican pharmacy, and I have been increasing the dosage anyway. Every time I increase, the pain is almost gone for two days, then it returns and I increase again. I am up to 2,500 mg four times a day and continue to increase. There is nothing else I can do since my doctor refuses to prescribe narcotics. I am left to wonder if the real reason for promoting gabapentin is because it is made in Israel, and they’d rather have the world severely addicted to their man made chemical medications while staying in pain than allowing us to take god’s medication that truly helps with the pain and doesn’t cause an increase in dosage nearly as often.
Gin, I assure you this has nothing to do with Israel or promoting gabapentin. Since you had such a great benefit, I’d discuss with your doctor to switch you to pregabalin (Lyrica). It works the same way, but is more potent, binds tighter to the site of action where it works in nerves, and the absorption from stomach is far more predictable compared to gabapentin.
yes,it is more potent as I was on Lyrica for years until my Medicare Insurance told me that this medication would no longer be covered so I had to go to takinb Gabapentin and it is no where near as helpful and my Dr will not even consider any other medication. Instead to this day I remain a human guinea pig….
Your doctor needs to file an appeal to the insurance company for Lyrica.
What type of pain are you experiencing? Gabapentin or lyrica are medications used for a vast array of reasons some off label. Not to much is known about long term usage of those chemicals they work by reducing calcium influx within nerves by binding to specialized receptors that narrow calcium channels. What are you suffering from? That med may not be the best tool
Hi. Gin
I read your post and feel horrible for you, As I am a pain patient as well. There is nobody that could possibly understand unless you are in the same place. I am in that place… We have just moved from One State to another and the doctor that’s taken care of me since my accident, Will o longer prescribed medication and I have a huge fear I’ll be running into the same roadblocks you have… I’m not exactly sure what I’ll do because without it, I can bedridden not that.i cM get around very well anyways…
I can’t go back to the ER days where they give you meds but they keep you until the relief you had for a few hours is worn off…. I’m extremely worried for myself but I’m Happy to Know you at least have a way to get the meds you need even if you do Have to go to Mexico…. I’ve no clue how to do that.
Anyway I think it’s wrong with established patients that do not abuse meds but take it the way Dr prescribed it. Something must be done about this.
I’ll keep you in my prayers and hope you find relief. Chronic pain is nothing to wish upon your worst of enemies
I wish you well and Many blessings
Thank you for sharing this post and I really appreciate your efforts on writing this.
Does and is there Doctors who stand up for whatever they believe in anymore? Man I’m sorry but I’m going to shoot all Doctors the truth. Now there are still some doctors out there who still have to write up opioids for people who have to have them. But really there’s a lot more who’s afraid to give there patient what they really need. Take a stand doctors and you will win. Don’t write out prescriptions that you no is a waist of your time and sure doesn’t help the patient. If they need Norco and or any other drugs? Then feel free to treat them for whatever reason you no would help them. Please let the president no that you are doctors who are not here to write prescriptions that doesn’t work for your patience. But the ones you no that does work. And I will assure you that you doctors will win. Please just give it a try. I have a broken kneck and a bruzed bone in my back and my right knee is gone and needs replaced. And a lot of other health issues. So I can’t even get a sleeping pill form my doctor who wrote them out before. Doctors are now acting like they are doing you a great big favor for writing me or you a Norco,or any opioids, when it’s only there jobs to treat you the best of there ability! I’m grateful to be alive and still walking. But to just start sleeping again would be another blessing from God. Thanks to all of you doctors who reads this message! And I truly love most doctors who are all around good people! But now like I have been reading in here, there is a lot of doctors who are not being the doctors they could be able to make a decision to either quit, or maybe try being real doctor again! Let’s go doctors and get the job done The way you no what really works then start using it. Thanks. Clinton. Send the message send the message please send the comment or the message
Dr Greene
Thank you for your reply
As you can see it’s the middle of the night. And I’m not sleeping because of my pain condition. I’ve tried everything
Steroid shots ,,accupunture , 2 Stimulators etc… The meds my Dr gave me works well but still have horrible breakthrough pain and I don’t sleep Much.. I like so many others are at the Mercy of doctors who ARE under alot of pressure from the government , federal and State.
I’ve seen other patients that Are nodding off ETC. Clearly not taking as prescribed. My question to you sir is
How do you explain yourself to a new phsician without them understanding like yourself that your not some drug addict you just need your pain relieved because without it you have no life. With the med’s you can at least participate in your Family life although limited your at least enjoying being around people. Whenever your in constant pain being Around anyone or going anywhere is completely out of the question….
Thank you for replying and would be eternally greatful for any advice or recomendations you May have.
Thank you
Hi D. Greene…
I apologize, since I am from Idaho, but up until a few years back, I was able to work functionally, and live a fairly normal life. I was on a higher pain and gabapetin standard than I am allowed now, roughly half. Since the cut backs, and transfer to a pain clinic (who allows me 10 mg every 6 hrs, or else they kick me out), I can work a week a month (average). My depression increases every month, I wish I could go back to my plan of spending a year and a half in pain, but medicated, so I could take time off for surgery. But now, that is never going to happen, due to the recent mandates. So, besides handing my business, and everything I hold dear over to those without pain, do you have advice? Or just proceed? I feel the government has only given me those options, besides being 25% miserable all the time… I have a couple hemorrhaged discs, osteoarthritis, and bone spurs. Pain control used to keep me functional until the new mandates.
Hey, doc. I was wondering if it is even possible to be addicted to 20 mgs of Norco a day. I have had chronic pain for 8 years now. I had an extensive DVT and Saddle PE. I suffer from some chronic blood clots in the vein behind my knee. For a long time, I was on 7 Norco tens a day. I then detoxed and some how made it two whole months taking a bunch of Tylenol. Then I became more active and the pain hit hard. I also have loss of strength in my DVT leg. It is not strong enough to climb stairs and if I go onto the floor, and then get back up just once, my pain level goes really high for a few days. It took me 5 years before my leg had the strength for me to be able to get down on my knees and then bac up without assistance. But climbing stairs or walking too far, or too fast, or driving causes pain. Sitting in an office chair without my leg elevated all day on an ottoman causes the same amount of pain as physical activity, it just takes a bit longer.
Any how, I detoxed again and only made it for 3 days this time and after doing some chores around the house, the leg got really bad. I fought for 12 hours and then finally took 7.5 mgs of Vicodin and I am finally feeling relief. It is a night and day difference for me. The pain is still there, but turned way down. My current pain doc is giving me a hard time because she usually deals with patients who can be helped. She keeps sending me back to the same vascular surgeons requesting letters that they cannot help me. That is why I am trying to got off pain meds again. I tried Marijuana and it worked good, took all the pain away. But it left me high for over 24 hours and I cannot live like that. I need to be able to function. I feel like it’s not even worth it to fight the docs and the pharmacists for such a small amount of meds, but without them I am absolutely miserable. Even just laying in bed all day isn’t enough to prevent the pain. For a while, they had me on methadone and it world well, but I did not take it regularly because I do not want to become dependent on that particular med. I have some 30 mgs of slow release OXY, and if I wake 1, I am pain free for 13 hours, and need no pain relief to sleep. Again, I do not want to get dependent on those, and current doc will not prescribe anything like that. Could my use of the Vicodin’s, up to 20 mgs a day be an addiction? Sometimes I use 7.5 twice a day, sometimes once day (some days are better and I can manage the pain with leg elevation) and on days when I do chores, shopping, or work part time, I uses 20 mgs. Any advice would be appreciated.
I’m disabled and been taking opiate medicine for my chronic arthritis pain. It has been prescribed by a State University medical doctor for years. After the new opiate prescription law was passed in my state due to the opiate epidemic, my doctor suddenly told me I should be taking ibuprofen instead of an opiate. I told him no, that if drug users want to overdose and kill themselves, that’s their business, it had nothing to with me. After he pushed further, I told him hell no, if it ain’t broken don’t fix it, and that if he changed my medicine without my consent, I would sue the university, the state, and him personally (without going into detail suffice to say I know my way around the courts). After that conversation I never heard anymore about changing it and my prescriptions continued as they always were. I think a lot in my favor had to do with the fact that there is a chronic pain exception in the opiate prescription limitation law, and I was “grandfathered” in for years, and that the doctor did not want any problems, not rock the boat if you will. But if I was seeing a private doctor instead of a State university one there is no doubt in my mind that I would have been dismissed from the practice as a patient, and I would have sued the private doctor as well. I don’t care. I’m considered indigent so I wouldn’t have to pay a penny in filing fees nor court costs and my disability income is untouchable, so is my house which is considered a homestead which makes me judgment proof. And I have plenty of time on my hands to spend years in court if I want to. And worse comes to worse, I would buy marijuana from the street and smoke it for the pain. These doctors are just under a lot of pressure from the politicians to limit opiate medications and they don’t want any problems. They don’t want their license to practice medicine jeopardized, and most important, don’t want to lose their $325,000 a year salaries and the nice lifestyle it buys. I understand that. That’s more important to them than anything, including the patient. But too bad. I look after my own best interests, not theirs.
I am living thru the same circumstances. Reducing my medication has reduced my quality of life. Just having chronic pain and being on disability leaves me in bed with pillows supporting my neck and back everyday. I left an abusive husband and live alone with no family or friends in the area. I can’t move back to WA state because the cold increases the pain. I live in East Texas and when the storms go thru it increases the pain. I had 3 back surgeries in 2013 and couldn’t go back to work. I used to regulate medical facilities and now I’m a victim of these so called pain specialists. I am 57 and as medications are decreased, so is my life expectancy. They don’t care.
Dear Tawnia,
I could have written your message:
Right down to leaving the abusive husband, being isolated/lacking support, multiple spine surgeries, weather affecting pain, on permanent disability, at the mercy of arrogant pain specialists who not only refuse to prescribe the 350mg of opiates I require in order to have a quality of life – so I’m stuck in bed – but their entire focus is strictly numbers:
they could care LESS about the lives, relationships and well being of people desperate for pain relief.
Please contact me if you’d like to text/chat – support/understanding and sharing information – (and an open invitation to anyone else who’s interested)
I live just North of San Francisco.
Email: MarinwoodResident (at) Gmail dot com.
What the DEA does not understand is that every pain patient is different. Some require more meds, some require less. I can get by on 20 mgs of Norco as long as I pace myself. It’s kind of like playing chess. I am very lucky for now, but if more blood clots hit my already battered leg, or my good leg, the pain is going to increase exponentially. I do not envy you guys with back problems. I only have chronic pain, swelling, and cramping in my right leg due to chronic blood clots that never dissolved. Thus I have very bad circulation. Kind of like House MD, but his clots were in the arteries. I feel less than human having to go in every month for 4 vicodins a day. I don’t mind being monitored, or taking drug tests, I have nothing to hide, but the darn doc keeps on sending me to the same vascular specialist asking them what they can do, and they keep telling here only thing to help me is pain management and compression socks. It causes me a great deal of stress ad anxiety being told over and over again nothing can help. I really wish they would at least issue some sort of government card to chronic pain patients who have verified physical ailments and effectively exempt us and our doctors from the new regulations. Chronic pain patients do not usually overdose on their meds unless it is intentional. I never even knew what pin medicine was before 2012. I never needed it or cared about it. Now I am dependent on it and hate it. I hope you can find a better doc, but it is hard.
I wish I could be that tough! I get so intimidated. I go to my PMD and I know exactly what I’m going to say. I don’t like to complain too much so I just try to make it short and sweet by telling him I’m not getting relief throughout the day I’m in a lot of pain. But no increase. He says I’m on a high dose already. I’m way under the MME. and I was way over it for 10 years. Then weaned down on my own quite a bit.. I don’t want to bore you with the details but I was takin off my narcotics a year ago from my Rheumatologist (she got nervous) and been to 3 different pain docs since. The first one was to get off opioids by going on Subutex. That didn’t work. So I moved to a different PMD that was a joke! Then decided to go back to a Dr. I started out with before recommending I see a Rheumatologist. He finally put me back on the only drug that ever worked for me. Oxycontin ER but I’m on the very lowest there is twice a day. Because its suppose to work for 12 hours. (Joke) I always needed to take it every 8 hours and it worked. I want to be on a low dose but not that low. I need relief during the day. I can’t function enough to get my house work done like I want.
In 2012 In the winter i got out of the car to go into work and as to shutting the door my lunch box went flying and i landed on my back and head slept in the office at work for 8hrs then they decided to take me to the er, I get there and they said u have blood that filled the inner back of ur skull and ur spine is swallon I got a dr and they started me on vicoden for 3 yrs then they stopped given it to me.. I went to my dr again they did not care and then threw out the yrs they looked and still look at me as a addic which im not i get bad migraines and back pain i got shots for 7 yrs and they just made it worse and they said that i will have to live with the back and head aces and they dont help u at all which is sad.. My legs get weak i cant lift things and walking makes it bad my legs go numb and they wont do surgery but said that my bones are d iterating fast and down the road maybe they will do something well 5 yrs later they still havent done nothing
All that happened to me was a simple fall off the back of my semi-truck. Turned out I have a blood clotting disorder and a sprained ankle turned into an extensive DVT, chronic clots, and chronic pain. Only tool 5 seconds to turn me from a normie to a chronic pain patient.
I have been in pain for about 20 years now due to a head on collision and being involved in a accident where the car flipped over off the road 3 times. I believe that I have been given a run around and lied to all my life which has made me out to look and become a somewhat criminal. I can’t even walk into my local hospital or local dr office without being looked at like I’m some piece of shit worthless human that shouldn’t exist. This is all due to my community protecting an ex police officer/my ex probation officer along with another ex employee that which I somehow had been involved with the two as a lover/ victim a toy for their pleasure. If these people cared ever hows come I don’t feel that way? I try not to discriminate towards anyone but what I been through and continue suffering makes me sick to the death bed. My whole past has been lies and I been set up to keep my mouth shut plead guilty regardless and that’s not working for me personally! I am ignored and find no hope for my future with where I am. I know what my body needs for comfort and relief but for some damn reason I feel that I shouldn’t exist if this is all I have to look forward to with my life and I have a son to. My community has let me down, my ex girlfriends are all fake I been used as a pet! I know I need pain medication and attention if anyone expects me to be apart of this world with everyone else. I’m 36 years old and I shouldn’t feel this way!
I have been in constant pain for over 40 years starting when I was 12 years old. Taking Oipoid pain meds, morphine & hydrocodone I was able to lead somewhat of a normal life. Working full time with lots of overtime up to 1500 hours a year. That all changed in 2016 when I got the letter form my family doctor dropping me from his serivce because he would no longer write scripts for my pain meds. I was bounced from pain clinic to pain clinic being subjected to over 30 injections to my back. Nothing helped. Finally a pain clinic would write me a.script for my meds. After about 8 months I was told that I was on a higher dosage of pain meds than the federal government recommended. I had to get a meditronics pain pump put in my stomach or I would no longer get and pain medicine starting 1/1/2018. Well battling with the pain pump, many many many trips to the doctor I ended up losing my job and was put on disability. It makes me mad that my doctor and I had a plan with the oral meds and they worked for me. In 40 + years of getting oral pain meds I never went back for more before it was time for a refill. I took them as prescribed and never had an issue, I actually lead a normal life married with a family and a damn good paying job. All lost now. I lay around in bed most of the time now because the pain is so intense and the only relief I get it laying down. I have a hard time walking and getting in and out of a vehicle. If I try to have a normal life, do things with my family like attend a party, just sitting in a wooden chair 3 hours puts me back down in bed 1-2 days again to I feel half way decent. If I live like I’m 90 years old. Get up eat sit in recliner, eat lay in bed, eat go to bed for the day I feel pretty good. Pain is like a 4, where it’s there but doesn’t bother me. Any type of activity, walking, riding in a vehicle, sitting or standing too long causes the pain to get to a 9-10 and my lower body locks up and I can’t move.
I don’t want to sound like a whiner but when I was on oral meds I had a Wonder life, family and career. Now I sit or lay around daily with the highlight of the day is watching TV.
I’m trying to figure out if people who have good ins through their large corporate business are the ones who are the ones getting to be prescribed oxycodones/oxy Cotin’s/ lidocaine pain patches ? The dr in the ER told me ****** do you have ins… I said yes I do …. he said oh what is it as he looked to see I had Aetna and with that he said … ***** YOU have the GOLDEN TICKET! Now I e been on them for 5 years after a ENT dr let my head dangle off of the operating table while he took a hammer and chisel to my left eyebrow because he saw at the last minute a minute non cancerous tumor and he didn’t protect my neck as he hit my skull, eyebrow w the hammer and chisel broke smashed my neck in “7” places . I have 6 fusions and a steel plate in there right now but NOW a cyst is growing on my c1and c2, and the cyst is pressing into my spine and brain. If I go thru another operation the dr said she wants to pull my muscles apart at the top of my spine and put two screws in it which will then cause me to not be able to move my skull at all … I’ll be a freak show. Who decides besides my doctor what my needs are for my pain? I’m a excellent patient don’t go in early don’t give him any grief & keep him in the loop of what I’m contemplating re the surgery of which did I mention , I’m scared the crap of ??? DOCTORS BURY THEIR PATIENTS. No I did not sue him… he made me sign something that said I wouldn’t a week out if surgery all doped up NOT KNOWING what he had done to me. He has a numerologist at his church that he referred me to and HE kept the MRI crushed bones Xrays a secret until two years were up and after every 30 days getting 8 shots four on each side of my neck JUST SO I COUKD GET A PAIN MED FROM HIM FOR ANOTHER 30 days … after two years… the magic #, he said ***** I wouldn’t be doing this to my sister… it’s time I send you on to a neck surgeon in Dallas that helped my Pastor. I read all of yalls stories and feel terrible for you all. Things just aren’t our fault and the government sees us as a “herd “!
I can relate to your situation and can tell you I had a cyst that affected my sciatic nerve. I went to Tampa at Laser Spine Institute and they made a small incision and fixed that pain. It was same day surgery. In and out. Now I had other problems with my back and they couldn’t fix the thoracic pain, but they did fix the cyst. You may want to check them out for your problem.
I had a similar experience with a neck surgeon in Dallas. I wish you could say who it was.
Does the name sound similar to the Speaker of the House?
I’m so sorry you’re going through all this. Your Dr. should lose his license!!! I think they forget they took the oath to “do no harm”!!!
So many different types of harm they do by not acting like a decent human being. Will keep you in thoughts and prayers. So many people are hurting. ☘️Mary
I know exactly how you feel!! Exactly!! I was on pain meds since 09. Since this racket on pain meds i was done so dirty by a drs office. Had a drs office employee who lied on me to droo me. This is a cruel world!! I live in constant 24/7 burning pain!!! My back kills me. I’ve used physical therapy and tens units and nothing works. This mind and body crap is rediculous!! How can i sit still in chair and lusten to hogwash for 50 mins when i burn so bad i feel like a burning fire pit!! A dr told me today after 14 year’s i don’t need pain meds i need a psychiatrist cause I’m severely depressed.
Which was hog wash when i was on pain meds. I tried phychriatrist and it was a waste of time.
I was so miserable i lost my husband of 10 year’s cause he was sick of the bs the drs put me through. He saw me cry saw me hurt 24/7. I couldn’t go anywhere or enjoy life.
I could do a few things to getting groceries to driving to the dr or very light shopping or cleaning up my house it took me doing little things each day i could now my life is watching the TV 24/7 alone 24/7 nobody wants to be around someone who cries 24/7.
My own husband didn’t and my family doesn’t and no friends!! This is no life and this is why suicide is up cause drs don’t believe their patients!! Patients are in pain and dealing with this unnecessary. Some family believes I’m crazy need to be locked up and my mother says she can’t be around me cause all i do is cry!! A pain dr said he was doing what’s best for me. I don’t like wishing bad on people but i hope this dr gets a dose of his own crazy minded logic. I’m poor but if i can i can get a credit card and buy a plane ticket I’ll find a dr to give e something for pain for the airplane ride to be evaluated by a compassionate dr. This brain washing crap they try to force severe pain patients is brain damaging it self !! This PM dr needs to realize that he’s the one who is brain damaged.
I hope God will let him feel my pain level and tell me he made a mistake and he’d help me. Does miracles really happen?
Hey if you email me I can give you some advise, but I won’t post it for god who knows to read.. Your post really touched my heart….
Atowndeathsquad. AT gee mail.
Com
I know how you are feeling, I am 26 years old had my two wisdom teeth pilled. When I got home I had to change the gauze pad it felt soaked, I took it out and the blood shot out of my mouth and nose it was all over the place. My parents took me to the ER they thought I got beat-up my face was a mess and he hit a main blood vessel in my mouth. The pain never went away, it was always there and still is, four months later I could not move from the bed. I was a mess I was burning all over, not like a sunburn but like someone poured gasoline all over me, even my insides were burning like I was in a fire but no one could put it out. I got tested for everything out there all my test came back negative, I knew it wasn’t in my head like some of these doctors think. Been to over 65 doctors they all said its in your mind, except for three doctors, they said I have a illness that the dentist created it is horrible monster nothing helps. They will not put me on pain meds they told me to go get medical pot, but I don’t feel it. I been suffering like an animal for so long all I pray for is for God to free me from the hell.. It is called RSD/CRIPS and it is the worst thing out there besides cancer, the pain is brutal and never stops I cannot explain all it does to you. I cannot have no one touch me at times because I burn and hurt so bad. My own mother use to cry and beg God to take me home, why are you making her suffer like this. It is called the suicide illness by doctors themselfs but they rather see people kill them selfs or little infants have a world full of pain. My heart breaks for anyone suffering with pain and there’s not a blessed thing you can do about it I worked so hard in school I wanted to be a musician a session’s player. I gone and force myself to go to Berklee School of music but I only got through a couple of months. It took me dreams away, my life, away, a just don’t want to live in this hell for the rest of my life and you don’t die. It is in every organ in my body cannot control anything, cannot swallow without feeling like I am going to die. I just want to tell you anyone can get it, it is caused by trauma, if you stub your toe, if you fall, if you get a bad blood drawn from ER’s and nurses that just don’t treat you like your human anymore. I feel like a dirty animal because my eyes water and burn & I my vision gets blurry and my eyelids closes by them self’s. My nose is always running or I can’t breath, this illness attacks the skin, hair, fingernails, your whole body I wake up at times because you get so much saliva it just runs down my on me & I am soaking wet, then you sweat I walk outside without a coat just for the burning to end. You always know when it is coming you feel like your in a meat freezer and you get gooseflesh, no control over your body temperture, And to top everything off I lost my mother last week, I tried so hard to help her, we had her in hospice at home, I had to give her medication every four hours but I stay up all night or sometimes I just pass out from the pain. I miss her with all I am, she was the only one who knew what I was going through. I had a miracle about 3 years before this I gone to my town’s pool. Got bite on both ankles they were huge flies. I gone into the water and as soon as I hit the water I was frozen my lips were blue. So I gone home took a shower, and went to bed early, when I woke up my chest & feet were on fire. I tried to get up and I could not move my legs, I screamed I cannot walk anymore. So into a wheelchair for five long years, same thing all my tests came back negative, they put me into a good hospital had the best team of doctors who made me feel like a person the tests were painful but I was not going to live like this, I was put into pain clinic right away it help at that time, but still could not walk. I had to go into the hospital I caught a bad infection in my lungs, and my roommate was a chaplin who’s daughter had cancer. She had me praying the Rosaries every day and sometimes they had me on strong stuff I couldn’t get the words out but I said them inside. One night my friend came in to see me & he was crying I said what is wrong, he looked at me straight in my eyes & said I was dying I had some strange illness, The doctor came in and told me the same thing, I IV bags were getting bigger they gave me morphine every hour. I begged for them to stop because it was burning my stomach out. I shut my curtains around the bed, & I just started praying to God & the Blessed Mother, I said this was my hell on earth and I cannot wait to leave here. I just ask God please take me fast. All of a sudden I will never forget this I saw a bright light & felt someone rub my right arm but I didn’t want them to stop. I feel asleep really peacefully next day I got up to use the bathroom but I felt different. I got off the bed didn’t need that chair anymore & I walked like nothing happened to me the pain was gone,. My room mate said you see you had a miracle and in that same day her daughter died off cancer, I cried she was such a beautiful girl. I had four more years of feeling normal got my teeth worked on and ended back with the same illness but it was ten million times worst. I get breaks once in a while maybe for 3 days, but when my mom was dying God gave me the power to do things for her, she always took care of me. One day she needed medication & I cannot drive anymore, and no one would get them for her I haven’t walk like this in 14 years. I walked 10 miles to the pharmacy and back and it was 100 degrees out. Truthfully I almost didn’t make it I pass out it actually pulls me across the floor and my head always gets it and I broke my wrist to. I just wanted to tell you about my time in hell and no one can help me only God, but since my mom passed I want to leave this world and go to Paradise no more pain or no more sadness. I also lost my dad he had eight open heart surguries, a major stroke, and died of cancer, about a year after that my brother who was five years older then me & we were so close. It was the night before Thanksgiving and his car was being fixed, he ran to get the bus & this man hit him head on and said he didn’t feel nothing if you hit a animal you feel something, My parents took him to court sued him but it did not bring my beautiful brother back, I layed on his bed for months never smiled or laughed, I didn’t want to eat I wonder how I survive between what happened and my illness I am inmortal & my mom use to tell me that God has a purpose for me when I go to heaven, but why all the suffering here. I don’t understand life anymore because I don’t have a life, everything was taken away from me. Even my mom, I am the only one left I never felt so alone & scared. The second night I kept going out in the living room because the hospital bed was there. And when I looked into the bed it look like she was still there, I never saw anything like this she had Dementia she didn’t even know what was going on. And everytime time she looked at me she would say you look so much like my daughter. But when she wanted something she didn’t forget my name, it just got worst and worst her body felt like a board, she could not close her mouth it just stay open all the time, The night when she died she was like ice, she tried to say something to me but couldn’t. I went into my room around 10: 21 and she passed at 10: 27 they didn’t come get her until the morning, but mom I prayed so hard to God to take her home and he did. Now I wait for my turn but it is not going to come I will be in this agony & hell forever. I am sorry I wrote a history I just need to vent, and my heart breaks for anyone suffering day after day with pain that you would do anything to stop it. My heart is with all of us fighting so hard, but I don’t want to live anymore I just cannot stand the torment anymore and this agony & if I had a way out I would do it. My prayers are with you and may God give you relief and a miracle they are true ..
My prayers are with you Sherry I got treated the same way as you are, it’s all in my mind that was all I heard. If it was in my mind I could work it out of there. These doctors don’t know how many people take there lives because you live in a world of agony and no one even knows what your talking about, Could I ask you a personal question did anyone ever tell you that you have the most painful illness in medical science. When I heard you say you burn on fire 24/7 and the pain never lets go of you. Did they say to you that you have RSD/CRIPS look it up because it sounds like what I have they have videos of people, children, and everybody says the same thing as I do please let me close my eyes tonight & never open them again. This is hell on earth and when you feel like if you want to hurt yourself that is serious. I use to sleep with a knife under my pillow and shut my door in case I got the nerve to really do it and I almost did it twice. But if there is hell here, I don’t want to live in real hell, there are miracles but we cannot tell God what to do with me it seems when I cannot stand it anymore & I yell at him and say how could you let your children suffer like animals that just have nothing to live for. It’s hard for me to tell you to keep the faith when I cannot do it at times, but I had a real miracle I will never forget the peacefulness I did not want to go back, but I guess I have to suffer it out until something goes. If you ever need anyone to talk to I would be happy to talk. I had so many friends and they all left me because I could not do what they could anymore. And what really topped everything off is losing my mom, I use to make her promise me if you die don’t leave me here alone here because I could not handle it. I would just freak out and do something to myself, I just don’t to be like this anymore and I don’t understand what God could have in store for me. But if you ever need someone to vent with I would really be happy I just feel good when I give someone a little hope.
Yes . They want to do more surgery, risk my life even further to put in a pain pump!!! I have 18 level fusion in spine & neck. I was doing OK on oral meds until 2016. This is a genocide of chronic pain patients and very Hitler regime we are now entering. . Why legal constitution isn’t being pursued aggressively is beyond me. It is more important to keep drug addicts from overdosing and parents mislabeled their anger.
I have degenerative disc disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Both are very sever and cause me sever pain, but I have found an alternative to the prescription drugs. I take Kratom and I have been taking it for over a year. Yes the FDA has tried federally to get it banned. That did not work. Now they are going state by state. They are doing this because of big pharmacies are backing them. they don’t want you to use it because it will relief your pain. I take a dose in the morning, then one at lunch and the one in the evening. I generally have some with me for break through pain as well. I use it in the powdered form. you can also get in capsule form. Look you can buy a kilo of it for just under $90.00 and that will last most people two to three months. If you believe the stories that the FDA has put out there about the two people that died while taking Kratom, you should find the full story and see that they were both taking and believed to have overdosed on opioids and had taken Kratom as well. Now if you are looking to get high from Kratom you can but you would have to ingest more than a normal dose and than each time take more to reach that same level. There are several different strains available. Each gives you a different level of pain relief and alertness, focus and some other side effects (all good though). So this is just an option that most doctors can’t tell you about because it occurs naturally in nature, just like weed.
I would like more information on Kratom.as to where I may obtain some, Thank You, I’m also living with Chronic Pain daily
Iv’e been on 10 mg percocet for 7 years & also been taking 2mg xanax 1 during day & 1 late at night so i can sleep. Now my doctor said it’s a bad mix. I take as precribed. 3 19mg percocet 3 times a day. So it’s give uo xanax, cause i have insommnia. Or give up 10mg percocet for pain. My pain doctor doesn’t write my xanax. I”m 58 & never took more than i should. I have adhd, a lot of anxiety, & xanax wrks. So does percocet 10mg/325. Why can’t i continue?
Because some psychopaths think they’re managers of society, and not part of society themselves. They view you and all of us as datapoints. They don’t relate to your pain or experience in life because they view you as one ant among many swarming over a discarded snikers bar.
In 1999, I had a severe work fall injury, which pulverized my elbow and fractured and broke over 100 bones in my body. After emergency surgery and a year of multiple surgeries and phys. therapy and ultimate surgery with Mayo, rebuilding the elbow, and surgeries for multiple ankle and knees as well as nerve damage injuries, from a 2-story fall landing on a staircase, (and splitting 3- 2×8″ steps), I was brought to a meeting of my medical team of my internist, orthopedic surgeon, neurologist and physical therapist, telling me they had reached the end of the road as there was nothing left that they could do to mitigate damage and the resulting pain. They advised me that all they could do from this point was to try to make me comfortable, and I should understand that due to the nature and extent of my injuries, some would heal on their own but many would not and as I aged (I was 54 at the time) I would likely develop arthritis in bones and joints. They offered ‘hope’ that in the years to come, a non-narcotic regimen could be found to allay pain issues. In the interim, I was put on a regimen of Neurontin (gabapentin) and Oxycontin. It took only 2-3 weeks before I could not tolerate the ‘drive’ that this medication caused, if I missed a dose by even one hour, so I dumped them in the toilet, and told my PCP I needed a revised regimen. He changed it to hydrocodone/gabapentin, which turned out not to be sufficient to assuage the pain conditions and it was changed again to Oxycodone/gabapentin, (10-325 x 9/day) I remained on this regimen that worked to relieve pain so I could return to work, of a restricted type, which I did until after about 4 years, the bitter cold of Wisconsin winters, was more than could be tolerated. I retired early and moved to Arizona. Unfortunately, because I moved out of state, I lost my medical insurance, and had to go from clinic to clinic, that issued a maximum of Hydro 5-500, which did not help the problem. I applied for early Social Security / Medicare at 62 and found a new PCP, who got my medical records from WI, and restored my initial regimen. So with the slight lapse of time between WI and AZ, I have been on this regimen for 20 years, and it had worked satisfactorily, although my initial team’s predictions came true and my body is now riddled with arthritis, adding additional pain above and beyond the initial fall damage pain. This lasted about 7 years. About 3 years ago, my then PCP sent out letters to his patients that due to the ‘outrageous’ govt paperwork involved with opioid prescriptions, he will no longer write for pain medication, and gave patients 60 days to find pain control elsewhere, as he was changing his practice to ‘weight control’ only. It turned out, I found a PCP that accepted my med records, and agreed to write as I had been on for 17 years. This lasted about a year, before he told me that due to network and peer pressure, he had to start ‘weaning’ me off my meds, and tried to get me into pain management services, almost all of which are fancified ‘rehab centers’, with weekly visits (at my expense) and weekly urine tests (also at my expense) and if they were to write for my meds at all, it would be weekly, not monthly, yet another expense, for lower quantities. I declined these services. Going back to my PCP, who had lowered my med Qty to 262 tabs per month. I could handle this, and stayed with this until December of 2019, when my PCP told me he was leaving the network he was with, and moving to another, and if I elected to follow him, he would restore my original 270 qty, and at my advanced age, he saw no reason not to continue it indefinitely. I was elated. A great weight lifted! So I did, and my first Rx was in fact filled at 270. Here it comes… When this was nearing the end of the 30 days qty, I leave a message on the patient portal, for a refill reminder, which was the norm, only this time my request was answered by a phone call from his assistant, that “John is not filling you Rx anymore”. When I asked why, and reminded her of his promise of a month prior, she just said she did not know the details, just that there was some new ‘regulation’ that will not allow him to write. I contacted my insurance carrier and asked them to step in, which resulted in a 7-day refill only, and they were told that all of his patients were notified a month earlier of the intent to stop opioid Rx. This was an outright lie, as is the ‘regulation’ they would never give me a copy of (because it does not exist). I contacted Medicare, who parroted my insurance carrier, in that they had heard of no such ‘regulation’, and if such had been issued, Medicare would be among the first to be notified, likely even before it was implemented, it does not exist. Subsequently, I ran out of my medication and within two days I went into full blown withdrawals, due to non-weaning off the meds. I was violently ill, with projectile vomiting and diarrhea, and 1-2 hours sleep per night, for the first 5 days, the latter 2 lasting nearly a month. It was the worst hell I had ever gone through, and I was praying for Covid-19 to strike and kill me, PLEASE! The first week, I could eat nothing for about 6 days, after which I could manage a small bowl of oatmeal as my daily meal, for the next 2 weeks. A nurse friend gave me an appetite stimulant, which did allow me to eat 3 light meals a day, so I could muster the strength to bear the PAIN, which is now back with a vengeance. So, with severe lower back and spine, cervical spine, and destroyed rotator cuff arthritis in all, per MRIs and X-rays, I am set back 20 years, with the now added arthritis. My hand joints are not working well, so I am assuming they too have arthritis. I have requested a new referral from my PCP, for a pain management service, in hopes they will locate my original medical records from the injury in WI, and return me to my original regimen, and let me die without pain. In the interim, I am 75, and ‘walk’ like I am 95, have trouble getting up from the couch, or out of bed in the morning. All of this because of the typical knee-jerk reaction of the US Govt, to just paint us all with the same broad brush used to punish legitimate patients for the illegal fentanyl from China and Mexico, that is killing off junkies and pill addicts. Of course any person with common sense will realize that this will just increase the demand for the illegal drugs that started all of this nonsense! In over 20 years, I have never exceeded the prescribed dosage, and although I may have been ‘dependent’ on it for the pain control, I have never abused it, nor was I ‘addicted’ to it. I don’t know why I am writing this here, as nothing I have done to date, including solicitation of malpractice attorneys, and queries to CDC, FDA and DEA, has resulted in any relief whatsoever, and actually all of these inquiries were ignored completely. At this point, living in So. AZ, the border is close, and most pharmacies across the border will sell their most potent legal pain killer, Tramadol, without prescription, which is lightweight for me, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! So my PCP is making me a criminal and blaming the Govt. (I assume there is some law against this, “and frankly, my dear…”).
I don’t know what if anything Pain Dr. plans to do with all these comments, many of which are very similar to my own, But here is hoping, that perhaps whoever issued whatever new ‘guideline’ providers are calling ‘regulations’, they will review it and advise providers accordingly. Thank you for your time.
Reading your story mad me cry. My father is 72 years old and in the exact same situation. His long term pain doctor who was one of the few really knowledgeable about adhesive Arachnoiditis was killed suddenly in a motorcycle accident. The doctor who replaced him immediately started cutting his medicine that he had lived on successfully for 10 years. As of next month, he has been told that it will be cut to a quarter of the original dose. He was diagnosed with AA in 1982, so you can imagine how bad the pain is already, much like yours. I refuse to accept that my father will have to live in agony for the rest of his life without without fighting. I have recently started writing letters to everyone I can think of including Florida Governor DeSantis, Congressman Rutherford (Jacksonville), Senator Rick Scott up to President Trump. As of today, I have reached out to every local news station in the Northeast Florida area in hopes to get some light shed on the severe chronic pain patients that have “slipped through the cracks” due to recent opioid laws. I hope to get a feature picked up. I am thinking about the possibility of seeing an attorney to see what can be done in that front. I plan to keep fighting until a can get my dad some relief.
Pease we need a lawyer I have been sick since I was 29 years old im now 52 ive had 17 surgerys for crohns disease and its been awful I have suffered at the hands of these guidelines. Ive never overdosed never bought street drugs but recently ive been getting cut again I have no life now I cant do anything I used to do even shopping at walmart I just dont leave my house. I only have 5ft of small intestine left and half my large left. Im in constant pain diahrea joints swellimg no appetite weigjt loss. Having my pain meds helped me so much with all of that. I was able to go out do some shopping cook clean now im just so tired and worn out from pain. Please someone help the truly sick we have done nothing wrong!!! God please help us we need you so much rkght now. I just dont know how much more i can take. Im being cut again next month.
I feel the same way, i have no energy. It’s an effort to do anything. Who is changing these ruled. It’s not fair that people that take advantage of precriptions or get from the streets. And decent people need pain meds & xanax for insommnia.
I 1st Am Sorry For Your Suffering due to & by the Hands if the Politicians and Now Scared Dr’s. I too am a Severe Pain Suffer. I was At a Red Light on a 55mph Highway and was Rear Ended by a Big Truck with a Front Steel Push Bar, a F550 the witness said, it launched my 95 Buick Park Avenue 1/2 a mile, as well as ripped the drivers seat from the frame of the car an I ended up in the back seat upside down looking out the rear Window. The truck never stopped, it was likely doing 70mph+ the witness an police said. I was only 18 years of age months away from 19. Long story short, they never found the driver, I was in shock and felt “OK”. So after EMS looked me Over, said to monitor myself next 48rs. The next morning I awoke, Could Not Move, pain was a 10/10. EMS & MRI showed ruptured/herniated discs in L1,L2,L3 & L4. I was explained that I would develop Degenerative Disc Disease as well as my left upper Shoulder Blade Rotator Cuff was Torn, an My left Knee Buckled from the impact and was also in bad shape. I was told I was not a candidate for surgery due to my age and needed to take Opiate Medications for many decades unit I would be a candidate for surgery, (this was my 4th 2nd Opinion.) So they started me with Fentanyl Duragesic Patches afar 2 years I was on 2 100mcg patches at once, then a year later 3 at once, as well as Vicoden H.P & Oxycontin. I always took as ordered as well, but got sick and tired of living that way, I wanted to NOT Need to Take These Medications to keep from getting deathly Ill with withdraw. So after a decade I decided to go to a Rehab Facility and was sent home after 30 days, still in full blown withdrawal, as hey went able to “get me a 21 day extension” so I was back to being home and someone mentioned Methadone as a option, so I said, Joe, you’ve done/tried EVERYTHING, why not, an tried a clinic, after 90 days my dose was holding and helped Tremendously with my pain a 4 it had made it manageable. So I kept at it and as long as you pass your Random Drug lab Screens from your Random drug testing you will earn take home privileges, currently I’m at a month take-home. My dose is Co sidereal High at just over 250mgs a day. But I don’t get drowsy, I can function, I have pain, but it works for me better then all the patches & pills ever did. So I hope you consider it as an option. It’s been about 25 years since the accident, and 10 years since I’ve taken any Opiates, some will argue just to do it saying Methadone is an Opiate, maybe technically that’s True. Not important to me. It’s a Synthetic Opiate that was created out of Necessity by Hitler’s Chemists during WW||. I would explore you to try it an see how it works for your pain. As its been about 10 years on for me an nothing negative you’ll hear is true! I am so grateful for it, an the last 10 years I’m able to function as best I can. I hope there will be a much different type of surgery avail I the future for me to Consider. Until then I will continue to Dose with the Methadone and Pick up my Months Supply until then. I Trust what’s worked for me, I also Know of other chronic pain sufferers whom have went this route and can’t explain that they have some qualities of Life they now have that they thought would never be achieved an had given up on. I’ll end with saying that no Medication is a 100% fix all for everyone’s chronic Pain. But if your having a hard time, or struggling to get help this may be your BEST OPTION! Give it a chance, it could give your life back. To all the Chronic Pai Sufferers, It’s A Real Damn Shame that we don’t have control of what we put into our body, period! Let alone to deal with Chronic Pain. To have Everyone So Scared to Write A Prescription for A Documented Case of Severe Chronic Pain. As for all the Dr’s out there, You need to remember the Oath You Swore Under to Di No Harm To Your Patient’s! Your Hippocratic Oath has Fallen by the wayside as well as some of your Moral Duties as Dr’s who Took that Hippocratic Oat to do no Harm. Well, not writing the Correct amount of Pain Medication for Chronic pain sufferers is absolutely not in your Patient’s Best Interest, nor is it not Doing Harm to them. I hope that things change for the better and Dr’s start Doing what’s Morally Correct and remember why you became Dr.s, to Help the Ill and To Not Allow The Needy Go without their Pain Medication because of the DEA!
I have just been reduced to the 90 mme that the CDC established as a guideline after my Doctor of 25 yrs retired. I have spinal cord damage from having had 6 spinal fusions due to metal breakage and non fusion for scoliosis from age 14-36. I now live in extreme chronic pain. I also have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The 90 mme that I have been reduced to is not covering my pain. Also when the temperature drops and we have thunderstorms, I get into extreme pain. I need help for pain control. I live in Atlanta, GA.
I am living thru the same circumstances. Reducing my medication has reduced my quality of life. Just having chronic pain and being on disability leaves me in bed with pillows supporting my neck and back everyday. I left an abusive husband and live alone with no family or friends in the area. I can’t move back to WA state because the cold increases the pain. I live in East Texas and when the storms go thru it increases the pain. I had 3 back surgeries in 2013 and couldn’t go back to work. I used to regulate medical facilities and now I’m a victim of these so called pain specialists. I am 57 and as medications are decreased, so is my life expectancy. They don’t care.
Who do we need to call, to address all these issues??
Don’t discount the harm drs do. When a dr is faced with their life or yours they chose theirs. The false labeling of patients to mitigate dr liability when forced to drop sick, ill and old patients is epidemic and its the kiss of death to a patient. Stroking out to death or causing suicide is still like murder no matter what the reason. The dr lobby is more powerful than they would have you think. In fact the drs played a large role in advocating for control of opiates in the beginning because they were not making money with people bypassing them strait to the sears catalog or pharmacy. Just falla the dalla back far enough. The truth hurts too.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 5 years ago. I have stiffness, swelling, carpal tunnel syndrome, and intense pain. I was put on methotrexate and folic acid, I still suffer from stiffness and pain, but now they are saying I haven’t got it. I have osteoarthritis too. I don’t understand this so i look up online for Herbal treatment and a page redirected. me to Akanni Herbal Centre (www. akanniherbalcentre .com ). Few months into the treatment, I made a significant recovery. . After I completed the recommended herbal treatment plan, almost all my symptoms were gone
This is the most well-written will said piece of information that you have a hundred percent correct he forgot about one part though and that’s the DEA and FDA they’re the ones that have doctors scared. You’re absolutely correct about doctors have more power than they lead on to believe every patient is different every circumstance is different they can easily explain or justify why any patient needs the pain medicine they need it’s not illegal for our doctor to prescribe the medicine someone needs I mean it’s their job for God sake!
I have are you near distant sciatica it’s been going on for eight years I found a pain management to help some with facet block epidural and nerve blockers as well as painkillers Percocet I joined a union four years later in which I could choose my job out of a hireing hall in which I drove a yard hustler after several random test and when I started I explained my disability and I passed the physical and driving training now there’s a epidemic I’m not safe to work with no proof that I did anything wrong but have a disability now I’m looked at like well we know what that’s like and I search the web for proof that I can take.my meds and go to the treatments which sucks but help relieve the pressure for a short time how do we prove we’re not worthless and Dangerous when doing as prescribed as needed how do I keep my livelihood with pain and no help I’m proud of the work I did for 4 years now I’m lower then whale poo I guess they heard use up and get rid of broken people when is this info
Although I am not currently using opioid meds, my 84 year old mother is…for good reason. She fell 3 years ago and broke four bones on her left side (ankle, hip, shoulder, wrist). Her rehab has been very long. During this time, access to opioid pain meds has become more difficult to access. The federal government has COMPLETELY overreacted to the opioid issue driven by high profile abuse by recreational users and resulting deaths. The class of citizens that are ACTUALLY in need of pain relief for chronic pain are completely ignored and negatively impacted. If a board certified physician feels their patient requires an opioid pain killer and has provided care for the patient, why should the government be allowed to further regulate? This is ridiculous. Patients in legitimate need of pain relief and now finding it difficult to impossible to access the proper medication. This has to stop.
I agree. I suffer in sever discomfort and pain and I have to live with it. I can hardly move. I can’t accomplish anything. I loved my career that I did for 25 years I had major brain surgerys and suffer with major chronic fatigue and severe fibromyalgia. I can’t believe I’m suffering so badly.
So what did you do about it or did you ??? Because I need to know what to do myself. ??? I’m so sorry about your condition love… I will pray for you. I hope that you get the help you need because you are one of the ones who do
i can Tammy, your are residing in the wrong country.
I have chronic pain Multiple sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, to much to list. The pain is screaming pain my spine hurts neck down, mainly sciatica both sides, upper buttock nerve pain is so bad. I stay in severe pain 24/7 even on pain meds. My hospital records speak for themselves and so does my blood pressure. I’m so upset because of the judgement I get by the medical field. I lay down all day except when I get n my wheelchair to go potty or go to the Dr. and finally got approved for physical therapy for the right hip I broke last year my left leg is affected by M.S., the reason I fell and broke my right hip, I don’t like being stigmatized, I am. I understand the problems with the opioid epidemic. I know I couldn’t function at all in so much pain. The pain Dr. has been good to me understanding. Suggest a spinal cord stimulator. I don’t want one. I’ve done my research on them, plus I don’t want another surgical procedure. Last time I had a colonoscopy, we told the nurse I couldn’t do the preparation cause of very slow transit, I was looking at having to get a Illostomy, bag to poop. But the nurse said about the colonoscopy that they would do the best they could to still come in. I did, they put air in and I woke up in a bunch of yuk I was laying in, a few day’s later my intestines came out my butt, I freaked out, I had gut’s hanging out. Had to cut me open from my bellybutton to my c-section(2) and cut through stomach mussels, had to have my Sigmoid colon then some, taken out. I committed suicide but kept alive by a machine. No it was “not” by taking to many opioid’s. I was so tired of the pain! Then broke my hip. I can not deal with the pain. Now the pain clinic has me able to deal with the pain, takes the edge off. After my long time Dr. retired. I am again treated like a freaking addic. This opioid abuse of others made me, one that needs pain relief fall through the cracks.
My effort is to dispel the big lie perpetuated through the country.
1. opioid epidemic started in 1909.
2. Recent overdose deaths are not related to doctors or patients. The evidence is the proof. Scientists have reviewed the chemicals found in the dead overdoses in this country and found on 1.7% of those that died from and overdose had a prescription for an opioid.
In layman terms 98% of overdoses are from street drugs or drugs obtained from diversion.
The leading cause is heroin and fentanyl. So please leave the doctors and patients alone.
3. The DEA and government is losing the drug war because they want to. This is an inside job. The drugs are poring in from outside the country. You can drive down the street of any bad area and just ask someone standing around for drugs and they will deliver them to you car. The drive through is alive and well. In these areas the police will not even drive down the streets because they will get shot.
4. Our wonderful police would rather run to a doctors office and arrest doctors because the Doctor does not have a gun. Then accuse the good hearted doctor of pill mill etc without any evidence. Just the fact that the doctor wrote prescriptions for medications and non doctors think the dose is to high or whatever. That decision should be left up to the doctor and the patient. Sadly our political country has already judged the doctor as pill mill and the patient as a drug addict.
This has got to change, but what do we do? The media is against pain. The government is against pain. Look I am against pain, I do not believe patients should suffer in pain. Seems everybody here is on the other side of pain. We all want pain treated and controlled based on the Doctor patient relationship and that should never be questioned or judged by anybody other than the patient ( did not mean to exclude God my father who is the real judge)
Hi I’m a chronic arthritis Nerve patient medical problems since a young teen now 48, pain has destroyed most of my life and I hang dearly onto what I do have.
I work very hard to do everything I should to help myself to help the condition as it is very very easy to give up, as most patients know without money regular therapy’s are now unaffordable, alternatives to opioids CBD is unaffordable (thank you government). So what is it ? ?please please tell me what is it that we are suppose to take or do when they say yes you suffer permanent chronic pain no it’s going no where no I can not help you access therapies at a affordable rate that I could do regularly to actually find out if they helped. But yes they want to eliminate the only medications that actually hits nerve pain, Tell us are Diabetics or any medicated dependent patient when they have been diagnosed and medication prescribed does a dr after years start to push the patient to cut back cut out medication.
Yes for more than ten years Drs have been prescribing for bone ache inflammation and nerve pain, yes you have done and doing everything to help yourself so you have come so far actually proud I’m not punching holes in walls when my nerve pain would be out of control and mentally could not cope i don’t sleep all day and roll around on a hard floors stretching and bashing my arms and head trying to concentrate on normal pain trying to block out nerve pain searching for relief all night, no longer excessive visits to hospital so locked up in pain that needed a day of morphine. My medications are all at the lowest dosage not possible without breaking down tablets to reduce anymore.
And still I go to my Dr and she will say it would be good to get that down !
Every visit I feel I need to plead my case revisiting every detail of my week the basic pathetic reminder that my existence is to manage pain and try my dam hardest not to let it get to me that the way we are treated like we are seeking drugs.. do we actually deserve that on top of what we are permanently going through, We go through years of specialists pain management facilities therapy we work hard to keep weight down exercise eat well, never ever drink, try not to eat anything that is a trigger for pain even if it’s your birthday or Christmas, basically fight HARD against what is so easy to give in to and end up back at your worst.
How !?? Is it the pressure of this is off loaded on to the patient is it our fault that Research has not found anymore answers to chronic nerve pain fibromyalgia patients suffer a lot of other complications than the nerve pain addressing pain is one of the many things.
Do you think the government should consider the 1.7 % May have really really wanted to check out, sadly find a chronic nerve pain patient that hasn’t been at that stage, it can take many years finding drs medications saying goodbye to your former self accepting and stop chasing a fix to your condition, it’s not an injury that’s going to heal over a few months is Diabetes? No but you can work very hard to achieve a better quality of life for yourself and whom around you.
DO the government crack down on drs prescribing anti-depressants ?
almost taking the better of 5 years to find a antidepressant that did not work against me I’ve had a good glimpse of how easy it can swallow up a person how many have taken their lives whilst on antidepressants, do they do the numbers and
start cutting back patients dosages and make them feel
ASHAMED that they require the medication.
What scares me is the mentality of a lot people without medical problems, making decisions for those that do,
Sitting in the drs waiting room I overhear two women discussing the sad loss of Robin Williams, not how terribly sad it was that his condition got the better of him, no one says to the other .. how selfish it was .. how ungrateful for his talent as a performer.. and a disgusting thing to do to his family,
I cried through my whole dr appointment no not for robin Williams – yes very very sad, no for the two women from the waiting room. people do not see past the exterior !
We patients are not responsible for what addicts want or got caught up doing, I know they don’t wake up one day and say I want to become an addict and ruin my life,
But as a chronic pain patient I did not wish for this and as the same as any other disease or medical complaint that requires the intervention of medication the position a chronic pain patient is put in is incredibly cruel and humiliating that increases your stress an anxiety resulting in more pain and frustration and depressed thoughts of how one looks forward when constantly there are threats of taking away the one thing that keeps you going.
Fact.. if the only treatment opioid medication was taken from the chemist shelves tomorrow I am pretty certain that the number of patients with chronic pain issues would decrease no not get better no sign out, we patients that have a hold on our condition are not abusing the medication we are scared stiff if returning to a life that we fear.
I’m another chronic pain patient experiencing all the thinngs you talked about reach out to me I found a solution to a few things that you said and it’s them helped me bring a little light to the rest of the arreas I struggle with just gotta find something that will bend for me it was a compassionate Dr who didn’t just wanna just throw in the towel treatig my pain because it was a very diff case with doses that scare many but it helps with that to start with an anathesiaologist someone who deals with high doses of strong drugs and is comfortable using them when appropriate
I’ve been a chronic pain patient since 2001, so I’ve been in the “arena” for a long time. All the education and belief’s prior to this fake opioid epidemic was that addiction was a disease, and only those with that disease would become an addict when taking the same substance as someone who didn’t have the disease.
Then back 2015/16, I noticed a growing number of commercials geared toward this “opioid epidemic and every one of these commercials were for a drug rehab center. Also, they have always used the vague term “opioid” which includes different substances other than just pain medication, yet were always insinuating that pill mills were to blame and too many people were on pain medication-yadayadayada. Then, the politicians started stoking up the hysteria and announced gravely how they were going to solve” the opioid epidemic”–all despite what all research up to that point indicated that less than 20% of chronic pain patients developed addictions. I believe that all this madness was started in order to make alot of people alot of money…like rehab centers which have an underwhelming success rate of something ridiculous like 2%, yet, to date continue to grow larger and larger. We need to start a class action suit and hold these bastards accountable.
I agree I have servers back pain ! I get epidural injections and tramadol is a joke does not help .now with the virus 19 can’t even get epidural was counting down the days only 8 days to go then the call it’s gonna be almost 3mths now before the shots what the hell can we do no pain meds no epidural I’m 57 raising grand kids in misery pain everyday it’s just wrong I need help I can’t sit or lay or hardly walk ! I hate fuckin junkies the destroyed my life !Before I was on peracet never had problems always took as prescribed. Most people that do become dependent on pain pills abuse them !why should a 57 year old grandmother raising grandchildren suffer everyday !!ashamed to say but if something doesn’t give soon I’m gonna research heroine for pain then that a bigger problem .That or suicide then what happens to my babies any ideas??
I agree 100%!! you sound just like you took the words right out of my mouth!! the problem lies with street drug dealers, trying to cut heroine with fentanyl, they are buying on the black market, to make it better, and because of their drug ignorance, they think fentanyl and CARfentanil are the same thing… THEY COULDNT BE MORE WRONG!! so then they cut their heroine w that stuff, and there you go… OD patients, dying in the streets.
people who ACTUALLY have prescribed pain meds, rarely OD. we dont over take them because we know that we only get 1 prescription a month, and if we over take them, or sell them, that means we SUFFER. Lobbyists & DEA get involved, and then we have to suffer anyway.
i have Adhesive Arachnoiditis because a 14yo mentally ill kid stabbed me in my back when i was 13 yo, and the knife went ‘almost’ completely thru my spinal cord. Paralysis does not mean you dont feel anything.. it just means you only feel the worst pain imaginable! i have lost a leg, due to a spider bite on one of my paralyzed feet, i have scoliosis, broke my hip and femur & have large metal rods, and i live in constant pain. Tramadol is a joke, and doesnt do anything, but if i even ask for that, i get looked at, and treated as if i was an addict, searching for drugs, instead of someone trying to LIVE.. not exist. i was doing fine, for many years, then my doctor went out of network, and now, i cant find another pain mgmt doctor to take me. i have always been outspoken against suicide, but in the last 2 years, i have considered it, more times than i will admit. my 1st cousin was seriously hurt in active duty. he lost his pain mgmt, and turned to the streets, in sheer desperation. he died from heroine cut w carfentanil. someone who cares, needs to step in and change the rules/laws, and stop real pain ‘patients’ from suffering.
i used to be an very active mother, grandmother, crafter, and wife. now, i just lay around, and complain. this is not life.
I too am in severe chronic pain. Most of my pain comes from my CRPS diagnosis after a nerve was severed during a simple surgical on my shoulder. I can’t tell you what to do of course and I too turned it down for a long time, but I just wanted to share with you what a difference the spinal cord stimulator made for me. It changed my life. Grant you I still am in pain but its tolerable. I’m still not active or out enjoying life really but it has helped me be a little more like my old self and helps me find a little joy in every day. I was blessed with a very good doctor. I hope you have found some relief and will pray for your situation
I am very sorry to hear about your mother, I hope she isgetting better. But I agree with you 100%, I don’t feel the government should regulate the opioids when it’s manley the socialites are the ones overdosing. They took mine away from me and I hurt all the time. I took lortab for 16 yrs along with xanex, now they say well you cannot have it because you miht over dose. REALLY REALLY after 16 yrs of taking them. They are surely crazy.
There does still need to be access for pain medications though.
We must pray to the Lord to intervene on the cruelness of these policies that hurt people who suffer from pain. I am at the end of my rope. NOBODY will help me. No physicians that is and I suffer terribly from pain with a cancer diagnosis. Why? Do the people making these policies stop and think that they may have an illness or accident and may have to suffer themselves as a result of these policies. Local hospitals are trying to get surgeons to not prescribe pain management for surgery patients. Can you imagine having open heart surgery and not having pain treated. True story: I was working as a medical professional at a small hospice. The hospice doctor was starting end stage bone cancer and other patients on tylenol, even though they were on hospice for pain relief because they were dying. All of those policy makers should have heard what I heard that will never leave me. Dying patients screaming in pain for days with screams so loud neighbors down the street threatened to call the newspaper against our hospice. The doc said it was the new opioid rules which are very strict in Tennessee and got off the hook. I know the issue is real because I no longer have the ability to work full-time and I was in a job which helped the needy in my community. When I sleep, my husband and kids say I scream out in pain frequently. I have been to two pain doctors that even agreed to see me. One accused me of lying and the other would not take my case for fear I would be a long term patient and he would get in trouble writing scripts for more than a month or two. Come on people, this is about Medicare and Medicaid money. People in pain will go to the doctor to get pain meds. Nobody cares about us. Prayer is all we have. One last thing I keep wondering is why aren’t these FDA members and legislators afraid they will be sick. We are all going to die. Do they want to die in Pain? Why?
I do not see where to comment, so am replying. I demand to know why this is allowed. Why can the United States get away with it citing that we have no Federal laws and instead have State laws? The U.S. is one of the 181 countries that signed the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs drafted in 1961. We signed it in 1989 and our status is current as of 2019. It applies to pain patients whether it is interpreted as torture or denial of adequate pain care. I call it torture because that is my experience. Being confined to bed in agony for over 7 years save for the doctor, hospital and pharmacy is torture. A disease with no cure that can be controlled with opioids, Adequate dosing as recommended for my condition by specialists as the accepted medical protocol is denied. We have $56 billion worth of heroin entering the U.S via Mexico alone every year. Denying opioids to people in pain is obscene & certainty does not curtail illegal drugs. Quite the opposite. Overdoses have increased by rates up to 400%. We all know there is no “opioid crisis” involving prescription opioids. That was in the 90’s. Pill mills & doctor shopping are a thing of the past. Most of us know it was written into ObamaCare. We were set to be an experiment, as were our doctors. We were not informed because we would not have agreed. That too is spelled out. We are too expensive. It is better for society as a whole. 0.2-6% of prescription opiod users for any length of time at any doseage is fact. The profile of one who became an addict is a 14 year old male who stole prescriptions from a family member. This is & always has been politics. The public has been sold a bill of goods by those who have financial gain. We have ruined bodies, ruined lives & are committing suicide. We are subject to not only physical suffering. The U.S. agreed that at states have a legal obligation to respond to credible allegations of serious ill-treatment, must take steps to stop the abuse and investigate and, if necessary, prosecute the perpetrators.. This is obligation applies to cases where state authorities receive complaints from patients who are unable to get access to pain treatment, or the authorities have other reasonable grounds to believe a patient is suffering ill-treatment due to lack of access to pain treatment. Given how severe and extended the suffering is that many patients with cancer and other severe chronic pain face, the large numbers of people affected each year and the fact that this pain can be treated easily with inexpensive and safe medications, Morphine, specifically, which by the way, we provide to 3rd world countries while denying our own citizens. Failure of governments to take reasonable measures to ensure accessibility of pain treatment, which leaves millions of people to suffer needlessly from severe and often prolonged pain is a clear human rights violation. When the failure of states to take these positive steps or to refrain from interfering with healthcare services condemn large number of patients to unnecessary suffering from pain, they will not only fall foul of the right to health but may also violate the positive obligation under the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment. A key duty under the right to health is the obligation to respect which requires countries to refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of the right to health. The effects are many, They are emotional, depression, anger, loss of family & friends, divorces, children removed from the home, loss of interest in things we can no longer do. Loss of sleep. The list goes on & on. If illegal immigrants were subjected to what we are, there would be public outcry. If suspected terrorists were subjected to what we are there would be public outcry. Now we have the highly invasive A****** Medical A/K/A N**x*** stripping our rights to medical privacy using an algorithm. Why bother with medical school? All we need are computers, robots & prescription dispensing vending machines. State courts have ruled that our medical information had already been seen by 3rd parties, so we have no reasonable expectation of privacy. No more than a utility worker reading our electric meters. This data mining company is free to sell or auction our sensitive medical information to the highest bidder. I have watched this scenario unfold since it began. The only thing I could not figure out was why American pharmacuticals agreed to make generics. They were from China for the most part. This too was stopped under Obama. They were fine. We did not start to hear complaint upon complaint as far as different brands of generics not being effective until American pharmaceuticals made them Those with a U.S. Pharmaceutical stamp, were only distributors. Then the supply was slashed 3 times under Obama. Trump now plans on another 1/3rd cut. Now I know why-bio similar drugs. They will soon be trotted out as a great, new affordable way for all. In most cases they are not what your doctor prescribed & not what your prescription bottle says. They are not either the biologic or therapeutic equal. “Stakeholders” are fighting to stop the 5 additional numbers on the NDC because you would be able to look up what you received. Despite the fact that I named Obama, I was only stating what is known to be factual. It is a bi-partisan issue. We must not turn this into political theater. We need to unite, not divide. He who controls the media controls the mind. The first way to control a population is to control their access to health care. Done and checked. Germany would not tolerate it when Hitler first wanted to eliminate the chronically & mentally ill. Have we learned nothing? This “opiod hysteria” MUST STOP! I see far too many of us giving up. A group least able to fight has been attacked for profit and financial gain. I for one am physically unable to protest, march, get media attention. Even I can do something such as making protest signs with names, photos, name of person & disease of known suicides due to inadequate pain care. What is not a fatal disease will kill me none the less. A human body is not designed to live in bed for years. We all can do something. Hundreds of thousands protest in the streets for every perceived injustice. We sign petitions that likely end up in the nearest trash can. We politely ask permission for 7 white coats to hold protest signs outside the White House. Please, please help us. Our government is using every trick in the book to avoid sanctioning. Our government is killing us!
To follow up, I neglected to add an important point. Doctors have been victims throughout this. They were repeatedly raided, files seized and threatened by DEA agents. Caring doctors doing no wrong. We must not ever lay blame on them. They worked very hard to get to where they are. When faced with a choice of facing drug trafficking charges that carry a 25 year prison term or retiring/changing specialties, what choice did they have? I have also read many a sad story written by a doctor who had to tell a long time, usually elderly patient that he could no longer help him with a heavy heart knowing his patient would have nowhere to turn. It is unethical to abandon a patient in this manner, but doctors had no choice and were victims just as we were and are. There is not one single solitary pain medicine doctor left in my state. Every last one was run off by a rogue DEA. Suicides by physicians are also climbing in the U.S. There are plenty who care and fight for us with pen and paper. I applaud them all. A great injustice was done to them. I hate to see pain patients blame “greedy doctors” That is simply not true. I take exception to Dr. K***** who has never treated a pain patient, as he is a Phychiatrist , calls all pain pills “heroin pills:, owns the P*****X H**** chain of rehab centers, is buying up more, has been a key figure in the “opiod hysteria” & collects in excess of $560,000.00/year to date & rising by being an expert witness in lawsuits against Pharmaceutical companies for creating addicts, laughing his way to the bank.
True pain patients never was part of the opioid crisis, doctors were afraid for their license ,there never was a law that said the pain managements doctors must cut back on the dosage they gave their patients, Part of the problem was Jeff Sessions, Christ Christy, and Yes Donald Trump, after being on opiates for over twenty years with no red flags I never overdosed, you are going to have a number of folks will seek out any drugs and will die ,but do blame us well documented chronic pain patients for the illicit drug trade, its all about the (MONEY)..
This should never be turned into political theater. This occurred before Trump was considered as a Presidential candidate. This occurred under the Obama administration. To me, that is neither here or there. We must fight together, no matter our political leanings. Whether Trump or Clinton were President makes no difference, what so ever. We need to share information & know what the facts are. Start by reading “The Violation Of A Nation” which gives you links to the language written into ObamaCare that clearly spells out that the chronically ill are too expensive and must be eliminated. It gets better, as we were/are Guinea pigs as were/are doctors without consent or knowledge. Next came Appriss Narxcare in which lawsuits were thrown out as we no longer have any rights to expect privacy in our medical care. Our most private information is for sale to the highest bidder and not only opioids. Prescriptions are denied without doctors being privy to know why. http://uploads.documents.cimpress.io/v1/uploads/c7c18e1c-2c3d-4ffd-b251-2ddba53a2d8b~110/original?tenant=vbu-digital
Got that right! Everything in this country is about money! It’s sickening!!!
Your so right on everything.. I’ve been in bed 16 years now living with incurable diseases that will kill me , I was born with a genetic mutation factor that caused me to be sick in my mother’s womb . I’ve been sick all my life But the nightmare happened to me overnight with a rare neuro muscle disease that is worse than Ms, Cancer and aids combined . It alone has caused severe suffering so bad that I think of taking my life all the time . My whole body is destroyed from different diseases , my organs are shutting down slowly , it’s brought more diseases and cancer , heart condition, to anything u can think of . I got sick at 32 . I was on pain meds for chronic pain I mean high amounts plus 2 other opioids . As well as Xanax since I was 7 years old and I’ve went into a coma and almost died over my drs cutting me off my Xanax . Xanax has ruined my body as well . And has destroyed my whole nervous system, motor function if I don’t have it I’ll die . And in order to function I half to have it over drs . Cause I’m like someone that’s literally retarded and sits and rocks back and forth and my muscles jerk and move and I can’t control them , I can’t even think it’s messed up my brain too . All at the same time in 2016 they shift down my pain dr for no reason , my Phychtirist stopped writing my Xanax . I’m living in complete hell and my muscles are wasting away over my muscle autoimmune diseases .. and down to 74 pounds in bed . The government knows how severe and debilitating my diseases are but yet they let you lay and suffer and not even able to go anywhere or do nothing . I can’t take care of myself. I go months without bathing. I don’t have my mom now to take care of me I had to find her dead and my dads sick and old . I got 2 sisters but they don’t take care of me they really don’t care . I’m tired of living and I’m barley hanging on . I’m lucky if I eat something once a day . I’m not able to cook . I suffer to bad . When I had my pain meds I was at least able to do things that I can’t do at all . I had my weight on me . I looked good . My skin at 48 sags like a 80 year old . Where I have no muscle mass . And drs in my state no nothing about my disease . The government just wa nets up to all die . Population control. Well since they want that then let drs write meds what does it matter to them . But they just abandon us when there’s no opioid epidemic in Wv it’s Meth epidemic in Wv . All we are is a number to them . If we were in the elite ppl that are famous or politics ect they can get any help they want . But regular ppl they want us all to die ..
Im here for you. You are not alone. Please email me. I would really appreciate it ❤️
I fell last week because I have developed vertigo with my migraines. An xray and ultrasound revealed that I have something called “floating rib syndrome.” I received a steroid injection and a morphine injection. I need to know if this is protacol . My concern is that I come from a family of addicts and I am worried.
Its seems that the innocent has to suffer,If people burn their homes, they get their homes paid for the people that don’t burn their houses have to pay for the ones that got the insurance money,Same way with car insurance, the good people have to pay for the folks that made bad choices, The chronic pain patients pay for the people that is doctor shopping and in the drug trade so sad ,but true.
Hang in there Debbie. I have osteoarthritis throughout my whole body and I’ve broken my back in the same 3 vertebra 3 times already, anyhow I have had the same issue drs are scared to write scripts anymore. I’ve always been high tolerant to opiates so my dr. Suggested a pain pump. If you’ve never heard of it do yourself a favor and look up medtronics or Flowonics interthiecal pump. They usually use morphine but I now have su fyntynal because like I said I have a high tolerance. The battery life last about 7 yrs. I’m on my 2nd pump, I currently have the flowonix primera 2. I would reccomend it to anyone who is battling chronic pain it’s a life changer.
I absolutely agree. I am in almost the same boat as you are. I’m so sorry you have to go through it to . The minute that law went through my pcp took me off my meds 1 1/2 years ago. Sent me to be put on subutex it dont help the pain they say it for chronic pain . I cant do hardly anything I used to be able to. My life is like this when the pain gets so bad I get one warning than I black out I wake up in the ambulance which is idling in my yard I told them .what happened it’s the pain they monitored me than. placed me back in my house . They took my Medicaid away my emergency response system my aides that used to help.me .all I have is Medicare and it dont pay for shit and trump is gonna cut our social security as soon as he is re elected he said . I have a cane but now I can barely walk I’m hunched over I’m up almost all night in tears and sometimes crying because I cant control it they put me on adavan to control the anxiety attacks from the pain . I cant do nearly as much as I used to I have fibro herniated disks in my back and neck destructive PSORACTIC arthritis which has eaten half my left clavicle they say its osteomyelitis just the non contagious kind I have neuropathy borderline diabetic the arthritis has I
Made itself at home in all my joints my disks in my back my neck arms and legs my lower back i scream sometimes I just cant take it I’m constantly on my heating pads to try and help but nothing helps I take one more fall and crack my head more i might just forget whom everybody is . It’s scary when it gets that bad
My son found me in the driveway and was so upset at the way the ambulance treated me the dr said i need to come off the subutex and go back on pain meds I’ve been to 5 pain mgt places all said no and pcp used to do my meds wont now at all due to the law she said they have tied her hands behind her back and when I have to go to er I’ve passed out right in the waiting room they can not do anything for me because of the subutex and I’m allergic to alot of meds sulfers NSAIDs penc and the list goes on even ibuprofen and codeine its rough I dont know what to do but my quality of life really sucks . And now that I’m on the subutex I’m labled as a druggy when I’m not . Any help would be appreciated
All I can say is that I concur! I am a former OR nurse that had been reduced to a prisoner of my bed, bc Sarcoidosis Disease has destroyed my entire body. I am in constant pain, and even with 24 hr doses of morphine, my pain become absolutely unbearable, and so have to scream out in agony. The thought of no morphine to buffer my pain would be no different than a torture technique to get rid of the sick and weak minded. They know that if someone is tortured or suffers long and hard enough, they will accept death as a solution to their unbearable pain and suffering. It is s wicked world that we live in, and it’s worse than any psychological thriller that Hollywood could create! God help us all!!
I am truly sorry for you .These politicians are looking for popularity.Most of them,not all, can give two cents about the pain we’re in.Because If they need pain meds,they have no problem getting them!
I agree 100% with Molly Bean! I have been confined to my bed for 5 1/2 years, loss of self esteem, crying everyday, cannot sleep because of the severity of pain I suffer; all because my employer caused all the injuries to my spine, hips, back fracture. La Posada Retirement in Green Valley, Az was negligent caused Medical Malpractice as their Physical Therapist claimed the only way to relieve my muscle spasming and sciatic nerve pain was trial of their new mechanical traction machine. I was unaware of such machine; La Posada falsified the medical records, after fact I find out the physician never ordered script to apply traction to my spine. Physical Therapist used the machine incorrectly not by Company standards-medical procedures. I felt snaps, popping, breaks, excruciating pain screaming out crying because I had no feeling from my neck down, total numbness, loud ringing in my ears, severe pain in my head. I screamed to them “Oh my God I am paralyzed”. At this point the therapists are running around confused yelling to one another, “call 911″,”Hurry call the ambulance”. They both questioned each other did I set and pull to 25, I think I did! I now suffer excruciating pain; with a T-12 back fracture, 4 herniated and blown disc’s, misalignment of both hips, neck pain, neuropathy, radiculopathy, severe burning pain of both feet, and a hernia of my female abdomen organs. I have gone and been through so much, as my employer’s Vice President phoned my primary care doctor while I was in the exam room; VP was yelling, cursed, and made my physician cry. My physician stated I must seek another physician. Pain Management, denied my insurance, a new physician of (ICA) refused medications; claiming I was lazy and I did not want to work. Thereafter, seeking other 1,2,3, physicians 3rd physician (ICA) ordered MRI w/o contrast Dr. S. F. Diagnosis spinal cord damage, severe disc, hip, nerve, tremor damages, prescribed medications and orders seek primary care physician. Primary care physician sends me to Pain Management. Pain doctor prescribes pain medications after 5 months, my doctor relocates out of state. I received a call from my pharmacy, pharmacist suggest I call the doctor as she did not submit the monthly ordered script to be filled monthly. I phoned pain management, I was informed a message would be submitted to the doctor. I never received a call back after 2-days. I decided to call pain management again and the girl that answered the call began arguing, yelling at me, telling me it was up to her if she felt like checking on the situation, she then said, I do not want to here about your pain suffering, as far as I’m concerned there is absolutely nothing wrong with you and she hung up on me! I began crying, loosing all faith, just the thought knowing I can no longer work, decorate homes, design jewelry, get out of bed to take on the normal life I once had, I have no self esteem. This pain I suffer robs you of life whereas, I have fear to move, touch anything. The next day I phoned into pain management again, and the same girl answered the call advised me I was discharged, I asked her if I can speak to my doctor she said “No”, I asked if I can get my medical records she said “No”, I asked if I can get all the notifications, calls to prove all my attempts to fill my script and she said “No”!!! I’ve communicated with my primary care doctor to notify him of the on going suffering he suggested I go into pain management and speak to them, because it sounds as if that girl had a bad day. I can’t even get out of bed! I have been suffering, crying, unable to sleep with all this pain. I can’t believe our system neglecting someones rights to law suit attempts, as I’ve been denied in every court, fault of employer’s medical malpractice, denied with disability, denied medications, denied appointments
Denied medical records, denied to speak to your own doctor. I’ve called the mayor, board of supervisors, and plenty more, I just get avoided, excuses, and run-arounds
What is up with our government, our system they have “No” heart, please listen to the people of suffering pain, it is no fault of mine, I did not ask for the spinal damages
I agree with molly! I owned my own tree trimming business…owned 2 homes..paid my taxes..then one day on May 6 2002 ..my rope where I tie in my harness not only broke. But the branch I was standing on look fine from the outside..however as I stepped on this branch it was rotting inside! So my harness the branch caused me to fall 41ft to the ground! My discs were not just broken the t- levels were the paralyzing ones, a famous dr…spine surgeon DrPalumbo, he practiced in Allentown Pa then went on to New York! He dissidents my discs were smashed to the point where he told my fiancé that these discs were like sand in a sandbox! All my ribs were broken two oh which stabbed into both my lungs which collapsed, ‘broken arms legs pelvis fingers and worst of all my spine! Less than one inch upwards of this discs would’ve meant instant death. Most people spend 4 to 6 months in hospital recovery…I was in for one year one week and one month., a very long and painful recovery I hesitate to use that word cuz I’ll never recover! Multiple drs and spinal cord injury drs told me I’d be in unrelenting severe hot stabbing pain for the rest of my life! I have hundreds upon hundreds of bone shards in the jelly that is on both sides of my spine still in there, the dr said he can’t remove hundreds and hundreds of these cuz one slip..one pin prick slip will either kill me or cuz me to be a quadriplegic…from my chin down! Would need a feeding tube, not to mention I lost my whole very active live..I now live in bed and a wheelchair, I’m now 64 yrs oldMY BONES are very brittle and in in excruciating pain 24/7. Thanks to Jesus..I found a very sympathetic dr and a expert on spinal cord injuries who told me and my girl that I’d be spending my life in Pain! I was given enough over the yrs to at least live this miserable shell of a live inlesser pain! So now come the feds cdc and dea..trying to cut my pain meds until I’m off completely. If that happens where do I go? To the streets to buy meds which will undoubtedly kill me..I don’t want to do that! I have serious pain issues, dr told me as bad as or in some cases more than cancer patients? So what now. I will not live the rest of my sr Igor live in a bed…in a nursing home AND be in constant pain! I won’t live like that! Whar about people like us…btprain issues cuz of splitting my head open….thalamus neurion pain which is devasting! I won’t live like that! Im better off dead! So what do I do…where do I go???
Truly heartless money hungry states officials that will pocket money from the settlements and could give a damn about use seniors that have been on high doses for over 20 years and our pain grows daily with our aging body and now our meds have been cut in half even though having more major ortho surgeries and more disabling artiritis with the low does i get know i basically have enough medication to get from my bed to the couch and watch my life pass in front of me since my low dosage do not allow me to do any activities like i did when i was on my dosage that they cut in half after 20 years. I pray everyday that the state officials that are pushing this to sue the pharm manufactures to line their pockets and cut our pain treatment I pray everyday that them and there loved ones in their life suffer a disabling lifelong painful injury and they get to suffer and their loved ones get to suffer and lose the quality of life they had before like we have to suffer and they remember THEY did this to them and i pray they suffer in pain daily and truly see that their are patience that this medication gave them a life and they now have taking away. May God let them suffer as they have made us!
it is truly heartbreaking.The idiots that are giving all of the statistics are mixing illegal drugs like heroin with prescription drugs to make it out to be a lot worse than it is.Don’t get me wrong,They did need to tighten the rains a little,but they got stupid about it because certain politicians figured out how to make a lot of $$$ off of the pharmaceutical companies.Greed is destroying our country!
What you said is so true. The federal government runs and owns the housing industry, They own and run the banks and now they want to run our life and ruin our health care system. I feel as though I have ben abandoned by the health care system and the doctors that look at me knowing I full well need something for pain and walk out of the room are too numerous to mention. Don’t want socialized medicine? We already got it. When doctors are prevented form doing their job and are having to cater to the demands of our corrupt FDA and DEA something is very wrong here. They are wanting the older people to die off and are hastening up the process. We are just a statistic to our federal government. We have worked all our lives, paid our taxes, raised our children and have contributed to the economy of this nation but since we no longer have anything to contribute then why help us? How can anyone be retired when they hurt so bad they cannot go anywhere? This is all about money. The states have sold yours and my rights off to gain money from the pharmaceutical industry the same way they sold your rights out in the cigarette fiasco a few years back. Why tell the doctors anything about your health when they cannot do anything to help us with pain. Why tell them you hurt. They cannot and will not do anything. Recently my back went completely out. I have no feeling on my entire left side and am having to use a walker to get around. I am hurting with this like no other pain in my lifetime and to see a patient hurting and do nothing is just as bad as manslaughter in my opinion. They put me on steroids and muscle relaxants but I cannot take muscle relaxants because I have a hereditary autoimmune disease and microscopic colitis in which this muscle relaxants are tearing my stomach apart. So now I have to suffer with severe continual diarrhea to get feeling back in my left side.? Our health care community has let us who are chronic pain patients down terribly. Trump steps up to the microphone and says they are taking away opoids but then says we are working on something to take their place? Golly Gee – do you think that maybe they should have found something before they took away the pain meds. Now the chronic pain patient is the only one who is suffering. The drug dealers are still out there dealing drugs and making more money now because the chronic pain patient has to get pain pills from someone so they are bought illegally to keep from suffering needlessly. So the drug dealers are all still out there dealing while the one made to suffer is the chronic pain patient. Go after the right people and eve me alone. I am a grown adult and do not need to be monitored by anyone. I was on a huge dose of pain medication but when I found out this was happening about the pain meds I stopped taking them. I was on pain pills and fentanyl [patches and I just stopped taking them, I never had withdrawals. IO just stopped taking them. /all these detox centers are a sham run mostly by our federal government to gain more money from us who are already suffering and they seem to think we will check into rehab and dry out???? From what???? Maybe some parents should have kept little Johnny or little Susie away from the medicine cabinet and not let them get mama and daddy’s pills and we would not be where we are. Maybe they should get these high and mighty doctors off the TV sets telling everyone how they will die with too much pain meds in their system and they need to check into rehab. Maybe the doctors themselves should band together and tell the corrupt FDA and the DEA that they will no longer treat their patients like they are being forced to currently do now by the ridiculous laws from the FDA and the DEA. That being said I know no less than 50 people working at the two agencies who are currently try taking pain meds themselves yet they are working on tasing more laws to prevent the chronic pain patient from getting help? Personally I give up. I was on the same amount of benzodiazepines for 19 years and use those before bd and it I get stressed but now my doctor is also cutting thees off too? I do not choose to live my life in this kind of pain. Living in pain like this is not worth living. No one will listen and no one cares. I hurt so bad that I cannot leave the house. I cannot walk, stand, sit or sleep. The only thing left is spending my days in bed. This is what I am being forced to do at this time in my life when I should be enjoying my life. I am no drug addict. I am a chronic pain person who needs help but there is none to be found. When our federal government backs doctors into corners and tells them what they can and cannot do and the doctors take it then something is very wrong with our health care. The doctors are just sitting there and doing nothing while their patients need answers and the doctors hv none to give us. Our government wants us dead because we would then be off their books and off their health care system and that is the whole thing here. We die. They gain from our loss and it is passed on down to the next person . It is all about socialized medicine and going rid of the unhealthy people like socialism. Trump just signed on board to socialism when he made that announcement and that is unforgivable in my opinion. Only thing left for mw now is to wait to die and that is what I am currently doing. It is better than the pain I am now suffering with no one to help me and nothing will be changing in the near future. So our feds get another one to bite the dust and life goes on. I will die unforgiving to our federal government to what they have done to the chronic pain patient who truly needs help and had their back turned on by our own country. All this is political BS.
im tina been diabled long .they dont want to treat with meds and now going to have steriod put in back he tells me when pops back o by the way we found turmor in your and will freeze it he was ass hole when i i treated with lyiria and percoet did better now im been stuck in my house 2 ys
I wss hurt bad on the job bs k messed up docyors tried all types if medication .They left my mind messed up ,dream like.and still there was some pain but not as bad..Then a older doctor gave me morphine , it helped a lot ..I didn’t want to die anymore. This medication is God natural way to help people in sever pain. T he medication dud not leave me in a daze , I could think clearly again. We the people need to fight! doctors spend years in school studying medications..Let the Educated Doctors do their work! Government stay out
of Doctors business .It Not morphine that’s the problem it helps AGAIN IT HELPS PEOPLE IN SEVER PAIN..LEAVE MEDICATIONS TO THE DOCTORS EDUCATED IT THIS MATTER. MORPHINE IS NOT A BAD DRUG ! PEOPLE HURTING SO BAD IT IS CRUEL INHUMAN TO STOP PRESCRIBING THIS MEDICATION ! UP TO 20 MG 5 X A DAY AND I CAN THINK CLEARLY, WENT TO UNIVERSITY WITH A “B” AVERAGE ON MORPHINE AND MANAGE LIKE LIKE OTHERS..IT A HECK OF A LOT BETTER THAN LIVING A LIFE IN A PAINFUL LIVING HELL. .GOVERNMENT YOU NEED TO RETHINK,TO RETHINK THIS YOUR WRONG.YOY NEED TO GO AFTER THE BIG MONEY THAT’S GIVING THE PEOPLE ALL THIS NEW CANCER , THEY GET OFF WITH A HAND SLAP AND VICTIMS LIVE IN AGONIZING PAIN WISHING FOR .YOUR DEATH YOUR WRONG ABOUT THIS MR. GOVERMENT.LET DOCTOR’S DECIDE WHO’S TO GET MORPHINE AND UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS. THEY ARE THE LORDS EARTH ANGELS.
The politicians figured out away to make money from the so called prescription medication crisis.They are not going to stay out of it.Did’nt you get the memo?The politicians know more about you than your own doctor does.
The government and dea are evil. The so called drug war will not ever get no better it will get worse because they are the ones that bring the drugs and put them on the streets then follow who buys them then have there evil cops jail the addicts and buyers. They win twice. That’s why they have doctors deny the right to pain relief, so it forces people in pain to buy from them there drugs they put on the street and then jail people. They care nothing for human life, only there own and greedy evil ones like them selves. There prohibition is fake lies they make up so they can benefit off of human beings suffering. A way there evil will stop is if people join and front them and protest . If there is no protest with not enough voices nothing will change until they distroy the whole human race. Which they are going to anyhow. Because they are evil monsters. They don’t want no troops pulled out of Afghanistan/Iraq because they are guarding the poppy plantations they stole. Ever since we went there the poppy fields are thriving and the heroin is pouring into the USA. It’s obvious there drug war is all lies. They are the devil pure evil monsters. And doctors should be ashamed of themselves for helping them by denying pain patients the god given right to pain medication and not standing up for what is right and the path they took, which is to do no harm or hurt patients. There oath is hypocritical Whether they realize it or not they are helping torture there own loved ones. If they or there loved ones get hurt, sick or old well now they all have to suffer also or go buy on the street from the dea and be jailed. They are all evil for the inhumane torture and suffering they have caused pain patients they are evil tortureing monsters. How dare anyone deny another human being the right to pain relief. They are all pure evil torturers.
I don’t know if posting my story here now will help or not but I’m hoping it does. Because this needs to be heard very loud and very clear and in as many places as possible. I would not be here if not for pain medication. My pain is so bad that I go into delirious rages when it gets really bad yet AGAIN and I can’t get away from it yet AGAIN and I don’t want to go through it yet AGAIN and I beg everyone and everything around me to HELP ME because I’m NOT OK when I am in THIS much pain. The amount of rage that builds when you know exactly what you are in for because it happens so often and it’s more than you can handle…you just have no idea until you are put in that place. Do you really expect someone to keep on living in that kind of condition? I get 15mg of percocet a day…that’s it! And it’s been the same dose for 2 years. I have to cut it up to take small amounts throughout the day to take the edge off my pain. Apparently 3 bulging discs in my neck and at least 1 in my low back, along with sacroiliitis and problems with my SI Joints being overly mobile, bone spurs, calcifications and cysts are not enough prove that I’m a worthy enough human being to deserve the absolute mercy and compassion to be given enough pain medication to allow me to have any kind of quality of life at all. Apparently the fact that NSAIDS are not recommended for those who have had the gastric sleeve surgery as I have nor that my own genetics show I have a higher risk of intestinal bleeding with NSAID use, nor that my own mother has had bouts with intestinal bleeding that have landed her in the hospital on multiple occasions along with her nearly losing her life (they had such a hard time stopping the bleeding at one point that she was losing blood faster than they could put it back into her) are seen as good enough reasons for me to refuse to take any more of them (even though they barely even touch my pain and leave me horribly bloated with abdominal pain) and give doctors the right to label me as nothing but a drug seeker. Apparently my hypersensitivity to pain, which I have had since I was a child, cannot be proven well enough to be considered at all, even though again, my genetics show that I have the gene associated with being more sensitive to pain. So instead I am seen as a whiner and complainer. Cymbalta, Lyrica, Gabapentin and even low dose Naltrexone caused some pretty scary side effects without giving pain relief, but even though I broke out in a body wide rash and hives after taking Gabapentin, I seem to be shocking my doctors when I refuse to try them again and they can’t understand what is wrong with me, so I’m labelled with anxiety. Yeah ok, I guess when you have a bad experience and you’re faced with the same circumstances that caused it, you might have a bit of anxiety. So I guess the fact that I get more relief from Percocet than anything else I’ve ever tried (and I’ve been through all the injections, chiropractic care, physical therapy, massages, acupuncture etc) without any horrible side effects (minor constipation is easily controlled with magnesium) makes me a drug seeker. Isn’t anyone who seeks relief from medication then a drug seeker then? Take the medication away that is the only thing keeping me from jumping off a cliff, and you take away the only thing keeping me back from it. This is not a dramatization or someone trying to get attention. This is someone trying to stay alive…someone who wants to be here to live the rest of her life and grow old with her husband. This is someone who has been pushed so far past her limits that the fact that she is even still here is pretty dang amazing. This is someone who can’t understand why she is forced to suffer so much pain when she has nothing but love for others in her heart, who always tries to do the right thing, who would change the world for the better in a heartbeat if given the chance. This is someone who deserves a little compassion and care… because without it, she will break into so many pieces that she will never be whole again. And she has enough people who love her, that her pain will spread to all of those that will miss the someone she used to be when she was able to smile.
I Had my thyroid removed due to cancer. The. Incision was almost the was whole length of the front of my neck.
Mind you I had two c-section’s and with doc’s clearing the baby and myself
I was discharged a day and a half early. Meaning i was no wimp when it came to pain. This was 16 years ago. I did get pain meds that’s time though. After my thyroid cancer surgery no pain meds prescribe on the sane day surgery discharge. The next day (Friday) I was in so much pain I couldn’t not even lift myself off the couch or bed without excruciating pain. I called the surgeon the following day to tell Humberto I needed pain medicine. I didn’t not hear back from him until Monday. I no longer needed them but suffered severely with 5 kids to take care of. If you’re a woman you will get dismissed many times as anxiety or menopause, if you have Kids forget it. I have/had so many medical issue.
Cancer
Hypothyroidism
Fibromyalgia
Epstein Barr chronic
Vitamin d deficiency like nonexistent
Possibly ms or Lupas or another autoimmune
Actinetic keratosis/ pre or current skin cancer, not all biopsied multiple leisions.
Partial tear rotator
Arthritis (bad)
Neck disks out some back disk too.
Not one pain killer yet my husband has spinal stenosis that’s it got pain meds from the doctor on first visit and works behind a desk just like me
5/31/19
I have spinal stenosis,anklosing spondlysis,osteo arthritis,Placed on Fentanyl Patch 50mcg for severe pain,inability to walk, I use a walker most days, On good ones, My cane.Now I am bed ridden for one month since my PCP tapered my drug amt to half its life time. I have been taking since 2204. He suggests it will work for me because he has to abide, What about my quality of life one the line he is treading??? I am scared because he now is taking me to another quarter amt down, How can I live. I am on full disability for two years after working 18 years with this pain, I know how to deal with pain, however when a drug is used to improve that life and assist how is it better when I have no energy. I am racked with pain. I want to turn to alcohol which I cannot tolerate because I also have IBS which the Fentanyl was a godsend. Why? How can I help myself and others on this panel fight for our rights to live as normal as we are allowed to at someones elses gavel????
Your lucky , you got Pain meds from the beginning. . I have a Lower Spinal Cord Nerve Damage, that’s Degenerative. From a car accident 3yrs ago, someone ran full speed into the back of me , while I was stopped at an Stop Light. And now I’m deal with that, kidney stones and Fibermyalga in my upper shoulder region . Both sides, all the way up to the back of my head. , and the servere migraines every 2-3days. Asoon as the migraine goes away, it’s starts back up again. .
The only thing the Doctors will give me is Muslce Relaxers and Lidocaine Patches. . And now doctors have me on Dulexotine. Which really Clouds my thoughts & thinking. And a lot of times I miss Speak what I’m trying to say. And that makes my wife & I, . Argue alot. . Becuz she doesn’t think that medication does that to my thinking.. . And Dulexotine makes me really sleep ALL the time. . As soon as I sit down, I start falling asleep. . And it’s not helping my marriage but all the meds are making it worse. . . I just want some Pain Meds, to help with improving my quality of life. . I want to do things with my wife , with my grandsons. . . I’m just asking for a little bit of quality, and pain meds help. . But they won’t prescribe them. . . I’m doing the best I can and more. . Sometimes, I suck it up and try to be Happy on the outside. . When my inside are in Intense pain every day, every hour, every second. . .
And yes, I told my doctor all this. I’ve been thru 6 doctors already with 2 full MRI scans, ultraSounds and I lost count of All the CAT scans. . . Still No help. . . I need some to talk to. . I don’t what to do. . It’s taking a Very Large Toll on my wife. . And I feel like All this was just dumped on her, all of a sudden. . . rye.5056863177. . U can text me anytime. . If anyone wants to just text & chat. If you feel alone. . I’m here. . I’m always here. . Thanks 4reading.
Helol I have had Rhuemtiod arthities for 15 years I have been on humera and perkacets for 15 together I was doing vary well no pain at all but little till some one stole my prescription I went through the depression and withdraw after that and of course my doctor couldn’t refill my prescription for 30 days but with in the 30 days of my prescription being stolen from me my back shoulders blades and upper shoulder blades started to hurt I told my rheumatologist that my shoulder blades and upper shoulders started to hurt and this remember was in the 30 days of my opioids being stolen so any way I started to hurt in my back shoulder blades and upper back shoulders and this was the first time in 15 years I had been without a opioid in my system since someone stole them from me but anyway when I told my rheumatologist that my shoulder blades and my upper shoulders started to hurt me right after my prescription was stolen I was dignoed with firbomylaigai so who ever stole my prescription put me in a bad spot by making me go into withdraw and depression and withdraw witch a month later cause me to get fibromyalgia and I was able to get back on my meds 30 days later when I was able to refill them but boom they were stolen and two weeks later I had feibomylagia just because of that I was able to get back on my prescription 30 days when it was time to refill them but now I have fibromyalgia just because they were stolen from me and I had to go throught depression and stress and withdraw for 30 days and ended up with fibromyalgia two later and I’m back on my prescription but now they don’t work right no more do to the fact that now I firbo so what icam trying to say is that I got fibromyalgia from my perkacets being stolen from within two weeks time and now thstbi was able to get back on them 30 days later they don’t work no more because of fibromyalgia that i didn’t have to begin with at all till my prescription was stolen from me and that caused to get fibromyalgia
2 times someone stole your pain pills?? I had a similiar theft but not all my pain meds were stolen but just enough that i knew something was wrong and then i got a call from my sister in law friend who told me that my sister in law was handing out the opiate I was on like candy to her girl friends and wanted them all to take the Methadone tablets at the same time to get high! This friend knew i was the only person she knew that took Methadone for pain and i took the least amount daily even though I was on a heavy dose back then but I did not like having to dependant on meds as I suffered Cluster Headaches that I had been seen by some well known cluster headache specialist on the eastern coast but the surgery was not a option to severe my facial nerves so pain doctor put me on Methadone as my Oxycodone dose had gotten out of hand and never really worked for me, but Methadone was a great pain reliever without the side effects that narcotics usually give patients. I was so angry that I told my husband ” I am sick of these addicts , what is going on with this country and the prescription abuse??” So i went off Methadone probably taking about 80mg to 100mg day cold turkey flushed the bottle down the toilet and luckily never had withdrawals . 1 time someone stole from me pain meds would be the last and doctors are not going to fill opiates for you if this keeps happeneing and as far as Fibro the cause of being without pain meds !! I hardly believe that would happen as Fibro is given for patients as a diagnosis I would be rather insulted to labeled as because thye will give that to a patient who complains of pain . I wonder if your doctor thinks you are abusing your meds to get high as you are showing drug seeking behavior. This type of behavior hurts patients with real chronic pain issues as doctors and nurses have to have good assessment skills in the speciality of pain as there are way to many abusers out there saying someone stole my pills? I hope you contacted the police and offer a blood drug tests to show no opiates in your system. There are ways that doctors can weed out the abusers but not all do. And the pill mill and GREEEDY money hungry doctors , pill mill owners are another isssue in the war on opiates, and lastly patients families suing opiate dru makers esp Oxycodone makers for millions because thier son or daughter died!! GIVE mE A BREAK !! These parents should of raised there children better or gave them more tough love and not bending to the manipulation of these kids who want something for nothing and have not a bit respect for themselves let alone human kind. Be glad they are dead as 1 less thieve causing decent people heartache. This country is no longer a Democracy as our govt has there hands and noses in all phases of our lives including medical diagnosis and who should be treated for pain. There needs to be Palliative care for chronic pain patients and even hospice if they just want pain relief but no cure .
Who the hell do you think you are? YOU REALLY THINK THAT ITS THE PARENTS FAULT,LET 1ST START BY SAYING YOUR A DAMN LIE IF YOU WAS ON 100MG IF METHADONE A DAY AND YOU JUST SAID I QUIT AND FLUSHED THEM.ID WOULD OF HAD TO SEE THAT AND YOU SAID YOU HAD NO WITHDRAWALS THAT A FLAT OUT LIE LADY.IDK HOW LONG YOU WAS ON THEM BUT LET ME TELL YOU I WAS ON 180MG FOR 10 YEARS AT A CLINIC THEN FINALLY FOUND A GOOD PAIN DOCTOR WHO PUT ME ON 60MG TWICE A DAY AND THEY WORKED JUST FINE.THEN HE LEFT SO I WENT THOU WITHDRAWALS AND THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE.THE PAIN ON TOP OF WITHDRAWING WAS A NITE MARE THE SHITS NO ENERGY DEPRESSION CEYING SPELLS AND THE THROWING UP PLUS NOT ABLE TO EAT DRY HEAVES AND THIS DIDNT JUST LAST A WEEK OR TWO WE’RE TALKING ABOUT MONTHS. SO YOU CAN LIE TO SOMEONE ELSE. AS FAR AS THE PARENTS BEING RESPONSIBLE LADY YOUR CRAZY AS HELL DO YOU REALLY THINK ANY PARENT WANTS THEIR CHILDREN ON AND KIND 9F DRUG?I HAVE 2 WONDERFUL SMART SONS AND I THANK GOD EVERYDAY THAT THEY SEEN HOW MEDICINE TORE MY LIFE APART AND NEITHER ONE OF THEM WOULD TOUCH AND DRUG AND YES IM A PARENT THAT WOULD BEND OVER BACKWARDS FOR BOTH OF THEM. HAVE YOU DONE ANY KIND OF RESEARCH ON ADDICTION? IM GUESSING NOT OR YOU WOULDN’T OF POSTES SUCH A STUPIED ass response. And who do you think you are God to even question the man who says his Medicine was stolen twice didn’t you say your own Medicine was stolen well it happens just be glad it only happened to you once.Do you REALLY think anyone wants to wake up and that be the first thing they reach for is Medicine in order to even get out of bed well it’s not some people REALLY have that much PAIN and yes there’s those who don’t have pain but are addicted to medication they can’t help themselves and with people like you degrading them damn sure doesn’t help.So I beg you to do some research on ADDICTION and PAIN Medicine before you post anything else.
Oh are you a doctor? I didn’t think so,how can you say that that man didn’t get crap fibromyalgia?And I think you may need to pick up a Bible and read it and ask for some forgiveness how dare you say one less Thief?I’ll be praying for you and your family cuz you need the lord in your live and if you happen to attend church your going to the wrong one
I am 36 years old and have been on methadone for 11 years for pain. My doctor is retiring in 2 months. I’m scared I won’t find another doctor. I know it’s going to be hard. I’m not sure how to even go about it as my pcp says he can’t refer me to another pcp only pain management which is in another county. Far drive… I have seen this pcp and this pcp alone since I was 3 years old. Any suggestions on how to go about finding a new doctor? My current pcp has lowered me from 80mg a day to 50 over the last 6 months since he knew about the retirement. It’s been fine and I can stay on 50 a day. No other pcp will except me in this same clinic. He told me that the other doctors were paid incentives and bonuses to NOT PRESCRIBE narcotics! Is that even legal? If so it shouldn’t be. That’s like saying make your patient suffer just to make more money. I couldn’t believe that was even true. I have less respect for those doctors and the ppl that created this. In this economy ppl wouldn’t turn that down. That was also given to take ppl off their meds. My doctor said he didn’t care about that extra money and didn’t take one single narcotic patient off their meds. He said all his patients were stable and that would be inhumane and unfair to choose. Thank God I had a compassionate doctor. Anyway any tips would be great!
Sounds like you have it all figured out.
Cathy,
To call someone’s child a thief and say they should be glad they’re dead Is reprehensible. I hope you don’t have children because your parenting skills are deplorable and not up to par.
IF you were ever on methadone, as you claim, you would’ve gone through withdrawals so severe that death would’ve been a relief.
Also, it’s not greedy doctors causing all of this opioid hysteria, they’re victims in this political nonsense as many patients are.
Try researching this subject a little bit before getting into a public discussion about it, if you can comprehend what you’re reading that is.
You have to make a police report and and gave to Doctor!! You have right s 1984
A police report proves that you files a police report – nothing else.
I have RA. OA had a back fusion, ankle fusion. Bilateral knee caps removed. Shoulder rebuilt rotator cuff and grafts. Going to have a shoulder replacement. All with no analgesics. I quit breathing on the Demerol, morphine group and get and acute lower belly pain on all else. Except tylenol. ice packs. Were my relief and loud Russian classical music. It can be done. Tough tho’
Dear Rylan, I am on generic Cymbalta/Duluxetine also for pain relief and major depression due to chronic pain. This drug makes me super sleepy and confused and fuzzy so you can show this to your wife! You are not to blame for misspeaking one bit! I just moved from Illinois to Pennsylvania and the pain Docs here in Erie so far will not prescribe pain meds! I’m lucky I have extra Percocet but my fentanyl patch which gives me a good quality of life is out in three days. The PROP proposal is nuts! I am going to write to the FDA against this. I feel bad for you and hope you are eventually able to get the pain meds you need! You can email me anytime and if I’m up I will respond! Good luck, Marybeth K.
God blees Ryan .H may things improve for u brother…much love Mr.Lynn
Rylan, just read your blog and identify with your pain. I don’t think you gave your age. I am a 75 year old woman
With similar sounding issues. I would list them all but this site would cut me off! Just know that I’ve lived with chronic pain since roughly voting age. I didn’t know I had double scoliosis until a man backed his car into me knocking me under it. My boyfriend insisted that I be tested immediately. That’s when I found out I have this hideous spine, either from birth or childhood. On that day I had no idea what lay ahead for me. At 59 I had required fusion surgery. After, the surgeon said he would have had a logical cause to have performed the surgery from skull to below coccyx
It is a dreadful recovery— five months. At that time he prescribed morphine. It is a minimum dose but I’ve never asked for more. Each of my doctors agreed with the validity of this drug, no one has questioned it. But now, with this administration cracking down I don’t know what lies ahead.. I’ve been with my primary care doctor for 31 years and an already grieving that he will retire in two years. So, who knows what his replacement will do re morphine. It has never made me feel high so I can’t identify with those who do have that reaction, Ie addiction. Also, I have Arthritis, stenosis, spondylitis and fibromyalgia. There’s more but enough said. Recently, a fracture entered the panoply and it has ramped up every spinal condition many times over. I may have brought some of this on myself as I’m a type A person who has pushed myself all my life. A teacher was my first career, then raising two children with my then husband but I did the child rearing. Called to ordained ministry,I got a MDiv Degree cum laude
I worked too hard and health declined, pain increased, had two sinus surgeries- the second was to save my life, cancer etc etc. I loved pastoral ministry ( Presbyterian USA) but had to give it up. But I chaplained for hospice and started my own counseling practice which included supporting those dealing with breast cancer. In summers I assisted the pastor of my local church in our Oregon summer home. I’ve underwritten a great jazz festival in Newport Oregon. During my life I’ve volunteered for many charities. Etc etc. I might not be in this painful state had I slowed down but I never knew how and I wouldn’t change any of it. I will pray for you—?that you find relief and joy that is hiding under all that suffering. Not empty words. I really will. When I get down, as I am now dealing with this fracture and on seventh bout of CDiff.. if you don’t know it, look it up. It now surpasses MRSA as number one global killer. It helps many in our situation (s) to keep a journal. Share your pain and mental suffering with it. You’ll find yourself finding some joy and gratitude you didn’t know were in you all the time, giving you strength for each new day.
If my server isn’t down, you’ll get this. Just knowing someone is out there who’s been through it all and cares.
May life begin to feel worth getting up in the morning! Blessings, Rev.
And they wonder why some people turn to the streets. Call me crazy but I’d rather have them stand in line for percocet 4x a day then give them safe injection sites and the ability to get stoned out of their mind, and pass out on the
sIdewalks with the needles, still stuck in their arm. Will it stop the high seekers? NO!!!! Nothing will, except them. It will help the millions of people suffering in pain again after years of managed pain and better quality of life. It’s certainly better than what they are doing now! Going to make the heroin problem worse. Watch and see. Guarantee it.
I agree 100 percent! And the sad thing is that they know it!!!
Good for you. Admire you. God bless. I do silversmithing as hobby. Disabled from 1993 with multiple surgeries (orthopedic) and post polio syndrome. (You get weaker and weaker). I take no pain medication Cannot.
I can relate to your story. I have had the same primary care doctor for over 15 years. I have been on hydrocodone and Valium for longer than that and have never had any problems with my pain as long as I took my medicine. I have degenerative disc disease with arthritis of the spine from a serious injury since 1979. I also had sciatica from the spine injury which is now eliminated due to they pain medication. It doesn’t take away all the pain but it makes life tolerable. The valium, usually for anxiety or muscle relaxant, has helped in conjunction with the hydrocodone. I also have been diagnosed with arthritis in one knee and in one hand. My doctor monitors me once a year and has me sign a contract stating that I will not do any of the following:
Sell the pills
Taking meds prescribed
Do not loan or give them to a friend
Do not discard unless I give them to him if I decide to stop taking them which I would never do the first place. I hope you feel better and get a doctor who will help you. God bless you
I don’t think our pain is being considered. They’re only focusing on people with drug problems. I started having problems in 2008, after an auto accident. The first diagnosis was chronic spasms & fibromyalgia. I ‘ve had 2 bottles of hydrocodone & about 3 to 4 bottles of Tramadol,this was several years ago. When the doctors tried to prescribe stronger meds, I declined. I have osteoarthritis in my neck, back, knees & hands, cervical/ lumbar degenerative disc disease, cervical bulging disc, stenosis, narrowing of the spine, cervical radiculopathy, carpal tunnel in hands to elbow, small fiber neuropathy, myofascial pain syndrome, Connective tissue disease/Lupus, Sjogrens autoimmune disease, Raynaud’s disease, bone spurs in neck, cervical rib, hypercalmia, hyper parathyroid disease supposedly Complex regional pain syndrome, hiatal hernia cervicalgia, dry eyes, burning face & mouth from Sjogrens, cervicogenic headaches, etc, etc. Just had a full body NM scan. I’m in pain everyday, burning, numb, ache and needle sticks. My rheumatologist offered me tramadol. All test for inflammation were elevated. The rheumy has 53 condirions listed in my records, all proven, except CRPS. My autoimmune diseases are active. & verypainful. The patients that need pain medications aren’t getting them & suffering. Now that I can’t take the pain anymore, I’m getting the run around, so disappointing. They should treat every case different. Good luck everyone!
I’m 33 years old and have been on Percocet for 5 years and my pain has been stable. I was borderline suicidal before I was started on the pain medicine because living constant pain and unable to work or live life and take care of your kids is a depressing ordeal. I’m definitely not the suicidal type! I have bilateral pars defect, spondolysthesis and severe forarminal narrowing. I’m a nurse and have been for over 10 years. I have never abused my pain meds and never asked for a dose increase. I even got steroidal spinal injections that I had to pay 300$ a pop for on my own free will just to attempt to get some relief and I’m petrified of needles it was very traumatizing but I thought the benefit vs risk would be worth it. If you’re in enough pain u will do whatever it takes this I know. Now 5 years later my doctor is telling me that because I’m under 45 and don’t have cancer I can all of a sudden not have my pain medicine. I feel for all the cancer patients truly but I may not have cancer but I still have chronic pain everyday even with the pain medicine but it does make it at least manageable. I’m a single mom and I depend on my medicine to get me through and be able to support my kids. I had thought about surgery prior to getting started on the medicine but my doctor told me I was entirely too young that I would continue to have to have surgery over and over and at this point I was married and could have had the surgery with support. Now I’m a single mom with no help being taken off the only thing helping me be able to live a semi normal life and be able to function. I can’t be out of work for surgery!! My quality of life is going to be awful to the point I’m sure my kids would probably be better off with my insurance money. I honestly believe by doing this they r gonna see a increase in Suicides. Why are we being punished because of these idiots wanting to get high and overdosing. If u have proven problems on your scans then u should be able to have your medicine!! My doctor keeps telling me that I’m 33 and opioid dependent in this past year and before she completely understood my pain and now I feel like she’s talking junk to me like I’m a dope head saying that oh your pain isn’t that bad and the medicine makes you think it’s worse. Well it damn sure was that bad before I was ever started on the pill but what do I know I guess they just started me on them for no reason from the beginning. She has changed to the point that she has no compassion at all since these laws changed. Yeah I just woke up one day and said I wanna get hooked on pills…. I mean come on! I became scared when she said she was doing a GDR and she’s like see u wouldn’t be like that if u weren’t opioid dependent! Ok well after 5 years of taking them I’m sure I am but I’m scared for my quality of my life and my kids. I just wanna be able to work!! I guess I’m gonna have to become a alcoholic now because there is no way I can live in constant pain with no relief. This world is becoming so sad to the point where people that actually need meds can’t get them. Please someone do something!! I just hope one day the ones that are passing these laws find themselves in our shoes.
I’m also sure we will see a increase in people getting on disability because my issues are covered under disability but when I have my pain medicine I can work!! Don’t they see what they are doing!!! Well I’m sure now the disability laws and covered diagnosis will Change also.
I feel you girl! There should be a law to protect us too not just the doctors! We all need to stand up against this! We all need to go to the board or whomever it is! They should not get paid to forget our pain as well, so unfair!
We should not be cut off by our doctors if we have been on pain meds for so long! This is what we need laws set in place to protect us against this!
I see a new doctor today actually so I’m praying it goes well.
Surely there is a doctor out there that will accept you and will continue to write them. Don’t give up hope keep your head up! Good luck and God bless! I will give an update after my appt.
Bless your heart
I too have a lot of your same diagnoses…with
The most recent being Lupus…& now our home has been “diagnosed ” a mold infested
Living quarters. 🙁
I thank God everyday that I have a nurse practitioner/GP that LISTENS to me & truly believe my pain….. not a day goes by that I worry that it will be taken away from me.
I never want to Resort to drinking as beer has gluten in it and all it does is make me tired that opiates help me keep going for the day and get things done. I pray that you get
The help that you deserve!
TAKE CARE! Stacey
I survived stage 4 cancer RADIATION & CHEMO I used to seat in the waiting room for my name to be called and I would listen to others talking about nerve damage that they never had before cancer I used to think to myself what are these people talking about well after my testament where over with I know now what they where talking about because I had to see a bone & joint Dr. and to make a long story short after 3 failed back surgery and all kinds of infections that Dr came in and sat down and told me he was sorry but he can’t fix me and can’t see me anymore so I asked what are where to I go from here he sent me to a pain mgt Dr and for the first time after I told him all my pain is on my left butt bone for the first time a Dr didn’t laugh at me he just told me I’m not the first person to come in with the pain you are having and me and my Dr talk about everything just the other day I told him I don’t understand why do they want to take something away from me that helps me get around everyday and like I told him people are out there right now taking there own life’s because they can’t deal with there pain and right now I feel the same way but I’m to big of a coward to do it I’m sorry I live in Louisiana and by law they don’t or not aloud to let people that are in poison suffer in fact they are talking about putting A/c on deaf row but people like myself have no choice but to live with it are do like so many others take your own life and if you go to the ER there is a good chance of you getting laughed at you go in there with butt pain and see what happens I was fighting mad because a ER DOCTOR LAUGHING AT YOU when I find nothing funny about it now I’m begging for help I’m 60yo and I have had like 30 surgery’s in my life and like I told my dr. I don’t or need anything to get me high I just can’t deal with this pain I am begging is there any one out there that maybe they can help me or talk to me before it’s to late because I’m just about to the point of giving up on my life I have a beautiful daughter and granddaughter that are the love of my life thank y’all so much for listening I pray that y’all are very blessed and maybe just maybe our lord Jesus Christ will come riding in before to much longer thank you and may god bless you
I totally agree with you,I also have quite a few things that you do and I suffer daily all I ask for is a lil bit stronger pain medication than tramadol it doesn’t do anything but I can’t get anything stronger I’m only 41 yrs old and waited tables for a living and boy if I’d known the toll it was taking on my body I would have changed professions yes ago.Im from Texas and the laws here are horrible. Your right they’re not worried about the ppl that really need PAIN Medicine just about ADDICTION or the addict’s. I WILL SAY THIS NO ONE WISHES TO BE ADDICTED TO ANY KIND OF DRUG ITS IN OUR MAKEUP SOME OF US HAVE TO HAVE MEDICINE TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE I DON’T HAVE GRANDBABIES YET BUT MY OLDEST SON IS 24 SO ITS GETTING CLOSE FOR THAT PART OF MY LIFE AND BEG PRAY TO GOD DAILY TO TAKE THE PAIN AWAY AND LET ME ENJOY MY LIFE WITH MY FAMILY AND I KNOW THAT HE WILL ANSWER MY PRAYERS WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT,I KNOW WE’RE NO SUPPOSE TO QUESTION HIM BUT ITS VERY HARD AT TIMES.ILL KEEP YOU ALL IN MY PRAYERS.GOD BLESS YOU ALL…
Well me and my wife set here reading all of these reply’s and find our selves in the same boat
sinking when they cut our morphine so low we want to die and quit living in PAIN.
We were very active sex and outgoing fishing hunting.
All we Can look for now is PAIN
We Are 65 and 70 years old
How will it end Like Hitler as our gov.
Bring back Vicodin as a schedule III opiate for pain patients.
Give Pain Doctors and Neurologists the ability to prescribe Vicodin for those who cannot get out of bed without an opiate painkiller.
I cannot vote for this administration again, because you took away my doctor’s ability to do his job, because you allowed the CDC guidelines to override the FDA. I want to vote for you again, but if another candidate promised pain patients the personal relationship with a doctor willing to do his or her job, given the ability to prescribe opiates without the fear of losing his license, I would have to vote for that candidate.
I am glad to see that many people are being helped by medical marijuana, but I do not want to live my life out of touch with reality.
I used to take opiates when it was legal for my doctor to prescribe them, and I was active in law. I was able to raise a smart child and musician who is now looking at schools to earn his Doctorate. I did not abuse my pain medication. I took it as prescribed.
These new SNRIs drastically change my personality. I don’t recognize myself at times because they cause ups and downs that are drastic and embarrassing. Lyrica can even cause brain lesions. Please allow us to be treated fairly instead of killed off slowly.
I honestly believe that the opiate crisis began when sites began popping up on the internet in the 90’s. An addict could get 120 Oxycodone sent to them for $99 overnight. Think of how easy it became to have those opiates sent to your door, then order again and again from different sites, to get more even sooner. Sometimes I shudder when I do the arithmetic. I believe Obama’s administration got many of those awful sites shut down, so people went on the dark web. Then you came along as our President and called out the opiate crisis. Now nobody can get pills online, but they are killing themselves with Heroin. Kind doctors who have practiced for decades have gone to jail or lost their license.
Through all of this, I am here, being told I am a model patient…. Of course I am. I am in pain, so I show up for my appointments, I pay hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in medical bills, I never refill a medication early; you see, even if I wanted to, there is a database linked to all of the pharmacies in the country which will alert the pharmacist that it is too soon to fill by law. Thirdly, there is my insurance, which will not let me fill a medication too soon: this sets off an alarm to the pharmacist, should we miss the first two safeguards (the first one being ME). You really do have current and future patients covered from any fraudulent activity, so why not allow the doctors to prescribe a 48 year old woman the only medicine that allowed her to have a life, freeing her from pain?
People who abuse drugs are abusing themselves. That’s a tragedy. I pray science can figure it out. When I was 22, I was hit by a drunk driver. My spine has never been the same. I was so young… newly married and our son was on the way. I swore by the time I was fifty I would have a titanium spine. Well, I guess I’m not the best soothsayer in the land.
I sure wish my letter would make a difference for Vicodin as a schedule III drug. As long as you have been sent to a neurologist, pain specialist, or specialist for your particular injury, then have your primary doctor prescribe it, knowing there are safeguards in place that will not let anyone fill it any earlier than 28 days.
Since my doctor has been prescribing medical marijuana, I have walked in and could smell skunky weed on people. I would be horrified, and my family would be mortified if I went around town with them, smelling like a total loser. I just want to stay in my right mind and be that good and organized patient I know I can remain. I have gone through a miserable ten years, without adequate pain relief. I am stuck in my home, and the pain makes me cry, scream, and pray like I’m in a foxhole. Every day. I want to be useful in any small way. Every human wants a job to do. Please allow my doctor to prescribe me Vicodin again, so I can walk without crying out. I am begging to just allow me another shot at life. I’m so great with people. I am too young to be put away on the shelf. I don’t want to talk about getting angry or sad about it, because I believe in prayer. Either God will heal me, or He will get me the medicine I need. Thank you
There are no doctors currently who will prescribe marijuana. Marijuana at current time is illegal on the federal level. I personally asked my pain management doctor about this and he said he would lose his license if he prescribed marijuana, as would any other mainstream doctor currently in practice. . Even though mj is legal in my state, it is illegal at the federal level. Until that changes, no regular pain management doc or internist or any other mainstream doc will “prescribe” it. I then asked him who does prescribe medical marijuana? He said only doctors who have either already lost their licenses and are practicing outside the bounds of what is considered normal medical practice or someone who is working for a shady medical marijuana certification program that basically sells the medical card to a patient (it’s legal to do this, but it’s still not something that mainstream doctors are involved in due to MJ being federally illegal). So, it’s important that people realize this who may be thinking about getting a medical mj card. You will need to look outside your regular doctor’s office for these cards. And then you will have to pay up, similar to getting a license, and also it has to be renewed every year. And of course, none of this is covered by any medical insurance, so pain patients are being ripped off badly in dispensaries, being charged upwards of $50 or more dollars for 10 edible gummies and so on and so forth. And most of it either doesn’t work or zonks people out or is inconsistent and overhyped as it how much it actually targets severe pain. On top of that, all the pain patients now chasing CBD oil and getting ripped off again and again. Going thru all this nonsense when a reliable prescription for opiates is covered by insurance and is usually not expensive. And it WORKS reliably for most pain patients for years and years with zero adverse problems. This entire situation MUST END and end NOW!
The other side of the opioid crisis
I am a chronic pain sufferer and have been on pain management, since 2014. I have a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering, and attended a Masters Degree program for Teaching. I was a public school teacher for 10 years. I worked in a public High School and a public Junior High School (Middle School). I broke up a fight between two young men in the Middle School, and from that point on I have had medical issues that will be with me for the rest of my life. I have had two (2) back surgeries with complications/neurological issues and I am disabled. I need additional surgeries, but I am trying to put off future surgery, because of past complications from the surgeries and neurological damage. I have cervical spondylosis with radiculopathy, chronic bilateral low back pain with bilateral sciatica, brachial neuritis or radiculitis, cervicalgia, degenerative disc disease (lumbar), low back pain, lumbar radiculitis, lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy, cervical spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis of spine/knees/hands, displacement of lumbar intervertebral disc, displacement of cervical intervertebral disc, osteoarthritis, migraines, and on top of those issues, fibromyalgia, heart murmur, palpitations (heart), hypothyroid.
I have been stable on the Fentanyl patches and Percocet for approximately (4) four years, and recently (April 2019) my pain management doctor cut my Fentanyl medication in half, due to fear of reprisal from government retaliation (due the guidelines being lowered for opioids.) I was not given a choice to stay on my current dose. I was told that I had to lower my medication or leave the practice. I was told by my pain management physician that they received a blanket letter from the CDC saying that all their patients have to be under 90 MME restriction. I was informed by my doctor that they will keep cutting my doses in half until I am eventually down to approximately 60/75 MME. I am very vigilant with locking up my medication so that no one else has access to it. My pain management doctor drug tests me almost every time I walk into the doctors office (I go to pain management every 4 weeks), and the my drug tests are correct with what is prescribed. In the past I have tried a plethora of things, physical therapy, injections, NSAIDS (allergic to-hives), different medications, etc. and nothing has helped the pain. I do not want to be on medication, this is not how I planned to live my life, but this is what I was dealt, and it helps me get through the day. The medication does not take the pain away, it only takes the edge off so that I can function a little.
During the past (4) four years, I have been able to get out of bed, shower, cook dinner most nights, (I feel a healthy diet of fresh vegetables, and home cooked meals control what goes into my body), simple cleaning tasks, walk around my yard and talk to my neighbors, shop for food, drive short distances to my doctors/grocery stores, visit with my immediate family, take care of my husband who has dementia. I could do the little things in life that normal people take for granted. Since the drop of my Fentanyl (in half) my quality of life has changed drastically. This current dose is inadequate for my pain. I have this burning/knawing pain in my spine that is restless/uncontrollable, and on and off stabbing/throbbing chronic pain in my extremities from the arthritis. When I try to use my hands, like covering myself with a blanket, I get an uncontrollable pain in my hands. When I walk my knees and spine pain are unbearable. I can not sleep, I might get two (2) hours at best since the drop in my medication, due to the pain keeping me awake. I am currently bed bound/chair bound and crying most of the day. I do not go any where, or do anything, because the pain is tremendous and it is unbearable and makes me cry. I do not cook, I do not visit with anyone, due the pain. I truly wish that you could walk a few days in my body and feel the pain that I am in, and what I have to live with, the burning/knawing/constant pain in my spine, and pain of arthritis in my arms, hands, feet, and knees. My quality of life and function has decreased drastically.
The quoted statics about illegal drug abusers, I am not one of those statics. I am only trying to improve the quality and function of my life, and I was doing that until now. Quoting statics does not help my quality of life, we are not all round pegs going into a round holes, some of us are square pegs. The laws have to be changed, so that doctors and each individual can decide by looking at their individual health situation. My Health conditions were not even considered by anyone before my medications were dropped. Even pharmacists are making decisions on my medications, and do not have copies of my MRI, or medical records.
We (Chronic Pain Patients) really need everyone’s help (we don’t feel good and can’t fight for ourselves). We need help to restore the doctor-patient relationship.
The opioid crisis should be divided into two (2) groups, one being heroin/illegal fentanyl and the other is chronic pain management patients controlled by their doctor. The chronic pain management patients should not be penalized by people who abuse street drugs. The doctors should be allowed to make that decision patient by patient without the government interfering. The real problem is not with chronic pain patients, but with the illegal drugs that are causing deaths. Please take a look at the strictest states and see their death toll has only risen. You are hurting the people who truly need the prescriptions to function, because of the people who abuse street drugs. The guidelines are changing for political reasons to show that the government is containing the epidemic and not helping the chronic pain patients that are truly and most vulnerable and in need. Please help me. This is a plea for sanity.
im in the same boat.reading your story made me cry hysterically because its my story and thousands others .the only choices are illegal drugs,suicide.they dont give a damm about us.i pray for you as well as everyone else who is in this because of greedy doctors who started this with their phony pai clinics and we are being punished for it.god bless you
Wow, ten years ago, you were me. I have been dealing with the same list of issues since 2001. Finally submitted to L5-s1 fusion in 2009 which failed and hardware replaced with larger titanium rods and screws and include a plate in front it the spine in 2010. This also failed but now I have additional nerve damage in my abdomen and lower back. It feels like I have a constant current running from my low back down both legs to feet. In addition, I now have crps in both legs so they are burning and on fire without Prednisone which I can no longer take. I have gone online and researched everything and thank God I found DMSO and NAC which really help my Crps. Unfortunately, without bathing in it 5 times a day, I can’t easily treat my back with it. Now my pain docs who I have been seeing since 2001 have decided I need to have my oxy cut down to 90 mme. Each month, my doc drops it by 2 pills which is nice and slow but now I don’t have anything for flare-ups and since I am reducing my meds my Norm has gone from 3 or 4 to 6 or 7 on a daily basis and every time I get up, my pain increased to the point where my limit is now less than 5 minutes. The amount of stuff you can do in 5 minutes is nothing! I can’t clean, I can’t cook, I haven’t worked for years so obviously can’t do that but simple things like checking my email or watering my deck plants is impossible. My doctors are so scared if losing their licenses and getting arrested that they will not go against the recommendation even though these recommendations are for new and not existing chronic pain manegment. We are all looked at as just a bunch of opioid losers and it makes no difference what our quality of life is. It doesn’t seem to make much difference if suicide rates are up, or if heroin and fetnayl street use is up. All that matters now is that legal users of “opioids” have to be reduced so we can look like a nation that has controlled our drug problems. How ridiculous that street drugs are being ignored now because it is so much easier to bust doctors and patients. Anyway, I wish you the best of luck. You may want to try an otc supplement called PEA . It seems to be helping me. It takes about 5 weeks to get the right amount in your system but it seems to definitely be helping. I also tried CBD oil which has no THC but that didn’t work for me as well as for others. It’s also very expensive. It did help my sleep the first couple of nights but that was it for me. Really hope you hang on and hopefully this is a temporary F***up that will be fixed soon. Best Wishes we
I truly feel for you. I have a medical condition that is called the suicide disease. That is named this because most suffers end up taking there own lives because they aren’t able to take the pain. In the first sentence of the definition state that it produces the most painful sensation known to medical science. When I first got diagnosed after 5 long unrealistically painful random episodes in my mouth area. I had at this point spent about 25k having root canals and Apeco root canals wisdom teeth removed. Every sinus scan known. I hooked up with a Neurosurgeon that is the cutting edge of treatment and diagnosing TRIJIMENIAL nuerolga I believe that is the spelling.i was finally put on radiation gamma knife treatment and put on methadone for 13 yrs. I never had done any drug period in my life. So I never took more than I was prescribed I never failed drug tests. I don’t drink smoke or anything illicit at all. I got a letter that my doctor would no longer see me because he didn’t see any titrations happening with my case over the treatment times. Well I would guess not because I asked for 10 yrs please can we start titrations now to get me off these. He laughed at me as he said then why would you need me anymore this is how we make money. Chuckle chuckle. I wanted to go rap his mother when I read his release letter to me in the mail. Not to my face or during a visit in the mail.
KO, I’m so sorry you suffer. PLEASE START TAKING MAGNESIUM. Try a minimum of 600-800 MG Day ( I take about 1,000). It won’t come close to curing all your pain but many of the symptoms you noted can be a result of magnesium deficiency. There’s only a trace amount in multiple vitamins and it’s farmed Our of our food. It will also help with constipation from opioids.
LOOK UP MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS. ( which include, A-Fib, heart problems, sleep problems, Anxiety, Memory loss MAG L-THREONATE on line only, Fatigue, Migraines, Headaches, Raises good cholesterol/lowers bad and doesn’t destroy like statins, RELIEVES THOSE CHARLIE HORSES AND MUSCLE CRAMPS too. Lowers BP and natural food cholesterol/Insulin processor.
I take about 200 mg of
Magnesium Oxide or Citrate for bowel regularity. Can get those at your local grocery store.
Magnesium Glycinate or Glyconate or Taurate are excellent forms that do NOT have the laxative effect.
Magnesium L-Threonate crosses the blood/brain barrier directly. Developed at MIT by a researcher who Reversed Memory Loss in lab animals plus helps all the above…except not a laxative.
60% in our bones. 30% in muscle/tendon. 9% soft tissue and brain/nervous system. Only about 1% in blood and .33% in blood serum used for Blood tests.
Your pain doctor will be thrilled!
I also “ feel your pain” about the real people in Pain vs the drug-pleasure/profiteers from selling there meds dilemma. The DEA makes it really difficult for regular doctors and medical providers ( even optometrists, dentists, GP who can prescribe opioids ) to manage acute pain for patients. It takes an extra 5-10 minutes just to check a central data base Before prescribing or they get in trouble by state boards too. Then the Pharmacist has to check a patients opioid/Benzo history again.
PS. Don’t do a finger stick blood test that can easily test Negative for opioids at your screenings. I think 1) It just doesn’t measure accurately and 2) they can’t charge BIG Bucks for all the drug panels on the Pee test. If you test negative then they will make you return in one month or kick you out of the pain management clinic. Then you’ll be trying to buy some off a malingerer and that’s the other half that cause the chaos in the first place.
God loves you. Keep your sense of humor. Seriously, LOOK UP MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS.
Hello I have seen both sides.
I have occipital neuralgia, Dystonia among other things, i have had 2 crainiotomies to “fix” Growing masses in my left frontal sinus cavity and back of head. I have had severe pain for the last 15 yrs. I can tell you that i have tried every non-prescription medication and “labrat idea” doctors came up with. (3)pain management, (1)Personal Physician, (3) ENTs, (6) Neurologist, (1)Brain Surgeon, (3) physical Therapist, (4) psychiatrists all in the first.2 years of my living nightmare. I can tell you magnesium didn’t help me at all but it did help me gain unwanted. weight. I tried exercises but they made me feel more pain, I’ve done and tried almost everything and I’m so tired. I’m 56yrs old and so tired of fighting severe pain 24/7 I cry to God ” Please fix me or kill me”
The other side is ugly top.. My brother died from heroine OD. Why can’t this be fixed? The drug dealers are making too much $$ if they busted & executed the dealers that crap would stop fast. If drug companies would be held accountable for every pill, mg,, mcg and cut the prices then that should help. .most addicts are selfmedicating? Why??Addicts need treatment and punishment. If they can be saved and their minds aren’t total mush let them work in a mental hospital or the morgue cleaning the dead bodies of OD. Victims. Make them watch a counselor interact wIth the child, mother, father, brother or sister of an OD victim.
Brutal, to cast such a nasty brow toward someone “the addict” who is only a few steps ahead of you, managing. (deep sympathy for your brother) but think about it…. why would a petty drug dealer who hustles for every drug deal….kill all his paying clients????? It wasn’t him, it is the beast we all need to unite and destroy, not each other.
Ask yourself….did the addict take your meds? No, the big good ole boys at the top of our pyramid did.
The addict has a disability just like you.
We hurt, just like you,
we cry from deep within, just like you
we feel alone, just like you
We are judged by how media has portrayed us, just like you
We cry out to God, just like you
They tell me I’m an addict because I ask doctors to manage 4 herniated discs.
They snatched my pain control, then put me on a drug that classifies me as an addict.
Am I an addict for needing pain meds??? no, but they need a voice too, just like you.
Amen, please update your story as my wife is in the same situation thank you Brian in Tennessee,brianlineberry10@gmail.com
Amen to you. I am in the same situation. My pain management doctor cut my opioids and half also. I don’t understand why we’re getting put in with people that are abusing medication and dying from it this is how I survive with my medication just like you. I feel like I’m not living anymore because I can’t do the stuff I was doing which of the opioids helped me to do and maintain my home and my lifestyle. it’s just like when you’re at work when somebody abuses a good thing everybody gets punished for it. Thank you for writing such a beautiful article I feel for you
Very powerful statement. You took the words right out of my mouth. How many suicides, I wonder, will it take to wake up the medical community? I only take Tramadol, basically the aspirin of the opioid world, and they are going to take that away from me. I have severe Fibromyalgia (unbearable, even with the meds), and arthritis in my neck and lower spine. I also have multiple disc issues – and they are pressing against nerves in my back. The pain is agonizing even with the Tramadol. I cannot imagine how much more pain I will experience with NOTHING for pain. I’ve been treated like a drug addict, accused of abusing drugs (for no reason), and essentially dismissed as a patient because I have chronic pain. I just wonder how many people will have to die because they simply cannot live anymore in agonizing pain, before someone stops the insanity.
You are right there will be more suicides because people will not be able to get their pain meds. I take percocets for my pain. I have scoleosis of the spine causing me to have constant siatic pain. Some days I can hardly walk at all the pain is so bad. Its not fair that we that take our meds like we are suppose to and not abuse them that we have to suffer because of drug addicts. The drugs addicts will try anything to get their high on and will die anyway because they will come in contact with the wrong drug one day. I’m on disability with my condition. It’s not fair to us to have to suffer because of drug addicts. I have to do random testing to make sure that I’m taking my meds properly and I’ve passed every test. It’s just not fair. The percocets give me quality of life and helps manage my pain. When I don’t take them I cannot function period. I want be able to do anything. The government has gone to SHIT. We no longer are a free country and its going to get worse people. These are the end times like the Bible says. The government is going to control us. Already happening. God bless you all we gonna need it.
Ko,
I am going to show one of my doctors the last couple paragraphs of your story cuz it’s like i wrote those paragraphs myself! My horrible life is almost identical to yours!
Are you in AZ.? I am in Tucson and now, after another decreased dosage, i am going to call an attorney who handles disability cases. Maybe lawyers can help us, since our basic civil rights to buy medicine that we need has been taken away from us! Any ideas, email me.
I am a 77year old lady from California, in the sixties I had a breakdown of panic attacks and major depression after many different meds we found Elavil which worked and it’s been my rock for all these years never abused and have been on to just, maintain.. Now without warning the, med was taken off my med list and have refused to give me anymore I’ve filed complaints with Kaiser and, they will not budge..Really a 77:year old person to suddenly stop??? The none caring Dr. Advised to start taking effxlor instead and that just stopping elavil cold turkey no problem…are they crazy so uncaring..This has so upset me at my age where to turn, I find out Kaiser has decided to stop pain meds unless you have cancer,,
HORRIFIC MEDICAL CARE….
You are not alone my name is Anthony D J Rocco get the routing me on Facebook I live in New York it probably comes up under current to New York I am forming a citizens against in humane modern treatment for elderly people with chronic pain issues we have been taking these for thousands of years they do not put out the statistics of who is had committed suicide I have been one of them that almost has there is a plague and emotional plague in this country where politicians want to make themselves look good to get rid of all opiates I would like to see those politicians have our ailments and then make the same decisions I need a shoulder replacement I had a faulty hip replacement so I can’t walk with my shoulders and I am in so much pain I contemplate suicide I know hundreds of other just of my friends now that I’ve either became large scale alcoholics or obviously we go to the black market to treat our pain I am in the beginning of making someone something into and I would appreciate your support a regulatory body that if you’re 50 or over and you have what everybody in the history Since before the Roman empire that is 3000 years ago were afforded compassion from pain relief if you are 50 or older and you have a condition that will never end till you’re done I already know over 10 people that have committed suicide because of the pain look at my website I’m trying as hard as I can I would appreciate anybody helping me out
Try joining forces http://face-facts.org/atip/ 1 of the best researched Pain Advocacy groups out there. Many doctors, PhD’s are on board. Richard “Red” Lawhern is 1 of the strongest advocates we Pain Patients have. He’s written over 70 papers speaks before Congress, and is addressing the grievous wrongs of the VA.
Another 1 you can Google is Roger Chriss, he himself is a EDS patient. He picks their lies apart. CATO CDC Researchers State Overdose Death Rates From Prescription Opioids Are Inaccurately High | Cato @ Liberty https://www.cato.org/blog/cdc-researchers-state-overdose-death-rates-prescription-opioids-are-inaccurately-high
I deal with two incurable rare painful diseases, which are not fatal in and of themselves, plus a host of other painful conditions involving weight-bearing bones- so I’ve fallen several times. I had a quality of life and was able to do water exercises with the aid of oxycontin. I had been on the same dose for 17 yrs, never abused it, then the Doctor cut my dose to more than half and intends to taper me totally off. He keeps telling us how he is afraid to loose his license for prescribing opioids as over 70 doctors in Colorado thus far have had done to them. So I’m left in severe intractable pain 24/7 back to a life of bed rest or a chair despite the high risk of DVT, stroke, hypertension, and heart attack [due to immobility & family history] having to rely upon my 70 yr old husband, who has health issues himself. My doctor told my husband to not even bother taking me to the hospital when the pain is so out of control, because they cannot/will not do anything for me. I pray for a quick death rather than a stroke which would leave me in even more of a vegetable.
This is ridiculous. The professionals are going about this all wrong. I am a 38yo female with six herniated spinal discs in my cervical and lumbar spine. I also have Spinal Stenosis secondary scoliosis and plenty of sciatica and peripheral nephropathy to boot. I lived in NYC for several years and was under the care of Beth Israel’s Spinal Center as well as their pain and palliative care clinic. They responsibly prescribed me an opiate painkiller by the name of “Nucynta” (a CII) as well as gabapentin, and other non-controlled medications to manage my daily pain. Suddenly I had to move back to Indiana and absolutely no prescribing practitioner within two hours radius of Indianapolis. The team of Spinal specialists agreed that I needed to be on a stronger pain medication than OTC NSAIDs. I had been thrown into instant withdrawal after leaving Beth Israel and had been taking several hundred mg’s of ibuprofen to help with the pain which left me with two bleeding peptic ulcers, GERD and Gastritis. My physicians were even cautious to prescribe gabapentin to me saying that it runs the risk of addiction. GABAPENTIN??? SERIOUSLY?? So, my message to the physicians who are SOLELY responsible for this drug epidemic which is killing thousands, is that the blame is squarely placed on the irresponsible providers who have caused immense pain, suffering and a low quality of life for individuals who actually REQUIRE these opiate medications to live a quality life! You yanked the rug from beneath our feet and are actively NEGLECTING patients who require opiate intervention to live a quality of life. Shame on you all. Now the population who were abusing these painkillers are dying from drugs thousands of times more deadly and powerful and the problem has steadily been getting worse as all of you practitioners cease caring for the pain and suffering of your patients! You all screwed up by overprescribing opiate medications in the first place to gain profit from the drug companies and your greed has resulted in a deadly epidemic that only continues to worsen exponentially. Carfentanyl, Suphentanyl… where are these drugs coming from? Point is… if there is a demand, there will be a supply… in either a legal or illegal fashion. To hell with all of you cowardly Physicians.
This is ridiculous. The professionals are going about this all wrong. I am a 38yo female with six herniated spinal discs in my cervical and lumbar spine. I also have Spinal Stenosis secondary scoliosis and plenty of sciatica and peripheral nephropathy to boot. I lived in NYC for several years and was under the care of Beth Israel’s Spinal Center as well as their pain and palliative care clinic. They responsibly prescribed me an opiate painkiller by the name of “Nucynta” (a CII) as well as gabapentin, and other non-controlled medications to manage my daily pain. Suddenly I had to move back to Indiana and absolutely no prescribing practitioner within two hours radius of Indianapolis. The team of Spinal specialists agreed that I needed to be on a stronger pain medication than OTC NSAIDs. I had been thrown into instant withdrawal after leaving Beth Israel and had been taking several hundred mg’s of ibuprofen to help with the pain which left me with two bleeding peptic ulcers, GERD and Gastritis. My physicians were even cautious to prescribe gabapentin to me saying that it runs the risk of addiction. GABAPENTIN??? SERIOUSLY?? So, my message to the physicians who are SOLELY responsible for this drug epidemic which is killing thousands, is that the blame is squarely placed on the irresponsible providers who have caused immense pain, suffering and a low quality of life for individuals who actually REQUIRE these opiate medications to live a quality life! You yanked the rug from beneath our feet and are actively NEGLECTING patients who require opiate intervention to live a quality of life. Shame on you all. Now the population who were abusing these painkillers are dying from drugs thousands of times more deadly and powerful and the problem has steadily been getting worse as all of you practitioners cease caring for the pain and suffering of your patients! You all screwed up by overprescribing opiate medications in the first place to gain profit from the drug companies and your greed has resulted in a deadly epidemic that only continues to worsen exponentially. Carfentanyl, Suphentanyl… where are these drugs coming from? Point is… if there will be a supply the demand will be met in a legal or illegal fashion. Congratulations western medicine, you never cease to amaze and disgust me.
I’m a 34 year old man and i’ve been dealing with pain most of my life. When I was 21 I was assaulted while working as a pizza boy and had my orbital (eye socket) fractured, cheek bone and sinus cavity crushed and had to have a titanium eye socket as well as titanium plates (several screws of which are in the roots of my teeth for support) to rebuild my cheek bone/sinus cavity. When I was 23 I had two accidents, one fairly major. The first one was when I was riding my motorcycle and someone pulled out in front of me and i laid it down…it fractured my pelvis and had road rash all over my body. This was the least major of the two. The second I was on my way to work and was t-boned by a drunk driver. I was in a miata and they were in a huge suv like a tahoe. I was crushed in between the driver side and passenger side doors. It destroyed my left shoulder which i had to have anchors put in to hold together. It messed up my left wrist and i have a titanium pin in it now. It dislocated my scapula and tore the lower muscle connecting to it…nothing can be done for it. It messed up vertebrae in my neck and broke two vertebrae in my lower back: L4/L5. I also now have pretty bad nerve damage in my lower body and legs which cause pretty significant pain. I also now have Degenerative Disc and Joint disease in my lower back and neck and degenerative joint disease in both shoulders. I go to a pain management doctor for all of this and i am extremely lucky to have a compassionate and caring doctor. Most doctors would be dismissive of me because of both my age and the fact i look ten years younger than i am…which is very upsetting..just because i’m a younger guy doesn’t make my pain any less meaningful than someone who is 80. I take 40mg of instant release oxycodone (roxicet) a day and 30mg of time release for a total of 70mg a day and the doctor has wanted to change my instant release to hydromorphone 4mg tabs 4x a day but i’ve been afraid to accept it even though it probably would work better because i don’t know what the future holds with the “war on opiates”. Before i got my medicine I would just stay in bed because moving around could be torture at times. I hate to say it but i was contemplating suicide on a daily basis because I just don’t see how i can live with that sort of pain for the rest of my life, especially knowing it will only get worse as i get older. My medicine keeps me comfortable enough to be able to get up and enjoy life. I no longer think about suicide due to having something to take that edge off. It doesn’t make me pain free but it does lower my pain from a 8-9 to around a 5 on the pain scale, and that is enough for pain not be the main focus of my life anymore. I worry about being forcibly taken off my medication in the future due to the severe stigma associated with opiates these days. I want to state that i don’t nor have i ever had a problem with opiate addiction and my doctor drug tests me every time i go and sends it off to get exact levels of it in my system. I’ve been going for years and never once have i had anything wrong with my tests. If my medicine was taken away especially after getting to see a glimmer of hope of not living in agonizing pain daily without anything to take the edge off…..i don’t know if i could live that way…don’t think i would want to. Not trying to be morbid…but i would have three options…get medication illegally (which isn’t an option..i don’t break the law), just live with horrible..ever increasing pain (this is a HELL NO…i am not strong enough to bear this emotionally), or end my life. I just wanted to tell my story…hopefully it might help someone not feel alone. I pray that they look at the science and data associated with most pain patients and not the few that abuse or sell their medications (call me a dick, but i think they should be shot). Thank you for reading my story.
I totally . I have had a back surgery and knee replacement and i need stronger meds. I got 7 at a time ,big deal . I’m 77, what I’m going to get addicted.nHow stupid is that. My pain is so bad from a fall at Wallmart and I also have syatic nerve damage down my fight leg. This is rediculous that people especially at my age may get addicted. I’ve never had an addictive personality so why can’t it be person to person, who can get certain drugs. My life is so filled with pain it’s hard to do anything
Replying to Joshua with similar experience. I live in a part of the country that jumped all over that band wagon of blaming the patient for the medication. I lost the entire containment of my abdomen from chest to groin to flesh eating bacteria from a bad surgeon who left my bowel nicked and leaking for a week. It had to be removed, dug out of my ribs, and I was left with my organs exposed. Over the past ten to 15 years I have been in a condition at the worst where my organs were laying in my lap in a thin, transparent failing skin graft to the post “terminal” decision to help by dissecting me from my spine forward and around to enclose the organs. I’m enclosed now but basically it hurts to digest, stand, shower.. I can’t stand more than 20 seconds w/o excruciating pain. I went on an odyssey of 5 pain units in my tri-state area. I am allergic to all but methadone. When my use of 160 mg daily was the high – my pain unit manufactured non compliance issues of missing appts (which I could not have done and still gotten my pain med!) and sent a letter to tell me w/o allowing any response from me. Over time the units shoved me away as a “high end user” and was told openly the practice didn’t want the liability or scrutiny as well as the hype over what was a necessary dose continuing until I received 30mg per day. This left me bed bound and waiting to die. After the insane dissection surgery I was in hospital for two weeks. I nearly lost my mind because the dose of pain mgt there was as if I hadn’t been on opiates for ten years. So a shot of 1mg 3 times a day left me in screaming agony. I had a doctor sit down in my room and say – You are a drug addict. I said “F YOU and don’t ever come here again!” That went well when having to return to ER for aid during “recovery” and being treated with compassion until this doctor got on the phone. Then I was unceremoniously told to go home and see my doctor that week. It was humiliating and the horror of all night wrenching, shaking, sweating hot and cold until you wish you would die haunted all the nights it didn’t happen. My quality of life is non existent. I am intelligent and couldn’t stand to be bored or inactive. I have to lay on my bed with Oxygen to aid my breathing since my lungs descended into my abdomen while I was left to allow my organs to stretch out of my body onto my lap. Once I was closed the pressure on my lungs led to a near death hypoxic state in the intensive care unit. When I accused the nurses of trying to steal my baby and give it to the doctor (my body looked pregnant to me when I woke with all that packed on top of me like a stuffed suitcase!) they began to realize I wasn’t able to expel C02 completely. Dear God – the horrors we have endured , yes? And then we are vilified and of course I have a bottle I save for the day when my right to compassionate care is removed. I could buy a legal gun and I have considered that as well – to make certain I have the last word on how long I will suffer and how much degradation I can tolerate – the gun is for ME alone – as a ultimate palliative care. Psychological damage to my family is the main reason I didn’t give in to this post dissection/resection. This happened between the age of 42 and 54 for the last surgery. I’m 57 now. I have learned to accept my loss and hold on just distracting myself with TV, crocheting (sounds so ridiculous!) and I have had to be in a nursing home from time to time. Life is not what I had hoped but I love many people and try to be compassionate and positive towards them and myself. I needed to know I had the right to end my suffering if it was intolerable. I discussed it with my friends and family – even considering the legal means of going to a state for the last six months of life where it is legal to choose this option. If you are making it and have a good quality of life by having pain intervention – please hang on. When the government decides to be our doctor and decides levels of medication are allowed – share your story with the news. Call your local representative and tell them your story. I am much relieved by the use of marajuana legally for chronic pain management. Even for the anxiety of the pain we suffer, it is a valid use. Far better than being pushed to extreme choices. Thanks to all who express these very human and pertinent feelings with our chronic pain.
God Bless You! Stay with us! We need people like you!!!
I am so very sorry for all your pain, and none of the cause was your fault, and for all the other poor people’s stories . I have a herniated disc , touching a nerve, and I feel that is debilitating, and you have so much more. I have started low dose morphine every four hours. Plus 2 codeine at night, I’m very aware not to take more than prescribed, but I feel my pain is not helped. How scary to interfere with much desperate needed medication, that you all need. My thoughts are with you all. Please let miracle healing ,happen.
Thank you very much Lynda. . . I will Pray you get better. . . You will be in my Prayers. Rye.
This is total bullshit, and I’m just supposed to swallow this like a submissive bitch. OK, I was hit by a radical driver as a pedestrian in October 1977…sustained both legs broken in a few places, and fractured pelvis, lower back and a cracked skull. I was only 17 when it happened, so I was actually in pretty good shape after initial surgery on my legs. In 1985, I had to get a meniscectomy on my left knee. The doctor Rxed me Percodan. Surgery after surgery after surgery they prescribed my more Percs…then OxyContin…up to 300 mg per day in fact…no problem. I’d get them from most doctors easily…unless I actually was lucky enough to have a family doctor up in northern Ontario Canada. Well, my doctor from 2001 till 2016 recently dumped me like a leper…gave me a marijuana prescription for Tweed, then cut me off cold turkey. She makes up some ridiculous reason about me allegedly dabbling in “fraudulent Fentanyl”, involving my pharmacy and the North Bay Police…both of which have no clue about it. Now, no doctor will prescribe me a Percodan to save my life. It’s either methadone or buprenorphine…take your pick. I can’t take methadone or buprenorphine due to the bad side effects. I seriously don’t think I’ll ever feel normal again…doctors make me sick now. You know, if I have to crawl to the clinic/pharmacy everyday, at least give me something I can function on. WTF? They were apparently wrong all these years…they blame it on Purdue agents and their bullshit propaganda…and now they expect me to trust them with their new theory? Um, nope. Heroin addicts are getting pharmaceutical grade heroin prescribed to them, but a chronic pain patient can’t get 4 Percs a day? That is poor.
I’m glad you get to walk ,in 1980 I was a young mom of three. First vacation in a motel with a pool. Long story short 8 months in Rancho los amigos, spinal cord injury live in guest, with a diagnosis of an incomplete quadriplegic, couldn’t walk or write my name or take a shit on my own
By the way in 1980 I was 30rs old, and away from my babys. Now I’m 68 years old and living with pain most of the time due to doctors mess ups . I have to use a Walker and a scooter to get around. there’s been very nice doctors but for the most part I’ve lived in way too much agony .
But they aren’t done with us yet. I’ve been fortunate for the past 9 years, I have been in the care of a solo physician and pain management ,things were good until 2 years ago when he started making hints about getting off my meds. Several weeks ago we found out he was not licensed to write perscription i need with codes needed to get my meds filled. So now I’m out in rain thanks to our president and insurance, yes your a senior your part of the cleaning.
Doctors are so afraid of their own shadows that they will lose their licenses or go to jail for treating chronic pain patients but as long as they have us jump through their hoops it should. Here’s what I think they are doing, I think with all this exaggerated shit on the news they want to use us seniors and people of other ages who need pain meds. We do all they ask of us like good little patients and they decide to throw the baby out with the bath water. Coming for us is such an easy target, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel meanwhile they get a pat on the back for acting like DEA Agents and how easy it is for them to just leave destruction of people’s lives in the wake of that bullshit, and it’s just lazy, the DEA needs to worry about people who are selling pills that have Fentilyn in them and the Senior citizens are so desperate for pain relief they end up dying from these illegal street drugs and THAT is why the statistics show so many deaths, especially in recent years. One by one they are losing patients and will find themselves without many patients because most of us are going to switch to holistics like marijuana which is legal in my state along with other states. Lazy asses would rather cause harm to seniors because they don’t really want to get rid of illegal drugs as this gives them job security. I think its about time to cut them off, we don’t work for them, they don’t pay us we pay them, they aren’t Gods, people tend to act like kids with these doctors and it’s pathetic.
Your right on spot IMHO.I was given a word of knowledge the other day as it came to me and im like click! You know,the light bulb thingy that cartoons show? Here it is (THEY get the news to rev up the reporting of when an over dose occurs,and then they get a spokes-person(not just one- but several are recruited in which they rant congress some to govenor’s some mayors,some start facebooking anti opiod this n that UNTIL…. FINALLY in the still of the night a small new law is passed to oh,make it juuuuuust a weeee bit harder to prescribe them….Well, what most dont realize is pharmacys are leaned on more even ,(and you just thought that pharmacist was being an a hole)nope PRESSURE..LOOK the DEA has 24/7 to get this done and its all a plan…..WELL in the end they will win the game because they will produce desperate people like the commenter said before me and guess what? You will see news on how opiod deaths have tripled percentage wise and its the truth but what they fail to say is 90% of these incurred increases are due to regular folks who were cut off the system and for sure ive known good people cut off by the doctor telling them after 9 years now,their urine test did not jive….So these folks most inadvertently get a relative who is street wise to he them out because it not even the chrojic pain now ,uts the damn with-drawals and if they are anything like most honest folks will refuse to be labeled a junky only to be sent to some bull shit rehab hospital only to be given a psudo AA book and told they have to go to meetings the rest of their miserable life and listen to chronic nicoteen coffee swigin real addicts talk about their day…SOMETHING IN THEM SAY’S BIG BROTHER WORKING THE FIELD AND USING AA AS THEIR JUSTIFICATION PIECE…IN THE END~There will be deaths due to this taking of fentanal ~ but ask ourselves have we really looked at the true picture or are we only looking at a picture sketched by the DEA and painted by those in government -either willingly or by subversion such as black mail to give it color and legitimacy?Is this really a way of keeping one on the job or is it really needed? I wonder if those deaths mite of been prevented if only the bull scrap wasnt piled so deep on those honest folks who not only have served in the service but also have been honest tax paying citizen’s.PERSONALLY,I HAVE NO STAKE EITHER WAY IN THIS AS IM NOT ON OPIOD’S BUT I HAVE FRIENDS AND RELATIVE’S BEING AFFECTED BECAUSE OF THESE BULL SCRAP CHANGES AND ALL I CAN SAY IS THIS….GOD FORBID THAT THOSE RESPONSIBLE SHOULD NEED THEM LIKE THESE GOOD PEOPLE DO BUT THEN AGAIN- MAYBE THATS JUST WHAT NEED’S TO HAPPEN!
Absolutely.
I am a SSDI disabled RN due to doctors in Maine unwilling to work with Narcolepsy research specialist at Stanford Narcolepsy Research in CA due to not wanting to admit their incompetence in treating a disabling sleep disorder which left untreated can lead to multiple auto accidents, embarrassing sleep attacks in public and then the Cataplexic attacks and falling down suddenly. I have a rare genetic type that is severe with my sleep studies all showing 0.5min to 1 min to sleep without the REM. I also passed this to my son.
But that is not my only medical issues i also had multiple surgeries in Maine: Cervical discotomy 3 disc replaced with cadevar disc and then SURPRISE my complaints of months choking and the difficult intubation they had found a mass in my Epiglottis whcih was later removed.athen I had R. axilla visible hard lump with a discharge from my R. nipple that changed yellow to green but when i addressed this to my NP in Maine she practically told me not to bother her unless I saw blood! I finally had the axilla lump removed and they sent me to a Trauma surgeon? the surgeon also agreed to rule out MRSA on the long standing non healing lesions on my scalp that bled and scabbed for over a year and that was misdiagnosed as Psoraisis! so any way she did a 4 inch incision and attempts to gather lymph for pathology failed as all lymph “feel apart” so no tissue sent but i did get a nice cording in my R axila which still causes deep achy pain and then the R. shoulder felt like something loose but my complaints went to deaf ears so about 2 yrs later we moved to Florida and I saw a Orthopedic surgeon which he diagnosed a Detached shoulder, I had surgery ( Bankart Repair,SLAP2, Extensive debredment and 4 dissolvable rods. I was to go home that day but had a Catacholamine attack and was kept overnight for observation. The Orthopedic doc called my husband and said “your wife must of suffered for well over a year as her R. shoulder was totally detached for a long time. I want to add I have also developed widespread full body worsening mottled skin with my face turning a sickly pasty white at times and temperates at 68 degree turn the tips of my toes and fingers white and i have chronic achy deep pain on the R upper extremity down the hand and chest wall with my mottled skin worsening and the worse thing is not 1 doctor will skin biopsy to see if i have a small vessel disease and yes i have requested this by 2 Dermatologist but i am just told ” it will not do you any good” I also developed deep lesions on my buttock cheek last year that were blue blackish blue color around one of the lesions which i thought it was necrotizing as i did have a lesion biopsied in FL on my scalp that was “necrotizing follicultis” and was hurried out of the office by the doctor. The lesion took over 4 months to heal . I lost my faith in the medical community and feel doctors are too judgemental, lazy as no doctor should allow any patient to suffer as they take a oath to “do no harm” well in my case I have been harmed by neglect and ignorance as these doctors want to shuffle me off to someone else to figure out what is going on with me. I have been sent to shrinks only to be told ” you are not a hypochrondiac Cathy you have some serious medical issues that the doctors are not addtessing. Yes I know that but i have given up as i can not find a decent med professional and now my Morphine was cut in 1/2 due to the addicts in our country. Look any RN and MD knows that DOCUMENTATION is the key to avoiding being thrown upon by the state boards or legal action. Narcotics require extra documentation by the medical pros and it just comes down to lazy, thye do not care, there view is unwarrented with pain as I have heard so many RN’s unwilling to give Morphine injections to dying patients for “FEAR ADDICTION” this is the truth , What are my views on pain meds . I believe no one needs to suffer and doctors and nurses have assessment skills to perform these skills with pain patients. I could easily tell addicts from pain patinets while at my pain management doctors. I really see not hope for us . I have requested Hospice as I can barly get out of bed but i do not have Cancer.but have been sent to Mayo . Moffits, UFShands and multiple Oncologist as i am suspect of MGUS which i feel is wrong diagnosis. I also was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder from my Quebec parents and had Oneome genetic tests but still UNDIAGNOSED . Last year I went to eye doctor as my vision was blurry and was diagnosed “Scarred Cornea” and ? do not know how i got this but yes asked by doctors as if i would know how i got this. also Fatty Infiltrated Liver no alcohol , 63 yr old with 4 inch height loss, one marrow changes i have been on Medicare since 2010 and see it as a death sentence . My quality life poor and i only hope for a early death to put me and my family out of my misery as life is not enjoyable as i not able to finsh a project like cooking a meal. I have weakness, fatique and last 1 yr daily dripping sweats that come about during day and for no reason ( Oh yes I have a L clavicle lump visible and hard thye said it must be a pathaolocal fractures ? it is not painful whcih is good. . Sorry for my confusing letter as my physical pain has affected my brain with what my husband calls “spagetti head”
Hello Sister,
I was surprised to see another chronic pain patient who also has Narcolepsy with Cataplexy. I am so sorry to hear of everything else you are going through. Having Narcolepsy, while trying to recieve treatment for pain is hard enough and God willing everything works out for you and your family.
I am 32 years old I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy at the age of 21 after the MSLT. I first was treated with Adderall for the EDS and Klonopin I assume for the sleep paralysis, anxiety, and to provide a balance with the stimulant. In my teenage years I had lower back pain and my right foot turns out to the right which causes constant swelling to this day from the way I walk. About 5-6 years ago I was diagnosed with Disc Bulging and Right Lateral Disc Herniation in my L4-L5 and Severe Spinal Stenosis. I also have a history of extreme stomach pain since I was a child in which sometimes I think I’m dying, especially when my chest will hurt too and it feels like I have pleurisy from my shoulders down to my pelvis. Every stomach doctor always concludes it’s anxiety.
For the bulging and herniated discs and spinal stenosis, my pain doctor prescribes me Norco 10mg twice a day, Lyrica, and Baclofen. Usually the opiate he gives me is Tylenol 4 w/ Codeine 60mg/Tylenol 300mg (Qty. 150 a month 4-6 times a day). I didn’t expect much from Codeine, but suprisingly that much codeine converts to a decent amount of Morphine in the body. However, whenever I complain about my tolerance he goes back to the Norco and last month said we will rotate every 3months. I told him 20mg hydrocodon if anything feels weaker. I am not a stranger to opiates from all the bones I broke from skateboarding when I was young and I use to see a rheumatologist who had me on similar meds but stronger doses including Percocets. I assume my narcolepsy meds scare them.
The meds used to treat Narcolepsy these days are Xyrem twice a night and during the day a stimulant, a stimulant like Provigil or Nuvigil. Xyrem (Sodium Oxybuterate aka GHB) is really a schedule 1 substance, illegal in all 50 states, but if you have type 1 Narcolepsy it’s schedule 3 because it helps control Cataplexy attacks during the day since we can’t get a normal sleep at night or grow muscle tone in our sleep like a regular person. It works like a strong sedative and growth hormone. it is shipped overnight once a month from a special pharmacy by the FDA. The same doctor specially licensed for Xyrem also had me on Nuvgil. I told him many times Nugil it made me sick and later found out it counteracts my opiate medication and puts me into opiate withdrawal. I had to go from taking stimulants that worked everyday to keep me awake, to nothing because he didn’t take me serious enough to read which enzymes nuvigil effects. I told this issue to my new Psychiatrist who treats my anxiety (my regular doctor dumped me on her after 11 years of prescribing me Klonopin he’s worriedsince i’m prescribed opiates by the pain doc he referred me to). She was quite aware of this and switched me to Focalin 20mg XR in a.m. with 10 mg IR up to 2 times in the afternoon. Focalin (Dexmethylphenidate) is a cleaner feeling, and way more potent version of Ritalin. The same way Dexidrine is to Adderall (I hate all D-amphetamines). Also, because she was aware of my stomach pains she switched me off Klonopin 0.5mg 3X a day to Valium 5mg 3X a day and said maybe the muscle relaxing effects could help my stomach and back.
Basically, for the first time in over a decade my Narcolepsy and Cataplexy are balanced. I feel confident enough to try and have a normal life and maybe even a social one again. The only problem is the pain in my back and I would be willing to quit some of these meds if he could just prescribe me a medication that lasted longer. I feel a disgrace since Narcolepsy is treated with some of the most abused pharmaceuticals in the world. If you or anyone can think of a pain medicine that a doctor may feel more open to prescribing that’s new or some not used much anymore that could help more than norco or high dose codeine. I recieve no benefit from baclofen or lyrica and they are a waste. In college I was prescribed Talwin once, but don’t remember how much it helped. Also, I would really like to try Tapentadol which I read is supposed to be like a stronger Tramadol and comes in a time release. Otherwise one medication I have been prescribed before for migraines, but overall helped my body for pain was Fiorinal which is Fioricet with codeine. If anybody has found success with a new pain medication like Tapentadol or similar please let me know. Also, Cathy I wish you the best of luck.
There is another word that comes to my mind
Genocide
.
I feel for you. I’m not going to go over all my injuries but have you or will they install an internal morphine pump for you? Not sure if it would help your injuries being I’m not a dr. But I have friends that have had amazing success from the pumps. It delivers.01 ml in a 24hr period guy went from 100mg MS Contin daily and always in agonizing pain to being able to walk almost normal.
Don’t get me wrong he still has a rough day occasionally but one rough day in about every 3-6 months is way better than seeing him to point of contemplating ending it is amazing. Not that that’s ever the answer just trying to help. Anyway here in USA pain management docs are saying eventually pumps will be only therapy for chronic pain sufferers.
Be sending prayers up for ya
The opioid legislation goes beyond pumps and credibility of patients needs. They go in and change prescriptions for PTSD and TBI related conditions which effects anxiety levels and muscle spasms. I have been told what to take without a care to whether the new drug will not effect breathing while on opioids. So if my heart is racing or obscures my vision by changing over to this other deal, then it’s ok. I don’t know who prescribes the medicine nor will the RNs tell me….all going against a patients rights. At least when we had rights. The tizanipidine I was given caused me great uncoordination and effected my perception. I wish I had figured that out before getting stuck with a busted up femur that I don’t feel will ever heal right. Thanks for the ride by these self righteous blokes that haven’t needed the assist of medication to get through particularly painful days and improve a quality of life for many. Frankly, I don’t get the lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies. When the patients were in pain they were relieved, without being told to try and abuse the meds, it won’t hurt. Like so many good programs, we hold these to a standard of stupidity. A plan has not been developed the will help out when the terms can’t be met with a little common sense. Well, I’m the one who didn’t figure the relationship between my lack of coordination and another switch up in my prescriptions by strangers who don’t know or care about my medical history because they are too busy following rules atop more rules and relishing the power of this new institution breathing down our necks under false pretense. Alright, that’s quite enough from me, no matter that I had my first good pain free week, way titrations down on the heels of an ablation process for LB pain, that was before the breakage. The real problem aside from reactions to the drug changes, was the dangerously pervasive sleep deprivation that started with the mucking around with my prescriptions which were taken and given responsibly before the dang program. Fie
I feel with you guys i’m 70 years old all the bones in my back broke years ago the only way to keep me alive was to put me on 300 MCG of Fentanyl Patches I was in a wheel chair for a long time then I couldn’t take it anymore no one was home all day everyone working I said to myself I can’t take this i’m either going to walk or I will die it’s just the way I felt I tried walking in the kitchen between the sink and the island I went back and forth finally I did it I had to use a cane but it was better than not walking at all to make a long story short I kept at it for a long time i’ve had botch up surgeries I have pain and I can’t even sleep at night the pain is excruciating I went to pain management for a long time I even got my patches reduced to 100 mcg but that was years ago but I was managing pretty good on 100mcg so I go to pain mgt. last week and they tell me they are taking me off Fentanyl patches 25 mcg at a time I am in so much pain you can’t imagine i’m afraid this is going to kill me is there something we can do? please someone help me.
Frances, I’m not a doctor, nor any medically related field/profession ~ I was an Army MI Officer & after a misjudged parachute fall, my body took out one whole side of a pine tree ~ “snap, snap, snap…all the way til I impacted with the ground. 6-major spinal fusions later & in pain for just over 20-YEARS (I ‘was’ on Fentanyl patches 125 mcg’s), so I have only a partial understanding of your HELL! You have my utmost sympathies…
After all my years of pain & opioids I know one thing, don’ Give Up!!!!! An old adage seems appropriate here: “The Sqeeky Gog Gets The Oil.” Make yourself Heard & felt – camp-Out with those DAMNED SPINELESS Doctor’s Office/s – MAKE THEM RUE The Day they even contemplated weening you off your ‘Life Preserver!’
Additionally, I’ll add some groups/research below to guide you somewhat….
“The Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain”
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Richard A. Lawhern, a prominent advocate on behalf of chronic pain patients and co-founder of
“The Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain”
PATIENTS MOBILIZE, SAY THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO WAIT
For their part, pain patients say the suffering they are enduring– with so many falling into withdrawal, incapacitation and suicidal thoughts– has created an urgency that cannot wait for the wheels of government bureaucracy to turn in the right direction.
And so they have been mobilizing, in person and online, to do everything from lending one another moral support and sharing information, to planning campaigns to draw attention to their plight and chip away at misunderstandings about chronic pain and prescription painkillers.
Lauren Deluca, for instance, decided to form her organization, the Chronic Illness Advocacy & Awareness Group (CIAAG), last year after going through her own experience of undertreated severe pain and feeling frustrated when she turned to government agencies and healthcare providers for help.
Too many flawed approaches and policies targeting pain patients, she said, “will take many years to undo, but we can’t wait years.”
Deluca, a former commercial insurance agent, said that among her priorities is working toward legislation that would exempt chronic pain patients from restrictive opioid policies. CIAAG has a website as well as programs that teach pain patients how to reach out to policymakers in their area, access data on a particular topic and make a presentation to further their cause. Deluca said that she aims to give pain patients who feel marginialized a sense of hope and empowerment.
“I myself was a healthy 36-year-old professional embarking on starting a family and in a blink of an eye my life was destroyed due to a denial of care,” Deluca said. “It’s not just about pain; it’s about quality of life. Now we are teaching doctors to ignore pain, which not only leaves the patient suffering but likely will lead to many not getting diagnosed, therefore not only will they not receive pain medications they will not even receive basic care.”
The Steward Center for Palliative Care is a nationally recognized model which sets the “gold standard” for excellence in the provision of palliative services in our community.
Palliative Care (pronounced pah-lee-uh-tive), or Progressive Care, is specialized care for the treatment of symptoms caused from life-limiting or chronic illnesses such as CHF, COPD, HIV, cancer, kidney disease, dementia, or others. Some symptoms which can be managed include pain, agitation, anxiety, shortness of breath, depression, nausea, or loss of appetite.
Our palliative care physician and nurse practitioners don’t replace the primary care physician or any specialist who is managing a patient’s care. Instead, they work alongside the managing physician to provide a “continuum of care” to more aggressively treat symptoms and provide comfort – thereby improving the patient’s quality of life. Think of the palliative care physician as the symptom management specialist while the disease or cancer is still being aggressively treated.
By implementing palliative care (progressive illness management), the patient and their family gain not only a relationship with a new and focused approach to symptom management, but also gain a team of experts who help find all kinds of resources, while providing emotional, spiritual, and caregiver support. This more complete healthcare model is proven to decrease visits to the ER and to reduce hospital readmissions.
Out-patient clinics are housed in the Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion. As well, we see patients throughout St. Joseph’s and Candler hospitals, and Landmark Hospital. The team consists of board certified physicians, nurse practitioners, chaplaincy, a Masters Level Licensed Clinical Social Worker certified in Hospice and Palliative Care, and the support and resources available through the Edel Caregiver Institute. Our services allow patients to have complex and lengthy conversations that other physicians may be unable to provide within the time constraints of a normal office visit. Ultimately, palliative care is a win-win for physicians, patients and their caregivers!
Please reach us during business hours at 912.354.8014 for assistance or more information. Providers can fax referrals and medical records to Fax: 912.298.0306.
Click here to read an article outlining the history and vision of our palliative care program. This article appeared in the July, 2012 NHPCO Newsline publication.
Check out this helpful and informative link about palliative care: http://www.getpalliativecare.org
Here’s some info about WHY doctor’s are wrong in interpreting the CDC Opioids “Suggestion/s”… refer to:
https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2019/4/24/cdc-opioid-guideline-should-not-be-used-to-taper-patients
CDC: Opioid Guideline Should Not Be Used to Taper Patients
April 24, 2019
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has taken its first concrete step to address the widespread misuse and misapplication of its opioid prescribing guideline.
In an impassionate commentary published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the guideline’s authors say the agency does not support abrupt tapering or discontinuation of opioid medication, and that the guideline’s recommendation that daily doses be limited to no more than 90 MME (morphine milligram equivalent) should only be applied to patients who are starting opioid therapy.
“Unfortunately, some policies and practices purportedly derived from the guideline have in fact been inconsistent with, and often go beyond, its recommendations,” wrote Deborah Dowell, MD, Tamara Haegerich, PhD, and Roger Chou, MD. “A consensus panel has highlighted these inconsistencies, which include inflexible application of recommended dosage and duration thresholds and policies that encourage hard limits and abrupt tapering of drug dosages, resulting in sudden opioid discontinuation or dismissal of patients from a physician’s practice.”
The co-authors also noted that the guideline “does not address or suggest discontinuation of opioids already prescribed at higher dosages,” nor does it seek to deny opioids to patients with cancer, sickle cell disease or recovering from surgical procedures.
Notably, the three co-authors took no responsibility for themselves or the CDC for the “inflexible application” and other fallout from the guideline.
The CDC’s clarification was cheered by patient advocates, who have been calling on the agency to address the suicides, patient abandonment and other unintended consequences of the guideline for over three years.
“The statement from the CDC is a long-awaited, robust clarification that has come at a critical time. They clearly defined that its Guideline cannot and should not be invoked to justify the forced reduction or denial of opioid pain medication to patients who use opioids to manage their long-term pain,” said Andrea Anderson, a patient advocate with the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain (ATIP).“
Thank you for your reply, I can not even get Palliative care in Marion County,FL as this county is so ?? But Pinellas County and other FL counties offer nonmalignant palliative care as the pain is bad enough but the other symptoms are just compounding my ability to function, those daytime episodes saturating sweats and I noticed my face gets that white death mask when I sweat like I am shocky, and doctors have seen this and i have been sent to ER but unable to tolerate the wait after waiting a hour so i end up leaving as my anxiety, tachy etc,,
I really see no hope for myself as I am seeing pain management but he does what he wants to get you down to 90/mg day. I have tried to get a advocate thru medicare to help me but Medicare only tells me to report these doctors which but I refuse as my care is bad enough can you imagine what would become of me if I did that. I like the idea of the intrathecal Morphine but not all doctors feel nonmalignant chronic disease pain is deserving like Cancer patients.
I want to add I a bad facial skin rash reaction, that resembled Stevens Johnson Syndrome the 2nd day while on Bactrim DS that a Mayo Hem/Onc Rx’d. I called his office 2 times and no one called me back!! I had to take care of this myself which took about a month to heal as the blisters caused a mess once the redness and burning subsided and then a yr later i developed lesions on buttocks that were deep and the skin on lower lesion blackish those took 4 months to heal and that time i was well enough to go to doctor but “Keep it clean and Bactacin” I do not understand why I am treated like i am because there is nothing in my background that would warrant being being neglected and allowed to suffer. I must be living in the most judgemental cities . I am hoping to find Teleheath palliative care and /Or Hospice.
The truth, the real truth, the” Federal Government” doesn’t care. That’s it. We’ve lost complete touch with them as “One nation”. They are the communist and the same government we left the U.K. and landed on Plymouth rock.
No matter, their children are dead to them anyway and that’s how much they don’t care.
Doctors and health care professionals are no longer in control. Their Professioanl liability Insurances won’t insure them if they don’t follow Standard of Care which is Now dictated by Big Insurance and Big Pharma which buys our senators votes. Then when something goes awry, the DEA and FDA jump in there and PUNISH THE ONLY PEOPLE THEY CAN GOVERN ( Patients and doctors)…NOT THE RUSSIAN MAFIA or S. American or Chinese drug cartels selling recreational crap. Unless a doctor works in a “ Pain Management clinic “ it’s imposible to prescribe for long term care. The DEA now dictates a mid-practitioner can only prescribe for 72 hours and no more than 5 pills per day at that. Plus, they have to Look up Each Patient ( for drug use history) before prescribing a narcotic or benzo. It takes an extra 5 to 10 minutes for each patient thanks to Government. Then, all DEA licensed doctors get a report occasionally showing their Prescribing history and whether a patient filled an Rx WITHOUT BEING RESEARCHED FIRST. Then, they also report this information to doctors State licensing boards. Also, Your Pharmacist has to turn around and Look up the Same data. Woe to those in pain. If you’re a Doctor in pain…you get dogged incessantly as you can’t prescribe narcotic for thyself nor family.
These government people who are not doctors or nurses come down on this “crisis” and are lead by their noses by lobby groups or the all mighty dollar…they get the best of care I’m sure they never had to wait over 6 months , and counting, for a lousy MRI alll while suffering from sciatica down entire right leg and foot AND a pinched nerve at their Roght shoulder blade that shoots pain and numbness /lighting bolt feeling in your right hand. This has limited my range of motion, ability to work again as a nurse and has put me in a dark depression. THE ONLY WAY I CAN FUNTION IS WITH MY NORCO until someone ok’sa MRI , epidural and after that wares off , back surgery THAT RARELY WORKS. As u may surmise I am a RN who has given 30+ years to helping others. I am too young to not work. My father taught me to not take hand outs so now I find something that helps and some government non health experienced jack hole is gonna tell doctors, who are specialist in pain management how to prescribe. Are you F omg kidding me. Why don’t you worry about impinging Socialist crap or how Jews are being treated once agin in Paris and stay out of my doctors prescription drawer. You all don’t have any idea how the DEPLORABLES live and work and keep this country great. So SHUT IT.
So right you are these people that want to restrict our pain medicine have never done a hard days work in their life, I worked for fifty years doing back-breaking work in shipyards I have had three back surgeries and I have severe scoliosis and they want to take my Norco away, I’m almost seventy-four years old and I say it’s none of the damn bureaucrats business what I take its between me and my Dr.
No one will truly understand the desperation for pain relief if your relying on people to tell their stories to support it. I can’t distract myself from the pain long enough to actually sit here and type out my story. I’m already taking 50mme/day and double it would do nothing in the long run. I don’t want to take anything. I’m f-ing sick and tired of going to the doctor every month trying procedure and shot after shot, hardware in, hardware out, simulator trials and in the end being treated like a drug seeker with back to back urine test because I didn’t show enough opiods in my urine? Chiropractors, acupuncture, message therapy, hypnotherapy, every youtube video exercise, supplements, vitamins, diets, foam pads, rollers, office chairs, binary beats, meditation, meditation, CBD, cannabis, fox mountain flower extracts. When is it social acceptable to give up? I’m not sad, I’m not depressed. Dealing with pain for over 10 years I’ve already been up and down every emotional roller coaster ride, on and off every medication doctors are comfortable prescribing. All I ask when I see each doctor is if you can’t help me, send me to someone who can, I don’t care if it’s a shaman in Africa! They are to prideful and think they are the best choice yet I can’t help that someone out there could look at the many MRI or xrays and say “Oh, there’s the problem” and fix it. I’m a car guy, I used to be able to fix anything, but if I couldn’t figure it out, I knew many other specialty shops that did those kind of jobs. I’m not a medical guy, all I can do is google and yelp specialists and book appointments and pay for disappointments. There is no additive you can dump in your engine to fix a valve seal, only slow it down until it can be replaced. Opiods will never fix whatever my problem is, I know that! I just want them to help live my life long enough until someone fixes it or until my Daughters get married and move out and then I have no more reason to be here. That’s all I have the patience to type as I’m to tense and uncomfortable to focus any longer and need to lie back down. I have a full-full time job most of it in a home office but can only sit for short periods before I feel like I have to start throwing stuff against the wall because pain is keeping me from concentrating. There are only 2 types of suicidal people, ones with chemical imbalance and the soldier lying in the ditch of combat with guts hanging out and no hope of survival. I used to worry about how to maintain effective relief from pain medication for the rest of my life given all the risk factors and tolerance buildup, but now I know I’ll never reach retirement age, I don’t want to. I’m still several years from my Daughters getting married and that alone causes so much stress and anxiety to deal with this pain that much longer. I crave for the day of eternal sleep and feeling nothing at all. I’ve purposely found reasons not believe in god and afterlife because if I truly believed in afterlife or reincarnation, it would be to tempting to just hit the reset button today. Anyone reading this that thinks I need a hotline number or shrink can go fuck themselves. I need a car mechanic mentality doctor that will spend more than 5 minutes actually researching my case and medical history and fixing the problem, not treating me like a rehab patient just because the shots he gave me didn’t help and I’m asking not to change my medication. What kills me the most is that I know my problem can be fixed, it’s not even a matter of technology, it’s a matter of finding a doctor who will get off his ass and do his f-ing job instead of doing the same routine procedures for every aliment someone may have. If the medical industry was like the automotive industry I would check myself into a hospital and demand I stay there until someone fixes it. If the government wants to create policy for preventing deaths be that opioid OD or suicide, though the latter doesn’t cause as much fuss, they should put requirements of fixing patients, not this give and take medication and procedures that give kickbacks to the doctor or free golf trips for every punch card or tally sheet they fill out.
I have no idea how I ended up on this page or why I’m wasting my time writing this, looks like the last post on this page was several years ago.
The sad thing is that I actually love my life, I’m gifted, talented and smart. I can fix anything that doesn’t have a heartbeat, I play guitar and wrote music no one will ever hear but me and I’m okay with that. I’m not okay with the fact that everything has been systematically taken away from me one pain signal at a time. No more dirt bike, no more working on cars, no more wood-working, no more playing drums, no more playing guitar, no more long drives on the back roads, no more shoveling my neighbors sidewalk or growing a garden. No more playing Xbox with my Daughter, no more music editing. I can still hear music and see my kids play. I can still throw something against the wall but never will, that is my sanity test, as long as I can fight that urge to do so. I can still laugh, I can still cry. But I can’t keep googling the internet trying to find an answer. I can’t go through medical school just to figure out my problems. I can’t force anyone else to do so either.
well, there’s your problem, not believing in God.He can heal and accomplish all things, if you believe. God is love!
God gave us these diseases, many from birth. Did god decide my uncle should rape my birth mother and impregnate her so that my genes would have defects. Quit gaslighting someone who is suffering. Im sure god frowns upon that.
Wow you are just like my daughter, she took me to every healer of God, I’m still paralyzed, I tried everything I was told to believe harder, I tried that to, nope nothing. I came to the conclusion God lives within us. no one else and if you’re strong it’s because it was installed in us long ago. Meaning use your own strength, you developed it. I believe in God but i dont depend on him to solve my wants.
Why are you reading or visitin this site since God us so great. Why don’t you ask God for more money so you could open up a practice of free Christian Counseling to all people that do or do not have insurance. People pay a lot of money for insurance that will not cover counseling unless it is a PHD. Why don’t you open a place that helps people that is close to me since your God will heal?
Don’t let the god fanatic bother you! And I understand what you are saying about waiting until your daughter is grown up and doesn’t need you anymore, I used to think like that too but my kids both grew up and went to college and they still need me so I’m stuck with the pain! And if there was a god it’s one cruel mf! I don’t know if it will help but I’ve been using topical pain creams and even though they need to be reapplied frequently they help some. You can get anything from diclofenac sodium from your local drug store to ketamine at your compounding pharmacy. I’m sure somewhere near you is a compounding pharmacy that can get you started on something that the nanny government isn’t having conniptions about. It’s too bad that the human body is much more intricate and difficult to treat and understand than the automobile and that House no matter how flawed he was is just a TV show character! I have a rare autoimmune disorder that most doctors I’ve seen needed me to spell it for them! So I get the frustration. It took years and years and years and tests after test to figure it out and then they were unable to do anything to make it better! I get the agony of not being able to do what you want to do, what you loved to do or even what you hated to do! Sadly that feeling will go away for the most part and you’ll accept the nothingness of your new life and wonder if all of the pain is worth it but you have children who didn’t ask to come into life and then have you kill yourself because that screws your kids up! And that my friend is why I’m sitting here in pain and typing to you. I don’t know if you can’t get the pain medication you need anymore but if that’s the case then I have 2 things to advise you about before you decide to leave your children fatherless 1. If you live close to Mexico I’ve been told that you can legally buy prescriptions and bring them across the border and that includes opioids and 2. If you use heroin ingest it and your liver breaks it down into morphine, making it no more addictive than anything else. So that’s the end of my advice I hope something helps you!
Hey this is abt the question abt Mexico doing the drugs lol
Your suggestion is why so many deaths are opioid related . government has forced people with both diagnosed pain as well as addicted side effect.to seek street drugs
Which kills most not the pills. Street drugs have always varied in purity one batch will be 100% next 10 .and now with tremendiously consentrated fyantanol from China VA Mexico cartels. And there no way to properly tell and dose.result od and death
And some are deliberate subsides. So until
The hyperlies about the drug and sane management it will continue same with subsides VA cut vets with war wounds off first spiked subsides.and sadilyi think the VA deep state wants that result.universal healthcare will too.btw the current state of pain clinics are legalized theft and extortion
No better than pill Mills in too many cases.
you are so right about pain clinics. The one I go to is a shot mill. They refuse to prescribe pain meds of any sort unless the patient agrees to shots. It is a form of medical blackmail. “do the shots, or else!”. Most should be shut down. They are getting rich off these “modalities” as they call them. The minute you refuse any more shots (and most of these shots DO NOT WORK!), they dismiss you as a patient. I would say this is the way 3/4 of the so-called pain management clinics function today. Theft, corruption, and lies!
There should be laws aagainst any doctor putting a patient on Opiods without explaining the addiction and the need to keep increasing amount because your tolerance level gets used to the drug.
I wasn’t explained any
Thing except that i needed to switch from Loratab because of the Tylonal injested by taking 6 10/350mg per day.
After 14 years I was up to taking 18p mg per day prescribed by my doctor on a daily basis.
I stopped taking Opiods cold turkey and one year later im still having some mild withdrawal.
I yawn about 30 times a day and I sneeze 4 to 6 times. In a row about 3 rimwa daily.
I wonder when all these withdrawal symptoms will go away???
I fight through massive pain daily but can’t find any other drug that will help my pain level.
I’ve tried everything except methadone
, and buphenorfine. (Spelling ) I don’t want to go from one addictive drug to another. So I love with major pain daily. I am thinking of going back to oxycodone at a lowel since I’ve been off for ove year now.
I completely agree with you. True addiction in chronic pain patients is rare (addiction being a psychological pathology where one loses control to a substance, behavior, etc and cannot stop using it despite overwhelmingly negative consequences on one’s life). Dependence and tolerance are adjustment the human nervous system naturally makes to its environment–chemical, social, etc. Doctors absolutely need to discuss these issues with patients before prescribing opioids as a matter of informed consent, including a plan to slowly (and it needs to be a LOT slower than the CDC recommendations of 10 percent per week, which will leave anyone in agony. Two percent per week is more like it, and very much reduces or even in some cases eliminates it entirely; especially if some mitigating medications are utilized; such as clonidine. The medications can be a lifesaver, but the downsides absolutely need to be a part of any discussion before embarking on treatment. I would have been on them anyway most likely because of my condition, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for the utter contempt that would be heaped upon me by the medical community and society at large; some in my family, just be cause I’m in agony and have the audacity to ask for help. This is often so much worse than the physical pain; leaves me feeling so isolated and wishing that I had cancer so this could end one way or another. It makes me angry and frustrated that friends with everything in the world to live for ended up burying their twelve year old after her battle with brain cancer, and now her aunt has stage 4 breast cancer and five children under the age of nine. It’s awful. I wonder every day why I couldn’t take their place. I don’t mean to sound selfish and I know it’s not all about me. But the pain and the judgement can just destroy you.
Last time I compared pharmacology training :
MD : 18 hrs grad college
Dentist : 27 hrs
Optometrist : 32 hrs
Pharmacologists of course, are the drug experts.
( Most MD’s..except pharmacologists, learn about drugs primarily from their drug rep leaving samples..and we all know about the oxy and even viagra pushing).
I still think MD’s should stick to diagnosing and let a patients Pharmacist review the patient medical history and do the Prescribing
Bobby Have you tried the Pain patches like 75mcg.They should help you with your pain just give it a chance.
Same here Juststrumming. I have concluded the government with the DEA is attempting to find out how many people they can kill. They will start with the old and sick. When this is successful, the next target will be the very young. Call it abortion after birth. Then kill everyone else through denial of medical care under one government policy. I do not blame the doctor’ who do not want to spend the rest of their lives in jail for prescribing needed pain medications. But WTH ! At least listen and give a proper diagnosis. No one just wants to be bedridden for years and years..
I hear Ya man, seems like Your telling My story, with exception of the ability of fixing cars,…I worked for an airline and traveled the world, never had a day at work I didn’t appreciate, used to be the guy who had all the friends, too many, if thats possible, was the guy that made people laugh, went from always being busy, now it’s the docs or bloodwork, have two major diseases. One which is destroying the nerves in My spine affecting entire back, hands, feet, calves, neck, now pelvis and especially My thighs, some days. Even with meds cant stand up, a 20 minute car ride is debilitating, and NO ONE in My family understands, I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING, instead of being the life of the party, people dont even call, and with new laws, they’ve reduced My meds, to a point where I can possibly do minimal tasks, but rest of day, I FEEL LIKE THE PAIN IS GOING TO LITERALLY DRIVE ME INSANE, I want to go back to work, I need to, I never thought I’d miss yardwork and chores. I still try to put on a face that doesn’t truly show how My body feels and is going through, it just frustrates Me that people, except persons like Yourself understand, I am at a 10 outta 10 right now. I JUST WISH THE PEOPLE WE PUT INTO OFFICE READ THESE FORUMS, I only read Yours, and will read more. Just know I get it man, tired or surgeries, appts. & all the B.S. , I am blessed to live on a lake appt, and I see all that us good, big naturist, I dont think I will be able to walk out the door and cast My line, but I do believe in God, I wouldn’t be here otherwise, to all out there We need to let each other know We get it, and let’s figure out how to make them get it and fix US and fix the SYSTEM! May We all get a good nts sleep without waking up from pain. Take care folks.
I’m so sorry. But reading your post has helped me so much understand the pain my son feels on a day to day basis. He is also on opioids and has struggled terribly with his crohns since he was 11. I wish you some pain free days and don’t give up hope
I feel every word… I wish I got some relief without being looked at in the same way. I have number 9 pain in my back. They are now going to do a double fusion but stopped giving me pain meds due to this bs epidemic. I call it that cause that’s what it is. We, the real patients and chronic sufferers are the ones that have to suffer cause doctors want to save face because of a bs crisis??? Well, I never took the drugs they say I.e. fentynal, herrion, etc. my dose was a low dose and I never had a problem with any medication. Matter of fact, I turned down super potent meds.
Your anger is well deserved my friend. You have all the rights in the world to feel as you do! You are not suffering alone as there are millions being treated the same as you. My mother lived in constant pain even on the large amount of pain meds. Although with them she could st least walk and get some quality of life. She’s gone now and I miss her but am so relieved she is no longer in pain. Now I at 48 have pinched nerve with radial nerve and I’ve done the ibuprofen, physical therapy, gabapentin and Dr wants steroid shots in my neck. I’m so afraid I will eventually turn into my mother. My pain is bad but tolerable at this point so I’m not comparing my life or pain to yours. I think your will to live for daughters weddings is quite admirable but must be difficult for you each day dealing with so much pain, frustration, hurt, disappointment and more. The medical field has been such a let down. If all the doctors in the United States stood up for their patients then the bloody DEA would have to listen. But doctors are scared little greedy trolls (most not all) and have no business being in that profession. I’m seeing many news stories however and the FDA just came out with a Big deal statement in favor of chronic pain patients. So seeing some shift. I just encourage you and pray for strength for you each day. Praying for relief and comfort for you. Just reaching out as one human to another and giving some love. Be well my friend.
Hi strumming, I do believe in God, but I totally get why you’re trying to talk yourself out of everything. Your story touched my heart and truly my soul. I know why you wrote so much even though it won’t change the outcome of anything, even though the last person to write was 7 years ago. But you got reply’s! Maybe not anything that helped you or that you wanted to hear, or even that changes anything. But undeniably, your words landed in sight of other’s who cared enough to take the time to respond. I share many of your experiences. One thing I do know is you are not alone.
So why am I taking the time to reply to you? First off, you deserve reply’s. You deserve more then written words of frustration never to be read by another human. And to tell you what my take is on what you’ve shared. I also just get so very tired of the pain. I feel comrades with you. Although I am not connected in any way with the commenter above called “Old fed up RN”, I too am a nurse. I’ve seen both sides if the NFC. There AREA some good Doctor’s. But done many apathetic ones. I was 38 when I was beaten and permanently disabled courtesy of an extremely psychotic 6’7″ 280 pound patient, and ironically, it was a dr. I was trying to protect.
That was 30 years ago. And here I still am. Nothing had changed except more rounds of trials of everything you’ve gone through, yet again & again under my belt.
Again, why am I really responding. To tell you that you are such a smart diversified man-I assume you’re a guy,who has been through it all,and has so many talented gifts that your seemingly. Unrecognized talent needs to be shown to the world. You are not only extremely smart but extremely articulate. Have you ever considered testifying in front of Congress? It would be a great thing to do. But if you haven’t the time or fortitude to do something like this, especially with children, then Write a book man!! You and your girls will profit financially, and you will help other’s to realize they are not alone.. You may think you don’t have the time. But guess what? You packed a whole lot if info about yourself, and helpful insight into the life of other’s like us, who are misunderstood, and just plain sick and tired of the hypocritical facade called the medical profession. And don’t get me started on the pharmaceutical companies who are in the back picket of many ‘Doctor’s, politician’s and the FDC. Sometimes I’m not sure if ANY of them care beyond the almighty buck.
So, why would I think you might be able to fit in writing a book? Because I know how achingly lonely snd painful, both physically and emotionally the wee hours of the mining can be to those who walk in our shoes. Think about it.
WOW You said my pain-dealing experience and.feelings.morr respectfully than I could. I do not know if marijuana ca n
help this level of pain. Have u tried it?
So sorry that you are facing a life of pain without meds. As we age it only gets worse.
My husband suffered a severe back injury several years ago. As he aged, the back pain became worse and his physician prescribed hydrocodone for him. The Hydrocodone worked well, but for some reason it did not show up in his urine test. The so-called doctor cut him off and sent him a letter stating she would no longer be his health care provider. Naturally, the pain became so intense I would up taking him to the ER a week or so later. There he was examined and received the diagnosis of 4th stage liver cancer. He passed away about 3 weeks later. I am wondering if the hydrocodone did not show up in his urine because of the liver dysfunction. I think it might have been prudent for the doctor to have run some kidney and liver tests on him, as she had done so previously and it had showed a “slight” liver dysfunction.
Barbara,
Depending on dose, hydrocodone generally will not show positive for “opiates” on an immunoassay urine screen, and if it did, there would be reason to suspect a patient was taking an opiate that what was not prescribed (i.e. morphine or codeine). Liver disease had nothing to do this this. And for the record, assuming he was taking hydrocodone combined with acetaminophen (which is the most common dosage form), he should not have been using acetaminophen. In fact, it is curious whether cause of death was actually the liver disease, or if acetaminophen was the immediate cause of death due to a poorly functioning liver.
My doctor has been great despite all of the pressure the state medical board has been putting on him, he’s been reducing my opioids but slowly so I don’t get overwhelmed by the severe pain that I have but now I have received a letter from the state medical board and they’re demanding that I give them access to my medical records because they feel that because he has been a good doctor and compassionate and given me enough opioids to allow me to get out of bed and have a little bit of a life that he must have been over prescribing! So it’s not bad enough that they are harassing doctors who happen to have a patient die while on opioids (mind you his patients are all older, I’ll and in pain! And suicide wouldn’t be unheard of) but then they want to harrass the people whose lives they’re destroying! I don’t have a problem with addiction nor do I have any problems with withdrawals and like,most people who are in pain and receiving this medication it’s been the only alternative. I have tried everything else and most of the other options have caused a multitude of health problems from my intestines being riddled with ulcers and drugs like antidepressants causing suicide ideation or just making me into a bawling mess or making me gain so much weight that I couldn’t breathe let alone move! Then I started using the bogeyman fentanyl and I woke up for the first time in 15 years and I was not in pain! I have no side effects and I didn’t have to continue to increase my dose as a matter of fact I was actually starting to reduce it because I was able to get up and exercise and started losing weight and just getting into the water at the pool reduced my pain. But now thanks to the good people at PROP lying about the horrors of opioids and how they are so addictive and horrible I’m back to laying in my bed in pain most of the time. I don’t have any intention of killing myself or living with out a life I do plan on going to Mexico and seeing a nice doctor and getting my pain medication from them or if that fails then using heroin and Not injecting it allows the liver to turn it into morphine and it is still prescribed in Europe so it can’t be that bad! Definitely not worse than suicide!
So many people have told their life stories! I feel this wont be read or even matter. but here goes, I was living a pretty happy life, although in pain. I managed it. Now because of all the government BS and the feet on the throats of all of the Drs. I have had No care of any kind. I spend all my time in bed. I think about dying far more more than anyone knows. The pain is unbearable. My life sucks. I am 54 years old. I have many things that need preventative care, but don’t want to be treated as a drug seeker or “whatever” the latest word is. I have records dating back to the 60’s explaining why I have osteo etc. problems. Wish I could find a compassionate Dr. to help me. Before I simply give up. I used to be the happiest person. Now I am disabled and sad.
I agree, no one cares about anything but money. The government gets involved because they or the powers that be have their hands in the pot. I didn’t even realize for a long time that my pain killers were something addicting. I had terrible back problems, and suddenly my meds were being taken away, that’s when I looked into things and found out heroin was in the same class of drug, so I asked a friend for help. I then entered into a 12 year battle with heroin addiction. I am now totally opioid dependent, and luckily I go to a methadone clinic and run a business. Other people I know are dead, and never could turn it around. I keep the fact that I go to a methadone clinic hidden because it carries a stigma. It’s ridiculous that the medical community gets people hooked then treats them like addicts. It’s so unfair what they have done to so many people, I understand it’s called a medical practice for a reason, but if something is working for someone and you know it’s dangerous to get them off it then why are you doing it? Once you’ve addicted someone, you should continue to give car that works for them instead of taking said care away and telling them THEY’RE the ones with a problem.
So I guess you kicked H just now taking Methadone only? Yes I’m another VICTIM with Dr Nash here in Houston TX he dropped all of his patients just like a hot potatoe suffering BIG time and im scared b cause my blood pressure goes way up chest hurts etc blood pressure like over 200 walking like a time bomb….This freakn doctor will Not see me nor others because they see all the meds they were gvn to me which at times it really didn’t help just mask pain maybe 1 he or 2 hrs. My surgeon screwed me over have all this metal inside. Don’t know what to do?
How can you keep drug use hidden from Meth clinic. I get takehomes, 14 at a time. I give a urine EVERY other Fri. If I show a narcotic I better have an impacted tooth, or oral surgery or cancer. My Blood pressure was so high they got scared and gave me xanax. NO WAY. You aint taking it. Did you tell your doctor yer on meth? No? Well we need to call him or bring back a letter saying he has been told. Ive known this Doctor for 20 yrs. He has been family doc. I have never asked him for paiin meds, he gave me some xanax and they made him feel like a criminal for doing it. (THE VA Meth) So now whats the point. All the doctors I see make you fill out a sworn statement saying you arent “on” anything anywhere else. Id rather get some heroin.
You’re doctors are correct. You are putting yourself in danger, and creating a liability for your physician that is prescribing Xanax.
From the time of Galen and Hippocrates – From the days of the plagues of old – and in the times of our forefathers. Mankind has suffered with pain. The wounded had to suffer to be healed and would have preferred to die because IF they managed to survive having the mace removed from their chest along with the large broken blade of the enemies sword, he then had the agony of having the chirgeon seal the bloody wound, (so he wouldn’t bleed to death) by pouring scalding hot oil over it. If he survived the pain, and the burn, and later the painful adhesions of the scar tissue pulling and pinching him for the rest of his life, He was lucky.
Mankind has longed for a way to end their pain, and to heal their children with mercy, with peace,
with love and with kindness. To find a medicine that would truly HEAL and SOOTHE and that would FINALLY – Dry the Endless tears of the suffering of Humankind. They had LONGED for some sort of Miraculous and Intelligent Cure for Pain and Suffering.
Science and Diligent Work, Years of Study, Passionate and Diligent Testing and Clinical Trials, Years of perseverance & triumph and some defeat, much debate, and despair, death and the defiance of death, and FINALLY – Effective ANSWERS!!!
Mankind – From the late 18th century to the present began to find effective ways to ease the pain of the suffering of the sick, the wounded, the dying.
From the Mid 19th century, and the use of anesthesia, Mankind was able to perfect the process
after much trial and error, and at last, the art of surgery could be don in a merciful fashion and
Humanity was – able to be healed. with mercy.
More years pass, Our pain medications can ease suffering SAFELY. (If people were not stupidly trying to abuse drugs, or kill themselves with them. Or if those w/out Virtue trying to send signals to the world to show the virtue that they DO NOT HAVE by saying, “LOK AT HOW GOOD I AM! I want to Take Bad Drugs From People and Punish the Addicts who abuse drugs!” Because They do NOT have or know pain.
We FINNALLY have Safe & effective ways to ease suffering, & Anyone who needs to use these tools of Mercy MUST be Labeled: An Addict, Must be Punished and branded unworthy, & Dangerous. The must Suffer and be Castigated.
Why? So The Virtue Signaling ones may ‘Feel Good & Superior!
So the people who bought into the Marijuana stock can reap in the money as they make Pot leagal and our nation becomes Doped up & Stupid Potheads, while people with Pain wish they were DEAD?
While Physicians reel in disgust because they cannot care for their patients?
While Children, and Grandmothers, Mothers and Fathers, Teenagers and Veterans and so many others suffer with pain that is so easily healed?
WHEN WILL THE LAWMAKERS WAKE UP AND SEE THESE LAWS MUST BE
REPEALED?
The majority of pain patients are not addicted. I was on opioids for years, lost insurance and quit cold turkey. Yes withdrawal from dependance was rough and Ive been in horrible pain since, but I never considered heroin. Ive also been prescribed them a few times short term and been fine, taking them as prescribed and ending when done.
I am sorry you got addicted and actually agree with you, those that are addicted are better off on pills than heroin, but the majority of pain patients are not addicted.
I legit have not left my apartment in 6 months, not even to check the mail, take out trash, Take my toddler to the park. My poor husband had to do those things and shopping because my anxiety and agoraphobia is so bad. Xanax or even klonapin would relieve this and I could have a life worth living, but no. I can’t have it because it’s addictive. Who cares if it’s addictive and you need it everyday as long as your able to be a productive member of society. And honest I don’t care if someone is abusing it, they have a right of the persuit of happiness. They know it could kill them. As long as they Are not committing crimes, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s totally insane how the doctors are doing patients now.
I know what your going thru! I am a pain Management patient for 15 years, a model patient they said, I was took off methdone and norco due to Dr letting long term patients, I wasn’t let go by them, just took off my pain meds completely! I got severely sick, had to go to hospital ER, they said it’s severe withdraw, because you were abruptly stopped, they got me stable an re leased me me couple hours later, bill was $10,230. 00!!! Went for follow up with my pm dr, he said it’s complications from your hsysterectomy you had 17 years s ago, not the opiate WD, YOUR KIDDING ME! Anyway I continued in severe withdraw and I was suicidal, I called a suboxen clinic and got a week before my second introduction appt, already had my assessment appt. My pain Dr that had been so compassionate and kind for 15 yrs, then all laws changed he changed. I had no problem coming off my medications but not took off abruptly, no weening off two 15 yr usage, it was inhumane!!!! Then be told that I shouldnt be sick from it, that it was complications from a hysterectomy surgery I had 17 years ago! That I should of felt like bad flu for a week them I would be good as new. I have never missed a dose, never ever took anything that wasn’t prescribed yo me, I was so sick I broke that rule in a week of withdrawal! It was either that or I was committing suicide!! Already had my gun out ready yo do it, the sickness was so bad!!! Just wanted to end the WD! So I called suboxen clinic going to see Dr in morning, I never been on suboxen but I took some from a friend to get me to my appt, cause I would of killed myself! Now I’m worried that I may not be excepted in clinic, o don’t know all the rules, never been to one, they told me on my first assessment appt, that they understand that people will do what they have to , to get thru until there induction Dr appt, but St time of my assessment I hadn’t ever used suboxen before an told them that, but now I had to use it and worried that it might hinder me getting in clinic, this is a long road, an have suffered badly, all because I put myself in a drs hands who said nothing they could do for my back or neck and would have to be on pain medication rest of my life! I totally trusted their opinion and now look!!! I pray to God I’m excepted in clinic tomorrow, for 18 month treatment, if so I’ll be tapered off slowly from suboxen, they said it will be done slowly so want experience what I’m going thru now, how it should of been done with my pain Dr!!!!! I’m praying for everyone who is suffering from impact of the opiate laws. God bless!
Bless your heart, I was in the same situation when I was your age, I am now 59 and found pain management, and oh what a life changer that was!! my pain was pretty much controlled, I got out of bed, started going places again, now the Federal government has decided for us how much medication we can and cannot have, so now I’m not pain controlled at all, I was cut in half of what I was on and it doesn’t even touch my pain, so back to the dark place is what I am so afraid of. You can go to pain management honey and get help, they will help you!!! I felt so bad for you when I read this because I was there, but you can go get help if you have insurance that would really help, God Bless you. Kelley Eubanks
Please hang in there you will find a doctor. I am 32 I flew 100 ft. Out a window of a van 15yrs ago. I had a lump grow in my neck 3 years ago. I was ok living after accident couldn’t walk for 2 years i was told id never walk again. I was givin 250 percocet a months this was in 2006. I had surgery on my neck doctor did not look at my MRI image. ” I Know Right!” Soumds like stuff out of a movie. I found a great doctor and years ago i was put back on meds. My first visit I was given meds and even after the newvlaw get them through my medicaid. If you have records you eventually will get your meds. Don’t hurt your self please.
Where do you reside? I live in tn and there is few docs here that will help you..im sorry ur in so much pain
Have u tried a pain clinic? Its very difficult for a dr to understand ur severe pain unless she/he has suffered from it. Some clinics are good & some are bad. If u can’t find a regular dr to work with giving u pain meds, this might be ur next option. If u go to one & don’t like it try another. However, U don’t want to fall in precevied dr shopping. So unless they ask if u have been to another clinic I would leave it out. To much misconception & paranoia in the market place. Good luck!!
I sure can empathize with you! I have end stage (grade D) COPD/emphysema with 27% lung volume as well as a slow growing tumor that can’t be removed by wedge section due to my over all poor health and cachexia (loss of muscle and weight) weighing only 78lbs. I used to weigh 114lbs at 5’3 1/2 inches tall but over the years I became sicker and sicker. Aside from the copd, lung tumor and cachexia I also am suffering (really suffering) from secondary progressive Multiple sclerosis, epilepsy that complicates everything and very difficult to control with medications and even worse they start randomly and don’t stop, I end up in ER then intimated on a breathing machine twice now in past 2 years, scarring my lungs further and get that much worse after I recover and go home. I also have early onset osteoporosis now for 7 years, have had 2 compression fractures in my spine and terrible hip pain for months. I’m confined to a wheel chair for past few years and on 24/7 oxygen since 2015. I don’t leave my home anymore. I have limited hours of a health aide that comes 3 hrs twice a week for 3rd year now that Medicaid will only cover those few hours a week so my husband can’t work anymore and is my primary care taker (well supposed to be but doesn’t seem to want to help me much this past year as I believe I’ve become a burden to him even for a glass of water. I have to get around my house sometimes pulling my body with my arms across the floor to reach the toilet before I wet my pants. He fights with me a lot yelling at me and forgetting how frail I have become, emotionally as well as physically. When he’s angry and doesn’t seem to take much, he refuses help to me. This is making my life to live that much more difficult than it already is. I find I’m now just alone, depressed, tired, in pain and anxiety building because of it all) I don’t have family to care for me as they live too far away, and one sister that is 7 miles from me doesn’t seem to be interested in helping me yet knows my husband treats me bad. She doesn’t visit much because she doesn’t like him. Another reason she said was because she is too busy. I’m only 47 years old and yet I barely can get much help with anything. My kids are grown with one married with my first grandchild I’ve only seen 4-5 times and she’s a year and a half old. I have one son in college and the other son is mildly autistic and a senior in high school. I’m a believer in God, a devout follower and pray day and night that He just gets this life over with for me to end the physical and emotional trauma I can’t control or stop. I used to be strong, a very positive person, wife and active mother raising my kids the best I can. I was always dedicated (still am in encouraging them) but can’t do much for them financially as I have only my SSI to live on just barely paying bills and copays on my 16 prescriptions. I have a good doctor and he has been really trying to help me. He watched my diseases progress each time I saw him, from a smiling “how are you doing Dr xxxxxx, to nothing but a shell of pain. Last September he told me I should start hospice services soon. He prescribed liquid morphine for my pain and meloxicam for my rheumatoid arthritis that hurts so very bad. I was terrified to take morphine knowing when ever you hear that word first thoughts are addiction or possibly dying not knowing how my little body will handle. It took a lot of coaxing from the nursevtelling me it will be ok, the doctor gave it for a reason, it would help with not just pain but also exasperation’s as well as my appetite and anxiety. It was a small dose of 2.5ml every 6 hrs but the prescription was for only 10 days, and the nurse said to call and ask for refills when it was almost gone. I started taking it a week later scared to death of it but trusted the nurse. It really helped me more than just with pain as she said, for the first time I wasn’t feeling as bad as I had been emotionally or physically. I had less anxiety and could breathe more evenly. All was fine for about 3 weeks then it started to wear off in 3-4 hrs so my dr raised the dosage to 5ml every 6 hrs. Again I was ok for about 2 weeks then it started to wear off again too fast. Then he changed it to 5ml every four hours which helped a lot better. By December I was doing well. Like everyone I felt excitement of Christmas this year not dealing with so much pain and able to relax more. My family members came for a short visit just before Christmas and left to go back home. As usual I called my dr for a regular refill and out of no where, Medicaid needed prior authorization. Then refused to help with cost. Suddenly I was completely out of morphine, just a dead stop a week before Christmas too. I went into terrible withdrawal after 2 doses missed in one single day, nightmares, sweating but cold, my son and husband said I was hard to wake at times other times hard to fall asleep. I hurt worse than I ever have in my whole body. I cried a lot. Then Christmas Eve my husband decided he was leaving for the holidays! In 2 hrs he packed up and left me and my sons! I didn’t know what to do! I couldn’t believe it. What a time to just leave me. I continued going through horrible withdrawal and pain. My husband never called to check on me that day he left nor on Christmas or the day after. By early Thursday morning (4am) my son slept on the floor next to my bed when I had a severe seizure. He didn’t really know what to do expect call his dad through his aunt who decided it wasn’t important enough to tell him unity 12 hours later that his son called him. I almost died that morning. Lucky my son knew cpr and stayed by my side. He wanted to call 911 but I had already made my wishes to that months ago not to do that anymore. (I was worn out from going into the hospital, being in CCU on ventilators breathing for me) causing my lungs worse damage. The first time this happened I was given too much Ativan to stop my seizures and it not only stopped the seizures finally it also stopped my breathing and movement! I remember it all! I couldn’t move, talk or breathe. It was horrible suffering. I had pulmonary arrest that led to a mild heart attack. I remember the tool they used to for emergency intubation tubes going in the wrong way from panic of the doctor not realizing it, then the tube placements wrong filling my stomach with oxygen and still couldn’t move or say help! He finally noticed it was wrong and said to the team around him we are losing her get her to CT scan to get this right. That’s the last I remember until days later waking on the ventilator) why would I want to keep going through this suffering again and again coming out of it worse health in my lungs than before? So I signed a POST paper to no rescucitations or ventilators pertaining to seizures. This is why my son did not call 911. He went through so much stress fear and crying thinking I would die with out dad here. I almost did. Praise the Lord I survived. When dad finally answered my son, he still didn’t seem to care but came home anyway later. The next morning I had severe chest pain that woke me. I felt like I couldn’t breathe at the same time. I tried to call out for my son but I couldn’t. My husband walked in then and saw I was in pain. He just sat me up and gave me water. The pain continued but got lighter through the rest of the that day. That night I got a terrible sudden left sided headache and felt strange. I passed out in minutes. My husband thought I had just fell asleep but by morning I was unable to speak or move my right side. My fave was droopy and I was really disoriented. 2 days I couldn’t speak until finally I was able to slur some and speak slowly. My doctor was on vacation at the time out of town so my son couldn’t contact him, no on call doctor either. (Sigh ;-( ) I never did get full usage or feeling back in my right side since then but I’m able to speak but have problems with stuttering and unable to explain things well, my brain feels like I can’t always say or explain what I’m thinking and things sometimes come out of order or certain words I’ve forgotren replacing them with similar sounding words that have different meaning to what I’m trying to say. When the dr did get back he saw me rt away and believes I had a TIA type of stroke but I believe it to be s full stroke that may have been brought on by the stress of my marriage, husband leaving but even more, the withdrawal from the morphine bringing on my seizures again. I hadn’t had any since starting the morphine a few months before, that in itself coupled with my anti seizure meds (Kepra and low dose clonazepam) helped keep then under control all that time. So my husband decided to skip the one of our utility payments to buy the morphine for me. I started to do better again but was very fearful if I now ran out of the morphine what might happen and all the pain that came with it so I only took half doses scattered which still caused me anxiety and pain between holding off doses to make it last. When it was time for another refill my dr had no problem to write another script for it but again I was denied by Medicaid. So again here comes withdrawal and all the pain! My elderly dad decided to pay for this 12 day supply. He doesn’t have much money but my son told him how I was suffering so out of empathy he bought it. Now I’m nearing the end of that bottle too with 4 days left taking it all wrong in small amounts, spread out to try and save it longer. I can’t take this suffering any longer…my family feels I’m too young to enter hospice so I haven’t done it but because of that I can’t get end of life care or comfort. I am suffering in every way, scared daily my sins or husband will find me dead. I have no fear in dying or going to Heaven, I know I’m good spiritually but knowing my kids still need me I can’t give up. But this is the first time I’m wondering if I’m more of a burden now than anything else. It’s too much already with all my health conditions combined to go through such agony to try and get the only medication that finally helped me to enjoy my kids rest and be with less pain no ER or ambulance calls. What use am I now but a burden. I am alone most of the time or sleeping too long or not st all, various days. To think I feared taking morphine months ago because I thought it would stop my breathing…now is killing me going through withdrawal and too much stress losing more weight when I just started to gain a little. I’m no use to anyone anymore. I can’t even think straight…my husband barely sees me though he’s here in the house ignoring me a lot. He doesn’t check on me much anymore. My sons do between college classes and the other after school visiting my room a bit. Everyone is so busy…why am I still here…is it wrong to want to let go and if I do will God understand? I can’t keep suffering like I am. I’ve always been soft spoken and smiley and in just past 2 weeks I’m starting to lose my temper easy, getting tearful, can’t control my feelings or pain. My husband finds it easy to argue with me and even more ditch me when I need him the most. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Even if my husband isn’t very nice or doesn’t love me anymore I can forgive him. God forgives everyone. I want to go to be with the Lord so bad before i get worse. I don’t want to lose Him (God too, or my salvation, place in Heaven) because I am just starting to hold resentment and bitterness, frustration that a system of medical field would give me a medication that made me feel better in so many ways, that I was able to cut some meds out and lower others while on morphine…now I’m a shell of s person just sitting or laying here every day wondering what more can I do. I feel like I’m going to truly lose it and break down far worse than I ever have, or lose my mind ;-(( I cant even type anymore, it’s too much. If anyone is out there going through all this I may not know u but I can pray for you too! I DO understand the pain and wondering if dying is the best thing I can do for everyone’s sake, not just my own. It would be very easy to just take triple doses of my meds I do take to end others burden as well as my own. Please God help me!
Just for the sake of saying so, even though I want to give up under all my circumstances and suffering I wanted to say after much reflection that I WILL NOT harm myself purposefully. I just want to express my desperation, feelings of helplessness, pain uncontrolled and anxiety to which I have been left in. I have contacted a very good friend who will be moving to my state where I live in order to help me through this time in my life. We had been very close a few years ago but do to my illnesses I didn’t want to bother her. Again after reading all I had written on this forum I realize I need a lot of support I wasn’t getting. I’m happy inside to know my dear friend still cares very much for me to want to help me cope, help me get better relief care and be my power of attorney as well. Praise the Lord I won’t be alone in my little world of pain on earth. He has surely answered a great portion of my prayers and had given me a boost in my spiritual strengths. I know I will continue to hurt but I know I have Him and my dear friend. May God be with you all out there that suffer as well and bring you home when HE IS READY. We are still alive and may hurt but we WILL stay strong in all our circumstances if we trust Him and allow Him to do so. There is a reason and cause for everything and a reason God created us. There IS a reason we are STILL here!
Hi Sandy,
Bless your heart! I hear you crying out for help and God is with us all! I was hit by a car on my bicycle September 2nd 2018 (hit and run) the results were a severely dislocated left elbow, slight concussion, road rash..etc. When “this person” hit me it through me 50 ft flailing through the air and hit the sidewalk at quite an impact. I was taken to the hospital, which is maybe a quarter mile and they ran me right into the ER. What a awesome team of dr’s I HAD! They were very diligent and forthcoming in keeping me up to speed about any and all procedures. I was very comfortable with there bedside manner. With that I had several follow up and in the interim going to see a “new’ pain management clinic. The first visit to pain management was a JOKE! They gave me a back brace, steroidal creme and ibu’s on steroids! That was just the first of four more visits and it was the same thing each time, wanting to put me on everything (including injections) but the narcs. The cease of opiates has nothing to do with the people or persons taking them as prescribed, its “our government” not being able to control all of the opiates coming through our border! Those are not prescribed or controlled! What does that possibly have to do with the folks that are “playing by the rules?” There are people that are in chronic pain that are at the “jumpimg off point” and our healthcare system and dr’s do not care let alone fight for us! The dr’s take or took a hypocritical oath upon obtaining there doctorate and it sure is working its magic! So much for having compassion for the patient or the needs of the person.Its about meeting there quota or not! The dr’s get to pick and chose who has the most pain based on urine samples just to appease our gov’t (DEA) officials. How many pain pills do the folks in gov’t choke down on a daily bases? Do they get urinalysis? HE*L NO! They have money and pull!! Sickening!! Hang in there my beautiful friends, nothing lasts forever!
Hi Keri & Sandy. Thank you both for your input, for taking time to hear about others stories, for your compassion, your understanding and kindness. I’m so very sorry what you’ve both been through and I agree with all you said. Seems no one really understands unless they have been there themselves. Some offer alternative measures to those who can’t afford any of them. Some people are on Medicaid in which they don’t pay for anything alternative, like acupuncture. That is ludicrous to even tell someone to do when they can’t even leave their house or wheel chairs! It’s crazy when you can barely move at all to do “alternative” things. Sounds like the famous quote “let them eat cake” garbage. I am truly starting to believe this country is trying to euthanize humans while suggesting the dumbest of things. Yes maybe taking a 2 mile walk every day would help those who not only can’t walk but can’t even push their own wheel chairs! There’s a lot of people that don’t care about the ones that suffer because they haven’t suffered themselves in such a way. How easy to offer advice (from way up there in the government, to pharmacies, to some doctors) what is wrong with our society that humans don’t matter! Animals get better treatment! There is no real PROOF that drug addicts have slowed down in over dosing getting their drugs ILLEGALLY to begin with. No one that really truly needs pain medication to survive a little longer is selling it! They NEED it themselves. It’s easy to find out if someone was through pain management anyway if that were the case. There are more pharmacists out there that dispense it that are most likely to sell it on the street than a person that is taking a low dose, controlled by their physician with great monitoring! Second to that, a doctor can do the same thing, write out prescriptions to family members with false reasons of need, or friends or “Fake patients” that they can easily get it for themselves. Even compared to pain medications sold on the street. Where does everyone think it comes from most likely?! Are people this blind?! I live in a small town/city that there IS a doctor that is hooked on pain medications and an alcoholic that was discovered in 1994, never served jail time but was told he couldn’t write prescriptions anymore for pain medications until he goes to a drug rehab ordered by a physician panel who found him guilty. That doctor never complied in over 8 years! No one checked to see if he stopped until numerous complaints from his own patients saying he was acting strange from joking to angry fits. It took 8 years of complaints piling up until that doctor was addressed AGAIN! Why was he even allowed to practice as a medical doctor in the first place! Isn’t this a manhole crime? He was served a with papers a second time to go to the board of physicians finally again to just not show up! A degree allows people to do this? I think anyone abusing any drugs should get charged criminally, doesn’t everyone else? So now those that are in last stages of life, in chronic pain, never abused a thing are the ones that suffer because of people like this? Street drugs are so rampant, that will never stop. It’s done secretly as there is so much more to lose for them, not that there shouldn’t be but it should apply to EVERYONE. That’s like stealing all prefects from a department store a person works at, told just to “stop it” and continue doing it until the store closes and they go do it somewhere else? I can definitely say this again: those that need pain medications that ARE always regulated to a patient and watched carefully won’t be selling something they need, neither will a starving person sell the last day of crumbs for a shiny bike. This is going to end up killing more innocent people so fast that have an opportunity to have relief from small amounts of pain medications to have visitors, just enough to take the edge off to share a bit more time with their children, grandchildren, spouses, friends, and other family to have a bit more quality to their lives to be able to. Otherwise with out even some relief it will cause enough pain a person doesn’t get a choice to have anyone at all to see them in such pain. Kids especially! They suffer to see their parent or sibling suffer in pain and most decent parents that care about that won’t have a choice but to not allow any visiting seeing them this way. To be in this kind of pain there is no quality, nor control of that undue stress caused by the pain, that isolates a person to the point they kill them selves in another way! Who does the government seem to show more compassion for then I ask? A patient and their families or those that make a choice to get high with uncontrolled over doses they will always find to buy on the black market anyway or crooked pharmacists or crooked doctors? There’s no rational thinking to this at all. Nor justice or humanity. May God help all those suffering because of a broken society who doesn’t care either way, looks the other way and especially the government that leads them! Looks like everyone loses except those with degrees to abuse, big wallets who can afford to pay off the law and judicial system, and the government authority to throw around to pretend they are making progress. Just sickening.
Triple dose won’t do anything if u been on this medicine a long time.,u said it would be easy ya ok,I could take a whole prescription and would just go to my pain. So I don’t think it will be that easy,if it was you probably would of done it ,wish u the best of luck, hang in there,we all knows how it feels
I’m so sorry. Good luck in finding a compassionate doctor. Try some alternative methods (acupuncture, massag, yoga, meditation, tai chi) while trying to find a doctor.
I’ve sat here reading all of these blogs this morning about issues that we all share. There truly is an epidemic in this country but I’m not talking about the opioid epidemic. It seems as though I am part of a club that is not a fun Club to be a part of. I had a car accident in 2001 on my way to work. The accident itself didn’t seem that bad, but it literally set off a bomb in my spine. I had some pre-existing home injuries from the 80s and this accident just took it to a whole new level. My head felt way too heavy for my neck to support it. My right arm was numb all the way down to the fingers. When I say numb, I don’t mean I couldn’t feel it. The numbness was all the way to the Bone. It felt like a deep intense pain in my bone but my skin did not seem to have much feeling. I also started having lower back pain and numbness and my right leg , and weakness in both legs This started my primary sending me to a Pain Management Group. In the early 2000s. I went from doctors who told me there was nothing wrong with my me, to others who put me on fentanyl patches, pain meds and antidepressants and many other types of medication that caused me to gain a lot of weight, fall asleep in the middle of dinner out with my husband or worsen my pain. I had to quit my job and ended up in bed depressed and suicidal or nearly two years. I had dealt with migraines since I was in my 20s and as horrible as they were, I worked a full-time job, raised two children and managed to put supper on my table five nights a week. Then I would collapse with a rag on my eyes and a dark room , take some medicine and fall asleep. My head aches sometimes lasted for days and even weeks. However, when you cannot lift your head because it feels too heavy , and your legs feel like they weigh a hundred pounds each, it makes getting out of bed very difficult and Performing daily activities even worse. The Pain Management Group I was at finally after taking me off all my medicines because they thought I was drug seeking ordered an MRI. I think it was their way to prove I was lying and nothing was wrong with my neck. The MRI was refused by my insurance company. So, the doctor said they would appeal the decision. Meanwhile, I’m still in bed. I could no longer make dinners for my family. I could no longer do laundry or go to the store. People began to look at me as a lazy POS. The Depression was awful. I felt like my entire family would be better off without me. My relationship with my husband suffered as did my relationship with my boys. The second MRI request was also denied. And I just gave up at that point. I had decided to take my life, but I also had to kill my pet. She Stood Beside Me every moment of every day and would not allow anyone else to get near me or her. Her instincts to protect me we’re so strong and I knew that no one else could handle her if something happened to me. So, I started trying to figure away to take the life of a pet I loved without causing her distress or harm. Sounds crazy right? Anyway, when you are clinically depressed you do not think clearly. I was so afraid that I would kill my dog and not go through with the suicide that it became a thought process that just filled my mind everyday. Finally, I got pissed off. The whole thing was absurd. I have worked my whole life and tried to do right by my family and everyone I came across and here I was laying flat on my back in excruciating pain in both my neck and lumbar area and all I wanted was a damn MRI. I called my insurance company and told them they had three options. 1.) I would go to an Imaging Center and have my MRI. 2.) I was going to an emergency room and wait until I doctor would take me in and do a test no matter how long it took. Or, 3.) I was going to kill myself and have my husband request an autopsy to show what was wrong with me, and then sue everyone involved. We know our own bodies. We know when something is a small injury that you’ve done by lifting something or if it is worse everyday never goes away and increases overtime. I was number one at my company and my profession. I had only been on my job for 1 year but in that year I beat out every other person who did the same work that I did. I was not a deadbeat. My mother taught us to pick yourself up dust yourself off and kick yourself in the butt to do what was necessary. I tried this but this time it did not work. My insurance company pulled my file and I found out that after two years of going to the pain management doctor and having been at my primary previously with the same problems the insurance company recommended I apply ice and Heat for 2 weeks and take anti-inflammatories. The second time my doctor requested the MRI, he sent in the same clinicals with a new cover sheet. In other words, he let them think I was new to his practice coming in complaining of neck and back pain. So it really wasn’t my insurance company’s fault. My first thought was, what do elderly people do if they run across this situation? People who are not assertive and speak up for themselves? After I gave my insurance company the three alternatives, she told me to have my primary request an MRI and it would be approved immediately. I never went back to that Pain Management Group. After my MRI, I received a call from my primary stating that I had three crushed vertebrae in my neck and it was pressing on my spinal cord. I needed surgery immediately. I had a cervical fusion by a wonderful doctor. Followed by physical therapy. I have full range of motion in my neck and no more arm pain or heavy head. Amazingly, I also have no more migraines. Then it was time for my lumbar problem. A different doctor closer to home, an orthopedist did a lumbar Fusion, L4-5, S1. No physical therapy following surgery. The reason I am writing this blog is because like a lot of U I still have horrible lower back, tailbone, buttocks and leg pain. I have such weakness in my legs and horrible chronic pain every single day. The new pain management doctor I went to had me on 100mg Time released morphine three times a day. 6-30 mg. Of roxicodone per day. I also was on Soma for muscle spasms. After several years of living like this I decided I wanted to come down on the medicines to see what was real pain, and what was my body calling for more pain medicine.. With the doctors help I was able to come down to 60 mg of the time released and four times a day on the 30mg Roxicodone. Then about a year-and-a-half ago, I came down even further. By the time this past January rolled around, I was completely off the time released morphine, the muscle relaxers, all of the antidepressants and any other medicines except 3 – 30 mgs of roxicodone per day. January, my prescription by the doctor was reduced to 4- 15 mgs of roxicodone four times per day. I was lucky in that at my request I had reduced my meds to where I did not go through horrible withdrawals as I’ve done in the past. They are no fun and especially when you’re hurting. My problem is that although I am only taking the equivalent of one less 30 mg tablet per day, it has taken away my ability to function everyday as I could before. In the 15 years that I have been on opioids consistently, I have never doctor shopped, never requested an early refill, and never failed a urine test. 3 – 30 mg oxycodones did not take away my pain but it did enable me to be able to function as a person, a wife, mother and grandmother. In the past, I able to set aside one or two and sometimes more per month so that I had extras if an emergency came up. When I got my new 15 mg 4 times a day prescription, it just so happened to be a month where my Pharmacy did not get in their order. This is because each Pharmacy is only allowed so much of each opioid per month. Sometimes, the manufacturers don’t have enough to send to everyone because of the new guidelines. Whatever the cause, I was fortunate to have the extras I had put away. But, now I’ve used all but three. In the past I would take one 30 mg in the morning, one at lunch and the last of the day around 5. As I said, it did not take away all my pain but took the edge off so I could function. With the new prescription I have tried 1- 15 m in the morning and another at 12. By 10 I’m in so much pain that I cannot wait for 12 to get here. Then another at 3 and finally another at 5. You all know what happens when you let the pain get ahead of you. Well, this seems to be the problem. The 15 mg just doesn’t cut the pain. So, I tried taking two in the morning which is equivalent to one 30mg. That leaves 15 hours left in the day and two 15 mg pills. I have never had to worry about running out of my medicine early in the month because what I had did the job for the most part. Now, I find that I’m taking one extra here and there to help with the pain and I am so afraid that when the end of the month comes, I’m going to be short I have been on the 15 mg for 2 months now. I believe if it were just getting used to the lower dose I would be there by now. For the past two months I have not had but a couple of good days. I have not been able to clean my house or shop as I could in the past. Not to mention my relationship with my husband and my children and grandchildren. I have missed out on occasions that I will never be able to get back. Watching your grandchildren grow up and enjoy life should be something that we are all able to do. Especially, if the medicine is out there that helps us to do that. I am not wanting more than what I feel like I’m entitled to. I had to quit my job and filed for Social Security. Of course I was denied at first and so I got an attorney. Fortunately for me during my worst times I had kept a journal and wrote down exactly how I felt physically and emotionally. You feel like people around you have no respect for you. You still like they either pity you or think you’re making it all up so you don’t have to work. The doctors treat us like we are all out to get high. Everyone reading this knows that if you have been on opioids for chronic pain for any length of time that you feel nothing even coming close to being high. I feel no different taking a regular Tylenol then I do when I take my 30 mg oxycodone. The only difference is the oxycodone does help with the pain. The Tylenol and ibuprofens of this world do more to harm our liver and stomachs than our opioids ever have. I was able to get my marijuana card and was so excited that it was going to be the answer to all my problems. In the 70s, I had smoked pot and had enjoyed it. I could see how it would help with the pain and take your mind off your problems. Unfortunately, I have not found the right strain or delivery method that has been effective. I believe the ones I was given which are in a vapor form are too strong. The only one I found so far was a 50/50 combination of THC and CBD. All the others either made me sick to my stomach, severely sick or gave me a horrible horrible headache. In any case, I have to lay down and cover my eyes after smoking it just to keep from getting ill. That is definitely not functioning. I did get some CBD topical, which I’ve had my husband rub on my lower back. If I get to it immediately before the pain gets too bad and lay on a heating pad directly on my back then sometimes it helps. I have heard that CBD oil under the tongue works, but the dispensary I went to did not have it at the time. I’ve heard the gummies are good for pain but are also strong. Since my dose was lowered, I’ve gone to an acupuncturist, a massage therapist for pelvic floor issues and also a counselor for my mind. The acupuncture did not help. The massage therapy feels wonderful but the effects are short-term. My massage therapist told me my tailbone seemed crooked and it appeared I had muscles and ligaments all in a knot on the right side of my buttocks. All of my pain is right sided. Something has to change in regards to the new opioid problem. And I’m not talkin about the problem of people overdosing on them but the problem of people needing them and being denied care. The AMA states that each patient has the right to have their pain addressed and taken care of by The Physician treating them. Years ago I looked up patients rights in the AMA journals. What is going on today is definitely in contrast to what is supposedly our rights. I have read numerous accounts of people committing suicide because of chronic pain after having their medications lowered or taken away. I have read reports from doctors who have lost patience to suicide and felt helpless in helping them. The Physicians Creed is “Do no harm”, but they are being forced to harm us everyday by not treating our pain effectively. I am harmed! You guys are harmed! I feel bad for the good doctor who are forced into this against their better judgment. I would like to string up the doctors who abused their power in order to make money by writing prescriptions to people who they knew we’re going to sell the drugs. I know a young man who accidentally killed himself by taking what he thought was Roxicodone bought on the Street that turned out to be something else entirely cut with fentanyl. If we as patients get our prescriptions from reputable doctors and they are filled by reputable pharmacist, there should not be problems with overdosing. there’s always going to be a handful of people who have said screwed up their lives that they’re looking for the coward’s way out. Handguns, knives, over the counter medicines and many other means disposing of oneself are out there. I don’t know how this all got so screwed up for whom is responsible but I wonder how many more good people who lives with chronic pain are going to feel like they have no other options. It is a real shame the situation we find ourselves in. my thoughts and prayers go out to all of you you deal with this daily and also to your family’s who also deal with this daily. I pray that a solution this town before it is too late for many.
Kimberly,
Please don’t give up!! Keep searching for that doctor who cares, because they are out there. I amm not sure if this is against the rules, or not, but what state do you live in? Surely, there are people on here who know of a doctor near you, who can help. Please reach out to all of us who care, and together, we can help you! You are cared about, I know that without a doubt. Let us help!!!!
It’s a NIGHTMARE! I was taken off pain meds after ~10 yrs of near relief and functionality. I’ve suffered for 20+ years with fibromyalgia and etc … Pain management doctors are a joke. Mine tapered me off years of various meds so fast, one right after another (starting at Christmas/New Year, no less) I almost died, went insane, hurt somebody. After I was nearly off everything, he offered me suboxone, I wanted to bust his fat nose. Withdrawals are no joke, and this is beyond the pain and difficulty you already live with. There was no support, no sympathy, no help. Health”care” is SO SCARY these days. I don’t complain or protest, I’m shut down, lest I do something “bad.” And we PAY these people. What choice is there?
They have strong-armed good, needful people into silence and non existence. “Drug-seeking.” “Doctor shopping.” “Suspicious.” “Red-flagged.” “Addict.” For having PAIN. I have suicidal thoughts all day, every day. I just want away from this screaming pain. Often, I think this is what they want. If so, why take away such dangerous, overdosable drugs?? I could VERY EASILY walk down the street, pay 5 bucks (FIVE BUCKS!) and get a needle full of heroin, but OH HELL NO, if you try to do things right, pay thru the nose for insurance, doctors, pharmacies, jump thru every ridiculous hoop they put you thru, answer questions, take their tests, endure all the discomfort and hassle and invasion, you’re obviously just a low-down drug seeker. Makes no sense. I won’t even smoke pot anymore (even though it gave me such relief I tended to cry) since it is still illegal in Texas. It’s beyond belief that some people in some states are allowed to get HIGH for the hell of it, but those of us in agony in the backward states are left hanging. And no, I can’t move, I can’t work, I have ZERO income, and I cannot take care of myself. So, stuck and trapped in a body full of pain.
I’m Hopeless. Nonproductive. Very sad, very angry, very hurt, because I’m a person who hates to be idle and useless. I had ambition. I had a life. And I live in agony. And it won’t stop.
I’m off every helpful medicine except plain Tylenol now, which is laughable and the liver damage risk concerns me. HOWEVER, I would NOT go back on ANY addictive medicine after being treated so cruelly and rudely by the medical establishment and the power they held over me. The stigma they have put on people is shameful. It’s abuse. It’s neglect. It is uncaring. I’ve lived long enough and been thru the system enough to have seen the changes and it’s just incredibly horrific now compared to earlier times. I know they are stressed, but so are we, and we have NO POWER and we don’t get paid. We just get sh!t on.
Someone, please stand up for us. Except for writing comments sometimes, I’m out of energy, fight, and hope.
Please never give up. Never turn to suicide.
There are good doctors out there, please keep looking.
Sure, out of 10 Dr’s, 9 will take your money then tell you to meditate and avoid gluten.
But there is usually at least one that cares about patients more than politics.
Once you find a good doctor, it is up to patients to help keep them out of trouble by being responsible with meds. Do not leave medication where other people (especially children) can get into it.
Do not drink alcohol or use other medications your doctor doesn’t know about with it.
Help is out there. Keep trying, and never give up.
Please call a help line if you feel like harming yourself or others.
Hi,,, I’m in your exact shoes and you said it all… I’m stuck with a provider who appears to be enjoying this…… A.
I have suffered oral and for the last 8 years-intrathecal method of opiate interjection into my spine. After several changes of opiates, including one month of Priault (which side effects would fill a book by itself) I finally decided to fully have dilaudid opiate removed from the pump and re-filled with saline solution.
The pain Doctor made no comments about the following effects of opioid with-drawl. I suffered the effects without any suggestions of help. Two weeks after complete with-drawl I made an appointment with my GP of 30 years and ranted obsessively about my experience. He walked out of the Door after me ranting mostly about how I felt the pain Dr. was the “Music Man” in regards to developing more and more patients. He now on Facebook states that he is the owner of more than one pain clinic. I have seen the volume of patients mushroom.
The conventional statement made in regards to pain pumps is —–This should be the last resort for pain relief. I was not sure of any pain relief at this trial but I said “maybe” some relief as any normal person experiencing much pain WOULD. So the hook was set and you don’t want to turn loose, especially if you don’t get relief. You keep hoping that higher doses or a change in opioids will hit the mark.
After 8 years I finally zeroed out expecting a pat on the back. What I got was no comment whatsoever from the pain Dr. (same Dr. for 8 years} no referral to with-drawl techniques.
It has been very tough to work through the with-drawl. I have almost drove my wife of 53 years crazy. But after two months plus a few days I am 80% Free of Opioids.
Pain Doctors whos have a financial stake in having more patients are at risk to morally forget the patients care and think the monetary rewards. 79 years old now. 69 when I started on the journey. 8 years of pain pump. First 2 of orals 10 years total.
Completely agree with you they treat use like we r the junkies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!But people who take there meds. responsibly r treated like SHIT NOW!!!!!!!!
I feel your pain. I have fibromyalgia and a rare virus called cytomegalovirus. It’s rare for a cold or mono to mutate to this. This makes it extremely hard to function. I too have suicidal thoughts day in and day out! Pain is constant and no Dr knows how to treat me so they put me on tramadol that doesn’t help. My bones feel like they are ripping from the inside out! It’s made me think maybe I should go to the streets or worse. But I don’t because I’m one of those maybe one day I’ll get help. To make it worse I work in healthcare and dr have admitted to me that they rather patients suffer than get their license revoked. They are plain idiots! They will get it revoked once enough of their patients die or press charges.
These posts are near to breaking my heart, and have made me realize how lucky I am. Please do not give up hope! There are good doctors still out there!
I fractured my neck 30 years ago, fell several times over the years and now have degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, etc., etc. Many of you have a similar story. I have refused surgery over and over again, because as a license certified nursing assistant I have often seen that not only does it many times not do any good, but often leaves the person unchanged or worse off. In fact, one of my patients who had only been in pain years ago, after 3 surgeries was now a complete paraplegic. She is only one of many I have seen (I must say here that I have also seen it help. I just don’t want to be part of the crap shoot).
I have been very committed to pain management with opioids (also, the practice of Chinese qi gong and vitamin co-factors for the opioids) in the 20 years I have been on them. I can work and function. I had one pain management doctor (from his website: “I have had a neck injury and know how you are all suffering out there!”) run after me in the hallway yelling, “Come back when you’re ready to be appropriately treated!”
Like everyone here, I have been shocked at the creeping, and ever increasing, disrespect by the medical establishment, including local pharmacies. In my local town in Florida you can no longer even get a months supply of opioids at one pharmacy but have to go back every 12 days to be refilled. Thankfully, my pharmacy has not implemented such insanity yet.
I had a great general practitioner for years, a little 84 year old guy from North Carolina (who is as bewildered as I am by this political nonsense). When he finally gave in and said he could no longer prescribe my meds as he was afraid of losing his license, I found a terrific pain management doctor who continued opioid treatment. Yes, I have to go an hour away now rather than ten minutes away. And yes, I have to go every two months (it used to be one month). I was really upset about the inconvenience, but then as I read more and more about the nightmares suffered by most people in chronic pain like myself, I began to consider myself exceedingly lucky that I could/can get my meds at all.
There is another awful aspect to this story I wanted to mention: the drug companies that in their search for ever increasing profits, use cheaper and cheaper materials in the manufacture of their narcotics. By law, a generic medication will not have to have 100% of the active agent in each pill. Also, the quality and formulation of the co-factors affect the performance of the narcotic. Pharmaceutical companies are more and more putting in the least amount they can get away with in their meds and also, cheaper and cheaper ‘inert’ materials. I was on one of the best generics out there for over 20 years. Their medication was superb. A few years ago they merged with another company, changed the formulation, and all of a sudden, the effect of taking their medication was like take water. This company has thousands of complaints about them on the web and denies any change in formulation except they said they took out the dye. I finally found a generic finally that ‘sort of” works, but nothing like the other one.
So, for us pain managed patients, the search for a doctor is only one third the battle and the search for a decent pharmacy is the second third. The final third is the battle against the greedy companies that make less and less effective meds, even if you can get them.
My prayers for everyone out there.
Can’t u get a form social security disability ur age doesn’t matter. And pain management is not so bad, u get ur drs to send ur records to a pain management dr , they review ur records and make an appt with you. Sometimes using a combination of pain meds and nerve meds, I take norco but lyrica helps with leg tingling I have had 3 surgeries in 9 yrs , my fault fell twice after 1st herniated disc, after last operation was able to lower my norco rx. I work again part time I feel better about life now. I had MRI done, physical therapy assessments done, what ever I needed to prove I had a real problem for pain management dr and social security disability and now I have both.
Dear Meanie,
I’m so sorry you are going through this terrible time. You are not alone. The Doctors are being punished too. They will be fired if they give medication to sick patients. I have a good doctor. I am also afraid to go to my doctor. I was in Med school in 1994. I was about to graduate, I had an accident and when I was hospitalized at my own Medical College Facility, I asked to have an epidural for my surgery. I had mapped it all out for myself in Grey’s Anatomy. – (I was 4 and a half months from graduating. I was going to be a pediatric Surgeon after my residency was over) I had already matched. I lay there on the table with all of the IVs in, I listened to everything, & my peers severed several of my nerves by accident. First mistake came with the Chief Surgical Resident saying, – instead of – pointing at his mistake and saying “There!”, (especially with the patient AWAKE, He said,
“Oh,!”, The he said the 4 letter word for ‘poo’ that begins with SH.
“What Did You Do?”, I asked him from flat on my back with my arms tied down to the arm rests and loaded up with IVs. He and the others said, “Don’t worry, I’m Reattaching it as we speack'” When he began to work on the other side, He severed another Nerve. AND HE SAID THE SAME EXPLETIVE!!!
They told me I would NEVER WALK AGAIN. BUT, I would have Nerve Pain, and Sciatic Pain for life.
I was a real pain in the behind for a whold day, but I decided I would try to overcome this mess, and it took me 8 months, & I CAN WALK,
I have to wear Leg Braces, I have terrible pain, and I have awful scars, and I have been put on some very large opiod doses though I NEVER have been totally Pain Free since 1994.
I have had an extraordinary life with my family.
I have beaten Cancer so many times in my life it’s remarkable. I’ve had a good life, but, I’ve had my little setbacks. I’ve also had my big ones just like you have. I have HAE. I There are times when I swell up and do not look hjuman, It’s like anaphalaxis only my stomach swells up, and my throat and larynx and Allergies can trigger it too. & I’m allergic to ALL of the NSAIDS. I’m ALERGIC to POT, I am Sensitive to Polyester when I’m “In Crisis”, which means “No Patches”, and the only thing that gets my swelling down is Fresh Frozen Plasma” 6 to 8 Units of it – depending on how swollen I am, – It’s excruciating pain, and it’s almost impossible to get an IV into me when I’m in Crisis, because all of my soft tissues swell up and my viens are tight. I can’t breathe, and it’s dangerous for me and it’s nerve wracking for the hospital staff to care for me. They have been so helpful and kind in the past.
BUT – They MUST give the Lowest dose of Pain medication to begin with. That’s why I NEVER wanted to take anything stronger than Propoxyphene. Pure Propoxyphene (because I’m allergic to Aspirin, Acetamenophen, Naprocen, Ibuprophen and all of the other NSAIDS. (I actually had a few Nurses say,”That’s Convenient”, Till my lips swelled to the size of a Baseball and my face couldn’t fit in an oxygen mask. They were laughing at me when they saw that all I had was Darvon N100’s as my Pain Medication. Because that’s so weak. Of course I was in Agony, It only took the edge off, but when they gave me 100 of Demerol IV PUSH IT Worked when I was in Crisis. (Even though I was taking 12 Daevon N 100’s dail.
Before the Hippa Laws Nurses would talk to me like I was a terrible person when I was in the ER. I’m lucky, I look a lot younger than I am, I always have looked much younger than my age. When I was 40, once, I passed for a 15 year old and I couldn’t say anything because I had lalrlllyngeal edema, and they were furious with me when I wrote that I had been prescribed 12 Darvon N 100’s daily, and I was asking for something more for the pain, because I couldn’t take a pill, I couldn’t open my mouth and my nose was blocked by my lupper llip, and my belliy was beginning to swell. They knew I wasn’t expecting, I went in with a flat tummy, and at 117 lbs, and half an hour later I looked preggers. I was begging for a pain shot, they were putting a tube in my throat so I could breathe, and they were calling me an addict. There were only curtains in the ER between the Trauma room and the other rooms in there, I wanted the ground to opem up and swallow me.
After that incident one of my regular doctors insisted that I should go to a pain management specialist and have my pain managed properly. I started to take Time released Pain meds and things like Oxycodone. Dilaudid and Morphene. I was never pain free, but almost.
My Migrains ended. one morphene and they would disappear, or one didlaudid and the were DONE>
My legs still hurt, and my surgical wound on my arm that never heals because of the lymphedema and bleeds every other day because it swells up and splits wide open and gushes blood, even if it skips a couple of weeks anause d heals, it will open up two weeks later and then, it’s agony, can you imagine your arm just suddenly splitting open and gushing blood like a geyser? But because of all this hoopla about chronic Pain People Not Really being helped by Opioids anyway. Or EVERYONE MUST BE Taken off their Opioid MEDS – NO EXCEPTIONS! I’ve had to be taken down too.
My physician told me he DOESN’T Believe in ANYONE having to suffer through Agonizing Pain, & I believed him, – BUT HE won’t stop taking me dow from the meds I’ve been on since 1994. This can kill
a person, and I’m the opposite of an addict.
I never smoked anything in my life, I didn’t drink, and I didn’t get high. I was sick since I was 4 years old, this is ridiculous. You seem like you have my story too. The Virtueless are trying to signal that they have virtue b PUNISHING the peoplw who have pain, and they are trying to punish the best Doctors, the Good ones and the honorable ones by punishing them and trying to make the “Cool” Doctors into the “New Elite” in the World of Medicine – I don’t know about you, but I feel betrayed. We must make the world see that it’s wrong to punish pain.
RAY; TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN; BEING DISABLED FOR22 YRS,17 YRS UNDER THE SAME PAIN MANAGEMENT,,NEVER A PROBLEM , WITH MEDS, MONTHLY URINE TESTS , AS A PATIENT, LIVING IN NY,50% OF MEDS CUT 4 LOWER BACK SURJURIES,UPPER BACK NECK AREA SCAT SCANS I ,LIVE IN MAJOR PAIN EVERY MINUTE OF DAY. THE MEDS HELPED TO LIVE A LIFE WORTH LIVING,RAISED 2 CHILDREN TO ADULTS NOW IN 4TH YR COLLEGES I MOVED TO CHARLOTTE ,NC. I CAN NOT FIND A NEW PAIN MAN. TO TAKE ME . THEIR NEW LAWS DROPPED ALL CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS OFF OF THE BRIDGE. I AM TRYING TO FIND A DOCTOR AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT,THEY ARE SCARED TO TAKE ME AS NEW PATIENT CAUSE OF LAWS. I NEED HELP PLEASE
I’m a 42 year old man with Severe Hemophilia Type A Factor 8 deficiency less than 1%. This is a disease your born with, where your body doesn’t produce or store the 8th clotting protein. This causes the joints and muscles that sustain corrosive damage due to repeated internal bleeding with or without trauma. My generation and beyond, endured arthritis, degenerative joints, muscle atrophy, and a slough of other issues. These are irreversible even with the medical advancement of today. Such things are excruciatingly painful.
Dr.’s prescribed pain meds at the age of 6 which allowed me to live a functional life. Currently, I take 30 mg of Morphine SR twice a day and 24-26mg of Dilaudid every 4 hours! This is 194 mg per day or 5,800 mg per month. Doing so allows me to be engaged with my life. This PROP rule states only 90 mill equivalents is the max allowed for non-cancer or non-terminal issues. This equals a monthly allowed quantity of 2,700 mg’s. The CDC, AMA, DEA, and greedy Dr.’s blame patients. If you run out your a dealer. If pain isn’t under control and you seek immediate medical care, well then you are a drug seeker. The overdose rates are alarming high. However, this is because Dr.’s are failing to monitor or identify abuse. Taking action this blanketed will only ends up with more overdoses, is dangerous, and irresponsible!
I recently lost a fellow Hemophiliac to overdose. Why? Like so many others his Dr’s rapidly decreased his medications to comply with PROP. They did so out of fear. They lacked any regard for him despite his numerous reports of increased & uncontrolled pain levels. Extreme uncontrolled pain can drive you to do many things out of character. The medical community failed to help. He sought out other things to relieve the pain. He was a happily married man and father of 3. He had a great job and handled his disease better than most. That is until these governmental agencies and disgraceful medical professionals killed him. What happened??? He committed suicide. His country and Dr’s failed him. He paid and suffered the ultimate price for the wrong doings of non-compliant patients and Dr’s. Prop ruined his life, his family’s life, and the bleeding disorder community.
His last 8 months the reckless implementation of the PROP guidelines, left him:
• An alcoholic
• Drug addict
• Marijuana user
• Unemployed
• Divorced
• Clinically depressed
• And sadly suicidal
When his suffering ended… the autopsy revealed he’d consumed opiates, cannabis, alcohol, benzodiazepines, and methamphetamines which combined became fatal. Until then he’d never abused or took illicit drugs. 3 days later a letter was discovered explaining his intentional consumption and why he did it. He spoke of his unanswered cries for help. His medical team and government denying him the right to live with manageable pain. He went on to say the hepatic oath “First Do No Harm” was grossly and unethically disregarded. He stated he felt this suicide should be found as homicide as his medical team murdered him.
Congrats people! The ignorant plan to stop abuse and opiate death backfired. The implementation of a reckless rule killed a man. Let’s hope the people involved sleep well knowing they killed a patient, destroyed a family, and caused psychological damage to innocent kids.
Such a shame! This beautiful human being didn’t deserve death. He didn’t deserve to have his country fail him. He didn’t deserve to be discounted, labeled, and ruined.
James, Thank you for posting this! Would you be interested in writing a guest blog about this on my website? It will be a copy/paste from above with perhaps a few tweaks and and an introduction.
The sad truth is, they really don’t care. What Ray said above is absolutely true. “If you run out, you’re a dealer.” Etc.
You know things are really bad when you have major surgery or suffer suffer sort of trauma … but even mention the pain, and you’re blacklisted as a drugseeker. That’s ridiculous.
What to do about it? Not sure. Calling the government out on its Bullshit seems appropriate. More than half of the federal Congress doesn’t give a shit if Working Class people have access to any kind of basic, affordable health care. And the electorate is inclined to agree with them. “I’ve struggled in my life, and nobody helped me! You bet, I’m voting for this guy who promised to take away my Medicaid! Why? Because some other Unworthy will suffer too! Hooray!
But when it comes to opioids or addiction and overdose … oh, they’re soooooo concerned about that. Because they care (sic). Riiiiiight.
This was inevitable. With the decades-long demonization of marijuana finally winding down, our rulers had to fabricate another strawman enemy in the so-called “war on drugs.” Opioids drew the short straw.
And I hate to say this about anyone in the medical profession. I realize the majority of folks enter that field to help people.
But like it or not, a lot of doctors have been infected with a very insidious disease called Greed. They may tell themselves they do it to “help people.” But when you throw established data out the window (or tweak it to align with your personal beliefs) to obediently comply with some phony mandate at the expense of all compassion and even chronic pain sufferers … you’re really just looking out for Number One. If covering your ass and protecting your 300K a year job against any oversight, is more important than your patients … congratulations! You’re nothing but another corporate hack (or stooge) more worried about convenience than your customers.
It’s bad enough that most patients have to toil in crummy merciless jobs just to survive. But it’s even worse now that the government controls that aspect of their lives, too — through their emissaries in healthcare. And since corporations own the government to begin with, who’s really pulling those strings?
Let freedom ring … but only if the government is OK with your choices.
I am sorry about your friend. May he find peace and relief from his pain in an afterlife without disastrous kneejerk reactions and sad policy decisions enforced by g-men in labcoats.
I’m almost there myself…I have end stage COPD/Emphysema with a slow growing adnocarcinoma tumor that can’t be removed, too I’ll for chemo or radiation because I’ve become cachexic (muscle wasting away and extreme weight loss due to so many chronic and severe health problems, I have epilepsy that has been hard to treat and stop seizures that I’ve gone into pulmonary arrest that led to heart failure and then a mild heart attack while in the hospital 2 times in past 2 years to end up emergency intubated and left on a ventilator to breathe for me, how I lived through it I don’t know but the grace of God. I’m on 24/7 oxygen, I have extremely painful secondary multiple sclerosis-no treatment for, my eye sight is starting to get worse from lesions in my brain from the MS, rheumatoid arthritis that it’s hard to move in my joints so very painful, and early onset osteoporosis for past 8 years. I’m only 47 years old and have 3 kids and my first grandchild. I can’t go out of my house anymore. My pulmonologist amd neurologist released me back to my primary physician as their is no cure for either of my deteriorating conditions or medications they haven’t tried on me over the years as my illnesses have taken over. I was recommended to go into hospice by all my doctors but I’m having trouble doing that in fear. My mom passed away from emphysema and lung cancer in 2 months after she went into hospice at age 55. My kids still need me, my husband too. My life has changed so drastically that it’s become unbearable anymore. My 2 kids that live at home have watched me go from a very active vivacious happy spontaneous fun mom to crying a lot and in pain, no longer able to laugh or do things we used to as a family. They watch me suffer daily, which causes more suffering in me knowing that. For a while I was able to hide the tears and pain but it has over taken me.
Last September my primary doctor prescribed morphine at a low dose to help with not just pain but my sleeping issues, breathing exasperation’s, and found that when I finally took it that it helped my appetite and depression too. I was able to smile and laugh, still in pain but I learned long ago to tolerate pain for my families sake. It also somehow has prevented me from having major seizures (I’ve had small ones but not requiring hospitalization) and no exasperation’s in need of ER calls or ambulance since starting morphine. After 2 weeks taking a low dose I started to feel more pain again and apparently got used to the morphine that it wasn’t working as well. So my doctor bumped it up a bit from 2.5ml to 5ml every 6 hrs, again low dose compared to others who need this medication. Once again after about a month the pain was coming back as my body adjusted to the low dosage that was only taken so far apart (6hrs) so this time my doctor gave me the same amount but prescribed it every 4hrs which helped. I was taking that amount with great results. I continued for the last 2 months up to Christmas time. Then on my new script my insurance denied the prior auth my dr sent in as usual. I didn’t understand why this would happen if morphine was helping me, had no interactions with my 14 meds that were now down to 8 due to the help of the morphine helping with so many of my issues. I normally weigh 114lbs as I am only 5’31/2 ft tall but since becoming cachexic, I was down to 69lbs! I got my appetite increased with morphine and for once in years I started to gain weight! In those 3 months I gained almost 10lbs! I don’t understand why anyone would allow a person to be put on morphine by a doctor, insurance cover it then abruptly stop if it was helping me survive longer! My family got just 3 months of “me” back to worse than I was before the morphine! Because I got no warning I went into withdrawal immediately. I had severe pain worse than ever, couldn’t fall asleep and when I did had trouble being woken, had a bad seizure wit in 3 days that caused a stroke that I’m trying to recover from plus nightmares, cold sweating, and I’m becoming really grouchy and mean. I don’t know how to stop it, I can’t cope with it and feel like I was tricked into taking an addictive medication I was once afraid to take that actually helped when I finally took it in more tjan I ever thought. It’s not an amount that makes a person “high” or like an abuser of drugs. It’s low dose regulated by my doctor. My doctor found a good safe level of morphine for me that truly saved insurance money cutting out several of my old meds and cutting down some others to almost half doses, also saving hospitalization costs, ER visits, and 911 calls. All this over people who literally STILL find it illegally and STILL OD on it unregulated while I’m very ill and had it regulated in small doses keeping me alive…I don’t know what to say or think anymore. There’s got to be a way that these types of medications can be looked at again, discussed and find some other way to stop criminals from getting drugs off streets and insuring that those terminally ill can still benefit from regulated amounts given that do more good than harm for end stages of life. Why am I just left to suffer to death? I’m not sure I can go through all this suffering with out help ;-(( If all that is going to happen then treat me like an animal and be humane and put me to “sleep” or “down” like an injured animal. I can’t believe I’m less than an animal to the ones who did this with medications that gave quality to last stages of life just to suffer mercilessly it’s horrible! I keep wondering if I end it quicker will I still go to Heaven? Surely God wouldn’t want me to suffer…I’m no use for anything or anyone crying in pain all the time alone…I’m already dead
Not only his medical team failed him. Trump put this in motion. If he thinks that taking opiates off the market is going to help people, he’s wrong. This is going to be causing more deaths, suicide and more people getting killed by guns. All war will break out because of this. I’m on percocet and I’ve tried getting off but because of my pain I couldn’t. I couldn’t function or move when I tried to get off of my meds. I’m on disability for scoliosis and siatica. Even with meds I can hardly walk down my dirt road and come back without severe pain. I want be able to do anything. This is just not humane. The government or the president does not care about the welfare of the people in this country. The government is trying to control the people of the United States, what happened to freedom? These are the end times and everybody better get their lives straight with God. We are already bring controlled by our government. It’s just a matter of time people when our glorious maker comes and gets his people. There is going to be chaos, fighting and murder when we can’t get the help we need. Mark my words it’s coming. The end is near. God bless everyone of you in this fight to get back our rights.
No Government has any right whatsoever to limit the amount of Pain Medication a Doctor can prescribe!
My old Body is so worn out if it were a old Car the Junk Man would charge to take it away!
I have terrible Chronic Back and Knee Pain along with Parkeson’s, CLL and Chronic Kidney Diease!
My very best days are Hell!!l
If it were not for the Oxycodone I get every month life would no longer be worth living!
I do hope all of these so called Do Gooders Break their back someday and experience the God Awful pain that I have to bare each and every day and night!
Rest assured if they did suffer they would find some relief even if they had to buy it on the Street!
As far as all these Dope Heads let them go ahead and Kill themselves, for they are going to do it anyway no matter how many Stupid Laws our Stupid Government may pass!
I have just about as much faith and respect for Government as I do for a Rabid Cayote, they will both bite you in the Ass if given half a chance!
It’s insane. The gov is creating a drug problem. I have had 2 low back 2 shoulder and one cervical surgeries I still need another low back two more disks replaced c56 c34. MI’d t9 8. And a complete shoulder replacement. I am in hidious pain every day I use bio feedback massage light therapy chiroparctic adjustments traction ice heat physical therapy tens acupressure everything humanly possible my pain management retired after 8 years of and the new Dr’s just cut my pain control in half I now endure life in bed no help to myself or anyone else it’s criminal and am looking for an advocate I will not go to surgery for fear there will be no pain meds while healing I don’t blame anyone for looking to the streets to stop the pain. I haven’t yet but ……
I agree it is such a shame I am not currently on any kind of pain meds but have a friend that suffers terribly he’s just had surgery major back surgery and they limit the amount of medications he’s not a drug attic he’s not addicted he is in pain when is this going to stop it’s not going to and you absolutely right it’s the government that’s killing everybody with this so-called opioid crisis there are people that need this then they’re going to limit cancer patients . There is also something that is natural called KR a TOM it’s very hard to get only in smoke shop and considered illegal as for me are use it for back pain it save my life it comes from Thailand in your email they’re trying to ban that too but as far as pain meds you’re going to limit cancer patients who are dying agonizing death pain medications it disturbs me more than you know my friend is Suffering but he has no choice he is on assistance he lives alone and thousands of miles away from me I guess his future doesn’t look that great either you all in my prayers and I don’t ever think we can stop this
I have suffered migraines and back pain for years. I had a headache that lasted for two days straight so I asked for a refill of Tramadol that I had been prescribed before. The doctor treated me like a criminal and asked me if I’ve tried Tylenol or Advil. It was so frustrating and to make matters worse, when I went to get it filled at the pharmacy, the pharmacist told me she can only dispense 7 days at a time. I have to go back three times to get the entire prescription! I pay a lot for insurance and have legitamite pain. I shouldn’t be made to feel like a low class drug seeker w no medical insurance!
Probably not going to see that happen — the self-annointed do-gooders breaking their backs, I mean.
Never seen an activist pharm tech perform grueling labor. Same goes for doctors. And the agents of chaos who suddenly care enough to legislate on behalf of the Working Class (sic) … nah.
I don’t disagree with your point, but I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.
Marijuana’s been a convenient boogeyman for establishment do-gooders for decades, but do you remember the one that took center stage some years back? Crack Cocaine? What happened with that? It was (and probably is) a legitimate addiction that devastates lives … but did government intervention save the day? Did most of those addicts get the treatment they needed, or did a lot of them just land in prison because their particular addiction was criminalized beyond reason.
That’s all that’s happening here: the criminalization of another drug. What’s even more insidious about this one is this: it’s classy. It has a Class designation, and even a schedule (neat-o mosquito). So the government can openly regulate production and distribution — as opposed to doing it on the sly, the way they usually do — and that’s never a good thing. To compound this error even more: the government has been sleeping with Big Pharma for … forever.
So there is no part of the “new deal” that the good ol’ government isn’t manipulating somehow.
Does that mean everyone who advocates criminalization is “in on it”? No, of course not.
It just means another facet of our lives has been taken over by a government that couldn’t care less. Why? Good question. Wish I had an answer.
We can’t regulate clean drinking water (or water that isn’t flammable). We refuse to regulate banksters who reap Billions and destroy lives in the process (and who will need to be bailed out yet again when that shitshow turns sour). We can’t even regulate a consistent voting system that works the same way everywhere.
But God save the queen. (And God save subjugated Working Class people from themselves. And if He doesn’t do it, no worries: the government will be happy to step in and do it for Him. Hallelujah.
I agree no government should dictate how high of dose of opiates or other pain medications a doctor can prescribe a patient with acute or chronic pain. Like this fellow I have lived with chronic pain for the past6 years. I live in Alberta, Canada and for the past 2 years I have been forced to take Suboxone for pain relief because my doctors feel I should not take Oxycodone because it is addictive. In 2012 fractured my T12 vertebrae and injured my spinal cord in a fall accident. I was paralyzed from the waist down initially and suffered no pain below the fracture before I had emergency surgery, after the surgery I have and still live with severe pain every time I move, but I can walk with a walker so I guess I am a lucky person in that respect. However the sciatic nerve pain along with lower back pain is horrific and the constant ache and burning of my calves and thigh muscles in both legs make me cry out loud daily. My tailbone and glut muscles can hurt so bad that tears form in my eyes when I stand up after sitting for more than an hour at a time. I can only walk with my walker for a block before I am in so much pain that I am praying to god to end my misery. The Oxycodone helped me from wanting to kill myself but I was never given a high enough dose to take my pain away enough to enjoy life. The Suboxone has worked to take the edge off the pain so I can function enough to look after my basic needs, but do not enjoy life. I am miserable. I can not concentrate on tasks and my short term memory is going. I sleep a lot because it is exhausting hauling around this crippled pained body. I am taking the highest dose possible and the next step is methadone which I do not want to take because I tried it once before my accident for accute pain (self medicated it was a friends of mine with chronic pain) and puked my guts out and slept for 2 days from only taking a less than a teaspoon of it. I rather take Oxycodone and be given a high dose of long acting oxys with an ample short acting dose for break through pain and enjoy life again. . I shouldnt have been forced to take Suboxone or nothing and be treated like I have an opiate addiction and only have up to 3 days of carries at a time because of some stupid law governing this drug. I read above about a fellow Canadian forced to buy oxycodone on the streets now because doctors are afraid to prescribe opiates it to their patients. It is our body, our pain, and our quality of life, doctors should give cautions with prescribed pain medications and make sure their patients are educated on the pros and cons, but do not judge people who need them and make us feel bad because we need them to function. We all know if we have taken too high of a dose and we will find what works for us if given the opportunity to experiment. But making us live in agony which leads to depression and self medicating with illegal drugs like fentanyl is not the answer and I know their will be more doctor induced suicides because a person can only take this hell for so long and we will hear about somebodies mother or father or son or daughter with debilitating pain died because they just can’t live with the physical pain anymore. I know I have fantasized about ending it more than once a day for the past couple of years. And when I can no longer cope and when there is no more hope for me because of stupid laws governing pain medication … i will find the right dose and end it.
It truedoctors edd ama anyone not hurt would rsthet see us dead ,that fact.i had meningitiamenicacal type a t worst,at sge 4,at age 42 my body way done,21 years on oxycotin, moved to nevada,wrongthat state iscrocked, ive been on 420milga day last 9 years, nevade will give 90 mil max a day, everyday i lay hear sick, i go 3 days sick ,take 6 so to get to store, sick again ove ,a over ,nd over i gound info on web this will kill me,the heart goes i to attack, u throw up,its a year plus ,now ,this causes. Muscles to breakdown degenerates muscle tissue cauces degeneratuon ,then u die, i believe with all my heart thats wga they want sll of us dead period it gact, living in nevada ,i was die or get rhe herion or death ,really mistreated vdc days give the pills back ,ya right, people f…uck the liei g doctors state cdv ama fda ,its bull ,herion is cheap works ,i live fine as this country is now gone to hell, the thing is mu disease got me just get the black,oxyd ate herion ,no pne saying no, no pharmacy treating u like a worthless peonly need 6 30s a day and might make it 180 mg instead of 420 milrson ,who di this to us hum our uda politics,the thing is i gact we are better dead ,vome pn doctprs ,its the truth, think is u get sick one day ,and ur next i didnask for spinal menigitis typa a we should have the right to end our lifes ,o f… all the bull shit it your wish ,cdc ded ama ,doctors on usa are not healers any more,lieing 2 face f-ers ,tell u on phone yrs we can ptescribe, u get tbere say no. Charge meficare 1,200.00 nd u 118.00 co pay ,it pne of the great ripoffs on medicare. I busyef them twice now tecotded them ,filed cpmplaint, aftet in room what a joke ,i say u a doc says yes ,u sign your diplomia ,great so u can write me my script u fickiing doctors repthis hospitaly oh we dont write pain pills, i tply chsnge the name of this place i drove140 miles i rcorded u ,try billong medicare,i got them in Arizona ,tnenvegas.for now its a came ,people pkay the game doctors are now worthless.find a heroion supplier the have forced us to do iy,poliics,no war lets kill 3 million then cut back,its real had i not mpved id been fine ,oxycotin was not eat killed or caused suretside its fntimsl, if we sllem put of wprl we have to fight this time if u can get up ,cgncell all appts ,cdc told all states to put payients back on therenherion doctors wpuld be out of work ,so lets ptutputpf work loose thwre hpuse.cdc demands them to do it all bull shit ,i say it time wa,shington we are coming 200 millipn of us u wantout taxes we had all w can take fight for health cat they stole from us ism ready sick and ready some will die on the way the price has t b pai some will make it
I was diagnosed with OCD when I was 24 years old, the only medication that stops this is Klonapin
In my late 20’s I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and sever psoriasis for which Humira was prescribed, it clears up my skin but does nothing for the pain in my Joints, I have been in pain management over 15 years and have been prescribe 40 mg of percocet a day for the pain
I was able to gain back some quality of life on these meds however now the Government has stated that I am 5 times more likely to die if I take these medications together, My Florida Pain Management doctor will no longer treat me, His reason, he is afraid that he will loose his license if I abuse my medications and overdose and Die, Is this ludicrous or what ? If i overdoes ? that would imply I am abusing my medication, his next excuse is the government says he cannot prescribe my pain meds if I take this benzo, I checked this is an outright lie. The Black box warning only states that if not other medication works then they can be prescribed,. The same government I served 22 years in the military for is now denying me the right I earned to have a quality of life, UN like others I gave up 22 years of my life for this right. I have been given a choice be psychotic or lay in bed with pain, its also ironic that the same government and doctors will not give me disability, So my choice is Die or Die. So when presented with that choice I guess I will Die. I am so ashamed to admit I wasted my life in service to this country. To hell with the USA
Its sad i also have Chronic C.O.P.D. Along with being sexually abused years of my child hood I developed a eating disorder and felt assamed I was sent to a University to be treated they started me on a mild nerve medication so I have been on a nerve med for 38 years now and my Doctor treated my C.O.P.D with Percocets. Untill a year ago i had to make a choice of one or the other. It was bad either way but yes i could live my life daily and enjoy what’s left of it untill the DEA decided his office would be shut down, its sad because I never abused my meds I’m almost 57 years old and cant get help is there not something we can do they are comparing people like me to people buying them from the street to get a high. Its not fair something has to be done.
No, she does not realize that. She is clearly suffering from trauma, PTST, emotional & physical pain. Be glad this is not your life & try to show some compassion. I know this will be hard for someone like you but you can at least try.
I have suffered from chronic migraine headaches for about 25 years. I have tried every medication to prevent migraines that either didn’t work or the side effects were worse than the pain. I have the scares on my wrists to prove Inderal worked for my migraines but depression is a side effect and not realizing how I was feeling was due to the Inderal I tried to commit suicide. I have tried the Botox, Botox with a preventative medication, bio-feedback as well as nerve blocks and Imatrix. I have been in the Philly headache hospital for 10 days which the medication given made you so sick but worked for the pain in my head. But and there is always a but they could only be taken up to 3 times a week. And no more than twice in a day if the pain came back. So I would have to pick which 3 days out of the week I should get out of bed. I have been on Oxycontin for the past about 5/6 years. A very small dose taken 3 times a day. I am able to live a normal life with this medication. I can get out of bed in the morning without pain. I can enjoy my grandchildren. I can enjoy my life. Believe me when I say I am not high. I have never failed a pee test, I have never asked for my medication to be increased and I have always taken it exactly as directed. Now the state has decided that because I am not dying from cancer – which I do have by the way but my prognosis is I will live more than a year – I am unable to get any of my pain meds. I am scared to death of withdrawal, I am scared to death of what my life will be like without my pain meds. But I guess I am lucky my cancer wont kill me in the next year. I guess I am lucky to only spend two or three weeks of the month not being able to get out of bed, staying in the dark, with the a/c on and not matter what no sweet smells or cleaning fluid smells near me. I sure am lucky and I want to thank whoever is responsible for doing me the great favor of helping the opioid epidemic.
I’m suffer from severe chronic every I’m not addict or have I ever
sold my medications what this Dr.Asinine is proposing is terrible
especially with elderly patient like myself let me give a litany of
my problems I have sever spondylosis in my spine,2bulging disk
severe spinal stenosis,severe arthritis in my facet joint and the
hardware from my fussion at L3 is loose in my.spine they have
Lowered my meds which is methadone to 1 10 mg tablet every
8hrs oh and I failed a nerve conduction study I have no reflexes in
Either leg the. Neurologist told me the nerve that is damaged is
the most painful Im leaving in a nightmare
I’m so sorry! What is this insane idea tha, for example, cut my 76 year old
mother’s meds and then build them back up to avoid addiction?? Are you kidding
me? She also loves in hell after three back surgeries,rods and wires up her spine.. doesn’t she or anyone deserve
to somewhat “live” in the so called Golden Years?? When will the
people saving our country from an addiction realize that there’s always been some sort of addiction going on.
This time they’re playing with the
lives of good people that in the
majority of cases didn’t do anything
to deserve their situation ..or chronic
debilitating pain. It has to change..
It’s ridiculous.. but after how many die because they can’t stand it anymore.
I am more than willing to listen to
ANYONE that can explain this to me.
Until then, I’ll do everything I can to stand up for the humane side of this dilemma.
no_d_k@yahoo.com
I can relate to every post even though our pain may be caused by different conditions.
When i had stage IV cancer given 15% chance of surviving 3-5 years (at the age of 42)
the doctors were kind, helpful and empathetic.
I survived 15 years before another cancer took half of my lung and lymph nodes.
Times have changed!! I dread going to the pain management doctors. You don’t dare to be nice or they might think you’re up to something.
I have left in tears, called psychotic, accused
of calling in double scripts.. no apology of course when he found it was his error. There is no relationship because they’re so suspicious!
My pain has increased tremendously in the ladt 3 years but after expressing this to doctors who seem to not hear or address what you’ve said,
what do you do? My brain pounds, so dizzy i fell through a glass table (no not the meds and I don’t drink alcohol.) I see a constant vision block in my eye, constant pain from radiation in
my anal vaginal area that was agressive to give me an extra 3-5 years followed with radiation that has made me hypersensitive to practically any smell. I use the term ‘survived’ when discussing life after cancer treatment because it’s nothing close to living! Can’t live on the amount of money i’ve been told to feel lucky that I receive! I worked from 14 to 42 and paid into social insecurity. Wish I had become a brain surgeon to have enough to pay bills and feed myself and the animals I had BC( before cancer) but I wanted to and expected to work
another 15-20 years. Bought a house 5 months before diagnosis and hurt so badly it hurts to vacume.. I’m not feeling sorry for myself, but come on DEA!!! All of this and the missing years for US to get drugs that have never come close to providing anything close to euphoria.
Never imagined I would think of death as a calming thought or pray that I WOULD
die to end the physical, emotional pain,
AND humility that’s besuch a common feeling.
As a former opioid addict it bothers me that legit patients are being forced off drugs the medical community had them on for years. From my prospective, I started using hydrocodone recreationally back in 2009 when I was 19. A couple years later I was a daily user and didn’t get help until 2015. Now i’m off everything including suboxone. I still smoke pot but I haven’t used opioids since. I digress, From what I saw it wasn’t so much prescribing as over prescribing. I don’t think a legit pain patient ever sold me pills. In fact they were really the least likely. What it was was things like; “Joe Blow just got his wisdom teeth out” the dentist by default would write for a 30 day supply even though no more than a couple days were needed. Teenagers and young adults always need extra cash, but really had no use for the pills. Another example is drug dealers going to an ER, faking pain in an area hard to prove or disprove said pain, then leaving with a paycheck printed on a RX pad. But those 2 were a drop in the bucket, the bulk of the oxycontin and shit came from networks that would drive down to Florida and see a crooked “Pain Management Dr” I would like to see effective non-opioid pain meds developed to treat some of the people above an a compassionate way. But since we aren’t there quite yet, it is only right that people with these documented issues be treated with respect and dignity. Do I think a lot of legit pain patients are also addicted? You bet I do. With that being said, people who take adhd or anxiety drugs daily are also addicted, I don’t see a push to give them the boot.(yet anyway). I use marijuana quite frequently, I’m sure if I was still in rehab i’d be diagnosed with cannabis dependence. Finally when I was on suboxone my Dr. would count the strips at every appointment and urine test me to make sure 1)I’m taking it 2) That i’m not taking any other controlled substances not prescribed. It seems something like that might be a good compromise for people who truly are unresponsive to other forms of pain management. I’m not a doctor, but I seriously recommend everybody with access to medical or recreational marijuana in your state give it a try. You have really nothing to lose and a world to gain. I know somebody who says it helps them more than opioids did, and they can purchase as much as they are willing to spend. Also Kratom(an herbal drug with mild stimulant/opioid properties) shows promise, it’s available at most head shops, and in many major cities there are stores that do nothing but sell different kratom strains. Best Wishes 🙂
I am not an addict and i am tired of being treated like one every time i go to the hospital . I’m at the point rt. now that with all that’s wrong with me ( COPD Emphoseima Stress fracures ( plural ) in my spine that wont heal 3 blown out discs in my spine 3 broken ribs that also will not heal plus all the other DOCUMENTED aches and pains ) i do not want to go to the ER or call 911 and i really need to go cause i can’t handle the chest pains and the congested chest anymore . Oh did i forget to mention that i’ve had 3 heart attacks and have 4 stents in my heart also and am on oxygen. So believe me when i say i feel the change they just made in my scripts. Changed my perc 10’s to 750’s and instead of 6x a day to 4x .i knw it dont sound like much but it is to me . What can i do? Any answers ?
i am so stressed and backin pain due to cut off of part of my meds and more next week i have had chronic severe pain spinal issues and also h was given wrong blood at hosp yrs ago so that deletes major surgerie was doing fine on my legal medicine and if felt good would miss one or two occassionally . 79 yr ols senior alone was working part time and could do fair amt od necessary things at home . now past 2 mo been to hosp 5 times for pain shot and to drs twice have an appt 200 miles away to spine dr wed to try to have another injection which has done well for about 14 yrs not quite as long now. i am a graduate nurse and have worked in hosp, i do not approve of street drugs, i do not believe in marijuana, ilove my drs but dont feel its their the problem as they are in pain mgmt and you have contracts. i feel this is very unfair and i dont like all the pain right now i am dealimg with an impinged nerve in neck pain and burning cant sleep keeping ice and trying to stretch and waiting on call from dr — i have spinal stenosid, very narrow according to neurosurgeon that fluid and nerves bareky squeezing thru lower spine have upper and lower aaaaaaalso upper and lower herniated discs pinched nerves osteoarthritis and osteoporosis and bone rubbing on bone and blood factor asked about bandaid surgery but they dont accept medicare i am with understanding now only pts that can stay on routine meds was on if over 90 mg would be cancer pts well i guess its suffer or die some just dont care . THIS ISNT GOING TO SLOW DOWN THE OVER DRUG USE AND DEATH FROM HEROINE OR STREET DRUGS IN FACT WILL PROBABLY CAUSE MORE TO GO AFTER THE ILLEGAL DRUGS NOT ME BUT THIS IS NOT HELPING THOSE THAT NEED I DONTLIKE MED, I DONT LIKE GOING TO DRS BUT WEAR TEAR AND LIFE HAS USED MY BODY SO I GUESS NOW U SUFFER AND LIVE WITH AS BEST YOU CAN I PRAY SOMEBODY WILL FIND A AWAY FOR PEOPLE TO FINISH THEIR LIVES OUT IN A MORE HAPPY AND FUNCTIOMALLY WAY ESP WHEN NOT ABUSING YOUR SCRIPTS GIVEN BY A PROFESSIONAL DR, AND GOVT MAKES MUCH ON ALLTHIESE PEOPLE AND MEDS. i JUST WONDER IF THE PEOPLE DOING THIS REALLY FEELS THEY ARE HELPING THE PTS THAT NEED THEIR MEDS. SO HOSPITALS WILL GET FULLER DRS WILL QUIT AND PEOPLE WILL GO THE WRONG DIRECTION TO ALLEVIATE PAIN . i feeel this will haopen
I’ve been elecuted 32,000 amp back of a semi truck in which I lost a leg and two fingers and been in two head-on collisions. And now after 33 years of work ,yes I’ve went back to work but around the age of 52 the pain set in, I’ve been the pain management chronic pain management I’ve had cortisone shots from my neck mid-back legs and elbows and none of it helped has helped my pain medicine now the government is taking that away from me and that’s not right because I do not abuse it I respect it or it makes me have a normal life. Please let me know if anyone can do anything about this my email is underwood454yahoo.com
Are you taking any pain meds now? Also where do you live?? Every state is different..
Someone please tell me what I am suppose to do. I have a severe spinal birth defect which does not allow me to take any types of injections for pain. ( Tried injections in the past but had a bad result and was told to never do that again, could cause further damage). Pinched nerves through 100% of my spine, compression fractures, bulging discs and herniated discs through out. I have a bone disease that will not allow manipulations due to bones breaking. My leg is fused due to breakage of bones. I have been on pain management for the last 15 years which has allowed me quality of life. Now, they have cut my medication more than half due to the new laws and regulations. Insurance will not cover the cost of the medication ($800 per month). I am just beside myself !! If anyone has any suggestions please share. Is there any help?
4979 lancaster hills dr
I CANNOT SAY WHAT I WANT TO BUT THE GOVERNMENT IS RUINING MY QUALITY OF LIFE. SO MANY PHONE CALLS WITH WE DO NOT WRITE PAIN MEDICATIONS ANYMORE, WE DON’T TAKE YOU INSURANCE THRU MEDICAID! I HAVE ARTHRITIS EVERYWHERE AND JUST HAD VIEN PROCEDURE WHERE YOUR SUPPOSE TO WALK 15 MINS PER HOUR, I CAN NOT DO IT – MY KNEES. LEFT ANKLE BACK AND NOW HIPS HURT. I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SPELL IT BUT FIAGMALGIA IS ONE OF MY CONDITIONS ALSO AND LYRICA STARTED TO WORK BUT THEN IT GOT TO ME MENTALLY AND I DO NOT WANT TO GO TO JAIL! OH, THIS MORNING I WONDERED WHY IS THE WHITEHOUSE ETC IN DC, MOVE THE PRESIDENT TO A MORE SUITABLE PLACE WHERE THE EDUCATIONAL PEOPLE LIVE. I CAN NOT EVEN PROTEST WITH FEAR OF GETTING MURDERED IN THAT PLACE THEY CALL THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES. I DON’T CARE HAVE BEAUTIFUL DC IS IT’S A HELL HOLE. THE GOVERNMENT is NOT MEDICAL DOCTORS, WHY IN HELL ARE THEY REGULATION PAIN MEDS. IT IS JUST GOING TO INCREASE OF HEROIN TRAFFICKING! THINK. REALLY THINK. IF PEOPLE ARE CAUSING THE “EPIDEMIC” TO OCCUR DUE TO NOT MAKEN THEIR DUGS UNSECURED LOCK THEM UP. I USE TO PUT MY PAINKILLER IN MY POCKET AT THE DRUG STORE AND LOCK IT UP IF I COULDN’T, LIKE WHEN I SHOWER. A PAIN BUT A RESPONSIBLE PERSON. THINK, THINK, THINK, I AM SICK OF PAIN AND MENTALLY CHALLENGED, FIX IT BEFORE I BREAK, PLEASE. LION WITH A THORN IN IT’S PAW (HOW OLD IS THAT?) IDIOTS MUST BE RUNNING THIS SITUATION. OH, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY FIND THIS WHEN YOU SWEEP THIS UNDER THE RUG, SO ACTUALLY I WILL MAKE A BUNCH OF COPIES AND EMAIL EVERYWHERE!
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THE PEOPLE’S MEDICINE COMMUNITY ®
Hi, from IL all.doctors cut me off I have 122 auto immune disorders lupus,fibro,graves disease,raynauds syndrome, thyroid goes from hyponto hyper to hypo to hyper they cant fix on levothyroxine after they ablated killed my thyroid because they couldnt control it and still cannot. I found this out after having a herniated disc in 2009 had injections and physical therapy until 2013 then had a disectomy failed had another 2014 failed had a fusion 2015 i swelled up like ballon found my lupus and all other auto immunes and they redid my back ct or mri whatever and i have 7 more herniations. Cant have surgery though because I have lupus so bad i swell up so badly. I have parathyroid tumor they now are sending me to oncology they think i have liver cancer or blood or some cancer due to my wbc being real bad they did a ultra sound of liver said your gall bladder looks enflamed i had it out yrs ago so tumor there and im not allowed pain meds my intestines hurt so bad im bleeding out my rectum. ALOTTTT so i finally get into oncology monday june 18th after 6months its crazy who cares if im dying anyways???
I care brother i have been disabled for thirty two years and for the last four years i have had a he’ll of a time getting meds too! I would like to go to dc myself and lay on steps of capital and if needs be die there to demonstrate against our forked tounged politicians who talk out both sides of there mouths with no truth to come out of them!! I to have lost the will to live because of the way we are being treated but with the strength of Jesus just maybe I can hang on some how!! I can guaranty you this though anyone who causes others to suffer needlesly will have it come upon them and maybe even someone close to them seven fold at some point in there life!!! I am praying for all who suffer like you and me always!!
Hey ,I hear ya, I am in the first state to take pain medicine away. I have so many physical issues …5 yrs. Cold turkey 10 days off and left with only pain!! I don’t wanna sound neg. But.. someone help me!!
My mother didn’t even have an occasional alcoholic drink or use anything but blood pressure medication until she was diagnosed with progressive rheumatoid arthritis 6 years ago. Since then she has had numerous painful surgeries to remove cysts from her feet and arms. However as her disease has progressed her body has built up a tolerance to her pain medication. The problem is as her pain has increased her dosage has not. She has been discharged from several pain clinics for taking more than her prescribed dosage. After all when one is in excruciating pain that can be relieved by the medication in their possession one is going to take it. Either way she is screwed b/c she has to either suffer because she has pain meds but doesn’t take them or she takes them and suffers when she runs out. Instead of helping her the doctors admonish her and discharges her as a patient. I watch her cry b/c it hurts too much to even walk. But no one will help her b/c government regulations won’t allow them to. They treat her like a a crack addict. She is humiliated by having to pee in a cup while they watch. If she has trouble peeing bc she is embarrassed they are condescending and mean. I promise you If all these damn politicians in their self appointed role as crusader against the Opioid crisis had to watch their loved one or themselves suffer the way she does they would have a different perspective. Of course they will never find themselves in that situation b/c you can bet your ass they and their loved ones are getting everything they freaking need or want.
The name of the condition is Fibromyalgia, it is an awful illness that effects you both physically and mentally. I was diagnosed with it 3yrs ago after a very traumatic surgery due to another illness I have. I understand how Lyrica made you feel, it’s not a nice medication but does help with the pain. In my experience, I like you found it was effecting me mentally so I decided to try only taking at night which gives me some pain relief and has eleviated some of the mental health issues.
I think it’s awful what the USA government are doing to people who genuinely need serious pain relief, what are they going to create apart from more problems if people with illness turn to even worse substances to get a little relief from their pain & misery. I thank my lucky stars that in Scotland we have the NHS and I never have to go without my opioid medication.
My heart goes out to you honestly I can’t imagine how you must be feeling it’s an absolute disgrace how genuine people are being treated.
Sending you a healing hug from Scotland.
I AM MRS KATE ROSE FROM UK I HAVE LIVE WITH MY HUSBAND FOR THE PAST ONE YEAR BEFORE SOMETHING HAPPENED AND WE BROKE UP AND I WAS VERY SAD AND I WAS LOOKING FOR HELP SO I WENT INTO INTERNET WERE I FOUND DR MACK AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE CAN HELP ME WITH MY PROBLEM I NEVER BELIEVE BECAUSE I HAVE HAD ABOUT SCAM IN INTERNET UNTIL HE CAST THE SPELL AND RIGHT MY HUSBAND AND I ARE TOGETHER ONCE AGAIN AND LIVING HAPPY AND TOLD THE MAN THAT I WILL GET HIM MORE GOOD PEOPLE THAT WHAT HE LIKE PEOPLE DOING FOR HIM AFTER THE SPELL THANKS YOU CAN CONTACT HIM THROUGH THESE EMAIL ADDRESS:dr_mack@ yahoo. com
Does it really work? I had someone refer me to him but he asked about my address phone number and told me to pay $150 through western union.. I felt like its a scam.. How did it work exactly for you if you don’t mind me asking?
Sounds like a total lot of poop, look at the grammar and English think that says it all!! Lol.
Cast a spell?!! Can you be more detailed about what this “doctor “ actually did? That sounds demonic! Oh, dear lady… you need help… please answer.
I’m totally blind, and have so many pain conditions (arthritis, rheumatoid and osteo, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia), conditions that affect muscle, bone, joint and nerve. My family doc wants me off opioids, and set up an appointment with a rheumatologist, who said what others have said: Since I couldn’t tolerate Methotrexate, and my conditions have run unchecked for ten years, he didn’t think biologics would help. This is not the first professional who has told me this. Yet, my doc ‘got religion’ about this type of medicine, and won’t adjust the dosage, even when a pain specialist recommends it. In Canada, the family doc is God, and no matter what a specialist may say,, she or he can veto it, while admitting that pain is not his/her expertise.
Not all patients should be on long term opiates. Some can regain health. I’m not one of them. In the broadest sense of the word, I’m palliative; that is, there is no cure for anything I have. I do not operate vehicles, heavy machinery, or look after children. My pain is way more disabling then my blindness ever was. Yet, the bureaucratic policies of Canada do not take anything like this into account. In fact, there are drugstores here that won’t fill an opioid prescription, even when given by a doc. It’s getting ridiculous.
Since tolerance and addiction are such a problem, scientists should concern themselves with creating a pharmaceutical that shuts down the body’s ‘memory’ of a substance use. So, for instance, you can be on 15 mg of morphine for many years. As for the euphoria, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, What’s so terrible if, along with effective pain control, we get a nice feeling? The things that I could do as a blind person, recreational things, are off limits because of my pain. It’s depressing not to be able to do the things I once enjoyed, even as a blind person: walking, tandem biking, skiing, participating in theater. I’m on too many meds to enjoy a drink now and then. I would not like to see an opiate come out with the endorphin-enhanced feelings knocked out of it. That’s not why I take morphine, but it’s a side effect I won’t complain about. At this point, it helps me with a nice warm feeling that uplifts me, even allows me to write my novel, and not feel so bad about my situation. Science hasn’t, and can’t, make a medicine better than God can.
I’m not saying I’d like to be an addict or anything; but if the products of the opium poppy help with pain, and even lift my spirits a bit, better than my antidepressants do, so be it.
Otherwise, I’ll be in agony till I die. Nothing I have is terminal, but it’s darn well life-limiting to an agonizing degree. Not to mention, I’ve experienced prejudice from doctors, and I know of people who, unable to receive pain relief because their doc got religion against a particular medicine, opiates, (like the new doc that’s come in to replace one that retired), people who can’t get the pain relief they got from a former doctor, have reached out for heroin and large amounts of liquor.
These moralistic docs, thinking they’re saving lives, are actually driving patients into the arms of unregulated drug industry, to dealers who could really injure them, or into alcoholism.
Stop treating opioids like the villain just because Mrs. S. decided to smoke her Fentanyl patch, and died from it. She made a bad choice. The medicine didn’t tell her to do it. The press are always sensationalizing opiate-related deaths, and making the drug the villain. How many car accidents happened with, say, Camaros? What happens if aCamaro is involved in an accident? Do they panic and call the car off the market, or do they say the driver was drunk, or the accident had no fault? If they treated cars the way they treat opiates, we’d be riding horses.
I completely understand what you are saying and l am in the same situation and lost my husband and l feel like someone stole my life! I have been taking opiates for a long time because I was hit and drug buy a car for a long time and I cannot put leave that I still have a face!? I am at miracle and I was not supposed to have children so they are miracles too! My pain in my back and my shoulder and my hip’s are still very painful and are getting worse because of not as active as I was before ! I have been struggling with dry mouth because of the medications for my pain and from my depression. My teeth have been falling out and now I don’t want to leave my house because I’m afraid of anyone seeing me. I was a pretty girl at one point but now I am not and I don’t know what to do! I don’t want to be here anymore because I feel like I’m a waste of space and time and money!
This is Lynda again & I am really so sorry I didn’t know that I was able to tell you more about myself! I miss my husband but he remarried and has a new baby boy. I don’t believe that she would have gone out with him if he wasn’t a millionaire! I was the one who filled for the divorce but that was because I didn’t think that he loved me anymore? He married me when I had a little girl and he was on the fence about that and I was really so upset and my Dad told me that the reason that he left me will be the reason why he will come back! I just cried in my sisters bedroom. My Ex husband knew me before I got hit by the car and he came to visit me a lot and he was always making me laugh and I was so happy that he was coming to see me! I was a little embarrassed because I had to have a catheter because I had two screws through both of my knees so that my back. Stay straight. I stayed in the hospital for a couple of months and then went home in a body cast. My mom and dad made it really nice for my friends to come and see me on the weekends! So I went back to school and stayed in my grade and that was wonderful and I went to college for A couple of years but I got pregnant the first time I had sex! But I was really excited because the doctors told me that I was not going to be able to have children! Jaclyn is the name of my daughter& she is getting ready to have a baby girl too! I don’t like being divorced but I don’t like being with someone who doesn’t love me and I really don’t know what happened because we moved so many times so my husband could climb the corporate ladder and it was very difficult but all of the crying in the world didn’t help me so I made the best of things and it turned out that it wasn’t so bad and then we got the opportunity to move back home where we both went to grade school high school and college! I was the love of his life and after I got divorced from my first husband who I only married because I was embarrassed for my family drank and drove with my daughter and didn’t really know how to love and my second husband was just overwhelmed when we moved back to the area and became grumpy! I lost my dad 10 years ago and he was my best friend and I wasn’t the same person after he passed away and became really depressed and I didn’t want to get out of bed and I also had sleep apnea and I didn’t know what that was but I was waking up every day so tired and I knew something was wrong with me but didn’t know what! As it turned out I have MS and I have to give myself injections once a week that make me have a fever that night that goes up to 104 but it’s only once a week so I can deal with that! I can’t deal with being alone and without my husband because he took care of me and I don’t know how to take care of myself now after taking the medication for my pain and now for my depression Has caused me to have dry mouth and is making me lose my teeth and I don’t know what to do because I’m not that old and I do not want anything but porcelain veneers because they last forever and you can have a normal life with them and you can eat whatever you want and be normal! I just wanna be loved and normal! I’m in pain on the inside from my broken heart and I’m in pain All over my body because of my terrible accident! Just don’t know what to do! I want to be myself again!
Why don’t you ask your ex for the money for your teeth.? The rich one. If he has a decent bone in his body, he will do it. There are also places that do it free. Look on the Internet. I live in FL and we have 3places that do it Pick any dentist & call them just for information, they will be happy to give you a name
Hey Lynda I know how u feel I was in a horrible dibilitating accident that ruined my whole life my husband couldn’t Handle it and left I couldn’t take care of my son’s I went from being super mom to nothing I lost my dad to soon 10 years ago and it was like he was the only one who loved me I have no one left I’m all alone with Drs that are sick of me everything they have tried doesn’t make things better I lost my ins and ran out of the $2,000,000 coverage that had been covering the medical bills but not my house bills my ex was paying them but has decided no more I have had to sell everything I spent my life building all because a guy wanted to drive recklessly while on his phone over the speed limit and crossed into my lane head on into me my airbags didn’t go off and I my seatbelt broke my collar bone tore my hip and shoulder while I went into the window then crushed my shoulder and hip then flew to the back of the car as it spun around are hit so hard it fractured the veribra in my neck at first I was so happy I was alive and that my son’s werent in the car I kept saying how amazing it was to be alive the look on my son’s face like I was a monster the pain has been excruciating that now I pray for death and while my Drs write me scripts for pain pills my body doesn’t absorb them well and the pharmacist at Walgreens where my ins was refused to fill them so where it would have been free to me and if out of pocket $60 it is $590 for 90 pills that doesn’t get me through the month and after the pharmacist who’s not a Dr threw a fit with my Dr told her she needed to put me on long term drug I ended up in the hospital having a allergic reaction that cost me 1800 and almost cost me my life then she felt like she was going to get in trouble for writhing my scripts because she yelled at the guy she has sent me to 15 differnt Drs that all send me back to her she doesn’t think it’s a big deal but me just getting in a car is this whole ordeal and so painful and traumatic to me I have sever brain damage I’m not the 140 iq I once was so each time I meet a new Dr they want to see my limits which is like being a circus freak causing me so much pain to tell me there is nothing they can do for me and send me back it’s this horrible parade of shame and embarrassment all for some stupid law created to stop junkies from getting a fix well I get no high I barley get a second of relief I get no sleep cause no position is comfortable it’s been almost 2 years with no end in sight of procedures I’ve had multiple surgery that has done nothing to make me me again but most of all I loved my husband since I was 14 and we had been married 20 years and for him to say he just could go through anymore he couldn’t watch me suffer he couldn’t stand to see me cry anymore he couldn’t take it he tried to kill himself he always said he would have to die first because he couldn’t stand to lose me and he just left with our sons they come by once in a while but I live and breathed them my whole life was for them I think he left because he knew as soon as they stopped giving me the pills that are keeping me from ending it that I will and he can’t stop me from ending my pain and doesn’t want me to men are weaker then we are and they go because when things are out of there control they don’t know how to handle it I love him I miss him I cry everyday for him but I don’t want him to watch me this way either how could I make him watch me suffer every second of everyday soon there won’t be anymore money and I have nothing else so affording the life saving pills that keep me from pulling the trigger on ending my suffering will run out it’s ashame that the laws are so messed up if not my Dr could give me enough to end the pain and I could have gotten them with my ins if the Walgreens would fill them and he would still be here and I would keep trying harder then give up but life isn’t fair for people who follow the laws only for those who break them I hope you feel better about ur situation my mom stopped talking to me when my dad died I lost my entire family when he went it was so hard then for this it was like life ended and the dea alone is the cause of my pain my husband leaving my Dr cutting my pills back causing me to suffer sever pain that is inhumane I think people like us should sue them for the cost of our marital status if u were able to relieve pain on ur terms and weren’t suffering he probably would still be there I know mine would have been.
You sound absolutely insane. Do you realize that?
Shey,
For you to tell someone who is obviously trying to tell her story while suffering physically, emotionally and possibly mentally from her accident that she sounds insane, makes you a heartless! Why are you even reading these stories???
I agree with Rachel that was heartless and uncalled for !
I so agree, not appropriate conversation TMI!
Jennifer, please don’t let Shey’s cruelty get to you. You did not sound insane. It sounds like you are going through unimaginable heartbreak, pain, and frustration. It is completely understandable with everything you are going through. Some people say things like Shey did, because they are unhappy with themselves. They want to hurt others because of their own pain. Chances are, something you said triggered this reaction in Shey. It’s probably because they can see part of your story in themselves.
Shey, I hope you find peace so you don’t have to continue hurting others. Each of us is doing the best that we can. If you cannot tolerate reading these stories, please find some other subject to spend your time on. Leave those who are suffering alone.
That’s not nice as it’s quite obvious she’s on the brink of destruction.
Shey
Ur comment makes clear that u lack compassion for others suffering. Obviously u dont KNOW how chronic health problems can change a life, succes, career, family, friends ability to enjoy hobbies are interrupted and sometimes lost forever. It’s horrific. To see or experience a life being disassembled, as the strain starts to crack the foundation grounding ones life. Ppl are forced to endure ever increasing challenges & yes it’s damaging psychologically.
You have nothing positive or relevant to add. Your response was just mean. Shame on you…..
Shey
I agree with you. That did sound over the edge. Maybe we can sue out these haters for the “cost of our marital status” right?
you sound absolutely ignorant and heartless.
No you are not a waste of space, youAre a child of God and he loves you. He did not provide you with the medication the doctors dead and I don’t know if they’re trying to take it away from you I hope not because I’m sort of in the same situation you are and I do not consider myself a waste of space I consider my doctor is responsible for what I’m going through and what you’re going through and we need toHave our voices heard. I am searching the web to find out who created these drugs and if they knew the side effects from each drug takin together and why they’re just telling us now that we can’t take them let’s have hope and pray.
https://www.dea.gov/pr/multimedia-library/publications/drug_of_abuse.pdf
And that is exactly what ‘they’ want you to do. Go away. You and I are ‘sucking’ good air. We are not worker drone bees, good little tax payers. No, the sooner they get rid of us that are in pain, the happier the alphabet agencies will be.
I’m in the same boat,I feel for you .I also lost my husband,And mother 3 Weeks apart,I’m very depressed and I just want to be with my husband,but we just can’t be put to sleep,we have to induor all of this,And like they tell you life goes on .does it??
Hello, I’m Canadian as well… I have 2/3’s or my internal organs removed. Due to chrones, once was on percocet. And my new doc…. suddenly says, she gives no pain killer like that to any one, but those with cancer.!!!!! I have been through hell with this. now, I have buy them off the street! Nice eh! I totally agree with everything you just said. And I was on percocet since 2007. I’m 39, and in bed everyday, no quality of life. And I can only buy from the street when I can afford it, which is very limited.
This stupid law that makes you have to go to your doctors office just to pick up an popish is so stupid, why didn’t they just make it that the only person it is prescribed to can pick it up! I bet thes government officials are addicted to iopistes , well a lot of them,
My story I was addicted to Vicodin for a long time, put myself in the hospital to dry out then I start going to a pain clinic for my back, what do they do give me hydrocodone, than they gave me shots that didn’t work at all, had to go back every month 20 miles each way for nothing then they put me back on pain needs, ne of the docs their told me how to get off them in 4 days and it worked, in November I broke my pelvis, more pain mesds for like 2 months 5hen this April had my hip replaced! Now I’m having problems with that surgeon thinks it’s my back or knee causing the problem, now they want to give me shots again and they have no clue what’s wrong with me had an MRI LAST WEEK HAVE TO SEE SURGEON Monday, personally I think it’s some kind of tendeious I have all the symptoms it’s called something, but when I go see this pain Dr she’s not even a doctor she looks at me like I’m a drug addict or something! I don’t like her at all I need these meds right now! Not the shots, and another thing why can’t the doctor give me my meds he can keep track if I’m calling them in to early or not.. it’s all money, money money, all those pain clinics are is a legal way to get pain meds! And whoever made this law is an idiot’
Hello they can now efax the prescription over,they should of done thos a long time ago.Boom right to pharmacy,so much easier ,my doc is couple towns away,so life saver
I too, am fighting chronic pain, & am doomed to a lifetime, of pain, I can no longer tolerate. do to back issues, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and God only knows what else. Death may be my only option, now that the meds, I have taken, for ten years, with no side effects, except some relief, of the pain, are going to be taken away by idiot politicians, who have never attended medical school and couldn’t have made the grade had they tried.
I too, can no longer participate in all the sports I used to do every day. People who have never experienced chronic pain have no clue what it is like to do the most basic things, each day.
I would love to know the number of suicides that have occurred because people can no longer tolerate the pain, they must endure each and every day, 24-7. No one seems to bother counting those numbers. I don’t know where nor how, to start the fight, to save these life saving medications and get the politicians out, of the medical arena.
Would you object if I copied part. of your essay and reprinted it as a letter, to an editor, in our local newspaper or letters, to the government? I thought your comparison to “Camaros” & cars, in general, was excellent.
I had to smile, when you mentioned Mrs. S smoking her medication patch…You are so correct. No one forces anyone, to take that first drink, shot of heroin, smoke the patch, etc. It is a conscious choice, made, by the abuser. I a sick to death, of suffering because of a bunch of people, who make such poor choices, and cause the legitimate people to suffer the cost, of their stupidity. For God’s sake, there is even a blood test that can predict who will become addicted if not monitored….why is that not being used before a prescription is even written. Give the rest of us, who follow the rules, a decent chance of surviving and a slightly better quality of life, without considering suicide as a final option.
I am new, at this new “battle”, but feel I have to start trying to get my voice heard. At this point, I am fairly certain, I will not live to see my eight year old grandson. grow into a young adult.
I was prescribed narcotic analgesics since1985 steady, particularly oxycodone, with absolutely zero problems getting it….until about 2015 that is. Now, after my doctor of 15 years dumped me for zero reason that resembles the truth, I’m forced to either suffer, or take methadone…buprenorphine is definitely something I cannot entertain the thought of taking once let alone every day. The doctors have completely abandoned me…I’m pissed off so bad, I seriously doubt I can get over the betrayal. Overdramatic? Not from this angle. I truly hope that these doctors suffer as much as we are…we being chronic pain patients.
My words exactly. I feel betrayed and extremely pissed off. My Primary of 10 years just recently emailed me saying she could no longer refill the meds I had requested and I needed to go back to the pain clinic. She even denied refilling my Ambein, Which I have been on for 8 years. Without sleep my pain is much worse. I’m sure I will be looking at other venues without any guilt if I am turned away at the pain clinic. I have Cervical Stenosis , Lumbar Atrophy , Fibro , Chronic Ridicolaphy and Chronic Insomnia. And , Ive never even been on a opiate anyways.
The perpetuation of this myth has resulted in people not getting effective care, because the focus is on the substance and not the sufferer. You know, I used to believe that if a doctor told me something, it was as good as scripture…but since these doctors have did a 180 degree spin on their previous theory of opioid drug regimens for chronic pain were not only acceptable, but in most cases probable, and their views on the consumption of marijuana also did an about face. How can I now put any trust in a person who is so undecided about near everything? Especially when they trat me like the “bad guy” now in light of this opioid crisis. Hell, I knew as far back as 1995, that this new OxyContin was not a good idea…and I’m a damned drug-addict for crying out loud!!! I’m f…in’ scared.
I am a 79 year old male and have been on pain killers for 17 years since I was 62.I am under care of a pain doctor I was send to have an MRI Have had many , to see if there is some surgery that maybe can help me. I was told that there is no surgery available for me as my lower back is too far gone with ruptures and arthritis. The only relieve I can have is pain Killers for the rest of my life. My pain killers and morphine relief the pain for a few hours then I am in pain until it is time for the next dose. I take Hydronecone 10.325 every 8 hours and morphine 15mg every 12 hours, if it were not for that I would be in pain 24 hours. I am sorry some people get addicted , but for people with cases like mine . addiction is the last of my worries as long as I can get some relieve in my day to day life.
I personally hate pain killers they have crappy side effects I think it would be great if they were limited and harder to get. Maybe by cranking down on the pain killers would help to push congress to legalizing medical Marijuana nation wide. We as Americans would finally get the much needed American support to help people like yourself and me to get better alternative treatment like medical marijuana. Which if you have done any research on marijuana then you would know that it is much safer and not an addictive drug at all.
I wish they would make it legal I’ve never had it & recently asked a g.p. About it as it is on Amazon its ileagal so how can they sell it . I’m on fentinial 75 mg & OxyContin break through I just wish it was all over I’d rather be dead I’m in pain 24/7 even on this god help me let me go I feel a burden that most will never no multiple health problems fibromyalgia ,functional neurological disorder in head & neck back injury which was brought to a head prolapse lower discs now austioarthuritus in back legs & knee ,had gall bladder removed appendix removed now I have prostate brobles enlarged & im due to have a bladder operation in 5 weeks I really hope I don’t wake up & let my family & my wife who is a mid wife works hard & is my carer life wasn’t ment to be easy but I never wanted it to be this hard . & yet there are people worse than me I’ve had a secure & I can’t remember what it’s called I can’t think now could have lost my leg it’s hard to
I hope you develop a severe,incurable disease that is excruciatingly painful.You have no clue.Marijuana is NOT morphine.Furthermore,as an epileptic I can personally assure you that while CBD is useful in treating seizures, THC causes me to have repeated atonic seizures and so it’s useless to me as pain medication. Furthermore,my opiate medication enables me to manage my constant, severe pain (not eliminate,manage) without getting “high”.I have been on the same dose for over 10 years. I actually even went down at 1 point without withdrawal symptoms but the pain was unmanageable. You don’t know what you are talking about and while I would like to see marijuana legal,do me and all the other legitimate pain patients a favor, don’t use the opiate “crisis” to achieve your legislative goals.It is not ok
Amen
Cathy,
While I totally agree with you that that using methadone, no matter the dose ( everyone metabolizes it differently), for chronic back pain is a life saver…I have trouble with you being so defensive that you get to the point where you wish pain, suffering and ill-will on others for just voicing their opinion or sharing personal knowledge.
I don’t know exactly who you were referring to, but Drew alone looks like he has been through a lot. And all he did was tell his story…no swearing, name-calling…and where Aubrey Hoop may have “voiced” a firm position, no one was attacked in that post either.
I use methadone for chronic pain ( 100mg/day). I have been for 17 years. I DO know that some of the side effects of methadone are:
Agitation
Nervousness
Tendency to be Confrontational
Foggy Memory
Depression
Even suicidal thoughts or attempts
…to name a few. I’m sincerely trying to be helpful here when I say; you may need to talk to your doctor if you have or display any of these symptoms and more. To be honest, you seemed unnecessarily combative and downright mean for no reason. Anything that you are experiencing that you never did until methadone was introduced into your life, you should tackle with a professional.
Methadone can take away the pain, but EVERYONE (that I know) that either takes it or has a loved one that does, always reports an unwanted change in the prescribed’s personality…somehow. I displayed sever agitation and depression. Though I never verbally attacked people, I did feel that way nearly all the time. I told my physician and both awful side effects were addressed and defeated.
I just can’t believe that you are always so unrefined and ill-mannered. I guess there’s always a possibility that you have always “been this way” for lack of a better description…
But, being a God-fearing woman who loves my fellow man…I refuse to believe it. It must be the medication or a “moment” where you couldn’t control yourself. Either way, you owe whomever you were addressing a profound apology.
You nearly wished this person dead!…that’s just not acceptable in any stretch of the imagination. So, giving you the benefit of the doubt…I wish YOU a happy, prosperous, pain-free, productive life…from the heart. Honesty…just try and take it easier on those who differ from you in opinion. If we were all the same, life would be so drab and almost unnecessary. However, I beg you to try hard not to let yourself become as uncouth as you demonstrated here. Be honest with your doctor and he/she can help you. You may have no idea how you actually come across.
I don’t even know you, but from what you have shown here, I would be extremely hesitant and wary to meet you, let alone get to know you. That’s the primitive vulgarity you projected here. Good luck with your pain and may God Bless you and yours.
Dee
I can understand why that person was mean, people are being mean to us with chronic pain. The way I see it they want us dead. I have heard of CBD and other so called natural pain relievers. CBD does work for mild pain, but when the pain is so bad that taking morphine basically just takes the edge off, most things that are derived directly from plant extracts are of limited use. It is much like taking an aspirin to have a tooth extracted. Leaves one in severe pain with little to no help.
If the FDA is so concerned about patient safety, why not check up on the patients and make sure they are getting the proper medication and dosage that the patients are functional again instead of limiting access and increasing the amount of suffering in the world to the point that many are preferring to end their life, and will do or take almost anything to escape the pain. What I am getting at is the under prescribing of main medications for those that need them to the point that they will seek out heroin and other things so they can get some relief.
Also one of the major problems with hydrocodone is that it works to a point, then it wears off long before you can have your next pill. This causes breakthrough severe pain, and I’m now on methadone, it helps me far better than hydrocodone did with the severe chronic pain in my back.
It is easy to know if someone has had severe chronic pain they worry more about pain than death, and only death because of loved ones. The most likely way that I know that I will die is a combination of out of control asthma and either pneumonia or bronchitis. All of these are difficult currently to get the proper Bronchodilators and antibiotics. Doctors say they are worried about my high BP, if they would prescribe something that works that is something other than another inhaler I would not have high blood pressure. I suppose that they are more worried about my blood pressure, than me getting brain damage or dying as a result of asthma. My lactic acid levels are usually what causes me chest pain because I can’t get enough oxygen to the muscles in by chest breathing rapidly, and they do not want me to have oxygen because they think my oxygen levels are high enough. To me I take it that many just want me dead, how else should I see it? Also why would they prescribe ADVAIR, when last time I used it I would have died if I did not have access to oxygen at the time, and rescue medications other than an inhaler.
To me all the concern about caring is just a lie to increase profits at the expense of those that have chronic conditions, and that is only because this country does not want cures for such things, as a good example diabetes in the USA compared to the rest of the world… Other than a few isolated places the USA is number one when it comes to diabetes, and many other health problems as well. Can’t make money off of healthy people you know!
Also when you are in pain, you should be going to the ER, or anything else other than sitting at home suffering. Also do not go back to the same one time and time again. If you do they will label you as a drug seeker, when all you want is relief from the pain.
what happen! the sh.. is stuck. Don’t worry. We all have been there. sitting waiting and nothing is happening. the pain of the unknown. when will the shit happen. wait no more. Help is on the way. pickup the phone. call that number. igotdope@hotmail.com
Hello , I can understand their frustration , I catch myself wishing the people who are meddling with opiate removeal that they feel the excruciating 24 hour a day extreme severe pain that I feel and experience what it’s like to face predjadism from Drs and people in control of opiates when suffering day and night crying to God for relief and dealing with opposition for relief the whole time , yes I pray that they experience what I do , but only long enough that they have credibility to make decisions that without that experience have no credibility to make decisions that will robb someone as myself of their life most likely literally. Now understand I love people and of course I don’t won’t anyone to suffer with the exception of those who imposed their will on us that are suffering and then only untuilthey have gained credibility to make life and death decisions to those who are at their mercy , Kelly , TX
To Hmmmmm:◇◇◇◇◇
I had a life long friend who was on methadone who is dead now shot in the chest by swatt team with an ak47 in Jax Fla God rest his soul!! They have give me the option of methadone after I have been on hydrocodone for thirty two years!! I am tired of the way all of us who suffer pain are treated by all party’s!!! They have to remember we did not ask to become disabled!!! I’m with you along with many other who are being made to suffer by our doubled tounged politicians in gov who are trying to be our baby sitters!!
That was a really cruel thing to say to
that women. You should be ashamed of yourself. We all have are problems and
Suffer in deferent ways.I have been in
Pain for only 20 years. I have had a liver
Transplant.I died twice on the operating
Table.I was in a coma i don’t remember
How long.But when i finely came too
I couldn’t talk I had tubes down my throat
Huck up too a lot of machine. I was in
Intensive care for months do you all
Remember that.When i finely got off the
Machines I had too learn how to walk
Again and that was painful experience
I had to learn how to use my hands.I am
On Oxycodone15mg i was also on Oxycioton and a few others that y’all
Say your on. After leaving the Hospital
I had to go to a rehabilitation too help
Me with learning too walk and try too
Put little blocks in the right holes.
And one other thing that happened
To me when i died on that operating
Table. I was floating up it seemed like
A life time at frist i was in the dark
And then i seen i was floating up too
A white light and believe it or not i
Was floating on big ABC BLOCKS
THEY WERE SLOWLY TURNING UP
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I COULD
HEAR VOICES AT FIRST THE
SOUND WAS FAR AWAY. AND THEN
I HEARD ONE MAN SAY TO THE OTHER
HEY DID YOU SEE HER EYES IT LOOKS
LIKE SHE IS TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING
AND THE OTHER MAN SAID I DIDN’T GO
TOO SCHOOL TO READ EYES. AND THEN
THEY WERE GONE. I HAD THE SAME
FAMILY DOCTOR FOR 10YEARS OR MORE
SOMETHING HAPPENED AND HE DID NOT
LIKE IT WERE HE WAS WORKING ANYMORE BECAUSE SOMEONE BOUGHT
UP THE CLIENT AND WANTED TO MAKE
RULES THAT HE DID NOT BELIEVE IN
SO I HAVE BEEN SEEING A NURSE PRACTITIONER UNTIL THEY GOT
SOME FULL TIME DOCTORS. AFTER ABOUT 2 MONTHS ALL OF A SUDDEN
SHE WANTS TO TAKE MY MEDICINE AWAY
JUST THE OXYCODONE THE THING THAT
KEEPS MY PAIN AWAY AND MY ADERAL
THAT IS WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE OTHERWISE I WOULD BE SLEEPING
MY LIFE AWAY. SO I AM HOPING TO
FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR THAT ISN’T
SCARED TO GIVE PAIN MEDICATION
AND MEDICINE THAT WILL KEEP A
PERSON AWAKE FOR THE DAY AND
NOT SLEEP THERE LIVE AWAY..
No, she does not realize that. She is clearly suffering from trauma, PTST, emotional & physical pain. Be glad this is not your life & try to show some compassion. I know this will be hard for someone like you but you can at least try to do better as a human being.
I took Xanax for a long period of time unmonitored and even upped my dosage to 3 bars a day I quit and started back multiple times because of withdrawal symptoms 5 days ago I quit and 2 days ago I had a grand mal seizure luckily I was I already in the hospital waiting room when it happened I am only 21 years old with no health complications the most scariest thing i ever encountered in my life I am now being tapered off Xanax with Valium and I need to find a local psychiatrist because I never want to experience that again just wanted to share my story thanks
I’m going to try and reply to your statements about medical marijuana you’re absolutely right but I think a lot of people got it wrong I think they’re pulling are opiates to increase the growth and sales of legal medical marijuana but like you I am deathly allergic I have to worst paranoid delusions that person could possibly have on anything and said irritable I can’t take it I’ve never been able to take it and I’m 57 years old so if they’re trying to take are opiates increase the growth of marijuana in the cells of medical marijuana that is so sickening I just wanted to be over because I have been in chronic critical pain or 27 years and only the last 9 years was I able to get any relief doctor believe me I’ve been told it’s all in my head oh yeah that kind of pain hurts it hurts I’d like to know how many people out there who can’t smoke marijuana take marijuana like I can and you want to talk about it euphoria and it not being addicting anybody that I know that started smoking marijuana just came has constantly smoked it since then I’ve been addicted to it all the time and has never stop my brother gets up in the morning smoking and he’s been doing it for 30 years and yes did he get some pain relief he has neurofibromatosis very very bad but he takes opiates and marijuana he gets high I haven’t even talked about what’s wrong with me because it doesn’t really seem to matter like my son say none of your doctors care so why should we angry with you I went from 200 mg a day in one day down to 40 mg in one day in 3 months I’ve been sick ever since can my primary care physician of 9 years can’t do nothing about it because right now so right now I don’t have cancer but as soon as I get cancer that can help me isn’t that like putting the cart before the horse waiting till somebody gets sick. I thought they did that’s all I can say right now I’ll tell my story next time I want to thank you all.
A few years ago, I tried an “edible” cookie that my son bought at a dispensary. However, he neglected to tell me to only take 1/4 of the cookie. So, silly me, I ate the entire cookie. Oh. My. GOODNESS!!!!! I was SOOOO paranoid. I paced in my bedroom all night long!! My son, bless his heart, was so hopeful for me until I described my experience. I don’t know much about Marijuana, so I’m not sure if it was the THC that caused the paranoia. Oh, & plus I ate like a rabid raccoon all night long!!!
I am a cancer patient. I have a rare form of cancer in my lungs, I’ve had two lobes of my right lung removed and had my airway reconstructed during my first operation. They had to build the airway using muscle from along my right rib cage, it affected one of the entercostal nerves. It was a full, open thoracotomy. 7 months later, I was back on the operating table, having tumors removed from my mediastinum, near my heart and tumor removed from my Aorta. That thoracotomy, the surgeon went through my right first rib. He removed a portion of it and now my rib is held together with mesh. I am in constant pain from the operations and from the continual spread of the cancer to my bones. My remaining lungs are covered in new nodules. But, I’ve been fighting this cancer for almost 7 years, which is quite a miracle!!
Prior to being diagnosed I had had Fibromyalgia, being diagnosed long before it was an “accepted” illness. Years ago they treated fibro patients like it was “all in your head!” I also have degenerative arthritis of the spine and several bone spurs there and also have Osteo arthritis.
Three years ago I was finally placed into Palliative care. They started me out on Hydrocodone 7.5/500 three times a day. It didn’t do diddly squat. Finally my doctor switched me to Oxycodone 15mg, with a maximum dosage of six pills a day. Now, for the past 2.5 years I’ve been on a max dose of eight 15mg.
My pain is still at a 5-6 most all the time. I don’t get that Euphoria feeling and haven’t for a couple of years. Actually, here recently they’ve been making me itch incessantly, and I wonder if it’s possible to develop an allergy for them?! It’s so bizarre. But I do know that opioids can and do cause itching.
Here recently it’s getting increasingly harder to get my prescription filled, because a lot of the time the pharmacy just doesn’t have them!!! I’ve been thinking about talking to my Palliative doc about putting me on something that’s time released that I only have to take once or twice a day. I was on the fentanyl pain patch for a few months, but I really did not like the way it felt like it was depressing my breathing. So I was switched to the Oxycodone. I keep my medicine locked in a safe, always. Our youngest son is on Methadone every day, in recovery from a heroin addiction. Talk about a nightmare.
I make sure to not talk about my pain medication around him, for fear of triggering him. He hasn’t used heroin in a little over a year, but I’m still waiting to exhale.
I find it very annoying that big pharma knew drugs like OxyContin, Oxycodone, Percocet, etc…..were very addictive, yet they lied and now people are suffering. I hold a lot of the doctors responsible, they had to know they were addictive drugs, they’re not stupid. But, it’s the patients who are paying for their dishonesty. People truly suffer, some of the comments I’ve read here are truly heartbreaking. If you don’t have ANY quality of life, it sure doesn’t make you want to have a ton of quantity of life. It’s very sad, what is happening.
Cathy, well said. Thank you.
Well said.
One problem marijuana is not a pain killer !!!knucklehead.
Why call names? You don’t know how it affects people, I have seen people sleep, be relaxed, getting up and moving around, gives you the “I want to move my body an do something instead of laying around all the time, I’ve seen people get an appetite,laugh,be more sociable,ive seen my neighbor,who would shake an her head jerking so bad, that after a few pupps, she was normal, no more shaking or jerking uncontrollably, I’ve seen it help with migraines, it helps in so many ways, an for you ti call people “nuckleheads” maybe “YOU” should smoke it to see if it will help your manners.
To: Hmmmmm•••••••
As I sit here and read some of these Comments, Wow, I thought that this was going to be Comments on Peoples,Pain & Not Able to get there Precription’s filled, Instead I’m reading A lot about some People Cutting others down, Calling Names, Ect.This is the kind of stuff that the Pharmacist & DEA want us to do, and that way it’s taking away from the real Problem that’s taking place, I’m think that we all can agree on one thing we ALL are in the same Situation, (Cannot Get Our Precription filled), Because the DEA has created Monsters, Pharmacist are No Longer Pharmacist, A lot of them are Rude, They are trying No they are acting like that they are our Drs,and they decide on what we should or should not take, and I think that’s Bullshi..I’m in Pain 24/7, and have been on Pain Meds Practically my whole life,(Do not have enough time or space to list all my Medical Issues), Last Month I went to Walgreens to get my Precription Filled & the Pharmacist refused to fill it, and I ask her why and she said that I do not fit the DEA’S profile, I was like what, DEA’S profile I’ve never heard of dea’s profile,and then she proceeds to tell me that No other Walgreens will fill My Precription either so I should not even try, (OMG) I was so upset and in severe pain, so I take my Precription go to another Pharmacy they look me up in the system hand my Precription back and said cannot fill this, I’m like what the Heck is going on here
Anyway to make a long story short come to find out this Pharmacist had Black Balled me in the system, meaning All Pharmacist can read what she had put in the system,So now I’m trying to fight this situation on top all else, So come on Guys all know that each and everyone of us have Our own Problems,Pain, and different situations, so we all should pull together and try to fight this instead of fighting against one another, so Please No Name calling and Wishing bad things happen to others,(Not Cool)
All Have A Great Evening..Brenda
Ive seen it help people with their appetite,relax them, help them sleep, help them to want to get up an move around,helps their mood so they laugh instead of being sick an tired of pain, my neighbor,shook an jerked uncontrollably, when she puffed a little of it, she was a totally different person,be more sociable, thats 6 off the top of my head, maybe you should try it an see if it helps you to be more considerat of people ,an who knows, that might be another reason to smoke or try the oils, might just make you a nicer person.
In response to ” marijuana is not a pain killer” I would like you to know that you ARE one of those people I like to refer to as WRONG ! In MOST cases it IS a pain killer. I think you are either misinformed by second and third hand info or have never used it yourself. You do understand that ” Reefer Madness ” is a COMEDY right ?
This is not a duplicate. Similar sentiment on two different situations but not duplicate
3800 E 550 N
i’m just floored at the people (especially politicians) that refer to pot as a narcotic. LOL!!
And just HOW can someone that ignorant feel they have the right to restrict my hydrocodone?
These calls for bans and even MORE restrictions have me stressed out all the time. I never know when I’ll be cut off.
What the hell? Am I suddenly supposed to wake up one morning and be cured just because some self gratifying premadonas feel the need to deprive me of my pain medication?
I have OA and need several surgeries. Hubby needs a lung transplant.
I don’t see being able to afford surgery anytime in the future.
on top of everything else, docs seem to feel patients should have an unlimited supply of money. If you don’t I guess you don’t deserve to live.
Again you’re just another person posting and uneducated and biased opinion about pain meds if you have ever had serious chronic pain like many of us have to deal with on a daily basis you would retract your comment and probably feel like a fool suggesting people start getting stoned to get on with their day is completely ridiculous I have years of experience in my younger years with marijuana and I don’t have anything bad to say about it except it makes people lazy and not want to do anything it does not relieve any pain whatsoever and suggesting people stop there pain medications prescribed to them by a licensed doctor is foolish many of us deal with serious pain on a daily basis with or without pain medication Andre depend on it to lead a normal life the best we can yes there are many out there who just take painkillers to get high or some kind of feeling but there will always be someone abusing something out there and people with legitimate pain issues should not be punished for their stupidity and menial addictions if you don’t deal with serious pain on a daily basis please do us all a favor and keep your comments to yourself or go back to your silly Facebook pages and post your gossip and silly personal opinions
I agree with you. I also in my younger
Days i did experience a little. And you are right it makes you slow can’t think your like
Lazy as they get. I don’t know who told
All them people it would make them feel better.
I just want to say I agree with you guys on the marijuana thing and doesn’t take care of my pain it’s adds to what is already wrong with me not only am I in constant pain then if I smoke marijuana or take marijuana medical marijuana act like that bull crap I’m allergic to shellfish so I can’t take fish oil for my heart it’s the same thing as trying to make me take medical marijuana I would still be taking something related to what I’m allergic to I’m not going to do it I have never been a pothead and I’m not going to start now I will die in pain before I will be in pain all day and in the high off of marijuana paranoid scared can’t stay awake so is this like the gun laws they don’t have the box of sitting around the police stations take their guns kill people but they got the boxes but they sure have the box there that take your medicine if you don’t need anymore how many times have you heard them say guns don’t kill people do well opiates don’t just killed by their self either somebody has to take them think about it
Excuse me but my sister was prescribed medical marijuana during the time of her”very very rare”stage3 Glassycarsinoma cervical cancer & it didn’t stop her pain & she also took pain killers which did stop her pain.so please explain to me just how you came to the conclusion that medical marijuana is going to stop the excruciating pain that all of these people including myself battle with on a daily basis!!!And FYI medical marijuana is legal in just about every State in the United States,now I would say that maybe you should do some more research on the facts!have a blessed evening!
I think, as an American citizen, I should have the right to choose what I need for pain management. Everyone is different, right?
Exactly. I do not need anyone else to tell me what I can & cannot put in my body.
And, pot Enhances my pain. Therefore, I am unable to ‘use’ pot for pain management. And don’t worry, ‘pain killers’ are limited and harder to get….
You really have no right to an opinion until you have a pain disorder, are successfully treated, and then have that treatment yanked out from under you and told to “live with it” because of voices like yours.
Hello Aubrey I’m assuming that your uneducated by the statement you made considering that they should simmer down on opiates for people who are in desperate need of the pain relief because they make you feel crappy and that marijuana is your drug of choice but it’s not addictive. Face it what works for one might not work for another and that we all are made up differently. G
I was given 15 mg ext release Morphine 3x a day and 15 mg immediate release 4x a day and was told it was max dose with many of the same conditions as you. Now they are taking away the no phone slowly weaning me off so that I can take Ibuprofen for my pain. I hurt badly daily with hardly any relief.
I am 49 years old with chronic pain for over 20yrs, each year worse than the last with no hopes at recovery. I want QUALITY of life, over QUANTITY. I should have that right above drug addicts who break the law taking unprescribed drugs and over dosing accidentally or purposely. PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE DECISION TO TAKE MORE MEDICATION THAN PRESCRIBED, TAKE MEDICATION NOT PRESCRIBED TO THEM, OR DECIDE TO TAKE LEATHAL DOSES OF PRESCRIBED OR NOT PRESCRIBED MEDICATION NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR DECISIONS IN LIFE AND DEATH. I’M SICK OF BEING PUNISHED FOR OTHERS MISTAKES AS WELL AS RELYING ON UNRELYABLE MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN MY ILLNESS.
Hi Pedro,
I empathize with you, my girlfriend has had cervical & Lumbar surguries that have not alleviated her pain and has been on 30MG MS COntin XR which is the only way she can get through the day. SHe is addidcted to them but does not take more than she is prescribed. Although she is addidcted to the meds, without them is she just suppose to deal with excruciating pain??? I think not. I hope you find relief from your pain.
TC
Tom,
Your gf is probably not addicted to the pain meds but rather physically dependent. There’s a big difference. The media has done a great job blurring the lines between the definitions.
If she’s not continually seeking the drug or experiencing negative consequences from using her medication than she’s probably not addicted.
If you’re concerned a pain psychologist may be able to help (you both).
Thanks for speaking up on her behalf!! You must be an awesome boyfriend!
All people are “dependent” on their prescriptions! If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be taking them! You are 100% correct! It’s all liberal propaganda that has doctors terrified to prescribe them to their patients anymore!!
I think you’re mistaken. It’s actually “conservative” propaganda.
Are you in Ohio
I am in the same situation. I have sciatica, most of my C disc ARE BULGED, MY L SECTION EVERY DISC IS BULGED. I HAVE SEVERE ARTHRITIS IN MY JOINTS,MIGRAINES, FIBRO, HAVE BROKEN MY TAILBONE AND HAVE A CYST GROWING ON MY SPINE.CONSTANT MUSCLE SPASMS. THIS IS A SHORTLIST OF MY DIAGNOSIS. I WAS TOLD IN 2012 BY ALL OF MY DOCS. TO FILE DISABILITY. WAITED TILL 2015 AFTER LOSING A JOB BECAUSE MY FIBRO FOG WAS SO BAD I COULD NOT THINK. IN 2012 I WAS ON 30 MG. OF PERCOCET 4 TIMES A DAY.I TOOK MYSELF OFF THEM. I DEALT WITH NO DRUGS. THEN THE PAIN GOT SO BAD THAT I WANTED TO DIE. I COULD NOT SLEEP, STAYED IN SO MUCH PAIN. GOT NEW FILMS MY CONDITION IS WORSE. NEUROPATHY, SPINAL STENOSIS AND IBS AND MORE. MY PRIMARY CARE SET ME WITH A PAIN MGMT. NOW TODAY I TAKE 3 15MG.MORPHINE ER AND 2 10 MG.PERCOCET A DAY WHILE TRYING TO FIND A LASER SURGEON THAT ACCEPTS MY INSURANCE WITH NO LUCK SO FAR. HAVE HAD EPIDURALS, NERVE ABLASIONS, PT SEVERAL TIMES. MY DOCTORS ARE THE BEST. I DON’T HAVE AN ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY TYPE. NEVER DRANK OR DID STREET DRUGS. I WORKED FOR 40 YEARS BEFORE GETTING MY DISABILITY. I ONLY GO OUT FOR DOCTORS APPTS. I DON’T FEAR COMING OFF OF THE MEDS. I FEAR THE PAIN COMING BACK FROM LACK OF MEDICATIONS AND MY PAIN LEVEL GOING BACK TO A 10. THE PAIN IS TRULY UNBEARABLE. I DON’T SELL OR SHARE MY MEDICATION FOR ANYONE. I AM SORRY THAT PEOPLE ABUSE MEDS. OR GET ADDICTED TO THEM. THEY MAKE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE IN REAL PAIN VERY HARD. WE DON’T DO ANYTHING WRONG FOR FEAR OF LOSING OUR MEDS BECAUSE ADDICTS LIE, CHEAT AND STEAL. THE DOCTORS I GO TO MAKE YOU GET FILMS, MRIS, EXRAYS TO BACK UP THE FACT THAT YOU SAY YOU HURT..YOU HAVE TO HAVE PROOF AND MEDICAL RECORDS TO BACK IT UP AND PASS THE DRUG TEST WHEN AND WHERE THEY SAY. IF ALL DOCTORS WERE LIKE MINE WE WOULDN’T HAVE AN OPOID CRISIS.
T.J I think we have the same Dr. or they are cut from the same cloth. When I met my Dr. I was in a wheelchair and unable to move my legs or neck or hips. I have had 4 total joints in my Rt. leg 3 in my left and 3 sets of hips on both sides. Because of wooden blinds falling on my shoulders I have soft tissue damage. Stenosis in my lower back and upper back and neck. There are days that I ask myself what I did to have all of this. This year I also had an experience on the OR. table and I didn’t want to wake up but my husband calling on the 3rd day brought me back from my warm and fuzzy feeling only to face the going under again to have Stents in my arteries. My pacemaker causes me to have such discomfort I have donated or given to friends at least 40 bras. I didn’t leave the house for 9 mo. I smelled like a walking toilet with a Colostomy bag that would leak. The atrial fibrillation can cause side effects of falling and spinning. I thank the Lord everyday I have a Dr. that listens to me, councils me, and takes good care of me. She gave a very lucrative career up to help people like me. God Bless Her. Thank you Lord for my Husband that has stuck by me thru all this. He is always there when I need him. I also have no teeth from long term antibiotics use and meds. I am a mess with Vitiligo and so much scar tissue it is difficult to move. Oh and did I mention the muscle flab over my knee, I am a freak with a handsome and funny man that loves this former model and hairstylist. I still feel lucky that there are meds. that can help and I pray no one takes that liberty away from me or my Dr. that prescribes the little bit of help in the form of a little red pill.
My name is Belinda and like most of you suffer from 24hr. a day back pain. I cannot b operated on because my bone density record is -3 drs. r afraid any rods etc will pop out. I have bulging discs, stenosis of spine, chronic nerve pain, my bones are that of a woman in her late 70s and I am 57. The drs. tell me i can break my back a second time just by coughing or sneezing. I cannot hold a sitting or standing job therefore I’m on disability. I’m on 20 mg landing in every 12hrs and 5mg oxymoron and still suffer continuously because my dr. in birmingham, al.is scared to raise my dosage because of the government. I see her each month and never know when I will be given a drug test. This medicine allows me to do simple things like wash dishes or sweep and mop my floor but never all in one day, I hurt so bad I have to take many breaks. I am an intelligent woman and have had good jobs.between all the back problems and osteoporosis on top i am broken. The only relief i get is from the likes and the government is making my life even worse wanting to take medicine away or cut it severely. It’s going to come to going back to drinking which I haven’t done in5hrs or going to the streets and get relief. The FEW are making more addicts than helping. Why can’t they come up with meds that are as effective as strong looked that won’t give me bleeding ulcers again if their so smart? Even passing gas sends sharp pain in my lower back, hips and legs. What can we do someone please tell me. I’ve called Senators Jones and Shelby i doubt that helps till they have to walk a mile in my shoes or try and sit in my chair of use the bathroom #2. Thanks for listening.
Hello thank you for letting me comment, 26 years ago my life has changed I was broadsided by a a cab driver. It destroyed my truck and I was off work for 17 weeks left at the back and neck problems. And 3 years later I was sitting at a stoplight with my one year old daughter and my wife and a drunk driver it is from behind going at least 70 to 80 miles an hour or the officer said. I was really injured and my life is really changed forever. Before that I was a softball player. A weightlifter I work in construction struction and I have play music and clubs and so I was 14 years old. And not too long after my accident there was a lot of tragedy in my family including his suicide so not only did I have chronic debilitating pain had also PTSD. So my doctor start treating me with 5mg hydrocodone two to three day and 1 mg Xanax I would take a half twice a day. Though I wasn’t able to go back to playing softball and doing the things I loved I was able to continue playing music and work in woodworking part of construction which wasn’t near as hard on you I continue to do this for 26 years and it was working fine I got liver test done every 6 months no problems whatsoever I didn’t drink because I knew it was not good for me but the medication I was taking I didn’t do any other drugs I didn’t miss use my prescriptions and my life was good as good as it could be I accepted what happened because I couldn’t change it but luckily I had the medication that I could go on. Well 6 weeks ago that all changed I’m 52 it’s a Saturday morning and I’m commenting on this website today I’m I plenty of things I need to do but the thought of getting out of bed it’s terrifying I’m I’ve lost numerous jobs now I have Builders who no longer use me because I know I can’t do my job any longer some people look at me as a drug addict which I’m not I was I would work on million dollar homes and you don’t do that by being a drug addict I raise my child by myself single parent for 4th grade and now she’s in college I started back playing music play my first big concert with Ozark Mountain Daredevils and then just like that life is ain’t a life is looking good it was taken for me and now I in so much pain on a daily basis it’s difficult to move on. The sad part is there’s nothing to replace it. Doctors won’t see me because I’m a chronic pain patient my doctor not only cut me off from my medications he drop me as a patient after 10 years and the doctor I had before that I was with for 10 for 13 years so I’ve always had a good rapport with doctors never failed drug test I feel that I’m being punished unfairly. I did not want to take either one of these drugs but circumstances in life made it happen. And the young doctors out there today or saying well this is just part of life I’m sorry I have to just strongly disagree with that. I’ve seen what suicide does to family and it’s devastating and I’ve always been completely against it but in the past 6 weeks it’s in her my mind because who wants to live the way I’m living rest of my life. Over-the-counter drugs do not and will not cut the pain that I have and people who think that it will but I don’t understand that. I know people who can handle pain very well and you and I’ve always been one of those people being in construction I’ve been hurt more than once you know but this kind of pain on a daily basis a friend of mine who was hurt in Iraq explained it like this it’s like somebody walking behind you 24/7 with a bullhorn yelling in your ear ears non-stop 24/7 and all you can think about is that guy yelling in your ear that bullhorn that’s what the pain feels like it’s all you can think about because it’s all all consuming. When I was taking the medication I was very proactive I would get therapeutic massages I tried acupuncture Chiropractic just to let my doctor know but I wanted to do other things to try to help myself also but all those are so temporary and so expensive I spent most of all most all my money I got from a wreck on that kind of stuff because insurance won’t cover it but I did it anyway and here I am now completely broke I can’t even stand straight up I’m scared to death of what future holds cuz there’s no doctors that will see me and the ones that will see me the first thing they tell me is I will not prescribe narcotics of any kind there’s something so wrong with this so many people are suffering and I know many myself and I’m speaking on behalf of everybody like that I forgive my grammar I’m using my talk-to-text. Maybe we need a waiver that people can sign that say I understand the risk and if something happens to me no family member of mine about it because I made the choice. But I don’t see anything happening to me cuz I didn’t use it my doctor didn’t even tell me what didn’t even know I guess that is a step down drug he cut me off cold turkey and luckily I had enough left to wean myself off of it wish I had no problems I didn’t have sweats I didn’t have in anything withdraw symptoms and I had people watching me granted I do not sleep I might sleep an hour night that’s because I I can’t lay in one position for more than 15-20 minutes so I might I used to sleep but now I don’t. So I thought I’d ask your doctor you know what’s healthier my pain is so bad I don’t I’m not hungry I don’t eat as much I don’t exercise for sure I don’t sleep I can guarantee you this is harming my health worse than where I was before I was getting up getting to my day I would walk my dog. I play music in the evenings and granted I would still hurt in the mornings are still kind of tough sometimes but the medication took the edge off where I could function and I feel like it’s over and I can’t live like this rest of my life I won’t because there’s no quality in it. You know there’s many times has brought tears to my eyes to think that it’s the country that I love and was taught as a free country and a country that with compassion maybe we care about all these other countries all the stuff but yet will turn on our own people even our veterans we will allow people to live in pain it’s unacceptable. I know a girl I know three people who are nurses for 30 years and they quit because of what’s going on it says inhumane and one of them has an 86 year old mother who is dying and they’ve been having trouble getting her medication and one nurse said I’m afraid to give it to her cuz I’m afraid she’s going to become addicted. She’s 86 and terminally ill I’ll tell me that’s that’s right we were all just sickened by it that’s how the new doctors and nurses are being trained that this drug called opiate is is evil. My daughter had a surgery a few years ago and even with the paint the pain pill she was in excruciating pain and I can promise it it broke my heart to see her in the pain she was in with the pain medication if my daughter went through that again and they didn’t give her something to fight that kind of pain I would not have stood for it I guarantee you I would not have stood for it I would have sued or done anything I could that’s wrong so wrong. so I haven’t read all the comments on here but but for everyone who’s in pain who believes that this works for you I stand beside you and something’s got to be done I think if people have been on it for a long time and have a proven track record should be left alone allowed to take it and if the younger generation wants to come up chewing on a stick or whatever they want to do to fight their pain I’m fine with that let them do it. I understand people get addicted to it people need to read about how these people died. I did a benefit concert for Tom Petty and they’re saying no yet Tom Petty died because of an opiate addiction will take a look at what he was taking he wasn’t taking a 5mg hydrocodone and half a Xanax he was taking a combination of several high-potency drugs and drinking on top of it. And I’m not cutting him down at all I love Tom Petty he had a fractured hip and two bad knees and I’ve never heard one person say I wonder how Tom felt all I hear him from his bandmates is always so is opiates and killed him. Not one word about the kind of pain Tom is in and he promised to finishes to or for his fans before he had something done he needs it just makes me sick he’s a hell of a man I brought people a lot of joy and for us to let him go out and opiate drug addict is pathetic. But my point is these people are not dying by just taking a couple pills they’re dying by taking a whole combination of things that don’t go together and then they’ll drink on top of it or they’ll take sleeping pills or whatever just a whole combination things and there was blaming one pill for it and that’s what cost me mine and mine is there’s not a right I look to see if there’s a recorded death of somebody taking what I take daily and couldn’t find one. I doctor used to tell me I Mo be much worse off taking over the counter medicines because I would have to take so much of it that night it would destroy my health but all the sudden has changed now I’m supposed to take it over the counter because what I’m taking now will destroy me well according to my health test so far after 26 years it hasn’t. Another doctor told me well if this drug stops working well it hasn’t stopped for me and my anxiety was gone that mean under control now I have horrible anxiety again excruciating pain I can’t turn my head I can’t do my job I’m behind on all my bills I have two vehicles sitting out there with no insurance and the tags are expired and I can’t make enough money to keep up with it so what are you do. My parents were strong against any kind of drugs but now they’ve seen what’s happened to me they’re fighting for me. They know what I was taking help me and was probably going to allow me to live a longer life my mom is scared to death I’m going to commit suicide. And it’s not what I want I have a lot to live for but how do you live for when you dread getting out of bed. I’ve Been Told there class action lawsuits starting against CDC and the big hospitals and the DEA for cutting people off suddenly people committed suicide people can’t get out of bed people lost their homes it’s destroyed lives so I hope to God these lawsuits do some good cuz if one comes up in Missouri I’m I’m going to be on it cuz this is not this is ruined my life all over again. My life is ruined 26 years ago but I may have been able to manage it now they want to give me over the counter medications in a massage and give me some kind of a shot in my spine in my neck which I’ve already had and I will not ever do again those do not work and I won’t do them all they’re doing is grasping at straws because they don’t have anything to replace what I was taking God help us. Thank you for letting me comment I pray for you all. And I think the ones that are going to bash what I have to say I’ve never lived through real pain or there are type person who can handle pain better that 26 years of just continuous non stop paying that cannot be surgically fixed you have to maintain it somehow to have any quality of life and that’s what I’ve done and the government has decided that I don’t deserve that anymore and it’s sad thank you again Chris
Chris, I am so sorry that you are having so much pain without any meds to help. I have many auto immune illnesses and several chronic conditions that cause severe pain.for various other health problems I can’t take certain types of medications. I feel so lucky to have the doctor I found a little more than 20 years ago. She was a nurse who then went back to Medical school. I think because she had patient contact at the hospital, she understands better than any other doctor what patients are going through. I am sick of people who are not in moderate to severe chronic pain making decisions for those of us who are. I so wish there was a way to make them live in our bodies and try to function with moderate pain even with pain medication. We are not all physically addicted, although some of us are. What happened to compassion? I have never taken more than what I am prescribed. When I was taking the recommended dose and the pain level wasn’t tolerable, I talked to my doc and she told me to increase it. I am going to be moving to another state and I am scared to death. I really think I am not going to be able to find another doctor that will prescribe for me. There are days I get so frustrated with this situation. Being in severe chronic pain causes more physical stress on the body. Trying to heal from a surgery when your pain level is at 8, is almost impossible. I wish us all luck. Chris I am hoping you can find a new doctor that understands. I am hoping for all of us that someone makes these lawmakers understand what hell is. We treat our animals better than we treat humans.
6002 n 13th ave
37y/o Female Psoriatic Arthitis pt 12y+
I decided to stop taking my 10mgNorco last week. I’m on my 5th day today with NO Opioids! Did I need them? Well maybe so but my condition is for life & I may need that pain control when I’m 60 rather than now. IT WAS THE WORST THING IVE EVER GONE THROUGH COLD TURKEY
My dr is amazing and she cheered me on, told me what to expect even offered to taper down. I refused it’s been over 17 years of taking that Med & it had me. With 4 daughters I’m not going to be on something that controls my so much
I say legalizing medicinal marijuana in Ms. would help the people like me who truly are in pain and aren’t wanting to function with an opioid
My opinion please no negative feedback as I’m not through the worse of my withdrawals. Blessings to all & remember u CAN do it it’s all mental! Don’t let anything but God control your mind!
Love your comment Debbie you hit the nail right on the head.
And the pendulum of pain control has swung in the opposite direction.. It was only 10 years ago when
New York stated that chronic pain patients were Underserved. and people were turning to their physicians for help. The physicians were more than happy to prescribe “Hard hitting narcotics” because
we, as chronic pain patients were in serious pain…No matter the reason and to rip patients off long standing narcotic therapy is tantamount to TORTURE!!!
I agree 100%. Im from Mississippi and was on 210 mg of methadone and actiq for breakthrough to 80 mg of methadone with no breakthrough meds after being on that dose for over 12 year
They failed me for something I took in the hospital for 3 days and cut me off even after seeing the drugs they had me on,pain meds make it where I can walk after 20 I’m now bedridden most of the time at 50 with 2 grandkids I can’t play with anymore I’m hunting a lawyer
I’m so sorry they’ve done that to you I feel so bad that we stand by and let these politicians the FDA and insurance companies do this to innocent suffering people I hope it gets better for you
I wish you the best. Im praying for a class action lawsuit for people like us I want my life back and I’m so sorry for what’s happened to you and that you’re unable to spend time with your grandkids it’s a want that’s a one-time thing you can’t go back God bless you and I pray that things work out for you and me and people just like us. I proven after 26 years I not addicted to it some people may laugh at that but I’m not laying here this morning sweating and shaking and saying oh God please give me the pill I’m saying please get rid of this pain and its anxiety because this I can’t live with I’ve been off the medication for over 6 weeks and I’m getting worse and worse and worse I wish you luck sir
I have stage 4 breast cancer (presented that way)- Lytic lesions throughout every vertebrae; 4 vertebral compression fractures; 3 brain tumors; 4 liver TUMORS; throughout lungs; leg bone; arm; sacrum; obviously breast; etc. Was given three months to live at 41 years old. But was in no pain. Doctors forced (really) me onto ultimately 210 mg/ day oxycontin/ oxycodone + 8mg/ day Ativan + 10 mg/ day diazapam + fentanyl patches. They said I had to quickly build a tolerance because the pain was coming. They were right about that. Went through the brain radiation and 53 rounds of chemo, blah, blah….but I felt SO much better when I was supposedly riddled with cancer than I do now (as far as straight up bone pain.). The treatments (and cancer) have laid waste to my entire body.
The good news (for all cancer patients….there is hope when it doesn’t look like it)- I somehow beat the cancer (almost to the all important five year mark now).
Today my doctor told me these were the last prescriptions. I’m to go “cold turkey” off of all of these at once. He said , “it’s too bad. Looks like you’ve licked an unbeatable kind of aggressive cancer, but this withdrawl may well take you out.” He gave me no names, references or advice. No tapering. He said “My case is no longer within his purview. Good bye and good luck”. This just happened today. And my mouth is still hanging open. I’m stunned. I’m in horrific back pain (obviously! On the MRIs my spine looks like Swiss cheese), and worse. I’m actually not sure what to do. I really won’t be able to move.
If you are moving from the Oncology department, you should ask about palliative pain department or pain management department. If there is one at the same hospital your records will be there. Make an appointment
Agee
Agreed. Thank You
I’ve been in danger of committing suicide since I was 23 and I discovered through the use of Meds such as 80mg OxyContin 3 times daily completely took away my life threatening suicidal depression! I have depressive pain; not physical, and wish I was in hospice so I could have a Morphine drip, multiple Dilaudid injections to relieve my depression. I have a nice family, supportive girlfriend, etc, but they don’t feel my unbearable depression. I’m 47 and have had it!!! People like me end up seeking illegal drugs on the streets and overdose or go to jail. I’ve tried “great psychiatrists, SSRI’s, NNSRI’s, mood stabilizers. ECT…you name it! Am I drug seeking? Yes, of course!!! I don’t want to die or hurt my family! I want relief. Suboxone has kept me alive…miserably, to say the least! Should I give up and move to Portugal where I can have Opiates at my disposal and leave my friends and family behind? Looking for an answer!
I got great relief from major depression with Pristiq after severe disability that ended my career. I was newly married and Drs thought I was seeking early disability and threw me in pain clinic. The problem was I wasn’t seeking disability, I was newly married and happy and had just started a new job that I lost as soon as they found out I was in a pain clinic. The depression is horrible and I hope you are able to find help. Please try Pristiq. Drs can give you s coupon and you can get it for 20.00 a moth to see if it works for you.
I wish I could help you, but I am in the same situation. .I never thought, when I went to to the pain clinic, after being hit by a car, when I was walking in the crosswalj, that NOW, I would be addicted to pain meds…my dr.after prescribing so many hard meds ( he h ad prescribed at one time fentynal..AND oxycotine…” went on a leave of absence ” ..and never came back…you ass..you got me hooked on pain meds…and then just skipped out…I’m so mad!!!….I have a great P.T. that took me me down from the morphine..am still prescribed 5mg.oxy..but..I know it’s only time he stops that..and my life would suck..
I had no misconceptions, pain meds are addictive, and I am still an addict. I weighed my options i chose quality of life.
Well , mostly lovely people the fact that it is 5 in the morn says it for me .I don’t sleep,don t much eat can t really keep myself clean proper. My house is 2 feet deep my daughter wo to a just a few hours shy of two full time jobs. Can’t drive . Dr decided i was an addict because I kept asking for help. I’ve never been in any kind of trouble never a dirty test . I’m 60 now , the Dr said i just wanted pills., Because I need multifaceted help with several kind of migraines bone deterioration body wide. She was not testing the 3t 4t,? …..I don’t know ,kept telling her i felt bad, she let me gain 50 lbs, and fall into a sevea r hypothyroidism fog . Tried to leave her but she tainted every person i tried to have help from. Got so angry in there somewhere i was mistreated by another dr. . So I tried another new pc and he too away the med i had left at that point . I couldn’t tenner where I had had some crazy some of the Dr , she Dr . Padlock told me she lost the federal the follow-up report ,and couldn’t find it.. I was really starting to get sick now . Over the counter went crazy on my life. Could feel what no nutrition no rest to much Tylenol andinceds. 12 hours of dry heaves at a time made worse by stress .the number of headaches a month . I mean.. Now a Dr have me butran s 10 because the primary care has me looking .really bad to him. The Dr that took everything , …. Took muscle relaxer and nerve med for pain ,burning and numbness in my legs and feet . So the new guy now was going to give me another muscle relaxer and after they started goofing with me like had a dangerous reaction from it . This is so long and leaves so much out, except this, not lovely people, don’t tell some one you would NEVER take a medicine that you could get addicted to. Don’t say you would let your child live in agony.. if your. A nurse or dr . Please do is all a favor, go get hurt, then go to your new pain dr.. Afraid to be truly honest because they could red flag your records, lie to you, and treat you like a criminal disease, with needle marks hidden in your body. And ,Don’t come back. And don’t blame it on some broken person on the street, or a good dr. That would give you pain meds . And do some re a research. Many on what the neglect of proper medical care dose with mal nutrition and chronic health problems do to a disabled person who has asked for help so many times .well , so many times they are giving up. Trust me however high up on your hill you are, you would too.!!!! To all you good folks out there, it’s close to over for me. I hope you find what you need . . All this being in just my personal opinion. Because they have us surounded..
No you can do this! I know if I can with all my mess then u can too! Man just get thru the first 3 days! Get someone to stay with you cause it’s gonna suck a few days but take it easy and flush everything
I lost a cousin and countless friends
I am on day 5 opioids for 10-17years!
It sucks but don’t let anything have that much power over ur mind! You are meant for greatness and will one day help another one of us!:)
whatever get you through the day man. ud leave them anyway if u think about the end game u choose life then move
I hope you can find a answer i would like to know they are doing me same way and I have been on 2 60 oxycotin at and 4-15 for break this for 10years and now they say i can get by in 4- 15 oxycodon a day by them self i am ready for the nut house.please God help us all who are being tourched by the doctors .
Mason Noah
I was diagnosed with RA at age 50. Now I’m 55 and I was in pain constantly, not to mention the intense fatigue. I was on Remicade, Arava, folic acid, and Percocet. It started in my neck and spread to both hips, hands, feet, back and just in the last two months, to my knees. I purchased RA herbal remedies online from a great herbal home called GOOD HEALTH HERBS HOME,I only used the herbal remedy for 5 weeks, my RA disappeared.pleases anyone out there going through RA pain don’t hesitate to purchased RA herbal remedy from GOOD HEALTH HERBS HOME,contact details wwwgoodhealthherbshome .com . I am so grateful i find a miracle cure. I feel like i am 30 years old now,am so strong and healthy ..
It is really shameful for you to come on these sits for the mere purpose of pushing a product. Do you get paid for it?
I am truly in excrutiating pain due to bulging disks, spinal stenosis and piriformis syndrome. Your comment is so transparent, a baby could discern your purpose.
Absolutely cruel and self-serving comment.
I agree with you! I’m sick of this excuse fda and cya. Stand up for your patients. I’m going crazy with this pain! I would rather they fixed the problem and I’m confident 99% of others would too!
I have bulging disc and suffer from them as well. I also have spinal stenosis and all that comes with it, but at the same time was told I would be in a wheelchair in 5 years from crippling RA that went into remission after taking medication for only a year or so and lots of therapy. I mean I went swimming every day and night that I could. I made up my mind that I would not end up on that wheelchair and with a lot of hard work and faith it’s been over 20 years and I’m still not in that chair. RA is one of those really tricky auto immunize diseases that are hard to treat and you never know from day to day what your going to wake up like, so I understand why someone would want to post any victory no matter howmtheyngot it or how long or short it might be. So I’m just going to be happy for her and pray that your bulging disc get better and your stenosis gets better everyday. You probably already know or practice it but water therapy is so awesome for what you are going through. May we all find relief daily and share how you found it when you do.
YA’. FB THANKS. if they could make you believe ra herbals in 2 weeks will send you a painless life for ever. i am with you all pain patients and been on suboxone 22mg for 13 years. but found out today my suboxone DR LANDIS died 2 days ago, he just droped dead. i all way thought about his health. my refill is in 2 days and i need to find a dr. he also has me on nuvigil for central apnia and anti depr-. be for subs i had throut surgery and pain med of 50 to 100mgs cherry liquid oxycontinn for 2 years. now i am here listining to ya all feeling sad bad and hope we can get out of this torture .
My Dr. had me on suboxone for 3 years, and the same thing happened to me,he passed away and I had no where to go. I had to travel hours away and see a Dr and finally found some arrogant Dr. in a nearby city, who seriously could care less why you are there. (prescribed opiates for Scoliosis, sciatica etc etc etc since I was 18) and went on subs to get off pills, to be on pills for years now. Well switched Drs because my Dr. became really inappropriate in the Dr. Office while giving me a injection for Bursitis ( put his genital area right against my shoulder and neck area, while giving the shot I froze, wanted to puke became scared to move. SICK !!!)I had received a year prior auth with him, and that ran out just a month or two now, and finally have a wonderful treatment center, but will insurance pay for another year? Am I going to have to pay this out of pocket, they sent the prior auth and have not heard anything back yet, this is in Michigan would you know any answers to that part? Sorry about your situation, just get on the phone with your insurance co, and they will help you find the nearest Dr good luck to you!@!
My name is Debbie and I suffer from Chronic Deseminated Shinglrs that reoccur every 4 to 5 weeks, it has absolutely taken over my life, I have had a complete cervical spine fusion that damaged nerves all along my neck and in my head. it has caused me major excruciating pain and because of how it limits my life it has caused me major depression and anxiety, now the government wants to take away the legal pain killers and penalize the ones of us who don’t snort or sell our drugs because young people or junkies steal them and have died because of their bad choices. this is one of those things government needs to stay out of. people drink and become alcoholics by the millions and yet alcohol is still sold every day. people still smoke and kill themselves. I just know that you are causing major pain and misery to a whole population of good people who don’t deserve being penalized..it is not right
Could not have said it better. There is a fear from people who have chronic severe pain who have gone through years of trial and error ,countless sleepless nights filled with pain to some sort of alleviation by the carefully controlled use of options in their treatment plan. We are afraid the pain is going to come back with no way to control it.
They tried prohibition and that turned out well. As for cigarettes check how much it costs to make them and all the rest is tax. I feel like a lot of this,” let’s take the only relief a person in chronic pain has” is over money. Besides people in pain can’t do as much work, and their old so who cares if they hurt. And it looks like the government is doing something besides tweeting on Twitter and sitting on their thumbs. Government has NO business in this.
This is a reply to Deborah Gomm to say “you are so very right” I agree with you 300 % plus.
I had shingles, still have PHN pain from it, have a hernia, I have IBS which is chronic constipation
and with severe pain and severe discomfort. No Doctor will prescribe me Tylenol 3 of which I have taken for 15 years now because of the opioid crisis , they “don’t give a damn if I suffer but they won’t permit me with “assisted death”….. so all you smokers out there and drinkers out there , keep up your DAMN medicine called “BOOZE”…maybe I should start to because they never see a doctor.
Oh I do totally agree with you and have said the same thing
Love your comment Debbie you hit the nail right on the head.
Debra,
Well said. I became tolerant to Opiods at Pain Clinics through severe spine pain for two years that lead to the discovery of a congenital defect of my s1and consequential need for a anterior posterior ten hour surgery fusion S1-L4 fusion in 2005. From 2003-2006, I went all the way up the Opiods chain to 200 mg Fentynol patches. Then, six months after my 12/27/2005 surgery, I was put on the wean down. Every nine weeks, another lower drug level classification Opiods was eliminated until I was put on methodone. In the following years after my fusion I continued to have severe and persistent muscle spasms, and got trigger point injections as often as possible, and was on three different types of muscle relaxers. I have a fatty liver, and many other health issues and take at the time was taking 21 different RX and PRN’s a day. I wasn’t allowed ANY OPIODS because I was flagged as a drug seeker, when I had neck fusion c5-6 in 2007, I asked for more than 4mg dilaudid IV every four hours, and 30 mg of oxy every 6 hours while in hospital for three days. I was sent home with ten mg oxy 60 count pills no refills. Same exact dosage with both knee replacements, much more extreme surgeries, way more intense pain, hospital stay three days, and eleven days in transitional care unit doing painful PT three times a day for an hour and a half, and OT twice a day for two hours. I was allowed one 10mg oxy every 6hours while at TCU, then dropped down to 10mg Hydro when sent home 60 count, two refills, then wean to 5/325 Hydro’s 60 count 2refills then nothing. I have osteoarthritis, sponylothesis, stenosis,severe and persistent muscle spasms in my back, severe pain throughout body when symptomatic with my bipolar depression, PTSD, and due to the muscle spasms and the PTSD I have MN medical cannabis. I cannot vape it legally in ANY HOSPITAL, CLINIC,CRISIS HOUSE, etc, or I will be discharged, my Medical assistance canceled, I would be responsible for my hospital bill, and I would lose my medical cannabis license. I am being penalized as a drug seeker now for asking for 10mg hydros for my shoulder that needs a replacement-I am doing physical therapy, and going through as many cortisone& prednisone shots into my joint under fluoroscopy as I can, but I still wake up in tears from the pain. My body is just tolerant to Opiods, so when I asked my shoulder Dr. For higher than the 6/325 40 pill count that he was giving me inbetween allowed shot times, he said I was drug seeking!! Of course I am I said. I am in pain!! The dosage you’ve been giving me has not been adequately reducing my pain to a tolerable level, as I am still waking up in the night crying from Pain. It is your job as my Dr. To help me to not be in pain. So please RX me the higher dose. I’m asking for 40 pills 10mg hydros to get me through the week until my next shot. That hardly makes me an addict!! You’ve seen my imaging! You know I’ legit. Well, he said,” I have seen in your history of surgeries that you have begged for more and higher doses, for longer periods, and that is a pattern ai will not continue to support either. I will also take these red flags and report you, and enter you into the MN computer pharmaceutical something list? So now, I’m terrified, that I won’t ever be able to have anything but Tylenol for Pain, as I cannot take ANY NSAIDS due to blood thinners, and I’m allergic to Ultram. I feel like he was; extremely demeaning,patronizing,criminalizing and purposefully trying to cover his own ass due to Trumps new laws regarding Opiods. Like Martin Luther King said,” a threat to one man anywhere, is a threat to all men everywhere”
Unfortunately, your right, alcohol and tobacco are legal killers, they both are used to dull Pain, physical and emotional, but the state and federal earn tax dollars from both sources!! Opiods are RX, that are not taxed that way, and when Dr’s have been weaning patients off their Opiods too fast, patients turn to the streets, not because they are addicts, but because they have legitimate chronic or crisis Pain that needs to be maintained or still weaned for a longer length of time. At this point, the legit patient is now labeled an official addict, because they are self medicating and buying on the streets( only because they had no choice.) Meanwhile, their bank accounts are drained, as we all know how much 10mg hydros go for $10 on the street per pill!! This whole system of punishing people who REALLY NEED OPIODS, and do NOT ABUSE THEM, Pass Pee tests, and are accused of drug seeking, and CUT OFF and reported, due to tolerance and asking for a higher dosage as a result needs to change. It’s the patients who have no legitimate physical or mental reason to be on Opiods that are RX and abuse or test positive, or test as not taking-meaning they are selling on the street that should have CRIMINAL CONSEQUENCES, so that the rest of us Legits can be left alone, and continue to be treated for our Pain with Opiods PRN by our Dr’s and Surgeons!
I am so sorry for each and every person who has written their story here. It is unconscionable what one human can do to another.
This was written in 2012; if anything it has gotten much worse for people.
I have been looking for help for my spouse since January when his pain doctor decided after 8 years that my husband no longer needed pain management, but suboxone. My husband will probably not survive this horrific withdrawal he is experiencing, on top of his normal pain he is getting no pain relief and his body is dependent.
What has happened to our country? PROP is now asking the FDA to remove oral and mucosal pain medications from the market. Will someone come behind me years after I write this and ask what an opiate is? It was something you could take by mouth and you could take it for chronic, unrelenting, intractable pain. Pain from failed surgeries, car accidents, diseases with no cure, surgeries. Physicians for Responsible Opiate Prescribing are trying to take it all off the market, not even allowing for people dying of cancer in horrific pain.
The FDA is asking for comments, I hope someone comments before all of the pain medications are gone for everyone.
https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=25&so=DESC&sb=commentDueDate&po=0&D=FDA-2017-P-5396
Hi there, my reply is i feel so sad for everyone that has to rely on perscription drugs to have some sort of life. Its not their fault in the first place to have to be on them. Iv been on morphine for 20 years and my doctor told me last week shes taking me off it and putting me on Targin. Iv been through withdrawals before, and i feel for anyone that has to go through it. If i dont have my meds for one day, my back pain is so bad i feel as if theres a board going through the middle of my back and im bent over when i walk. The doctors are so cruel. What are they thinking when they take a oath to look after people? They sY opiates are kulling people, i think there will be more suicides with people suffering than there will be with over doses. They wouldnt have a bloody brain in their heads.
I have just this to add, ive considering suicide as of writing as im abandoned by my pcp,dr fox.lies and dehumanizing treatment at urban family practice 564 niagra.ive had pain med yreatment since 2004 no probs.as of the cdc in jan 2017 ive been shamed and reduced to suboxone,which does not treat pain.im probly gonna just kill myself i cant stand,walk to the bathroom but forced to see the rich dr every month.so they get rich while not treating me.and pain mgt,is a farce.they do nothing that my pcp doesnt do.this shit makes vets seniors cancer pts and chronic pain want to die.hope i will be dead by christmas.fuck these assholes,they greed got us here.now they need to class action suit against all drs but lawyers that do this are chicken.
It’s a damned shame, if not a crime, what they are doing to the legitimate pain patients who are now unable to get the medications they need to be able to tolerate life and maintain some level of function. i have been on various opioids for over twenty years and have had zero problems from them and have never taken more than prescribed to keep my pain at a barely tolerable level so I can function independently. I seriously think that the only way to stop them from taking away our opioid pain medications is for patients to start fileing lawsuits against doctors for substandard treatment of pain, when they refuse to prescribe medications that have proven effective for over a hundred years. The AMA warned Congress and DEA that cracking down on prescription opioids would cause many patients to turn to illegal street drugs like heroine which would cause many more deaths. It will take lawsuits to reverse this mistreatment of pain sufferers.
People will end up being unable to deal with their pain and will end up turning to herion then overdose and die. It’s fine doctors you still have your licenses!!!’ Pussys!!
Well said Deborah and Scooter!
It is beyond belief that any person of conscience could deny the apparent need of opiates in a medical sitting for as long as a patient needs. Medical offices are so over crowded by the DEA, self-glorified congressmen, and do-good illiterates there is no longer room for the doctor and patient. May they all one day need a opiate.
I’m praying for you and a healing and solution.. Do not kill yourself!!!! If you think you’re suffering now you have no idea. You well be suffering for eternity… not just a short while on earth… please reconsider
Tom, I am hoping your still marching on everyday. Your letter caught my eye and I’m sorry that a person has to get to bottom Of a barrell before someone cares enough to help us out. So do the very best you can by getting that one person or thing that makes you smile, sing, jump up and down, twirl
Round and around or jiggle till your wiggling. Then spend time doing just that with that special person until your doing what you like. I hope this makes YOU SMILE Tom. God bless stay safebuddy
I too intend on killing myself when I will be faced with withdrawal. I have been through just a few days of it in the past due to so called medication dosage changes. I have no intentions of laying in bed covered in my own shit and putting my wife through Hell . My kids are grown as are my grandchildren. I truly believe GOD and my family will forgive me in time .The other option of becoming a complete asshole from pain and sickness is not an option for me . May GOD forgive and understand me. Richard. p.s. I Have been on my meds for 12 years . They gave me my life back, and now the government is taking it away.
richard i know this sucks but please dont kill yourself!
I totally agree absolutely! I’m 57 years old, arthritis from head to toe upper neck back lower back feet knees shoulders, pain for many years I don’t want to be a pot smoker but that’s my alternative since a very large company in Tennessee that seems to own every pain clinic has gotten this one young lady angry at me over having a small amount of alcohol in my system. Never a problem until she came aboard a year ago but barely. I was told by doctors in the 1980s to drink one or two glasses of red wine moderately every day if I wanted to which I did not I did weigh less than that no. Nobody told me until after urine test several, that I had alcohol in my urine. This young lady decided she’s an, some withdrawals which I’ve been through I used to be on horrible medications very strong and horrible before. Thank God I’m not on those but I would never go through that again. This is what causes more deaths than people who actually take prescriptions in my opinion. When a good person who is not informed and told not to even take one sip even though I did it for 28 years plus of red wine for artery not clogging after seeing my father died a horrible death of clogged arteries, I was only doing what the doctors told me to do innocently. Then I stopped then I had some for new years only two small glasses of champagne toast. I’m told I can’t even take one swallow. Or I’ll be dismissed so I am suffering. That’s when good people like me who have a perfect record never missed my pills always had enough even extra, never any illegal drugs whatsoever in my life but when you’re put into this category you have to do something for your pain and withdrawals to say the least, so what do I do smoke marijuana which I hate never have smoked? She claims that alcohol mixed with my morphine which is not very much milligrams can kill me. Hello? I have been doing that wine at a moderate situation just occasional for 30 years and never had a problem doesn’t that prove that I’m not going to die in my sleep like Michael Jackson hooked up to a anesthesia machine. You’re forcing good patience to go and do things I don’t want to do this is the real problem!
I’m so very sorry to say that what your saying is the truth. Already have heard of a person in horrific pain found out they were not going to keep feeling his pain medicine. He knew what that meant. He was going to be in uncontrollable, unbearable pain. So while his family went to town he decided to stay behind and rest. When the family return but he wasn’t there. The wife checked to see if his car was.there. It was and she walked out to the farthest part of the backyard only to find his lifeless body. His head with a bullet in it. And our got who have nothing more to do that to twit on tweeter every minute of every day, has nothing in the worldore important that to save the junkie from killing there selves while talking large doses of legit scripts of pain med. needed for descent people with unbearable pain. What a wonderful life to live.
. Ted P
Did you mean “first DO NO HARM” What a joke.
I’m so sorry for you. I agree as I have severe back pain and know what’s coming my next pm visit next week. And there have alreadyou been people who have taken a gun and received their pain. I can’t because of my beliefs. And I have no idea what happened to ” First do no harm”. I guess they have forgotten about that. And when did out embarrassing government become pain management physicians?
I worked 40 years as a nurse & lifted on patients double my weight daily & hurt my back repeatedly. I had failed back surgery 4 years ago. I made sure my patients were pain free but now doctors refuse to treat my pain. Nothing has worked except opiods which they refuse to give me. I am dying a slow painful death & doctors don’t care.
I find the situation we are in ludicrous. When I began taking oxycodone over 20yrs ago, the doctors couldn’t give me enough! Their frame of mind at that time was to get ahead of the pain. They instructed me to take my dose every 4 hrs regardless of my pain level. I did not agree with this approach and decided to manage my pain my way. I truly believe this is how everyone needs to approach pain control (as long as you are not exceeding your dose). This approach also allowed me to find my effective dose and still be at that dose to date. But that’s not my point here, my point is that in medicine ideas are always changing. Back then they believed getting ahead of the pain was going to be advantageous to the patient and lead to better outcomes. But I believe that this was the true beginning of the opioid crisis. This idea lead to prolific over prescribing of meds, which led to numerous bottles of pills stashed in medicine cabinets across the country, which led to pills in the hands of those who would end up tragically abusing them.So the mess that we are in was created not by addicts but by well meaning doctors trying to treat pain more effectively. So if we all can be brave and band together perhaps we can make our voices heard. Suicide only allows them to sweep us under the rug. #I will not go quietly
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I would love to try CBD oil for chronic pain, but it is illegal in Indiana. I am afraid Dr will take my percocet away if thc found in drug test. We need medicinal marijuana products passed for our state. If it helps me, I would give up my percocet.
By reading some of the comments, it seems like most are pretty upset with this law. However, after being hooked for 4 yrs and stopped (have been Percocet free for about 7 years now), i think this law is too little too late. The doctors have already over prescribed to you all. You would think doctors know how addiction works, but alas they seem complacent when it comes to over prescribing pain meds.
Pain pills are good for about 3 to 4 weeks of daily use, but daily administration for any longer than that will cause your body to be dependent on opiates. Even if you are only taking 10-20 mg a day! Can’t fight biology.
There are alternatives, however. Cannabis and cbd oil are decently effective at killing pain, albeit not as good as opiates. Turmeric also has analgesic effects.
Alot of people have chronic pain, i get that, but the pain you feel when you dont have your medication is not from your chronic health issues (some yes, but the majority is being induced by acute withdrawal symptoms).
My advice to all of those who have been on pain medication for extended amounts of time: QUIT NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE. Withdrawal symptoms will linger for about a month or more, but the main withdrawal will only last about 2 to 3 weeks. And if you MUST have opiates, take a break for a couple weeks and use alternative remedies (such as cannabis). You can go back to opiates after a couple weeks of abstinence, your body will b ok as long as it doesn’t become dependent. Take ur meds for about 3 weeks then tske a 2 week break using alternative pain medications (non opiate). Rinse and repeat.
Pain sucks, but opiate dependency is WAAAAAY worse, trust and believe.
Shame on the doctors and our healthcare system for causing so many to get hooked on their pharmaceuticals.
Narcotic drugs saved my life after trying everything else ! I could not function in family events because of pain nor could I work but narcotic pain medicine has allowed me to function with limits. The amount that allows me to funtion is 60 mg of methadone and any less allows my pain to sky rocket!
Uuummmm….so what doc do u see??!! The kind that allows u to receive cannabis and not smack u with a drug test and cut u off of pain meds and that’s all just hunky-dory?! I’m sorry but it doesn’t work that way in most states. If so then I guess NO ONE would complain. U pick one or the other …pot or pills. NO pm clinic will allow both when its not legal. SMH….
They have cbd oil for pain that is legal in 50 states now. That may be what they are talking about.
CBD is ILLEGAL in Texas!!
they have all kinds of pain meds just don’t want to give them to vet’s iv ask for the cbd oil and the doc. just laught about it iv been taken neck injections for 4 year my neck and back is messed up from getting blowed out of a lmtv in Iraq in 2010 my neck cant be fixted so I’m in pain 24 7 and cant do anything about it because the V.A. is taking care of me.
Being a vet also and being nearly killed by withdrawl induced heart problems. They left me no options, but to have a recalled pain pump; injecting dilaudid (not supposed to be used in pump) into my spinal column. It went horribly wrong and line clogged 3 months into treatment I went into withdrawl and was told “I must have been abusing drugs or I wouldn’t be this sick.” They were unaware of the clog. I found they refer you to other docs that you never see and come to conclusion based on their self defensive plan. They never follow fed, gov guidelines. Get and read your records. Apply for social security to get better medical. You might get it free or cheap through Obama care. If you have to go to civillians ER if it’s an emergency va will pay. This May lhelp you get the supportive care you need. ER can give you non narcotic meds like toradol a prescription anti-inflammatory that may lower your pain enough to let Tylenol do the trick. The key is to NOT SEEK NARCOTICS but other help. They will focus only on you asking for drugs if you ask for narcotics; than your health. It took 8 ambulance rides for them to take me serious. They finally admitted me on telemetry they found stress induced SVT. (fast heart) I passed out getting out of hot bath in hospital. They then referred me off post to civillians. Because I never asked for narcotics the doc I was referred to put me on them after we exhausted all other options Inc. Therapy physical and emotional (it’s depressing hurting soo bad you have bed sores from not being able to move.) We did shots and anti-inflammatory, and neurological pain meds. Then finally narcotics. I am now on mend but I exaust all options before using narcotics because one day we may loose access to them. Some people believe if they can’t have something or directly controll you then they will use laws to do it. There goes the constitution. The squeaky wheel gets oil and in the VA all the wheels squeak and the doctors have earplugs. I have been on meds for 13 years and have only slightly raised the dose I am tolerant and have rotated but I don’t have any ill effects on them. Off I’m bed ridden. If you hurt make an appointment. Ask to see specialist, ask for followup, keep a log and how/why your pain is doing harm. Lack of activity will definitely make it worse. But you have to demonstrate trying to help yourself. SSI (through a lawyer) will not only help you with advocacy, the extra cash helps the depression and that will lessen the pain. NEVER FORGET DOCTORS CAN’T SHARE MEDICAL INFORMATION IF YOU GIVE THEM WRITTEN NOTICE ABOUT NOT SHARING MEDICAL INFO. I hand carry my records to all appointments in order to make sure they are accurate you will be amazed. Also contacting gov rep about insufficient medical care.
There are very reputable doctors that allow both weed use and narcotic meds. I’m lucky to have just that sort of doctor!
Remember that everyone who takes opiates is in a federal database and you willl be drug tested. Weed is illegal federally and if it shows up on your drug test, your opiates will be taken away from you forever most likely. Just because one doctor allows you to do both doesn’t mean it’s legal and that your not going to get into trouble.
You live one week inside my body and then you can tell me I don’t need pain control. I fight to not take opioids, but when I hurt so badly I am sick to my stomach, I give in. Don’t lecture those of us who have had our lives stolen due to injuries or failed surgeries. Don’t lecture those of us who avoid taking narcotics until we can’t stand the pain. You were addicted. You made that choice. Don’t take away my my occasional 4-6 hrs of diminished pain. Notice I didn’t say painfree. I’m never painfree and I never will be. Living in pain is my new normal. I said diminished pain. Maybe if that had been your goal, addiction wouldn’t have been your end. So, don’t push your agenda on those of us who use opioids responsibility.
THANK YOU!
You said Patti. The pain is a 24/7 condition and the pain medication only slightly relieves the pain for short periods of time. I myself have had 4 different surgeries, two neck surgeries with plates and fusions and I still have two other ruptured disc, one above and one below those two surgeries. Then two lower back surgeries with hardware and fusions and the last having the placement of a titanium rod from L-4 to S-1, all due to an injury in 1996. I take one Tramodol in the mornings and depending on the weather and/or how severe my pain is at night, I will take one in the evening but I’ll try an Aleve first, which doesn’t do all the much. Unless someone has endured the constant pain I live my life in, then please done lecture me on how I should managed it, I do the best I can with very little quality of life that I have!
Don’t think u should of been on opioids for your pain if pot helped your pain. This is the problem people like u on opioids when a u need was time to heal your injury.
Your half wrong.over 20 mil hav lived fine on opioids for 20 yrs.withdrawl would happen after 2 to 5 days to a rookie.and what about vate,cancer pts snd seniors,that have bern cut off for no more than drs trying to cover they got duped by sales people and junkies.junkies figured out there was no cross tracking on scripts so,bam,all the dealers n junkies suddenly have pain.then,medicaid and cash made sure drs were.blind to drug seekers.btw,pain mgt drs are bs.there is no training that they do more than a pcp.just a made up specialty,that drs knew they cud get paid more for doing the same old job.
You don’t know what you are talking about. You were addicted, we aren’t, we need something to ease the pain or we will end up killing ourselves. This PROP is bullcrap. People are suffering badly with these diseases and syndromes and auto immune diseases everyday and we cant fix it with surgery so we need something and pain meds work for me. I’m not an addictive person I take it for a reason. Just because you got addicted doesn’t mean I or any other person will. If you drive drunk and you lose your license should I lose my license and car? No exactly. Every person is different when it comes to their illness and pain. It’s not the doctors or pharmacy that makes you get addicted. It’s you, you did it. You didn’t follow the directions of how to take them. You put them in your mouth in a wrong way nobody else did. You are an addictive person who is ruining it for us in chronic pain to get the help we need. When you become addicted it’s your own fault, you need the help, nobody done it to you so grow up and take responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming doctors, pharmaceuticals and others. I can take meds and get off of them like nothing and do it again. I never took a pill a day in my life until I got sick in 2007 and my life turned upside down. I’ve had it with people like you. Leave us non addicted chronic sufferers people alone and we deserve to be able to take any pain med our doctor will give to help our pain. All these people who are committing suicide are from not getting proper care, this is not the way anyone should handle helping someone to ease their pain.
The thing is anyone talking opiod pain meds for a period of time will become physically addicted to then weather they like it or not it have an additive personality. It’s just how it works. I am in chronic pain and had stopped seeing pain management because of the new regulations and if they cannot prescribe me enough to help with the pain is not with taking them at all. I have a very high tolerance from many years of opiod pain management witch I believe should be up to the patient if they want to take that route for some relief. It’s a bunch of BS that a bunch of politicians are telling or doctors what they can and cannot prescribe.
You don’t have a clue as to how my pain from a rare muscle disorder has affected every aspect of my life! You can’t put everyone in one basket! I have been taking hydrocodone for 30 years only after trying every other possible medicine available. I have never needed more than prescribed in fact I usually don’t need 4 a day in the summer, just the cooler months when my muscles involuntarily contact to the point of complete fatigue and paralysis! I also have MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA. I’m sure you know all About that, as you seem to know all about everyone being addicted to opioids! Degenerative joint, bone spurs, bulging disc in neck and lower back, fibromyalgia and chronic severe pain from the skeletal muscles rapidly contracting because the nerve rapid fires across the synapse contracting the muscle till it’s paralysed! Anyway I won’t bore you with all my special traits, the main one being that I’m a living example of how opioids can work long term if you don’t abuse them!
Fell the same way. My daughter has talked to me about how much pain taking ones own life hurts all the people around. So many of the public out there don’t realize what these mandates have done to the severe chronic pain community.why is it way worse to be able to function well on minimum amount of pain med? You are obviously not a medical professional. If you have a compassionate competent doctor who watches over his patients the solution is what works for you. What would you do with diabetics. They are dependent on insulin. Same thing. They don’t get it, they withdraw. Some die.
Wondering if you are a doctor since you seem to know so much. Many people can take them for an extended period of time without having to double their dose. I will agree that cannabis is the way to go but like all drugs some people can’t handle it and the government to this date has no intention of making cannabis legal across the country.
So what then? If you don’t live in a state that has it legalized you go through illegal ways which could get locked up, not to mention you get what you get from your friendly local drug dealer. Maybe it works sometimes and other times maybe it makes you paranoid as hell. At this point not sure any of us are going to get the solution we want. It’s jacked, I have been cut off cold turkey countless times from doctors when I have taken my pain killers exactly as prescribed. One way to cause a drug epidemic in this country is to do exactly what the government is doing. Sorry if I took a shot at you but the fact of the matter is everybody is different, to assume that everyone who is prescribed opiates is going to always need more and more is flat wrong. I have been on and off opiates for the better part of 12 years and I’ve never been over 10mg pills. Sometimes it was 3 times a day but mostly twice a day. The doctors will shame you for opiates but never for ssri drugs which in my case was a nightmare to try to go off I’ve tried 3 times and have never succeeded, however that isn’t an addiction it’s discontinuation syndrome, I pray for all of us and pray for the legalization of cannabis.
To “no longervaddicted”
Don’t you dare come to the site and tell all of these people that they are addicted and over-prescribed. You know nothing about their personal situations. Opiates have been used for thousands of years to treat pain. Everyone knows they work. Everyone has their own different situations and it seems like you fortunately, we’re not in enough pain to need the medicine that you took. Well good for you, but don’t go around telling other people what they should do for their specific situations. There are countless other drugs that are shoved down the throats of chronic pain patients which also cause dependence and create tolerance, not just opiates/opioids. Stop antagonizing others just because of your personal beliefs.
Severe unrelenting pain kills and in this country we are supposed to be afforded certain rights that are now being denied by out own gov. Why is opioid dependency bad? If one has a severe pain that cannot be cured or alleviated in other ways why shouldn’t they take opioids to quell the suffering? Yes, dependency, NOT ADDICTION, may occur, but so what? If that is the med that helps them live tolerable lives they should be provided all they need.
You also mention biology… well, it’s obvious that chronic pain patients can’t produce enough natural endogenous endorphin to overcome the pain they’re experiencing so it needs to be supplemented.
Get off your high horse, good for you if you don’t require opioids to quell torturous pain, but leave anyone else who does alone.
Dear NO LONGER ADDICTED:
Have you ever been a drug user and withdrawn from opiates or heroin without any medical issues? Going by your letter, I guess not because you would not have written it. Opiate and heroine withdrawal symptoms are similar and specific ; cramping back of legs, runny nose and flu like symptoms, extreme anxiety and crying to the point of resembling a psychiatric melt down, chronic insomnia, chronic muscle and bone pain throughout your body – I could could go on. Your letter is demeaning and patronising. You mentioned you were “hooked” but nothing about your pain so I guess you had mild pain initially. I am sorry you got hooked but it had nothing to do with pain but rather your addictive personality type. I am sure if you had the ability to ask most of the people posting here you will find that nobody wanted to go on opiates but were driven by extreme pain. You will also find that most of us have had misdiagnoses after misdiagnosis for many years. We are facing a new era of pathology that most doctors are unable to see their way clear… They don’t have answers anymore. Hence the term ‘syndrome’ being thrown around everywhere. There is such a thing called ‘opiate dependency’ and its called PAIN MANAGEMENT DEPENDENCY. When the doctor does get it right and the problem is solved. the patient is taken through a clinical withdrawal program and we move on from there. SIMPLE! Anyway which ever way you look at it, opiate dependency for pain is better that SUICIDE!.
For all who read this. I am from Australia and the opiate witch hunt is happening here as well. Listen carefully – it has nothing to do with helping people not to get addicted. its a load of crock to cover up the agenda of the MATRIX. Have you noticed doctors pushing people on to Lyrica and Pregabalin medications? Why? because it makes people dumb and pliable. You see doctors are made to comply or they lose their license. They are also fed wrong information that is riding on the backs of ‘new research’ that is designed and orchestrated. This is a worldwide agenda – our doctors are being brainwashed for reasons beyond our understanding and beyond profits.
Thank God those doctors were there for you! I guess the rest of us can just envy your opiate free life.
ATTENTION NO LONGER ADDICTED:
If doctors did not understand addiction I’m glad they had you to explain it. Your spaceship can beam you back up now.
Why should I believe you over years of my own experience? I have unrelenting pain and have tried everything else. When I stop opiates, I am in severe pain which is terrifying to me.
Your not even close you sound like a freaking doctor
The Korean Hand Body Homunculus treatment I was told that I must go to a web site and pay for the equipment to keep trying this treatment. Am 100 % disable and should not need to pay anything. Why?
03/14/2017 met with Dr. Bardwell. She said I was (HOOK) a/k/a/ junkie on oxycondone. If this is the case. She fail to follow V.A. policy to get me in a drug program. Am not hook! PLEASE NOTE, IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU TALK TO. [ C.D.C., F.D.A. C.M.S] The maxs dose of oxycondone per day is 150mg. To 240 mg a day. For chronic pain. About 640 mg for cancer. Dr. Bardwell said I was at the max for oxycondone. 3 5mg a day.
I seen Dr. Reth on 04/11/2017 I met Doctor Reth for the first time. I said Hello Doc. She said call me Heather. I told her that I respect her and would not call her Heather but Doc or Doctor. During are first visit I would call her Doc or Doctor and she did not correct me and tell me she wasn’t a Doctor. Please note that so call Dr.Reth try to give me 2 types of NSIADS and due to my medical condition It may cause death. the 3 type was Tramadol which with the other meds I take most likely kill me.
This could be a CRIMINAL MATTER! . During our visit I told her the same things as I told Dr. Bradwell. I ask her the same questions, what if the treatment don’t work to reduce my pain. Will the V.A. and her take me off my pain med’s? She would not answer me. . Please note that, The maximum total daily dose of oxycodone is 150 mg per day. I been taken 3x 5mg a day for the last 10+ years and that keeps me at a pain level 4-6, which I can do most basic life functions. In the last 3 years the V.A. wanted to increase my oxycondone 9 times and I turn them down. Am now buying my pain med’s else where. Please note I did go though their Pain Management program and it didn’t work to get me off of my 3 x 5 mg of pain meds.
Call the ADA and file a complaint ASAP!
I am so angry and upset about the new law in Indiana called “Indiana Senate Enrollment Act 226”. I live in Northern Indiana. I have been complying for the last 17years, with all the rules set forth by my pain specialist. Contract, urine tests that cost $800, and seeing him every 3months, in order to get my prescription refilled for a 3 month supply of morphine sulfate, 30 mg. twice daily. I have chronic pain, neuropathy in left hand, radiating into elbow and armpit, because in 1998, a plastic surgeon who did carpal tunnel surgery on me, severed the medial nerve in the hand. The muscles in the thumb are wasted away, leaving me unable to move it outward.(called abduction.) A doctor caused me to endure all of this pain, and expense, after all these years. It has been considerable too! I have never filed suit because he dragged out therapy and office visits until the statute of limitations of 2yrs. passed! In exploratory surgery by a 2nd surgeon, I found out the nerve was severed. The initial surgeon had 7lawsuits filed against him at the time. He just moved his practice, to get out of hot water, to upstate New York, I was told later. After all these years of being left to deal with this pain and expense, I am being forced to be weaned off of the pain medication, that has helped me live a very full life all these years. I work for county government, and the local Boys and Girls Club as a 2nd job, and garden, and do ballroom dancing with my boyfriend of 3+ years. At least I USED to! Now, my chronic has taken so much of my life over! I can no longer do my 2nd job. My garden is dying. I don’t feel well all the time, so I constantly have to cancel my dancing dates with him. My relationship is falling apart. My car will be reposed if I can’t make my pmts. soon, due to loss of 2nd job, and 18 medical bills I can’t afford to pay, were turned in to collections and turned in to my credit reports, after working so hard to build it up. It dropped my score like a rock! After a doctor ruined my life, yet another Dr. ruined it even further by “not being able to substantiate further opioid treatment”! I have in my medical records, imaging reports that substantiate the severe nerve damage, muscle wasting and even severe neuropathy in the right hand as well bc of severe carpal tunnel. Even after surgery was done on that one too. How can the government step in and make decisions like this based on the overall population? How can it be punishment to me bc so many people are abusing their meds? I certainly never have! I followed all the rules. Now they take away the life I tried so hard to build. Something needs to change! I am concerned about all the people even worse off than me, who will choose to end their lives bc they can’t live with their pain! Then, their death will simply be labeled a suicide, and not an opioid induced suicide. They will be put in a different category, so therefore it looks like the new law is working to prevent suicide. What about all those people who will fall thru the cracks, from their unbearable pain, and loss of their personal quality of life? Please, somebody? Help those of us being forced off of our life saving medications! Thank you so much! Signed Morg. for Life!
My heart is breaking reading you’re story. I am practicing Clinical Psychologist in the state of CT. To make a very long story short I have a great number of patients suffering from chronic, life altering pain. My group consists of five clinicians. Since the laws regarding narcotic prescribing changed I, myself can name fifteen non cancer individuals just off the top of my head that took their own life due to the fact that they could no longer live with such unbearable pain! It is BEYOND sickening that the people who truly need this medication are refused treatment because of the drug addicts who abuse their meds!!! I am fighting with everything I have to help in overturning this insidious law! It is medieval in theory that the true sufferers are blatantly denied pain control and would rather DIE then suffer another day in unbearable pain! It sickens me that our lawmakers are blind to this suffering and something must be done to stop this animalistic treatment of HUMAN BEINGS!! I am so sorry to hear that you are being punished for following the rules, I truly have no words for how disgusted I am with the state of our so called law makers, they obviously have never had to endure such unimaginable suffering that death is their only option!!!
Poor you. I am so sorry youre dealing with this. Ive been on opioids for years myself. Also have gone through every treatment besides opioids starting at 10yo. Im in GA & while they’ve not changed the guidelines as much as your state, it’s probably just a matter of. I will be bed ridden without them. With them Im at least able to get around my home & not be mom, the invalid.
The United States NOT only let someone ruin my life when I was 18 years old by causing a head on collision in an 18-wheeler truck driving plastered drunk (two friends 19 and 20 years old were killed, we did nothing wrong and even had the Maine State Police and facts in our favor, but I learned, what it means to be a young expendable Males in the U.S., and still learning just how far and deep it goes).
I then had to exist in a daily Hell of constant non-stop Pain that was so bad I was NOT able to go back to school though I tried twice, and NOT able to function, work, and have a life do to the daily Hell where nothing worked to ease my Pain. The only thing that worked to ease my Pain was strong Narcotic Medicine that I was forbidden to use.
All the reasons I was told as to why I couldn’t use it for more than 10 years while suffering every single day, turned out to be nothing, but total LIES!
For just as I was starting to lose my mind from more than 10 years of daily suffering, finally the U.S. Government allowed a Pain Doctor to start treating me with Morphine Medicine that saved my life! It was another 10 years though, till I finally was using a dosage that was correct and worked to ease my Pain, and where I finally felt I had somewhat of a life and for about 12 or 13 years.
I may be a little off, as my memory is the pits thanks to a severe head injury that I was not conscious of existing for a month after the collision and far from up to par. It took 25 years just to start being able to write, as anything prior I had to fight to be able to write, just couldn’t do it.
My Pain comes mostly from a C1-C2 fusion at top of my neck not in place right and wire broke in two in one spot.
I had to go through a literal suffering torturous Hell to finally be treated with the only thing that has ever worked or even been worth talking about- which is Morphine and OxyContin Medicine.
I used strong Narcotic Medicine for more than 26 years with NOT one measly problem.
Yet what do they do to me, never mind that my life has sucked, the U.S. Government steps in and takes it away from me, for the dosage they limit me to does nothing, rien, nichts, nada, שום דבר, ziltch, NOT a dam thing to lesson my Pain! The correct dosage of Morphine I used was NOT due to drawing some lucky number out of a hat! If one hundred milligrams of Morphine Medicine worked, I’d of been using such a dosage. My whole head/face and top of my spine was messed up severely, without Morphine Medicine my existence is NOT worth it for what I have to suffer in/through. Why does my life mean nothing and I can be treated like this? Yeah there is NO sane or logical answer to the question. So what is the real answer as to why I am made to suffer for nothing again, with the Medicine that works with NOT one problem from that I have had for 26 years- sitting right there on the Pharmacy shelf, but it is once again kept from me (forbidden) for nothing, and I am made to suffer in daily constant Pain for nothing!
The State of Maine where I live and am from has since passed a law that is for people like me to still be treated with Morphine for our Severe Chronic Pain sickness, yet the law has NOT changed a dam thing for my self! I have gone through another 9 months where life not only sucks, I do NOT have a life anymore.
Why is it that I am punished and made to suffer for nothing, but an illegal drunk in a truck who is allowed to ruin my life for peanuts, and for drug addicts the State of Maine wants to save at my expense and my sucking life; or is that why they do it to me- as I am viewed as no longer worthy?
We are now going thru a pain medication abuse scandal that was created by GREED. Big pharma concocted the scam and is wholly responsible for it. The abuse was by GREEDY doctors that prescribed mostly low dose medications for moderate transitory pain with pill counts that they knew would lead to addiction and abuse. Example: tooth extraction ten years ago would be max ten Vicodin 5mg.for 48 hrs. now they’ll prescribe 20-30 pills. And of course the majority abused the meds and fell into addiction and over doses. They now have a commission designed to stop these over prescriptions across the spectrum and have no discretion for honest chronic pain sufferers.And we know that there has always been a societal demonization that is fueling this frenzy. I too have chronic pain and have been taking morphine ER for over 17 years with no ill effects but have had the pharmacy I’ve used for 15 years giving me the third degree lately(calling doctor, dbl checking ID). I don’t know what I can suggest that you’ve probably already tried. One thing I do know is that you are worthy and should not be allowed to have your quality of life negatively affected by this insanity. I sincerely hope your issues are addressed ASAP. Regards,JD
You qualify for palative,care look it up twenty six yaers teo guys were going to sue state lawyer got them back on there cirrect amount in no time
The people who make these decisions are not the ones sufferings from extreme migraines or back pain let alone two knee replacements and two hip replacements. My insurance is through Medicare with a supplement with Kaiser. I am on the drug program where I am drug tested for other drugs. I have no problem with this. The hydrocone also relieves my restless leg syndrome nightly. How do I fight this legislation. I know that there addicts out there and I am probably one of them. I have worked for 45 plus years and have been using hydrocodone for the past 7 years with no ill effects. blood tests on my liver and kidneys done twice yearly. How do we fight the people looking to put a feather in their hat. Maybe PROP should find ways to help with education, monitoring of abuse, treating the needy and so on. Instead they sit behind their desks without any idea what it is like to be in pain 24X7. I know this as my career has been in law enforcement and also as a Safety Manager for a large deliver company
I had a head-on car wreck also the engine come up and hit my feet which broke every bone in both of my feet shattered and drove my leg bone into my foot I have disc in my back messed up I’ve had to use the catheter on and off for years cuz of nerve damage I’ve been on methadone for 10 years 120 mg a day it’s give me my life back I’ve been able to function close to a normal life and now they want to start taking it away they already started half I’m trying to get a pain management doctor hardly no one wants to write methadone but it’s one of the best pain medicines out there you don’t abuse it you don’t overtake it and when you find the right amount it works for you that’s where you stay and it works great there’s no reason to take it away they give it to opiate addiction people I will lose my ability to walk I will lose my bility to function as a normal person in every way if I lose this medicine how can you be treated this way when you’ve done nothing wrong when so many people abuse medicine just tube use it to get high and it ruins it for everybody that is really in Need for the medicine what does someone do how do you convince people doctors to help you when no one seems to want to they tell me you’re just a number now I hope things will change God help all the people that really need pain medicine and let the government understand that and help the people that are in need so they can have a halfway normal life
I live with failed low back fusion with numerous followup surgeries. Spinal stenosis etc…. agonizing pain has had me more than considering suicide. Low dose morphine along with vicodine has allowed me to keep functioning to some degree. Knowing that the side effects of 20 years of painkiller use is contributing to my demise, I wish there were other options.
I thank God and doctors for extending my quality of life.
Those that believe that the answer to drug abuse iys to deprive those that truely need the medical benefits are either heartless or seriously lack understanding.
May God open the eyes of their hearts they have mercy on those that are truly in need.
@john Whitener; I feel and understand your pain and frustration. Between my spinal fractures at C3,T12, and L1, permanent nerve damage down both legs, and an intra cranial pseudo tumor that causes all kinds of side effects like balance issues, dizziness, seizures, fainting/blackouts, migraines, nosebleeds etc. I have a hard time finding reasons not to kill myself. Finding the right medications helped for a while, but now they keep taking them off the market or can’t prescribe them due to new regulations.
The funny thing is that a small amount of low level drugs and one stronger schedule med for breakthrough pain helped more than the high amount and schedule med they want me on now, but that is all they will give me. Plus they want me to see a psychiatrist for my benzos and a separate specialist for every issue, which I cannot afford and even if I could, I can’t physically get to all these appointments and no doctors would be looking at the whole picture, which could be problematic. Buy taking. Away good medication, they are removing,are not hurting drug addicts -cuz they will find a way to get their fix, they are not stopping terrorist funding since they are funded through illegal drugs, they aren’t even stopping addiction since most people in chronic pain do not care because they will need to be on some kid of Med for the the rest of their lives and have limited mobility. I know it is hard to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, but the war on drugs was a failure and now they are so desperate for some kind of crack down or success that they have demonized legal meds as well. What can we do to stop them from getting rid of Soma, making it incredibly hard to get benzo and less strong meds like norco/hydrocodone? This 3 day supply is bullshit when you can’t function. Do they expect us to only. Function 3 days a week or pay to see a doctor every 3 days? I am disabled! I can’t afford or physically go to the doc every 3 days!!! Help!! What can we do?
AMEN! VERY WELL SAID!!
Man I feel not only as someone who suffers from pain as well but they have turned your life upside down for no.reason your right the addicts will still get there drugs from the cartels they took my benzos away to all I can do for you is pray but sometimes the good Lord.does here my
Prayers brother
Amen!
I completely understand bout hospice dr, my brother-in-laws father has stage 4 COPD, and primary dr suggested to on hospice care and help him he had agreed to ho on hospice, They was only given mons 6 months to live “He is one in a million to have very very very high tolerance to meds”,
He was prescribed meds for seizers, panic attacks, stomach meds that he couldn’t go without due to would cause more harm if meds tooken away So the hospice dr
the dr agreed to prescribed his regular monthly medicines that he been on fer years and prescribed liquid morphine by mouth every 2 hours and prescribed a every 12 hour pain meds and but after 6 months of that the pharmacy finally reports that hospice dr has been over prescribing 1 pill
every 12 hours of 90 pill a month not 60 a month dnt have 36 hours aday but after the Dr is under investigation ,”the doctor also prescribing over the amount to other patients “,
besides fixing the medicine the DR took their meds away that was helping them and only giving what needed for seizers blood pressure stuff like but did prescribed the liquid roxymorphore every 2 hours but as the months passes his health gone down hill suffering even more and the dr tell the hospice nurse that comes out to house every days keeps saying says really ain’t much to do bc where the dr is under investigation, but over weekend a nurse comes out from different county and she couldn’t believe how bad he is from suffering and very upset bout but after she left ain’t heard nothing except they regular nurse comes out says the Dr giving 2 options and he ask offer comforts meds but still it like their making him options either go into hospice hospital fer week or will take meds away so the dr can monitor the meds to see which meds work but he has made it almost 12 mouths now but he in soo pain suffering and got the death rattle in lungs, but he still trys by the grace of God , has been giving him aday longer with us, but breaks my heart watching him suffer and hearing him beg the nurse to help him to be comfortable and why h as s the dr takes my meds away that was working but not only giving me two options either no meds or go to hospital but he told them he wasn’t going so he dies alone in hospital he wants to be home with family friend take him from home after all these months and from DR OVER PRESCRIBING PAINS
MEDS AND what can we do
I am very against the new regulations due to they are not considering the diseases and disorders that can be worse that some cancers and have life long severe pain and suffering. As a individual who has CIDP that has worked full-time since 2009 when diagnosed, because I did have adequate pain control that never rid me of pain, but made it tolerable to work and perform my basic ADLs. However now because of the regulation changes am looking at having to stop working and go on disability, because I suffer everyday of my life with severe diabilitating nerve pain throughout my body, progressive weakness and fatigue. I am no longer able to stand and walk for any period of time and cannot even clean my home, and do not have the strength to even comb my hair. I have a desk job and cannot even stand to sit in my chair longer than 30 mins because my hips, legs and feet hurt deep into the bone from just sitting. Typing now has become difficult and slow. My arms and shoulders become weak, heavy and hurt like someone is stabbing me constantly. I was previous able to function without issues in my position as a productive individual and I was able to freely live a normal life with my children and spouse. . I have been a individual who has followed the rules and it and yet now I suffer. They need to look at the rules and tweak them to include those people who have rare diseases and disorders that were not considers in their rule changing.
What are you taking that your upset you wouldn’t be able to get?
I began taking 40 mg. Oxycontin 3 times a day and 496 5 mg Percocets once a month this was all due to shucking oysters and falling in the walk-in I had back injury and carpal tunnel and car trigger my doctor was busted and put in prison and died very shortly after overdosing several people with Oxys and other heavy-duty medications I moved away from Nags Head North Carolina back in 19 2007 – Tucson Arizona where I work with my mother for three years until her client died in 2010 see that whole time I was taking methadone and was it 100 mg when I started my clinic allowed me to come down 3 mg a month and put a halt on it if it if I started hurting and that was up to me I got down from 142 mg when they blamed me for having a handful of pills out in the walking area next to the clinic and they couldn’t even see what was in my hand it was a handful of change God’s honest truth God’s honest. Promise whatever anyway they kick me out that put me back to step 1 stage 1 you know what happens then well I laid in bed for 3 months and then I started to get up and steal stuff to cover my habit my mom didn’t like this was going to be money to cover my have it though she didn’t like it and pretty much drove her into the ground also I went to finally was able to get into a clinic and that’s a long story we’ll get more into that later I have been sober now for quite some time and I finally started taking Suboxone for a little while and that didn’t really do a whole lot so I stopped that and moved to cope couple months ago and now I’m back on methadone which I hear is not very good for you at all I don’t know how long I can stay on that I’d like to get off of it but maybe impossible I’m not sure I don’t know who is to blame for this is it me that I started this on myself or was it the doctor or was it this pharmaceutical companies help
I agree there is more disease out there that are just as painful as cancer and I too have a bone diseases and have been totally disabled by the government and two bone doctors, and Insurance co., I can hardly walk or do anything normal, my pain pills are only10 mgs oxycodone, and I take four or three a day. It helps so much, I can vacuum a little and dust, and sometimes do my dishes. But when I do anything like this or walk on my treadmill very slowly and for a very short time, I pay for it the next day. I have broken my hip and leg, and my arm twice and pelvic bone, and some bones in my feet. My spine is just a mess with vertebra’s swelling and some bone on bone, as is my neck, and that causes migraines, and severe neck pain. Plus my hip on the other side has a disk bone on bone and I have the nerve pain that goes down that leg.. If they cut off my pain pills I think I will just die from pain, I can’t sleep on my back or both hips so I have to sleep in my own bed because I am always turning away from the pain, so yes I still suffer with the pain pills but they are the only pill that has helped me, all the other strong pills such as prolia to build bones, have affected me horribly with more bone pain and huge blisters all over my face and flu like systems. And those are shots that last for 6 months, and I was on them for over three years and guess what??? No bone was ever rebuilt or even started. Plus this medication can cause you aorta in your heart to fail! So yes this is just a little what I go through on a daily basis. I want to know if these law makers would make their mothers have to go without their meds and be in agony?
I wished some one would read this blog and understand you are hurting people , there is a difference between addicts and people who have a disease, and have to take a opiate for pain. PLEASE try to be human, and understand. I absolutely beg of you to listen. Thank you for reading and listening —Kay Horton PLEASE, PLEASE HELP US!!
Just because some people abuse opoids does NOT mean all people do! There are a lot of people out here with “severe pain” that we live with on a daily basis. Taking oxycodone enables both my husband and I to live with each day with a “Better quality of life”. Taking this pain medicine away is going to make a lot of people out here SUFFER on a daily basis, therefore having a “BAD quality of life”! I say SHAME on everyone who supported taking pain medicine away. We are adults who have common sense and can make responsible decisions about our life. Government should not be allowed to do this. Neither should insurance companies. The main decision should be between a doctor and his patient. If not, then our freedom is taken away from us. My husband is 70, legally blind and has no cartilage in his lower back, left hip and left knee. He is in severe pain every single day. Without it, he will really be suffering. I have Inflamed Rheumatoid Arthritis, Polyarthritis, degenerative joint disease and osteoarthritis. I don’t take oxycodone on a daily basis, but when I am hurting so bad and I can’t even walk from the swelling and pain; taking one oxycodone pill will stop the hurting pain and give me a break from the severe pain I feel. It is the difference between night and day. I was always so thankful it was there if I needed it. Now, I will be suffering along with my husband and hundreds more out there. I am elderly too and what a SHAME we will have to live with severe pain because the government took it away from us! The law is going to hurt a lot of people. They forced us into two groups instead of realizing there are some of us out here that are in between. There should have been a middle group for people with severe pain. Not just chronic pain and near death. You should have had more common sense than that! Needless to say I do not support the law!
I agree with you 100%…it is beyond ridiculous on how us chronic pain patients are treated! I have had CRPS for about 5 years in both my legs/ankles/feet plus bulging back disc’s, osteoarthritis, severe nerve damage with bone loss too. I don’t have the pleasure of living a pain free life…this is horrendous pain 24/7, 365!! Chronic pain patients deserve the same type of care just because we are not necessarily considered terminal. Legislature and doctor’s etc just don’t know how it REALLY feels to live like this on a daily basis. They think just because they have read a book or two that they understand pain… you don’t know until you have lived it! I am sick of this nonsense!!! I have just recently been put in another awful predicament. My doctor… that I really loved, just retired and I got put with a new one and she is an embarrassment to the medical profession!! First visit, I could already tell that there was going to be a problem. She had only been in to see me for ten whole minutes and was taking me off of my break through medicine (tramadol) and my muscle relaxer (soma)!! She did keep me on my hydrocodone but added gabapentin. I have tried gabapentin 3 times prior and it didn’t help me or for that matter, it made me feel loopy but she said let’s try it anyway!?! I ask her about the withdrawal symptoms from my tramadol and soma… she flat out told me… “THERE IS NOT WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS WITH THOSE MEDICINES”!! Are you kidding me?? Do some research lady and maybe you will learn something!!! I have been on these medicines for YEARS and was finally at a decent pain level…well, what we call decent is different from the average person, not chronic pain patients levels!! If my medicines keep me around a “5” then I can at least feel like I can function and have a “some what” beneficial life. I am a “49” year old woman and believe me, this is not what I would have thought I would be dealing with at my age. But it is what it is and I try so hard daily to come to terms with it. There is no cure for CRPS and it is the highest chronic pain disease on the McGill pain scale…. It is HORRIBLE! So back to the incompetent doctor… She went ahead and said she would give me some tramadol to taper me off!! Well, what she called tapering was “27” pills over a 6 day period to get me completely off of it!!! OMG…REALLY!!?? I was taking “8” pills (2 4x a day) with my hydrocodone… in math that is 240 pills a month! How can “27” pills within 6 days taper me off of a medicine I have been on for 8 plus years?? She is torturing me right now!! I am dealing with withdrawals from the medicines plus it has escalated my pain on top of it!! This doctor like so many out there do not keep up with the latest research etc and we are the ones paying for it! This is another example of how stupid this doc is… she does not think I have CRPS because she didn’t see muscle wasting in my legs….what the hell?! I walk using both my legs, so how in the world could I have muscle wasting!!! She obviously don’t know her medical terminology!! Muscle wasting is when the limb loses mass because of “NON USE”!! She is an idiot!! This is why so many people get diagnosed too late for necessary early treatment…or not at all!! I am floored by the stupidity of this doctor…well, not really! She IS NOT an authority on CRPS and should not state that she can treat that disease or any other if you ask me. But what can we do…these good for nothing doctors and legislatures etc have OUR LIVES IN THEIR HANDS and what they think is how we are treated. We need to stand up to these IDIOTS, it’s not right!! You would think we know better than them, on how bad the pain is or that certain drugs do have withdrawal symptoms…WE ARE LIVING IT!! They don’t have a clue…period!! I hope of all of us can take a stand and be heard…. LET’S GET THESE LAWS CHANGED!! Thanks for letting me rant a bit…my heart goes out to all the mistreated chronic pain patients!!
I am in the same shape and because of pain fakers selling their f_ _ _ _ _ g drugs on the street we the ones who r in pain r suffering for it by the Dr take our meds away the ones who r stuck in bed 22 hr a day crying unable to walk, lift, go to work for yourselves and other normal everyday life things I have been in and out of surgery for 12 years and then when i thought i was actually gonna get better I hit a telephone tree in a truck and everything went to shit and am now waiting for open spinal surgery have no feeling in leg except pain in spine and toes and they insist I need to get off the only thing that can get me out of bed and functional to a point of simulated living I go to bed crying and i wake up crying what kind of life is that I’m only 52 I have been in this shit since I was 42 but up to the last 3 years I actually was functioning now I can’t even go grocery shopping if I can’t contribute to the human race the i may as well , if they don,t give me back my medication go look into assisted death because i can’t bare to be so useless and poor because i can’t even work to better my life this is unfair because it isn’ even our drugs that are causing the deaths we don’t sell ours if they just did a simple test each week on all of us they the DR would see who is taking the drugs and who is selling them on street easily done and if it was offered I would be willing in a second to do it every third day and the DR would find the fakers real fast just a thought IN PAIN YOURS TRULY MICHELLE. From Canada but we are all sick of this shit and it is time to fight the Damn Dr who think they can take away our meds for a real life because of the drug users who fake it. Give us a choice let us take the test to prove we take our meds and do not sell them and there is so many other ways to prove our meds and our pain just give me a write back.
I would like to know if you know of any Canadian sites like this or a forum to discuss the unfair opiate cap limit in Canada? I am a patient being affected by this and I am now suffering in pain with lack of relief now put upon me.
You qualify for palative,care look it up twenty six yaers two guys were going to sue state lawyer got them back on there correct amount in no time look it up demand to. Be put back if I can help be happy to let go took old pain patch because pain,ctr didnt aend for pa for six days,n bed sick made differant mess,sixk si k took patch good for thre days,tested got kicked out by nurse wrote dr he said he didnt know really nurse releasses me without telling dr eigh to ten times two to six days,late for pa three this,yar take extra ten pharmacy says,u cant do thAt,new physicists in va shut me off clonazepam.2mgs was 10mg vallium took one one night muscles,jumping all ocer panic attack told nurse when she brought up in feb from jan 17 test 3 months later brought up again After ten shots had me sign paper tested dirty three times only once after shots no time to argue was only once.then kicked out for one pat h looked up said thc opiods benzo like I said dr shut off clonazepam but last August said discard after year take as needed so can,take half one every seven.days for one.half nights sleep sAw teouble with her forst time wanted.to hit teee att a hundred.if not for bos woild not be.writing this sorry for misspelled words typos,lost n maine can see y all the ods n mai.e heroin And. Crack is,cheaper and easy to die from,wont go thAt far but can only take pain so many days,ki ked out by nurse.dr says he will.b.my do. Forever never wrote back stuck inhow bed all I can do to go down stairs to use.bathroom sorry for the.book take all.the prauerzs I can get God bless us all anyone in a suite need a,coi e here for anyone.lonster giy n roofer were going to sue state lawyer put drs,on palitive care page u. Been,on,meds,for years can stay on same.amount went feom125to60 thoes two.right.back where.they started state can be sued fda said so did.lawyer for roofer and lobsterman wont give out name but inhumane undertreated we pit fifty of us on a,suite we would.be.on front page n,every news,chanel,any.ideas.tex me ron 5720055 love to hear thoughts comments Anything withore voi,es,we r stronger together ill write up paper noterize if anyone wants in ill be Calling lawyers starting monday let me know,thank you.all you can look up two guys sueing maine over opiod reduction I was on three fourty mg oc and five five mg ic for breakthrough pain before failed three disc fussion not even fda approved just two dr never said a word just we will bill maincare not getting in workers comp thing And I am.saying you can work after six weeks six weeks could not lift a gallon of milk stand ten mins can stand fifteen now just make gallon from car to fridge would not want anyone have to live like me tex name info number and we can pull together as one in.Jesuses name Amen God bless you or us all take care Ron after ten am snd b4 ten pm thank you all and look ip palative care you can tell dr they dont know know time to read good luck all tex if I can help good idea think.its more government taken over drs cant do there job 100mgs morphine or equivalent here in maine shut below half dr said wouldn’t work he,was,right.took edge.off didnt make me want to go out of house ten years pain now anxiety and depression bad good luck
Helen,
My mom is also complaining about the restrictions that keep her doctor from prescribing adequate opiates to manage her pain. She’s 86 and in a care facility. Contact me if you have any ideas to help people like yourself and my mom. Scott
email: goldenrule3_99@yahoo.com
scott read my reply above yours and pass it on to all it could work there are countries out ther that actually let you take what you want when you want you r responsible for all your actions and no one else and they actually have no drug problems and no drug lords no slime addicting the children and our young generation but I would settle for blood or other tests to leave the real pain suffers alone the others will not get perscribed drugs and the authorities can go after the real criminals michelle in Canada.
Wow. I love the way you explained your situation. Something needs to be done.
I agree completely . Not only are they taking away strong medication but also simple controlled substance like diazepam. I don’t know what I will do either. I am 85. Why should we have to live in pain with just a few years left to live. I think it should go case by case and your past record.
4211 North Ave.
Apt. # 1
yes! That is very true, there are law abiding citizens and We are NOT being considered . it is all about the people who are abusing drugs! so be damned law abiding apeople who are in pain, all laws are being changed for the criminals.
Very well put…changing laws to suit the criminals.
I won’t list all my medical issues, just that I have been a chronic pain patient for some time. Having spoken to doctors myself, most want to help but legislation is keeping them from doing so. They are always at risk of losing their license by doing what they took a vow to do, care for people. They also know and are first to say that taking away their means of treating those with chronic pain will only hurt those suffering, but it will also contribute to street drug use and crime. Common sense here. Chronic pain suffers seek out street drugs to get the relief pain management at one time specialized and provided on a case by case basis. And more street drugs are brought in to serve as both pain management Dr and drug dealer for the addict. It is shocking to me that a Dr who specializes in pain management is reduced to only injections and forcing surgery, which got many of us in a worse predicament in the first place. SO here is where we are at. Doctors are not able to use their own judgment and expertise to treat his/her patients. Chronic pain suffers are left in agony, society’s trash essentially (and people are committing suicide rather than live a poor quality of life) and drug dealers get even more wealthy. Why not invest in working, affordable rehab facilities rather than persecute innocent, law abiding citizens who are just wanting to live their life and be a contributing member of society in as little pain as reasonably possible? Why not let PAIN MANAGEMENT drs use their knowledge, judgment and expertise to provide relief to the patients they’ve come to know? Instead pain management Drs are being reduced to the same job of a Minute clinic, otherwise they risk losing their license over nonsense. Wake up people!
Exactly@Ang!!! The only people being hurt by these new regulations are chronic pain patients. We are being treated like criminals. The only narrative being given is how awful opioids are and how overdoses are on the rise. They never mention that these are usually illegally obtained, taken without a Dr.’s observation, or taken because they could not get legally prescribed medication cuz Dr.’s are afraid to write for what they know the patients need. Other medications are getting ready to be pulled and/or limited too : benzodiazapines and soma are next. They want to stop prescribing soma completely in the next six month period. It makes no sense with their “reasoning” since it is not an opioid, benzo, or a highly addictive narcotic. It is just a good muscle relaxer with nothing that can take it’s place. I personally worry about this because during seizures my muscles stiffen up and convulse sometimes and after I feel like I have run a marathon afterward. Plus, I have muscle spasms and tremors. Soma is the only med that ever helped. I understand people wanting to lessen overdoses, but they are looking at it the wrong way. Truly disabled people are not abusing these drugs and we are being monoitered by doctors. So, why are we the ones being punished? If they are so worried about deaths, they should consider how many suicides are going to come of this. It just seems like they just want to get rid of us “undesirables”. Why not crack down on illegal fentanyl since that seems like a much bigger problem or just prescribe the pain meds people actually need instead, so people don’t take matters into their own hands?
I’m 26 years old. I crushed my spine in a car accident with a drunk when I was 18. I will die like this. I can’t take anymore pain. I can’t take being treated like an addict because I’m “too young to hurt” as they say. I’ll be dead soon. Doctors don’t care. I can barely walk, piss myself, had to have half a million in operations to stop the sciatica but no… To them I’m a junkie. My pain Dr prescribes based on age, not pain. Drs in the er call me a junkie to my face. I can’t wait to die and not be in pain. It’s too late for me but I hope you all can find help.
Hi Josh:
Don’t give up. I know the pain your in and was in a sever car accident 16 years ago. Recently, I had to find a new Dr. because my Dr. was retiring. It took many years to FINALLY find something that worked which was opioid use. What a relief! This new young Dr. shows the same characteristics your speaking of without coming right out and saying it. I have tried several other medications she suggested even to the Cannabis clinic with many problems with them all. Now the Dr. has stated to me that the maximum dose is 120mg for non cancer patients only to google it to find out it actually is 200mg which I have been taking less than that. Summer time is very difficult for me because I have so much to care for with my home and family., My property is large, my home is over 3800 square feet and it’s just my 11 years old son and I to care for all of it. Without the medication I cannot complete 1/3 of what needs to be done. It gets more and more difficult for me as each year goes by. Unlike you, my back is not quite bad enough to get surgery but severe enough for me to have extreme pain plus ALL the other diagnosis that go along with a motor vehicle accident. If you find relief in anything else, do post.
Thank you for sharing your story and there is hope as little as it may seem.
Josh, I have horrible pain in my spine ,hips and legs , I now have something called interstitual cystitis,the lining of the bladder is gone, on fire constantly. Can only drink water , even a sip of juice can cause a flare , the nerves in my spine and back of legs feel as if they are being pulled out. Have severe psoriatic arthritis. No spleen so can’t take the regular arthritis pain meds. Have had to use norco ,now oxycodone. My husband and I have prayed for our dr for many years. To make good decisions and have wisdom. We praythe Lord will let her find favor in me. When I’m scared , I cry out to God , He has been so faithful to make sure I get what I need. I have never abused it either but have been in the E R for my gallbladder bursting and they did treat me like a drug addict. They took tons of patients before me. We finally left and went to a different hospital. Had hundreds of gallstones. I felt like I’d die. Josh , please don’t give up. I have had nights when I have also begged the Lord to take me home. Yet daily I find so many people who need encouragement and to hear my story. I will ask the Lord also to find you a dr who will not just look on the outside but will hear the truth of you’re pain and you’re heart. , He sees you. He loves you. He says I’f you draw near to Him , He will draw near to you
Have any of you ever thought about using medical marijuana. It works great for chronic pain as well as nerve pain, and it’s not addictive. It doesn’t have the bad side affects that pain pills have. I’ve been taking pain meds for 20 years, because I have RSD/CRPS and I’ve had it with pain pills. The restrictions our politicians are making are really stupid, and unacceptable. That’s why I’m switching over to medical marijuana because the government in Ohio can not mess with the system, like the federal government is messing with the levels of pain meds we can have in our bodies. Good luck to all of you but please give medical marijuana a chance.
I just heard about MM & I am looking into it. I had 2 strokes i Sept, then got up for a bathroom break & herniated 2 discs. Even with opiates I’m in horrible pain. I’m 74yr young very active but now get worn out taking a shower & dressing. Can sit in a chair 30 mins &have to lay down. Someone told me about MM & am ready to try something to improve my quality of life Would love to hear from others that tried it. MRS
Your post made me cry. Please don’t give up and whatever you do – do NOT listen to anyone who calls you anything aside from your name. I have a daughter your age and if you were my child, I would be demanding that someone send you to pain management. Please remember, patients have rights too. And one of those rights is having your pain treated.and treated professionally. Please do not give up. Tell your GP that you need Pain Management STAT or lawsuits will start to fly. This is exactly WHY people need to file lawsuits is because until your voice is heard (and it’s not going to be heard until you hit them where it counts…and that’s in the wallet). There is absolutely NO need whatsoever for you to be suffering.
Good for you you sound like a real fighter. You encouraged me while encouraging Josh. You have a lot of strength in you and you have a very strong spirit. I pray for your healing but also that you give out too as many as you can what you’ve gone through and how you stay standing in your adversity. And Josh’s story broke my heart also. He is Very young and I’m sorry that he’s going through so much. Every story that I read hurt my heart. People are going through so much and they need people to stand with them to fight for them. Because sometimes we don’t know exactly what to do. So thank you Jax for what you’re doing. You keep pressing and as you do for others God will truly Come Back To You and give you more than what you need.
Hello to all fellow Chronic pain sufferers. My name is Tim, I will be 50 in Sept and have been living with chronic pain for nearly 20 years I had lower back pain since I was in my 20’s. I worked as a carpenter for about 12 years after high school. I had a few falls which kept making my condition worse. I have had a total of 5 arthroscopic surgeries between both knees. In 2002 I was on vacation from my position as branch manager of a retail industrial gas and welding store, we were painting our house and was working on the second story dormers from the roof when the shingles tore loose and I fell onto our driveway shattering my rt ankle. following orif surgery had horrible pain and this fall of course made my back pain even worse. I had to file for social security disability which took 8 years to get approved. Had bilateral carpal tunnel surgery and this past winter had a partial knee replacement. I have been on morphine sulfate and fentanyl trans patches; which have been being prescribed me for over 10 years. i is so wrong what we go through as chronic pain sufferers and for pharmacists, other doctors and “medical professionals” to treat us as subhuman or worse is so wrong. We all have so many issues we deal with because of our medical conditions; we absolutely dont need these judgemental people trying to impose their beliefs on us for whatever reason. Stay strong, i know how easy it is to hear someone say that but another to go through even one day with the level of misery that makes you prefer death to more pain.Keep your faith and be strong.
Hey Tim, I will be “50” in November…small world! ; ) I have had CRPS for about 5 years plus a few more chronic pain diseases to top it off. I am so sick of all the BS we have to put up with from doctors, pharmacists and legislatures!! The crackdown on opiates has done nothing but put chronic pain patients in pure HELL!! They went and made us go to only pain management doctors for our pain meds and get those stupid “triplicate” prescription papers!! Well after all that BS they now have all of a sudden made it okay for the doctors to “Escribe” our schedule 2 pain meds!! So all that was for nothing!! The problem here in my part of Texas is that the hydrocodone is always out of stock!! So, if your pharmacy has your prescription (through Escribe) for hydrocodone etc and they don’t have any… you can’t just transfer the script to another location! Now keep in mind, this is the same pharmacy but at a different location!! This is such a pain in the ass because then we have to call the doctor up and get them to redo the prescription and send it to the other one…and hope by the time the staff decides to do it, the medicine isn’t out of stock there now!! I ask this new B*tch doc if I could just have the paper script because of this problem and she refused!! It would be so much easier for me to just have to paper script in my hand and go to another pharmacy!! But hell no, we got to call their slow asses and hope they do their jobs! They don’t care if it is time sensitive, in a case like this. It could be 3 days before they get to it after 6 left messages!! Such a crock! I only had to get this new doctor because my wonderful doctor decided to retire!! I got stuck with this incompetent doctor…she knows nothing about CRPS and I called her out on it! She jumped up and said “I don’t think I like the way you are talking to me!” I said well…I don’t like they way you are talking to me either lady!! She left the room and I politely yelled “f*cking b*tch! Sorry but I was sooo mad and upset! Keep in mind, she had already disagreed with my diagnosis that “7” other doctors have confirmed in a matter of 10 minutes of meeting her!! Yeah, I guess she is super doc and can know me and my disease in a matter of minutes! OMG, really!? This is how STUPID SHE IS… my CRPS is in both of my legs/ankle/feet and my left ankle is froze along with my 4 little toes. ( I am able to walk on both legs) Looking at my legs, she said she didn’t see any “muscle loss” or skin changes??!! I was like… what the hell lady? First off, my skin on my lower legs/feet is horribly dry and scaly plus my toe nails are ugly, discolored and brittle. I guess she didn’t see that… But how in the hell can I have “muscle loss” if I use my freaking legs to walk on every day??!! If she was any kind of doctor, she should know that “muscle loss” comes from NON USE!! I was floored! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that, AND YET SHE CALLS HERSELF A DOCTOR?? Are you kidding me?! This is why millions of people are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all because of “so called” doctors like this! She has turned my life upside down by this and also abruptly stopping 2 of my meds (tramadol and soma) I have been doing fine on for years!! She just couldn’t leave me on my same meds… she had to do it her way! And I am suffering through pain and withdrawals right now because of it. I wish we could get together and make some kind of petition to stand up for the rights of chronic pain patients!! The suffering and demoralizing has to stop NOW!! Prayers to you all my fellow pain warriors!!
Oh, I forgot another thing this “so called” doctor told me…. After me being on my meds for 8+ years, that there are NO WITHDRAWALS from TRAMADOL OR SOMA!! Yeah!! Believe that! I guess I am just making this all up!! She can look it up and see from well known web sites, like the FDA etc that these medicines DO cause withdrawals. This is what I am talking about!! What an incompetent doctor! Don’t forget about the hypocratic oath they are suppose to go by… yeah right!! I’m sooo mad about all this BS!! Sorry for the rant…
Remember this one thing:
DRS. ONLY. PRACTICE MEDICINE
a line I gave my dr who thought he was above listening to my concerns
If I had practiced my job the way you seem to practice medicine, I would have been fired years ago! How is it that you still are working?
Got my point across
If you can find a pharmacy next to a hospital area you would have a better chance of finding your prescriptions well in stock
Josh I so get how you feel. I have vertebrae that are constantly slipping in and out due tto faucet joints being destroyed. I also get treated like a junkie. I also pray to just die when I am in so much pain I am balled up in fetal position bawling this crap is ridiculous. All the junkies that are real junkies end up on suboxone anyway which is a narcotic so why do people with real pain have to suffer.
I feel your pain Josh… i am so sorry to hear that you have been treated like that! I hurts my heart to hear you say that dying is the only way out of your pain. This just makes me sick! I am 49 yrs old and have CRPS (about 5 years now) in both my legs with multiple pain related diseases on top of that! I know what pain 24/7 365 is like too. These doctor’s and legislatures are IDIOTS!! I pray everyday for a change. I just responded to another post and told a bit about what I am going through right now… maybe you can find it and read it as well. I wish I could do or say something to help. There are millions of chronic pain patients going through this abuse and it needs to STOP! It is inhumane to have to live our lives and be treated drug addicts just looking for a high! They do not know what chronic pain patients have to go through on a daily basis and we don’t get “HIGH” off of our medicines. It is all about us trying to live a functional life to best of our abilities. We need to stand together and make a change! I hope and pray that day will come soon. Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you! Hang in there Josh… take care.
Dear Josh
I was just about to close the lid on my computer so i would not ramble on too much don’t u dare give up yet! We need to talk and maybe we can fix what those pathetic unknowledgeable A-holes seem to think they know and by the way, if what you said is true and they said those things to your face in the hostpital you have what sounds like grounds for a lawsuit. I will talk more with you today but until I do record all conversations with all of these so called Dr’s undercovers if possible always. You are not a junkie you are in need of help my friend don’t give in till u give the same shit back to the ones who gave it to you and treated you like a junkie they r unforgivable. I will try to get you some help to fight but keeping in mind i am in Canada but I am fighting the same battle here
Josh, I pray for you and your pain! It makes me sad to hear the doctors that treat you like a junkie. I have had to go through the same at the er, trying to find relief when I was flared up in pain. I get you would rather die than live in pain like you do. I hope you can find some relief so you can live Josh. I am a patient in Canada being affected by the new opiate cap law and I am now having to live in pain with no life again. The pain medication helped me live some and enjoy some life. So unfair and cruel with the cap limit of the same dose for all non cancer patients. Only 1 pain medication dose per day with no breakthrough pain management is just so cruel!!! Some desk person throwing out a milligram number dose for all. It’s like a one size fits all and that is not correct. One size, does not fit all!!! Grrrrrrrrr!
very sorry, im in exact situation and am going to end my life tonight or tomorrow night when my last meds are used up. maybe ill see you in heaven and we can reminisce about our wretched unbelievable end to this horrific pain that no one but people like us can ever understand wow thinking about actually ending my life is a tough pill to shoot at but pain relief is what its all about right now all my best to you and all those like us in this tornado of hell
I’m also in chronic pain have MS and nerve damage .Can’t sleep from the pain.oxycodone helped me but it was stopped and gabapentin doesn’t get rid of the pain. Went to pick up my 90 day of gabapentin and pharmacist refused to fill it. She said too many people are abusing the drug and it’s too many pills to take.I told her I have legitimate diagnosis and neuropathy that I can’t function without it! I have also thought during those painful sleepless night how nice it would be not to wake up.ro not feel pain anymore.doctors and pharmacist now only care about themselves and I’m convinced they couldn’t give a s**t about us and the pain we’re in!.The government needs to stay out of the doctor patient relationship when pain is concerned.too many people are suffering and killing themselves because they can’t take pain anymore.
The government. Doctors ,DEA , CDC are know known murders what they have done is just that, they are killing and distroying people’s lives. It is abuse to the elderly, the sick and hurt, they are evil lying inhumane cruel murders. Is it any wonder America is hated so bad by other countries and now the own American people.. America is now a known inhumane ,cruel,Evil ,shi_ hole..
Do they have a count of how many good people ,not junkies, have suffered in Agonized hell by removing the last hope after all else treatment has failed numerous attempts, until the doctor had no other choices in his medical bag. The only humane thing to is ease the suffering with opiod medications. I have been on Morphine and Oxycodone for 25 years with no problems other than simple comfort from what i had been living in. I am a veteran of the Vietnam era that came home with numerious injuries that the very country i went to defend has now left me in the cold over mostly, that too many vets were given OPIODS to relieve there pains and got hooked. It is the cost that brought this on. The goverment is saving millions of dollars by dumping the opiod medications to the Veterans alone. Well, that would make them look bad so they just said take it all from every body but us and the people dying with cancer. This is straight from a VA Doctor’s mouth to me.
If so be that the opiod medication are so dangerous, then why have they treated the veterans since WWII with them. Because simply ,they work. It is all about the money now.
Since when have pharma’s been given the right to over write a dr.s order? The did not go thru medical school
I , too, have thought that Suicide would be a heck of a lot easier. And I loved life before. I hold a Master’s degree in Counseling and my children are old enough for me to go back to work and help others. I am on Oxycodone now and if I weren’t , I don’t know how I would keep going.
I have neck surgery scheduled for June 12.
There is no other choice as I am too God- fearing to do anything else.
I want to be whole again.
I just saw you had your surgery 5 days ago…hope your doing well!!
It’s horrible to say but the truth is we all have the same sorry it’s the true story of how the government actually in New York governor Como is responsible for the DA and prop the government has no place between the physician and the patient I was a licensed health professional Who contacted MRSA.
I had to fly down to Florida where my family was I was misdiagnosed and told I had a spasm for two months and I was in the hospital I had a great doctors but the doctor came to me one night and said you were dying from this staff infection but we can go in and try multiple surgeries he also told me I just may be in pain chronic pain every day for the rest of my life I had a choice in there many times now I feel I made the wrong decision I couldn’t comprehend anyone being in pain every day of their life but it’s true I have spinal disease is obvious on mRIs and any test they take 20 years ago I was told that I had the spinal cord of an 80-year-old woman and I was 39 years old I came to New York to visit real because they offer quality of life and realize that people with chronic pain it’s like the long term cancer after over 16 years of being in pain management of death Israel only coming one day January 14, 2014 to see that all the doctors were changed and they had everyone there all their patients I to detox off opiates which was done at home for two years I suffered more than even the chronic pain why does the government have any place in telling these doctors how do you treat patients they have doctors and physicians compromising the quality of their work now I am stuck to just sitting on the couch and just like you said when it’s summertime it’s the hardest because I can watch people of fun my head wants to do it but my body cannot what is the sense of living a life like that because the doctors today do not think for themselves . The pain I have affects every aspect of my life and every aspect of my life affects my pain you find yourself unable to attend social gatherings losing friends and being left alone why isn’t anyone doing anything about this just like cancer patients even worse it’s a long term suffering we all are in this together due to the pain it’s difficult to fight but I do intend to fight if I can find out how I can go about it how can we fight the government to stay out of doctor-patient relationships and let them treat people they are patient and give back the quality of life that is needed many people want to give out and do not separate us from people who may be looking for opiates but to make a general statement that all or just for the sake of getting opiates when they see themselves through the MRIs and other tests that we are suffering we help other countries who are suffering well let’s start with a chronic pain patients here it’s severe it’s ongoing and there is no quality-of-life someone please help me because I cannot find i A doctor that is willing to help because there have revising the quality of their work because they are governed by the government this is not known to the public and it should be I’m hoping even that I get cancer how I can be treated properly and at least have some quality where I can have some life back because there is no life when you’re suffering with severe chronic pain my name is Audrey Alicia and I would like to any government official or anyone to please contact me my I live in New York and Governor Cuomo is the mayor but not for long I hope and I pray to God
Audrey I also have had severe pain. I have heard rumor that the drs everywheee needed to review who really needed pain meds. I have commented before and I will share with you the same thing. I pray everytime is see my dr. My husband and I ask for her to have wisdom and to let me find favor in her eyes. To see the actual pain. Severe nerve pain, twisted lower spine , psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia plus interstitual cystitis. I am on pain meds , I still have horrible pain in my. nerves at night. The only thing that helps is a Hot hot hot Bath. I have always found it to be true concerning the dr and meds , to pray and ask the Lord to direct me to the drs and specialist , that they see beyond what they look at and hear my heart and realize I’m not there for any other reason besides getting help for pain that seems I will have for all ,my life. I will also be praying for you Audrey I know what torture it is to live like this. I don’t feel I’m a sick person, I want to go rafting and camping and climb and hike still. If Jesus did not comfort me daily and bless me with the drs and people around me , I cannot imagine , but I did cry out to Him and He hears me. So many other patients have had to wean off theirs. I have never been asked to. I did wean off the fentynal patches myself. It took a year. It was too complicated as I am in another state often . This may sound strange but , when I’m suffering really horribly I will turn on music by Keith Green , it makes a difference , I find hope and I think that does help the pain. God bless you honey.
Please pray for me as well. Chronic pain patient for 10 years, and they’ve weaned me off my long acting meds now, and I don’t know what I’ll do if they were to take away my short acting meds. I go to a legitimate pain management clinic with a board certified pain management anesthesiologist. He’s been practicing at least 30 years, or close to it. I only see him on procedure days, see the nurse practitioner on my monthly exams. Pass drug screening and all that. Don’t understand why we’re being punished for the actions of the abusers. The government should not be getting between us and our doctors. It’s getting outta hand. Legitimate patients are suffering, many will turn to street drugs, or suicide, if they can’t get relief via their doctors. The procedures I do, the epidurals, nerve ablation, trigger points, steroid injections only provide temporary relief, when the even work. But if you see this, please pray for me, and I will you.
That is interesting the war on drugs has now reached gabapentin lol. Ohio is reportedly making it a state scheduled medication.
The race to the bottom will end with desperate anxiety patients and headache patients clamoring for hydroxyzine once doctors are afraid to prescribe anything else. The medical boards will note a spike in hydroxyzine prescriptions (like they have noted a spike in gabapentin prescriptions because docs are afraid to prescribe anything else) then hydroxyzine gets increasingly restricted because “known addicts are asking for it” lol.
Amen Beth!!! I have had CRPS for about 5 years now and it really is a shame how pharmacist can try and be a medical doctor!! REALLY?! It is bad enough without the pharmacist jumping on the ban wagon too! Don’t even get me started on doctors… i am going through an ordeal right now with a STUPID doctor that has no business treating CRPS patients or chronic pain patients period! I am going through withdrawals right now because of this idiot doctor! She told me flat out that the 2 medicines, (tramadol and soma) she abruptly took me off of “DO NOT” cause withdrawals!!?? And I have been on these meds for 8+ YEARS! What the hell?? Then what am I going through here??!! She started me back on gabapentin but it doesn’t do much for me pain wise…I feel kinda loopy on it also. If she would do some research then maybe she would be up to date!! I am floored by this!!! I just don’t get it… my other pain doctor retired so I got stuck with this b*tch! Sorry but that is how I feel about it. I am being tortured by the withdrawals and my pain has increased by this so called doctor! They have our lives in their hands and our hands are tied with nothing we can do about it. I wish we could all come together and stand up for the rights of chronic pain patients!! Sending prayers your way…take care.
Starting in 2009, I was in a car accident and was wrongfully diognosed so I started going to the ER with pancreatic pain and was wrongfully diognosed everytime I’d go to this hospital I was treated horribly and set home to only find out everytime that I had pancreatitis so I suffeed for year’s bc of them, so bc of them miss diegnosing wrong and not getting the propper treatment I ended up with full blown chronic pancreatitis, I will never heal and to this day I am still being treated horably by this hospital. In December I was almost killed by a nurse, she intentionally gave me meds that I was alergic to so I ended up going into anifaltic shock while she stood there and did nothing, she stood there laughing at me begging for help, it took my fiance getting another nurse to save my life while the nurse who gave oxygen and Benadryl, I woke up several hours later but Bengals able to talk and I was admitted. I was told something was done about it, but I don’t think so. That was the second time that nurse was involved in my care where I was miss treated and almost died. I went to the same hospital yesterday morning in the worst pain in my life and uncontrollable vomiting. It was my pancreas I was told, I knew that it was, it was obvious. I was told that I was very sick so I was being admitted for pain control, IV fluids plz nuasea meds, but after waiting 12 hours in pain, crying and throwing up, I ended up with the same Dr that miss treated me in the past, she started talking to me so horribly and telling me that she didn’t think anything was wrong with me. I got upset and asked for a different dr,I was told once I got upstairs that I would have a different Dr, well I was lied to, an hour after being in my room I asked for me meds and asked when was I going to be hooked up to IV fluids, mean while I’m in tears from my pain and throwing up to only be told that I and not getting anything for pain, no nausea needs or IV fluids and that I was only going to get the meds I take at home. I asked my nurse to talk to the Dr about giving me my meds, she came back and said that I could only have Toradole, that’s the same thing as Motrin, witch I didn’t understand that bc I’m not supposed to be taking anything like that bc they found tumors on my liver in the catscan so I was told if I didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t giving me anything for pain they I can go home so she admiddatly took my IV out of my rist and told another nurse to get me out of the room so they could get somebody else in there. My husband had to hold me to help me walk out of there, they wouldn’t wheelchair me out. I was throwing up leaving that place and was in so much pain that I wanted to call 911 from their parking lot, but I couldn’t put myself threw anymore. I went home and took my pain meds and sleeping pills bc I had been up for 2 day’s, mean while I have been in agony and I’m still throwing up. I called the hospital several times to speak to someone in regards to how I was treated and I left messages, no one has called me back. My GI dr’s are ossiated with this hospital so that’s why I went there, but my family Dr told me today to never go back there again bc they know how bad I have been treated by them. I have been wrongfully diognosed by them at least 10 times and have had to go to other hospitals bc of it. I even ended up spending 3 months in the hospital after being sent home from there ER bc they said nothing was wrong with me to only have my Dr call me the next and tell me to get the the nearest hospital bc he seem my text results, they said I was going into kindey failure and that I had pancreatitis. I suffered like a dog at home until he called me and told me to get to a hospital. So now I havnt been able to work since that 3 month stay in the hospital and was diegnosed with chronic pancreatitis in that time and was told bc I was wrongfully diognosed so many times my pancreas and up calcifying causing it to stop working so I Will be sick for the rest of my life with this and will never be able to work. Something has to be done about this. I am so tired of being treated like a drug addict when I’m not what so ever. I didn’t do anything to get sick like that, I didn’t ask for this and not for nothing my life has been literally destroyed over all of this. Since I can’t work I am missing my house, it’s going up for sheriff sale on May 3, I’m going to be living in my car, I’m going to lose my daughter, my pets and all my belongings so yeah, who would take being this sick knowing that I’m losing everything that I have. I wish there was something I could do to stop these hospital’s and dr’s from treating me like this. I feel like I’m in a third world country everytime I go to the ER, there’s no excuse for it what do ever… I have even called a lawyer countless times to see if they could help me with the way I get treated, but I pretty much get hung up on once I tell them what’s happening to me, I’m told bc I didn’t die from everything that has happened to me that I have no case… Unbelievable, I have to die for something to be done. Something tells that will end up happening eventually, if not by them it will be by me bc I don’t know how much more I can take of this. I have been up all night wondering wether or not if I took all the pills that I have I’m my house will it kill me or will I just end up back at that hospital with that same Dr, I can just see that now with my luck so thing’s will go from bad to worse, I’ll live and I’ll only end up having a good reason for them to treat me like shit even more so I won’t take the pills, but if I knew that by taking them all that I would die for sure I would. I’m 39 year’s old, I know I’m only going to continue to get sick so that means I’ll have to continue to see these dr’s and go to the same hospitals that treat me like shit so I’m really thinking I’m better off just taking the pills and taking that chance… I can’t go threw this anymore. I have no friend’s when I used to have to many to count. I have no family but my 2 kid’s that probably won’t even care if I die bc I havnt been able to be the mother that I used to be B4 I got sick so either I stick around and continue to suffer in pain and throw up everyday, get treated like a piece shit by so my dr’s and even worse at the hospital that I know I’m going to end up back at no matter how hard I try not to it’s going to happen, I know that now… I just don’t know what to do.
Thats’s horrible Dee!! I have been treated very badly and unlawfully by ER and many countless others in the doctor/healthcare systems. I think you should whole heartedly do what you can to get these idiots who mistreated you abused you and put your life in harms way to get fired and sued!! I hope you know lots of nus non drug addicts yet in pain for acute and/ or long term from accidents/diseases etc. are also mistreated a swell and looked down upon and it’s such a shame and a disgrace to the whole medical world. I hope you now I want to fight and I’m exhausted too. I hope you get better and don’t hurt yourself there has to be help for you somewhere, don’t stop trying!
Hi my name is Jack I too suffer from pancreatits BIN TO ER SO SO MANY TIMES TREATED LIKE DRUG ADDICT MY DAYS ARE NOWE SPENT in bed crying in pain and the isolation depression girl friend left she could not understand the pain I Will pray for you to night and all that suffer from this terrible diease God bless you in hope you may be able to get some sleep it is very hard for me to sleep pain is constant God bless.
I would sue them for wrongful diagnosis.which has caused u to be permanently damaged!! Some dr.s care nothing except being paid.
I was just in the ER last week because of debilitating back pain. I had back surgery in 2013, and so far 3 joint replacements. Keep in mind that I have Norco and muscle relaxers in my medicine chest. They simply weren’t working because I decided to move 2 one hundred lb air conditioners into my house because mine died at 4am. I love in South tx and it’s seriously got down here. I moved them by myself because all I have is myself. Waited a day and a half to hobble to the ER and was told the strongest thing they could give me is toradol. I was beyomd upset and still in tears of pain when I left. Looked it up, and that is seriously the LAW in TX! They recommended that I go to pain management, but since I have been “self medicating”, I don’t think anyone will see me. My regular doctor gives me like 60 Norco to last 6 months and it’s just not doing the trick. Also I love in a rural area where there are very limited pain mgmt resources. These new laws SUCK for people who have general constant intractible pain. I too wish for death just to make the pain go away. Funny thing is…I can get whatever I want on the street from people who are in pain mgmt and sell their meds…they are high dollar though and really not positive I’m getting what they say it is so I don’t do that. I am not exhibiting drug seeking behavior, I am in constant pain and just want to have a little relief. They are still pill mills, just over regulated.
Dee , maybe you losing you’re home can be a blessing in disguise. I personally would move to a different county or even a different state. Pray ask God to lead you to a dr who will really fight for you and find what meds will help you. I could not live with this if I did not know and see everyday the Jesus is real and He does intervene in my life. He does go before me when I see my dr. Outside of that, I agree there is no hope. I have heard it said , cry out to God. Say , ” to the One who created these hands, help me” I would also have wanted to be ” put down ” pain is a horrible thing to live with and to see no end in sight is bad. I take it day by day. Trusting God for just today. I will keep praying Dee. I pray the Lord will send someone to you , a friend , someone to encourage you
I am so sorry I to have been mistreated over pancreatitis with many hospital stays and Dr visits. All I can tell you is at this moment I am praying for you, I promise believe in God and just breathe a minute He is your best friend and talk to him as such. Turn over your problems to Him He will fix them one way or another. Keep trying as best you can. I’m sure your sick of hearing this but God is real and your problems now horrible they are belong to him so give them to him. I love and pray for you.
Thanks to God and also to dr sebi , the great herbal man that cured me of HIV/AIDS. I contacted the virus from my partner three year ago, i almost
spent all i had because i was restless , until i saw people testimony about Dr sebi recommendation online for how he has being curing HIV with his
herbs, and i emailed him and he told me how to get the herb. You can contact him
AND THEY WONDER WHY THE USER RATE & OVERDOSE RATE OF HEROIN HAS EXPLODED RAY CHARLES & STEVIE WONDER BOTH CAN SEE WHY WHY CANT THEY
Yep……..been in chronic pain for 20 yrs. Back is completely metal….rods,screws, metal cages instead of discs….can’t work….hell, can’t mop the floor at this point. I have never done hard drugs in my life, but I sent someone to find me some heroin the other night because I can’t do this anymore. If the medical community won’t help…I’m only left with helping myself, which means turning to the streets. I live in a small town, and fortunately, or unfortunately, none was found. They keep saying that people who were treated for chronic pain are turning to heroin, because they need a bigger “high”….lmao,,,,no, they need pain relief. Too much governmen entry telling me what I need or can do with MY body. “We can’t give you pain meds, because there addicting, but please partake in all the smoking and drinking you wish because that’s legal.” Ok, far more harmful to my health, but the government says that’s ok. God, don’t get me started.
I too have chronic pain, and have not only considered suicide, I have attempted it, and WILL kill myself someday in the future. This is my body and mind, and I will do with it as I please.
For those in pain: Look up bulk unwashed poppy seed (or pods, hard to obtain) and make “tea” with OJ. Smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. Let this “pain management” snake oil implode upon itself.
Thats awful to hear. Dont harm yourself. Things will get better
WHEN? It’s not better now! I only see it getting much worse. We the people need to stand with chronic pain patients. I’d bet 100-1 that a large group of opiate patients take their own lives because they have no hope. (ie) under medicated patient sees no hope because a beaurocrat thinks he knows better from advice from the DEA. Said patient receives 1/6th dose that was managed well under a prior protocol. The patient goes 30 days in severe pain and after their next appointment they OVERDOSE INTENTIONALLY, who’s to blame. THE DEA AND OUR STATE MEDICAL BOARDS. It makes no sense to me why those of us with disabilities and chronic pain are treated like something WE ARE NOT!
I absolutely agree with what you just said and I find it very sad because as we get older being 63 and having rheumatoid arthritis osteoarthritis I’m in so much pain all the time and still trying to work but it’s so hard because of the pain. It’s so severe but I have to work even maybe 10 hrs a week, because although I am disabled and I worked for 47 years I don’t make enough money I would end up homeless so what happens, depression, fatigue crying and isolated from my children because I don’t want them to see me this way and make them so sad. And politicians always whining about the expensive Healthcare System and the money in the billions or country is still under water well maybe if we didn’t have to see a specialist for every single different part of your body any time something goes wrong you need a referral to the eye doctor referral to the knee doctor a referral to rheumatoid arthritis doctor it’s ridiculous what happened to doctors that could just take care of you I believe they were called your family MD and when he decided it was out of his League or if you had cancer or needed an x-ray you went to the hospital now you have to go to 20 different people and the bills add up and the government complains about all this it’s crazy to me and if the DEA is so concerned about addiction why the hell don’t they go after the pharmaceutical companies yeah right because then we’re in Deep Pockets of all are billionaire congressman and new president God forbid I bet you they don’t have to go see a specialist when they need pain medicine…. my father was a marine and police officer and I love my country but I am frightened for it now
Agreed
Statistical data refutes your claim that chronic pain diseases such as the THREE I have will ever get better.
While I’m SURE you mean the best, you are being incredibly ableist making such statements. Some of us, contrary to what your pastor may say, are only going to get worse.
It happens, so get back in your lane.
What I do not understand is why people in chronic pain with diseases like Arachnoiditis and other nerve diseases that can not be cured are being discriminated against because they do not have cancer and are looking at a pain for many years to come. Right now I know of three suicides because of not being able to get their pain meds in the last month. This will continue until the Government realizes that not all people who are on high levels of opioids are nothing but druggies. I have seen a person I love in great pain and finally has got enough opioids to lie in bed 24/7 without crying all the time and not be able to sleep. The Government is now taking them away. I know what will finally happen to this person who pain is constant again. I must say after seeing the suffering I will not blame that person for getting out of pain by drastic means. At least if this person had cancer they would be treated for pain. I guess people who are in pain are not cared about, insurance companies do not want to pay for it. If it were me I would rather take the chance on what the meds do to my body. By the way, the person has never had a high on the meds.
Right from what I have read every where it is even worse for patients that are on Medicaid and Medicare the patients that have this for insurance a suffering even more. I have so much pain going on it is ridiculous all documented some not because dr.s are giving me a hard time about testing me for stuff. I am myself so sick of s$t someone needs to step up for the people with legit pain and obvious proof. I bet if I had rich people insurance or a MasterCard with lots of money I could get any pain meds I wanted. So I am now working on becoming an alcoholic because when I am in such bad pain I want to cry I have to drink like 4 shots of whiskey to even fall asleep. Lord help us little people that no one cares about.
I have used alcohol for pain management most of my life. I’m trying to quit now having serious withdrawals, my PCP put me on Ativan to help keep me from severe dangerous withdrawals. I test once a month for other drugs and alcohol. So I can’t drink for 80 hours b4 my urine test, during this time each month I go through withdrawals! I haven’t been on my pain meds for two months, so yes I have been drinking! This DR makes me drive 45 min 1 way twice a week to put a damn tenz unit on my back! But if I don’t go to so called
“physical therapy” 8 times a month at 180 miles per week, they will not fill my medz! There is no cure for my two rare desease, PARAMYOTONIA CONGENITA WITH PERIODIC PARALIS AND MALIGNANT HYPERTHERMIA and putting tenz unit on my lower back just pissed me off. I need heat therapy, deep tissue massage therapy only every day because no matter what is done to my muscles the will continually contract. So the therapy would need to be done every day twice a day! I’m taking my Ativan so Thursday when I go back to pain management I’m sure they will tell me I can’t take Ativan with Hydrocodone!! The next nearest pain Dr is about a 5 hour drive one way!! So how do we get the laws changed?
I am already an alcoholic! But I did have a doctor examine me and ask if I ever thought about drinking!! I said yep! Every morning on my way to the problem about store!! So I’m gonna die one miserable old drunk and I’m only 54 Ben drinking for 40 years!!
Where do you get poppy? I have MS and chronic pain and was denied any medicine for it. I’m on gabapentin that doesn’t help take pain away. Not sure what to do. I’ve also considered ending it, when you up all night in pain day after day it makes depression worse. Now recently I had a pharmacist at CVS tell me she not going to fill all my gabapentin ,she thinks too many pills. Pharmacist playing doctor.
you can not get poppies anymore because of the lock down of all narcotics by the DEA thats why you can not get any thing no one can right now…be patient for now…read PAIN NETWORK NEWS ..IT WILL HELP YOU ..god bless!
Beth, I’m so sorry your Dr is not considering your best interest while (not?) treating you. I too have MS for nearly 20 years now. Neurologists have come and gone for me. You know yourself, you know your pain and discomfort and know what you need. If you try a drs suggestions and it doesn’t help you, I hope you would be able to tell them “time for something else”. If they refuse to prescribe an opioid and cannot offer an equivalent or better solution–please move on to another doctor. The pain is real and it is most definitely constant. What is the point of life if you have no quality of life? Consider drs that are further than your town. Sometimes a doctor that can sympathize with your situation may be farther, but they EXIST.
I have had unfortunate experiences with Pharmacists and staff and have NO qualms whatsoever in just picking another pharmacy. They are there to help and serve us when they forget that, I remain empowered; even though I have a chronic, incurable condition, I am in control of what I CAN control.
I wish you courage and success in finding exactly the people you need to treat you.
PS.
-I have found it helpful to keep a few photographs of brain MRI slices on my phone.
Like the rest of the people with there stories above, I have been living with pain now for many many many years, it all started with a couple of accidents at work and continued to get worst to the point of surgery. In 2012. Started with a cervical fusion surgery,followed by a lumbar lamminectomy decompression surgery with two more revision surgeries after that. Oh and by the way, I didn’t mention five surgeries that I also had in my shoulder, last one being total shoulder replacement surgery. Of course once the doctors do there surgery’s and get paid, they don’t seem to care much after that. I ended up going to the pain center where I was also put on pain medication. However, like the story goes, the only thing that seems to take the edge off is the pain medication which allows you to do some of the things in life you can no longer do. After a while though, the pain people start treating you like if you’re a junkie looking for a fix. We all know that is not the case, or at least I am speaking for myself. It is hard to live a life where you have to deal with pain 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There is no such thing as getting a good nights sleep either because you’re in pain even while you are trying to sleep. Ended up going to see other doctors to find out that now I have sacroiliac joint dysfunction and more pain to add to my problems. i WAS TOLD ONCE AGAIN THAT i WOULD NEED SURGERY FOR THAT.. It could drive anyone crazy. Only good thing is that I have a supportive wife and family that keep me going, If I didn’t have there support, Who knows .
You do need your fix, taking them for all the right reasons(like myself) you are now dependent (a “junkie” that has to have your fix to make it through a shower. Doesn’t make you are any less of a junkie than me! We need dope to fight pain and stay out of withdrawal. Did the dr’s tell you this would be the case? No, i bet they didn’t and if you could do it over you would experiment with all forms of pot and throw whatever hardcore shit your doctor gave you the first 2 years down the drain.
A question to you I also have an abnormal sacroiliac joint dysfunction and have been told no surgery is available. What type of surgery have you been offered or suggested to help with this issue? I would love to know. Thanks
Cathy
I have been on this chronic pain wheel for over 15-years. Pain started from a slip and fall accident and my life was forever changed, damaged my life never the same. Because I had this accident happen at 20 years old. I was under treated for pain. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease l4-s1, osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis, sciatica and have an abnormal sacroiliac joint dysfunction causing bone on bone friction. This all in addition to having polycystic fibrosis, tumors removed which strangled my ovaries, I had stage 1 ovarian cancer requiring a hysterectomy along with gall bladder removal. I live in constant pain and agony! Unless you experience living in constant chronic pain you should NOT have the right to make decisions that affect people that live with chronic pain. I had finally achieved adequate pain control than my dr left and of course any time a new dr is in the picture they beleive they know better without taking into consideration the turmoil you go thru to finally reach some sort of pain relief. Than starts changing medications because new dr either feels they know better or are afraid to prescribe properly because of the dea and all the seekers giving us legitimate chronic pain patients a bad name. The amount of time, patience and money it takes to get treatment which only helps with pain never taking pain completely away. The shadow and fragments of the people we used to be once upon a time only looking for help in relieving a portion of pain yet being treated as convicts, addicts, junkies, liars treated as if the pain is in our head, not real, just an act a ploy to get a handful of pills. How dare people make decisions in our name, not knowing what it’s like to live in our shoes even for one day. It’s sad, depressing and out right oppressing! May they read, have empathy and true compassion for us before making decisions that will result in having us even more bed ridden and more of a sad shadow of who we were. I love and care for you all and pray they stop treating us as junkies and addicts and hope they start treating us with dignity and respect and more than anything with true and real compassion and empathy.
As a medically retired Sergeant in the U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant, I have been dealing with chronic pain. My service-connected disability rating has increased to 80% but being paid at 100% due to unemployability as a result of my chronic pain. I’ve had major spine surgery where the bottom four vertebrae were fused together and titanium screws, swivels and rods were implanted so as to stabilize my spine. The nerves around the titanium implants are in a constant state of inflammation and pain. In addition to back surgery, I’ve had multiple knee reconstructions, including screws to hold replacement ligaments in place also resulting in chronic pain in both knees. Not only did the Veteran’s Administration refuse to acknowledge that I was in pain – and to literally add insult to injury – I had to seek medical treatment outside of the VA healthcare system for which payment is my responsibility after medicare makes their meager attempt to pay. since my spine surgery in September 2009 I have been managing my pain through prescriptions such as lortab and oxycodone. So for 8 years and counting, I have been responsibly utilizing pain medication to be an active part of society. I’m currently taking 60mg per day but my tolerance level is at the point where the desired effect is lost. My pain level is at the point now where my activity is limited to going back and forth from my hospital-type bed to my recliner. Day-to-day activities and simple tasks are out of the question. If it weren’t for my fiancé doing the laundry and dishes they simply wouldn’t get done. Instead of being regarded as a honorably discharged veteran, I’m frowned upon and looked down at by everyone in the chain: Pain doctor’s staff, pharmacists, neighbors, friends and the like make me feel like a second-class citizen. So much for service to my country in the elite, all-voluntary Special Forces. Then people wonder why as many as 22 veteran commit suicide every day.
I understand completely your situation
.im a war vet of a different type and gender. I’m all alone now. Single mom. Many surgeries and treated like a drug Dfict with a dosage so low it doesn’t help. Once I opened my mouth and asked for a change or increase. I got the boot..blackballed..unjustly. and treated like shit bc now I can’t walk or do much..i feel pain Drs should be sued for letting me suffer to the point of taking my life. Never did I see all of this coming!
Yeah you can’t win in pain management by being your own advocate. You can ask for specific MS meds by name or tell your doctor your nausea meds aren’t working so you need an increased dose. Don’t try to do that with pain meds in the ER or clinic. You will be labeled a drug seeker rather than a knowledgeable advocate and get discharged.
You deserve better care mate. I have also had major back surgery and am left with chronic pain. After a while you feel like nobody wants to know even your family get sick of hearing about it. I to feel that someday I would be better off in the great blue sky hang in there.
Good morning Scott,
First, thank you for wonderful, giving service to our country, extremely sad VA treats you this way. I worked in the Navy as a radioman and lost a lot of my hearing as Russians, Cubans and I think they may have been Chinese jammed me when I was on the air sending out Secret messages via Morse Code, old man just a few years before all the cool stuff arrived. I an getting 30 per cent disability from VA because the first 20 doesn`t count. Regarding all your problems have you tried your Senator and Congressman.
After the thankful change in the white house why not try Mr. Trump? He seems very decent to the military.
Had some neck work done, have you had RFI, radio frequency ??, insert needles and send RF into nerves it helps, nerve blocks in between vertebrae are numbed, good for one year. Have you seen a GOOD pain doctor specialist? My main pain drug is fentanyl which comes in 12, 25, 50, up to 100 I think micrograms. It`s applied to the upper and is transdermal which is like the anti-smoke patch, however fentanyl patch is very cheap, the basic thought is get high enough dose to block the pain most of the time but when you get a break-through pain to have hydrocone(Norco), had 5 operations on my left knee its`3 times bigger than my right and just had my first surgery on the right knee.
Scott, may God bless you and may your lady and you have wonderful children, as you get older they are awesome.
Bob
Hi Scott,
Real bad morn, night pain as I figured you would guess. I screwed up when I told you it was RFI that was from ham radio, it`s RFA. Stands for Radio Frequency Ablation, the rf not problems getting the syringe in the pained area is not nice. Another device that helps me is the TENS transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Go to Amazon.com and buy the unit that takes 3 AAA batteries and has four patches that stick to hurting area, in my instance the left knee. Wash kneecap area and attach pads in an X pattern, hook the electrical leads so the current on the X goes top left to bottom right. Complete the process on the remaining leads. I pick knee set what I like on the other controls, it has a timer built in, more info young man
Amazon.Com Tens units, Amazon`s choice. Model YK15AB, forever warranty , it is equipped with 8 electrode leads, right and left simultaneously!! While your`e there under tens unit buy some Parker Lab Gel makes pads sticky and conductive, and Square 2 inch EMS-100 all of them come in at $56.47.
Scott, unlike pills you can pretty do this limitless, you can control how strong you want the electrical, bet I could really make the pain bad. Hard to believe from 3-AAA batteries. Well Scott thank you again for your time and being rewarded with poor pay and now the VA problems. Missed another thing, Sue my daughter is always looking for pain relief. Sometimes I get relief from T-Relief Ointment it costs a little under $10 for 100 tablets. My friend may God take care of you and give our love to your fiancee as she sounds like a classy lady to hover over you. My humor is improved big time by Eddie Ann, aka puppy, baby, ET,…she is a little runt malta-poo-shitzu miniature. Only is a bit under 5 lbs. about 200 pounds of love. If you would like jokes via email let me know Scott.
Hi Scott,
First off I want to thank you for serving. When I first hurt my back I was only 14 I’m now 26. I hurt my back from cheerleading. I ended up having a bulging disc, once I got one. I got more over the years. I now have one herniated bulging disc pinching a nerve at L4-L5, S1, S2,and S3 which goes to the bladder. So with the Pinched nerve at L4-L5 I have sevre neuropathy in my feet and calves. They feel like they’re on fire or they can feel like they’re your being pricked by pins and needles. Because of the S3 bulge my bladder always feels like it has a full pressure sensation kind of like I always have to go pee. I have tried every medication in the book out there I know what works and what doesn’t especially when it comes to the nerves there’s really only three great medications out there for the nerves that would be lyrica, neurontin/gabapentin, amitriptyline,and cymbalta. For the chronic pain in general the Fentanly Patch is best. The also don’t give you that high feeling so it is better to take daily. For break through pain I would try oxycodone or hydrocodone. On top of those I would also look into getting some radio frequencies done you can get 3 done a yr on a specific nerve. They initially lasted me for about a year they really helped. I also got some injections done at the same time and that seemed to help alot also. But now I am at the point where I want off the medication period I have talked to many people who have the nuero stimulators it’s like the tens units but the are implanted. The nice thing about them also is that before you get them put in you do a week trial to see if that would even be a good option for your pain. For some people it takes all there pain away for others 50%. But even 50% would be a god send for me. I do not want surgery just to have it agin in 10 yrs when I’m 36. You should look into getting some information on the nuro stimulators. Also I have had a lot of shitty pain doctors in my lifetime, but there are good ones out there you really just have to keep looking till you find one. I don’t know how long you have been dealing with this pain. I have been fighting the good fight for going on 13 years and it’s hard. But karma gets the asshole Dr.’s that look at us like junkies in the long end. My old prescribing Dr. is now a patient at the practice he used to work at he has cancer and all I can say is karma is one mean bitch but she always gets her mark. Hang in their Scott! Best Wishes If you ever have any questions my email is : shureexbolton@outlook.com
Good Evening “Sarg” First annnd foremost? Thank-you, Thank-you! for your service!!..I tried to join the Navy after I graduated from Nsg. School….I think back to that time..Ya see? I was told I was a lil too overweight..I wish to goodness I had of tried harder to have lost that weight…I worked for 10 yrs in the Pvt. Sector. Got grrrreat experience as a ICU, CCU, Er nurse. This was for 10 yrs..Then I moved out West to Az. after a couple of yrs there? I went to So. . Cal. Ended up with The V.A. med. Cntr in Long Beach Ca. unfortunately after just being there for a few short months? I ended up huirting myself. (lower Back) in April I had my first Surg. Make a lonnnnng story short? Had 5 more since then…in 08 I went ahead and applied for Disability.. moved back to my family in Alabama….in 08…Just a couple of years ago? I went ahead and retired ..(after 20 yrs with The V, A,.. I loved working there Sir. The Chronic Pain I dealt with on that day tpo day basis? I will admit, If I had to to be removed from Pain Mgt? I probably would commit Suicide…I even checked with my Church one year to make sure I would NOT have gone to Hell for doing such…Co-incidental as heck , that when we/I applied on quite lengthy application for Pain Clinic Sir, It was asked “Whaat kind of Pain do U have” Naturally…”Suicidal” Pain is what I replied on that Questionnaaire..
Sir? I just want to say…’I cannot” Beelieve that U R looked down on. I will admit that the first couple years I was diagnosed with my disability, I did have ppl always making statements re: My inab ilities to work… “I work for a living” I could go on and on Sir. I would push and Push myelf..Only b/c I thought that if I could get respect from ppl, then maybe I would feel better…I actually found myself, wishing ppl would get :SEVERE Back pain” Long enough so that t. Just so they would know how I must feel…Welp..Karma works..I was ALWAYS wishing ppl would/could walk in MY shoes for days and ppl have done exaxtley what I wished for…I remember when I got Baptised in 3/2011…I remember asking for forgiveness…That wasn’t me…I would NOT have been a nurse if I were that way. From what U say…your ADL’s ADL’s =Activity of Daily Living…is pretty low anymore…U are preaching to the choir my friend…I wish I had magical words of wisdom for U Sir. It is sounding like U Might? need an attorney? perhaps U have Back pay coming to u? AlL I KNOW is that when I felt like I just could NOT go on anymore?…I would go to the Canteen, grab coffee or something…I would look around the facility and see just how bad off ppl were other than I Sir…When I did this? My heart and Soul wojuld melt…knowing how bad ppl were more than I…OH??? Too?…I hope Sir? When U wake up and see your Fiance everyday…I hope U thank ur Lucky Stars and or a/your god..for your own angel U have in her…I will put U on my prayer list Sarg… U are going to be fine…I mean..not only do I need other back surgeries? I have managed to get A blood Cancer, Hep C…(got it 20 yrs ago from a needle stick in my V.A. I also have a Cirrhosis…I still think U and I both coyuld be much worse off..
Take Care Sarg…I truly mean it!!!!
Dear Sgt. Hutton,
I read your comment at 5:05 am today March 9 2017. I am so sorry to read that you are in constant pain. I also want to thank you for your service to our country
I myself live in pain 24/7 and am not here to say ” things will get better” or try praying or try thinking of the good times. I’ve been there, tried that. No, I’ll just say, keep looking for answers but, not necessarily here in the U.S. but oversees where perhaps they are going the extra mile to help people get out of pain and not let big pharma or politics get in the way.
Hopefully you will find some miracle and let us know. Oh, and all my drs. suggested marijuana but alas just gets me paranoid. Been a nutritionist for many years and have tried everything. Last surgery was a month ago ( number 8). Had a calcified disc at t-12, l-1. Removed by lamenectomy and distectomy. Was close to severing the nerve. Off the charts with pain. Screamed in pain for weeks. God bless you
Hi Sgt Hutton,
I have had a laminectomy and discectomy 4 years ago and in pain for 10. The surgery didn’t help and the pain clinic treated me like a junkie and also cut my medication down instead of giving me the amount I was supposed to have. I finally went to another doc and he put me on Cymbalta (horrible drug) but helped some, but not enough. Finally, I got onto a natural news site and found out about kratom. The red vein kratom is the best for pain. It is better than an opioid, but is not an opioid. It works on the opioid receptors to help with pain. What a miracle! I take 1 tblspoon in hot water 2 x daily with hot chocolate (it tastes horrible) my pain diminishes for 4 – 6 hours. The only downside is being constipated, but I cannot praise this herb enough and it is legal for now. Big pharma has tried to make it illegal, but it fell through. Try it, its been a life saver for me.
Deb,
Kratom is an opioid. It is the only non-poppy derived natural opioid. See 3.Atkinson TJ, Fudin J. Interactions Between Pain Medications And Illicit Street Drugs. Practical Pain Management. 2014 August; 14(2): 50-61. For the record, Big Pharma could care less if Kratom is on the market. If you have evidence to the contrary, please share with our readers.
Thanks for serving. Please keep trying. Continue to be strong. I know your pain. Multiple high speed mva’s. . .last one was hit and run as I stood next to my car. My two sons were 7 & 8 yrs. old, but she left me on the road for dead.Also lost pain meds. Only oxycontin helped. In Florida and praying FDA HELPS US ALL SOON. Lost BF. A marine. To suicide. Hurts everyone.
Feel your pain brother. 20 years, 5 as an MP, 15 in Military intelligence in a pathfinder platoon. Hundreds of static and free fall missions along with Gulf War Illness has damaged me beyond all comprehension. My civilian Dr. cut my meds off due to a shift in hospital policy, and the VA is so squeamish to prescribe anything since the incident at Tomah WI VA.
oh honey, i have the EXACT SAME STORY…”CRASH TEST DUMMY” here, lucky to be alive, took me 6 yrs to get disability and they actually gave it to me FOR MENTAL! and i had to PAY an ATTY…yea, that shouldn’t surprise anyone, and never really used me pills till yrs after my accidents..long story short…COUNT ME IN on ANY MOVEMENT YOU ALL ARE DOING! I have have too many injuries to count, daily migraines, fibro, just had multi-cervical disk surgery Jan 13, 2017, but i still have my pain in my right shoulder and down my arm i am havin to retype all these words like, twice, cuz i can’t get any words right, i have no feeling in my right side and have 2 torn lower lumbar disks…prob won’t get next pain script but im praying i will im in so much pain right now i can barely type this all i do is cry and pray God takes me…
Going to make this short and to the point. Am so scared now with the new regulations. After my three discs and sciatic nerve was damaged on a work related accident. In 2006 I Had lazier surgery to relieve pressure from the sciatic nerve. It failed the surgeon told me he was a surgeon at same Hospital for 40 years. And he is chief of surgery there. So after laser surgery he told me not to have fusion because of its failure rate and his suggestion was at the that time find a good pain specialist. So with him being a well known surgeon I took his advice. Went to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue and was put on Morphine sulfate 15mg ER every 6 hours. By the man in charge of the pain clinic there in Bellevue. Then excellent relief for going on 11 years now. I then got depression and anxiety so went to a well know psychiatrist and he put me on Lorazepam 1mg every 6 hours and Cetalapram 40mg one a day and might I add that drug for depression they don’t care about but they are giving me choices of surgery or find a doctor to prescribe for me but you know the rest you and hundreds of patients are living it rite now 2017. Can’t find a doctor that don’t want to take away your meds that have worked great for years and I even remember signing a pain contract or 11 of them that I never messed up on in my 11 years of being treated with medication that worked fantastic with no side affects and no real reason other then bull sh for taking them away from us in the first place. Like one post said the war on drugs hasn’t been going that well the drug lords and mafia shoot at the DEA but doctors just roll over and don’t even try to fight for us pain anxiety and depression patients. If any one can help us that don’t deserve this. Would appreciate it honestly haven’t ever had a single incident to receive this kind of treatment from the Doctors that we paid thousands for the many years of treatment. If anyone knows of a way to get back our rite as honest pain patients that don’t deserve this. Would really like to here from you if you can help as would so many other patients that are being treated like heroin attics. And honestly we don’t deserve this. Jlovsey@yahoo.com
1132 Millcreak Blvd
E306
It doesn’t matter what I say- as us people with Severe Chronic Pain are Blacklisted and treated as less than a person right here in the “good ole U.S.S.A.,” /the Socialistic State of Maine!”
We have picked up where Russia left off!
At least Russia admitted they were an Atheist Country, where as the U.S.S.A. on the other hand- is pretty much Demonic! For Demonic is that which puts up a front to what is actually all a front, a lie! Like how Russia said hey were Communist and this is what they were at the time. Yet with the U.S.S.A. on the other hand, the U.S.S.A. says oh we’re a loving great Government that cares about you, while they stick a knife in my back, kick me in the teeth, and treat most of us Severe Chronic Pain people as less than a person.
Since I was 18 years old, I’ve had to fight for my health like as if it is NOT at all a right to have it here in the U.S.S.A., and I was NOT at all compensated for the Pain I have gone through, far from it!. As an illegal drunken 18-wheeler truck driver for a trucking company caused a head on collision with a vehicle I was in, from how I got the severe injuries and daily constant Pain.
I received a severe head injury that I was not conscious for one month, multiple severe head and upper body injuries, and a C1-C2 fusion that ruined my life due to the Severe Chronic Pain I have from it. Treated as if it is nothing, though it disabled me and I had to fight for over two decades to get a disability, and have never been able to work or go back to school- though I tried both and never got help. Believe me this has been a Hell road. And now they are screwing me again!!!
The collision happened 37 years ago. It took over ten years to finally be treated properly with Morphine for my daily constant Pain, and for which I have RESPONSIBLY used Morphine Medicine for more than 25 years. Morphine Medicine actually saved my life, for just previous to finally being treated with it, I was finally losing my mind from the daily constant Pain. Nothing else worked to ease the Pain- except strong Narcotics- which I had been denied for over 10 years, and denied to use Morphine Medicine all based on nothing more than lies. As I was told that Morphine Medicine wouldn’t work for long term Pain, I’d have to keep raising the dosage to have it work, and would become a drug addict. But Morphine Medicine has now worked to ease my Pain for more than 25 years, dosage was raised once, not due to the Morphine Medicine not working, but that the dose wasn’t quite enough to be the correct dosage, and all has been fine for 13 years- yeah go figure- THEY STILL LIKE TO LIE ABOUT MORPHINE MEDICINE TO MAKE IT LOOK BAD, WHEN IN ALL REALITY IT IS A LITERAL- G-D SEND, MIRACLE MEDICINE, AND A LIFE SAVER!
The Proof/Truth stands clear, I have used Morphine for over 25 years, a correct dosage they would consider a “high dosage,” that I have used for more than 25 years with NOT ONE PROBLEM, nor have I ever had to raise it once the dosage was at a correct dosage- i.e. 25 years it has worked! So don’t believe all these LIES they are telling about Morphine. It is a very safe Medicine when used correctly/responsibly!!! Morphine Medicine does NOT have to keep being raised, if Morphine Medicine first works for their Pain problem and if the person is using the correct dosage for their type of Pain and body. Though they like to mislead everyone and act like it is some big bad monster that is out to kill you! The bastards, may they rot in Hell for what they are knowingly doing to us people with Severe Chronic Pain.
Fast forward to the present, and the Socialistic State of Maine right here in the U.S.S.A., is now taking away my Morphine Medicine for nothing I deserve or have done wrong to be treated like such! Do you see the U.S.S.A Government. taking away Heart Medicine from Heart trouble people, Insulin from Diabetics, or any other Medicine that people use for a Medical ailment or disease, and taking away what ever the Medicine is from those people? Hell NO, and they wouldn’t dare do it, because the people and even those in U.S.S.A. Government would be up in arms about it. But us people who suffer from Severe Chronic Pain, nobody could care less about us! We’re the legally Blacklisted people in Medicine and the United Socialistic States of America.
The U.S.S.A. may be a great place for you or other people, but all it has been for me- is where I am punished for other people’s illegal chosen actions that I have nothing to do with, nor have done wrong in relation to! Because of these other people’s illegal actions, I’m made to suffer, yes the actions of people in the U.S.S.A. who purposely punish and make me suffer for other people’s wrongs!
Why I now believe this is an evil cruel country and I call it what it is- the U.S.S.A. Government, and I would be a fool to think any different! It is what it is, and I am NOT at all stupid, as I suffer daily now again from exactly what they are doing in this Country, Socialistic State of Maine.
Us people with Severe Chronic Pain are Blacklisted by the U.S.S.A., and we are treated as less than a person- or like as if we are some criminal who should be punished. Which is exactly what the Socialistic State of Maine is doing to us people with Severe Chronic Pain, we get NO trial, NO jury, NO judge, NO defense, right here in the U.S.S.A.! We are just freely sentenced, punished, and with NO defense for us people who are less than a person because we have Severe Chronic Pain and are legally Blacklisted (and I’m NOT at all joking).
As if all those years of daily constant Pain and suffering I went through due to some strangers illegal actions, and to finally be properly treated with Morphine Medicine- it’s as if it never happened.
Like I said, MY WORDS HERE WILL MEAN NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL- HERE IN THE USSA!
Not a godamnned day goes by that I don’t choke down another of my hydromorph-contin pills and I swear,at the stinkin surgeon who operated on my knee.The one who decided that he didn’t believe in MRI’s and decided that he was going to go in and scope my knee.Then tells me when I woke up that in 12 weeks I would be back to work,but told my wife in another room that there was a LOT more wrong with my knee than he told ME!!!!!He didn’t BOTHER to tell me that I was not going to be going back to my old job ever again.That I would be never going to walk properly EVER again.SInce he worked on my knee I need MORE painkillers than ever,STRONGER than ever.My knee swells to 5 times it’s size faster than ever.WHAT IS WORSE? I go back to this QUACK and he tells me I am TOO young for a knee replacement now………so I get to live with his screw up for at last another 10 years until I am deemed qualified for it.Meantime the system has declared me opioid at risk and I get to pee in a cup on doctors visits,sign contracts to make sure I am not selling my pills,not going to other clinics fr more prescriptions.
Yeah, hear ya brother…
My case us different, with severe permanat nerve damage to the sacroiliac nerve bundle. I have severe chronic pain every day 24/7 that is not being managed by pain management any more.
If you managed a hotel/apartments/etc…Like so-called pain management specialists now days, you’d be fired immediately or if you owned the property being “managed” it would burn down while the only ones that could help stand around with water pistols in hand saying, ‘Well, That’s all I can fior you. You know, You’ve already had too much water, & you need to cut down anyway, do, keep hanging in there?”
If I hear, “Keep hanging in there,” one more time from a pain doc, I’m gonna vomit! No, you hang in there & write me a reasonable script that helps get this pain down to at least an 8!
Where have all the good pain mgt. Dr.s gone? Mine retired & the other moved, now I have one that’s afraid to orescibe me an aspirin! Let alone some REAL fire power to kill the pain. So, I fully understand. I am now treated as a drug addict, by my doctors, pee every month or no meds, sideways looks, etc… I’ve been in pain for 20+ years. And anyway, how can I “abuse” my meds when they won’t give me enough to even help lower my pain so I can have at least some kind of life?!
Use to be my dr. Actually listened to me & we discussed my management plan, Now, it’s “MOO” In & out, & all you get are the scripts that are for people that only fall into the “Normal” range of response to opiates. Which means, “I’m totally s***wed, & its another month of horrible pain imprisoned in my chair where I do everything but use the toilet. And sleep, Oh, I stay in my chair, I can’t sleep because of the pain level. Just move slightly & its days or a week to get back to some sort if sanity. I can’t even let my little Chihuahua sit on my lap cause it HURTS!
I have never been normal when it comes to opiates, Absolute Truth Time. When I was 6 years old & had to go to the dentist for a routine small filling, my dentist, Dr. Drilling (No Kidding, yeah-Drilling was his last name) Anyway, he was the 1st to find out, my body doesn’t respond at the same level as others to opiate pain killers. He gave me the requisite 1 novacaine shot, came back & I ask, was that suppose to numb me, cause it didn’t, he made the mistake of not be living me, I think he still has 49 year old scars from me as a 6 yr old when he tried to “drill anyway” well I came out if the chair & my teeth went down nti his hand. Long, short, he ended up giving me 6 shits after that making it 7 total & that only made it barabke. He told me I had to inform all my doctors from then in that I was opiate tolerant something…My mom nows all he said. But the point, I’ve always been this way & I personally hate it. I wish 1 codiene pill would knick me out like my wife. So, over the years I gained a nickname from all the hospitals I’ve had 3 major back/sacroliliac area surgery of 7 to 13 hours in length & trued every procedure known to men & angels & aliens (I Think) to help this pain. But, So far in 20 years I’ve only gained a nickname, “The ELEPHANT!” Actually, I’m 6’+ & 158 pounds of scrany looking preacher/pastor.
To end before beginning, I just got back from a reprogram if a recently implanted pain pump that they put in even though every bolus test “FAILED” Only causing more acute pain from the spinal tap like procedure if sticking the needle into my spinal canal with a bolus of 3 opiates-Fail, & 1 non- opiate (PRIALT/Ziconotide) T hey stared me in Prialyrunning it up til the side effects almost killed me, now they’ve dialed it down to 1 mg daily as if today, & added Dilaudid a couple weeks back which is now at 1 mg a day, (Dilaudid failed in the bolus) FENTYNAL has always worked in large doses, but I’ve got a dr. With no ****(manliness) so his super conservative, I would have gone somewhere else, but he & his dr buddies have the pain mgt. Down up in this area, & I don’t know that it would help. Use to be you could get enough meds to help you live some kind if life, now they only give you enough to keep you in pain, but not dead, at least yet. I’ll end now just saying, A GOID DAY FIR ME IS ONE THAT IDONT BLOW MY HEAD OFF DUE TO THIS TERRIBKE DEHIBILITATING OAIN.
You’re not alone my friend. Dare I say it? Hang in there. Maybe under Trump we will get some common senserule concerning narcotic/opiate pain management. All I kow is, I used to feel better & I was able to do office work & even some light car matinance, now, Im just another piece of furniture, IN PAIN!
DearChf1Cluso,
I’m sorry you’re in so much pain. I hope you find a good dr. that will help relieve your pain. I know what it’s like to be in constant pain with no relief. I hope Trump will help fix this problem. Hang in there my friend.
I’m so sad reading these stories I’m crying
I want to share these comments bc people need to know what we chronic pain patients are going through, but am afraid to admit on FB that I am one of those “bad” people on those “addicting” opioids!
I have been on narcotics since 2004. I went to a pain specialist in 2005 for a year while he slowly ramped up my Oxycontin to 3x a day @ 40 mg each + oxycodon 130 @ 5 mgs each, per month. After a year I was then released back to my primary doc. While that dose was high, it still didn’t relieve my pain level down below a 5.
My health continued to go down hill but I only once asked for an increase, which was after my left knee replacement at age 41. (which failed and is now loose after only 4 yrs) I had undermanaged pain during that knee replacement bc I was so tolerant that the pain meds that they normally prescribe a normal older patient was way too low for me. I suffered for 2 days bc of inadequate pain medication in the hospital. Finally, after crying for two solid days, they sent a pain
management doc in to up my meds. Long story short, those of us on chronic pain meds are so tolerant that surgeries often leave us in worse pain bc they are afraid to overdose us. I have needed a new knee replacement for the left knee, but refuse until I can no longer walk on it or it ends up breaking my leg. I need a knee replacement if my right but get steroid shots instead bc of my fear of another mistake or the fear of unmanaged pain in hospital due to tolerance issues.
I have too many “other” conditions besides my knees that would take a page to list. I am treated pretty well by pharmacy and my doctor bc I am a good patient who never makes waves or asks for more than my prescription. I too signed a contract, get drug tested, use only one pharmacy, and make sure when I go to the ER, that I am not here for more pain meds but for treatment. (yeah even then I still get “the look” from those who I am a stranger) I am tired though if always worrying about a catastrophe that would wipe out the system and would have to go through agony of withdrawal or of just being treated as a subhuman addict even though I am not. I am sick of politics and media war on opioids bc of those who misuse! I am tired of my freedoms being taken away by gov’t who are jus the wanting to control every facet of my life! I am just plain tired of the entire debacle of this pain pill controversy!
There are way more deaths due to legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco then there are to prescription pills. And what about the fact that they reformulated the oxycontin which isn’t as effective since they made it gel up so addicts couldn’t abuse it, and they jacked up the cost right after they did that, keeping generic companies from reproducing the same patent so as to make billions. If you don’t think this entire controversy isn’t about the almighty $$, and control by this government, then I suggest you dig deeper. I pray there is a wake up call soon, but not counting on it. Meanwhile I will continue to stress and worry about the future in my still painfulled life.
I’m certainly in the middle of the mess in Florida as is my mother. I’ll give you her story first. She’s a rn big red flag to most DR’s. She complained of neck and shoulder pain for 10+ years before her dr ordered an MRI when she was around 50. She ended up getting a call that afternoon from the dr asking her what strength med she wanted and where to call it in. She had severe cervical spinal stenosis that was cutting into her spinal canal. She was told to go to the neuro asap and she needed emergency surgery. She was between interim assignments as a nurse manager and this was before preexisting conditions were included and it would be 2 years before she had insurance to get it. The surgeon warned her not to drive, get rid of the big dogs and begged her to go to the er on a night he was on call and say her pain was 10+/10 and he’d make it happen. She waited it out and permanent nerve damage that had already occurred got worse. He told her the surgery would not help her pain but would keep her from becoming a quad. She will be on meds the rest of her life. She’s lucky to have an understanding pcp but pharmacies still give her a hard time. Now my story. I was a morbidly obese child then teen and young adult. I’ve had low back pain all of my life. After loosing 200+ lbs the damage was done but since my pcp said you cant become paralyzed due to low back injury I would never let anyone operate on it. Fast forward to this year I’m oy 37 with 2 grown children and 2 elementary aged ones. I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I saw an Ortho who said a multilevel fusion was my only hope. He literally said “your anatomy sucks” lol anyway I so everything first (again) and go to pain management. I had the injections. Physical therapy. Referred myself to Chiro ooops got in trouble for that one. Anyways I’ve been on a low dose narcotic since January which obviously skyrocketed after surgery. I also ended up with mrsa in 1 of the 6 incisions so had to have a 3rd surgery with a wound vac put on for 8 weeks and iv antibiotics through a picc line. It’s been a miserable experience. After the 3rd surgery which was about 2 weeks after my last pain appointment my surgeon sent me home with stronger meds. He and my pain dr know about each other and my plan of treatment. The pharmacist that o took the script to at a major chain literally screamed”oh hell no, and it’s not the same dr” I was mortified she then yelled I’m calling the drs and it’s going to be a few days. I said no problem and that they knew of each other and it wasn’t a problem. I could have crawled into a ball and died from the embarrassment. I ended up with my meds and won in the end but to be treated like that was unreal. I’m anxious to see how my next pm appointment will go now that a stink has been made. I asked her how soon we could wean me off last time I went and it was even written on my paper prescription but that woman didn’t care. I’m only 3 months post op from these very invasive surgeries and really don’t want to end up cold turkey because of one power hungry pharmacist
My story is one of success due to proper treatment with: procedures (epidurals,and injectiions;) medications for severe chronic pain (and other meds.); physical therapy; sleep hygiene; and alternative stategies (relaxation, heating pad, etc. ) As well as Ibuprophen, and Quell tens unit, gentle PT, and pain medications for severe chronic pain. And MOSTLY due to the fact that I live in a state with laws which protect chronic pain (and acute pain ) patients legally.
At 34, I was in good health. Except for some endometriosis, and then some severe abdominal pain, and a fever I developed. My MD insisted that I must have a bladder infection, gave me antibiotics. He was “afraid” to give pain medications, or even explore other diagnoses (which I questioned. )
(He emphasized this had NOTHING to do with me or my history, which is completely negative for drug abuse, seeking, issues, etc. ) He was “afraid “because our government may inappropriately punish MDs who prescribe responsibly.”
. (Even though the rate of abuse or addiction amoung those with chronic pain is less than 3% of the population with chronic pain. ) Which is a totally different population than those who illegally steal, sell, or otherwise obtain and use drugs (Rx and street drugs, ) in a criminal manner. He was “terrified ” to explore any other opptions except antibiotics.
Three days later I had a fever of 107.6, was vomiting, had severe side pain, etc. Thus, my husband took me to the ER that Friday night, with 107.6 fever, etc. The ER MD diagnosed me with peritonitis, and I came close to dying from it (his conclusion. )
I was in the hospital for 14 days, with 4 bags of antibiotics running IV. the whole time. Intterestingly enough, once I returned home, I tapered off the oral pain medications he had given me. He stated that this type of pain is some of the very worse someone can experience.
(Unrelated to the peritonitis;) many years later I am a chronic pain patient who has made fairly good progress re:pain management, and being able to have a better quality of life due to that. Even though I now have been diagnosed with: a genetic illness causing severe chronic pain and fatigue; three ruuptured discs; dislocations; fibromyalgia; and Chronic Fatigue.
How did I get better? First, I obtained medical care from MDs who were able to diagnose my physical illnesses, and injuries, and not afraid to treat them appropriately. My pain management and specialist Rheumatologist are not afraid to treat severe chronic pain with appropriate medications, as well as other methods I have mentioned.
From these experiences; chronic pain patient research; and talking to other’s with chronic pain, I learned several things. First of all, it is very dangerous and can cause unethical behavior with patients with absolutely no drug problem or history of such for the government to interfere with patient care. In fact, it almost resulted in my death. (I did not sue the MD, as he was just reacting in fear to our inappropriate government’s intruding on patient care. ) And my story is certainly not unique.
Also untreated or inadequately treated pain, especially severe chronic pain is both disabling and harmful to the patient’s health. It can cause: stroke; sleep problems; vomiting; weight loss; inability to work or fuction socially; and can impact long term health very negatively. These are onlly a few of the effects.
The ONLY reason I have been able to improve some is becuase I live in a state which now protects chronic pain patients legally. Pain is considered “the fifth measure of life;” and it is unethical to leave a patient’s severe pain untreated, and the cause undiagnosed.
In contrast, my boyfriend, who has three rupture discs; diabetic radiculopathy; and Rheumatoid Arthritis lives in a neigboring state with no such protections. Thus, his VA pain managment MD has informed him that “all vetrans with chronic pain are being taken off their medications. ” She said this was due to the government’s “war on drugs.”
He plans to consult a pain managment MD outside the VA system to see if he can find pain managment treatment; as well as sell his home and move to my state and city ASAP. The ability to obatin some pain management does add to the urgency.
I have done fairly well despite disease, injury, and chronic pain. My strategy has been to view MDs simply as service providers. So, I selected my MDs carefully. After my early lesson with nearly dying I decided that this was the only way to stay alive and have any quality of life with a governmennt that harms chronic pain patients instead of prosecuting criminals stealing and selling drugs.
This has been successful also because I keep up with the research, including new developments, in my diseases. I have been open to trying complementary medicine.
I cannot understand why our government has: tried to take action without knowing the research on chronic pain patient’s very low rate of drug problems (less than 3%!) As well as why they ignore the REAL problem, which is the criminals who sell, steal and use drugs which are either illegal or illegally used. My only conclusion is that the Obama administration was again deceiving the public, trying to look like they were “doing something” about the drug problem.
Just one example, if they really wanted to address the drug problem why didn’t they strongly enhance border security from Mexico, reducing the number of drug crimminals entering this country? Instead of their “open border” policy, allowing drug criminals and their drugs to flow in like a river? Of course that caused a drug problem! (Which has nothing to do with law abiding, chronic pain patients who actually have real medical problems!) (New reports of crime cofirms this. )
It is obvious to those of us who have informed ourselves of the facts that they were just trying to LOOK like they were addressing the issue, all the while actually making it worse.
We are hoping that the Trump administration will allow patients and their MDs to determine appropriate treatments, as long as it is ethical and lawful. (And reverse the overreaching regulations which harm patients. ) And also hoping that our vetrans, many of whom have sacrificed their long term health to protect our country, will once more be treated with respect and dignity. We don’t think it is too much to ask for our Consittution to be interpreted in the original sense.
Priscilla 141, I am 74 almost 75 years old and have terrible chronic pain. My primary doctor won’t give anymore pain medicine at all. Neither will the pain clinic doctor I went to see.. I am wondering what state you live in. I wish you had said.the name of the state in you well-written message. Are people contacting President Trump to see if he will help us with this unfair, hateful law that violates the Hippocratic Oath (I believe), ‘first, do no harm” I am almost out of everything that I’ve been using for almost 14 years and am scared to death that the pain I know will come will be unbearable! I have pain caused by a doctor while threading the wire through my groin area in order to put two stents in my heart. Knocked off placque that traveled downward landing in my right foot. Got gangrene and had partial amputation and now suffer from pain caused from rhabdomyoloysis. It effects nerves in legs and feet. Have many other physical problems too Need Help!!
Carla
whici state do yo live disabled pain ne to move in this state for mere survival thankyou andy disabled chronic pain pt.
Lol. You think being an RN is a big red flag try being an MD lol.
I have to drive 30 miles to get schedule 4 tramadol. I am not dumb enough to get a bunch of surgeries. That is a surefire way to end up in chronic pain. Doctors are so paranoid about doctor addicts making the headlines that I didn’t bother calling around to see if I could find a local doctor to prescribe a medication I have safely taken 15 years. That would get me labeled as a drug seeker. So when my doctor moved his practice I knew I would be making long road trips.
After suffering from 2 crushed vertebrae since I was 18 I’m ready to die. Doctors don’t care I can’t move some days, piss myself when my bladder leaks. If this passes there will be a heroin empidemic the likes of which America has yet to see. The millions of chronic pain sufferers will make the cartels billions… Or the ammo manufacturers billions and we will start dropping like flies from our own hands. But that’s what they want. More anti drug money, more border patrol funds, more funds for rehabs with methadone. Government is a buisness. And we are worth what they need out of us, nothing more. I just want to be treated like a human being again. I’m 27 and just want this nightmare to end.
I have been diagnosed with lupus. For 10 years I been through he’ll I have seen my Rheumatology for 10 yes. He sent me to pain management the doc from the start did not want to treat me with the med that works well. I have tried everything. Even herb less natural stuff and nothing.. he tells me to run so.me Xrays but I tried telling him lupus flares comes out in the blood..I begged him to do do labs to seen and he declined..I have no idea what to do..I am disabled I only get Medicaid I have 2 kids I’m a single mother with no help from any family and I don’t have friends. I feel like giving up but the only thing that stops me are my kids. BTW I also have really bad psoriasis on my kness.. and ankle. I need HELP please let’s all sign a petition..that will have no choice but to hear US!
You sound just like me! I’m so sorry for all you’re going through… I am frightened to death! I’ve had chronic pain for so long from a fractured back, neuropathy, fibromyalgia & now my spine & hips are deteriorating!!! My doctor is currently weening me off 4 10mg methadone a day. I never wanted medications, but I accepted after refracturing my back during childbirth. It’s been a life saver; really, to me, it feels like a miracle, & now they want to take that miracle away from me & my daughters! I’m mostly bedridden as because it’s too painful just to get up for 5 mins to use the bathroom… I’m Poor & have only my daughters & also, no friends! I don’t know who to go to for help & to continue my pain management regimen. Thanks for listening! If you have any new info from March 2016 on… or know who might be able to help me, I’d be sooo grateful for your help!!! Sincerely, Nola
I agree the doctors that started us on these pills now want to take them away. Ya finally found something that works and now you want to take them away. Im tired of having to change doctors because some dumbass killed themselves and now doctor has a fucking conscience. There are ACTUAL PEOPLE IN CHRONIC PAIN YOU ASSHOLES. This shit just pisses me off.
you are so right them assholes are infringing on our right to live pain free or as close ass we can too it
Omg, I don’t know what state you are in J but you may want to try reaching out to Orthopedic Surgeons across the country for help. Many of them do pro bono work every year and you sound like a perfect potential candidate!
So my story, I’m a chronic pain patient, I’ve dealt with issues since I was a child. At 12 I was told my bone structure was that of an adult already, and at 10 I was diagnosed with not enough cartilage in my body. By high school I had knee and back problems. I’d suffered digestive issues since I was 12. Fast forward to now, I’m 33 and have osteoarthritis dotted throughout my body, degenerative disc disease, a bulging disc, neuralgia, tbi from PCS and SIS, Celiac, hip dysplasia, and some other health issues that aren’t really relevant to this. I’m also severely allergic to NSAID’s because I had to take so many of them for so many years. I was finally given some relief when they put me on pain meds about 6 years ago. In this time my dosage amount has only gone up maybe 2 or 3 times, and not by much. It increased mostly because I ended up getting t-boned a few years ago which caused a lot of issues to flare up earlier than they would have. My back injection also ended up “frying” (i say that because they felt on fire) my whole right side of my bodies nerves because I ended up being allergic to the injection they gave me. Yay neuralgia. Now they treat me as though I’m a criminal, I didn’t want nor did I ask for this. If I didn’t have to take pain meds I’d be so happy, but I’m literally in pain constantly without them. I get they’re trying to curb the opioid problem but they’re looking at things the wrong way. It should be “why is this happening, what’s causing it” not “all chronic pain patients are evil!”. After Vietnam and North Korea opioid use also increased, many soldiers come back from getting hurt and aren’t properly treated so they go seeking self medicating options. Yes something needs to be done, but this is not working, just like the War on Drugs, it is costing more money and not solving anything.
I am 60 years old with severe osteoarthritis. I was one of the many who had hysterectomies that not only put us into menopause but changed the hormone balance so severely that we suffer early onset osteoarthritis. Of course that’s not all. We also suffer from the changing of our bone structures and Osteopinia and Osteoarthritis …. all because the medical community was not honest with us!!
Not at all they just starting to set in and the pain is so severe that we do not function without high doses of Narcotics; they only want to do what’s good for their ass instead of the patients!
Lord God I am tired of having to put my body through steroid injections that you need me no good to get medication so that I can lie in bed most of the time without wanting to commit Harry Carey. If I want out of the ground however I better go to another country! My life sucks I don’t see it getting better … I have been on medications for the past 15 years and have never had an issue! But all the sudden my pain management doctor has made it an issue and reduce my medications to one third of what I once got because I needed them! I am not isolated in my home, in my bed and without relief!
My Doctor complimented me on the 25 pounds I’ve lost in the last three months since they reduced my pain medication.
I made him understand that I am now 135 pounds because I no longer can get to the grocery store to get the food I need! The pain has definitely changed my life. How long will it be before it takes my life????
Let me tell everyone that this is no way to live. I am living and feeling like I am dying! Dear God I’m dying while I was still in the process of living!
You better believe these narcotics the people are killing themselves with are not overdoses …. after a few months when we realized it’s not going to get any better; it seems to be the only way out!!!
I can no longer take anymore … I thought I had much more time but they have taken that from me! FEAR GOD …. forgive me I know what I am about to do! I have not killed myself however my government has killed me!
I had a hysterectomy at 29 years old I have two herniated discs in my neck and 2 in my back and osteoarthritis everywhere I am on Norco I can’t function without my meds the pain is insane I don’t know what to do but I have thought if they take my medication away I have thought of the new suicide law is this what they want us to do
This is Diana again I forgot to add that I have Prince Metals angina and live on heart medicine and I am 69 years old I just want to have a life without paying I live on nitroglycerin and heart medicines it will put me into shock and I will probably already die from the pain somebody has to read this post and the one just before it same person Diana because I need to live pain-free I have the right to please don’t let them take my pain medicine away I’m almost 70 years old addiction isn’t the problem it’s my quality of life they said it was a managed way to deal with pain pain management is through the medication and shots that I have all the time in my shoulder knees neck and back they don’t help that much but they do help some the medicine is the only thing that works the Norco
The all knowing doctors butchered me at 29.hysterectomy I had polio as a child managed to live through that but could never be as active as other children. No tumbling no cart wheels I was always to stiff and it hurt. but who listens to a child. I’m now 68 and suffering from post polio syndrome . Nerves misfire and cause pain all over your body. Also have osteoarthritis all over my body. Have to roll out of the bed in the mornings after not sleeping all night my back is twisting like a pretzel and my ribs bulge it feels as if they are being pulled from my spine while on fire. Also had bone chipped from the heel of my foot because of a botched operation by another good doctor. When they say they they practice medicine that is what they do, practice, bad thing is we have to suffer from their mistakes. I’ve jumped through all the hoops tried all the different meds till they almost killed me. Finally was put on hydrocodone 15 years ago Have only asked for one increase in strength when i lost my husband and had to start taking care of our 150 acre farm by myself. In all the years I’ve been on the meds its been with the same doctor, knows my history. Knows i’ve never asked for a refill early did every thing they asked and always abide by the rules well I’m tired of the rules and sick of being treated like crab on the bottom of their shoes. You telling me we can put men on the moon make driver-less cars and send probes to mars and they can’t make anything to stop chronic pain ! That is BS I know that abusers have caused this problem and now their answer is to punish everybody. Sounds like grade school to me Its time to start screaming bloody hell people, someone will hear us if we scream loud enough. I’m tired of going to bed each night and thinking about biting the bullet. I’am depressed but its not the meds its the thought of living whats left of my life with no quality. not being able to enjoy anything anymore.If there is a computer whiz out there why can’t we start a petition or file a class action lawsuit. What do you say fellow sufferers do we give up with out a fight
I’d raise hell with you. I’m stuck with rheumatoid arthritis I just turned 43 but I got it at age 30. I was in a be extremely illI was still in major pain there’s no cure for it. It cripples the body it’s a auto immune disease. I’m in the bed 90% of the time I’m refused anything.I could hardly walk I haven’t been given anything for pain now in about three years I’m on an antidepressant now needless to say. It’s a good thing I don’t have children because I can’t live life I can’t drive because of the paralysis in my feet. This is something new I just found out I think it’s neuropathy or something like that. Ever since I’ve been in this bed only to get up to use the restroom maybe help my mom get out of the tub I take care of my cat I’m not a cat crazy person I’m an animal lover I haven’t had any pets for 10 years I had a cat 10 years ago and I thought it would be nice to adopt another one and it worked out good. What’s going to happen is people are going to still get a hold of pill somehow you can go on the deep web and you get them. But yet they want to take people off their medicine my mom is 77 her foot turns completely sideways she walks with a walker again 77 years old recently widow he took her off the lowest dose of Lortab that she was on it was very weak to begin with. I told him I said what do you think she’s going to do go to a rave??
YES! We have to scream now folks or we will never be heard! Class action law suit is the only way. Or contact media. Hound the media and politicians. It’s hard though bc we are already hardly living life and to find the energy to fight is tough. But we must
I was told by a friend of mine a long time ago that the government wants to get rid of the disabled and the elderly maybe this is the way our government wants to do it we don’t deserve to live because we’re not contributing what about the the Constitution guarantees us The Pursuit of Happiness we just want to be happy enough to be pain free between my heart conditions which saying no NSAIDs and no surgery because of the anesthesia 4 herniated discs the neck and back is severe osteoarthritis I would like to get out and go to the store and live with my family and laugh and enjoy the rest of my life I am 69 years old many people are younger way younger and they’re scared not addicts are people that are abusers they just want to be pain-free we have suffered debilitating illnesses or accidents car accidents what is wrong with our government this is insane I’m taking this message to everybody I know it is disabled or in pain we are not criminals are drugs salesman or addicts
Dear Nan: Please find someone to talk to to help you through this horrible pain you’re going through. Please don’t do anything to harm yourself because of asinine drs. I wish I had your answers but don’t let them win. Take care.
Hi all,
I am genuinely in fear for my safety. I am appalled that the govmt has so much say over my functioning & quality of life. I am totally unfunctionable w/o my meds. I become fully bedridden, vomiting constantly, suffering in such unreal agony that I would rather be dead. I do not say that lightly as I’ve lost 2 lived ones’ to suicide & I have great value for my life. I have a hard enough time even w/the meds. I’ve always gone off my meds when I felt I could handle things. I’ve lived with severe spinal chord damage my entire adult life. I didn’t even start taking meds until I was in my 30’s. Now I’ve had so many reconstructive surgeries, so many injuries plus now I have several other health issues.
I am in Oregon. I just found out that my pain doc, who I really like, will not be accepting Medicare or Medicare which ever is the state ran health ins. I lost everything last year do to unknowingly moving into a house that had mold. In addition to losing everything I’ve worked my entire life for, 1 of my beloved dogs, I was made extremely ill. I was also in the middle of undergoing reconstructive surgeries on an entirely different area that had to be stopped because of how sick I got. Now in addition to finding out my pain doc will no longer be taking the Oregon health plan, my regular doc who I thought would cover me until I could find a new pain doc, tells me that everyone who is on the Oregon health plan is going to be taken off their meds. I cried when she to,d me this. I asked how can they legally do this? It’s incredibly cruel. I can’t go back to suffering like that. So now I have no idea what I’m going to do.
Because of what has happened to me I have not been able to work. I was just contemplating going back to a job that I had prior to my spine surgeries, one I was told I could never do again because it was too much for my spine. But what am I supposed to do, be homeless? I would technically self employed again. Now that I’ve been told about what the govmt is trying to do I am terrified of what will happen to me. Apparently this is supposed to go into effect Jan 1, 2017.
Does anyone know anything about this?? Is this even legal? How can some entity make me suffer in gut reaching agony to the point where I loose tremendous amounts of weight, can’t function, become deathly ill. I don’t have cancer but I’ve got a list of other health issues that are plenty to deal with. I’m now terrified what will happen to me. I really like my regular doc but she’s definately not the type to stand up to anyone if it means her job is on the line. She made it sound like even other pain doc’s are making people ween off their meds. I just don’t get how they can legally do this to people who genuinely need this type of therapy to have a somewhat normal existence. I would love to sign any petition available, please post them so we can sign them.
Also I would like to know if any of you are from Oregon, what have you heard? Does anyone know of an attorney or the type of an attorney one would see for protection? This is a death sentence for me & countless other people. Any info would greatly be appreciated. Thank you.
I would contact a malpractice lawyer to find out about the legalities of what they’re doing to you in Oregon. I don’t think they can legally get away with that because it is intentional harm, aka malpractice. I wish you the best of luck and my heart goes out to you! I’m a chronic pain patient myself so I understand your situation.
I live in Arizona and I am having the same issues with pain management as so many others and you. My doctor tells me he doesn’t agree with opiate medication for pain management due to his philosophy, this is after my choice to Lower the dosage I have been on, never asking to increase it. I have been treated like a criminal, drug seeking street addict and bounced from one PvP to another , humiliated in so many ways. I’m working on a plan to deal with this and I will not stop until every pain management patient is treated with the respect and dignity that they are entitled to.
Please email me at strategiesmatter0@gmail.com
It is the same for me in Saskatchewan Canada.I am allergic to anti inflammatories lke VOLTARIN,NAPROXIN will cause me to go into full anaphylaxis.As a result I am restricted to acetominophen based painkillers whenever I have a surgery or an injury.I hurt myself at work last year and blew out my left knee,at which point I ended up in physio,with a torn ACL,and large tear in my meniscus.This wasn’t found out till months of physio failed and I was going there with a badly swollen knee.The therapists refused to stop the routines,and insurance added to the workloads daily,reporting that I was being combative and refusing to perform my tasks.Despite them seeing that my left knee was NOT responding to treatment.Repeated trips to my doctor and even HE refused to pull me out of treatment.I could only use ICE to try and reduce the swelling,and tylenol for the pain so I was prescribed Tylenlol 4’s.from there I was then moved up to Hydromorphone.I Saw another Orthopedic surgeon who then decided to operate on APril 7th 2016.He repaired the tear in the meniscus,left the torn acl alone,and took out some arthritic material,leaving me with grade 4 arthritic degradation of the knee.Bone on Bone.I am now left WORSE than what I was prior to the surgery.I cannot walk properly,have swelling behind my knee,the ACL tear that was left alone has been aggravated BY the physio I am in now after recovery.I am STILL on pain meds but now it is Dilaudin with Hydro morph contin.What is now worse is the College of Physcians and surgeons is flagging me now,and I ahve t give urine samples every Doctors visit,I have been forced to sign contracts the last 3 visits to him.And I cannot get my prescriptions refilled even 1 day early if I run out.I am literally treatedlike I am a criminal and yet I AM THE SOLE PRECRIBED PATIENT!!!!!I have donenothing wrong except be allergic to anti inflammatories,and am forced to be on these pain killers because I am in a LOT of PAIN.
There is a BIG problem here in the US and the fact that this is even needing discussion is the proof. I am 34 years old and was addicted to opioid pain meds for years before cleaning up but you will never hear me talk about my drug problem I did not have one. I like to use drugs, other people have a problem with it, so why is their disapproval my problem? This is the United States ,where we stand for freedom , so whatever your reason for needing opioid is nobody’s business and too many people play this game instead of fighting for their right to do as they please. Your body is nobody’s business but your own and do not be confused by the law, it is wrong. So Uncle Sam, with the utmost sincerity, get your nose out of my a**!
This is absolutely unacceptable. I am 30 have had two knee surgeries, still in constant pain. Homemaker with 3 yr old active boy. I can’t run. Jump, squat, ride a bike, sit too long stand too long, I can’t stand my own skin sometimes ugh
Is there a petition or is this so more ppl buy Drugs off street like heroin and then become addicts.
Lyrica, nertoin, amatripiline are meds nobody should have to take INSANE SIDE EFFECTS AND WITHDRAWALS. TRAMADOL IS JUNK. ALLERGIC TO NSAIDS LEVEL 7-9 DAILY CAUSING BACK PROBLEMS.
HELP US THIS IS PITIFUL
I agree. Tramadol doesnt even take the edge off of my chronic all over, excruciating, pulsating body pain due to my fibromyalgia and bursitis in both thumbs and wrists. I’m 57 and want a real narcotic pain killer for a better quality of life!!! It’s my choice and, I think it sucks that due to people who abuse these things that we who need it cannot have it. Not right at all!!!
HELP US PLEASE! I’d like to enjoy my grandchildren and being able to clean my own house would be fantastic!
Jill McLoughlin
Hello,i agree ,i have COPD FOR TEN PLUS YRS,AND HAVE GAIN SO MUCH WEIGHT FROM THE STERIODS,THE LAST 4YRS ,I HAVE NOW,ARTHRIS,RA,FIBROMAYIA,CONSTANT,PAIN IN KNEES ,FEET,NOW RIGHT HAND AND TWO FINGERS,I BEEN ON EVERY NOTHING WORKS OR IT INTERACTS WITH THE STERIODS,IM MISERABLE,IM NOT LIVING ,IM EXISTING,NOW NORCO WORKS HAVE NOT HAD(2014) DR.CLAIMS SHE CANNOT WRITE ANYMORE,NOTHING OTC,A WASTE,UNFORTUNELY I CAN’T SMOKE BUT AT THIS POINT MARY JANE WILL WORK,I DON’T WONT TO BE STONED,I NEED FUCKING RELIEF,I WANT TO PLAY WITH MY GRANDKIDS ,PLANT SOME FLOWERS,I DONT GO ANYWHERE .IT’S A CATCH 22,IM SCREWED !!!!!!
Lol. Tramadol is junk but it is barely sufficient for me so I just deal with it. My PCP won’t write schedule 3 or schedule 2 pain meds, and you don’t dare ask for something stronger or you get labeled a drug seeker lol. I lost my meds once in 15 years and I also know better than to ask for an early refill. It seems only the naive get themselves fired from their doctors. I got fired from a dentist once because I had two episodes of pulpitis in a 12 month period. I have never experienced anything as bad as pulpitis. Addicts know it is the best strategy to score narcotics from dentists. I didn’t know that and got myself fired. The second dentist didn’t believe me either until I came back with a draining abscess.
I can’t see this “epidemic” of over prescribing. Your average doc is too paranoid to trust anyone that hasn’t been an established patient for multiple years.
I couldn’t agree with everyone more. Also…my
primary…who btw..is terrified to give me any
opioids…told me that my creatinine levels are way
High because I use far too much ibuprofen!!! And I’m quite sure that I do! I certainly can’t get pain relief when I can’t find any Medicaid PM doctors in PA! My primary then told me of all the unknown yet severe dangers of taking ibuprofen and all NDAIDS…that not only are my kidneys being affected with this sky high creatine number, but ibuprofen can causes heart attacks, it can cause severe stomach problems like ulcers or ruptures of the intestines it can even cause eye problems. The list of things over use of ibuprofen/NSAIDS can cause is remarkable. But….because it’s not addictive,..doctors will prescribe an NSAID over an opiates…even tho it’s far LESS safe for chronic pain! All because they are scared to death to treat their patients with medications that are more effective for long term pain, yet addictive. They don’t want to lose their licenses. The pharmacists in turn don’t want to lose their licenses..regardless of whether they know a patient is being supplemented by another doctor or not. It’s no longer about the health & welfare of the patient. It’s all about whose ass might get in trouble if someone comes in and audits them. it makes no difference that 99% of the time each patient is legit & has a paper trail to explain their actions. Its far easier for them to stigmatize people with pain issues & that includes the disabled, In no time at all, anyone who is seeking pain relief will be stooping to God only knows what for any kind of relief they can find & paying ungodly amounts of money to some black market because of this nonsense. This only creates more serious problems & solves none. Doctors Should have the freedom to treat their patients how they choose to & be able to prescribe the correct & safest medications for them without worry of losing their livelihood. They are the ones who have the education….they should not be told how to practice medicine by anyone who is far less educated than they are.
As an MD I know your experience is common. I will also prescribe less safe alternatives when I think I can get away with it and I intentionally keep all my benzodiazepine prescriptions below a certain threshold. Some peeps don’t believe that doctors will prescribe more harmful things to protect themselves or prescribe lower doses than they think are needed.
I suffer from osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, and sciatica in addition to a congenital deformity of my right leg. The arthritis began my let shoulder in 2008 and is now in my right shoulder and both hands, primarily the left hand. I write for a living and the arthritis in my hands make it difficult to type for long periods of time. I also suffer from PTSD. I was prescribed Tramadol for pain, but over the last year have been told I will no longer be permitted to refill prescriptions and I should enter pain management. I tried pain management when the arthritis first began. The management consisted of exercises. This did little for the pain. I used Tramadol once or twice a week, only during flare-ups, and usually at a reduced dosage in combination with NSAIDs. A 30 tablet prescription lasted me between 2-3 months. I tried to take it as little as possible due to constipation. A new doctor last week said I would not be prescribed Tramadol under any circumstances and I should enter pain management. I live in New Mexico and have applied to a medical marijuana card. I have tried black market edible marijuana (I have COPD and cannot smoke) and this worked as well as Tramadol and also reduced the anxiety I experience with PTSD. I am angry I have to engage in criminal activity in order to reduce my pain. I am not a drug addict, I was not addicted to Tramadol, and I used it responsibly. If I have to engage in criminal activity to mitigate my pain, this is what I will do.
And everyone is wondering why haroin use is on the rise…people will find relief from pain and those that live their life free of it will not have a clue. I have known a few that quickly changed their judgemental ignorance after an injury
You’re exactly right!
Lol. And I will laugh at the karmic justice when those arrogant aggressive pricks in federal and state law enforcement and DEA find they or their loved ones can’t get pain treatment or treatment for panic attacks (many of which are PTSD related).
They will find out a bit too late they threw the baby out with the bathwater.
I been in Pain Management for long time . I had loud words with a Dr 12/12/16 as he starting with questions that we talked about last visit , I’m thinking it was done , over ?
As I think back to Oct.16 , we was getting loud , he’s asking me questions I’m showing him reports I have on hand , went over Dr at Cancer Center did formula and it’s been working . Had to remind Dr my second visit and the meds he wrote , Hysingla 60ER is prior authorization , and his staff never got back to me or pharmacist ?
I was upset anyway that time due to what he gave me the understanding and I feel Dr knew I was never going to fill the Hysingla ER filled $ 800.00 60 tabs…I also recall back in Oct.16 a knock at the room we were in , voice saying ” The Medical Board” is here now….this Dr printed 2 months supply of what I took before , he seen on computer .. handed them scripts to me , to shut my mouth up .. I’m dispute the ins payment to him , writing AMA Ohio , detailed what happened..
So folds are aware , I learned not long ago , this same Dr seen someone I know , this Dr pulled the script pad with smile over another of his patients head . This person drive’s dump truck CDL , different law than regular auto driver , this patient informed this Dr 3 years ago , he drives dump , don’t feel good carrying bottle of pain pills inside truck while working , all ok with Dr for years , then Jan 2017 Dr did a 180 aditude , got more NP staff , staff just looked at bottom of bottle , didn’t count pills , wrote down pt stated forgot X pills at home inside pill dispenser, 3 days worth….this Dr wrote him a script Percocets 7.5mg q6h , prior wrote Percocets 10/325 q6h . Patient asked Dr how by you dropped mg to 7.5 is that going to help me ?
This is just my knowledge of these big head Pain Management specialist , and they help people ?
I noway seen in your 2012-07-25 this is how Dr’s can treat other people who are there for help..
Myself issue happened in 12-12-16 … crazy ! Dr was another person I never seen before , wish I could have run a urine screen on him…I found out the bottom line/error , Dr never got referral from person who was covering the med for hip/pelvic L1-L-5 Lumbar , then Radiation treatments caused bone issues , told bone loss, hip has no bone in area of LT hip , severe degenerative changes of hip joint with a bone on bone appearance O , secondary to remote trauma (auto rollover x3). Remote healed fracture deformities of the right superior and inferior public rami..not sure ? Dr didn’t go over reports due to she moved out of USA .
Wow , I meet up with a CFNP , my blood pressure was becoming a big problem , head hurts in from part , I know that feeling it’s no up…so a got appointment with CFNP ,. She talked with me , I told her Cancer Dr moved , don’t know what to do ? She offered me the meds I was on that got me around. Shop , help ma with BS# , INR weekly # , wash clothes and hang out , no dryer, cook with no added salt , got fluid buildup…after couple months , call while driving on Friday , need to find pain Dr , new guidelines starting , CFNP unable to write , I replied , I be up Monday to ask for referral I have name , address , phone. Fax # …I did my part , I wasn’t aware her office moved on 12-12-16 , I call office number , message left , l left that Pain Dr , being yelled at , calling me a lie’er , I’m telling this guy , what benefit would I get not telling you the truth ? You see it on the computer , reminded him , I showed you every report you asked for ! I’m home cooking for ma , hit me , Dr asked me more than once , who sent you here ? Didn’t give it time , I know the Dr who did my pelvic/hip rods , screws etc sent me to him ..what this Dr should have asked , what has been going on since your last visit 7-2015… I learned the CFNP never faxed referral , office moved , and prior staff in charge of that job no longer with them…
What I’m trying to find out , got with a new Dr ,. I filled out the book on first visit , gave be-on info from what was told to me , Dr looked at Cancer area , I tried to explain to Dr , the feelings going through my mind , medical oncology last Dec told me , I look good , got it all , your good…as I know I have another lump , same spot , I couldn’t tell him , I felt from his vib/ORRA , he’s a Dr , he needs to exam me , if he feels I need looked at , not doing his job for him , I had my mouth going , informing him I learned Radiation does damage to Bone’s and wasn’t understood the first X Radiation was to my whole pelvic area , rods fractured , rod in my back fractured I found out , My HIV Dr said nobody talked to him , he told me 8 year relationship, I .must trust him .
This medical oncology Dr , changed job description after my visit … didn’t say anything to me what he wrote in contact notes , 2 chemo given because of his , no white cells , sounds to me….
I have this new Pain Dr , upfront as we talked , I informed Dr I need see him to write the meds that helps me get around , cut grass , shop , the pain is out of control , my mood changes , I can get depressed , upset that I can’t do anything …maxed out on aspirin family causing stomach issues , sudden weight loss…
This new Dr as again gave him last visit with hip, pelvic Dr and his plan , Ed needs meds help with pain , CD4 # , VL# Ed isn’t a candidate for another hip….but this new Dr tells me , I need to start with the Norco 5/325 2 pills day , then added 15 more next due date and injection’s in L1-L-5 , gave understanding after injections I can getrd that helps , nope ! Dr changed his plan , need shots on RT side X3. Dr said I need to start with this family of meds first then next ? Has anyone heard of such treatment ? I inform Dr shot’s I had long time ago , the meds using now not help ! I have no idea how to make this Dr understand ? The referral stated ” long term Opioid chronic pain medication ” for reason’s noted
I asked him last rx day , can I please get the family that helps me get around better , 5 trips on crutches to take trash down to end of driveway….this doesn’t sound right.
Then first visit with new Dr , they tell me the Dr at OSU should help write to help me…
The. OSU Dr , tells me , have the oncology surgon Dr write to cover me ? That Dr didn’t give me Time enough to process in my head , tells me cancer came back , he might not know , I was told just Dec 2016 , I’m good
…unable to take the misunderstanding bull anymore !
Trust is gone from medical professionals….
Everybody here needs to understand that the Dr.s are harassed & threatened with losing their license to practice medicine by non other than our good ole DEA & other regulatory bodies. All the alphabet groups are running the gov. like Deep State.
I actually had a DEA agent threaten me with Dr. shopping & tell me that if I would “set up” 1 Dr. & 1 pharmacist, she would “work things out with me”. I told her to go to hell. She never charged me b/c she didn’t have anything. It was a bluff to get me to do something evil.
Believe me, I don’t need anybody to tell me what I can & cannot put into my body. It is mine.
This will just cause honest people to be driven to buy drugs off the streets. Believe me, money & power drives this. Everybody knows that DC is the phycopath capital of the world.
It’s either go quietly to our fate or stand up to these guys & bring down a government that does not serve the people but rather preys off of the people they are supposed to be serving. We need to “persuade” our military that it is in their OWN best interest to help us topple these monsters now. We are responsible for letting this situation get this bad b/c too many people are apathetic about things & will not refuse to cooperate with a system that is predatory. Think what fate we are leaving our children to.
Such is the state of doctor paranoia right now.
Keep this bull up cause the street drug pushers love the business . I’ve never smoked or drank, but have thought about marijuana. I’m 72.i worked my last 12 years testing others drug and alcohol.
We are suppose to have and get results. Someone smarter than I am ….please tell me how to gat a petition going.
Liz,
I want to get a petition going as well. There are many online petition organizations. Leave a message here if you’d like to work together on it.
Sending prayers and love!
I would love to get one going. I have cronic pain and when I go to the hospital they think I am seeking drugs besides cronic pain I get small bowl obstructions ana anti neculer antibodies gout degenertive disc disease at l4l5s1cages at l5 level which healed wrong there is more also going onm
Thanks davidmarineau4@hotmail. Com
860-268-2572
I would love to sign a petition if anyone knows how to start one let me know. This is complete and utter BULLSHIT!!!!!
Let’s do it!!
I would love to get a petition going let me know how
So much to say, I don’t know where to begin. I think first I’ll say to everyone it is the Attorney Genarals that need to be bombarded with the facts of chronic misery. It starts with each of them, going to local, then to state, then to Senetors and FDA.
It is all of them that need to understand who is being hurt in their attack on drugs. Your local attorney is the one that hears the stories about teens overdosing on prescription meds. Or anyone that ODs on so call proscription drugs, That they stole or bought on the street. The misery and death of the drug fight started here. They need to see who is now killing themselves and why. Do you think they know, how many of use would take death over the pain. I don’t think they do, and I doubt they know current patients have planned and carried out their own deaths. I bet they don’t know every single person in major pain has been considering killing themselves every day for years. Because their quality of life is pain.
Do you think they know how many ways we have plotted out to do it.
However 75% more or less of so called prescription drug deaths, may have never been dispensed in the U.S. Just like cocaine haroin and many other drugs. Made in other countries and sent here.
So, yes maybe the pill mills did hand out to freely in some places. But that has not one thing to do with a documented chronic pain patient.
Right there is our answer documented patient.
WE NEED IT LISTED IN OUR RECORDS WE ARE IN CHRONIC PAIN. In some way that we should not even be worried about suffering, they can easily pull up our records yet we have to carry our book sized folders full of MRI, CTs, X-rays, reports history blah, blah to any new Dr. Why don’t the Doctors fight back?
We should not have to fight anyone at all.
Like so many of you the meds help me function, I have never abused my meds and I’ve even insisted on lower doses a few times. Because I know If I don’t treat those meds with respect, they will cut them off. Do you think they care if we suck down Vodka all day until we pass out? Nope!
I’d be happy to join the fight, if any of these links are working. I can say if they keep shutting them down this fight is going no where. I did notice a lot of people said the links did not work.
I know many people would like to fight for their rights, every single pain management offices patients if they know where to go.
My story, I was pinned under a semi tractor trailer in 1991, 14 surgerys, that was just the beginning of all the thrills to come. Since I rambled on other things I’ll not detail. I will never live a day without pain again. Sleep Is my only peace. I have never had any med take all the pain away, they just make it bare able.
My advice is never get anything put into your body that you do not need to stand up, do not fuse to soon once you start with surgerys on you back, each disc below the fused will decay faster, try all noneinvasive methods first, RFAs nerve blocks, epidural sonnet invasive. Laser spine cannot be trusted ether, I know everyone hears good things, but check 6-12 months later. Get opinions from every area bone specialist, neurological, rumitologist, all of them. pain management does not fix anything, they just make it bearable.
I have suffered wit severe chronic pain, all documented from bone pain and more, back, joints from multiple sclerosis that was fdx in 1999. After two major flare ups in less than a year in 2008 and 2009 I began with this pain that almost put me in a wheel chair. I keep after my primary Dr until see finally sent me to a once caring wonderful pain management doctor in 201. Then after years of help with opiate medications, this Dr said last year he thought it would be best to cut my doses in half, this after he finally got me literally not on back walking again but driving as well. But I asked why hr was cutting me so much, his reply was short and said I can’t continue you at this level, never said exactly why. Now I know, and like most of you, I began t declie, now in unbearable legitimate pain I want to just end my life. To help with my pain, I did actually a stupid thing, I began to drink beer never thinking it would show up on a urine test. Well it did, my Dr let me slide until earlier this year, even though I had stopped drinking….he cut me off all my meds now and its not right. Yes true, I never should have drank, but please understand I was just trying to keep going and only drank a little at night to sleep n stop the tremors that also returned when I was cut back. His excuse is that that uurine test is in my file and even though I have passed several since, he could not keep me as a patient…after 6+years!!!! Have seen two new pain drs, they will not take me as a patient?? I went from being in tolerable pain to horrific pain overnight. My m.s. nuro won’t even help, was told they do not prescribe pain medications. I live alone, and now can not hardly take care of myself, no more driving, no quality of life! Finally one of my old pain drs nurses I spoke too told me the real reason I was dropped, new dea guidelines and most all drs are cutting back or people totally off ddue to drs fears of losing their liences to practice medicine. So what can we all do to stop this? Thankfully my Dr did allow me some pain medication again to help the awful withdrawal, but his demeanor seemed to have changed about me. I like many consider suicide Dailey now, but before I never did. Itsa pity to be profiled by some drs as an addict, I’ve never ever nor would I buy from some stranger, not even close to my character to do so!!! What can I do to help myself regain a decent life again and help others to do the same? Not long ago until I had to stop working, I was a highly respected self employed business man, very active voice for others in need and president and c.e.o of a large condo association and ski lodge for 8 years, I’m may not be as strong physically but still have a clear mind and angry about this situation impacting so many with chronic pain and as if no one cares in the medical community! I live outside of Phila, pa. Contact me if you so wish at. Dezinera2z@comcsst.net
Typo correction….from David. I am sorry for my spelling errors. Let me clarify one major point, when I was first sent to my pain management doctor, it was in early 2010, and I meant to say he soon had me back walking on my own two legs and feet again in a short time and soon after back driving again. I am not sure, but I would think the doctors themselves would speak up since they too are dropping/losing patients they know who do suffer with legit chronic pain. As I said I would be happy to help in this fight for our lives, our dignity and quality of life. It bothers me to hear so many on this sight too are considering killing themselves, when we all know we may never be totally pain free again, but at least help to make our physical pain more tolerable! Let’s work together, the more voices, the louder we will be heard! I hope! Thanks and my very best to all of you.
Dear David I am sorry for your dilemma but it’s a small Comfort to know that I am not alone in the Physicians cutting necessary pain medication for chronic pain sufferers I thought I was alone I have gone to everyone politically in the state of Wisconsin and I am constantly fighting for my rights I think what went wrong is when the politicians get involved and they make medical decisions on our behalf they’re not doctors except for dr. Jeffrey fudin who is an arrogant person that doesn’t know what he’s doing sincerely Carolyn
We need help. Someone PLEASE LISTEN TO US. Please help us.
Dear spinmax, my heart goes out to u as well! Yes, I admit I made my mistake, but my pain doctor knows I suffer with severe chronic pain, which has worsened over the years, after all he had been treating me for over 6&half years. I wish I knew what to do, but now can no longer drive or walk now. I did contact the CDC, even the DEA, and not even a reply? My primary doctor is so limited as to what he and most all others can legally prescribe compared to the prior medications I had been taking. I still don’t understand why all these doctors, pain mgt. Or otherwise are taking such a laid back approach to this situation knowing people like us, no matter the cause, are suffering constantly? It brings tears to my eyes knowing there others who have ended their lives, and others like myself now even considering the same…when we know there are proper meds to at least make our lives more tolerable. Not that long ago, I’d never have thought of suicide! Now I do everyday. Okay, some might say I need to seek help, or that I am just depressed…yes, who would be? Please don’t take it that i advovate this asan only option, I AM NOT! I know I’m not alone, in fact far from it, I just wish I knew what to do to get help and in turn incorporate what and how so I may help by sharing it with others. Final thing, I never thought our govt would let us down or even have the right to get involved between doctor and patient privledge! Only to possibility watch over certain doctors who are in short, running so called “pill mills.” Its just my opinion, this needs to stop, and not stop legit pain patients to suffer! Any suggestions….anyone?
Caroline!! You’re replying about our beloved Dr. Fudin ON his site?? Wow. You need to check yourself. You sound like maybe you are the arrogant one.
I am a57 year old I have a curved spine .also ddg bone spurs bone noodles bone spurs I can’t do everfay task my pain clinic keeps cutting my meds I also have seitica brittle bones both kinds of arthitirits .my eberday life is a joke I have never failed a drug test anywhere .I have been living in chronic pain .I would be better off dead .it hurts so much I can’t complete evetday task .I am not a drug addition .if I don’t get help .I just hope I die .I have no joy in life I have never been on a drug charge of any kind how can they do this to us who need it to live a good life .not a life as a junkie its not our fault .the drugies will always find drugs I refuse to suffer anymore I also have tumors on my root nerve I am less than a woman I also have setica .I can’t bear this pain much longer
You are exactly right I had a laparoscopy to clean out osteophytes for the past 14 years I have been phone 5—15 milligram oxycodone 14 years you will be doing 20 because you need 2 add more to survive if you get Fusion I can live the rest of my life on 4 6 pills I am in Ohio area and nobody will prescribe but they will provide antidepressants by the shipload which are causing people and making the population insane this is my opinion I can see how you want to commit suicide you said you can’t walk up the steps but with those 4 or 6 per day I can work out at the Y for 3 to 4 hours and live a quality life they have taken the Clinic’s away and I probably will kill myself not from some addiction bugs from aging and dying horrendous pain I have a 11: severe bone diseases but my exercise routine together give me a quality of life they are worried about drugs drugs drugs anyone anywhere can get drugs in fact they are killing people because I’m an old man and when I run out which will be soon I would do heroin because the body pain is so much suffering death is a relief and as it stands tonight I feel I only have a few weeks 2go what is freedom to take what I needed I was 30X National and international karate champion in my late forties and fifties at Black Belt level they allowed me to build me up to strengthen hereditary weaknesses biologically because with pain I could strength tissue we’re both should have been I was not able to tend to strengthen knees many body parts 5426 bills for 14 years and I wasn’t winning tournaments because I was stoned or a drug wow that’s a close the clinic I am scared hitless if something helps you use it and you can function the government and the DEA and Medicine do not mix any medicine that helps is good when did the first crack marijuana LSD ecstasy are any drugs All the DEA does is make more crime add more people die from alcohol that all drugs put together who is so stupid on waging a war on Drugs Buy bothering everybody AR making cartels and Moore everybody is killing each other and they all still can get drugs but no one can figure that out we are causing more drugs and more murders amazing people they can’t see that they can not stop drugs so they spend us millions and billions making organization and people kill each other for drugs obviously somebody’s is a economical moron I want my medicine to have a life not to get high but to live and not die
I was blessed with excellent pain management doctors until recently moving to Pa. Seems no Dr here, even pain management drs want to help a patient with chronic pain. They simply pawn you off onto another unwilling Dr. I find this morbid. What a person in pain constantl goes through they don’t seem to grasp or care much about. If you are a Pain Management Dr, shouldn’t you be familiar with all tools of the trade and open to them? I thought Drs were just losing their mind here, but apparently not. No patient wants to have to rely on a Dr toallow them a quality life to begin with, but that’s the deal. That being said, if you are willing to do surgery with no knowledge of the oitcome, why would you not be willing to provide pain relief via medications. Every legit CP patient is aware of the risks, but we are given no other options if we want a good life. None of us expect to be “pain free” but we DO expect it to be bearable.Drs seem to have forgotten that they all took an oath to help people, just as our President, government officials and military. Have some honor in your career choice or get out of the business of helping people. It is so easy to spot a person abusing medications. Those safety nets are already out there, contracts with Drs which makes it so you can ONLY see that Dr which opens all patients up to random drug testing, the national database, and a trained Dr able to see a problem. You get in shit for using a different pharmacy even if they don’t carry the med or have enough. This is all nonsense and down right sadistic to do to parients following the guidelines word for word. I have needed pain management for over 13 years and never have I ever disrespected my pain dr by not following the contract, never failed a drug test and always let my Dr know if I would have to use a different pharmacy and the reason for it. I don’t drink and I don’t do recreational drugs. I take pain meds so I can stay off disability and raise my kids as they deserve. I can not begin to tell you how absolutely wrong these new rules are. You are going to see this backfire in a big way because street drugs will take over your little quaint town like you’ve never seen before. You are literally forcing people to make a choice of living in agony or getting means of pain relief elsewhere. That is so freaking wrong for a so called Dr to do. And from what I have seen, Drs don’t even agree with these new rules. It ties their hands when they genuinely want to do their job and help individuals. I’ve not met one who agrees with these ridiculous rulesbut instead spoke out AGAINST it knowing the great harm it would do in a handful of very bad ways. The government needs to get the hellout of the way and allow Dr’s to do their job without the worry of losing their their damn license for helping a person desperately in need. I googled pain management drs here in PA and it ALL comes back to rehab centers now. I take methadone for pain (after everything under the sun was done to try to prevent having to be on meds my whole life- including back surgery) and no one in PA who even specializes in pain management knows a lick about it like other states. It is a great option and you don’t build up a tolerance to it EVER. I’m always asked bynurses and Drs if I am a heroineaddict because it is so foreign to them as an actual great pain med. It’s gotten to be really annoying since the last thing I’ve ever done is abuse any substance and went to great length with my previous drs to be damn sure I didn’t become one. That’s called a good Dr, who listens, doesn’t judge and treats each individual as just that, an individual. So great job big whigs, you managed to make the addiction epidemic worse because you are inviting drug traffickers to your towns and are now creating a whole new group of possible drug userswho would otherwise have never even considered it. BRAVO. You all should be ashamed of yourselves, truly.
I think it’s a huge problem when the cdc can make recommendations against opiate use but they fail to offer alternative solutions that are equally as affective and non-invasive as the opiates. I personally think needles and scapels should be a last resort in pain management. My reason for feeling that way is because many injections have a limit on the number of times they can be used before that start to cause other problems and I know 4 people personally who have had back surgeries and 3 of those people still have chronic back pain so it seems to me that the risk often does not outweigh the benefit when the doctors suggest these invasive forms of treatment too quickly as opposed to using proven non-invasive drug therapies. Truth is none of us are going to live forever and while the government wants to present opiotes as ‘assisted suicide’ due to the fact that some people do abuse them, most people just want to live what is a quality life for them and these drugs enable them to do that. As much as the pain sufferers want a petition to change things back to the way they were I have little faith in any petition because the few hundred people in places of power and influence who were able to legally inflict pain on millions through these new ‘recommendations’ are also experts at keeping the voices of the patients from being heard by labeling all cp paitents as drug addicts. These changes are here to stay, so although I do not suffer from cp now I figure that the end of my life will probably be agony as I age and develop pain and there will be no medicine available to manage it as I see many people here suffering from. I’m angry for you, I’m angry that as part of the general public that pain will no longer be considered a real medical problem and will instead be treated as a mental illness. Poorly or uncontrolled pain can cause mental illness more than mental illness can cause pain. In my opinion pain treated with antipsychotic drugs is really meant to get paitents to get to where they just aren’t angry at the lack of treatment they receive from their health care ‘non-providers’.
Angel…I served in the 75th ranger regiment for 9 years and I can tell you the storys of U.S. soldiers guarding poppry fields is true…another thing to ask yourself…why pick on people who have documented cases of injury or Chronic pain?What and who is gaining from them clamping down on People who NEED the meds yet are treated like criminals?The same ones who are adding fentinal to dope now adays…I went to my docters and they had pamphlets there explaining this problem…wich btw is what got things moving as far as them cracking down it seems to me.Hears my question tho…say there is some dude getting fentinal AND HEROIN then lacing the heroin with fentinal…WTF does that have to do with me?Does anyone have any idea as to how much fentinal that person would have to get in order to cause a nationwide drug EMERGENCY.IMO this is related to the corrupt government…or members of because not all are corrupt.Somehow more illegal drugs are coming into this country then ever before…so why not crack down on the borders?becouse by taking patients who need the medications OFF of there meds they force most of them to seek there meds elsewhere.Sadly most with CP are already depressed so when there docter tells them for whatever reason that there cut off.what do they have to lose?A miserable life?suffering?
My point is that this go’s far beyond the docters…although that being said I do believe that docters should be joining together and FIGHTING this…how can I feel comfortable to come in and tell my docter everything he needs to know if the slightest fu&* up will get me thrown off my meds?That makes no sense.
Id say one other thing…I mean no disrespect…but people will take it that way.If a women has the right to KILL an unborn child simply because it inconveniences her…if that’s HER right…then why isn’t it OUR right to be with a docter for 10 years who knows you,who you can be completely honest with and who will work with you…I don’t mean self medicating a person to death…what I mean is isn’t it better to have someone suffering from terrible pain to be over seen by a doctor?
I havnt been cut off my meds yet but I’m honestly worried…I don’t want to get to deep into my history besides to say that I fought for this country and that I suffered years before another accident caused me to not be able to cope without the help of controlled pain medications.I fear that I will be because my doctor has recently started doing drug tests…wich btw you should look up the accuracy of these so called “end all debate tools” its a disgustingly laughable joke.
My last test came back abnormal,I suffer from PTSD and Anxiety attacks that would make an elephant fly…My doctor knows all of this he has verified with tests and so much more…countless surgerys wich I really had NO say in,either I did them or I was cut off…period!! Those surgerys DID NOT HELP they made it worse…the only comfort I get if from my meds,it lets me lead a semi-normal life….Sorry…My test came back abnormal because it picked up some breakdown of a medication,I freaked and dug into it like I always do,i railed him with questions I knew I hadn’t taken anything I wasn’t supposed to so I KNOW it wasn’t me.I came back a month later and my docter tells me I never failed the test because its the way my body breaks down my medications.Everyone breaks down meds differently…some similar but thank god there was enough of an awareness of this that my docter researched and found out about how the body actually works.So would you not say that test was false?so did my docter…he said don’t worry about it because I’m your docter…he is a great man…if a bit buisy.
I had my last test last month and I have to be honest I am shaking thinking that it might come back wrong again…I got a letter the first time saying that was my only warning.Docter said don’t worry about it he knows me and he knows of the attacks I have over my mind latching onto things…wich is because of anxiety…this is stretching out to long.
It would take to long to go thru it all but I have to honestly say that for the first time In near 10 years I’m terrified of taking these tests in general.It raises my anxiety levels,stresses me out and if there is anything they{the lab} considers discrepancy…your done.wether or not THEY were wrong.
You see after you are removed from a docters pain regiment…usually after being forced to sign some contract waving them of all responsabilitys to your life should they cut you off your meds without notice…yea real nice guys…Wich btw is degrading and at least guilty before proven innocent….but I can understand the tests as long as they are doing it for the right reasons…NOT holding a gun to your head…I can understand if someone gets weened off because they consistently are doing loopy weird shit I don’t condone drug abuse…even tho as dude said above it is our body…it should be our right to choose…but I don’t condone it at all….but to make the ones who have legit problems suffer for a few people out there…WICH in my opinion have every right to choose for themselves anyway,and the docter can decide what..and how much of what it is he is prescribing any damned way so that sorta limits it right?I mean if someones coming back to there doctor consistently early asking for refills and what not that’s a clear sign…but if a patient is not exhibiting these signs then they should not be treated as criminals…as if your on PAROL for gods sakes.I swear I believe that they are actually trying to drop as many people as possible right now…wich in myopinion is why there is such a huge surge in drug overdoses.
Before all this the drug overdose rate was lower…Its went up…SO WHY CONTINUE TO DO SOMETHING THAT IS NOT WORKING?!! If a patient has been diagnosed as having injurys or suffering from chronic pain then they are better treated under the profetional care of a docter who is monitoring there intake.
Sorry I could go on about this all day long it is such a sensitive subject for me because if someone came up and called me a name I didn’t like id tell him off…we are being called these names and we cant say a thing for fear of reprisals!!
As stated above…IF A WOMEN CAN CHOOSE TO HAVE A CHILD WHO HAS DONE NO WRONG,NOT EVEN LIVED TO SEE A DAMNED DAY YET…PUT TO DEATH FOR WHATEVER REASON..CONVENIENT OR NOT,THEY ARE CONDONING MURDER…THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE PUTTING THE HAMMER DOWN ON US.This isn’t fair…it isn’t right and it needs to change…look at history MORPHINE…LIQUIDE FUC*ING MORPHINE was an over the counter buy as late as what?1905 I believe…I think later,maybe 1935,cant remember exact year…but my point is this…there was no valid drug problem in this country or Britain or others then…now there is.This is nothing more then people suffering to fatten the pockets of corrupt officials who know that a person in seveare pain will be forced to deal with said pain one way or another.Hell the difference for me is can I Perform in society or not?without these medications I cannot.Not to mention the fact that half of these meds will kill you most painfully from the withdrawls of being cut off imedietly.
I could say more but I’m sure iv said to much…as stated above these sights seem to get killed pretty fast…wich should tell everyone something right there.Any docters out there reading this or making your own comment feel free to reply to this id love to hear there thoughts on this.or send me an E-mail @ greyzock2@yahoo.com.People want to know why you aren’t taking your oaths seriously…I took mine seriously,as did and do others…if this is something you disagree with then let it be heard.Not enough docters with brains who see people everyday comment on these sites when they should.Allot of us have questions and in my personal opinion if you want honest loyal patients then you should most certainly be putting your opinion on hear or answering some of the questions posed…because you CANNOT be sitting there and not seeing the vendetta that seems to have be thrown at chronic pain sufferers.your docters,friends,family…the people we tell our deepest and darkest secrets to,I know I do my docter…If I run out of a medicine early…I TELL HIM,i also tell him why I ran out…wich btw is rare to never.I take my meds into him with my book that I write my times I take my meds into every appointment and show him.
Docters…especially family practice doctors…you are our only means to a normal life…and as stated above most…me and many others iv read on hear think of there doctors as family.I understand its your job,and you don’t want to seem like a PILL PUSHER..what noncense btw.I aint even going into that stupidity of how hard it would be to just give out narcotics willy fuc*ing nilly as a doctor….We are your patients and we entrust ourselves to your care and in allot of ways protection from this failing corrupt system and witch hunt…in the end whats better?A few idiots that abuse the system or millions…hundreds of millions turning to the black market,ruining there lives..dieing…ruining others lives…this is a ripple effect…or them being treated by a docter who can TREAT THEM AS THEY NEED TO BE TREATED for the safety of the patient?
Are you for the dope pushers of the world?or are you legitimate doctors who care?Id love to get responses,btw I live in P.A…it is getting rediculouse down hear.very very rediculouse the amount of HORROR storys I read on hear makes my heart sink…its only a matter of time for all of us before for whatever reason can be gotten you are cut off and left to watch your world burn because your to crippled by pain to do a damned thing to stop it.Trust me I know…I worry everyday over it.
That…I know was rambling…I just want to clarify because I was ranting up there…I started keeping a notebook on my meds times around the same time I started having sevear anxiety attacks…even tho Iv been on these meds for near 10 years…Anxiety has really thrown me for a loop.Last month I went thru a faze where I thought the attacks…wich consist of heart palpitations,breathing trouble…at least I think I’m not breathing but I am,phantom pains in the chest dizziness,tiredness,depretion..there’s a whole page dedicated to the affects of anxiety attacks,Until I experienced one I NEVER appreciated just what a person go’s thru.you feel like your dieing.for me multiple times a day…you panick..and its not surprising Id develop anxiety attacks considering my military history.Thanks uncle sam,left that part out of bootcamp huh?…so I started keeping a medications time journal not for him but for me,as well id bring my meds to every appointment….I still do btw…for now.Hopefully I will still do so next month…who knows if ill even be on pain management next month the way things are going.we are all criminal’s because we are injured and need an addictive source to cope…pretty stupid btw,what isn’t addictive…I chain smoke yet they sell those over the counter…and nicotine is a controlled substance…hmm figure that one out right?
As I said I could go on forever about the HYPOCRACY of this.I honestly don’t want to detear any honest doctors from responding…to anyone on the page and to me if you will…as to why you aren’t standing up for your patients?ESPECIALLY longterm patients…people who have been going to you for 9 or more years…hell 2 years is a long time right?I mean these are your stable patients..the money makers to allot of extent and not because of the drug but because they are return patients who need continuing care.
You have all the motivation to fight this witch hunt,as I stated before there are cases where someone is obviously abusing there meds…or doing other meds and so forth or coming in early consistently with excuses…the signs aren’t just in a screwed up testing facility that has an over-all success rate of 45%…only 2…that right “2” testing methods are considered to be closer and they fall in the range of I believe 75%.Check my numbers…just don’t check the testing sites numbers because they have already been proven to falsify there success versus failure…OR not post it AT ALL.Iv checked trust me…lol…I was checking for one that offered a 100% garuantee that it would be accurate…I couldn’t find any…NOT ONE.dosnt that say something?
Sorry I get off topic because this topic is so large and go’s far beyond the doctors office.The government,the state either has no right to get between a patient and his doctor…NONE!!Docter patient privalage and many other laws are supposed to protect those rights….sadly we are living in a more and more socialist country where big daddy warbucks in the government wants to dip his finger into the drug trade but cant do so thru doctors and patients…so how do they remedy that?what would be a good cure to destroying that?While at the sametime getting clients for your illegal drug trade?DESTROY THE DOCTOR PATIENT PRIVILAGE by sending everyone on a great witch hunt that they know will hang and burn 10’s of millions of honest pain sufferers.Perfect customers right?what comes next…jail time,wich hey what do you know they make money on that as well.
No this isn’t right,this isn’t how things are supposed to be handled in America let alone most other countrys.
Please comment or message me if your a doctor,I love hearing doctors opinions on this as iv researched this extensively..and not for an addiction but because I want to be educated in things that affect my life…sadly I’m already forced to depend on a medicine that kept close to the chest and Everyday I…We CP sufferers get thru is possibly the last day…its a valid concern.Where are the medical professional’s on this?The guardians of the sick and infirm?trust me they wernt always that way and we come from every walk of life.
One more thing I agree there is NO doctors in P.A. so its not exactly like a thriving market to begin with.Most doctors just flat out wont help you…I got lucky 10 years ago..and I prey he dosnt give up on me like so many have given up on there patients…but one can only prey at this point and speak out hoping someone will hear us and see just how many people are negatively affected by being cut off there medications.I cannot believe the amount I see on websites just in the last few days iv been looking for some type of advocacy to stop this horrendouse wrong being done to people of all walks of life.
“And from what I have seen, Drs don’t even agree with these new rules. It ties their hands when they genuinely want to do their job and help individuals.”
As an MD that has been my observation too, but if you can lose your license due to a few patients lying to you and using meds irresponsibly most doctors have decided to stay away from chronic pain patients. The DEA and others will claim these are not hard and fast rules but mere “guidelines.”. Oh yeah? Try ” individualizing” treatment and see what happens if you have a bad outcome. Good luck, because you are going to need it lol
To all chronic pain sufferers,
Now what? As chronic pain sufferers who have had their pain medications cut to a 1/4 of what I use to get and some of you have lost all your pain medications/pain management treatment, as you already know the government has enacted the CDC guidelines and the DEA is enforcing them. They are threating our pain management doctors with taking their medical licenses away if they do not comply with the new guidelines. Since I am a chronic pain sufferer and most of you are too, we must make our voices heard! I have read through all of your posts and posts of where some of the doctors were trying to fight these new guidelines back in 2012 when the CDC guidelines were first drafted. I applaud these medical professionals/doctors challenging the CDC guidelines through PROMPT to try be an advocate for chronic pain sufferers. However, this all fell on deaf ears because our politicians are now passing legislation that is dictating to our doctors what they can and cannot prescribe, this is impacting all of us, NOT JUST CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS! Chronic pain patients are suffering needlessly and our rights are being violated because we are not getting the medical treatment we need and our pain controlled. This is inhuman and we are being discriminated against just because we are chronic pain sufferers. We are being treated like drug addicts instead of people with medical conditions that need to be treated! THINGS WILL CONTINUE TO GET WORSE AS THE CDC AND DEA ENFORCE THE GUIDELINES DOWN TO NO MORE THAN 50 MME TO 90 MME A DAY! IF WE DO NOT STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS, WE WILL LOSE WHAT LITTLE WE HAVE LEFT IN CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENT! PLEASE EVERYONE, I KNOW YOU HURT AS I DO ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT WE HAVE TO FIGHT AND CONTACT OUR LEGISLATORS, NEWS MEDIA AND ANYONE THAT WILL LISTEN TO PUT A STOP TO THIS MADNESS SO WE CAN BE TREATED FOR OUR CHRONIC PAIN TO HAVE SOME KIND OF QUALITY OF LIFE! Please visit http://www.chronicpainsufferersunite.com I can see some of you have, please continue to fight. I am continuing to research and update the website as my pain will let me. God Bless all of you and I pray daily that these CDC guidelines will be revoked!
I was told yest by my rhemotologist that my monthy Vicodin will go from only 60 a month only two a day .it will start decreasing to 56 48 and so on to none in about 8mos.im 70 yrs old ive had two lumbar surgeries one hip replaced osteoarthritis lupus and fibromyalgia. Ive been on just two Vicodin a day because I’m also 2700 mg of Neurontin a day for all the nerve damage I have from the back surgery.my doctor said she feels terrible for all her patients but has to take everyone off opoids due to all the deaths.the doctors are being targeted not the drug dealers bringing in the heroine oxy cocaine etc.in to our country.im a retired nurse and also was a director of a homeless shelter. when I get up in am my pain is awful the Vicodin makes it bareable with the Neurontin. to face the day.im very active for 70 but without some pain med ill be in bad shape and wont be able to babysit my grchildren and volunteer at the homeless shelter. when I see all the people getting there methodone fix for the day I get very upset also the misuse of the marijuana clinics.i will help at any way we can get heard I live near boston ma and if anyone wants to go to state house I’m her.
Its ridiculous. That is what the doctors say. They are ao easily influenced by political pressure. They are cowards and have no willingness for empathy or for good comparison of function with respect to function, not that they should need that. It should be up to the individual so long as he is educated and makes his own choice.
“my doctor said she feels terrible for all her patients but has to take everyone off opoids due to all the deaths.”
That has been the response of many doctors. I know of a doctor on the medical board who stopped writing for tramadol once it became scheduled. Apparently he did not want to become a target
It’s a waste of time & energy. Chronic pain is no longer a reason to get opiate pain meds. Its just over. We just have to accept it. I’m sorry but this is the FACTS.The only option left are the methadone clinic’s. I have documented reasons for being on pain meds , it DOES NOT MATTER. No Dr. are going to risk losing their license for perscribing opiates. That is the plain fact!!
I forgot to say in my earlier note that I believe that the government wants us old, sick people to die. Who needs Auschwitz? Just withhold pain meds – that’ll clear out their world out.
I am totally furious that the Federal government can override our “Texas Chronic Pain” law. I’ve been on heavy meds since before I retired (13 years ago).. I’ve wanted to be dead for years.. At least then I’d not be in pain. The meds are the only thing helping. And now they are cutting me back by at least half. NOT FAIR.
I won’t kill myself because I believe I’d wake up in Hell. Some people don’t believe there a Hell. I expect many Suicides to come from this Bill – or is it not a Bill, but Obama’s directive?
Whatever, I am wishing Chronic Pain on each and every person responsible for this travesty.
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I agree with you totally. I’ve been taking pain meds well over 25yrs and they are steady taking them away. I’m so ready to die but like u said I was taught I would go to hell if I did it myself. I’m ready to give up. Don’t know how long I can last
as long as Gog says so like the rest of us
Hello, In Aug., of 2000 on the 9th day, I just got off of work, and I was coming up on a light, and at this light the police were all running there lights, I was parked in the lane next to the safety lane, I was oblivious to what was about to happen to me, well there was about 85 cars that where police at this one intersection, with there lights running, I thought wow I was going to be in some thing real big, wow who was in town, Right at that time I saw a sea of blue coming up behind me a high rate of speed, and a black Honda accord, that was stolen, that was my biggest day ever in my life, I was the most popular guy that day, on impact, the Honda accord hit me at 108 mph, I was very Lucy I was not dead, just from the impact, I used to go fishing all the time walking all the time, I had hobbies to, but all that was taken away in a split second that day,, I sued the Chattanooga police department , never got any thing, not even a new car replaced, but one thing I got was a lot of back trauma. i never got penny for pain and suffering, two years later in 2003 I was in the hospital fighting for my life with cancer, colon cancer, they removed about 15 inches of my large colon, and had a resection, due to all the stress, from the car crash in 2000, I filed for social security and it took from 2006 to 2011 to get the social security, disability there again I fell through the crakes, of our government benefit program, while waiting and still in server pain, well as the years went by, my sister pam died in 2005, cancer, then my sister, adonna pancreatic cancer in 2008, then my mom from cancer in 2014 Feb. then my dad in march of 2014 then my brother Steve in 2016, while they where still alive if it was not for the therapy of narcotics there life would be a living hell on earth, and while I have had a trying life after the car crash, I never gave up on trying to get better, our processes in life could be a whole lot better for people, I hope with web sites like these, that people can share there story, and there difficulties, trying to get help, and trying to manage there pain, I really hope and pray that everyone that is in pain don’t go through the process I did, because it was very hard, but when I got my disability I got 720.00 a month, but it was a start, although, I have been puzzled that 3 doors down there is a man that has social security disability, and has never work a day in his life, and got 1500.00 a month, I think for some behavior problem. I just thought I would add that to, just to let folks no social security is not that great, but I have food and my bill are paid,
Yea don’t get me started on the social security system…they claim to be understaffed and under a large caseload…nothing…no one should take 6 months to review paperwork!I just recently had mine cut down to 106 from 795 a month…samething I’m on SSD…NOT SSI,yet I know people who brag about never working who get retarded amounts of money…AND I PAID IN ALLOT!!
At this point I just say “give me my damned money back ssd!!” All of it…not a penny less then what I paid in even after you deduct what you have paid me,then ill take care of the rest of my own damn life how about that?!
Obama’s health plan is another reason allot of this is happening…hate to get political…but insurance companys run things now…they don’t compete against each other at all.They have NOTHING to fear…Obama..good old Obama..the great golfing president…yea,what a great choice for first black president huh?hell lets go for the first women president just because she is a women…”WOMEN POWER!!” right?….wrong.Sorry but very very wrong…I don’t vote on a president because of there colour or gender…that’s called sexism and racism…I vote on a president based on his merit’s.Something that’s been lacking for so many years now.
I was recently fired from my pain doctors due to testing positive for hydrocodone. Problem is I’m not taking anything other than oxycodone and large quantities of aleve and ibuprofen. I offered to pay for a fingernail test and they refused . Can taking large amounts of nsaids cause this result or underlying health problems? I am stumped and left without medication after 15 years of being on pain meds! My quality of life is at issue
This is why I try to avoid drug tests. All doctors are out of compliance. They don’t send screening tests for confirmatory testing to weed out false positives eben though the instructions on the screening tests instruct the doctor to do so.
In my case I can’t comply with confirmatory testing because most insurance I deal with won’t pay for it and the patients are too poor to pay for it themselves.
This puts me in a tough spot. Fail to follow the “standard of care” (by routinely giving drug screens without confirming positives) in order to protect myself? Or try to muddle thru without drug screens so I don’t harm innocent people with false positives?
Patients and doctors can use Urintel to justify for insurance providers to pay for definitive testing. It’s available at http://www.remitigate.com.
My mother had a good idea. Does anyone here who is being impacted by this disgusting, absurd CDC policy of keeping opiates from people with chronic acute pain have a lawyer in the family who would be capable of heading up a class action suit for all the patients? If we could get a good lawyer and share our stories maybe we could get this policy considered unconstitutional or damaging to patients and get it over turned. Even if we have to go all the way to the supreme court. If anyone has a family member who is a lawyer or is a lawyer themselves who is capable of doing this, please ask them to consider it. There are so many people being affected by this and will be effected even more so all across the country when they implement it nationwide. If a lawyer agrees to take a class action suit and gets it rolling, reach out to these people suffering and their families who have been torn apart because of this. Lets not wait for someone to speak out for us and defend us because no one seems to care except for the people it’s effecting. I know a lot of doctors would probably be willing to back us up and even join in the suit because they are being prevented from treating their patients properly. They’re being threatened to lose their licence and lively hood if they don’t fall in line, even if they know for a fact they would be hurting their patients by keeping opiates from them.
I just tried to go into the website that was noted above and it says it is temporally unavailable. To all chronic pain sufferers. We all must unite and fight this injustice. My husband and I both have suffered for years and now our PM doctors are cutting our meds to 1/4 of what we use to get. Our quality of life is ZERO!! Everyone must speak out and we must get a class action lawsuit started. We tried contacting the ACLU about this injustice and stomping all over our rights but transgender bathrooms were more important than the plight of all of our suffering!! It seems know body cares about chronic pain sufferers and these new guidelines are going to kill thousands of people!! We have started a website http://www.chronicpainsufferersunite.com please visit and take action!! We all have to let our voices to be heard before we can get anyone to listen to make changes. Our PM doctors do not like it either but are afraid to speak up because of the threat of them losing their medical license!! This is blackmail! Stand up for your rights!! Keep complaining and I pray that we will find a lawyer to start a class action lawsuit to put a stop to these guidelines that are causing us to suffer more than imaginable!
All this has done is cause people with ligitimate chronic pain force them to do heiroine or kill themselves. There are no doctors pain specialists in the las cruces nm area, everyone was forced to see dr florez in silver city and now they shut him down. I know someone with stumach cancer all they give him is liquid vicodin. Vicodin are weak as hell when it comes to chronic pain. How they expect people to take less then 100 mlg of morphine a day when i know people that can take twice that in one dose, wich only lasts 8 to ten hours if your lucky. The government act like there doing a good thing but all there doing is making more heroine addicts, and causing people to commit suicide, or die from withdrawls. This isnt right
Boy do you have that right! Around here in Buffalo, NY not only are we treated as junkies, the junkies are given places to do their drugs safely while we lay around in so much pain they couldn’t imagine. My pain is far worse than when I was in labor and I had refused medication because I have a high pain tolerance! I really have thought about ending it but I do believe in hell and don’t want to end up there.
Diane, You are absolutely RIGHT !! My son suffers from long term chronic pain from crohns disease since he was 12 yrs. old. He is 25 now. The pain management drs. were treating him with hydrocodone /acet. 10-325, then this internal pcp put him on tramadol 50 mg..but then this pcp recommended a pain management dr. to continue with his pain. They put him on gabapentin in 2014 This medicine is NOT the right pain med. for this disease. I DID call & wrote to with copies of every proof I saved to the department. of health & human services MEDWATCH FDA BAD DRUG, & wrote to 2 LAW FIRMS. They wrote me back said that they could not take his LIABILITY case BUT OUR REJECTION OF THIS CLAIM DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT IS WITHOUT MERIT.. MY son had to go to the HOSP. ERS. HIS EXPERIENCE. IS JUST TO LONG. BUT ON GABAPENTIN HE HAD SUICIDAL THOUGHTS BECAUSE OF HIS SEVERE PAIN.. I WOULD WANT& WILLING TO STOP THIS INSANITY, WHAT THE DEA IS DOING IS PUSHING PAIN MANAGED PATIENTS NO HELP BUT TO GIVE THEM NO CHOICE BUT TO BUY CHEAP HEROIN OFF THE STREET. THAT DOES KILL PEOPLE.. I STILL HAVE ALL OF, MY SONS PAPERS OF PROOF AND ALWAYS WILL.
hmmm.. I WONDER IF EACH INDUVIDUAL COULD FILE THEIR OWN LAWSUIT AGAINST THEIR STATE LEGISLATURE FOR PRACTICING MEDICINE WITHOUT A LICENSE AS THEY ARE MAKING LAWS ABOUT PARTICULAR MEDS USED FOR PARTICULAR CONDITIONS….. AND WHERE DID THEY GET THEIR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING…. ACTUALLY ALCOHOL KILL MORE WHEREE EVERY YEAR. THAN PEOPLE LIVING IN CHRONIC PAIN REQUIRING. A PARTICULAR NARCOTIC TO AT LEAST HAVE SOME WHAT. OF A QUALITY OF LIFE?
Dear Fred. please keep holding on for a Better Day in Pain! There are actually a few good Drs out there yet who understand that we did not ask to have Ir retractable pain. I too. have fought battle of my life just because I would like to have relief from this constant hot nerve pain as a result of complications from birth defect along with multiple spinal injures . I want to believe that someday soon Painr patients will be again treated with The Golden Rule in mind! There are still people out there who really do understand that all we want is to have some resemblance of a normal life ! I do not know what your pain issue is. Nor where you live but I will do my best to pray for you and send out positive thoughts for you! Don’t Quit Believing.. always darker just before Fault! God Bless You!!! Sincerely. Kayte from Ky Addendum : I never mentioned the word Fault! What I said was that it always gets darker just before DAYLIGHT! Why did someone change my words? I was only trying to encourage someone as much as Possible!
You all need a neroulogist that works at a pain center. you might have to wait to sign up, but this is what they use for us and then the junkies. They just have a contract and you have to follow the and if you dontfollow contract you are out of the progfram nationwide. These programs you are more likely to be supected of one that is a junkie. But if you seriously need your medicine you just have to go through a different chain of command now! I always suffer and hurt. there has been many times my life could have ended; Im better now with my medicine’s but that pain never goes alway for me. I am a tough cookie and somedtimes I wonder would if it was better off just letting go in my sleep. Sometimes at night my ataxia starts making me shakw which I cannot control and times i can barely move or say a thing even with my medicine. But I also recently almost died agian and was cut from my sternum at the end of my chest to right above my genitles 4 times plus many, many, many, more surgeries. the best medicine I take is 5 1000mg nerotins a day, its the best thing for nerve damage, why also taking 1000 mg of depakote twice a day-morning and night, I also take 100mg of trazodone every night. I take 60 mg of prozac every day. the drug I waas taking for years and years were 3 10mg diladids a day as needed plus 380 tramadol a month on top of that I was also drinking becuase I still hurt. So I came to doctor and told him I thought I would die soon from all thid medicen I have been taking for many many many many yrs. So I started just taking the tramodol and meloxocam.. Itdid not work at all. I was told abouta pain clinic and askd if my doc would refer me and he did. Well talk about losers and drug attics and drug dealrs trying to get methodone and whatnot, oh before dilaadid I was taking over 100 mg of percocet oxycodones, somas, and a couple other things one pill was green and looked like vicodene was givin 180 amonth . So I am at this pain clinic which was awful and demeaning becuase 3 % maybe actually really are ther for help and doing thingsthe right way. So at this clinic they gave me something called suboxone 8mg\2mg twice a day film you put une\der your tongue. Itdid not act like an opiate,but much better than anything I have ever taken for my chronic pain and nerological damage that I recieved to the back of mjy skull and neck which was one of the times I didnt die miraculously surveved and 6 to 9 yrs later I am functoining beterr all the time. anothe thing I will tell you as I didint like going to that place and talked to my doctor about it and je said there was a neroulogist there at his office that could prescibe to me suboxcone. It took from end of July to the first of december some time. I justthought I would stop goinng to thatclinic since doctor told me but there was a waiting list due to the fact that this is how things are done if you cannot function due to your health. during this time I was completely sucicidal waiting to get back on medicine so I could at least function. I tryed a lot of alternatives some really bad but one in particular saved my life while I was waiting and that was KRATOM. You can buy it in headshops or online. I purcased kratom extracts that were about 22 dollars a bottle and managed to only do two a day after a month of spendind 56,000 dollars in saving on this litlle place in winston salem and greensboro nc called smoky shays and the smoke shop in high point called the smoke shop. I am now mcuh better now I have 6 doctors and appointments every month. for some of you this might not work going to a neroulogist considering I am completely disabled and all the damgae I have. Even if your are not disabled you can still go through a neroulogist or pain clinic. Depending on your pain and if you dont want to be addicted to anything I would suggest suboxone because ithas an 2 mg agonist called naxxole with the 8mg pain and it is not is harmful on your liver becuase it gets in your two blood vessels under your tungoe were you put the strip. Ittaste awful but after about an hour I can start moving and since then my muscles around my joints and my body is getting the right amount of movement to stayhealthy.;; although they might prescribed you something else this is definately a way to be taken care of if you go ahead and pursue what I am saying. Yes it might take a while waiting list but sooner you get referal to nerologist which your medical doctor can only do. Dont get mad at your physcian becuase he by law cannot prescribe but so many opaitem a yr or he loses his practise… that is why federal gov had to do this becuase to many people do not need opiates or are just bad people trying to take advantage of the system. So dont get mad at the laws , get the whole facts first and understand thkjs is an epidemic. Opiates on a regular basis destroys your heart the faster and also destroys the rest ofyour body. So get made at the rule breakers and the idiots destroying there lives and everybody else’s,
PS Sharing or giving medication that is yours to anybody even if it isa one tiny pill and you maythink they need it, it still is a federal crime and is stated on all your medicines, make sure you keep your medicines in a safe, and I take my strips in my wallet with precription label justin case something happens and I get “I doint know sucked in a tornado or something” ; then I can have my pain medicne becuase it is flat and you cn put it behind something. We all are very careful with wallt\ets and purses. so I dont think that is a bad idea if you are around people you can trust and try to keep it in your pocket at all timjes becuase sometimes people will try and steal your money and that usually means they are doing drugs behind your back and are lieing to your face., I am really sad cuase I would love for mychildren to move in with me and I cant go see them barely ever becuase rhier mother is a junkie and she tells me she has changed and this and that and when I get there they are sooooo happy to see me… I figured out they lied to me becuase there mother put them up to it cuase the kids in I both want to see each other. But then later I realize she has tricked me again and I know she has good in her and she can change, so if you have read this please please pray your hearts out just once for my children and “Angela and kids”, just think if everyone that read this prayed I think God is doing everything in his power becuase he knows how badly I need this to happen so I can be apart of there lifes more and guide them with dicpline wisdom, love, respect, and just everything they need to be prepared for….. I love them sso so sooo much…….tears
Wrong, Suboxone is very addicting. Just wait till you try to wean off or have to have surgery. This is a dangerous medication for people who may need surgeries or other procedures where they would have to put you under. Its an antagonist like you said. So it blocks the opiates which in the case of heroin addiction and withdrawals is a good thing. But many addicts have replaced heroin for suboxone because a typical withdraw is 3 days( the bad part) but when it comes to suboxone expect extreme withdraw for up to 3 months. Back to surgery…it will block their sedation methods and pain control methods in the operating room. Really do research on this before switching or be willing to switch back a month prior to surgery. I stopped suboxone 2 weeks before a major surgery and came out of sedation screaming in pain. Nine of their efforts worked. And they tried morphine and diloted, and well everything my body could handle and I was still screaming. Not to mention they had problems in the operating room keeping me under. Seems the suboxone even tho I hadn’t taken it in two weeks has such a long half life was fighting the sedation and they really struggled to keep me under. People have died from going into surgery on suboxone from the opiates flooding into their system when it opens days later. My respirations and heart rate were extremely low and I still was in the worst pain. I could feel my hysterectomy incisions. Please please be informed about how addicting this medication really is and how hard it can make your procedures. Not many anesthesiologist understand this medication fully. Please beware. I am happy you are no longer in pain. God Bless
Sara; Addiction, physical dependence, and tolerance are three very different things. You are describing physical dependence, not addiction.
Dr Fudin that is what we were all taught in medical school but it seems that legal authorities don’t make the distinction.
Dude; You can run the report yourself or show it to your doctor on your mobile phone. It could help them to justify NOT requiring definitive testing or help the insurance provider to pay. It’s best for office to use PC or Mac version though so they can print the report to chart.
They will also rott your teeth out like they did to me and other people I knew that were taking it and all of us were legitimately chronic pain patients. Teeth pulled dentures was a affordable route. as Tooth implants are $18,000 just for uppers. I was never told long turn would’ve brought all my teeth out and I was paying these dentists almost thousands on root canals on teeth that he already knew from the x-rays were in the process of starting to rot out. There are a lot of people who can’t afford $2000 for dentures for the good ones quality ones that look good and natural and just turn left to be in pain and suffer.
I’m living in TN and I have SEVERE chronic nerve damage pain due to damage to my spinal cord. Apparently pain only counts anymore if it’s being caused by cancer. What’s the difference between the pain I feel from spinal damage and the pain a cancer patient feels from pain to their spinal cord? It’s still insanely awful pain. I spent a lot of years in a wheel chair, needing help take care of myself, falling, crawling around on my apartment floor until I got a good pain doctor who gave me high enough dosages of pain medicine so I could function and take care of myself. Now I have to give up my daughter because I’m in too much pain to take care of either one of us. My family has to watch me suffer. No one is doing anything about it? I don’t even have the freedom to kill myself, so now I’m trapped in this severe pain with no way out. I don’t know what to do and people are so heartless they are just going to let us suffer. I guess preventing some people from getting high is a higher priority than treating people humanely. They wouldn’t let an animal suffer as badly as I’m suffering and they’re still not done cutting down my pain medicines. We need to put a stop to this. IMMEDIATELY. Look at all this pain and suffering they’re inflicting.
Everything you said about the pain meds and our suffering is exactly how I feel. I have had 3 back surgeries and have tried everything to get pain relief but my meds are the only thing that let me live a bearable life. I have been on 3-80 gram oxy a day for over 10 years. Just cut me to 2 and next month it will be 1. So I am going to be suffering unbearable pain, it’s inhumane. I am planning on killing myself, I can’t take the pain. I’ve never asked for my meds early and take them as directed. I am able to function and walk with bearable pain on my meds. I can’t do anything like sports or anything but at least I can live a half way decent life and get around. How they can make us suffer like this? As you said they wouldn’t let a dog suffer like that. I hope their happy and can explain to my kids and grandkids why I killed myself. I’m only 53, I don’t want to die. I quit drinking once I started taking pain pills and do everything right. Congrats to everyone who passed this bill. My kids and grandkids are going to lose their dad and grandfather because they are just going to let me suffer.
Terry, I’m so sorry. It’s not fair, I know. They’re doing it to me, too. But please, PLEASE don’t take your life. I know it’s hard, painful, and terrifying. But please don’t do that to your family. Please.
I do agree there is a problem with drugs and doctors over prescribing them. I get it and i agree it has to be and should have been better regulated. What I dont understand is what the government is doing is kind of wrong. They go from one extreme to the next. You can get as much as you want when ever you need ot to sorry nobody is getting anything. I have sever diabetic nerve destruction. My legs and my feet burn. The pain is unreal. At time I am so completely angry becuase of the pain. I was never accused of being addicted becuase im not. Pain pills make it bearable. I cant tell you this. If you abuse them they will not work after a while. So this is why i know the real pain patents will more then likely not abuse them becuase they know they actually work better if you take them only when your at your worst. Maybe you can tolerate the pain but when you get a cold it pushes you over the edge and they would really come in handy then. Or sometime the flare ups are really bad. I just need one or two so I can get some well need sleep. Sleeping pills do help but not when your in real pain. So what about me. What about the people that really need it. The doctors and I dont blame them dont want to go to jail and dont want to have to deal with any legal issues. The government once again went to far and now these people that really need it will be put in situations and probably start doing things they would never do or never have even thought of doing. Buying black market is going to happen. Unfortunately it may cause a bigger problem becuase people who are honest will get robbed. They will also possibly get in trouble. All they want is help and they are not being accounted for. Please account for these people. Dont make them feel like they are doing something wrong. Figure out a way where they can get meds. Doctors should not be held responsible if they are prescribing proper amounts and keeping an eye on use and make sure they are not doctor shopping. If they are and if they are getting meds from them and the black market and they how can that be the doctors fault. the people in pain have to be accountable for their own actions as far as abusing these drugs. Have them spend two nights in a sleep environment where they are viewed. Once confirmed that they are in real pain and they are following proper guide lines set by the doctor the doctor should be off the hook. At that pint they get their prescription and if they take 15 in one night unfortunately its their responsibility not the doctors. Stop scaring the doctors and doctor please stop treating your pain patents like drug addicts . I dont really blame the government its something that snowballed and it got out of control. They had to do something but please be responsible and make sure you are not taking the only way out for some of the people t have some sort of quality of life. Some of these meds are very helpful and yes extremely dangerous.
I’ve had my first spinal fusion done in August 2014, second one in April 2015, because the first one was a complete failure. I now have rods and screws from L2 through S1. 6 weeks ago my Dr. changed my meds, and I went through horrible Fentanyl with drawl. I decided to quit all opioids which I have, but my quality of life is a big fat Zero. Next Week I’m going back to my Pain Dr. and seeing what options I have, but I’m going to request that she put me on 30mg extended release Morphine, because my pain is so bad, I can’t even go for a walk anymore. I haven’t don much of anything, and I can’t sleep. for those who want to take me off these pills, try walking in my shoes for a month, and live what I have to deal with everyday. I’m 58 years old, and I’ve never abused my pain meds. I try and take them only when I need them. If this is taken over by a government panel, then all of us that really need these medications are screwed. I tried taking tylenol and Ibuprofen, and quite frankly they don’t even take the edge off my pain. So their idea is to punish us that don’t abuse along with those that do.
Trust when I say Suboxone is the best thing . I just left my comment up top!!!
your crazy for handing out pain med”s to people that really didn”t need them. Florida law enforcement allowed pill mills or doctors making money on prescibing pain meds to anyone. what a shame for the people that are in real pain!!! Now the government is finally cracking down but just a little to late. You got people that are taking herion in place of the pills. well they didn”t montor it proberly and only helping out people in real pain so now everyone has to suffer. What a shame for the people in severe chronic pain. its criminal what the law enforcement didn’t do earlier. So the dea believes that all these people that are just addicts going to go without. “ya right” At least your parmacutical companies can do is treat the people that really need them and the herion abusers are just going to do what they do anyway. think about proabition. that didn”t work. so what makes you dea officals think anything is going to change except suicide from chronic pain patieint’s!! think about it! its a no win situation your created. how sad!!!!
You explained this very ture,I took a pee test and my pm said I put you on oxiyCotein from morpheme and stright up lied and he just gave me 7.5 Norcos for my back pain .I was calling Doctor saying they did not give me all my meds,so after 4 times calling Doctor the nurse calls me and said Will Norcos is what he gave and she said I will talk to you at your next apointment.What is going on?Why would pm do this to me?
I was on two opioids for thirteen years, and on the same dose for nearly ten years. I’ve had the same experiences as most of you. The MDs now talk about the opioids being harmful for chronic pain patients. So, even tho I feel I’ve been harmed for the duration of the reduction/discontinue of my meds, I would think it could be quite class actionable that all of us were harmed for five, ten, twenty years or more, as our MDs seem to believe.
I was harmed by a very negligent surgeon, no one took malpractice case against this doctor beings I live in a small town, no one offered to, I’m now being taken off my pain meds of fentanyl and oxycodone ive responsibly taken regulated for 6 years this clinic additions 7 months prior, now no reason theyre saying under new guidelines I must be reduced, I was switched to this doctor because a prior doctor tried and I was in such bad pain this doctor took me on stating he would never do this to me, now he is cutting my meds totally out of proportion, extending my days from 2-3 then reducing meds at same time? does anyone else see my situation 9 months in ICU because the bad negligence I was under and the surgeon had to leave here he botched so many patients, now I just give up, my quality of life is now being taken from me, and no one even cares
Hi my name is Kristi I was convinced by my pain doctor that I had been seeing at that point but for about 5 years to have an intrathecal morphine pump put in and almost instantly it changed my life I felt like I was the old me I was able to do things I hadn’t done in 10 years and 6 months later things started to go downhill I noticed that my pain started to get a little bit worse I was using my PTM more frequently and I brought this to my doctor’s attention and he scheduled me for a CT with myelogram and before the procedure was even done the X-ray showed that the catheter had migrated out of my spinal cord and was coiled up in my butt well they screwed me over cuz then I had to go back on pills which I don’t deal well with pills so we had to find the right combination of pills so they started me on hydrocodone which makes me mean very very very mean and ended up on oxy and something else almost a year later they convinced me again to have my second pump put in on October 29th of 2014 well as soon as I have that pump done which was placed by a different doctor might I add instantly I started having problems I started having problems with my bladder I had a horrendous swelling in my extremities you could bounce a quarter off of my stomach it was so hard and swollen there were days that I wake up and I couldn’t even close my hand because my fingers were so swollen anyways fast forward another year and I go in for a routine but I assume Med refill appointment and she hands me two pieces of paper one of them I assume is my treatment plan so I signed it and I asked you know you know what is this and she said the doctor will be in a few minutes and he’ll go over it with you and then I turned the piece of paper over and it’s a termination patient a 30-day termination of patient rights I looked at her and said how is that even possible for starters it takes at least 3 months to get into a pain clinic that deals with pumps hi my name em more frequently and I brought this to my doctors attention and he scheduled me for a CT with my low gram and before the procedure was even done the x-ray show that the catheter had migrated out of my spinal cord and was coil that in my butt well this screwed me over cuz then I had to go back on pills which I don’t deal well with pill so we had to find the right combination of pills so they started me on hydrocodone which makes me mean very very very mean and I eventually ended up on oxy and something else well almost a year later after a botched second pump placement. I go see my doc somewhat unsuspecting what was to come assume med refill appointment and she hands me to pieces of paper one of them I assume is my treatment plan so I sign it and I asked you know you know what is this and she said the doctor I’ll be in a few minutes and he’ll go over it with you and then I turn the piece of paper over and it a termination of patient a 30-day termination of patient right I looked at her and said how is that even possible for starters it takes at least 3 months to get into a pain clinic that deals with pumps and she just heard he said the doctor will be in in a moment to discuss this with you when the doctor came in a cup couple moments later he acted like there was nothing wrong in the world so I brought it up to him and he gave me this feel about how now that I’m on state assistance and not a private pay patient like I had been for close to 10 years he can’t afford to keep me on as a patient so basically since I haven’t met since I can’t afford to fork out thousands of dollars myself and I don’t have Blue Cross Blue Shield that will for count hundreds of thousands of dollars for him to do procedures that don’t work on me he’s going to drop me now it’s all about greed so I now have 19 days until my pump runs dry and sends me in to complete detox withdrawals and right about the same amount of time left until I run out of meds I have been denied 4 times now from four different pain doctors and Clinics the one doctor I did get in to see is booked so far out that her appointment with me is in February of 2017. I am getting to the point where I feel like some of the other patients on here and wonder if this life is really worth it or not
Neil,
I’m collecting patient reports/stories from patients who DO have have good functional benefi and pain relief on opioids concerning the effects of:
1) being required to taper to lower dose OR
2 ) opioid therapy being discontinued altogether
DESPITE worsening pain, sleep, and functional ability that are not simply the transient effects of withdrawal.
If you’ll go to:
https://m.facebook.com/Pain-Patients-Losing-Access-to-Medication-1682507365371193/
You can share as much or as little as you like and YOU CAN REMAIN ANONYMOUS.
PLEASE PM (private message) ME THROUGH THE PAGE …..
Also there is a second page set up to collect information about from family and friends of patients who have died as a result of suicide, withdrawal, and cardiac event/stroke that occurs during an episode of severe pain. This is such a tragic loss of life. We don’t want them to be forgotten and the hope ist that we can use their stories to effect policy change and influence the practice of individual physicians. We don’t want their suffering to be in vain.
Again, please PM THE PAGE whatever information you’re comfortable providing. You can provide as much or as little detail as you’re comfortable sharing.
The patient can be listed anonymously if you prefer as well.
https://m.facebook.com/DeathsFromWarOnOpioids/
Hi,
I tried to visit the pages you mentioned but they;re now up. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Facebook and playing favorites with the DEA, (insert alphabet agency of choice).
Thank you,
Rocky
I just tried to go into the website that was noted above and it says it is temporally unavailable. To all chronic pain sufferers. We all must unite and fight this injustice. My husband and I both have suffered for years and now our PM doctors are cutting our meds to 1/4 of what we use to get. Our quality of life is ZERO!! Everyone must speak out and we must get a class action lawsuit started. We tried contacting the ACLU about this injustice and stomping all over our rights but transgender bathrooms were more important than the plight of all of our suffering!! It seems know body cares about chronic pain sufferers and these new guidelines are going to kill thousands of people!! We have started a website http://www.chronicpainsufferersunite.com please visit and take action!! We all have to let our voices to be heard before we can get anyone to listen to make changes. Our PM doctors do not like it either but are afraid to speak up because of the treat of them losing their medical license!! This is blackmail! Stand up for your rights!! Keep complaining and I pray that we will find a lawyer to start a class action lawsuit to put a stop to these guidelines that are causing us to suffer more than imaginable!
Yes mine with no explaining. And yes no one cares .well it seems like that, I flat on my back,it hurts so so bad,
Hello Everyone,
I have been in pain since I was 11 years old. I am now 46. I have posted here before, probably about a year ago (give or take). I wish I felt okay enough at the moment to share what’s going on with me but I don’t. However, I do want to ask everyone here to Please copy and paste what you’ve written here and find the email addresses of every single senator of every state, every congress person, every representative, the DEA, the FDA, the Department of Human Services, Heads of hospitals and emergency rooms etc. I know this is a lot to ask and I know we have very little “up” time to spare but trust me those that are doing this to us are not visiting this board to see how their decisions are effecting our lives. We must let our voices and stories be heard.
My doctor hates that he is being forced to reduce my medications. I said, what am I supposed to do? Kill myself? He said of course I cannot tell you to do that but then he did say he wouldn’t be surprised to see the suicide rate skyrocket because what is happening.
My state just joined Mass. in their daily limit which is more than half of what I now take which is already a quarter of what I need to function. Suicide now seems probable for me. But I won’t go down without a fight. Even though I am exhausted from fighting – fighting for my rights. I have been fighting for most of my life now and just at the moment I need to fight the hardest I have the least strength to do so. LOL … and here I said I didn’t feel well enough to write much! Ha! See how this topic ticks me off!?
I just want to live. I don’t want to die. I want my medications back. I want to make a difference in this world.
None of this makes any sense. Cancer? There is no physical or biological difference between cancer pain or any other type of pain. Pain is pain according to my doctor. This whole thing is just a knee jerk reaction, a political ploy during election year and an excuse to make well people believe that oxycodone is the bane of their existence and without it no one would overdose, take heroin and the drug war will finally have done some good.
I cannot think straight right now and have so much to say about this matter but I suppose I should collect myself and return with some sort of sense about me which is so hard to come by these days because I cannot think straight with all this nagging pain. I have had to increase my Advil intake so much I have been passing kidney stones left and right and oh do not even get me going about how the ER’s have left me in agony for hours and hours without any compassion or relief!!
I cannot believe we have come to this point but I do believe that we all need and must write letter after letter after letter to our government and keep them coming in email and snail mail form alike. We are not to blame for this epidemic of abuse!! Please, share your stories with everyone!
God save us all!!
Im really sorry to hear what you are going through. This is bad and I cant believe you are being put though this and ot getting what you need. Im also going though this but I dont think my pain is likely as bad as yours. Why cant they see this side of the problem. Probably becuase the people writing the new rules are younger and not in pain. I would think they should find some of the politicians that have the same type if issues you and i have and I think you would see a change. Just like a jury of your own peers. It seems like they are taking our rights from us. Best of luck to you.
You sound like you are thinking okay except please, please try to remain hopeful. Avoid dark thoughts about choices that cannot be undone. There is ALWAYS another option. Keep trying and I, for one, will pray for you.
In April 2016 it will be 19 years of chronic pain & Fibromyalgia for me.
Because of the mid-March 2016 ‘crack down’ on Opioids being prescribed, I was cut off at refill time from my long acting Opioid drug, cold turkey. I am on week 3 of detoxing and can’t sleep due to legs & ankles constantly jittering & shaking. It’s good I don’t have a firearm! Last week I attempted to get my fast acting Rx filled and again my ‘Insurance’ played Doc & denied me. My Doc asked if I could buy them without using my health insurance even. No, I am below pov. level !! They tried a different med & again I was denied. They sent me a 2 pg. document from insurance co. to fill out & explain “Why, if I have no Cancer, do I feel I need these pain meds”? Really!?! Now they’d rather I have Cancer, so it would be less hassle for them! The ignorance and arrogance of these places.
BTW, I am not going through a primary care doc, but a reputable Pain Center. Do they just want us all to commit suicide or move to the country for others to not have to see or hear us suffering constantly. I can’t get Medical Marijuana because it ‘can be’, ‘possibly’ addictive to less than 1 in 10 people. This constant fight for a small bit of relief is killing me! My pain is killing me! Marijuana’s ‘possible, maybe, perhaps’ side effects would be the least of my worries or concerns. I have zero quality of life. Everyone has walked out or away from me, everyone that I thought had cared about or for me before this life changing disease & traumatic brain injury received at the same time.
I used to be extremely athletic, hard working, intelligent, social, fit, etc… Mogul skiing, Weight Training, Sky Diving, H2o Skiing, Baseball & Softball Leagues… and then that day in April ’97 my entire life changed forever. One man not able to follow the driving laws in the USA made an illegal turn & life as I knew & loved it was gone forever & ever; soon after, everyone from that life was gone too!
Pity, Hell No! Help, yes please! Understanding that I’m a patient and not a junkie, Please!!
Dear BeStrong,
I was 32 when myself & now ex-boyfriend were rear ended while legally stopped waiting to make a turn on the highway to my veterinarian’s office (under construction..speed limits reduced & warnings signs posted miles away before/behind us in both directions) by an idiot going 70+ mph in a 50 mph zone and was rolling down his window to spit and didn’t see our red extended cab Ford truck. I wasn’t wearing a shoulder safety belt, only a lap one because I was sitting in the middle with my 2 pets in their kennel cabs on the floor and seat. I suffered a traumatic brain injury, debilitating ruptured discs along with serious cuts and bruises plus PTSD with long bouts of insomnia. I was lucky I guss that the trauma to my brain from the concussion wasn’t worse but it left me with slurred and stuttering speach for almost 3 years and my memories were wiped out like someone took an eraser to them and just indiscriminately erased 32 years of remembering/ recognizing many old longtime friends and past experiences while leaving some intact that were only brief relationships & times. I have suffered with the chronic pain and depression now for 20 1/2 years. Yesterday was my 53’d birthday…I spent the day in bed because I have no transportation to get to my PCP to refill my MS Contin (100 mg. x 3 daily…he won’t prescribed breakthrough rxs, therefore explaining the rather high dosage). I take my meds responsibly and they allow me to function and be productive but I hate that the people that know about this refer to me as an addict/drug abuser as do many in the health field label me as (i.e. dr’s, psychiatrists, nurses, etc.). Should I just waste away in bed? Uggh! I cannot win either way. Between November, 2014 and May 2015 I have been in 3 more accidents…the first in Nov. I was hit by a drunk driver running a red light..that was another bad one followed by a hit and run in Feb. 2015 and yet another DUI driver in May, 2015. Now because of these last 3 accidents I haven’t been able to work since September, 2015, had to return my car to the finance company because I can’t afford the pmts & insurance and unable to pay rent for those reasons. I am less than 5 days away from being homeless(no room in any shelters) and I do not wish to become another nameless, sick, hungry homeless person. I have no family or friends to turn to for help or support. While everyone of my FB friends were wishing me Happy Birthday, I was on the phone & tablet getting my affairs in order so I can put an end to this hell of a life within the next week. I finally will see my dr. tomorrow and fill the necessary meds to allow me to do this. I guess I just wanted to say to you that I understand all too well what you have gone through in the past and continue to struggle with. I hate the withdrawal symptoms when something happens and makes it impossible to get my meds refilled and this has happened so many times..to the point where I have suffered grand mal seizures. I have a great PCP but have to travel long distance to get to him. I have tried orher dr’s, pain management, etc. but the pain management clinics encourage an atmosphere of addiction and mistrust like they want you to know they are always on you for a blood/urine test waiting for your tests to show something (falsely)…at least my experience..they have tossed me out saying they found illegal drugs in my reports! Never had this been true! I am certainly not saying my decision is for anyone else because if you have access to support and help, then take it and hang in there for sure! I am out of time and there are no resources available for me. Good luck to all of my fellow sufferers!
mY NAME IS AUDREY .SO MANY OF US HAVE THE EXACT STORY AND FELLINGS 18 YRS ON PAIN MEDS HAD QUALITY OF LIFE TO HAVE TO DETOX AT HOME FROM 540 MG OF METHADONE HYDROCHLORIDE, 300MG OF OXY. SOMA AND OTHERS I HAD MANY SEIZURES. NOW WHEN ASKED HOW DO I MANANGE MY CHRONIC IN TRACTABLE MULT. SPINAL DISEASES. I TELL THEM I LY ON THE COACH .MY HEAD WANTS TO DO MANY THINGS BUT MY BODY CAN NOT .THE MEDS WERE TOO HIGH I NEVER TOOK THE FULL DOSE THE DOCTOR KNEW BUT BECAUSE OF GOV. CUOMO’S DEA/PROP I SUFFER ALL THE TIME THRU MANY THERAPYS LIKE TOUCHING FIRE YOU LEARN YOUR LIMITATION .wHEN THE SURGEON TOLD ME THE VANCO WAS NOT WORKING SO EITHER I WILL DIE OR CHOOSE MULTI SUGERIES AND BE CHRONIC PAIN EVERYDAY ,I REALLY THOUGHT THAT HE WAS KIDDING. HOW CAN ANY ONE BE IN PAIN ALL THE TIME. HE WAS RIGHT .I OFTEN THINK I MADE THE WRONG DECISION .AS I WAS A LISCENSED HEALTH PROF ONE DAY THE NEXT LITTLE DID I KNOW MY LIFE WAS OVER.
Dear Audrey,
I’m a fellow pain patient. I was where you are now this time last year. It was the very worst thing that I have been through in my entire life. I want to help somehow to change things. The hope is that reading actual patient accounts versus discussing theoretical possibilities will help policy makers and front line clinicians understand the suffering that these new policies are imposing on patients and their families.
I’m collecting patient reports/stories from patients who DO have have good functional benefi and pain relief on opioids concerning the effects of:
1) being required to taper to lower dose OR
2 ) opioid therapy being discontinued altogether
DESPITE worsening pain, sleep, and functional ability that are not simply the transient effects of withdrawal.
If you’ll go to:
https://m.facebook.com/Pain-Patients-Losing-Access-to-Medication-1682507365371193/
You can share as much or as little as you like and YOU CAN REMAIN ANONYMOUS.
PLEASE PM (private message) ME THROUGH THE PAGE …..
Also there is a second page set up to collect information about from family and friends of patients who have died as a result of suicide, withdrawal, and cardiac event/stroke that occurs during an episode of severe pain. This is such a tragic loss of life. We don’t want them to be forgotten and the hope ist that we can use their stories to effect policy change and influence the practice of individual physicians. We don’t want their suffering to be in vain.
Again, please PM THE PAGE whatever information you’re comfortable providing. You can provide as much or as little detail as you’re comfortable sharing.
The patient can be listed anonymously if you prefer as well.
https://m.facebook.com/DeathsFromWarOnOpioids/
The cdc is taking away my quality of live as well as many others.We need to unite and start to demonstrate.and educate the negative consequenses of their actions.Setting up criiteria for pain patients that are reasonable to receive opiod medications and avoid pain mills would be very easy and make it to not overly stressful for legitimate individuals with pain to get thier prescriptions filled by their doctors.Also they do work effectively for pain control over long term use for many.
Hi, Unfortunately the links you provided do not work and I and others have received an error message when attempting to access them. Please advise,
Thank you
Anne…
Saw your post…decided to say something..
On methadone for 18 years with VA for lower back s4, s5, l3, so on.
…been forced on methadone cessation..The VA doc forced me down from 60mg/day to 10 mg in approx 14 weeks. I had noticed that when I had been forced down to less than 25mg daily, the pain would get so bad, my body began to give up, and the pain would cause me to black out.
On Nov 24th, as I sat in the kitchen watching my 9 year old grandson play on his phone., I felt it. I knew I was about to pass out again (5th time in 12 weeks. I could never get the VA doctor to return my calls (just man).
It was just the 2 of us, since maw maw had gone to our daughter’s for Thanksgiving. I had told her I felt like I could watch him alright.
I decided then and there that I would take 10 mg to pull me out, then take 25mg/day til I ran out (about 3 days).
In about 3 days, my life will expire.
I wish all of you well with all of this, but…I noticed one thing…there were no positive results from any of it.
The bottom line..the simple truth…is that all of us of the see generation (50s to 70s) are expendable. Simple truth…there is a plan, I believe, to rid the planet of we, the older generation, because we have paid our taxes, now we are in the way. We are drawing the money from social security (called federal aid now…guess all of you saw that).
If we are gone, all that money can be used for something other than for we, the old farts, to be sucking it out and living off of it (If $1500.00/month is living)
Anyway, I’ll have a few days to enjoy with my grandson off and on, then no more pain.
Nothing is going to change. It’s always been this way. We, the poor people…they, the benefactors of the sweat of we, the poor people.
Good Luck all.
I wanted to add that I have actively, fervently, voluntarily sought out the best treatment for myself over the years and most times I am literally fighting , yelling..Help Me! I did try other pain meds including methadone…the methadone makes me sick to my stomach, increases my migraines and reduces my appetite to nothing causing me to drop extreme amounts of weight in short time. I’m not feeling sorry for myself or taking the so called “Easy way out”…nothing easy about making this decision! I lost my only remaining family member, my wonderful protective always healthy big brother a year and half ago to advanced stage 4 cancer that he only experienced symptoms from 6 weeks prior to his passing and was only diagnosed 10 days before he died. I really resent/hate so many inept, uncaring, unresponsive members in the health community! I am out of options not from lack of trying, calling, pleading & begging for help. If you have resources still available then do not give up!
I agree if you have resources don’t give up, but I haven’t or ever will have practical help and am seriously facing a very real prospect of death by bowel rupture /sepsis(from severely prolapsed colon that nothing alleviates – colonic irrigation – surgeries,even stoma bag didn’t stop bleeding ulcers). 22 years of ghastly symptoms – traumatised, but I do want to help desperate people by warning others not to take just 30 aspirins as it’ll most likely give you brain damage and you’ll end up in a mental home (I got a verbal lisp not the blessed release from the torment I hoped it would end). I hope this taboo subject will be aired.
I as well hurt every single day of my life .I’m a single mom that is 47 with a six yr old autistic Sweet heart.He is the only reason that I’ve not killed myself.My Dr decided After ten yrs he wasn’t going to see me or my so simply becausee I am low income and I can’t pop ad his pocket.and honestly be hates the poor.I did learn all the laws in South Carolina and he’s been nowbgiving me samples simply because I wouldn’t let him fire me..search every avenue for samples for oxycodone they are out there and call Heath care advocate.
How do you get a health care advocate? I have been in severe pain for over 30yrs. I have had major back operation. I live on medications , patches, muscle relaxers. I have been going through all the things offered at the pain clinic. I also have major nerve damage in my legs. I do not have that much of quality of life. Now the one medicine that helps some they want to stop. I do not know what to do.
sue I have the same problems as you. Right now I want to give up. I need a health advocate . Did you find out how to get one? This pain clinic does not care that I am home all the time.
Only the rich chronic pain sufferers will be able to get help, it’s BS. Taking our meds isn’t going to change a thing concerning drug overdoses. I have to suffer in agony because of druggies. I can’t even fathom that they are going to let human beings suffer in agony when there is something that will help us. I have a decent life on my meds. Without them it is going to be Hell. I probably won’t be able to take it and am getting things in order for ending my time on this planet. I’m terrified of what is going to happen after I am only given 1/3 of the meds I need next month. I have great insurance and a good legit dr but I still am going to be forced to have my quality of life taken away.
Let me start out by saying, “April 2016 will be 19 years of chronic pain & Fibromyalgia.”
Becuz of the March 2016 ‘crack down’ on Opioids being prescribed, I was cut off at refill time from my long acting drug, cold turkey. On week 3 of detoxing and can’t sleep due to legs & ankles constantly jittering & shaking. It’s good I don’t have a firearm! Last week I attempted to get my fast acting Rx filled and again my ‘Insurance’ played Doc & denied me. My Doc asked if I could buy them without using my health insurance even. No, I am below pov. level !! They tried a different med & again I was denied. They sent me a 2 pg. document from insurance co. to fill out & explain “Why, if I have no Cancer, do I feel I need these pain meds”? Really!?! Now they’d rather I have Cancer, so it would be less hassle for them! The ignorance and arrogance of these places.
BTW, I am not going through a primary care doc, but a reputable Pain Center. Do they just want us all to commit suicide or move to the country for others to not have to see or hear us suffering constantly. I can’t get Medical Marijuana because it ‘can be’, ‘possibly’ addictive to less than 1 in 10 people. This constant fight for a small bit of relief is killing me! My pain is killing me! Marijuana’s ‘possible, maybe, perhaps’ side effects would be the least of my worries or concerns. I have zero quality of life. Everyone has walked out or away from me, everyone that I thought had cared about or for me before this life changing disease & traumatic brain injury received at the same time.
I used to be extremely athletic, hard working, intelligent, social, fit, etc… Mogul skiing, Weight Training, Sky Diving, H2o Skiing, Baseball & Softball Leagues… and then that day in April ’97 my entire life changed forever. One man not able to follow the driving laws in the USA made an illegal turn & life as I knew & loved it was gone forever & ever; soon after, everyone from that life was gone too!
Pity, Hell No! Help, yes please! Understanding that I’m a patient and not a junkie, Please!!
I completely understand where you’re coming from I am going through a very similar situation. My pain doctors office which I had gone to for 10 years closed down. Now I am looking for another doctor but nobody is willing to help me get the prescriptions that I was taking before. I have crpts and a very severe case of endometriosis and polycystic ovarian disease as well as arthritis throughout my knees and hands. Anyways my Dr that I was seeing for 10 years had given me many different prescriptions to try and we have finally settled on a few and I was still having a lot of pain not able to live a normal life then he gave me a new prescription that was coming out and it changed everything. I was finally able to do so many things that I was not able to do before, I’m on Social Security disability for all of the pain and problems that I have but this medicine helps me be able to be almost a normal person! Now I cannot find a doctor that will help me no doctor wants to give me this prescription which has changed my life in such a dramatic way that I can’t even begin to describe what a difference and how amazing it was to feel like an almost normal person after so many years of suffering and being in pain constantly it was very nice to be able to take a little breath. But now I can’t find any doctor that will help me get this medication and so I guess I have to just discontinue using the one medication that has helped me so much and all because of people that are abusing it and are going to just go on to take other illegal drugs while us real chronic pain patients will just have to suffer everyday knowing that there is something out there that would help make our lives better but we will never be able to get it. I believe that all of us valid chronic pain patients need to find a way to come together to let the government know that we are not drug addicts we do not take this medicine for fun that we truly need it to give us a quality of life that every human being deserves and should have the right to!
God! It makes me so mad that these comments go back over 3 years and the same suffering is going on. I’ve had chronic pain from repeated bouts of kidney stones for 15 years. For 12 of those years I was on the same, stable dose of opioids. I followed all the rules, did everything that was asked of me. In 2012 , my insurer, Kaiser Permanente, decided my med dose was too high. I had no negative side effects, was just going in for a routine med review. In the past 3+ years I have literally been thru hell at their hands. I started out at a dose of 90mg morphine ER 4x day, with 5 15mg IR for breakthrough pain. I stayed stable on this dose for 12 years. I was able to cook, garden, paint, walk my dogs. I’m on SSD, as my pain disables me, but I was able to fit some good life in there amidst the pain. As of now, I’m on 15 mg morphine ER with 3 breakthrough meds, and they’re still decreasing it. Over the years, I kept going back to advocate for myself, to tell them my pain wasn’t under control any longer. Finally, at the end of 2015 I met with the head of the pain clinc. I had never met this woman before, but she proceeded to tell me that I would never be out of pain unless I got of pain meds altogether, and made my PCP start reducing me again. I have filed a grievance, I’ve called my doctor numerous times. And I’m being treated like a damn drama queen. No one will help. Everyone tries to tell me that this is what’s being done everywhere. I am at the point where I’m either going to have to seek medication on the black market, or decide to opt out. This life they’ve condemned me to is not worth living. I don’t know where to turn, what to do.I don’t want to die. I have a husband that I love dearly, and family who would be devastated. I just don’t know what to do. I feel so powerless, so abused, so damned desperate. And it kills me to see so many others in the same boat, as we’re being told its for our own good.Hang tough everyone!
Hi. Christie,
I have been on Methadone for 3 years now for chronic pain. I have Fibromyalgia, migraines and severe chronic pain. In November when I went to see my PCP I was told the exact same thing. That I was not going to get any better until I go through a detox. Said that the methadone Is causing me to be in chronic pain. Which before I got on methadone I was not on hardly any opioid at all. I’m on SSD also. I have worked since I was 7 years old just as an adult. I have been hoping and praying that my physician could get my pain under control where I could return back to work. No luck at all. Sad part is I worked with my PCP for 14 years never had any issues with pain meds until 2009. Then I started suffering with severe chronic pain. Lord knows I want to get back to work. I’m only 51 and I am to young to be disabled for the rest of my life.
As a person with congenital spina bifida with severe left hip hypo-plasia I have frequent severe pain. Can hardly move, when the pain stabs me and forces me to hold my breath. Don’t have any idea what will happen to me if they discontinue my minimal amount of medication.
I have been a chronic pain sufferer since my late thirties, I’m 64 now. Finally about 6 years ago my doctor prescribed enough opiates for me to be functional and while not out of pain to fell almost “normal”. Then 2 around 2 years ago he started treating me differently, and finally about a year ago insisted that I try a lower dosage. It was so bad after 2 months he put back on what I was taking. But starting in January it didn’t matter that it was a disaster for me, my dosage was decreased (with further decreases promised). Like you, and so many others I want to see my grandchildren grow up, and enjoy life but I know that life will most likely be so filled with unrelenting suffering that it is quite frankly frightening. It’s my understanding that there are 45 million chronic pain patients in the US. WE need to get together and make our painful voices heard
I’m still able to make a march to the White House or wherever would be best. I wish someone with the resources and such would set this up and quickly before my meds are cut to almost nothing next month.
It is my HOPE that you read this and understand my plea. I am a 40 year old divorced single mother of a Daughter that means everything to me.I care for her on my own physically, because all I have are my parents, who are not able to help and financially, because My ex husband, her father, doesn’t want to pay support.. Unfortuneatly I have severe pain and because I cant support my daughter with disability. I am currently working as a Substitute Teacher and attending college full time to learn the skills I need to acquire a job that I may be more able to do, so that I can better provide for my Daughter and Disabled Parents.
It is not my plan to tell my story for the reason to get pity I only want to help others to understand the pain I live with each minute. Those that have not experienced Chronic Pain cant understand, because they have not felt the type of pain so many deal with each second of every day of their lives.
I struggle daily with severe pain from a number of problems. I was born with scoliosis and the pressure from the cure in my spine has gotten worse over the years, My first marriage at a very young age was abusive. Weighing just 100 pounds with a husband well over 280 lbs.I was pushed from a truck going at least 40mph and pushed through a closed front door falling down concrete steps to name two incidents of so many that I experienced for almost 2 years . Over the years the injuries got worse because I didn’t seek proper treatment. I don’t think much could be done after I did see Doctors. On top of my back being in terrible shape and now pain flowing to my thighs from the pinched nerves causing me to be unable to sit or stand comfortably at any time and not being able to look through a rack of clothing due to my arms and shoulder pain. I also was diagnosed with Chronic Pancreatitis almost 12 years ago ( not from alcahol) My Bile duct going to my pancreas has never worked.
So Please try to imagine with the abuse injuries, Scoliosis and Chronic Pancreatitis not to mention my additional problems and injuries like a car accident. Imagine for a moment the pain you might feel. I am just trying to be a good Mommy and Daughter. I have no other options but to work and get a better education so that I can work more.
For many years I was given Pain Medications from Hydrocodone , then Percocet, Duragesic Patches, Demerol, Morphine and then Methadone for pain. I was nervous about starting the methadone but from the advice of my Doctor I tried it. IT WORKED !!!! I couldn’t believe how much it worked and even better I didn’t have the fear of being addicted to the other medications I had taken. I didn’t have the feeling of being high. I could take the medicine and forget about the reality of living with Chronic Pain. I was able to wake up in the morning and didn’t have to think about taking my medicines right away . If My Daughter was running late for class I could take her to school and take my medication when I returned home. It Still Worked The Following Morning and I didn’t have to wake up in so much pain that I had to take prescriptions and wait for the medicine to work, before I started my morning. That was so freeing. It felt so great. It felt as if the Pain wasn’t controlling me. I didn’t have the high feeling. I was the same constantly. No one knew I was taking prescriptions. I FELT NORMAL. MY LIFE CHANGED For the better !!!! After my second divorce I was okay with it because I felt like I could take care of My Daughter and I and I had never felt that before. All because the medication kept my pain manageable, didn’t effect me in a negative way, (as so many did before), and I felt more in control. For the first time at 30 years old. I earned my GED, got a job, and joined a College. I was so Happy that My Daughter could look up to me for being strong enough to take care of us alone. I was doing that.
My Parents needed me and that was okay to, because My Doctor found a medication that worked for me. I was taking care of my parents when needed. taking my Daughter to her school activities, Leading a Girl Scout Troop, Working with kids, Going to school and working as a Substitute Teacher. My Daughter was happy and I was happy. Pain didn’t control My Family.
That stopped about 4 months ago. I feel weak, I’m in pain most of the day. I’m failing my classes because it really hurts to sit at the computer to do my assignments. I have only worked 4 days since school started back. My parents are worse but I cant do what I could do before, and worse I can’t do everything a single Mom needs to do. I’m depressed because I worry that I am effecting My Daughters future. I feel like a failure because i’m failing my classes. That’s just a portion of my failures, faults and cant’s.
My Doctor whom I respect very much. Isn’t able to prescribe the methadone that helped subside the pain I live with. I was changed from that to 2 morphine a day and 2 hydrocodone 7.5. You would think that would work. I don’t know why but it doesn’t. it takes close to 2 hrs. for it to start working and only lasts for a few hrs. I cant stand for long or sit for long. from my shoulders to my knees hurt so bad that I’m scared. (I don’t want my Daughter to see that I am in pain, scared, groggy, and failing. I need to be strong for her and my Parents. I can’t !!! I am a very strong person. I put it in my head that I could do it, this would be fine etc. when my Dr. changed my Medicines. I Tried and still trying.
I have always passed every urine test every month for many years. I am just trying to care for my Family. I have severe pain. Much like before I was prescribed Methadone I am again controlled by pain. My quality of life has decreased. I am in tears when alone. Never comfortable. Why? because some people abuse prescriptions? I don’t ! So Why ? I just want to be able to care for my Daughter.
I don’t know why Methadone works so well for me and the others don’t. I just know that it does work. I’m not hurting anyone but I am hurting.
I don’t understand the thinking behind taking prescription rights from Doctors.Are the people making these decisions educated in the medical field! because it’s no different then Doctors making decisions that are political. Physicians study hard for a long time to know what decisions are best.
Why cause so much pain for good people.?
It seems as though the only outcome to stopping Doctors from writing narcotics will be that those patients really abusing narcotics that don’t have pain will simply move on to illegal drugs and those really needing the pain medicine are suffering.
Trisha,
I hate to see you suffer like this and I am I the same boat. I too live with Chronic Pain and I also live with 3 debilitating diseases. Please seek out a Methadone Clinic. They can at least presribe your pain medicine for you.
It’s a sad day for those who suffer with chronic pain. Most doctors in the last five years have become hardened to their patients in that they refuse to provide adequate pain relief, and they state that it is because their fears of DEA/ Medical Board reprisal. My story is almost verbatim of yours, 42 year old male taking care of a disabled wife. I’ve been on methadone for 12 years lived a very productive and active life but now doctors want to reduce by 75%, at the new level I am hardly able to maintain a job and live my life. My pain is severe as I have had a couple failed back surgeries and currently have a non union hammer in my right leg. Shattered hip, fused ankle and to fused toes done recently last month and the doctor wants to cut my medication by 75% in the next month. I just don’t get it I’ve been on 120 milligrams of methadone for 10 years and have never misused diverted given away or even taking the medication incorrectly in that time. I’m really sorry to hear that you are being treated similarly to the way I am. I seen a recommendation about going to a methadone clinic, and I guess getting a paper jacket is better than dealing with the pain and withdrawals my current pain management doctor is doing to me
Is what I say. Scroll up. I ammichele. Media needs to have every person write to Cnn. See what candidates say. Fighting for my daughter. She has horrible diseases. Advocates say my family is better then they are. Voices must be heard. The sick, young or old, the weak are ignored. How can pain Meds be reduced to the point of not helping? What about withdrawal or worse. My daughter has 3 dibiltitating illnesses millions of people do. Voices must be heard. Petitions signed Try getting question thru on CNN while a debate is going on. What would the candidates. Say? Question will never go thru Media needs to be contacted continuously. People in pain need help
Trisha, so sorry that you, too ate being,”jerked around ” by the system. I have had a similar experience, medically, have had multiple spinal rodding for my congenital spinal problem. Each surgery just made things worse. I also have very narrow bile ducts, so some meds cause biliary spasms. Fortunately my pancreas isn’t involved. I have cared for patients with pancreatitis, and know that it is extremely painfu. I lost my best pain control med, used for breakthrough pain, when the FDA pulled Darvon from the market in 2010. Quite frankly, I’m at a loss to understand why your physician can no longer prescribe methadone, as it is used as a maintenance drug for addicts on illegal drugs like heroine. My doctor had me try it, after Darvon was no longer available, but it didn’t work for me. Everyone’s body is different and responds differently to medications. I think it is a shameful tragedy when, America, the great country in the world, not only allows, but puts legislation in place to deprive Chronic Intractable Pain patients, legal prescription medications
to allow them a quality of life. It is in direct opposition to the principles our country was founded on, the right to,” life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”! When will our government realize that they cannot legislate common sense, which is one of the reasons Darvon was pulled, and Vicodin and Percocet were changed from schedule III to schedule Ii medications. People will either follow the prescribing directions, or they won’t. Making access more difficult, or pulling a drug from the market will not change this! Any opoid medication will cause cardiac arrest if taken improperly! I wish you well, and suggest that you may be able to obtain assistance, or advice from a mental health provider that deals with addiction. Do not misunderstand, I am not suggesting that you are addicted, but these people may know the a physician that can help you get back on the Methadone. I moved back to my home state, where all of my records, pertaining to my pain issues, we’re readily available, however, after being on a pain program that was designed for me, some 30 years ago, and was working great, I was forced to go a almost a year with nothing for pain. I went from being an active contributing member of society, to being almost completely bed ridden. Two physicians refused to refill any of my prescriptions, including my blood pressure meds, even though my pressure was dangerously high due to my pain. One physician was a pain management specialist. Neither of these physicians pulled my old records, which documented all of the proceedures and treatments leading up to the pain management protocol I had been on. I finally got a Concierge Doctor. It costs me extra to be a patient , but this physician is wonderful, and could not understand why the previous physicians would not help me. I lost over a year of my life, and it’s been difficult trying to get back to being the active person I was, before I went so long without pain control. The stress on my body seems to have changed how my body metabolize opoid meds. We are still working to find the best solution, using the lowest dosages possible. People who are passing the legislation which is causing pain medications to be difficult for those who need it to have access, need to know that uncontrolled chronic intractable pain, is a very dangerous condition, and causes great trauma to the body, over time, if left untreated. I think that these legislative committees need to be kept in check by having a board co,prise of chronic pain sufferers, to educate our legislators regarding the impact chronic intractable pain has, not only on the individuals who are suffering, but on the US economy, as billions are lost when these people do not get proper treatment and medications.
Everyone your all right! Trisha your right doesn’t matter when these posts got here it’s getting worse and soon no
Doctor will give us help! We can’t keep writing on these blogs and just suffer! I am tired of all the suffering everyone is experiencing! All us moms and dads that have children to raise but just too dam in pain to spend time with them! Anyone know where we can all start! Where can we all begin this fight a real fight for our rights to Be pain free no matter what the darn drug is called! Anyone have a plan or a place to start this fight? Recruit or assemble a March in Washington just as Martin Luther King did? Where we demand to have a change done?
Anyone have any clues to where I can sign up I am Willing to leave my family for how ever long to join in making this right! Let me know anyone I will be there to finally fight this and get a change done!
Dear Jennifer. This is what I have written over and over. Action is needed. Maybe petitions. Maybe as you said. I as the mom of a daughter in pain since young are willing to join in any March All moms and dads of our children in severe pain feel helpless at times. Good people must be helped. If so much money is spent in other countries for war or human rights, start with our own. I know I have been posting quite a bit but is so sickening to love a person and watch them suffer. Everyone has a right to live without debilitating pain
I’m all for it. I’d march there tomorrow. Something has to be done. They wouldn’t let animals suffer like this.
Hi,
The one thing any one person can do (until we all somehow unite) to make a difference is to visit with your state and federal senator and congressmen/women. They all have office hours at local offices near where you live so that you can schedule an appointment with them.
You could certainly write and call, but the *most* impactful is to see them in person. They need to hear your story. It needs to become personal for them so that when a new regulation is being considered they will think of you and how it will affect your quality of life. They need to know how regulations and the so-called guidelines by the CDC and FDA are affecting people in pain.
Be prepared. Dress in your very best. You only have a minute to make a good first impression. Remember, they work for you.
Good luck!
(please share this message)
I to am forced to suffer, if had HIV since 2006 and I had to go on the HIV meds about 2010 but one of my meds caused permanent nerve & joint pain & damage so my HIV doctor took me off it and replaced it with 2 more pills which also cause the same thing I hurt so bad I cant stand all this suffering sometimes my right foot forgets its attached to my leg, usually when I’m going down steps so when I go to step down on it its like its gone so I end up going down head first which is very painful but in a way. Its a blessing to me, becaus . My new medical doctor ( I was forced to get cause the Nurse practitioner at HIV clinic said I could no longer come to there clinic for medical reasons such as: the flu, phnamonia, or any sicknesses, or shed turn me awa . Refuse to see or help m . And wouldn’t give me any referrals anywhere else eithe . She said if I thought I was dying to stay home and die . So my mom hooked me up with this new medical doctor, so every time I fall down and hurt myself I go see him I usually get to see he’s inturn he realy caring he gives me hard copys for norco 10s which helps all my pains and I’m still functional which is great so I usually get 30 of them and so I won’t have to suffer so much I break them in half and I make them last for 61 to 65 days. Iv learned by having to suffer for so lon . How to deal with a certain amount of pain. Which is still harder then it sounds but. I have no other choic . I try not to take them when I’m not hurting so much I hold off till the pains unbareable before I take a half pil . I told my new doctor about me having to suffer from all my HIV pains from the disease and meds and he said he refuses to give me pain meds for any pains caused by my HIV and said he has to continue to make me suffer cause he said that’s what my HIV doctor was supossed to take care of iv requested a referral a few times from HIV doctor to go to a pain management doctor. He denied them all he finally told me hell never let me go there. Or prescribe me Narcotics because he doesn’t want me to get addicte . So he had me take 100 mg gabapintin 3 x day for weeks then raised it to 300mg. 3x a day god that did me in I was disfunctional lost delusional, had no balence slept 85% of the time didn’t know where I was after I woke up dazed & confused the entire time and I refused to keep taking it and it took over 24 hours to get out of my system even all the horrible side affects so the doctor put me on Dicloffnac-Misoprost 50-200 which it says do not smoke cigarettes while taking these pills cause it could be fatel here’s some other side effects : can cause internal bleeding without any signs or wornings, heart attacks &/or strakes etc. My doctor knows I smoke cigarette’s but doesn’t seem to care after I told him what the side affects were, and gave me another prescription with refill . It also doesn’t help the pain until it puts me to sleep but I’m in so much pain when I wake u . I have medicaid & it really pisses me off about this semi new pain pill that’s supossed to be the best working pain killer for nerve pain which my doctor told me about. Well medicaid denied paying for it for me twice already they’ll approve Narcotics but my doctor won’t perscribe them to me. But they won’t approve Allerica nerve pain pill for me. I just found out that medicaid will approve allerica for other diseases but will not approve allerica for any HIV related nerve pains how screwed up and predjudest is that, its bad enough that no matter where I’m referred to. I 90% of the time get put in a room with a doctor who closes the doo . Yes in my face and says to me, look this is how its going to be. Keep coming to me with ur medicaid ins. Card to pay bill and I’ll always have the same problems I had the first time I came. But come to me with cash and ull never have another problem cause I’ll be healed the hospitals all told me if medicaid is paying the bill & I have a pendesidus &/or it already dursts I have so much time to come in to hospital I could go shopping or finish watching a movie then come in, but they would do lots of other tests and make me wait several hours for results before they even check my appendix cause 1) they hate doing the test cause its really hard and 2) its a very expensive test and medicaid will only pay for half the cost of it. So they said they’d just send me home and thee say the next time I thought my appendix burst I might as well stay home. Instead of coming in and waisting there and my time for nothin . But they also said if I bring enough cash to pay the bill they’d fix me up. Take care of me & send me home in perfect health with a follow up with my docto . So. I had to teach myself to be able to handle all my horrible chronic pains by exsepting the the cold hard truth of being forced to have to suffer 24/ 7 7 days a week. God its the worst nightmare iv ever had being awake I scream & cry so much. Its so bad lately that I can’t pretend anymore that I’m in no pain. Cause its to unbareable. I filled out an application today for allerica to the company who makes it. With help through my HIV doctor and there pharmacy in the clinic it only cost me $10. For application fee I just hope to god they will approve me if so they’l . The company will send it to me through fed-ex delivery in 6 to 8 weeks, for free for a year and every 90 days it’ll come the same way plus I have to sign for it cause the pharmacy said its a controlled substanc . Which she had to explain what that was cause I thought a controlled substance’s were illigal things like drugs not pain pills so now I know the differenc . Wel . I’m so sorry there’s so many people who also suffer as I do, gosh. I don’t understand what happened to all the doctors including mine who use to care about me and give me norcos for pains before I got HIV. And now he just don’t care or give a rats ass about me or my suffering he forces me to live with, lately I’ve been wanting to stop taking the meds but the damage is done and its to late it wouldn’t get worse but wouldn’t get better eithe . Last winter I slipped on ice hit back of neck pretty hard have a permanent bump on neck doctor said it go away nope he’s wrong its getting bigger its been almost a year to well he says all ex rays show nothing well just went to a chiropractor who felt my neck then freaked out on me and said my god ur neck feels all sacked out was supposed to ex ray back but did my neck only sent me home and I came back for results he told me then showed me that my cervical spine goes opposite from the way its supossed to go and he said it needs to be fixed asap for health reasons, (also one of my close friends paid cash for what this guy already did for me plus it was a valentine package deal which also included an adjustment and a 30 min. Mesage ) the guy said I’d need to give him $40. As soon as I could get i . For a special kind of pillow then at home I’d have to do certain exercises everyday with the pillow for a very long time at home by myself because medicaid will only pay for me to be seen at his office 6 times a year and he said that not even close to being enough time for him to fix my neck. Then he said but its going to be a very very painful exercise to do but no matter how much it hurts I’d have to keep doing it every day for a few hrs each day no matter how much pain I’m in and even if I can’t stand it. Otherwise it won’t fix it if I qui . I’m so scared I haven’t went back for the machine pillow, I really can’t handle any more pains I twisted my knee neither of my doctors will check it out for me, so now from know to growing it aches so much I really can’t stand it then it starts burning as if the fire was made on top of my left leg and has been burning half the da . Iv been thinking a lot lately things like, what am I doing letting myself suffer so much, what’s it all for, I don’t even have a lif . No man will ever want to be with me cause I’m always suffering with these horrible unbareable pain . I can’t do this suffer shit much longer. Then I realize that its never ever going to stop killing me and nobody cares anyway. Then I realized there is only 1 way out. Where there no more pain or suffering there’s only peace, quiet, and everyone I know who’s left me through out my entire life. There all in this wonderful place where no pains or suffering exists plus. Its for ever. I’m holding onto a very thin piece of hair but if my last chance for allerica is denied. Then I’m so sorry. Cause all I’ll have left is to let go. And hope & pray for the best. Its better then continuing to suffer the entire rest of this so called life anymor . Thanks for letting me tell my story. No one could of helped me so no one is alloud to beat themselves up cause they didn’t even try. I sorta gave up on myself & life after the suffering starte . Anywa . So really there was nothing left to help or sav . But. God bless every one in the entire universe who’s ever had to suffer with unbareable horrible pains there entire lives or most or some or any of there pains in there life. I pray extra prayers for us al . Thanks I’m a 54 yr. Old girl. From Indiana but currently reside in Idaho. That’s all I want to say sorry. Well I stood up and again my foot wasn’t there to catch me only this time I fell really hard backwards over, between and on top of all kinds of buckets filled with all kinds and different sizes of bolts screws tools and more in heavey buckets, on floor, and under me and my recliner chair wasn’t close enough to buckets so I fell in between the buckets and chair and I strained my entire body just trying to not go down I know because I feel the pains that I really hurt myself. Pretty ba . And I’m not just crying because of the pain. I’m crying because there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it I can’t even go to the doctor cause I already know he won’t do anything for me anyway so I guess its better not to know if I’m hurt real bad then to go and find out what I hurt real ba . Its better I don’t know. Like my growing on left side its been killing me so bad for about a year now off and on the doctor was out of town an in-turn took his place I was in room waiting the in-turn came I was fully dressed he didn’t come near or even touch I told him where it hurt he looked at where I pointed my left growing he told me after he staird at me 5 min. And said its a pulled muscle then referred me to therapy, I cryed all the way to my moms house and told her what happened. She said some doctors r really good es PPP ecially the ones that just look at u and know what’s wron . I cryed again this time I said mom in-turns or doctors can’t do that he was just being dumb butt hateful crap I looked at mom and said what if it bad what if it kills me if I don’t get it fixed she was speechless. I’m scared cause its back again and its killing I have to walk doubled over to where my head is upside down and even with my knees then it don’t hurt as much when I walk. I’m 5′ 8’1/2 tall plus I look sucking retarded walking that way. I give up what’s the point anymore
yea i have chronic r a 2 heart attacs been on hydro 10/325 for 6 years now on oxycodone 30 mg 4 a day for 7 mounths my doctor said she can no longer pescribe pain meds but there is a lot of doctors out there never mind the withdraws im going through and no where to turn i asked a farmisist what i should do he had no awnser so i asked him should i shoot myself he nodded yes so i just want to thank every one involved for giving me this option
Dear Dr. Fudin,
As a pain patient, I want to thank you for all the hard work you have done on our behalf over the years. I was so encouraged to see the video clip from PAINWEEK of you discussing high dose opioids and other matters. I don’t know where we’d be now if you had not founded PROMPT to oppose the PROP Petition. Of course they have now taken their fight to the CDC which seems a much friendlier fight for them unfortunately.
This “chilling effect” has caused so many physicians, mine included now, to cease prescribing. I have searched relentlessly for a physician with no result. Of all the referrals sent out on my behalf only one agreed to see me and he essentially told me that I was being “squeamish” for not wanting Deep Brain Stimulation surgery. I MRSA osteomyletis that resulted in removal of hardware and at 14. Ever since this, I have been infection prone and had multiple recurrences of MRSA and any hardware implanted has been removed due to infection eventually. For this reason, I don’t think choosing DBS would be very smart. Beyond that, for reasons no one can fully explain I get a huge decrease in dystonia symptoms from opioids (as do other patients occasionally), far more than most (who actually benefit from the surgery) get from DBS. My entire quality of life has slipped away as I’ve been forced to taper. I’m only down 50 percent and already have symptoms of cardiac adrenal syndrome again. I will run out of meds entirely very soon. I don’t want to be admitted to general medicine for the rest of the withdrawal due to the fact that I don’t want to be forced into a nursing home once inpatient PT days run out. Just two months ago I was driving and standing, leaning on a wall, 30 minutes at a time. Now I can barely take care of myself.
I’ll travel for care or move ANYWHERE, just to get my life back. I’m willing do anything necessary to make someone comfortable treating me. I’d be very grateful for any suggestions you have.
LAF
Below is a letter I wrote to Board Members of MASA, Alabama’s AMA Chapter (each member of their Board of Directors also sits on the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners). I have .not received a response
August 28,2015
Dear Board Member of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama
I am requesting your assistance as a last resort for the severe difficulties I am having locating a physician to manage the medication I have taken for many years. These medications have allowed me to live independently and have a good quality of life. I’ve been a patient of a responsible and knowledgeable physician since February 2007, but he changed the scope of his practice this with very short notice and has not been able to help me find another physician to maintain my current, successful program.I have always been conflicted about using opioids due to the values instilled in me as a child. For example, after bilateral derotational osteotomies at age 13 that resulted in MRSA osteomyelitis and wound complications, I received only ibuprofen and a few doses of ketorolac. I’m not a person who simply cannot tolerate pain. I have Primary Generalized Dystonia of non-DYT1/DYT2 origin. Multiple blood relatives including my father have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. I have tried many therapies over the past 15 years. An intrathecal baclofen pumpinserted at the age of 18 caused complications leading to an atonic bladder, chronic CSF leak, neuropathic pain, and actual spasticity, and plantar flexion. Medication trials have included: baclofen, tizanidine, dantrolene, trihexyphenidyl, benzotropine, levodopa, pramipexole, ropinirole, botulinum toxins A and B, and tetrabenzine via compassionate use protocol. Most were helpful to some degree during sustained trials on high doses. However, many had side effects that were intolerable, including elevated liver enzymes and orthostatic hypotension.
After taking opioids for years, I was opioid-free by choice in the six months preceeding my appointment with my most recent physician. I was in the worst shape of my entire life – reliant on a power wheelchair, losing weight rapidly, with severe rigidity and intermittent episodes of myoclonus, unable to sit without support, with clenched fingers that rendered my hands useless. The comparison in my quality of life with and without opioids made one thing very clear. Although prescribed for pain, the opioids – by whatever mechanism – had a primary and significant effect on my dystonia.
Within an hour of resuming OxyContin I experienced a noticeable improvement. Over the years, my dose has increased back to my prior levels. Each increase has produced sustained, visible improvement in my dystonia and quality of life without intolerable side effects. I understand my dosing regimen (high dose oxycodone and fentanyl) makes me an “outlier” in the scheme of medical board recommendations. I am no longer a prisoner in my own home. I started coaching youth sports for inner-city children from Woodlawn (which is adjacent to Crestwood where I reside). I began playing wheelchair soccer for Lakeshore Foundation. I traveled with teams that practiced twice weekly, with frequent road trips in a nine-month season. Getting to practice via the bus took most of the day. This was exhausting, but I absolutely loved it. Eventually, I was physically able to drive and saved the money to purchase an adapted minivan. This independence means the world to me – it is central to who I am and has made an incredible difference in my life. All of this would have been utterly impossible without medication.
My undergraduate degree was in nursing and I was over halfway through a nurse practitioner program when medical issues forced me to leave school. I’m still young and have so much I want to do. I don’t want to end up in a nursing home because I cannot care for myself. I recently was presented with an employment opportunity that suited me and I was on top of the world. Then…I got the news that my physician was going to being changing his practice and no longer prescribing opioids. I would have to seek my own care elsewhere. The imminent reality of being forced to suddenly taper this medication and navigate the process of referrals to a new physician is overwhelming. Tapering has been devastating to my ability to function. I can no longer drive and have far more pain and difficulty with ordinary tasks.
I’ve always had a great deal of respect for evidence based medicine and understanding the mechanism of how something works instead of simply knowing it is effective. However, throughout the history of medicine, the “why’s” have often remained elusive. I have been very fortunate to enjoy sustained efficacy of my opioid regimen for years, with results of not just moderate pain control, but a much more significant and meaningful improvement in my physical functioning.
The physicians I’ve contacted (at least 15 so far) are good and compassionate primary care, PM&R, neurology or pain medicine specialists. However, they have cited the current regulatory climate as their reason for avoiding controlled substance prescriptions or keeping their dosing conservative. No one seems willing to take on my challenge and help me continue my quality of life and build my future because of the way my dosing regimen looks “on paper.” I have a documented good compliance history through PDMP and UDT monitoring. I have not engaged in aberrant medication behaviors. I have encountered no intolerable side effects, have normal endocrine labs, and remain alert and motivated. I have no concurrent mood disorders. I use other non-medicine ways to cope with the stress my body is under. I’m a positive and optimistic person that wants to do some good in my community. I do not want to be punished and put in this position simply because others have made poor choices regarding their controlled substances. I hope someone will be willing to “take a chance on me.”
It is for these reasons that I am respectfully asking for your assistance locating a physician who can treat me (and my unique case) and allow me to have the quality of life and independence I have had for the past nine years. I am hoping your association’s advocacy efforts can extend to a patient in need. I am willing to travel and do whatever necessary to make my health care team comfortable that my regimen is medically necessary, safe, and that I am upholding my responsibilities as a patient. Thank you in advance for your consideration of my situation and any guidance you can provide.
Sincerely,
LAF
JUST LOOK AT THE LENGTH OF THE RESPONSES –
The Federal Government is DICTATING to Doctors and Hospitals. Threatening Doctors with their license and Hospitals with refusing to pay them if they break the “rules””..
This is exactly like Gun Control. To ban a gun from a law abiding citizen, while criminals will always get one. THEY (GOVERNMENT) ARE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT SAVING CITIZENS FROM ILLEGAL PILLS SOLD ON THE STREET, THEY WANT TO CONTROL US.
I live in a small rural area, population 900. In one year they have busted 3 major Heroin dealers in my small town. But even though I had my Doctor discharge me because she was afraid of prescribing me Oxycodone as she had for 3 years, I didn’t try to score some heroin on the street. One because it’s illegal and most importantly, I could not move from my recliner because of CHRONIC PAIN!!
People who are in pain, the monster that lives with us 24hrs a day, are not about to sell their prescriptions. We are not using to get high. We are trying to have a life.
We are losing our freedom because of Obama Care and anti-depressants DO NOT WORK.
I have a daughter in this situation on Meds that can’t be substituted. They have to realize the diseases are as bad as cancer. I think all those that wrote in need a petition. Chronic young and old sick patients cannot be chanced for withdrawal or worse. Everyone must work as one. I will help to Organize. Petitions and articles showing danger of what is being done must be found. My daughter has tons of articles.
I would be willing to do what is needed to get something done about this absurdity! If I need to go to a demonstration or sign petitions I will do it! I am going to give my email so we might be able to come up with a way to do something that could possibly make a difference for all the legitimate chronic pain patients out there. com ssimms1980@yahoo.com
Please contact me with any ideas you may have to try and figure out a way that we can fight for our rights as chronic pain patients as well as human beings!
I have a daughter in this situation on Meds that can’t be substituted. They have to realize the diseases are as bad as cancer. I think all hose that wrote in need a petition. Chronic young and old sick patients cannot be chanced for withdrawal or worse. Everyone must work as one. I will help to Organize. Pet ions and articles showing danger of what is being done must be found. My daughter has tons of articles.
I DRUNK DRIVER, who “walked” because the Connecticut State Trooper “wanted a date” with her, has turned my entire world, upside down.
The burning car crash shut down 95 NORTH between Meriden & Middletown, CT., in 2006.
I called for help and I got HELL”, literally.
She was blonde, size zero, and she said “I am too upset to complete the field sobriety test.”
He should have gave her the breathalizer.
He did not even write me down as being there!
INTERNAL AFFAIRS did a great job and they sustained my complaint. Trooper Kevin Dowe was sent off duty WITHOUT pay for 6 weeks, and I got an apology letter from Public Safety.
I had a 2 level cervical fusion in 2007. It fell apart and nobody believed me for 18 months.
I ended up in another neurosurgeons office and he ended up scheduling surgery, to fuse the 2 levels above the first one.
When he cut me open he SAW, “wiggly, loose screws and the titanium plate had popped off”. He ended up taking it all out and fusing C-2-C-6.
I then had left sided migraines so I had Radio Frequency twice and it worked.
Three months later, I got a letter from MEDICARE, (I was 53 at the time. MEDICARE became primary to ANTHEM/BC all of a sudden) saying, “in retrospect, we have decided that the RADIO FREQUENCY was “not medically necessary”, so they sucked back the $5,000.00 paid to that doctor!
He hates me and I can never go back.
I called MEDICARE to tell them, “HE HELPED me!” The customer service beoch said: “You are no longer a productive member of society, so you are NOT entitled to the same services as those bringing home a paycheck”. BLATANTLY RUDE, but she told the truth.
I reminded her, that one day, “IT WILL BE YOUR TURN!”
“Unproductive because NATASHA CABRAL of Rocky Hill, CT, DECIDED to drive drunk, then fall asleep at the wheel. She was crying because her car was burning and had NO regard for what she did to me!
I have so many issues stemming from the fusion and “time/aging”.
Neural foraminal narrowing from C-2-C-6 with SPURRING & OSTEOPHYTES.
C-7& T-1 have a subluxation.
My “left rib is inverted” and is causing my left lung not to inflate as it should.
I get shooting “heart-attack-like” pain, that causes me to double over.
EVERY LEFT lumbar disc is bulging and also OSTEOPHYTES & spurring & DDD.
S-I joint – L-4-5 needs a fusion (I am terrified to get another fusion)
I was going to a pain mgmt clinic that was robbing all of us on costly urine screenings, and then he added taking blood in addition to the urine! This place OVER-MEDICATED me to the point, I could no longer have a BM, even with Dulcolax and sodium citrate, plus eating high fiber foods, like pears & apples.
I hated OXYCONTIN but oxycodone worked well. You are NOT allowed to have a voice once you sign that agreement. I had to bring the receipts from CVS to PROVE I bought the drugs. I did not take the oxycontin, ever! My husband drove me to our local police dept, when they had a: “Throw away your medications” day.
I got my osteopath involved and he wrote up what he thought would work best.
60MG of KADIAN, instead of 30MG of AVINZA. Ditched the Gapapentin because it was overkill since I was on LYRICA already.
PAIN doc, wanted to add CYMBALTA & he doubled my Klonopin dose and made it BID. I take .5 MG at bedtime. IF I took 1MG BID, I would be unconscious all day long.
I ended up just walking out and begging my primary care doctor to prescribe oxycodone. Over a few months, I got down to 20MGS BID from 40MGS TID.
I still need the KADIAN for “breakthrough pain”, which happens about once a month or every other month.
I showed primary care doc, the last bottle, that was from January 2013, so he could see, I am not abusing it.
He just gave me a refill on that, and I offered to bring it in when I come to get my oxycodone script, so I can PROVE to him, I am ONLY using it for “breakthrough pain.”
He has me fill out some questionaire about how I feel and do I “obsess and count my pills? It is (6) pages of behavioral thoughts, and it is FREE. He never asks for a urine screening because he knows, it is NOT covered.
MEDICARE only pays for urine screenings if: “the patient has obvious behavioral changes or are in respiratory distress”.
Before that, I would get the $800.00 bill because it is “not medically necessary”.
Now my primary care doctor is UNDERSTANDING my frustration about what insurance will NOT pay, and that it is unreasonable to make me pee for a “breakthrough pain med”.
Urine screenings every (3) months would cost me $2,400.00, that I cannot deduct off my taxes.
Pretty pricey to get ONE narcotic.
The drunk driver did not get hurt, because she “fell asleep at the wheel”. She yelled that out when she and her (2) drinking buddies jumped out of the smoking vehicle. She is still working and I had to file for early retirement as a vested state employee. (It was approved but still, ANTHEM/BC became secondary to MEDICARE.
Under 55 and on MEDICARE? Is that normal?) MEDICARE SUCKS and everyone knows it. NOTHING is ever “medically necessary” in their minds.
I pay my osteopath “out of pocket”, because he takes NO INSURANCE and there literally is nobody like him.
The whole process is highly inconvenient, because of those that abuse it.
We have to drive to the office every month, (and I cannot drive because my neck has no ROM, to look quickly to the left) take it to the pharmacy, where they give you that “LOOK”, and then say, “let me see if it is in stock”. If it is not in stock, its a 5 day wait.
So, no specialist is going to treat someone on MEDICARE, because they will NOT get reimbursed as much as someone on ANTHEM/BC.
The neurosurgeon who fused all FOUR levels, refuses to give me an appointment!
He told me he has only done “a handful of 4 level ACDF”, so why the “cold shoulder and it that protocol.
Since there is no procedure that is “medically necessary”, for me, and the only option given is “narcotics”, which also comes with a stigma, the only thing left, is suicide.
70% of chronic pain people, end up committing suicide, due to “non-controlled pain”.
I just read an article on this. A PHARMACIST at the Pain WEB-SEMINAR I joined online, sent us all the link.
My checks are a partial pension, offset by SS. I PAY out of BOTH checks for health insurance that I do not get. HOW IS THAT FAIR and even more important, how do they get away with this behavior?
I am not on MEDICAID. I worked since I was 13, I have money in a credit union and through WELLS FARGO, I have numerous stocks and mutual funds. I am not destitute but I am treated like I am on welfare.
I am not even 55 never mind 65, and it appears that I am blackballed by both insurers.
I cannot sit upright for more than 15 minutes or the 12 pound bowling ball of a head, taxes my shoulders, into a 6 week long spasm that totally disables me. I cannot even cook dinner for my family.
They take away your dignity and re-victimize the person maimed by a DRUNK DRIVER.
My family is as sick of being around me as I am!
WHO wants to be married to someone who cannot leave a reclining chair because she is GETTING ignored by her own heath care providers?
In other words, I am not getting better to the point I can enjoy ANY activity that involves me sitting or standing upright for more than 10 minutes.
People in jail get better care….DOGS get treated better.
All i can say is AMEN and well said .
And that went to almost everyone with incurable illnesses ive had since age 17 endometriosis then emergency c section at 17 preclampsia/toxemia, severe stage 4 adhesions lead to ARD and organs being stuck together as one in peri abdomen whole abdomen scar tissue cant be seen on any mri radiology scans only way to see is when its near death as i have been liver spleen colon ribcage ALL binded together as one organ lead me to lose my colon amongst many other things too long to write coma had just had a physical that week chest xray etc if my husband wouldn’t of come home early i would be dead and arrived DOA and how can we fake 107 d temp all my bloodtest coming back normal i don’t remember i was on a ventatater not expected to live, a old Dr walked in icu a cardiologist cause my lungs were full of fluid to tube he said run this tests and experience i had everything he just looked at me said had we called 911 i wouldn’t of had a chance veins bad anyways more do to that but the way God made me i hate taking medication but i also go to professional p drs do toxicology tests urine tests not cheap and i know of manyyyyy they need to focus on except true people with REAL problems crovked people will always find a way along with the crocked Drs these people wouldn’t last 2 weeks in my shoes and they can’t understand because of that very reason and this is a short story …..God Bless ALL the true people in chrinic pain and invisible illnesses. …
y name is jennifer M. i have a 21 year old back injury that continues to deteriorate. i only began pain management 7 years ago when the pain was so bad , death seemed the only solution. it is a workers comp injury. we all know workers comp and its ignorant employees are the devil and devils minionsw, and grant more anxiety, stress, confusion, obsticles, and mostly no help. i do not want surgery because i dont trust the system and would like to have the freedom to not elect for surgerfy for my back injury. i feel im being pressured into surgery by cutting my meds back which puts me back into a very bad place. is this a part of sheeople elimination. many people with chronic pain die as a result too much stress on their hearts. the opiates relieve pain therefor easing my stress and pain. this is the governments power and control thing again. do as they say and go to prison if you do as they do. how much more are we gona take from this?
I know all about WORKER COMPENSATION and it is not FAIR or pretty.
In Connecticut GALLAGHER-BASSETT is the newest GINORMOUS insurer for COMP.
They are “in bed” with the commissioners. The WORKERS BOOK, is no longer relevent.
The laws went down the toilet and they can kick you to the curb and CUT OFF ADDICTIVE medications with the APPROVAL of these “paid-off” commissioners.
Once upon a time, the book was the LAW and it had to be followed.
BIG MONEY has moved in and now, anything goes.
I filed a COMPLAINT through the STATE OF CT,- CHRO/EEOC and I WON. (2004)
It was for retaliation at work for filing a WC claim.
I stuck it out and it was the most horrible, emotionally charged issue, I have ever faced.
DO NOT LET THEM WEAR YOU DOWN…you have to stick to your guns and FYI, any attorney you hire, is getting paid out of YOUR potential “rating”. HE IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE EITHER.
Its a total facade and 100% corruption.
If you live in CT, you can take my CHRO FINDING to your hearing. There is a GAG-ORDER on me talking about the settlement, but through FREEDOM OF INFORMATION act, anyone can get a copy.
I made the CHRO book and I am “the only person who stuck out the entire process.”
Everyone else ended up quitting and letting the WC insurance carrier win.
I understand I we need to do something across the world I have true pain just as you and it’s not fair we need to take a stand we’re not all bad people mothers doctors, teachers, even doctors have pain what about that dea??????????????
Also hard working people can’t work and take care of their family because there’s no help!!!! It makes me sick we need to get a petition going dea has scared these doctors so people in true pain have no help and the users that don’t need get it I’m over it,,,,,,,,,,,’,,,,
I have been in pain and on meds for 12 years I moved and can’t find a doctor and no FDA I won’t go on the street but will fight for my right before I die I know everyone deserves a chance to not be in pain play with the kids,dogs etc…….. We will change America !,,,,,,,
Is what I say. Scroll up. I ammichele. Media needs to have every person write to Cnn. See what candidates say. Fighting for my daughter. She has horrible diseases. Advocates say my family is better then they are. Voices must be heard. The sick, young or old, the weak are ignored.
I’ll make this as short as possible, but like many here, have year’s worth of a complicated story and multiple pain syndromes. I will focus on two to keep my post reasonable.
I have a dreaded chronic pain issue that Drs hate dread and that I’ve noticed after reading quite a few posts, I haven’t seen anyone mention: migraines. I’m in the few percentile who has hemi-pelagic migraine with aura. Short summary, I look like I’m having a stroke facially. It’s a blind and numbing pain that unfortunately is as discriminated against as it is hard to treat. I’ve had them for 26 years and have had a hemorrhaging cavernous hemangioma removed 18 years ago. While the surgery saved my life, it also left me with more unanswered pain and exacerbated the migraines. After three TIAs, Triptains are no longer a good option for me and I am finally going through having the occipital neurostimulator surgery (also known as a spinal cord stimulator).
Enter in painful condition #2: Multiple Sclerosis. I have been diagnosed now for 11 years. During the placement of the occipital leads, I am also having a paddle implanted in my thoracic to control the excruciating pain from the MS in my low back and to keep my legs functioning (hopefully) longer.
Now, I’ve had phenomenal experiences with the medical community and horrific experiences, sometimes both from the same Dr at different appointments or visits. I am in pain management, and am on opioid therapy, Morphine ER 15mgs x 3 a day, and then Fioricet with Codeine for breakthrough migraine pain. I also do things like keep a healthy and tight rain on my diet, integrate naturopathic means whenever deemed safe by my dr and possible, undergo Botox, and follow all rules and regulations of my pain dr. Honest to goodness, we have a terrific relationship and it has spanned many years. He took me off of short acting meds and put me on the ER form of Morphine and most probably saved my life. It really is worth it to take the time and effort into finding a dr that will work with and for you and who will advocate for you whenever possible!
I recently presented in my local emergency room, the only one of which I go to, with a terrible migraine. I have a suggested plan of action written out by my pain management dr on file there, and this time was horrified with a dr’s actions.
He came in with a resident and I immediately was even more dismayed when this dr of whom I had fought with to earn my reputation and treatment with completely seemed to have forgotten the progress we had made in past visits. I knew at that moment I wasn’t going to get adequate treatment. In extreme agony, i relented, as I always do, until he questioned why I was having the nerustimulator put in my thoracic. He proceeded to tell me surely it couldn’t have been for the MS, because he has a ‘friend’ whom has MS and says it isn’t painful at all. Typically I am very well spoken and am a very good communicator, but with the pain I was in, I was at a loss. A few days later when I was finally able to get appropriate relief, I called to complain. Another thing, I rarely do. I focused my complaint on the fact that he was absurdly misinformed about MS, and should take a millisecond to google ‘is MS painful’ and he would have found most of the most informative and up-to-date information from places like The MS Society and Mayo Clinic. All information now says it CAN be very painful. I was having to defend pain I wasn’t seeking relief from at that moment, and to defend my reasoning for having a NON opioid based therapy! I was appalled!
My point is to anyone reading this, that WE as patients can make a difference but it only happens if we arm ourselves with good and accurate information, and take the time to speak up in an appropriate manner in order to generate change in the future. Don’t be afraid to research, ask questions and continue seeking out care appropriately in order to get the best treatment options available to you. If we act as a whole, change will materialize!
I apologize for the typos as with any huge change in barometric pressure, I’m currently warding off a terrible migraine attack and my brain is a bit slow and foggy. Best wishes to all for happy and healthy lives!
I feel for you. In 2002, I had a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage at the bifurcation of my right basilar artery…where it branches off to the cerebellum and the cerebrum. I have always had headaches but this one was really bad. I was airlifted to UF and had surgery right away. I had double vision for 6 mo and then had another aneurysm repaired 18 months later…this one was my r temporal artery….or middle cerebral artery. I have aneurysm clips in both areas. I had killer migraines and had success with imitrex and zofran. They gave me hydrocodone 10/325 and I take them every day although after 12 yrs, they don’t touch the pain. I had to stop the imitrex pills and shots due to about 5 strokes and another aneurysm. It’s only 2mm, so I am trying not to worry about it. I go to pain management but my PA is unwilling to change the amount (120) or switch to something else. I suppose I am an abuser because I take 2 in the morning and 2 around 4 or 5 pm along with 800 mg ibuprofen 3 x a day. Best of luck to you.
I have an aracnoid cyst that has attached itself to my brain. It is very large, about the size of a tennis ball flattened out. I have had what I call the 20 year headache and didn’t know why until I had a seizure and feel unconscious to the ground hitting and splitting open my head. At the ER Dr’s did an x-ray to look for fractures in my skull near my eye socket. That is when they found the giant tumor and I was rushed to emergency surgery. Dr’s cannot remove it because it is aracnoid and grew legs into the crevices of my brain. I now know why I’ve always had a headache and now why I still continue to have a headache every single day. Because this tumor is so large it blocked my ventrical from producing brain and spinal fluid. No spinal fluid lead to my degenerative disc disorder in my lower back. I am prescribed 60mg OxyContin ER’s 3/day and 15mg oxycodone ir’s 3/day for all my pain. Since there is now way to treat my tumor or my DDD I rely on these pain medications heavly just to get by each day. If I don’t take them I am useless and would rather be dead. I cannot even get out of bed without them. The opioids have given me a better quality of life and I am able to do things even if it’s just small things, but without them I am unable to do anything. I really hate the abusers that are making it hard for the people in serious pain to get these medications prescribed to them. And now I hear that the government wants to manage people’s milligrams per day that they can take and I think that is absolutely absurd! FTG!!! If this happens I will be forced to move my entire family to a different country like Canada or Mexico. This government is out of control trying to control everybody’s life. Many people like myself need these opiates just to get by. I will do whatever it takes to fight for pain patients rights!
SP, I can relate. I’ve had debilitating migraines since 1995. Multiple doctors neurologists acupuncturists etc and nothing helped. I ended up taking exedrin and/or ibuprofen for the pain. Of course two pills led to three and two times a day led to four. Three years ago I ended up in the OR with a perforated ulcer. I almost died. The surgeon told me to never take NSAIDs again. Triptans work but my insurance only pays for 9 pills a month. Uh.. I have chronic pain, meaning more than 9 pills worth. 2 years ago a nuerologist prescribed generic Vicodin. It helped and allowed me to take a shower, go to work, etc. however that person retired and the new one is saying she can only prescribe 30 pills a month. When I told her I was almost out due to a difficult month she referred me to a pain clinic which is basically a support group. So I’m cut off. And terrified. I’m a professional hard working 43 yo woman. Im worried about my health, my work etc etc. just really feeling lost.
Lynn,
A pain clinic is not just a “support group”. If I were you I would set up an appointment (if you haven’t already).
I’ve been in pain management for a few years now for chronic pain. I get an opoid based medication for the moderate to severe pain I deal with and muscle relaxers, as well as anxiety medication to help me relax.
They do prescribe medications.. It’s not like an AA meeting or anything of the sort.
They also give me steroid, and anti-inflammatory objections from time to time since I can’t take them orally due to severe GI issues. But I have to also have the injections due to the severity of my shoulder, neck and head pain.
Good luck!!
Just a question. I have been on hydrocodne 5-325 for awhile now & it seem to help me I am not so tired I feel I can get things done I take care of my 82 year old Mom. But now they just changed it to the hysingla er pill 30 MG.I Was up to 8-10 a day on the other. I haven’t started taking it how did it make you feel & how have you done with it?
First, I commend you on this post and understand probably a little too well just what you deal with and it’s a lot.
Migraines on there own are automatically labeled as “drug seeking”, those who suffer from said “migraines” solely exist to be humiliated by condescending ER docs, then you are female, just a wild guess! I wish I could have written such a well-articulated post because you are so very close to descriibing my life. I wonder if you aso get the whole psych work up because you had the nerve to become well-informed about the diseases that have altered the very course of your life which makes you seem even more suspect. I had, well still have a portion of my base skull “benign” tumor that required multiple surgeries, was caught up in the artery that supplies the blood to my brain so they had to leave part of it & I just hope it doesn’t cause me any more vision loss b/c there is no more surgery or radiation they can offer me & my headaches are different but they are devastatingly painful. I lose almost all vision & vomit non-stop & everytime I go to the ER I am treated like a drug-seeking crazy peron because the pain makes me writhe & contort myself into a pretzel, it’s UNBEARABLE & the irony is had my tumor been malignant they could have not only offered me more treatment options for my now inoperable base-skull tumor that has begun to grow again, I would have a pass to get all the narcotics I could hold. They would give me IV in the ER, then the doctor would sit holding my hand w/the utmost sincere compassion as he wrote me numerous scripts for the nausea, the “inoperable brain tumor-related headaches” but it’s been 6 years & my tumor is deadly but BENIGN and the ER is staffed w/a hyper-vigilant “NO NARCOTICS FOR NON-MALIGNANT PAIN” doc.
I don’t even know where you add in the MS diagnosis b/c the staff actually looks annoyed despite havimg all of my medical records & havimg spoken to all of y treating physicans. If you don’t laugh at it, at least if i don’t I feel like I will explode with the fury that I wasn’t afforded a malignancy so I could make it easier for the ER, myself, my specialists, my PCP & my family if I had just gotten a malignant brain tumor because then everybody’s life would be easier b/c not even Medicare will refuse any narcotics my pain responds to! I think I understand just a bit of what you have been through & I am so sorry you are having to go through this, it’s despicable and wrong and forgive me but does anyone else ever get bothered that other horrific diseases & injuries are automatically considered less worthy or painful than cancer (I figure since I’m dying I can say it, it sounds politically incorrect I know but I’m not suggesting anyone not treat malignant pain, just recognize that cancer isn’t the only disease worthy of treatment)! There is no way anyone can say whether your migraines came about as a result of your tumor or not, although I bet you get a lot of theories. I hope you fight until you do win, my neurologist got so disgusted by the entire system, he does write for my narcotics & I just call his cell if I get bad enough I require an ER visit or a few days to get my pain controlled.
My being armed with the knowledge of my medical history, a well-documented chart and my bag of meds, including my MS injuectioms didn’t do me a bit of good. I’d like to believe we can all make a difference, it’s why I took the time to write this. I don’t know if I have the time or energy to fight anymore, I just want my pain to be reasonably treated and to receive a modicum a respect along the way.
I wish SP and everyone else here better treatment and hope you keep fighting for yourself and all of the others that have been brave enough to share their stories. I pray your outcome is better than mine and you get the help you both need & deserve! We need to fight for those who can’t or don’t know how, for those that have no idea they are just 1 drunk diviner or scan away from living in our misery. God Bless You All
Amen. Many diseases are as painful as cancer. That is a big problem. Taking people off Meds that control their pain to. A point but because it isn’t cancer, they are taken off. What happens then? Withdrawal. Death? People not sick are so blessed and if they knew the pain people suffer they couldn’t deal with it. As a mom of a daughter suffering for most of her life, please help these good, kind people . It’s almost like the Naziz era. Away with the sick and weak. Yes, petitions needed and plans from the candidates of what can be done I was told my family are better advocates then professional ones. We all need a voice. Hear us. Help those in need. anyone can get sick. One never knows. My heart breaks for all these people but positive energy and get petitions going. Ty for listening. Bless all of you.
Dear chronic pain,
I am sort of miffed at your response to this issues that we are having with the Feds and prescription medication.
Can you please elaborate a little more about exactly what to do? It’s nice to hear such positive attitude but so unrealistic. You must still be getting your medications? Please help us to understand…
It seems that the only people that care are those in pain ….. I have news for the rest of the people who do not think that this effects you. You never know when you will be the next one to suffer with severe pain that will not be able to find a doctor to help you or worse yet, our government will have stopped the doctors from treating your pain. Jest get your guns ready because it may be your only answer!
that’s right we are not all bad people
That’s right we are not all bad people but with stereotypical attitudes we are labeled as such why cant people in charge of this be more selective weed out the real from the fakes I can understand that a lot of people take advantage of the meds and abuse or misuse them and there should be laws against them but like I was saying we need more selectivity in the process and what about the shots they give that are not even approved by the FDA nothing is said about that the rest is self explanatory.
I was put on disability in 1999 after having major neck surgery and since 1999 I have had a total of seven surgeries and unfortunately I have legitimate pain syndromes. I have had shots in the neck, in the back, in the right shoulder and they want to give me more, which I do not want and will not take.
I have always did what I was told to do, my first surgeon sent me to a pain management specialist and he was arrested after a couple years, he moved out of the state I lived in and opened a pill mill, he is in prison. So I allowed my primary care doctor refer me out to another pain management specialist and he too was arrested and sent to prison, this one how ever is a sicko MF, he got busted with child pron on his computer, I said forget this crap, and found me the best Doctor in the world as my primary care, he got my pain under control with medications, he got my cholesterail under control, he got my sugar under control, he got my blood pressure under control, this guy proved to me he really cared and he really heard what I was saying…..he gave me the same pain medications that I have been on since 1999 which is hydrocodone 10/325 4x daily and oxycodone ir 5mg three x,s daily for breakthrough pain , and that not only helps me live a some what normal life, but it helps me with depression, it has helped my blood pressure and most important it has taken me off the list of thinking about a bullet……life was just to unbearable for me, being in pain all the time……If a person has legitimate pain syndromes, there is no reason why that persons primary care doctor should not be able to take care of that person……….
if everyone here wrote a complaint to the board about Dr that are refusing to give pain meds to them maybe something would happen instead of just venting on the Internet. Dr that refuse to treat pain need to be considered bad Dr and we need to put pressure on them no one is going to feel sorry for us opiates are the new marijuana the da lost the war against that so now they turned to opiate another safe drug that helps people to have quality of life functionality and indeed life itself.overdose statistics are being made up with suicides and multi drug and alcohol deaths a cop sees opiates even if you die of cancer it’s an opiate overdose.here’s the thing they want you to die so if you don’t want to die you better start fighting back. I am trying. I have tons of stories, testiments, experiences of pain patients and “addicts” – many who are pain patients who just can’t get medicine and my activism is starting to get my doctor weirded out and I have to just shut up and keep my head down, I was dumbly hoping that the Dr might want to start fighting with And for their patients instead of the government and DEA.
Hi my name is Ann I live in Phoenix .I want to my doctor the other day and she told me that she is taking me off my 6a day oxy 30 and putting me on oxy 10 two times a day and 30 mg of morphine two times a day .My question is how can she do that to me after 3years on them .I just had back surgery two times and wanting to do another surgery on my back.but the oxy does wonders for me.What should I do or tell her .
Ann, I cannot comment on how or why she did this. In general, we do try to use extended release opioids for chronic pain instead of several IR doses. Why she is treating with two drugs instead of one drug is another question. I would ask her to explain the rationale for this. Other than that, I cannot give medical advise on this forum.
Tell her that since you have been on the 30’s for as long as you have you know how thry work and to take you off them and switch up your meds it most likely will not work tell the doc you wan to stay with what works for you if they want to give you something on top of your 30’s for the break threw pain then you will try that but you dont want to change what you get but you are willing to try something on top of what you take as a break threw med in case you are in pain after your next surgery thats what i would say i am trying to get surgery on my back and in the state i live in every surgeon i went to told me know vecause i have four young kids and they said it is a 50/50 shot i could be paralyzed so i am on my pain meds and have been on for 12 years hopefully i can get some doctor to help with relief on my upper and lower back and my nerve damage in my arms and legs my server migraines they are becoming debilitating they are so bad i miss out on things with my children i take fiorocet and that stopped working so they are giving me shots and they work for a week then back in severe pain for three weeks till i go to see my doctor again i hope that helps
LOOK AT ALL OF THESE SUFFERING PEOPLE WRITING ABOUT THE ABUSE THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED AND ARE EXPERIENCING. I AM ALSO ONE OF THESE PEOPLE WRITING HERE BECAUSE I HAVE NO ONE TO HELP ME. MY ONLY MISTAKE WAS THAT I ENLISTED INTO THE US MILITARY AND WAS INJURED. I WAS ABRUPTLY REFUSED PAIN MEDICATION THAT WAS WORKING FOR ME FOR YEARS AND I NEVER HAD AN ISSUE WITH THE PRESCRIBED PAIN MEDICATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF MY SERVICE CONNECTED DISABILITY. NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY NOT ONLY STOPPED PRESCRIBING THE MEDICATION FOR PAIN BUT ALSO MY PCP WILL NOT EVEN RETURN REQUESTED RESPONSE TO CALL ME. “NO TREATMENT NO HEALTHCARE BLACKLISTED” I HAVE NO ONE TO HELP ME ! NO PRIVATE DOCTORS TAKE NEW PATIENTS THAT ONLY HAVE MEDICARE ESPECIALLY FOR PAIN. THE CHOICE PROGRAM REFERRED ME TO DOCTORS THAT DIDN’T ACCEPT THE CHOICE PROGRAM? THE CHOICE PROGRAM EVEN MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR ME WITH A DOCTOR AND THE DAY BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT, THE DOCTOR CALLED ME TO TELL ME HE DID NOT ACCEPT THE CHOICE PROGRAM? TALK ABOUT ABUSE? I DON’T WANT TO LIVE IN PAIN ANYMORE. YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN, DON’T ENLIST INTO THE MILITARY. YOU MAY REGRET THAT DECISION. GOD BLESS AND HELP EVERYONE THAT IS SUFFERING IN THIS ONCE FREE BUT NOW CORRUPT COUNTRY.
Now I know I am really not alone in this problem with pain vs pain pill dilemma.
I was injured in an elevator crash 20 years ago while working at a HOSPITAL as a therapist. The elevator derailed during ascent, and sent me on a wild ride up and down until it stopped (3times). This happened at 23:30 at night on a Friday, when all maintenance crew was gone. It took the fire department 2 hours to get me out of the car which was jammed between the 3rd and 5th floor of a 6 story shaft. Now because I had prior back surgery 23 years before this incident, it exacerbated my laminectomy problem of L5-S1, which a lot of you know what I am talking about.
Now this last injury on March 1995 was the beginning of a medical nightmare for me. I was forced to retire, placed on disability until 2010, when they decided to reevaluate me and found I was fully capable of returning to work, and no longer considered disabled, I was 70 years old at the time, I had been on disability for 20 years, and taking meds for the entire 20 years.
I am now 75 years old still disabled, but now have to fight to receive the Vicodin I am on. The DEA and all the other Alphabetical masterminds have come up with a new ruling for anyone on Hydrocodone.
They make you feel like the lowest form of person because you require these meds just to get by. Well, aside from my back pain, I have the usual Arthritis, Diabetes, and probably other shit I can’t feel because of the last 2.
I truly believe that since they have greatly loosened the laws on Marijuana, they have lost a lot of their funding, so now they are attacking the use of pain pills to fill up their funding accounts. Sounds reasonable don’t it.
The real shame in this is that they have tied the hands of doctors to such a degree that doctors are now afraid to provide the care that they have sworn to under the Hippocratic Oath that they take.
So ends the ranting and raving of a 76 year old man. I hope everyone that is being hurt by the actions of these rule makers is coming to and end. I wish you all peace and health.
I want to know how you lost your disability at your age. Did the SS administration just decide you were well? You need to talk to a lawyer
I spent the better part of the afternoon reading these comments – in part releif that it’s not just me this happened to, but also in fear…if this is how I’m being treated now for chronic pain at 40 (and I see people older than myself with much more severe conditions) then what’s next? I’m Canadian and live in Toronto. We are feeling the exact same effects you are in the U.S. Except up here, if we are on any narcotic-based pain medication, we go onto a registry like some kind of criminal so insurance can look us up and make sure we aren’t breaking any rules.
I knew something was wrong about a year and a half ago. I had been treated for chronic Achilles tendinitis (I had been a marathon runner before I completely snapped it) and the recovery was brutal and painful and stuck around for YEARS. Coincidentally the feelings of withdrawal from hydrocodone is the same way: ears ringing, head/sinuses feeling swollen, don’t want to go anywhere, do anything, eat anything or see anyone…anyway. My doctor was great for a very long time and treated me so well. And then something changed…I went for my appointment and was told I had to now start getting some other therapy. But I already was…I was working out, I was taking my medication as prescribed and applying ice and whatever else they’d tell me to do. I thought we agreed that was the course of treatment and it was working, the results spoke for themselves: I was able to work, work out, no problems sleeping – isn’t this what we wanted? That’s what the logic in me asked.
The street smart in me knew what this was about – drugs. Didn’t matter whether this was working or for how long or how well behaved I was…this is the result of a bunch of junior high kids getting into grandmas pills and overdosing. So now that’s being lorded over ALL of us who use these prescriptions as a part of a therapy program that was working just fine for me.
I was and still am mad about this. Because I didn’t have the words to express how I felt I kept saying to myself ‘if you’re in so much pain…and you know you’re not going to go looking for this on the streets. It’s okay to go. If you’re in this much pain you don’t have to stay in this life’. Because I know, from having this for so many years, that I will be living with this for the rest of my life. There are no heel replacement surgeries I know of and I’m not fusing my ankle either.
So I’ve had to just deal with this. If I had the money I’d go on a trip for six weeks to someplace where I don’t know anyone and I can just focus on something other than THIS, I know I have to come back here and I know by now there’s no alternative but I don’t know. This just sucks.
I agree I have been on methadone for 8/9 years I moved brought everything and can’t find a doctor this is wrong I can’t get out of bed who are they to judge us I have several chronic problems when someone from the FDA gets hurt what will they do when they have shut everyone done not everyone is bad and lying
hi i need advice for 1 thing i have been pain for 33 years and it seems like every thing my doctors and hospitals have done to help my pain has failed to help say like it doesent work or it makes matters worse or the treatments almost kill me and there non narcottics theres only 4 things that worked but i get refused to allow them medical weed / vailume vicodin dilaudid and thier the only thing that helps and i am not just speaking out against the prop i am speaking out against america and usa and barak obama and i cant go to 1 of those places that allow doctor assisted suacide to end this madness or get any one to find awansers to my pain so i chose and made the decission to never go back and allow my sicknesses just kill me am i wrong for taking this mesure
I’m so sorry for your pain and suffering I’m posting everything I can try a methadone clinic in your area and ask them don’t let them win we are human being your life is worth saving
Im going thru many of the same on these posts god is the answer and if he lets me die so be it but dont take your own life god loves is
God, might be damaging your health and well-being.Many of ,the higher powers in gov.state and county, who make crass,ignorant and unscientific decisions on pain management treatment and methods . Why?because many of the people ,certainly at state and county level are Former .alcoholics,doctor shoppers drug addicts or have general addiction problems and have been through a step program to be born again. God or blind faith (religion) might not be the drug of choice,however because of THEIR past? antisocial behaviour it’s the only drug available.
To many narcotic prescription issues are a direct result of these addicts getting into positions of power.The problem might be they think like addicts and have been brain washed into believing that ANYONE who USES pain medication are just like them,and can be cured by turning to a very dangerous narcotic” religious belief”.Being socially acceptable and there appears to be no restrictions on the maximum dose allowed!
I have been using opiate based medications for over 40 years.During a very difficult time I had an morphine pump
implanted,now .The pump enabled me to work and play.,pay hundreds of thousands of taxes. For sure i’m dependent on pain medication I am not an addict.When I first got injured and couldn’t walk nobody restricted the number of hours that I could use the wheelchair.But for sure there were some who suggested I didn’t need pain medication.
“The “PROP” inspired restrictions and the burdensome DEA ruling about opioid’s for chronic pain treatment are not about drug addiction, but about the money that the Affordable Care Act mandates insurance companies to pay to drug rehab clinics. How are drug rehab,”non-profits”, ever going to get paying customers (insured) if someone doesn’t restrict their drugs? By the DEA compelling American doctors to be fearful or refuse to write prescriptions unless their pain patients “agree” to attend rehab clinics and these clinics can collect ACA payments. And you thought the only evil doctors sold drugs. As always, it’s about the money.
Eventually, even if you’re a legitimate chronic-pain patient, you will be going to rehab if for no other reason than the rehab clinic wants to collect your mandated “rehab” insurance. Please be careful using the Ibuprofen these clinics will “compassionately” give you for your pain . NSAIDS can be toxic when used for chronic pain. They can cause a patient to stop eating, lose dangerous amounts of weight and cause skin ulcers to appear (Stevens Johnson Syndrome) So, try to stay in close, daily, touch with a concerned family member and keep track of the medicines given by rehabs and their dose. If the rehab won’t let your caregiver see you, then call 911 AND the police because somethings wrong. If you stop eating and your skin blisters get someone to call 911 and get the hell out of that rehab facility immediately. (if you can). Good luck. Again, use the police if necessary.
Now, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, M.D., started PROP in 2012, he then joined the rehab conglomerate, “Phoenix House”, in 2013, as its chief medical officer. In 2014 the new DEA regulations, prompted by PROP went into effect. These dates are not conspiratorial, but then, neither are they necessarily inconsequential. The Phoenix House (and other rehab non-profits), PROP, and the DEA are now “cross-pollinating” each other with personnel, as did the BP oil well explosion in the Gulf of Mexico and the governments “Minerals Management Service” – who were supposed to be overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf. It’s a natural conflict of interest among all federal agency’s with the private activities they are suppose to regulate. It will happen between PROP and the DEA, if it hasn’t already. (who paid for the hookers?).
By the way, don’t let the contemporary euphemism, “non-profit”, fool you. It doesn’t mean that the directors and employees of “non-profits” do not make good money. Dr. Kolodny and his colleagues are going to draw some very good salaries, as will retired DEA agents who will become board members of rehab “non-profit” organizations. This financial incest between government agencies and private organizations, whether non-profit, or for-profit is known as “rent-seeking” and Congress should regulate this financial incest as much as it does drugs (maybe more).
What to do? Have your care-person or family member write your Congressperson and Senator and tell them of YOUR suffering (don’t make it a novel) and the burdensome inconveniences placed upon your caregivers under the DEA’s, arbitrary and capricious new ruling (written by PROP). Federal agencies don’t like to be subpoenaed before Congressional Committees to answer embarrassing questions regarding their activities and relationships with private for-profit or “non-profit” organization.. Eventually, this PROP/DEA incest is all going to start to smell and go beyond the recent and celebrated improprieties of DEA agents.
Again, Good Luck to all and maybe someday medical science will get around to actually relieving suffering, rather than allowing zealots, such as PROP, using a self-manufactured high-ground (like ISIS) to promote their assorted medical-religious extremes only to fill their own pockets. After all, the Bible warns about “..love of money being the root of all evil”.
I had my first of four back surgeries at 27. Two microdiscectomies, two fusions L4/L5 & L5/S1. None of which were what I would call a success. I was prescribed hydrocodone 7.5/750 4x per day, later increased to 5, then back to 4. I have been on the 4x 7.5/325 since the Norco switch, overall, I have been on 4 7.5mg hydrocodone for a decade now. Never did it take all my pain away, but once I healed, my life was bearable, and I could be active, within reason.
Last month my doctor posted a note saying “ALL patients on 7.mg5 or 5mg Norco or Oxycodone 3 or 4 times per day, will now be prescribed Hysingla ER or go to pain management.”
I have been to pain management several times. Managing my pain seems to be the LAST thing they care about.
The DEA, FDA, HHA and the rest of the DC alphabet soup, are NOT my doctor.
How do I find relief?
I don’t know how to post on here. All I see is the reply icon and I would like to share my story on here in case there’s any advice
Lisa, Do it exactly like you posted the your previous comment. Write your story, click reply, paste it in.
Thanks. I did and it’s more towards the end of March’s posts
I have lived with Chronic Pancreatitis since 2007. It came about due to chemotherapy that was given to me to treat RA. I went through hell trying to find a doctor to help alleviate the pain of it. Most clinics only want to do injections, and not prescribe. However through my transplant team we found one local doctor who would try to help. However he was a sports med doc and didnt much appreciate me having a chronic disease. He made me feel guilty to need to be there. He belittled my pain by terming it as “tummy pain”. He said, I cant treat you forever after just a few months. I told my transplant team and they were angered bc they had all thier patients telling them the same kind of woes, under-treatment and suffering. I am still with this clinic. I was finally moved up a degree on my long acting patch only to have to go down to only two break thru pain meds instead of my four daily. I have not been able to even try to eat, and have been on a liguid diet for the past few years because the pain is too unbearable. I didnt complain either because I knew better. We were told this is all we will ever get, and that we better hide our blood pressure highs, or we might be dropped. I lost my transplant team due to Obamacare and the not wanting to find “sick care”. All top paying doctors were fired, and though one tried to fight against this, they finally settled. It was so disheartening to see all transplant clinics closed except one. Regardless that they were leading medicine into new heights, it all came crashing down, and in a short six months this University hospital sold out to a for profit hospital with a bad rap. I have been trying to come up with the funding needed to pay the portion of transplant that Medicare wont pay. I have been complying with letting my pain doctor try all kinds of injection therapy, to see if it might help. Only to be told he has to cut my medications. Now he’s talking spinal cord stimulator. I feel like Im a guniea pig to whatever makes them money. I am sure he doesnt understand how much I already suffer, bc I try to keep a smile on my face for fear of becoming an abandoned patient if I complain too much. I know the cut back is going to affect how much progress I have made by finding my way of keeping stable with just milk to eat. I am scared. I feel bullied, and hopeless. I was in so much pain before they increased my patch to the second to the lowest dose, and now without that. I don’t know how I will cope. He mentioned after trying scs that if it didn’t work he could maybe write for an exception, but I’m not sure what that means because if he could do that then why wait? I am thinking I need to ask the DEA personally if this is true that they want transplant patient’s to be denied access to pain meds when their organ is dying inside them. God I pray I can keep float and not end up doing what so many in my online support groups have done. This year we have lost so many to suicide already. I don’t ever want to leave my loved one’s behind because I just wasn’t strong enough to bear it. But it’s a pain like no other, and I don’t know if I can be that strong. I am really scared. I have witnessed it happening to us one by one, and was praying for hope, but it’s only getting worse not better no matter how much we write and to whom, because they say we are a small group, and they won’t worry about a select few. I too, wish they would at least enact a compassionate suicide law because it’s already very disturbing to know that one of our member’s shot himself live on skype earlier this year, and a seven year old boy died in the ER after his parent’s took him to that hospital four times in a day only to have them allow him to pass away in his mother’s arms. The lawyers grabbed that case up immediately and quieted away the media from any of you knowing that it happened. Since then, it has been a deadly succession of members dying from untreated disease and complications, or by them choosing to end their lives. Chronic Pancreatitis is not tummy pain. It’s death pangs, I wish they cared to end the crisis of suffering. Sorry to sound so pathetic. I’ve been hanging on by a thread, and am usually so happy, and of much faith. This is my story. I’m sorry for all of you who are like me here wondering, and worrying daily of how much grace we will be given in the coming days. Keep trying to hold onto hope, and I will try as well. I am comforted to know some Doctor’s are not okay with this either. Thanks for letting me be heard here.
Michael,this is not a free country and the drug companies work with lobbyists and BIG PHARMA to force men and women in our collective predicament into the following corner.
1.Methadone works{I took 60mg daily for 12 years{never increased useage}was able to raise my infant son by myself,work from home as a hedge fund trader,take son to Europe,all over USA hiking,mountain climbing everything,no highs,no lows…BUT A CHEAP DRUG!.
2.Infentesimal number of people abused drug and DEA was able to force us off it and into HIGHLY EXPENSIVE intrathecal pain pump procedures.
3.MONEY for surgeons,free trips,kickbacks,pain clinics etc.The elitists who run this country do NOT care for our safety,thousands of elderly and young people are committing suicide because they cannot receive medication.
DELUSIONAL
Daniel F Maloney – you did NOT raise an infant son by yourself. you did NOT work from home as a hedge fund trader, while battling your “addiction”. I doubt that anything you state in point 1 has any bit of truth to it. You are totally delusional – so much so, that I can’t read the rest of your rant.
Over 16 year I suffered from horrible Migraines, so my neurologist prescribed Actiq to take for migraines, so I would not have to wait at the ER for hours around screaming children and I would always be put on the bottom of the list, because I had just a ” migraine”. I noticed that it helped with the horrible pain I suffered with my supposed Fibromyligia, so my neurologist up my dosage from I box of 30 to 4 boxes of 120 before they had it in generic form. At that time I di not have a problem getting it paid for, but when it went generic, that is when the problems started. I was on Medicare/ Medi-cal and as of September 2014 they just cold turkey me off of it. Nothing else is helping me. I did not know that it was only prescribed for Cancer patients on a short term basis. Also, doctors were prescribing it off label. I can no longer do anything and it happened at a worse time. My dog became paraylzed and my husband had a stroke in September of 2014, the same time they stop giving me The generic for Actiq. Even if it shortens my life, anything would be better than how I am living now. I take care of a paraylzed dog a a husband who had a stroke without help. Every bone in my body hurts, I need knee surgery, lower back surgery, neck and upper back surgery, but we have no family to help. I am 60 years old and wish I would just die. Sometime I wish I would get Cancer so I could get Actiq prescribed to me. Quality of life is better than quantity of life any day, but if you do suffer from chronic pain, than you do not know the pain I feel. I can not,clean, cook, or enjoy life any longer. My husband used to work every day, ate heathy, ran etc. and now look at him. He used to do everything for me and now he cannot talk and barely moves. He has been waiting on insurance for months, but cannot get any help. I guess they are just waiting for him to die, that way it will be cheaper.. We are stuck at our house, both not able to drive and not able to get help. Why should I want to live? The pain is just to much to bare. At least when I had the Actiq, I was able to enjoy life, but thanks to the insurance company they will no longer pay for the one the thing that actually helps me
The FDA does not know how it feels that’s why
I have been very upset I have been on methadone and oxycdone for 15 years for chronic pain, which I have found that s the only meds that have worked for me, I have chronic pain so bad in my lower back that goes down my legs I cant get an mri because my insurance wont pay for it right now , but if I showed u my back u would know something is wrong I have a blood clot disorder to where Ihave to take blood tthinner for the rest of my life, I have two tumors and I carrying absences on my body , anyway
Our pain clinic wants to take me off methadone and put me back on oxycontin cause they say methadone is killing people which is not true people is killing people by taken to much or abuseig it, it pisses me off cause I dont know where to go or what to do, I take my medicine and I need my medicine I dont think its fair that some idiot put on line about methadone messing with your qt level and now my clinic wants to take it away ,my qt level is a 504 and guess what my qt level was a 504 20 years ago, I even cut back on the medicine and guess what my qt level was still a 504 so its bull
I just came across your website and read your article. Normally I would just keep surfing, but this effects me directly and I am so angry after reading this I had to tell you my story. Forgive me for its lengthiness. I live in the state of PA, I’m a 44 year old female, who was in a bad car accident 8 years ago. This accident resulted in numerous injuries to my left arm, wrist and hand. I had severed my median nerve and artery plus numerous other tendons, nerves etc. I had 13 surgeries to help in my effort to have use of my hand again, which was successful but in turn resulted in thick scarring that traps many of my nerves. They were unable to resurrect my median nerve. My need for opiate maintenance is legit. Pain from damaged nerves is considered one of the most debilitating pains that exisst and successful treatment like I have with opiates is almost unheard of. I consider myself lucky to have hit upon something that works so well in the management of my pain. I see a Doctor who specializes in pain management. I take 30mg of MS contin, 2x’s a day, Oxcycodone 10/325 3x’s a day, 600mg of Lyrica and 300mg of Effexor per day. After trying many other alternatives to medication, such as nerve blocks, natural pain relieving supplements etc. I have found that nothing else EXCEPT pain management with narcotics relieves my pain to its current level. I have never been happy of the fact that pills do control my life, but it is what it is. Over the years I have felt the squeeze of the FDA/DEA and their regulations. I understand many of these laws and the purpose behind them. What the FDA doesn’t seem to understand is that while trying to make it harder for unneeded narcotic use, in truth, it is those of us who truly need the medication that are suffering at the hands of these restrictions. It is has become so hard for me to have my scripts filled when necessary. First, I had to sign a contract with my Doctor stating I can only get opiates from her and can only use (1) pharmacy to fill them. The office can only write my scripts every 30 days. This only gives me a day or two before I run out completely. Then pharmacies are restricted to a certain amount that they may legally sell of a narcotic every 30 days. They are not allowed to “order” my medications or even tell me when they will be available. I live in a rural area. Nothing here is “close”. Sometimes I will have to drive to 7 or so pharmacies to receive my medications (just learned the FL term pharm crawl!) because they can’t even call other stores to see if they are available there! I do not know if this is exactly an FDA regulation, or just store policies, but I do know that even if not direct, it is in result of the FDA’s pressure to limit the use of narcotics. Every month I have panic attacks (literally) while out driving around to get these medications filled. If I don’t have them I become deathly sick AND in pain and there’s not a damn thing my doctor can do. On top of trying to live with pain, every 30 days I get the stress of not knowing if I’m going to get my medicines on time. There is no other treatments that I know of that people can’t obtain when needed. A diabetic never goes into a hospital to find out they can’t receive dialysis that day. I know we need change. I have the deepest compassion for those who are addicted to opiates. But the FDA making more laws and restrictions is not the way to change what is going on. Addicts find a way around these restrictions, those of us who belong on these medications can’t and won’t go the illegal route and therefore live in pain when there is a way to be pain free. Unfortunately, if this law passes, I think they will find that the illegal obtainment of opiates will sky rocket. Already we are seeing the results of what happens when a pill, Oxcycotin, is reformulated to reduce abuse. People who use this drug to get high are now fleeing to Morphine or ingesting harmful solvents that they use to break down the drug so they can then snort or shoot it to get high. Why can they not see that they are creating more problems than solutions? Thank you for your informative article. I will be keeping an eye on this one.
Cynthia i used to engage in the treasure hunt for my medication from fentanyl patch to roxicodone never to build a stereotypical relationship with any one company drug store. Even after yeasty rs at the same i now have my doc write early drop triplocate off so if order is needed it arrives close to legal pick up.. Truth is honesty, i have been to er due to backorder of patches and withdrew as a factual cause of not obtaining but if honest with md at er they will IM something to stop the bad sick write a decent number to suffice incompitent manufacturer. Most of all treat you dignified.
I understand pain. I used to be one of those people that didn’t have respect for pill poppers, I thought they were all druggies, be a use I knew a few myself. Until I ended up with fibromyalgia and arthritis with bulging disc. Now I get it. My question is why would my PM doctor prescribe me kadian instead of up in my dosage of norco 5.325 4 a day? Isn’t kadian much stronger and more addictive???
wealthy familes have run the world for centuries, the bottom line is THEY want to control US
I was a highly functioning woman in my 40s, enjoying a job I loved after divorce and going back to school to get my degree in IT before debilitating health issues took me out of work and away from my continuing education and on into full disability to today where I can barely hobble around with my cane around the house and resort to wheelchair if I go out for more than a few minutes. My sister and I were attacked by a virus in 2008 and because her immune system was built up more than mine she was symptom-free in 6 months but my horrible virus went into a case of full blown fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome all while trying to “bounce back” from a bad manic episode from my bipolar disorder after all the longterm, ongoing stress. Less than a year later, heredity and the trauma from ongoing, unrelieved stress and unrelieved pain brought on ostoarthritis in my hands and knees. All this pushed me out of my home and I had to live with my aging mother who had to take care of me instead of the other way around! I had to move my bedroom down from the second level to the main level office where I survive in a small daybed because I can barely walk. After two years of suffering and so much 800 prescription strength Ibuprofen causing irreversible esophageal problems, and multiple side-effects in addition to zero pain relief from Tramadol, my doc gave me a low dose of Hydrocodone which helped me to function a little better. Within another year and a half, she finally saw that my illness wasn’t going anywhere, just getting worse and put me on Opana which literally changed my life. I was able to have somewhat of a decent quality of life, at least I didn’t cry myself to sleep, and I could venture out of the house without a cane for some short outings especially in warm weather, like to drive my new car, as long as I wasn’t behind the wheel too long. The bottom fell out when all the narcotics began to be reformulated. I was still on Hydrocodone for breakthrough pain and that was the first to be affected. It barely did as much as an extra-strength Tylenol after the drug manufacturers finished messing with it. My doc meanwhile left me high and dry as she retired and it took me 9 months to find another doc who would take me on (NO ONE likes to take on a chronic pain sufferer. There I was at rock bottom with NOTHING for pain, and she didn’t even give me enough medication to wean myself off it! Great combination with NO warning of her retirement. I was able to get an urgent care center to give me a month supply of my regular scrips to wean myself off them. I went to two pain specialists who treated me like a drug addict who just strolled in off the street and begged them for some heroin. One even said it wasn’t his job to get me out of pain! I was appalled at their inhumane treatment of me and left without even returning for the scrip one of them wrote me. I could not BEAR the way they talked to me! My PCP now treats me with trust, respect and compassion. I have most recently been diagnosed with diabetes, likely also hereditary (I’m practically my mother’s clone) and so now I have had to add neuropathy to my list of pain complaints. My feet are either numb or in great pain…that is the only two settings. I cannot tolerate the meds they give for “nerve pain” as I have horrendous side effects so I just have to suffer. I have gone to an orthopedic about my awful osteo but they don’t want to do anything, just tell me to continue with my fibro treatment from my regular doc and I just have to grit my teeth and bear it when I have a bad flare-up with my knees, like now. I have been in excruciating pain for over a month and nothing will even give me enough relief to go to sleep except sandwiching my knees between ice packs and wrapping my body in my electric blanket on high and taking my regular meds, now on Fentanyl patches and Methadone for breakthrough pain. The best I can say for my meds after all the constant reformulation is that they are better than nothing and I am grateful to have them. They keep me being able to walk around the house and to the car and back, even if I can’t drive much anymore and my left leg is too painful to stand up in the bathtub by myself anymore, I still have my mom for now. I used to think when I first was on Opana that I could eventually take care of myself but now that confidence is gone, just like the efficacy of narcotic pain meds (IF YOU CAN EVEN GET THEM) and I know now that I will always need someone to help me, and I’m only 54.
I want to share my story but due to limited time and the fact I’m actually in terrible pain due to a new pain management dr, changing and completely stopping my medication after several yrs. This was meant to be a suggestion to the lady and anyone else who was taking opana er and then fda changed formula. I too was left with a medication that changed my pain level to a positive nature then suddenly left me in pain with upset stomach and added constipation. I was put back on MS Contin that previously had not controlled my pain. So I did my research and found op is on top of list to be remanufactured as it once was and maybe a extended patent due to chronic pain patients left without relief. So as far as I know there is a petition that you can sign to push for the remaking of original. Yet, I have found after much searching that a few pharmacies still carry the generic version that I honestly experience comparable relief from. No I do not misuse break crush or whatever the fears had been but it is made the same fashion as original. Look up oxymorphone and if you can get a dr to prescribe then the Major part is he has to specifically give permission for the generic to be admin. Oh and I spent about three days driving to find a pharmacy that would carry, it was only a few months after the change and I have found it easier to find pharmacies willing to order now if you agree to fill with them monthly. I hope this helps! …Also if anyone lives in MD,DE or PA area that knows a great dr or comp lawyer, please let me know, u will understand after I write my story but I hurt back in 07 five major surgeries, all failures leading to next, perfect record yet now that I’m dealing with a pushed settlement after eight yrs of literally living in hell, I now feel I cant trust nor am I getting treated fair or humane. Really hard to heal and know what to do when u cant trust your own lawyer and DR. !!!! Reading these posts has broken my heart yet propelled a spark ignited by anger and for me I will eat A LOT! Yet! I will not sit back knowing others are also suffering and some without ability to fight… so this has been a blessing any info on what others are or have done to fight back please enlighten me so that i MAY JOIN or Start a new mission. Don’t give up and please know you all are important ..not that I don’t understand that when in this cycle that the only control u may have is to leave this pain. I just hope enough focus, advocates, and attention to this injustice will gain the momentum to create a conscientious change within medical community.
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I was diagnosed with lupus sle cns in 2009, it comes and goes in lost of different ways and at the moment my lupus is slowly displaying symptoms of sle cns ans, I’ve been taking a lot of either prescribed pain killers or or the strongest over the counter from lupus symptoms and a recent back injury, but now I am getting severe nerve pain from the top of my head down my neck shoulders and arms, done my spine and down to my legs with my feet being extremely sensitive to touching anything, long story short, I took a 2mg suboxone strip and then had a massive flare up, I’ve been searching online as I was considering going on suboxone to stop taking painkillers, I’ve found a study that was done this month and know people whom are on suboxone and I know that suboxone can cause doctors to mid diagnose people with lupus sle after starting suboxone. But I cannot find anywhere on the Internet as to weather suboxone can cause a lupus flare up or if it can antagonist it or if you’re in an active lupus flare up that it will make it worse. So my question to anyone out there is, does suboxone antagonize already diagnosid lupus sle cns ans or also a-typical sle?
I was literally falling asleep as I was writing that and should have written that the pain I am experiencing over the last few months now is non responsive to opiates, more like a ton of lyrica makes the nerve pain almost bare able but I’m so hazy still, even tho I still have pain that I need opiates to function at all, bit of a dichotomy.
Interesting website. I too have chronic pain from an equestrian accident that shattered my T6 vertebrae. I was only 28 years old at the time of the accident. I should have lost the ability to breath and died in the field where I laid for 3 hours but didn’t. I believe I prayed my way out of the situation. After the accident, I regained use of my legs and I refused back surgery, I felt I was healed and did great until I hit 38 years old. I was sent from hospital to hospital for help and ended up having a fusion at L5-S1 with instrumentation (rods & screws made of surgical steel containing nickel). Unfortunately, back in 1993, the medical field didn’t realize or didn’t test for metal allergies. Only one nurse ever asked me if I had reactions to earrings and jewelry, but after my surgery. And I did have nickel allergy. If I wear cheap jewelry anywhere on my body the skin starts to ooze, gets crusty and eventually bleed. I have had to be on antibiotics due to infections from earrings. So, I have nickel allergies and the instrumentation implanted in my spine were reacting to the nickel. It caused additional nerve damage leading to unbelievable chronic pain.
Still I refused to use narcotics for 4 years after my initial fusion. I tried everything else, chiropractic care, implanted tens unit, physical therapy, steroid injections, improving my overall health by exercising and eating carefully, until I had to have the removal of the initial fusion rods & screws (which were loose also) which led me to another anterior fusion to support the first posterior fusion. The second fusion used cages (made from Titanium) for support rather than the rods & screws. Fortunately, I didn’t have any metal allergies from this instrumentation. (However, a piece of wire did migrate out of my back. Still wondering if it is from the cages.) But no matter what I did the pain continued. While being in a 3 month “work hardening” program, setup to help chronic pain patients, the doctors involved, my orthopedic, my neurologist and the program psychiatrist convinced me to take Oxycotin because my pain was from nerve damage and nothing could be done to stop the pain. They all had assured me that when people take pain medicine for pain, it doesn’t make you “high” and you may become physically addicted but that is not mental addiction. I still tried to find further help by being referred to specialists at Hershey Medical Center, Pa,, Johns Hopkins, Ma., and Anne Arundel, Ma. And when they concurred that nothing but pain medication would help with the pain, I surrendered to the pain and manage it with Oxycotin.
So, I have been on Oxycotin for the past 19 years. I have never abused it or any other pain medication, I have never so much had an traffic ticket in my life. But because I take pain medication, I am treated like a drug addict and criminal at every ER and denied appropriate medical care. I don’t want to have to “not mention” the Oxycotin to keep from being mistreated because I shouldn’t have to do it and that could be dangerous to my health. Because there are a lot of people that abuse pain medication, everyone gets lumped under one category. This totally frustrates me and now as a 60-year-old disabled woman, I am starting to think I should start an internet page/group for true chronic pain patients so we can fight back against this discrimination. Believe me, true pain sufferers can tell when someone is faking chronic pain.
So in conclusion, this is where I’m at…frustrated and angry. Both which only increase the pain cycle. I would love to know if anyone knows of a group for true chronic pain patients that can help find a solution to the injustice being done to chronic pain patients that use pain medication. Or is a good lawyer the only path to justice for chronic pain patients? I hope not.
Hopefully this stays with my other response. I forgot to add one of the most important issues I have faced due to pain management discrimination.
Five years ago, I had an UTI that went unnoticed due to my spinal problems. The UTI eventually became a full blown kidney infection, pyelonephritis, and since I have chronic pain I didn’t recognize the back pain symptoms. So a simple UTI became sepsis. I became totally out of my mind, because I was dying. But because I take Oxycotin, the ER decided I was a drug addict and had taken an overdose of my pain medication. I was kept in the drug unit three days not being treated at all other than to stop the narcotics. My husband signed me out of that hospital and took me to another hospital where my family doctor was on staff. Right away he found the sepsis and saved my life. I had gone into a semi-comatose state, I was dying because of the ignorance against chronic pain medication use. This all occurred because of prejudice. Yes, I should have found a lawyer, I haven’t but sometimes I wonder if others have died due to this type of situation. Will we die this way because this happens again?
Joan, I must get myself to bed. As much as I hate having to try and get some rest. Any way, I read your second post and I just had to tell you that I went through a very similar kidney/UTI problem and b/c of an ER doctors discrimination I ended up in critical ICU for 3 days with a fever of 105.6! I almost died! And honestly, the way I am treated these days and the way my pain is being under managed I wish most days I had. I too am tired of avoiding the ER & new doctors b/c I don’t want to mention the medications I take. I feel like a 3rd class citizen. I didn’t ask for this body. It’s crazy. They seem to think my conditions should be cured just cuz they do not want to treat my pain any more. I am being told I can have more surgery. I don’t want more surgery. Any way, my bf says it’s bed time. I hope very much to hear from you.
I completely feel your frustration! I’ve suffered SEVERE DEBILITATING migraines for 28 years & am currently on Methadone & Fentnyl daily. We just moved to Nebraska from Maine & I’ve been refused by a dozen doctors who are unwilling to take my case. Not only do they not want to even help me discontinue the meds, they say my case is so complex they can not help me. We had moved from Kentucky to Maine 8yrs ago for my husband’s work. I did not have trouble finding a doctor willing to not only continue my neurologist’s treatment plan from Kentucky but was willing to explore new options & develop new treatments. Now I come to Nebraska & am treated as a drug seeker, addict!! I have ALWAYS followed my doctors instructions, NEVER doctor shopped or ER shopped. Am very upfront about my treatment. But some doctors just do not want to touch severe pain patients. In Maine I had to go to ER about 2-3 times a month until my physiatrist developed a new treatment program for break through pain as well as starting BOTOX. My migraines became far more manageable & I have not been to the ER in over a year. Thanks to my understanding doctor & my God!! Now I have to fly back to Maine 3-5 times a year depending on issues, so that I can continue with my doctor. We are Blessed that I can afford to do this (barely) & my doctor is willing to continue to see me.
It is embarrassing to be treated like a druggie & like I am trying to pull something over on these doctors when I ask them to just please read my medical records, call my previous docs, just try to help me. But instead of help I am treated like I am just looking for a fix or am made to seem uncooperative.
I just wish these docs had to just once go through a day of the same pain we deal with daily! That might change their tunes & attitudes!!
Dear Joan,
I am just now building a Facebook page called: Chronic Pain Reform. I have made a header so far and will be making a profile or logo tomorrow. Then I will add the info about the page. If you would go to FB & Like the page we could chat and maybe, if you’re interested, we could work together to build a community where people can truly support each other and where we can make plans to advocate for people like us.
I welcome everyone to come join me. Remember I am just starting this page.
I hope to also support doctors who are still trying and willing to treat chronic pain.
I welcome ideas from everyone.
I am so very sorry for all of your pain. Let’s talk on FB! God bless you. God bless us all.
I was on codeine for years for chronic back, knee and leg pain. The morphine equivalent dose was about 180mg – now the HMO has decreased it to 120mg and want to go further even to 100mg – I have been in chronic pain since diagnosed with thyroid problems – when the weather is cold or rainy my pain is so bad, without pain relievers I cannot function. All I want is 150mg/day – allowed maximum so that on bad days I will not end up burning my skin with heating pads – I was thinking of using long-acting morphine, but then they were going to decrease my dose even further. I know my body, and I would not take more than every 4 hours, but it is not allowed anymore – I have few years left – my mother had such body pain and no pain relievers and ended up a recluse and no one could get her to move around – her health declined as a result – I do not eat right when in a lot of pain etc. Why are they doing this? Not everyone experiences pain the same way.
Beth,
I wish I knew exactly why they are doing this to us but I can only assume that they are plain lazy and in too much of a hurry to be the hero.
I agree there is a huge epidemic facing America but throwing the baby out with the bath water is not the answer.
I can tell everyone first hand that 120 or 140 equal to Morphine a day is Not nearly enough to manage my pain. Nor have I ever felt an increase in pain from my medications.
When my pain was managed I went to college, I worked out, played tennis, skied and went camping. Now, I can barely get in the shower and I’ve lost touch with my friends b/c I can’t sit in a movie chair or fo out dancing etc.
So, why?? Why are they doing this to us? That’s a great question.
Beth, I pray you find someone closer to you. That air fare should be used for your future or for something enjoyable. I’m so sorry.
I would be more than happy to join in making change. I too suffer debilitating pain and am treated like a druggie . I was a human resource consultant before four back surgeries disabled me.. So I will look for u on Facebook!
How do I get to your fb page?? Thank you so much,
Lelena
https://www.facebook.com/PainDrJeffreyFudin
I would love to join the efforts to stop the innocent chronic pain suffers like myself and you all here from being mistreated, misunderstood and out right disrespected as human beings. I am a 45 yr old mom of 3 who had a bad car accident which caused massive damage in my back, L3 – S1 which has resulted in going thru 2 surgeries the last was a fusion, both surgeries failed. I broke my femur and arm and had rods put in my hip and femur as well. Rough road but I cant change it. I have been managed by a pain specialist since 1999 who started off with PT, steroid epidurals and facet injections….. none of which were pleasant but I was willing to try anything to stop the pain that just pounds with my EVERY heartbeat. My sciatic nerve goes across my butt and down the left leg (the one that I broke) adding insult to injury. My knee is shot on the left leg as well. Anyway, my doctor had ended up saying that opiates was only thing else to try so I was started on percocet 10/325 4x/day & oxycontin 15mg 3x/day but I didnt have prescription insurance and I couldnt afford the oxycontin so my Dr changed the oxycontin to Methadone 10mg 6 x/day. Worked beautifully. Never needed increase in dosage over all these years, was on a signed contract, insisted on giving a urine sample on every visit and I basically felt comfortable with how he treated me and I had the one thing I desire so much right now and that is QUALITY OF LIFE. Now, going to my ob/gyn or regular dr and I instantly turned into a big lump of worthless junk since I take Methadone. Methadone itself has caused people to believe I must have been a drug addict that visits a methadone clinic to get my “fix”. I have felt less than worthy of drawing a breath of oxygen. Well to wrap it up , my pain specialist doctor had to have surgery himself so his substitute told me nobody will take me on as a pt if i take Methadone and i was given a 3 week supply of my medications and i was told go find another doctor but use this 3 weeks to taper off your medications. I was shocked!!!! Scared!!!! And i didnt matter. You see, i was only her problem between the hours of 830am when the office opens til 5pm when they close. That substitue goes home and i am furthest from her thoughts as she goes to the gym, picks up her kids, goes to soccer practice etc etc etc…… i however still feel my pain, my torture my nightmare continues on afterhours too. I have felt so much pain and add in now some nasty withdrawls now over the last few weeks, nobody cares. Nobody!! I have kids and i love them so much but i get so upset when i cant be their Mom as usual, i have had some bad thoughts of them being better off without me. Even with all my turmoil, I cant leave them though, i just need to find a doctormwho will treat me how my pain doctor was. I have tried finding a doctor to no success (all said they only do injections BUT I was told to go see a dr about 45 mins away who charges 275.00 for 1st visit and then $170 each month after that. I cant afford that either and now lets add withdrawls to my list of complaints. Im sorry to go on and on and on but im so frustrated that some “SUIT” up in DC, the DEA, FDA and whoever else thinks they know better than me what I am feeling and they have concluded my pain, your pain all of our pain its not worthy of relief using the same methods my doctor of many years was treating me with. What do I do? I have a 5 yr old little girl who has ballet ….. I had to have someone take her for me….. my 11yr old asks me whats wrong Mom, your back or your leg ??? My kids shouldnt see me suffering needlessly!! I shouldnt be asking another person to do my job as a parent because the DEA! FDA! and whoever else thinks I can do better without the medicine!?!?!?!?!!!!!! AND …… you are so right when you say a true chronic pain sufferer can see a drug seeker a mile away….. tell me how to help, what to do, where to go….. its too big of a problem knowing that more than 40, 000 people in the USA are true chronic pain sufferes and
NEED the medication in order to live a good quality of life everyday. Im in the stare of Virginia, by the way. Tell me what I can do to help. Thanks!!
I am 48 & have been in chronic debilitating pain from an 18 wheeler which hit me at age 36. I was always extremely athletic, a single mom, & had 6 mos to get vested retirement with the state of Ga. I had to quit my job, apply for social security, which I was blessed to receive without being denied first. I see the same pain dr. & psychiatrist (major depression, anxiety, insomnia, & PTSD) that I found 2 mos after wreck. I’ve had 24 non invasive surgical procedures & refuse a spinal fusion. I suffer cervical, thoracic & lumbar damage w/ multiple diagnosis, & have tried many combinations of medications, & am so grateful for my dr. I’ve seen no changes here in GA with medicine restrictions but am terrified that my tolerance continues to increase over the years, & what these pain medicines I need to function will damage my body. I have memory issues but dr’s say it’s due to depression and not medications. I don’t go to a pain clinic but there are many in metro Atlanta. My only suggestion is to apply for social security disability(which helps w/ stigma of being on opioids) & find a good dr. who is experienced in filling out & documenting required forms. You don’t want to be denied bc an atty will take 25% of your settlement once approved. If you can’t find a good dr. In your area, try & find one elsewhere. The APA(American Pain Association) lobbies for us & has an online site, which is worth supporting(financially if possible). Their stance is that we have medical & legal rights to proper pain relief & I believe they can help you find a reputable dr. still. They used to have a quarterly newsletter about their lobbying & successes/failures in the capital, as well as future bill proposals. I’ve also found the arthritis today magaIne helpful with various new info on pain relief & how to increase your quality of life as well as advertising products that can help aome(and often can be prescribed). Also we can all write our congressmen & congresswomen to address these issues. If you have trouble with Social Security(or any federal agencies including Vets Administration) they have staff to help you get people there to do their jobs correctly & timely. If you deal with Department of Human Services for any reason? Including Medicaid & are denied or terminated unfairly, immediately speak with the supervisor or deputy director, & if not corrected, then write a request for a fair hearing & get it date stamped & keep a copy. The judge will ensure the legal rules are applied correctly to your case. Also if you do apply for soc security, & have no $ for a dr., they will be sending you to one. I wd insist on mri’s, myleograms, & any other test you can get that they will pay for. I learned a lot of this from working with the state & a lot from my own experiences. No one can imagine our pain & resulting limitations unless they too have experienced it. It wd be more socially acceptable to have cancer it seems. Because most people only see us when we are out on a rare good day, I’ve found I’ve been judged to be faking or even ripping off the government, lazy, & even within my immediate family, which is quite painful emotionally. All I can do is make the best I can out of each day & pray for relief. My heart goes out to you all… Best of luck & get/stay positive bc they say what doesn’t kill us will make us stronger!!
If you refused pain killers,then you had/have very little pain.if any!
Daniel, I understand your comment. However, everyone deals with pain differently. Some people have a high tolerance for pain until… well, they don’t. All of our bodies have a natural way of managing pain. But like anything even that can give out over time. So, between fear of addiction, the unknown, sheer determination etc. Many people refuse pain medications for many reasons and in No means that they do not have pain or that they have little pain.
Another example… my grandmother and great grandmother suffered into their late 80’s and 90’s respectively b/c the medical community had no idea what interstitial cystitis was and also because it was listed as a psychiatric disorder that only women “complained” about.
Kara,you are wasting our time.
I too, have had chronic pain all my life – finally in my 50s I was given opiates – for the last 5 years was doing well on the equivalent of 150-180mg morphine per day. I could work, shop etc. No problems. Now I am told I am taking too much – they lowered it to 120mg/day and most of the time am in great pain because when I first get my prescription, in order to get some things done, I take 5 30mg tabs/day – then for a week or two am stuck with taking 90mg per day – which is what they want me to take and which makes me in pain for most of the day – I know there have been problems because people were taking humungous amounts of opiates, especially Vicodin and Oxycontin, but I am not taking too much if I can function on a stable dose for years. I do not know where to go to get help – this is the kind of thing that makes seniors start to drink or overdose to end it all – don’t they realize this?
Hello:
I am terrified. Not only am I terrified for myself but I am terrified for everyone who suffers from chronic pain. Specifically those who suffer from pain unrelated to cancer.
I have lived with chronic and acute pain for 33 years. The pain began when I was just 11 years old. Frankly I do not know where to start. It has been such a long journey. Compassion for a child of 11 years old in severe, vomiting and screaming pain came as quickly as it left.
Between the ages of 11 and 13 I would take so much Advil, Tylenol, Midol and Pamprin that I would throw up over and over. But no matter how much I vomited I would have to take more medication because the pain would be so severe. By the time I was 16 I was suffering from stomach ulcers due to having to take so much of those medications.
At the age of 13 I went in for my first exploratory surgery. The surgeon expected to find a sick appendix but instead he found a very large cyst on my right ovary. He never thought to look for endometriosis because the medical community did not think a girl my age could have had time for it to develop. My parents and I were told that I would be all better once I healed from the surgery. I did not get better.
After not becoming the beaming picture of health post op the doctors began to take on a sinister attitude with me. They told my parents I was addicted to being sick. They said I was just an emotional child due to their divorce and the death of my eldest brother. So, for many years I suffered immensely in between striking it lucky at the emergency room where I was forced to flee month after month. We were unable to find a primary doctor willing to take me on. No one knew what was wrong and apparently no one cared to find out. I was told I would outgrow the pain or that as soon as I had a baby the pain would go away.
Fast forward… I have had 6 surgeries to remove endometrial tissue. It always came back with a vengeance. My last surgery was when I was 27 years old and from there after I continued to suffer but could no longer find a surgeon willing to operate again because I was told I probably had too much scar tissue and that another surgery would simply add more. So, I asked for a hysterectomy which was denied to me over and over since I was 18 years old. I never wanted to have children. I never wanted to risk passing such terrible suffering down to a child.
When I was 24 I began to have a series of “bladder infections”. They were so painful I couldn’t walk, sleep, sit for very long or function well at all. I never tested positive for an actual infection but because my symptoms were the same I kept being treated with antibiotics.
I began to do some research at my university’s library. I finally found one book with a brief description about interstitial cystitis. I called a urologist and he asked me to come right in. He said he had just lost a patient to suicide because her interstitial cystitis was so severe.
For about 3 years (if I recall correctly), I would go under anesthesia and have my bladder stretched and then have DMSO placed inside my bladder to cause the lining to slough off. I also tried many other treatments but nothing ever helped for very long. The bladder distentions would cause the pain to go from about a 9 to a 20 on a 0-10 scale for about 3 to 7 days after. Then I would have maybe 3 or 8 weeks of lesser pain. If it were not for the opiates I certainly would have joined my urologist’s other patient.
The pain of interstitial cystitis is like this … imagine having to urinate so badly you don’t think you can wait a moment more, now drink about 20 cups of coffee or a case of beer and still hold your bladder, and now imagine that someone is stabbing your bladder with a thousand or so tiny needles while your bladder is this distended and then imagine you feel like your appendix is rupturing. That is sort of an idea of what it is like to live with IC.
I had begun college when I was 23 years old. I wanted so much to either be a psychologist or a doctor. How Ironic that desire came to be. While in college and dealing with endo and IC I met our campus doctor. I had been given prescriptions for Lortab, Percocet, Tylox and other pain relievers from emergency room doctors and specialist and intermittently as a child when all of this first began. But I was never placed on them every day and didn’t need them every day until the interstitial cystitis developed.
This campus doctor was kind and made me feel understood. He had compassion, empathy and a real desire to help me. I told him that now that I was no longer a child the emergency room doctors would treat me horribly and call me a drug seeker. He said to tell them that you are not a drug seeker and that you have real pain and therefore you are a pain relief seeker!! He took over prescribing and placed me on an amount of opiates which I do not even dare mention these days.
Once he began prescribing to me I was able to go from taking one or two classes in college to 6 with 2 labs!! I started my own house painting business and ran that with 8 to 12 employees while in college. I took up skiing and enjoyed camping and white water rafting in the summer. I felt like … wow!! This is what it is like to really be able to live!! It was the most amazing time in my life. Oh, and I maintained a B to B+ average in school to boot! Finally my pain took a back seat in my life! Opiates are such a life giving miracle when used properly!!
Fast forward… Aside from endometriosis and interstitial cystitis I have also been diagnosed with chronic kidney stones, arthritis, tendinitis, chronic migraines, shingles, TMJ, Trigeminal neuralgia, herniated disc at the L5-S1 area, sciatica, IBS, GERD, and myofascial pain syndrome. I’m pretty sure I’m missing something but you get the idea. I live with a lot of pain.
In 2010 I was finally given a hysterectomy. However, by this time I did not actually want to have one because of everything I had read about what they actually do to a woman’s body. But I had no other choice. I felt like if I did not have the surgery that I would lose what little pain medication I was now being allowed to have and so I relented. Okay, granted about 90% of that particular pain is gone. But what is frustrating is that no one believes the 10% still exist and what’s even worse my doctors seem to have forgotten about the interstitial cystitis, herniated disc etc.
Now, I have never expected that pain pills alone can manage chronic pain. I have always stayed active and exercised. I have gone to physical therapy and have continued to this day to do the exercises they taught me which wasn’t hard to do because I was athletic in high school and played soccer. Plus I have always loved the outdoors and doing things like skiing and climbing mountains. I currently practice Tai Chi and make sure that I stretch out every day. I eat well balanced meals and avoid junk foods.
I have also tried steroid injections but they have never given me any relief whatsoever. In fact the clinic I was going to basically made me (and other patients), feel like if we didn’t get the injections that we would lose our medications. But hey, that’s another story for another time.
My medications have been going down more and more over the last several years. I have felt so very afraid to fight it and to stick up for myself because I know how difficult it is to find someone who will prescribe at all. However, yesterday things came to a head for me when I was informed that the state contacted my doctor and said I was still taking too much medication!! The Crazy thing is that I was just about to go in and try to stick up for myself and to say hey!!!… this small amount of medication is keeping me from living my life! I am being sent back to the sofa for most of the day and soon if the state has it their way I will be back in bed and totally unable to care for myself again.
Since the cut backs have been happening I have lost the ability to be intimate with the love of my life, I do not sleep well again, it takes me hours to get out of bed, it takes me hours to be able to walk up straight, taking a shower is nearly impossible without help which is totally degrading, I cannot go out to the movies or dinner and never mind dancing or skiing or hiking or well anything that makes life worth living! And no matter what I say to my doctor he just tells me he cannot give me the help he knows I need and deserve because he is afraid they will take his license away! Where has that oath gone?
All of my life I have lost out on one thing after another. For the last few years I have been teaching myself to be a graphic artist and have been working (slowly), to build an internet marketing and advertising business with my boyfriend. But should all my medication be taken away or even if I get reduced again next month I am going to be unable to finish building my business and no doubt I will die on SSDI (Disability) having never been able to fully be a part of our society.
I know there is a HUGE problem and that our country is sick and in trouble. I am so heartbroken for those that suffer from addiction and for those that love someone who is suffering. But please (PROP), think about things a bit more, gather more data and speak to more people before you decide that being held in history as those who ended the drug plight is worth more than the well being of suffering people.
I truly believe there is a reasonable solution that will work for everyone. Please, reconsider what you are doing and please take more time to gather better data so that people do not end up in the dark ages of pain management. I really don’t want to die. I just want to live my life the best I can and the only way I can is with the help of more opiates than you seem to think are necessary. God bless us all. Thank you for reading my very long email. I really appreciate your time.
As I read these stories, I understand I am not alone in my suffering and fear. Perhaps a group with legal representation is needed for chronic pain patients. It’s a shame that it is coming to this point. I wouldn’t wish this pain on an enemy, but sometimes I wish I could share it with someone who doesn’t understand chronic pain for a few minutes and see if they would change their minds. God save us all.
There is no such thing as experiencing chronic pain for a little while. I fell off a ladder in 92 and suffer from three compressed disk, two compressed vertebrates, fibromyalgia, neuropathy and two bad hips. I was just recently operated on for rotator cuff tear with arthritis running ramped. Until you suffer for a lengthy amount of time, no one can experience what we go through. I too have been cut back and feel as though I’m treated as a criminal. I have no quality of life anymore and wonder why I still want to live.I’m 71 years old and miss all the little things such as swimming, roller skating, bowling and my most favorite, motorcycle riding.The only way I see that we (chronic pain patients) might have a chance is having some type of class action suit against, PROP, DEA, FDA and congress. So the idea of experiencing pain for a short duration of pain is not a feasible idea. Chronic pain what it say CHRONIC!
You put it best!!!! Lets do something people. I actually am experiencing severe pain as I type but before I found this site…… I thought I was alone. Im sorry for your pain, my pain, all of the sufferes pain……. Where can we start????
I agree with you – I wonder if part of it is that these medicines are expensive and they are cutting costs as well as protecting themselves from lawsuits due to addicts.
I am a 100% SC Disabled Veteran of the Persian Gulf War, I was diagnosed with: Ido Pathic Thrombo Cyto Penia Purpra, which is a blood disorder. Because of receiving high dose prednisone for the the treatment of the blood disorder and various other treatments such as chemo, I was later diagnosed with bi lateral avascular neucrosis, which was secondary to my ITP (Blood Disorder). I was immediately prescribed morphine and for the past twenty-five years, I’ve been on many different pain medications and I’ve gone on and off these meds many times too. Just recently, I was told by my treating primary care doctor that the VA now has a new policy regarding the treatment of chronic pain conditions. Under this new policy, he was required to stop prescribing narcotics immediately and refer me to pain modification meetings and that he could give me non-narcotics; even psycho therapy drugs to help to control my pain even though all these new procedures where experimental and unproven therapies for the control of pain. I have since consulted with an attorney and we’ve decided to file suit against the VA and my primary care physician for the under treatment of pain and for reckless negligence. I’ll keep you posted as to the results…
Hi, I’m going through the same thing. I have Multiple Myelpma and my oncologist retired and my primary was promoted. So when I needed a morphine refill, I was electronically evaluated by the VA pain pharmacist and now i’m being weened off morphine. They say because i’m in remission and don’t need it plus a bunch of other reasons why i don’t need morphine. .I have had 2 prior back surgeries that have me out on social security disability prior to the cancer I was on 100 mg every 8 hours for years. Now I have a fractured vertebrae from the cancer that was never fixed due to the severity of the cancer at the time of diagnoses and it’s to late for Kyphoplasty. So i’m in a lot of pain still and I went to my primary today to complain and the only thing she can do is request a pain clinic appointment but don’t count on any pain meds. She said it was because of a study they did and found no need for opiates. Well now i do nothing but stay in bed most the day because of the pain. What a nice life.
If someone could help me I have so much pain going on due to car wreck shattered my first an last viritibra in my neck an back an don’t abbuse pain pills I just take them to stop the pain so I can go on with my life but now that stupid law has past an my doctor won’t write me scripts cause she don’t want to chance her job well what about my like do I not matter I can’t handle the pain any longer what do I do contact me at guionrose@gmail.com please an thank u !
greetings , I am horrified as millions of vets are forced into drug tests ,can fail for a vareity of reason , going thru withdrawels because medication is late , enjoying a beer or marijuana , they fought for freedoms and forced thru stop loss. They deserve more than being treated as drug addicts and their bodily fluids and other humiliations for needing adequate pain control . The DEA does not want these young people on opiates for a lifetime aND I BELIEVE WENT ON A PROPAGAnda blitz about overdoses to push millions into agony . I want to know about those overdoeses and how many related to unbearable pain , harassment in getting medication , unable to pay for meds ect . I think the legislative bodies have no right to practice medicine , the DEA has been at war with the public to long and has no regard to pain afflicted on the public . Gastopo mentality . I hope that someone is trying to organize these folks to stand for their right for the most effective medicine for them , agreement for the patient and doctor. Forcing all kinds of harmful alternatives is a crime for those who are aware of how they are affected . If the medical establishment and government cared about lawsuits they would not prescribe acephedmine to the general public , horrific side effect with so many medications , it is at least the right to choose ones poison , morphine for many is effective and this should be the baromator , they can not get away with not treating pain as they do for other condition , can not drug test , unless the doctor insists with cause . The doctor should not worry about being responsible for the actions of his patients , as now so many side effects , he and the patient have to come to terms with , if the govern ment wants to dictate a harm reduction , than most medicens would be banned as too many have risks . These are the facts, the
dea has no right to force their present agenda , vets need to sue them for suicides as direct result of these policies , my regard , Jamie
Good luck, I also am going to seek counsel. It may be the only redeeming action left for us chronic pain patients.
I am writing for my mom. She is 100% disabled vet and has always been on pain medication due to back and neck surgeries. I know she has DDD and stenosis and other things wrong in her back among other issues such as metal rod in lower leg, metal in her neck and both hands. She was always watching my kids and taking them to movies , she went to meetings and shopping. A year ago the va did not send her meds on time and she was in alot of pain, I brought her ibuprofen and that night she had a stroke. She was in ICU for a week and started recovering and from there they transferred her to a rehab center ( non-va). I have moved in with her to take care of her and as soon as she got home, last April, her hospital pharmacist called and said the dr wanted to wean her off her pain meds(100mg morphine/day& oxycodone when needed). So we told the pharmacist that she just got home from having the stroke and the dr agreed it would be a bad time to mess with her meds. One month later, something was going on with my mom to where we went to the emergency room and they decided to observe her for the night. Instead they kept her for a week and weaned her off meds, including pain meds. They gave her 15mg morphine and told me she was doing fine with that. She was not ok and didn’t know how to tell anyone since having her stroke left her brain abeit scrambled even though she’s aware of everything. So then she got home based primary care and we’ve been telling them she’s in pain since last July and in November, they finally ordered an mri. When we got the results I called the dr and asked her what all this meant and she said she didn’t know how to read mri’s that well but could tell that my mom was indeed in some pain and would advocate for her. She still didn’t want to prescribe my mom anything other than 15mg morphine 2xday because she was worried my mom was at risk of falling. So finally she was approved for back injections January 1st of this year and we’ve had 5 appts with this pain dr and only 2 injections have been done within four months. My mom has been bedridden, crying everyday from the pain so I called another dr who ordered an mri and said she needs surgery and said she must be in alot of pain. My mom cried because someone believed her. So I told the home base primary care dr about this and she told me to cancel the appt we made with the new neuro dr and she would work on getting my mom into the their neuro dr. So we went this morning and at first it was the medical student and she asked my mom on a scale of 1-10 what she was at. My mom said a 9 and then she asked my mom if the morphine provided her relief and my mom said no. We left with no answers. They are reviewing their mri from November to the one I brought in but when the actual neuro dr came in my mom had problems explaining her pain and he was real short with her and we left with the bad feeling that nothing will get resolved. I don’t understand how they can do this to her. She legitimately has proof of all her problems plus two other dr’s saying she needs surgery. I can only feed her tylenol in between her two a day morphines. They do not provide extra for bad days. She’s been telling them all this since last July. Sorry to rant. Have no one else to talk to about this. I am the one who is supposed to be helping her and I don’t know what to say to dr’s anymore. Part of her disability rating from military is from migraines and she’s always gotten migraine meds and we’ve been asking for her migraine medicine for three months and still no migraine medicine. It’s as if when she had the stroke, they completely lost her medical history plus with the changing of dr’s( they’re all new) she has to work at getting any kind of relief. I am sorry for all you that suffer because I never would’ve known how bad it is without seeing my mom go through this. It’s inhumane. And by the way, she also gets treated as a drug seeker when we go to ER. And she’s having a TIA when we go there.
Okay so I’m not sure if anyone has read my mom’s story above here but it’s a week after the neuro dr from a federal hospital said he would call in a couple days. My mom’s pain is serious and I can’t do anything for her. I did call Friday to see if the neuro dr had looked at the new mri and was told he’s been out of the office and probably will be Wednesday before we get a call back. Also, my mom has 100% disability from the military and part of that percentage is migraines. She has been on migraine meds for at least 20 years. We have been telling her newly appointed dr that since her stroke a year ago, she has not received her migraine medicine. I was told I had to wean my mom off of her flexiril in order to get her migraine medicine. I did that in January and reminded her nurse and dr ( that come to the house)3 times that she doesn’t take the flexiril and she needs her migraine medicine. So a couple days ago, I called her dr(she’s a PA) about this and she said “in good conscience”, prescribe her migraine meds because there are possible interactions with 4 other meds she takes. My mom is suffering as we speak from a two day migraine! I told her dr(PA) that there is no amount of tylenol or advil that will cure migraines and she said she would talk to the neuro team about it. The same neuro dr that I’m waiting to hear from about her back. This is so ridiculous! With every dr’s appt she has, we think ” THIS is the one that’s gonna provide relief!” We’ve been doing this since last May. I don’t know who I can talk to or what I should say. Like I said in my last post, it’s as if my mom’s medical history was lost when she had her stroke last February and right after she recovered ( APRIL ’14) her familiar dr’s either retired or graduated or moved. She has seen two civilian dr’s that ordered mri and said she needs spinal fusion. Please any advice. I don’t know if anyone is reading my posts since they’re so far down on this forum. Thanks for any reply
Lisa, I wish there was something useful I could tell you, but I have been doing this for most of MY life as well. About the time you find some relief and start to actually LIVE again, there’s a “new” standard (the same as the old one: “DON’T use opiates”). Mine is being cut to essentially NOTHING. The top limit, to be used only for 3 months, isn’t enough in one dose that’s supposed to last 24 hours I guess, and it won’t even TOUCH the pain I have. And this usually happens just as you start to live again. They just casually take it away and TELL YOU it’s for your own good. Every time, I lose people I write to or talk with to suicide, Or I read about them. It’s been happening over and over again, and this time I’m just not at all sure I want to stick around for it again. After three decades, enough is enough. I wish I had some hope to offer you and your mom, but I don’t see any out there anywhere.
What good is this blog going to do for you or me. No one care about us. We are useless to society. I am disabled only because my service to our country. Now I am home bound unable to take care of my 3 youngest children. The VA will not help even though I am 100% through them. And yes I am in pain like all of yall and the clinic just decided to stop all meds cause I could not possibly drive 135 for another 2 weeks. To hell with them. I am male single and lost. Help!!!!!!!!!
try va choice and medicare if you are 100 like me you should be on medicare and if you are service connected you should have been medically discharged which will give you Tri-care prime sorry brother
yep keep talking and lets do a class action suit on such regulations that have forced vets off their med. I left a reply with the post saying he will sue , here is as good as anywhere to start it ?? Jamie
It’s not just the vets my friend, it’s a bigger picture that that most people don’t realize. There are many civilians that are suffering because of a few bad apples.
To: the Dr.who can not correctly identify a patient with extreme pain secondary to a left sided CVA ischemic lacunar infarct in the thalamus in 1993 at the age of 34 as a result of dehydration and I have a wide variety of orthopedic damage due to Special Operation training and missions.These 2 things combined have required me to use methadone and diazepam for 22_ years with NEVER a OD ambulance lost meds or any other standard drug seeking behavior. I realize that many people have lethal problems when they have no reason for the med other than to get off the heroin and with a poor titration regimen they overdose and die . This while tragic does not apply in my case I ask only to be relieved of my pain.SInce methadone no longer seems viable at the 300 MED rate I want to try the fentanyl suckers and see if this can be an alternative I would also request a “narcan” auto-injector for safety until I have the dosage properly titrated into my system. The patch is not a viable solution as I have Dejerine -Roussy syndrome also known as Thalamic Pain Syndrome and currently lumped in “UNFAIRLY” as CPS I am begging for some sort or assistance that is reasonable and “Suffer thru” is not an appropriate prescription
Ricky, my heart goes out to you brother. I just got done listening to my son who left the USMC at 80% with an acute back that now requires a surgical solution. He cant even get a Dr. to address the cause of the pain, only why they will not treat it.
I to am a Vet but I hurt my back later in life. After ELEVEN operations.
I was on the Actiq for pain and it does work. My dose was 1200 mcg every 6 hours; the relief only lasted about 45 minutes but it was for break through pain only. After a few years I asked to be taken off of it. So after about a year of slow reduction I was off for good. I still take what equals about 84 Percocet tablets a day and I only take as directed just like you – No Abuse and its been a life saver for me. If you have any questions please respond to my post.
Hang in there buddy.
all should have the most effective pain meds , as individuals tolerate , taking away these options are the agenda of other humans that are not dependant on meds for quality of life , for me methadone gives me nightmares , bad ones ,hope to resolve these horrific injustices by vets for vets , how dare they , vets need to stand up for each other as the reasons for this torment from the powers that be do not hold water ,
gandi said take back , going to the sea shore and gathering salt ,the creation is our heritage , perhaps pain patients rights to grow poppies would suffice for these greedy monsters
I have been living in chronic pain for the past 3 years. I had to end my 20+ year career because of this pain. I have seen 12 specialist which resulted from diagnosed Pericarditis 4 times since 2011, Pulmonary Embolism, renal failure, extensive lesions located in the white matter of my brain, cognitive changes, joints that swell and return to normal within a couple of hrs, extreme joint and bone pain, bleeding rashes, edema causing an 18 pound weight change within a 24 hr period on several occasions, extreme raynauds lasting for 26 hrs and more.
I live in the state of Vermont and I worked as a child protective social worker for the state of VT. Politician’s started a war on opioid use which created almost 100 positions to combat opioid addiction, physicians are monitored specific to their prescribing opioids to patients. Last yr. 20+ people died from overdosing on opioids which falls far short of the deaths caused by cigarettes and alcohol use, but the companies of these products would have the state of VT for snack if our politicians took the stance they are taking re opioids.
I have contemplated ending my life on several occasions, I have a plan, I know what products and how to obtain if I chose to end my life. I can take significant pain, but this chronic pain of the last 3 years is more than I can bear. I know others in chronic pain who are now shooting up heroin which I am also considering.
Vermont picked this issue to create jobs and I am not able to take medications that would help me with the constant pain I am in.
Hi
I’m not sure if I am in the right place to vent a little bit here. I just think it’s so very important that Opioids are available to patients other than cancer patients.
I wanted to share my experience. I live in San Diego. I have had chronic pain since the age of 20 in my neck, bulging discs, blah blah blah… with chronic headaches. I have had all sorts of needles shoved in my neck with no success. Recently I have started having horrible pain in my hips and lower back. I am now seeing a Rhumatologist that gave me injections and told me I have sever degenerative arthritis and scoliosis.
I am not a seeker nor do I lose my meds. I take 60mgs of extended release morphine and 15 mgs. instant for breakthrough pain. I recently had to go to a pain doctor because my GM stopped prescribing morphine. The new pain doctor I am going to talked me into going on Soboxone strips to get off the Morphine. Like an idiot, I agreed. Now I have so much pain I can not hardly sit, walk, or lay down for any length of time. At least on my morphine, that I was on for the last 7 years, I can walk, do the dishes and my laundry and cook. I am so miserable I am about to suck on my truck exhaust pipe. Oh and the pain doctor told me that the amount of morphine I was on was called the “drop dead” amount. Well, at least I will drop dead in no pain. I am in so much pain I have sat in my house since Friday and it’s almost Wednesday. I have cried everyday. I am so done with this ridiculous pain. . Suicide?? I always thought I was stronger than that… Now, I am seriously reconsidering those thoughts…
signed,
Fearful
Bless your heart. I totally understand as I have the same problem. I have asked God to take my life. It is terrible that p[pl who have nothing wrong abuse meds and the drs give meds to them but ppl who need them just to survive can’t get them for the world. It doesn’t make sense. I go to the dr. Monday to ask for an increase. Pray I don’t have to go back to methadone clinic. At least they will give you all you need if they think you are an addict. I was forced to do this for 7 yrs. It cost 370 per month but I had the relief I so badly needed. A Nurse practioner told me to go there and lie that I was addict and they would give me pain meds. It worked but then I was labled as a drug addict. They already thought I was so what at least I was out of so much pain. I had half of 2 vertebra removed due to infection. More than half without pain meds I can’t stand the pain. Now my dr. finally is prescribing. I went from 100mgs to 20mg. 20mgs is not near enough. I need 40mgs. We’ll see what the dr does Monday. I am afraid I’ll have to go to methadone clinic again. I never had a bad piss test or count but they decided to make me come daily. thats why I quit. I am too old and hurt too bad to drive 50 miles at 5am everyday to go my meds. Good luck but go to a methadone clinic before you kill yourself. (you must have some narc. in your system when you see the Methadone doctor.) they will raise you til you say uncle! (or 100mgs whatever is first after 100 you must get blood test to go up)
Jean, I can completely relate to you regarding having to lie and say I was an addict to be able to take an opiate strong enough to treat my chronic pain, Methadone is what I ended up on. I had suffered from chronic pain for years, and I was never given the appropriate medications to treat my chronic pain, or simply treated as a drug seeker when I sought help from the physicians I had always assumed would treat me with fairness and dignity. It’s disheartened me so much and I am labeled an addict due to being put into the position to lie about my true problems with chronic pain, and in desperation going to a Methadone clinic daily just so I can function and be as productive as possible in my life and society. I now take Suboxone which doesn’t work for my chronic pain issues. My heart goes out to all of you, I know what you are all going through and, yes suicide has entered my mind as a result and I am fighting against this! But I understand how horrible it is to live with chronic pain. Please stay strong! I know that is so hard to do in our circumstances, you are not alone and I will keep you all in my thoughts! Rachel
So are you not an addict? I’m confused. You said u had to lid say u were an addict in any get the strength u needed? In my experience that’s the last thing u would tell a Dr that’s been prescribing pain pills for you . In fact for me it’s the other way around. I would say i was in extreme pain to get pain pills. Usually telling a Dr ur an addict is the fastest way to get cut off or we ones off, especially if he’s responsible for prescribing them to you! Sorry if this offends anyone but all pain pills that are a narcotic are very addictive and no matter if your taking them for a buzz Or for ligitimate pain, your prob an addict ! Furthermore, narcotic pain pills don’t do anything to eliminate, fix, or even really give “good help”. All they really do is lie to your brain tricking it to thinking it feels better when in reality you still have all the same pain. Also many people get pain from pain pills themselves. Point being its no different than any other drugs, you may as well be drinking your pain away daily, or using any other temporary relief that has to be taken all the time in order to get relief. About 100 yrs ago or so drs prescribed heroin, opium,and cocaine and other harmful addictive drugs for all sorts of alements until people started going nuts and getting badly addicted or worse overdose from it.So they made it illegal . Now it’s oxys, roxys,Percocet,Victorian,morphine,dialysis, etc which all is mainly made from the poppy plant, same as the main ingredient in heroin
By the way I bet that’s got a lot to do with us entering Afghanistan so we could control the production of poppy fields and get the rewards and profits for ourselves. Like war on Iraq for oil . Kind of weird more people are hooked on opium based narcotics in the USA recently then ever before
What the hell!? I can’t believe this new Dr. Took u off all your morphine and talked u into switching to suboxone. Wtf is he thinking? I’ll tell u what , either ur history report, or whatever you told him made him assume you were an addict , but I’m leaning more towards ur history and how long you’ve been on painkillers.Anyways, so what did he suggest for you to do for pain after switching to subs as they don’t do shit for pain! Hopefully you called him and told him your in severe pain now to the point suicide has crossed your mind, well don’t say that or they’ll try to commit you lol So I take it your not having any withdraws from not having morphine ? Just pain right, or both ? The subs should help any withdraws but sometimes they take awhile to get u stable at first due to having to wait and see your results each day , really though suboxone is not designed to treat pain, it’s designed to get addicts that are experiencing opiet withdraws to stop being sick and eliminate the cravings of other opiets. Which reminds me suboxone strips usually have naltrexone in them too so if you take a morphine, or any other opiet while on subs, it will block the morphines affects and could possibly make u sick or withdraw! Subs aren’t easy to get off of either for most people . If I were you I would ask him about methadone instead of suboxone, as it does work for pain and also blocks the affects of any Opiets….There is also methadone clinics if u wanted to eliminate your new doctor all together. If u haven’t tried methadone , I would consider it. Now don’t get me wrong it is harder to come off of than pretty much anything ! But heard if u taper off it slowly its much easier and more effective when trying to stay clean afterward. Hope this helps in some way 🙂 good luck
”Furthermore, narcotic pain pills don’t do anything to eliminate, fix, or even really give “good help”. All they really do is lie to your brain tricking it to thinking it feels better when in reality you still have all the same pain. Also many people get pain from pain pills themselves. Point being its no different than any other drugs, you may as well be drinking your pain away daily, or using any other temporary relief that has to be taken all the time in order to get relief ”. ——————————- Are you a Pharmacologist ?
When you make a statement like the one above I start to think people like you know a little about 1 thing and that’s all you need to know. No different than any other drug – WOW – So Codeine is no different than Motrin or Oxycodone is no different than Morphine. Then the real WOW – People get more pain when taking pain pills ! That’s just plain bizarre. After years of taking narcotic pain meds I am not an addict. I wake up at 7am and take a small dose of Aspirin / 200mg and then about 3 hours later I start with my pain meds. I might be dependent on them but I’m sure as hell no addict / an addict uses for pleasure a person like me uses for pain relief and that is what I get PAIN RELIEF – Please don’t tell me I can get the same results from any other medication, that’s just plain stupid. Medications, all of them have different effects on different people. Morphine makes me sick with flu like symptoms, fever, sweats and severe headache.
the meds I take give me great pain relief when most other meds do not. As far as creating more pain, that has never happened to me as a matter of fact a good toe stubbing hurts for a split second then quickly dissipates. Having a tooth pulled or a root canal done requires no other meds than what I’m taking now. You make some wild accusations and cant back them up. Sure some doctor might agree but that’s the standard anti opiate quote. Then you go on about the war in Afghanistan, tread softly my friend. My son a USMC Vet, decorated with the Combat Action Ribbon in Afghanistan will tell anyone – poppy had nothing to do with our military presence in that country. We can grow poppy here at home just as well as over there.
Its people like you that are part of the – low information crowd – and you think you know it all, really all you know is what you read in some blog. The bottom line is this; pain meds have given life back to people that suffer a great deal and without those meds ( not water ) a lot of pain patients would chose suicide if faced with no relief at all due to the new politically correct guidelines. Motrin kills the liver along with Tylenol and recently it was shown that Tylenol has absolutely no pain relieving effect other than a headache. Most if not all NSAIDS will kill you if taken long term – more than a year. The poppy plant has been used to relieve pain for thousands of years and that’s a fact you cannot deny so I ask you – why do you insist that these pain meds REALLY DONT WORK when millions say they do ? I can debate you all day but my fingers grow tired and you seem like the kind of person with a bit of narcissism.
Check out the book – Pain in America – you might learn something.
I’m never out of the fight.
jjs
Fearful, don’t quit and the doctor that told you about the DROP DEAD dose is a liar. The human body adapts to the medication over time. So, if you are taking 200mg of Morphine for 3 years an increase will only do one thing, lower your pain level.
Its sad they blame opiates when drugs like Motrin in any dose will destroy a human liver when used long term. They can’t say that about opiates; constipation is the # 1 side effect and complaint. Don’t let any doctor tell you something that’s not true, call him on it and ask him why a lie is needed to get you off pain meds.
keep in mind – you are never out of the fight.
jjs
Sarah, i can relate to your pain. I have been seeing a pain specialist for 3 herniated discs in my lower back and 3 in my neck, the pain is constant and can effect all my extremities at anytime. I have fallen down many times while walking, including once where I sustained a serious concussion in August of 2014. that alone has caused more headaches and some intermittent loss of my cognitive reasoning. I lost my job of 25 years due to this condition. For 6+ years I have been on 60 mg of methadone { 15 mg 4 times a day } I have never once abused this medication or taken more than prescribed in over 6 years. this is the only meds that I can take with NO side effects. In October of 2014 I was put on a functional restoration program in the hopes I would improve enough to be more active and even be able to reduce my med dose a bit. My Dr. tried to reduce my meds too much at one time and it wasn’t working well at all, then bouncing up and down trying to comply with their wishes, with this medication I was told by my Dr. and another this should be a slow process at 5mg from a week to 2 weeks { not 15 mg like what was done } I had a couple incidents of cognitive reasoning problems during this functional restoration program and was given suboxone to go off the meds even though my Dr. promised me during the program that she would never take me off my methadone. the results were disastrous as my Dr. did not tell me to wait 72 hrs. with no methadone before taking that and it made me real sick and ruined the program for me. I was told I need psychiatric help instead. that is not the case for me. so now they are taking me off it way too fast from 60mg to 0 in a month. research shows that is unethical, inhumane and cruel. My pain is worse daily, in bed 95%. with the meds I was able to be moderately active and some quality of life, I have none now. I have also had thoughts of suicide and found out suicide is one of the main side effects of going off methadone too fast. After 6+ years of being responsible with meds, they are kicking me to the street. can’t eat or sleep, this is torture and can be avoided. I am trying to fight it, if you or anybody else knows of legal action that can be taken please let me know. Good luck Sarah
forced withdrawl of dependent opiates is a crime and must no longer be tolerated , we have pain and can not be discriminated just because some unethical yahoo practices neglegence . Make sure to contact the right people in ur area and document how they have caused harm ,no kidding , we hope to get all the documentation and stop thier worthless care for the public treatment of long term pain , they forced folks with arthritis and other horrible inflammatory problems VIOX and caused how many deaths , do u think folks are ready to give a doctor assurance against lawsuit for the risks associated with a medicine ,
There MUST be SOME WAY that the country’s pain patients can institute a law suit! Maybe if enough of us screamed all at once through the LAW and made it cost, someone would the idea that this is medical abuse that can result in suicides! Someone in chronic pain – as any torturer knows – is not entirely sane. After months, YEARS of torture, no; we’re not whole. Maybe we can get it done in numbers.
I think now there is oboma care they want us hurt people to just commit suicide because dr are afraid to stick up for the patients I suffer and have no quality of live due to the reduction in a opiate pain killer that worked don’t take drug abuse out on chronic pain people but that’s what is happening the dr are young and don’t know pain it’s really bad they are hurting pain patients yet the abusers just change to jheroin I am sick of being treated like I don’t need the medication I am in so much pain I can’t stand it
Sarah, I am so sorry. Please, never consider taking your life again. I know what chronic pain is like; and in August I woke up and was at the end of my rope. I drove myself to the ER, was bawling, told them I needed help coping. They put me on suicide watch in the ER…..was put in a psych ward for 11 days. There were a lot of drug addicts there for the first few days…don’t know why. They had to go back to rehab. I was listening to them talk, about the sad lives that were so in need of a miracle. I have never thought of regular use of Percocet as being an addict. And it is not!! For now I go to a good pain clinic that gives me 90 percocets monthly. I am never pain free, but it helps me get through most days. I do not know what is ahead but I pray someone with sanity and compassion steps in for us. No person in chronic pain with poor life quality, sometimes severe pain would ever question our need for help, for sanity.
I believe what is going to happen is more illegal, unmonitored drug use will be the result. And suicides. Did the prohibition not teach the government anything. A lot of drug pushers are going to be thrilled if they stop allowing our doctors to care for us. Take care of yourself, and let’s pray politicians all get chronic pain problems. Not for real, but it would put them in our shoes wouldn’t it. I pray you find hope and strength to keep going and find a few days of rest to help renew your mind and body. Know that I care and understand: you are never alone.
I have lumbar neural formal bilateral stenosis and degenerative disk disease, herniated disks at a couple of level and I had a micro disectomty last may and that helped a lot, , now the pain down my leg and into my foot and ankle has me in constant tears,,, I have gone to the ER several times and they just send me home,,, I take gabapentin and Naprosyn and Norco and morphine sulfate and it is not even taking the edge off and after the hospital not helping I think end in my life might be the only choice because the pain is so horrible that I cabby live this way,,any ideas? Please help me
jennefer , these are issues a pain doctor must be free to address , do u know what could help , in the meantime they have suggested a specisl magnesium , malate , it is widly recognized for musle pain , I take vit e works like a ant inflammatory , magnets , any way it is rough when pain rules , hope u find something soon that helps as so many folks thruout the world that have been forced to live with pain , like India , their religion dictates suffering is their problem , these dogmatic cultures have a thing or two to learn about oppressive governments that force them to eat nuclear isotopes than tell the public cancer is their fault and they believe it , well not for long as Gandi said take it back , when he went to the sea and gathered salt , creation is our birthright and the worlds war on plants has almost succeeded in the 6th extinction , this is why we can not be silent . Perhaps growing our own poppies is the right thing to do .
Sarah,
Please don’t end your life. Don’t let the govt win! Get a legal aide lawyer and sue or a private one not v afraid to b take on govt. Perhaps a class action suit would be better
. Your life is constant pain, but things are always chasing in medicine. Do you live where you can get medical marijuana?
Sarah,
I certainly can understand where you are coming from. What the politicians did not consider is by taking away opioid pain medications from legitimate chronic pain sufferers, they are in fact making the “drug problem worse”. Upstanding citizens are being left with no other choice than to find any means necessary to relieve their pain. These politicians are creating 100’s of 1,000’s new heroin addicts. The smarter thing to do, would be to continue to monitor any Dr’s who may have been prescribing recklessly, maybe impose a jail sentence if they are found to be irresponsible even. But Dr’s who are merely trying to improve a patients quality of life should not feel afraid to lose his license. Correct me if I am wrong but aren’t the Dr’s the ones who actually attended several years of medical school. But NO our government thinks they know better. BULLSHIT!!!!
Dr. J. Fudin, I would like to say thank you, not only from myself but also from all the people suffering due to chronic pain. Obviously you have deep concerns for non-cancer chronic pain patients. Your work is deeply appreciated.
Thank you for your kinds words and encouragement “Never Ending”. I’ll try to keep my head above water!
I already posted about how I suffer on a daily basis from pain and the hospital just sends me home,,, this post is to give my thaught on the new laws,,,,, like gun laws it only hurts the law abiding citizens, ,, gang bangers are getting guns off the street still so laws don’t affect them,,, it is the same with pain meds,,,, they will still be getting them off the streets while the people that actually need them can’t get then due to these new laws, ,,, how messed up is that
I hope something changes. We would NEVER allow our pets to suffer. Why is it ok for us to suffer. I am so tired. I too have asked God to show mercy and take me home.
I think that this is business as usual between governmental agencies. Also,I believe that we have Purdue Pharma to thank for the greed that they have unleashed on the the public to push a drug that either will help a pain patient tremendously or kill them if they don’t need it “aka drug attics”. Then they change the composition of the drug cause of the so called war on drugs, which in my opinion was a good call even though it doesn’t work as good, but in my opinion still works(I am not talking about the war on drugs). Back to the point, it was them that screwed so many of us pain patients. And drug attics crushing them and chewing them and god only knows what else, that caused the DEA and others high up on the government chain to start calculating deaths compared to other illicit drugs used by attics, which in turn led to them thinking that changing the composition of OC and adding a gel like binding agent would lower those numbers. It didn’t cause everyone knew what it was already and started to sell, abuse, take or whatever, the instant relief oxycodone 15mg and 30mg tablets that us pain patients were taking according to the direction of our doctors took for break through pain. That in tun led to even more abuse and deaths, so now we are in 2015 situation, where PM drugs are considered and looked at even before other (S1) drugs are. Purdue Pharma is responsible for also the number of so called pain docs and clinics that started to pop up way before 2008, cause of drug reps pushing it so hard and everyone knew, including doctors, how much money could be made from just these drugs in less than a year. So anyone that could legally or illegally give these drugs out would become a millionaire in less than a year pretty much. The pharmacies take some blame also I believe, especially the mom and pop pharms that would only take cash paying customers, leaving others to the chain pharmacies that would take insurance, but more than likely as I discovered never had it on hand supposedly. Purdue Pharma went as far to court to say that it was illegal for other manufacturers to make a generic, leaving them to make all the money for that drug and it worked for them and the government, basically they all got rich. Greed and power is the 2015 situation once again and I don’t think it will change. DEA has all the doctors that are legit, running scared for there pain licenses now. I just wanted to say that I sympathize with all the persons on here that are in pain and having trouble every time they turn around, cause I’m one of them to and my wife is also. I have head and back problems from a 3 story fall that I took in 2004 which as of the past 4 years has given me a gran/mal or tonic/klonic seizure disorder, I have extreme RLS and now have MS that I was recently diagnosed with. I have been living with colitis and ulcers, which is just painful and inconvienent and constant large kidney stones that I have to go to the hospital for for procedures to be done cause I can’t pass them on my own. I had shingles on my back which now has caused extreme nueropathy on my back and left leg and the list goes on. My wife needs back surgery, she is bone on bone on her whole back and her PM doc cut out her break through meds completly. None of it makes any sense. I have so many doctors that agree with my pain but won’t do anything about it. It’s diconcerting and confusing so bad that it has caused an anxiety disorder of a horrible nature, but at least my heart doc and nuerologist are compassionate on that end with meds, but doesn’t stop the pain. Just wanted to say that I am thinking of all who are in real pain on here and around the world, that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you can get what you need and have somewhat of a happier life if you can. This world I believe probably won’t get better. Lost my brother in 2008 who was 26 years old and he had stomach cancer and a tumor hanging off of it the size of a dinner plate and he couldn’t get his oxycodone either and died an excrutiating death as did my grandmother on similar circumstances.I guess maybe just try to have a positive attitude and I hope things will work out better for you in the immediate future for what you need, I really do. Thanks for reading my rant, lol, but talking about seems that’s all we can do as of late. See ya later, hang in there and please try to remember that suicide is not the answer, that makes me sad to hear about those kinds of things.
I have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome full body, So I’ve got 2 1/2 strikes against me right at the start. I take a cocktail of medications that include both Morphine and Hydrocodone, I get no “high” or pleasure from these medications and the best they do is bring the pain down enough so I don’t feel like screaming. This is not a patient exaggerating their pain, CRPS scores has the highest score on the McGill pain scale rating ten points or more higher than things like amputation of a digit, or unprepared child birth.
Strike 1: CRPS a little known and incurable Chronic Pain condition, with the worst pain of all.
Strike 2: FDA and DEA response to pill mill Drs. and patients who use them or Dr shop make it harder for all chronic pain patients to obtain medication, but even harder for CRPS patients who need these medications at much higher levels than others.
Strike 2 1/2: State Legislatures following FDA lead create ever more restrictive laws that put chronic pain patients in jeopardy due to medication shortages or change in their pain levels. Georgia for example will limit the filling of a pain prescription to once a month, I’ve had a pharmacy tell me they didn’t have enough in stock to fill my prescription.. by Law if the Pharmacy “short filled” my prescription with 60 rather than 90 pills for the month, the Pharmacy could not issue the remaining 30 pills when they are resupplied, I would have to try and manage my pain on 1/3rd less medication. Of course I could take my prescription down the road to the next Pharmacy which I did with difficulty since my condition makes it very hard to get around.
Bottom Line – With every move the FDA has made to crack down on abuse of legitimate pain medications to crack down on crooked Drs and to prevent the deaths of those who abuse the medications or the overdose deaths caused by incompetent Drs. Every single move makes life harder for every patient that has a legitimate need for these medications. Stigmatizing those in chronic pain as addicts and creating an atmosphere of fear in the medical community that causes Drs. to under treat chronic pain patients leaving them suffering in agony. The FDA needs to read the Hippocratic Oath “First Do no Harm”
I’ve been a drug addicted since I lost my insurance, at least according to the doctors and DEA. As sad as it is, illegal Heroin is better than living in pain. Or living under a doctors “care”. It’s sad we have to break the law, but it better than killing ourselves to stop the pain. I’m glad they aren’t getting rich off my misery.
Today my Neurologist informed me that due to new federal regulations, that he could no longer wrote a 90 day Rx for 80 mg Kadian, three times per day due to the new DEA law. I have been using this drug for over 13 years for severe peripheral neuropathy , and getting 90 day prescriptions as my RX insurance co-pays would be less. Now my Doctor says he can only prescribe a lower dose and for only 30 days at a time. I will not go into all the details of my medical history other than to say that Kadian was the last drug in a long list or drugs that I had taken to get some relief from the debilitating pain of neuropathy, and that the dosing was increased over the years as my pain levels increased. I am 60 years old, and on long term disability from my employer due to the neuropathy, I am very worried about being limited to a lower dose of 100 mg per day, and the resultant return of the pain. And since CVS stores in Florida got in trouble with the DEA sometime back, they cannot dispense the Kadian locally and so I must order it by mail. (My Rx insurance is by Caremark/CVS) This will be nightmare having to get a new prescription every two weeks as it takes at least 2 weeks to order the drug by mail, and receive it before I run out. As I sit here thinking about these new restrictions, I cannot help but get angry. I have run out of this drug before when a Hurricane delayed its delivery to my home and underwent withdrawels. It was living hell. Now it looks logistically impossible for me to get a new RX written and mailed off in order to receive the new order in time.
Is there a case by case evaluation by the DEA, where those of us that will be harmed by this new law can get relief from it ?
Has anyone started a a lawsuit against the government over this ?
And after reading all that I can find about this new law, it looks like its only for Hydrocodone and not Kadian.
Is Kadian on the restricted list of this New DEA mandate or not ? Perhaps my Doctor was wrong all along. What can you tell me ??
I suffer with 3 painful “proven” medical conditions. Physician after Physician, Specialist after Specialist have confirmed NOTHING more can be done for me other than keep the pain under control with medications. I had Cancer and this pain is much worse. Without my meds. I cannot function and being a widow I have to be able to take care of myself. No pain meds. and my blood pressure goes as high as
250/225. My spine was ruined by a surgeon who lost his license and then ran back to his home country. Addicts take drugs for a “high”, severe chronic pain patients take them to “live.” There are such patients taking their own lives due to unbearable pain and still others going to the streets to get meds.to help their pain. Doctors are running scared, some Pharmacies won’t fill legitimate pain scripts.
What have we come to? It’s MY BODY if I want to kill an unborn child but it’s not my body if I make a choice to keep my pain tolerable. I have Post Polio Myelitis, Chronic Severe Illiac’s Disease and Degenerative Disk Disease and a Spinal Fracture. Is that enough for you???? When the pain becomes that severe even death looks good. For those who have taken their lives for this reason, make no mistake their blood is on the hands of those making all these rules. One week in my body and then we can talk. Just one week. The pain is severe, it never lets up, I vomit it gets so bad. Is that bad enough?
Corky,no one cares about us.It is that sad.People who have zero pain and abuse pain medication have destroyed any chance that genuine chronic pain patients have of relief.
The DEA was told by our governing body to take the easy way out and cut everyone.
We do not matter,unless we riot,loot,burn and murder.Be it known that chronic pain patients are far too
vapid to accomplish anything.
Thousands of elderly chronic pain patients have committed suicide this year,rather than fight it.
But the Bilderbergs have decided that population control is in full swing.
It is my country but I do not recognize it anymore.
so why cant us real chronic pain patients, non-addicts/abusers; drug dealers, and otherwise unreputables get together with someplace that we can meet our own needs
You are so right Daniel!!! I think that about many things! One person ruins it for everyone! It really stinks. They go to jail and we go to hell on earth and an almost jail sitting at home in misery not able to work and make any money and provide for ourselves. Thank you low life DEA for ruining the lives of people who really need these meds!
friend My heart goes out to you all I suffer daily with chronic pain with disability The DEA has made our lives HELL! for the ones here that needs pain medication I can’t get my prescription filled I hope The DEA gets to need treatment or medication & let them live in hell like they put us thru the only thing their doing is pushing decent people to buy from the drug dealers that the DEA isn’t stopping BUT hurting the ones who needs Pain medication I will do just that! & put what ever happens on their heads cause I have had it DEA you can go straight to hell…
U no I read this stuff and I know what they r going through .. I had a dr absolutely years ago because I asked him to up my meds to a 5mg Percocet said I’m not seeing u anymore anfpd I don’t care if u do die. I’ve been through everything with Drs and pharmays just like others . Wanting to die . Begging God to take my life that I can’t take it no more. And I cant . I’m tired of suffering I’m tired of being looked at as a drug addict every time I go to a pharmacy. I barely can make it to my dr appointments as it is . It takes me 6 hrs to sit in bed and get dressed and my makeup on and try to look have way decent . I have to sit up 2 hrs in my bed and crying balling trying to get my pain just a little better . My pain level if off the chart . I go several months without even bathing . It’s so humiliating to say this . But I do . I’m not able . I can’t get the help I need I can’t get my meds when I need them the pharmays only get so many . I got to pay cas because they reuse to run my card. Can someone please tell me what can be done to help us that we don’t have to go through this .. No one knows what I’ve been through and it’s getting worse . It’s not fair that we should suffer .. How many ppl have to take there own life .. It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s wrong wrong wrong what we r going through .. I really think it’s population control. They don’t care if we die the gov doesn’t . That’s kess ppl that they have to give a check to and insurance . They don’t care. We need help .. Please what can I do . Please I need help please ..
This is not a free country,is your answer.
I live as you do and truly empathize Debbie.
What do you do when u don’t know what to do anymore???? I Got sick at 32 years old and got diagnosed with one autoimmune disease then another to another to the worst one that is deadly and already has afteted my heart . It either kills u from your heart or pancreatic cancer. My Immune disease cries but me in bed now for 9 years. I lsuffer death 24-7 everyday of my life. There’s not one part or thing in my body that is not affected severely by this for it keeps bringing on one disease apafter the other one illness after the other . U name I’m living with it. I’ve had a light stroke over it , it causes blood clots everything. Which I’ve had as well and I’m dealing with something they say it’s not a blockage or clot in my leg but it’s something wrong. I have microndia disorder over this my blood does not flow right I don’t get the blood flowing to my brain or heart or anything right . It’s severly dangerous. It’s causing me to go blind. It’s worse than MS, Cancer and aids combined. That isn’t the only disease I’m dealing with and your life span is around 12 years . I got severe degenerative disk disease. Spondylitis in mid back and neck, severe neuropathy . I am so so tired of living like this and suffering .i can’t take no more.. My dr won’t write enough meds even though it seems like a lot but he’s afriad to … Pharmacy that’s my family pharmacy looks at me like I’m a drug addict when I do go in there most of the time since my mom died taking care of me my dad picks my meds up. I’m disabled on SSI get $721 a month and $43 in food stamps.rhe pharmacist refuses to run my Medicaid and they will pay for all most all of them and he knows he can do it . I’m living on nothin my.. I don’t even have a tv or phone in my house. I can’t affird it . What can I do .. Please something has to give .. What do we do . When u don’t know what to do.. I realise now why people take there own life .. I never did b-4 but I do now . I don’t deserve to suffer death and be treated like some drug addict . No one does when there truly in chronic pain. My past n is worse than chronic I don’t know a word for it but death.. If the gov can do everything’s no else . They can look at every one that gets narcotics at there medical history and c who really needed them and who doesn’t . It’s that easy . Why should I suffer , why should they/ U / I /any suffer like this . It’s wromg and in humane ..
I am a 100% service connected disabled vet. I have suffered from chronic pain disorder for over 20 yrs. I can be rather stubborn and fought it off for 16 years on my own. Meditation, chiropractors, physical therapy, varieties of yoga, Pilates etc. etc. until eventually about 4 years ago, the pain just came and stayed. I was sent to the pittsburgh va pain clinic. Diagnosed me with chronic pain disorder and started me on medications to help keep me functioning in my life instead of lying in the fetal position and crying for hours on end.
This page is titled wrong. It should be chronic pain patients who use opiates to relieve pain. I was told I would be on these meds for the rest of my life. The last 4 years I have always taken my meds as directed. Over the last year I have had multiple deaths of my family members causing some travel and eventually a move. In that time I had to see a va doctor in Florida who looked at me with pure disgust while announcing we don’t treat for pain here. Even with my doctor calling from pa. I only needed a 3 day supply. A miss communication had occurred and my meds where late. The doctor handed me a bottle of withdrawal medication. And a get out of my office glare.
I went back to pittsburgh and discovered my family was moving back to minnesota. A very labor intensive job. I was on my meds again but the work was unavoidable. I got to minnesota. Met my new doctor who raved about the meds I was on and instantly took away almost everything. It’s also minnesota policy not to treat for pain. Then she not only did NOT examine me, but actually said I need to go to the psych dept. so they can teach me to find a good man!!!!! I was and am outraged. My care is back in pittsburgh but apparently the hammer is coming down there to. All at administrative direction with threats of doctors losing listening if they treat. What the hell is wrong with these people. All the research I find talks of patients being under treated. I see one or two cases where people abuse and this is supposed to justify the torture of thousands who stood proud. Willing to risk life and limb and this is what we get. Kicked to the curb like we’re know one. They tell me I can only be treated by them and then refuse to treat. Medication was my very last choice. What can I do. I feel like my hands are tied. I know minnesota is offering medical marijuana on July 1st. Doi have to rescind being treated for pain by the a in order to comply. I still want to follow the rules even when the va doesn’t.
DIANA,
I EMPATHIZE DUE TO THE POIGNANCY DERIVED FROM YOUR COMMON SENSE PLEA.
I WILL NOT BOTHER YOU WITH THE HORRID DETAILS OF MY FOUR FAILED SPINE SURGERIES.
SIMPLY STATED.THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND HEALTHY BILLIONAIRES WHO USE OBAMA AS A PUPPET,INSTRUCTED THE DEA TO COME DOWN ON EVERYONE.ELDERLY PAIN PATIENTS,PEOPLE LIKE US MEAN NOTHING.
I WAS UNABLE TO FUNCTION UNTIL A PITTSBURGH DOCTOR PRESCRIBED 60 MG METHADONE TABS DAILY.I WAS PAIN FREE FOR 12 YEARS,RAISING MY SON,BEING WITH HIM,TAKING CARE OF MY DEAR PARENTS,WORKING VERY HARD FOR MY CLIENTS AS STOCKBROKER/BONDS AND EARNING ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY…..VACATIONING ALL OVER ARIZONA,NEW MEXICO..THE NATURAL WONDERS OF SOUTHERN UTAH ON HORSEBACK.
THEN THE DEA CRACKDOWN AND I AM HOUSEBOUND ALWAYS NOW.
ALL A 70 YR OLD MAN NEEDED WAS 100 MG DAILY AND I WOULD LIVE OUT MY DAYS PAIN FREE IN SUNNY ARIZONA…….BUT NO.WHY?
I NOW AM TAKING STUPID RISK OF SPINAL CORD STIMULATORS DUE TO CERVICAL PAIN.
HAVE YOU INVESTIGATED THIS OPTION?LOW SUCCESS RATE BUT PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL IN WRETCHED,CLOUDY PITTSBURGH DOES THEM. bear022013@hotmail.com
WISH YOU LUCK,
DFM
Dan, I hear you. Me, I’m in my late 50’s and have had eleven back operations due to a trauma. I gave the stimulator a try, had it done in Pittsburgh UPMC hospital. It was in for about a month and I was ready to start taking less meds. Then one day while getting out of my car I felt a sharp pain in my low back and then the stimulation started going down the other side of my leg.
I went back to Presby where they tried / operated on me three times in 5 days and they were not able to duplicate the original implant position. My Dr. even had the tech from the company that made the stimulator come into the operating room and help but they just could not get the wire back into position. So they took it all out and told me it wasn’t worth the risk to keep trying. Each time more bone had to be removed so they could work, they said my nerves are like cold cooked spaghetti and my case is rare. That was 8 years ago and my condition has only gotten worse. I know one other person that had the stimulator and she did great for a few years then the wire moved. She cant find a Dr. willing to go in and try to put it back in place.
I was offered a morphine pump and my pain Dr. said; its for people that cant get relief from their oral medication. I do get relief and a pump is for people that have no options left and cant get out of bed or off the couch. Pittsburgh has great doctors ( not at VA hospital ) so if you want to take the chance it might be worth it. In my case it only helped my leg pain not my pack pain. The stimulator will only attach to one nerve so one area of pain will be stimulated with electricity.
You get to a point that a person will try anything but the stimulator will not give you total relief but it can help a little bit, if it stays in position.
Hope this helps you.
jsj
Diana, I have had numerous back operations and suffer with chronic pain but my question for you is about my son. A USMC vet at 80% disability and he goes to the Pittsburgh VA Hospital. I have seen his films and I think he needs a fusion but he cant get a Dr. at the VA to even look at his case. They just tell him Good Luck. Is there a Dr. at the Pgh. VA that will prescribe any type of pain medicine to a 35 year old vet ? So far all they can offer is bio feedback and stretching with breathing exercise’s.
He comes to me with tears in his eyes because he cant take care of his 20 year old son and he wants to work to. So, I ask you is there a doctor in Pittsburgh VA hospital that cares about vets in pain ? Please reply to my post and I can send you my contact info or my son’s info.
Thank you and I hope you find a doctor that cares about you and your pain. I know how hard it is.
Thanks,
John
I had a Laminectomy L2-L5 is what I was told by the Dr 2 yrs ago. I had a drug problem in the past and was very honest with my pcp. Nothing opiate realted and never did herion. I understand Drs gotta be on the cautious side but a recent mri showed my L3 was herniated. I am in severe pain and because of my honesty of recent drug use everyone now looks at me like a drug addict. I honestly cant stand a pill high and it is just not my thing. I have always followed my dosage when prescribed pain meds. I have to suffer for another 2 weeks until my pain management dr sees me. They are also doing a nerve block because my leg is numb. I struggle with this so bad because of the judgement. My pcp gave me pamelor and i had a bad reaction with it. From breathing, more pain in my leg, insomnia and painful urination and my lips were puffy. When I told them this he said take Tylenol and I wanted to snap out. Im so frustrated with this and the pain makes it worse. These laws are so ridiculous. I hate the fact that they can just look into the computer and see what each dr writes. It makes me wanna switch hospitals and drs who dont know my past and start over. Tell them nothing about my past. But I havent. I continue to use the same system and hope my medical tests speak for themselves. Everything hurts so bad and I cant get relief. I dont think this is fair. I never had any problems getting the meds I need until I spoke of my past. I have tried every non narcotic med out there. My allergies make it difficult as well. I do understand the Dr is looking out for my recovery and covering their butts but this isnt right. I would come in anytime they called me if they wanted to do a pill count. and arguing with them and asking for the meds makes me look worse. But what do you ask for when nothing else works?
You may as well give up on the system,I broke my neck and back have steel cages and metal plates on my neck bones ,most my nerves are cut i hurt like hell 24-7. And on top of that i have degenerated disk in lower back and center of spine was cracked . My legs stay numb hurt all over, And all i can get in arthritis meds . And i have never did illegal drugs ,so if you figure something out tell me. I never did any meds until i was in a car crash, They gave them to me since 2000 and now you cant get them in ky anyway.
I am 36 years old. I feel 80. I have had lumbar spine pain for 20 years. I have had 7 lumbar surgeries with the last surgery on July 31, 2014 being a 5-level Lumbar Fusion. I also suffer from Degenerative Disc Disease and a disease called ARACHNOIDITIS in every level of my lumbar spine. Arachnoiditis is an incurable disease that involves swelling of the spinal cord. There is NO surgery, NO magic pill, NO therapy that will cure this disease. I have sciatica that runs from my right hip all the way to my right ankle. I have maxed out on Norco, I am currently on Percocet and Morphine. I have been on Percocet for OVER a year so needless to say, my body has built up a tolerance to the medicine. My “pain mgmt” doctor who I’ve seen for over a year now refuses to change my prescription from 1 Percocet 10/325 every 6 hours to every 4, so that for 2 hours a day, four times a day, I don’t have to SUFFER in level EIGHT-NINE PAIN. I have been telling her for MONTHS that the medicine does not work for 6 hours like it used to, but still my complaint falls on deaf ears. I am SUICIDIAL TIRED at this point and I want to take action against this Dr. She even had the nerve to tell me to take 2 OTC Tylenol for my level 8-9 pain that I go thru when the Percocet wears off. She refuses to refer me to a new doctor and we all know that you can not be seen at ANY pain clinic without a referral. I want to SUE her for emotional distress because she knows she has complete control of my care and she is NOT treating me in a humane way. She keeps trying to force a $400 facet nerve burn on me, even though after a 2nd opinion I found out that doing that will not help my pain. I just spent the last 6 hours in the ER going thru Opiod Withdrawal because she REFUSES to change my script from a 6 to a 4. I don’t know what to do or where to turn at this point…….I NEED HELP!!!! I’ve even tried to contact a patient advocate website about how I’m being treated by this woman. When you can sleep, get out of bed, walk, and shower and dress without giving it a 2nd thought, you take it for granted because those days of normalcy are LONG GONE for me. Every action has to be planned and worked around when I take my medication so that I’m not caught at a grocery store or anywhere else when my Percocet wears off and I’m in so much pain I can’t even go to the bathroom if I need to. What type of QUALITY OF LIFE is this for a 36 year old who has to wear adult diapers because of 1 doctor
I know exactly what you mean I went through it and I thought my problems were over NOT! My doctor suddenly starts cutting my pills 30 a month and I have NOTHING to say about it! I’m scared to death that I’ll have to live in agony. Go to STOPTHEWARONDRUGS.COM AND SIGN THE PETITION.
I have been seeing my pain doc. for at least 4 years now,today i went nuts he told me he had to keep strict records for the DEA,okay i get that he then told me I was in trouble for yelling,when I got there on cofusion about my appoint time they had cancelled it with out calling me,it was bad enough because i had seen him 2 weeks ago and i had to have a urine test because i had gottin 5mg of narco from the dentist wich i told him i did not take ,so when my urine was tested i was fine any way ,he then told me its because i had been later to my appointments in the past i was floored i then said to him in all this time have you ever had a problom with my urine test since i have been coming to see you,he said no then he pulled out a sheet on how they call me to remind me of my appointment ,now what i have to no is what does all that got to do with my pain,I have severe back probloms ,a bd knee arotter cuff tear,and migranes ,is the dea getting that bad or is my doctor nuts ,after today i think i will move on clearly he has issues
I am really bothered by all the misinformation that I have received.
First I am told by my pharmacy that I have to see my physician every month to get a refill on Norco 10. I have been on various stages of hydrocodone for about 5-6 years. I have went from a bulging disc to herniated and spinal stenosis to a spinal fusion where the surgeon has put one of the screws I that pressing against my nerve bundle to breaking one of my fusions about two months ago.
I am told that my pain will never go away. Surgery will maybe reduce the pain maybe 25% which the surgeon does not think is worth the surgery.
So my recent dr appt I discuss with the dr stepping down from Norco 10 which they put me on two months ago to Narco 7.5 which I was on because 10 left me fog headed and forgetful. He asked me if I had problems with Tylenol 3 and I told him when I was on it before all I did was sleep. So he writes me a script for Ultram 50 mg 1-2 every 6 hours. No plan was set to step down just stop one and start the other.
I had 24 hours of ultimate missory. I went back to narco so that I could sleep that night. The next two days were up and down. I am calling tomorrow.
Yes I am willing to make a 45 mile round trip to get my script each month. But is it a 30 day script or 120 script that you can pic up?
New FDA law allows for only 30 day supply … it must be on a prescription and can not be called in! so very sorry! FYI … any time that I have asked to try and step down a bit, it has been like you described; a total disaster! They take you down to nothing and hope you don’t complain. If you can I would try and get your old script back and break them in half or take 2/3 of a pill. Oh how I would love to be in your shoes~
I have spinal cord surgery in 36 hrs no one will prescribe anything I am told basically to get it from the street the surgegeon told me he has no problem with what ever I need for pain control but because I had used the er when I was in my drug running years iwas told there are asprin a Tylenol do you think I didn’t try those I am glad I live in wqashington at least I co have med mj but I don’t want to smoke like a chimney and that is exactly what I would have to do. there is no position sitting hurts lying huts bathtub hurts
Please remember that people like you got us here! Walgreens will dispense Tylenol and aspirin to anyone~ I fight every day because of people like you so sympathy will not come from me~
As a matter of fact, when your pain is at its worst, think of all of us that are paying the consequences of your careless lifestyle which probably has not changed~ Lastly, if I was having surgery on my spinal cord the last thing I would be worrying about is pain; I would want to know that I would walk again~ My best gest is that you are merely having a fusion somewhere on your spine where they work around your cord~ Been there done that multiple times~ I do however wish you luck~
You don’t have to smoke marijuana to get the high my friend. I live in a state, like DC which now has medical mj. There is plenty of places that have medibles. Brownies are great, and they put me OUT! 😀
There are suckers, brownies, fruit roll-ups… you can put in in foods, drinks, oils. You don’t have to smoke it any more my friend.
I’ve been in severe pain for about 10 years, The problem I’ve found is that MJ isn’t covered by insurance! I have to take too much of it to make it cost effective. I can use my FHA to cover my pills, but not my MJ! That I have to pay for, and it gets really expensive! And the amount I have to take to cover the amount I need instead of my meds is way too much. there’s no way to afford it.
Either you go broke, or you are in too much pain.
My doctor is still trying to bring me down to the FDA/DEA levels, and I’m in constant pain. I understand how you all feel. Death seems like a great out.
well I spent 12 months testing hi CBD MJ it is only slightly less effective than diazepam. I tried huge doses of thc/HI cbd with many side effects and no standard effect pattern I spend $10.000.00 in a trial it does not work for HI pain like post thalamic pain or massive orthopedic damage I know I have both. IF I DID NOT BELIEVE IN A DEITY I WOULD DO MYSELF IN. I cry daily mostly from pain and some from Dejerine -Roussy syndrome.
thc with high cbd does not even touch high level pain I have taken 500mg with no decrease in pain it is neither cost effective nor efficacious 22 years on methadome
Oh and no I’m not a drug user. Ironically I never tried an illegal drug in my life. I never smoked. i used to drink about 1-3 glasses of wine a moth. Now with all the junk I’m on I have a Christmas & birthday glass of wine. Though given how hellish my life is … how could illegal drug use possibly make my life worse?
You are best off going to the ER for short term pain relief until you get your prescription issue settled. Your doctors will happily let you stay home at home in agonizing pain. Trust me I know.
These doctors just do not get it. They do not have pain. They will never understand unless the pain comes into their lives. Go find another doctor to help with your pain. I am and all the other pain sufferers are as well, if the doctors cannot fix our pain level, suicide is back in our minds and we will take our lives if we do not get the care we must have. I am so stuck, 99% of the non opiates I have tried, I cannot take, either it causes horrible headaches or my interstate cystitis flares to intolerable levels of inflammation. I can only take two kind and they only take care of 9 hours out of a 24 hour day. It is no life! I have tried probably 40 different prescription that I was hoping would take care of my pain and because of my issues, I cannot find one that works so I can get off opiates. MI hate the dry mouth, the sleepiness, etc. But if I want some kind of life for those 9 hours, I would love not to be in pain the rest of the day but with Obama care, I cannot find a doctor to take me, they want more money per visit than what Tricare pays. I have spent $300 a month for doterra oils to see if I can take more pain away, no luck, I have tried all kinds of herbs to see and nothing. It is not fair that a stranger dictates how I live my life. I am almost 60 and miserable and I used to be a happy camper before this PAIN came into my life. Besides suicide, what options do we have???!!!
Your story makes me so sad, but hits home for me. I hope you get the help you NEED and DESERVE! I pray for you.
I have some of the issues that you have~ What we have is called interstitial cystitis! I live with that along with broken hardware caused from a fusion to my cervical spine and pain that reminds my back and legs that I not only will never be the same … but I can not live like this! I am 57 years old and go weeks without medication because it seems no one has any~ My GP recently told me not to come back because I take up too much of his time … this was when I had been without medication for almost a week! Today, I am ready to go, they have all but told us that we are useless here no matter how many people love us and no matter how much we love life! God bless all of us that can no longer take the torture that is being inflicted on us~
I know what you mean about suicide. I hate waking up every morning in so much pain I can’t get out of bed. I guess I’m lucky in that my workers comp adjuster and tdi has sent me to countless appointments and peer reviews. After my shoulder surgery, their doctors and mine couldn’t agree on my neck surgery so it never happened. They do however agree that I will need to have pain management for the rest of my life. Since 2009, I’ve been on the same pain management regime. I get regular liver checks and comply with everything I’m asked to do. In fact, just a few months ago my adjuster arranged another review to make sure both my doctor and their doctors were still agreeing. Last year my doctor moved out of state and referred me to another doctor. Everything has been going fine and my pain has remained manageable all this time. Then, after I had gone in for my last appointment a few weeks ago the doctor gave me no indication of any issue but said I had to come back the next day to pick up my prescription. When I got there some woman I don’t know called me into an office and told me I had given them fraudulent documents. I thought I was dreaming. They had all the records workman’s comp had sent them including the peer review they agreed with in June. All the employees who had always treated me so kind were rude and hostile. My doctor showed up just a few moments before they told me to leave. I couldn’t believe she didn’t even try to tell them they were wrong. Every month they make me pay out of pocket with the promise of forwarding my receipts to my adjuster but recently learned they never did. So, they charged me an unexpected $160 for my visit and refused my meds I’ve been taking all this time. Needless to say, I was and still am miserable. My adjuster is setting me up with a new doctor but that takes time. Further, I’m supposed to be doing job searches to stay qualified for WC checks but for almost 3 weeks now I’ve been so miserable I can’t even think. The adjuster told me they are not allowed to treat me for a WC injury AND make me pay them and recommended I report them to the State. I’ve done that but don’t know how that’s going to turn out. How can a doctor who makes an oath to care about their patients just cut you off without warning or discussions? I’m still flabbergasted that some woman I’ve never met at the doctor’s office accused me of fraud. I also contacted the lab the document came from who also faxed them the same document and called to confirm. Is there anything else I can do about this doctor? When I first went there I called to make sure I could go to that doctor and the state told me yes because the doctor that moved referred me. So, now I’m the hole financially AND I have no pain meds at all. So, yeah suicide is sounding pretty good right now. I had a full-blown panic attack after that woman accused me of giving fraudulent documents. I wish I could find a lawyer to make them pay for the anguish I’ve been in especially right before the holidays. I’m a mother and cried all day that I wasn’t able to cook thanksgiving for my kids. It’s not right. Hopefully the new doctor will get me in soon but I don’t know what to do about complying with my requirements until then. I also wish I could find a way to sue them for doing this to me. This has set me back in so many ways. If they want to catch the dope dealers, I think they should look a little closer at a patient’s file before hand. They are also refusing to give me my records and I fear they will be sent to the new doctor. I don’t want a new doctor to think I’m lying or I’ll never get to the first appointment. If anyone has any ideas for me please share at my yahoo address. My user id is dmbaker63. I’m in Conroe near Houston.
Robert Wiley national pain patient coalition. Feel free to put this in a better format and publish it
I write and moderate as well as advocate for pain citezens who deal with chronic pain who require high amounts of opiates to have quality of life.I’ve lost family just last year to suicide by dr and dea as well as my mother and three others who’s deaths are used in the accidental overdose war on people who are battling pain.we all tried not to take opiates and its ridiculous to assume because you don’t need them you have the right to judge or try to control our choices we’ve made to continue a life with meaning.pain patients don’t usually leave a suicide note for numerous reasons.They have been dealing with fighting pain.my drs will say you must be depressed.I always correct them.no im not.I’m in pain
When my pain is controlled and i can lead a fuller life im fine.WE still struggle but as long as we have drs allowing us to make decisions about our own pain needs we can and will fight.but you can’t expect us to live in a bed.our families lives are put on hold waiting for us to get help and for those of us who have responsibilities to people and finances we deal with guilt at the effect of lack of pain control has on those around us.don’t tell us to be sttong and suicide isn’t the answer.we aren’t stupid.you sitting there in little to no pain don’t help by saying these ridiculous things to us.the answer is to give us the right to make our own informed decision about our own health.we made.a decision to have quality of life over quantity of life long ago.how dare anyone take our right to choose away.my pain is my own.you have no right to judge or control.my life.but you feel .as if you have the moral right to give us the only choice you leave us.suicide by your judgment and you are handing out death sentences and claiming accidental overdose.a chronic pain patient isn’t accidentally overdosing.we are forced to kill ourselves.if you don’t take opiates for chronic pain you have zero right to offer your opinion on what we should do or set policy about us.only PAIN patients have the right to steer their own destiny but you take it away and it’s tantamount to murder your covering up to cover your collective a++#s.because you do not care.we are disposable and we are watching a Hitler type genocide of citizens deemed unworthy to live.They are training and manipulating the citizens into false propaganda.we are addicts
We are accidentally overdosing.it’s a lie.it’s a human rights violation and we have to stand up.we are being taught to be quiet or risk being called an addict.my daughter and mom were scared to ask for enough to live.this is what your doing.I’m now facing suicide
I want to live.you don’t want me to.you have taken away my choice and ability to live.you have murdered me.but when I go I’ll record and write about why I am doing it.I will name every dr and agency who is forcing my suicide.I’ll send it to every news outlet I can and I’ll go out with what I’ve done that you have stopped my ability to do.help others.anyone,anyone who is going to kill themselves, please,I know why you do it quietly and without saying why you are.your family has expected you to die before and you want them to think it was just your time
You don’t want them to think your a coward or you didn’t love them enough to hang on.or your religion says you can’t committ suicide.but it’s being used to kill more of us.they know what they are doing.This is a war on its own citizens.you can’t let them use us to lie and pad the figures.please be brave.go out shouting you want to live.tell who is murdering us.shame them all.we have to stop this.no one is going to care about our deaths.please join me.I’m fighting for you.join my in publicly putting a name and faces on who’s lives are devastated and lost.join the national pain patient coalition.Robert Wiley is the president.I’m a writer and moderated.please.even if you can’t stand up.lay down and write about what you’ve been through and don’t be ashamed of thoughts of suicide.your not mentally ill.your being attacked,mistreated,shamed,undertreated,ignored,maligned,lied about and your very right to live is being taken away.be angry.you should be.stop being afraid and ashamed.stop dying quietly.go out loud and proud.and leave this life knowing you are making a difference.They can’t ignore us if we start killing ourselves publicly.no.I’m not advocating mass suicide for publicity sake.mass suicides are happening now.to the dea,drs,er nurses who resent us,health boards,you are murdering thousands and thousands of us.admit your wrong while you can or face the inevitable human rights violation and civil action lawsuits coming your way.the loss of quality of life and inability to work or care for children says someone is going to answer for this violation of rights.is it going to be you who will have to answer for it or are you going to fight for our rights. Dawn Littlefield
Sorry to hear what is happening to you Debbie, it sucks yes,and Im going through the same thing as well. I am also a student and am starting to miss too many classes, spend most of my time in bed or laying on the sofa crying over what a waste of oxygen I am. I want to die so bad, but I know if I could lefal get 2 more pills a day that my pain level would lower significantly and life would at least improve enough to not want to die. The DEA needs to back out of doctors business-more folks are sick or die as a result of sugar ingestion than drug overdoses and obese folks are more disgusting than junkies anyway, ok im starting to ramble sorry
Maybe they will let you smoke weed?
Jake I tried it for one year it does not work for *?!) pain it is like you don’t care that it hurts if you have a opioid with it you use slightly less pain meds but it is cost prohibitive for hi pain sufferers
Is it my imagination or do opiates also reduce swelling? Yes they work for pain but I notice that when I do higher doses than prescribed, I can actually move better as well..I think opiates are like marijuana in that they have so many other benefits that big pharma and govt. dont want anyone to find out about, or remember. Keep in minds opiates have i ly been illegal for less than 100 years and were used for 6000…. HELLO? Obviously opiates do indeed improve the quality of life for some…as for addict, well, they are those who have realized the obvious but lack govt. approved need.
I had a bad MS attack in 2007 that left me with neuropathy from head to toe… every where I have skin … in agonizing pain! (I was Diagnosed with MS in 99.) I can’t even begin to express how much I have suffered. My current Pain Specialist in Ventura CA replaced my old P.S. and reduced my Slow Release Morphine by half … citing some BS guideline. Making the last 3 months of my life hell. I was starting to consider killing myself again (In 2011 I was 6 weeks away from killing myself while waiting out for SSI and not having my pain treated. I had just wanted my pain to STOP) Anyways ‘lucky’ for me I just had another attack that numbed me a bit making my life bearable again. I didn’t rush to treat this attack like I normally would/do. The only reason I told my Neuro this time was that this exacerbation started to make me dizzy. Anyhow my question is this. How do I deal with my anger towards my Pain Specialist for the last 3 months of hell where I’ve been living off toast because I couldn’t stand on my feet long enough to cook/prepare anything? I mean honestly it is an ethical question I no longer know the answer to. If your doctor knowingly causes you suffering the equivalent of torture … are you justified in torturing them? I don’t know. I honestly don’t know anymore. I thought doctors were supposed to do no harm. So ummmmmm why are the last 3 months ok for him to do? * even numbed up a bit and on 1200 mg gabapentin, 30mg morphine sulfe every 8 hrs along with morphine sulfate 15mg up to 3 a day for breakthrough pain) it still hurts for me to brush my hair, clap my hands, I haven’t worn shoes since 2007… I wear flip flops, I also haven’t worn pants or sleeves since 2007, At least now I can water my plants and make myself a simple meal like a grilled cheese sandwich, and unload the dishes and take a quick shower with tons of extra morphine. I’m basically on bedrest 24/7
Karen,
To answer your question “How do I deal with my anger towards my Pain Specialist for the last 3 months of hell where I’ve been living off toast because I couldn’t stand on my feet long enough to cook/prepare anything?”, i would say it is a good idea to speak with a counselor – that doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It just means you may need comfort in sorting out your thoughts.
I believe that the system wants us gone! The vast majority of us that are in such bad shape are on SS and many before our time. If Obama Care can not rid us one way, they will work on us another way and then fault us for taking our life! I pray someone brings about a lawsuit before I finally give in! I too do not eat right; for the same reason as you! I can get in a shower but have not washed my hair in quite some time! I have been let go by my GP for taking up too much of his time! Good Lord … I had no medication! I pray that this doctor could see things how I am forced to see then! I hope one day soon, he needs surgery and a doctor messes him up like they did me! I pray; the hardware breaks and leaves him in excruciating pain. He will then have to live like that the rest of his life because it could leave him a quadriplegic to go back in! He will then get an understanding of what it is like to not get pain medication which he knows could help him but he can not get~ He then leave behind his hundreds of thousands of dollars every year and gets to collect SS. This god is my prayer for a doctor who does dot care about a patient!
I agree with you completely
So true! Before I was a chronic pain patient, babout 15 years ago I told folks that govt was going to find a way to either imprison folks, kill them off or commit them to psychiatric hospitals so the NWO can move forward. Well those who will fight nwo already smoke weeds and do drugs already enemies of the state, they will go to jail. We who know better are too weak to fight and they knoq id we have the correct amount of meds for us, we will fight and have a voice, the rest those of us who consider suicide daily or have already done it, but if we tell them how we think or feel, we will them be cut off our meds and thrown in nuthouse–either way, we are out of their way!
Karen. I feel your pain. Literally. I have struggled myself with pain management drs treating my ms pain. They do not understand that not all ms patient respond to non opiod pain relief measures. I went crying to my pcp when my pain dr tried to reduce my meds. Thank the Lord she was my rock. I pray you find better , more understanding docs.
Very sorry to hear about your attack. I was finally diagnosed with MS in October and was referred to pain management shortly before that in September due to discuss problems in every level of my spine even thoracic. I understand how painful it can be. I’ve always had chronic pain and I almost have no quality of life. I’m only 24. But recently with constant changes from hot and cold weather I’ve had horrible muscle spasms. One night it was so bad I couldn’t walk. Before I was on just Norco 10mg three times a day. Yeah what a help! Then with the spasms they added an anti-inflammatory which hasn’t done much and a muscle relaxer which I discovered on my own iinteracts with one of my meds. I shouldn’t even be taking it. And they just told me to stop taking it until my next appointment over two weeks away! There’s only one other pain management doc in town and I couldn’t get there without a referral. And anyway just saying I think doctors really underestimate MS pain.
THIS IS NO LONGER THE AMERICA THAT I KNEW IN THE 1950’S…IT IS NO LONGER AMERICA.
SUICIDE?NOT AS AN IRISH CATHOLIC..BUT I PLAN IT EVERYDAY AS YOU DO..
IN 1900 IN AMERICA,ANY AMERICAN COULD WALK INTO A MERCHANT AND PURCHASE OPIATES OF ANY KIND IN BOTTLE,OVER THE COUNTER!
OUR FOREFATHERS JEFFERSON,WASHINGTON,ADAMS EVEN LINCOLN WHO IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF 700,00 CHRISTIAN WHITE BOYS{IT WAS TO BE PEACEFULLY
ARRANGED WITH NO WAR}……THE RULE WAS YOU PURCHASE ANYTHING FOR PAIN AND TAKE IT HOME.AS LONG AS YOU DID NOT HARM ANOTHER PERSON..YOU WOULD HAVE ZERO PAIN.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS COUNTRY IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT?
Yep they should still be easily accessible! Poor folks are sweating like crazy from fentanyl patch are being told that opiates make you sweat. No, withdrawal from them does, they are prescribing doses too low and keeping folks in withdrawal. When I over did my meds due to hyper metabolism from concomittant use of oxy and dilantin, i was able to stop 5 of my other meds! Opiates used to be presctibed for “things pertaining to women” I stoped my effexor which i was taking for hot flashes, the opiates tegulate body temperature and I didnt need the effexor. They are a natural antihistimine: if withdrawal causes runny nose, watery eyes and sneezing then duh, opiates work as antihistimines and I stopped taking my nasal spray, fluconase, zyrtec and saline spray. They ate a natural antidepressant so of course one is not needed. People claim they get energy well sure! Opiates at a lower dose provide stimulating effects before providing analgesia. Folks overall are getting doses too low. I wish we could get an opiate vard and go to the dispensary and pick our opiates like MMJ.
Jeffrey,
Everyone whom I know,myself included,are beyond help since the DEA made the wrong move.
None of us are evil drug addicts and thieves who pretend to be in pain.
I am a self made multimillionaire,but I lie on the couch most of the day…exercising thrice per day.
I am disgusted by what I see being done to older folks by rude,disconcerting little pain doctors.
You article is soft and weak.
Dr Daniel F.Maloney PhD
I can’t wait for the news that all these new rules/laws have done nothing to stop the so called “prescription drug epidemic ” (even the wording induces hysteria) 2-3% of the population is an “epidemic ” of “drug abusers?” Should read 2-3% of parents don’t keep medicine out of reach of their children & the rest of us have to make up for their incompetence. Where’s the class action civil rights violation lawsuit? The attorneys that take that on are going to be very wealthy, there’s millions watching & waiting to sign on!
I agree and I would love to participate if I can find out any info. What my doctor did was cut me off while giving scripts to the drug dealers because I saw them in the parking lot setting up their buyers from the very doctor that refused my legitimate claim. Before that day I had never seen so many people coming and going so I have no doubt they’re breaking the law. Especially since they offered to give me my meds if I got an mri from THEIR choice of facilities. I can’t do that because workman’s comp pays for it. There are plenty of labs both old and new so it wasn’t necessary. That makes me think they have a deal with this “new” lab.
My story is long. This is the quick. I’m bipolar with more on the depressive side, PTSD and severe chronic headaches. I served in Desert Sheild/Desert Storm and wad in direct combat. I have been on many medications over the years (try this, try that) and recently (though I’m through all withdraws) I was taken of of 40 mg daily of methadone for yeArs, 20mg of hydrocodone for much less time and 4mg daily of clonazepam all without warning and all cold turkey. Is that dangerous to my health, cause harm our death and is it patient abuse since nothing else was offered our suggested?
My story is long. This is the quick. I’m bipolar with more on the depressive side, PTSD and severe chronic headaches. I served in Desert Sheild/Desert Storm and wad in direct combat. I have been on many medications over the years (try this, try that) and recently (though I’m through all withdraws) I was taken of of 40 mg daily of methadone for yeArs, 20mg of hydrocodone for much less time and 4mg daily of clonazepam all without warning and all cold turkey. Is that dangerous to my health, cause harm our death and is it patient abuse since nothing else was offered our suggested?
Yes it is dangerous and the MD that prescibed all that has a legal obligation to work with you and safely wean you off all of those medications. You can have siezures cutting off benzodiazepines without medical care! If they discharge you from the practive I believe they have a legal obligation to ensure continued care and emergency treatment for 30 days. I understand the position that the govt. has put physicians in with these new laws but they also have a legal obligation to their patients. They cannot abandon their pts. It is so unfortunate as a healthcare prof and pt. of chronic pain that the honest people seem to sometimes be the ones to suffer….the people that get high doses of oxycontin and sell it seem to contine to get medications….
Wow, After reading so many of your stories, it begs the question, where is the compassion. Why would a Doctor refuse to give someone with such pain a medication that clearly helps. I suffer from several things add I mentioned, but my headaches are debilitating to the point that I have NO quality of life. Yes suicide is contemplated more often than I wish to say and I was injured serving my country. My doctors and pharmacist are derogatory and humiliating. Not the care that I earned. I am not looking to get high on pain meds or get a buzz, I just want to enjoy the things in life that I love. One being music. I love music but not with a headache. I don’t want to be high all the time, but I wish my state would pass the medicinal marijuana act. I may be wishing for something that is another hole but I’ll do about anything to enjoy life again. If I could have 10 years of quality life or 30+ with pain as it is now, That choice makes itself. Good bless you all and I hope you find a cure.
same thing with me Gary. I was cut off with NO WARNING
I feel your pain, and agree. I’m tired of trying to convince doctors that I’m in severe pain and am ready to just say F@#% it. I’m not depressed, or mental. I’m just sick and tired of being bullied, taken advantage of and disrespected by the doctors and the politicians. Like I’ve heard on this board a couple times I wished they could feel the pain that a lot of us suffer with, then maybe they could show some compassion.
Good luck you all!
You are not a doctor, you are delusional.
You are NOT a Dr. you are NOT a PhD. you are not a multimillionaire, and the people on this thread are here for help and not to be fed lies by an angry delusional sociopath.
Shame on you.
Hello, My name Is Liza I am 28 years old with chronic pain. I have neuropathy , sclerosis and have been in 3 car accidents that left me in pain; I have been seeing my Dr for over 2 1/2 years and finally have come up together a treatment plan about 1 and half years ago that requires a script for Norco 10/325MG 1 every 6 hours. and zanaflex at bedtime along with my other medication i take for my hypothyroidism. 2 months ago my dr refilled my scripts and marked 3 refills for all my meds. i had my appt on OCT 20 in the afternoon. My pharmacy that morning called and let me know i would need a new script for Norco. I explained i had my appt later that afternoon and saw no issue with it since i did have refills prior. I went to my appt and went as it should i lost weight (awesome) and i explained to the dr i needed a refill. He nodded his head and said we need to put you on another pain medication, Tylenol #3 . Of course i was hesitant to try something different since what i had was working wonderful. I got them filled and took what he said to take and nothing. My feet are hurting bad, I haven’t been able to get out of bed and i had to even get help from my mom who is 57 years old. I feel embarrassed and ashamed because when I take what i was prescribed i felt relief, I could function , be with my kids and help out at my friends workplace. that of course has all gone to the wind :(. I do not know what to do, I called them 4 days later (they told me to give it time) and still haven’t heard anything back. I don’t think i can handle this much pain. I am interested in suing because this has effected my quality of life and for people like us who are legitimately in pain and get effected this bad is not right. I have all the medical records test to prove my conditions. we should not have to suffer at the hands of excuse my language but morons who decided to do this. why all of a sudden it was ok for me to get refills prior to oct 6 ? and nothing has changed in my medical records so whats the issue with them writing it on a script for me to physically take in to my pharmacy? I have NEVER called that i needed more , ran short or anything! I use only one pharmacy and have the Insurance records to prove it. Please anyone planning a Class action lawsuit im all in! ….this will severely effect others who need relief.
Liza,
The reason the pharmacy is unable to refill you hydrocodone is because the federal law governing the classification of hydrocodone combinations has changed such that it was moved for a “Schedule III” substance to a “Schedule II” substance. One major difference between the two classifications is that Schedule II substances cannot be refilled.
I’m not defending your doctor because [perhaps] he was trying to afford you the convenience of refills by giving you Tylenol #3, which does remain a Schedule III substance and is refillable. Or perhaps he was being lazy or attempting to somehow dodge scrutiny by giving you a down-scheduled drug that is refillable so he doesn’t need to be bothered for 6 months – I don’t know.
Some patients that respond to hydrocodone won’t respond to codeine, and visa versa. Some have toxic effects to one and not the other, which in some cases has to do with genetic factors. But, at the very least, you should question your doctor and ask him to double check the equivalent dose of codeine to hydrocodone, as perhaps an adjusted dosage would do the trick.
I was on lortab for 8 yrs then they discontinued that and I was taking 6 x day 10/500, new law now norco but only get 4 xday 10/325 I was told if dont work take a tylenol with it, um isnt that why lortab no longer exists! Now I go to my pm dr evety month and have seen same drs for my exploded discs n fusion surgery 2004, since 2002, they know me they work with me they are great, I get the injections every 4 mnths. Still I tske soma, elavil, 75mg morphine er 2xday the norvo 4 xday. Still can barely function. Whe had surgery my dr was honest took 2 years of trying everything before we decided surgery. He said it would keep me out of a wheelchair( he called my exploded discs a floating spine and as it was I could just step move wrong n be paralized) but do little to nothing for the pain so I did the surgery and yes I am still walking 10yrs later. My problem is the change in the norco classification. Remember I said I always get new written scripts evety month for 10+yrs. Now the norco is always on order at all lv, nv valley pharmacies and for the second month I wll have to wait 6 days no norco. Why am I being made to suffer so much when I have always been bringing in monthly scrpits for my meds. The phamaciy had my scripts for a week before they told me it would be an additional 6 days to get it fillled. I am also so hurting I want an end any end especially with the weather changes. Something needs to change something that helps not causes more suffering. Thankfully my drs and my pharmacist are nice n know me well but it is getting hard not to take it out on them even tho its not their fault I hurt so much I get about 4 hrs sleep I have kids family a life I would like to be a part of instead of bed ridden 95% of my life and gawd I just turned 50 I have so many more years of this still to come n that scares me to death. Oh and I get regular blood tests n my kidneys n liver are extremely good shape for being on these meds for 10+ yrs so they arent hurting my health and my psy testing is also healthy, well atleast when I am getting my meds and have the illusion I am in control of my pain. Something needs to be done before mass suicides occur.
Feds sbould concentrate on border where 99% of illegal everything comes from. Seems we had inoculated children against diseases to the point where most were eradicated or at least much less of a threat. Seems like expecting mothers and children are required to take more mandatory shots from new born to teens. As far as drugs isn’t it considered their economy? Tourism? Please! Bit risky. But the folks that mule the hard stuff or fly it in are armed with 900rpm weapons. People in pain are at the mercy of fast 5 year olds. And if you get meds that are popular street drugs your name and address might as well be broadcast on all media. You think everyone that works for Feds, pharmacys, etc. are trust worthy? Anyway yall know what I mean. Guess it’s good they leave the bad guys alone or people who are fortunate to get what they need would be like a drunk with hundred dollar bills visible in Shanghai. Put a Substitute in your bottles. Look a-likes. Placibos.that will give you time to call the police. Good luck to all and may God heal you and put the others out of business.
I read most of your stories and I realize that I have tears streaming down my face as I empathize with all of you, we all have this common bond. A horrible one that degrades us and takes away our dignity. Pain no pain is hell enough but when you go from a productive energetic happy person to one who contemplates suicide as a normal coss of action you have to look at the bigger picture. I believe as a former suicide truer and failer, the real issue is the lack of respect we are now treated on a daily basic, from doctor’s , secretary’s, pharmacists and Dea the goverment, our family’s even, there is nothing worse than waking up in so much pain not even sure if you can make it to your doctors appointment, only to and be treated like something stuck on the bottom of his shoe a nuisance he has to deal with. This is what makes it all worse! Where are the advocates, the caring health professionals, were worried about the Dea? Why aren’t they fighting them on our behalf? I am to tired to fight on my own, how about you’s and we can all list our horrible life, problems but it’s not going to change until one of you’s starts a suit on behalf of all us real pain sufferers, some of you’s have real talent for words. Well use them so people sit up and listen, and then we will all sign on with you so you are not alone, because we are in this together, and if we don’t start to make a small rumble,that hopefully catches on and becomes a great roar right into Mr. Obama’s ears! People are dieting because they abuse drugs, we are dieing inside because the Dea and medical astablishments are abusing us,
How could anyone be so cold. To turn there backs and snicker at their brothers and sisters who are they to judge is a addict or not? If we abuse and die so be it , Infeel its so worse a crime to be in pain and be abused by a society that acts like they don’t care because they don’t know what to do to change it, well I do protest! And I’ll protest with you and soon our voices will be louder than the Dea’s or the judge mental commentaters that know nothing about our pain and suffering. Only we know only we can educate the public to back us up on this issue. We are being discrimated against for being sick? Well it’s time to take action, we have to help ourselves and the next generation, are we one,if so let’s start writing our first petition to the Dea now,
You can write me with your ideas, I already live your story’s lets change them
Let’s be proactive. I know some of you’s will not be able to but if you can write on this site you can write on a petition, Rita Shaw
Ok, there is a lot of us from around the nation. I couldn’t read every ones story but they all mean that we are either suffering, or scared that we will soon be suffering. Is there someone who is in charge of making
a formal petition and obtaining counsel for this suit. We near a clean list of possible attorney’s doctors and nurses who are willing to litigate.
I’m ready to start this fight. Sara Maroto, RN (R.I.)
I agree on the class action, search & search & nowhere to be found is anyone trying to join together and stop the insanity. Surely attorneys would see how many millions there are whose rights are being violated. Where’s the ACLU? I’ll gladly join in, but surely can’t wage a war of just me or you!
Yes, I am interested in pursuing legal action. I live in constant pain, I am not on disability. I work and contribute to society. Two failed back surgeries did me in, and have degenerative disc disease (meaning this will never go away). I am being treated as a drug addicted second class citizen. I am offended, and am considering a lawsuit myself. It has been bad enough getting treated like this, but I pay my darn taxes and my own way. I refuse to use the black market to get medication I need to function.
I had my prescription cut in half, then I was told that it would be cut completely. FOR NO DAMN GOOD REASON. I am being punished, along with MANY MANY MANY other chronic pain sufferers, so the fat ass, big wigged, numbsculls in the government can pat themselves on the back and say they did something! I guarantee you THEY don’t have problems getting their medications filled! I have to PAY FOR MY APPOINTMENTS! That’s 300 dollars I dont have! And with the feds pulling this bogus shit, the generic manufacturers will rack up their prices! More money we all can’t afford! This is all contingent on whether I can even get my pain relief. Even if I’m in agony, and so many of us, these politicians will sleep, smug and snug, at night; while we all writhe in pain. CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.
I have been on these drugs now for 12 years. A couple years ago they cut me in half and have been slowly weening me off and I am in incredible pain daily. The car accidents, failed back surgeries and all the guinea pig research done using every type of torturous dif, pain mgt and then I find one that works and now my doctor is calling it a trap and they are (The Medical Establishment) looking at chronic pain the same way. I am tired of being treated as an addict and tested and passing the tests to stay on a less than manageable dosing of Oxycodone. I am Depressed and all I keep hearing is it is only going to get worse with the DEA and the Doctors who study and become doctors to be controlled by their fear of prescribing is a joke and a waste of my time and their education. I want to feel better. I want to be able to do some of the things I used to be able to do and it seems they are opting for a suicide or a finding street drugs not a soul can afford and you never know what you could end up with. What does a man do when in severe pain and the doctor just gives you a bandaid and tells you to exercise more and you can hardly get up and it hurts to brush your teeth or cough? What can a man do who has jumped through the hoops and passed their tests only to be told they are ultimately going to lose the very pain killing source that has made your life somewhat bearable, is going to be gone, sooner than later? I have two kids and am Catholic, Suicide is not an option, but where do I turn? What are my options?- Regards, Peter
I surely am willing to participate in a class action lawsuit and I have all the credentiAls. I have been a model patient and still feel like they think of me as an addict and a drug seeker. I cannot even go to the ER anymore and I did once a yr for three days and got the relief needed and they do not admit anyone anymore. I WANT JUSTICE AND AM SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE! I am a HUMAN BEING. I deserve to live PAIN FREE. Get in touch if I can help in any way to get the wheels rolling on a Mind Bending lawsuit that will let doctors do their jobs or Have something go right for those of us who actually suffer.
Go get em, Peter
hi,
I am sorry to report that I was part of the problem.. after knee surgery became addicted to hydrocodone..then bigger opioids. I am clean now and feel miserable about what my contribution to the issue did to you all. During my time abusing I was put on buprenorphine. it helped me stop. I no longer take anything. however, I learned that buprenorphine is a very strong opioid and very little of it goes a long way. furthermore it is very easy to obtain. it is 50 times the strength of morphine with the highest of affinities to the mu opioid receptor. it also comes in strips for easy dose management.. again please accept my deepest apology and sincerest concern.
mark
Suboxone is garbage. You can’t compare it’s strength to morphine because unlike morphine, Suboxone is an opiod with agonist/antagonist properties. Therefore it has a ceiling effect, which means unlike morphine, you can not increase the level of the pain relief no matter how much you take. Sorry about your addiction, but I am caring for an elderly patient with severe chronic pain, who’s primary MD would give her only two tramadol per day until I had to take her to the ER one night where she was given hydromorhone immediately after an IV was started. After a CT scan the same night which showed lumbar disc degeneration, the ER doctor sent her home with a prescription for hydrocodone. After the report was sent to her GP, she was prescribed Norco 10/325 and referred to a pain doctor. After three month, including the initial visit to the pain MD., a mandatory psychiatric evaluation, and waiting for a follow up pain doctor appointment, the ahole puts her on a bupenorphine (Suboxone) patch. She became anxious, dizzy and had to lye in bed after taking an ativan to relieve the anxiety. I immediately removed the patch. Suboxone was no doubt appropriate for you and is even used in the form of a patch to relieve MODERATE chronic pain in non-opiod users, but not SEVERE chronic pain in anyone. The Norco 10/325 was giving her 2-3 hrs of pain relief at best and she has a zero potential to become an addict. You can easily tell this when a person has a year old supply of demerol, fentanyl patches and oxycodone (from a past knee surgery) untaken because her knee stopped hurting. Now 20 years later when she needs a strong opiod to function, it’s been a never ending battle. A battle worth fighting for until this counties healthcare system is reformed.
You can start a petition on here, and it reaches many people! I’d sign it.
https://www.change.org/
I’m in also, I’ll watch for updates
Why did the DEA ok zahrdrcor to be released in may which is like taking 8 to 10 Norcos at a time but clamp down on just norcos. People that have to have them to live quality life will get them on the street or through the cartels which has another way to add to their revenues. I understand to try to find a way to keep them a little tighter for the drug dealers but this is not the answer. Herion is cheap so watch the deaths go up. Again alcohol sales is on evey corner and in every restaurant. I have kidney and prostate problems and have been on vicodone/norcos since the late eighties. I have been treated well in a norther california Kaise never a problem and they have told me the doctor will have their nurses take the paper copies down to the pharmacy and I have had a medical contract for 6 years, have my blood taken and I see my doctor twice a year. I picked my medication up a few days with no changes but I feel for the people that need this medication just to live a half way normal life. People that makes these changes don’t need pain meds so it’s no skin off their back. It is inhumane to make people go cold turkey. Let’s all stop complaining and someone help get a class action law suit started.
Zohydro, I believe that’s what you’re referring to is NOT a dose equal to 10 Norco or Hydrocodone. It’s EXTENDED RELEASE over hours, NOT IMMEDIATE. It’s misinformation like this that stirs up more hysteria. Yes,we need a class action, but I hear of no attorneys, ACLU doing a thing! Those of us who take these meds are mostly homebound, can’t drive to our congressman office or a protest, for God’s sake, all I can manage is the trip to my specialist each month. Driving hurts, takes 3-4 days to recover from the exam Dr must do, & I must go protest? I can sign onto any action, but driving to DC?
I recently was in a car accident that has left me with a herniated disc causes sciatica down the left buttock, entire left leg, and numbness in my foot. My injury was sustained early September. I am going to chiropractors 5 days a week but I am still in severe pain and it is constant, pain that sometimes brings tears to my eyes. When I sit down, it feels as if a hot poker is being stuck in my leg repeatedly. The chiropractors either will not or can not prescribe pain meds. I have dealt with the constant pain for over a month but couldn’t deal with it any longer recently and had to go to the emergency room. I brought my actual MRI and the report stating I have severe stenosis of my sciatic nerve due to L5/S1 disc herniation with disk material causing the issue. The ER doctor told me the State of Ohio would not let them give out and pain meds any longer and I was given a shot in the butt and a couple anti inflammatory meds and some steroids, which did not help one bit. Three days later, I was still in so much pain I went back to the same ER hospital and got the same treatment. Even the shot was not a pain med. It was an anti-inflammatory but it did provide some relief for most of the day or I would not have gone back to the ER.
What is this world coming to when you can not be given any pain medication with a real, proven physical injury? I go to Pain Management starting Monday but to have to deal with so much pain for over a month now has been mentally anguishing. I pray to God that the Pain Management will finally give me something to help ease my pain! Why should people have to suffer because there are drug addicts out there? Doctors have no problem prescribing all this crap seen on TV though with 5 times the side effects than the actual benefits!
Something must be done to stop legitimate patients with medical conditions from being turned down for needed pain medications! Not everyone is a drug addict or should be treated as one!
I have been on pain meds since 2000 after being hit by a drunk driver, as always he had no injuries. The accident damaged my cervical spine from c2 to c7 and there is not one spine surgeon that will touch me. I have been through around 8 or more pain mgt doctors, When I refuse to let them cut me open they say they can’t help me anymore. I won’t let them cut me open because the spine docs tell me that if they do the operation there is more than a 98% chance I would never walk again and that I would most likely end up a end up in some hospital with 24/7 care. So they tell me to keep taking the pain meds but the Pharmacy seems they have more education then my doctor. When ever my doctor writes a new script for me they have to call and make sure he wrote it when it’s on his letterhead that they see every month. There are other times they say they can’t get those meds for two or three weeks. In this day and age when items of any kind can be delivered in 24hrs. what is the problem. I remember when all my doctor had to do was call in the prescription. What happen to those days, Just because some dumb parents can’t keep meds out of there kids reach and some bad doctors who hand out pain meds like candy the people in real pain have to suffer. I would also like to see these law makers walk one day in my shoes and feel the pain I do 24/7 they would change a lot of these stupid laws that only hurt the people who suffer pain every sleeping and waking moments of our life’s.
I don’t know what state you live in but I live in Louisville Kentucky,I had some bulging dics my doctor did disc decompression surgery,it’s done through a needle what they do is go in and take some of the nucleus out it takes a disc off of the nerve that it’s hitting,it worked fine for me until my dog knocked my feet out from underneath me,now all my disc’s are out again going through injections have had radiofrequency done,if your discard are just bulging not herniated I would definitely look into that,medication for years,I have fibromyalgia bursitis arthritis,I am lucky to have a great doctor I pray for all of you all the stories I’ve read are horrible,all of you are in my prayers and thoughts
Our constitution says we the people not the government and people . Two of the scariest things to hear I’m from the government and I’m here to help. I know that if pain meds are the most prescribed drug in america then all of us need to get proactive write them vote them out etc. There is a petion just search petition and vicodin and read and sign
DONE
The last I heard, getting an erection in advanced years was not a life-or-death situation, and ED drugs are very dangerous, but you can get those by the bucket. Alcohol, which has little to no serious medical benefit, is freely available in any quantity, and it kills tens of thousands each year, not just those who drink but also innocent victims. The overdose deaths, which they tally over long stretches of years to make it seem worse, don’t take other drivers with them.
I have been in agony from a severe birth defect and multiple injuries for years. I got my life back when I was first prescribed opiates, originally Vicodin and now methadone. I took one-fifth of the effective dose at two-hour intervals (that is, 2.5mg or half the lowest-dose tablet available every other hour) until I could actually do something else to distract myself. I seldom took the full effective dose, typically stopping after 5 to 7.5mg, spread out over about four hours. Even though the laws have not changed for methadone, it does not matter; most physicians, even pain management physicians, just dumped all their pain patients.
I was taken off all pain medication months before the new law came into effect, and my so-called pain management specialist never said a word about the law, even though I have new, serious injuries to my spine and legs, one of which has withered away. I had to stop physical therapy, and have spent months trying to get in to see someone. I can no longer walk, stand, sit, or lie on my back, and I can lie face-down only for minutes at a time. The agony has kept me from sleeping more than a few minutes at a time for months. I have struggled to find a physician, despite having excellent insurance and no history of drug or alcohol use. I have made my final plans; this pain is too much to bear.
Now for the final insult: My jaw was broken by a careless healthcare provider a few days ago. It does not matter; you still don’t get any pain medication, neither for the broken bones, nor for the surgery, nor for the post-surgery period. (I have found no oral surgeons in the state who use anesthesia during the surgery, except for a single, ineffective drug which I cannot take.) I cannot even sit or lie on the table for this major surgery (a section of my jaw was removed and the bone graft did not take, so it is more complicated than usual), meaning that I cannot find anyone to do the surgery. That means no food for months and just hoping that it will heal correctly on its own.
If there were any justice in this world, all the people behind these laws (multiple state laws as well as federal) and who benefit from them should be denied all pain medication for any reason and be refused basic care, treated with contempt, and allowed to suffer, but they are all too well connected. They will always have everything they need, while the United States does everything imaginable to deny care and promote illicit drug use, because of the sheer number of corporations and individuals who stand to profit from the war on drugs. They are despicable human beings, and I expect the suicide rate to spike, although that will not matter to those behind this law. They will just pretend that the deaths are just proof of “dependence.” Of course I depend upon pain meds, the same way people depend upon other medications that make life possible.
Hi, I am new to this blog. Unbelievable. As I read these post, I am realizing that I too have been pegged as a druggy. I have Severe back issues with ruptured disc, RA, Fibromyalgia, Reynolds,.If I go to the ER, they question me all the time. Not like I go a lot. I rely on my Private Physician. She is great. Depression sets in and now I think I need something for anxiety. My son (17) with major medical issues has just returned home after 11 month in the hospital. Attempted a baclofen pump, but it got infected. Down hill from there. He has rods for scoliosis, they broke once and were fixed, but now his spine has ripped away from the rods. Hooks, wires imbedded in his tissue. He is 17. One good thing that has helped with him is that because of all of his other conditions, he is now getting services through Gilchrist Kids. His conditions are what are deemed as life shortening. Therefore, he is able to get the pain meds he needs. The problem is he is on Fentanyl patch, Oxicodone, Gabapentin, for pain and then Valium and Baclofen for the severe spasms. he then has 3 seizure meds for his Lenox Gusto, Severe seizure disorder.
I’m looking for a balance for me, so I can continue to function and help my son, but at the same time I am concerned that he has too many drugs on board. We tried taking him off Gabapentin, but his pain went through the roof. It is the only med used for the nerve pain.
Anyone out there who can help or give suggestions. It seems if you are under Hospice, you can get the pain meds you need. But what about those who do not have a set time to die, we suffer the same and don’t get the help.
TO ALL THOSE SUFFERING,
I TOO SUFFER WITH SPINAL FRACTURES, DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE, MULTIPLE RUPTURES. MY ENTIRE LUMBAR IS BONE TO BONE. THIS RESULTING FROM A ROOFTOP FALL SEVEN YEARS AGO.
I’M NOW TERRIFIED THAT I WON’T BE ABLE TO CARE FOR MY EIGHT AND FOUR YEAR OLD CHILDREN WHO HAVE NO ONE ELSE BUT ME. MY SON HAS ALREADY DONE TOO MUCH FOR ANY EIGHT YR OLD BECAUSE MOM IS IN TOO MUCH. PAIN TO GET OUT OF BED.
MY KIDS ARE THE ONLY THING THAT HAVE KEPT ME FROM CHECKING OUT OF THIS MISERY. BUT BEFORE WE CONSIDER THAT OPTION I’VE HEARD THERE IS ANOTHER OPTION FOR PAIN THAT ISN’T BEING PROSECUTED YET. IT IS AN ANCIENT ASIAN HERB CALLED KRATOM. GOOGLE THIS AND MAYBE SOME RELIEF WILL COME YOUR WAY AGAIN. YOU ARE ALL IN MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS WITH BEST WISHES FOR A BETTER LIFE THAN WHAT WE’VE BEEN LEFT WITH.
My entire body seems to be screaming out for relief! The only way I can get treated is through a methadone clinic. They tell me they do not treat pain I lie and say I’m an addict, just to get relief. although I have to drive 40 miles every day and pay 410.00 per month now I find out I need different meds for liver disease costing 11,500.00 per month I need 3 months worth. Or a mirical,…………..
I have arthritis, degenerative disks, lower back dysphasia, and fibromyalgia. I have tried every non narcotic there is, and never got relief until going to a pain management doctor. The first time I took morphine, it was like a miracle. I had spent years in agony, there were times I would be on the floor crying from the pain and praying to God to let me die. I am not a suicidal person, and have much to live for, but when you hit a pain threshold which makes you pass out, life is hardly worth living.
Once my vitals were 196/99 because the pain was so bad; this was at the Emergency room, and although the place was packed, they did the triage to get me treated stat, because there was a danger of heart attack or stroke with blood pressure that high! And my BP is usually on the lower side.
The ER is not always effective because oftentimes they treat you like a drug seeker and it is so humiliating. I had gone to doctors to try to get something for pain relief, but many times I was
lectured about the dangers of narcotics and the risk of addiction, and they would write me out a script for naproxen sodium aka Advil; I could have saved myself time and money and bought a bottle over the counter had that worked I the first place!!
. It was not until finding a pain specialist that it is finally under control.
. I take morphine for long acting relief, and the oxycodone for break through pain, and as directed.
What makes all of this harder, is when someone abuses the meds, resulting in a tragedy, and in all fairness, someone may have a severe reaction to it and die, but that is a risk of numerous medications.
Oftentimes I read where the family is outraged at the pharmaceutical company, but not putting the blame where it belongs! Claiming that the drug changed the person and ruined his/her life.
Blaming the pharmaceutical industry on a person becoming addicted is about as ignorant
as blaming a company such as Jack Daniel’s for a person becoming an alcoholic!
Then the media jumps on it, thus giving the DEA more ammo. to put even tighter control and regulations on controlled substances.
I guarantee you that if these drugs are taken away from chronic pain sufferers like me, there are going to be a lot of deaths due to suicides.
There are people like me who need the meds to function, to take it away from them is just plain cruel, and the DEA needs to back down.
Education about pain management is what we need; for all healthcare workers, and the pharmacists as well.
I totally Agree with you! I don’t know what I am going to do! I am in so much pain! I just moved to the KY area and I can’t find a Dr that will prescribe my current pain meds! They told me they know I need them but are scared to loose there license or go to jail! This is beyond crazy ! If anyone knows of a Dr that can help please let me know I have all my records my MRI’s everything and my records from Mayo Clinic. And as of today my Norco can no longer be called in anymore… WTH is this world coming too!! There are ppl like us who is in chronic severe pain and can’t get NO help here in this state.. The Dr I seen today told me I should try going to a diff state for pain management! Seriously I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!! He obviously could see how much pain I was in I also just had a major surgery on my R knee and he said Mam I wish I could help you but the state has cracked down way too hard on us Dr’s. I’m about to call an attorney and Sue the State! Wtf… (Excuse my language).. But look at all the deaths from drunk drivers!! That should be regulated!! If you can run my SS# and my license for pain meds you should beable to do the same when you purchase an alcoholic beverage!! I don’t know what to do I am so lost can anyone help point me in the right direction ??
Changing states won’t help. The new change that moved Norco/Hydrcodone from a schedule III to a schedule III drug is a FEDERAL change. It is a country-wide change. The new regulations make the prescriptions non-refillable, only a 30 day supply, and can’t be called in. Also, to get your monthly refil, patients must see their doctor or RN. You can’t just pick up the script. A FEW states have a loophole allowing a doctor to write 3 separate 30-day prescriptions to give patients. (Allowing for a 90 day supply). However, there is no guarantee how long this loophole will exist.
I have been on Hydrocodone for 6 years for a bladder disease. I have never abused my meds and have a long pharmacetical record of exactely what I take and when I refil my prescription. Last week, my urologist (with great compassion and empathy) had to move me to Tyl #4. I live 6 hours, round trip, from his office….making the drive up every 30 days to keep my hydrocodine prescrition expensive and time consuming. I WOULD, however, be willing to do this. Unfortunately, he explained that for all his patients to attend monthly “refill” appts, he would need newly hired RN’s to manage the new overflow of appointments.
This week will probably be the worst since I’m going through withdrawal along with the increase in my bladder pain & urgency.
I’m so sorry you can’t get the treatment you need.
Need to go on CNN & Do Class Action Lawsuit against DEA for violation of civil rights etc.
I agree 500% on the class action lawsuit & it’s coming if what I read on a Pharmacist discussion board happens. They were discussing “not enough profit” from many medicines, including diabetic, heart, autism, on & on. One wrote “I don’t care if some “stinking b***h” goes into coma, I’m losing money!! Continued writing, all we need to do is say “I don’t feel comfortable filling this.” It’s gone beyond “concern of addiction” to “concern about $money$ “Advanced Medicine is now GREED” I used to say I wouldn’t wish my pain on anyone. No more, I wish it on anyone & everyone with this “let em die, I want money” attitude.
From the reading I have been doing, the FDA would have to be included because they are the hat ones writing all the specifics that end up denying pain relief for those of us whose lives are swamped in pain. And the FDA it seems has special license to take off of the internet things it doesn’t like to see.
I did some reading about senior citizens and according to some studies there are thousands of addicted elderly people in this country but the majority of them are hooked on alcohol. Are we going to see the liquor industry shut down? Some how I doubt it and yet that is where the focus apparently should be.
Any suit that will restore sanity and decency and just compassion to those who will be stressed really into premature deaths if they can’t get the help they need, is something I would fully support.
And I still can’t figure out just who is behind all of this because young people don’t need what today are expensive Rx’s when they can buy much stronger and apparently cheaper stuff right on the street corner. So it’s a puzzle. Cui bono? Who benefits from putting people into hell?,
You are speaking the truth, Rachael; I have experienced all this and it is wrong, immoral, unjust, callous, and cruel.
I am titrating down from Ms Contin 30 mgs 4 times a day and 100 Oxycodone (5mg) a month for breakthrough pain. There is nothing they can do for me but my doctor has it in her head that I need to “Try it” She’s says I’m too old to be taking this much. As much as I was taking it was just dulling the pain and allowing me some normal activities in life.
So far I have dropped one entire dose and am working on another.
I can’t do this. I can’t eat anything as the pain starts with food. For those of you who know about chronic pancreatitis it’s very common to have agonizing pain after eating. Why eat?
I don’t want to live like this. Why are the FDA doing this? For a feather in their cap to prove that they are doing something on the failure of a war on drugs. Yes they are. Basically they are killing me. Just had to add my 2 cents. I have gotten to the point that I wish they would diagnose me with pancreatic cancer. At least I know there would be an end in sight.
I have been in severe pain for many years. MY neck back and fibromyalgia I have complained to dr’s for many years all they would do is give me a back x-ray that showed I have spondylosis. then send me home with naproxin that didn’t help. finally I got a dr that listened and I told him I want an MRI. That showed I have several pinched nerves in my back and severe narrowing of spine not to mention the neck. My dr said it is worse he had ever seen. I can’t even do house chores. Still he would not give me anything for pain. He sent me to a neurologist.. That dr said my back is real bad. He discussed shots in my back, physical therapy to strengthen my back to prepare foe surgery. then he sent me over to pain management for pain med. They did a drug test and said I tested positive for morphine. I was shocked since I had never been on morphine or any other drug that would show up as that. So I had to leave there with still no relief. I went home and researched false positive drug test. Found out that since I have stage kidney disease and something about the way my body isn’t metabolizing the natural chemicals in my body can show up false positive for morphine. I also found out that zantac can do the which I am also on. I am so upset they treated me like a drug addict. I need help where do I go from here?
then
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE PATEINT PAIN CARE ACT OF 1996?
I am almost 60, with degenerative arthritis in knees, right hip, lower back; HCV, and bipolar. About 4 years ago, my primary care MD, who was the Director of the clinic, prescribed dialysis, a drug chosen due to HCV compromised liver…
Skip forward to 4q 2013. The clinic suddenly turned over all doc’s involved with pain mgmt, and brought in an FNP to to manage pain. I saw her 7/2014. She announced I did not have the “pathology” to support my current meds(4/4mg/day) and the only thing she could provide was vicoden(this is NOT a drug for various bad liver) and I would prefer a total withdrawal. She prescribed a 4 week withdrawal dose. It has been brutal, painful…
Since then I have spoken to others, 10 so far, that have been treated similar or worse- many offerd NO withdrawal.
I have found 10, I am sure there are more locally in my small community….I am wondering if anyone is aware of any class action litigation. I’ll do this on my own +10…but strength in numbers seems to get attention…
I do support you. A class action lawsuit that would take on MILLIONS of mis – treated chronic pain patients who are being denied the pain medications that we need to be able to live and function on a day to day basis. The same medications that have done wonders for our lives Alot of people miracles…to be able to function in society again, to work,to take care of our children daily, to be able to get out of bed in the mornings and know that we can get through the day without being bedridden, writhing in pain, and suffering every agonizing minute of every hour. These pain medications that so many see as the devil of today’s society…..are the same medications that have saved lives, saved people who lost hope in ever living anything close to a normal life again. Allowing all these people to live again. Yet, today we are going through yet another battle a battle we shouldn’t have to ever fight, and unfair and such an unjustly battle of fighting for our right to receive medical care and obtain the medications that have given millions of people their lives back which is now hanging in the balance of uneducated people and uneducated Dr’s who want to see nothing more than having these medications ripped away and for the few chronic pain patients that they see as “qualifying” to receive any pain medication no more than 100 MG of any opiate a day? What I would seriously like to know is what naive and uneducated person/s are proposing this? I don’t give a dam* if this law is being proposed by licsensed medical doctors or people off the street who have never had any kind of formal medical training its all the same because no such law of this magnitude would be proposed by anyone that truly knew how pain medications work. Why not pass a ridiculous law limiting the daily amount of insulin a diabetic patient can have? assuming all diabetic patients bodies are exactly the same then they should all receive the same daily dose of insulin needed to keep these people alive. Sounds crazy right? Well this proposed law of limiting all chronic pain patients to the same daily dose of pain medication is no different. It will cause a backlash of consequences in this country but I can guarantee no good will come from this.Is America prepared to handle the backlash of this? I would guess not. The problems and complete disaster that something of this magnitude would cause the people of america would be devestated to this country. No one is thinking of the consequences of something like this. All they can think of is about getting the medications off the streets and out of the hands off drug addicts. There will always be drug addicts that Is a fact of life unfortunately. However limiting the dosage a chronic pain patient can have of their pain medications daily is NOT the awnser. We have a right as americans, as people to have acess and to receive fair medical care and a right to have medications that improve our quality of life, no one should ever be allowed to put a “limit” on that. I will keep fighting every single day to make sure the medications that have changed my life for the better and that have allowed me to function and live my life will be available now and far, far into the future. I know millions of other chronic pain patients in america will stand behind me.
I agree we moved from Florida to Pa. The laws in Pa are so strict why won’t a pain Dr in Pa continue the same medication as the Florida Dr. We are willing to have our blood tested and urine tested as often as the Dr wants. Just don’t take our meds from us cold turkey. Does anyone know a Dr that will do this in the Butler, Pa. Area or within 10 to 15 miles of our area?
I have lived in PA my whole life & Drs will make you start from scratch, I’ve had it happen twice. You know, take NSAIDS till you hemorrhage, all new mri, xrays, as if you just dropped onto the planet! I see a physiatrist (note spelling) since my severe, bone on bone arthritic degeneration twisting my spine into scoliosis(yay!) is musculoskeletal & they specialize in that. My current doc isn’t taking new patients anymore, the druggies in New Castle ruined that for others. Punish them, not us!
i whole heartedly agree w you myself a chronic pain sufferer.ive had 5back surgeries as a reslut of being rearended 8 times while stopped in traffic! i became paryialy paralyzed from spinal steroid injections. i understand insurnce companies are forcing people to have these injections before they will pay for surgery which is another crime. i recently reinjured myself and had changed dr.s to become more affordable. i made it clear i did not want to change if i was going to be treated like a junkie and now they are not treating my pain adequatly . i am suffering daily. i plan on contacting my state senators office and who ever else to get some answers but i wont be surprized to to passed along to someone else who will only give me gtbber gabber to placate me. it seems to be a visious circle where they all make big salaries andtalk big BS.
I would certainly take part in a class action suit.My pain ,degenerative facet joint arthritis, disc degerenation (vertebrae are now bone against bone, scoliosis, which I didn’t have before(arthritis growths are twisting it ) is controlled w/narcotic medicine when 5 years ago, the NSAIDS (Advil was always my “go to” for anything!) stopped working. Biggest fear is my current doctor retiring, dying, etc, & I’ll be thrown into the same boat I read about all over the web- the “drug seeker” boat. I even wonder if the first Ebola patient in Dallas was sent home by hysterical staff viewing him as a drug seeker? Wouldn’t be surprised. Sure, start an epidemic due to this drug addict hysteria? I’m keeping an eye out for any class action suits & definitely will take part. For heaven’s sake, I sought treatment for a tick bite (Lyme Disease, anybody? )& given lecture on how this Dr “doesn’t prescribe narcotics? Never mentioned pain, it didn’t hurt! This was my husband’s GP, he was closer to home than mine & I mistakenly thought he or any Dr could handle a tick bite! So, I see not only people not getting relief, but other illnesses ignored due to the all consuming “everyone’s a drug seeker” hysteria. How many need to die before legal action takes place?
It’s not only unethical, but inhumane that a person should die in severe pain due to governmental regulations. Alcohol is responsible for many medical related illness leading to premature death, besides the fact that it is involved in 80% of this countries homicides. Yet it’s legal. And how about cigarettes? Why not just legalize narcotics as well? A non addict will still not abuse them. Addiction has a genetic predisposition. For you doubting this, look it up in the AMA journal of medical diseases. Addicts are still going to abuse narcotics either way, and even overdose too. Many overdoses are related to the various strength of the narcotic in the illegal drug due to no FDA regulation. It all boils down to money. Liquor and cigarette taxes. Big bucks for allowing illegal drugs across the boarder. Sure open up the boarders to everyone and anyone.
I agree 🙂
Yes I have had 3 major car accidents degenerstive Arthritis & 3 disc replacements chronic pain now onNorco 10/325 3-4 x a day . This regulation & threatening doctors is a violaton of our civil rights. AARP has a bloging group & we all need to go on CNN & Blurt it out Nationally & Internationally that Americans r being denied their humane rights our country is not FREE! We r treated like criminals & we need to file a Class Action Lawsuit against the DEA! Ther is info on net since 2003 on the fight good side of DEA & the bad side. .
Yes we will stand behind it! I am watching & ready to participate in a class action. Oh, pharmarcists do want to deny insulin, heart meds, autism, on & on- they’re “not making enough $$$ from insurance payments” -sadly, that scenario needs to happen to get something moving. Other illnesses need denied as well, we pain patients have just been lumped into “drug addicts.” Heck, I hear about it from the news media several times a day. They almost seem upset if someone popular dies & it’s NOT drug related. Disgusting.
I’m with you. I believe that’s the only answer. LETS DO IT!!! I’ve been living in hell so long from OA that started 25 + years ago when I was only 29 – 30 and although I finally found Dr’s willing to treat me one in GA and one in CA I live in constant fear of being denied for some reason. I’m going to be moving again to be near my grandchildren and my biggest fear is finding another Dr. willing to help me. Let’s do it. Its not going to get any better only worse. Nobody’ officially rallying against it we have to do something!!! I can’t stoo my disease from progressing and my Dr. won’t raise the dose onn my meds after being on the same dose for so long. I’m tired of this hellish existance if it weren’t for my children and grands I would throw it in. Its being punished for having a painful desease its like no it is torture. We musr take a stand. Go before congress… I’m serious. I’m in just yell me when .where how. Fighting daily to live knowing pain pain pain its doing me in. The only time I get real relief is when I just can’t stand it anymore and double the dose. Problem with that is then I run short and suffer worse. I want to ask my doc to go up on my dose strength but I’m afraid to and he will say NO anyway just lime when I ask him for breakthrough meds for every 6 hours instead of every 8. Makes me feel like I’m knee high to a grasshopper. IM READY. LETS STOP TALKING ABOUT IT AND DO IT. I’m in SoCal. High Desert Planning to mive to Bay area when my house sells. I want to be half whole for them. To enjoy them without sufferi g. I’ve never been so afraid of anythi g like I am this. THIS IS PLAINE WRONG!!!
Thankyou Anonymous. As I just grazed THIS IS A VIOLATIONOF OUR CIVIL RIGHTS!!! Will someone please lead us and get the ball rolling. I know someone out there has the know how or knows someone who does. I’m dying more every day.
You never hear about the GOOD these medications have done all that is ever said is the BAD. This law being proposed is “reckless” and will cause so much suffering to so many people. It seems to me it’s downright inhumane.
I am in pain everyday and will be for the rest of my life. During the birth of my youngest son 23 years ago, an emergency c-section was needed. At five months pregnant my gallbladder had to be removed, too. Skipping forward. During emergency c-section my right Femoral Nerve was cut. I need my pain meds to walk, breath, live any sort of life. I ran my own paralegal business for 15 years, raised two sons, went back to college at age 45 and now…my doctor has decided to to take pain patients any longer. So, due to the length of time on Opiates and tolerance issues, I am one of the highest dosed patients in my State. I am being treated like a criminal when asking other doctors to take me on. NO One wants me. I will be out of meds in days. I will have to go to emergency, withdraw, and nothing will be done for my pain. Referral after referral have been denied. My doctor will not take my calls. I have never taken more than prescribed. As a matter of fact, I had her reduce my meds in order to be looked at by any doctor. Pain management clinics, neurologists, internal medicine and so on. I can’t even find a new primary care doctor. I have been vilified for a surgical mishap but thank God my son and I lived. Now I guess they just want me to die, cease to be, go away, all in the name of WHAT??? Saving their licenses? I cannot live with the nerve pain. I broke my back and can push through that pain but this?? I can’t. Hopeless in Oregon.
I too suffer from excruciating back pain have had Failed back surgery F BS. Now I can not get the only Rx that works Qualitest Hydrocodone 10/325. The Watsons and Mallinkrot does bork, and makes sleepy, and sick. I am 65 and am just tired and worn out from pain, also have Lymphedema , which creates more pain.
I am so sorry to hear of yours and others plight. What kind of country is this , it’s upside down Nothing makes sense. Why are we being vilified? My best friend from 1st grade had neck surgery, and it made it worse, so he committed suicide.No one knows what being in pain is like unless they have it or someone they love.God help us.
Please Let me know what or if you found a solution??? Since March of 2010. (auto accident 50mph drives side) Closed head injury, Major back issues. Pain just like yours. If I didn;t have my pain medicine I wouldn’t be able to walk 50 % of the time. Unforturantely, because of my huge auto accident drama. I am experience more nerve pain issues?? Sceaming pain, almost bit my tongue off it hurt so bad.
It;s not fair, prescribe and then say stop or slow down. Maybe they could just numb my back nerve so I could not pass out due to the pain. Sorry, its so sad… and too frustrating.
Good Luck to you!!!
Yes we all need to go on CNN & get AARP behind us many other groups as weell as a class action lawsuit for violation if our civil rights to live as humans .They fight in other countrys but our rights r completly violated not only by drug addicts but Greed of selling drugs that don’t work& psychiatrists who want to charge $400 an hour to wish away the psin while ciggaretts & alchohol r not regulated! Probitiin was a disaster!
It’s become “Save those who will rob you at gunpoint for money to just get “high” and to hell with sick/injured folks Act” Just read a PHARMACIST discussion forum of many in agreement that they don’t even want to prescribe insulin, diabetic medicine or heart disease medicines, as “they don’t make enough profit ” & they only need say “I’m not comfortable filling this! One wrote “I don’t care if the “stinking b***h” goes into a coma, I’m losing money!” How’s that for “patient care?” I see a huge class action suit coming, just a matter of time.
Truly! What happened?
In 2002, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. My Rheumatologist had me in every clinical trial in an attempt to control my symptoms. Nothing worked for me and in the end, I had gained a significant amount of weight from Lyrica (a main side effect) and from inability to exercise as I had always done. The only thing that worked for me was a combination of antidepressants and Percocet 5/325. Being in healthcare, I was aware of the risk of addiction, so I took the Percocet only when I really needed it….usually 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening. I began this medication routine in 2007, and within 2 years, I had lost 100 pounds, significantly reducing my pain and depression, because with the medication I was able to get back into a light exercise routine and increased my activity level. I moved from my home state to NC and had to find a new doctor. What a nightmare! Even with all of my medical records from my Rheumatologist and phone calls between doctors here and my previous doctors, I was taken off of ALL medications I have taken for years and was put on Neurontin and Prozac. Long story short, I have absolutely NO memory of 2 weeks in 2012 but during those 2 weeks, I demolished my car (police say I crossed the center lane for no reason, side wiped another car and hit a tree head on). Fortunately, I was not badly hurt but apparently 3 days later I sent a message to my best friend saying I couldn’t take the pain anymore and I took every pill I had. I woke up 2 days later in intensive care. I had been in a come and still do not remember either of these events or the 2 weeks surrounding them.
After this, I had to see a Psychiatrist and follow up with therapy in order to get the Effexor and Percocet from a doctor. In early 2013, my doctor informed me that he would no longer give me Percocet because I had been taking it too long. I wasn’t abusing it, I wasn’t asking for more, or a stronger dose, or a stronger pain medication, so obviously taking Percocet was not making me a drug addict who was trying to get a fix. Over the past year and a half, I have been prescribed a total of 40 tablets of Percocet…40 PILLS!
8 weeks ago, I injured my neck and went to the local “immediate care clinic”, was sent for x-rays and given 20 Percocet 5/325,results of my x-rays and was told I have 3 herniated discs in my C-spine and Reversal of normal Lordisis (my neck curves completely opposite of the normal curve). I have constant headaches, pain in my neck that shoots up into my head and down my arm. The “Doctor” who is actually a PA gave me 20 more Percocet 5/325 and told me to take Ibuprofen 800 mg every 4 hours and use the Percocet “sparingly” for breakthrough pain. Ibuprofen at that amount would eat through my stomach before I see the Neurosurgeon in 3 WEEKS! Ibuprofen will not touch the pain from this injury and if I can get through the next 3 weeks it will be a miracle. The pain is more than I can stand.
It’s bad enough that we can’t get the medications we need, but now it’s almost impossible to see a REAL DOCTOR. Every office I call tells me the PA’s see the patients unless it is a “SERIOUS” problem. WHAT is the definition of “Serious problem”???
WE DESERVE TO BE TREATED BY A REAL MEDICAL DOCTOR AND RECIEVE THE MEDICATIONS WE REQUIRE!
I am a disabled vet, the primary doctor at my McMinnville VA clinic, said he would not write the prescriptions I was on for me or any of my kind, referring to all veterans. Then he said, “Besides, you’re not my friend.” I said being friends does not have anything to do with anything, you are my doctor. I was on 100 mg morphine twice a day and 4 30mg oxycodone a day, never had a problem, was on that dose for over 7 years. He said I could od on that amount, I said you can od on anything, blood pressure meds or any kind of medication if you want to. In 3 months, he has me on 2 15 mg morphine and 2 10 mg oxycodone daily, even though I have been sick as hell. No follow up appointment or consultation from the doctor since I have first seen him. Is this legally possible if I have never failed a drug screen or pill count in so many years?
Yes we do! I wish I could find someone who was as compassionate as my first pain doctor was. He put ,e pm this cocktail of drugs for a reason. To relieve my pain and le me live again. I don’t get “high” I don’t want to. I just want to have less pain so that I can do some of the things I used to do.
Have had 14 eye surgeries in the past 10 years to retain some sight. During post-opt of the 7th surgery I woke to extreme pain from my left eye to my lower cheek bone. The surgeon denied he had done anything to cause this issue. After going through many tests to find the cause, it was discovered I had a large pituitary tumor. But it was claimed not related to the extreme face/eye pain. I was placed on a tumor reducing drug, and Oxycontin. The Oxycontin was prescribed through a pain clinic.The pain was somewhat reduced but I still suffered. After 16 months on the Oxycontin and several increases in dosage, I became suicidal, but it was shrugged off by the clinic.
I took myself off the Oxycontin and discussed with my family physician alternatives. We tested many over several months until we settled on Methadone. I used ONE 10mg tablet daily. It did not remove the pain, but made it tolerable. The new laws have prevented my doctor to continue to prescribe the medication and now I’m back at a pain clinic with no relief, but to “wean” off methadone.
Unfortunately at the same time the new laws were enforced, I began having severe lower back and leg pain, diagnosed as degenerative disk. Was informed by two back surgeons though I could have surgery, it would not resolve the pain.
I’ve been taken off the Methadone but no alternative has been given. I’m in pain 7/24. I walk the floors day and night, unable to find comfort lying down or sitting. Take extremely hot baths 4 to 5 times a day hoping for some relief. I am isolated from family, friends, activities while occupying a dark cold room attempting some resemblance of ease.
Though I love life and its wonders, death seems to be one of the few alternatives I have left. Apparently a person with low-vision does not add enough to society to be worthy of pain relief, according to the new restrictions, placed not only on patients, but doctors.
I understand there is a drug problem in America. But restricting access to pain medications to those in desperate need of them is not the answer. But it is done in this way so the politicians and social leaders can climb on their soapboxes and proclaim, “We are winning the war on drugs”. What a misnomer.!
I agree with taking away medications from people who are abusing it. But what seems to be happening is the DEA taking away medications from legitimate people suffering in pain.
I have been going through it myself. The government has gained too much power and control over every aspect of human life and they are abusing it.
I fear for what is in store for All Of Our futures.
I am 21 years old. Just that fact alone is a huge problem. A lot of doctors won’t prescribe the medications I need just because of my age. Whenever I do find a doctor that treats my pain adequately… It’s not long before they cut me off due to fear of losing their license. Apparently young people just magically become cured of chronic conditions.
And yes, my conditions have been proven by imaging and expensive testing. They are also known to be very painful.
I suffer from chronic epidydimits and orchitis, meaning my testicals get so inflamed and excruciatingly painful that it puts me on my knees. Can’t walk, can’t have sex, can’t live any sort of a life during the flare ups which can last weeks at a time. My urologist tried every on and off label medication and treatment (also discovered I have alot of medication allergies through that process) short of surgery due to risk of reproductive harm and the chance of it eliminating my pain not being large enough to outweigh that risk. So the only other option is long term opiods for breakthrough pain which equalled a write off to pain management. (Yes, finding a pain doctor to prescribe for a testicular condition is very drawn out and difficult in itself)
I also suffer from Trigeminal Neuralgia which is recognized as being extremely painful. I can’t even eat or brush my teeth some days because the pain is overwhelming. The Gabapentin only helps when combined with oxycodone or similar opioids.
I also have severe chronic pain in my left hand after it was crushed by a truck transmission, fracturing 6 bones and damaging soft tissue severely, requiring 2 surgeries to repair.
Not to mention, 2 herniated disks in my lumbar spine from a motocross accident a few years ago.
And to top it off, I now recently have injured a tendon in my foot and sustained a 5th metatarsal fracture which I have been told will require surgery and may cause additional chronic pain. I am actually thank for this new foot injury as I at least got a semi decent prescription from my new orthopedic surgeon that the ER physician referred me to. So alas my pain will be limited to a bareable amount again for the time being…
Though I am sure it won’t be more than a couple months before I am once again without medication because “You’re young, you don’t want to be dependant on these for life.” Which we all know is not the real reason because news flash… I already do depend on them because they are the only medications that allow me to function and make it through the day with out having to pray for the strength to not put my pistol to my head.
The pain is horrible. It causes so much anxiety, which in turn makes the pain even worse and you get stuck in a vicious cycle of severe pain and anxiety and depression. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
And we have propositions and things like this popping up more and more because these medications are abused illegally and “over-prescribed”.
This isn’t preventing any addiction or overdose or illegal trade and use of these medicstions on the street…
This does nothing but harm people in real pain.
Whatever happened to the oath? “Do no harm.”
I also will add, just for the heck of it, that I am allergic severely to Tramadol and that seems to raise a red flag even though I have documented proof of the reaction. And I have had stomach bleeding a few times from taking too many NSAIDS. Diclofenac, Meloxicam, Ibuprofen, etc. Just thought I’d throw that in there to add to my case. Ha.
GREG I am sorry about your experience. I found out this week just how painful this condition can be. Earlier this week my daughter took me to the ER at 3 a.m for severe Testicular pain for which I was admitted.. while attempting to rule out testicular torsion, I was given iv hydromorphone. For unknown reasons, the pain medications that were given to me were not aqequate. Being in the healthcare field myself, I was also extremely aware that my providers had at this point likely labeled me as an opioid addict. I was basically ignored while I screamed in pain by myself in the hospital room… because I think they felt that that was my baseline level Because the nurse call I wasn’t working on my bad I had to crawl on my hands and knees down to the nurses station and tell the nurse that something needs to be done I felt extremely and dehumanized by the whole experience. I’m curious to see if they ran any screens for opioids because they were also administering IV levaquin which could definitely give a false positive result. finally my pain did subside. They added a small dose of ativan on top of everything that they were already giving me and for some reason that relaxed me enough to where I could go to sleep.. I was completely out of it for the rest of the at that point NSAIDS were adequate. And I was discharged a day later after I had requested it. What really got me was the patronizing way they would say that they were there to help me with my pain management… however when I indicated that my pain was not being managed they would make comments about how much u had reqyired so far… and then given the judgemental stare. I had not taken any opioids for about a year. I had an emergency appendectomy and I think they gave me 30 tablets of vicoden. I didn’t refill any pain medications. I was back to work in 3 days. My history does not suggest anything regarding addiction… that I was labeled as such regardless… I was discharged with no instructions .. I had to call and ask things like how long is it going to take for the swelling to go down or when can I have sex…etc.. ended up having to switch my antibiotic because the levaquin gave me a rash and diarrhea from the get go. Anyways I think our methods of controlling pain in individuals is so primitive, and many physicians are poorly educated in pain mgt. And insurance companies will only reimburse for pharmacologic solutions . Newer but less popular treatment modalities are rejected for reimbursement, which basically makes practitioners treat based on insurance reimbursement not what’s best for the patient. Plus we have the backlash of regulations coming down from the legislation which have resulted in more black and white guide lines, and potential severe consequences from deviations from these guidelines. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of careless
prescribing going on.. but proper pain management cannot be dictated according to the believed cause of the pain. Until more modern and diverse methods of pain control are developed and implemented into patient care, we will continue to have less than satisfactory outcomes But I can tell you there’s nothing worse than being labeled as an addict at the same moment that you’re pain is unbearable and poorly managed. Of course the other big issue as all those individuals who have been undergoing long term pain control with opioids may be treated inappropriately by receiving inadequate pain control, and/ or will be stigmatized. I believe what’s going to have to also happen is more accountability for under-managing a patient’s pain. Under-management is much more difficult to quantify since pain is highly individual, highly variable between individuals and temporally and situationally variable within the same person. and this house under management usually doesn’t result in death it seems to be an acceptable alternativepractitioners will be much safer from complaints and disciplinary actions by following a strict and regimented guidelines for all patients regardless of individual factors. Quality of care has become secondary. I would remind your healthcare practitioners that they should not under treat people with chronic pain for “risk-management ” reasons. Patient safety and effectiveness are the things they should be focusing on. Good luck!
I read about over-prescribing or careless prescribing going on.
However from every person on this blog I see nobody being able to acquire the meds they need.
So how does one locate a doctor who will give prescriptions that will provide the needed help for pain relief?
Or is over prescribing an urban legend?
Hello,
I feel for all of you. I myself am going through it big time ntight now. My first question is what can we do about it? Are we going to be stuck living like this, in acute pain and suffering until we die? I have been going to the doctor at least once a month sometimes more since apx. 2008 I have documentation of my MRI’s, bloodwork, hospital stays, operations, doctors visits and proof of illnesses. However, with all of this I have been flat out cut off from my medications. The doctor nof course saying it was due to the treats of his losing his lisence if he continues to nfill prescriptions for pain medications.
Diagnosed with:
Osteoarthtitus, Ruemetoidarthritus, Fibromyalgia, Spinal Stenosis, Bulging and fusing disks, Sciatica, Dyshydrosis, Chronic Obtrusive Pulmonary Disease, Chronic low back pain, Degenerative disk disease, Leg, foot and hand cramps, Chronic pain syndrome, Obesity, Major depressive disorder exacerbated by stress and grief, Generalized anxiety disorder, GERD, History of headaches due to stress and anxiety, Hypertensiom, hyperphagia, back pain from across lumbar, also bilateral radicular to knees and sometimes ankles, in upper back had 13 pairs involving the neck, the base of the neck, deltoids, incertions of biceps tendons, and mulitiple paired trigger points, in the trapezius and the back itself, severe osteoarthritic changges of shoulders, knees and MCP joints and trace adema, bilateral sciatica down both buttocks to knees, swelling in knees, weakness in both lower extremities, April of 2009 had lobar pneumonia, empyema and MRSA in left lung, they tried drawing fluid from nleft lung but couldn’t, I was sent to ICU and put into an induced coma state to be stabilized for surgery, after several day’s had decortation of left lung, fluid had turned soli8d and had to be scraped out of lung,, placed Endotracheal tube, nasogrstric tube and left sided chest tubes, cardio silhouette enlarged, spent two weeks in ICU, was hospitalized for three months, sent home with a cane, a walker, a bedside commode and hospital bed, and then a nebulizer was also delivered, then one year later had MRSA, dyshydrosis lobar pneumonia, (s/p decortation right empyema was only hospitalized for one month..
Medications:
Venlafaxine 75MG 1 tab 3 times daily, Gabapentin 600MG 1 tab 4 times daily, Citalopram 20 MG 1 TAB DAILY, kLOR-Con 8MEQ SUST-RELEASE TABS TWICE DAILY, DO-Q-LACE 100mg CAP TWICE DAILY, Qvar 80MCG Aerosol (120 puffs) 8,7GM 1 PUFF TWICE DAILY, Ropinrole 0.25MG 1-2 tabs nightly for leg cramps, Trazadone 150MG 1-2 tabs at bed time, Morphine Sulfate CR 100MG 1 tab in morning, 1 tab in afternoon, 2 tabs at bed-time, Carisoprodol 350MG 1 tab 4 times a day, Hydrocodone/APAP 10MG/325MG 1-2 TABS EVERY 4-6 HRS AS NEEDED
FIRST THEY TOOK AWAY THE MORPHINE, THEN THE SOMA’S AND NOW THE NOCO’S. THIS WAS REPLACED WITH IBUPROFEN 800mG 1 TAB 3 TIMES DAILY.
I WANT TO KNOW HOW ANY DOCTOR OR ANYONE ELSE COULD POSSIBLY THINK THAT THIS WAS GOING TO HELP ME. MY ANXIETY ATTACKS AND BOUTS OF CRYING, NOT TO MENTION THE CONTSANT PAIN I AM HAVING TO ENDURE IS UNBELIEVAVLY UNREAL. i CAN NOT SLEEP, I CAN BARELY FUNCTION, BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR MEDICATION IT MAKES LIFE ALMOST BEARABLE. BUT WHEN YOU DON’T YOU CAN THINK OF NOTHING ELSE, YOU CAN NOT CONCENTRATE, YOU CAN NOT THINK, YOU CAN NOT LISTEN TO ANYTHING ANYONE IS SAYING, YOU CAN NOT EVER GET THE LEAST BIT COMFORTABLE, MY LEG AND FEET CRAMPING HAS GOTTEN MUCH WORSE, IT WAKES ME UP THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT CRYING, TRYING ANYTHING TO GET IT TO STOP. i AM SO CONFUSED AS TO WHY ANYONE WOULD WANT TO PUT SOMEONE IS THIS TYPE OF SITUATION. THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE IS CURRENTLY SO BAD THAT IT IS ALMOST UNBEARABLE. i AM AT SUCH A LOSS, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO? i HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR A DOCTOR FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW, BUT THEY ALL SAY THE ARE NOT TAKING NEW PATIENTS. i DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT BUSINESS IT IS FOR THE DEA TO TELL A DOCTOR THAT THEY CAN NO LONGER HELP THEIR PATIENTS. dOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ADVICE? i WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
I am a 45 year old man with a wife and four year old son. I have severe chronic pain from several sources. I am also an electronics engineer with a M.Sc. degree, and I was a candidate for Ph.D. Technically, I still am, but I’ve been unable to deal with work, family, and school. It’s just too much. I have refused to quit and give up. Several years ago I was exposed to toxic mold in my workplace which nearly killed me. This resulted in me requiring sinus surgery and I kept a sinus infection for approximately a year. As soon as I stopped taking antibiotics, sometimes for two months at a time, it would return in days. I have gone downhill since then. If anyone doesn’t understand what mold can do to you, I suggest you take it VERY seriously. Since that time I’ve also had several sets of “tubes” in both ears. The aching pain all over never went away. Mold produces “flu like” symptoms. Even though I got moved out on doctor’s orders, I never truly recovered. The damage was done. Since that time I’ve also required staple hemorrhoid surgery, and I have severe IBS. About four years later I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which has symptoms identical to mycotoxicosis (mold poisoning). I believe it does permanent CNS damage as it is a neurotoxin. After being treated by a rheumatologist and getting all sorts of injections (trigger point and steroid) and eventually getting Lortab at two 7.5mg per day which helped, but didn’t really touch my pain. Finally he gave me Fentanyl 25ug/hr patches and that helped me significantly since I wake up in severe pain all over. It is hard to describe other than imagine the worst flu you ever had. That’s my wake-up every morning. After four year with this doctor, he became spooked by the DEA, and began cutting almost all of his patients back on their meds. He did not cut mine. Keep in mind this doctor, a rheumatologist, must manage some patients with very severe pain like lupus, fibromyalgia, and rheumatic arthritis. He offered the patients to take the cut, or be referred to the pain clinic. Due to the fact my pain was not managed, I volunteered to be referred. I welcomed it. My quality of life sucks, for a lack of better words. It has greatly affected my work, my family, and my son. After he was born I couldn’t even bend over in the morning to change his diaper, which unfortunately, my wife simply couldn’t understand. She has since then realize to some extent how I suffer but yet keep going. I believe I would have committed suicide had I not went to the rheumatologist. He really helped me, but it was not enough. I didn’t want to continue received steroids either as they can cause a lot of problems down the road. After being referred to the pain doctor it was discovered I have sciatica, cervicalgia, and a few other items I’d not heard of before. I’ve had neck and back problems “pinched” nerves on and off for many years. At times I couldn’t turn my neck and when I roll my head it sounds like sand in my bones. When I wake up my bones pop all over my body. Often I can be just sitting and my neck pops so loud people can hear it. My pain management doctor told me, “I don’t doubt that you have fibromyalgia, but you have something more going on”. His spent about an hour or so with me, took and extensive survey of my medical history, and ordered nerve conduction tests. I was having pains on one side of my body. He indicated that fibromyalgia doesn’t cause pain on one side, but always causes bilateral pain, which I indeed do have. Add to that severe pain on one side of my back, at points on my spine, and pain in my hips that goes from side to side, sometimes so bad when I get up out of bed I have gone to my knees. Now I’ve been having severe pain in my tail bone and pain radiating from my low back, through my hip joint and down my leg. He has increased my medications quite a bit, but it is not yet under control. There are a few reasons for this and I believe that soon it will be very well controlled. One reason is the Fentanyl patch. In the summer when it is hot, these patches will “dump” their medicine. You can’t take hot baths, which give me a lot of relief. You can’t get in the sun. You can’t you can’t you can’t, confining you to inside. But I work, and I have things I must do or nobody will do it, like mowing the lawn. I have to work and bring home the money. I have to hike about 200 yards to get to my office from my car. I also have to ride 45 minutes each way. In the winter, Fentanyl was very helpful and I didn’t wake up feeling nearly as bad as before. But when summer comes, all bets are off. So my doctor switched my to Opana, which is the best for pain that I’ve taken. I take Percocet for breakthrough pain. However, I take one Opana ER in 24 hours. I started this regimen this month. I fell like a champ all day, until that 12 hours is up. Then I feel bad, really bad. I am waking in the middle of the night at 3 or 4 and I must get up or the pain gets worse and I then have to take my breakthrough. This shows how important it can be to manage pain while sleeping. Sleep is so important in managing chronic pain, I believe. So I have a few days left before I return to my doctor and I will ask that the dose is cut in half, and provided on an every 12 hour basis. I believe I have been going through withdrawal symptoms every night. I did a lot of research and learned that Opana is pretty much always prescribed as 1 pill every 12 hours. I believe if he does this my pain will be well managed. Another issue I had was that I took my prescription to CVS, which I’ve used for years, but I had been using a “mom and pop shop” that shut down and moved us all to CVS. After receiving the prescription for Opana, and my usual breakthrough medication, they told me they didn’t have it in stock. I was out of Fentanyl. They said it would be Monday, and I dropped it off on Thursday. Not wanting to go shopping around for different pharmacies I agreed, which was a big mistake. I came back on Thursday and they said “oh, it didn’t come in”, after they searched for my prescription for 20 minutes. I was livid. They made some calls and finally found a local pharmacy that had Opana. I couldn’t go there until the next day because they were closing. The next day that pharmacy filled my medications and will try to take me on. They said they were near their limit for oxycodone but that he was the half-owner and he had the final say. He told me to come back next month, so that’s what I’m going to do. This month has been hell on wheels. I could barely perform my job. I’ve been irritable, and have had to lay in the bed quite a bit. I haven’t had this much suffering since before I finally sought help at the rheumatologist. The moral of all this is that with adequate pain management, I can be a father, a husband, and an engineer. My work is important to the nation – that’s all I’ll say about that, but needless to say, I work for YOU ALL. I should not have to suffer and be an inadequate father, husband, and employee because of drug addicts, the DEA, and pharmacists who feel it is their job to determine your medical condition and then decide whether you are legitimately in need. In fact, I can’t imagine it is legal for them to do so. They are not medical doctors and are not qualified to determine your chronic pain management. I understand their fear, of the DEA, but take a look at my record and history. I’ve never been in any trouble, don’t drink, never been in jail, etc. I am sick of being treated like a criminal and second-rate citizen because I seek to manage my pain and have a decent quality of life. The costs of me not treating my pain are much higher to society than not treating it out of fear that I might get addicted. Yes, I am dependent upon it, but I’m not taking handfuls of pills to get high, and we all deserve more respect from the government, law enforcement, our doctors, and the pharmacies that should be making sure we get what is needed without questioning a legitimate prescription for legitimate pain. I feel the costs to society are much higher in not treating those who could be productive if only their pain is managed properly. There will always be drug abusers and no war on drugs, no law, and certainly not taking away the RIGHT of law-abiding citizens to manage there pain is going to stop it. They will get their heroine, cocaine, meth, or whatever their drug of choice is! However, I am asking that this government cease and desist punishing chronic pain patients in need of medical help. I don’t have cancer, but I’ve read research stating that fibromyalgia is just as painful for many. Stop punishing me for what one kid in the classroom did. Let me tell you this: for those of you who are opiophobes, those that fear “addiction”, when you don’t even know what the word means, and those of you have never had pain so severe your life shuts down, I believe one day you’ll understand and you’ll say to yourself, “God forgive me for being on the wrong side and please heal my pain”. I don’t wish that upon my worst enemy, but the fact is that more likely than not, at some point you’ll be faced with chronic pain and I don’t want you denied of your right to be taken care of honestly, and compassionately. For the government law enforcement: before you decide to put more restrictions or cause us more heartache and suffering, keep in mind that it might be you, your mother, father, brother, or sister, or perhaps your son or daughter. Ask yourselves if you will deny them the treatment of their pain, or will you just say, “We can’t do it, because you might get addicted”. Let me tell you this as well: When you hurt all over, every day, 24/7, 365 days a year, you don’t give a da*ned that you *might* become addicted. When your life is torment and living hell, being “addicted” is the last of your concerns. What matters is can I live my life, take care of my family, can I hold my son, can I do a good job for my employer. These are the things that truly matter, and until you’ve suffered, you’ll never know just how important those things are for which you take for granted every day. I ask all of those against pain medication for whatever reason you may have, whatever fear you have, to reconsider based upon what I have said, and what millions of others are crying out. We are screaming in agony for you to hear us and let us do what we must, between ourselves, and our doctors to manage OUR pain. It’s not your pain, so you need not worry about it. But you should have some compassion.
Hi Joe I like u have suffered with chronic pain for the last 10 yrs due to an elevator accident. I unlike u can no longer work. Thank God at the time I had 30yrs work history and was able to get SSDI and workers comp because I was hurt in the building I worked in in NYC. I recently moved to Florida and I’m having a lot of trouble as well getting pain meds prescribed properly. I did find a pain mgt dr bit he has limited me to 10mg daily of oxycodone. What about the breakthrough pain. It’s sad that the government has deemed me disabled bit wants to deny the ability to obtain the necessary medication to have some quality of life. I want to say to those that are anticipating suicide PLEASE DONT DO IT. UR LIFE DOES MATTER. MU PRARY SUGGESTION TO THOSE THAT R WITHDRAWING LOOK UP THE WEBSITE FOR SUBOXONE AND SEE IF I CAN FIND A DOCTOR THAT WILL PRESCRIBE IT. IT DOES WORK AND IT HELPS WITH THE PAIN. IT HELPS TO IMPROVE UR QUALITY OF LIFE. I THINK THAT WE SHOULD START CONSULTING WITH SOME LAWYERS ON THESE ISSUES AND SEE IF THERE IS ANYONE WILLING TO TAKE ON THIS ISSUE. I WILL BE DOING THE SAME. WE CANT JUST GIVE UP. ITS QUITE DIFFICULT TO FIGHT WHEN UR FIGHTING PAIN. I ALSO PLAN TO CONTACT THE ADA( Americans with Disabilities Act). I agree with some of the previous bloggers indicating that our Covil Rights are being VIOLATED!! We may as well be living in a third world country where they have the inability to get medication when in chronic pain. This is a sad and scary situation and we have to pay close attention to this issue. This can also be considered a form of genocide to get rid of a class of people they no longer want to be responsible for. This will not reduce drug addiction this may increase it and give the money back to the corner drug dealers. Those making these decisions r not looking at the long term effects. We also need to reach out to the pharmaceutical companies to get there support. These medications are required to have a quality of life just as the blood pressure medication that I take daily. They just need to monitor the doctors but not place fear and intimidation if they r practicing medicine according to the oath that they have taken. Let’s stay in touch and keep each other informed. TOGETHER WE CAN TAKE BACK OUR CIVIL RIGHTS!!
Pamela, I’m so sorry to hear your story. 10mg of oxycodone? That’s a joke! I’m sure you’re fully aware of that fact. Nobody with serious pain would even respond to 10mg a day. That is appalling. I’m taking significantly more than that. It does allow me to work. All 10mg a day would do is get you feeling a little better for a few hours, then cause withdrawal, making the pain worse. My doc is by the book but new laws have caused him to stop treating certain things, like the nerve problems that come with chronic pain (and from family members that don’t understand). Also, if the pill count gets over 120 then apparently it’s triggering a look-see by the state and maybe DEA. It doesn’t matter if you get 120 pills that are 80mg each or if they are 5mg. What genius politician thought this up? So it caused me to have to switch from Percocet to Roxicodone. Roxicodone is EXTREMELY abused. They forced my pain doc to move most people onto Roxicodone so he could manage their pain without creating trouble. Here’s another tidbit. In my opinion, the Roxicodone 30mg is equivalent to 10mg Percocet in pain relief. I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t help me as much. I understand some people who need to take 10 Percocet a day cannot because the Tylenol is a killer, but a few is ok. What I don’t understand is why it doesn’t seem to pack the same punch? The only thing I can arrive at is their tiny size causes little to no digestion and it doesn’t get absorbed into the bloodstream and perhaps is metabolized or broken down before it can reach the brain. Anyone else experience this problem with Roxicodone and Percocet? My pain has been worse since going on Roxicodone. 45mg – given as 15mg 3x a day. You have to cut them and hope they don’t crumble to powder too. This month the pharmacy shorted me 3 pills. I didn’t realize it until I was home and cut them in halves. I’ll be counting them every time now. I’m certain it was accidental. One time they gave me two extra Opana ER. I suppose it happens. They have a counting protocol but can you imagine how many pills they count a day? God bless them, because they treat me with dignity and respect. Something clearly many of you are NOT getting from pharmacies or doctors. Pamela, I hope you can find the help you need.
I was very moved by your submission. Having worked at a hospital for 14 years (one year in ER), managed a multi-location multiphysician practice for 9 years and in the insurance industry for 10 years, I have a look at patient care from both sides of the fence. I consider myself a person of integrity and compassion, conducting myself so in all of those roles. I understand the necessity of rules and regulations, also the laws necessary to enforce such. I am willing to jump through all the necessary hoops, crossing all my Ts and dotting all my Is to support the need for my pain medication. I also appreciate the knowledge and guidance that my pain doctor has to treat me without harming my liver or causing any overdose. BUT, as with everything else the government has reportedly try to control, they seem to have caused much harm. There seems to be too much red tape in today’s atmosphere for anyone in a position to help to do much good. I believe there are pain doctos, nurses, pharmacists that all recognize the majority of us that have a real and substantial need for pain control. I believe that they are afraid to speak up to cause any undue attention to themselves. They have all worked too hard and spent too much money on education, and they have families to support, bills to pay. I believe they may be kidding themselves thinking they are just doing what they are mandated to do, that the government must know what is best and they can just offer what other methods of treatment are available. My question is this, Is it any different than soldiers in Germany that did nothing when people were sent to gas chambers? Hardly any comparison, but it is the turning a blind eye that I am trying to point out. I have a friend who at age of 18 in Vietnam went immediately to superiors when he saw some Americans doing improper acts, he was told that is just the way War is and if he minded his own business he would get along just fine. Those who try to speak up, are being shut down. Another question is Why? A class action suit is highly called for in this Pain Management area. There are so many who cannot speak up for themselves. My godmother who recently died was getting a minute amount of Norco despite a surgeon seeing mush where there should have been bone in her vertebrae. If she were here today, in a nursing home still, would she be getting anything? We have to speak for those who cannot. Unfortunately, I can barely make it to a family function much less go to Washington to speak out. I can hardly deal with the myriad of paperwork related to my disability and my medical bills much less meet with any lawyers. I have written to the President, no response. I have written to my State Representatives and received blanket responses. My Sjogren’s is a progressive disease, I have widespread osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, ankle fracture, bursitis in all joints, burst fracture of my back resulting in 3 surgeries last of which 7 level fusion which is now failing as I have new compression fracture and compromised discs above that fusion, I have artifical disc hardware at the base of my spine. I have tried all other modalities for pain relief. In 3 1/2 years since my burst fracture I have not had my pain managed at all (never reached even minimally fuctional). I was already on Clonazepam for Central Nervous System problems for years which I feel has made my brain wired in such a way that opiates do not affect me as it does others. I cannot take anti-inflammatories as it affects my heart. I recently found some sleep (more than 30 minutes at a time) finally after water therapy. I cannot say enough about how wonderful it has been, only I keep getting urinary tract infections due to my auto immune disease. My pain meds should be increased due to tolerance yet then have been reduced to 6 10/325 Norco a day. I am supposedly one of the lucky ones. Yet I have high anxiety as each visit I feel like a victim waiting for the ax to fall taking even that away. My surgeon had to call 5 area pain clinics and ALL told him they would not prescribe long term pain medication. I had to be referenced in. I am lucky, but I feel bad for those who do not have anyone to speak for them. WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR EACH OTHER. Thank you Dr. Fudin, you are a wonderful man.
Each day I read of people considering suicide because of uncontrolled pain. I am in a pain clinic that reduced my morphine 1/3 during my first visit after being refered from my retiring doctor who refused to follow their recommendations. I have had 14 surgeries. The worst was the failed fusion that had both nerve roots compressed. Now I have peripheral neuropathy, sciatica and narrowing of the leg arteries. I am missing uterus, overview, gallbladder, appendix and 30 % of colon. I have 2 more bulging discs and autonomic nervous system failure.I have been diagnosed with IC and IBS. I have read all the heart breaking stories and it is hard to believe that suffering is allowed in the United States now. DEA has scared the reputable doctors and forced pharmacies to refuse to fill legitimate prescriptions is unbelievable. I am not scared to die but worry about our young adults like my daughter. Thank you again for what you do.
this war on drugs has become a war on the people. Legitimate patients who are suffering,quit victimizing people.
Yes it has. Of course more people are needing painkillers! The HUGE baby boom generation is aging! I bet thousands were glued to the story of the 29 yr old w/terminal brain cancer is choosing assisted death. Legal in 5 states. Dr provides the drug, patient must take it themselves. Sad this is what many are interested in, but if you can’t walk without blacking out without medication, that option looks great to me. I’m sure many who’ve taken their life already were just written up as heart failure. I’ve heard many, knowing this, have a letter explaining exactly why they killed themselves. I’m writing one just in case. The “medical field” in this country is appalling & increasingly incompetent. Look how “great” they’re handling Ebola- by sending the guy who just died home from the ER!
I understand how you are feeling. I’m feeling the same way but I’m too pig headed to let this happen. I don’t know how but I’m going to win over this situation if I have to go to the President himself.
I just don’t understand how they can call themselves doctors and not help the people who really need it. I have a pain contract. I’m tested every so often to make sure I’m not selling the stuff. Five years from now they will change their minds again and this whole decade of torture will be over. I hop, if I live to see it.
Iam a 68 year old grandmother of 10.. 5 yearss ago I was taking care of my partner and his son, both of whom are handicapped. I was given Cipro for a kidney infection that would not clear up. I had a very bad reaction to it, I got C-difficile and.It caused my Potassium level to drop, my heart stopped and I had a 3rd degree heart block with Tussards De Points. I lived and for that I am truly grateful. However, I have never been right since. I am exercise intolerant, Ihad the c-diff for 3 years which caused me lots of intestinal issues, constant diareaha and Ialso had fibro. I took oxecodone for some control of that whcut my meds in halfile I had C-diff and lorasepam for sleep. Ifinally got rid of thec-diff with 2 fecal transplants. 3 months later I had exsruciating pain in my back and down my legs. Oxecodone 10 mg gave me some relief so I could go to work. I went to PT and pool therapy and got a shot in my back but nothing helped.. i was tol I would need surgery but before that happened my heart decided to vill up my lungs andlegs and hands with fluid, back to the hospital, cancel tne surgery. My Drs PA cut my
meds in half at tbias point and now I am worse thAn ever. My legs and arms feel so bad and mmy back is at the screami.g level. Icant sta d long enough to cokkdinner and this letger is killing me to complete. Why do theywant usto suffer? Imvoing to die within 5 years anyway wwhy do I have to suffer? It is nonsensical
I have 9 serious orthopedic issues. Surgery is NOT possible. I can not take NSAID’s, I and confined to a wheelchair and can not do aqua therapy, the insurance company denied PT, so the opioid therapy I have been on for the last 10 years is ALL I have to attain any kind of meaningful life. I was just informed that California passed new “guide lines” for opioid use and I would be “cut off” cold turkey.
Now, I will have NO defense against the chronic pain I live in. I just wish that there were “Guide Lines” for legislators. So they had to live by their own laws. But, they exempt themselves. A “one size” fits all law for something this important wherein ever situation is different, is an abomination!
Dr. Joseph Mengala – who operated on Jews in Hitler’s 1940 Germany, with NO anestheasia, would be proud of the the new “Guide Lines” that will go on to cause millions to suffer.
Odd that almost every “Pro” report on the internet about the new opioid laws starts with “insurers will save millions!” I have yet to see one that says ” thousands of chronic pain sufferers helped by new opioid laws”
Alas, Legislators always go after the weak who are not a large enough group to fight back, so they can justify their existence! Aint we GREAT! we are causing millions of weak, sick, ill people to suffer so we can save millionaires , millions of dollars so they can give us more money so we can run for reelection!
IT IS RIDICULOUS WHAT WE GO THROUGH …
THEY EUTHANIZE ANIMALS WHEN THEY’RE IN PAIN,
YET I MUST BEGGGGG FOR PAIN RELIEF …
THIS MUSTTTTT STOPPPPP !!!
I AM SO ANGRY …
🙁
In 1997 I woke up one morning to find that my neck was very sore and felt like it had gravel in it, well as the weeks went by it got worse and worse until I just couldn’t stand it so I went to my Dr. who said nothings wrong and gave me 800mg ibuprofen which did nothing, so I went to several different hospital ER’s and they did x-rays and again said nothings wrong? at the time my wife was a back office MA and told me to see the Dr. she worked for and he looked at the x-rays and said I had a herniated disc between c5 & c6 so I went to a neurologist and he had MRI’s ordered and sure enough not only was the disc bulging it had extruded out and the vertebrae were crushing the nerve causing horrible pain so I went to a neurosurgeon and he removed the disc and took a piece of bone from my hip to replace the disc which only helped the pain that was going down my left arm, I still had the gravel feeling in my neck and then a loss of range of motion in my neck so then I went to a pain management Dr. to help my constant pain and he put me on Oxycontin 80mg and Oxyfast liquid for breakthrough pain and he kept giving me more and more even though I said I was good at a certain point but he wanted to titrate me up, what he was really doing was getting me hooked so I had to keep going back, then he switched to a concierge practice charging $250 a month besides the regular office fee and prescribing huge amounts of opiates until the state of CA pulled his license so now he’s out of practice and here’s the problem now, every Dr. I see once they hear who I was seeing thinks I’m a drug seeking junkie piece of crap and I can’t get any meds to help? so now what in the hell am I to do? the few pain Docs. I’ve seen have cut me down so far that I’m going through withdraws, can’t sleep, can’t eat, and diarrhea, it’s terrible, where’s the compassion? just because I was referred to a jerk doesn’t mean I’m one or don’t deserve to be treated!
I have to know, do you live in CaLifornia. I was in danger boat, saw a doctor in northern cal who got shut down and got me all the way to 90mg methadone. Thank god I found a new doctor. Jekyll, this guy is probably in jail. He had me addicted to dilaud oily d too, like 16mg every 6 hours but I stopped that on my own. I now wish I stared on Claudius and stripes the methadone but I have to admit I don’t feel sedated or spaced off methadone unlike every other narcotic.
I too have had chronic pain for many years. We thought that it started when at 18 I fell and broke my tailbone and had hairline fractures throughout my entire spine. After this, I suffered though 5 car accidents. What I haden’t thought about was the car accident I was in at the age of two with my mother where a lady just drove right into us. I was sitting in the middle front and was slung backwards over hte seat as if I were doing a backben. We never thought much about it until the xrays and MRIs were done when I fell. For years I stayed on mild pain relievers, such as darvocet. 20 pills would last 4 months since I mainly took motrin or tylenol. As the car accidents happened, I was put on low doses of hydrocodone. Pain Management, what a joke. Due to excessive insurance billing, the dr did more procedures than should have been done at one time and did more damage than what I started with. Since then, my primary care doctor has taken care of my prescriptions as I still did not take medication daily other than OTC meds. Then, they talked me into going to a new pain management dr. I agreed and before I knew it, he was increasing and changing my medication. After this, my previous regimen did not help the pain. I went back to my dr and requested to be put back on the lower dose medication that was not morphine based. I did have to take it daily, but it was not as strong as what this other dr had me on. I took the same medication for the next several years. When I became pregnant with my first pregnancy, I tried to stop taking the medication. I tapered myself down and thought I would be fine. I miscarried at 12 weeks, but the baby had stopped growing at 8 weeks. My OB talked to me and told me to continue to try for another baby and we would look at my options. 6 months later, I was pregnant again. He told me that my body would not be able to handle a pregnancy without pain medication. Mind you, even though I have the issues in my back and neck, I also have heart problems and have had stents placed twice in three areas for a total of 6 stents. My OB talked to my cardiologist and they determined that the safest thing would be to put me on methadone rather than continuing opiate therapy. I completely freaked out and got upset. The only thing that I knew about this medication was that it was used for heroin addicts and I knew that was not me. I went home and my husband and i looked at the information they gave us and we researched onlline. Once I knew more about the medication, I decided to give it a chance. There came the next problem. Finding a dr to treat my pain and starting me on a new medication while pregnant and a history of heart problems. For the safety of my unborn daughter, my health and at the recommendation of my OBGYN and cardiologist, I had to go to a walk in clinic and claim that I was addicted to opiates to receive the medicine that my OBGYN thought would be best for me and my baby. This meant going through random drug tests and seeing a counselor monthly. This meant getting up at 5 am every day of the week to go to the clinic so that I could be dispensed my daily dose of methadone and take it in front of the dispensing nurse. None of this was covered by my health insurance either. However, the medication worked. I was monitored by a high risk neonatologist and I had a healthy baby girl. After I had her, I was given the option to go back to the medications that made me feel high and were so controlling over my life. I declined and stayed where I was at. I knew of one dr that accepted my insurance that agreed with the use of this medication but I had to wait until he was accepting new patients. When he opened up for new patients, I changed my primary dr and went to my first appointment armed with all of my records and the information from my OBGYN. He agreed to take over my treatment and I went from paying $450 per month to $7 per month. I had a second child who was healthy and I continued the same regimen. No problems right. Wrong. My doctor took a 4 month sabatical and went to another country to do some work for the less fortunate. While he was gone, the other dr’s at the facility, which is my insurance company as well, started declining to fill prescriptions and referring everyone to pain management. In my area, there are not many pain management clinics that do medication maintenance. Not everyone can benefit from shots/injections and not everyone is a candidate for surgery. I managed to make it through until he returned on half of what i normally took and an additional 1600 mg of motrin 3 times a day. When my dr returned he was furious. The insurance company decided that they would no longer pay for anything that exceeded 100mg morphine equivalence daily. The dr’s took this to mean they could not prescribe anything more than that. Big difference between covering and prescribing. I have a different company for prescription coverage thanks to the changes made to State Employee Insurance benefits. My dr. wrote my original prescriptions and referred me to a pain management dr to see if anything could be done to help me. It took 9 months for the dr to review my referral to even decide if he would take me as a patient. he accepted my case and it took 3 months for my appointment to come around. I have seen him for 4 months now. He actually changed the way that I take my medication and stated that with the time that I have been on this medication, normal titration schedules would put me at about 200 mg per day but I had stayed at 100 mg daily. He was very impressed and said that it is very unfortunate that people like me who obviously would rather not have to take medication and refuse to increase even when they should are treated as though they are just drug seekers and treated as an addict due to the stigmas that this medication brings with it. This made me feel as though he cared and he assures me that we will do what has to be done to keep me medically healthy and functional. Meanwhile, since I have stenosis of the discs and two discs that have herniated in my cervical spine and torn the meniscus covering my spinal chord and I have bnot had an MRI in 3.5 years, he has requested an updated MRI which my insurance company has denied stating I need to go to physical therapy for 6 weeks first. Wow. Medical recommendations for stenosis of the spine is to review an MRI result every 2 years at least. Now that I have a wonderful dr, my biggest problem is that the FDEA has limited the amount of medication that each pharmacy can order no matter what their patient load is. It is first come first serve but I am under contract to use the same pharmacy, who can’t always fill my medication. But if I go to another location, the pharmacist questions me and at times won’t fill my prescription because they are not my normal location. So this puts me having to wait sometimes a week for the shipment to come to my usual pharmacy location which causes me to start to have withdrawals. This is not a good situation for someone with severe heart problems. I guess when I suffer a heart attack and die due to withdrawals, my husband should sue the FDEA on behalf of himself and my children who won’t have a mother to raise them. This medication has allowed me to live a somewhat normal life without excruciating pain on a daily basis. There are times that I have to take breakthrough pain medication, but I can get out of bed, take care of my children and perform my job duties very well without feeling high or in pain. Thank you to my OBGYN for stressing the benefits of this medication versus the opiate treatment I was on. Thank you to my primary dr and my current pain management dr for believing in the meaning of people are different and one medication does not fit all, nor does one dose fit all. I have a constant fear that our Federal government will continue to overextend itself and punish those of us who need this medication rather than targeting those who are truly drug seekers and really don’t even need pain medication. It is easier to restrict the amount shipped than it is to find the bad guys and punish them. We have to take a stand and stop them from punishing those of us who have done nothing wrong, including our doctors who are trying to uphold the oath that they took.
I need help and fast. My husband injured his neck so badly that he slipped his C6 and C7 out. He went to his then doctor about this injury asking for an x-ray to see if there could be damage to something in his neck due to the fact that he was in a whole lot of pain.. She denied this saying he just had stiff muscles put him on muscle relaxers which didn’t work and also made him sick. He went back several times telling her that he really felt as though an x-ray was needed. she never had one done only kept putting him on all of these meds for muscles.. He voiced that they were not working only making him sick. We finally decided we needed to find a new doctor as his neck pain was getting much worse with each passing day and had already wasted close to a yr with this doctor. we found a great doctor she had x-rays done and MRI’s she determined that he had slipped out C6 C7 and tried him with a pain management doctor which did nothing for him put him on gamapentin and gave him some cream and sent him one his way.we called his new doctor and told her what little help he was given as the gamapentin made him very sick he had violent dreams from it waking me up because he was yelling and flaring his arms in his sleep.. his new doctor took him off that and tried him on some percocets and also at different times oxycodone these made him sick as well he has a GI bleed from the yrs of meds trial and error trying to find the right med to help relieve his pain yet not make him sick or get him for lack of better words ” high” .. So she then gave him hyrocodone .. wow this actually works and he doesn’t have all the gross side effects as hi did with all the other junk he had been told to take. well He though he was out of the woods and in the clear.He had found a doctor that actually cared about him found out what was wrong with him knew he had already taken a bunch of meds that made him sick so she looked at the meds that would not cause the same side effects puts him on something that worked and wasn’t getting him sick or high.. just out of pain so he could function like he had before he got hurt. Well we were far from in the clear. she has us come in to tell us she was leaving he practice!! I started to cry and got instant fear.. who will we get for a doctor now we had been looking for 3 yrs she was everything a doctor should be caring understanding thorough willing to put him gettiing out of pain above what society thinks about pain meds. he had been able to keep his job our life was finally back on track this can’t be happening… She refers hi to another doctor in her practice feels as though this doctor will be as good….. Boy was she wrong. He has been on the hydrocodone for 1 1/2 yrs he has not been given a change in it at all the same 7.5mg 1 tab every 6 hours.. it is has lost its effects so he has had to take 15mg every 4 hours as his c6 and c7 have moved even further forward and are now completely crushing nerves without this dosage he is unable to move without being in complete agony.. We have called many times as he runs out of meds 8 days before the month is over having to stay home losing 600 a month in pay and losing the respect from his boss he had gained over the past 9 yrs of working. We have told her its been over a yr he needs either a higher mg pill or an increase of the mg he is taking now.. we have gone in 3 times and nothing no change nothing we have had to pay cash out of our pockets for these appt only to leave with the same exact amount dosage and mgs as before. So I called and was not a very happy soul she makes another appt we go in she gives him methadone!!!! He can not take this is make him very sick he couldn’t breathe from it he couldn’t stay awake he was dizzy weak and felt as though he were going to throw up.. he took them for a week and no more the only thing that works for his pain and does not make him either sick or gets him high is the hydrocodone…So what do we do if he loses his job we will lose everything he makes over 75 % of our household income I can not make as much an hour as he he has a trade 22 yr experience I do not have a trade I make 1/4 of what he makes an hour. he can not work in the pain he is in and doesn’t seem to have gotten through to his doctor that the has already been through the trial and error before he had gone to her.. He has a GI bleed form all the meds they tried out on him he has lost thousands in pay from being sick from said meds and or in pain. I need help this is putting a huge strain on our marriage family and life…
I lived in Fl and had a back injury in 1991, in 1992/93 after taking numerous different meds and enduring many injections I was given a morphine pump and got relief for my pain. I also had a heart attack in 1997 at the age of 45 y.o. The battery on my pump died after apprx 6 1/2 yrs and I was in pre-op preparing for a new one and the dr. come and told me that surgery wasn’t recommended because my heart wasn’t doing well and he suggested I continue taking the oral morphine. In 2006 I went in to have the pump removed and I had a bad outcome from that, don’t won’t to even go into that, but for short the Dr in the emergency room shouted out “who the hell performed this flintstone surgery”, I woke up about 6 days later, just the start of my problems. back to the meds. I moved to Tn and in the beginning had problems finding a dr to prescribe my meds, but eventually found one and continued taking 100mg 4 times daily and 2 30mg IR for breakthrough pain. 9 months ago for due to my parents health I moved back to Fla and could only find 1 pain management clinic in my immediate area that would prescribe my meds, (one of my original drs now works in this conglomerate of clinics), but I was informed that Fl law now only permits a max of 240 mg’s a day of morphine and my dose would have to be dropped down and it was done in a 2 week window. I have told the dr repeatedly that after about 5 hours my pain is back and I’m still feeling the some of the withdrawal effects though not as bad now. But told “tough luck” on the pain. Have tried the 60 mg’s x4 but they don’t do as well as the 2×100’s. I’m unsure of what direction I’ll be able to go from here for pain relief but something has to give somewhere, quality of life isn’t to well now. I question the wisdom of setting a 240mg standard for one dose fits all. Some people hurt more than others, some have a higher tolerance for pain,(I did at one time), some people is larger than others, does a person 6’4″ weighing 280#’s get the same relief on 240mg as a person thats 5’9″ and weighs 145#’s? I was told to write my congressman and complain but don’t which law to complain about, think just a general complaint will get his attention? After complaining my mind feels a little better but my back still hurts like hell..
I suffer from Spondylo Arthritis and lately the pain has become unbearable. I am on Norco 5/325 three times daily. I always follow my rx directions and I was supposed to get a refilled on Sunday 6/8/14. The doctors office said they would call it in but failed to do so. I am in serious pain this week with the weather change and can barely move my back and neck. To be honest, I don’t want to live anymore. I will start withdrawing tomorrow as I am out of medication now and there is nothing anyone can do about it. I truly feel abandoned by my physician. Not sure what to do.
All you needed to do was call your Dr.never you need to go without it becouse stoping it like that could be real problems.
Polly, I sure hope that’s sarcasm. Have you read ANYTHING ANYONE has said here?
My pain dr. just told me recently to look for another dr because he was upset that I missed an appt with a surgeon to maybe correct my condition. The problem is my range of motion is very limited due to severe pain and stiffness. I told him I was too impaired to operate my vehicle in the first place and have no one to help me get to appts. He said I MUST drive myself there or he was done with me. Of course I was shocked that he made this unreasonable demand to drive myself 35 miles away considering I told him I was IMPAIRED from the opiates. IMO this should be a punishable criminal offense against him. They did not even want to give me time to find another DR. They hesitated to give me a final appt to refer me to someone else. I ended up in the ER last week with extreme pain but could not accept the DEMEROL because I have a signed contract with the Pain DR. He was immediatly notified by phone to let him know I was in distress but he never called back, nothing…just abandoned. By the way, I finally saw the surgeon and he told me my problem probably wont need surgery. I also failed to mention my pain dr has been very pushy to get me to have surgery despite me telling him I needed a second opinion. Despicable, irresponsible behavior. Is this still the USA? Signed Jose, **Border South TX **patient in pain with an irresponsible Pain DR.
This is what is legally referred to as Patient Abandonment. Look it up. Google it.
I have a son that has lion pain hematuria syndrome,it has been 6 years now and doctors refuse to treat him properly for the everyday pain which feels like you are passing a kidney stone everyday and get really bad flares at least 2 times a month lasting for several days. Er visits often but most times no help there either. The reason for not treating him properly is because of his age(24).there is no cure and no for sure treatment,little is known about this syndrome,so that being said no one knows how long he will need pain meds.But the syndrome doesn’t know or care how old you are the pain is the same if you are 24 or 40,so there is no reason for him not to be treated according to the pain.He can not hold down a job because the pain is so bad sometimes he can not get out of bed.I Belive that doctors are discriminating him because of his age,what do you think
Donna,
It’s difficult to know if it’s discrimination due to age or lack of knowledge, or both.
I believe every word you say! because they do it to me too!! I’m 27 yrs old an i have interstitial cystitis. its a chronic painful bladder syndrome. i literally just got home from ER a few hrs ago an their excuse was its a chronic condition an we can’t send you home with anything but we can treat you while your here. i have a five yr old and this is debilitating its not fair that i have to suffer all the time. my Dr was treating me but said he couldn’t after two months because i needed to get into pain management. And of course they look at my are an say they can’t treat me. i went to one two yrs ago but after 3 visits he didn’t want to treat me any longer. this is not fair i suffer daily an haven’t been able to work in over four yrs i didn’t make myself have this it just happened an there is no reason or cure an like ur son very little is known nor what treatments will work so yes literally i feel his pain an agree with you totally.
I definitely can sympathize with nearly everyone who has posted. I have the unfortunate diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, fibro, and degenerative disc disease… all this starting at the age of 20. I am currently 27 and have had both somewhat adequate and currently insanely inadequate care throughout this period. I have never gone into remission of had my arthritis go into inactivity. I’ve been on nearly every biologic and immune suppressant drug known to man and I’ve not had any improvement in symptoms. Unfortunately, my rheum. dr. quit managing my pain because I became pregnant( both unexpected and scientifically nearly impossible) I was abruptly removed from my medicines, that i had been on at the dose of 2 80 mg oxycontin a day and up to 6 10/325 percocet for breakthrough pain…I was left scrambling, looking for a dr. that was going to treat me, taking left-overs of surgical and expired meds to stave off withdrawals that could have killed my unborn child…I have been through 3 OB-gyns at this point, and now I’m searching for someone that is going to best handle my pain and do so in a medically safe fashion for my unborn baby girl. I am just days past 6 months along and at this point I’m being told that I need to take Butrans patch, which is subutex (what I feel I’ve wrongfully been given, because I was tricked into believing that it would address my pain, yet not adversely affect my baby) at a much lower dose, that the oral medication I’m on, which already doesn’t even begin to touch my raging and raw pain. I have a 7 year old daughter, to which I’m her only caregiver and am a college student, attempting to maintain my deans list average while my body is ravaged with inconceivable amounts of pain, not to mention the stress of the uncertainty about all of this and the overwhelming feelings I have towards the physicians that feel the need to label me as a drug-seeker…suggesting I participate in intensive outpatient opiate abuse therapy…all this when I’ve never abused, sold, or misused my meds in the whole 5 years that they were chronically prescribed. I am unfortunate in all this because I’m a pretty blonde female, who appears fine…until you closely inspect my joints and see that my hands are already gnarled like an 80 year olds, or when you inspect my labwork, mris, and xrays that paint a picture of a geriatric…until you look at my surgical history and see I’ve had 20+ surgeries in the past 7 years all because of joint deterioration…This is what pain has done to me, opiates were helping live a productive life and I was never of the notion that I would be PAIN FREE…just pain controlled…I’ve researched the meds I was on to extremes and have found nothing that indicates their use in pregnancy would have been worse than this ridiculous excuse for a pain reliever, subutex. In fact, I imagine I would have been much better off, able to eat and keep my nutrition intake up because I wasn’t vomiting from intractable pain. Not to mention the fact that the oxy class is a category b in pregnancy but the sub/methadone class is a category c…why on earth would you prescribe something that is known to be less conducive to a healthy baby? Because the potential for abuse is lower? Maybe that’s a concern for an ex heroin junkie, but not for a single, straight A psych student, mother who has been stricken with diseases that make living hard enough. If anyone takes the time to read this and has any info on healthcare providers, clinics, or specific doctors anywhere near my area, I would appreciate it, more than I could ever put into words…I live in the Oberlin, Ohio area and would be willing to travel MILES to have my care taken seriously!
If I was still practicing I would have flown you in and treated you, but instead I’m living almost your same nightmare. I used to practice family medicine with an emphasis in pain management, now I suffer severe intractable pain. and can get no adequate medical treatment, only snide remarks and disrespect. I can get great procedures, but they don’t help the 24/7 all over pain, and they only last so long.
Ember, I fell for the same story–and even being OFF of the Butrans for two weeks before my baby came early, they STILL treated her for NAS (against my wishes–the symptoms they claimed were the entirely subjective ones–on all the OBJECTIVE symptoms her scores were zeroes). It was infuriating. Had I known we would have had to endure a two-week NICU stay regardless, I would’ve just had my pain treated adequately through the pregnancy with traditional opioids… Don’t buy into the BUTRANS B.S..!!!!
I have life-threatening pain. The intense burning pain in my genitals (from sacral nerve injury) is so painful that I could not go a day without my narcotic pain relievers. With them, I am able to work, drive, and do everything I could do prior to my injury. Without them, I was planning my suicide. I didn’t know how to do it except with the gun I have for self-protection. Yes, that’s how much pain I’m in–I was willing to put a gun to my own head.No, I was not and am not depressed, just in horrific, unimaginable pain, 24/7.
Try to imagine if someone was torturing you by making you straddle a fire. Would you choose to die, or would you choose to stand there and straddle that fire for the rest of your life? I know that sounds like it must be an exaggeration–I would have thought so, too, before my injury, before I understood neuropathic pain–but it is the real deal.
Equipment manufacturers like Boston Scientific, who make millions of dollars implanting bogus devices in our backs that are supposed to help our pain but actually make most people’s pain worse–did you know that these are some of the people lobbying for the restriction of narcotic pain relievers? Yes, in their cynical scramble to grab as many health care dollars as they can, they are trying to kill those of us who rely on simple, inexpensive medications that WORK. I am not addicted and I don’t get high. I support myself in a full-time, professional , middle-class job, which I would lose if I had to take the time off to have a spinal cord stimulator implanted (which would probably make my pain worse anyway, which they are notorious for doing). People, look who is behind these campaigns against narcotics!
I completely understand ..my permanent pain issues are from cancer treatment 8 years ago.. if I had only known I’d be in this kind of condition and this much pain ,I would NOT have fought cancer. No I’m not depressed either . I just simply don’t want to live in this kind of pain!death is looking like not such a bad thing . Sometimes I wonder if that isn’t the goal for FDA ,DEA,ect,,. Ridding the ” weak” . While they All make as much $$$$ as possible.. when all it would take is a few meds. To keep us productive.
I ponder on that same question myself it seems to make sense with the actions that they’ve taken 2 take away any form of treatment what’s left of our ability to function normally.
I have ICSD With Complications, from the medulla through the equina, with complications, and yes the drugs are killing us, but this is a trade off for a quality of life? So I had my major organs shut down again and did the circle, and GOD bless my Urologist, who turned me back on,
I do not have ACA, it would killed me, long ago. But the cost that have keep us in hell are mine, and yes I am the burden, but my doctor is about to be the forefront of a non pill or drug solution, on kidney and bladder function. There is a coming solution, and if those who suffer they do so in just the hope of some quality of life, and relief. Kudo’s to them. You must fight and fight hard.
We are the one’s that do not get high and pray at night that we do not wake up!
My Mothers Story is about the same except her’s is Lung Cancer. At best she has 2 months to live. There has to be a connection btw cancer and pain mgmt.
Thanks
i am serious and have prayed that god has aplan for me and it is that some of us have outdone our welcome on earth and it is time to go back to the Lord. I have done as much as i can and i believe that i cannot suffer any longer. I need help in knwing how to get support and help for suicide with dignity. I am 55 and have done as much as i can for my family but if i hang around i will be a big burdain on them. I want my husband to find a new women who will enjoy what he enjoys. and my children have seen me sick for many years and I dont want to be around as i get sicxer.PLEASE I beg someone to give me suggestions on how i can find a doctor in my area who could help me fromm northern ontario in massey ontariothanks, from paian
I was wondering if anyone had to sign a contact with the dr.when you first started taking medication? I had to,and now since my doctor left and no one will write the scripts I’m wondering about legal action. According to the contract they can’t just stop giving the meds. I’m 60 some years old and have been on medication for pain for 25 years plus. I REFUSE to die from withdrawl someone will take the responsibility for this. I kept the contract and will see to it that they do as well.You know I ask years ago if being in this kind of pain could cause any kind of brain damage,and after they finished laughing at me they said NO. Well now we know better. People who can afford it are now taking family members out of the country to die humanly. Think of that people,having to leave the U.S. to die like a human.
I agree with the person who said we have to stand together or we will die like dogs separately. There has to be a united front. If you are someone that has experience on where we should start,or simply how we should begin let’s get going. I have friends who are writers and one writes for a medical web.
There are more people killing themselves a year than murders in the U.S. I’m going to try and look into how many if any are doing this due to the issue of chronic pain.I’m so sorry for all of us that had to join this hellish club through no fault of our own. You know the old saying: Actions speak louder than words. Let’s get to work trying something,anything,brings hope. For those of you around my age,remember the 60’s,remember when we changed the world? We’re smarter now and older sure,but that spirit didn’t die and won’t unless we kill it.Will you help? Will you try?
Sweeny
I am A RN and have become now in need of chronic pain treatment. I have been on narcotics for ten years to help manage and it was only the last four I was required to contract with the provider Signing a contact with a provider does not mean you cannot sign a new contract with another. Inform any office that may be left that you are sending a void to that existing contract. If the doctor no longer has a practice then you should be able to sign with whomever you wish. That older one is void in the fact that the caregiver is not able to provide you with medications. t would be easy as pie to catch someone on several contracts. Most pain offices pull up drug report from he gathered database. It would show any prescription filled in US. They would see you are not filling from anyone else. Also they can call heir numbers to check on if a doctors practice in that area is active or has moved, or gone forever. A new contract is a new contract…make it clear you are not obtaining from anywhere…the proof is easy to find for them. Overall it would be easier to say you are not on contract with your former doc. Cause you are not. Good luck to you!
I REALLY LOVED YOUR I’M NOT TAKING THIS ANY MORE ATTITUDE, I HAVE LIVED IS SEVERE PAIN FOR OVER 15 YEARS, I’M 61 YEARS OLD AND GODDAMN IT THESE JERKS NEED TO SHOW SOME ALLEGIANCE TO US WHO SUFFER MOSTLY IN SILENCE DUE TO THIS SICK WAY OF THINKING WE HAVE IN THIS SUPPOSEDLY FREE COUNTRY. THANK GOD I HAVE A DECENT DOCTOR BUT I CAN SEE THE STRESS ON THEIR FACES TOO THEY WANT TO HELP BUT ALSO HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR OF A FEDERAL AGENCY COMING IN AND SHUTTING THEM DOWN. THIS IS SICK, WE DONT EVEN HAVE ANY RIGHTS IN OUR OWN MEDICAL CARE. WE ARE THE VICTIMS OF THIS STUPID WAR ON DRUGS. WE NEED TO HAVE SOME RIGHTS IN OUR OWN PAIN CARE THIS IS THE WORST PART OF IT BEING AT THE MERCY OF THESE DOCTORS. LIKE THAT GROUP PROP DOCTORS THAT WANT TO PUT LIMITS ON PAIN MEDICATION ETC. THEY WANT TO TAKE AWAY OUR RIGHTS TO BE TREATED AS WE WANT TO BE TREATED. THIS IS FACIST AND IS HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. PEOPLE NEED TO LOOK AROUND AND SEE HOW WE ARE LOSING RIGHTS EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.
We have lost all rights as legitimate pain patients. Even though we are in chronic pain, we need to muster up enough energy to write our Senators and Congressman/woman. As a large group we have power. There is power in numbers. We all have a Constitutional right to speak out against this horrendous medical abuse, not only against the pain patient, but the few compassionate doctors still left out there whom feel they will lose their medical license as a result of the DEA witch hunt.
United We Stand. Divided We Fall.
I just left my comment and in reading all of yours, especially this one, I am moved. Let’s change the world for the better!!! I want to live, but if I should die to escape this pain, then let my death be a catalyst for change. Let’s get them to make it better now for us all, or take such a stand that for everyone after us there is something better.
I’m with both of you. If I have to carry a sign and march on Washington, I will. Tell me a time and place. I’ll be there. Sick and in pain, but I’ll be there.
judy
I’m 60 yrs old, retired UsArmy,a patient at a veteran hospital.since I came home after VIETNAM,I worked until migraines caused me such trouble,so I went to the VA for treatment.I was given fiorinal,specifically used for migraines by a neurologist.Once,I was at another VA who refused this medicine,put me on Tylenol and staff overdosed me,sever enough requiring an antedote,telling me NEVER again to take Tylenol.so begins the issue.first a torn cartilage,then neuropathy,next,I needed a total knee replacement on the other knee;this couldn’t happen due to a nurse diagnosis of bronchitis however it was CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE.so,I was in 2001 put on Fentanyl patch with morphine for breakthrough pain.I was on a schedule,didn’t have to sign a contract,my doctor trusted me.Then 3 years ago,I fxd my hip,went through a civilian emergency room,thus sent to the VA for therapy.Four days there,the physician tells me I’m having a heart attack,sends me to another ward.Once I return,I get kicked out(it was a nursing home) I complained of the staff cursing the dementia patients.I leave earlier than I should,since I live alone,it really was a struggle;however,I met my new physician who immediately put me on the fentanyl patch,breakthrough medicine and diazepam for muscle spasms.in order to have the pain clinic pharmacist issue the monthly medicine,I willingly signed a pain contract.Never,had I violated the contract,I wouldn’t go to the emergency room when I fell,cause I knew the attitudes.one of the staff priest said to me all veterans were either druggies or alcoholics.Once while being seen by a physician in the pain clinic suddenly without warning discontinued my medicine.it took me going to congress to get help.
Now four years later,I’m at the same place.a new physician,pain clinic pharmacist left,primary care had to begin filling the script and their attitude is that we all are faking just to get opiates.
I’ve been on the same regime since 2001,never increased the dose.because I wasn’t followed up by orthopedic services ,only the initial attending at the time of the fracture,I began to have severe sciatic pain which goes down into my ft.sometimes the pain feels as t I’m being electrocuted.last week I was reassigned the physician first handed me the opioid pain contract,told me,I sign or she wouldn’t treat me.I felt violated,coerced and not once was she willing to work with me.her way or the highway.she’s taking away my medicine because she doesn’t believe it’s necessary.there wasn’t conversation she totally forced my hand to sign else,I wouldn’t have been given the small amount she allowed which would mean no detox .yet I’ve just about begged for help.patient advocate on one day when the chief was out called around,when I called Tuesday she didn’t follow up,I asked why,she hung up on me.
What makes no sense,if staff needs medicine,the same kind,they are Veterans and can get it.homeless veterans can get whatever.I don’t drink alcohol,don’t smoke,am 100%permanent yet,I’m having to beg.a few years when the physician ripped up my scripts,my quality of life went from 98 -2 the pain hurt so much,I called a cop I new back then and asked him then to shoot me.2 people in my neighborhood have committed suicide due to pain.they both were veterans.people who haven’t experienced pain think it’s only about drugs.it isn’t.when I hurt so bad I can’t move,function and life stops as normal,it is not about a pill it’s about me being able to do my part and give and contribute what I can.since the physician cut my medicine,already I struggle with simple things others take for granted.the fear and anxiety of not knowing whether I’ll be able to get my medicine is horrifying.the code the oath a physician takes says “do no harm” how does discriminatory attitudes towards people who a r e legitimately hurting be not causing harm.I am willing to work with a physician if there’s medicine that will help but I’m allergic to so many or adverse reactions and with CHF I just can’t take some medicine.Once,I was given Lyrica but my throat swells so I have adverse reactions.yet,the person in the clinic told me to go to the emergency room area ,take it and when it caused me to swell at least someone in the emergency room could assist me.how asinine is that,telling me to take medicine that’s known to hurt me.?
I anticipate this only to be the beginning of the issue of the governments death panel behaviors no one wants to admit.by not believing patients,more people truly in desperation with no seeming hope will turn to drug dealers.
WHY IN GOOD CONSCIENCE ARE LEGITIMATE PATIENTS BEING DENIED CARE YET NOW MARIJUANA CAN BE PURCHASED WITH PEOPLE’S FOOD STAMP CARD.
it—I read about you and am in total agreement with what you wrote I too am a veteran my doc had me on 6 percs a day he died a new doc switched me to 15 morphine sr for 2 weeks now nothing getting stiff all over can’t hardly move pain like you described in my foot piched neck can’t sleep and am about to provoke a cop to shoot me ican’t afford to escape the torture in these ununited states and pray i won’t go to hell just because i want to die to get relief from lack of help
I’m 46 and I have been dealing with chronic pain for about 10 years now. I had a discectomy and fusion in 2005 due to a severe anterior protrusion on my spinal cord. Prior to that surgery I went through a year of therapy and nothing worked. I had the surgery and unfortunately it did not help as it only aggravated the disc below the area I had surgery on. Now 10 years later I’m dealing with another severe issue that requires surgery. I’m taking Percocet 10/325 4x a day and soma for muscle spasm. I don’t like the soma. It’s getting harder and harder to fill my scripts. I don’t want surgery again but I’m looking into my options. I recently went to a Publix pharmacy who flat out told me he had the medicine in stock but only fills for a specific doctor in a 1 mile radius of where the pharmacy is located. I have had the shots. (All of them) and they help but apparently there are now issues with insurance covering them as they feel they are “experimental”. With the new laws in Florida that Rick Scott signed it has made it very difficult for legit chronic pain patients to get their meds. The drug users are still getting them! What gets me is they keep saying that Florida has the highest use of narcotics. Really? Well could it be that we have the highest senior citizen population? Oh and that mixed in with the fact that the “Baby Boomer” generation is now entering the senior citizen group in masses? I mean really, can we use a little common sense? How about personal responsibility? How about keeping narcotics safe in your home by placing them in a safe so your children and grandchildren can’t get to them instead of leaving them in a medicine cabinet! I go Tuesday to see what else I can do. My saving grace is the ACA and that I finally have healthcare. At least I can afford the medications now! Good luck to all who are in the same situation! (I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes)
I’M 57 chronic pain patient, take medication as needed & each month I never know if and when I will get my prescription fill due to the regulation & the laws put on the patients & The people who needs medication just to function, after a few years taking the same thing recent 30mg Oxycodone was cut to 15mgs due to another step for control by the FDA or whoever, I never taken pain medication till 2003 it’s always been something that our government is doing for control but making it stuffer for patients that needs medication just to Function & pushing people to go to the streets, I don’t Drink or take any other street drugs so I depend on medication to help with my pain level just as many others do, Don’t take the one thing that patients out their as my self need make it available so we to can live our lives normal & not executed for some bad apples, nobody should have to suffer when theirs Medication available to help, Living with Chronic Pain every minute of every day is not bad enough BUT people who don’t live with even a headache their Goal is to take away the one thing that patients see as hope
enough of Hell, & if you like to know what one goes thru- then you think of this ( You have a Chronic Toothache it’s for Life- & knowing theirs people out their trying to take away any relief you get, & it wasn’t always like this but things happen just as it did with patients Who suffer: STOP THE PAIN,
OR YOU GAIN A TOOTHACHE FOR LIFE!!.
I have had chronic back pain since I had a bulging disk pressing on my spinal cord causing numbness at times and pain at others running down my arm. I began losing strength in my had and dropped things. I had an infant and couldn’t risk dropping him so after 2 rounds of physical therapy and 2 injections they performed a disc fusion that only caused more pain. That was 8 years ago and it continues to get worse as I now I have another bulging disc they say can’t be operating on since it would restrict neck movement. I have been on a low amount of Lortab that has not worked well for a long time now. It is always a hastle even getting them to give the meds at all now and refuse to fill it even a day early. I can’t even get out of bed without the meds. I have 4 kids still at home to provide for and can’t stop working. I’m not an addict. I just need to function as a wife and mother. Yet because those who abuse the drug cause those of us who need it to not be helped yet the junkies can still get theirs since they typically get it on the street. I think the government should stay out of drug choices . They cause those who really need help to buy illegally at a really high price or seek other options like maraguana. To those who are also pushing this because their loved one committed suicide. I can tell you if it were not for drugs they would have found another way. There are days I wish I were deed too because I am so tired of being in extreme pain and being so sick. This can be helped if doctors would prescribe what helped stop the pain so people could live their life. Give us our life back!
I have been on opioid pain management for more than 5 years. I have had cervical spine surgery that has left me in constant pain and limited use of my hands. I also have tumors on the last 3 vertebra in my low back that leaves my back and legs in constant pain. I also have severe arthritis in both knees and ankles so without these meds i would not be able to get out of bed much less to be productive in life! I am tired of being treated as a criminal because I take opioid pain meds! I am aware there are some people out there that abuse opioid meds why are we not holding them responsible for there own actions. To take away the meds from chronic pain patients for the actions of few that are misusing there meds or overdosing because they are not following the directed use or mixing them with illegal drugs should not reflect negatively on those of us who depend on them to just function. If the Dr or Pharmacist has knowledge they are abusing their meds then they have a responsibility to not prescribe them to stop the abuse. But have Drs and Pharmacist afraid to prescribe or distribute to ligament patients is ridiculous! Those of us who suffer from chronic pain should be able to live a somewhat normal life and if opioidwe help then we should be allow to get our pain meds with question. I can only hope the people that are opposing the use of opioids for chronic pain never goes through what we go through on a daily basis. Or maybe the should then maybe they would not oppose there use!
Here is my story I am a 43 year old female with a very bad lower back and suffer pain everyday it’s a struggle to get out of bed because of the pain. A good night sleep forget it. Have had been this way for yrs. I broke my foot last year while seeing my Othro that my back hurts more then my foot. So she did an X-ray and sure enough in black and white was my problems. So had MRI and it was even worse then the X-ray showed. She started me on pain meds that help so much with everyday life I only would take as needed about 4 to 5 a day. They sent me to pain management they also agree my back was badand continue to give me meds. Until they no longer took my insurance was force to find a new PM. Upon waiting to get in to see them I went to my doctor had another X-ray and back has gotten worse .i was between pm and needed med so they gave me a diff arrant strength of meds because they said should not be taking all that actamephan do to family history of liver cancer. When I went to new pm they said did not agree with the other doctors about my back should have never been in pain meds. They would not give me any. Then I find out he has dianogis me as drug depenent to my insurance. My question is how will this hurt me for the future? I am not depenent just in pain and the meds have given me a better way Of life believe me I am going without right now until I try another pm. Have no withdrawal just intense back pain
This is about a different Doc but perhaps my story will help someone? .. . with Severe Scoliosis, and carpal tunnel in hands, 20 yrs computer work, and occasional migraines – I really can tell you how the weather is at 4am before I look outside. So, I never ever took any pain pills and not a Tylenol 1. Overweight as a kid, and then very fit from 21-31 y/o I was 11% body fat, cardio, perfect. The spinal pain was moderate from 18y/o and was placed on some anti inflam’s and after loosing 60lbs pain was managed with no meds. … yet was always daily there. Poking, like a red hot nail in the eye. Above average mental stamina, tough, etc, I avoided all meds and docs. 10+ yrs. More. Then in my late 30’s the body sent a message, red flagged email in the form of a 2 week , 24 hour a day, non stop, except for the few, 6 max hours of sleep nightly 2 weeks. No other meds nor stuff was being taken, clean living, Over worked, bad posture. The nerves sent the message. 2 major curves – my spine is shaped as ” S ” and this is very close, a little less of a curve above. Had to quit work, drive, University education + excellent tenured professional background wasted, thrown away, i was damaged goods. Tried a few minor OTC meds, nothing, allergys / side affects … then 5mg Oxy / 325 Acet – brutal. 8 tabs pr day, or 40mg and my bowels were dieing. Liver damage. Etc… switched to Oxycodone 20mg Slow Release , and IR oxy, total of from low end 80mg per day spread every 8 hours and to then in 1 year 300mg per day. 80mg Oxy per 8hrs + 10mg Instant release inbetweeen, breakthrough pain. Started to get back to life, work, etc … then doc was afraid of dose level and passed me to useles pain clicnic, their immediate goal was to have all people on Methadone, and nothing else, We were all addicts and treated as thieves and muderers. I personally almost had a nervous break down, luckily as my pain is real + educated I was able to communicate and feel for the many people who are unable to, lack resources, end up gone. The ones that cause the media bullshit. sorry. .. but I did not drink booze, smoke, nothing illicit. At 280 mg pr day I was perfect. Quarterly blood + urine .. no problems… then a new doc took me on and came the taper. Then tried 4 other top meds for pain, the Morphine, HMC, etc.. really bad side effects, body literally only accepted Oxycontin. Not kidding. Sounds typical .. the red flag thing .. I know, Not true. So long 5 yr story short I now am At 40mg per 8hrs, slow release Oxy + 10mg Instant release (40mg daily max) for bT pain as needed. … not even close to being adequate. I now cannot work, function at 40-60% of overall life standards, no income except Gov Disability, took a 90% pay cut, salary. As 1 of the many honest and real legit chronic pain people my doc and I worked together to taper me over the 18months and I went from the 300mg to now 160 mg per day total, Not bad? anyone? my idea … The daily Morphine equivalent guideline used is a false positive and 100% skewed. Wrong. Rubbish. I now run out of my meds 2-5 days early, and even end up at 80mg per day my last week as I require more pain relief now. my doc is now finally seeing it is low and tries to use all of the stupid textbook excuses, .. look them up.
I am going to need to source a new doc as I cannot foresee living the nest 30-48 yrs of my life (currently late 30’s) like this. Typing this feedback took a toll, massive, my back is sore, etc.. and I am at 200mg s of today. over my daily scripted. I tried all levels, all textbook strategy, etc.. I think u get my point. What now?
Hi Micheal,
I am a chronic pancreatic patient who is being told I can only see my pain doctor for another month, and that maybe he will “help me out”, this after being sent back to my pancreas specialist, by the pain doc, to ask them why cant they just take out my pancreas. I have been trying to get a transplant of my islets, and pancreatectomy. He was giving a tour of the center by my pancreas doctors, who were really both disheartened and frustrated that he sent me there asking to just have the pancreas out, knowing that its not that simple. As luck would have it, the center is now closing due to affordable care act, is what I was told. I was told that they didn’t think much of this doctor as he has been treating most of their CP patients, and under treats their pain, while acting as if he doesn’t know what CP is. He told me he doesn’t know much about the disease, so I told the pancreas center what he said, and they were not happy. They informed me he was given a tour, treated to lunch, and that he indeed does know how serious it is, and that he should know that a person cant just have surgery without the transplant. So after hearing that I went back for my 7th visit there, and brought literature on CP with me which was just ignored. He said well, your in a tough boat, I can maybe help you out for another month, but I don’t know what else I can do for ya. Geez, really? So, holidays, none-the-less and I am worried as ever that I’m going to be tossed out for no wrong of my own, just because he is not empathetic to my pain, or doesn’t care. Its the kinda pain that has you thinking thoughts you shouldnt just because you cant manage it on your own. I am thinking out of desperation that I might as well try the medical marihuana card. I dont know if it works or not, but pain docs who prescribe opitates are hard to come by here. It took me a year to find him, and the only docs that would help prior to that are leaving town. I would be forced to go to another city, or something, I dont know. This is my first time ever seeing a pain doctor, and I’ve stayed with my primary care for about 15 years or so, although I should’ve changed because he just let me suffer too, I didn’t because the whole “doctor shopping issue” I will need to find a new one anyways, as he is so far from me, and about ready to retire soon. I have wondered what rights a person has in my situation. I cannot live my life at ER looking for relief, for lack of having a pain doctor. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, since you are getting legal counsel…have you been told what rights a person has when it comes to their doctor just refusing to treat because they don’t care or want too? Wouldn’t it then be their responsibility to make sure you have care before they just dump you? The no harm law? I know there are lots of people looking to get meds for recreational use, but there are some of us that truly need relief, and laws like this are making it easy for doctors not to treat people like us. It’s a shame really. I hope everyone here finds someone who takes them seriously, and that has compassion enough to care.
I am actively pursuing a law suit against my pain management Doctor for Negligence. The complaint addresses two issues that constitute negligence and the attorneys are looking at this as a precedent…
The argument is not about getting pain medicine, but knowingly and cooperatively discharging patients and or refusing to accept a patient if they have been to just one specialist, depriving them of documented pain and pain management…I am trying to organize a myriad cross section of patients that are now left without pain management.
The government looks at this as a “epidemic”, and use this scare tactic to push bills through to not limit but stop use altogether. this type of address seems to be ubiquitous and across the board with all drugs, yet we allow a drug ETOH to continue to ruin more lives than all drugs combined.
We must unite, organize, voice, and work together to have this issue addressed, argued in a court of law and pass a bill or bills to stop this egregious and negligent behavior.
Yes there are people who abuse these drugs, and yes you will continue to have people abuse these drugs, but for the legitimate patient with documented intractable pain, addiction is rare,( please research documented articles by medical professionals). So in conclusion if we do not unite and file class action law suits we are doomed to the device that was introduced and propagated by pharmaceuticals and physicians…
Micheal,
I agree with you, that we as patients must unite in order to have our rights to adequate pain control addressed. Many of us who suffer with irretractable pain that is being treated as is its just a temporary issue are being given no hope. I was rather “lucky” that I didnt get discharged from his care prior to christmas this year…guess he was warned or deciced not to be a scrooge, but I am still hangin on every month to a tight rope wonder when the day will come that I am cut off completely. I am there in his care less than a year, and by no alternative because he was a rare find to actually prescribe meds. Problem is what I have is often compareable to pancreatic cancer treatments, but he someone doesnt think its as serious so keeps me on low dose meds that dont give relief, and if I am offered to tiltrate my 25 patch to lets say a 50 patch after 8 months, then my break t hrough meds will be cut back by half which would leave me in a state no better than I am in currently, partially because the pain is already too SEVERE for the dosage I am given, and the patches dont last the full 72 hours, and after being on 15 mg for break through the 5 mg dosage wouldnt provide breakthrough because of tolerance. Im in a tough boat like he says. Every month he tells all his patients ‘so when you getting surgery”, and seems to threaten or intimidate those of us who need longer term care. Believe me I want the transplant that would provide relief more than anything but just one problem insurance doesnt cover that portion, and doctors wont do it without it because I am lucky to still have endocrine function at this point which makes me a great canditate for islet transplant, that would provide substantial relief and could relief me from all narcotics if I had the coverage. It seems like cruel and inhumane punishment to be left to suffer without adequate relief. I dont like havig to be at the mercy of pills to function, but as my disease is progressive, im really not functioning, im left choosing when or when not to have relief, because the four break though meds do not cover the 24 hours in day. One pill isn always effective especially during times of acute episides ontop of the chronic gnawing pain. I wonder if they could feel what its like to be me for an hour if that would instill more compassion. Honestly, it does seem like tort to me, but I have been told that no doctor has to treat your pain. Seriously this could explain why so many are ending in lives in spite of all these new pain management options. I knew a guy who was given one 15 extended relief morphie for his cancer pain, it was expected to last him all day, well he took his life. Almost all my friends w ho are like me and suffer with this horrible disease say its crosses thier mind, and all but just a few are lucky enough to have caring doctors that will prescribe liquid meds, or anesthesia, especially knowing that since the body makes enzymes that attack the pancreas with auto-digestion (which happens when anything is eating or swallowed), it makes sense to me that pill forms may not even be digesting right as to explain why t hey dont seem so effective. I think its in humane, especially when I did not cause my illness it was caused by a mis–diagnosis, and being prescribed a very powerful chemotherapy agent that destroyed my pancreas. I hate the though of having to fight litigation issues but too many of us are being left to suffer needlessly, and to me, it feels no better than nazi camps where thousands of individuals are shipped to concentration camps because they are a lesser class of people who must be eradicated. Acutally maybe thats too humane to compare too because at least in those camps many were put out of their misery immediate instead of dying a slow painful death, as you can tell I’m at my wits end. Aftraid to look for a more caring doctor, or one who understands chronic pancreatitis, as mine admittidley doesnt, but the whole doctor shoppin scare has me hesitant. Something has to be done. I dont get it either…how it seems those who dont need pain meds and only abuse them to sell always seem to find them in abundance, while those of us who need them are treated as drug seekers and under-medicated, its such devastation. I am about to tell them to take my organ out and deal with the severe diabetes to follow, as each day and night its too unbearable, and thier is no such thing as around the clock pain relief so everyday its misery. I really wish they had a qualitive way of measuring pain besides blood pressure, which is always high for me. ARGGGH. What can be done?
Sanday,
I have the same condition that you do and it is known by all doctors to be one of the most painful diseases…I have had many doctors tell me that. You can find a doctor who cares, please don’t have your pancreas removed it is not necessary if you have adequate pain control. And the surgery will make you very ill as you mentioned along with affecting your lifespan. My doctor is amazing and cares a lot about pain control but also monitors everything so you are safe. Even if you don’t have relief at first they will then adjust your meds to either a higher dose or try another medicine. Also really important to know is that many generics are worthless, I have experienced this myself then spoke with a doc who told me it was true. It is because generics by law have to have 80-110% of the active ingredient but they can add anything for the remaining fillers which also changes the drug’s make-up and effectiveness. So do your research as you can ask the pharmacy to order a generic from a different manufacturer (generics are often made by a multitude of manufacturers). People’s reviews online will point you to issues people are having with a particular generic. Finally, “doctor shopping” doesn’t literally mean you are shopping for a doctor to better treat you, it means that a person is going to multiple doctors and all the doctors are prescribing the same or similar medicines at once. So you can easily see a new doctor if you wish. It is your right. My Mom had a terrible doc that was so scared to prescribe. My mom doesn’t like to take pain meds so she went through procedure after procedure often repeating the same ones even though the doc knew they only provided my Mom with max of 5 days of relief. Often times my Mom’s blood pressure was over 135 (her usual was 90/60) and the doctor said “oh it s so high because you are in do much pain”. But she refused to change her pain meds because “then you will just want more”. Years later I literally thought I lost my Mom, she was depressed, unreliable, and not there for her family b/c she was just too far gone with the pain. I later found out he was suicidal which if you knew my mother was very shocking. She finally got the courage (with my coaching and persistence) to be really adament that she wasnt getting pain relief and didnt realize the day she chose to do this there were several students behind her in the room. The doc changed her medicine (first time in years) when the students were there, but she told my Mom at her next appt that she needed to go to a pain clinic where they would wean her off all meds?! My Mom apologized right when she saw her at the next appt. dtating she didnt mean to address it with others in the room and the doc said “well at least i have that”. My mom then found a new doc who listened. She got the pain control she needed and I got my Mom back. She was then able to go to physical therapy 3 times a week and is now planning to decrease the meds as the PT helped. She tried over and over to do PT when she was with the first doc but couldn’t get through a session due to pain. Also, hopefully you are on Creon or some sort if pancreatic enzyme, if not then do so ASAP as it will help the digestive part a lot. It won’t help the pain though as it deals with digestion. So go find yourself a doc who cares and isn’t scared to do their job and good luck to you.
Michael
I believe that physicians once guided by conscious are now political pawns,we the patient are the specimens they use to test their theories.When a patient has documentation to prove legitimate issues,then are forced to sign a pain contract,it 1.says the physician already nonverbal is saying they don’t trust the patient,yet they are expecting the patient to take their word as gospel.
I’ve decided that coercion by physicians is also a form of patient abuse,discrimination and the fact that because a physician has issues the patient isn’t seen as a person with problems but a problem patient.this then allows the physician to stereotype and label the patient,no matter how inappropriate it is once it becomes part of a patient record,the patient is no longer believed. This alone causes many people who are suffering to fear,and when the mind houses fear,people act in desperation. Two of my neighbors committed suicide due to pain that no one would help them with.All because compassion has been replaced with apathy.
What you stated is absolutely right. My pain mgmt. Dr.has cut my pain meds. IN HALF! He claims that it it’s due to govt. regulations and that he wishes he could do more but “his hands are tied”. Meanwhile I’m stuck with documented Intractable Pain disease (I.P.). Anything I can do to help, please advise.
Michael ivy.
hello.my story is same as all.i am interested in starting a discrimination case against the pain contract .something along those lines.these posts are kinda old.is there anything recent?there are thousands of us.all being abused by our own doctors .can we not stand together?
……………………….I will add my voice to anothers ……………
I’m traveling to Viet Nam with my girlfriend for a vacation next week and won’t be back until next year. My Dr wrote me 60 day supply of Percocet. I was denied by the pharmacy because of federal law. Looks like I’m in for a painful vacation. I am now retired and do not want to retire in the U.S. It has become a facist state with the president doing whatever he want’s. The government knows what’s right for you. You don’t know.
My pain started 16 months ago, a year and a half of my normal life gone, I cannot walk anymore due to severe pain in my legs. I cannot believe what the FDA, DEA, Health care professionals and our Rep’s in Congress, our own government are doing to us. I have only had some relief the past month after waiting a year and a half. I had to use the scooters in the stores and buy a cane, this was beyond belief, my MD sat on her heels by waiting so long to get me an appt with the pain clinic, my MD was more concerned about hospital policies and the DEA than she was with me. Time went by and now it has worsened. I have to drive 60 miles to a pain clinic, giving a urine specimen, saliva specimen, this is a disgrace to our health care system that I am forced to go through this when a hospital and doctors are 10 miles away. We are not the criminals, what would they have us do? I just want to live a normal life, I’ve lost a year and a half of it and I can only imagine what other patients way worse off than me have gone through. The past month was a nightmare for me, the pain was spreading and I was trying to wait it out for my next pain clinic visit , the thought that I was worried about the gas expense over my health. It got to the point when I knew I was going to pass out, I wanted to die, I didn’t want to think anymore about driving to pain clinics and being treated this way. I had to call 911 and it was the last thing I wanted to do because of the money I would owe after insurance paid their part. Thank God there was a lady MD there who knew the pain I was in. All the money I’ve had to spend on gas, urine tests, saliva tests, being worn out from driving & sitting in the same position, I just cannot take it anymore, I feel as if nobody gives a damn to put me through all of this. It is torture and discrimination against someone really ill. Why don’t they just throw us all in an insane asylum to die, the abusers won’t go there because beforehand they will miraculously be free of pain. Those holier than thou out there in government & these crusaders have no idea what I am going through every day, every morning the pain never stops, I walked out the door one morning and just collapsed from a pain I never felt in my life. Do they think I enjoy taking pain meds to try and live my life, what kind of barbaric creatures are these people? Don’t they think it can happen to them anytime or in the next hour? I can foresee down the road I may lose my home because of all of this, how many patients have already walked that road. How many lost everything or took their own lives because of Drs. not putting the patient first…First do no harm, is that thrown out the window now, I can hardly believe I had to write this about our own health care system, SYSTEM that’s exactly what it is, they don’t give a damn about us, government & congress makes their money as well as the insurance companies, pharmacies, pain clinics, doctors and oil, we lose all & they are calling us takers!
Wayne, I have consider the same thing, USA is only worried about the money they make by big pharmaceuticals, and once they learned some were selling thier scripts that was it for all of us. Those of us with severe pain wouldnt even dream of it, bc we arent given enough to even take away our pain. And besides when pain is that severe it doesnt give one the high/buzz those who take them for recreation. When will they realize all they are doing is promoting the drug dealers who are making hugh profits from the lack of DEA targeting them instead they go after doctors who are now made to take on the additional profession of policing thier patients. Blew the doctor/patient relatioinship from one of trust to mistrust and suspicion. Those who will misuse will always find a way. An honest person doesnt have any hope but to go to a country that at least has some democraccy and care for thier patients. I wonder if anything can be done if us pain patients were to bad together to enforce do no harm laws, and endorce human treatment, especially for conditons that are diagnosed. Mine is suppose to be one of the most severe causing illnesses one can have, but I have a pain doctor who claims he doesnt know what it is, even though specialist doctors of mine took him to lunch educated him, and now t hey recommened me finding a different doctor for pain management bc he is treating all thier patients without regard.
i.m mad as hell this is no different then the way the germans treat the jews when you take away an patients rights which is what kentucky has done with hb1 it has doctors here so scared if they don’t do as dea and kentucky government wants they’ll arrest them and shut down with a big fine when you control people who are in severe pain and make doctors who trea chronic pain undermedicate them you are tortuing them and killing them relly i done beeu thru and seen 5 persons i know die from severe pain ,they might say it was an heart attack or somethingt else but are not telling people these person were undermedicated or not medicated at all since hb1,i know one man who was75 retired from army was as straight as you could get his doctor told him he could not gave pain medicine because of this he layed in bed a week went to hospital dieing they said they could gave chronic pain patients pain medicine they might get addicted on he laided there in severe pain dieing asking for something for pain this is a shame it need to acted on and heared if the medical personal can knowing and seeing someone dieing in great pain and not gave them something they we better do something for we might be nextonly 1 person in 16 are addicted to pain pills kentucky government says they nedd to stop alll person from getting pain medicines their to big of drug problem well stop trying to torturing us chronic pain patients and get those on street drug because the real addicts went back to them the police know this the government knows this call the kentucky government and ask them when their going to stop torturing and killling real chronic pain patients with hb1 and undermedicating them. thank you dennis lawson i will take an lie detector test stating this is true phone 270-485-9544
Steve Rummler’s mother is one of the campaigners for this change. NONE of these changes would have saved him. He suffered from an incompetent doctor not from bad medication. Most if not all of those “addicted” are either taking the medication in a way not prescribed or a medication that wasn’t prescribed to them or both. If they want to continue to allow drug addicts the power to dictate my medical care than they need to make euthanasia legal in all 50 states. Because the amount of people committing suicide from chronic pain will continue to increase. There is a difference between tolerance to pain medication and addiction. Again Steve Rummler suffered from issues of pain tolerance which led to him needing more and more, Not because he was looking for a high, But because he was exposed to morphine his doctor sabotaged his only chronic pain treatment. We already have stories of people committing suicide because no doctor will treat their chromic pain from fear of prosecution. The changes in the law only end up penalizing the many to protect the few. It is the equivalent of requiring every person who drinks alcohol socially and drives a car but doesn’t drink AND drive to get a drivers license every 90 days and take a breathalyzer. AGAIN the changes in the law will not have saved Steve Rummler’s life. The doctor that failed him has already been punished. So why is she punishing us. Many will not be able to keep up with the demands of going of to a doctor every 90 days now more than ever with a growing elderly population who may not easily obtain these medications. The increase in overdoses parallels the increase in the elderly population. It is easier to deprive something from someone that you don’t need. Are any of the physicians on PROP currently suffering with chronic pain. Probably not.
AGAIN NONE OF THESE CHANGES WOULD HAVE SAVED STEVE RUMMLER!
We may not be able to save Steve RUMMLER from an incompetent doctor but maybe we can save the next victim from pain induced suicide like NASCAR Legend Dick Trickle’s whose Chronic Pain led to his suicide. DON’T punish the many to save the few.
This id so sad im suffering my self and it is horrific I hope things get better.
Some extra info—Ive had MANY spinal injections, multi level nerve ablations, & am offered either another spinal sugery cuz of more herniations or spinal cord stimulator—altho narcotic medications, in low doses, have managed my pain enough to for me to be functional and a mother–enough for me to LEAVE an abusive relationship!!!!!
Yes, the narcotics allowed me to live a life, the bad experience? That those medications that allowed me to live were used as a weapon to take away my life because of the stigma associated with them and the demonizing of those who use them—and targetting the doctors who truly want to help!!! The 1st thing Dr Williams at JH BLAUSTEIN PAIN TREATMENT showed me was a business card from the DEA who hauled him into court–A PAIN MANAGEMENT DOCTOR?!?!?!– the MOST HUMANE MAN I HAVE EVER MET!!! When my PC tells him my husband tells her Im an addict wha is he spposed to do? I need to speak to my PC and get her to HEAR/SEE ME—not the threats from the government!
Narcotics benefited me in living my life just as the proper anti-depressant benefits the depressed patient, but they arent limiting those medications? We, chronic pain patients, need to have our time in front of lawmakers, or many of us may cease to exist–me being one of the many. Thank you to all who care enough to read this site—educate those around you, hopefully a diffener ce can be made, if not in time for us, than for future generations who will be in a worse position than us.
Dearest Maureen,
I also am as unputnit, demonized by my whole family for the pain I have and for the meds I also MUST TAKE. IT HAS CUT ALL MY FAMILY TIES, causing me stress and leaving my, once the truest bluest of all of my family, before they all found out about my meds. They couldn’t understand why I needed to nap daily.. Well it was because I couldn’t ever get a decent sleep with all pain I was suffering from. I have arthritis in my knee which has been reconstructed, but to no avail as pins have come apart or such because when I stand upon right knee i drop en fall about 1/4inch as I let out a squeamish scream of pain. I also wake on my back with it somehow Benton wrong direction, backwards, also miniscis and all cartilage is totally GONE AS I AM BONE UPON BONE. I now need another surgery to recorrect pin, screws or whatever is holding knee together or so he Dr, thinks., I also now have arthritis in hip , shoulders, ,inner hip as ea.time i rise from low chair or toilette i scream as it pops n crunches. My finger lock up along with elbows and I have massive cramps in legs, feet pain in back neck, arthritis in lunmabar, and myofascial pain syndrome a sister but more extensive then fibromyalgia which is causing the locking of fingers elbows pain in back, neck buttocks, backlegs, front legs etc… I am also a member of victims of crime as my ex husband whowm molested our daughters at ages 3&4, leaving us with PTSD, BUT panic attacks as I was with him from age 16!until the rapes occurred. Now I also have ADHD and short term memory loss.
My sisters daughter was also molested by him causing sis to start to use crack cocaine instead of treatment , therapy as our kids n I also participated in.
So now u are familiarized n we can get to topic. My sis finally stopped her cocaine usage, therefore I asked n confided in her why I napped so much as cooking for so many so often really kept me upon my feet for long periods of time increasing the restless legg syndrome also, therefore I confided n asked for her to help the large meals and explained my illnesses n told her of my meds n also of my pain meds. I assumed she would keep my info to herself as I had asked , as I had ALWAYS BEEN THEIR TO CARE FOR HER DAUGHTER over Easter, CHRISTMAS,Summers,etc and not to mention keeping her crack problem n such quiet as I new she too was suffering but dealt with it in a different way. I defended her against the family etc… I was there b4 kids came when she neede protection when she d need a pick up from bars when she d fight with b friends, or cause fights with other girls n I d need show up to handle it, if u know what I mean as I was a strong and athletic girl, which became my downfall which resulted in my illnesses . I had rot recently get back into therapy unwillingly as the mental suffering of ptsd, was so traumatic upon myself that the Dr said it was causing my body to injure itself much quicker as migraines and chronic headaches are NOW ALSO , a chronic condition. Also since 1995, I have been in 10 car wrecks, being hit from all sides of vehicles, none of which have been my fault. BUT I CAN HONESTLY SAY, THAT THE WORST PART OF MY LIFE IS THE PAIN OF MALTREATMENT FROM MY FAMILY, AS THEY BUST MY BALLS N HAVE DISLOCATED ME FROM THE FAMILY , AS THEY BELIEVE ID BE MUCH BETTER IF I WERE TO STOP ALL MEDS AND DEAL WITH IT ALL AS THEY SO ABRUPTLY PUT IT. EACH THERAPY SESSION IS JUST TEARS FOR THE LOSS ANS SEPERATION OF MY FAMILY!!!! But I shall give you the advice my Doc gave to me, she says that my myofascial pain synd, is a disease which causes peeps to see u as a normal person, although my pain runs throughout my body all THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, THAT INCLUDS THE WHOLE BODY. THEREFORE MY DOC SAYS TO STAY AWAY FROM those whom do NOT ACCEPT ME FOR WHAT I HAVE AS IT AND THEY CAUSE ME MORE SUFFERING N ILLNESS AND TOXICITY TOWARD MY BODY, AND MY LOVELY THERAPIST. SAYS SAME.
WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN YOUR FAMILY PAIN. LET THEM LIVE WITHOUT YOU AS VENGEANCE IS MINE SAYS THE LORD AS HE shall take care of this n they. And if it were their best buds, I am quite sure there would be much more ( simpatico ), right???? I d bet so. I just feel very sorry for my sis, as she threw me her sister away when she hurt me so n opened her mouth to degrade me. She was always the loser in alls eyes, and I the perfect ALL AMERICAN GIRL AS PARENTS DESCRIBED, therefore jealous. Well mom left me as executor of will tho I am 3 eldest, as she n mom never got along, so that increased her jealousy. Mom passed in 04, and if still alive, none of this would be occurring as mom always felt my pain THROUGH MY HONESTY. OH AND I FEEL SO SORRY FOR MY POOR BABES, AS WE WERE HERE AND ALONE ON X MAS. HIT ME AT ktbatt7@aol.com if you need to get more or anything off or out as I don’t mind you bending my ear, dear,LoLoLoLoL. My name is Kathy n I live in Elk Grove ,Ca No fear, just TOXIC AS OUR GOD N JESUS NO S WHAT TROUBLES UVE BEEN ALONE AND FACING. I HAVE OTHER THINGS THAT ID EVEN LIKE TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE. BUT , HEY GIRL, YOU MAY HAVE WRITTEN THIS A FEW YRS AGO N MAY NEVER SEE THIS. THAT LL BE FUNNY AS I AM LOUSY N NEW WITH COMPUTOR. EVEN HAVE OR HAD A BUD WHOMWAS MAD AND CLAIMED ME ABUSING MY MEDS CUS MY TYPING IS SO LOUSY. AND I VE NEVER ASKED FOR EARLY SCRIPTS. THINK SHES ANGRY IN LIFE N IS NOW A BI POLAR BIOTCH! God Bless n hope to hear from you sometime!!! Hang in there, Kathy
We whom are suffering real abuse when we instead should be treated in a different and special form in comparison to other especially / and with proof from a legal Medical Dr. and if possible x rays , blood tests or any other forms of proof allowing special treatment to those of us whom are legally disabled by way of qualified disability workers.
I am a 43 yr old mother of four, who severely injured my back during my first delivery 18 years ago. Diagnosed with DDD in my early twenties, lumbar fusion at 37 with BMP and left with chronic ‘sciatica’ on top of DDD pain. Go to Pain Management at Johns Hopkins. Currently take 100 mg of Neurontin at night only, since after years of using it it still leaves me feeling high and unable to fuction. The narcotics I was prescribed was 5 mg oxycodone up to 3 times a day for breakthrough pain, while wearing 12.5 mcg fentanyl patch around the clock. From all I have read, not much in the way of some combinations of narcotics for chronic pain, & on the low dose. I am currrntlyseparated from an abusive/controlling husband who, upon finding out that I was leaving with the children, went to my PC doctor(who prescribes under my PM doc) and told her I abused my precriptions and also bought more on the street. Although I have NEVER once asked for early refill, higher dose, specific drug, I was weaned off and am now told that it’s a slippery slope by the doctor who ‘offered’ me the patch to stop the roller coaster effect of short acting narcotics? She admitted she saw nothing that points to me abusing, even gave me crisis phone number for domestic abuse, told me to protect myself physically, mentally & financially, and continues to prescribe the low dose adderall I am with no problem? But the only medications that have allowed me to function, that SHE recommended for around the clock relief, are now a ‘slippery slope’? My quality of life has deteriorated in the last 9 months, I cannot interact with my children, and am about to loose my job at a church office because I cannot be as mobile as necessary, so hiw am I supposed to protect myself? My husband victimized me for years(of cours I alowed it) and continues to do so thru my doctor….Im being punished for wh t the guy she gave me info to protect myself said to her.
I didnt ask for this condition. Anytime I have met a new doctor EVERY ONE had commented on how they were expecting an overweight woman cuz of my young age–Im 5’1″ & about 105 lbs.
The narcotics I was prescribed allowed me to LIVE, I am existing only now, & I dont know how much longer I can take this.
If ANYONE has any advice I would love to read it, because this is not a life, this is hell–especially knowing that it can be improved with medications deemed ‘evil’ by people who don’t need them to function. When will they demonize insulin & tell those patients they can do without if they adjust their lives?
Pledge to do no harm? More like pledge to allow harm to continue….I really cant go on like this much longer, not even my childrens smile are enuff to make this pain bearable, I feel as if they wud be better without a deadweight ‘sick’ mom who cant do anything but lay around.
To all,
My story is no different,so why go on….however,two “Police State”actions that I will mention are:
1.The pressure applied by doctors to “sell”a chronic pain patient on the’ Intrathecal pain pump”
and how it can give the patient his life back! A horrid experience.But, oh what a payday for each
” quack”involved.I was a stockbroker for 30 years and followed Medtronic,Boston Scientific and
St.Jon’s Medical for speculative traders and took unsolicited orders.These companies give trips
cash,kickbacks,cars to the “quacks”who install them in uneducated,trust your doctor types.
Almost every doctor or any will get involved,not ALL.
2.Docs informing patients that the 60mg of Methadone daily for 15 years{4 failed spine surgeries
seven other majors}is now too much.In my case,if they bumped up 20 mg a day,I could drive
and grudgingly find a new K9 German Shepherd Dog.I mourn my constant companion GSDog
who passed away after 10 years of 24/7.He was with me always.However,my wife and son
abandoned my dog and yours truly and stole entire life savings of over one million dollars.Yes,
it happened and my lawyers and detectives could do nothing.
In what passes for America now,if you go down physically…….you will be kicked by many.
Dan
I don’t know anymore if there is hope. My primary dr tried everything she could to get rid of me, calling me a complicated patient. She treated me for 6 months and then sent me to other expensive specialists. They wouldn’t help. She kept trying regardless and sent me to others. On my record it shows all these different dr names, which was a red flag to my insurance. When I would get a severe migraine she would tell me there was nothing she could do for me and go to urgent care. I would have to wait for my husband to drive me there which meant waiting all day in severe pain until he got off work. At urgent care dr said that my primary dr was responsible and put down as a diagnosis that Inwas dependent on opiods because, as she explained no one has more than 5 severe migraines a month. If Inwas having more because of hormonal issues then I must be over using medication. It doesn’t matter how transparently honest you are to the pint of saying your sorry for being in pain. Once you have been judged and it’s put in your record then you are out of help. My husband brought me to urgent care and where I ended up having a seizure, and the dr said no! I am not dealing with this. Anytime you come for help after 5 pm is because you don’t want your primary contacted. We asked her to please call the on call dr and that we were told to go to urgent care. She didn’t believe us. I had a seizure from my brain shutting down from too much pain. This happens to me my nuero has said because the brain can’t deal with that much pain for extended period of time. This is a nuero who my insurance no longer covers. An ambulance is called and I end up at an ER which is a nightmare to any migraine patient in extreme pain. The minute they hear the word migraine they judge you as a drug seeker. After the normal process of reglan, toradol and Benadryl with fluids the pain is still at same level. Toradol has never worked. You can tell the ER dr what’s works but that is a huge mistake because they will dig in their heels and never give you what actually works. You have to let them go thru the process themselves to figure out what doesn’t work and come to their own conclusions. Sometimes that means you leave in more pain than when you came in. You never know if you will be helped or harmed worst. You surrender and just pray for help. After trials of a cocktail of drugs that do worst harm, I had another seizure. Finally someone work up and realized this may be a dangerous situation. I was given dilaudid, 1 mg which took the pain from a 9 to a 8. After 3 hrs one more 1mg and discharged with a warning that I had to get my dr to manage my pain. Now it is 5 months later. After months of stress of how to deal with my primary, and find help I gave up. I went to another dr who probably was not thrilled to have me as a new patient. She did blood work and found that my potassium was very low. Found out I have issues with malabsorption due to having osteogenesis imperfecta type 1 b
I have had fractures my whole life, and have been told that my copper levels are low but never pottassium. She has kept me out of the ER and urgent care for a long time by just one prescription of fiorinal. I had a seizure, and parenthesis and my muscles cramped up, ending me in the ER. I was having very bad stomach pain, and never mentioned Inhad a migraine too. I was treated with respect when it was just severe stomach pain. They fund my potassium levels to be 2.1. I ended up in the hospital, and treated for about 5?days with extensive tests. Found out ai have 4 ulcers. My primary made the decision she couldn’t treat me for migraines adequately and sent me to a nuero in the same clinic. The nuero told me that I had medication over use migraines because I took the fiorinal as prescribed 1-2 every 6 hours for a 3-4 days of straight migraine. She said I could only take 1 fiorinal a day and take ibuprofen for the pain. I told ai have ulcers and can’t take ibuprofen. I told her that my potassium levels were low because of the cyclic vomiting from the migraines. This did not change her mind. 3 weeks after following her instructions the pain has been so severe that I wasn’t able to keep anything down for 1 week. I went thru same thing again with very low potassium and ended up in hospital again. Now I am on day 2 out of the hospital, have a hormonal migraine, and I can’t find the hope inside myself to know what to do when it gets to a 9 in pain. I don’t have any meds to help. I am back to square one again trying to figure out where to get help. With that poses a huge amount of stress and anxiety. I don’t want opiods. I want a life. If opiods control the pain and gives it back to me, then what am I guilty of, and what am I really seeking?…..drugs or pain relief to return to life and be productive and there for my family. They suffer from this maybe more than I do. It breaks my heart they do. I am 36 year migraine survivor, who deals with 12-13 migraines a month and sporadic breaks and degenerate discs in my back, and sciatic nerve pain. I never seek help for my back. I just deal and push thru.
Also,
I am wondering how a physician is going to differentiate between ‘Severe” and “Moderate” pain? Pain is highly subjective, as everyone knows. In my own case, I tend to be very honest with doctors when asked my pain levels. (My pain levels in the past 13 years have been moderated by opioid pain relievers.)
I rarely am level 10. What level on the pain scale would constitute “Severe” pain? Do I need to redefine the way I define my own pain levels? (I go by the pictograms and the definition of level 10 being the “worst pain you can imagine”) Level 10 pain as “the worst you can imagine” is silly anyway, since I cannot imagine what soldiers who were amputated without anesthetic or Medieval crusaders felt when their arms were hacked off by an axe.
So I define level 10 pain as the worst pain I have ever experience, which is pain which renders me fetal, fluctuating between pain paralysis and writhing, not caring if I am lying on a filthy floor in a hospital so I could try to use the coldness to ease suffering, scarring myself by administering pressure in the painful area with my fingernails, etc. (The dirty floor thing occurred when I fainted and was taken by ambulance to ER, diagnosed with anxiety attack, stuck in a non-existent psych hold for 12 hours while I waited for a psych evaluation. I had fainted due to not eating nor drinking as I was grieving because my brother died a week prior…)
These level 10 pain periods are rare, though. The last one I had was recent. I had been trying to grout a hole in a corner of the shower wherein large poisonous insects (centipedes) were intruding for 3 hours. (I guess the people who built the house never could reach the area.)
I didn’t know I had moderate osteoarthritis as my pain was RSD and mostly nerve related, most likely caused by a combination of PHN and nerve damage due to a botched surgery in 1995 that left me numb for 2 years before the pain began. Now I have several bulging discs and moderate foranimal (sp?) narrowing.
Anyway, the level 10 SEVERE, yet subjective pain woke me at 6 AM (after 3 hours sleep), and I literally was SCREAMING like a man who did have his leg amputated without anesthesia. To date, that was the most severe pain I’ve ever experienced, although it subsided after I took a “cocktail” of meds. ( I am prescribed neurotin, muscle relaxers, Difluconac, lidocaine patches, as well as opioids, although I try not to take the other meds much, except for the difluconac whenever my tummy can take it, as they cause more mental disability than the opioids and less pain relief.)
Anyway, I think I screamed for over an hour. I live in a 100 sq. ft. detached bedroom with a bathroom — no kitchen — in a senior community, so there was no one to hear me at that time in the morning…. I hope.
I was sweating, praying that it was an aneurysm so I could end my misery, praying that there is a heaven of sorts as I would be so angry if there is nothing but pain and would kill myself now, fluctuating between writhing and paralysis, and tears streaming down my face. About an hour later, the pain had reduced to about an 8 and I went on the internet to see if I should call an ambulance.
SO level 8 means that I am still incapable of driving but I am capable of rational thinking. Level 10, imo, means I am NOT capable of rational thinking. I couldn’t have gotten to the phone and would’ve wet myself if I had ot go. Luckily, the level 10 was RELIEVED by medication. I had been limping for about a month.
I had just “tried” to have a relationship and moved in with my boyfriend. I guess stairs and housework, grocery shopping, etc. 5 hours a day was too much. I had to break up with him. (Again, due to unmanaged pain. If my pain were MANAGED properly –meaning that my doctor would put me on the opioid medications I was on for 5 years with no increase or tolerance — I would’ve been OFF welfare and had a life and a purpose, and would be living in a 2 milion dollar home instead of a 100 sq. ft. room where I have to walk in rain, snow, heat, etc., to feed myself.)
I digress. What happened to cause the level 10 pain was that I had been in a bad position for 3 hours grouting and the osteoarthritis that had been managed by the pain meds for years decided to really rear its head. I saw a neuro first, since the pain radiated down my inner leg all the way to my foot — and it was much different than normal sciatica and much more painful. Unfortunately, it wasn’t this, and X-Rays showed “moderate” osteo, according to the radiologist. When I went to the Ortho today, he put the X-ray up and showed me that I had SEVERE osteo, spurs, and that I needed a full hip replacement. I am wary of doctors doing unnecessary surgery, but this doctor had nothing to gain: He only did “minimally invasive” surgeries and, although I pleaded with him to try something, he pointed to the X-Ray and referred to me to surgeons specialising in total hip replacement.
What will my pain levels be when I am not given adequate pain medication after surgery since I am already tolerant? Who will take care of me? (Certainly not my parents, who I do my best to take care of. My pain meds allow me to bring my mother plates and do dishes and use my arms to scrub and, at least, make me feel somewhat USEFUL as a human being. But, as I wrote earlier, my mother is ANGRY that I will need help.)
So… How and WHO is going to define SEVERE vs. MODERATE pain? If someone asked the neuro or the radiologist, they would, respectively be told that I am fine (at least my reflexes are, even though my feet go numb if I am on the toilet for more than 5 minutes) and that my osteo (which felt like I was on fire with a sword inside my leg) was Moderate. If they asked the Ortho I saw today who studied my X-Rays with a student of his, they would be told that I have SEVERE problems and will be in a wheelchair if I do not have hip replacement.
And who will decide how to manage my pain when I am recovering from the surgery? I didn’t even have hip pain — or, rather, it was MANAGED very well (level 2 or so on a pain scale, NEGLIGIBLE in my opinion–for for the past 17 years. My problem was lower left sacral nerve pain that felt like someone was twisting a glass knife in there. Several times, when pain was level 7 – 8 for days on end, I would relieve the chronic pain by pressing my fingernails into the area and causing cuts. Sort of like stepping on your toe to relieve a belly ache.
Now the hip pain has made my back pain less noticable, but I can still feel it. I would say it is level 5.5 right now. 5.5 to me is Moderate. Meaning that I would NOT want to socialize or go to a movie or smile or laugh, but I don’t want to die. I can write about pain.
I CANNOT remember a time in the past 17 years when I was able to LAUGH. PAIN has stolen my joy of life.
And I assure you that I was a woman who used to love nothing more than running down the mountains in the forests of Southern and Northern CA, flapping my arms like wings, hugging trees, and being AMAZED by the beauty and brilliance of LIFE.
CHronic pain stole that. So what is SEVERE? Because I tell my doctors my pain is 5 – 6 — medicated — and I have NO enjoyment in life. Without meds?
WIthout medication, I can only imagine that I would need the stash of amiltrypaline I have saved just in case. (A psychiatrist once told me that trycyclic ADs were better than benzodiazapines if you want to kill yourself with pills.)
And, even with pain,, I don’t want to die. I still have HOPE! Hope that one day I will find LOVE, that someone will accept me with pain, that a doctor will BE COMPASSIONATE enough to give me the pain meds I need, that a MIRACLE will occur, that I will be painfree enough to build a website, edit the 3 400 page novels I wrote before my meds were reduced, and sell them so that I might be rich and famous and doctors won’t DARE treat me like someone that doesn’t deserve compassion or care.
Pain patients on opioids suffer enough without being treated like drug addicts and scorned upon.
And what is SEVERE? Do we have to kill ourselves to be taken seriously? If we did, I’m sure hundreds of idiots will write that we deserved to die because all chronic pain patients on opiates are junkies! (I READ that on a pain forum.. Actually, it was much fouler than that and actually said we should all die, we are a drain on tax-payers, and even if we have pain, we should “man-up” because anyone who is dependent on narcotics is, indeed, a junkie.)
By the way, I know that many CPPers blame addicts for ruining it. Please don’t. Addicts have a disease as well, even though it is mental and emotional. Blame the DEA. This is like PROHIBITION! Studies have consistently proven that only 5% of the population becomes “addicted”. If I say I will commit suicide rather than living without pain meds, due to my PHYSICAL suffering, I am in the category of addict, even though I’m really just dependent. Suicide is an emotional response and fits the definition of addiction….
And, honestly, emotional and mental pain is horrible. I lost my brother to addiction. He O.Ded. He went to AA everyday. He worked a full-time job. He NEVER was prescribed pain meds because he ALWAYS told his doctors he was an addict. He really was an alcoholic who ended up with chronic pain from running trialothons and got dependent on painkillers. He died because he was too ashamed to be shunned by his AA friends to get proper pain mgt. He hid it and lived the last couple years of his life in pain and in shame. Ended up, he had heart problems _autopsy- and the M.E. said he must’ve been in awful pain. Also, severe dental pain.
Please don’t judge or blame addicts. This is the problem of an increasingly POLICE NATION! George Orwell couldn’t imagine this in his novel 1984.
Prohibition never works. Why isn’t alcohol – a pain-reliever — prescribed. All this new law will do is MAKE opioids more expensive and make pain doctors more expensive and MAKE Big Pharma happy. They will come out with new designer drugs that will have MORE side effects due to their anti-abuse mechanisms. I take Opana, and I have had severe skin problems and now osteo since they made the ER pills PLASTIC. My stomach hurts constantly.
The Pharmas are already designing even more dangerous methods of opioids which will NOT be available generically, of course. Implants, etc. And the pitiful junkies are STILL shooting up, but now they are losing their limbs to amputation due to the anti-abuse ingredients in these new plastic pills.
I eat organic as much as possible, take green drinks, no caffeine, used to do yoga (was a teacher) until I couldn’t move my hip, and I’m forced to EAT PLASTIC every day. (My doctor will not prescribe anything else….)
Again, I digress. PLEASE answer this question: WHO WILL DEFINE and JUDGE WHICH PATIENTS have SEVERE Pain?
Should I start telling my doctor that my pain level is an 8? (I define 8 as I am literally CRYING!) Level 8 occurs several times a month, but not constantly while I’m on meds.
How are we supposed to DEFINE SEVERE? Pain is Subjective! (And anti-depressants do not work. I was on several and felt like I was on acid or something. I was put on anti-psychotics by one doctor and I couldn’t read or remember words with more than one syllable!”)
Is SEVERE pain the pain of having a limb cut off while fully awake? Is it being unable to work or go to the movies? Is it lacking the desire to call a friend because you hurt too much? I don’t define any of the above severe save for the amputation. I probably should redefine my own definitions, but level 10 pain IS supposed to be the WORST PAIN you can IMAGINE! I always think of Full Metal Jacket or Gone with the Wind.
Any thoughts?
I didn’t know about this new inhumane act until now. The US is supposed to be a “good” country. We spend billions and send young men to foreign countries to liberate them from horrid dictatorships and governments that are “cruel” to their citizens.
And, yet, the US is considering DAILY TORTURE (and this is not an understatement) of millions of people with chronic, non-cancer pain. Many of us whom are in pain due to faulty surgeries and/or fighting for the same countries that we pride ourselves on “saving”.
I am yet another person who is constantly anxious. It’s bad enough having to live with my parents at my age since I am under-medicated and don’t dare ask for a higher dose of medication. In fact, like many chronic pain patients, I ask my doctor to cut back my dose a couple times a year for a month or two so I can keep tolerance down.
After a month or two of suffering, my doctor gets angry that I want my normal meds that keep my pain at a level that allows me to clean the house and cook dinner for my parents, as he seems to have forgotten that I asked for the decrease. He has, on numerous occasions confided to me that he is “scared” that he will LOSE his license due to the fact that he attends DEA meetings and has only had his solitary practice for 3 years.
The fact that I am on medicaid makes doctors treat me like a criminal. I lost my husband, had a doctor remove my female organs (because she PROMISED it would relieve my back pain), and had to CHOOSE between having a CHILD and LIVING a life. (I knew I couldn’t have a child and be in pain, and that was 13 years ago when I was in my late 30s, and NO DOCTOR would prescribe opiates….. UNTIL I had a hysterectomy, and a year later, my ovaries removed. Then, my doctor sent me to PAIN MGT. After I lost my husband, my job, and everything I thought I would have in my life.)
If this passes, I know I won’t be able to tolerate the pain. And it is against my religious beliefs to commit suicide, so I am scared and all the anxiety just makes everything worse.
I just was told that now I need a hip replacement. I know that I am literally FALLING apart due to the depression and anxiety that UN-Managed pain, and, particularly, the CONSTANT FEAR of BEING CUT OFF and literally BEING TORTURED!
TORTURE is AGAINST THE LAW!!!!
How are chronic pain patients supposed to “Pursue Happiness”? That is our right.
I wish I could move to Canada, but I’m too poor.
I have lived in fear and am too afraid to move in with friends because I fear moving away from my pain management doctor. I did that once and was turned down 14 times before I found someone who would take me… And that was because he just started a new business, and I agreed to cut back to 1/3 of what I was taking.
When I cut back, I lost my ability to work, and ended up on SSI. If I had PROPER Pain management, I could work. This is insane.
Maybe I’m paranoid, but it sounds like the people who want to pass this are trying to TRIM the POPULATION PROBLEM by getting rid of people with chronic pain. INsurance companies don’t like us, and IT IS NO COINCIDENCE that THIS IS OCCURING in CONJUNCTION with the new HEALTH CARE ACT, imo.
I just want to cry. It’s bad enough that my mother is angry at the fact I need hip surgery, because it means that I won’t be able to drag myself around to care for her. And she constantly competes with me about pain, although she has never gotten to the point where she took opiates, even when prescribed. Lucky her at 84.
I hate being on pills, and used alternative methods like acupunture for 5 years, before losing everything. I turned down vacations with my then husband to bahamas and Paris because I couldn’t sit on a flight. I couldn’t even sit through a movie.
I won’t be able to live without medications as my condition has worsened. And I still get that “look” from doctors because I’m on medicaid, as well as Medicare.
I’m scared. I used to love life, hiking, was a professor, an artist, a published author. Now I am just pain.
I haven’t had a life since they cut me back 2/3 and have just struggled. Without any meds, God forgive me….
Hello I see this thread has been quiet for a long time but i want to add my thoughts. I have suffered chronic pain in my lower left back, buttocks and hip area. I have had numerous epidurals and nerve blocks to no avail. I did tear both my Rectus abdominus muscles and had them fixed by Dr. William Meyers in Philly thank GOD for him no other Dr. for almost 2 years would believe me when i said i had a sports hernia. once the abdomin was fixed i still had groin pain and the back pain. Myeres found a tear of my Labrum in my left hip. I went to Dr. Struan Coleman and had it fixed (not torn just chewed up good). I seemed to be doing okay then it came back with a vengence. I have to make an appointment to have my hip looked at and I have a nerve block of my cluneal nerves over my illiac crest on my left side for possible nerve entrapment. then i have surgery to have lipoma’s removed in my back and buttocks hopefully one or both of these procedures do the trick. I take 10mg SR Oxycodone three times a day and 5-325 percocet twice a day. This makes my day only manageable to go to work and that is it. with out either i would do anything to get pain pills the pain is so bad i want to die. i show no signs of withdrawal when mymeds run out as i have done the COWS test and scored a 1. 5-12 is mild withdrawal. the best thing is i can function normally with these drugs in my system at a higher dose. What is the point of a Pain specialist if they are going to treat you like some drug addict. I compare it to your child telling you they are hungry and you tell them no your not. Seriously would you starve your child if they needed food. I am exhuasted mentally and physically my two duaghters 8 and 6 see there father lie on the couch more than do anything i am missing thier best years i cry many nights at what time i have lost with them already. My wife is a saint but it is wearing on her greatly she needs me to get back on my feet. I pray that advancements in medicine in the area of imaging and explorative surgery advance quickly so issues that fall outside the norm, that to many Dr’s don’t know what to do when it does not fit in the box, are found easier.
I accidentally found this thread last month. My heart and thoughts go out to every person who suffers from such horrendous agony. I replied to Lori Miliami on Aug 23. This thread needs to stay very alive and active every. day. If there are any Veterans out there I would love to hear from you. A friend of mine came back from Afghanistan with a totally screwed up back and can’t get help. Can’t work now either.
I have trigeminal neuralgia. I had it for twenty years before I was diagnosed. Frankly if I wasn’t able to relieve my pain, I’d be dead. The day I was diagnosed I actually was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for aspirin poisoning (the pain was so bad I’d taken a full bottle of aspirin in a 24 hour period). I take seven different drugs for t.n., and only two are narcotics and I alternate between the two along with taking once a month “narcotic fasts” of five days to keep the narcotics effective. I worded what I did in the first paragraph for the following reason (meaning “relieve my pain.”) This isn’t about “getting my narcotics.” It’s about “easing the pain.” If a non-narcotic medication was developed tomorrow that could do the same job codeine and hydrocodone do, I’d take those in a heartbeat. But that drug doesn’t exist. And what I mean by “i’d be dead” is that even the day I was diagnosed the pain was so bad I was on morphine and dilaudid and ibuprofen and the pain was STILL horrendous, that I remember looking at the nurse and begging her to kill me, and I wasn’t joking. Trigeminal neuralgia is obviously not cancer, and so I would be one of those patients. If this law passes, I’ll be moving to Canada in order to be able to get medical treatment and live there. A life without narcotics, meaning a life with unbearable pain, for me leaves me with those two choices: suicide or Canada. I’d rather be alive. My medications have given me my life back. My one drawback: I get constipated sometimes, a VERY small price to pay for the ability to be alive.
I have a long history of injuries due to loose joints and ice hockey. I was coping with my pain until I injured my shoulder badly during my military service when i was 19. The next 6 years were filled with pain and suicidal thoughts. I went through massive reconstructive shoulder surgery, knee surgery and ankle surgery. The operations were necessary but left me with severe chronic pain. If that wasn’t enough the cartilage in my knees started to soften, causing even more pain every single day. For five years I was prescribed tramadol which did almost nothing for my chronic pain. Slowly over the years the pain got worse and about 2 years ago I had reached a point where I was seriously contemplating suicide; I simply could not take the pain any longer. I was then finally sent to a pain specialist and for the first time in my life someone from the medical world treated me with some respect and humanity when I explained what my pain situation was like. A quick look at my injury history left the pain specialist in disbelief – he could not believe doctors had refused to prescribe adequate pain medication because of my somewhat young age and because they were worried about addiction. For the first time I was explained that I would be needing strong pain medication for the rest of my life, so worrying about becoming physically addicted was odd to begin with. I was finally prescribed adequate pain medication in the form of Temgesic (buprenorphine). For the first time in 5-6 years I woke up in the morning without the debilitating, horrible pain. The past 2 years I have been on a strong opioid medication and these years have been by far the best of my adult life. I feel like I got my life back. I managed to return to work and I’ll soon start studying at uni. My depression and anxiety are completely gone. My tolerance to the pain medication has grown a bit but I’ve managed to keep the dose somewhat low. Eventually I’ll have to move to even stronger opioids but my pain doctor told me we’d worry about that in the future. I know my body has become physically dependant of the medication but thankfully my doctor explained me that it does not make me a junkie. If it wasn’t for the stronger opioid medication I was put on, I wouldn’t be here today as a productive member of society and a happy man. I’m quite certain I’d be dead. I was not far from suicide because I thought I’d have to live with my pain for the rest of my miserable life. As strange as it sounds, opioid medication gave me my life back.
That doesn’t sound strange to me at all, TJ. I know how I am able to be productive again when I can find a caring physician that will prescribe the right kind of opioids that I can tolerate. Just remember this; An addict uses
drugs to escape life. Someone who is in pain takes opioids to become part of life again. I pray you continue to have success with your current treatment.
I have Addison’s disease and I have had chronic pain from fibromyalgia, arthritis, interstitial cystitis and IBS. I was treated successfully for over a year and a half by my NP. He gave me 12.5 mg prednisone and Norco 10 mg. 6 times a day. I had tried so many other types of drugs; everything from NSAIDs to antidepressants as well as other types of opioids. I had bad side effects or no effects at all. Finally with Norco and the right amount of prednisone, I was able to function again. I started college classes, participated in family functions as well as getting exercise and losing 30 pounds.
Then I was hit with several stressful events within a 3 month period. I lost my mother, almost lost my son in an auto wreck, and was informed that my home was going into foreclosure. The stress caused me to have a pain flare that was out of control. My NP didn’t understand my need for extra pain meds to pull me through. I went to a new NP and she was angry with me and hit the roof about me being on norco. Without knowing me or seeing my records, she labeled me a narcotics abuser. She proceeded to take me off of norco. I warned her that she was going faster than my endocrinologist advised. She wouldn’t listen to me or him. I ended up in adrenal crisis and acute kidney failure. In the hospital they put me back on norco.
Since then I have found a new provider who is not comfortable with giving me norco. She wants me to try SSRIs and neurontin. Addison’s patients have bad reactions to these drugs. She is titrating me very fast. I find myself in the same place again. I am frightened and don’t know where to turn. I do have valid, debilitating pain and I was always told that if you are benefiting from a certain mode of treatment then it is a good course to follow. I am under so much stress from pain and withdrawal not to mention I need to be able to function because I have to find a new place, get packed and move due to the foreclosure.
On a happier note, I am in the process of having my records ammended due to the diagnosis of narcotics abuse.
Please let me know if there is anything that can be done. I am in so much distress not to mention that what i am going through is life-threatening .
I have to wait at least 6 months before I can get into another doctor. I cannot wait that long.
Has anyone used a combination of Botox and Prednisone (suggested by my neurologist) to get me off many years of narcotic/opiate use? Of course, it all started as a “solution” to chronic headaches, but obviously became an addiction. Any input would be greatly appreciated…since I’m starting the process next week and I’m terrified!!
Renee,
It is very common to try various other medications or alternative treatments in addition to, instead or, or as an eventual substitution for opioids. In fact, that is common for many medication therapies, not just opioids. Probably one of the worst medication classes for headaches [in general] are opioids because patient may eventually be escalated to the point where they end up with opioid-induced migraines which are very difficult to treat. Essentially, your doctor is left to taper the very drug which the patient feels is helpful and it becomes a viscous frustrating cycle for the patient and the prescriber. best of luck on your new trial…think positive!
Dr. Jeff Fudin
I have experience severe pain in what turned out to be my L5 S1 for 4 years. Any doctor I went to would write me off as too young to be experience this. No even took an image of my back until I called my insurance co and was told I needed no referral. I was in pains management for about 8 months the ultimately opted for a lumbar fusion 2 months ago. I still have unbearable pain and was dicharged from pain docs office even though I called the day before complaining of pain, I was told he had left. So I called my surgeon on call who was willing to help but as I suspected, I was dicharged which means ” blacklisted.” He yelled and told me I was a liar about calling. He told me to find someone else then hung up on me. I am unable to find a pain doc to take me on now and would rather be dead than live this short, painful life!
We respectfully ask the owner of the board to post the fax number below in a visible place so that we may get the information we need for congressional leaders. If you are a legitimate chronic pain patient and living in Florida and are having trouble getting your prescription/s filled, please send us your story. Please describe as much as you feel comfortable disclosing relating to your condition, the reason for the refusal, the pharmacy involved. Please let us know if you have been forced to go to the ER as a result of inability to get the prescription filled or have been forced into withdraw. Please let us know if you have been forced to go to a smaller pharmacy where the price can be as much as three times higher than the chain pharmacies. Let us know how often this happens to you, what impact it has had and document any future issues and send them in so we can share them with legislators and congressman. Please include a statement that allows us to use your name to congressman and legislators ONLY. Your story but not your name may be shared with our advocacy group but NEVER with the press. Please pass this information along. We also need to know if you are being treated as a “common druggie” either at a pharmacy, doctors office or hospital. We believe there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADDICTION AND DEPENDANCE. ….. 727 754 7960
I have just received one of many in a long list of reasons that Kaiser has given me when refusing to renew my monthly prescription for Norco and Morphine Sulfate that I was taking for a chronic pain condition related to chronic pancreatitis. During the past five years I was have been dealing with a medical condition that caused chronic pancreatitis and other ailments which required extensive time off from work, many hospitalizations and numberous procedures to treat my condition. Ultmately it was necessary to place me on the long term use of pain medications to alleviate moderate to severe pain that I’d been living with for several years.
The past year, with some life style and nutrition changes along with the daily use of two separate types of pain medications I’ve been able to return to as close to my pre-illness days as I will ever be able to achieve.
The only problem, the ridiculous rules associated with the process for “legitimate” patients with a valid need to obtain their pain medications. I choose to stop using the Morphine because I did not want to spend my days in a constant haze and live with a certain amount of discomfort as a consequence. Without the remaining Norco that I continue to use, I would be in a constant state of pain that would make my standard of living so low that I’m not sure I could understand the reason for continuing with such an environment.
Each month the Pharmacist at Kaiser in Sacramento produces some sort of new or previously used rule to defer, delay, reduce or overcharge me during my monthly renewal attempts. This past June, the reason change to a new justification for the delay that as of today is now 35 days, which is 5 days over the usual renewal and I have been forced to do without for the past three days. Whatever had built up in my blood is long gone and the pain is becoming thought consuming. Writing this story is helping to take my mind off of what is going to be a very rough night I’m sure.
Actually there is two stories this time, my primary doctor is stating that she renewed it, but the Kaiser Pharmacy will not renew it due to a state regulation that requires me to actually look into my doctor’s eyes even though my condition is verified chronic, proven to be my condition, pain meds are the listed necessary treatment within all the medical books, but yet I cannot get the prescription filled until I:
1) Obtain approval to take time off from work, 2) Locate and Coordinate transportation during normal M-F business hours as I’m currently vehilceless and public transportation within this region is not a priority of my elected government representatives within the local, state and federal environment.
My insurance is the Kaiser HMO organization that I’ve estimated I’ve paid $2,310,000 in premiums during the past 35 years and only used approximately $55,000 during the past six years that resulted in a chronic pancreas condition that has a moderate to severe pain sympton as a consequence.
This latest delay was apparently due to a California regulation that blocked my ability to get legitimate medical treatement for a major health condition because I haven’t seen my doctor face to face in six months. I haven’t needed to! Shoot, I was in the hospital every month for over 10 months, plus treatments and routine follow-ups, why do I want to make appointments, pay for the gas to drive the 50 miles round trip, take time from work, and pay a office visit co-pay of $20 to go see my doctor when I don’t feel sick? What is up with that logic anyway?
In the meantime, I am in severe pain as I’ve been without my medication for almost four days now, and it will be another week before I can afford to pay someone to take me out there and I don’t get paid but once a month (California exempts itself from the requirement to pay employees no later than 14 days). My condition has been documented by several documents who have verified it via several proven methods, as well as the documented recommendation of pain medication as a means to manage the severe chronic pain that is associated with this condition.
The only people having a hard time getting these drugs are the legitimate patients who need them. I’m thinking that the drug dealers and users are not dealing with no where near the stress I go through each month or the accusatory stares and comments that I hear made behind my back. Doctor’s are just as bad as the Pharmacist and I thought it was there job to “do no harm”, hah!
And think there is more important things the DEA agents who visited the Walgreens Pharmacy 3 times in one week, cold be doing than hassle a 40 year old with a chronic back problem, or the 52 year old grandma (me) who just wants to be able to wake up in the morning, go to work and spend some time with her grandkids without doubling over in pain and staying in bed all day.
What is wrong with everyone?! The whole point of progress is to make our lives easier when it’s possible, okay, so I’m addicted to the pain meds for a chronic condition that I’ll have for the rest of my life anyway. My Mom was addicted to coffee and cigarettes, but she never touched a recreational drug and could count on her hand how many times she consumed alcohol. Why is it up to you or a Senator or Congressional Committee how much soda I drink at one time and my weight? Or if I am additicted to a medication that helps me live a life that is infinitely better than the one I’d have without them.
Who are they or other’s who make decisions on what I can or cannot endure and the side effects I choose to ignore instead of live in misery, which is not life in the first place Why, because “you’re worried” about the ill affects that it may have on me, as oppose to what exactly? What really will occur due to my addiction to a legal pain medication that I will need for the remainder of my life? Will I expire before my average age? Likely, would I have anyway with my medical condition? Certainly, so why live in pain, to be strong and righteous. For you Doctor? Or you Senator Feinstein? Our elected representatives. Maybe if you didn’t spend so much time chasing after the dude that tattled on you and put that energy into doing what the people actually want you all to do, we’d have about 60% of our problems solve in a month. The remaining 40% could be dealt with if you’d actually stop playing the silly hide and lie game that you don’t think the citizens are on to.
Albert Schweitzer once said, “Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself.” Pain is a significant problem for persons who are seriously ill. If existing expert clinical guidelines for the management of pain were consistently followed, serious pain would be controlled acceptably 80-90% of the time. Yet pain remains under-treated.
WELL SAID!!! I wish everyone who is making these decisions about what kind of medication I take and for how long I take it, would have to live the way I do for only two weeks (with pain meds). Any more time than that, I would not wish on my worst enemy. However, now that I consider my statement, perhaps these people are my worst enemy. I have been under the care of a qualified pain management doctor for over five years. I have to have spinal injections, plus several nerve and pain pills each day. Am I addicted? I don’t know nor do I care. The medicine does not completely stop the pain, but does help. I have scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, sciatica, and arthritis. Back surgery is not an option per the opinion of three surgeons. The people who are spending their time whining about what chronic pain sufferers must do to get through each day, need to hit the streets and earn the money WE pay them and help the hungry, abandoned and abused people, and the thousands of veterans who are returning home. The list is too long.
Please help!
Someone !
That is what I would like to
Scream out ! My husband a 34 year old crohns patient with a colostomy and a sub total colectomy . He has been in Percocet 10 mg for 2 months 4xs daily . Before this it was hydrocodone 10 mg 4xs daily. Last month they prescribed after years of his pain diladid 4 mg 4 xs daily. Well after going to 10 pharmacies that said they were “out ” he said ” I won’t run around town being treated like a drug addict “. He was so angry. Something that might actually help him and not a chance in hell at getting it. They literally looked at him like he was crazy when he went fill his medication. On ssd he could never go to a “small pharmacy ” and pay cash. This is just his portion of the story. Pain from fibroids ruined my life for years. I had hystorectomy after 5 years of anemia pain and blood transfusions . One dr didn’t like my ” previous course of treatment ” ! I think I’m black listed I don’t even know what to say ! I want a. Real explanation. We are actually sick. !
I have been fighting migraines since I was 8. I have been battling severe pain for 36 years. In that time I have been on so many myriads of prophylactics to prevent migraines. Instant has worked. Acupuncture, chiropractic, bio-feedback, yoga, meditation, naturopathic, osteopathic, nuerologists, Botox,…..each one has a limited amount of efficacy. When they fail to work Drs get more frustrated and over time pass me off to one one else. I find that having to say I’m sorry all the time to everyone, nurses, Drs. Rushed techs, and even family is starting to make me feel like there is not much use that society or the medical profession has for a person like me. On good days I volunteer and try to make up for all the days in the month I am a burden. I have a pain tolerance. I’m not weak, but I don’t have any quality of life. I am afraid of ER doctors because they assume that if toradol doesn’t work and hurt your stomach that you are a drug seeker. I never mention it anymore to them. The only meds I will speak up about are the ones that cause extreme anxiety like reglan, compazine and dropper idol. When I speak up about it I do it respectively, and yet nurses question my experience of what these meds do sang its not possible. I never go to an ER unless I am past 4 days of extreme pain, and dehydrated for nausea and unable to keep meds or water down. I was on morphine in my thirties and able to work at a job, raise my family. Now with the fear of prescribing pain meds Indon’t know of any dr who would ever risk prescribing any form of pain med beyond toradol. I won’t give up because I love my family. I live in a world that is held together by love I want to give to others and my family and by my spiritual beliefs. This world is a torture chamber, and there is no key to let me out.
This country seems more at war with chronic pain suffers than with he true druggies. I’m sick of being treated like a druggie when I’ve never been high or even drunk in my entire life! I have suffered a broken back as a 19 year old when a horse fell on top of me while running at 30 mph. It destroyed my back and U never got good medical care because I had no insurance being 19 years old and in this country where young people are 2nd class when it comes to medical things. Therefore, my back became worse and worse and I could not even get tests done to keep track of what was going on. All I could do was suffer and I hurt so much I could not work. I did, however, complete college, and I maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while taking prescription drugs to control the unending pain i was in. Finally, at the age of 29, I got married and had insurance for the 1st time in my adult life. I got much needed tests done which revealed my back never healed and I was in desperate need of spinal fusion surgery. Sadly, my surgery went very bad and made my pain 100 times worse. The doctor who performed my surgery was being investigated by the medical board and had over 42 lawsuits against him, which I was unaware of until AFTER he destroyed my life. It’s terrible that the hospital even allowed this guy to continue to butcher people in their building when they were aware of what he had done to other people. Now I can’t walk, I can;t do anything but lay in bed in pain and I can’t lay in one position for more than 5 minutes. I cry every single night praying to God to either end the pain or end my life because I have reached the end of my strength to deal with this on my own. The doctors in my area are heartless and rude. Even with my mountain of medical evidence documenting my problems and even though I have no history of any kind of addiction to anything and even though I have no signs of addiction and even though I’d agree to any of their stupid, invasive and insulting drug tests, many of them will still refuse to even take me on as a patient. They are not shy in admitting that they don’t want anything to do with people with chronic pain issues. We are like lepers to them. I feel so violated by how they treat us and how they automatically assume we are all drug seekers who get high off this stuff. God I wish it made me feel that good, but the reality is my pain is soooooooo bad ALL the time that this medication barely touches my pain. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat often and I find life to be a day by day misery. Then on top of my pain, I have to endure these rude, cruel doctor’s and their baseless judgements about me. I did not ask nor do I wish to have this pain. If they could offer me ANYTHING else that would work and really handle m pain I would gladly switch to it , but so far I’ve tried all their pointless shots, injections, tests, massages, endless physical therapy that actually made me worse, electrical bone stimulators, supplements, ice packs, heat pads, yoga, and so on and guess what none of it works. I guess some people can not imagine nor care enough to even try to imagine the kind of pain some of us endure. It’s not in our minds either. It would be like putting a knife in the back and then telling you that you can never remove it EVER so just deal with it on your own! That’s cruel and we as a society treat out animals with more compassion than our fellow humans. Shame on Americans for allowing this! I will have to move to another country if this discrimination gets any worse. This country turns its back on me I will turn my back on this nation–maybe that is what these tyrants want after all. They sort of remind me of a Hitler mentality frankly. I’m sure they would like it if we would all just die or leave since we are disabled. This country has lost its soul. Stop punishing us for what the druggies are doing! Those bad people will get their dope no matter what. Your only hurting the good people!
I lived in, N.U. and was on the same dose of narcotic pain reliever for 10 years. Thank God I had them at the time so I was able to hslp my husband when he was dying of cancer. After he died I moved to Florida to live near 2 of my 5 children. First they cut My dose in half. I had to go on disability because the new dose only files the pain. Now my doctor id still giving me fue lower dose but since the DEA hit my Walgreens I cant get any pharmacy willing to take new patients for fear of DEA. One of my 5 children is an addict. I know from dealing with her problem guay drug addicts solo only stop when they are ready. By stopping pain patient from, getting the meds they need ypu will only hurt us, adicta who, take presciption drugs they get somehow will switch to street drugs. No addicts solo be saved.. My friend owns a drug rehab center and addicts, are having no 0problem getting prescriptipn drugs on street. Fue only people having problems are pain patients unwilling to brake the las. Thanks DEA anda our goverment for our new NO FREEDOM FROM PAIN LAWS
Yea I feel for you! I am in the same boat. I went into a hospital emergency rooml for a belly ache and came out in a wheelchar with a life long disability and in severe cronich pain. That was 25 years ago and the medical community has treated me like a piece of crap ever since. Now the dea is telling my doctor that my dose of medicine is to high. WTF? We need a 20 million disabled person march on Washington. They need to leave us alone and lit us live in comfort. I think if it was up to the government they would do like hitler and just euthanize all of us.
You are so right I’ve been set up by my dr he lowered my pain meds so on next visit when I ask for them back he says I’m “drug seeking” I’m my records I’m so upset I go to pm but have no primary care dr for diabetic
I have had chronic hip and back pain for over 16 years. SI joint dysfunction, sciatica, herniated discs. 13 years ago I was put on low dose Vicodin after a new herniated disc and it literally gave me my life back. I had no idea how much the pain had reduced my functioning. With the medication I could work, drive, go out socially, do yard work. I never abused the medication, I never wanted to take more than prescribed and if my pain symptoms were not as bad, I would reduce the dose. My medication was always on an as needed basis since my doctors knew that my pain levels changed and sometimes I had flare ups and sometimes I didn’t need the medication at all. I’ve seen several different doctors over the years after moving or doctors retiring. In all those years I never once had any trouble with the medication or new doctors prescribing it to me. I only ever took one or two pills per day.
Well, the world has changed, my friends. The doctor who had been prescribing my medication for the last 10 years told me at my last visit, he was sorry but he can no longer prescribe pain medications to anyone due to new government regulations. It wasn’t me, it was the government crack down. So there I am. What am I to do? I was stunned. He said that now about the only way to get prescription pain medication is to go to a pain management doctor. Ok, so i get a referral to a pain management clinic. I figured the pain management doctor would see that I was doing well on a very small dose of Vicodin for 13 years and would probably refill the medication.
Boy, was I in for a surprise. I go to the pain clinic and the doctor says short acting medication like Vicodin is NO GOOD for your condition. And he says I need round the clock medication to avoid the highs and lows of short acting drugs. I had no idea what he was talking about since I never had any highs or lows, but ok, I’ll try his new medication. So he gives me a prescription for MS Contin at an dose which was equivalent to about 3 times the Vidodin I was using.
I’m getting up in years, and I’ve been very sensitive to medications all my life. Well, the new medication was way too strong and I knew it right away because it made me feel drugged, groggy, slept 16 hours a day, but of course, the pain management doctor made me sign a contract before he would prescribe anything, so I was NOT ALLOWED to take less of the medication even though I knew it might kill me! And it actually made the pain worse. I had to wait a week taking this new medication to have someone drive me 2 1/2 hours to see a nurse to take one look at me and tell me to stop taking the medication immediately. So the nurse then gives me a prescription for a different long acting opioid at a much lower dose and says they will just titrate the dosage up till it’s at a good level for me. And then they could give me short acting pain medications (like Vicodin) for “Break through” pain.
I don’t really remember much of the visit since I was in such a drugged out state from the first medication they gave me, but I do remember asking the nurse what if I just want to stop taking pain medication. She told me that they would need to slowly wean me off my medication or I would endure horrible withdrawals. So I took her prescription and had it filled. At the pharmacy, I asked the pharmacist what if I stopped taking the MS Contin after being on it only a week. He said he didn’t think I would have any problems or withdrawals since my body probably wasn’t used to it. So through my fogged up brain, I knew I did not want to be on any long acting pain medications. I refused to take any more of their medications and refused to go back to that doctor.
I stopped taking all pain medications at that point. I was a little jittery and tired for about 4 or 5 days with some diarrhea but no real problems.
But now I am left here with no pain medication, no way to get any and pain levels which range from 5 or 6 on good days to 7 to 9 on bad days. I can’t do much physically anymore since they took away my Vicodin. I used to take 1/2 a pill when the pain reached level 8 and it would take it right down to minimal levels and I was good to go.
Thank you government for taking any useful life I had left. I cannot believe this is the state of health care in our country.
God bless all of us
Amber,
That is a very sad story indeed. What this often boils down to is education for both government officials, clinicians, and colleges that teach clinicians. It is a multifaceted public health issue for which many people need to take responsibility. And if we don’t, patients will suffer as you did.
i have c3,c4,c5 fused in neck it was broken,left arm 3permanent nerves damage,10% use of arm,lower dics in back dislocated i’m disabled can’t do anything because i’m so undermedicated,i know for i had a doctor who once gave me enough medicine ibelieved i was going to be alright i got better,than people started saying she was running a pill mill,i went there 3yrs the people i seen there looked like the living dead you could tell they where suffering, so they close her down,whenn i found another doctor he cut the amount mg’s in half,also how many i got was cut down to half i went to him for 4 months telling him my life was hell i couldn’t eat,sleep,couldn’t get out of bed without help i just cryed the pain is so great i believe i’d be better off dead my medicine worked when it was strong even and i had even to deal with this great pain 24/7 365days a year i’m praying for help now or else i’ll be dead or in a crazy house ican’t take or deal with this kind of pain.
omg i thought i have been thru hell until i read your story you poor girl ive been thru 32 surgeries and 2 heart attacks almost died 2 times and pain is also from surgery mistakes long long story but i just wanted to let you know that you shouldnt give up i will say a prayer for you too!
I am 32 years old ,24 when I was diagnosed with systemic Lupus (SLE). I have had every treatment for fibro and lupus that you could name. I suffer in chronic pain,depression,fatique,and from one day to another I’m not sure if I will even be able to get out of the bed. I have 3 lil boys who lives have been affected tremendously. Instead of me being at the ball field,or field trips,or other activities for school/church I’m laying on the couch with chronic pain and fatique-I suffer Lupus flares 3 to 4 times a month, and I have laid up in ER’s only to be discharged as if I”m looking for a fix. I have never been a drug user never drink or smokes in my life. Because of doctors failing to treat my pain I became miserable and tried to commit suicide last year. I was sent to a mental hospital for a week but sent home with no where to turn or go. I’m still fighting this system for chronic pain patients, we have rights to pain treatment and our doctors are failing us. They do not understand that an anti inflamatories are not the answer predisone is not the answer alone- we deserve to be comfortable and treated as human.Now if you have a herniated disc you can walk in a pain clinic with your MRI AND GET ALL THE PAIN CONTROL YOU NEED,But Lupus is a pain that occurs everywhere at different times.I was refused treatment because I DIDNT HAVE A BAD MRI-I am everyday working and speaking for us chronic pain patients this neglect has to end our life is waiting on us and I be damned if I’m going to throw my hands up and walk away and give up for all of us. Im writing letters to doctors,the DEA,congress,the governor and who ever else it takes. I have 120 medical papers just from the ER with all of stating complications of lups ect…….. Dont give up stay with me because I need all the people behind me that agree we are right they are wrong
Kimberly, I sympathize with you & your situation more than you know!! Id love to share my story with you & join your cause. Unless we bring these issues to the forefront, we will not have ANY chance of having a life that’s worth living!! All of us that are able MUST come together & make our voices heard!! Having ANY KIND OF QUALITY of LIFE depends. on it!!
I can relate to your frustration, I am so pissed off over this pain treatment complications, Last month seemed to be the start of a new beginning I was cased aside by every pharmacy including my very own pharmacy. I have been taking 4 methadone pills 3 X per day that’s #360 methadone pills to – O – without warning ! but i’m not going to sit by with the lazy cry babies and do nothing, I have my rights to be free of pain. I live in Florida where all the DEA has recently arrested two doctor’s for over prescribing, ok so the rules have changed but my pain remains, my family doctor prescribes my pain meds which I cannot get fill anymore, did I fail to mention that I have full blown AIDS and sometimes can’t walk, the painful nerophathy is so severe that I would rather die then suffer, I also suffer from nerve damage due to having Shingles the pain never stops it’s like being zapped with pain 24/7. Like I say I am not sitting this one out I am going after my representatives and demand they relax these new ridiculous prescription laws that are only hurting people with real chronic pain,
I AM ASKING THAT YOU JOIN MY MISSION NOW BY SENDING ME AN EMAIL. I WILL RESPOND ACCORDINGLY. When they enforced these NEW prescription laws they failed to separate the terminally ill people from the those who have a chance at life ! Don’t get it wrong no one should have to en-dour this new act.
I forgot to leave my email address so you can join my petition for submit ion to relax these laws for those who suffer with chronic pain. BillyB@Activist.com
Hang in there everyone…
Hey there. I have HIV for 18 yrs now. I have Ankylosing Spondilytis, 3 herniated disks. I have pain that goes down the front of my thighs at different times of the day. I take an ER med 3 times a day. That is great if all I want to do is sit on the couch or lay on the couch. My QOL is gone. I need a good IR dose of something like Oxycodone so I can move around, clean my place, and just do regular stuff that i used to do and never think about it. I am in Southern indiana. I go tomorrow to my P.M. doc to request again, something to help reduce the pain of normal activity.I read alot and I know when I go to see the doc, I need to temper my talk about knowledge I have so they dont think I am trying to tell them what they should do, even though I do know myself better than anyone else. Good luck and let me know how I can help put pressure on people in power. Bob
These doctors are failing us,the DEA is putting us chronic pain patients in a no win situation. Because of drug dealers and abusers we suffer inhuman A dog gets better treatment than we do. When will you doctors help us? What are you waiting on 100 more Lupus patients to comit suicide? Help us!!!! Our lives our children our family are suffering because we can’t get our pain under control. We have a miserable life death is all I think about why? Why? Can’t I be comfortable while I still have a few years left with my family ? Does anyone out there care? If you do then help me I’m begging you to save my life someone out there has the power to get me help if you can save me email me kim25ncarcredit@yahoo.com I’m ready to give up 🙁 DEA you will cause 5 suicides every minute why don’t you do something ? Only you can fix this please save my life get me help SLE is not a joke it’s horrible indescribable and painful .
Kimberly, I’m 100% behind you. If you need any help in any way, let me know. I’m sick and tired of doctors making fools out of us. A dog at a Vet’s office gets better treatment than a chronic pain patient. queencharlotte84657@gmail.com
Let me know what I can do if anything!
I have a herniated disk, among a lot of other things. I have been in terrible pain for 30 years and even with all my tests and proof I have been accused of drug seeking. There is no one who will help me. I live in WA State where we have all the fancy new pain laws. The doctors here have forgotten that pain kills just as surely as misusing pain meds. There is no hope for us.
I am a 55-year-old female who has experienced chronic intractable headache and neck pain since 2001. I have an engineering degree but have not worked since 2006 and am recently separated from my husband because he wants “someone he can do more things with”. For 9 years, I had a caring, compassionate doctor who in 2011 prescribed daily oral morphine (15 mg) in addition to the Vicodin (5/500mg daily) I was already taking because I was not able to function with the level of daily pain I was experiencing. Finally, with the morphine, I was able to have some semblance of a life again; the pain wasn’t completely gone, but it was at a level that I could deal with. I was happy just to be able to make it to family functions, and to buy tickets for events like concerts ahead of time and know with a fair amount of certainty that I’d be there for the concert. In November 2011, my doctor moved out of state. I went to another neurologist on the advice of a friend, showed her my medication list and asked her if she was comfortable prescribing these medications, to which she replied that she was. For a year, she continued to refill my medications. Then, the medications began to give me headaches instead of relieving them. I met with her in Nov. 2011, told her that this had happened in the past and that I had been prescribed Darvocet to replace the Vicodin, until I was able to take the Vicodin again. Because Darvocet has been taken off the market, I asked her if she knew of another pain medication that didn’t contain morphine or codeine, and she said she did not. She told me she didn’t think she was able to treat me and referred me to another doctor within the practice; I could not get an appointment with him until March 2013. I got a copy of the notes from this visit so I could find another doctor and in her note, found that she wrote that I had come into her office “asking for narcotics, and she had disagreed” (which was truly absurd when you think about it, since I was asking for medication that WASN’T an opiate). Now this is in my medical record and I still don’t have a pain doctor or any adequate pain medication. Having had an intelligent and caring doctor for so long who wasn’t afraid to treat my pain with medicines that relieved it, I just didn’t realize what a minefield it was out there for me as a chronic pain patient trying to find some relief. By withholding the medications I require to make my condition bearable, doctors and administrators are determining for me that I cannot lead a life worth living; I cannot meet with friends, I cannot pursue my interests, I cannot take care of myself financially, I cannot contribute to society. I hope they realize this.
54 year old lifetime chronic pain sufferer / patient here, Before being properely pain managed…….this unbeliveable chronic pain; destroyed 2 marriages and deprived my only child of the sibling he desperately wanted along with growing up in a 2 parent household..
I worked full time since I was 15,and have paid my dues and taxes. I am now on Disability with a limited income. My long time neurologist / pain management doctor retired December 1st and my laat perscriptions were filled and will be empty mid January. I am scared to dealth.
The way I see this situation with the DEA and all the alaphabet agencies is #1, we are a drain on the system and #2. do you think they will care one iota if we die off by stress or suicide? We are no longer ‘useful” perhaps? Our health care is getting too expensive? Just saing….
I sincerely hope you all find what you need and may Peace come in her soul.
I agreee with you 110 % they won’t care if we commit suicide as a matter of fact they will be pleased
I agree as well, Tom. If these laws go into effect, youll see that although opioid use may go down, I GUARANTEE that suicide rate amongst chronic opioid pain mgnt treatment because there is NO OTHER OPTIONS left for us!! The current mainstay treatment of injections DO NOT. WORK FOR EVERYONE! All we want is to have a quality of life that’s worth living!!!
Since pain management doctors can be prosecuted when their patients take more medication then prescribed, can the medicaid doc and goverment he works for be procecuted if i overdose on heart meds he gave me for migraines ( they are of no help ) saying medicaid patients cant get narcotics. Tell me what is the difference between me taking more heart meds and a patient taking more narcotics than prescribed
Kate,
Probably little difference in a more global sense, bur the cardiac meds don’t have the same political overtones associated with opioids.
I am a 56 year old male.
I suffered a workers comp injury in 1998 when a scafold I was working on 3 stories up colapsed.
I suffered a severe head injury, herniated 3 discs in my neck, dislocated my shoulder, crushed 4 discs in my back and had to have a anterior and posterior lumbar fusion with a cage, also a hip pointer, tore all the legaments in my knee and had surgery which removed all the cartilage in my knee, fractured my wrist and had surgery on it and also my ankle.
For the last 14 years I have had a pain management that prescribed me opioids for pain. It allowed me to have some kind of a life. On October 3rd 2012 I went to my pain management dr and he told me that he didn’t make enough money to continue to risk his licence to prescribe me medication due to the DEA Task Force in Houston. He wrote me one last script. So I had to try and find another Dr and also worry about withdrawals setting in before I found one. My Dr didn’t even suggest a detox clinic or what I should do once my meds ran out.
My workers comp case had settled and I’m a cash patience since I can’t get insurance on my pre-existing condition.
I called 13 Dr’s to try and find one that would see me, the ones that would accept cash payment (3 of them)
Charged me 300.00 for the first visit and within 5 minutes told me that they couldn’t help me without insurance. 900.00 to be told your screwed; everyone of them made statements about the DEA taskforce.
I searched the intenet to find insurance for pre-exsiting conditions and found one, bought the policy waited 30 days for it to take effect. Found a DR to see me (all this time was cutting down on my meds to try and make it to t Dr).
I went to this Dr he stated they didn’t prescribe meds on the first visit but he would break the rules an prescribed me half a dose for 2 weeks. He then ordered another MRI and an emg test. I had to pay cash for both tests because the insurance I purchased wouldn’t cover them. 1200.00. Three days before my appointment the Dr’s office called me and canceled my appointment because my insurance wouldn’t cover procedures they wanted to do. Now I have to cut my meds in half again and start looking for another DR.
I find one and see him but now I’m considered a drug seeker. He prescribes me non narcotic pain meds that I have had before and vicoden 3 pills a day which barely keeps ms from being sick and does virtually nothing to relive my pain. I had to take 3 at one time just to write this. I took the MRI the emg and all my medical records to him and told him my case is well documented he stated…
That is terrible. Have you found any local or state pain advocacy groups? You are going to need a lot of help. Maybe a local advocacy group will have the resources to help you. I hope your issues are taken care of soon. You should not have to suffer like this when there are medicines that can help you. I’m in shock that a clinic would take $300 and then say they can’t do anything. That is rotten and immoral.
I am a chronic pain sufferer. I suffer from severe osteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia. What the arthritis doesn’t make hurt the Fibro does. Due to my arthritis I have has 6 major surgeries in 2 years. I hurt every second of every day. My fingers are disfigured and I can’t straighten a few, so even my hands ache terribly. I am only 52.
Like most chronic pain sufferers, I don’t expect ever to be pain free, I just want a little relief so I can have some sort of a life. The pain robs us of life and it robs our family too. The pain brings me to tears sometimes and sometimes the tears flow just because I am so tired of fighting. There is such a stigma already for those of us on narcotic medication. I guess it’s because you can’t see someones pain that makes others have no mercy, including doctors sometimes. I have been told to “deal with it” as I sit rocking in the chair because the pain is so bad.
Like many have mentioned why is no one worried about the loss of life from the suicides of the people who are suffering with pain? I have often felt that there is nothing worse to be suffering from in this country than chronic pain because of the stigma and bias.
The addicts and those abusing or mistaking the medication will still misuse it. This will only punish those of us following the rules.
I don’t know where to begin with this saga of hell. I have Interstitial Cystitis which has progressively advanced. There is not one minute of one day that I am not in excrutiating pain all throughout my abdomen/pelvic/back region. On top of this I have the overwhelming urgency to have to void, but when I get there, maybe only one or 2 tsp come and feel like shards of glass. Also, this causes sleep deprivation, as all night long I have to keep making trips to the bathroom. Sleeping aids help, but if I do not attempt to void it will actually enter my dreams until I wake up. This has led to falls causing broken ribs and a broken collarbone. It has damaged and even caused termination in my career.
I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. The bottom of my feet hurt so bad in the morning, I cannot hold myself up, let alone walk. I have pain in areas that make no sense to me. My neck, my shoulders, my hands and fingers, my hips, my lower and upper legs..it goes on. I also have no range of motion, I cannot turn my head to the left or right past my shoulders. I have memory loss. I am lethargic.
I have Denegerative Disc Disease and 2 herniated discs in my lower back. I don’t bel
ieve I need to explain that pain. I have had drop foot twice in the last 8 years.
When I was 17 years old I was assaulted and pushed through a window. I automatically put my hand out to stop and my ulnar nerve in my right hand is torn. It was repaired, however I have no feeling on the right half of my hand and the other half and my wrist hurst unbearably and I can no longer write or use a keyboard or mouse for longer than 10 minutes. (I am right handed)
I have chronic migraines.
I was on a great pain regime and was working as an important member of a large company. I was very well paid. The doctor I was seeing decided to concentrate his practice on conditions that did not include mine or many other patients. I was referred to a new doctor who was not only better, but actually listened and spent as much time with me as needed.
I then lost my job and benefits. This was the beginning of the end for me, at first. Not being able to pay for my meds, I was not able to get out of bed, walk, carry on any type of intelligent conversation and could not retain information. I weeped. I didn’t weep when I was in labor.
Finally, it was decided through many sources I had to go on disability. It took 2 years. After I had my benefits back and fought with my insurance company to cover my meds, I had 2 months of the pain treatment I needed. I lost a very needed 30 pounds in 3 months. I felt hope again. Until my next appointment. I have been cut back every month. The only medication that works for my Interstitial Cystitis, I am told I have to quit completely because I do not have cancer. Believe me when I say I have tried evereything.
I now find my self praying for cancer or a quick death. Every morning when I wake up again I am disappointed. I am not suicidal. I am hopeless. I have no quality of life and now realize I will never have the opportunity to work again. What did I do to deserve this? I signed a contract, I have randon urine testing and I take my medicine as directed. It isn’t enough. I never leave my house. I have Depression, anxiety disorder and panic attacks and PTSD. Every night before I go to the doctor sleep is an impossibility as I know I am going downhill even further when I reach that monthly appointment that I have to drive 4 hours for. You see, when I had to go on disability, I had to move to a place I could afford to pay rent. So please….with your infinite wisdom, tell this person ME who has never felt euphoric from her medication why you want me to live a live of terror and pain. What did I do to deserve this and why am Ibeing punished for the behavior of drug addicts. Why is my doctor being punished because he is not Psychic?
At 29 I had an accident at work that ruptured 2 disc. At the hospital i was given an mri that located the problem. The day before the surgery i was told by the surgeon that i HAD to have a myleogram; The day after surgery I found myself in pain WAY past normal. I was assured it was normal post-op pain and it would go aw ay. IT did not! IT got worse and worse. Within 2 yrs it was not only my lower body but my arms and chest. I had developed a constant low-grade fever, low BP and hives, panic/anxiety.aleopecia. [oss of reflexes. neuropathy. degenerative disc disease., failed back syndrome, RSD, degenerative joint disorder, short- leg syndrome, rosecia, INSOMNIA(7-8 hrs to 3.5 broken) Parkensons-like shaking, fingers and toes becoming disjointed, walking on glass,PTSD, claustrophobia and agoraphobia at the same time. This is just a few of the progressive things that I have. It started with the first MYLEOGRAM in 85. In an effort to find out why I was falling apart, the surgeon ordered 2 more MYLEOGRAMS in 87. The substance used (oil-based) was already banned in Europe at that time. There was a concerted effort to quietly cover this up.. Now along with all the other things I am forced to deal with, i lost bladder, bowel and sexual function. To be honest the sex part had been gone already. W hen one is constantly contemplating suicide,sex is not even on the list of needs. Being female I have been labeled as everything from an addict to a zoo-inmate along with everything in between. Most so-called drs. have no idea what ADHESIVE ARACHNOIDITIS is. Since they know very little about it or never heard of it,(like one dr. just out of school and received her initials) it must not be anything of importance or just does not exist at all. My mris even when read by the professionals and the report says in caps on top (VERY SEVERE ARACHNOIDITIS) and the last neurologist i saw said*Its NOTHING*, I still get treated like a piece of crap they walked around on their way to WORK! I do not have a md or phd( pronounced FUDD, like ELMER) but I know that I cannot go to my household breaker box and take out the wires,strip the insulation off,stick them together. stick them put them back into the main breaker and expect nothing to happen. There will be fireworks as well as any number of malfunctions. If I flip a light switch my water heater may explode,my garage door may go up and down like a yo-yo. The inside of my spine has hollow spaces where nerves are supposed to be. Gobs of friednerves stuck together like over-cooked noodles. Every day of this horrible existance is a debate. Do I wait 1 more day to find a DR. or leave this nightmare of drs. who have suffered form New Guinnea syndrome for all their (practice?) If ANYONE WHO HAD A MYLEOGRAM PRIOR TO 1990 has ANY of the things I have listed above. You are NOT crazy The UNBEARABLE PAIN IS REAL . IT HAS PROBABLY DRIVEN YOU CRAZY LIKE ME. Please reach out and maybe together we can get the truth out about the lobbyist for pharm. co, paid to get this buried years ago. Millions were given these toxic chemicals in the name of diagnostic tests. no one was told about the ban in Europe or the destruction of the nerves in the thecal space. The very nerves that control our every movenment, every breath , every thought. all connections between our body and our skull. Just because these nerves are in the spinal canal does NOT mean they are not as important as those inside the skull. THEY ARE AS MUCH A PART OF THE BRAIN AS THE CONTENTS OF THE SKULL. The pain from a couple of ruptured disc was turned into something there are few words to describe. Lives destroyed. Families torn apart. We were traded for the sake of the pharmaceutical companies who supplied hospitals with the toxic chemicals to inject into the spines of us peons . Why? Were they experimenting? Just didn’ t want to throw away usable poison? How could the FDA hide this from the very people who were poisoned by the very people we should be able to trust. Even after the decision was made to hide it from the peons, these very people decided to act as if the pain and disability don’ t even deserve treatment. We are not able to live like humans and not allowed the right to die like humans. That saying comes from a Hiroshima survivor. When everything that can cause pain does and everything that can go wrong does, whats left? I pray every day for God to take me out of this nightmare called life. Thats All Ihave to look forward to.
My husband has had Chronic Daily Migraine and Acute Migraine since he was nine years old. He also has occasional cluster headaches. It’s been over thirty years, now. He has significant neurological symptoms with the Acute Migraines about two to three times a week, and about two to three times a month they are absolutely crippling.
He gets the usual nausea, photophobia, and olfactory sensitivity, but also experiences left-sided weakness, scintillating scotoma, white out vision, high contrast vision, tremoring, loss of balance, nystagmus, and aphasia.
You know what’s fun? What really just makes my day? Having to evaluate him two to three times a month to see if he has any symptoms of stroke or seizure *that don’t normally show up with his migraines*. His supervisor at work actually has instructions to call me for the diagnostic flow chart, before calling an ambulance.
The list of therapies that have been tried and failed miserably:
Topamax, amytriptaline, Imitrex, Axert, Amerge, Maxalt, Advil, Aleve, Effexor, Depakote, St. John’s Wort, feverfew, potassium, magnesium, vitamin supplements, accupressure, accupuncture, chiropractics, TENS unit. Effectiveness of the preceding ranges from “completely useless” to “we think it might have helped a tiny bit” and side effects range from “feeling hungover” to “absolutely NO memory” to “actively homicidally psychotic”.
Things that give *some* relief:
Tylenol, Tylenol migraine, ABSOLUTE RIGID avoidance of flourescent lights (not possible when he’s at work or in any retail store), ABSOLUTE RIGID avoidance of perfumes and chemical smells (not possible when at work or in any public place at all), ABSOLUTE RIGID avoidance of food triggers, and opiates – Percocet, and Dilaudid. There is nothing that can be done at all to prevent the migraines triggered by changes in barometric pressure.
Of course, one jerk who’s wearing too much perfume and that’s an instant migraine.
Any remotely responsible medical practitioner should say – as a matter of sheer REFLEX – that taking Tylenol daily for thirty years will essentially turn one’s liver into a brick. Dilaudid requires a trip to the ER, and by the time it’s bad enough to go to the ER, there’s no guarantee that will work, either.
Doctors, we have tried everything. Absolutely everything. The only thing that keeps him upright and functional as an employee, a husband, and a father, is having his Percocet available the three to four times a month the pain becomes unbearable. There’s nothing anyone can do to make this go away.
Equating my husband’s need for pain medication to stay functional with “addiction” is slanderous, condescending, patronizing, and insulting – both to him, AND to the doctor who prescribes for him.
I am 75 years old & suffer with severe chronic pain ,I have a left bilateral sponge kidney .& muscle spasems from nerve damage,.I have been treated with other meds which did no good or I was haveing bad side effects. Nothing had helped me unti ,I was put on vicodin.It is very embarresing to be treated like you are some drug addic.I take my meds as prescribed & they have helped me to be able to have some freedom from pain,I also have fibro which gives me severe headaches & back & shoulder pain..If you make it impossible to have the one medicine that hashelped me to live a fairly normal ,it will be very hard to live with the pains that I get.I have also developed Large kidney stones that I cannot pass & have to have lithotripsy in the hospital to break them up,I am against props bill,as it is cruel to those of us who would have to live with severe chronic pain..
I am 44 and a chronic pain sufferer. I am against the regulations that are proposed by PROP. The opioid medicines that are prescribed are carefully monitored and regulated. With no scientific evidence to back up PROP’s proposed petition, they are gravely affecting many, many people’s quality of life. No one should have to live in pain needlessly. Some people’s pain just doesn’t end in 90 days and many people have very painful conditions and have tried most, if not all other available options before opting to go to a pain specialist. Have some compassion for people that suffer daily.
Thank you for your heartfelt comments Kim!
Hello, I’m a 46 year old man that lives in chronic pain since I was a kid due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Before starting pain management in 2000, my health and quality of life was deteriorating. My blood pressure was very high (151/103) due to my pain. Since starting using morphine (daily dose 60 MG 3 x three) I’m able to function fairly well in my daily activities, blood pressure is controlled (120/72) and my quality of life has been greatly improved.
The ridicules 100 mg/day dose for morphine is not medically sound. A good site on chronic pain management is http://www.livinginpain.org.
Stay strong when searching for a pain doctor who will utilize opiate therapy as part of your pain management strategy. Good luck!
Hey I’m Jenn, and I am 23. Three years ago a drunk driver caused an accident that left me ejected over 40 ft on I95 after my car flipped. I was in critical condition in a coma, in the ICU with a grade five liver laceration, collapsed lung, my head and chest were completely ripped open (lost a lot of blood and went into shock), and suffered severe road rash. After leaving the hospital I went to impatient rehab to relearn everything basically. All was fine til I was discharged. It was basically “see ya later!” Even though I was in serious pain still. I went to a consult with a pain doc who took one look at me and said sorting out the pain now would be impossible.
Since then I have gone back every month to the same doctor, never missed an appointment, gotten all types of injections, tried PT more then five times, and followed every rule to a T. We found out later I have damaged joints that are bothering the nerve in my spine. After everything my doctor and I have found the correct medication and procedures to be able to give me back my life. I still have days where I am out of commission, but significantly less then before. Hearing people sensationalize this subject is disgusting. I have been on the same dose, never “run out early”, etc yet somehow people want to decide my treatment and take it out of my doctors hands.
One night I was at the ER because of severe vomiting and abdominal pain. I apparently passed out and The doctor who was on call for my PCP decided this was all because I was on opioids! He went in my purse and decided because I only had a few of my immediate release medications on me, I clearly ODed. Passing out because of severe vomiting and dehydration and pain had nothing to do with it ::eye rolling:: also I only had a few pills because who carries a month worth of opioids on them? I only carry a few bc I don’t want to risk carrying and losing them for any reason. So he pumped me full of narcan apparently, which made things worse and so when that backfired he pumped me full of Ativan. Then afterwards, called my pain doc saying I came to the ER very “sedated” on the opioids. (Had nothing to do with the Ativan he gave without permission…?) I woke up the next day with no idea what happened. When things were explained I was furious! The tox levels came back and guess what? My levels were nowhere near OD levels. The psychiatrist that “evaluated” me also said she had no idea what that doctor was thinking and that withholding my medication from me was cruel and she put the order in the hospital to get it. (Forgot that he took the pills from my purse and then refused to give them to me or write a RX no my hospital form).
Thank god my pain doc took facts into light and didn’t just listen to the “doctor” ( I use that term lightly) hat called. I was treated like a criminal and felt like one when I did everything in my power trying to be responsible. By the way, turns out it was pancreatitis and I have a congenital malformation that lead to it. So he treated me wrong and completely missed the DX because god forbid some body be on opioids, if so,hats the root of all their problems.
“I wanted to make some points to PROP’s Petition and lets see what we can make of it by comparing what it is they say to what we really know.” Mark S. Barletta.
2. Prescribing of opioids increased over the past 15 years in response to a campaign that minimized risks of long-term use for CNCP and exaggerated benefits.
“My thoughts,the population has also increased putting much more people at risk of becoming a chronic pain sufferer.”
3. Long-term safety and effectiveness of managing CNCP with opioids has not been established.
“Whom did you ask this question ,just anyone that’s never suffered from chronic pain, they cant establish any answer if they have never suffered on a daily basis.
Only those that suffer from chronic and intractable pain have established relief from their paralyzing chronic pain by following doctors orders and safely taking opiates as prescribed. We that suffer from chronic pain have finally found a way out of the never ending suffering ,why would PROP deny us pain relief.”
4. Recent surveys of CNCP patients receiving COT have shown that many continue to experience significant chronic pain and dysfunction.
“Yes this is correct once a chronic pain sufferer always a chronic pain sufferer, if surgery took our pain away we would have it but this is not available for me or people like me. I was told by many Surgeons and Pain Experts ,you cervical spine cant be surgically repaired, you will suffer the rest of your life. Stay with Pain Management, its your only option.”
5. Recent surveys using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM criteria found high rates of addiction in Chronic Non-Cancer Pain or CNCP patients receiving Chronic Opioid therapy or COT.
“Chronic Opioid Therapy is used for Chronic – Non Cancer Pain patients so they don’t have to suffer and be paralyzed with chronic pain curled up in bed .
Most all never become addicted to these life saving medications, just somewhat dependent upon the medications so we can return to a Active Member of Society instead of suffering every day. Addiction is the misuse of opiates despite harm. All chronic pain patients are already harmed by the never ending chronic pain that confines us to our homes. We need freedom from our pain ,after all America is Land of the Free Home of the Brave.”
6. A large sample of medical and pharmacy claims records found that two-thirds of patients who took opioids on a daily basis for 90 days were still taking opioids five years later.
“That’s why it called intractable and chronic ,its not going away,so this is a fine example of why we need COT, this helps us live a somewhat normal life.”
7. Patients with mental health and substance abuse co-morbidities are more likely to receive COT than patients who lack these risk factors, a phenomenon referred to as adverse selection.
“Adverse selection, anti-selection, or negative selection is a term used in economics, insurance, statistics, and risk management. It refers to a market process in which “bad” results occur when buyers and sellers have asymmetric information (i.e. access to different information): the “bad” products or services are more likely to be selected. A bank that sets one price for all its checking account customers runs the risk of being adversely selected against by its low-balance, high-activity (and hence least profitable) customers. Two ways to model adverse selection are with signaling games and screening games.
How this equates to those that suffer from chronic pain, I don’t see the link. I thought we where talking about chronic – non cancer pain and the medications that give us a life worth living without suffering.
Is this how PROP views all people that suffer from chronic pain as BAD PEOPLE.”
8. Three large observational studies published in 2010 and 2011 found dose-related overdose risk in CNCP patients on COT.
9. COT at high doses is associated with increased risk of overdose death, emergency room visits and fractures in the elderly.
“ As with all medical treatments of any kind of medical disorder risk are involved, there is no guarantee’s in life ,we must live life to the fullest extent.
Every day we get in our car there is a risk of a bad accident. If we can prevent the suffering of good people why not give them what they need to survive another day,life is just way to short to cut people off of medications that can give them a better quality of life.
Limiting opioid medications is like saying your better off suffering, isn’t life cruel enough for those in never ending chronic pain.
Putting dosage limits on opioids is like taking the caffeine out of coffee why drink it, why go on suffering yet another day in never ending chronic pain.
This is cruel and unusual punishment for those that never asked to be in chronic pain in the first place. Can we all please stop the slander and get along.
We gain nothing by arguing amongst ourselves, it just causes stress we all don’t need. That tightening you feel in your chest is stress getting worse each day that passes,why make it any worse.
Its time everyone comes back to earth and think rational.
PROP’s petition is preposterous, proposing such one sided proposals.
Never giving any real thought to the people proceeding to suffer so.
20 plus year of this chronic pain and it seems we are going backwards instead of forward.
Please all of you get on the same page so we can move forward.
Regards,
Mark S. Barletta
I have several conditions, I first injured my neck at age 5, then did so again at age 10, but lived with it. At age 38 I had a bad fall, and damaged my lower back and now have deteriorating disc that will swell so much that I can’t stand, set, walk or lay down for more then a few minutes because I am in so much pain. I already had back problems due to my last pregnancy which had put undue stress on my spine and caused scoliosis. I’m of small build and have never had the strength or muscle tones of others, I was always active but never gained any muscle to prove it. I could contain it most of the time by avoiding the task that I knew would set it of. In 2004, at age 46, a little over a month after Hurricane Charlie hit our area, I was in a five car crash, I had been stopped at a red light and been hit from behind, then pushed into the car in front of me, so had double impact. I sustained injury from my seat belt and the steering column. Did I go to the hospital in an ambulanc!
> > e, no, they wanted me to leave my then 11 year old son in the car alone at the accident scene. I was in shock, I felt numb, but my neck was already swelling, I was very stiff. The numbness was gone by night fall. I have deteriorating discs in my neck, one putting pressure on my spine, I had rotary cuff tear in my left shoulder and now have a screw in it. I also have Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Essential Tremors, Migraines, Psoriasis, Psoriatic arthritis (there is a difference), now my knees are swollen most of the time and can’t stand to have anything touching them, my hands hurt so bad that it is excruciating to try and hold a spoon, fork or a pen to try to write my name, as an artist this hurts mentally as well as physically. I suffer from depression, lack of self worth, lets face it, when you are hurting non stop, you don’t feel good about much of anything. I have stiff or contracting muscles in my neck, lower back, legs, which all seem to spread into one big jumble of pain everywhere. Every little thing that effects my emotions sends me into a Psoriasis attack and that is not fun. Now at age 54, life has just become one physical painful moment after another if I don’t take Carisoprodol to try to keep muscle from contracting to much, Hydrocodone to take the edge off the pain and Buspirone HCL to try to keep the Psoriasis in check. I don’t get to see the doctor often, we are on a very low income and I have been unable to get disability, please don’t let them make it even harder for me to see a doctor when I can afford the visits.
I have already lost my PM&R dr of 12years because of this PROP proposal. A back surgery pt x 4, & now an adhesive arachnoiditis patient. Losing my dr meant that i got to see what it was like to have no dr & have no long acting opoids! 3 neurosurgeons referred me to pain mgmt as surgery is not an option for AA. Hence, i have had to give up the life i had as a functioning person on fentanyl patch and avinza. Now, i have to suffer with severe pain, electric charges from my CNS, tethered cord. And pain mgmt cannot touch my pain with 90 mg of ms imm release q24 h. If this is gone i know my only option will be suicide. Was so blessed to have a dr that kept my dignity & managed to give me a life. Because of PROP, he has been scared away. Please Never contact me by email as i would get in trouble for telling this!!
I am writing to you, to anyone, to get my message out. I don’t want you to do this to any of your patients. I was a success story until…
At the age of 11 I was in a very bad accident. My left leg was nearly torn off. I didn’t realize it, but as a result of the injuries my left leg is shorter than my right. That created long term problems with my spine. From birth, I had agonizing stiff necks that would leave me immobile. Yet, I managed to graduate from college and law school. I would have a stiff neck, go to the ER where they’d write me a prescription and send me on my way. I had X-Rays which I was always told were normal.
The very week I got decent health coverage I happened to have a bout of neck pain, ending up in the ER. Suddenly my X-Rays raised enough concern to warrant an ortho consult. The orthopedic surgeon told me anyone could tell by looking at my neck that it was not normal. To make a long story short, I ended up having a C5/6 fusion. Since there were multiple problems with my spine, the neuro surgeon planned to install some kind of titanium appliance to provide support. When he got in there, things were worse than he thought. A second surgeon came in. The vertebrae would not hold the screws needed. I woke up with the news that there was little to be done. I just had to learn to live with the pain I had.
But, I had tried everything prior to surgery. Anti inflams had caused a hemorrhage that nearly killed me. Emergency surgery and total volume replacement saved me. I tried PT, OT, chiropractic, Reiki, therapeutic touch, group. Being told I had to learn to live with it was no option. I HAD lived with it for as many years as I could. I was referred to a pain clinic where I tried spinal injections which did not provide much relief. Even though I’d been warned away from NSAID’s I agreed to try another round. When I got a panicked call from the clinic to come in for immediate LFT’s bc I had been on a drug (Zomax) that had been pulled by the FDA, I resolved never to be pressured into taking another drug again. NSAID’s had almost killed me once, and now I was being told Zomax was causing fatal liver damage.
At one point I was being driven to a restaurant when suddenly there was a loud pop and agonizing back pain. The driver heard the pop – it was that loud. She took one look at me and turned the car toward the nearest ER. I could not sit without “hanging” onto the arm rests of the wheelchair, suspending myself in air. The ER doc told me that position was taking pressure off of lumbar discs. So now the spinal damage was cervical through lumbar.
I tolerated the epidural injections until the last one. We don’t know why, but I went into respiratory arrest during the final epidural. I was advised not to opt for more since I got minimal to no benefit and had a very serious idiopathic reaction. Pain had driven me to the point of considering suicide before I finally agreed to take pain meds. I’d been brought up to believe that narcotics addicts were bad people; and anyone who took pain killers long term became a narcotic addict. Can you imagine the internal struggle to get me to that point? The Pain Clinic prescribed MS Contin with MSIR for breakthrough. I remained on the lowest possible dose for three years. I had been under the care of the same pharmacist for more than a decade. She had suggested I ask about the “pain patch” but my pain management doctor didn’t think it was appropriate for me. He said it wasn’t really wasn’t meant for active people because it would fall off when if gotten wet – as in the shower. I let it drop.
At the end of three years, my employer put me out of work – I was not doing well. My MS Contin dosage increased for the first and only time. I could not sit for longer than a few minutes. Standing was painful. I asked to be allowed to work from home bc reclining often provided relief but that did not happen. Once I went from private insurance to Medicaid my doctor treated me very differently. Like a criminal. He dropped me like a stone, referring me to a colleague, a nurse practitioner, who was completely lacking in personality or warmth. She seemed to have no interest in the suffering of others.
I assumed that was my fault until I was introduced to a friend of a friend. We got talking and I discovered that she, too, was disabled and had chronic pain. She was not on any pain meds, but she had been evaluated at the very same pain clinic. She told me she had a terrible experience with a Nurse Practitioner at the clinic, and had walked out when this nurse accused her of being there just to get a script for Oxycontin. When I asked her the name, it was the same Nurse Practitioner I saw. It had left her with such a bad feeling that she refused to go to any pain management and would not take any pain relievers beyond Tylenol. The Oxycontin accusation was from out in left field. This woman should NEVER EVER be treating patients with pain. She actually didn’t treat them – she mistreated them. In all the years I had to see her she never once had a kind word, nor did she ever offer a word of reassurance.
Once I wasn’t working, I gained a lot of weight. I was bed bound for all practical purposes. I was not suicidal anymore, but since I was not being assessed for comfort I wasn’t really being treated. The nurse practitioner insisted I try Neurontin – so I agreed. I hated feeling stoned all of the time. But she kept on increasing the dosage even though I wasn’t getting any real bang for the buck. I had tried Flexeril and amitriptyline but the side effects were too much. I asked to try Prozac and then Lexapro. Then I heard that Cymbalta was more closely tied to pain control so I got switched to that by my own PCP. The anesthesiologist put me on Klonipin but once again I felt out in left field, so I stopped it on my own. The clinic was convinced I was getting it elsewhere. I kept telling them I didn’t need a script while they kept demanding to know where I was getting it. I demanded they call the pharmacy to confirm it had been 6 months since I last filled a Klonopin script.
I remained on MS Contin but the Pain Clinic didn’t seem too concerned about whether I was comfortable or not. I had had a few “flares” during which I would call for, and receive, a dose pack of methyl prednisone to get me through the rough patches. After i was transferred to the care of the Nurse Practitioner, I had a particularly nasty flare of neck pain. I was in the most pain I had experienced in a very long time. I called the clinic and asked to speak to the Nurse Practitioner to ask that she call in steroids for me. She never returned my phone call. I called back the next day in tears, once again she never called back. By the third day I was in a state. This time I called and asked to speak to my old provider, the anesthesiologist. But he never called either. I called again on day 4 and told the receptionist that I did not understand why no one had returned my calls. She told me they were very aware of my calls but unable to do anything for me. I asked why. The reply was “they are not going to give you any more narcotics.” I was shocked. Had I wanted narcotics, I could have gone to the ER and gotten IV morphine. (I still have a written permission slip from the anesthesiologist giving the ER docs permission to give me whatever it took to get my pain under control. So why would I bother calling the clinic?) I had been calling the whole week trying to get steroids and everyone assumed the worst? Not one person bothered to ask me what I was calling for. Note: I had had one adjustment of my meds in the 6 years attending the clinic. My urines were always clean. I had returned several unfilled written Rx’s for MS Contin bc I had not taken all of the tabs prescribed and therefore had written scripts I ended up not needing.
Finally, I had asked for Tramadol early on to take for breakthrough to take instead of the MS IR for breakthrough. I filled one prescription but never took it. The anesthesiologist asked me if I were willing to stop taking Tramadol bc “it could cause problems.” I not only said sure, I returned the unfilled prescription he had written on my previous visit. So why was I treated like a wild eyed junkie?
Long story short, once I was on Medicaid that clinic could not wait to get rid of me. A local MD I knew was willing to provide my prescriptions to save me the long (90 minute each way) monthly trek to the clinic. At one point, I sustained a tri-malleolar fracture of my left ankle. The surgeon who took care of me didn’t know what to use for pain control. I didn’t feel OK suggesting telling her what meds had worked for me; I had signed a contract with the pain clinic that had recently discharged me. When the clinic had discharged me they assured me that they would be there as a back up if I got into trouble. So the surgeon called them several times a day but they would not take her call or they would not return her call. Finally they called to inform her I was no longer their patient. She assured me it would be OK for me to ask for whatever I needed for pain – I told her I had once been given the patch (neuro-surgeon) and that had worked best. “Patch it is” she said. She told me that she had no problem prescribing it but that I needed to see a pain clinic for the long term. (She was very kind. In fact, the people at the hospital that took care of my broken leg were very kind and went out of their way to make me feel better).
I ended up at the Clinic I am with now. The Nurse Practitioner who did my history and evaluated me told me that if the Fentanyl patch was working it would make sense to keep it. She discontinued the MS Contin completely. (Fine by me). After that she did have to move the patch changes up to 48 rather than 72 hours. But I haven’t ever asked for more meds. It has been five plus years. I stuck with her (that Nurse Practitioner) for several years, until she left for another job. I am seeing a PA who took over for her.
After trying every other treatment, including surgery, Fentanyl is a miracle. No longer bed bound! I could food shop without a cripple cart. I lost 75 pounds and have kept it off!! I feel as if I have my life back. I still have pain, but I don’t live day in and day out with agony.
Here is the issue. The clinic has been under increasing public pressure, driven by this conservative hysteria. Even my own PCP, normally an empathetic man, said this when I told him I was a pain clinic patient: “What have they done other than make you a drug addict?” Every darned time I got a work physical, every doctor I saw sat me down and told me to get into rehab. Never once did those doctors stop to assess my level of comfort. Instead I always got a lecture and moralizing.
Now my current pain clinic is under pressure. I was told that all patients are having their dosages cut. We were handed an ultimatum: submit to more spinal injections or be discharged. They are going to take away what works and force me to accept what does not. Doctor, my life is on the line. I cannot go back to hell. Not after knowing that my pain can be controlled very easily by a simple patch. I have no living family members. I live alone. My quality of life is directly dependent on my pain level. If my pain meds are cut way back my pain will be out of control once more. I don’t have anyone to take me out and provide me with diversion. My dogs are my family. If I cannot get up and play with them, there is nothing left to my life. Why isn’t anyone concerned with my suffering anymore?
On my own I have cut my breakthrough way back. I did this months ago; so it is as good as it is gonna get. I was told that my body would adjust and I would feel better – I don’t have the level of comfort I did when I treated the breakthrough pain. I am even more concerned that I have no choice over whether I submit to epidural and/or facet injections. I either submit to unwanted, unhelpful therapies or be discharged against my will. The pain clinic was my last stop… i exhausted all the other possibilities before swallowing the realization that it was either medication or suffering. Then someone arbitrarily decided it would look bad if we were only being treated with meds. To top it off, I am on a low, fixed income. I was told that poverty is not an excuse. If medicaid refused to pay for these injections I have to come up with the money or face discharge. Even though I KNOW they do not work and may actually cause me harm. What happened to individualized care? I never abused my meds, I have complied with everything required of me.
I never understood why pain patients don’t want to admit their meds are working. Now I do!!! As soon as I reported doing well, my provider was planning to cut in half. My reaction? Were I a brittle diabetic well controlled for the first time, would you be planning to cut my insulin? If it ain’t broke – for goodness sakes – don’t fix it! Haven’t I earned the right to be out from under the heel of that vicious tyrant called pain?
Tell me, doctor, what am I not seeing? Am I wrong?
Regards,
S.D.
Just another woman with chronic, agonizing pain
Thank you for your post. I promise that I read it to the end. I must tell you that for what it’s worth, you’re preaching to the choir. I have a lot of experience treating pain and I see no reason for avoiding opioids in the appropriate patient.
Obviously I don’t now your history, but based on your story it seems that there is no reason to stop your medications. We do not do invasive procedures unless our patients don’t respond to pain medications and/or something less invasive. If your doctor questions compliance, he/she could do a serum fentanyl level, if they knew how to interpret it.
Really, you and I are in the same court. I’m guessing you found me by reading my website at paindr.com. If you read my blogs, it would be obvious that I support patients in your situation and I am quite aggravated about clinicians that treat folks the way you have been treated.
I’m not sure what you’re asking of me, but your note started out, “I don’t want you to do this to any of your patients”. The comforting news for you I suppose is that I don’t do this to any of my patients, unless of course the patient is diverting medication or has a substance abuse problem. If it’s the latter, we try to get them help.
Anyway, best of luck to you.
Warm regards,
Dr. Jeffrey Fudin
Hello Dr, Jeffery I respect your beliefs I only wish there was a way to over turn these aggressive prescription rules of law. I do have two questions for you and would appreciate your response.
1. Is there a state or local government we can respectfully put the pressure on that he or she propose that the FDA takes a second look at what the new regulations do to those who have terminal illnesses like myself having full blown AIDS.
2. Does the state of Florida offer prescription programs that offer large amounts of pain meds without government intervention, let’s face it we have a right to live pain free.
I suffer from numerous painful conditions which were all secondary to the AIDS virus and without my pain meds I would rather leave this world so I wouldn’t have to suffer any longer. My sickness has cost me my friends who I cannot go places with due to my pain and my quality of life is a 10.
Thank you
Billy: Thanks for your comments! I wish I had better news for you, but I’m afraid that the answers to both of your questions are no. if someone else on this dformaum knows otherwise, I’d sure be interested in hearing from you!
I am a 52 year old female with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a genetic disease that causes the body to produce defective collegan). Pain is the hallmark of this disease, and when I look back over my life that is what I remember most. It was only 5 years ago that a doctor began prescribing opiate medication for me. Despite continued progression of my disease, the past 5 years have been the best of my life. When I look back on these 5 years, I see a woman who has been able to be the wife, mother, and friend that I need to be. All because my pain is now managed. I even signed up to start volunteering at the local elementary school once a week! I spent far too much of my life curled up in my bed, crying my eyes out because I could get no relief, and the thought of being forced to return to that life is terrifying. Beyond terrifying. Legitimate pain patients are not the problem and it is hugely unfair that we are having to deal with this stress on top of our pain. Please make it stop.
Please wait and fight with the rest of us .We must find a way to fight for fair treatment.I to have taught of suicide every day but I am trying to make my voice herd as I can die another day .But before I do I want the world to know that I didn’t have to choose death to treat my pain if I had being able to continue getting my pain meds. I co uh ld have lived an independent life and being here for my children and maybe even meet my grandchildren. I am 47 years old, and have being suffering from chronic disease for 15 years , I was untill last week able to look after my two children who also have chronic illness. Now I am depending on my children to help me as my MD will not.I will try to fight for as long as I can. Please fight with .Thank You and Bless
I had a tumor in my sacral area that was aggressive (by a PET scan) and needed a wide resection (meaning bone and the whole area had to be removed and the area swept for cells). Alot of muscles were rerouted and nerves were also…and nerves were cut…there is no question that such a procedure would cause intractable pain! But my pain was muscular at that time. I didn’t understand pain…the types of pain and treatments etc. A local surgeon told me he could get rid of my pain with surgery. I fell for it. THAT surgery gave me my nerve pain! Not the main surgery but the later surgery by the surgeon that told me he could get rid of my pain! All because I didn’t understand pain. Had never heard of nerve pain, intractable pain, tens units, radio frequency ablations etc. Many patients are left in this pain after a major surgery. With no idea of what to do to get help. It took 2 years to find a doctor that could help me. Then even longer to get opiods enough so that I could make it to the bathroom alone. I layed in bed and my husband brought my food to me. Sometimes (more often than not) I couldn’t stand to shower. I mean literally STAND UP. I researched with my husbands help…laying in bed with the keyboard in my bed…laying on my side. I cam across pain forums where other pain patients educated me. (this makes me wonder how many people are laying in bed, perhaps in nursing homes and don’t even know that pain management is available to them!!!) I am in constant pain but it has been lessened by a doctor who understands pain and burned offending nerves and gave me opiods. Not much but a little so I could get around the house. I still need a wheelchair. The pain is severe. Stairs are a real challange for me. I use a tens unit daily. I do everything I can to get through the day.
I can’t take many medications. I have many severe reactions to most medications…medications of all kinds. Oxycodone is the only pain medicine I can take and have a clear mind and not vomit or have my head spin. As soon as I discovered this, I find that druggies are taking it and people who don’t have or understand pain at all are trying to take it away from pain patients! So what will be my future if they succeed? I won’t have one! I will lay in bed either because of the pain or because my mind is not clear so I cannot function, or I’ll be so sick I can’t eat….because of side effects of other medications. Did you know that methodone is not prescribed for seniors so much because older people may not clear the medication as well as younger patients and they can OD on it? My doctor told me that. Since then I’ve read it. Some can take it but many doctors are saying it’s not wise to take it if you are a senior. Yet in Washington state, so many seniors have died for taking it because their kidneys can’t excrete the drug? If you take it don’t take offense…I’m not saying it’s a bad drug but many doctors say it’s bad for seniors as it doesn’t clear the kidneys. But the government there has been pushing it instead of other opiods and in their newspapers it says many are dying! Why are politicians calling the shots? When did they have say over doctor’s? Who taught them about medications and their effects? Would you want your newspaper boy or girl removing your tooth? NO! They aren’t qualified! The same goes for pain medications. Politicians are not qualified! Pain management doctors are! Why are people laying in bed in pain for years and not knowing even what type of help they need? Why isn’t it common knowledge that someone needs pain management after major surgery/wide resections? How could you not know? Because no one will tell you. It isn’t common knowledge that you need pain management or even what it IS. I didn’t know! I had no idea why I couldn’t walk! Why I couldn’t sleep! What was causing my pain!
NOW I understand and have some help with my condition. But had it not been for the internet I wouldn’t be alive right now. My pain was so bad I couldn’t breathe right some times. I took tiny breaths because it hurt to breathe normally! And yet no GP doctor would even tell me about pain management! What is WRONG with people? What is it that doctors don’t want to treat people in such pain anymore? Because of abusers? That could be solved easily enough! With some reporting restrictions to identify the abusers. By punishing the abusers! They are lawbreakers! Lock them up and punish THEM! They are breaking the law!!! Don’t punish the poor people in intractable pain!!! That is not fair!!! Go after the source of the problem….the abuers!!! Not pain patients!!! We follow the law. We sign contracts with our doctors. We submit to drug tests. And what happens when drug tests show FALSE POSITIVES? Well GOOD doctors provide more accurate tests such as GCMS to prove the patient innocent or guilty. Pain patients are ALL FOR THAT! We WANT to follow the rules and the law! Yet we are punished instead of the guilty? That is not FAIR! This is AMERICA! We are supposed to have rights!!! The right to fair treatment and health care. So why are we being punished instead of the abuers? The druggies who will do anything to get high? Who don’t care that we are in pain? Why do they walk free and we are confined to bed due to pain? Is that what you call fair? I DON”T!
See It’s About Florida: Pill Mills, WFSU audio interview, 9/2/2012.
I was first injured while I was in the military at the age of 24, broke my back at t-5 thru t-7. I had to get out of the service. Once out, I welded shut downs for 18 years, had to build up the mucsle in my back to support me and help with the pain.I was not on any pain medications when my back was broken or the years I welded in the field, my pain tol is high. Changed my field at age 33, became an RT. I was then injured at age 40 (2001), RSD in Rt arm. RSD took over my RT arm, lumbar all the way down to my left side to my foot. I was bed ridden for 3 yrs and in a wheel chair for 2 yrs. Once I got to a doctor who knew what RSD was and how to treat me, I slowly got out of the bed and wheel chair. Everything has to do with my opioids, to deal with the pain so that I could move and of all things wear clothes. I have had doctors who took my opioids away and put me on different types of medication, none of these were pain medications. During this time, I had lost movement again in my RT arm and started to fall again. My RT arm became so sensitive to where not even a fan could be in the same room as myself. I was back as a bed ridden person again, and back in the ER many times a month. I would vomit and pass out due to my pain being so bad. Once I was put back on opioids I started to recover the best I could as a RSD person in stage 3. I still can not have anyone touch my RT arm and I fall from time to time. I had to have 2 nuro stimulators because of my RSD pain. Yes, I am still on opioids and I can dress, feed and give myself a bath. If I get opoiods taken away, the pain becomes to bad that I can not move. I will go back to vomiting and passing out due to pain. My medications has been reduced this month and I do feel it. I live with a level 7 pain on the pain scale everyday with my 2 nuro stimulators and my medications now. I was down to a level 5 on the pain scale when I had the full script.
People who do not know or have chronic pain do not understand the pain scale. I have no idea what a 10 feels like, by the time I am at a level 9 I have already passed out or CODED. Which I have done 22 times in 11 years, I have CODED 22 time since I have had RSD. I am scared to death that what is going on in the state of Florida with pain medications will effect me more that it has. I am scared that one day I will not be able to fill my pain medications and will be in so much pain that I will not be able to move, feed, bath or go to the bathroom for or by myself again. I am a mother with childern and grandchildern, I want to be able to par-take in some things with my family.
Wanted to share my story…
I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, also knows as IC. Painful Bladder Syndrome of Bladder Pain Syndrome. It is an incurable illness that can hit you literally from one day to the next. It did with me in March of ’04. Most IC patients see countless doctors for an average if 4 years till they get properly diagnosed with a bladderscope. What does it feel like to have IC?
What best sums it up is that it feels like having a UTI , Bladder and Kidney infection, menstrual and Labor pains. All at one, for most if us 24/7. Almost every IC patient has other illnesses that come along after IC. Vulyodynia, IBS, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, just to name a few. We can not eat or drink anything with Acid, spices, potassium rich foods and are very sensitive to meds, soaps, toilet papers….., Septembervus IC Awareness Month and I am doing my part to create Awareness and raise money’s for research. I created 185 UC designs and you can get them on pretty much every item you like. I am also the conpresident of the IC Susters United in Facebook, a closed support group for IC sufferers. I was on painmanagement in Atlanta then moved to TN and was lucky enough to find a gyno that prescribed me my pain meds. Then, 9 month ago I moved to Ohio ( all moves due to lay offs) and the nightmare started. No Urologist, pcp, gynecologist would prescribe me my meds. Not one doctor!! One even had the Nerve to hand me a card to a psychiatrist. I left there in tears. I was so afraid if stopping my meds cold turkey after 8 years if using them. Plus they somewhat work, unless I am in a flare up. I finally was referred to a pain clinic. The first one had such terrible reviews that I begged my pcp to please find a better one. Well, this one is no better. I took my husband at my first two visits and he wanted to do a 1000 dollar nerve block with shaking hands. I declined. My third visit I had to go alone and he screamed at me that he is not a candy store!! I had to fight back my tears and calmly reply by saying that I don’t understand what he’s talking about. I don’t consider hydrocodone candy. His partner just quit, he was sick of all the regulations. Leaving my Dr. With a patient load of 60 patients a day minimum! He would not listen to me, talk about other patients health issues and then said that he has to prove to the insurance companies that he’s making his patients better. Yummy, it’s a chronic, xtremly painful, progressive disease and all I want is some quality if Life back!!! He did end up giving me my pain meds and an appointment for two month out. A Harvard Study showed that IC pain us comparable to cancer pain and our quality of life to that of a kidney dialysis patient. Ohio just passed the pill crack down pill in April and the ripple effect is starting to show, big time!!! We need help in this state as well. Sorry for the length story, it’s hard to put 8 years into a nut shell. I wish all of you a pain free day and pray for the ones that are worse off than me.
I am a chronic pain patient. In 2008, before I started college, I was injured in a bizarre accident. It turned out that I had a genetic condition known as “Eagle’s Syndrome.” This condition was dormant and asymptomatic for my entire life, until I was wrestling with one of my friends and my neck was hit with a little bit of force. My life has been a living hell ever since. I would never wish my condition on my worst enemy. It took two years for the doctors to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Finally, I had two corrective surgeries that structurally fixed the problem. However, the pain remained. The doctors are still unsure as to why, but they suspect that since it took so long to have surgery that my brain has changed and is generating phantom pain signals. My condition is somewhat akin to “Phantom Limb Syndrome.” I’ve been told that I may be curable if they can stop the phantom pain signals. So, far I have only had mild success. I tried anticonvulsants like Lyrica and they were amazing. I was pain free, but the side effects were so severe that I was unable to take them. The anticonvulsants made my blood pressure sky high. My blood pressure on anticonvulsants was about 180/110 and they greatly interfered with my cognitive faculties like memory , thinking , and perception.
Finally, after trying a bunch of non-narcotic therapies like acupuncture , anticonvulsants , tricyclic antidepressants , and physical therapy, I was prescribed opiates. The opiate medicines work fairly well and allow me to live my life. I can think clearly and I have no side effects. Opiate medicines are truly a miracle. I do believe that the opium poppy plant is a gift from God. It is an amazing plant that has been helping ailing humans for centuries. Marijuana is another one, but since that is a class one drug and illegal in most states I will not go into detail about it. It is fundamentally unfair to punish severe pain patients like myself for the mistakes and accidental deaths of others. Why should I have to suffer because some teenager illegally bought or stole prescription drugs and illegally consumed them in a probably illegal manner like snorting or injecting and then died? People cry out and say “it is a tragedy and the government must do more.” Why should the government add regulations that would hurt pain patients in order to attempt to save drug addicts and criminals? Why do people feel such an incessant need to protect people from themselves. This is America. We are suppose to have choices about what we do or how we live our lives. If we do illegal things or accidentally die from being reckless those are our choices. Choices have consequences. If we do something illegal then we have to go to jail. If we are reckless and die young then we have to go in the ground. I’m so sick of people trying to eliminate choices that could possibly result in death. I feel like we are well on our way to become like the society in the movie “The Matrix.” I don’t want my taxes to aid or support drug addicts. I don’t want my tax dollars to pay for legislation that will hurt me and ruin my quality of life. I have already had to make enough sacrifices in order to be functional and productive. Using drugs for recreation purposes is illegal and a choice. Nobody in pain chose to be in pain. Every pain patient is a victim. I know I would sell my soul to the devil in a heart beat to be normal and pain free again. I would gladly destroy all my medicines or pay any amount of money to be pain free again. Drug users and addicts are not victims and they deserve no compassion. Maybe it is politically incorrect to place different values on people’s lives, but I know I would rather have pain patients be treated properly than to save the lives of criminals regardless of their age. I will fight til the bitter end for my right to ingest medicines that help me live a more productive life. I refuse to live a life in pain just to save a bunch of addicts who would accidentally kill themselves by chasing the next “great high.” Plus, when will these idiot doctors and politicians learn that policing substances only increases the “excitement,” factor and the price. Why do people so easily forget prohibition? Why do people forget how drugs like meth came into existence to begin with? When the government banned and started taking away natural drugs (like marijuana and opium) people just went into their garage and mixed up a bunch of random chemicals to huff or smoke. Look at all the problems we have now because of synthetic marijuana or bath salts. Eliminating drugs does nothing to stop their use or proliferation. It only encourages drug users and abusers to become more creative about how to get high. History has shown us this to be true time and time again. And people keep using the same flawed ideas and repeating history time and time again.
I am a chronic pain patient also. Dx with endometreosis at 16, interstitial cystitis finally at 24, and back problems at 26 ( herniated disks). For 10 years I had no insurance so all the doctors did was hand me scripts for hundreds of pain pills a month every month possibly thinking if they masked my pain that would keep them from having to treat the problems. I would get over 300 narcotic pain pills a month. well after many many years of taking the drugs i did become dependent on them; this is something i did NOT choose for myself. For me, once I required opioids, life became hell. i got hooked because doctors kept saying here take these every four hours and you will feel better because i cant do anything else for you because you have no insurance. At the time i was getting all these pain pills i knew i had no choice but to take them because the alternative was to be home bound in bed. so i did what they said. i am now in recovery with the same pain but worse now and on suboxone. the suboxone works so much better than any other pain pill prescribed.
Dr. Andre Kolodny; for you to have such disreguard for addicts lives is so close minded. So many chronic pain patients have become physically dependent to pain pills because doctors give them out to mask the problem instead of fixing it (if that was an option), in some cases perhaps because their health insurance wouldn’t pay for a procedure or an alternative that was more costly. Physical dependence on Pain Pills is not a choice we make when we have chronic pain; it is something that happens. i never knew I was physically dependent to the damn pills until I had to go off them because my doctor retired. I guarentee you there are many chronic pain patients that are also dependent to their pain meds and don’t even know it. At first I thought that i was having problems because the pain was so bad when i didn’t take them but then i felt this overwhelming desperation to get back on the pills and i went into withdrawal and started looking for a new doctor. i had no idea that a person could become si dependent, especially when i thought at the time it was a medication that was helping me. Don’t ignore a craving for you pain pills, as I believe it’s difficult to discern between wanting to take them for pain versus physical and emotional dependence. Some patients that think otherwise probably can function without pain meds and you should talk to your doctor about that possibility. Dr. Kolodny; you have not right to judge an addict because you have no idea how they got addicted to the pain pills, especially since I don’t believe you are even a pain doctor. in my case and many other cases it was doctors that were reposnsible for their patients becoming physcically dependent, tolerant to, or maybe even addicted to pain pills and lots of times, its because they didn’t want to treat the patient knowing they had no insurance. Or in other cases, doing a procedure is more lucarative. Still in other cases, doctors use the procedures as a dangling carrot and tell the patient they will only prescribe narcotics if they agree to have procedures.
Sandra,
Thank you for your post. It reminded me that patients and healthcrae providers alike often need to be reminded of the importnat differences between addiction, psuedoaddiction, physical dependence, and tolerance. I have uploaded a table for readers to review this. It may be found here, https://paindr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ADDICTION-TOLERANCE-DEPENDENCE_Differentiation-of-Relevant-Terms.pdf
I have been on Pain Medication on and off since 1985, more on than off. With out said medication I am lucky to get out of bed. I have a College degree, had a Career, worked for the same company since I was 15 years old until my Pain full conditions Forced me to retire.Now many of us have to fight to get medication that allows us to a productive member of society and to our families. Between the Doctor’s NOT wanting to write them and then the Pharmacist playing Doctor’s and asking why I need the Medication which I have yet to see a Law that allows any Pharmacy to know your Medical conditions. This madness needs to stop. NOT everyone who takes Pain medication is addicted and I for one Have Never gotten “HIGH” from my medication never!!! These crazy laws were passed to stop drug abuse “NOT FORCE THOSE OF US IN PAIN TO SUFFER INHUMANLY”…Also Please keep in mind all the elderly people who are NOT getting any Pain relief at all because of these law’s. I AM NOT ADDICTED TO PAIN MEDICATION NOR DO I WANT TO BE ADDICTED TO THE PAIN
Shelia,
Thank you for your comments. I certainly understand your frustration. I do wish to clarify some important points. You stated, “Between the Doctor’s NOT wanting to write them and then the Pharmacist playing Doctor’s and asking why I need the Medication which I have yet to see a Law that allows any Pharmacy to know your Medical conditions.”
It is crystal clear that pharmacists have a responsibility to ensure safe use of medications. This frequently requires them to have information that they do not have ready access to behind a counter. A pharmacist has every right not to fill a prescription if they feel it is unsafe or if the patient refuses to provide the requested information. For example, if a patient was taking [low dose] birth control pills to mitigate menstrual cramps versus for birth control, and a new prescription was written, let’s say for an antibiotic, but it could potentially lower the blood levels of the birth control pills resulting in a pregnancy, the pharmacist has every right to ask the question of why you are taking birth control pills and counseling you accordingly.
The regulations governing pharmacists in Florida are clearly outlined at this link,
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0465/0465ContentsIndex.html&StatuteYear=2011&Title=->2011->Chapter 465
Please note that I have gone above and beyond to educate physicians, pharmacists, and regulators about the grave situation that patients are facing with regard to opioid access. I am a pharmacist (Doctor of Pharmacy). Like I said, I understand your frustration, but you should be careful about “biting the hand that feeds you”. The pharmacists are equally frustrated as you are- they have to care for patients, fill prescriptions, monitor whether or not the prescriptions are appropriate, and deal with insurance issues, in addition to many other tasks. I assure you, the pharmacist (most likely, doctor of pharmacy) filling (or in your case, not filling) your prescription, is very highly trained in pharmacology and therapeutics, and although they may be missing the mark on your particular opioid RX, they have the patient’s best interest at heart, just like your medical doctor.
Very well said!!! I totally agree with you. We have to suffer so addicts can be ” saved”. They still get their drugs in the street or rob pharmacies to get them. It also has been proven that chronic pain that is not treated or undertreated causes permanent changes in the brain, including brain shrinkage! But that’s ok as long as we save a delinquent from getting high knowing the risks they take by doing so. I am sorry to hear about your struggles Andy and hope that we can all pull together and get the laws changed. And legalize God’s plants!
I agree with what your saying Dr Fudin. I have even taken my medical records into my pharmacy, long ago and I have suggested that many of the members of my group do the same. The pharmacists here in Florida though had got to the point that they were making excuses on why they wouldn’t fill presciptions for many people. They are now being honest and telling us that the DEA is behind all of this.
I’ve also heard from doctors in our state as well. They say that the pharmacists are telling them what to prescibe and telling board certified specialists how to do their jobs. They have been very upset about this.
If it wasn’t such a wide scale problem of this happening? Perhaps the doctors wouldn’t complain. But as I said, now everyone knows that the DEAl is behind all this. The medications are just Not coming into our state. We have been chocked off at the state line after Cardinal got shut off from supplying this got worse. Now Walgreens distribution center is being shut off to?
Closed from something that happened 5 years ago? How does legitimate patients get medicine now?
So where do we go know? The doctors can’t give the patients what works best for them. All opioids are not created equal. They effect everyone differently. We now have people on meds they don’t tolerate well, falling asleep on the job, or just not able to work at all due to withdraws because refills are not happening for these legitimate patients. Our economy is bad enough down here but its getting worse in the chronic pain community. We all need to get proactive and fight for our rights to pain care. Includung medications for those who need it. Cold turkey withdraws is cruel for anyone, especially a legitimate patient. Pain through the roof! Plus all the other effects that can last for months.its not just a bad flu like most people think. Its much worse than that. Its unnecessary and should not be happening in America don’t you agree? We need to find a way before January or March to fix this. We can’t wait that long! Its wearing on my nerves, I can’t imagine what its doing to others like the elderly.
Somebody please help floridians!!
Also cancer is not the only pain condition out there that requires pain medications. Surgery is not always the answer and after that it usually still hurts. When pain becomes chronic? It becomes a disease of its own. Thanks for allowing me to vent.
Come on America! Fight back! You don’t have suffer! This has become a human rights issue!
It IS a human rights issue – and apparently we have NONE. Once again, in almost 30 years, I had almost gotten my life back – or A life back. Now somehow the Lunatic Fringe in Washington State have come out with ANOTHER empathy-free regimen: NO ONE shall be given more than 120mg per day of morphine TOTAL. That’s 80mg less than ONE of the 4 doses per day that almost had me functional again. I’ve been a model patient for almost 6 years. Now, because my doctor HAS to titrate me down to essentially nothing, I will once again become almost a bed-patient> Stuck on the couch, not sleeping, not eating, barely surviving. I SO WISH that somehow I could plug these damned know-it-all bastards who keep doing this to me into MY nervous system for one day each! I KNOW they’d be screaming for the morphine, or better yet, for the Fentanyl!
I feel almost like a death row prisoner. I’m sitting here waiting to become a prisoner behind steel bars again, but bars of PAIN that never gets better, never goes away. I’m to be a cripple again, all because of the idiot, cruel Drug War. I have yet to decide whether I WANT to survive it this time. What for?? My beloved has had to leave; I hadn’t realized how bad I’d gotten again (before finding the right dose), and there’s really nothing left here to enjoy – not without pain control. I’m 60 now; I WAS a healthy 31 years old when I got hurt the last time and this whole insane roundabout of trying to find a diagnosis (other than addiction to drugs that nobody would prescribe, and before 7 back operations). I just can’t do this again.
I would like to add that I have met quite a few pharmacists in Florida at various pharmacies like Walgreen’s that are more than willing to sell me my class two medications. The problem is the DEA has shut down the Walgreen’s distribution center in Jupiter,FL and a pain medicine distributor called Cardinal Health. There are a lot of caring pharmacists who have their hands tied because of the local and federal government. There are quite a few pharmacists who are paranoid and rotten to the core, but I believe that most pharmacists do care. The real enemy us pain patients face are groups like PROP (http://www.supportprop.org/) and ARPO (http://www.rxreform.org/) that are actively encouraging agencies like the DEA to crack down on legitimate patients and pharmacists. We must be vigilant and work together with the doctors and pharmacists and other healthcare professionals that support us.
Greetings!
Something needs to change in the way legitimate chronic pain patients are being treated. Years ago I would have never believed things would have come to the pathetic way they are at this time.
Pain is pain, cancer or non cancer and there should be no distinction in the way patients are treated that have proven medical conditions that they must face day after day with no break. Discrimination from folks that haven’t walked a day in our shoes should not be allowed. Discrimination of any kind is frowned upon in general so why should there be a difference if it is a pain issue?
Chronic pain does not discriminate in of itself and affects all races, ages and classes of people, rich, middle and poor.
This is America and 2012…every person has a right to have pain management that has proven medical records, demonstrated responsibility with their care and pain medicine and are only trying to maintain some form of a better quality of life that they used to have.
For me personally it is a miracle I am still alive today. I survived two through two car wrecks. Although any type of car wreck is usually damaging not only physically, but mentally, the first one was after my car was flipped and right where I exited the car there was a cross buried in the same exact place from someone that had died in the same spot. The second I one in which I exited the car after the wreck, the driver side leg compartment was completely crushed with my sandals off my feet still trapped in place underneath the break pedal. EMT’s and police were shocked I was not trapped inside the car with my legs crushed. My car looked like a crushed tuna can as it was drug upon the towing vehicle. I had been hit my two moving vehicles on both sides of my car.
After that I suffered from a blood clot in my leg which turned into a pulmonary embolism that broke up into several pieces into my lungs. Again I was told it was a miracle I survived.
I have permanent damages in my leg caused by the effects of the blood clot that cannot be fixed. I suffer extreme pain, swelling, redness, heat and .pressure in my leg.
My activities are very limited as well and walking and standing. Not only do I have proof from numerous medical testing I have been through, I also have proof of extensive damage in my back and neck from the other injuries.
Prior to these events I was a very productive citizen and member of my society. I made a good living for myself and worked very hard and was proud of my accomplishments. I also helped a great deal of other people that were less fortunate than myself and was happy to do it. Against what I wanted for myself, the day came when I could no longer do any of these things anymore. Anyone in this position like myself know the feelings that come along with this. We do not want to be limited, we want to continue our path, we just want to feel like we used to when we were healthy.
Like many that have posted, I have been through all kinds of treatment other than just medicine. A lot of those treatments were not effective for me, but they were tried. To this day I still continue physical therapy, but even WITH medicine it is very painful. I cannot imagine doing physical therapy WITHOUT taking medicine as it would be too excruciating!
I have never had an issue with filing prescriptions until this year. My pain management doctor is very respected, I have signed and adhere to the strict patient contract and I get urine tested EVERY month to show I am taking the medicine properly and also that I do not ever engage in street drugs!
Starting this year pharmacies have not been receiving shipments they order from distributors and many legit pain patients must go from one pharmacy to the next trying to get their legit medicine.
This is affecting cancer and non cancer chronic pain patients, elderly and otherwise. A lot of small pharmacies still getting medicine shipped to them have upped their prices to an obscene amount making it absolutely impossible for legit patients to get their medicine. Sure this is illegal, but it is being done. They are denying insurance in preference to folks that will pay these obscene prices.
On top of all of this hardship we are enduring, along comes PROP with this ridiculous proposal that non cancer chronic pain patients be limited to a very low milligram of medicine along with a time frame of 90 days???
What happens to all of us after 90 days? Are we supposed to just roll over and die after that? They are trying to say that it won’t affect us, that the doctors can just write us as “off label.” Well, that won’t work as insurance companies will find an issue with that and I guarantee that we WILL be affected!
I’d like to know….how in the world is it “ok” that this INHUMANE way of treating us is ok? I realize that pill mills and unscrupulous doctors were out there and only interested in their best interest and not the patients and that there were addicts and people NOT doing things legally and they all knew it. Of course they should be gone and our state has taken appropriate action by banishing this type of situation. We also have a computerized program that cost a great deal of money put in place so that pharmacies and legit doctors can easily find out if someone is breaking the law and those folks can be dealt with and punished for it.
How about those of us that have to take medicine to retain SOME kind of quality of life just so we can function? Some people are still able to retain a job thanks to medicine. There is nothing we should be ashamed of for needing medicine….ANYONE in chronic pain that has PROOF of it SHOULD have that option and if that option works, we should celebrate that! We as a society should be backing these people up! NOT looking for ways to limit them! We already ARE limited. We should not have to feel punished for having injuries just as you would not punish someone for having cancer! That is ridiculous!
I am married and have two children. THANKS to medicine I can still be a good mom. No, I can’t do everything I used to be able to do, but I can AT LEAST have some some type of normalcy that I would NOT have if medicine were taken away from me. I may be limited in some things, but I can still be a WIFE and a MOM and not have to just be bedridden because I can’t move at all.
Sure, I still have bad days even with medicine, but without I would have NO GOOD DAYS.
I really think before “official” action is taken that we have to, as a society, really THINK about these issues. For those that have a legal responsibility in making HUGE decisions for a HUGE population of chronic pain patients and sufferers, they really need to act carefully with our best interest in mind.
Decisions can’t just be based on some negative emotions, but on proven facts. A proven fact is that chronic pain patients DO benefit from medicine in more positive ways that outweigh any negative.
And shouldn’t we as human beings be able to make a responsible decision for our own selves? For it is we that walk around in OUR shoes, no one else.
Please don’t make us casualties of a drug war……continue to weed out addicts and let us, with our own proven responsibility, decide along with our own qualified doctors “what is best for us.”
Thank you.
My story is like many. I have a college degree, and I had a professional job in Telecommunications in the I.T. field. Almost at the prime of my career, my pain issues began to interfere in all aspects of my life. My particular pain issues are a result of being attacked by a stranger. He shattered the left side of my face, fractured my eye socket and the base of my skull. After 4 facial reconstructive surgeries in one year, battling bone infections and implants, and a multitude of procedures and consults with every specialist on the eastern coast, it became apparent that the facial pain was not going to go away, and it was then, in December of 2000, I was diagnosed with a form of Trigeminal Neuralgia, Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain, (TNP): facial pain resulting from unintentional injury to the trigeminal system from facial trauma, as in my case. It is a VERY PAINFUL condition. It affects the left side of my face (2nd branch of the Trigeminal Nerve). TNP is dreaded complication of facial surgery and is commonly known as the “suicide disease” as a result of the higher than normal rate of suicide from its sufferers. While the disease itself is not a terminal condition, the intense, unending pain inflicted upon those who suffer from it can cause it to be.
So, after the numerous surgeries, the left Trigeminal Nerve was permanently damaged. Over the last decade, I have seen numerous specialists, including the Head of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University, the Head of Neurology at Tampa General, and the Trigeminal Neuralgia National experts at Shands at the University of Florida. Due to the severity of my symptoms and cause of the injury, each concluded that surgical intervention is not a possibility and that the best course of treatment should be administered medically.
That being the case, and following the suggestions of the doctors, I have tried the following medical treatments in an attempt to control, subdue, or to simply lessen the severity of the pain: Long Term Antibiotic Therapy, Anti Seizure medication, Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy, acupuncture therapy, nerve blocking facial injections, TENS Unit, anti – inflammatory medication, alternating hot and cold therapy, “embrace the pain” talk therapy, anti-depressant medication, and finally pain abatement through medication.
This pain is constant. It does not take a day off or go on vacation. The damaged facial nerve constantly signals an intense crushing, a heavy pressure and a burning sensation most of the day and night. I also experiences breakthrough pain throughout the day, without warning which usually brings me to my knees in pain. The triggers for these severe flares of pain can be just about anything: changes in the weather, talking, smiling, chewing or touch – just about anything that a person can do during the day. Needless to say, I am in constant pain without any pain management.
While searching for anything that would work, and prior to finding a Pain Management Dr. to provide stable pain management, I was in an out of Emergency Rooms seeking relief for particularly intense bouts of pain. Over the last 10 years, I would guess that I have been to the ER no less than 30 times for the same untreatable condition, and countless other visits to doctors. As the pain from TNP is escalating over time, these trips to the ER had become more frequent in the prior to finally getting proper treatment. These ER trips stopped completely when I was finally placed on a treatment regimen that allowed me to maintain a reasonable semblance of a life.
While the pain is still there constantly, the excruciating bouts can be managed more effectively with stable Pain Management.
I only share this information so that hopefully you can see that I am not dealing with a minor illness or disease, but coping with a debilitating condition that is being managed somewhat effectively by my current therapy which includes pain medication
Caught in the Crossfire: Florida’s Seniors
By Mary Maston, Columnist
Terry Bonomo is no stranger to hard, physical labor. He started working construction at the age of 16, before OSHA came along and mandated safe work environments. Terry says back in those days, injuries were common; a cut that required stitches here, a broken bone there.
Terry loved the work he did and was passionate about it, so the occasional injury was not that big of a deal to him – it came with the territory.
In 1987, however, Terry’s situation changed drastically. While working on a 5-story office building, he was on a ladder that went from the 5th floor to the roof of the building. The ladder collapsed, causing him to fall about 16 feet onto a concrete floor, crushing both of his heels.
He was hospitalized and it took almost a week for the swelling to go down so that they could operate. His doctor did what he could to piece the bones back together, but when Terry asked how long it would be before he could go back to work, he was told that he may never walk again, and that he needed to start thinking about another line of work.
“That was the worst part of it for me. I’ll never forget that day. I sat with my wife and cried like a baby,” Terry recalls.
For the next few months, he wore casts on both legs up to his knees. He had several more surgeries and went to physical therapy, and although it was extremely painful, he was able to walk again. He was also determined to go back to work. Terry says he was offered office jobs in the bidding department, but that wasn’t for him – he wanted to be out in the field. It took a year, but he was able to do it.
Terry had started his career as a carpenter, and after his accident was given a work leader position, which was just under the foreman and required less climbing. He worked hard to exceed that title, and in the next 10 years was able to not only reach the foreman position, but make it all the way to superintendent. He taught himself how to make schedules, run progress meetings, and shoot grades – things that were extremely hard for him to do because he had no formal education past the 6th grade. He was very proud of his accomplishments and rightly so.
In 2005, Terry hurt his knee and after multiple surgeries and 6 months of physical therapy, he only felt worse. In 2007 he had surgery for a total knee replacement.
Once again, he was unable to work and in pain. Terry went to other doctors for a second opinion, trying to find one who could fix his knee; all the while being prescribed pain medications so that he could make it from one day to the next. Finally, a doctor at Johns Hopkins told him that they could do another knee replacement surgery, but he didn’t think it would do any good.
Terry knew he couldn’t go back to work and had to give up the career he loved. He couldn’t go more than 7-8 hours without taking a pain pill. He was advised to file a worker’s comp claim, and in 2008 he took an early retirement at 64. He accepted a settlement that he says wasn’t much at all — compared to the six figure income he made working in construction.
Terry and his wife sold their home and moved to Port Richey, Florida to be closer to their daughter and two of their grandchildren. He was able to find a highly respected pain management doctor, who worked with him to get the right combination of medications to help his pain. The drugs worked well and he was feeling better than he has in years.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Florida in 2011 was 19,057,542. Of that number, a whopping 17.6% are 65 or older. That is a staggering number of seniors, many of whom have health problems and pain issues. Terry is 67. Earlier this month, he had to do the “pharmacy crawl” – something he wasn’t familiar with and has just recently heard about.
Terry had been using the same pharmacy for 4 years.
This month however, he was told that in order to fill his prescriptions for OxyContin and Percocet, which are Schedule II controlled drugs, he had to have a total of 6 non-controlled prescriptions, and they had to be filled at 30 day intervals. Between Terry and his wife, they only have a total of 4 prescriptions that are filled at 90 day intervals and they don’t have any other medical conditions that warrant prescription medications.
Terry was told by pharmacy staff to either “find” two more prescriptions and have them filled every 30 days, or find another place to fill his prescriptions. “So, if I can get sick enough to take two more non-controlled meds and get them all filled every 30 days they will fill my pain medications,” says Terry. “Sounds like it should be against the law, doesn’t it?”
Terry drove around trying to find another pharmacy and was told by at least 4 of them that he had to be a “regular” in order for them to fill his prescriptions. He was finally able to get the Percocet filled, but couldn’t find anyone to fill the OxyContin because the 10mg he was taking twice a day is considered a low dose, and since the pharmacies feel they aren’t being compensated enough for low doses, they don’t bother to order them.
It took 5 days of driving from pharmacy to pharmacy, and an email not only to his pharmacy’s corporate office, but to Governor Rick Scott’s office as well, in order for Terry to get his medication. During that time, he started experiencing withdrawal symptoms. That was the scariest part for him. Because of his age and high blood pressure – Terry believes it would probably kill him to go through withdrawal.
“I pay $125 per month, plus another $125 every 6 months for a drug test, so that’s over $1,700 a year for a prescription I can’t fill; not counting the tank of gas each month just to ride around from store to store,” Terry told me. “I understand what the government is doing in trying to stop the dealers and doctor shoppers, but they are killing people like me who go to a real doctor, take the drug test 2 times a year, and only fill at the pharmacy stated on the contract I signed with my doctor.
“They need to draw a line between those of us who do everything by the book and the drug dealers and addicts. When is someone with the power to stop hurting all of us with legal prescriptions going to come forward and stop all of this?”
When indeed?
I have many painful conditions, the main one: Progressive Adhesive Arachnoiditis. In addition, I have degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, facet joint damage & regional complex pain syndrome. I have needlessly suffered so much more than necessary due to the unreal hype & hysteria surrounding pain medications. Why isn’t anyone reporting the facts about prescription fraud & abuse by legitimate pain patients? 93% (up from 85% recently) do NOT abuse or become addicted to their medications. I can speculate why. It takes years of being under medicated & being treated like potential addicts ….that when we finally get accurate diagnoses & adequate pain medications, we are just so grateful to have pain relief, we don’t take it for granted. Plus, our goals were never to get high, only to get relief. I cannot tolerate most medications & having opioids help my pain was a miracle. I am so thankful for these medications & would be a nightmare to think about having restrictions or limits on the amounts. We have to increase over time because of tolerance…..it’s inevitable. Personally, my pain is near suicide levels when I have not been able to get enough medications. Worse, the more upset I’d become, the more suspicious I’d look & the harder it would be to get my pills.
Not sure how many stay at home moms with small children like me there are, but remaining pain free is essential caring for family & managing these horrific painful symptoms. Laws & restrictions will only lead to illegal behaviors or worse. It will create desperate people & desperate actions. It’s not right, it’s not fair & we need more time & energy spent on how to support people with legitimate pain & provide the services & medications they need.
Leah,
I am a stay at home Mom. I was first diagnosed with Intetstitial Cystitis when my kids where 4 and 8. The guilt that comes with. It being able to do what my kids want their Mom to do with them is overwhelming. For example, riding bikes, going on Hokes, going to the pool…. Without my pain medicine I can’t even listen to them properly or cook Dinners, help with homework and so on because all I feel is excruciating bladder pain. I can’t go out to eat due to the strict diet that comes with IC. I know exactly how you feel and how the guilt and pressure if still being a good Mom and Wife can be son isolating and make you feel alone. Gang in there and always remember that you did not choose this and it’s not your fault!!!
I suffer from a genetic, incurable, connective tissue disorder called, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. My body produces “faulty” collagen. The results are devastating. I suffer from chronic joint dislocations of both shoulders, my spine, knees caps, wrists, hips, SI joints, pelvis (just to name a few!). I’ve had multiple joint surgeries, tried “non-invasive” shots & procedures, done rounds of PT, massage, acupuncture, Chiropractic, numerous non-opioid medications, etc…. NOTHING has given me any significant relief, except for Chronic Opioid Therapy. I suffer from widespread chronic musculoskeletal pain, and have daily, severe acute pain episodes. Before starting on longterm opioid therapy, I had become suicidal from constant, debilitating pain. Unless you have lived with this kind of pain, you have NO idea how disabling it is. PROP’s agenda is irresponsible and barbaric. People like me, don’t WANT to have to be on opioids. We HAVE to be on opioids. You would think that doctors and other healthcare professionals would have a desire to see someone like me live with less pain & increased function. This is ONLY so, if I fill all my days with invasive (useless) medical procedures, damaging PT, high dose NSAIDS, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (where I can just LEARN to live with my excruciating pain), lots of experimental “adjunctive” meds, and a bank account that reads ZERO, from trying to pay for all of this useless, multi-disciplinary “treatment”. People can say what they want about the pharmaceutical industry, but they are the ones that have created the ONLY pain treatment that has worked for me…. Opioid medication. Without it, I am non-functioning, bed bound, (but don’t sleep), severely depressed, and in constant debilitating pain. Imagine that a group of doctors who don’t know me, and have NO evidence to back up their claims, want to take this treatment away from me…. In the name of public safety! Better yet, they will allow me some modicum of relief for 90 days & then force me back to bed, or into an early grave. How resonsible they are! Thank you, Dr. Fudin, for knowing that pain treatment isn’t a “one size fits all” discipline, that the answers aren’t all “black and white”, that people who suffer from serious pain conditions deserve respect & compassion, and for knowing that NON-CANCER pain can actually be extremely painful. I truly appreciate PROMPT & it’s members for advocating for us ; this patient population who has been removed from the discussion. We deserve a voice in this. Our lives are at
stake!
I have been on opioids for pain relief since May of 2011. I have been in 6 serious car accidents in my life, the last one on Dec. 23, 2010. This accident affected previous injuries and caused more. My Primary Care Doctor first referred me to a chiropractor. This chiropractor told me not to even take Tylenol or ibuprofen for pain. However, his methods did not work; I was in such severe pain that it was difficult for me to get out of bed. The tens unit just made my pain worse. I went to a pain management doctor in Brooksville and he put me on 325/5 Percocet. I did have a slight relief from pain. I had just gone back to college and forced myself to get up and go. My MRIs showed that I have a herniated disc, a few bulging disc, and a protruding disc that is pushing into my spinal cord. I also have both rheumatoid and degenerative arthritis in my spine, both lumbar and cervical. I also had injections, but they did not relieve any pain. After 3 months of taking the Percocet, I told my pain management doctor that they were not working and I was in constant pain. He told me to find another doctor, which I did. My new pain management doctor put my on 15 mg oxycodone and 10 mg methadone. I was finally able to get some relief and go to school without serious pain. I have not increased my medication amounts. I take my medication exactly as prescribed; however, for the last 6 months it has been a major task to get my prescriptions filled. Sometimes, I have literally gone to over 55 pharmacies trying to fill my prescriptions. They tell me they are out or that they only have enough for their regular patients. My main pharmacy for my insurance is Walgreens; they do not “lock-in” regulars, so every month I have to go through this. It is so exhausting, I have to park, get out, and walk to the back of the stores, where the pharmacy is and then back to the car and drive to another. The gas alone is extremely costly. I usually have a day or two of medication left, but once I had to go two weeks before I could get my prescription filled. I ran out of my “excess” and started to go into withdrawals. Which I am sure you know are very uncomfortable to say the least. In July, I graduated from PHCC and I just started at Saint Leo University last month. I am an honor student, although I am not a traditional student. I am 49 years old. I rather did everything backwards. Now my children are all grown up and I can finally pursue my college education. Please do not take that away from me. I am NOT a drug addict. My prescription is small comparatively, but with no medication, I can barely get out of bed. Something needs to be done, yes I agree with all the restrictions put in place to keep the drug addicts out. However, why can I not fill my legitimate prescriptions? Doesn’t the constitution say that I have a fundamental right to be free of pain, if that can be accomplished?
After year of suffering and decades of fighting doctors’ opinions of me (“psychosomatic),, my PCP sent me to physical medicine MD who knew what was wrong the moment he saw me walk in but ruled out every illness to make sure…he was correct. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, type II, III, and IV. Type IV is vascular EDS, which is fatal.\\
I became aware of the petition through the National Ehlers-Danlos Association’s post on Facebook and would like to say that I have only been using opiods for 3 years. I am allergic to NSAIDs (asthma reactions), and the vast majority of pain drugs. I was put on 150 mcg/hr of Fentynal and 30 mg of oxycodone eventually. Since VEDS is a collagen vascular disease, it affects every part of the body. My joints regularly subluxate or dislocate (I wake up screaming at times), my muscles are “thready” because no collagen sheath holds my tendons and muscles together; the tiny tears are evidence enough thatthey are trying to tear away from the bone. I have to use an electric wheelchair because if I walk or make sudden movements, I dislocate subluxate my bones (including my feet and hands).
My insurance company would not cover my massage therapy because EDS is not even listed as a disease in their database. I explained that not only is it genetic, but horribly painful…and I began getting grief from MEDCO, who control which meds I take. To appease them and protect my doctors from being investigated, I slowly began coming down off Fentynal, 25 mcg/hr at a time. I’m down to 50 mcg/hr every 48 hours. I find that as my disease progresses, Fentynal hasn’t made enough impact in patch form. If it were in pill form, it would be more effective.
My geneticist told me flat out I can expect every day to be difficult. My excrutiating pain will get worse, and as it affects my brain, kidneys, liver, heart, every other organ which has blood vessels in it, I also risk my bowel issues to kill me. With opiods, my pain averages a 6. I have not increased my dosage, nor have I increased the frequence of use. I use my meds AS PRESCRIBED and don’t cheat! My biggest fear is addiction, and my diagnosing MD asked me if I felt “High”and I answered I simply didn’t know what “high” felt like. As he described it, I laughed and said, “No! I simply feel releif from my pain.” I will always be dependent upon meds to keep my pain in check, but I won’t be addicted.There is a distinct difference. A diabetic is dependent upon insulin to live. Pain meds help me live. I am currently trying to raise $50,000 for a women’s shelter in guatemala. If the ethics panel decides I am not worthy of my opiods, my book will not get finished and neither will the shelter. I have hope that people with my disease will be treated with opoids in a responsible manner.
Submitted on 2012/08/26 at 11:33 PM
I want to give my point of view as a patient with intractable pain. I agree that relabeling these medications is not the answer, getting the DEA and sheriff’s office to go after pill mills and sites on the internet that sell these medications should be their number one priority. The other night I needed some information on Fentanyl patches and went to Google and just typed “Fentanyl patches”, about the fourth and fifth answers were these websites were addicts communicate. Not only do they communicate on how to score opiods, but also on how to get high on them! there was an entry from an individual talking about how to get the Fentanyl out of the patches in order to use it intravenously, are you kidding me??!! I can’t get my medications with a completely legal medication at most Florida pharmacies, but these clowns are all over the internet talking about how to ‘score” their fix, that ticks me off!
These people will go as far as posting names and address’s of Doctor’s that will prescribe narcotics with no questions ask, and you tell me that we need relabeling? Heck no! If I can find all of these websites with a simple, unsophisticated Google search, I am sure that law enforcement can too, and the same way that they get pedophiles through internet stings, they can get these drug addicts, so that way me and the thousands of people that need these medications to survive, will be able to get treatment without been looked at like drug addicts.
Legitimate patient’s and pain management Doctor’s and the labeling is not the problem, the problem is the addicts and the people that will steal, beg and borrow to get high. So please go deal with the real problem and let chronic/intractable pain patient’s and the Doctor’s that treat us, able to have a patient-Doctor relationship that does not include distrust.
Sincerely,
Millie Andreasen
Miami, Florida
My husband was diagnosed with chronic chest wall pain secondary to pulmonary sarcoidosis in 1996. Without opioid medication, his every breath feels like he’s being stabbed. Without opioid medication his breath is shallow, weak and he can barely eat anything. He cannot concentrate because of the intense pain. Walking, moving, taking a shower, are impossible. He has tried trigger point injections, acupuncture, hypnosis, self hypnosis, biofeedback, epidural injections, facet injections, steroid injections, botox, chinese lights, magnets, TENS, physical therapy. He’s been a patient at Johns Hopkins, Mayo Jacksonville, Cleveland Clinic, and the world specialist in sarcoidosis Dr. G. James in England. Some of these modalities helped for a short time, but none have given him steadfast relief like opioid medication. He’s never been addicted to opioids. When one of these modalities reduces his pain, he stops the opioids, actually forgets to take them. His doctors believe his form of sarcoidosis has settled in the ribs and chest wall and he may never get pain relief. To have a group of physicians advise the FDA that opioid medication should only be reserved for cancer, and dictate a maximum dose of a 90 day period is in direct opposition to the hypocratic oath of first do no harm. It’s insulting to my husband who only wants to be free of pain properly under a doctor’s care. The doctor’s who signed their name to this, should have their licenses revoked. Should my husband be harmed as a result of this, I will personally see every last physician and the FDA in court, along with every other intractable pain patient in the largest class action lawsuit this country has ever seen.
Count me in if it comes to that! I have been on pain management since a serious car accident in 2002. I don’t metabolize medications like a “normal” person and require a larger dose to control my pain! I have nerve damage in my right back, and had numerous crush injuries…the Dr’s said the damage to my body was the equivilent of jumping off an eight story building…and living!! I tried everything, from shots, tens units, PT, and many kinds of meds. I went through a pain care center and we finally found a mis of opiods that help reduce my pain to a level I can deal with…still have pain but about half what it is without the meds. If I have to come off this regime, I will have to move into assited living and will no longer be able to take care of myself independantly! I am only 50 years old, live alone, and am confined to a wheelchair. I have a garden, flowers and live a pretty active life, WITH PAIN MANGEMENT! I am really scared! I don’t want to have to rely on someone to take care of me, nor do I want to live out the rest of my life in a bed in some assisted living home. I am also angry that people who have used and abused this system and medications are putting those of us that are legitimate patients that take our pain control seriously and DON’T abuse our meds in a position to lose our quality of life provided to us thorugh opiod treatment!!!! The cost to taxpayers to keep me in an assisted living home will be wayyyy more then me living independantly on medication!! I am also tired of government being involved in my healthcare descisions with my Dr.! My Dr. is afraid that because of this new PROP S, that my Dr will have to drop those of us that really need pain care help! Medical descisions should be left to us patients and our Dr.’s and not have the government, that doesn’t know a thing about us, getting involved and putting limits on how much and how long we can have treatment!!! Thanks you for fighting this insane approach to healthcare and pain medications and attempting to stop the government from ehlping those of us that are on stable pain control! If there is anything I can do to futhur help please feel free to contact me!!!
I read the letter from PROP dated July 25, 2012 to Dockets Management Branch, Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
I am curious what we non-Cancer patients are to do once the 90 days has passed of our allow Rx? I have been suffering since 1997. What will taking my opioid away do for me and my severe, chronic condition/pain I have on a daily basis? I feel like these so called ‘caring’ people have not a clue what real pain is!! Many of us have tried everything we can before using these. I know I spent my entire retirement savings and investments trying to get well and now I am poor and in pain. I can’t work and walk with a cane the little I can get around. What do they suggest I do? Should I just kill myself from the pain and the lack of pain killer that I need to go from ‘some’ days to another? I use my Vicodin ruffly 5-6 days a week, but usually not more than 2 pills. I wonder what they would do if it was someone they loved that was the one suffering? Would they find a way around their new rules to help them to not suffer?
Here is a link to a growing petition from several hundred PAIN SUFFERERS who oppose PROPs proposals. Signatures are still being collected.
http://www.change.org/petitions/please-help-to-stop-prop-s-petition?utm_campaign=friend_inviter_modal&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=14081241
Due to congenital disc disease and severe spinal stenosis, I had my first Panopaque dye myleography, followed by the first of 7 spinal surgeries at the age of 20. This was in 1978 “informed concent” was never offered nor explained that the “tests and the surgeries” would only stabalize the spine, not take away pain. After 35 years, in Intractable pain I no longer can discribe. I have had Neurologists at Johns Hopkins state “Arachnoiditis is an acute inflamation of the spinal layer”, Of course AFTER I was given a very risky MRI due to “metal artifact”, when the results came back “adhesive Arachnoidtis”, he immediatly wanted to install a pain pump .Only 2 levels of my spine Don’t have either ruptured discs, stenosis, or lesions. I have been on oral opiates for 20 years. Albeit, when I first started, they were given with NSAIDS until the gerd and ulcers became prevalent. The dosings have increased over the years as this incurable disease has taken it’s couse. I must say there has been many a time I have prayed for the relief of Cancer. I can’t imagine ANY pain being worse. If The PROP’s Proposal would seriously be looked at by the FDA and patients such as myself would be limited to 100mg of morphine (to which I am allergic), I would have to go into a rehab immediately to be withdrawn from my pain meds. Then what? How could my heart (already high BP) and other systems function with such electrical shocks of nerve and muscle pain? I wonder what the suicide rate would become after this decision?
I bet the suicide rate will be VERY high!! I know I would consider it if I have to live with the full pain with no med treatment….I don’t think this PROP thing has been thought through well enough…I also know there are two schools of thought amongst Dr.s on medication for pain relief…so where do we go from here? How do we, the patient, get involved to try to stop this ? I signed the petition but feel that is leaving this situation in others hands and I tend to be more proactive and would like to, somehow, be involved int his fight, as I feel it a fight for my very life, be it living independantly or in a bed in some assisted living home…or maybe…I wish these Dr’s that have proposed this legislation could somehow feel my pain for a month…I KNOW they’d be running to their own Dr’s for pain relief…
There is a group called Fight for pain Care Action Network. They just marched on the Florida Capitol getting their attention about this very issue. They are on fb, twitter and their rally was also on the news. We need to get involved, write to our state reps. , after all they do work for us and flood their in boxes, fax machines and phone lines! Sign the partitions and support the groups that are legitimately dealing with fighting for us.
Submitted on 2012/08/25 at 1:05 PM
Sir, I have been on both sides of the issue here. I was a case manager, I will not name the city, but they should be ashamed. I would take calls in my office, as an Rn. I would have patients BEG ME, “Please, Herb, don’t turn me down, not again.” I would receive memos from my boss, that these were drug seekers. When I visited them in the hospitals after their surgeries, I was broke down to tears. A big ole boy like myself, crying in my car.
Then, I was hurt. DX. after the surgery and myleograms, “Arachnoiditis”. Well, I know what it’s like. I swear, I will fight, write, talk to U.S senators, like I did yesterday, btw, and talk to my own Doctor, and keep pushing for this incredibly ridiculous petition put out by PROP. Dear God, have they no HEART!!! And, Thanks Dr. Fudin and PROMPT members from the bottom of my HEART!!!!!!!
Submitted on 2012/08/25 at 12:04 PM
Thanks, Dr Fudin. You are a voice of reason. I think the key to the PROP-generated, anti-opioid hysteria is the financial ties of some PROP members to suboxone, drug rehabs, etc… They are trying to drum up business for themselves to financially profit and their FDA petition is disingenuous and not meant to be scientific. Dr Fudin, keep the faith and keep advocating for reasoned policies. Know that there is a lot of support for what you and your colleagues at PROMPT are doing.
Submitted on 2012/08/25 at 9:54 AM
I SO appreciate knowiing someone else is out there trying to help us stay alive and out of the bed. Without opiods well…I am 63 and was bed bound. It just hurt too much to move. Muscle and nerve pain. RFA helped the nerve pain alot but still very high pain. Thanks to opiods I can go downstairs and eat/even cook some. I can have a marriage, a life. I didn’t before. I was a total ‘nothing’…some times I couldn’t shower even as I just couldn’t make it into the bathroom…that should tell you alot…I am so greatful to have any help. We can’t just pick up and move to another state or country…we take care of disabled family and can’t afford to pay their way and can’t leave them behind. Our lives depend on me getting the meds I need. I’m still in pain but at least I can function some and am so greatful. Laying in bed all those months before I got treatment….I was wasting away. I wouldn’t have lasted long I’m sure. Use it or lose it….true. Muscles were getting so weak. Won’t take more of your time but just wanted to say thank you for any help you can provide so we can survive here with this awful disease of cp.
Submitted on 2012/08/25 at 12:08 AM
Thanks Dr. Fudin, us chronic pain patient need an advocate)s) that will listen to our needs and that will stop listening to the hysteria and media hype. All of these groups need to include chronic pain patients in their committee’s of this is going to be a fair process. WE are the ones suffering, and WE should have a saying on all of this!
Submitted on 2012/08/24 at 11:47 PM
Thank you Dr. Fudin,
Pain patients so desperately need the support of the medical community to fight this horrendous group. The hypocratic oath comes to mind “first do no harm” …taking away the lifeline of reduced pain via opioid medication does harm. Thank you for speaking out and understanding.
Submitted on 2012/08/24 at 11:26 PM
Fight For Pain Care Action network
“Fight For Florida Pain Care Action Network” has been fighting for people in Florida with legitimate chronic pain issues. Our medications have been literally CUT OFF and pain patients have been left to suffer without regard to wthdraw or pain. They having to go many days past their refill dates!! Their legitimate pain medication prescriptions are being denied at ALL our pharmacies. I know this is has a become a unbalanced approach due to the pill mill knee jerk reaction by the DEA and the PROP petition. I am leaving our petition here for the PROMPT and PROP doctors to read the comments how these people are suffering. There are literally thousands of people here in pain in this huge state. Most of our elderly population are not being heard beccause they do NOT have computers! So this petition could be a whole larger and will be very soon.
http://www.change.org/petitions/florida-pharmacies-stop-florida-pharmacies-from-denying-pain-patients-vital-medicines?utm_medium=email&utm_source=discussionupdate#comment-4907512
Patients are suffering so badly down here that a rally has been called at the state capital in Tallahassee Florida on Sept 12 2012. These legitimate pain patients will be heard on Florida soil on this day. Something needs to be done about this because this needless suffering needs to stop now. I know that something better can be done for these patients. The database is NOT Working!!
Also.. We have been asking for buses to carry these disabled patients from south FL to the state capital in Tallahassee with no responses from doctors, healthcare providers or organizations that say they care about these pain patients. Where is everyone?? I have screaming ALL the internet basically being ignored!! Why is it that no doctors or healthcare providers or organizations that say they care about pain are responding to our cries for help for here??? So here is our donation site. We would hope that someone will pick this up before the middle of next week (9/3/2012) or these people will have to drive from one end of the state to the other in their condition to be heard. An 8 hour drive mind you! If any pain patients get hurt trying to make on their own? This would be a tragedy!!
http://www.gofundme.com/LEGITIMATE-PAIN-PATIENTS
If anyone really cares about this fight about PAIN and the medications to treat it and all that is going on across the country. They need to start by having it heard in Florida.
This is where the BIGGEST PROBLEMS ARE with patients!!
There are people here suffering and they need help!!! NOW!!!
contact me for more information.
Sincerely,
Donna Ratliff
FFPCAN
https://ffpacani.com
I would like to go on the record and say this. I had a conversation with one of the PROP petitioners today. The focus of this conversation was the wording used in their petition. Setting the benchmark at cancer is rather insulting to us who suffer from severe intractable pain. He stated, and I quote “we have realized that the wording we used may have been wrong”. The PROP petitioner spoke on condition of anonymity. So, I have to call into question the remarks he made by PROP in the media when we’re told their main focus is for patient safety. I have advanced adhesive arachnoiditis, it has taken so much from me and only left me severe pain liken to cancer without the benefit of death! When we started the Citizen petition to stop PROP, we never knew that it would have the added impact of actually giving us a voice, and we intend to stand up for our right and have a say. UNITED WE FIGHT!
I, like Mary Maston, was also born with a rare congenital birth defect of the kidney’s and my life was miserable until I was able to find a Dr who could treat my pain. As a child I had always suffered from lower back pain, but it was always written off because I was such an active athlete, just the regular aches and pains that athletes have. As I got older the pain got worse and several other symptoms developed to make my family Dr check my kidney’s. What she found blew my world apart. Not only were my kidneys not functioning or filtering properly, they were also covered in stones and nephrocalcinosis. Now at 32 years old I pass stones every time I urinate. I no longer can have lithotripsy because of the damage that multiple lithotripsies have done, so I am left here to sit and suffer.
After months of searching for Dr’s my husband and I learned of one in Michigan, and endourologist the best in his field. We saved three months of mortgage payments, traveled through four states, and spent a week in a hotel with our three young girls just so I could have a surgery called a ureterscopic laser papillotomy. The surgery gave me nine of the best weeks of my life, I was finally able to be the wife and mother that I knew I could be. What we didn’t realize is that I form stones at such a rapid rate that in nine short weeks my kidney was entirely full of stones again and a repeat surgery is not an option because of all the damaged caused my the multiple lithotripsies. What was worse was no Dr could give me a valid explanation on why I was forming these stones, they took blood, urine, they did everything they could to figure out the how and why but still no one can tell me anything. So much for being a benign condition, as all medical research indicates.
It took a lot of time to find a Dr who would feel comfortable treating my pain, I was treated like a drug attack, like I was scum for wanting to live as normal a life I could.
I have finally found one to treat me and am loving the life I am now able to live. Because of adequate pain control I am now able to be a mother to my three girls and a wife to my husband. I am greatfull for what my pain management Dr has given back to me! The problem I seem to have now is getting my script filled. The pharmacy that I have used since moving here somehow keeps “running out” of the slow release medicine I am on. At times they won’t even look at me, just look at the script and toss it back saying “we are out,” so now I have to endure the pharmacy crawl, which is the most degrading thing I have had to do. I thought I lost all my dignity when I gave birth to my children, having so many people in the room while I’m spread apart, but having to be treating like a low life common criminal by pharmacists by far tops the charts! A 12 week supply on pain medicines is not going to do a bit of good for a chronic pain patient. My pain and kidney stones are not going to miraculously disappear in 12 weeks and I just can’t see how that is going to deter criminals.
My only hope is that one of these Dr’s behind the PROP petition will either come to their senses or come down with a condition that requires round the clock pain medicine so that they can truly be in the shoes of a chronic pain patient!
Hi, I am 48 and I was born with Medullary Sponge Kidneys. It was not diagnosed until I was 37, after a kidney stone and a severe kidney infection that landed me in the hospital. By then my kidneys were embedded with thousands of kidney stones in the collecting tubules. I would try to pass a kidney stone and go to the ER two or 3 times a year for the first couple of years after being diagnosed. Between kidney stones, I would be fine and not even think about MSK.
In 2006 I started passing stones every couple of months. The urologist gave me Dilauded to keep on hand so I would not have to go to the ER for each stone. ( I had 3 caesarean sections in 1993, 1997, and 2000 so I found out I was allergic to codeine and Percocet then.)
In 2007 I had laser lithotripsy twice. I still passed stones regularly. I was diagnosed with stage 3 Kidney Disease.
In 2008 started passing stones every day. I was in constant pain. I took 72 Dilauded that year.
I have had laser lithotripsy about twice a year since 2007. I use a heating pad on my back to help me tolerate the pain. When it gets too bad I take Dilauded.
In January of 2012 I began having severe pain that interfered with my ability to walk. I had a CT scan in February. The report did not show a stone in the ureter. I was stuck on my couch, in agony, taking Dilauded every day. In April I had another CT scan, again the report said no stone in ureter. I had no idea why I was in so much pain. I went to a urologist in June that actually looked at the CT scan films, and he saw a 7mm stone in my ureter in the Feb. and April CT scan. Both radiologists missed it. When the stone was removed, my pain got much better. I thought I would be dependent on the Dilauded after taking it daily from January to June( I went through over 150 2mg Dilauded during that time.), but the day I got the stent out of my ureter I did not take any Dilauded and I was fine. I was able to go 3 weeks before I had another stone that hurt enough to need Dilauded.
If I did not have access to Dilauded as needed, I would be in the ER several times a month for IV pain control. Kidney stones are extremely painful and I am not able to tolerate the pain that some of them cause. I do not know what I would do if I did not have access to pain medicine when I pass a bad stone.
Believe me I hate having to take a Dilauded. I can’t safely drive, I can’t cook or work, but when I am in so much pain I can’t do those things anyway. I use a heating pad, guided relaxation, and an Ativan before I give in and take a Dilauded. Many times the other methods will help me enough to avoid the Dilauded. I try to be very responsible. I only take it when I really need to.
I have an alternative to the Dilauded but I can only take it very infrequently because it is very hard on the kidneys. The package says take no more than five days, but with my kidney disease,(My G.F.R. fluctuates from the 50’s to the low 30’s.) I can’t even take it that much. It is called Sprix and it is a nasal spray of Ketorolac. I wish it was safe to take every time I need pain medicine. It is an NSAID but it really works for me.
This past year it has become very hard for me to find a pharmacy that will fill my Dilauded prescription. My Urologist writes the prescriptions, not a pain doctor. He wrote me one in March, one after laser lithotripsy with stent placement surgery in April and another in June after laser lithotripsy on the other kidney, again with stent placement. Before this year I always went to the same Walgreens near my house. Now they don’t carry it and I have to try pharmacy after pharmacy. These pharmacies do not know me and will not bother to check the Florida prescription drug database to see I am not Dr. shopping or filling excessive opioid prescriptions, they just say, “No, I can’t fill it.” I finally found a small private pharmacy that will fill it, but I had to transfer all my other prescriptions to them too. For 20 years all my pharmacy records were at the same pharmacy. Now it looks like I am pharmacy shopping and it is not my fault.
Restricting opioids to cancer patients only is inhumane. Thank you for fighting this.
As a former Pain Management Patient, I was appalled by the PROP letter. I’m no Doctor, but the arbitrary limits they seek to impose based on nonexistent evidence is horrible.
I was on MSContin for god…3 years? I have patellofemoral disorder, thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic lower back pain and have had kidney stones, gastrointestinal issues and on and on.
It was already difficult enough to get prescribed opiates when I was going through it before (and it’s just as hard now) so this story of “over-prescribing doctors” confuses me. I’m sure some medical professionals have over-prescribed, but I think it’s rare.
They can create strict (and insane) legislation to restrict legal medications, but the illegal trade will still flow uninterrupted. Florida pumps out the vast majority of the painkillers drug dealers deal in. Perhaps some legal patients leave the pills in the open to be stolen too, better education should be required on that front.
As a fun anecdote to counter the “pills are handed out the candy” myth, I injured my lower back about a week ago and had a doctor’s appointment this past Tuesday. On the Monday the day before, I wrenched it so badly that it was nearly impossible to get out of bed.
When I brought up needing something for the pain (and having pain management managed by him, my Primary) I was told it was Tramadol or nothing, AND I was drug tested. I told him Tramadol did nothing for my pain, and the muscle relaxers make me tired and do little else.
In my notes he wrote “I am VERY reluctant to prescribe opiates to a patient this young” (I’m 27) despite years of opioid therapy already on my record. I go OFF my medications if I become too tolerant, I don’t escalate them, I take them exactly as prescribed and usually have MORE than I should because some days I take less.
It’s just insane. I’m sick of being treated like the scum of the earth for wanting pain relief from one of the few things (opiates) that helps me live life. I can’t go hiking with my friends right now, I can barely work out…life isn’t too good.
Here we go again. I’ve been through this cycle so many times, and every time it seems to happen as I’m self-rehabbing, starting to play and write music again… I follow all the rules, I’ve NEVER been a problem patient, and I’ve often ASKED for invasive, painful tests when I notice the same thing going wrong again: pieces of annulus invading the spaces normally reserved for nerves. I’ve been very active in my own treatment. Nonetheless, it seems I’m ALWAYS on “too high a dose”. It’s been documented over and over again (through multiple back operations and other surgeries) that I have a natural high tolerance. Some of us do, and any physician with any experience KNOWS they can’t “standardize the dose” – 30mg of MS for moderate pain, 50mg for severe pain, and neverneverneverNEVER go over 100mg or you’ll kill your patient! Worse, you’ll lose your license! ALL of us are different, and after over two decades of up-and-down treatment, non-treatment, PT that put me back in the hospital, medications that made me ill and stupid and still did nothing for pain, then a little while on a working dose of a working med and the beginning of real rehab and improved function, then a sudden PANIC and the dose is cut, and I’m a near-total cripple again. I’ve always cooperated, kept meticulous records, never once flunked a pee test or a blood test, I don’t buy street drugs – or I haven’t yet – I don’t sell my drugs, I don’t lose my scripts or finish them too soon… None of it matters.
Medicine oscillates between the rare treatment that WORKS – over time, no matter WHAT some people who think they know better than their patients what helps. I KNOW my own body and reactions and tolerances, and I KNOW when I become more functional! And so once more into the breech, here we go again: they take away the med that works in the amounts that work, demand that I “try” other drugs that never worked before, I’ll be in and out of Drug Rehab, which will CONTINUE to send notes that say, “He’s NOT an addict; he’s in PAIN! Treat it!” Which will of course be ignored, and I will continue to be treated like a neurotic old man who couldn’t possibly know when he hurts and when he doesn’t, or whether he’s addicted or not. Only the damned doctors could know THAT, after all. THEY’VE had all that training, right? I always understood and felt for the CPPs who’d been through this even longer than I have who finally decided on suicide, almost always when yet ANOTHER know-it-all doctor took over treatment and INSTANTLY cut the meds that had been working in half or less. They KNEW, those patients, like I know, that the dose they’ve declared to be the absolute LIMIT is inadequate. And this time, I find I actually have to decide whether or not I want to survive it yet again. All in all I’ve had a decent life. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve met some wonderful people, and even had a late-in-life Great Love. I’ll be 60 this year. Maybe. We’ll see how this next fiasco goes, and just how hard the usual self-righteous “healers” push to take away my ability to function… what’s left of it. I’ve TAKEN all the mind-bending garbage they tried to feed me until I finally drew the line and refused.. Whatever else, my mind is something I treasure and prefer to keep whole and working right! I HAVE – for the moment – a regimen that allows me to do what I need to do, mostly allows me to rest, and all other systems seem to be in working order, with some minor, easily handled changes. I have a regimen that took YEARS to find that WORKS! I have a LIFE AGAIN, dammit, and once again they’re going to take it away, and try to feed me poisons like gabapentin and SSRIs and Amitriptyline and who-knows-WHAT-else. *sigh* I avoid GMOs, vaccines, glyphosate, I eat organic foods, I’ve gotten my health back…
I guess they just CAN’T let that go! Big Pharma loses too much money with patients like me. I’m SO tired of this back and forth treat-don’t-treat BS. And yes, I’m saying that cutting a treatment back by 5/6 or more is NON-treatment; more correctly, it’s ABUSE. I’ve always cooperated before. I think I’ve just stopped being cooperative and nonargumentative. I’ve collected the research too. I just don’t have the patience (or the time left to me) to wait for THIS generation of crusaders to grow up and learn to recognize when something WORKS for a patient and not to MEDDLE with it anymore!
I have Adhesive Archarnoiditis (AA) from a medical error during the labor of my first child in 2004. I was paralyzed and in the hospital for over a month because they could not get my pain levels down. Thru physical therapy I have regained limited mobility but I still have pain 24/7.
During the next three years my doctors tried many different drugs without any meaningful pain relief. I finally was referred to a very prominent pain specialist who was the first to perscribe fentanyl patches with hydrocondone for pain spikes. At my first follow-up appointment I broke down crying trying to tell my doctor how this had saved my life, family and marriage. I have been lucky to be able to continued to take the same dosage for the following 5 years. I feel fortunate because i have been warned that many AA patients have to increase and/or mixup their medication because it is life long chronic condition.
People have no idea how debilitating the chronic pain associated with Arachnoiditis is. I was diagnosed by an Archnoidistis expert and he strongly advised me to avoid any surgical procedures at all costs because many surgical procedures create scaring that often create more pain. There is no cure for AA, that only leaves medication to give me some quality of life. I did not ask for this to happen me and chronic pain is a medical condition and I should be treated with respect and dignity and allowed under my doctors guidance to take the only pain medication that has made a difference in my quality of life.
My husband has had Arachnoiditis since the early 90’s. With proper pain medication, on a good day he can help around the house, walk the dogs, do a little fishing, SMILE, socialize with friends and family, participate in life. Without pain control he is barely capable of taking a shower and getting dressed each day.
For as long as he has HAD to take these medications, he has not once lost pills, taken more than prescribed or done anything else which would cause him to go to his doctor to have to question his usage of these drugs. Even when he has had other doctors offer prescriptions for pain medications (after eye surgery, etc.), he refuses the prescriptions so that his pain doctor knows that all pain meds come directly from him.
The frustration and stress of being in severe pain every minute of every day is only compounded by adding the worries of not knowing if the needed medication will be available next month!
Cancer patients are not the only people who have serious problems with cronic pain.
I was diagnosed with a rare, congenital kidney disease called Medullary Sponge Kidney or MSK in 2008. This is a progressive disease that causes me to form very large kidney stones that I’m unable to pass on my own, and that require multiple back to back surgeries to get rid of. Both of my kidneys are affected, and I have THOUSANDS of stones in each of them. I also suffer with repeated urinary tract, kidney, and bladder infections, blood in my urine, and have extensive Nephrocalcinosis in both kidneys (basically, my kidneys are slowly hardening). My kidney function fluctuates, and I’m currently in Stage 2 CKD. Although I wasn’t diagnosed with MSK until 2008, I’ve had a total of 11 surgeries since the age of 13 because of this disease, and have been in the hospital more times than I can count. Just since May, 2011 I have had 4 surgeries and 7 or 8 ER visits because I’ve been in excruciating pain. I’m 37 now, and will be in and out of the hospital for the rest of my life – that is not speculation, it’s a fact.
The general consensus from the medical field is that MSK is not painful unless there is a stone obstructing, but as someone who has to deal with this disease every second of the day, I can tell you that nothing is further from the truth. I suffer with excruciating pain every single day and I am not alone, many MSK patients suffer the same fate. I refer to my online petition, which currently has 622 signatures from patients and family members of patients who have watched them suffer repeatedly with this disease: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/medullary-sponge-kidney-msk-patients-unite-one/.
Due to my own personal experiences with doctors in trying to deal with MSK, I am now an Advocate for the disease. I am the Facilitator of the USF Tampa Project, a project I started to try to convince the doctors at USF to start a clinical trial on MSK, to initiate new research and to find out why we are in pain all the time when the current medical research suggests otherwise. I have been working on this for over 9 months, and plan on submitting this project to the University in November, 2012. I have also contributed to http://www.kidneystoners.org, a website created by some of the top Urologists in the country as an Advocate, and the links to many of my efforts to spread awareness are listed on that site.
I can promise you, we aren’t “faking” our symptoms, and it’s my goal to have MSK categorized as a chronic pain disease. I have been successful in convincing The American Chronic Pain Association to list it on their site. I still have a lot of work to do, but it’s slowly coming together. I have since branched out and become an Advocate for chronic pain patients in general, because MSK IS a chronic pain disease for me and many others.
Because of repeated surgeries and excessive, chronic pain, I was bedridden for the majority of 2011 and until April 2012. In April, I was finally able to find a doctor that was willing to treat my pain, and it has made a difference. Before I found him, I was in the ER at least once a month because my pain was totally out of control. I can’t take NSAIDs because they are directly proven to cause kidney damage and I don’t need any help in that department. Kidney stone pain has been compared to labor pain – try giving birth thousands of times in your lifetime; telling someone to take a simple Tylenol for that kind of pain is laughable. It takes opioid medications to even put a dent in this type of chronic pain, and that’s what my medication does for me – it helps me to function better than I could before.
Opioid medications are not a cure-all by any means, but for those of us who have to live with debilitating pain, these medications help to make our lives more bearable. It’s obvious from PROP’s petition that none of them have ever had to experience this type of long term pain. What about those who have been in horrific car accidents and barely survived, or our troops returning home from war that have sustained massive injuries, or people like me, who were born with a horrible disease that we didn’t ask for, but has catastrophic results? Cancer is NOT the only painful disease out there! For PROP to suggest that treatment be limited to 90 days for non-cancer pain is the most inhumane thing I’ve ever heard. Like many others, I didn’t ask for this disease, but I was born with it and I will die with it.
Where is the humanity? The compassion? What about the oath that these doctors took to “First do no harm”? The doctors that support the PROP petition are directly violating that oath. We as chronic pain patients understand that there are addicts out there that abuse these medications, but we as legitimate patients DO NOT. I applaud and wholeheartedly support the doctors on this site that are standing up for chronic pain patients. I ask that you please continue the fight – we as patients are already treated like second class citizens in many cases, and we need all the help we can get.
Thank you,
Mary Maston
MSK Advocate; USF Tampa Project Facilitator;
American News Report columnist
http://www.americannewsreport.com
I worked as a hospice RN for years until I could no longer work around my neck and back pain (I have 4 herniated disks) as well as fibromyalgia. After years of helping others to get into pain control I found their was no one willing to help with my pain. I endured multiple rounds of epidurals that never worked, tens units, physical therapy, talk therapy, meditation, psychiatry and any other treatment that could possibly help reduce my pain. In the meantime I was given “adjuvant” medications such as gabapentin and antidepressants to where I would get lost in my car within blocks of my own home. I had the dubious good fortune of breaking my ankle, at which time I was finally given the pain medication I needed to make my life livable again. Prior to that medication I wished for death daily, not only to relieve my own pain, but the emotional pain my family faced. I believe that if I had been treated early with the opiod medication I now take I would still be in the workforce. Over the last 8 years since I’ve been on opiod medications I have had tremendous difficulty on and off filling my prescriptions. Once a pharmacists called my physician because he did not believe my prescription was legitimate. It was, and the office confirmed it, but it caused my doctor to tell me to find another doctor for my pain medications. I have had to do the “pharmacy crawl” going from pharmacy to pharmacy trying to find one that had my medication in stock (pharmacies often will not tell you over the phone if opioids are in stock for security purposes, I am told). I have not been having difficulty filling my prescriptions during the last few months, but that is not representative of my fellow pain patients in nearby areas and throughout Florida. This “War on Drugs” has really become a War on Pain Patients. Just another case of blaming the victim.
My husband has been suffering from chronic chest wall pain secondary to pulmonary sarcoidosis since May of 1996. Over the years he has, tried biofeedback, physical therapy, botox, trigger point injections, acupuncture, epidural injections, facet injections, steroids injections, oral steroids, muscle relaxers, neurological meds, and when all else fails opioid medication. The opioid medication has been his lifeline when all else has failed him. He takes his medication responsibly, exactly as prescribed. He is not on disability, owns his own company and is a working member of society with the help of opioid medication. PROPS is shortsighted and the FDA needs to recognize that opioid therapy when used responsibly is a necessary part of the intractable pain patient’s therapy.
I am a 36 year old mother of two little girls ages 3 and 6. Last year I was diagnosed with arachnoiditis after an epidural steroid injection. I live with horrible pain every day. I am told there is nothing they can do for me except for pain management. If it was not for my girls and for the pain medications I take I would not be here.
I want to express how irresponsible it is for a group of strangers to band together and decide what is best for non-cancer pain patients — a massive group of people who are underserved, underrepresented and who may, thanks to PROP, be left untreated. How is allowing a person to live in excruciating, untreated pain, not a human right’s abuse?
And what becomes of their families after these patients are bedridden with untreated pain? I would like to ask the PROP “experts” to certify that, should the intentions in their proposal be carried out, that they will come to my home and take care of my girls — brush their hair, make their breakfast, take them to school, sit with them and do their homework, play with them, cook dinner, and put them to bed. Because without adequate pain management, I would not be able to do these things. What will happen to my girls if their mother is bedbound?
I would like to also emphasize the dangerous nature of some of these non-narcotic so-called pain treatments such as epidural steroid injections. As I mentioned, this is how I contracted arachnoiditis – a horrible, lifelong disease of the spinal cord. I wish that PROP would put as much heart and soul into curbing the rampant and often inappropriate prescribing of epidural steroids, as they have put into curbing the only drugs that some with chronic pain can take.
I was diagnosed with Adhesive Arachnoiditis 6 years ago. It is an incurable, degenerative, progressive disease of the arachnoid membrane and nerves/nervous system that causes nerves in the spinal cord and arachnoid membrane to clump like spaghetti and scramble pain shut-off signals to the brain. I have chronic pain in the form of double sciatica, severe headaches, neuropathy, numbness and firey tingling throughout my extremeties 24/7. This in turn causes the muscles to spasm, atrophy and literally shuts my body down causing me to become bed-ridden unless I can take opioids to decrease the pain enough to be able to move.
I cannot take ibuprophin or any other anti-inflammatory drugs as I became allergic to them after years of using them for partial relief, and will go into anaphactic shock and die if I ever take them again. I can take oral prednisone from time to time to help with the inflammation, but it does not turn down the dial at all for my severe, chronic pain. The pain is so hellish that before I found a great pain management doctor who put me on ms-contin, I literally held a loaded gun to my head one night about 5 years ago, not wanting to feel the unbearable, neightmarish pain anymore. I take my ms contin resposibly and have been on the same dose for four years now. It doesn’t take away all the pain, but it does take away enough so I can function with some dignity in the world that I have left with my loved ones and friends.
I must have these drugs to lead any sort of life at all; please don’t take them away or my children will lose their mother far earlier than this evil disease will take me….
Thank you.
I am a chronic pain patient, with Arachnoiditis.It all started in 2004 when I was exercising in my home. I stretched and hurt my back. I haven’t been able to go back to my normal life since then, it has all been one rollercoaster after another..In 2005 I was given my death Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI). One week after, I ended up in the hospital with a violent headache, and severe vomiting. My Mother noticed there was something wrong. After three more months of treatment, I was sent to a Pain Management facility where I was diagnosed with Arachnoidits. At a Spine Institute, a specialist recommended NO MORE invasive procedures or surgeries to my back anymore. So Yes, I am in need of my pain pills very much so. I can’t do physical therapy either, but not for lack of trying.
I have been all over the Internet trying to find a solution to my problem, but to no avail.. there is NO help out there. I suffer 24/7 days a week and I am so embarrassed of my life.. I have no friends anymore. I can’t go out and entertain myself..I can barely get by week to week..living on my lousy SSDI of $1000. a month,and now I have to worry about my only salvation being taken away from me? Please do not take our lives away from us, this is the only way we can get by in this life is with opioids. If our drugs are taken away there will be a countless amount of suicides, and I will be in that count.
I am a Chronic Pain sufferer. I have lived in extreme unrelenting pain for years now. All because of an uncaring Dr. I AM and MANY other Chronic Pain sufferers are Totally against PROPS Petition. If you take my pain medications away from me you will be taking what little life I have left away from me and there will be nothing but pain in my life…because the pain takes away any and all enjoyment of life away. I have tried all avenues other than pain medication and other types of medications, nothing else gives me the ability to enjoy my life and be in at least some comfort. PROP is going to be responsible for A LOT of suicides if they get what they are proposing. Cause I will be one that will end my life, I cannot live in that pain 24/7 without relief. We already live in an isolation, of not being able to do the things we use to be able to do. What I would give to able to cook my family a meal, or clean my house, or bend over to pick something up without falling on my face. Or to be able to go outside and play with my dog. So many little things that lots of people take for granted. I thought Dr.’s were suppose to care about their pt.’s, did you know that there are very few in the profession for the right reason, there are more that chose the profession for monetary gain than for the privilege of helping and caring for people. What happened to do no harm and having ethics and principles. Compassion of helping others in need of healthcare. There are very few out there for the right reason. And look where it leaves us, the people in need of an honest, caring and compassionate Dr. This petition from PROP shows the uncaring nature of our Dr.’s out there today.
I have been a pain managed patient for 9 years. I have never been treated like this in my life(scum of the earth, addict, etc.) until the last 8 months or so, and I cant tell you how good it is reading all of these posts. Its so great to know you professionals are really thinking the way we the patients are thinking; we are not all the bad ones! Attack alcohol, that kills everyday and then some….. but you don’t need a prescription, go figure. I just wanted to say thank you to you all. God bless. Shannon
I daily contemplate suicide because I am in agony some days worse than others. My doctor closed his office (he was put in jail) and every other MD declines my request to continue scripts for vicodin 750 4 times per day. I already know of 2 people who have killed themselves because they could not get their meds. I can’t work, can’t sleep, can’t think, can’t function-or interact with others when I my daily pain becomes intolerable. This is ridiculous.
I totally agree about the alcohol that has killed more people than pain meds usually mixing alcohol with the meds but they leave that part out, the pharmacist had the nerve(stupidity) to say “This drug has killed more people than anything else” Really? I just looked at her and thought do you believe everything the government tells you? Lets talk about the alcohol and she said nope its this..i hurt my back when i was 29 yrs old now 44 it has become severe chronic agonizing pain with fibromyalgia that has caused injections to be impossible and other medical problems my legs and feet go numb i have fallen many times and cant hardly move for days . I have been on the same meds for 10 yrs and it doesn’t work anymore, you build a tolerance not addiction and the doc says we can take you off but you need back surgery wtf?. I can understand with people seeking drugs or selling but when you have had numerous mri’s and test after test that shows you have serious problems then why make us suffer? Ibupropren is a joke for people like us..I too have tried to commit suicide twice and think about it everyday, i had a friend that died last yr she had multiple back surgeries in severe pain for yrs.This is no way to live.. I feel all your pain and i am so sorry..the laws make no sense to me if it happened to them it would be different they have no clue for something they don’t feel or understand..maybe they want us to die..praying for us all.