Bupe I just got rejected as a new patient because I told them I'm prescribed suboxone

[Juicewrldfan]

I can't fucking believe this shit! S I've been looking for a primary care doctor for ages, pretty much all year. My area is growing fast and I called literally ever doctor's office around, twice and some three times. Usually had ti leave messages. Most don't even call back, some do and say sorry, we're nor accepting new patients. It's been crazy.

Well, today I called 2 places. The first one answered, and it's my preferred choice, it's a private practice that my girlfriend goes to and is really happy with, she says the doctors actually spend time with you and pay attention, as it's not part of a giant hospital medical system. They asked me a series of questions, and then when they asked what medications I'm prescribed, I told them my Taltz, for psoriatc arthritis... and then I said suboxone. She totally changed her whole tone of voice and started sounding dismissive instead of friendly. She was like "well, sir, unfortunately we won't provide that medication so you are not a good fit for us, so we have to decline you" I was like wait, what? Well, I have a different provider for that, you wouldn't be prescribing it. She said "it doesn't matter, we don't work with patients who are on narcotic drugs" and then hung up.

It's fucking discrimination, is what it is! I am 39 years old, and I stupidly have not been to a primary care physician in over 10 years. I have concerns... I am relatively certain my prostate is enlarged, and I have back pain, and I just in general want to be on top of my health. If I have cancer, I want to catch it early. What the fuck is this discrimination? Do people on opiate replacement because they're trying to improve their lives not deserve medical care? Fuck that shit.

I'm so pissed off about it.

My question is this. The second place called me back and said they are taking new patients and they emailed me a link to a web form the fill out information. The instructions say "enter the information below so we can see if you'll be a good fit for our family practice". At the bottom, as I suspected, there is a field for current medications. I have it all filled out minus the suboxone. Do you think I should submit it without mentioning the suboxone? Or are they going to know? I use an online provider, QuickMD, whichm insurance does not cover (though it does cover the prescription).

It sucks because I want to be honest... I have concerns about the suboxone, too, and I want to start tapering off next year. Also I am almost positive my testosterone is way down because of it. But mostly, I am concerned about my prostate, and just want a dctor who can regularly see me and evaluate my health so I can make sure I remain healthy as I age. So maybe lying would be worth it since I'd get that other stuff. But maybe they'd see it on my records and then I'd be lying. And maybe this place won't deny me for being on suboxone.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Suggestions are welcome...

I’m sorry about your experience. Unfortunately, in most of the United States they have a prescription drug monitoring databases so if they run your information doctors can see any controlled substances you are prescribed.

This is the case in Ohio, but maybe it isn’t where you are, but I’m pretty sure most states have this. I think this became a big thing during the pill epidemic when everyone was doctor shopping and getting multiple prescriptions from different doctors.

However, you can always say you had thought you wrote it down if it comes up. They might not even run you thru the database if they aren’t considering prescribing you a controlled substance but I don’t know fir certain. So long as you aren’t trying to get a controlled substance you will be fine I’m sure. Not like your going to get in trouble for forgetting to mention a medication, but I really think you should mention it to be honest just because you seem to have concerns about the medication affecting your health and they can better help you if they know all the meds you are on. I would be pretty shocked if you have a repeat experience that you had where they denied you because you were on suboxone.

I find that really shocking actually and it’s ridiculous that they did that to you and were so rude about it. Sometimes I have felt like I’ve been treated differently at hospitals with my addiction history but for the most part I have found doctors to be prescribed knowledge about suboxone, glad to see you taking care of your addiction, and supportive. BUT again, I live in a huge city in Ohio so it may be different where you are at.

I still would encourage you to be honest about it. But if you’re still not comfortable you can always leave it out and just say you thought you wrote it on the form if they ever bring it up. My understanding that long term Suboxone use can lead to low testosterone, but I’m thinking that’s the case for all opiates/opioids.

I hope things turn out well for you. Please keep us posted. I am not asking specifics but I’m curious do you live in a small town in the USA or something? Because this is just wild to me. I mean I have heard of psychiatrists denying patients because they do not prescribe controlled substances but that doctor you spoke with was really rude, offered no explanation, and it’s just crazy to me.

 

[Phobophobic]

Here some doctors screen patients out who are on narcotics to. My doctor recently retired and i had to go see a nurse practitioner and immediately when i mentioned im on morphine her tone changed and she mentioned taking me off my pills even my goddamn psych meds which she couldnt do.

Long story short i got a virtual doctor now who only asks me where i want my script sent. Maybe try that route if its even legal in the US.

Thanks a bunch. Peace to you

 

[Phobophobic]

For fuck's sakei

I seriously have no idea what you're on about mate.

I got the impression you were asking me what I meant by 'ffs'. And I said that because I was getting annoyed on behalf of OP because the clinic turned him away for a stupid value judgement, which clinicians ought not to make. No medical professional ought to refuse a client for treatment just because he's on substitution.

It's good. No big deal

 

[Xorkoth]

I’m sorry about your experience. Unfortunately, in most of the United States they have a prescription drug monitoring databases so if they run your information doctors can see any controlled substances you are prescribed.

This is the case in Ohio, but maybe it isn’t where you are, but I’m pretty sure most states have this. I think this became a big thing during the pill epidemic when everyone was doctor shopping and getting multiple prescriptions from different doctors.

However, you can always say you had thought you wrote it down if it comes up. They might not even run you thru the database if they aren’t considering prescribing you a controlled substance but I don’t know fir certain. So long as you aren’t trying to get a controlled substance you will be fine I’m sure. Not like your going to get in trouble for forgetting to mention a medication, but I really think you should mention it to be honest just because you seem to have concerns about the medication affecting your health and they can better help you if they know all the meds you are on. I would be pretty shocked if you have a repeat experience that you had where they denied you because you were on suboxone.

I find that really shocking actually and it’s ridiculous that they did that to you and were so rude about it. Sometimes I have felt like I’ve been treated differently at hospitals with my addiction history but for the most part I have found doctors to be prescribed knowledge about suboxone, glad to see you taking care of your addiction, and supportive. BUT again, I live in a huge city in Ohio so it may be different where you are at.

I still would encourage you to be honest about it. But if you’re still not comfortable you can always leave it out and just say you thought you wrote it on the form if they ever bring it up. My understanding that long term Suboxone use can lead to low testosterone, but I’m thinking that’s the case for all opiates/opioids.

I hope things turn out well for you. Please keep us posted. I am not asking specifics but I’m curious do you live in a small town in the USA or something? Because this is just wild to me. I mean I have heard of psychiatrists denying patients because they do not prescribe controlled substances but that doctor you spoke with was really rude, offered no explanation, and it’s just crazy to me.

Thanks for the reply. I have no problem at all with them knowing I'm on suboxone... I just don't want to get denied again because I told them I'm on suboxone.

I haven't tried again yet, as it was a pretty discouraging experience. But I've got a list of recommendations and I am going to try again as soon as I make myself do it. Without mentioning anything about suboxone.

 

[Foreigner]

It's definitely stigma and discrimination. I'm sorry you're going through that. If a different care provider is already managing your suboxone, I would not mention it to another prospective provider. Another thing you may not know is that healthcare reception/administration often operates completely separately from the doctors. They can act as gatekeepers for the organization according to what their board decides. The doctors may not even fully know that this kind of gatekeeping is happening.

I would conceal the fact that you're on suboxone until you have an established relationship with the doctor. After that, if you tell then you're on suboxone and they "fire" you, you can report them to the college of physicians for discrimination because then you can prove it's the doc doing it and not the admin people. However, your first and best choice is to not mention you're on suboxone at all, only if you can get that managed elsewhere.

 

[Keif' Richards]

It's totally fucked up, immoral and unethical, but I'm not surprised.

I don't think that this is everybody or even the majority of physicians, but I can totally see a more "business-minded" clinic not wanting to take on the liability. When you see someone is on Buprenorphine (Suboxone), you know immediately that they are or were an addict, which means they are statistically likely to need more time/services for the same amount of money as your "average" patient whom only requires a yearly checkup and a flu shot. You might need a specialist, psychiatry; they might need to confer with hospitals, rehabs etc. should you relapse.

For the less-passionate, less-altruistic doctor, seeing someone is on Buprenorphine is an easy way to filter out extra costs to the clinic. Yea, it's totally fucked up in terms of the Hippocratic Oath. Very sad, but I'm sure there are plenty of physicians out there willing to treat you. It's really degrading and shitty, but I'm sure you'll find the treatment you need. There are good physicians out there.

 

[Survival0200]

This topic makes me appreciate a public health care system, where you are appointed to a certain "health center" based on where you live. And they can't say they won't treat you.

 

[Juniper Bruhmomentius]

Fucked up that Something like suboxone which is nothing by design could get you kicked. Hoping Best

 

[Jabberwocky]

It's totally fucked up, immoral and unethical, but I'm not surprised.

I don't think that this is everybody or even the majority of physicians, but I can totally see a more "business-minded" clinic not wanting to take on the liability. When you see someone is on Buprenorphine (Suboxone), you know immediately that they are or were an addict, which means they are statistically likely to need more time/services for the same amount of money as your "average" patient whom only requires a yearly checkup and a flu shot. You might need a specialist, psychiatry; they might need to confer with hospitals, rehabs etc. should you relapse.

For the less-passionate, less-altruistic doctor, seeing someone is on Buprenorphine is an easy way to filter out extra costs to the clinic. Yea, it's totally fucked up in terms of the Hippocratic Oath. Very sad, but I'm sure there are plenty of physicians out there willing to treat you. It's really degrading and shitty, but I'm sure you'll find the treatment you need. There are good physicians out there.

This is the US. (I think)

In the US it's not extra costs to the clinic, it would actually be extra revenue. Every little thing they do: extra tests, a different level of evaluation, more frequent visits is more money for the doctor and the clinic.

I have a chronic illness, there is a code for insurance that is specific for office visits for people that have certain kinds of chronic illnesses. The doctor gets paid almost double from the insurance company when she sees me, than what she is paid when she sees pretty much anyone else. And yes, I'm talking about a primary care doctor.

It absolutely has to do with many doctors seeing addicts or former addicts as Indians see untouchables (by this I mean the lowest caste of Asian Indians).

 

[Painful One]

The same thing has happened to me.
My doctor retired and I had the insurance company even trying to find me a new doctor.
It was a horrific experience to be Fully insured and not have a single doctor who would help me.
The second they asked me what medications I take and I said “morphine, clonazepam” ....click..just hung up on me.

I barely found a suboxone clinic and I have been sick as hell and non functional since I had to change medications.
I am now fully crippled. My hands don’t work well...even typing this is so hard.
My muscles are so tight I cannot move properly, I have been sweating so bad that I might die from sweating alone.
Headaches are back. I have to use ibuprofen daily and that is bad for me, I have had liver failure.
I cannot sleep, I am barely eating. I have to force myself to eat. I have lost so much weight.
I used to be able to “pass” as normal for a short period of time.
Now....I cannot even leave my house.

I don’t know what to do.
No doctor will even see me and the doctor I had been seeing for 16 years who kept me stable left me with no medical records!
I have injury’s, chronic pain, some kind of degenerative disease that is getting worse.

I am fucked.

 

[Jabberwocky]

The same thing has happened to me.
My doctor retired and I had the insurance company even trying to find me a new doctor.
It was a horrific experience to be Fully insured and not have a single doctor who would help me.
The second they asked me what medications I take and I said “morphine, clonazepam” ....click..just hung up on me.

I barely found a suboxone clinic and I have been sick as hell and non functional since I had to change medications.
I am now fully crippled. My hands don’t work well...even typing this is so hard.
My muscles are so tight I cannot move properly, I have been sweating so bad that I might die from sweating alone.
Headaches are back. I have to use ibuprofen daily and that is bad for me, I have had liver failure.
I cannot sleep, I am barely eating. I have to force myself to eat. I have lost so much weight.
I used to be able to “pass” as normal for a short period of time.
Now....I cannot even leave my house.

I don’t know what to do.
No doctor will even see me and the doctor I had been seeing for 16 years who kept me stable left me with no medical records!
I have injury’s, chronic pain, some kind of degenerative disease that is getting worse.

I am fucked.

He had to keep your treatment records or else your insurance company wouldn't have paid him.

You can get the records from the insurance company or you can contact your local medical board and they'll make him get the records out of storage.

You can also get your prescription records for the last 18 months from most pharmacy companies.

 

[Juicewrldfan]

The same thing has happened to me.
My doctor retired and I had the insurance company even trying to find me a new doctor.
It was a horrific experience to be Fully insured and not have a single doctor who would help me.
The second they asked me what medications I take and I said “morphine, clonazepam” ....click..just hung up on me.

I barely found a suboxone clinic and I have been sick as hell and non functional since I had to change medications.
I am now fully crippled. My hands don’t work well...even typing this is so hard.
My muscles are so tight I cannot move properly, I have been sweating so bad that I might die from sweating alone.
Headaches are back. I have to use ibuprofen daily and that is bad for me, I have had liver failure.
I cannot sleep, I am barely eating. I have to force myself to eat. I have lost so much weight.
I used to be able to “pass” as normal for a short period of time.
Now....I cannot even leave my house.

I don’t know what to do.
No doctor will even see me and the doctor I had been seeing for 16 years who kept me stable left me with no medical records!
I have injury’s, chronic pain, some kind of degenerative disease that is getting worse.

I am fucked.

That sucks, man. It must be because I live in a big city that there are literally suboxone clinics on every freakin' corner nearly. Are you all in USA?

As far as the withdrawals, I hear some people say that kratom has helped them with suboxone withdrawals, but I really don't know. I was on suboxone for 5 years, but i guess im just one of the lucky ones because i didn't want to be on it anymore. I was on it so long it wasn't doing shit for me anymore so I just cold turkeyed quit when I was down to 4mg. I didn't even withdrawal. I didn't use anything to taper. Nothing. But i do know that a lot of people do experience withdrawals. That's crazy what you all are experiencing. I feel for ya.

 

[Harmredux]

I would lie 100%. I went through it TWICE now, I have been refused by no fewer than 30 practices in The NYC area and northern NJ, I was down to my last name and last day of meds.. He is insisting I take as much as possible, at least 16mg and pushing me to take 24, learning why it is so important to take larger amounts
But to get back to what you were saying, I said that I needed to get ON suboxone from pain meds and they straight up say that I was a "bad fit" because I was NOT USING HEROIN or FENT. Huh?!
I was like "what are you talking about, I have gotten every narcotic from the same doctor and pharmacy for over 6 years, how do you see that being a problem?!"

Click.

I still don't get it, I have pretty much zero chance of relapsing - correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't the dr. And pharmacy refuse to fill pain meds now that I am on suboxone?

The excuse is" we don't have any room" or "you have legit need for narcotics so if you need to go back on pain meds it will get me (being the doctor) in trouble".

I am SO FUCKING DISGUSTED. So I have to be using street drugs before I can get help? Fuck you to every psychiatrist in New York and New Jersey that didn't call me back or denied me. I hope a junkie steals your car and runs over you with it.

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

I would lie 100%. I went through it TWICE now, I have been refused by no fewer than 30 practices in The NYC area and northern NJ, I was down to my last name and last day of meds.
The doc I found is very odd. He is insisting I take as much as possible, at least 16mg and pushing me to take 24.
But to get back to what you were saying, I said that I needed to get ON suboxone from pain meds and they straight up say that I was a "bad fit" because I was NOT USING HEROIN or FENT. Huh?!
I was like "what are you talking about, I have gotten every narcotic from the same doctor and pharmacy for over 6 years, how do you see that being a problem?!"

Click.

I still don't get it, I have pretty much zero chance of relapsing - correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't the dr. And pharmacy refuse to fill pain meds now that I am on suboxone?

The excuse is" we don't have any room" or "you have legit need for narcotics so if you need to go back on pain meds it will get me (being the doctor) in trouble".

I am SO FUCKING DISGUSTED. So I have to be using street drugs before I can get help? Fuck you to every psychiatrist in New York and New Jersey that didn't call me back or denied me. I hope a junkie steals your car and runs over you with it.

This makes literally ZERO sense. Usually if you get refused it's BECAUSE you're still consuming street drugs on the side, not because you don't WTF

 

[themediumlebowski]

I can't fucking believe this shit! S I've been looking for a primary care doctor for ages, pretty much all year. My area is growing fast and I called literally ever doctor's office around, twice and some three times. Usually had ti leave messages. Most don't even call back, some do and say sorry, we're nor accepting new patients. It's been crazy.

Well, today I called 2 places. The first one answered, and it's my preferred choice, it's a private practice that my girlfriend goes to and is really happy with, she says the doctors actually spend time with you and pay attention, as it's not part of a giant hospital medical system. They asked me a series of questions, and then when they asked what medications I'm prescribed, I told them my Taltz, for psoriatc arthritis... and then I said suboxone. She totally changed her whole tone of voice and started sounding dismissive instead of friendly. She was like "well, sir, unfortunately we won't provide that medication so you are not a good fit for us, so we have to decline you" I was like wait, what? Well, I have a different provider for that, you wouldn't be prescribing it. She said "it doesn't matter, we don't work with patients who are on narcotic drugs" and then hung up.

It's fucking discrimination, is what it is! I am 39 years old, and I stupidly have not been to a primary care physician in over 10 years. I have concerns... I am relatively certain my prostate is enlarged, and I have back pain, and I just in general want to be on top of my health. If I have cancer, I want to catch it early. What the fuck is this discrimination? Do people on opiate replacement because they're trying to improve their lives not deserve medical care? Fuck that shit.

I'm so pissed off about it.

My question is this. The second place called me back and said they are taking new patients and they emailed me a link to a web form the fill out information. The instructions say "enter the information below so we can see if you'll be a good fit for our family practice". At the bottom, as I suspected, there is a field for current medications. I have it all filled out minus the suboxone. Do you think I should submit it without mentioning the suboxone? Or are they going to know? I use an online provider, QuickMD, whichm insurance does not cover (though it does cover the prescription).

It sucks because I want to be honest... I have concerns about the suboxone, too, and I want to start tapering off next year. Also I am almost positive my testosterone is way down because of it. But mostly, I am concerned about my prostate, and just want a dctor who can regularly see me and evaluate my health so I can make sure I remain healthy as I age. So maybe lying would be worth it since I'd get that other stuff. But maybe they'd see it on my records and then I'd be lying. And maybe this place won't deny me for being on suboxone.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Suggestions are welcome...

I know this is a couple of months old now but you could call the 2nd place, the one you were yet to fill out the form for, and just ask their stance on that sort of thing
just dont give your name or use an alias for the phone call.
Beats filling out the form honestly only to get denied

 

[themediumlebowski]

The same thing has happened to me.
My doctor retired and I had the insurance company even trying to find me a new doctor.
It was a horrific experience to be Fully insured and not have a single doctor who would help me.
The second they asked me what medications I take and I said “morphine, clonazepam” ....click..just hung up on me.

I barely found a suboxone clinic and I have been sick as hell and non functional since I had to change medications.
I am now fully crippled. My hands don’t work well...even typing this is so hard.
My muscles are so tight I cannot move properly, I have been sweating so bad that I might die from sweating alone.
Headaches are back. I have to use ibuprofen daily and that is bad for me, I have had liver failure.
I cannot sleep, I am barely eating. I have to force myself to eat. I have lost so much weight.
I used to be able to “pass” as normal for a short period of time.
Now....I cannot even leave my house.

I don’t know what to do.
No doctor will even see me and the doctor I had been seeing for 16 years who kept me stable left me with no medical records!
I have injury’s, chronic pain, some kind of degenerative disease that is getting worse.

I am fucked.

i dont know where you are but you could try going to a medical center and getting a referral to a pain clinic.
They vary in their stances around opiods and benzos.
i went to one pain clinic and saw two different pain specialists.
One presribed tapentadol and was running medical marijuana trials
the other has a list on his site of things he doesnt do, inc prescribing opiods and medical marijuana.
oddly enough the 2nd one is a pain specialist/psychiatrist, his list of what he does and doesnt do was a bit contradictory though.
for instance he says he treats mental health but in the dont column he lists a bunch of mental health conditions that he wont treat.
To top it off the first pain specialist referred me to this second one and in his referral he was talking about suboxone, i think only because i didnt articulate myself very well during my last consult which was over the phone.

i was trying to ask about opiod rotation options if i built a tolerance to what i was currently prescribed but he seems to have interpreted that as me needing opiod dependace therapy.
So now i have to go see the one who doesnt do opiod pain management about opiod dependace treatment....

anyway i am rambling a bit, my suggestion was to have a look if there are any pain specialist clinics near you and then try to get a referral from a gp who works in a medical center as opposed to a private practice