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From middle aged backache to junkie in 15 flat

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UpInFlames

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 3, 2015
Messages
141
Well,lets just say Wisconsin's new narcotics database is up and running, and wow, does it need some work.

I went into an urgent care place today because I threw my back out but good last night and my doc's out of town.

Got examined, doc agreed that it was a pinched nerve, and toddled off to fax in RXs for some tramadol and robaxin.

Not 30 seconds later, she came storming back into the exam room, and YELLED, "I don't appreciate not getting complete information. I can't prescribe pain meds because you're on buprenorphine!"

Once i picked my jaw off the floor, and denied being on bupe, I asked her exactly what the database entry said.

That's when it came out that the pharmacy that dispensed the bupe was PET Apothecary, the compounding, veterinary only pharmacy that makes up Thomas the Maine Coon cat's pain meds for his arthritis.

I explained that to the doc, who VERY grudgingly sent in the RXs. When i got home from picking them up, I called Pet Apothecary and asked them what was up. The pharmacist there went ballistic. Seems when the laws in WI changed, they tried to get an exemption. No dice.

So, anyone in WI who gets controlled substances for a pet goes into the narcotics database, and there's no way to remove the info, or add a comment stating that the med was for a pet.

I now have the head compounding pharmacist's personal number, so that any doc or pharmacist who questions the bupe issue can call him to get an explanation.

My heart goes out to all the addicts who are trying so hard to get clean, and are running into awfulness much worse than what I ran into today. The change in this doctor's entire demeanor was stunning. She went from sweet and sympathetic, to sounding like she needed a stick to scrape me off her shoe.

I can say, that in the case of cats, bupe is a phenomenal pain killer, though it does make Thomas nod off without warning.
 
I'm confused, why would they give a cat or any feline would take subs? I thought the drug was just designed for human consumption; but I'm not a vet or medical professional.

I've owned cats all of my life and I would NEVER give them an opiate based painkiller or even subs.

I'm moving this to other drugs but we do not write in terms like "My pet cat", SWIM, etc. here so you may have to clarify your topic and post.
 
Buprenorphine has been used for many years as a pain killer in felines. It is very effective and has a lower toxicity profile than other narcotics. In addition, it doesn't cause the agitation that happens with some other narcotics.

I didn't think that righting about my cat would be interpreted as "swimming". i'm sorry if it was interpreted that way. I've never taken bupe, but over the years, i have had a few cats on it as a painkiller. The important parts of the post were, first of all, that prescriptions for animals can wind up in the WI database, and second of all, I got a very harsh, first had lesson in how narcotics users who are on replacement therapy are treated by the medical profession.

This is the second lesson. A good friend was thrown into withdrawal in the hospital when the hospital physician in charge of her care refused to let her have her painkillers (oxy and morphine) because he felt she was an addict. The meds were RXed by a pain specialist.

The painkiller Thomas is on was prescribed by a licensed vet. There are no NSAIDS that can safely be given to cats, acetaminophen is a deadlly toxin. Tramadol causes uncontrollable vomiting in cats.

He is 12 years old and has severe degenerative arthritis of the hips due to hip displaysia. The buprenorphine enables him to have a good quality, happy life, doing cat things. Burprenorphine was only RXed after he failed trials of other meds. He is also on gabapentin for pain management.

The meds are the difference between him being able to live a normal, healthy life (albeit with a limp) and him being euthanized due to constant pain.

He's no different than a human chronic pain patient,except that the most effective drug for pain management in felines happens to be one used for maintenance therapy in opiod/opiate addicts who happen to be human.
 
UpInFlames said:
Buprenorphine has been used for many years as a pain killer in felines. It is very effective and has a lower toxicity profile than other narcotics. In addition, it doesn't cause the agitation that happens with some other narcotics.

I didn't think that righting about my cat would be interpreted as "swimming". i'm sorry if it was interpreted that way. I've never taken bupe, but over the years, i have had a few cats on it as a painkiller. The important parts of the post were, first of all, that prescriptions for animals can wind up in the WI database, and second of all, I got a very harsh, first had lesson in how narcotics users who are on replacement therapy are treated by the medical profession.

This is the second lesson. A good friend was thrown into withdrawal in the hospital when the hospital physician in charge of her care refused to let her have her painkillers (oxy and morphine) because he felt she was an addict. The meds were RXed by a pain specialist.

The painkiller Thomas is on was prescribed by a licensed vet. There are no NSAIDS that can safely be given to cats, acetaminophen is a deadlly toxin. Tramadol causes uncontrollable vomiting in cats.

He is 12 years old and has severe degenerative arthritis of the hips due to hip displaysia. The buprenorphine enables him to have a good quality, happy life, doing cat things. Burprenorphine was only RXed after he failed trials of other meds. He is also on gabapentin for pain management.

The meds are the difference between him being able to live a normal, healthy life (albeit with a limp) and him being euthanized due to constant pain.

He's no different than a human chronic pain patient,except that the most effective drug for pain management in felines happens to be one used for maintenance therapy in opiod/opiate addicts who happen to be human.
Click to expand...

OK thanks for clarifying your post.

Can you tell the doctor that you are getting medications in extremely low doses for your cat? Or is that already in the information about you as a patient that you posted about? Maybe see a different doctor?

Can you get prescribed physical therapy for the pinched nerve? One of my friends did something like that for a pinched nerve and degenerative disc disease; but he's not into taking painkillers even if a doctor wants to prescribe them.
 
Once my doc gets back from vacation, I'll be making an appointment with her and getting a referral for physical and occupational therapy both.

If I have to go on pain meds chronically, I'll have to go into pain management as WI law requires that chronic pain meds be RXed by a PM specialist as opposed to a regular physician, even tramadol. I would prefer to just do therapy to get rid of the pain, as I have NO tolerance to traditional opioids and even hydrocodone makes me fall all over myself. Oxycodone is just pathetic. I prefer to use tramadol and NSAIDS for pain, but in this case they aren't holding it.
 
UpInFlames said:
Once my doc gets back from vacation, I'll be making an appointment with her and getting a referral for physical and occupational therapy both.

If I have to go on pain meds chronically, I'll have to go into pain management as WI law requires that chronic pain meds be RXed by a PM specialist as opposed to a regular physician, even tramadol. I would prefer to just do therapy to get rid of the pain, as I have NO tolerance to traditional opioids and even hydrocodone makes me fall all over myself. Oxycodone is just pathetic. I prefer to use tramadol and NSAIDS for pain, but in this case they aren't holding it.
Click to expand...

That doctor sounds like a lunatic.
 
The lunatic doc was at a "doc in the box" urgent care clinic that i went into when I couldn't stand it any more. My regular doc is reasonable.

I knew about buprenorphine as a vetrinary pain killer long before I found out about its usefulness as a maintenance therapy for human opioid addicts.

In fact, the first time i read about Suboxone, I was rather shocked as I had no idea that bupe could even be used in humans, just as I didn't know that Ketamine was used by humans recreationally. I knew it as a veterinary anesthetic always used with a benzo to prevent a panic reaction when the ketamine hit.

What bugs me about the idiot doc today is that the dosing info was included in the database entry, both that it was .3ml and .1mg 2x daily.

Reading here, I haven't seen anything about bupe being prescribed as a liquid, and certainly it doesn't seem to be prescribed in such miniscule doses.

Not to mention that the reporting pharmacy is called PET Apothecary. They aren't even licensed to compound human meds.

I'm still appalled by the way I was treated, though. And I'm sure that if I were on Suboxone/Subutex/Methadone, I would've been told to take more ibuprofen and acetaminophen and sent on my merry way.

It just seems to unfair to me that opioid addicts who are trying to get clean are treated like dirt by the medical profession in so many cases.

What happens if a person on replacement therapy needs pain management? Do they just suffer? Or do they wind up abusing their replacement meds? Or, are they forced back onto the street because they can't get legitimate meds from a doctor because they've got the scarlet A for Addict on some state or federal database?
 
UpInFlames said:
Well,lets just say Wisconsin's new narcotics database is up and running, and wow, does it need some work.

I went into an urgent care place today because I threw my back out but good last night and my doc's out of town.

Got examined, doc agreed that it was a pinched nerve, and toddled off to fax in RXs for some tramadol and robaxin.

Not 30 seconds later, she came storming back into the exam room, and YELLED, "I don't appreciate not getting complete information. I can't prescribe pain meds because you're on buprenorphine!"

Once i picked my jaw off the floor, and denied being on bupe, I asked her exactly what the database entry said.

That's when it came out that the pharmacy that dispensed the bupe was PET Apothecary, the compounding, veterinary only pharmacy that makes up Thomas the Maine Coon cat's pain meds for his arthritis.

I explained that to the doc, who VERY grudgingly sent in the RXs. When i got home from picking them up, I called Pet Apothecary and asked them what was up. The pharmacist there went ballistic. Seems when the laws in WI changed, they tried to get an exemption. No dice.

So, anyone in WI who gets controlled substances for a pet goes into the narcotics database, and there's no way to remove the info, or add a comment stating that the med was for a pet.

I now have the head compounding pharmacist's personal number, so that any doc or pharmacist who questions the bupe issue can call him to get an explanation.

My heart goes out to all the addicts who are trying so hard to get clean, and are running into awfulness much worse than what I ran into today. The change in this doctor's entire demeanor was stunning. She went from sweet and sympathetic, to sounding like she needed a stick to scrape me off her shoe.

I can say, that in the case of cats, bupe is a phenomenal pain killer, though it does make Thomas nod off without warning.
Click to expand...


Using terms such as "SWIM", "my dog", "my cat" are not allowed.. read the forum rules.
 
Yeah it is was very hard for me to find a doctor that would treat me fairly and for lack of better terminology "like my life mattered" because I am a recovering addict. They look at us as the scum of the earth and a cancerous growth on the medical field that needs to be excised.

I was on suboxone by a doctor for a while for ORT. The original GP I went to to try to get my health in order just assumed every word out of my mouth was a lie, and that when I was talking about being hospitalized for intense panic attacks, and not wanting to end up in the psychward anymore because of my OCD and being stuck in cyclic thinking which causes me to act in an extremely paranoid manner. He labeled me as a drug seeker and flat out told me that he would rather see me suffer benzo withdrawal than prescribe them to me. At the time, I was off benzos. I was looking for something like an SSRI that could bring me back to a more healthy baseline of anxiety. He just made me feel like the scum of the earth.

I found a doctor that cares about me and works with my psychotherapist to prescribe me the right medications. He has me on zoloft 100mg in the morning, xanax .5mg 3x daily PRN, and temazepam for sleep. The reason I am on the temazepam is because seroquel (which worked wonders for my insomnia) makes my liver enzymes skyrocket. This doctor actually checked on my health and realized I had a problem with my thyroid and I am now on synthroid 100mcg a day. The other doctor wouldn't even listen to the symptoms I had or recognize I was having a thyroid problem. I also have an autoimmune disease that causes my hands and ankles to swell and become extremely enflamed, and my joints to become so painful that it becomes hard for me even to write a sentence with a pencil. When this happens I go to him and he gives me a prescription for 4 or 5 hyrdo 7.5mgs and water pills to help with the swelling. I never take the hydros or even get it filled, I usually just take naproxen he also prescribed. He is actually working with me on developing an excercise regimen that will help with my knee and ankle problems (tore acl in high school)(hyper extended my achilles tendon slipping on black ice).

Basically what I am saying is that there are a lot of holier than thou doctors out there, but there are others that take the Hippocratic oath extremely seriously and will work with you. If it is in your power to find another doctor I highly suggest you do so. This doctor you have sounds like he is one of the problems with modern healthcare in the states.

You are allowed to ask for a copy of your medical records. I would do so. Secondly you are right about the scarlet A an addict or alleged addict recieves.
 
chili said:
Using terms such as "SWIM", "my dog", "my cat" are not allowed.. read the forum rules.
Click to expand...

As a non poster but many year reader, I had to login for first time in forever to reply to this. Could everybody lay the fuck off with making people feel like shit because they didn't read all the rules before their first post? Secondly, clearly you did not even read this thread or comprehend it... Because this person ACTUALLY HAS BUPE FOR THEIR CAT and is not 'swimming'. The mod brought it up in first response and it was immediately addressed.

and its total bs. sorry you have this issue.
 
If you want to see a percentage of the medical profession's opinion on users of opiates/opioids, go read some of their forums. Self-righteous and totally lacking in compassion. "I will never prescribe an opiate ever!" Hope I never meet that Doctor when I'm in the hospital recovering from surgery.
 
Bliindsided said:
As a non poster but many year reader, I had to login for first time in forever to reply to this. Could everybody lay the fuck off with making people feel like shit because they didn't read all the rules before their first post? Secondly, clearly you did not even read this thread or comprehend it... Because this person ACTUALLY HAS BUPE FOR THEIR CAT and is not 'swimming'. The mod brought it up in first response and it was immediately addressed.

and its total bs. sorry you have this issue.
Click to expand...

Actually, he was referring to himself but trying to avoid self incrimination, it's actually painfully obvious.. cats don't get prescribed bupe, fuckin' moron.
 
chili said:
Actually, he was referring to himself but trying to avoid self incrimination, it's actually painfully obvious.. cats don't get prescribed bupe, fuckin' moron.
Click to expand...

5second google search

Do a little research before calling someone a moron. It is understandable to be ignorant, but to be willfully ignorant is a disservice to us all.

Tinker55 said:
If you want to see a percentage of the medical profession's opinion on users of opiates/opioids, go read some of their forums. Self-righteous and totally lacking in compassion. "I will never prescribe an opiate ever!" Hope I never meet that Doctor when I'm in the hospital recovering from surgery.
Click to expand...

Yeah tink. Some doctors just do not understand that pain is very real. I hope these doctors have a chance to experience extreme chronic pain and end up in a doctors office and treated like some sort degenerate drug seeking criminal.
 
Sweet baby Jesus OP, I see the problem in this thread. It's almost all about thinking you are a cat. I'm surprised the doc in a box didn't mention your patchy fur.
 
I was joking about the confusion. :/
I was trying to imply the doc in the box thought he was a cat, and mock the posters who were all "swim this swim that".
 
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