Why is my Doctor doing this to me?

[Itty Bitty]

I am new to this forum and hope I can get some answers that have been on my mind lately. My mother and I see the same PCP, my husband fired him and said nasty things to him over the phone (he is very ill, in the head and was hopspitalized for months at a behaviorial health hospital) hubby got mad because he wouldn't prescribe him painkillers, or do tests from head to toe. Hubby has a new doc now.
My problem: I got into an accident in stopped traffic, a large loaded logging truck rear ended me, sending me to the hospital on July 15, 2010. I was x-rayed, have MRI's done and they found out that I have 2 discs that are swelled along with sciatia nerve pain in addition to pain in my left foot (I have hardware in it from 2004). My doctor put me on oxycodone 5mg tabs. On my visit back in August, he said he has to do a urine test and a pill count on my next visit, he put me on those tablets 4 per day, if needed for pain. he said "I cannot keep you on this drug, only while you are healing) I go to Phys. Ther. 2x per week, as directed by him, along with going to a pain mgmt. clinic for steriod/cortisone injections in my back and sciatia nerve, they wear off. Okay, my mom goes to the same doc. I am 50, she is 73. He told me he does a ua on all his patients...he lied because my mom is on percocet 15 and he never ever tests her. He keeps asking me if I'm working! How can someone work with a back problem? I was a janitor and opened a restaurant heavy lifting, etc...We live in a tiny little town on the ocean in Maine. Now why the heck is he doing this to me??? He asks if I still live with hubby along with other questions. In November, I had fallen out on the deck (it was icy) right on my back. I called his office and he was off on that Friday. I was alloted 20 pills, and picked up the script at his office and had it filled. Dec. 1st was my next appointment and I was running out. When I went to see him, he was very very angry at me, his assistant was in the lobby waiting for me with the Calloway Lab. cup and told me to go urinate in it, which I did. He told me in his office that he can't keep writing out prescriptions forever and he was so angry he forgot to give me a script for my Ativan. Now, I will be honest, I smoked some green earlier in the week, a friend came to visit and I did smoke some. I didn't tell the doc that, in fear that he would not prescribe me the pain meds. I also told doc please don't give me 120 all at once, I am broke and need to wait for SSI check to come to get the rest of the script. He said 3x per day now, so that would be 90 altogether, so he wrote the script out for 60 of them to be filled that day. I am really confused because he owes me a script for 30 more this month. What kind of ua is this? Do they send it out? The reason I'm asking is because he can do a test with results in 5 minutes, or send it out to the lab for a more accurate test. How will he react with THC in my system? Do they test just for the drug(s) I'm on? He asked if I still take vicodin, I don't so I said no. Now, I'm afraid to call him for my other 30 pills!!! He counts my pills, but not my moms'. What is going on here? I had him as my doc for 12 years. If he did test for THC, will he call me, send a letter to me in the mail or what? There is another person I know that goes to him, she had an accident with lesser damage to her body and told me he never tests her or counts her pills...she is on heroin! She told me she happy he doesn't treat her that way because she would be booted out by his ua immediately. I know he lied to me. I am so mad and confused and scared to even go near the place right now. I want to ask if anyone can help me out in telling or offering me help on this one. I will be out of my pain meds next week. Any advise?

 

[Itty Bitty]

I never signed a pain contract either.

 

[Lolie]

Maybe it would be best to get the pain management clinic to prescribe your meds. Whether or not it's justified, if your doctor perceives you as a drug-seeker he's unlikely to change his mind.

 

[megamorph]

from what you said there i wouldnt worry your self..sounds like he just being cautaus..that you are not some ravin junkie tryin to get meds...and the part where he says he cant keep givin you the oxys is prob so you dont get addicted to them...

 

[Lolie]

from what you said there i wouldnt worry your self..sounds like he just being cautaus..that you are not some ravin junkie tryin to get meds...and the part where he says he cant keep givin you the oxys is prob so you dont get addicted to them...

I suspect he's also concerned about the possibility of the OP supplying her husband with painkillers given the nature of the conflict between the husband and the doctor.

 

[Itty Bitty]

I suspect he's also concerned about the possibility of the OP supplying her husband with painkillers given the nature of the conflict between the husband and the doctor.


Yes, I thought about that long and hard, he sees hubby, not me, when I am in his office...I am so mad right about now! I am in real pain with my lower back, it's hard to stay asleep for very long, every 4 hours or so, I'm wide awake, and have this electrifying pain radiating from my lower back. He lied=He doesn't trust me?

 

[neely1972]

I'd suggest seeing another doctor. It's worth a shot. Some doctors are hard asses, and some doctors will throw them around like candy. And in your case, sounds like you have legit injuries...so you shouldn't have a problem. However, drug tests are becoming more of a popular trend among doctors who plan to prescribe oxys and percs. This just assures them you are actually taking them and not selling them, or that you aren't using street drugs at the same time. Hopefully everything works out for you!

 

[curlygurl1980]

well on my opinion since he is already acting this way towards u he is not going to be happy at all when u fail for pot. i personally think he is holding a grudge agianst u bc of your hubby. u dont sound at all like u r drug seeking or abusing your medication i seriously doubt he is even going to give you your other pills. my main question is why have u not alrteady changed doctors with him acting this way? i know u said ulive in a small town but i knnow there are other doctors there. also i think u def need to go tto a pain management doc with the injuries that u have. but if he wants to be a reall ass he can tell your new doc when they get your records from him u failed for pot and thats why he doesnt see iu anymore. hopefully not but u need go get another doc asap there is no way i would stay with a doctor that treats me like he treats u!! call around tomorow and find one that is your best bet at this point!! best wishes to u

 

[sarahsweets]

It sounds like he is seeing you as your hubby. Me personally? I would go see him and very calmly state that you know he doesn't count other patients pills or give them ua tests everytime. Explain to him once again the nature of your hubbys mental issues and that how he acts is not a reflection of you. Tell him you are uncomfortable with the situation as it is now and if he would be more comfortable if you saw a different doctor. Giving him the choice and respect even tho he's a dick might make it an easier conversation and what do you have to lose? You may be getting another dr soon anyway.

 

[bpayne]

yeah thats a sucky situation, so I would just fire dude, you got to remember, HE works FOR YOU, not the other way around. get another pain specialist, tell the current one he is not meeting your needs and you already have an appointment set up with a different one. Make sure you set up the appointment first.

 

[Itty Bitty]

I am going tomorrow to see the foot and ankle specialist to see if the hardware needs to be removed from the impact and both my feet on the brakes, I can feel the screws in my foot with my finger, the accident may have popped the screws out of place. I'm reluctant to ask him for pain meds. I have been to the pain management dr. twice for injections...I didn't ask for any pain meds, or offered any, and he is connected with the PCP. Pain mgmt. Dr. gave me some Flexoril for spasms, which helps at night. This is a small community, one pharmacy, one hospital, one clinic, a peninsula. I don't know of any private practice doctor here. I would like to know if anyone has failed a UT at a doctor's visit, do they call you, send you a letter or wait until the next appointment? If he even tested for THC, I do not know, I would have expected contact with me by now if the test came up positive for THC.

 

[Itty Bitty]

Aye, and all this is going to my lawyer, who is suing the truck that rammed into me. Aye yi yi.. It's amazing how a person can be in true pain, and get no where with these doctors, why the hell does he think I want the medicine? I wouldn't be asking him for any if I wasn't in pain. As this crazy Dr. was on his computer, he kept mumbling "I have to protect myself, the DEA is always looking at records" then again he says "I cannot keep prescribing this to you." He doesn't realize that this is a small, small town and people talk, my mom never has problems with him for her percocets, she is loaded with dibilitating arthritis. He never gives her a UA or PC, to add fuel to the fire, I have 3 other people I know that go to him, they never get treated this way either and 2 of them are under 30 years old.

 

[neely1972]

He will know for sure that you smoked some pot. I highly doubt he would send you a letter, he may call you, but he will let you know on your next visit for sure. It sounds like he is very unprofessional, with getting 'mad' at you for asking for medicine he prescribed. I would seriously look into switching doctors. I realize that you are in a small town, I used to live just across the border from Maine in New Brunswick, I know the small town doctors are few and far between, and all know each other. That being said, there must be a doctor with some compassion for you and help you with your pain management. Wish you all the best!

 

[Lolie]

I am going tomorrow to see the foot and ankle specialist to see if the hardware needs to be removed from the impact and both my feet on the brakes, I can feel the screws in my foot with my finger, the accident may have popped the screws out of place. I'm reluctant to ask him for pain meds. I have been to the pain management dr. twice for injections...I didn't ask for any pain meds, or offered any, and he is connected with the PCP. Pain mgmt. Dr. gave me some Flexoril for spasms, which helps at night. This is a small community, one pharmacy, one hospital, one clinic, a peninsula. I don't know of any private practice doctor here. I would like to know if anyone has failed a UT at a doctor's visit, do they call you, send you a letter or wait until the next appointment? If he even tested for THC, I do not know, I would have expected contact with me by now if the test came up positive for THC.

As you said, you don't know what he was testing for. It's possible he's testing to check that you are taking your meds and not diverting them to your husband or supplementing them with other opiates.

Here doctors are under an enormous amount of pressure not to put people on drugs of dependence longterm (in fact here they can't prescribe oxycodone for longer than 12 months without a second doctor signing off on it). Because the expectation is that they will constantly review the ongoing need for drugs of dependence, many doctors here prefer to refer to a pain management specialist early - which probably does result in better longterm outcomes for patients than being put on medications which are never reviewed.

From what I'm reading, a similar trend seems to be emerging in the US. Here a lot of regulatory requirements have made doctors much more accountable for what they prescribe, whereas it seems like in the US a lot more doctors are using pain contracts and UA to cover their asses.

 

[curlygurl1980]

i mean can u not drive a little ways to see another doctor. i mean come on u dont have to put up with his shit seriously like some one else said he works for u. period. GET A NEW DOCTOR ASAP then u wont have to worry with him its just insane to me for u to put up with this when he works for u. also pot is always tested for in drug tests always. so just dont go back to him get a new doc problem solved so what if u have to drive 30 min or even an hour its only once a month.

 

[Lolie]

One other thing which might be making your doctor twitchy is the fact that your injuries are the subject of litigation. If you're claiming a degree of ongoing disability, it's highly likely that the defence will put your medical care under intense scrutiny and any deviation from accepted care standards gives them an opening to shift blame.

 

[TheFDA]

I am going tomorrow to see the foot and ankle specialist to see if the hardware needs to be removed from the impact and both my feet on the brakes, I can feel the screws in my foot with my finger, the accident may have popped the screws out of place. I'm reluctant to ask him for pain meds. I have been to the pain management dr. twice for injections...I didn't ask for any pain meds, or offered any, and he is connected with the PCP. Pain mgmt. Dr. gave me some Flexoril for spasms, which helps at night. This is a small community, one pharmacy, one hospital, one clinic, a peninsula. I don't know of any private practice doctor here. I would like to know if anyone has failed a UT at a doctor's visit, do they call you, send you a letter or wait until the next appointment? If he even tested for THC, I do not know, I would have expected contact with me by now if the test came up positive for THC.

You really should ask your pain management doctor for painkillers... I mean, after all, that's what he's there for. I understand why you'd feel the need to be cautious about asking for pain meds, but in my experience when you're in tons of physical agony & doctors aren't for whatever reason inclined to just go ahead & write you a prescription for pills that will control your pain, your best shot at getting painkillers is to make it really, really clear to the doctors (your pain doctor especially) that you're in absolutely horrible pain & it's controlling your life & preventing you from being able to function or even sleep, & that you really need something that will help the pain.
Up until recently I always avoided being so direct & stern with doctors about anything regarding pain meds, too, because I didn't want them to think I was drug seeking or whatever. However, every time I've been really direct & open with the doctors about my pain & what I need to control it it's been much, much more successful than not saying anything had been.
&, I think there's a good chance that at least some of your doctors "anger" or whatnot was because doctors really *can't* just write people painkiller prescriptions all the time & he probably just doesn't understand why you're not getting painkillers from your pain management doctor.

 

[OxyDillyKing]

Dude you totally can not be mad at the shit these ain docs do or you might as well give up the idea of being in pain management at all. they are going to make you jump thru so many hoops, and pay so much money, and so many tests, and so much p.t., just to get the one thing that really helps ( pills ) so they can cover their asses. if you can deal with it, id suggest quitting or buying off the street. its really no the docs fault either. the fda is so far up their ass that you should be thankful you even found a doc willing to give you oxycodone. it took me 3 years to find a doc who is now willing to give me ninety 30mg tablets per month, and i have some bad ass back pain with MRIs to back it up from a skateboarding accisent 5 years ago.

 

[TheFDA]

One other thing which might be making your doctor twitchy is the fact that your injuries are the subject of litigation. If you're claiming a degree of ongoing disability, it's highly likely that the defence will put your medical care under intense scrutiny and any deviation from accepted care standards gives them an opening to shift blame.

If she was stuck in traffic & her car wasn't even moving at the time & the truck rammed into her car, then the guy who was driving the truck is the at fault driver, & there's absolutely no way a positive drug test can change that. Whether or not she's at fault for the car crash is not the issue in question, the issue in question is about how much if any money she can get from him. & it sounds like it's pretty much a sure thing that she can get quite a bit of money, since I'm assuming the lawyer must have taken her case on contingency since she says she couldn't even afford to pay for an entire month's prescription of pills at once, & lawyers only take really, really solid cases on full contingency, since a percent of the money she gets is how the lawyer's paid.
& even if the blame could somehow be shifted the truck driver would then have to file a suit against her, & nobody ever files a suit against someone who doesn't have much of any money & can't even work.


That said, my advice to the OP is to definitely talk to your lawyer about the positive drug test (or the possibly of it). He's not a cop, he's representing you in a Civil Suit, & I think a positive drug test for weed would be protected under your attorney-client privilages. However, (you probably should double check that or something via the internet. Of course, like everything legal, such civil suit like the one you're in now are very complicated & entail a lot of different factors. However, it's always INCREDIBLY important to communicate as thoroughy & honestly (within basic reason) with your lawyer as possible so he can best represent you. If the "defense" has the right to access all your medical records including the copy of the positive drug test, as well as perhaps for other reasons too actually, you definitely might want to seriously consider just agreeing to sign a release of claims for as much as you can get (obviously this is impossible if nobody had insurance though).


... Somewhat off the pain topic at hand, I know. Sorry. It's just that I've been involved in all that sort of car crash settlement suit type craziness for over two years, & one thing I realized for SURE is that being provided even the slightest misinformation can be detrimental.

 

[Lolie]

^^^

I wasn't even talking about the drug test. It's not uncommon for insurance companies to argue that inadequate or inappropriate medical care contributed to the degree of disability - ie that a better outcome would have been possible with different medical care.

Because of the potential for the OP's doctor to come under scrutiny for the care he's provided to her and have to defend those choices in court (and be accountable to his own insurer for them if it gets that far), he really does need to create a paper trail which indicates that his treatment choices have been aimed at ensuring the best recovery and return to function possible for the OP.