My monthly prescription for hydrocodone/APAP 10-325 QID has been chopped down by a factor of 75% without any prior warning. For those unable to follow, the script was sliced from 120 a month down to just 30. This month another increase was ordered - now I have 7.5-XXX hydrocodone. His excuse? Has to cut down on his RXing of scheduled medications across the board. Lovely. Our military now strives to negate any harm done to civilians during their offenses, wouldn't it be just dandy if the DEA adopted a similar policy? I was a clean patient, with no records of abuse, and had documented MRIs/X-rays validating two herniated discs in my lower back along with a pinched nerve and associated peripheral numbness/tingling/pain. In my 40s, male, and currently living in Seminole County, FL. A friend of mine is a radiologist at another local hospital, and we agreed to falsify records in return for some hydrocodone every now and then. Names will never be dropped, enough information has already leaked out in theory to call for an end to my career. Thanks to our LEOs frequenting drug-focused forums for leads such as this, perhaps enough of the right people will get a hold of this fragmented exposé after all. Some details have been removed in order to prevent this outcome, let's see what happens now.
I work long hours as an internist for a hospital in my county, so of course opioids prove themselves useful for easing any physical or psychological ills experienced on the job or afterward. My teenage years were mainly spent as a poly-drug user who was keen on his daily heroin shots, only after nearly being expelled from XXXX University did I clean up my act - cold turkey. Reliving that experience twenty something years later would likely end my career as soon as the primal urges take over logic and reason. The prescription pad will bring about my end for sure. Retiring as a long term chronic pain patient has always been on my radar ever since acquiring the taste for opioids as a mere child, around age 12 or so.
This doctor has had me at this dose for almost a year as I've never bothered to advance into oxycodone/morphine primarily due to my inclination towards hydrocodone. I find this compound more controllable than MS (the syringes and wheel filters are never far as an MD) and less desirable IMO oxycodone. Hydrocodone has always felt more euphoric during and than anything else except a proper 'rush' from intravenous admin. of morphine and friends for this one It took another careful 12 months just to get the hydros upped to 10s from an initial 5-500 BID. The legitimate clinics are really cutting down across the board, hopefully for the better. My prescription was kept at the edge of entry level narcotics in order to avoid being more carefully monitored for abuse/diversion, so to avoid the subsequent pill counts and precision urine tests administered to many patients receiving opioids from a higher tier.
Oh, staying small should have kept the DEAs claws away from my prescription, and that has worked until now. Luckily drug tolerance hasn't risen beyond 160mg at once (CWE implemented above 3 gr. APAP acutely), and as of recent has been cut in half after a five week break in order to make the legal opioids stretch as far as possible. I suspect this doctor is trying to sever my narcotics entirely, if that's the case it only seems logical to just start over. 30*7.5-XXX hydrocodone is only enough for two recreational doses right now, that's a rough transition down from eight in thirty days. The pain is simulated well, and I have enough records to back it up if my acting turned out inadequate. The possibility of this person seeing through my veil is slim to none, but that's another story for another time. Rules be rules.
Never have I let a physical dependency form, 96hr+ between each dose ensures near maximum effect and minimal tolerance buildup as well. Becoming used to the effects does happen, and at a 20% acute increase lies an increasingly bearable dry heaving from hour 3 to hour 6-7. Call me lucky, whatever. As stated previously, full scale dependency won't hesitate to annihilate everything I know and love in this world that isn't dope. The DEA is definitely cracking down here in FL hard, but they seem to be targeting only what appears to be some big fish - a common example is the top 50 list of docs dispensing any oxycodone formulation in a given area, initially without any benefit of the doubt. There is virtually no way around DEA mandates, for one never bites the hands which play you like a simple pawn in a chess game. Too easy to get sacrificed in the name of victory against this 'war on drugs'.
Once the targeted physicians conform to a ridiculously strict policy, or are dismissed from their duties if non-compliant. Most of the time it's the patients who are dealt the raw end of this deal, an alarming amount of folk may now be dismissed after many years of loyalty to their pain specialists. All it takes is a quick taper typically spanning less than 120 days if not opting for buprenorphine/methadone maintenance. Three months from 180mg oral morphine down to tramadol/codeine is very possible in practice, but far from pleasant I have heard. Observers may witness the majority of those patients now suffering without adequate pain management, and are forced to frequent emergency rooms for any possible support during moments of extreme agony. ER doctors loathe this influx of non-critical cases, just imagine a patient already tolerant to narcotics complaining of pain associated with a lack thereof.
If you've ever been under the scrutiny of emergency room staff, one's personality and character hardly factors into their decisions once they've looked into that packed waiting room. Your appearance, demeanor, and back story are all that matters. Stand your ground, never crumble as you stare solemnly in response to their piercing, profiling eyes. Expect to be treated harshly walking in as an (ex)CP patient in the ER - you're not about to die and we all know all that these patients want are narcotics. More often than not, abusers are fabricating similar situations of dire pain as the mass media was quick to point out some time ago. If they appear legitimate, or are especially annoying - we'll shut a few patients up with a slow push of hydromorphone or morphine. Too bad the majority of these addicts have no idea what they are doing, or aren't professional enough to fool a professional. Toradol, sir?
Fun fact: One of the two raided CVS pharmacies in Seminole County was my go-to place to fill anything and everything. A few barbiturates, countless benzodiazepines, amphetamines, opioids, pregabalin/gabapentin - almost every (semi)mainstream pharmaceutical has been dispensed from this location into my eager hands. No questions asked. Hell, I've even filled two months' worth of hydrocodone at the same time. The only issue was that insurance will obviously not cover the second Rx. Pay cash for #2, enjoy 240 Norcos this time. This doc never writes refills even for unscheduled medications, PM specialists can be quite the control freak. It's their training I presume. All patients must be re-evaluated after each month in order to prove any medications may or may not be working and most importantly, if they're still necessary for managing the condition it was originally prescribed for. Basic material, folks. If you're going to commit fraud against a medical professional, be a medical professional. No more advice, BLUA is law.
The pharmacist, before being replaced, must have put up a fantastic guise. I had no idea such shenanigans were taking place, usually a trained subconscious observation picks up these sort of clues..especially as a regular customer. Once the local news revealed their skewed take on the story, the primal addict inside my ego just cried a bit. Quite unfortunate to miss out on such a well crafted scheme, oh well. Walgreen's must have picked up where these guys left off, a lot of money is to be made working with unscrupulous practices as an established franchise. I have always assumed it was commonplace for these 'pill mills' to feature their own private, cash-only pharmacy. Sounds like the game has shifted without my knowledge, time to take a drive down south and see what's up.
Thank you, d-amphetamine. 1494 words and four hours burned. Is this post even relevant? God damn, this is out of character for me. Fuck it, I'm done typing.
