Doctor is strict about handing me out Tramadol?

[trippieh3lix]

I was going to talk to her about upping my dose, but I had to switch doctors as I moved (same hospital branch) and these doctors are kind of acting weird and saying tramadol is a "strong narcotic" lol. What is there to do about this without sounding like some sort of "addict" and get my dose increased without being suspicious? This was her email attached, and they are even giving me trouble refilling it when my other doctor did so no problem.

"Being that I am your new primary care doctor, I am not suppose to prescribe any narcotic medications without having seen you- regardless of how long you have been taking this medication. As a courtesy only this once, I will provide you with a refill however I need to see you before the next refill can be given. Additionally, with any patient on strong "pain killers"- I will need to see you once every 2-3 months to continue getting this medication. This is the agreement I have with my patients that are on chronic pain medications. I'm not sure what agreement you had with your previous physician but this would be our agreement together.

All the best,
*** Am**** MD"

 

[Droppersneck]

I was going to talk to her about upping my dose, but I had to switch doctors as I moved (same hospital branch) and these doctors are kind of acting weird and saying tramadol is a "strong narcotic" lol. What is there to do about this without sounding like some sort of "addict" and get my dose increased without being suspicious? This was her email attached, and they are even giving me trouble refilling it when my other doctor did so no problem.

"Being that I am your new primary care doctor, I am not suppose to prescribe any narcotic medications without having seen you- regardless of how long you have been taking this medication. As a courtesy only this once, I will provide you with a refill however I need to see you before the next refill can be given. Additionally, with any patient on strong "pain killers"- I will need to see you once every 2-3 months to continue getting this medication. This is the agreement I have with my patients that are on chronic pain medications. I'm not sure what agreement you had with your previous physician but this would be our agreement together.

All the best,
*** Am**** MD"

Is your doctor Ned Flanders?

 

[bpayne]

doctors act like they hold so much power over you..but the reality is.. you can switch anytime.. if u don't like what she tells you.. then get another.. there are thousands out there. I would go so far as to let her know that you don't appreciate being told that this medicine that barely works is a "strong" anything and you will NOT jump through hoops to continue your pain management.. also include that it can be dangerous and uncomfortable for her to be so Callous about possibly not providing you with something like this that your body has grown accustom to..then move on to the next.. Straight like that.

 

[ghostandthedarknes]

I always had to go back every three months. Walked out with a three month script. Just part of the game sadly.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Doctors have to cover their ass.

This is normal practice.

 

[trippieh3lix]

I understand her point, and understand she needs to be covered. However, that's the thing. I did switch doctors a few days ago. The previous doctors instructions were to come in and no exceptions. She most likely read that on the prescription description ( I can see all that on Kaisers website, so I assume she can as well ). This is a brand new doctor.

But yeah.. my other doctor understood it just fine and even switched meds online; however I'm beginning to think she was just a really sweet doctor and would do anything to keep her patients happy. I'm just worried about talking to her in terms of a dose increase as she's making it seem as if this were some oxy's or something. I don't even think Trams are consider a true narcotic, at least to my knowledge.

 

[Snake_Eyes]

I understand her point, and understand she needs to be covered. However, that's the thing. I did switch doctors a few days ago. The previous doctors instructions were to come in and no exceptions. She most likely read that on the prescription description ( I can see all that on Kaisers website, so I assume she can as well ). This is a brand new doctor.

But yeah.. my other doctor understood it just fine and even switched meds online; however I'm beginning to think she was just a really sweet doctor and would do anything to keep her patients happy. I'm just worried about talking to her in terms of a dose increase as she's making it seem as if this were some oxy's or something. I don't even think Trams are consider a true narcotic, at least to my knowledge.

They're not, they aren't even a controlled drug.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

They're not, they aren't even a controlled drug.

I certain states it is...

 

[Pill2Chill]

They're not, they aren't even a controlled drug.

Most people get nothing out of tramadol, so they think it's crap, period. I've seen people talk about tramadol like it's so innocent/uneffective. I've seen it here on BL, often. And unfortunately from medical 'professionals' (I'd say about half the docs are oblivious. It's crazy.) And the ones who do know talk about it like it's as dangerous as morphine. I think this is how tramadol should be treated by doctors, because it ISN'T harmless or weak. It's probably more harmful than doing oxy (Don't know this for a fact, but it being notorious for the seizures it induces in some people looks like a fair point.)

As for it not being strong; tram will innitially get me higher (or well, a more pleasant high) until there's enough tolerance. It might not be strong for you, or even you and all your friends.. That does not make it so for everyone. It can annoy me to no end when someone talks trash about tramadol claiming personal experience for facts, then when someone comes around who is a good metabolizer, he's often (or used to be often) the one who is made out to be a fool, or a liar.

There's a perfectly plausible reason why it works (super)-well for some, and not at all for the rest. It's about how well your liver is able to metabolize tramadol into its primary active metabolite (O-desmethyltramadol). Period. Simple as that. Can't refute these facts afaik. Because of these facts, it really amazes me how slowly the community (drug community as well as medical community) is getting rid of these misconceptions. I can understand sceptisism, I'd be the same. But be open to reason.

Anyway, that turned out longer than I expected (sorry, amps) but all this is to say; people making light of tramadol or (like I've read people claim on BL a few times,) unharmful even is more dangerous than being told what's what. It's sometimes treated like APAP 2.0 It may put some people off from trying it, but because the correct info is out there too, alot of people still give it a shot if they ever come across it. It's seriously addictive if you happen to turn out a good metabolizer. I can guarantee you that. And I've plenty of experience with potent opioids.

Another thing; it not being a scheduled or a narcotic (appearantly in some it finally has been scheduled.^) is giving people a false sense of security when messing with this "useless", "crappy", or "good for when you can't get anything else" drug. And, as I said, if a person happens to be a good metabolizer, and is prone to addiction, shit will hit the fan. If he/she is prone to addiction, this false sense of security could turn out to have been the start of a nasty addiction.

Also not unimportant to mention; to me the withdrawals are far worse than those that come from abusing any classic opiate/oid from codeine to oxy. Heavy abuse. This is due to the SNRI + opiate combined w/d. I've read many people reporting the same, most people reporting this say it's atleast on par with most classic opiates/oids in terms of w/d. I experienced it myself, so did a very close friend of mine. So yeah, the people reporting this are not bullshitting.

I'll stop now, and see if I can trim my post a little here and there. Lol.

 

[Snake_Eyes]

Most people get nothing out of tramadol, so they think it's crap, period. I've seen people talk about tramadol like it's so innocent/uneffective. I've seen it here on BL, often. And unfortunately from medical 'professionals' (I'd say about half the docs are oblivious. It's crazy.) And the ones who do know talk about it like it's as dangerous as morphine. I think this is how tramadol should be treated by doctors, because it ISN'T harmless or weak. It's probably more harmful than doing oxy (Don't know this for a fact, but it being notorious for the seizures it induces in some people looks like a fair point.)

As for it not being strong; tram will innitially get me higher (or well, a more pleasant high) until there's enough tolerance. It might not be strong for you, or even you and all your friends.. That does not make it so for everyone. It can annoy me to no end when someone talks trash about tramadol claiming personal experience for facts, then when someone comes around who is a good metabolizer, he's often (or used to be often) the one who is made out to be a fool, or a liar.

There's a perfectly plausible reason why it works (super)-well for some, and not at all for the rest. It's about how well your liver is able to metabolize tramadol into its primary active metabolite (O-desmethyltramadol). Period. Simple as that. Can't refute these facts afaik. Because of these facts, it really amazes me how slowly the community (drug community as well as medical community) is getting rid of these misconceptions. I can understand sceptisism, I'd be the same. But be open to reason.

Anyway, that turned out longer than I expected (sorry, amps) but all this is to say; people making light of tramadol or (like I've read people claim on BL a few times,) unharmful even is more dangerous than being told what's what. It's sometimes treated like APAP 2.0 It may put some people off from trying it, but because the correct info is out there too, alot of people still give it a shot if they ever come across it. It's seriously addictive if you happen to turn out a good metabolizer. I can guarantee you that. And I've plenty of experience with potent opioids.

Another thing; it not being a scheduled or a narcotic (appearantly in some it finally has been scheduled.^) is giving people a false sense of security when messing with this "useless", "crappy", or "good for when you can't get anything else" drug. And, as I said, if a person happens to be a good metabolizer, and is prone to addiction, shit will hit the fan. If he/she is prone to addiction, this false sense of security could turn out to have been the start of a nasty addiction.

Also not unimportant to mention; to me the withdrawals are far worse than those that come from abusing any classic opiate/oid from codeine to oxy. Heavy abuse. This is due to the SNRI + opiate combined w/d. I've read many people reporting the same, most people reporting this say it's atleast on par with most classic opiates/oids in terms of w/d. I experienced it myself, so did a very close friend of mine. So yeah, the people reporting this are not bullshitting.

I'll stop now, and see if I can trim my post a little here and there. Lol.

How was I bashing or hating on tramadol? I was just pointing out that drugs.com has it listed as not a controlled substance and the clinic that I go to doesn't prescribed narcotics and I know that they prescribe tramadol. I wasn't aware that it was a state to state thing. I actually really like the medication, 150mg gives me a pretty good high that lasts a couple hours longer than hydrocodone and much longer than oxycodone. I recently tried to get it prescribed to me but had no luck instead they just doubled my Lyrica. Where I live tramadol isn't controlled yet my Lyrica and temazepam is and they don't have any problem prescribing me those.

 

[Pill2Chill]

How was I bashing or hating on tramadol? I was just pointing out that drugs.com has it listed as not a controlled substance and the clinic that I go to doesn't prescribed narcotics and I know that they prescribe tramadol. I wasn't aware that it was a state to state thing. I actually really like the medication, 150mg gives me a pretty good high that lasts a couple hours longer than hydrocodone and much longer than oxycodone. I recently tried to get it prescribed to me but had no luck instead they just doubled my Lyrica. Where I live tramadol isn't controlled yet my Lyrica and temazepam is and they don't have any problem prescribing me those.

I never said you were bashing tramadol, I was just expressing the annoyance I get when I see a post that either bashes, or makes light of tramadol. This thread is more of the latter. I mostly meant the OP and some of the replies; the ones who call tramadol useless or claim something they experienced to be a fact, true for every human on the planet. That kind of posts can set me off on a rant, especially on amps as I was yesterday.

It's not you in specific, infact you're almost the only one who is coming here with facts to make a point. Ok, appearantly it's now scheduled in some places, but I honestly would've said this same so I believe this is most likely still a fairly recent change. So don't be offended man, it's not at all my intention to call "bullshit" to the (aside from PY) only person in this thread who seems to know what they're talking about. What 'ticked me off the OP mostly, and some of the replies.

Where I live tramadol isn't controlled yet my Lyrica and temazepam is and they don't have any problem prescribing me those.

It being scheduled or not should not be blindly accepter by doctors and determine a doctor's prescribing behavior, although it's probably the reason alot of docs don't seem to think it's a "serious" painkiller. While it's actually a painkiller with serious withdrawals and (to good metabolizers) an addiction risk that's pretty much as serious as the addiction risk for oxy. I get that they'd rather give out the drug that only a small % of the population can get addicted to. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't know everything there is to know about the drugs they prescribe. Especially if it's the first line of treatment for moderate to severe pain.[/QUOTE]
As I said in my last post, I think it's the way tramadol should be treated, because it IS strong for some people, and it IS addictive as hell for some people. In fact I think hydrocodone should be the first line of treatment when SNAIDs/APAP/aspirin just don't cut it.

I was just thinking: Is this kind of thread even allowed? OP asked litterally "how should I go about getting her to increase my dose without her being suspicious". Bluelight isn't here to help you get high or how to manipulate your doctor; it's strictly for topics that fall under the category "Harm Reduction". No offence intended, I'm sure you did it not knowing it's not allowed. just mentioning it for future reference.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

We're not here to help you get more drugs out of your doctor or tell you what to say to your doctor to get drugs or to get a dosage increase.

I'm closing this thread. PM me if you have any questions.