• NMI Moderators: M!$TER-ED

Hey all, something I wanna share

Neuropathic1

Greenlighter
Joined
Sep 29, 2011
Messages
27
New here, and happy to have found this site of open minded people.

I have had a hell of an experience regarding doctors and my illness with complications. I visited my family doctor to try and see what could be done with a nerve disease that has bothered me since 1988, I have Neuropathy that has spread throughout my body. 3 years ago I approached my doc to see if they could help with the pain in my legs and back. I was prescribed a myriad of meds that unfortunately all prompted bad side effects and reactions. My doc gave me Oxycontin 5 mg tabs and 1 per day held spectacular results for me. When I saw my doc for a refill I told her this was a miracle drug for me. I was able to walk long distances and felt really good. For a time. I soon worked my way up to 6-8 pills per day and I always seemed to need more. My doc said I needed to get into a pain clinic for safety and better refinement by a pain specialist. I waited for 2 and a half years to finally see a doctor and he didn't exactly hold any bedside manners. He asked me to give him a quick synopsis of my pain then started grilling me for personal information regarding my disease and if I had any addictions I should notify him I had/have. I told him I experimented with various drugs and I watched his entire demeanor flip from empathy to apathy. He wrote a few scripts and had started to shove me out the door with a requisition for lab blood work. He wanted everything done, every possible illegal drug and various STD's, alongside a Hemoglobin A!c and Creatine tests. Being an occasional pot smoker I started to get serious anxiety as to what labels and stigmas would be applied to me, not to mention all that info going to every specialist I currently see and have a good rapport with (all 5 of them). I bit the bullet and was lucky nothing showed up positive.

I kinda felt like I was under the gun after my doc mentioned that if I tested positive for any illegal substance he had the legal authority to stop scripting me narcotics for pain as I would be a liability and they wish to avoid any potential lawsuits if something happened like an OD. They handed me a contract that they wanted me to sign that I would not see any other doc for my prescription pain meds, I would have to use a pharmacy of thier choice and I was to be drug tested once a month. In addition, they will only give me enough meds for 1 week. I have to phone the pharmacy to fax the clinic a week in advance, and the pain clinic faxes back a refill for 7 days. I do this routine every week. There have been many mistakes by one or the other in that chain and I have had 10 episodes where I run out of meds sometime for up to 3 days. The WD's are iinsanely hard. I find it ironic that they never do this type of nazi-regime of schedule for persons with cancer. I have equivalent or higher pain issues than most cancers. I literally have to fight for meds, and increasing doses is a royal pain and battle of atrition.

I have asked my doc for 2 weeks of meds at a time and his reply was...they have too high a street value, and I may get mugged for the meds. If I could just switch docs that would be awesome, but I have to get a referal from family doc and I will be on a waiting list for a least 3 yrs befor I can get a new pain specialist...

anyone else experience this and have any ideas or suggestions?
 
Welcome to the light mate!

Sorry to hear about your dramas with the Doctors. I really can't give you any advice or suggestions, but one of the other NMI mods - skillz~4~thrillz might be able to help you out. You'll be able to PM her as she is a moderator and I'm sure she'll be able to help you out.

~JoshE
 
Welcome! :)
Sorry I have been slow to welcome you-I have had some meds issues myself of late.
However,if there is anything I can help you with-PLEASE do not hesitate to PM me!!!
Glad you are here and hope you will reach out if I can help in anyway! :D

MUCH peace and love..........................skillz =D
 
Eerie.. Response to original posting.

I have to say that when I read this, it was so eerily similar I had to write a response.
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and a nerve disorder that has yet to be diagnosed- all this testing these past years have been painful and un-yielding. I have had the RA for almost my whole life, and went undiagnosed as well. Now amidst all the fruit loopy docs, major slew of medications (I've been on everything you can about name!), 2 years ago I was finally put onto 5/325mg Oxycodone. It seemed like a wonder drug to me.

Originally my Nazi of a doc put me on only 2 a day, until it reached 12 tabs a day total! When I finally reached the point that 5 tabs a day wasn't doing anything much to touch the pain scale whatsoever anymore, my PC doc put me on Methadone- at the time I didn't know what it was, although I wish I would've known more. I've heard all the horror stories, so please refrain.

So here I am today- I have NEVER felt like I could ever ask him, well even say anything towards what I thought would be a good medicine to help. Now he has stopped the Oxycodone completely, and I'm stuck on only 120mg a day of Methadone! He doesn't want me on the Oxycodone because of the street value as well. What a joke. :p I have to say that Methadone alone has so far not working as well as I'd hoped. I've had to add about 1000mg of APAP to help it along.

I don't feel there's much hope, nor will anything change. It's depressing, and I wish I could see someone outside of my Insurance but as we all know, those bills run sky high!
I wish that most docs would have to go through some sort of pain management course *before* they get licensed, or at least something that would make them more aware. :!
 
I had a couple of crushed disks in my back and neck and was using dilaudid for it cuz I have nomedical insurance and can't afford surgery... when I started out for the first few months everything was good... but as tolerance built the doctors did the same thing and wanted to start switching meds and such... this led me to start getting stuff off the street when I needed it and things went downhill from there...

Basicly with regular opiate use your tolerance keeps building and you'll always keep needing more to get the same level of analgesia... and after 3years of being on the opiates my back still hurt all the time... but when I finally stopped using them my back quit hurting all the time... and after a couple years of being off them my back rarely gives me trouble anymore... my body seemsto have just naturally adjusted and now ignores it... where as before I was always seeking the drug for help and my back learned that always hurting meant it always got drugs lol...

That's my story but everyone is different... my advice is find a new doc and don't mention anything about any illegal drug use or you will be treated like a criminal... actually finding a good doctor was part of me getting over these issues
 
It's a buyer's market if you are a legitimate patient; go to a new doctor. You should bring up you're willing to go seek out a new doctor if he isn't more lenient with you.

Welcome to Bluelight! I hope you can resolve your issues any way possible. :)
 
ShotgunMary, I am so sorry for your situation. I would suggest that the next time you see your doctor, tell him you are having terrible reactions to the drug. Be bold and firm, and state clearly: 'I am not going to continue this drug' It is reacting poorly and inneffective. If you read up on Methadone side-effects you have a list of ammunition you can bring to the next appointment. Hydromorphone, Fentnyl, Nucynta are alternatives.

Remember that if you inform your prescribing doctor that the currrent medications are ineefective and making you more sick, he has to try a different stradegy to assist your pain issues, Otherwise he could be sued for malpractice. Stand up for yourself and don't let them push you around. You have a right to a pain free life good luck!
 
Thanks! I have had to fight my doctors over and over to get the amount of pain management I need. One issue where I live is I need a Family Doc referral to a pain clinic. It took 3 years until I got in. Healthcare in Canada is so slow, if I want to switch doctors I will be waiting for another 3 years. I have to bite the bullet and go on



It's a buyer's market if you are a legitimate patient; go to a new doctor. You should bring up you're willing to go seek out a new doctor if he isn't more lenient with you.

Welcome to Bluelight! I hope you can resolve your issues any way possible. :)
 
I am a recovering Oxycotin addict. I am curious first off, Where do you currently reside because from the last time I looked into the substance I've heard it was discontinued and OP(opana) or something like that has taken over due to the HIGH recreational and distribution of the brand name OxyCotin. I used to be a recreational user if OxyCotin and it all started from one of my motorcycle accidents when fracturing my tailbone and having road rash everywhere my orthopedist prescribed me 10/325 norcos and I've never had any sort of pain medication before and these actually made me nauseous and at first I really didn't like them. I would rather suffer the pain than being nauseous and feeling like throwing up. However, as my tolerance build up I would pop one norco and I would feel it for 4-6 hours and just be bed rested for 3 months after recovering from my accident. Only shitty thing about any opiate is that tolerance builds up as fast as those cars in fast in the furious or whatever. I started to really enjoy the euphoria feeling of opiates and after taking them for 3 months straight I was able to return back to work and function without the pain. Even though it was a desk job, I fractured my tail bone so even now, 3 years later If I set on any type of surface(couch, computer chair, car seat, bench) my tailbone/lowback gets numb where as it feels like I've been sitting on a High school desk chair for 7 hours straight without getting up. This pain starts 30-45 minutes after setting on any surface and I still have the problem. Well, Back to your issue...1.) your doctor is a great doctor and he is being very careful with handling you as a patient. OxyCotin is a MOTHER FUCKER and I wish I was never introduced to it or tried it. It's a feeling for patients who are going to die...because if you keep using it, You will eventually die, end up on the streets, or jail. (start using heroin). I was taking 600mg of OxyCotin a day smoking it on foil and what not. I distributed it on streets and 2 years ago the going rate was around 40 dollars for an 80mg oc. *green guys, 80's* As the demand became more intense the prices increased..since I had to start paying more I had to start charging more. I sold an oc 80 for 100 dollars at it's peak. This is when all the fiends would do just about anything to get their hands on an 80, and it wouldn't even get them high, it'll just kill the fiend and withdrawals. I went to rehab on my own will because I realize if I kept abusing the substance I would end up on the streets, dead, in jail or using H. Honestly, to tell you the truth in my opinion, try a different medication. Or try to find another way to deal with the pain you are going through. OxyCotin leads to a very dangerous/dark road and I would hate for that stress/pain/experience for anyone. You're dealing with something that people will follow you home from the pharmacy and rob you or mug you for your medication. You have to realize that you need to trust your doctor and also the pharmacy you pick up the meds at. There are addicts at pharmacies who will give your information out to their fiend friends and that's how you will get robbed. Also make sure you count after leaving the pharmacy to make sure you were not robbed from the pharmacy techs. What is your MG currently and honestly how much are you taking a day? Is it orally, snorting, or smoking?
 
IMO your doctor is being a nazi and doesn't realize that the medicine is truly and genuinely helping you live your day to day life. Yes, OC has a high street value and so do a lot of other narcotics. I would ask your doctor that it is sad to think that he/she would have to put you on a completely different medicine after prescribing you a certain substance such as OC to help with your pain. That isn't even the right way to ween someone off the substance and it will just have you resort to looking for the medicine on the street or in an illegal way. You need to be honest with your doctor and tell him that the medicine he was prescribing you prior to switching you to methadone (which is WEAK compared to oxy but has the same side effects and withdrawal symptoms and risk of abuse) is completely idiotic and if he isn't going to help you with your pain issues then you need him to find you a doctor who will help you with your pain. A doctors job is to help their patients, It's so stupid how he will prescribe you something and then take you off because there's a high street value to it. You're not even getting enough to sell, people pick up oxycotin 80mgs by 100s. This doctor of yours needs a reality check and honestly he is only looking out for himself by doing this to you which is a complete dick move. switch doctors.
 
"I had a couple of crushed disks in my back and neck and was using dilaudid for it cuz I have nomedical insurance and can't afford surgery... when I started out for the first few months everything was good... but as tolerance built the doctors did the same thing and wanted to start switching meds and such... this led me to start getting stuff off the street when I needed it and things went downhill from there..." Chemically insane

See, like I said. The doctor is not looking out for your better being. He is being selfish and only caring about his license and what the DEA might do to him because he thinks you're going to sell the substance on the street when he is suppose to be helping you due to the pain you have to go through day in day out. Tell your doctor that if he keeps doing this BS to you that the next step is finding it on the streets where HE CANNOT monitor the usage of how much you're taking and that is like what chemically insane stated...a downhill road.
 
I'm very impressed with your story chemically insane and am quite amazed how easy it was for you to just stop, drop, and quit an opiate like you did. But that makes complete sense and I am on the same boat. I fractured my tail bone from a motorcycle accident and after getting treated for my OxyCotin addiction my back rarely hurts and when it does I just deal with it. It was more of a mental addiction than physical addiction. Withdrawals only lasted 1-2weeks max and took me a good year to get over the mental addiction of wanting to get high off it. I realize that opiates are one of the only drugs that genetically change the make up in your body to make you a shady/deceiving/sketch person. You start lying, isolate yourself from close friends and family, and become a completely different person. I am glad you got through the bullshit of being a user (esp 3 years) of an opiate. I know it wasn't easy but keep up the good work and sober living.
 
Captain. Heroin is honestly very welcoming and one of the best moderators IMO. I suggest to add him as a friend because he genuinely cares about your well being and will answer any question regarding whatever you are experiencing, and if he doesn't have a legitimate answer for you he will send you in the right area to find the answers you need.
 
There's other ways, it would just probably include moving to the United States, getting private health insurance, or paying out of pocket.

Nonetheless, whatever you may choose to decide for your life, I hope you get the best possible medical treatment available. :)

Baher: In the future, you should not reply a bunch of times in a row, but instead, use the edit button of the first post to continue on what you were originally writing about. :) This way, you can conserve the space used up in a thread.
 
Top