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Misc qu about bupe dr and other misc issues

Titus

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 8, 2007
Messages
708
Location
Boston, MA
Considering going to see a dr for suboxone. I've been reluctant to do this because of my PTSD and difficulites with life as I get older I feel as though I may have to apply for disability at some point. I'm in my mid-40;s and have worked bascially my entire life. I have a history of alcohol abuse 20 years ago and ptsd from childhood and depression I have been in and out of treatment for those for hte past 14 years or so.

I am concerned that if I start on suboxone through a dr's prescription and things take another turn for hte worse (got warnings at my job due to triggering of PTSD through my works screw ups and have been having a harder and harder time functioning due to life stress and not being able to be prescribed a benzo (klonopin is what I need and was recommended by a neurologist) because of my history of alcohol abuse. The psych i was seeing at the time prescribed me clonodine. And I've been through this with several psychiatrists and general practictioners, they all won't prescribe me a benzo b/c of my distant history of alcohol abuse. I"ve always been honest about it. THey give me anti-d's which don't touch my anxiety. I've taken other stuff too, mood stabilizer, non addictive anti anxity like buspar. They don't work and klonopin dose best. I get them off the street.

I've used opiates for the past couple of years and suboxone off the street. I would be safest with a regular supply of suboxone, and cheaper if by a doctor. And I can function at work and home with klonopin or another anti anxiety.

But I"m concerned that if I start seeing a suboxone doctor and a couple or few years from now start getting even worse mentally/emotionally/psychiatrically and apply for disabilty through work and/or through the government they will try to say my problem is substance abuse and I'd be denied disability for that.

I don't want to be on disability. I was homeless when I was 25 and that was when I was 2 months sober from alcohol, I basically forced my parents to kick me out of their house by telling them all the things they did wrong to me when I was young and it upset them and they were like "your 25 and don't like it here, you have to leave" after I came home from an alcohol treatment center and learned about my mother emotionally incesting me (I already knew aobut all the other abuse and molestation, etc and didn't have basic life skills and was a total basket case and couldn't get a job because I was too afraid of people, I oculdn't even go to a place and ask for an applicatioin because of the incredible shame I had, etc, etc.

I became homeless and people tried to stear me to getting on disability or SSI and I was determined to habilitate myself and did. I have since worked with others who have significant problems and help them rehabilitate themselves, my personal experience makes it natural for me and I'm great at it.

But mentally and physically I've been deteriorating. My memory is that of a 70 year old. I've abused drugs and alcohol but it all stems from my PTSD. And when I tried to get into serious psychotherapy to address the abuse and the impact it has on me I lost it and went off the deep end. I don't want ot get into details but a whole can of worms was open that neither I nor the psychologist were equiped to deal with. I cut the therapy and thankfully didn't hurt anyone.

Now I feel that suboxone would help me and also a suboxone dr might be more likely to prescribe me klonopin when the past 6 psychiatrists wouldn't prescribe any benzo. But I dont 'want ot set myself up to be denied disability if I really need it as a last option and think that being in treatment for drug abuse could interfere with it should I really need it. That will be my 'current' mental health trreatment and drug abuse is not a reason they grant disability, it's areason they deny it. I've worked too hard and suffered too much to risk being denied disabilty when I was steered towards that when I was homeless by social workers 20 years ago and resisted that and fought damn hard to be able to be gainfully employed. And I want to continue.

Ideally I could get a dr to prescribe me klonopin for my ptsd and for a certain sleep disorder I have secondary to ptsd that the neurologist said klonopin is the drug used for htat.

But my main question is thoughts on getting into substance abuse threatement via suboxone at age 45 when I might have to apply for disabilty within the next 10 years. Then that will be my currrent 'issue' as far as those paid to evaluate potential disabiity applicants and potentially screen them out. I've never been to a psychiatric hospital so my ptsd isn't that bad, i've been able to keep a job but over the past 3 years have been out on family medical leave act like 5 times because of mental health (not drug) issues.

thoughs? I know I threw a lot out there but have a family and have to think of my wife and especially my baby. Without an income I'm up the creek and I'll be damed if I'm going to jeapordize my childs well being, I"m a great father despite being raised by parents and grand parents who abused and neglected me. Every day is a challenge for me. I need to think of what will be best for my future and disabilty is unfortunately a possible outcome due to my illness and being less able to tolerate life stress and negotiate life and work. I don't want ot have to quit my current job and take a job sweeping floors in a grocery store after hours becuase it's the only job I can handle due to not being able to handle stress like normal people. I would have to seek disability to have my family have a chance to live.

Any advice appreciated. I can get suboxone off the street and do that and take very small doses now with only occasional use of opiates. And I don't abuse benzo's or any other drugs. I just can't get benzos from a dr and can't work without them.
 
Welcome back titus, where have you been recently?

What exactly are you asking? We can't give you advice or thoughts on how to obtain prescriptions, you know that.
 
Welcome back titus, where have you been recently?

What exactly are you asking? We can't give you advice or thoughts on how to obtain prescriptions, you know that.

Actually I didn't know that. But essentially my question is, if anyone knows or has experience either personally or professionally, would someone in treatment for drug abuse (I'm assuming anyone prescribed suboxone is 'in treatment for drug abuse/dependence') lessen their chances of qualifying for disability?

My employer a year or go or so even suggested (becuase they knew I was experiencing enormous life stress because of a variety of life issues) that I apply for long term disability through work and said they would support that. And this isn't some family business either. I assume they know I have certain mental health issues because of scuttlebut around the office, I've shared some details with a couple trusted friends at work and word gets around, plus the person who hired me 20 years ago knows that I grew up in a family with a ton of abuse, although they do not know the particulars.

So my question is only indirectly related to drugs, but it is certainly a harm reduction question as far as life goes. If I go to a suboxone doctor and get suboxone treatment and then in the future wind up applying for disabilty out of necessity, the fact that I am, or was, in suboxone tx (drug abuse/dependence treatment) will come to the surface as part of the assessment process. I have heard that people who have mental illness and drug abuse and are in treatment for both have a harder time getting disabilty than those who just have mental illness. I'm looking for feedback on that. I dont' want to set myself up (and more importanly set my family up) to be denied disabilty by seeing a doctor for subxone prescription.

The way it is now I have a lifelong history of abuse/neglect which lead to mental illness, alchohol and mj abuse, recovery and absinance, homelessness, formal treatment for alcohol abuse both out-patient and 2 years in a 3/4 way house, then I became gainfully employed while learning basic life skills and entered mental health treatment and have been working every since. While there is a record of alcohol and other drug use in my medical history it is remote, nothing close to current. Over the past 15 years I have been in and out of treatment for mental health issues. Over the past 3 years it has gotten much worse where I thought at one point I was inevitibly going to have to apply for disabilty.

If I do wind up applying for disability at some point (I dont' want ot and will avoid it if at all possible) I think my chances are much better with my medical history the way it is now, being treated off and on for PTSD and Depression. If I enter into treatment with a suboxone prescriber and start taking prescribed suboxone, now I"m a drug abuse/dependence patient. That is not a vaild reason for someone to get disabilty. Obviously there is a ton of crossover with mental health and substance abuse/dependence...but the evaluators for disabilty look at current records as the most relevant.

So while I feel I could benefit from being prescribed suboxone, I also am quite leery of doing so because I may wind up having to apply for disabilty at some point. I'm 45 and don't think I'll make it to 65 working full time, at least not to the capacity I am now. That could change. But I have to think of all possibilities when planning my future. And I have a wife and baby now. I don't want to continue to have sort of mental overloads secondary to my PTSD over the next several years making it increasingly harder for me to sustain full time employment, apply for disabilty, and then have the fact (should I take this route) that I am or recently was in treatment for drug dependence pop up and interfere/prohibit me from being granted disabilty when my real issue is and has been PTSD.

Anyone have experience with this either themselves, family member, friend? Or professionally?

Is that any clearer? I'm thinking, all things considered, that I continue to acquire suboxone off the street to keep it off my medical records while staying engaed in mental health treatment which I continue to need, and actually need more and more as the years progress. Hopefully I will never have to apply for disabilty and am actually considering going back to school and making a career change where the job will be less stressful.

I just don't want to seek suboxone treatment and have it interfere with me potentially needing disability at some point in the future, which it looks like I might need since I have been out for extended periods of time from work because of my mental health issues. I talked with one guy in the process of applying for disabilty (most of my clients are all on disabilty) and he is having problems because he is in treatment for substance dependence as well as for having a mental illness.

So I'm looking for any feedback anyone here might be able to offer around that matter. It is not immenent so I"m not talking to a lawyer about this (although I have made a couple of calls in general, not to the point of discussing my situation in particular, just to get a bit of general info) and this is a BIG outstanding question I have. If I should enter into substance abuse/dependence treatment that is now part of my permanent medical record. And then it won't be 20 years ago with mental health treatment for the next 20 or more years, it will be CURRENT. And it's my understanding that can and does interfere with people seeking disability for mental illness reasons (they say your a drug addict and that's why your not/can't work- and that is not a vaild reason) while mental illness is, depending on the severity of it and how severely it impacts your life.

On a forum with people either actively or historically using and/or abusing drugs I thought someone might be able to offer me some helpful insight. Again, not specific to drug use itself, but the ramifications of drug use (in this instance suboxone prescribed by a doctor) possibly severely negatively impacting one possible future outcome of my life (i.e. my mental illness gets worse and I need disabilty- if I am on or was on in the not too distant past, suboxone, I get denied disability and can't support my family).

Again, I do not want and am not seeking disabilty. And I am not seeking advice on were to get drugs. I'm seeking advice/feedback from someone who may know how being in treatment for drug abuse/dependence can effect the outcome of applying for disabilty if they have a mental illness and this is the primary issue they have that effects their abilty to work or not work full time.

Hope that's clearer and hope someone can offer some feedback even though it's not strictly a drug harm reduction quesion in and of itself, more of a harm reduction question related to drug TREATMENT.
 
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