• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Misc The Pain Management Mega Thread version 3.0

Status
Not open for further replies.
BD- I think I've begun to notice when you get your mmj ;) But seriously, I love reading your posts. They are informative, insightful, and interesting to read. Just my random .02

Entheo- I went thru the same thing with my SM doc. He even told me not to take meds before my last diagnostic procedure. My other doc always knocked me out bc of my needle phobia, so needless to say, I had no effin clue what I was in for. I literally had a panic attack on the table and was shaking so bad the asst had to hold me down while they played around in my spine. *shivers* That was some traumatic shit and I will be signifanctly dosed next time!

<complaint of the day>As you guys know, I saw the hag today. She wouldn't change me to generic ER Opana but switched my percs to IR gen. Opana. Wtf?! She also, not only wouldn't increase my soma, but post-dated it to Sunday. Have I mentioned how much I can't stand her? So I get to see my Drs lovely face in 2 wks to discuss REAL options and get to pay them 2 copays this month for their scheduling mistake. Awesome. I swear, if he wasn't so good...<end complaint>
 
Finally got my MRI results and that and the CT show my newest fusion is healing, albeit very slowly. I am obviously happy to avoid any surgery for the time being I am somewhat distressed with the notion that I'll almost certainly have my meds cut back sooner than I would care for but I guess that it is okay if it keeps my PM Doc from trying to push me into a spinal cord stimulator.

Its a ghastly sounding notion, having electrodes internally place on my spinal cord and at my age not recommended but my PM doc has mentioned it so I put a call into my surgeon to get his opinion so perhaps I can stand my ground about my treatment plan but not loose a valued relationship with my PM Doc who to this point has been a life saver these last 6 months and I think he actually cares about me.

Anywho, just checkin in and gonna go back to my last night of blazing for a few weeks.


Oh, and thanks samson for the very sweet comments I just try to stay involved in this thread alot it helps me a bunch and if my words help one other chronic pain sufferer then I feel I did my duty here....
 
entheo said:
I'm very sorry to hear that samsonite.

I got cut off my pain medication today because I got a cortisone shot. Now I have to wait two weeks until my surgeon will consider putting me back on medication, and I got ANOTHER pt order. That makes 5 orders and 3 cortisone injections, a supartz injection, and an extensive knee surgery in less than 2 years! *frustrated*
Click to expand...

I used to get cortisone shots into my muscle that is torn in my shoulder and it worked, but that is when I first got hurt but now its meaningless, why did they take you off your pain meds just for the shots? Sorry to hear that
Emoticon48.png
 
I am seeing a common theme in some of these posts and threads of the past. Shitty care from a Dr, nurse, or clinic. It is so important in PM to get a good doc. It is probably the most important aspect of pain management. I think it was Samsonite with the monetary problem. I refused treatment from a doctor because of the same damn thing. Money.

I saw a guy a while back, my third PM doc, and he started pushing all these procedures at me There were MRI's, a Rhizotomy (rf rhizotomy), and invasive diagnostic procedures. My balance with the bastard reached 3000 dollars in 6 months!

Then comes the kicker. They told me when I originally called that they accepted my insurance. This was when I was working and had very good insurance. I looked at the bills and noticed that my insurance was paying 20% or less of every bill. The MRI was fully covered and was performed in a clinic just beneath my docs office.

I went "WTF!" when I showed up and they refused to treat me because I owed too much money. They then told me that while they 'did' accept my insurance, the doctor "was not in my insurance's network" of providers so my insurance would only cover little to none of my treatments. I was so furious I wanted to beat the office manager to a pulp. "Why did you not tell me this before ordering all of these procedures? The MRI was covered"?, I asked. "We aren't affiliated with them". Just typing this is getting me angry so I will stop and just provide the outcome.

I called my insurance and demanded that they step in and fix this mess with the "out of network" quackery. They re billed everything except the UA's that were 300 dollars a pop. Yes, 300 dollars because they were the expensive LCMS tests and tested for the most obscure substances. I had 3 in 6 months so between that money and they remaining copays for the rest after the rebill, I was left with 1500 dollars to pay.

Adding to the insult was their refusal write me anything to help me get disability from work. "We cannot provide you any service until the bill is paid in full." I was able to find a doctor that prescribed me a limited amount of medication until I could find a new doc but it was a nightmare. It took me a year to pay them off. Oh, I have other nightmares with other PM docs. I also have stories of some that were fantastic but the good ones moved away because of the state's new laws that policed them relentlessly.

I now have a new PM doc, 6th one, and he seems to actually care about patient's physical and emotional state. I have only seen him once and meet with his ARNP in a few days. She will be the one that does the majority of the prescribing and I can only hope she follows suit with her boss. I told the new doctor of my experience with the aforementioned doctor and he was very distraught. "He was one of my students. He wouldn't work with you on wiping out your remaining bill?" I can only hope he had a chat with his former subordinate.

It is a crapshoot when trying to get a good PM doctor. There are many that should not be allowed to practice medicine and others that are excellent but hamstrung by new laws and guidelines set by agencies because of the rise in prescription drug ODs over the past decade. We pain patients bear the brunt of the negative effects of not just finding the right doctor but the right "pain" doctor and are often left wondering what the hell just happened? Why did they do that?

When a person is prescribed something addictive, there should be a treatment agreement before treatment begins that protects the patients from being abused rather than a treatment agreement that is solely meant to stem patients abusing medications. I cannot tell you how many agreements I have signed and they are all for the doctor's benefit and protection. It is like you give up all control to the fucking doctors once you actually find one. "I agree to random screens, pill counts, refusal of treatment, and I will bake a cake for the staff every month." It is absolutely nuts. Where is there any mention of 'patient' rights in these agreements? I have never seen one. I even saw one agreement that said the doctor had a right to dismiss patients that were bothersome to the staff. Talk about ambiguous bullshit?

How about a treatment agreement that gives the patients a right to discreet, courteous service at all times?Anyone ever see that on an agreement? The previous posts in this thread indicate that most CPPs have little in the way of rights during treatment. Why do CPPs have to take it up the @!! so often? Is it because we are getting drugs that most people believe allow us to have one long pill popping party? Are they nuts? I don't know about you but this is the worst party I have ever attended.

Don't misunderstand there are many good, caring professionals out there but as one of my favorite PA's in the field of PM told me, "Many doctors are harassed by the DEA and other agencies that have no contact with the patients. It is a political nightmare right now for any doctor prescribing controlled pain meds."

There have been many days that I was saved by my meds but the pain involved with getting them prescribed correctly without any measure of distrust is painful in itself.

The doctors and nurses that are the best typically have chronic pain issues themselves. Zoey, go for it. The profession needs people like you.
 
Last edited:
^ this sounds like a nightmare scenario: pretty much the reason I haven't seen any PM docs yt. In just two months my x-rays, ct scan, pt, blood/ua tests, and doctor visits or over $2,000 US. On average that would be about 12-14 K a year just on ortho expenses with no surgeries. That doesnt even account for my other medical bills either . Tell me about expensive.... This is all out of pocket too, even though I have good insurance.
 
cortisone shots never helped my pain situation.

on the days i've been taking my morphine as prescribed i have been managing on a single dose in the morning (100mg er) which gets me through to the next morning. late that night i'm suffering around a 5-6 but can easily drop off to sleep with the aid of my valium.
 
milagro said:
I am seeing a common theme in some of these posts and threads of the past. Shitty care from a Dr, nurse, or clinic. It is so important in PM to get a good doc. It is probably the most important aspect of pain management. I think it was Samsonite with the monetary problem. I had to stop seeing one because of the same damn thing.

I saw a guy a while back, my third PM doc, and he started pushing all these procedures at me There were MRI's, a Rhizotomy (rf rhizotomy), and invasive diagnostic procedures. My balance with the bastard reached 3000 dollars in 6 months!

Then comes the kicker. They told me when I originally called that they accepted my insurance. This was when I was working and had very good insurance. I looked at the bills and noticed that my insurance was paying 20% or less of every bill. The MRI was fully covered and was performed in a clinic just beneath my docs office.

I went "WTF!" when I showed up and they refused to treat me because I owed too much money. They then told me that they did accept my insurance but the doctor "was not in my insurance's network" of providers so they would only cover little to none of my treatments. I was so furious I wanted to beat the office manager to a pulp. "Why did you not tell me this before ordering all of these procedures? The MRI was covered"? "We aren't affiliated with them". Just typing this is getting me angry so I will stop and just provide the outcome.

I called my insurance and demanded that they step in and fix this mess with the "out of network" quackery. They re billed everything except the UA's that were 300 dollars a pop. Yes, 300 dollars because they were the expensive LCMS tests and tested for the most obscure substances. I had 3 in 6 months so between that money and they remaining copays for the rest after the rebill, I was left with 1500 dollars to pay.

Adding to the insult was their refusal write me anything to help me get disability from work. "We cannot provide you any service until the bill is paid in full." I was able to find a doctor that prescribed me a limited amount of medication until I could find a new doc but it was a nightmare. It took me a year to pay them off. Oh, I have other nightmares with other PM docs. I also have stories of some that were fantastic but the good ones moved away because of the state's new laws that policed them relentlessly.

I now have a new PM doc, 6th one, and he seems to actually care about patients physical and emotional state. I have only seen him once and meet with his ARNP in a few days. She will be the one that does the majority of the prescribing and I can only hope she follows suit with her boss. I told the doctor of my experience with the aforementioned doctor and he was very distraught. "He was one of my students. He wouldn't work with you on wiping out your remaining bill?" I can only hope he had a chat with his former subordinate and scolded him for his deceptive practice.

It is a crapshoot when trying to get a good PM doctor. There are so many that should not be allowed to practice medicine and others that are excellent but hamstrung by new laws and guidelines set by agencies because of the rise in prescription ODs over the past decade. We pain patients bear the brunt of the negative effects and are often left wondering what the hell just happened? Why did they do that?

When a person is prescribed something addictive, there should be a treatment agreement before treatment begins that protects the patients from being abused rather than a treatment agreement that is meant to stem patients abusing. I cannot tell you how many agreements I have signed and they are all for the doctor's benefit. It is like you give up all control to the fucking doctors once you actually find one. "I agree to random screens, pill counts, refusal of treatment, performing 10 push ups and 50 jumping jacks, and baking a cake for the staff every month." It is absolutely nuts.

How about a treatment agreement that gives the patients a right to discreet, courteous service at all times? The previous posts indicate that most CPPs have little in the way of right of treatment. We have to take it because we are getting drugs that most people believe allow us to have one long pill popping party. Are they nuts?

There have been many days that I was saved by my meds but the pain involved with getting them prescribed correctly without any measure of distrust is painful in itself.

The doctors and nurses that are the best typically have chronic pain issues themselves. Zoey, go for it. The profession needs people like you.
Click to expand...


I too have been through 6 PM docs and most definitely had a PM Doc who pushed all sorts of injections and procedures despite them not working after a first or second attempt (epidurals) and never had muscle spasms until I had a rhizotmy.

I am so lucky with my current PM Doc (#6) who cares, speaks to my other doctors, and insists on seeing me every 2 weeks--not to bill me twice a month-- but to keep a close eye on my progress and recovery from spinal fusion #'s 2 and 3 this year.

I know I've said it here a lot as well, but I will say it again....people we must be our own advocates and we must never feel that we have to tolerate or endure poor service, bad attitudes or rude staff members. We are consumers as much as patients and WE can decide who performs a service for us (I guess this isn't so true in HMO or Nationalized health insurance nations?)

Hope everyone has a good labor day weekend with as little pain as possible.
 
BiggDirty01 said:
I know I've said it here a lot as well, but I will say it again....people we must be our own advocates and we must never feel that we have to tolerate or endure poor service, bad attitudes or rude staff members. We are consumers as much as patients and WE can decide who performs a service for us (I guess .
Click to expand...

^Exactly. Hopefully the field will expand and patients will have a larger pool from which to choose their doctor.
 
Docs appointment on Thursday was somewhat interesting , I got the same sort of rhetoric but I was a little more animated in trying to convey how much of an effect this is having on me and the doctor geniuingly appeared to care. Left his office with a script of cocodyramaol (DHC) taking 20mg 4 times a day - which unfortunately due to my tolerance does very little to alleviated the pain although yesterday I took it alongside the soma and oxycodone (much less mg than usual) and had an extremely good family bbq. Felt like my old self again sort of! I have also been scripted a drug called nefopam which I am to give a try once the DHC runs out. Diazepam was mentioned for muscle relaxtion relieve but unlike in the US doctors in my country are aware that scripting it for a long time means trouble. I kept trying to edge him towards tiazidine but was unaware of what it was unfortunatly. BUT I alluded him to the fact that low dose natrelxone was being used to good success in some studys and he was quite impressed at my knowledge of the subject so said he would do some research and come to a conclusion as to whether he believes it is acceptable for me to take. As per usual anything stronger than tramadol or x-codiene is wholly out of the question which truly saddens/worries me as I do actually get results from things like morphine or oxycodone. Really wish carisoma was prescribed in the UK - I have been having great results from it but I am mindful that tolerance builds to it very fast like my lyrica does. Having FM definetly seems to limit what is out their for me and it is really disheartening.
 
^ What do you mean about the natrelxone ? Does it work for pain ?

I wanted to try nefopam, but my PM doc said its not really prescribed anymore but it was used a lot 20 or so years ago. Let us know how the nefopam works out for you, it sounds like an interesting one.
 
yeah nefopam is quite an old one. I saw a graph a little while back about it doing something for pain at least - naltrexone that is. LDN is said to also potentiate opiates.
 
Check out this bullshit, I went to the Pharmacy last night to refill my Percocet last night and she is all we dont have anymore, I am WTF do you mean, she is all we have them on back order and will come in this week I went off didnt mean to but did, I am all what is the whole god damn world on them including my self what are we supposed to do, Just wait for you to get them and hope its soon, I am all this is bullshit I have NEVER heard a Pharmacy that "Ran Out" of meds, I grabbed my script and walked out. I had to go to the grocery store and use their Pharmacy never been there before, and gave them the script and they are sure we can fill this I am all you have them on the shelf right she is yes why? I told her what happened and she was surprised. Then she is all this is a controlled substance and asked for a picture ID I showed her and she gave them to me I am all thank you so much. So I will be using them in the future and not my Pharmacy. Honestly I cant get over that The only place to get every drug known to man and they just ran out!!?!?
 
It pisses me off so much to know that you had to go without! Then, to deal with that shit! Know one needs or deserves that!

It gets me so furious that there are such ignorant, uncaring people working out there. When there are so many competent people that would love to have a job it's just a shame.
How do they NOT get it!!! A chronic pain patient who comes in every month and gets the same med's - every month, really needs to have that med. in-stock and ready! Oh boy, the "attitudes" they have when you are calling out their incompetence and their mistakes is crazy too! And doctors wonder why we have anxiety!!!
 
Hey everybody. Hope all have had low pain over the weekend as i haven't. Wish me luck for my appointment with the new specialist tomorrow. I am hoping to change meds and be assessed to see if i qualify for scs. Im so scared Im frightened of new drs.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top