Discussion Chronic pain sufferers and the ever-changing laws

[lolis my thesis]

Yeah I saw her today; my nemesis. And they are legally NOT supposed to dispense my methadone without a pharmacist consult. So I grit my teeth, ready for battle, witty replies at the ready. But the pharmacy tech said "Any questions" I said nope and was on my way. Whistling past the graveyard

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Yes! This is exactly what happened to me recently. One of my doctors (pain management doctor, one of the only doctors I really trust) told me that my lymph nodes have been swollen for a super long time and it might possibly be cancer. So I go to my PCP and ask for the necessary referrals so I can get this checked out. She also checks me over and says I’m perfectly fine…

Pretty sure this doctor’s office just sees me as a hypochondriac, though, and not only that but all of the doctors here are younger than me. And they’ve *always* thought I was perfectly fine, even when there actually ended up being something wrong with me. They told me that “maybe your bra is too tight” as a possible explanation for a certain type of pain I had; turned out that I had GERD and was getting esophageal pain. Idiots!

Holy shit.
It pains me so much to hear so many people getting this treatment from doctors.

These people go to school & make truck loads of money to basically dismiss their patients & treat them like shit.
I like how once you're diagnosed with anxiety too, any physical ailment you complain of automatically becomes "anxiety".
Heart pain? It's just anxiety? Strange sensations in your chest? It's just anxiety. Uncontrollable body jerks & ticks? It's just anxiety. It's so frustrating.
I went to a neurologist about my myoclonic jerks & the first thing he did was have me make a fist and push back on his hand. And then he said to me "oh if you had anything wrong with you, you wouldn't have been able to do that". I was flabbergasted. Like wtf. He was also just rude & treated me like I was wasting his time, so I was a jerk back to him.

Eventually he had me do an EEG & they found I had a lot of abnormal brainwaves, so they did a catscan & my brain was "normal" (even after 20+ years of hard drug use, my brain is normal? Interesting). And then they basically shrugged their shoulders. Like gee thanks for all your insight & help.


I'm sorry to everyone dealing with our pitiful and disgusting healthcare system.

 

[xtcgrrrl]

Holy shit.
It pains me so much to hear so many people getting this treatment from doctors.

These people go to school & make truck loads of money to basically dismiss their patients & treat them like shit.
I like how once you're diagnosed with anxiety too, any physical ailment you complain of automatically becomes "anxiety".
Heart pain? It's just anxiety? Strange sensations in your chest? It's just anxiety. Uncontrollable body jerks & ticks? It's just anxiety. It's so frustrating.
I went to a neurologist about my myoclonic jerks & the first thing he did was have me make a fist and push back on his hand. And then he said to me "oh if you had anything wrong with you, you wouldn't have been able to do that". I was flabbergasted. Like wtf. He was also just rude & treated me like I was wasting his time, so I was a jerk back to him.

Eventually he had me do an EEG & they found I had a lot of abnormal brainwaves, so they did a catscan & my brain was "normal" (even after 20+ years of hard drug use, my brain is normal? Interesting). And then they basically shrugged their shoulders. Like gee thanks for all your insight & help.


I'm sorry to everyone dealing with our pitiful and disgusting healthcare system.

Omg. Lol. Are you me?? I could be telling this same story, just with a few details changed. The anxiety bit, for one. All of my doctors have said “it’s just anxiety” about one symptom or another over the years. First of all, “just” anxiety?! It’s scientifically and medically proven that anxiety has actual physical effects, some of which can be quite severe, especially over a prolonged period of time (like months or years.) Second, medical brainwashing is a thing and apparently is more the rule than the exception!!! It kinda leads me to think that doctors don’t really know anything; they’re just guessing!!! And using their enormous egos as a shield to protect them from being wrong…idk. I’ve also had the experience of tryna get to the bottom of symptoms I definitely have (as opposed to just being all in my head) and being told “tests are normal” and they shrug their shoulders and expect me to drop it. Which doesn’t solve the problem of the pain and other symptoms. So what has been happening is that I will move on with life, because I am very busy and don’t have a lot of time to devote to this, and also, who likes thinking about their health problems?? But that just means that the pain and other things have gotten worse to the point where I cannot effectively carry on with certain things, so now I realize I better figure out what the fuck this is.

I swear to god, if I die because of something that they told me was “normal” or “just anxiety,” I’m gonna be so pissed.

 

[RUC4]

I can't find my old post about alternatives for chronic pain relief., but I wanted to ask if anyone had any other suggestions.

I've had burning/tingly in my feet for a couple years now. Along with dry skin on my right elbow.
Watched a video & discovered that these symptoms could be from vitamin b1 deficiency.
I have no idea if I have a vitamin b1 deficiency but I guess it can't hurt to try when I have the money for a supplement.

I've spoken to 5 different doctors over the past 2 years & mentioned this burning/tingling & not a single one of them mentioned anything about possible vitamin deficiency or anything at all real. Mostly just looks of "well that sucks".
The US healthcare system is completely fucked.

I have to resort to poppyseeds, DXM or illicit drugs whenever the pain gets to be too much. Which is fucking absurd.
Last DXM experience made me completely sick.



Killing myself to live, just how the government wants it.

Really sounds like you have a neurological issue. ( of course I’m no doctor).
Have you looked in to RA treatments, autoimmune diseases/treatments.
Could help. Maybe.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Omg. Lol. Are you me?? I could be telling this same story, just with a few details changed. The anxiety bit, for one. All of my doctors have said “it’s just anxiety” about one symptom or another over the years. First of all, “just” anxiety?! It’s scientifically and medically proven that anxiety has actual physical effects, some of which can be quite severe, especially over a prolonged period of time (like months or years.) Second, medical brainwashing is a thing and apparently is more the rule than the exception!!! It kinda leads me to think that doctors don’t really know anything; they’re just guessing!!! And using their enormous egos as a shield to protect them from being wrong…idk. I’ve also had the experience of tryna get to the bottom of symptoms I definitely have (as opposed to just being all in my head) and being told “tests are normal” and they shrug their shoulders and expect me to drop it. Which doesn’t solve the problem of the pain and other symptoms. So what has been happening is that I will move on with life, because I am very busy and don’t have a lot of time to devote to this, and also, who likes thinking about their health problems?? But that just means that the pain and other things have gotten worse to the point where I cannot effectively carry on with certain things, so now I realize I better figure out what the fuck this is.

I swear to god, if I die because of something that they told me was “normal” or “just anxiety,” I’m gonna be so pissed.

Wow. I very well could be you. If I am, I'm so sorry. lol
Very similar issues to me.
And you're right, who wants to sit around thinking about their health all the time?
I feel forced to because of the issues, like if I don't feel physically okay, how am I expected to feel mentally okay ontop of it?
I'm so tired of all the SNRIs & antipsychotics. SNRI's have been making me puke & giving me hand tremors & extremely high body temperature.
I tell doctors this and they're like "omg, okay, well we better get you on another SNRI then"... Like.. helllloooooooo.
You're absolutely right. Doctors have no idea wtf they're talking about. Of course they know some thing but they don't know it all & they take it as offensive if their patient tries to educate them on anything.
I'm so frustrated with it that I've stopped even going or making appts, except to get my usual meds.
If I die, I die. At this point, maybe having a terminal illness would be a blessing & a ticket out of here.

Really sounds like you have a neurological issue. ( of course I’m no doctor).
Have you looked in to RA treatments, autoimmune diseases/treatments.
Could help. Maybe.

Thanks for the suggestion!
I have not unfortunately. I've read about some but I'm not sure.

I've considered fibromyalgia & chronic fatigue. As I did have severe mono as a teenager that gave me bad brain fog & lethargy for awhile, but none of these doctors seem to wanna test for anything of the sort or go any further than xrays & catscans. If those & my bloodwork seem fine, they assume I'm fine, but I know damn well I'm not. Autoimmune or neurological issue does seem very likely though. I've had a few docs say it sounds like fibromyalgia but of course idk how you test for that & they don't seem to care to give me a proper diagnosis.

One issue I've had is severe all body-muscle aching. It feels exactly like how one would feel if they did a hard work out & woke up sore the next day. Except I feel this way everyday (give or a take a good day here or there) and I don't even work out anymore.
I might have had this problem for a long time but covered it up with heroin & tramadol & other drugs for years. I use to exercise a lot & go walking alot all through out my 20's on heroin & tramadol & loved it.
And now that I've been on bupe & had to stay 'clean', I've noticed these physical issues have really come to the forefront. Just getting up to go do normal everyday stuff like go to the store can hurt like hell & rob me of my energy. Not to mention give me anxiety & irritability from having to do it. This is not the quality of life I'd like to have forever. And apparently nobody can tell me what it is.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

I broke down in front of my specialist a few days ago (not a pain doctor) crying saying I was suicidal, explaining how every pain clinic in the bay area has had the schedule 2 license revoked except for the hospital systems that have no opioid policies.

Meanwhile meth and fent junkies are getting 100 to 300 mg methadone no problems. I'm fighting for my life to get a raise on 10 mg methadone for pain.


The guy has done surgery on me, all kinds of savage procedure (putting camera and catheters up my dick all the way into my bladder).

I lost it. It was a total nervous breakdown and begging for my fucking life.

I'm going to have to leave the US for south america or kill myself with a gun or fentanyl. I will have to leave my wife behind. If I go-to south america. I have worked so hard to get to where I am as a scientist in my career...that will be gone, I have no idea what I'll do in south america for money.

I a very close to killing myself over this. I have begged my wife to return to her family in another state so she can be surrounded by them and leave me here to end my life. She won't leave. I can't kill myself with her thousands of miles away from her family totally alone with me.

Fuck America and its lie of freedom

 

[xtcgrrrl]

I'm so frustrated with it that I've stopped even going or making appts, except to get my usual meds.
If I die, I die. At this point, maybe having a terminal illness would be a blessing & a ticket out of here.

Ok, now I’m tryna remember when I made another account on BL, you MUST BE me. Because I have literally said those exact words myself, repeatedly: “if I die, I die.” AND I’ve been trying to avoid doctors as much as possible, and I don’t trust Big Pharma either, so I had minimized my meds even BEFORE I started getting off of them all to get pregnant. I was just kind of hoping to be in slightly better shape before that happened! But I’ve run out of time. The thing I tell myself all the time is that at least I’m USED to pain and nausea, so pregnancy isn’t gonna be much worse!

Despite all the pain etc, I still love life and I have a lot to live for, especially right now: a wonderful family, an amazing life partner, loyal friends. Yet…I can kind of sense that, by the time I’m ready to shuffle off this mortal coil, I’ll be somewhat relieved to relinquish this defective body.

 

[Painful One]

I agree so much!

There used to be a Chronic Pain Foundation where you could go if you were in pain and could not manage to get anyone to prescribe you opiates.
They would step in and advocate for you.
With chronic pain, it can make it difficult to talk with doctors etc...
The pain causes confusion. Makes it hard to communicate just what you are going through.
I remember them saying that as a Human Being, you have a RIGHT to pain relief of any kind that is helpful!
I remember saying that to my Doctor when I wasn’t being prescribed enough pain medication.
He said “Oh, playing hard ball with me huh? And agreed to half of what I wanted him to give me.

I had Liver Failure due to not having pain medicine available to me after a car accident.
I had a bad concussion and some brain injury and I could not communicate!
They probably just labeled me a “drug seeker”. Yeah, I was seeking the medication I needed!
Most people are when they go to the doctor.
I could not keep track of time and I kept taking Tylenol.
I thought it had been hours when it had only been about 15 minutes.
It is weird what pain can do to you.
So, I kept taking so much Tylenol that I suffered Liver Failure on top of everything!

People need better access to pain medication!
There needs to be no hoops you have to jump through.
People who are in pain and injured cannot do all the hoop jumping BS.

My doctor just retired and I have to find a new pain management doctor quickly.
He referred me to someone and said he would send my records and speak to them for me.
I am worried though, I have nice prescriptions that help me function and give me some quality of life.
We chronic pain- injured people should not have to stress out over stuff like this.

The pharmacy has also become The Gestapo.

UGH!

Say a prayer for me guys.

 

[Painful One]

Ok, now I’m tryna remember when I made another account on BL, you MUST BE me. Because I have literally said those exact words myself, repeatedly: “if I die, I die.” AND I’ve been trying to avoid doctors as much as possible, and I don’t trust Big Pharma either, so I had minimized my meds even BEFORE I started getting off of them all to get pregnant. I was just kind of hoping to be in slightly better shape before that happened! But I’ve run out of time. The thing I tell myself all the time is that at least I’m USED to pain and nausea, so pregnancy isn’t gonna be much worse!

Despite all the pain etc, I still love life and I have a lot to live for, especially right now: a wonderful family, an amazing life partner, loyal friends. Yet…I can kind of sense that, by the time I’m ready to shuffle off this mortal coil, I’ll be somewhat relieved to relinquish this defective body.

I hear you sweetheart.
It will be a big relief for a lot of us to relinquish this mortal body.
I am mortally injured.
Just dying slowly....and painfully.

I just wanted to wish you luck with your pregnancy and hope to hear that you had a very healthy child that you guys adore.
Family is the best thing for us. Lots of love!
You will be a good mother.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Can you elaborate on how the process of being flagged as a drug seeker works. There is nothing i despise more than secret blacklists, save perhaps unjustified covert surveillance systems. Also does being placed on some kind of statewide blacklist based on something a paitent says to their doctor ? not violate doctor patient confidentiality ?. I love Florida btw, the neofascist scourge seems not to have breached the gates of your sunshine domain yet.

I used to live in Florida. As the epicenter of pill mills in the early 2000s, combined with their ultra harsh imprisonment complex....opioids are completely impossible to get there now. And if you get a script by a miracle no pharmacy will fill it

 

[Painful One]

I broke down in front of my specialist a few days ago (not a pain doctor) crying saying I was suicidal, explaining how every pain clinic in the bay area has had the schedule 2 license revoked except for the hospital systems that have no opioid policies.

Meanwhile meth and fent junkies are getting 100 to 300 mg methadone no problems. I'm fighting for my life to get a raise on 10 mg methadone for pain.


The guy has done surgery on me, all kinds of savage procedure (putting camera and catheters up my dick all the way into my bladder).

I lost it. It was a total nervous breakdown and begging for my fucking life.

I'm going to have to leave the US for south america or kill myself with a gun or fentanyl. I will have to leave my wife behind. If I go-to south america. I have worked so hard to get to where I am as a scientist in my career...that will be gone, I have no idea what I'll do in south america for money.

I a very close to killing myself over this. I have begged my wife to return to her family in another state so she can be surrounded by them and leave me here to end my life. She won't leave. I can't kill myself with her thousands of miles away from her family totally alone with me.

Fuck America and its lie of freedom

OMG!
I am so sorry.
Yes, it makes you suicidal if you cannot get the help you need.
Sending you hugs.
Hang in there.
Don’t give up.
There has to be somewhere that will help.

Try going to your nearest hospital and ask to speak with a Patient Advocate and then break down to them and tell them you need help.
That is what I did and they had me an appointment with the doctor who has prescribed me morphine for the last 15 years right away.

 

[lolis my thesis]

I only go to the darn doctor when I have to. Why would I sit in some sterile envionment to be subjected to scorn for not complying and feeling well.

I recently had uncontrollable shaky legs, sore weak quads, brain fog, etc. to that I could hardly cross the street; or would trip and kiss the carpet over my darned dog. and my non-pain nurse practicioner doctor says "so why are you on klonopin". Giving me a guilt complex when my pain doctor was using it to treat essesential tremor. Fucked either way; lately I have been waking up and walking or swimming and hoping and actually getting stronger; rather than trying to find a new neck surgeon. Luckily lately I have been waking, up, dosing, and going skateboarding with my friend. He fell out of tree from 40 feet; broke his back and femer, and he got off the pain meds after a few months. Not so lucky for me; I used to bike surf jog and work all on the same day. But not anymore. Not in many years, I have just had to modify my life.

I have had inexplicable pain for 25 years now, from an initial whiplash injury, feels like a bottleneck in my neck. But three neck surgeries, fusion, artificial disc, etc. and I am tired of trying of trying to explain myself to doctors. My conditions have cost me a wife, an ability to work tirelessly, to be able to lay on a surfboard or with a partner comfortably. But still, I am happy to exist as there seems to be no other option that would be better.
If I felt alright I wouldnt even have a doctor, and being 54,
getting lectured on my condition and medication desires/needs by a 39 y.o. nurse practicioner, is disconcerting! When I first got hurt he was in grade school, but he can tell me how I need to wean off of this or take less of that; while telling me he has no idea how to treat cervical instability. But I take the ok days and hurt at night. Wake up every day saying no way I can do this again, take my dose, and go off to work or skatepark. I try to be there for my son and daughter, have a couple friends, and not dive off the deep end with envy for what I will never have. And be happy with what I do.

 

[lolis my thesis]

Good advice not going corporate with your Rxs
Also about dropping the bravado and getting tearful once and a while while you are at the end of your rope, desperate for help, and you aren't talking to god but rather your last hope for mortal relief.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

Yeah I saw her today; my nemesis. And they are legally NOT supposed to dispense my methadone without a pharmacist consult. So I grit my teeth, ready for battle, witty replies at the ready. But the pharmacy tech said "Any questions" I said nope and was on my way. Whistling past the graveyard

Dude I meant to reply this to u. Is your methadone for pain?

Going to Privatley owned small pharmacies I have never had a single problem again filling opioid and a benzo at the same time to present date. They are even friendly to me. They have filled earlier than they were supposed to because I had a business trip.

I have never had to speak to the pharmacist for anything other than one occasion he help me fight the insurance company on a non narcotic med.

If you're going to a big chain They treat you like filth. And you have to act like a fucking lawyer to get them to fill it and half the time they jist say no and literally take joy in watching you withdrawal.

 

[StickToYourGuns]

If you get more than one opiate script from more than one doctor, you’re flagged. They don’t want you “doctor shopping” for the dr that will give you the meds you want.
If you’ve been prescribed subs, it will be in the system. It isn’t a RED flag so to speak, but it doesn’t help your case if you’re trying to get opiates for pain.
The flagging basically happens when a physician feels like you have drug-seeking behavior.
There is now a log for everyone that keeps track of all controlled substances you’ve been given. State wide and maybe nation wide. It’s all in a database.

Also... if you've ever been unsuccessfully discharged from any pain-management clinic, then you will be flagged. This happened to me once when I was 18. I was in a head-on-collision, broke some bones, and ended up getting titanium rods placed in both my femur bone and humorous bone. So, I had legit pain and was being prescribed 10 mg Hydrocodone from my pain-management doc. However, being young and dumb, I and took some DXM one day to get high and ended up in the hospital because I took a little too much. My ER visit was listed as an "overdose". So, on my next pain-management visit, the doctor was able to pull that up on his computer and saw that I had "overdosed". He immediately discharged me from his clinic and flagged me as a "drug-seeker" — even though I had valid, chronic pain.

 

[90sdance]

That would be nice. But also problematic.

I used to live in Florida. As the epicenter of pill mills in the early 2000s, combined with their ultra harsh imprisonment complex....opioids are completely impossible to get there now. And if you get a script by a miracle no pharmacy will fill it

Yes, but they didnt shut down their economy, implement martial law and try to coerce state employees into taking experimental MRNA modulators by threatening to make them all unemployed. Im not so much against trepidation when it comes to doctors and opiet prescriptions, but i really dont like this buisness of putting patients on secret lists (that are then shared on a regional to national level). The whole thing smacks of malpractice - moreso legally re data confidentiality. Makes you wonder who else can access that data aswel, being labeled a ''drug seeker'' is going to hurt a person in all kinds of ways.

 

[xtcgrrrl]

I hear you sweetheart.
It will be a big relief for a lot of us to relinquish this mortal body.
I am mortally injured.
Just dying slowly....and painfully.

I just wanted to wish you luck with your pregnancy and hope to hear that you had a very healthy child that you guys adore.
Family is the best thing for us. Lots of love!
You will be a good mother.

Thank you so much! You have been so supportive, here and in the other thread in The Dark Side. It’s much appreciated.

Yes, family is indeed the best thing ever! My own family has been incredibly supportive of my recovery from addiction, even though it took me almost a decade to finally stop the addictive behaviors and get my head on straight. Having my mom’s trust back means the world to me, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

I’m actually already a mom, lol. My drug problems were a huge contributing factor in my divorce (he was a raging narcissist anyway, and there were so many other problems, but I need to accept responsibility for my part in it.) But I have 3 FANTASTIC children with the ex, and now I finally have them back living with me (they have been since the start of 2020, and I’m grateful for it every day.) I missed so much of their lives because I was in a bad way; but I can’t change the past, I can only learn from it and do better in the future. I really appreciate your vote of confidence; hopefully I WILL be a better mother to this little one because of all that I have learned!

On that note, I want to mention that I’ve been looking into alternative methods of pain relief, seeing as I won’t be able to ingest anything in the way of painkillers for a while. Eastern medicine has some interesting approaches, such as acupuncture. I really wish such treatments were covered by insurance!

 

[xtcgrrrl]

I used to live in Florida. As the epicenter of pill mills in the early 2000s, combined with their ultra harsh imprisonment complex....opioids are completely impossible to get there now. And if you get a script by a miracle no pharmacy will fill it

This doesn’t make sense, tho…FL has the largest population of elderly people in the country, and I would assume that many or even most of those would require scheduled medications? For end-of-life care, or managing their various aches and pains, or for the injuries incurred due to falling down? Geez. Maybe I’m not gonna retire to Florida, then, as is traditional for NY Jews

 

[xtcgrrrl]

I broke down in front of my specialist a few days ago (not a pain doctor) crying saying I was suicidal, explaining how every pain clinic in the bay area has had the schedule 2 license revoked except for the hospital systems that have no opioid policies.

Meanwhile meth and fent junkies are getting 100 to 300 mg methadone no problems. I'm fighting for my life to get a raise on 10 mg methadone for pain.


The guy has done surgery on me, all kinds of savage procedure (putting camera and catheters up my dick all the way into my bladder).

I lost it. It was a total nervous breakdown and begging for my fucking life.

I'm going to have to leave the US for south america or kill myself with a gun or fentanyl. I will have to leave my wife behind. If I go-to south america. I have worked so hard to get to where I am as a scientist in my career...that will be gone, I have no idea what I'll do in south america for money.

I a very close to killing myself over this. I have begged my wife to return to her family in another state so she can be surrounded by them and leave me here to end my life. She won't leave. I can't kill myself with her thousands of miles away from her family totally alone with me.

Fuck America and its lie of freedom

Please don’t kill yourself! There have to be other solutions. Can you move to a state where getting opioid medication isn’t so hard? But yes, fuck America’s fucked-up healthcare system. There are so many other, better ways to do this, and some other countries do it way better than us.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

Is there any sort of activism that we can do to push back against this bullshit?
Like write every congress person there is and bitch them out?


This cannot go on any longer, unless it's their goal to have people dying & suffering, which it seems like it is.