Greetings and salutations Bluelight posters! I am a long time reader (lurker ;-) but rarely if ever post becuz my knowledge and experience is lesser than those who immediately answer any and all questions posted. So I hope I'm one of the fortunate ones that gets tons of awesome advice and feedback, even if I am not a regular "contributor."
To make this concise, I'll provide brief background: I'm a 40 year old male, former wrestler (bad MMA fights) with a badly abused body. I will admit 5 years ago in grad school, I took advantage of California's liberal medical community and got pain med scripts from 2 docs. A few months later, one doc told me he got a notification of this (I think he said DEA) and I just cold turkey stopped everything. No phone calls, letters, or arrest ever came (thank God) so it appears no one was concerned that I was a criminal or distributing meds.
Fast forward 4 years later, I'm on the East Coast now, and after a car accident, as a passenger (not that it matters) I have re-torn rotator cuff, biceps tendon, and shoulder separation, that is PROVEN by x-rays, MRI's and doctor reports. After getting an attorney (dozens of these sharks begged for my case) the car insurance companies are now resisting any and all treatments, obviously any pain management or meds. I went to a pain managment doc, using my own private insurance, and gave him recent MRI reports and past surgical records, and told him truthfully I am not getting relief from this acetominphine heavy "narcotics" the ER and ortho prescribed. I showed him 2 saved prescription bottles (all the info is on there, doctors name, amount, date, etc.) to prove to him that I have been prescribed (and maybe increased my tolerance) higher doses of pain meds, and after so many surgeries (5 major ones total) I'm not getting any relief from a 5/500 Vicodin twice a day.
The pain management doc refused to prescribe anything but Elavil (I looked it up it's an anti depressant with hypothesized pain relief) which subsequently only made me so tired I couldn't function next day. I told this doc, if the pain meds I was given are not doing anything, why are we going to a lesser potent med, and I disagreed with his prescription. He claimed only to not want to start with opioids right away, etc. I gave him all medical records, so there was no question I could be malingering. I piss tested for him so he know I'm on no drugs, but wouldn't budge on giving me this joke of a "pain killer."
My question(s) is: is it possible that my stupid indiscretions 4-5 years ago in CA (the opposite side of the country, not like I drove across a close border to pull a doctor shopping scam) have me labeled or flagged as a drug seeker? Google and all evidence seems to say all prescription abuse records are controlled by individual states, and any monitoring is for current doctor shoppers with more than one script. The doc I saw was on a laptop our entire session so I can't help but wonder if there is something in my medical history he was able to access.
I wrote this up in my mind as a doctor unwilling to help me, and have another appointment (a month later) with a different pain management doctor. I plan on telling him the truth, and giving him the bottle of that B.S. "Pain killer" other doc gave me, to show him I took 3 total and it did nothing but damage. New doc is a neighboring state (NY) and scheduler told me to bring my pharmacy records, which thank God, I obtained and only show NJ history which is non-existent prior to accident. Is there a national database, a way for a doctor 3,000 miles away to look up my medical history (and my huge error in judgement) from 5 years ago, and see I did have a prior "incident," of using 2 doctors? And if so would it even matter, since it was years ago, I have current, undeniable, documented new injuries? I am confused if I should I completely disclose all this to him to be 100% upfront so if there is a way he can see my past medical history, at least he knows I'm not hiding it? My friend who referred me to this doc, told me bring past surgical reports, current MRI, and the neighboring state (NJ) prescription records from pharmacies, and that's it, don't offer anything else he cannot already have access to.
I am really sorry to have made a story out of a simple question, I just kept typing as I was thinking. Bottom line, is there a national database showing prescription history, and should I offer any info on my previous mistake to new doctor? To clarify, I was never arrested or even questioned by any authorities, I voluntarily withdrew completely from any and all pain docs, and now have different insurance and can even pay out of pocket if need be. Any advice, or feedback on dealing with doctors (don't bother reminding me of the slippery slope of going back on pain meds--I know all to well, and am dealing with "real" pain from verifiable injuries) and medical history is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading and commenting on this overly long narrative!
To make this concise, I'll provide brief background: I'm a 40 year old male, former wrestler (bad MMA fights) with a badly abused body. I will admit 5 years ago in grad school, I took advantage of California's liberal medical community and got pain med scripts from 2 docs. A few months later, one doc told me he got a notification of this (I think he said DEA) and I just cold turkey stopped everything. No phone calls, letters, or arrest ever came (thank God) so it appears no one was concerned that I was a criminal or distributing meds.
Fast forward 4 years later, I'm on the East Coast now, and after a car accident, as a passenger (not that it matters) I have re-torn rotator cuff, biceps tendon, and shoulder separation, that is PROVEN by x-rays, MRI's and doctor reports. After getting an attorney (dozens of these sharks begged for my case) the car insurance companies are now resisting any and all treatments, obviously any pain management or meds. I went to a pain managment doc, using my own private insurance, and gave him recent MRI reports and past surgical records, and told him truthfully I am not getting relief from this acetominphine heavy "narcotics" the ER and ortho prescribed. I showed him 2 saved prescription bottles (all the info is on there, doctors name, amount, date, etc.) to prove to him that I have been prescribed (and maybe increased my tolerance) higher doses of pain meds, and after so many surgeries (5 major ones total) I'm not getting any relief from a 5/500 Vicodin twice a day.
The pain management doc refused to prescribe anything but Elavil (I looked it up it's an anti depressant with hypothesized pain relief) which subsequently only made me so tired I couldn't function next day. I told this doc, if the pain meds I was given are not doing anything, why are we going to a lesser potent med, and I disagreed with his prescription. He claimed only to not want to start with opioids right away, etc. I gave him all medical records, so there was no question I could be malingering. I piss tested for him so he know I'm on no drugs, but wouldn't budge on giving me this joke of a "pain killer."
My question(s) is: is it possible that my stupid indiscretions 4-5 years ago in CA (the opposite side of the country, not like I drove across a close border to pull a doctor shopping scam) have me labeled or flagged as a drug seeker? Google and all evidence seems to say all prescription abuse records are controlled by individual states, and any monitoring is for current doctor shoppers with more than one script. The doc I saw was on a laptop our entire session so I can't help but wonder if there is something in my medical history he was able to access.
I wrote this up in my mind as a doctor unwilling to help me, and have another appointment (a month later) with a different pain management doctor. I plan on telling him the truth, and giving him the bottle of that B.S. "Pain killer" other doc gave me, to show him I took 3 total and it did nothing but damage. New doc is a neighboring state (NY) and scheduler told me to bring my pharmacy records, which thank God, I obtained and only show NJ history which is non-existent prior to accident. Is there a national database, a way for a doctor 3,000 miles away to look up my medical history (and my huge error in judgement) from 5 years ago, and see I did have a prior "incident," of using 2 doctors? And if so would it even matter, since it was years ago, I have current, undeniable, documented new injuries? I am confused if I should I completely disclose all this to him to be 100% upfront so if there is a way he can see my past medical history, at least he knows I'm not hiding it? My friend who referred me to this doc, told me bring past surgical reports, current MRI, and the neighboring state (NJ) prescription records from pharmacies, and that's it, don't offer anything else he cannot already have access to.
I am really sorry to have made a story out of a simple question, I just kept typing as I was thinking. Bottom line, is there a national database showing prescription history, and should I offer any info on my previous mistake to new doctor? To clarify, I was never arrested or even questioned by any authorities, I voluntarily withdrew completely from any and all pain docs, and now have different insurance and can even pay out of pocket if need be. Any advice, or feedback on dealing with doctors (don't bother reminding me of the slippery slope of going back on pain meds--I know all to well, and am dealing with "real" pain from verifiable injuries) and medical history is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading and commenting on this overly long narrative!
