Maybe it's just me, maybe not. I've never been on the opposite side of the desk and seen things from a doctor's point of view or dealt with their issues. Yet it seems to me that it shouldn't take 5 days to write out a prescription. I can get a lot of things done in 5 days. When I was younger, I could roof a house in 3 days by myself. Probably irrelevant, but anyway...
My doctor demands a 5 day notice for requesting a refill.
Folks, I've seen the bill that my insurance company pays, and if you're going to tell me that I have to keep track of things like calling YOU and reminding YOU what YOU need to do for the care that I am paying YOU a hell of a lot of money for, well... maybe I should pay someone who can remember that I need a refill, that they prescribe, when they say I can have it. Maybe that costs extra, organizational skills being at a premium, probably. Who knows. I don't like calling in to remind my doctor to earn my money and then have them doubt weather or not they can manage to fill a script with the brief 3 days notice that I have given them.
In the words of the Don, I think my next conversation with this doctor is going to involve the phrase... "You're fired."
Keep in mind that your doctor has more than one patient. Probably more like hundreds. All of them expecting that they be treated as if they were the only one. Five days seems a bit unreasonable but more than likely the prescription gets filled long before that. Mine alway used to say give them 48 hours notice but in reality the prescription was filled in a few hours. My doctor has since computerized his whole system so prescriptions automatically get refilled on the exact day I need them without me needing to call.
5 Days does sound like a long time to me to but he has his reasons for doing this and you need to ask what those reasons are so you understand it and might not be so annoyed with it and upset.. but I wouldn't say this is grounds for firing a Dr. Unless your really disatisfied with his care, than this is a bit extreme to fire a Dr over this ( this is only my opinion). You know the rules and you know what you need to do so how come its such a big deal to call and ask for your refill 5 days before its do...?
Do you go to a pain clinic or a regualr GP? Pain clinics usually want to see you monthly for your refills and to document how your doing.. I see my pain Dr every month and at that time I get my refills he hands them to me and this is the way he does it for everyone. I have never had to call them in myself or remind them as this is not the way this clinic works.
In the past when I saw another pain doc, I did have to call in for all my refills and sometimes it did take 3-4 days so this is NOT un common.... and nothing to get real upset over. Its nice that you have a DR willing to treat your pain as many won't give you anything but tylenol 3.
Talk to your Dr about this, see what his reasons are for this type of issue before you just cut him loose. Its not easy to find a good Pain Dr that will help you with your pain. They do not come easily and some are very anti narcotics so if your getting narcotics from your Dr, think twice before you think about leaving the practice, its not easy out there believe me. Its really not that big of a deal to call in for a refill.
Well, I think the 5 day fiasco is just the last straw for me and this doc. She is wanting to take me off of everything completely because she says that I am too young (I'll be 32) to be on pain meds. She went from wanting to put me on Oxycontin and a few other things to doing the ol 180 within a visit and totally betraying me.
So, rather than pay her to do nothing and just "see how it goes for a while and keep coming in for visits", I think that I'll just find another doctor who can take me seriously and treat me professionally.
Pain specialists are indeed hard to find, I agree. There is one more option in a town about 45 miles away from here that I will try, and if I can't get them to take me seriously and went to help, I'll simply turn a gun to my head and get out of this mess. I just can't live like this day in and day out anymore. I've lost 30lbs and haven't slept more than 3 hours at a time in the last month.
It's too bad that it comes down to a person taking their own life because they can't have legal access to the relief that is out there and was created for that specific purpose, but I guess that's what it's come to. I'm ranting, but whatever. Doesn't matter.
wow, it does sound like there is more to this than just the refill issue. I am sorry to hear your Dr is wanting to take you off of everything. Is there a reason why she is doing this? Did you ask for an increase in your pain meds one to many times, or an early refill? or a lost refill? is she treating you like an addict? what happened that made her do this to you?
I have noticed with my pain Dr that I am having to wait for over 2 hours now in the waiting room and yesterday he was really in a bad mood. I asked him if he could increase my BT meds as I am not getting the relief I used to in the afternoons. he himmed and hawed and started talking about injections, PT, Surgery, all of which I have already had and been through. but he did end up increasing my oxycontin which was very nice and un enexpected of him, I was really wanting a higher dose on my BT meds but instead he increased my base med by an extra 40mgs a day which is REALLY helping me. I have not needed any BT meds for 2 days which is nice.
Just make sure you don't fire your current Dr until you have a new one lined up and one that you know will help you. It is hard to find good compassionate Dr's these days and I am so very lucky to have a good Dr but these waits are killing me. last month I waited 4.5 hours in the waiting room to be seen, He is that behind and that busy because he is the only Dr in my area that treats people with pain meds, as all of the others use other modulalties. so I am gratefeul. I hope that you find the right Dr to help you.
Could she has possbily been in a bad mood? I have noticed that my Dr is so over worked and so stressed out that he can be pissy at times, and I can always tell when he needs food as I don't think he even gets a lunch break.
Maybe your Dr was having a bad day????? what is your pain condition?
Last edited by slipperyslope; 06-21-2007 at 12:36 PM.
I have to admit, 5 days is the longest I have ever heard of, standard is 48 hours. When I got my new doctor, I signed a contract, and he wanted everything done in the pharmacy right there in the clinic building, so he said, just call the day before you need them, and they will be there in the morning.
Well, the in house pharmacy didnt carry 2 off my pain meds, so I went back and left a message that I was taking my scripts to walmart.
When it came time for a refill, I was thinking 24 hours might not be enough, since it was not the in house pharmacy we had discussed, who knew how slow walmart would be?
My scripts were due to be picked up on tuesday morning, when I would be completely OUT, so I didnt want to booger it up lol, So I called walmart with the refill requests friday morning, then called the doctor and left a message that I wasnt trying to fill early, just wanted to make sure they would be there on time. On tuesday when the pharmacy opened, all my scripts were there and ready, so I guess it worked.
Doesnt this cause a problem with your insurance?? Lots of us are stuck in that spot where we CAN"T request a fill 5 days in advance, the pharm and insurance will say its too early and kick it back. I don't blame you for trying to find a new doctor, is there another PM you know of? Or can you go to your primary doc? more and more regular doctors are now treating CP, you might have better luck there than having to find someone new.
Hey 752575-
I can tell you are pretty upset, but I do have to ask. Is it possible your doctor is doing this because of an addiction issue? I've read some of your posts where you talk about being addicted, and especially the one where you talk about getting a scrip for percocet and using 10 in a matter of 3 hours. You also talk about using other meds when you run out of your prescriptions and then turning to alcohol when you run out of meds. You say you don't call for early refills, but it sounds like you run out early and then substitute with other things until time for a refill.
I'm not saying you don't have legitimate pain, but, when you have pain issues and addiction issues as well, it kind of makes things really hard to treat. If your doctor knows or even simply suspects and addiction issue is present, then it would certainly be understandable that she would make a complete 180 with prescribing medications. Pain is pain wether you are 22, 32, or 92 years old. If she does suspect some addiction issues, then she should talk with you about it and try and help to find other methods of treating your pain. I can tell you that most doctors who suspect addiction/abuse issues are present won't prescribe another medication of any kind and will simply drop a patient flat out. Yes, your doctor has been prescribing meds for you, but he/she didn't make you take more than you were supposed to either. She may have made that 180 because she suspects you are taking way too many.
I'm not trying to be rude, but with your other posts, I'm having a hard time following you. It's not fun to live with pain as all of us know, but if you are addicted as you have stated you are, then your doctor is doing you a favor by not allowing you to continue using these medications that you are abusing. Yes, you do deserve to be treated for your pain, but not at the expense of your life. There may be some other treatment options that will help. I know I've seen you talk about having tried many things, but people who abuse their medications are part of the reason why it's hard to even get pain medications for many people.
However, she has no idea. I don't lose my medication or call in for early refills. I did call in once a day early when she was fiddling around with my dose after having been on a set plan that was working. Maybe that spooked her, but it has been a while.
Her reason was simple; she just said that I was too young. Her exact words were- "You're a tough guy, I know you are. You can handle it. You're too young to be on pain medication."
That was my last visit to her last month, in which she told me she was taking me off everything and would see how I do. That visit was the most brief she had ever been with me, I think it lasted 3 minutes at the most. She had me walk on my tip toes and that crap, forward and backwards... probably just to make me feel like she gave a shiite.
Being an addict is problematic. It's not something I asked for though. If I could stop I would, believe me. I also suffer from depression quite a bit, both of which run in my family heavily.
I'm tired of it all though. I really am. My doctors are sick of me, my wife is sick of me, I'm sick of living like this. I'll make one more plea for help with my family doctor and I think that's really gonna be it for me in this go-round.
I've told my family doctor that I'll trade in my health, gladly, for relief from the pain but it doesn't seem to matter at all.
I had a huge anxiety attack last night from being in constant pain and depression for the last week. I haven't been able to get any outside meds and my last refill a few weeks ago was for 45 pills. I just broke down completely in the shower and sat on the floor and sobbed, then had the anxiety attack and nearly passed out because of the breathing. My wife came in and was concerned that she might need to find a baby sitter for the kids today, and then went back to bed. Like I said, she is sick of me just as much as I am. I have no desire to continue like this at all. If it wasn't for my kids I have no doubt that I wouldn't be here writing this right now. But, even just pressing on just for them doesn't matter much to me anymore. I'm at the point where I think they'd be better off without me. In fact I know they would. They're young enough that they won't remember me anyways, and they deserve so much better than having me for a father.
I just wish this pain and depression would go away.
72575-
It is debilitating & mentally exhausting to live with pain and depression, and I totally relate to BOTH. Anxiety? Absolutely, I can relate to that as well.
I can't tell you what to do, but it sounds as if you are suffering withdraw right now, and that in itself can and will cause more depression and the anxiety you had last night.
I CAN tell you that all of this, every pain, every depression, every anxiety attack is not worth ending things and leaving your children without their dad. It doesn't matter what age they are my friend, because they will feel the loss, sadness and empitness.
You have spoken about wanting to get help, and even spoken about not really wanting the help deep down inside. This is the time for you to really take a long hard look at yourself. Dig deep down inside and find every ounce of resolve that you have in you and find the help you need. Find a PM doctor who is an addictionologist. They are out there and it may be something that will help you.
You may not believe this, but you are NOT alone. You can get through this but you have to take it by the horns and do it my friend.
I totally agree. Your addiction is stopping any therapy from working properly,every day, like you need. You must stop the cycle of addiction, its the only way for you to have quality of life.
I know its easier said than done, but from the sound of things, what do you have to lose at this point?
An addiction specialist can help you and also treat your pain. Please, please, dont give up. theres a life out there for you, but youre going to have to want it enough to fight for it.
My last doctor took "2 WEEKS" to call in a refill for me on my blood pressure meds!! I work in a pharmacy and I personally faxed a request to his office 3 times and the pharmacist called twice! I changed doctors and now if I need a refill, it's done within a day!
725,you REALLY need to see someone soon to deal with all this.believe me,i have been where you are.you are very much depressed that shows in what you are saying here,it is not a good situation you are in and it will get much worse if you do not address all of what is slowly eating away at you.you are in a very self destructive mode right now,and that will come just from the addiction cycle and the way it plays out in your head(not to mention everything else you have stated is going on in your life).everything about your posts right here just show the very real need to take some positive action as everything about these posts is so incredibly negative right now.i do know that feeling when it feels like everything is closing in on you and you are just fighting to get on top of things.it sucks and all you can see is totally negative things.
i can tell you this right now,if you do not get yoursef to at the very least,a good therepist soon,things will become much more overwhelming for you and things will NOT get better for you or your family.sometimes we just need some one elses help to help us to see what choices and options we DO have in our lives.we cannot see then becasue we are too wrapped up in ourselves.addiction is also a very selfish thing in and of itself(beleive me . KNOW ),but you combine this with all of the other factors going on in your life right now and it can be a huge catalyst for total destruction of your very self.you just cannot afford to stay in this cycle of destruction you are currently in.for your own sake and that of your family who loves you and wants you to be here with them,you NEED to take action now.you already know this,i am just reiterating it as you have seem to have forgotten just how much your family means to you and relies on you and how devistated they would be without you in their world.
you need help,soon 725.you need a plan,and someone to help you set up that plan.reaching out to a therepist who deals with addiction and pain management would probably be your best bet here,but seeing any therepist for you,right now,is crucial.you are in crisis whether you realize it or not and you need to get something positive going for yourself soon or it will suck you right under.i DO know what you are going thru here really.but there IS a bit of light at the end of this long scarey tunnel for you if you just take the first steps to get there,trust me.like i said before,you need a plan and someone to help you set that up,nothing is going to change for you til you decide to do it for yourself and your family and the other people around you who are very worried and care about you.your family doesn't deserve this and you don't have the right to take yourself away from them when they do need you and love you.it wouldn't be fair to do to them.you have the strength to take this on.its in there,i know that,you just haven't really tapped into yet,but its there.
what this boils down to is this,you have some pain and addiction issues you are dealing with that are sucking the life out of you for alot of different reasons,this CAN be helped if you just take some steps to do that.but this is entriely up to you to do.find an anchor to keep you grounded.mine was my family.it kept me here til i could figure out that i also needed to be here no matter what shape i was in.this all can be worked thru and a good plan of action formed with the right kind of help.you need help,now.it wont come to you,you have to make a decision that this is just the right thing to do,then seek it out for yourself.even working with an addictionologist could benefit you right now.but you have to tap into resources in some way and get the ball rolling.once you do just that part,things will fall into place much easier for you.but this is all up to you.i wish you all of the luck in the world with this and hope you do the best possible thing for yourself and your family.they want you back again.take care 725,marcia
__________________
3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
I agree with everyone on this. I have been tough on you before. I know what this does to a family, and what it does to children. I have been there, and my parent DIED due to their drug use. It is not okay to talk about leaving your children. This does sound like a "rock bottom" moment. Withdrawal in itself is hell, and can cause severe depression. You were already dealing with depression, and this can, and is making everything harder for you.
Please get some help for yourself, and for your children. I cannot tell you enough times, and in enough ways that your family is suffering through this too. This DOES NOT give you the right to bail on them! Did you know how many single Mom's end up in poverty?? Or what if she remarried, and God Forbid, marries a jerk who hurts your kids? You are their Dad. I cannot imagine how hard this must be, but you need to do something about it. All I have heard from you is that you don't want to change. You seem to truly feel that your behavior is okay because you have pain.........but it's never okay to hurt others to make ourselves feel better.
I pray that you reach out right now. Get the help you need. You may find that much of your pain is part of your drug problem. Your emotional state effects your pain, and when you are so torn as you are now, it exacerbates everything. There are options for your addiction, AND your pain. But you have to want help. I hope you find it.
If PM worked here, I would send you a message. I just want to give my support as much as I can, as others have done too.
I have been in your shoes. I don't talk about it much on this board. But I was once an addict, a long time ago. I got better...I don't know how but I did.
I was opiate-free (drug-free) for 10 years and then I started having severe back pain. I won't go into all the details, but this eventually led to chronic pain. Now I take my meds as prescribed. I even take a little less than prescribed.
I don't know why *I* don't abuse my meds. I've been taking them so long, they don't *do* anything anyway. In fact, I wish I didn't have to take them -- don't like the side effects.
But anyway, of course it is possible to have both chronic pain and addiction. One does not exempt you or protect you from the other. There are doctors who are trained in this area. There are some excellent articles online that discuss this subject. I know many people who are having success with buprenorphine or methadone to treat their chronic pain and keep their addiction in check. Methadone is long-acting, so it does not have the ups and downs -- highs and lows -- associated with short-acting opiates. Unlike Oxycontin, which has a sustained-release mechanism that can be derailed -- methadone is "naturally" long-acting.
Pain-wise and mood-wise, methadone worked VERY WELL for me. The only reason I stopped was due to some side effects I was not willing to deal with. But I felt better (much better) on methadone than I now feel on Oxycontin. With Oxycontin, I feel the ups and downs and I do not like it. It makes me moody and I do not like it.
I can relate to a lot of what you said. Just don't give up. Try different things until you find something that works. Be honest with yourself! Think about overall quality of life and how to acheive that.
Please listen to Wren. There is a way to deal with both of these issues. You CAN have your life back, free of addiction, AND manage your pain. Wouldn't that be wonderful? It may take a while to get there, but you've been through enough of a dead end road, why not shoot for something with a future? For yourself, your wife, and your children, please consider seeing someone about this.
I have another thought...
And if someone has mentioned it, please forgive me...I just got home from a long tourney~
Dont cut your nose off to spite your face with this doc until you have another...it sounds like to me, that she is somehow thinking you may have a problem...could she have spoken to another previous doc you had?
ANYWAY..she is making you wait for your refills to test you...If you throw a fit, then she will say "ok, well you seem to be a tad anxious for your refills, so I think we need to end this...blah blah" Meaning..." Im not wanting to prescribe for you any more."
So you have two choices...Find another doc...OR have her taper you and get you into a better place...SHE OWES it to you..She has been your prescribing doc...so IF she wants to take you off...she needs to help you...
I hope you can stay strong...Please...
I have an 11 yr old son, and he would just die if anything happened to me. Your wife may not know how to handle this, but at least she is an adult and can find ways to cope...
Your kids or kid? No way...Please hang in there. there is someo9ne out there that will help you get off of this terrible trip. Please let us know what we can do and post so we know you are ok!~
xoxoxox,
IZZY'SMOM
Hi Dee,
I thought hospice was only for end stage illnesses?
And I'm not sure I agree with you that suicide is only an addicts tool to get what he/she wants.
Many people in chronic pain have stated that they cannot go on as they are (untreated, either by opiate therapy or anything else) and 'just want it to stop'. At my worst I believe I said something similar, although I dont think I meant suicide, as I am a devout Roman Catholic and a mother who would never do that to her children. let alone to my parents or husband.
I am not clear how using your criteria you could discern an addict from a person in chronic pain?
I'm just curious, thank you. I totally agree with you that it would be best for him to be in an inpatient treatment facility.
Chronic pain can ruin the most optomistic person!! It tears and wears down your spirit. And it may be he's asking for drugs--but he is accually asking for relief. boomer
Hospice is for end stage of life - most hospice take patients that have a prognosis of one year or less - some use 6 months
Suicide is never the answer for those left behind - I know you are hurting terribly but suicide is a selfish act and you are not a selfish person - you sound like a very caring person - hang in there and know you have a purpose on this earth; just find it (maybe your children have something coming up in later years that only Daddy's love can fix) Peace and Grins to you TT
725 are you out there somewhere??would love to hear something from you.i know i am not the only concerned person waiting to hear from you.
just so you know,because of the volume of patients at my primarys clinic,they started the 'please call in for refill thing when you are down to a five day supply last year sometime.a little sign just appeared on the wall in the waiting room one day.when you consider that you are not the only patient there and some can have like five or ten Rxs that all have to be looked up in their files and everything has to be okayed by a busy doc before it can be called in,well,five days seems resonable to me.i don't think your doc ment that while you are in the office,it would take five days for them to write your Rx.i know mine just requires that you call the refill in when you are AT about a five day supply so they have time to get it looked up and called in.this is what i was told at my clinic anyway.
i hope to hear from you soon,i AM worried about you and how this is all affecting you right now.you just have some chioces to make here.and we can help you with that.hope things are okay,marcia
__________________
3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
Re: 5 days notice for refills, the sign said. 
I work in a pharmacy and I personally faxed a request to his office 3 times and the pharmacist called twice! I changed doctors and now if I need a refill, it's done within a day!
