Pain Management Community

The Anti-Psychotic Seroquel ( Quetiapine) is a sought after drug among prison inmates ("the black Market") and many who have been recently released back into society still try to acquire it to use with their drugs because they have found it increase's the high and smoths out the low.

This is a psychotropic medication which very few people realize there is even a "black Market" or "diversion" problem with.but it does so why does the FDA not make this a more Scrutinized drug,After all the states are building bigger prisons and cutting the human services budgets drastically.

Here in Pennsylvania the governors budget has eliminated mileage reimbursement for medical transportation for the disabled all together i have to eat 100% of the cost of the 650 mile roundtrip to go see my Pain Specialist ,my Neurologist & my Cardiologist because the specialized level of care i need is not available locally ( and I am never able to schedule them all on the same day one after another so inevitably , we used to have mileage reimbursement but that was cut out of the budget As a matter of fact Pennsylvania's entire budget balance and cost savings where done at the cost of the Disabled, the Developementaly Delayed & the Mentally Ill and the education of our states children < and Add to that people who are on Medicaid are now allowed to fill only 5 prescriptions per month so if you have a a chronic disease as well as Chronic Pain look out in Pa you just might be asked to decide between your heart Medication or your Pain Medication.

But back more on topic the war on drugs has gone from Columbia & Mexico to the Pharmacy at Costco no more is the war off shore it's broken out right next door, We are the Potential casualties in this war, our ADL's playing with our children or grandchildren, having enough Pain Relief to function like a member of this great society that is governed by the Bill of Rights and The Declaration of Independence, and unlike what Many doctors lead us to believe WE have a Right to Effective Pain Relief Independent from what the FDA /DEA or anyone else is doing if you keep proper up to date records on each and every patient you see and use good judgement and document that none of those yellow letters on blue jackets is going to be able to say so much as BOO to you. If you do your job right you will not have a problem if prescribe crazy doses and don't document why and your records are current as of a year ago and your billing Medicare/Medicaid for services you could never possibly have performed then you have a reason to worry.

Peace

I have been going to a very reputable pain clinic and have not experienced any issues getting needed pain meds from them. However recently Ive had issues filling a presciption at the pharmacy. The script is for a month of oxycodone with a total of 180 pills which takes me actually 2 or more months to actually take. This last time I went to fill the script I had to go to 3 pharmacies before I could get it filled. The two that denied me were from the same company. They dont carry that many pills in inventory since they dont want to fill large amount scripts for this very reason - to avoid the patient selling them on the black market. By the time I got to the third pharmacy (different company) I made to feel like I was a drug addict seeking out drugs. What will the future bring for me ifmy issue continues?

The past 2 times I've had to fill my prescriptions, it's been the same thing, the pharmacy doesn't have the narcotic meds. Actually it began several months ago, they would say what they ordered didn't come in. So now I call several days ahead of when I can pick it up to ask if they'll hold it for me. Even doing that, one month I got there and they didn't have any. I have to sign an agreement to only use one pharmacy (my doctor requires that in my pain plan) and now I have to go to other pharmacies and call and ask if it's ok first. I have an appointment tomorrow, that's something I need to bring up with them, the difficulty of getting my scrips filled lately and of it's ok to check other pharmacies without always calling in. It's shameful and scarey that the DEA is scrutinizing our doctors to the point they can't treat patients. For the first time in years, I have a functioning garden now producing food and beautiful flowers. I plan to can and freeze a lot of it as I used to years ago. I'm in a lot of pain working in the garden weeding every day but it's not unbearable pain. Without the meds, I could not do this at all. The exercise is good for me, I'm 64 and not active anymore. My meds allow me to do things I used to do and I'm enjoying life again. So frightening to think I could lose this, I live in dread of the day I have to go back to misery. Even sitting and holding a book hurt. Miserable life.

Geez Finn maybe you should stop growing fruits and vegetables and start growing plants that can be made into medicine.

And as far as your Pharmacy the easiest way to deal with that is to go to the closest Pharmacy to your home and speak to the manager(not the guy who manages the marines and candy and junk,the Pharmacy Manager)and say hey i have a script for XXX amount of Y drug that i will be filling every month on say the 15th will you be my Pharmacy and have that quantity of Y drug for me to pickup on that date or should i continue looking for a Pharmacy that wants all of my business ? and do that until you get a Pharmacy who wants all your business and most importantly will guarantee to have your Narcotics on schedule.

Peace

Oh I did ask the one pharmacy exactly that, after all I've been using that pharmacy for years and they know every month I need refills. They were very unconcerned and acted as though they couldn't promise to do that unless I dropped the scrips off first, that would mean two trips and it's not that close. Today I saw my doc's assistant, she said I could go to other pharmacies, "we trust you" were her words, which was nice. But for the record, she said to change the pharmacy if I'm going to use the second one as a first choice. This is a supermarket pharmacy, I live between two towns, the people at the one I've been using aren't very efficient, imo. The other one is much more helpful, so I'm changing. As for the plants, I do have some beautiful poppies, hahaha.

Finn does your Doctor have the ability to write electronic prescriptions if so i may have a solution for you. and al your local pharmacies can sit and spin !!

I live in Orlando, FL ad the Doctors and the Pharmacies will not wrte nor fill pain meds...even the pain Doctors. There are very few Pharmacies that are not Walgreens, CVS or attached to a grocery store or discount store.

I have Degenerative Arthritis of the spine and I have had it since 2005. I show the Doctors proof of what pain meds I have been on and they refuse to refill the scripts. They say it just is not safe to fill pain meds anymore in Florida, especially if it is a new patient (I was new to Orlando Oct 2011) what is this country coming to? I am 62 years old and I feel like 75...I can barely get around any more. Do I have to drive 500 miles to Mississippi to see a Doctor and then not be sure I will get my RX filled. I can't have an MRI because I have stents for kidney stones and steel plate in my head from a tumor removed in 1975. Does anyone have any suggestions?? HELP!!

LadypfHouston i have to drive 650 miles roundtrip to see my Pain Management, Cardiologist, and Neurologist in order to get treated. There is No Pain Management closer than that to me and the Neuro and Cardio are the only specialist's in my diseases that i could find, and i am never able to schedule appointments with even 2 of them on the same day let alone three so i have to make separate day long pilgrimages just to see one Doctor at a time, but would i switch to no care and no Pain Management not on your life.So to me if its possible to go out of state and get your medication and avoid the foolishness going on in Florida i would, but that is just my opinion as a consumer who has had to live without pain Medications for a period because of Doctors "fear"of the FDA/DEA " and almost having ended my life over that ( not being able to get another Doctor on my care team to write a script for Pain Meds i had been on without a problem for 7 years) becoming so depressed and in so much pain i actually thought that dying was better than living , and a short time later i found the Doctor i am with now and we have been together 5 years and we have a great deal of trust in each other and Mutual Respect . What i can tell you is you will need an address in Mississippi and your insurance if you have any will have to comeback to that address in Mississippi otherwise your doctor will get a notice that he wrote a script for an out of state resident and he could get in hot water for that, and the Pharmacy will not honor a script for a patient with Florida insurance (generally now a days Doctors and Pharmacies are discouraged from servicing patients who come from more than 50 miles away from their location. So if you can jump through those hoops to limit care from "Florida Escapee's " you will be ahead of the game.

Peace

Dear Lady of Houston, I am so sorry for what you are going through-I have heard there are comparable tests you can get instead of an MRI (like a cat scan-ct scan maybe they are the same thing?), but that doesn't solve your medication problem-I could not be paid enough money to live in Florida because of the nonsense going on their with legitimate pain patients. I wish I could think of something to help you. Hope you find some kind of relief, sorry I couldn't think of anything......

TDXSP08, Thanks for your information which makes a lot of sense. The only thing is my insurance is through my husbands work which is a very large company in Orlando. Changing my address to Mississippi would not go over too well in the benefit department. I am not sure what I am going to do but I can relate to the depression and wondering if all this is really worth going through on a day to day basis. The pain is so bad that if I vacume or do laundry, I am in so much pain for over a week that I can barely stand it. I have kept a pain journal since January, hoping if I finally find a Dr that will take me can read the journal and know how much pain I am in. I read in here the other day that someone waited until their pain was extremely bad and went to the ER. They gave this person a Cat-Scan, medication for the pain and a follow-up Dr to continue with help and pain relief. I told my husband that and I think we are going to do that...I have to do something or I am going to lose my mind...aspirin just doesn't do it...nor motrin...nor any other of the NAIDS I have taken. Thanks for your help and
Peace to you too.

Anon_1421, Wish I would have known about Florida before we moved here. Don't think it would have made a difference though; it was a move for my husband's job so the move had to be made. I do appreciate your kind thoughts and I definitely have not given up...there has to be a Dr here in my area that will help me..I Hope! Have a great summer.

The ER may give you a CT scan, pain meds, and a referral doctor, or they may not. The referral doctor is just a doctor on a list who is willing to take patients as referrals. There is no guarantee that he will accept your insurance or agree with how you wish to be treated, just that he will see you one time.

If you can read the phone book and/or your insurance booklet, you have a batter chance of finding a doctor on your own.

If you can afford it, I would suggest paying someone to do any heavy housecleaning/laundry that you need doing. Even a few hours twice a month is well worth it.

I hope you find a doctor that is simpatico soon.

Take care, Annette

I agree with Annette. Please don't use the ER for this. A referral means they give you the name of a doctor and then it's up to you to call and make an appt. You can do that yourself without wasting the time and money of going to the ER.

The rate of addiction among chronic pain patients using opiates to manage pain is between 1% and 3%, including those with a history of addiction. Essentially, very few chronic pain patients become addicted, although it certainly can and does occur. You can read the research here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20091598?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1 and here: http://updates.pain-topics.org/2011/01/study-finds-low-risk-of-rx-opioid-use.html .

It therefore appears draconian for the DEA to focus their "war" on the millions of chronic pain patients who desperately require the medication to manage pain, rather than on the few "pill mills," on patients who sell their legitimate prescriptions and on overprescribing physicians. The DEA has declared war on the victims, not the perpetrators.

It might be useful to obtain your Schedule II Rx by mail order, rather than a local drug store. Not only is it easier to obtain your medication, you can typically receive a 90-day supply for the same cost as a 30 to 60-day supply. Most insurance companies will only allow the smaller amount at a local pharmacy. The only drawback... you might need to wait two weeks for the medication to arrive. But if you manage your medication appropriately, it's not an issue. You'll never again be rejected by pharmacists who fear the DEA. Nor will you need to visit several different drug stores before one of them will fill your Rx. Just a thought"026