Pain Management Community

Hi bpcookie,
I've been with Pain Specialist along time and I don't think you understood it correctly!If I'm right when you agreed to work with this speialist you also agreed to not see and get pain medication from any other Doctor!So,I think that is what it means,NOT that Lyrica is an opoiod!Someone correct me if I'm wrong!!!
I hope it will help you,I know it has helped many people I know!
Blessings,77grace

Ooohhh perhaps your right. The only thing that bothers me about that is, my new pain specialist has taken over all my pain medication, except for Hydrocodone. They wont prescribe it, so my family Dr. is the one who does my refills. So now its like I'm breaking a rule. Little things can get so complicated at times.

I would just talk to the PM doctor and either get his written permission to get your hydrocodone from your pcp or make a decision about which doctor you want. It seems like a little thing. but it may not be.

Take care, Annette

bpcookie,
So doe's your pain Dr. know that you are getting the hydrocodone from your family Dr.?I doubt it,they usually would not go for that!Did'nt you post earlier about having trouble with your Dr.about getting any pain meds??Or maybe that was someone else?
Best of luck and I hope you get releif.
77grace

Lyrica is not considered an opioid but it is a pain management drug, and I think what they are saying is either this doctor manages ALL your pain management meds, or you get them from someone else.

In many states it is a felony to get controlled substances from one doctor and not tell all the other doctors you see about it. Maybe this is how this particular doctor keeps from getting himself in trouble with patients getting PM drugs from multiple doctors.

Like I said in my other post, talk to him and see what he says.

Take care, Annette

Lyrica is an anti-convulsant. It is NOT an opioid. However, is is considered a controlled substance (why?). Therefore, it is not filled with refills. But it is definitely not an opioid.

Pregablin (Lyrica) is in the controlled substance V section. The doctor can write for refills on it if one wishes to. I was on it for a brief time, it didn't work for me. My doctor wrote it with refills for six months at a time.

Only the controlled substance II RXs cannot be refilled, but must have a new hard copy for each time you fill it.

At least this is my understanding of the federal laws.

Take care, Annette

I agree Annette030, I am on lyrica now and my dr prescribes me Lyrica with 6 refils and the pharmacy always lets me know when it is due to refil. They don't do that with all of my meds that have refils, I don't know why.On my Norco the dr just sends it through the 'puter, no hard copy needed. It was only recently that they were aloud to send my Norco through email with NO hard copy's.

I'm not sure what the federal laws are, just my experience...Lita

Hi Grace, sorry it took so long for me to reply to this, geez Im slow. I'm on so many different boards and sometimes I some posts.

I did write something about having trouble getting pain meds from a specific Dr. Its not the one Im seeing right now though. (Its a long story and I wont bore you with it, unless you want me to )

The problem that Im seeing here in my state is, the FDA is trying to keep the opioids from the addicts but in doing that they made it harder for ppl suffering from pain to get prescriptions. So sad.

The Dr. that Im seeing now isn't prescribing any opiods, just my muscle relaxer, Tramadol and Lyrica. Mostly just the Lyrica because I use the other two sparingly.

Thanks for replying

Hello annette, hhhmmmm I understand what the specialists are trying to do and I understand that the FDA is putting pressure on them also. I DONT understand WHY anyone should have to sign a paper stating that they wont get opioids from any other Dr. when they aren't getting opioids from THAT Dr. in the first place. The whole system is a bit of a mess.

I feel for the Dr.s who are being pressured from the FDA and I feel badly for the patients who are suffering because they cant get the meds they need.

HAGD

It's really the DEA and each state that sets the laws/regulations for opiod prescribing.

The FDA monitors medications in a way related to safety. For instance, back in January of 2011, the FDA put recommendations in place that manufacturers of opiates that contain acetaminophen go down to 325mg in each pill instead of allowing the 500mg or even 650mg in some pills.

I If the Dr. you see now is prescribing the Lyrica, Tramadol, and a muscle relaxer...it's the Tramadol which is now a controlled substance.

So because you have agreed to this by filling those medications...you need to make absolutely sure that he is ok with you getting the Hydrocodone from your other Dr. Same thing for the Dr. who prescribes the Hydrocodone..

Because as of now...you would be considered "Dr. shopping" because you are getting two controlled substances from two different Drs.

So, if it were me, I would get this in writing from both Drs. that they agree to the treatment plan/medications the other is prescribing or else this can fall back on you by getting kicked out of either or both places with no medications at all, as well as having a mark on your record that you broke the contract.

Oh, ok, so its the DEA. Good to know. This whole thing with the medication is sssoooo confusing and frustrating. On paper work it probably looks like Im Dr. shopping because I have had to go from one Dr. to another Dr. trying to find some pain relief for my LSC. There is no cure for LSC and Dr.s who actually specialize in it are very rare. So I have had to try different Dr.s, many Dr.s and I have had to try many different scripts, many different treatments, even was a guinea pig for one treatment.

Do you know if Lyrica is a controlled substance? I have all kinds of meds. from all sorts of different Dr.s and I have NO clue if any of my other meds are controlled or not.

Thanks for your reply

No worries about the DEA/FDA part...I just happen to know since I have been in PM for 11 years now.

According to Annette's handbook as she is a former nurse for many years it is low on the totem pole of controlled substances.

What you need to worry about is the Tramadol and the Hydrocodone (I assume this is Norco, Vicodin, or Lortab)?

As I mentioned, Tramadol is now a controlled substance in many states that is heavily monitored.

So if I am reading your post correctly...you get the Lyrica, Tramadol and a muscle relaxer from the one Dr. and then the Hydrocodone from another Dr.

In many states and for many Drs. this violates the pain contract because you are getting two controlled substances (the Tramadol and the Hydrocodone) from two different Drs.

This is what I said you need to speak with both Drs. about ASAP or else this could get you into trouble.

As I mentioned, people can see as many Drs. as they wish to get opinions about their care. They just can't go and accept controlled substance prescriptions from more than one Dr. if they have agreed by way of contract not to.

Another way they track this is 42 states have now activated the Prescription Monitoring Program. This is used by the states, by Drs. by Pharmacies and the DEA to follow a patient by name anywhere in the state to track where they are filling controlled substances. So, by you filling the Hydrocodone and the Tramadol at your Pharmacy it shows two different Drs from two different practices that prescribe these so you may be flagged already.

This is why I strongly urge you to get IN WRITING from BOTH Drs. if they are ok with this arrangement with you getting these medications from each Dr.

The one Dr. who prescribes the Hydro needs to know you are getting the Tramadol. And the other Dr. who prescribes the Tramadol needs to know you are getting the Hydro.

I don't think most doctors are pressured by the FDA or the DEA. I just have not seen it myself.

If you are getting any RXs for any kind of pain management from one doctor it is fair of him to ask you to sign a contract, you are free to refuse to sign it and risk losing that doctor. All that means is you would have to find another pain management doctor.

Long before the individual states passed laws saying what they say now about pain management, all three states I have worked in myself had laws on the books saying it was illegal to get any kind of RX pain meds from more than one doctor, it was a felony. According to a parole/probation agent that I knew, they had that law so they could arrest people who had RX drug problems and saw more than one doctor.

The present laws are mostly related to documenting that opiate treatment is helping the patient rather than harming him. I can live with that. Documentation, and taking a couple of hours of continuing education on pain when you renew your MD license is not a big deal to me. They have to take continuing education anyway, just like RNs do.

Take care, Annette