Pain Management Community

I can understand you. It varies by state, but they are making it harder and harder for doctors who give out pain medicine. One doctor I had said that if he gave me a stronger pain medicine they (the government) would make him get an attorney and go to the state capitol with my records to defend his prescriptions. That meant he had to close his office, hire an attorney which meant he would loose business while closed, have the cost of an attorney and then end up talking to a bunch of semi-retired politically appoointed doctors, most of whom had no special training in pain management. He believed I had the pain, but he could not afford the cost just for me. I might point out this doctor saw that I was developing cirrosis of the liver, because the pain medicine I was getting from the VA was not working and I used a lot of tyleonal to help, even though it did not help really. If he had not caught that I might not be here now.
Since you live in a state near the border, maybe you could go their and see a pain doctor for medicine? Mexico has the largest number of retired Americans living there of any country, I was told, due to the cost of living and the good quality of medical care. I was told that as long as you have a perscription you can bring the medicine to the US and get refills by mail.
I have seen others write into this site from Texas with the same problem as you have. I wish you well and hope something will work out.
I finally found a doctor who would write my prescriptions here, but he maybe retiring soon and then I may be in your position. Lindy19

Hi There,
Wow,I feel bad for you because I can relate!Thank God that's not my problem right now but I I know that I would be upset if that happened to me!I am also in Chronic Pain ,have been for over 20 yrs.!!I also take Methadone and it works better than any thing else that I have tried!
I would try to find another DR.,Unfortunatley that's what alot of us will have to do!Especially if Obama care goes through!!WE'll be in one big mess!!
Best of luck to you! 77grace

"Obamacare" is already the law, and is taking place gradually as it was designed to do.

It will not effect my doctor at all, as far as seeing me goes. I asked my pcp ages ago.

Many doctors support this.

Take care, Annette

One effect of Obamacare that people are going to see, if they haven't seen already, is that they won't be able to see a doctor at all. They will be seeing a PA or NP instead. There will not be enough doctors to handle all the new patients. That's already the case in a lot of offices. And many will not be taking anymore Medicare or Medicaid patients, especially specialists.

I am an RN and have seen both PAs and NPs in the past, no problems for me. They are trained to handle most kinds of office visits anyway. Many people already say here that they see NPs and PAs in their PM doctors' offices. That has been true for many years now.

So far, all my doctors (pcp, and surgeon, and orthopedist, and PM) and my husband's doctor (pcp) will take Medicare and are glad to continue to see us. I check with them every year, when I double check Medicare to make sure we are on the right plans.

I do disagree with any reduction in Medicare payments to doctors. I do not agree with "Obamacare" because I feel you need a single payer system, NO insurance companies at all, no Medicare, no Medicaid, no VA, just one big system for everyone.

Hugs, Annette

My brother-in-law lost all but one of his doctors when he was old enough to get Medicare. Two of my specialists do not take Medicare or Medicaid. One will not even accept an HMO because they pay so little.

I have been dealing with chronic pain and the horrible, embarrassing experiences of trying to find a pain management doctor that doesn't treat you like a harden criminal. I lived in TN and had a wonderful pain management doctor. When we moved to OK about a year ago I wasn't prepared for the challenge of finding decent medical care. Those of us that truly need daily pain management pay the price of the pill seeking people. If the people in the DEA and the others making it impossible to get the meds I need to get through everyday ever had to walk in my shoes or had to experience my everyday life they wouldn't be so quick to make assumptions or to label everyone based on a few idiots. It has gotten so bad over the past year that I gave thought about ending it all rather then facing the rest of life in agony. I think that everyone that has been dealt this as their life should band together and stand up and fight the people that have decided they know what's good for me without knowing who they are hurting and fight for our right to live a life that could be manageable with the right pain management !!!

I agree with you. When I go see my specialist some have signs at the desk, "Do not take medicare & medicaide".

I don't say you and Swank are not being truthful, it just has not happened to me or my family out here on the west coast.

I would not blame a doctor for not accepting less $$$ that it takes for them to survive and pay their bills. I thought that Medicare might be a problem when I finally needed it, but it has not been a problem where I live.

Take care, Annette