So very sorry you are going through this. I'm going through something similar in that my doc died and I can't find a replacement. It's amazing how doctors and nurses (not ALL, but some) seem to get off on the control. My former doc used to get so angry when he heard stories like that. He was a warrior for pain patients. When he died unexpectedly, his patients not only lost a doctor, but a friend. Only now am I realizing how rare it was to have a doctor say, "If it isn't broken, we don't fix it." My doc required Pain Contracts and had us sign lots of them over he years as certain people tried to get in for the wrong reasons. But I never took it personally b/c I knew the rules were to protect me. He also made sure that we had a few extra days of pills in case of emergency. No a stash, just a few extra day's worth. We also had to turn in a monthly pain journal that listed what we took, how many, what time and what our pain levels were at the time we took our meds. It was sometimes a "pain" to remember to do it, but how I wish he was here now so I could give him my last few month's worth of pain journals. I know what you're going through and pray that we both find docs who will work WITH us and not against us. Oh, what a joy that would be! Good Luck and God Bless!

Unfortunately, your story seems familiar to many of us suffering with chronic pain. Doctors are often afraid of dispensing pain medication for chronic pain patients for fear of losing their licenses - thanks to the fakers who've screwed up the system. I FINALLY found a doctor who diagnosed me with CRPS after 6 other doctors misdiagnosed me, and then my dear doctor died in a plane crash. This is the 3rd physician I've personally known who has died this way. After the 8th try, I'm now with a compassionate doc who prescribes what I need. I look at him carefully and try to guess his age - now I'm afraid he'll die and then I'll be back up a creek without a pain management doc.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my meds on the day I needed them - except be in horrific pain and have miserable and lethal withdrawals. I wish I knew where you were, I'd send you some of mine.

Now, here's an alternative idea that is merely hypothetical, but in some states there's medical marijuana. Not that I'm condoning it, LOL, but I think if I got in a spot without meds, that's what I would consider. Obviously that's what the medical marijuana is designed for, but it's not in my state yet. Legally. I think every Tom Dick and Bubba grows some in his backyard, but not in my neighborhood.

Keeping you in my prayers tonight that you find medication and relief ASAP. After my doc died, I was without a pain mgmt. doctor, so I went to the ER and said I was suicidal. Which I was sorta because of the pain i was in. I was admitted and promptly given my meds. I spent the weekend in the hospital, and then was given enough meds to get me through for a month until I found the doc I have now. I pray for his continued health often.

Pinnky

Thanks again for the compassion, I know that many of us experience this over and over, and spend much of the month worrying about the next months meds. I did receive a phone call today saying they called in the vicodin , and that my dr talked to the dr in the office n his absence, and that dr would prescribe me enough till my appt. next Friday. IT is to the pill of the time of the appt. I am thankful that they have done this, but they act like I caused some big problem and they did me a big favor. I did not know my dr. was gone, I followed the rules they have so why am I the one in the wrong? Since all these people in the office are so knowlegeable why then do they not realize the true dangers of denying me my meds? I do not consider my self addicted to the meds, but my body is, and there are serious consequences to cold turkey withdrawal. Not only is it uncomfortable, but can be life threatening. Cardiac problems are real.when these meds are taken away like that. Since I had the three month script they had given me for the mail in pharmacy, I could have gotten one month at a pharmacy, but the sec. required me to give it to her in consideration for even telling the other dr my problem. NOW, I will have to pay the same amount for a weeks worth that I would have had to pay for the whole month.
Katrina= what is the monthly cost of the Nucynta? It is name brand only correct? that is the problem with the oxcontin now. I was getting the whole month of oxycontin generically for $5, now it will be much more due to the name brand only.

Nucynta is the generic for Tapentadol HCL tabs. I don't know what it costs as I pay $4 for generics and $12 for non-generics. I do know that because of it's class my dr can't write a 90 script for it in NJ. I don't know if it's the same in other states. If I could do the 90 day mail in, it'd be free. So he prescribes enough for me to take 3 a day for 30 days, I often only take 1 and some days none. So when I do take more i'm fine. Some months I don't have to refill after 30 days because of that which saves money.

I m sorry i hate this it is so hard to be treated like that hugs minnie

I live in constant fear of that happening and I read more and more of it happening as in your case you did everything that a good patient would do. I'm going to be moving, and I've started calling around to try and locate a new dr. You would not believe the treatment that I've received. They automatically assume that I'm dr. shopping. I tell them the truth that I've been w/same dr. for 19 years, have all my med records, and rx records to prove what I am telling them. Had one to tell me they would not even perscribe muscle relaxers. I just told the nurse that I hoped that the doctor never had a sugery to go bad which caused him to be in chronic pain. I plan ahead, try to never abuse or phone in for an emergency script, see the dr. as he requests, but he has one secretary who insists on playing " God", and he even told me himself what days to call when she would not be there. Does not not speak volumes? I've had every treatment known to man, and nothing has helped. I've been told that PM drs make their money on procedures and therefore whether it works or not, they still make their money. I use a physiatrist who has tried to help with non traditional and more natural such as acupuncture, massage, reflexology etc. even though I still have to have meds. I went off of them and ended up bed ridden with no quality of life. I hope this doesn't happen to you again. Maybe explain to your doctor the hassle that you went through and the stress that it caused so he could address the situation with his staff. So sorry for you as I know that must be a horrible feeling.

Actually, this is not the worse, or the most uneducated way I have been treated. About 4 years ago, my orthopod, quit me by letter, because I dared to challenge him. I called several drs. and made appts with four more. They were all GPs, as there were no pain managment drs. in town. One o the GPs told me that to practice in their clinic, they signed contracts saying that they would not presribe, Ms Contin, Oxycontin, Methadone,etc. He even told me that since I had some vicodin, to take one of those once in awhile, when I had been on duragesis 100mcg patch for 6 years !!!!, I could not believe he did not know better, but he did not. I really struggled, and found a pain management dr but she was here one or two days a month, and that was a hassle. Then after 3 years she leaves with one month notice. It never ends. As or making money on procedures, Iwonder how many millions of dollars of insurance money has been spent on injections, spinals,epidurals, pumps, stimulators, nerveablation, etc? I would be willing to be it is massive.

It's hard when it's a battle... Sometimes I find the office folks are just really crabby bc so many people are coming in very demanding it's even hard to be in the waiting room with 'em!!! And then I think that develops a mindset in the staff that turns out detrimental to the folks who are really trying to be understanding and don't seek drugs... Anyway Its awful the stress you're being put through and the one thing that jumped out at me was the rx situation. #1 I've had situations where a pharmacy only had x # of pills and they always listed in the records that a "partial refill" was available. So I'd suggest talking to the pharmacy manager bc it's not right they short you the pills, maybe there's a problem with an unscrupulous pharm tech??? #2 I'm really shocked too how your meds quantity is written, that's gotta be racking up the co-pays... Unless there's some history for concern, I don't see the justfication for the extra expense. Have you asked the doctor? Maybe if the "leash" wasn't so tight it would work better for all? I'm really sorry about all you're going through. Take care.

No need to fear...just be COMPLETELY HONEST and forthright....the Physician will really appreciate that and work with you (I know I do).

As another RN who has been treated by the medical profession with nothing but disdain, I totally "get it". I lost my career after I was injured, and my only use now is sometimes consulting for a physician friend of mine. I have a lot of medical issues going on besides the chronic pain, but the pain is the worst for me, as it took everything from me.

Chronic pain in particular is poorly understood by the medical and nursing community at large. I know I worked with a "pain team" who was more ignorant than the new grads who came in to work. It was truly sad. By the time I got that program turned around, I was sick with cancer and my pain from my back injuries was so out of control I was forced to quit my job.

I am so sorry you've had to go through this. I believe the majority of CP patients have gone through awful experiences like this. Unfortunately, I don't see any end in sight. Between the DEA breathing down the necks of legitimate pain physicians, and the ignorance of people in the non-pain community, and even pain physicians themselves not all in agreement as to treatment....we'll be in for the ride of our lives.

Big hugs coming your way. So sorry for the hell you've gone through. Been there, done that. :(

Correction: you are dependent NOT addicted!

I really feel for you and yes, you are being done wrong. This is unacceptable. Even if you must drive for 3-4 hrs in pain and kiss some toads, you need to start interviewing pain management doctors. Yes, I know how much that sucks. I understand the anxiety. Many have said that they can not possibly sit in the car that long or pay for the gas, but 1 days of discomfort and expense is worth 1 month of relief! I drive hours to my pain doc because he is the best in the business. You don't get that if you are determined to keep it local.

I would say that these people have revealed their character and it isn't good. One day they will leave you high and dry. I know how hard it is to find someone good who will not traumatize patients, but the search is worth it. It really is.

If the Walmart pharmacy workers like to play God, why not make a switch? Even if you have a contract you can switch if you tell your doc. Walmart is terrible anyway--- labor troubles, sexual discrimination including paying women less than men and not promoting them, using undocumented illegal workers, showing employees how to game the public aid system instead of paying them properly, working people off the clock, selling dangerous Chinese products, buying from Chinese sources with no environmental or safety regulations. Do you really want to support that?

At any rate, I hope you get the help you need and deserve! Keep us updated on how you resolve this.

I am so sorry with your experience. I think it is tragic. I am sick of doctors thinking i am a drug seeker. I know people who are but i am just looking to have a somewhat pain free life. I think the whole situation of your doctor leaving you in that kind of enviornment sucks. I dont' know if I could have taken that without having a breakdown. Iam still searching for a pain management doctor. I am not settleing for just anyone either. I think your perscriptions should have been honored. Why doesn't your record mean anything. So sorry. I went to a pain clinic visit to a supposed great Hospital. I simply asked what my options were when the meds I am on stop working. I build up tolerances to them. I tell my doctor everything and I dont' abuse my pills. I have been on some heavy meds in the past and just built up tolerances. My old doctor that I had was just going to switch my meds every so many months so that I could live without that much pain but I had to move because I was living over my ex's mother's and couldn't stay. So I have yet to find a doctor. I don't have a car so I can't go to the doctor I had. Medicab's will only take you within the same county not out of it. It sucks. I continue to look. I think your doctor should have given you a reccomendation instead of just leaving you to the wolves. Why does every doctor think we are drug seekers. Shouldn't it be done by individual not by what other's have done. I have the same issues with housing. I am on Section 8 because I can't afford to pay rent without it. I waited years to get it and now almost all landlord shun it because either they have heard of the tenants who destroy apartments, don't pay rent, do illegal drugs and make a lot of noise and are impossible to evict when they clearly need to be kicked out. Now because of these individuals I have to suffer with not being able to find good safe quiet housing. Same as not finding decent pain management because doctors have seen people who need to be in rehab and are hooked on drugs and make up stories to get more or go to different doctors and not tell the others about them. It messes up the chance for truthful individuals who simply want to be treated with decency to get shafted. I have never been treated so badly at my pain clinic appointment , I simply asked what were my options and I got drug seeker shot in my face and told don't expect us to give you any narcotic or opiates we don't do that for fibro anymore. It was terrible. In my exam I cried and I was told to stop. The doctor and the nurse would not answer my questions and send me home with a perscription for a imflamtory med for fibromyalgia. It was ridicuolous. I feel defeated sometimes but I don't know what I would have done in your shoes. I hope you are able to find a doctor who will continue your treatment and don't go into withdrawl. I am not an RN but there are nonmedical people who are compitend too. My mother was addicted to Demarol badly and I promised at that age I would never allow myself to be run by a drug. I do get tolerance but I always tell my doctor because I never want to get into a situation my mother was in and put me in because I was the kid taking care of her. It sucked for a kid of twelve and at eighteen she finally came clean but she still was in pain and still is to this day. Even after four exploratory surgeries. I will be praying for you and hope that you are not in discomfort. Ask your former doctor for a reference if you can ever speak to her again, keep looking because we all deserve to be treated well. I don't know what I am going to do when my meds no longer work because I know they are starting to fail now. It worries me but I hope that I will be able to find a good doctor by then.

Very good point made that even most medical professionals don't get the whole concept of chronic pain.

Shameless plug for my book in that the first half delves into this very problem.

I wish every doctor thought like ccbatson but they don't. I do know there is a huge prescription drug abuse problem in this country however I also know CP patients rarely if ever become addicts; only dependent on the meds they take for pain.
Studies have proven this & why so many doctors are on the end of not believing a person's pain or not wanting to prescribe if they do out of fear of the DEA & other agencies is beyond me because for years doctors have an online way of tracking scripts and patients but many don't use the system that was given to them.
I now have a wonderful doctor & a pain contract which I abide by to the letter. She has only counted my pills once and we have built trust because I have nothing to hide & am always honest.
I am praying you and so many others find a doctor like my own that does understand treatment of pain & that opiates are not the worst option in CP patients if all other ways have been looked at or to even help someone go through PT which can be so painful in itself.
No, you shouldn't be automatically categorized as a drug seeker. It used to be so much better but in the past 6 plus yrs, doctors have either become afraid or don't care as long as they are making money. It's such a shame as if we suffered from cancer or diabetes and the meds could be worse than the disease at some point in the long run, we wouldn't be turned down to treat pain.
My thoughts are with you and keep us up to date,
Rhonda, IN

Many good points have been made, BUT by us as sufferers, it is so unfortunate that medical professionals do not get it. As a nurse, I fought for pain control for my patients. I cannot tell you how many narcotics are stolen by medical professionals and charted as given to the patient, esp. those who cannot tell. One morning, I was in charge of ICU< and Stepdown, and was making rounds, after ordering narcotics, as It seemed like I was needing so many more at the time. First on my list was a blind, deaf man, who was in stepdown, and had had surgery. It was charted he had three shots of breakthrough MS, in addition to his pump. I went in and his wife was and had been at his side. I asked how his pain was controlled with theextra meds, and wondered if we needed to up the dose from the pump. She told me that he was doing fine, with the pump. I said did the extra meds help? Was he comfortable now, and soon realized she was telling me he did not have any extra meds, that his pump was all and as long as it was used peiodically he was doing fine. Next patient, I had taken care of the day before due to intensive procedures to keep him alive. I noticed she had given him 3 shots of demerol overnight. I thought it extremely odd as he was not even awake, and basically in a coma, I had not been able to get him to communicate at all then or the day before. ON to the next guy, who was being dismissed that am. HIS demerol had been DC'd (at 7pm) the night before, and supposedly he got a dose at 10:39pm. Sometimes it does take a little while to catch up with orders, but not that long. So I watched this nurse, and one day saw her come from the bathroom, with blood on her uniform from her thigh. Also, a nurse had seen her prior to going in to the br and asked why she has syringes in her pocket and she said they were flushes. Anyway, after I allerted the house supervisor, and investigation, she was let go, A few years after that, she lost her license due to drug abuse. NOW the story behind this is not good, she had a baby who died of SIDS, and her husband got investigated for giving a newborn benadryl, and they lost their kids for awhile, and she was put on sedatives for awhile.and it was down hill from there. Back to nursing, she was drug tested, and failed. BUT for weeks, every nurse on the unit was mad at me, and asked was I sure? SORRY I was taking care of my patients, not my fellow workers.
As for the question about the remaining meds after I got 80 of 90, due to the fact that it was oxycontin, it was not possible. With vicodin, ultram, etc you can.
The Gp who presribes the meds for me tries to be compassionate, but it not knowledgable about increasing. I have been on the same dose for a year, and need to go up. I will mention this to him at my next visit. He often tells his students, that it is a wonder I even walk. I am planning on going to Disney World with my daughter and three grandchildren in June, he thinks I will need a cart. I hope not, for the grandkids sake.

With so many of the meds we require being namebrand now, the cost becomes prohibitive even with insurance. My copays are $5 for generic a months worth or $10 for three months mail in. BUT for the namebrand it is $25-$250 per months worth. I called and for three months mail in of oxycontin (270pills) it is $162, but I will get it with my local pharmacy as I have a $65 or so copay monthly and have my purdue card that pays $70, so it should be free. YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Due to my not working $76,000 income lost, and then my husband 's income has gone down by $12000 yearly for three years. IT SUCKS Thank god I have no credit card debt, my home and cars are paid for. Sure would like a new car though.

Stranded-- In our community , arural small community in NE Mo, there are few options for anyting. Shopping is Walmart Penneys and three or four small stores. MEDICAL care is limited. Housing is even more so. People here are on HUD, for housing , and mostly it is available only to single mothers. Single people are so far back in line, they rarely find a home they can get on HUD> I have a niece who has 4 kids (never married, different fathers ) and has never in her adult life had to be responsible. She inheirted over $150000in cash, and blew it. Was, and still is on public assistance. She has custody of 2 of the kids. She workd in a nursing home for 9 months, and drew 16 months of unemployment. Now she is a waitress, make $4 hourly, but brings home $350 in tips weekly plus that pay check. In addition as the check is below minimum wage, she still draws some unemployment. NOW, she gets free rent in three bedroom house, Utilities are $20 monthly for gas, 20 for electric, and becasue she moved and there is $180 water deposit for renters, (not owners) a church kicked in and paid that for her. In addition, Food stamps, and free medical coverage for her kids. AND HER , when she needs it. Had no insurance had kidney stones, got everything form er to dr appt to us to surgery paid for 100%. There is a single guy who works 2 jobs, struggles to make it, and cannot get any help with heatbills or anything as there are so many mothers with kids . IN additon to everything she and the moms get free, they get all the help from churches as they let their utilities go even at 20 or 30 monthly till being shut off, and they get commodities and all the free food giveaways. PLUS every tax time she gets back $10000 or so back in money from IRS.
Sorry to have got so far off topic, it just is not right.

Hope all have good pain relief today.