Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
Hey All -
Sadly I have been on pain meds for six years. Low dose and it hasn't changed the who time. It takes the edge off and I am never pain free -- too much damage in my feet mostly.
Anyway, got a notice from my insurance company today that says it is now against federal law for my doctor to write a scrip with ANY refills. I have to get a NEW prescription every single month. Like I said, I have never, not once taken more than I am supposed to and more often I take less. This is a HUGE pain in the ________.
Has anyone else just had this happen to them?
Has anyone used MMJ for pain? I never liked how "it" made me feel back in the younger days. I don't like the idea at all but heck, I am open to it. Is there any form of it that doesn't cause any "affects" but helps with pain? I have heard that it has immune-suppression properties AND anti-inflammatory properties too. It never really crossed my mind until now.
Anyone?
Thanks a ton!
Kyle
Sadly I have been on pain meds for six years. Low dose and it hasn't changed the who time. It takes the edge off and I am never pain free -- too much damage in my feet mostly.
Anyway, got a notice from my insurance company today that says it is now against federal law for my doctor to write a scrip with ANY refills. I have to get a NEW prescription every single month. Like I said, I have never, not once taken more than I am supposed to and more often I take less. This is a HUGE pain in the ________.
Has anyone else just had this happen to them?
Has anyone used MMJ for pain? I never liked how "it" made me feel back in the younger days. I don't like the idea at all but heck, I am open to it. Is there any form of it that doesn't cause any "affects" but helps with pain? I have heard that it has immune-suppression properties AND anti-inflammatory properties too. It never really crossed my mind until now.
Anyone?
Thanks a ton!
Kyle
I got the same notice the other day. I haven't yet checked with my doctor as they prescribe way more than I ever use. It is hydrocodone that I take for stenosis and sometimes to take the edge off the RA..
I'm not sure how this will work now..
Take care,
Ray
No I have never use MMJ. Hope it works for you.
There have been a few threads here on MMJ. I personally haven't used it, but some of the people who have swear by it. They do seem to have different varieties (all named by super-stoned people) with different effects. Sleep, pain, anxiety, different types for different needs. If your Rocky Mountain state is Colorado, or if you can easily get there, stop in a shop and talk to them. What's to lose?
Indeed I do live in Colorado and it is rather easy to get around here. Not in my county but not far away. The state allowed each local jurisdiction to decide on whether or not it would be legal. With ours the county commissioners said "no" because the state's deadline for deciding was earlier than the date where the state had the law itself all figured out! There was just too much unknown at that point. I would wager that a lot of counties were just in a wait and see mode to watch other counties and how they managed it. Our county, being rural, would be better for grow operations than anything else but our sheriff's department is so small and under-manned that adding that to the management of what they already have to deal with is a challenge. Most of the revenue goes to the state general fund and the counties are faced with higher law enforcement costs. But I digress -- that is not the topic here.
I just really, really didn't like "pot". I didn't like how it made me feel and I didn't like anything about it. That was then and from what I gather things about it have changed with the different strains. Does anyone know if the pain relief can be had without ANY high/THC affects? I work for local government and would have to check to see how this affects me in the workplace. Even though it is "legal" it can still be banned by an employer. There is a case tight now in court because a call center guy for Comcast used it for pain and failed a random drug test. He lost his job and he is suing... I can't afford to lose my job because then I lose my healthcare -- which is worth less and less as the Federal Government continues to think they know better than our doctors. But that will be a conversation I have to have with the County manager and County attorney. I would just LOVE to hear from anyone who has used it. I will dig into some old threads!
Thanks all!
But yes - paper RX from the doc hand delivered to the pharmacy every month. There is a clause in the regulation somewhere that a doc can write up to 3 separate monthly RX's at once but there is a special code and rule for that - you can still only get 30 days worth at a time.
Other then dropping that monthly script off nothing should really change.
Yes I believe it's 3 months post dated scripts.
Then again they keep changing things up.
Was in my Pain managements office yesterday hearing patients complain about getting their pain meds insurance & pharmacies are not making it easy.
The PM doctor I started with years ago retired due to all the changes that were being put in place. He explained some to my husband & I.
For one he felt he was no longer allowed to treat his patients as he wanted. The rules & regulations would result in hrs of paperwork.
He felt he had to turn away patients who did not meet the "criteria" for pain management with the new guidelines. Which had him feeling very bad. Great compassionate doctor. The pressure caused him to come close to a stroke, ended up retiring earlier with his dr & families pressure.
There is extra training required for doctors to prescribe "narcotics" on top of extra liability & risks of auditing, paper work & so on.......
Hence the reason most doctors will not prescribe pain meds.
I guess the government feels abusers out weigh those who really need relief from chronic pain. I get the need for control & attempts to keep these meds out of the wrong hands. Yet if they want them bad enough they will find a way, much like guns. Mean while people in real pain are left to suffer. Years ago that's how it was. Unless you had cancer or something as life threatening you suffered through. Another eye opener my dr explained.
I've been in PM & earned my doctors trust over & over. Declined meds, raises with my existing & so on. Signed a contract as most do in PM.
I also rely on procedures, injection, nerve blocks, etc......that I need to keep going.
I've asked about every kind of device to fight pain.
Spinal cord stimulaters, pain pumps you name it.
Not a candidate & RA I think changed that.
It's awful treatment one can receive if your a patient relying on pain meds. Been there done that. Laws now make it worse.
Then you have those rich & famous obtaining & abusing. That drives me crazy. We all must abuse & can't be trusted every time a well known person ODs. No one said life is fair but heck we don't let animals suffer.
Now medical marj.
I've heard mixed reviews. Some love it others not so much.
Like you I never cared for it, meaning in my youth I simply had a fear factor of things. Although from what I hear it's changed a lot.
If I was suffering & my doctor gave me the option I'd sure consider it.
I simply cant see the point in anyone suffering.
Each person is different one may respond fine another not so much.
I've said this before & I'll say it again for those who think it's just fine to live & function in pain every day let's see how well they manage.
I'm betting if our government suffered daily it would be different.
As always wishing you luck, Sammy
Yes, there are different strains now available of marijuana than there were in the past. While I've heard that today's strains are more concentrated, my understanding is that THC (the part of cannabis that produces the high) has been manipulated to be offset by other agents in today's marijuana. That *should* translate into some MMJ breeds that you can buy for when you want to feel "awake" as opposed to "sleepy" (at least that's what the MMJ collective told me when I made my purchase). I tried both kinds and honestly, both the awake and sleepy stains made me feel high - not like a college student at a party, but still psychedelic enough to potentially impact work or driving performance. And, more importantly, as for pain relief and reduced inflammation - I saw no significant result.
I have never smoked MMJ before going to work, and I work for a liberal employer known for its strong unionized work force, so it's not because I'm in fear of losing my job - it's that I personally don't think I'd be focused enough to think clearly. The only times I felt comfortable using MMJ were when everyone else in the house was asleep and when I could sit outside and not get caught by one of my three young children. This made MMJ really inconvenient for me. I tried the "chewables", and got no effect at all. So now, when I need pain relief, I take 2 Vicodin 750s. I can work well with Vicodin on board, I can drive safely, the prescription is covered under my insurance (making it significantly cheaper than the 1/4 oz for $50 MMJ), and yes, at the moment it's still more socially acceptable to say you take Vicodin for pain relief. The two small bottles of MMJ I bought in 2011, still half-full, are abandoned in the hiding place where I keep the pack of cigarettes I break out about twice a year when smoker friends come over. ;-)
Of course, your results might vary. You can always get the smallest amount available (here it's about a 1/4 of an ounce) and fire it up on a Saturday night when you don't have to go anywhere or do anything and see how it works for you. Good luck with whatever you decide!
I had an AWESOME RA doc when I moved to Colorado. I adored him and ached when he retired. I did a six-day adventure race in Brazil and he offered to pitch in a few $$ to sponsor our team. In exchange he asked for a picture of me doing something "really cool" to put in his office. I gave him one of my rappelling down a huge cliff from one leg of the race. I asked him one day. "Is is hard on you to specialize in treating a disease that you cannot cure?" He said, it was. He knew that what he was doing was helping people manage and there was no heroic MOMENT that marked permanent and forever SUCCESS.
Now the federal government, as your doctor seemed to feel Sammy, is taking away a doctor's ability to treat and HELP patients. It must be harder on our doctor's (the ones who really care) because they already have a bit of a downer of a job. The few things they can offer us that give us relief are getting harder and harder to offer. There is NOT a cure for us (yet)...only management. Sometimes we get lucky and are able to profoundly affect the disease itself and sometimes we keep it at bay and manage pain.
I remember ONE TIME I asked for a refill early because we would be on a prolonged trip and no where near a pharmacy. I called my doctor and got Yolanda (I will NEVER forget that woman -- I adored her!) I was very concerned about getting it early and didn't at all want them to think I wanted "more" sooner than I should have it. She was a southern black woman with a heart bigger than the Louisiana Purchase and a great sense of humor. She told me not to worry at all! She said, "Honey, don't worry! You are not on THAT list!" I guess they kept a list of folks who did repeatedly ask for more sooner and over the many years I never had. We had a good laugh. She always commented that regardless of how good or bad I was feeling I never, ever used the elevator when I came to see them. I took the stairs up all those floors.
Anyway I am going to watch the legalities around MMJ for a while. While it is legal in the state it is NOT legal at the federal level. That creates very muddy water. I work in a VERY high pressure, public position that is under constant scrutiny from some extreme nut-jobs who are self-appointed watch dogs. The pressure and the constant surveillance (I actually get followed) is just not worth the risk right now. That coupled with the fact that I ADORE my high energy personality and it is that quality that is my BIGGEST asset to pushing through the pain makes MMJ something that doesn't yet feel like the path I want to go down for now. I do not want to feel relaxed. I want to feel energized like I almost always do -- when my pain is manageable I bounce out of bed at 0430 every day! My nickname going back 30 years has been "H.B." for hummingbird and I really like that part of who I am. I am utterly BLESSED when it comes to sleep. You can prop me up in the corner and I can sleep hard. Pain rarely keeps me awake even when it is bad. IF I happen to wake up and I am in pain sometimes getting back to sleep is a challenge; those times are infrequent. But mostly I sleep right through anything -- thunderstorms, coyotes right outside riling up all the dogs...nothing rattles me when I am asleep. THANK YOU GOD!
Me and opiates have an interesting interaction. Going back about 10 years... I was on a back country horse camping trip. I was riding a young Spanish Mustang who I had had under saddle about two years. He never really was a "solid" horse because there was just something that never settled about him. Now don't confuse a SPANISH mustang with a BLM Wild Mustang. They are not the same. He would better be described as a Barb or a Colonial Spanish Horse. This was a test for him -- this trip.
Anyway we were about two hours into a ride in canyons of Utah Wilderness about 90 minutes east of Blanding and he game unglued for no reason. He whirled around to the left, I stayed on for about a turn and a half, got augured into the dirt and he lost his footing and fell on me. With six broken ribs in my back and a shattered collarbone -- I wasn't getting back on.
My friends took GPS coordinates of where I lay, rode out the two hours, got in a car for another 30 minutes to get cell service to call a chopper. I had tried to stand so I could walk out but there was too much broken and the pain too great and I would lose consciousness when I tried. So in the dirt I lay... Eight hours later the chopper came over the rim of the canyon and like a master, that pilot set it down on the only postage stamp of flat ground available.
The flight nurses started to work on me. I had been singing songs and making friends with ants and other little critters while I waited. LOL Anyway they got an IV for fluids and a portal into ME. The head flight nurse asked me about pain from 1 to 10. I told him 17! They gave me morphine. He again asked about pain, 1 to 10. I again said 17. He game me MORE morphine and asked again and my answer again was 17. He then said, "Oh you're one of THOSE!" I asked what one of those was. He told me (and if there were more details I don't recall them) that some people are not highly sensitive to opiates. While they can have SOME effect it is very limited. We lack the same uptake thingies that most people have or we have a lot fewer of them. He said ironically that people like that are actually the ones who don't get addicted to opiates (if my pain isn't bad I can go days without pain meds and not feel any withdrawal of any kind). Then he gave me what he called synthetic morphine and told me it was 10 times stronger -- i later learned it was Dilaudid (sp?). He asked for my pain level and I said 17!! Confused a bit, He looked around and looked at my IV tube and saw it was totally kinked (we were working in the dirt after all and there wasn't an IV bag hanger or anything). He un-kinked it and BAM!!!! The world was AWESOME!!! Wow! Heck, on the flight from BFE back-country Utah to Grand Junction, Colorado I wanted to get up to look out the windows! LOL That stuff was something else!!!!! So whether it is Hydrocodone or Percocet (sp?) they only take a slight edge off pain for me and that is it -- I could take one or the other and the effect would be identical for me. They never totally take away the pain and there is nothing else at all associated with them. Which is why using hydrocodone for me works. It changes NOTHING but the pain level and allows ME to be ME and that is also why MMJ has less appeal. I do NOT want at ALL to be "affected" by my pain management medication beyond ONLY how it affects my pain.
Any-hoo, as Sammy pointed out with pain meds and guns...bad guys will still get them both. The good guys will suffer the regulations around both. Welcome to the "new" America...
Have a wonderful Friday ya'll!!
RMG67
This is a person that is high on the ladder in a huge cooperation.
Yet he thought a pain med would turn this lady into a criminal?
The misconceptions are unbelievable!
Just thought to myself if you were laying in that bed in her place you would not hesitate to take it. It was evident she was in major pain.
For an educated intelligent person to think this way blows my mind.
No wonder we are heading this way.
I know medical use is legal here but according to my PMs staff if you even suggest it your asking for trouble.
Don't get that either considering how addictive & dangerous some of the meds are.
That was some experience you had.
Dang the pain must have been mind blowing.
Wishing you luck. If you do get the chance to try it let us know how it works for you.
Sammy
Lin
I think any law protecting others is a good thing. Yet it cannot be ignored there are people in serious chronic pain.
If you can walk & talk you are treated as though you should not have these meds. They enable people to do just that.
You would think pharmacists of all people would have some understanding yet they can be some of the worst.
Mine ended up being a huge help once she got to know me.
Actually recommended medication. She left to have a family & let me tell you I miss her. They can be a great member to ones medical team. Give great suggestions & professional opinions.
After all they know what may work best for what your dealing with.
Wouldn't it be nice to walk up to doctors & pharmacists without fear & simply ask what they thought of using something like medical marj. For the pain control your in need of?
Sammy