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The surgeon will usually prescribe what's needed, UNLESS , you have a pain management doctor, then, he/she must prescribe what's needed , on a written Rx, set to fill on the specific date of discharge. If your already on chronic pain treatment, only that doctor can prescribe you pain meds. This happened to me once, and the surgeon filled my nor.all monthly meds, and I had put BIM in contact with my pain doc. I called them to be sure they had spoken, they said they had, and the surgeon filled my normal meds.
The next month, when I went to refill, the pain center doc came unwound on me. What had happened was a huge no no, and she could have kicked me off. She didn't, because it really wasn't my fault. The hospital doc screwed up, and since I had put him in contact with her, I had done my part to follow the rules, but I still got an earful.
Pain med rules are as anal as it gets anymore. Even honest mistakes and things beyond your control will BBQ you. Its idiotic, mismanaged (or overly managed) with the feds between you and your medical care.
Urgh that sounds like quite a hassle, a hassle that people dealing with chronic pain could surely do without.
Urgh that sounds like quite a hassle, a hassle that people dealing with chronic pain could surely do without.
Quite. And there's plenty more to along with that specific rule. A goodly % of who your dealing with as a chronic pain patient is with the feds not your doctor. I got myself off the pain center program (with great difficulty) and reduced down to a different regimine through my primary care. The rules are still the same, but I only have one Rx to deal with now, and the doctor is far more personable. Pain management , even for serious conditions, like mine, is still a hassle, and the feds are trying to make it even harder now. I saw a news report last night that the CDC was ts to make narcotic pain management all but impossible. Interestingly, their huge concern seems to be heroin use rising, and they think cutting off chronic pain patients is going to slow that somehow.
The thinking makes no sense to me. How is forcing a cancer patient to use Advil instead of oxycodone going to do any good at all with abusers ?
The surgeon will usually prescribe what's needed, UNLESS , you have a pain management doctor, then, he/she must prescribe what's needed , on a written Rx, set to fill on the specific date of discharge. If your already on chronic pain treatment, only that doctor can prescribe you pain meds. This happened to me once, and the surgeon filled my nor.all monthly meds, and I had put BIM in contact with my pain doc. I called them to be sure they had spoken, they said they had, and the surgeon filled my normal meds.
The next month, when I went to refill, the pain center doc came unwound on me. What had happened was a huge no no, and she could have kicked me off. She didn't, because it really wasn't my fault. The hospital doc screwed up, and since I had put him in contact with her, I had done my part to follow the rules, but I still got an earful.
Pain med rules are as anal as it gets anymore. Even honest mistakes and things beyond your control will BBQ you. Its idiotic, mismanaged (or overly managed) with the feds between you and your medical care.
That's when it's time to dump the middle man (pain quack clinic) and regain your dignity and medical power. Congrats on doing that!!!!
Quite. And there's plenty more to along with that specific rule. A goodly % of who your dealing with as a chronic pain patient is with the feds not your doctor. I got myself off the pain center program (with great difficulty) and reduced down to a different regimine through my primary care. The rules are still the same, but I only have one Rx to deal with now, and the doctor is far more personable. Pain management , even for serious conditions, like mine, is still a hassle, and the feds are trying to make it even harder now. I saw a news report last night that the CDC was ts to make narcotic pain management all but impossible. Interestingly, their huge concern seems to be heroin use rising, and they think cutting off chronic pain patients is going to slow that somehow.
The thinking makes no sense to me. How is forcing a cancer patient to use Advil instead of oxycodone going to do any good at all with abusers ?
Yes it is a hassle, thankfully I've got a buddy who's a pharmacist and he keeps me up on the latest crap that could be coming down the legal pipe as they get a heads up first.
I don't see it getting much worse (for us) near term, the screw tightening has pretty much been done.
About the only other thing they could do now is ban the drugs like they did with Darvon products but I don't see pharma putting up with that.
Hopefully a change in President will do some good and cause a house cleaning at the various departments getting rid of the idiots.
Quite. And there's plenty more to along with that specific rule. A goodly % of who your dealing with as a chronic pain patient is with the feds not your doctor. I got myself off the pain center program (with great difficulty) and reduced down to a different regimine through my primary care. The rules are still the same, but I only have one Rx to deal with now, and the doctor is far more personable. Pain management , even for serious conditions, like mine, is still a hassle, and the feds are trying to make it even harder now. I saw a news report last night that the CDC was ts to make narcotic pain management all but impossible. Interestingly, their huge concern seems to be heroin use rising, and they think cutting off chronic pain patients is going to slow that somehow.
The thinking makes no sense to me. How is forcing a cancer patient to use Advil instead of oxycodone going to do any good at all with abusers ?
And it is time for doctors to start fighting back against the feds on behalf of their patients.
The AMA is a powerful organization and doctors need to start using that power to protect their patients.
I am sick and tired of doctors throwing up theirs hands as if they can't do anything about these new edicts being put in place....it's a cop out.
It's not that they can't do anything, it's that they choose not to......they should be ashamed of themselves.
This is what pain patients need to ask their doctors......WHY aren't doctors, as a group, fighting for the welfare of their patients?
And it is time for doctors to start fighting back against the feds on behalf of their patients.
The AMA is a powerful organization and doctors need to start using that power to protect their patients.
I am sick and tired of doctors throwing up theirs hands as if they can't do anything about these new edicts being put in place....it's a cop out.
It's not that they can't do anything, it's that they choose not to......they should be ashamed of themselves.
This is what pain patients need to ask their doctors......WHY aren't doctors, as a group, fighting for the welfare of their patients?
You do make a good point. My last doctor threw up his hands and QUIT medicine. Those who don't really know him say he "retired" but I had several long conversations with him prior to his "retirement" and he said he'd had ENOUGH of Obamacare and the government telling him how to do his job. He was spending more time with nit picky paperwork than he was with patients and when he was treating patients he had some paper pushernon physician standing over his shoulder telling him how to do it.
I wish all these fed up doctors would stand up en-masse and be heard!
...
The thinking makes no sense to me. How is forcing a cancer patient to use Advil instead of oxycodone going to do any good at all with abusers ?
I disagree with the policy, but I do understand the theory behind it.
There are two parts to the theory and a bit of background to put them in context.
The background is that a lot of the new heroin users started with pain pills and then moved to heroin when they'd become addicted to opiates. Many of these pain pill users started off with a legal prescription and then when that ran out moved on to black market pills (but that's expensive) and then moved on to heroin. But some started off with black market pills. A lot more people are willing to start off with experimenting with a prescription pill than with heroin, but once they're hooked their reluctance to use heroin erodes.
So with that background, the first part of the theory is that the fewer pills out there, the fewer pills there are to be diverted to the black market. The fewer pills on the black market, the fewer people can experiment with pain pills illegally.
The second part of the theory is that the fewer people who are using pain pills under medical care, the fewer who will become dependent or addicted and transition to the black market after their medically supervised course is complete.
I think there are better ways to handle this than the way the governments have chosen to address it. In fact I believe that the way they've (mis)handled it is the primary cause of the surge of people moving to heroin. A more measured, gradual, medically sound methodology that wasn't fear-based would probably have done a far better job of limiting the number of people trading pain pills for heroin. The method they're using may help in the long term, but it has also caused enormous problems and even deaths for people who became addicted, and unnecessary physical pain for patients with legitimate needs.
Location: Subconscious Syncope, USA (Northeastern US)
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I think they should eliminate black markets.
How?
Decriminalize all drug abuse, and move it to the realm of a public-health problem, much like mental illness is.
If addicts can get treatment and medication legally, the criminal element is eliminated from their addiction, and black markets have no reason to exist, except to a much smaller degree in trying to undercut the legal pharmaceuticals.
They cant undercut anyone on Medicaid - a prescription has a copay of about $3.00.
Gangs and other criminal enterprises lose what has been a majorly profitable business for them for decades. There would be less random violence on the streets, as there is no need for anyone to compete for territory.
Its a win for the addict, a win for big pharma, a win for the overall economy, a win for the tax-payer, and a win for having safer communities and streets.
Its a blow to organized crime and possibly to the lawyers who make their living defending them.
Will it ever happen? I don't have much faith in it ever happening. Its been discussed for decades, and our cities and streets just keep getting worse instead. However, with medical and recreational marijuana becoming legal on a state by state basis, there is always hope.
Several days ago in Southern California a female doctor was sentenced to life in prision for second degree murder; several of her patients had died from overdoses of drugs she had prescribed for them. One patient travelled from Arizona in order to get drugs from her.
Is it too easy, too hard, or about right to get drugs through legal channels? Obviously doctors who abuse their prescribing privileges are in the minority, but should standards be tightened or left where they are?
Is there concern that patients needing pain medication for legitimate, medical reasons will have trouble getting it?
A personal case in point: Four or five years ago I had hernia surgery and was sent home with a bottle of 30 pills of a narcotic pain reliever. I took eight of the pills over a two-day period after which I didn't need them anymore, leaving 22 pills left. The door was open for me to sell them illegally or use them recreational myself. Since I wasn't interested in either, I just kept them. It took years for me to use the 22 pills - for the odd headache here, a dental procedure there, and so forth. In my view that was over-prescribing, leaving the door open for abuse.
I wonder if things have changed, or perhaps will soon change? Should they change?
Most people don't know this but it's illegal to do what you did taking a prescription after it expires. I used to think this but at my employer we have random drug testing due to the nature of my job we were told if we are caught with pain killers like Vicodin and didn't have a valid prescription we could be fired because it was illegal. What needs to happen is a universally connected medical record system so people can't go from doctor to doctor getting pain meds that right their would solve a lot of the abuse. I feel over regulation can lead to people not getting pain meds they need. People such as the OP who are healthy and only used it for a short term like to act like their is no need for pain meds, but many have legitimate medical problems that can only be solved by long term pain medication. My neighbor has severe back injury left him with several fused discs and no cartilage. Doctors have no options other then pain meds he actually get a drip of morphine into his spin from a pump. before he got that he took Vicodin for years to control the pain. His only choice is pain meds or wheel chair.
Most people don't know this but it's illegal to do what you did taking a prescription after it expires. I used to think this but at my employer we have random drug testing due to the nature of my job we were told if we are caught with pain killers like Vicodin and didn't have a valid prescription we could be fired because it was illegal. What needs to happen is a universally connected medical record system so people can't go from doctor to doctor getting pain meds that right their would solve a lot of the abuse. I feel over regulation can lead to people not getting pain meds they need. People such as the OP who are healthy and only used it for a short term like to act like their is no need for pain meds, but many have legitimate medical problems that can only be solved by long term pain medication. My neighbor has severe back injury left him with several fused discs and no cartilage. Doctors have no options other then pain meds he actually get a drip of morphine into his spin from a pump. before he got that he took Vicodin for years to control the pain. His only choice is pain meds or wheel chair.
Well, actually, this would be covered by state law so it can and does vary by state.
In many states you are supposed to carry any prescription in the prescription bottle so even taking a couple with you for use on a schedule could potentially, theoretically, be a crime. That was the law in Maine at one time, for example, although then they adjusted it so that you could carry a couple for scheduled use as long as you could prove you had a valid prescription.
In most states it's not actually illegal to *use* any drug, the laws criminalize sales, purchases and possession, but not use except in the case of operating certain machinery (most commonly a vehicle) or in a few specific cases.
If you're in a job where drug tests are done for a regulatory reason, then it's possible that having them in your system becomes a type of operating under the influence violation, with the only affirmative defence being having a valid *current* prescription. However it's more likely that it's simply against the rules for your workplace or licensing agency, and if it's just a workplace rule it would almost certainly be mainly due to liability and insurability concerns.
But for most ordinary people, if you have your prescription medicine in the original, labelled container, taking it outside the originally intended timeframe is not a crime in most states. As with all things legal, don't take my word for it and check your own state's laws to be certain.
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