Prescription Monitoring Program...Any insight?

[Maestro]

So the Uncle continues his Doctor Shopping...So far they have all said NO!...They usually say something like "We don't prescribe meds without you visiting a pain psychiatrist".    He went once...and when they suggested to try something besides 6 oxycontin a day, he stormed out.  Seems like the docs use the old phsychiatrist to weed out the shoppers. 

Anyways...I found this: http://caag.state.ca.us/bne/trips.htm .Is he on some kind of database now and flagged?  I thought that was make believe.  All I can say is that I don't want to be anywhere near him when he runs out of his stash (but you know I will).

M

[Moffie65]

May I be so forward to ask why/what is his pain, and why is he on enough Oxy to put a horse to sleep?

[Maestro]

Moffie,

That is a great question.  The best answer...he's an addict.  He says he has PN from meds he was taking 7 years ago and it has never gone away.  However, he forgets his story and mixes it up from time to time.  Sometime he says he is in no pain.  Other times he says he is in pain and it never goes away.   Some days he will tell me that he never wants to takes the pills again, and other days he will tell me he can't go on without them.  He is really a mess.  At minimum, 5 professionals have told him he is an addict and needs to do something.  I have confirmation of that #.  I can assume he has heard it from many other doctors because he calls me each time he is rejected from a pain doctor but has some lame excuse.

I absolutely understand that some people DO need these meds...But I can say without a doubt that he is not one these people.

M

[Ann]

I absolutely understand that some people DO need these meds...But I can say without a doubt that he is not one these people.

M

Oh really? Until the day you live inside your uncle's skin, you cannot POSSIBLY know how much pain he is or is not in. Many people do not rid themselves of the pain of PN just because the causative drug has been stopped.

It is quite possible that your uncle does not "forget his story and mixes it up" as you assert. I live with chronic pain and it can vary from day to day, from non-existent to outright intolerable. When you're in pain, it can seem never ending. When you feel ok, it can be easy to foget just how cruel the pain can be.

Granted, the amount of pain killers your uncle is taking is quite high. Instead of labeling him as an "addict", perhaps if someone went about it from the point of view of reduction and management instead of pinning the addict stigma to his life, you might get somewhere.

Don't try to judge another person's experience of pain until you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Ann

[Moffie65]

Oh how I wish I did not understand.  I have been living with PN since '97, and still today, right here, right now, my feet and lower legs feel like they are planted in a raging fire.  Has felt that way for the whole time.  Yes it is crazy, and drives you there constantly.  Now I understand his pain.  Please read my contribution in my Blog about how miserable this is, and if he would read it, print it out and let him know he is not alone.  As Ann has so very well stated, this is something that nobody who has not experienced it will probably never understand.  I again urge you to read my Blog and print it out for him.  Maybe then you might just get a peek into why he "seems" like he might be an addict.  Please don't blame him, those drugs that did it to him and me also, were there to keep us alive, but nobody had any idea just how nasty the side effects would be for LIFE!!!!

Now to the meds.  His use of Oxy can work to diminish the pain for about six months, then it really has to be doubled, trippled, and soon enough he will end up dead with a heart attack, like so many of the friends that I have burried with the same problem.

Basicly, there is little that can be done to take the pain away, but some things might help.  First and foremost the good old green weed works consistently for most, and that is what I use on a regular basis, but I use it very sparingly.  In other words, only one toke about every two or three hours, and then only after noon.  I also take Alpha Lipoic Acid, which is also a good suppliment to help build the immune system.  Many here have tried ALA with little or no help at all, so it is very much something that might not work for him.

I must say that the only thing that really works is to get on with life, buy only shoes that diminish the pain, and move on and stay busy.  All of these are probably not helpful for someone that first must shake the habit of Oxy.  I hate that doctors are not responsible for the scrips they write.  Who ever put him on Oxy and then upped it and didn't warn of this addiction should be responsible for his treatment for taking him off this shit also.  Culpability in medicine is non-existent in the U.S.

I certainly hope this helps.

Love.

[Maestro]

Ann, Moffie,

Here is the thing.  He does not want to try other things.  Any time someone suggests trying a new med, he calls them an f-ing idiot.  Anything besides meds suggested...they are an F-ing idiot...He used to travel to 3-4 different doctors a week to pick up the SAME prescription for oxycontin, vicodin, darvocet, percocet, just to name a few.  He has a stash like you would not believe.

3 different pschiatrists, 1 psychologist, and 3 pain doctors have all come the conclusion he is an addict and should try other means of pain relief.  Want to know the only person in agreement with him?  His pharmacist!  Think the fact he is making a small fortune off of him has anything to do with it?

And trust me, he does get his stories mixed up.  Constantly.  He is a WORLD class liar.  I do not deny the existence of PN, or that there are those who legitimately need the meds.  He just is not one of them. 

M

[alisenjafi]

Could it be that he is both addicted to and legitimately needs it?

[RapidRod]

Maestro, has he ever tried a TENS machine (electronic pain blocker)? I know several that have them and it kept them off medication.

[Bucko]

Could it be that he is both addicted to and legitimately needs it?

There is a difference in semantics and intent behind this concept. When I was being treated for chronic pain by a Pain Specialist I was required to sign forms understanding that opiods cause "physical dependance". When I withdrew from Fentanol it was harrowing, but not impossible.

Addiction is a psychological label, dependance is a physiological one. But when they speak of patients who are "dependant" while not "addicted", I wonder to what degree they are playing word/mind games. When I was seeking treatment, any suggestion of a change in medications I deemed efficacious terrified me. No one wants to feel pain. But anyone who seeks pain management without first attempting to understand the mind/body inter-relationship will find him/herself on escalating doses and marginal relief (ultimately).

Living without pain meds was a very very difficult decision for me to make. But I can no longer afford to self-pay, and the hoops one is required to jump through in order to obtain pain management in SoFla under Ryan White are simply too burdensome for me. So I live with higher pain levels than I ever thought I could. I simply have no other options.

I am in no way diminishing anyone's very real pain here. I understand it all too well as a chronic pain patient myself.

Brent
(Who could really used something right about now)

[Maestro]

Maestro, has he ever tried a TENS machine (electronic pain blocker)? I know several that have them and it kept them off medication.

Rod,

Nope.  Won't either.  We've suggested everything under the sun.  Is not interested in anything except oxycontin and vicodin and darvocet and percocet...
Let me also make clear for everyone who is reading:  I do not deny that he has some pain.  That has never been the issue.  What I want is for him to accept that he is addicted to these meds and at least TRY something else.  These pain meds are all he talks about.  He sleeps 90% of the day, and I assume a large part of that is due to these meds...
AND..I am worried about his health...every doc I talked to said taking that much oxy can lead to a heart attack...He has told me many times the oxy has no effect on him...it is like taking baby aspirin...So he continues to increase the dose...

M

[RapidRod]

Well when he can no longer get the prescriptions he'll hit rock bottom and in the hospital and they'll detox him. You'll just have to wait it out.