Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: MillCreek on June 09, 2019, 10:35:16 AM
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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/amid-pressure-to-prescribe-fewer-opioids-doctors-struggle-to-ease-patients-pain/
A good article on what it is like for providers to try and manage chronic pain in today's legal and regulatory environment. I went to a CLE last week on opioid litigation, and the plaintiff bar thinks it will be bigger than tobacco and asbestos. After they get done suing the manufacturers, providers and pharmacies are the likely next targets. And when that starts to happen, good luck getting any narcotics for your pain because it will be difficult to find providers willing to write the scripts and pharmacies to fill them.
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A friend of mine had hip replacement a few weeks ago. He got a rx for 60 narcotic pain pills. He got 10 from the pharmacy and only took 3. He has 7 to dispose of. He was just denied renewal of a life insurance policy because the script is still active.
The opioid thing is a genuine crisis but the damn lawyers and insurance companies are going to screw it up for the appropriate use of the narcotic pain meds.
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Katie couldn't get life insurance because of her tramadol scripts. She stopped taking it for three weeks just to pass a urine test to get the life insurance.
It was not a pleasant three weeks for her or anyone around her.
She can't switch doctors. She can't get her prescriptions without jumping through a million hoops.
The best part is she can't even take anything other than tramadol, because most other opioids make her sick and so does too much tramadol, so it's not like she's going to escalate in terms of taking drugs.
This crises was created by the anti drug movement and legislation. This blame game bullshit is going to continue to make things worse, both for the addicts and the legitimate pain patients.
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My mother was on opioid pain meds last year for several weeks after having what was described as an osteoporotic stress fracture of the lower back/sacrum. Not being a candidate for surgery (bones too fragile) she needed bed rest and physical therapy, which involved several weeks in a rehab hospital. Pain? Like sciatica on steroids. Even WITH opioids, her pain was intense - I don't know how she would have managed without opioids for those few weeks. She still had some pain when sent home, but it was moderating - and one morning, it was gone, like someone flipped a switch. She immediately stopped taking the pain meds and hasn't resumed; she didn't like the mental "fuzziness" that came with the higher doses she was getting.
. . . The best part is she can't even take anything other than tramadol, because most other opioids make her sick and so does too much tramadol,
Tramadol and my mother don't get along - a little while after taking it, she gets very fatigued and lethargic.
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Tramadol is like taking Tylenol for me, useless. So far, knock on wood, the VA has let me renew my Hydrocodone without issues. I do see my PC Doc at LEAST every 6 months so they do keep up with me.
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My wife has had an issue with chronic pain for quite a while. She was on a pain management program with a pretty decent group for 5-6 year or more. She'd get a some kind of injection in her lower back every quarter and had a prescription for Tramadol.
Her prescription usually lasted about 2-3X longer than prescribed for so no indication of abuse that I could see and I was watching.
Since the opioid pogrom began our insurance, both medical and prescription coverage began making it a pain in the ass to get the pain management program covered and to get the tramadol prescription.
A few month ago she'd had enough of the BS and has been using some kind of CBD stuff and Naproxen and she says while it helps it's not quite as effective as the injections and tramadol.
I've had several short term episode of severe, excruciating pain brought on by some chronic issues , including the total hip replacement last year, and really don't look forward to to dealing with the inevitable repeat without real pain meds.
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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/amid-pressure-to-prescribe-fewer-opioids-doctors-struggle-to-ease-patients-pain/
A good article on what it is like for providers to try and manage chronic pain in today's legal and regulatory environment. I went to a CLE last week on opioid litigation, and the plaintiff bar thinks it will be bigger than tobacco and asbestos. After they get done suing the manufacturers, providers and pharmacies are the likely next targets. And when that starts to happen, good luck getting any narcotics for your pain because it will be difficult to find providers willing to write the scripts and pharmacies to fill them.
It would be a rich irony if one of those lawyers was to find himself in need of those narcotics.
"Biochemical individuality. It's not a hard and fast line, but if you take too much of this you'll die. Sign here."
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My wife has had surgery on her back, neck (twice) knees (twice), and a few other minor ones. The problems persist and she takes Tramadol as a result. One of the things we weren't prepared for is the minefield that following the rules has become. One of her doctors recommended she check with another doctor, in the same building, so she checked in that office when she left. That got flagged as doctor shopping. Also, I filled her prescription once at my pharmacy because I was trying to save a trip to her usual place. This also was flagged as a problem for reasons I still don't understand. This put her on some double secret probation and a third strike would mean the doc would drop her. I understand that there are folks who are trying to game the system, but it's also extremely difficult to obey rules you don't know about.
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but it's also extremely difficult to obey rules you don't know about.
That's a feature, not a bug.
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Wait until you are out of state on vacation and need a refill of Hydrocodone. You go to the pharmacy you always use (same brand, not location) only to find that there is NO WAY you can get a refill except at that ONE store you go to at home. PERIOD.
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https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-446?utm_campaign=usgao_email&utm_content=topic_health&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery%E2%80%83&_cldee=bWljaGFlbGxsb3lkQGljaHMuY29t&recipientid=contact-23deeb1d49fee8118124005056936fe1-8b616914c96b415aab8c41b092fae25a&utm_source=ClickDimensions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HRSA&esid=282409cd-718b-e911-812c-005056936fe1
If you are on Medicare and receiving opioids, the Feds want to help.