2014 New Pain Medication Laws Dictating To Doctors That They Cannot Prescribe Anything Equivalent 120 Mg Of Morphine Or Higher A Day Per Patient (Page 20)

I was told Friday by my Pain Management Doctor at my monthly appointment that the DEA was implementing a new law dictating to doctors on how much pain medication they could prescribe per patient per day. It could be equal to no more than 120 mg of Morphine per day per patient and they had to comply within 3 months for all of their patients. I am trying to find out as much information on this as possible. I don't know if my Pain Management Doctor is stating fact or if he is just running scared and if he is stating fact, I don't know if this is federal or state (Alabama) mandated. I spoke directly with the Southeastern division of the DEA in Atlanta this morning and they are not aware of any law of this nature coming into effect and I also contacted another pain clinic locally that has never heard of it either. So I have been trying to reach my Pain Management Clinic and get a copy of the law itself so I will know if it's federal or state and if it is an actual law or just a state regulation and if it's even true but so far no one has called me back so I thought I'd try my luck here and see if anyone has heard of this. This really has me bothered. It looks like either way, true or not, to get adequate pain care I am at least going to have to move out of state if not the entire country. I will ask my questions about that in a different post. But if this is in any way true, and it seems my pain doctor is going to be going by these guidelines whether it is or is not true, it is going to cut my pain meds by almost half. I am on 120 mg of Oxycodone and 8 mg of Dilaudid per day which I was told equals 212 mg of Morphine per day. And before someone decides to tell me that I don't need that much pain medication, I will go ahead and say to you, you don't know me, you don't know what conditions I have that cause me Daily Severe Chronic Pain and other Daily Severe Pain to warrant that much medication, you don't know my tolerance for pain meds, I do NOT take any pain medication to feel high, I ONLY take pain medication to relieve some of the pain as what I am on doesn't even relieve all of my pain, I do NOT drink, I do NOT do street drugs, I see my doctor every 28 days just as I am supposed to, I take my medication as prescribed and the way I am supposed to take it except when I had extreme oral surgery a month ago and I did have to break up my tablets for about a week but they were put on my tongue and NOT up my nose and they were IR tablets so I was fine doing that as I had checked with my pharmacist prior, and you don't feel what I feel or see me lying in bed 24/7 crying from the pain because it is so excruciating and unrelenting so please before anyone starts telling me that I don't need that much pain medicine just stop now before you even start. Those of you that have to live with daily pain will surely understand where I am coming from being this defensive as I'm sure you know you are treated as a drug addict by most doctors even. Thanks in advance for any help with my question.

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Thx keikee for reading and the only thing that i was trying to get across was that yes it's a fact that the whole meds topic has gotten way political and a whole lot of patients are feeling it due to docs that are in their profession for the entirely WRONG reason when they took their oath..fortunately for me due to one doc of mine who was feeling the pressure i was able to get with the right guy who takes his profession literally to heart and is going to bat for his patients that he knows really needs the help..Ive been doing this since my accident 23 years ago n have been lucky enough to be with a few gr8 docs, and all these years l8er to have a doc willing to take me on knowing what hehas to face just goes to show that there are some out there who KNOW WHAT THEIR JOB IS..again thx for reading my post

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Billy political? Ya think? I just received an invitation to the Opioid conference next week in Nashville and it's about addictions and responsible prescribing and keynote speakers are politicians, judges, law enforcement etc. they have one pain doc who loves surgeries and injections I'm so pissed! I'm going to try to go, hopefully I won't lose it and get arrested. I get frustrated by their lies and lose it.....

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Hey Spyz all im saying is that between the cdc, dea etc..the patient is getting totally lost n being put in a no win situation..20+years ago when i had my accident it was about the doc n the patient..Due to the legislation a lot of docs are totally gun shy n running which is y my old doc referred me to another who totally disagreed with what he wanted done( more blocks another dcs) my new doc sent him notes saying those were already done n r not going to be repeated, patient will be better off with maxed out meds n monitored, so that kinda got my old doc off the hook..new doc is all about doing the meds thing but he and i both understand one very important thing that all docs should do TRUST AND VERIFY with their patients if u always come up clean on u/a's and all others then all should be good..At least thats how i see it..

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I have found after trying the whole ball of wax of pain killers and I have found that Methadone is the best to treat extreme pain.It is very good with the whole bone structure and it makes you o e able to relax and get some good sleep. it is strong and you have to find the right way for you to take it. you will have to try and find the right way for you. Example would be like you are prescribed to take 10 mg 3 x a day. Well if find a good medium time of dy. I have found about 2 hrs after getting up and letting any mind fog to clear., Of course you have t have been doing opiates for years and R a chronic pain patient. so what you take it wont be as strong to a person like you. that can handle it. You would take 30 mg after being up and fpor the full day. The Methadone is strong and stays working in your body longer then the rest, even morphine which doesnt work for me. if you take it then, it will keep your pain away when it is at its strongest. and will get you a good nights sleep and you will find that the relief will and can last the whole next day. even to the point that if you missed the next day dose, you might even hold back from taking it. It is all try and error for your own body. I am not a Dr but have been use to Methadone for about 40 yrs, so i know what i am talking about. Back then on the program (Methadone) and was on 100 to maintain, Well 100 would last me for 2 days when the dr prescribe for 100 a day. I didn't need it the way thought it would work. wrong, i new better. i could have sold the extra bottle but i didn't then and not now. it is a drug that works for addicts to get off, it takes 3 years on the program with counselors and you to can be clean. Methadone will do that for you. but u have to want to. Anyway for chronic pain. Methadone would be the way to go. for the first time drug change from another STRONG opiates then u can change over. if you have a mild addiction just from taking your reg dose because of the chronic pain. the 40 mg to start to see if that will maintain you. now it is up to your body on how it handles Methadone. then u might get jumped up 10 mg addition to try that. that is a a dose that would work for u. The drs would tell u to try 10mg 3x a day. I find it is a a day type of pain medicine. Not to be use on a hourly basic. it is not Vicodin and aspirin or even morphine.It doesnt really work that way or at least they are not using it right. Once again i am NOT a Dr but a long time chronic pain patient and know about these things. I am most likely older then most of these DRs. I also find you should find a older Dr that knows about pain first hand. to themselves to their parents.They know how pain effects family members and the right pain meds are very important when u get older and need to get the right medicine so you can have a somewhat ok life. Take the sharp pain away and a little energy would be great and my life would be great. yours too! fight for that RIGHT to be in pursuit of happiness and that means the proper medicines. It should not be trail and error. They treat us all very badly. and they do treat us such. drug addict or weakling of mind or it is not that bad. i have heard it all the insults. and in front of our kids after their whole lives. They are men now but she used them to sound off to about what she thought i was doing. Always wrong. to long to get into, but u all know what i am talking about. on how they turn on you after some time of taking care of the sick loved one. but love worn thin by now, and that really hurts. Back to story, Methadone is the way to go for long lasting pain relief. every body works differently so you'll have to see. I find generics are not as good as the reg named drugs. they are aloud to be within 5-10 mg over or under the prescribed drug. read all the blogs out their. good luck and always work with a good Dr that understands. Mostly older white males. Key buzz words or statement is its "having a bad effect on my quality of life " which is true. if u r in chronic pain, u can't fake the real thing. labs also is great for backup. can't lie there. Quality of life is effected" if it doesnt then u r not a chronic pain person. good luck.

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You're right! We the patients aren't considered in any of this and if we are, it's as an addict. I didn't make down there and can't find any info either. I just lost my doc when I realized the fentanyl patch was tearing up my adrenals and thyroid. I stopped taking it but increased breakthrough. Altogether I was still doing less mgs per day than they prescribed,just not in the med they preferred. The patch put a heck of a lot more than 60mg of oxy in your system that's for sure. Oxy is safer and the preferred drug for thyroid patients since it increases T levels. Extended release meds deplete T levels. So yeah, if a patient figures out a way to improve their quality of life just fire them. Perhaps they haven't arrested every opiate dealer in Nashville yet!

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I read ur message to some one anyways I'm disabled 13 major surgies I can't find a good pain clinic do u think u could give me a few references I'm really struggling my health is not good thanks

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I think the government has over stepped it's authority with this. People need this medicine and can't get it because of door heads and pushers. They need to crack down on this instead of suffering people. They've got their nose to far up my ass and not doing what needs done. But that's the way it works, sick get worse and pushers get rich. What a mess.

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Lisa, what do you mean you're "looking for a good pain clinic" ? Have you been dismissed for not following the rules ? Are you on a high dose of pain meds ? A good pain clinic is one where the drs prescribe the medications that they believe will help the patient. If a patient wants a specific med or dose, that may or may not be best for the patient. But the dr is the one that should decide. It is also in the patients best interest to do routine drug panels, sign pain contracts and obey the rules.

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Seriously? It's been my experience that pain docs really know very little about pain or opiates and could care less about what's best for patient. They care about $$$$$. Don't believe me? Ask anyone who works where you go, what about patient rights? Or Why is such n such your protocol? Every answer I ever got was: Gotta pay my mortgage! or Don't want to get fired! Lisa good luck finding a good pain doc. I'm in Nashville down to my last 25mcg/h patch-was usually 50 but I want off of them and over took pills while weaning off patch m got fired. Fired for trying to regain my health, motivation and life in a way that violated their life sapping/money making protocol

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Really Jamie? I'd say that's a matter of opinion and also, good for you that you've found your holy grail of pain reliever.

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OHH BL you are a broken record that plays the rules of pain management over & over & the worse treatment becomes for true legit pain patients, the more you enjoy pointing out specific changes that are hurting the patients. You automatically assume all are druggies & that the less treatment we get the better.
Like I said before you really do not have a clue what true chronic pain is & how devastating it is., maybe karma will get you before my pain kills me........sure hope so.

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Spyz, people work because they have bills to pay. I don't understand why people think that if you work in the medical field that you don't have to work for your money. Protocals are for the safety and protection of the patients and the drs. Without them, drug addicts would be filling up drs waiting rooms and there would be little to no space for legimate pain patients, however long the dr remained in practice. Patients that don't go by the protocals are the ones that have made it hard on legitimate pain patients

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Chris, Very nicely said. I just don't get it. Is Debbie Downer here to torture folks? Most folks deserve benefit of doubt, especially here!

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Hi Lisa, what part of our great united states are you located?

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Hi again, Lisa. You said; "I read ur message to someone anyways". Who's message are you referring to? Might be helpful to know so we can steer you in that person's direction.

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BL what if primary care did that! What if they wrote every patient one script for insulin, one for blood thinners and of course we all need our heart medication--what if I went to physical therapy and they worked on my back yet my legs were atrophied-you do understand that was what started as a marketing scheme to avoid "overprescribing" of the breakthrough meds has become the standard when in many cases that much medication isn't even necessary-yes I need around the clock pain relief--that can be accomplished by one pill every four hours the way they were made to be taken--my extended release as well as yours and everyone else's is equal to what you already take in breakthrough--so technically we are all getting about 2-4 extra doses we don't need--okay, I don't need, some do--why must we all follow a twisted protocol of MORE opiates if the original purpose was to decrease amounts of opiates--I'm good at 6 39mgs of oxycodone a day. will I still have some pain? Yes but I bet this extra 50lbs falls off since folks with hypothyroidism fare better on oxycodone than extended release and being menapausal I could do 100mcg/h fent and sweat it out in one day while draining my adrenals and of course the fent trashed my thyroid in the first place--don't believe me? Look it up! Extended release opiates are not meant to be taken by everyone and can greatly upset homeostasis--protocols are a lazy assembly line nazi method of shutting us up and moving to the next patient--I found a civil case of a doctor complained that he was promised bonuses for squeezing as many folks in as he could along with giving procedures to bring in at least $650,000 each year--he quit because of their 'protocols' due to his integrity I'm hoping to make him my doc come May-screw medicinal protocol! Case by case is what's needed-their not weeding out junkies and addicts and sellers, they are too clever to get caught or violate but yes as a legitimate patient if what they are doing is NOT IN MY BEST INTEREST BUT THEIRS- I won't jump through their damn hoops! I have gotten fired for: asking where my doctor was, false negatives due to other med I am on (they could've looked up interaction), false pos. from another med Effexor by the way if anyone is also on that, being 1, I repeat 1 pill short while still weaning and withdrawal from interaction of another med I was on and finally this lady time because I wanted to help push or restart my metabolism I hit the gym for 2 sessions of gentle cycling and the third day I had a cortisol crash which I found out us a result of being on extended release while on menapausal while still having one ovary and due to blood thinners cannot do hormone replacement therapy. Ladies if that's you, you face possible cardiac arrest which oddly enough now my ekgs are abnormal. I found article after article supporting all of the above and dammit studies were stopped due to false negatives of oxy or dilaudid, one hydrocodone is quaranteed to show consistently while on extended release opiates...I know I'm not the only one-I read post after post after post from women in menopause going through the same--along with many peer review articles BL you go on and take what they hand out but I'm through! I know what's right and wrong and what is bad for me and benefits me. I will not lay down and just lay on a friggin couch all day due to protocol! I want my life back and I don't have to give up opiates to do that, just some of them.

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Billy ok, gotcha! That makes sense. I've been lucky so far that docs will let me keep at least 4 30mg oxy, but they all change extended release WHICHEVER I recently found out, are bad for some women. Have a good weekend Billy

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Spyz, when a patient need pain management 24/7, extended release pain meds are the best way to go for several reasons. For one, the pain medication being released in you system is at more if a constant level than it is with immediate release pain meds. Immediate release meds are easier to abuse than extended release ones. When a dr writes a prescription for immediate release meds that are to be taken every 4-6 hours, there are many more tablets that when it is for a med that is only taken twice a day. That means that there aren't as many pills that can be diverted. Extended release pain meds are not to be prescribed for acute pain.

The reality is that if someone needs pain management, they can go by the rules that the dr has and have it to some extent or not go by the rules and not have it at all. Life isn't fair and we all have to adjust to things.

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Pain meds. They come and go. They dropped me from 130 mg. of methedone to 75 mg. This is inpart the fda, state and federal gov.,who decide if and when they will begin using this possible recomendation until the FDA makes it a recall or Ammends its current requirements.
Drs. Can use this to their discretion to profile patients as addicts or those who they THINK are truly in severe pain. Apparently, they profiled me in the "addiction" category! Weined me down in 2 months. Sorry about your pain. Too bad everyone doesnt have real compassion! Take care.

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if in chronic pain the best thing out there is methadone but it is the biskett type of form. this is what they give u in the clinics. it is dissolved in juice and then drank in their sight. But it does act a lot longer in this form. it is not generic but it is the strongest and the best way to wean yourself off the drugs. if u really want to stop, then go to the right place. i don't know if they only treat addicts or do they accept pain management of pain. i did for 3 years and then went down 5mg a week. i was on 100mg. it would last for two days with one dose. but that was 100 mg which is strong. it also makes your bones weaker. the abuse you will get into is sell meds for u to do other drugs like coke. u have to want pain relief or drug free. depends on what u are looking for. it is a terrible thing being in pain and having to bare your soul to get what u know what u need. i hate they way they think u are lying. I go to the VA and thank God i had all the lab results and x-rays and other diagnostic results. so i had evidence and i still had to go on for a few months of going back and forth. When u r in pain the last thing u worry about is what they call a high. I am happy when i feel no pain and have a clear head. that is my high. pain free. This new Dr took over my case after 7 years with a liver Dr whom was also the Director so i wasnt happy when they sent me to a new Dr whom new nothing about me or what i have gone thru. heart triple bypass, three disc, 10 belly fluid taps, blood transfusion, 10 days in a coma, many er visits. Then there is not eating or sleeping or just general being is out of wack. there is more but all we want is to be pain free and just to be in comfort for a change. have a great day (pain free)

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