Getting Prescriptions From 2 Different Doctors For Pain Meds But There Are Conditions (Top voted first)

Well I just really need to know if what I am doing is considered doctor shopping. I fell at at department store and injured my knee. Now I have to go to the doctor the lawyer sent me to. He prescribes pain meds for me but the only thing he can treat is my knee. I started having back problems. My primary care doctor sent me to a different doctor and he also gives me meds. But the pharmacy said they would call the doctors and tell on me. So I went and ahead and told the doctors myself so that it would not look as bad. What do you think will happen to me? The pharmacy refused to give me back my prescription. Can they do that?

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I am located in the great state of Pennsylvania, I have been told by the DEA that you can have as many doctor's as you need to treat your medical issues. I still ran in to trouble with the doctors, but I was told that there was not law in the state of PA that it is illegal to have more then one doc treat you for pain.

Back doctor and Dentist? two different types of pain. there is no way a back doctor meds is going to treat a really badly infected tooth with puss coming out of it. I am pretty sure that if you are being treated for your self and not selling your meds for the reason to get money to by street drugs. I am pretty sure the DEA is really not interested in your as long as you have MRI's Cat scans, and other physical issues that require pain meds. Check with the DEA in your state, I Did, they were happy to talk to me, In fact more people should call there congressman and DEA Agents and let them know they are not being treated properly for there pain Condition and are looking to seek more then one doctor to fix the problem. see what they say. there should be a law for doctors that leave people in pain.

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"You only add to the difficulty for people like myself with chronic pain."

F***ing dam right. I have advanced multiple sclerosis and it's so hard to get my pain meds and I've got 5 MRIs and a catscan showing empirical dam proof that my nervous system is screwed and yet its because of a**holes like that that make it tough as ever for me to get my s***. Why should I have to suffer because others are f***ing it all up. You have no idea what our s*** goes through.

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the dr. could care less about how you feel.pay 250.00 abd he will wriye you anything you want.they do not take insurance either.

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sorry but i disagree with that. ((if this is what you mean)), two different pains CAN be helped by the same medication given for a back issue or a dental issue. if you're talking about getting Percocet & Vicodin from 2 diff docs for 2 diff issues, it IS still illegal! one pain med can certainly help your mouth and your back at the same time. ((i know from experience)).

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Ok, so I've been being treated for severe stomach paralysis from one dr for almost 2 yrs. she handles my pain management cuz I also have back issues. However, she was out of the office for a week and I ended up seeing a doctor in same office.he thought I should try Percocet and gave me a written prescription for 30 pills. My dr knows about it and just told me lets just stick with norco right now. I'm not having to much luck with the norco, is thee anyway she can find out if I fill the Percocet ? At different pharmacy ? I still have norco but was hoping to find something that helps a lil longer than 30 minutes... Thank you

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First off i.live in pa and i have bulged discs herniated discs spinal stenosus and my family dr writes me oxycodone 15s 120 a month and they do not really do much and its half way through the minth and im out i finally got into a.pain management dr tomorrow and he will give me stronger meds but what im.wondering is.am i going to.have problems getting them.filled because of getting a script. 15 days ago i dont want to.do.something and not.have a dr at all

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what?!? why? no, no lawyer, just STOP IT! NOW! a lawyer won't help you before hand. he'll just tell you the same thing, STOP NOW! only it won't be free advice like here =) If ya feel ya need an i crease in your meds, just explain to ONE of your dr's an he should increase or add on another med. i took methadone 10mg an percs 10mg for breakthru pain, for yrs b4 i had my back surgery, worked well!
good luck...... and STOP, NOW lol. seriously. 2 yrs ago i stopped as soon as my insurance informed me that all my doctors will know what i'm taking an who i'm
seeing for safety reasons. "i" also think they were trying to warn me, so i took advantage of it an got out while i still had a life ;-)

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They're right my friend, my cousin just got 15 years for the exact same thing and his gf of only a month got 5 just for not reporting him to authorities. The law states that if you have received any prescription pain medication in the past 28 days you're doctor shopping.. unless that law is delegated on a state by state basis not sure but here in ky they will put you UNDER the jail for that. On a lighter side, my cousin got by with it for over 2 years before he was caught and was selling so the cops had noticed the traffic for a while, he was asking for it. However, his doctors were both in different states so when each of them checked his filled scripts on the computer it didn't show up. If both docs are in the same state tho stop immediately, they are required to do periodic checks and if u filled 2 pain scripts in 1 month you will be destroyed in court my friend, unless your doc that checks you is REALLY cool. All tht being said, you should have had them both filled at different pharmacies, and did you disclose to the doctor ur primary care referred u to that u were getting narcotics already? If so and he wrote u something anyway that MAY put the liability on that doc and off of u if any legal action were taken against u. Anyway I'm rambling, other ppl were absolutely right anyway, that's just my two cents. Hope it helps, peace.

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as long as it's a new script and you do NOT go back to the other dr. and get the old script again. just one dr. and one script at once. by the way, why won't your first dr. give you a new script that's stronger? just be honest with both and only get meds from one! =)

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Yes, when you are getting medications from more than one doctor, regardless of the condition, that is the very definition of doctor shopping.

Logically, if one doctor is giving you are narcotic medication to treat the pain in your knee, that medication isn't isolated to just working in your knee, so there should be no need for another medication to treat back pain, unless it's a different medication of a different type.

For instance, if you were getting a narcotic from one doctor and the other one gave you a NSAID, it would be different.

And yes, the pharmacy can do that, if they have concerns about you doubling up on medications.


Are there any other questions or comments?

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Yes it's doctor shopping. I have written an article called "Welcome to Hell the Reality of Chronic Pain" that addresses just how easy it is to "doctor shop."

Here is what you need to know. You can see any doctor as many times as you wish within a month. What you must not do is accept prescriptions from 2 or more doctors within that month.

It's illegal and can land you in jail for 20yrs on first offense. [most meds are written for 28-30 day if written for less - say 5 days and you see a dif doctor after that and get prescribed that's **not** doctor shopping but it looks bad].
Also you are not bound by a contract to see the doctor your lawyer sent you to. In fact, you will probably be better off with the rec by your primary doctor.

The doctors that work closely with lawyers too often require more visits than necessary to rack up the charges. You *must* see a doctor to have a case and to make sure you get continued care and reimbursed for your pain/suffering but be very careful on who you see.
I chose my own doctor/s after a car accident that destroyed me. The first lawyer I had ran a real little racket with chiropractors, neurologists etc. I wanted real help not BS fees to the insurance company.

When looking for a doctor you need to let the admin staff know it's for an accident since it is charged differently. They may not charge your regular insurance, but if they have already - the insurance co must be paid back.

If you want care to continue uninterrupted do not under any circumstances take prescriptions from 2 different doctors.
Refuse if one attempts to hand you one. Sometimes they'll do it just to try and figure out if you are an addict.

Good luck and pray they don't arrest you. That last bit is serious ~ they can come down on your at any time.

A pharmacist just has to call the police or one of the doctors and you'll think you are waiting for your script or whatever but you'll walk out of the office in cuffs.

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Pizza Man , them being 2 different meds and possibly different strengths? And only going to 2 docs doesn't constitute doctor shopping, also you discussed it with your doc no??? Either way I think you are pretty safe.....THAT BEING SAID, in my state EVERYONE IN THE MED FIELD including E.R. and other docs WILL SEE exactly what you have received if you filled them, pharmacies as well. To the OP, I might blame it on the attorney and play super dense, like narcotics are not your forte. Just know they are jumping on the RX drugs now since their easing up on medical marijuana, and these people are attempting to keep them, family and friends employed as jailers. Big money industry!!! Not to mention the police!! Best of luck, and once you're a pebble on the beach, you can never go back to being the sand....

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You can have as many doctors you want! You cannot get pain meds from each doctor! You can only get pain medication from ONE DR & ONE PHARMACY. The DEA main comp will have your name flagged if you get scripts from more than one doctor & the pharmacies send every name over to the DEA too. So you'll end up in trouble as will the doctors.

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Yes, all your Dr's should know what you are taking some things can cause interaction or seratonon syndrome!! My docs know EVERYTHING!!

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So real simple here. I will go to jail if I get 2 scripts from 2 different docs n cash em in? I am going to 2 different docs n 2 different phatmacies. And still ill get in trouble?

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The pharmacist doesn't have to fill a rx. A pharmacist doesn't need a dr to cancel a rx because they don't have to fill it if they think something isn't right. If you're getting the same med from another dr, that's probably why the pharmacist wouldn't fill it.

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If they do fill it, your dr will see it in the PMP database. If you have a Pain Contract that says you won't take or get pain meds from any other dr, you will be dismissed. And it will be very difficult to find another pain management dr who will treat you. If you do have a pain contract, do not go on what you think or remember it says. If I were you, I either wouldn't get it filled or I would call my pain dr first.

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For those needing help. Sell your guns and strap yourself in. Pain is so rough on our lives. I have searched and begged for my nocturnal back pain that carries over to the day. Let's face it it's hard to tell who is in in chronic pain unless your doc comes and lives with you. So let's stop bashing these doctors. They don't become doctors because they don't want to help. For those seeking drugs that don't need them. Think how you will feel when you get caught and can't get meds. Yes withdrawals are horrible. Self medication is hard because we all never want to feel the pain creeping back. I have gone 3 months with no sleep yes I thought I was going to lose my mind and die from no sleep. But I fought and never gave up no it was not easy but we all must take responsibility for our pain. It's not the docs fault so let's all pray for the pill sick people and those who ate still searching. See most pm docs don't get enough education. So in ending those of us in chronic pain must fight to be pain free. Join a pm advocate site. I'm numbers we are stronger. Please pray for us all I don't want to do this anymore. Decade of pills and every year I search for better help I end up where I am. I would do anything to be free groom monthly trips for meds and the stress I have. Never give up and those seeking drugs falsely please stop your only hurting yourself. What we will do is pump 200 mg of morphine in ya for a month and then cut it off. Yes I assure you after that you will not play with drugs again. Please let's all be responsible for ourselves. And be grateful we live where there is compassionate understanding docs. Love your doc, if not find another.

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DO not fill that last prescription. With your pain doctor showing you medication history and asking which you want use he was telling you not take the other medication if you want to stay with him. If you get that refill you new doctor most likely will drop you. ( You may also find out that your other doctor will not fill your medications either.

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I think you already know the answer. Maybe you justify it to yourself saying "they sent me to two different doctors"....but it was then your responsibility to inform the second doctor that you were already being prescribed pain meds by the first doctor. I doubt anything will happen to you, but you won't be able to do it again.

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