Pain Medication Shame (Page 3) (Top voted first)

First of all, I hate taking pain meds but I was almost completely bedridden for 2 yrs. They gave me my life back and I'll be grateful for the rest of my life. My insurance company dropped me right before I was gonna have surgery to get some relief. So I had no choice but to go with the pain meds. I've been on oxycodone 30/150 per month (5 a day) and MS Contin 200mg 2 times daily since 2009. Had breaks when I could. My point is, nobody knows what my daily life is like. I feel ashamed every month getting refills. Maybe it's in my head but the staff at the pharmacy gives me that "pill seeker" look. I guess all that matters is my doctor trusts me and he knows my complete history. I know I'm not taking them for fun. I'd much rather be normal. Can anyone relate to what I'm saying?

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Re: Precious (# 23)

I agree with you! Yes Julie, explain to me how physical therapy is going to help me since I had an epidural abscess from a Lumbar surgery. It scarred the dural sac (contains the spinal cord) L4 to S1, 2 levels of nerves bundles both sides from L4 to S1 and the epidural space from L4 to S1. Any activity from a cough, sneeze, bump, movement, riding in a car, etc. irritates my condition into IV level drug pain, but all I get are high doses of ER and IR pills. I have a spinal cord stimulator implant too. Every nerve that can be terminated without causing paralysis has been terminated... So much for your physical therapy BS Julie! Surprised you have no idea what you're talking about. You sound like a one size fits all government brainwashed internet troll!

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Working in a pharmacy I know first hand what they think about people on C2 pain meds. They always say here comes so and so first thing in the morning right when we open the doors to pick up their pain meds. They do act like everyone that gets these meds are just addicts and they don’t really need them. They think people shouldn’t need to be on them. And once I asked my boss about someone that only wanted a certain manufacturer of oxycodone and he said we don’t want people like that coming to our pharmacy! I’m thinking wow that’s great! I ask my pharmacy for a certain manufacturer on my Norco cuz I hate the Amneal brand that they were giving me. I always go in the morning to get my meds cuz that’s the best time cuz if they have any problems with my script then we have the entire day to figure it out. Every time I go to get my meds I dread it cuz I’m wondering if they are saying to each other here comes so and so getting her pain meds right at opening time, just like clock work, she’s got to get her fix! It sucks!

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I can relate to you 100% I also am on pain pills I take Morphine Sulfate 30mg tab 2x a day and also take Hydrocodone 10/325 4x a day as needed. I don't care what looks the pharmacist gives me I'm the one in pain not them. I have to have approval from my insurance co. for the morphine and the dr. has to fill out papers to them. I wish I didn't have to take this medication I want to be normal to be able to do things like I use to do I hate being disabled and not be able to work.

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Re: Precious (# 37)

Writing to congress is a great idea but I don't think it would help. Right now the climate in the U.S. is very anti-drug. As long as they think reducing the medications given to patients will reduce what's on the streets I don't think they'll listen. Unfortunately, there are people that sell their medications for whatever reason and that hurts everybody. People like that make it so hard for legit patients to get the meds they need. I wish there were an answer.

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Re: Steve (# 36)

Geez Steve, so sorry you had to go through all that. That sounds terrible but not surprising. The doctor I was seeing lost his license for two years because he refused to bow down to the FDA and continued to prescribe for his patients. I can't see things changing. Once the gov't starts down a path it's near impossible to turn it back.

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I’ve experienced the very same thing! The lady who took my prescription would show it to the lady near her & they'd both have the “Isn’t it terrible how people talk their doctors into giving them drugs!” look. I finally found out who the Pharmacy manager was. Finding her on social media, I explained to her how I felt in her Pharmacy & how if I didn’t have those drugs, I wouldn’t be able to walk into her Pharmacy. (She never responded). But, something happened that changed everything. When my doctor upped my dosage, this Pharmacy said they didn’t carry it. They said I’d have to go to a New Pharmacy a couple blocks away. At first, I was disappointed because I didn’t think I could physically get there! But when I did, I told them of my condition & how the other pharmacy people treated me. They responded with care & compassion & have been wonderful ever since! I’m so glad I changed pharmacies! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before! Change your Pharmacy if at all possible! And tell them why!!!

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Re: Curious80 (# 44)

I can relate to what both of you are saying... Having to take U/As (guilty till proven innocent) isn't a 100% reliable. I'm talking about the lab evaluations, not the portable kits. First let me say that I'm allergic to Morphine Sulfate and any drug containing Sulfa. About 9 years ago I came back positive for Morphine. My doctor came into the exam room and said, Mark we have a problem. You failed your last U/A and I can't prescribe you anything else until you have a clean U/A? I'm on a boat load of Oxycodone hcl (j/k). He then told me I came up positive for Morphine Sulfate... OK big problem with that one! I'm severely allergic to Morphine Sulfate! It's in my chart and every procedure he's done on me it's on that red allergy bracelet they put on you when having a surgery. I said, why would I take a drug that I'm severely allergic to? My very first surgery they put it in my PCA pump(didn't know I was allergic to Morphine Sulfate) I went into shock and stop breathing!

Needless to say the doctor quickly came around to what I was saying and agreed with me. Why would I take a drug that I was severely allergic to? He went ahead and prescribed my medications and was going to contact the lab because he agreed that I didn't take any Morphine Sulfate. Long story short the lab said that they don't make any mistakes, but they had disposed of my U/A and stand behind the positive for Morphine Sulfate. Well fortunate for me I have money. So I went and got a hair follicle analysis which shows everything I've taken in the last 6 months. The only thing I was positive for in the last 6 months was Oxycodone hcl! Even with this evidence the lab was still admitting no wrong and standing by their result. Eventually this lab was investigated by the state and they caught them not even evaluating samples and putting down false readings every so often. They're now out of business and were sued by a multitude of lawyers by people who lost jobs, weren't hired and patients who were refused medications and it all started with my fake false+! The technicians they caught doing it said that they had so many diagnostics to perform that it was impossible to do them all and the labs supervisor had told them to do this because they had quotas to meet to fulfill contracts with over a thousand clients... In the end they still admitted no wrong doing, but settled all litigation out of court and closed the company under the name it was called at that time. I've heard they reopened several years later under a different name and different principle owner, but it was still the same financial backers (a bunch of medical doctors).

I guess when it comes to big profits no one is immune from looking the other way, not even doctors...If you know you've had a false reading on a U/A for a substance you're not prescribed, a hair follicle analysis will prove exactly what you've taken for the last 6 months. Unfortunately they're not cheap and you'll have to pay for it yourself. To me this is just more proof of the sad times we live in these days. We as legitimately suffering human beings who just happen to live in America are continuously treated like 3rd class citizens because of numerous failed policies, failed laws, unenforced laws, failed government agencies DEA FDA FBI, extreme government overreach and the list just goes on and on... I read on someone's post on this thread they blamed Trump for not being able to get their pain medications. NEWS FLASH! The U/A's started under Bush, but... This reduction/eliminating of opiate prescribing started under Obama! He declared war on pharmaceutical narcotics and like all politicians he made a problem much worse! The government like all bullies go after the weakest/easiest target to say, hey look what we're doing! We paid for our own studies and got the results we paid for(wanted to get) and now we're implementing these things with absolutely not a second thought for the legitimate patients because we will decide whose legitimate, not trained competent board certified in pain management doctors! We're the American government and our citizens are to stupid to know what's best for them, so we'll tell them! (*face palm*) I've been in pain management for over 29 years and the last 5 years has been the worst, but back in the late 1980's it almost took an act of god to get a schedule II opiate outside a hospital if you didn't have cancer. Those days are slowly returning...

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Re: Maria (# 26)

I worked a CVS for many years from being a tech to a lead each to an intern to a pharmacist, and I experienced exactly the same as you Maria. I was mostly ashamed of the people I worked with and for. Their attitudes about pain patients sucked. Always looking down on them and having a moment about them. And they did say here comes so and so with a negative story just because they needed pain medicine. Like you I became a pain patient while i still worked and worried what they were saying about me, but I got too sick to work anymore and had to leave. I miss working I miss helping people because i never judged anyone. I talked to the pain patients that they wanted sent away. I gave my time for them and a lot of my energy. When some patients would call on the phone I was the one who talked to them about their pain troubles with a pharmacist or someone else in the background telling me to hang up. People outside the pharmacy world can only guess how bad it can be but you and I know it is worse. Pharmacists can be down right cruel and mean and forget the oath they took just as many doctors have. I felt so guilty when I left because I was their advocate, the only one who would listen to the pain patients. I hated feeling like I left them alone with the wolves. I let my current pharmacy know when I first started filling there that I used to be a pharmacist so I know what all goes on. I'm lucky because that seems to help with their attitude towards me. I don't care at all if they talk behind my back as long as they fill my meds when they are due and don't say anything bad to my face.

One pharmacist had the nerve to say if I don't like their rules I can just find another pharmacy to go to even though I never said anything about not liking their rules. It was a weird situation where the fill date on my lyrica was incorrect and I was confused about when I needed to get it filled. It was their fault but he talked down to me like he knew more. I quickly went to talk to the pharmacy manager and the corporate office which as you know usually does very little. But since I fill about 25 medications a month with then it seemed to make a little difference. Ever since then he has been as nice as pie to me. The pharmacy world is shady by at least those of us who have worked in it understand what really happens and we can use it to our advantage. I feel bad for those who don't understand what is really going on especially pain patients. And now they are giving pharmacists way too much power. We never used to be allowed to override a doctors orders unless they wrote the wrong dose or something. Now they are deciding what should and should not be filled even legal scripts that aren't too early. It is all bs. A small world where judgemental people feel big. Of course not everyone is like this but I would have to say it is overwhelmingly the standard. I hope you are doing alright and don't worry about what they say or think about you unless they try and make you feel small in front of others. There is nothing wrong with needing pain medication to control severe pain or chronic pain. They are the ones with the problem a problem of soul. You keep doing whatever makes your life better. God bless you!

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Re: Sanmarie (# 29)

Absolutely i was put on suboxene and this morning i took first half now i feel like hell and my daughter ask me if id try to get out of the house and go shopping with her and my two grandkids and visit a new great nephew born on yesterday. Well of course I do but feel bad and its depressing to say well no i don't think they would enjoy my sad presence. Im 48 yrs old and so embarassed how 80 year olds can run blocks around me. Is there anything I can do to stop this i suppose side effect. My head is lightly hurting and spinning a little nauseous and my vision a bit off. First day on suboxene and I had been on norco 7 yrs but haven't had one in a week.

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Re: Curious80 (# 46)

I won’t ever tell anyone that I take Norco and Percocet cuz I’m so afraid that they will fire me. I work harder than most of the techs in the pharmacy and the meds never ever affect my thinking or my job. I ended pharm tech 1 and 2 with an overall grade of 98% and got 1560 out of 1600 on my PTCB test and if I ever feel like the meds are starting to affect me negatively, I would quit before I ever harm anyone or make mistakes. It’s so hard for me to stand there listening to the pharmacist’s talk about patients on pain meds and the things they say about these meds. I just want to scream at them! One day the pharmacist was filling a script for Nucynta for someone that is opiate naive but have had this med before and he felt like it was too high of a dose so he called the doctor and complained and than the doctor lowered the strength on it! Than one day someone was coming in to get their pain med and he told one of the techs that this guy is super shady and there’s notes all over his profile saying he doctor shops and he still filled the med for him! It just pissed me off that he had the doctor lower the strength on the one person and complained and yet gave someone that is a known doctor shopper get his med! It’s just super frustrating with not only me needed these meds but my husband as well and working in a pharmacy where you have to sit there and listen to all the crap they say! Oh well, what can you do? I probably won’t be at this job for much longer cuz I’ve been in so much more pain since starting work there that I don’t feel like I’m going to be able to keep it up. My neck has been hurting so much that I had to go in the back room last night and cry! Best wishes to you all! I pray that things work out exactly the way we need them to! And that someone out there will start listening to people like us and start to do articles that will show that people with chronic pain really do need these meds and aren’t just abusing them to feel high! We don’t want to use them, we need them! That reminds me of what someone said to my boss, they aren’t addicted to these meds they just need them! Well he thinks that means this person is addicted to them, and to me that means they are dependent on them, meaning they need them to function! He really should look up the definitions of addiction and dependence.

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I'm just like everyone else, the doctors are getting too ridiculous about giving us that need our pain meds. I'm so disgusted with it. My opinion is, doctors need to treat their patients each one with their different circumstances.

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Yes! People, even doctors, that haven’t had the pain don’t understand! You can’t look at a person and see their pain especially if it’s chronic. People will say I look good....but they can’t see my pain! No fun living with pain all the time.

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I absolutely get that. God help you if you ever have to go to the ER for a problem related to pain. I’ve had serious back issues and surgeries. When I woke up one day unable to move my neck and extreme pain in my right arm and went to the ER. Had to go 2x bc the X-ray showed nothing, they said “I don’t know what you want us to do!” Like I was just looking for drugs. Turned out it was a herniated disc with spinal cord compression. Needed urgent surgery. I hate being treated like a POS by those who are supposed to be there to help

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Hey mate I'm from the UK and I'm on 100mg of oxycodone, after breaking my knee, femur, hip and pelvis in 5places lost 4and half pints of blood with a metal rod from hip to knee. I have a good Dr but apart from him i know everyone else judges me! Wish they had my pain for one hour. Stay strong pal:)

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Sanmarie (# 27) --

Girl I'm with ya! My husband has RSD/complex pain syndrome (I think it's called the latter now) caused by a major stroke. He was never a medicine taker and still hates it now. He gets morphine and percocet every month, refuses the morphine most of the time but will take the percocet. He lives his life in incredible pain on the entire right side of his body. Thank God he has a great neurologist (at least for now --rumor has it that he's going to stop writing narcotics because of all this political bs) and a wonderful pharmacy. He would even be willing to take cannabis oil or smoke marijuana if it was legal but we live in Virginia and I don't think they'll ever ok it. Anyway, I just wanted to respond to your comment :)

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Re: Curious80 (# 46)

Thanks so much for your words of positivity and i iwill keep on fighting the fight /im in chronic pain an i wont be treated like a junkee so i just tell em ive had 2 back surgery s soinal steinsis /soondylethosis and neck problems so thanks for all your words of wisdom you are a great person ????

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Re: Sanmarie (# 29)

I switched to Suboxone for pain, and It is a miracle drug for me.

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Re: Dogs Rule (# 60)

Where do you live? I, personally, share my doctors name freely, but doubt anyone lives near me.

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There are many who did not take more medication than they were suppose to, followed all the rules and passed every drug test that they were given and they have had pain medications reduced drastically or cut all together! DEA have doctors afraid to prescribe even to patients they have been seeing for a very long period of time. I would not be surprised to hear that this gentleman is now also a casualty of the DEA who has scared our doctors so bad they are putting their patients through hell!

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I moved recently, but kept my doctor, 4 hrs away, after being informed that no doctors in my new town would prescribe the meds I am on. I found out that Walmart, all Walmarts, are implementing very strict guidelines as to who gets pain meds. No more for chronic pain. Only surgical and/or Cancer patients, broken bones....in other words, for the most part, temporary acute conditions. And then, only for a short period of time. The Walmart pharmacist wrote a note to my doctor...yes, true.....explaining that I MUST be weaned and how to do it! I brought in a paper from most recent Dr visit with the list of conditions I have. Won't bore you with the details, but pharmacist told me there was not one condition that warranted the ungodly high dose of oxycodone 10mgs, 120, per month. Oh...he was ever so kind....ever so patient....ever so longwinded.....as he, full of concern, and I do believe he was sincere, explained that my pain is CAUSED by my use of oxycodone. Not relieved, but caused. Now, I do know that is not unheard of, but I also know what I am like with no opioid pain reliever. I felt admonished, felt I had NO say, no defense about my use of pain meds. Everyone in line, and behind the counter knew without a doubt what was being discussed. I requested that my script be filled, but pharmacist overruled. It was embarrassing. No way can you appear to be disappointed, or upset or defensive, be cause that's how seekers behave.

I am 60. Not some silly knownothing, just looking for thrills. So I made the 4 hrs trip back to my doctor, gave him the note, and asked....now what do I do? My doc was annoyed and said.....let's get you a different pharmacy. He rewrote my scripts, changed the pharmacy name on it (as most know, you have to have pharmacy stated on the script) to a pharmacy near my old hometown. Husband drove the 4 hrs, on the date for fill, went to the small mom/pop shop, and they filled. No questions asked.

So, not only will you not get a script in my new town...you won't get a Walmart to fill it. I had used walmart for 4 years prior, with no problem. My doc explained, Walmart has recently changed their policies about who can and who cannot be treated for pain. Doctors no longer rule. Pharmacist rules. All they need to say is that they are "not comfy" filling your script. I had no red flag by my name. Never behaved in anyway that could be construed as "seeking" behaviour...never begged for an early fill, and had proof of non curable medical conditions.

Since my move is temporary, to help care for my dad, it made sense to keep my doctor, who I have a great, open, honest relationship with. Too dang hard to establish a good relationship with a new doc. Which would be useless anyway, because of the pervasive attitude in this town about those bad opioids. That damn stuff just causes pain, doncha know?

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