Will Methadone Prevent Pain Management From Seeing Me?

I have been prescribed dilaudid 8mg 4xs daily for 2 years by a respected, long time in the community pain management dr. He tried me on Fentanyl in Feb but it made me sick and changed the dilaudid to 6 daily until I find new PM Dr in my new area. I moved from Destin, FL to Jacksonville, Fl. 3 weeks ago. My Destin PM Dr was giving me the 6 daily ONLY until new Dr finds extended release rx to suit my needs and use the dilaudid for breakthrough. He didn't want to start me on a new rx and then I move in case of reactions. So. Being he gave me 120 every 20 days instead of every 30 days so not to raise a red flag here in FL, no new PM Dr will see me before 28 days is up, leaving me in withdrawals and the original horrible pain for not only those 8 days in between but an additional week because of no openings.

Because of withdrawal and the original pain, making me want to die! (I feel like I'm in labor ALL the time) I went to a methadone clinic until my PM appointment. Will this cause me to not be able to get a PM Dr to treat me and keep me on the dilaudid, the ONLY thing that has been working for me besides the methadone. Actually, it works quite well for my pain. I can't remain on it though because I already have chronically low calcium levels and vitamin D levels to the point I've been admitted in the hospital and given iv calcium for 5 days without ANY improvement at all. Methadone is known to cause low calcium and vitamin D levels. I cannot afford mine to go any lower or I WILL have a heart attack or equivalent serious medical issues causing death...for those that don't know...critically low calcium levels cause muscle cramping to the point, they will NOT relax and your heart and lungs are muscles...heart attack...fatal heart attack! Besides, I don't want a physical dependence to methadone or the ball and chain of going to a clinic daily...I like to travel and I have children to take care of in the mornings! Plus, I don't feel I should be punished for the DEAS interference in my life any more than I can't control. I can control a portion of this situation if I move quick and correctly. Just need others input on my ideas and knowledge others have.

My choices are...buy dilaudid through other means and wait until all the methadone is out of my system to see a new PM Dr and skip the whole conversation about the clinic...BUT wouldn't they ask me about how I still have dilaudid in my system? This is probably the ideal thing to do. However, I would have to wait 2 weeks (and 2 more weeks of taking the methadone, making it a full month...that would cause dependence I'm sure) from now until my friend gets their next script and it would put me at waiting another month from today for an appointment and I don't think I could explain having enough dilaudid according to the script! Here's what I did with the scripts. My last appointment, he gave me 2 separate scripts with NO "don't fill until this date". He did this, knowing I was moving and needed to fill at the local pharmacy I had been using that kept mine ordered and in stock. I have a way I could use to explain having enough to get me through til the 29th of this month and it would give me 9 days to get the methadone out of my system. Would this be enough time to get 26 days worth of methadone, 45mg daily, out of my system? OR...if I go to the appointment this week for the new PM dr, would he hold the clinic against me? I would have to explain the methadone in my system...

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The main issue here is that you went to a Methadone clinic, so that's going to be listed in your medical records and they are going to know, when they look at them.

Regardless of why you went to a clinic, it is noted in your records as addiction treatment, so yes sadly, it may cause them to not treat you.

The FDA classifies this medication as a narcotic analgesic, so it has the potential to be habit forming and may cause side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth and constipation.

Has anyone else been in this situation that can chime in with their experiences?

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It's a cash only clinic so my insurance doesn't have any records. And, they told me, at least, that they don't enter their information into any databases. The state prescription monitoring system, they said, only records prescriptions, which this isnt. They told me they will be able to see if I go to a pain Dr but they won't be able to see the clinic.
Are they lying to me?
Even if they are telling the truth, it'll show in my system and I have to explain...
Crap. My appointment is tomorrow...I don't know what to do...

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I go to the methadone clinic and at my clinic it isn't put into the prescription database. When I go to a doctor or get a prescription filled at a pharmacy the methadone I take from the clinic does NOT come up. Now when you go to your doctor's appointment, they will do a U/A. The methadone will show you in your drug panel. You will have to explain why you have methadone in your system. Either that PM doctor will understand and go ahead and give you medication as long as you leave the methadone clinic or the doctor is going to turn you away with nothing. You could be stuck going to a clinic forever. It sucks and it isn't fair because I understand why you did it. Unfortunately, a lot of doctors just don't care or too scared to prescribe anything to someone who has been to a methadone clinic. Please let us know how your appointment went.

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Well, I called the PM Dr way early before my appointment, without giving them my name using a different phone in case the number popped up.
I explained the situation and the lady says it shouldn't be a problem given the circumstances as long as I stop going to the clinic. However, she then said she had never heard methadone to be considered addiction treatment. Really?
So, I decided not to take the chance in losing my PM forever especially being in the state of Florida and them being soooooo paranoid about narcotics! (Somehow methadone dependency is safer even though it accounts for more of the overdose deaths than any other drug? I'm glad it's there! Just don't understand their thinking...) I'm going to wait until it's out of my system and let my friend help me during the wait...
Thank you for the replies!
It gave me some things to think about in my consideration of my options and I believe may have just saved me a life long dependency on methadone which probably would have killed me with the hypocalcimia...
Or lived in constant torment until potentially taking my own life.
So, seriously, thank you!

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I'm glad I was able to help. I have heard that Florida has gone insane in regards to pain management. I live in Louisiana and it isn't too much better here. I have severe problems with my lower back, MRI documented, and Fibromyalgia. For over 2 and a half years I have been put on every non-narcotic pain medication that I could be placed on. Either it didn't work or had bad reactions to the medications or worked so little that my doctors didn't believe it was worth keeping me on. My Internal Medicine Doctor and the Orthopedic Specialist both thought it would be best to send me to pain management. They both believed it was time for an extended release opiate pain medicine. Neither one of those doctors will prescribe long term pain management because they are scared of having to answer to the DEA. In fact, the patients they had on pain medications they took them off and stopped prescribing them. I am 39 and none of the pain management doctors that were contacted would take a medication only patient. I was left with no help and horrible pain. One of the nurses told me about the methadone clinic and told me that is where a lot of their patients that they used to prescribe pain medication to went. She told me that I would have to lie and tell them I was there because I was addicted to pain pills. She said if they knew I was there for pain management they wouldn't accept me. Also, I was not on any narcotic pain medicines so my drug panel would have been clean. She told me I needed to show positive for some opiate so I needed to find something somewhere to take. I didn't want to go to the clinic but I was in so much pain it was either the clinic or I thought about ending my life. I decided the clinic was worth a try so I found a family member with Percocet and took 2 the night before going. It definitely helps with the pain but I wish I didn't have to go. Even as I get much older, I don't know if I'll be able to ever get into a PM doctor because of the clinic. I wish you all the best and hope you are able to get into your PM doctor soon!

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