Useless procedures or lose my medication

[Vicki1001]

I am sooo glad I found this website and would be very greatful for any suggestions. What can I do? I am a 61 yo female on SSDI. I have severe lumbar spinal stenosis, scoliosis, anterolisthesis, Osteoarthritis, herniated/bulging discs, severe thecal sac compression, spondylosis, and epidural lipomas in my spinal cord. Needless to say, I live with chronic pain. The only thing that allows me some quality of life is the 8mg of Dilaudid the pain management clinic prescribes for me every month. Like all chronic pain patients know it doesn’t relieve the pain but takes enough of the edge off to allow me to do some daily activities. I have been on this dosage, stable and responsible for almost 3 years.

Ever since opioids made national news the clinic has been threatening me and other patients with a reduction in our medication dosage. I have been told verbatim that it has to look like I’m trying other things to relieve my pain and that they’re not just giving me pills. I have tried many other things including physical therapy, the clinic’s “cocktail” spinal injections, spinal epidurals and nerve blocks none of which have worked. Now, once again I am being coerced into procedures that do not work or lose my medication!

And since I won my Social Security Disability case my insurance has changed to Medicare so that aside from the fact none of these works and is extremely painful when administered, physical therapy will now cost me $40 per session and the injections $350 each in co-pays. I simply cannot afford these co-pays but if I don’t they will reduce my medication! I have tried a lesser dosage and was reduced to tears constantly having to stay in bed because of the severe pain. They say Do No Harm. But denying me the medication that allows me some quality of life IS doing harm. My primary care physician won’t touch this issue and trying to find a different pain management doctor results in the same thing because of the federal government. I also do not want to make them mad at me and they refuse to treat me at all. Please help! What can I do?

[Michael Steele]

Yes, I have had severe back pain. I have tried many things to at least ease the pain. Nothing worked. Then a friend asked me to try CBD oil. My friend gave me a link to get some free samples to try out. I clicked the link got the samples and in about a little over an hour I could feel the pain ease away. I believe you can experience similar results. Here is the link given to me

getfreesamples

Click on that link above to get your samples. This stuff really works.

[alphamale1]

Hi Vicki,
I too have many of the same back issues /surgery you had. I despise Pain Mgt doctors…they treat most of us like we are drug seekers or selling it or whatever. I have been to 3 diff ones in past and it was I who ended their “treatment” of me.
My regular doc has been supplying me now with my pain meds for quite some time…yet he is feeling the pinch from his superiors and may on next refill say no….I dont know.
This is a travesty to ALL CHRONIC PATIENTS IN THE USA!….and there are soo many if us…they cannot just throw us away….ER depts would be so overwhelmed if they do shut us down. There is no more Compassion from MANY PAIN TYPE DOCS ANYMORE. We must neve give up, I too what to keep the quality of life I have.

Rick

[hebbyvs]

Vicki,
You need to report your Dr to Medicare. Or at the very least tell your Dr that you are going to report them for billing Medicare for useless procedures. They will get in more trouble for that, then they would giving you your prescription without other treatment. I had a Dr in AL do the same thing, so I reported him and changed Drs. This becomes tricky because you don’t what a “trouble maker” stigma when it comes to pain management Drs, however if you explain to another Dr what your current Dr is doing, they may be willing to take you on right away. Good luck to you!

[Rick]

Hi, I’m in the same position. I have Arachnoiditis and most Dr’s have no idea what that is. All they want me to do is more injections and other procedures including more surgeries.

I’ve had my first surgery in 1999 for a laminectomy and the second in 2000 was for installing rods and screws where the disc was removed. Pain just kept getting worse. Then came the injections. Those did absolutely nothing and may have caused my Arachnoiditis. I’m told they may have pierced my spinal cord.

So now 18 years of being on pain meds. Most have been prescribed in those years by my primary care physician but for some reason with the health system I go to, my PCP keep disappearing. They either get fired, change profession, quit or whatever and I get a new one. Each time I go thru hoops to continue my meds. This time the new one wants nothing to do with my meds. He sent me to a Pain Management Dr. and they want me to go thru more injections.

[hurthead]

My husband has chronic headpain all the time,from a concussion and an invasive nasal surgery.He spends the whole day in bed. I’m furious with the govt, and the doctors. They just won’t help you if you have chronic pain.My husband has been suffering for 16 yrs. Doctors only put him through some ridiculous treatments the do nothing.I can’t tell you how many things he has tried!!He ven had electrodes and wires implanted in the back of his head. He did have one dr that allowed him to have a small amount of Norco BUT only if he paid 1500 every 3 months for a useless Botox treatment.botox never helped his head pain but the dr made us pay 1500 every 3 months anyway.we couldn’t afford it and we told him it didn’t work but it made no difference, so we had to stop seeing him. Why is it you are allowed to kill yourself at the end of life and allowed to kill your baby at 9 months but if you have chronic debilitating pain you CANT have a pain pill?I thought doctors were supposed to help people.Nope all they do is put you on all the latest new drugs that don’t do shit and they have side effects! Narcotics take my husbands pain away but nope you can’t have it.Dont patients have rights to be out of pain? We need a lawyer to sue the government to give us our right to pain relief.

[Rick]

Very sad times! People with chronic pain have to either deal with it, use illegal drugs or suicide… Pain is destroying us! We need help NOW!!! Every month I get stressed when my meds are done and I need refills. The stress alone is killing me. I suffer from migraines and they get worse every month when it’s time for refills.

[Author]

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