Mother in Law Broke her Pain Contract

[Jasong72483]

So my mother in law broke her pain contract

She had been on her pain meds for about 10 years now and never had any issues until her son stole a good amount of her pain meds causing her to be short for the month and during an appointment shortly after, she came up clean (or not enough in her system to suggest that she was taking the prescribed amount)

In a panic when asked if she took her meds that day she said yes....which she did but she also went a few days prior without taking them because of how many were taken by her son....she was given a refill and and her next appointment date

Upon returning she was given another urine test which came back with the correct level of meds in her system, but she felt it necessary to come clean about her son taking her pills resulting in the shady resulted test prior.

Come to find out they had already decided after her last appointment that they were terminating her pain contract and decided to wait until now to inform her after her meds were all used up. So far I've been searching high and low for a new Doctor and searching for any bit of info on the matter and have come up short

I have found a pain doctor around where she lives but she was informed that due to what is in her records not only will he not be prescribing her pain meds but NO DOCTOR will....she is literally at her wits end and although they are offering injections she was told by her previous Doctor that so many spots on her are in pain that they would have to pick and choose which spots to treat while not treating others (which she had been on before and was not all that effective)....which is why her pain meds were so vital because they stopped ALL of the pain

Any help or suggestions on this matter is greatly appreciated!!

[Rootsgal]

Narcotic medications are suppose to be in a lock box at all times. It was part of my contract when I was at a pain clinic.
There is no excuse for them being left out.
Its too bad she did not think of the possibility of him robbing them.

LOCK BOXES are essential.
I am no longer in a pain contract since my primary care doc is prescribing, but I still put ALL of my meds in a FIREPROOF lock box.

[Tuckamore]

Thanks so much for the update. It breaks my heart to hear what has happened to your MIL and so many other CP patients. If no one has told you she is blessed to have you. I applaud you for your love, interest and concern for your MIL.

I guess we are assuming she is a senior. Is that true? It depend on the situation as to when you are considered a senior. You can get a senior discount and join AARP at 55. The government generally considers you to be a Seniors at 65. My point being if she is a senior have you been to Community Action in your county - or other senior services.

If she is under 65 and legally disabled she has even more resources. Rather she is a senior or disabled appeal to her resource centers.

I understand you live in York, PA but have you looked for PM outside the city? A several hour drive may be worth it. I can imagine how frustrated you are and the pain your MIL must be experiencing - just don't be discouraged. Keep searching.

It's strange but I've found when my husband asserts himself in my PM it improves, at least a bit. Physicians seem to take a family members concern and anger more seriously than they do us CP patients. Speak for your MIL. Maybe you are already doing that - don't give up.

Please continue to keep us updated. So often ppl post and we never hear from them again - we are left to wonder how they are - or what happened. Your updates are appreciated more than you can imagine.  

Hang in there - the greatest SIL in the world!!

[philnoir]

Welcome back -- my advice is to continue looking for a pain doctor to treat your mother's pain condition, not simply her underlying myofascial condition.

I hope that you were able to get that letter into her medical record, and that you have a copy of her medical records for your own use.

Consult your state pain society for a recommendation. Since your mother has no history of medication abuse, treatment should not be a problem.

Persevere.

[Jasong72483]

An update....after a few months still no luck....mother in law has pretty much given up

The pain is of course still present....but the doctors only insists that physical therapy will help...so far it hasn't

[remar]

I agree with Philnoir.
I am so sorry your mil was turned down at the new pain clinic. It makes no sense that they don't want to treat her because she has too many issues. Why are they even a pain clinic? They should know how to treat pain patients that have more than one issue. This is just ridiculous in my opinion.
Your mil has a very long history of being in pain management with no problems, until this happened with her son. That was in no way her fault and now she's the one being punished.
There has got to be another pain specialist or clinic who will see her. Have you been able to start the search again?
My own primary Dr is treating me. She knows I'm trying my best to get a diagnosis and she knows I'm suffering with this pain. She told me it's so unfair for any pain patient to have to suffer needlessly. Thank goodness I have her!
Most Drs are so afraid of these new laws. It's why many of them are dropping patients or will not take new ones. I understand their fear but like I said, your mil most likely has tons of medical records proving she is in need of pain treatment. Also, she has a perfect history for so many years while she was in pain management.
Don't give up. Keep researching Drs and clinics and eventually you will find someone who will take her as a patient.
I'm sorry for the long post. I just feel so bad for your mil knowing she's in pain and suffering so bad.
I wonder if it would help if she pressed charges against her son even though he's out of the picture now?

[philnoir]

Maybe you should turn to the media -- see if they want to pick up a story about how local doctors have no interest in treating the suffering of an elderly patient in pain.

My other suggestion is to try a city hospital with a pain clinic.

[Jasong72483]

It turns out she was turned away from the recommended clinic due to her having too many problems

They advised her to go back to her original doctor, but all they want to do is injections which they even said that it would take too many injections in too many areas to even make any kind of improvement

Which would still leave her in pain and eventually dismissed altogether by the original doctor, due to they're refusing to prescribe what actually works

I'm still searching but its getting harder and harder :(

[remar]

Oh no! I'm so sorry. Was this with the new Dr she was trying to see? If so, she needs to restart her search for another Pain Dr or clinic.
How sad that your MIL did absolutely nothing wrong and she's the one being punished for it.
The only answer might be to file a report against her son. Whether anything comes of this or not, we don't know. At least her report will be on record and it may help her get back in to pain management.
Please keep us up to date on how everything is going.

[Jasong72483]

York PA

[AnnaD67]

Where do you live?  What city?

[AnnaD67]

I just wanted to say that was the best advice one could give in her situation.  Things really have gotten out of hand and pray things will get back to normal soon.

[Jasong72483]

Turns out she hit a dead end :(

[philnoir]

While your mother probably does not wish to file a police report on a relative, having her add a notarized letter explaining the situation to her medical record will go a long way.

In the mean time, have your mother by a drug safe. Mine weighs 200 pounds and is bolted to the floor.

[Jasong72483]

I know her biggest concern right now is her meds being restored...and if this incident will hang over her for the rest of her life

As for her son...he is not in the picture anymore but as it seems....the damage has been done

Atleast for now

[remar]

It was not the original posters son that took the medication. It was his mother in laws son who did this. I agree though that he should be held accountable. I'm not sure if anything can be done unless he was seen doing this.

[billmessersmith]

I think  you have received some good advise from those writing to you. Now about your son, hold him accountable for the pain and problems he has causes you. Keep him from another opportunity to do the same. But, no matter what it takes hold him accountable.

[philnoir]

You're correct -- this is a terrible problem in today's pain community. Many of us who are now elderly and using opioid medications for many years are being cut off / BANG! Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

The pressure to do so comes from non-medical forces -- regulators who claim to be "public servants" protecting our best interests. They are causing more suffering and death than any prescription opioid.

This bureaucracy has already spent over a Trillion US dollars on the so-called "war on drugs" without much to show for it.
Over the past few years, they have changed to a strategy of "war on pain medicine prescribers". If they can't stop the flow of drugs into the country, maybe they'll continue to receive funding by busting a few docs who write too many "feel good" scripts. As for people in pain -- who cares?

Make no mistake. This is all about money and protecting a bureaucratic empire.

People are working to change the system back into compassionate medicine.

Unfortunately a bureaucratic empire is difficult to dismantle, and medicine is today, a business -- big business. Patient care has taken a back seat to corporate profits in America, which is why American medicine has fallen from #1 out of the top ten best medical systems in western countries. Pain medicine in America has become a laughing-stock to pain professionals in other parts of the world.

Explore groups like the National Pain Foundation, US Pain Foundation, Stop the Drug War, and other advocacy groups. Send them a little money. Find out what's going on.

Best wishes to you both.

[Jasong72483]

While waiting for her appointment I have been reading similar cases thru this and many other forums with virtually no success rate atleast in the past 2 years

Im still holding out hope with this clinic and will continue to search if its a bust....but it is kind of dissappointing to see so many ppl almost perminently turned away

[philnoir]

Don't know what kind of meds she has, but if they are scored to be broken in half, like Percocet (not OxyContin), then cut in half, and use a half dose until she can make the new appointment. This will help put off withdrawal symptoms.

If they are not scored -- like OxyContin, which are designed to last for 12 hours, if she can make 18 hours between pills, she'll save 1 pill a day. If she can only go 15 hours between pills, then she saves 1 pill every two days -- you can do the math.

Best of luck with this. While opioid withdrawal is not treated as a medical emergency, it puts the body under tremendous strain, and should be avoided especially by people with heart and lung disease, and the elderly.

[Jasong72483]

So far she has am appointment with a new pain clinic that was recommended by the ER Doctor....she goes on the 3rd...but given her situation...I wouldnt be surprised if she has another ER visit before then

Hopefully everything goes well and she can get her meds back....if not then the search will continue

[remar]

I'm really sorry she ended up in the hospital. See how well these new laws are working? They are not. Your MIL is having to go through this horrible pain and it ends up costing so much more to go to a hospital. This was most likely covered by your MIL's insurance? Just to walk through the door of a hospital it can start at $500 and go up from there. That's not including treatment. I hear about this happening to a lot when people are let go from pain management. They just can't take the pain and end up in the hospital. I'm really glad they gave her a prescription. It's getting to the point that even hospitals will not prescribe pain meds. I took my nephew in for an accident he had and after x rays it showed he had a cracked rib. They told him to take Tylenal and send him on his way.No, he has no history of drug seeking and is not in pain management  Thank you for updating us on your MIL's situation. When will she be seeing the new Dr? Has she thought about seeing the one the ER Dr recommended? What ever she decides to do I truly hope things work out for her very soon.

[Jasong72483]

So far she is still going to see this new Pain Dr. who said that he was not going to prescribe her meds over the phone....but on the brightside she did have to go to the ER due to extreme pain and they gave her some Pain meds there, and after hearing her story directed her to another DR

So she has an appointment with the new DR soon and we will see how it goes

[philnoir]

You make the request in the letter -- if they choose not to, Then you write the state medical licensing board and file a complaint against this doctor, You tell the board that your mother was left w/o treatment when the doctor knew she was physically dependent, and when you tried to set the record straight, they refused to add your note to her records.

You include the note and send it to them.

All of these letters must be written in proper English, in chronological order with dates and the names of witnesses if any, and a complete lack of emotion. You and your mother are angry, but what you are trying to do is conduct business with either your doctor, or with the medical licensing board.

Don't lose your cool, but don't take any crap either.

[remar]

Your MIL has a long history of being in pain management with nothing like this ever happening before. I don't know if they would have listened to her or if she would have called her pain Dr the minute she realized she had medication missing.
I'm really glad Philnoir answered your question. He is extremely knowledgeable about pain, pain management, medications and the laws.
How unfair that they waited to tell your MIL that they were letting her go when they knew she would be without any of her pain medication. That's just not right.
Do keep up your search for another Dr. Philnoir is right, there are still some Drs out there that truly care and are not afraid of these ridiculous new laws.
Please keep us up to date on how everything is going.