Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Hello,

I flew to see Dr B at Stanford. I am currently on an opioid. Why are doctors so afraid to perscribe an opioid when it is necessary?
They are doing nothing wrong! I am unable to find a Dr in the Seattle area to take over from Dr B and must keep up the expense of flying to California to see him. Any suggestions?

Hi annski, Welcome to the RLS online community. Lots of great folks here to help out.

I'm no where near Seattle, so I can't give you a doc's name. The DEA tracks a doctor's narcotic prescriptions and puts pressure in a number of ways on the doc or the doc's employer if the number of narcotic RXs gets too high. The doc is worried about losing his/her license, so while the doc wants to help the patients, preserving the medical license trumps patient care if there is a conflict. This whole opioid fiasco is the fault of the pharmaceutical companies. Follow the money.

annski wrote:Hello,

I flew to see Dr B at Stanford. I am currently on an opioid. Why are doctors so afraid to perscribe an opioid when it is necessary?
They are doing nothing wrong! I am unable to find a Dr in the Seattle area to take over from Dr B and must keep up the expense of flying to California to see him. Any suggestions?

I hope you find someone. I used to live in Chicago. I flew to see Dr. B, too, and tried to convert a local doc to help me. I tried many times; three agreed (at different times). The first stopped prescribing it when the state laws changed (he was in Indiana on the border of Illinois). Another, even though working with Dr. B, freaked out over it and simply stopped providing scripts, leaving me without ANY medications on a Friday. I had already learned to keep a small stash, but it was wiped out in the two weeks I had to wait to get an appt in CA and to fly to see Dr B. The third one worked well until the one doc went on a leave of absence when she adopted a child. The doc who took over was never really on board and at each appt (she made me see her EVERY month) chipped away until she finally said I had to start all over - new sleep study, stop the methadone and try the other drugs all over again, etc.

I finally literally decided to move to So Cal. It was easier. And that is sheer craziness when you think of it.