Furious....and scared

[majoraward]

Doctors aren't allowed to write a date in the future, legally, by the way, as I understand the FDA rule. The rules require them to write today's date on them and then, on the bottom, write, "Not to be filled before xx/xx/xxxx." They aren't going to know if the doctor post dated it, but if they found out, they would not fill it. See the listing at this site for the Class Ii Narcotics: http://www.fpnotebook.com/pharm/Manage/ ... Sbstnc.htm

Like I said there are 2 dates, the date it was written and the date it is allowed to be filled. These doctors are members of a large hospital and sleep clinic, who by the way, I noticed the other day have external links on their web pages to RLS Foundation for further information. They wouldn't do anything illegal. Obviously from your posts about it being so difficult to get Methadone there that Washington State is much more liberal with drugs, as an example marijuana is now legal here.

[ViewsAskew]

Thanks for clarifying - I didn't interpret it that way.

Depending on your doctor, it's helpful to know how the scripts should be written. My doctor only writes methadone for one patient - me. She almost always writes it incorrectly! I have to study it carefully when I get it to make sure she did it correctly.

[badnights]

I was going to suggest that you find out what article Dr B sent to sandyxxx (I forget the numbers in her name) , it was a pre-print. Presumably that's what he gave you; I'd love to see it. Could you post the citations for both the new references? It would be good to have a complete list here. I am going to run up against this if/when I move. I just blew up at an old friend who had no clue about the opioids - thinks as soon as anyone is on an opioid, they're an addict.

[ViewsAskew]

He sent the actual articles to me. I'll email them to you.

[doety]

Ann, I'm so sorry. I've been so crazed and self-involved, I hadn't looked at your site. What is wrong with these people??? I've often thought that when medical people see me in the daytime, I'm usually fairly okay. They don't want to see me when I'm twitching and hopping, etc. etc. BUT MAYBE THEY SHOULD. I'd like for them to see the hell we all go through. Make them so uncomfortable they'd give us anything.
I'm not "at rest." So I'm walking a lot. But just wanted to send you my best wishes that you work this out.

[ViewsAskew]

Thank you, Doety. I appreciate it. I haven't heard a word from the doctor's office. I scrambled to get them everything on Friday so that it could be done before the holiday started. I imagine no one is in the office until the 2nd - it's a sleep clinic, afterall. It is in a heavily Jewish populated area, but I still imagine that because of staff they would simply take off for the week.

Guess I'll find out next week if the pharmacy accepted the info or not.

[rthom]

Ann, I'm so sorry. I've been so crazed and self-involved, I hadn't looked at your site. What is wrong with these people??? I've often thought that when medical people see me in the daytime, I'm usually fairly okay. They don't want to see me when I'm twitching and hopping, etc. etc. BUT MAYBE THEY SHOULD. I'd like for them to see the hell we all go through. Make them so uncomfortable they'd give us anything.
I'm not "at rest." So I'm walking a lot. But just wanted to send you my best wishes that you work this out.

I wonder what they think of when they see rls people in emerg. I was there last night trying to hold still last night while my leg was stitched up and although I tld the dr 3 times about the rls she seemed to think I had a pain problem--the jerking was about me being a woose or something----why she thought I was moving befores she started is beyond me. The point being they must actually see it a fair bit, but how do they process that info?

[debbluebird]

I went to the ER for severe pain when I herniated a disc a few years back. I will never go back for pain or for RLS/WED. They think we are drug seeking. I guess they see so many people who are drug seeking. I finally got results for my pain when I talked an on call doctor into giving me some gabapentin. It helped. At that time my WED was under control. If that ER doc had given me some gabapentin, it would have been better.
DEB

[rthom]

yes I get that all the time. Because of my job I have more visits than others, but they automatically go there whether I ask about pain or not. The most recent--a few days ago\(xmas eve) I have several stitches a swollen crush injury 6" x6" x 2" deep and the bruise literally goes from my groin to the bottom of my calf muscle. Still even with my wife there and the dr saying it will be very painful I got the same response. I don't have a history of drug/ alchololism etc. either. They just have no idea.

[badnights]

It's our litigious society. If doctors weren't paralyzed by the fear of being sued, they might actually be able to take care of us.

[ViewsAskew]

UPDATE Thursday 1/10.

I didn't hear from the office if the articles I sent to the pharmacy were appropriate.

Last night I sent an email to the office staff asking if they were accepted and also to say I needed a new set of scripts. They normally send 3 months at a time.

The office staff emailed back that she'd forwarded the email to the doctor and that both doctors (I've seen both at this office) were "talking about my case" and would get back to me soon.

Of course, between the pharmacy thing and the drug testing thing, this was NOT the response I wanted to hear. I may be panicking over nothing, but what the heck? Talking about my case????? What is there to talk about? That they think I'm a liability and don't want to treat me????? Nothing else has changed except the pharmacy thing. I hope they are not going to fire me. I've already been fired by one doctor. This SUCKS! I'm about in tears, which is silly because I don't know anything, but I still feel that way.

Crap.

[Polar Bear]

Oh Ann, my heart goes out to you.
I reckon it is so hard to deal with uncertainty.
Any difficulty can be dealt with in some way when you know what has to be sorted, but not knowing what is happening means we are crossing 100s of bridges... what if... what if...our brains are in a mess and our emotions are all over the place.
I hope that you have answers very soon.

[debbluebird]

Well, let us know what's going on when you find out. I could continue with the what ifs, I won't. It's just to be ok. It's awful to not know. I also know this doesn't help with sleep. Hang in there. DEB

[ViewsAskew]

I know, logically, that they could be talking about anything. They could be deciding who's better to see me or if there are other options. Thankfully I have a bit extra stashed so I won't be completely out by next week when I would normally get a refill in case they are deciding they are through with me. I can only hope that if they say they won't see me anymore that they'll at least agree to fill one more month. The last doctor left me waiting on a script refill - needed it on a Saturday - and she waited until Friday to tell me she wouldn't fill it.

I had a nice long cry and now feel like I have boiled onions for eyeballs and am just about void of any emotion except sadness and emotional tiredness.

[rthom]

I'm so sorry it's lie thi for you right now Ann. Geez sometimes it seems like there is a conspiracy going on out there--between the meds not being utilized and the lack of knowledgeable people to treat sufferers. It's just not taken seriously it seems.