hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Use this section to discuss your experiences with prescription drugs, iron injections, and other medical interventions that involve the introduction of a drug or medicine into the body. Discuss side effects, successes, failures, published research, information about drug trials, and information about new medications being developed.

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ViewsAskew
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by ViewsAskew »

You hit on something crucial - the trust factor. Clearly, for any doctor to be questioning me (when other doctors back me up) means that he/she doesn't trust me. I imagine that they are scared for some reason, but do they realize how much that this hurts the relationship? Or maybe they do and they are trying to force us to another provider (maybe not even admitting it to themselves at the time).

For now, you have a solution - not the one you wanted or hoped for. Maybe it will turn out to be better in the long run. Maybe your new PC will trust you and not be afraid of the system or of what you need. Here's hoping.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Neco
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by Neco »

Dispute that bill with the hospital, tooth and nail and tell them they did not render appropriate services in a compassionate manner.

That is outright ridiculous treatment

hope
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by hope »

what is the difference between Norco and hydrocodone? I heard from one doc that if it is medically necessary, the doctors can put a code on the prescription and they don't get dinged for writing too many scripts. All I know is my dr keeps changing from one month to the next from 500 mg to 750 mg and then looks at me funny when I run out of the 500 mgs to quickly. And the insurance doesn't help either.

Does this law also limit the amount of pills you can get?

hope
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by hope »

just thought of one more thing. The insurance companies want you to go through their mail order pharmacies. How does that work with the new laws? I was told one prescription at a time with no refills. How can they now start to justify which you can get and what you can't get through the mail.

EeFall
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by EeFall »

hope wrote:just thought of one more thing. The insurance companies want you to go through their mail order pharmacies. How does that work with the new laws? I was told one prescription at a time with no refills. How can they now start to justify which you can get and what you can't get through the mail.


I do get a couple of prescriptions through mail order but the Suboxone (a narcotic type drug) I use for RLS the doctor has to send me a script each month and I have to hand carry it to the pharmacy (although they allow my wife to do so too) and they write my drivers license number down on the script. I have to let the doctor know about a week in advance to send me a script. Several times over the past year it has gotten here late! No refills are allowed that's the law.

Neco
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by Neco »

hope wrote:what is the difference between Norco and hydrocodone? I heard from one doc that if it is medically necessary, the doctors can put a code on the prescription and they don't get dinged for writing too many scripts. All I know is my dr keeps changing from one month to the next from 500 mg to 750 mg and then looks at me funny when I run out of the 500 mgs to quickly. And the insurance doesn't help either.

Does this law also limit the amount of pills you can get?


Norco is a brand name, and can be one of several formulations. Hydrocodone is the chemical name of the synthetic opioid used in the drug. What you really need to look at is the dosage formulation, which should be printed on your pharmacy bottles.

The larger 500mg / 750mg numbers are actually the acetaminophen (tylenol) content. You will likely find your bottles say either 5/500 or 7.5/750; the 5mg and 7.5mg are the hydrocodone doses.

Rustsmith
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by Rustsmith »

Hope, my wife takes a registered medication that requires paper scripts and our insurance requires mail order for anything that lasts more than one month. We get the paper script from the doctor and then she mails it in immediately. The pharmacy fills the scrip, but the medicine is sent by courier (Fedex or UPS) and one of us has to be there when it is delivered because we MUST sign for it. They typically call the day before they come to let us know (plus we get a tracking number to follow it). If they miss us three times, the package goes back and we start all over.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

chuas2
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by chuas2 »

In July a law passed in California requiring a doctor to urine/blood test, AND see the patient every month...I wish it were every four months! And also, insurance doesn't cover this. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, since hydrocodone really works for my now raging WED.

chuas2
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by chuas2 »

That said, I'll jump through the hoops. I've HAD it with experimental dopaminergic agents, partial dopamine agonists, receptor agonists, anti-convulsants, sedative hypnotics, you can have the whole LOT!! I'm staying on opiates, they work, no side effects except the inconvenience of peeing in a cup once a month for a doctor I don't like very much, but who gives me a script (apparently he doesn't think that a 58 year old "staid, conservative law-abiding Asian woman is going to stand on the street and sell it), actually I don't give a $#%%# what he thinks. It's about me (us), and we have a right to have the medications that relieve us from our daily torture!! Sorry for the rant, I'm angry because my GP won't give me the opiods, so I have to go to a pain specialist...ARGH!!

Polar Bear
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by Polar Bear »

Doesn't it do us good to sometimes get things 'off our chest'.
I'm glad that you have found what works for you and like you, I'd do whatever the GP wants in order to stay on what provides symptom relief.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

ViewsAskew
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by ViewsAskew »

chuas2 wrote:That said, I'll jump through the hoops. I've HAD it with experimental dopaminergic agents, partial dopamine agonists, receptor agonists, anti-convulsants, sedative hypnotics, you can have the whole LOT!! I'm staying on opiates, they work, no side effects except the inconvenience of peeing in a cup once a month for a doctor I don't like very much, but who gives me a script (apparently he doesn't think that a 58 year old "staid, conservative law-abiding Asian woman is going to stand on the street and sell it), actually I don't give a $#%%# what he thinks. It's about me (us), and we have a right to have the medications that relieve us from our daily torture!! Sorry for the rant, I'm angry because my GP won't give me the opiods, so I have to go to a pain specialist...ARGH!!


Dr Buchfuhrer is in southern California (no idea where you are) and will prescribe them. Then again, southern Cal is a larger area! You could live there and still be two or three hours away.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

akita007
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by akita007 »

Chuas2, I too have had it with all the drugs you named. I told my neurologist that I have been through more withdrawals than a street junkie but have none of the help they get. I was on Requip for about 8 years, augmenting like crazy. I knew it was not right but just could not get a Dr to deal with me. I held steady for quite awhile by taking tramadol to counteract the pain from the requip. Dosage stayed pretty steady for about 2 years and then trouble again. I was travelling for work and needed a refill of both drugs. My primary Dr had recently retired (she was sick of the government bull and went to live a quiet life on her ranch..best doctor ever and I miss her horribly) and the new Dr would not refill my meds without me coming into the office. A bit hard to do when I am 1500 miles away. So I had to go cold turkey. No sleep for 5 days straight and I had to work. I guess I could have gone to some clinic and tried to get a script but I was so out of it I just didn't even think to do that. In a strange city, didn't want to go to some downtown clinic or ER. It was just horrible, The flight back was an utter nightmare. While being up at all hours I started to really research the drug and others who had gone through this. I was blown away by what I found. This is some nasty stuff.

Anyway I was just hanging on and yet I figured that if I am getting off this nasty drug, let me stay off of it. Oh no...the new doctors wanted to just stay with first line treatment options. I so wanted to get away from Requip, my side effects were about as brutal as the RSL's. I tried Gaby and thought I was gonna die. I reacted so bad to that is was really scary. The Dr I found would not even think of opiates. I had to get back on Requip and just cried when I took that pill after struggling for over a week. I couldn't hold out anymore. My back was giving out and I had to play the insurance game to get to see my neurosurgeon 3 months later. I was in surgery almost immediately after I saw him. Spinal stenosis in my whole lumbar but I was hopeful that this would help with the RSL (and it has quite a bit but that is further down the story road). My pain medication was hydrocodone. I had relief...FINALLY...oh to sleep and not move like a fish out of water.

But that was short lived. After the two fills, no more hydrocodone. And yes I did withdrawal from that too but that was a cake walk compared to Requip. Being rather restricted in where I could go (no driving etc due to my back) I had no choice but to go back to the DA's again. This time mirapex. Oh geez, here we go again. So to bring this up to date, my neurologist does not want to deal with triplicate scripts. He knows (or knew I should say since I fired him) that opiates work but he does not want to mess with the scripts. So back to withdrawing of of another DA. Tramadol is not working. Now I have to start basically again in the doctor search to find someone that will take that blue pen to a little pad of paper and make my life normal again and that is so hard now a days. The neurologist referred me to a sleep clinic but they cannot see me until Feb. Hmmm...that is not going to work. Oh yes, I might want to see a hypnotist too. I asked him why???? Because I am rather agitated. Ya think?!?! So I am currently on day 4 with no meds and you know I am doing better than I was when I was on the horrid DA's. My legs are still acting up, not much sleep but I am feeling better physically. I am just....agitated. LOL I have no idea where to start to find a doc that will prescribe opiates. I do have a referral letter from that neuroidiot that says that opiates work and the big list of drugs that do not so that is something. Anybody know of a good doctor near The Woodlands, TX? Sure would be helpful to know there is a physician out there that knows about RSL and doesn't mind writing a tripicate. Worse comes to worse I will make a trip with my mom to see her Dr and see if he can help. Might be awhile before that happens since her pain Dr is out of state. (She has already played the Dr hop and found someone to work with her 200 miles away) What a sad state of affairs our medical system is in. And I work in it too. It is just pitiful. Thanks for listening :-)

Rustsmith
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by Rustsmith »

akita, this is you lucky day. The doctor you need to talk to is Dr. William Ondo in the Medical Center. Dr Ondo is a professor at UT, has made a career out of WED research and has served on the WED Foundation's Medical Advisory board. He gave a webinar for the Foundation last summer where he said that opiods are essentially the only option for the treatment of refractory WED and that methadone is particularly effective because it also as DA-like characteristics.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

chuas2
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by chuas2 »

Dr Buchfuhrer being in southern California doesn't do me much good unfortunately; I'm up in the San Francisco area. :cry:

However, my GP recommended Neurontin. Now I've heard people say they haven't had very good results with this, and it's only been a few days, but it has helped (YAY!). I'm going to see if she will prescribe that, and occasionally an opiate if there's "breakthrough." The first two days I had a horrendous headache, was dizzy, and lost a few meals (quick weight loss anyone?), but seems like my system is getting used to it. Low dose, 300 MG.

Keep fingers crossed for me everyone, as I always do for you, and anyone with this horrid, underestimated syndrome!
:?:
Kris

Rustsmith
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Re: hydrocodone and new prescription laws

Post by Rustsmith »

You shouldn't have much of a problem getting a scrip for gabapentin. I had a neurologist tell me it was her favorite medication to prescribe. As for the dizziness, I hope you adjust to it. I take either 600 or 900 mg and have issues at 900. The dizziness hasn't abated, but I have learned to anticipate it when I stand up and just stand there until it subsides.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

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