Page 1 of 1

War on Pain Pills

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 12:00 am
by jul2873
Reason Magazine has an excellent article about the way current medical practice is taking away a patient's ability to control pain.

http://reason.com/archives/2018/03/08/a ... nt_7171744

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 1:30 am
by Rustsmith
Nice to see an article written from our side of the coin, but the information contained in it is still very disturbing.

I went to a new doctor today that I hope will become my new PCP. It looks hopeful since I got a prescription for methadone and he was as amazed as I have been by the level of care that my previous doctor provided. What makes that relevant to this discussion is if I understood him correctly, he indicated that the clinic is basically allocated a certain number of morphine equivalents (ME) that they can prescribe without raising questions by the DEA. Since I am new, he had to calculate the ME value for my small dose of methadone to verify that I wasn't going to take up too much of their allocation.

This clinic, unlike my old one, does not require an opioid contract that is pretty much designed to result in some sort of mistake by a patient that provides an excuse for the clinic to drop them (like the guy in the link above who came up short on a pill count because he left some pills in his briefcase from a recent trip). My new doctor admitted that he was not very familiar with treating severe RLS and gladly accepted a copy of the recent Mayo Clinic paper on using opioids to treat refractory RLS.

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 5:09 am
by debbluebird
Well, good luck.

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 12:01 pm
by Polar Bear
Rustsmith - your new PCP is looking positive and willing to learn about RLS.

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 6:29 pm
by Rustsmith
For those who have not read the latest Foundation eFriends newsletter, there is a report about the Foundation trip to Washington last month. The group included members of the Foundation board, Dr Earley from Johns Hopkins and Dr Silber from Mayo.

On the first day of their trip, they met with the National Institute of Health and with the FDA. On the second day they visited the offices of various members of Congress. Particularly telling was a quote about their meeting at the FDA. One of the Foundation board members reported "The FDA members that we met with recognized the possibility of unintended consequences of heavy-handed restrictions on legitimate opioid use and the potential impact on RLS sufferers". Now the question is whether the FDA will do anything to help individuals who need opioids or whether they are going to continue to focus on the bigger picture and not see the trees in the forest.

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:54 pm
by lhoff12085
Steve, Just saw the video w you noted in the March eFriends! I figured out that you were the person who helped me so much when I was taking Horizant and visiting CO. I see you now may have found a dr where you live. Please keep us posted on that.

So the last time we "spoke", I was taking Horizant but it became less effective - especially during the day. I am now on 5mg of Methadone, twice a day, and it's working beautifully. It's also very cheap -thanks goodness. My insurance company dropped any coverage of Horizant and it was already very expensive ($400/mo). I think my doctor had to go through all the other medications before he would offer me methadone - probably needs a case to justify it w the insurance company. I'm only able to get a 30 day supply at a time which is annoying but not a big inconvenience. I have not encountered pill counting like you spoke about. Florida is trying to strengthen opioid laws which I'm watching it closely.

Thanks for all the work you do for us! Laura

Sarasota, FL

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:23 am
by Rustsmith
Laura, thanks for that. It has been interesting seeing all of the various channels that I hear about where people have seen that interview.

The 30 day supply limit is a federal requirement. Since the dose that many of us take is so small, some doctors (like my RLS specialist) will sometimes fudge the way that they write their prescription so that we don't have to come in so often. If things work out with my potential new GP, I will also be on the 30 day system. But that is all right since he is just 3 miles away instead of 100.

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 10:11 pm
by debbluebird
I also want to thank everyone on the board for helping me too.

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2018 4:15 am
by leggo_my_legs
Great article.
And Steve congrats on the new MD! I know how you have struggled (like most here!)

Re: War on Pain Pills

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2018 6:20 pm
by Rustsmith
Thanks leggo. I go back for a followup meeting in about 3 weeks and hope that the improved outlook from my first appointment continues. It was kind of scary in that he indicated that there were potential regulatory changes in our state that could threaten his ability to provide me with methadone. I got the distinct impression that he has an monthly allocation of morphine equivalents that he can dispense. If that happens, I wouldn't blame him if he had to cut me off in favor of his longer term patients.