NBC NEWS Broward County Fl. Pain Clinic Capital of the Country!!!

Hi everyone,

I wasn't feeling well so I went to bed and turned on the TV to watch the news. NBC w/ Brian Williams came on and low and behold one of his stories was about the pain clinics in Broward Co. Fl. where I work. Several times I've posted about how easy it is for anyone to go into these places, pay cash and walk out w/ a mess of Oxy's, well did anyone see the news tohight? If you didn't you can go to NBC News and check out the story, I just watched it again and recognised the very place they were filming the story which is right down the street from my job!!  They even showed the underground news paper I talked about w/ page after page of pain clinics advertised! They said that people from all over the country come here just to get drugs from the legal drug dealers in white coats. Florida has no tracking system for dr. shopoping and some of these people go to a dozen or more clinics a day, say they have a pain in their back or neck and pay cash at the pharmacy on site>cash only and walk out w/ hundreds of Oxy's or whatever else they ask for! It scarres the crap out of me because you just know whats going to happen now! All of us who are real CP'ers are going to be treated just like the addicts & dealers! It's just a matter of time and the good clinics will be treated just like the bad ones! I have enough to worry about, now this! Sorry to whine and cry but Geeze, Ya know? Whats next? I urge everyone to Google NBC News w/ Brian Williams and go to tonights stories, you'll see it. Please watch it if you get a chance. I knew this would happen and I'm glad it did but I just know that the powers that be will go way too far like they always do and who will be hurt? Us as usual!!! I'm going back to bed now. I'll check back w/ all Y'all to see if you did your home work and watched the big news!

Hugz to my friends!

Pete

Sorry I can't be more specific, but the Florida Senate has approved a bill and in that bill it states the ability to close all stand alone pain clinics not related to hospitals and that the docs must have a fellowship in pain management, not only or just anesthesiology. I guess the bill is now in the house as it has passed the Senate.  This is very scary for us pain patients and is setting a horrible precedent.

Melissa

Pete,

This is very scary. I can't go there now. Life is calling.

My husband said he'd google it and see what he can get.

One protection that many of us have is our MRI's, ruptured discs, impinged
nerves, scolios, etc.

I do believe there are people who have pain who do not show any signs...
like Fibromyalgia. The doctors have said that I have that as one of my
problems. I don't have it. They're nuts. It's ok that they say it, it doesn't
get in the way of my diagnoses and treatment.

Pamela

Pete I knew this was coming when only last week I think it was I posted about the drug raids here in KY and you and I went back and forth and talked some of this on that thread.

I had heard everything you were saying about the newspapers and the cash only and no tracking system in FL. from the local news here after the 29 arrests here for bringing oxy-c and zanax etc. into Ky from Florida.

Seems these folks here were being backed by drug dealers and getting an all expense paid trip to Florida and even given the money and fake scans to take with them. They were recruiting dozens each month to make the drive and paying them as well as paying all expenses for their family to take a mini-vacation to Florida and all they had to do was go to a clinic get the meds and bring them back for these dealers.

I forget how many millions of dollars in street value that bust made. It was horrific and then I came on here the next day I think and see someone posting from Florida who cant get PM.

Sad to say it isnt just Florida as I know several folks or have met several more that go to border states such as Indiana,Ohio and tenn to obtain meds and bring them back. I think what they are doing is getting them from their regular Docs here at home and then going out to border state to obtain more and in the past without the tracking systems being nationwide they dont catch it.

Everytime in years past there has been a big blow-up over illegal obtaining of meds or unusually high numbers of ODs associated with the very meds that give us a semblence of life it is us that pays the piper for it. the legit Docs get scared,the pharmacies get more watchful,and the DEA is on a rampage and taking down Docs and clinics they shouldnt be even looking at on any other day.

Here we go again.

Pete , im in miami, and know all to well what u are talking about. It's down right scary!

White Beard, Search NBC News with Brian Williams, u will find a msmbc website, find the latest news, and scrolldown to find the story.

White Beard,
I think some of the reason we don't have this issue as much anymore in Illinois is because now there are state laws that mandate tracking controlled substances state-wide. I know 10 years ago when I was in school in "out in the cornfields of Illinois" there were plenty of pharmacies doing exactly that. In fact, I lost one roommate to a long-term rehab facility b/c she got caught up in that kind of a scheme after a broken arm, got addicted & ended up taking so many viocidin, zanex & oxy (all written by a doctor & filled by a licensed pharmacy -- though not in the proper way -- "her" doctor never saw her & the pharmacy filled ungodly quantities of these drugs for very long periods of time. ANY reasonable pharmacist ought to know that there is absolutely no medical reason for a patient to be prescribed 30 viodin a day + 10 zanex a day + 8-12 oxy's a day) that she could not even get out of bed to get dressed or eat or study or anything except to take her illegitimate prescriptions & to drive (how scary is that!) to the pharmacy each week to pick up more. When she would run out of a month's supply in 3 days, they'd just fill her with some more. It was absolutely insane. Thank goodness we got something right with tracking these meds. There are still a lot of problems to contend with (especially with pharmacies here in Chicago refusing to stock C2's b/c of how often they are stolen), but there is some progress being made.


Pete,
I so hope that they can get things turned around in FL. Perhaps you can write your congresspeople & ask them to better monitor these shifty organizations. You're right that someone ought to get on top of monitoring those doctors/pharmacies before people start over-generalizing & cutting off services to legitimate medical providers.

We had a doctor here in my town that was literally selling scheaduled prescriptions out of the back of his truck. Even one time my dad's friend went in to this doctor (before the dr got busted) for a problem that had nothng to do with pain, I beleive she was just ill with some virus, and he asked her if she needed anything for pain, and she told him that she wasnt in pain, and he kept asking her if she was sure she didnt need anything, and she got mad and never went back to him. I also was seeing one of these pill pushers, she was my first doctor I was seeing for chronic pain, and was too dumb to realize what she was doing, it wasnt til she started acting all fishy a few years later when I caught on, and she got in huge trouble, I'm even embarrassed to tell anyone she use to be my doctor because whenever I mention her name EVERYONE knew about her, everyone knew she was the one to go to for pain meds. I dont know why I didnt realize this earleir, but I was very new to the chronic pain scene and didnt know what a doctor was suppose to and not suppose to be doing, I'm just glad that I know way better know.

-hellokitty