Dr reducing pain meds~I have fear of withdrawals

The only reformulation that I know of that has taken place is for Oxycontin. They changed the part about how it becomes inactive if crushed/broken. Some people have noticed that it doesn't seem as effective but others have great success with it and don't notice any difference.

MSContin, Opana, Methadone, or other long acting meds I don't think have changed their patent.

Everyone is different in how they react to medication. So there really is no such thing as a bad or good med or one that works or doesn't work for everyone.

It's all relative, and if it is not working for you, you need to speak with your Dr. and find something else that does. As many of us wrote to you in your other thread....it may have nothing to do with the MSContin not working but that your pain issues have changed or gotten worse over the two years you weren't taking it. This is why we recommended getting new tests done.

As well as the importance of being on a nerve pain medication as two of your issues are mostly nerve related. The TOS and Carpal Tunnel, as well as your lower back issues may be the same.

And then we talked about changing around your muscle relaxer as well.

Relying solely on an opiate to cut your pain levels down is not something that any Dr. will want their patient doing. It's all about a comprehensive approach.

I really think that we (as I have contributed to this as well) need to be fair to WJ and are going off topic from his original post. Again..I am guilty of this myself so I am sorry about this...

If you have a follow up question or thought about your own pain issues CaveJohnson...starting a new thread is the way to go to get better help.

Post Edited (Snowbunny21) : 9/7/2012 2:29:46 PM (GMT-6)

Ian down to one 10 mg. OxyContin for the next threee days, then done with everything. I had a terrible night last night but I do feel somewhat better tonight. I will have the last pill on Monday. I think I can make it but keep me in your thoughts.
Worried Jim

It does seem like a quikc withdrawl, but if you can ask your doctor for clonodine until you can see a PM doctor. It is not a miralce worker but it will help with the symptoms.

I used to take oxycodone and I asked to try something new a few months ago, I was switched to the butran patch but I did have about four days of hell before I got the patch.

Good Luck

 

Just FYI so that we can all learn and share information without going too far off of topic.

The actual law is called HIPAA. (Two As and not two Ps but this is a common mistake as people think Hippo:))

It stands for the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act.

As patients, we authorize our insurance company, our Drs. and our Pharmacist to be privvy to our health care. A Pharmacist may not know all the details to your care (unless you share this with them), but he/she is absolutely authorized to monitor and speak with your insurance company and the prescribing Dr. about your prescriptions.

And with specific regards to opiates or other controlled substances, there are now 42 states (one just added) that actively participate now in the Prescription Monitoring Program which automatically tracks you by name anywhere in the state when you fill, or try to fill a controlled substance. There are actually 49 states and one territory that have legalislation authorizing the creation and the operation of a PMP. This is just an easy way to weed out those who are Dr. shopping or going to ERs to get multiple prescriptions of opiates.

The DEA and the state are allowed to access this information as well in regards to your controlled substances prescriptions because that is the true meaning of the word "controlled" substances. It means a drug or chemical substance whose possession and use is controlled by law. They monitor the Pharmacies/Pharmacists and the Drs. who prescribe them. That is why a Dr. has a DEA license number for prescribing as this is how they are monitored with their prescribing.

So, in any state, the Pharmacist has the right to contact your insurance company to ask questions or notify your Dr. if they have concerns about a patient that is filling their prescriptions early or where an ER Dr. can do the same thing if they check the PMP and see a prescription was just filled and to clarify with one's Dr.

The only thing I do not know is all different insurance company rules as I can't see where the insurance company is saying you can't pay by cash but I can see where a Pharmacist would have questions with this or contact them or your Dr. if someone is trying to fill too early.

Post Edited (Snowbunny21) : 9/9/2012 4:44:08 PM (GMT-6)

We can agree to disagree CJ...From everything my PM has told me, every PM Dr. in all the 42 states that use the PMP use it all the time as I mentioned previously, it's their license and livelihood on the line.

So they get a print out every 3, 6, and 12 months for most people and more for others of concern. This way they can stay on top of possible issues and weed them out quickly. The Pharmacist and ER in all these states use the PMP every time they are about to fill a controlled substance...It quickly runs through the program and makes sure that you haven't tried to fill the same prescription someplace else.

We have a difference of agreement of this so no big deal. Just stating things for people to be aware of.

The majority of Drs. are PM Drs. who use this...So the count of 1800 of them I would bet includes every PM Dr. in the state of Mass. as that is a speciality, and that number also includes the ERs Drs. as well as I know they use the system.

The 50,000 number would be literally every single MD in Mass. but those who do not prescribe opiates really don't have a need to sign up to use it so you will never see a 100% ratio for this.

So...my point was that most every PM that has this available in their state has signed up to use it because they are the ones who's license and reputation are on the line prescribing opiates as well as just the care of their patients.

I truly don't want to keep going round and round as I'm not trying to argue here.

No one on these boards really has to worry about any of this since we take our meds as prescribed, we don't Dr. shop, we don't buy/sell meds, etc.

Post Edited (Snowbunny21) : 9/10/2012 8:15:28 AM (GMT-6)

I truly would ask that you start your own thread about this so you can get other opinions/thoughts as we have been bordering on hijacking this thread even though we have been trying to provide information. But now that it is up to 2 pages...I really think that if you really want to have a discussion on your worries about this, starting a thread is a good choice:)