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Posted 3/15/2015 6:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all,
Been lurking for a while... Decided to finally sign up.

Been dealing with cervical pain for about 8 years . It's been progressively been getting worse. Original diagnosis was moderate stenosis with my most recent MRI it's now being called severe.

And to top it off I lost my insurance so I am now a cash patient.

My regular PM doctor would not work out a decent cash price. ( quoted me $300 visit. )

Found a general practitioner $90 visit who agreed to take me on. But for some reason he does not prescribe Oxycodone. So get this he writes me 150ct 10/325 norco month and 90 Neurontin.

I have to take it.... no other options so hard to get into PM docs these days and then trying to find a cheap one on top of it....
Posted 3/15/2015 7:11 AM (GMT 0)
Well glad you decided to join us and sorry to hear of your ongoing spinal issues and your loss of coverage. I have encountered several PM Docs in the last few years that refuse cash patients and will only take you on if you have insurance so its possible they quote those type of fees to discourage cash patients. There is a higher incidence of abusers who don't have insurance or don't want to use it since it adds another level of monitoring them so Drs especially here in Florida wont take cash pay at all. Imagine it stems from the upper states coming down using the pill mills and certainly couldn't use their KY medical card. Makes it hard on the real patients.

Have you looked into paying out of pocket for some type of coverage? I know that they are expensive but so is medical and hospital care and if you were paying for oxy out of pocket you could probably pay insurance coverage!!

Do you qualify for medicaid or Obama care? There's still not really good alternatives for PM in most states on those programs but at least a GP would be covered. If those cervical issues have progressed to severe at some point you may need surgical intervention to control the pain. Are there any procedures you have tried such as injections,therapy,other than meds that have given you any relief?

Weekends tend to be slow but others will be trickling back in later today to welcome you and give you their own advice and idea's and we have some really knowledgeable folks here who are awesome at insurance,Medicaid services and other options.
Posted 3/15/2015 8:03 AM (GMT 0)
I have done trigger point injections , Epidural injections, and I even tried botox injections to help with headaches it was giving me.

At this point the best combination I have had was oxycodone and neurontin.

So I am settling on Hydro and nerontin. I am prescribed 5 per day . Right now I split them in half and spead them Out during the day, the last one I take at bed.

I know the 10/325 Norco is not the best for continuous pain control but if I spread it out it keeps it at bay. If I wait till it gets bad it is hard to catch up to it.

I've been checking out Obama Care, the plan I was paying for out of pocket is like three fold. I do not qualify for Medicade. Only 39 and trying to keep surgery out of the picture, but I know one day it will have to happen .
Posted 3/15/2015 10:29 AM (GMT 0)
sending many healing thoughts. welcome.
Posted 3/15/2015 12:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Glashutte.Welcome aboard.I can't imagine going through this without Insurance.God Bless You.

My PMD charges $125(cash).I've overheard some discussions.They hold prescriptions until Balances are paid.

Most PCP only write Norco.I guess they still feel it looks better on them.

I hope you find a way back to Pain Management.Until then I wish you low-pain.

Take care.

Rick
Posted 3/15/2015 2:46 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the forum.

I'm surprised a PCP would write for 5 Norco a day, especially at the highest dose. My PM only lets me have 2 at 7.5 plus a little tramadol for central cord syndrome (broke my neck, 6 vertebrae). I get nerve ablations, but was told recently no more for a long time. I bite my Norco in half to get it spread enough to partially cover the day, nothing at night, so I am up changing sleeping places a lot.

Neurontin didn't do anything positive for my nerve pain from pinched nerves. Just side effects. Frankly, Norco doesn't do much either. Tramadol keeps me happy - raises serotonin, but watch for serotonin syndrome!

Sure hope you find a way to get insurance. If you need anything more than what you're getting it will cost more out of pocket than insurance. At least get a couple of those free cards to help with meds.
Posted 3/15/2015 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
If you have severe canal stenosis, and you don't have surgery or delay it too long, you risk permanent problems.
Instead of trying to mask the pain and neuro symptoms, your best option would be to consult with a surgeon or two.
Posted 3/15/2015 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hello & welcome to the forum. So sorry to read what you are dealing with & the loss of insurance did not help your situation at all.

Now a days most GP's will not see a CP patient long term because of the DEA watching things. We see it all the time now where a person was treated for years by their GP & one day they walk in for their appt & the GP says, sorry but I can no longer see you for your chronic pain. You did not mention what your dosage is for the Gabapentin, but if you are on a low dose you may not get much relief for the nerve pain.

Every pain mgt dr I have seen has several signs up in the waiting area in bold letters, we do not see cash paying patients. The reason is what Vickie stated above.

I hope you can find some type of insurance coverage.
Posted 3/15/2015 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

I have fibromyalgia and haven't had insurance for a few years now. I too see my GP, I've seen him for years with and now without insurance. He gives me norco, tramadol, neurontin, cymbalta and something to help me sleep.

I see him once every 3 months at $150 and a nurse for the visits in between at $50. I thing it's awful to pay $50 just for the norco script but gotta do what ya gotta do!!

Just wanted you to know you're not the only one without insurance. Healing thoughts!! Hope everyone is having a pain free day!!
Posted 3/15/2015 11:32 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the board! I'm a chronic nerve pain person--just in my leg, thankfully.

I took gabepentine until I maxed out on the highest dose and got switched to Lyrica. *sigh* And I've maxed out on it as well, so it'll mean going back to look at the "what next".
It's tough enough to do the physical and emotional battle--I can't imagine doing it without insurance.

It's good you've found a doctor who's able to take you. Hopefully it'll work in the long run. Hang in there....and again, welcome!
Posted 3/16/2015 12:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Glashutte,

Welcome to the HW Chronic Pain forum. I am sorry to hear of your pain and issues with insurance. I can just imagine how disheartening it would be to be without any type of insurance coverage! Do you have any intentions of just trying to buy some sort of insurance? Have you tried to purchase the Obamacare coverage? I know they have tiers of coverage but I am not familiar with what they offer.

As mentioned by Mrsm123, I would not wait too long to get something done for the severe stenosis. Sometimes if left untreated, you can have unwanted permanent problems.

I hope you are able to get something for coverage and that your pain gets under control.

Hugs from Texas,

Pam
Posted 3/16/2015 5:26 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks all ,

I was using a local Mom and Pop pharmacy when Norco went to schedule II. Since then the supply has been hit or miss. Another local pharmacy wouldn't even take my script unless I used insurance.

In California we have a state prescription database and some smaller pharmacies are requesting a copy of my report. I had to have my doctor run it and fax it over.

I made the mistake of going to Walgreens once cause my regular pharmacy didn't have stock. I was amazed at the level of contempt they had for me.
Posted 3/16/2015 8:41 AM (GMT 0)
First let me say that those of you stuck with a GP treating you are not being treated appropriately so it's not a great fix. His hands are tied as to what he can do for you in most cases,some stick their necks out and do more than they should until they draw the attention of those everwatchful eyes. Most of you are being treated for CP with a acute med and there lays most of the problem and why its substandard care for a CPer. He can offer you no other modality to fill in the gaps that meds alone,especially only a med designed to cover no more than 4 hours from start to peak to finished. So it's a shame that the system has to work as it does and that they don't realize the potential long term cost of doing things this way.

Second folks who have no insurance coverage to pay for Drs are not going to be able to pay for a surgeon or a hospital and procedure therefore going that route is certainly not an option here.

I too had a nightmare with Walgreen's after years and years of using the same one they initiated that new policy and I nolonger fit the criteria for a person who needed my meds but one who throw a red flag because of my out of state id,passing two other pharmacies from my house to Dr to that Walgreen?? Didn't matter those pharmacies don't carry that med. I now use a local pharmacy.

I certainly hope you can get some type of coverage but since most states structure their Obama care to their Medicaid and most Medicaid won't pay for PM and some have such strict limits on what meds they cover for how long so you will have coverage with some better options than now but still be restricted to what they offer.
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