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thinking about changing pain management doctor

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Posted 3/6/2015 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
hi all

had a visit tuesday with pm dr. i had an appt on 2/18 but due to the weather and i had a bad cold i rescheduled it to 3/3.

as i have posted before there has been issues with him from the get go. some of you were helpful in your responses and some made comments based on my not explaining myself very well. for the most part i appreciated all your input.

NOW i am seriously thinking about changing pm dr. i think this dr and i have come to a point where its not to my best interest to stay with him. he hasn't treated my husband since nov. just let him go cold turkey. thank goodness he was able to get thru it. hes in counceling and group for the next 8 weeks.

now to the point, tuesdays visit turned into him accusing me of not showing my meds in my pee test. it was the break thru pill not my patch. so i started to cry and then i got mad, here i am doing things right and hes treating me like a drug dealer, addict, coming to him for the wrong reasons etc. or giving my pills to hubby. not true hubby has a pee test every week and they are clean.

i was supposed to see him 2/18 but as i said weather and cold i redid. to 3/3. i only had 5 patches and 8 pills.
no wonder nothing showed up tues. i have had it. he has never gave me an exam, tests, etc. to see the level of pain and then treat accordingly.

my husband and i both are well educated, my work was in child abuse, and drug/alcohol abuse. i never have abused meds in my life. i never took any till i had my stroke 5 yrs ago. all i want is relief from the pain and have a life which i havent had in the 5 yrs since my stroke.

what do you all think? i am beside myself over this.
helpful comments appreciated.

linda
Posted 3/6/2015 7:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Linda,

I think you have answered your own question. Change doctors.

If you don't have a good working relationship with your doctor then your progress will be hindered. You and your doctor must have trust in each other. Once that has been compromised it is time to move on.

Hope you find someone who is a good fit for you and your family.
Posted 3/6/2015 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
If you have other options, I'd take them. If your doctor is affiliated with a hospital, call patient satisfaction or the patient advocate. If you have a medical ombudsman, contact them too. We must stand up for proper care! It's in the patients bill of rights!
Posted 3/7/2015 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
The Patients bill of rights are guidelines, not rules or laws governing pain or its treatment.
The doctor ultimately determines what treatments he or she will feel is best for the patient and their documented medical condition. They have to base their treatments and medication needs based on their best medical standards and guidelines and there are times that patients are going to disagree.
You always have the right to seek out another opinion or change doctors, but running out of meds and negative tests are not going to be tolerated by most doctors that treat pain.
PM is not like seeing your primary where he examines you at each visit. His job is to treat you for the condition you are seeing him for and unless there is a change in symptoms or increased, unexplained pain, examinations may not be part of a regular office visit.
Posted 3/7/2015 8:11 AM (GMT 0)
Are you referring to the previous u/a not having meds in it or a new one? You have had multiple issues with this Dr as well as your husbands issues with your PCP and pharmacy and I believe that Dr made some phone calls regarding him Dr shopping and accepting meds from several other Drs correct? I have to say here that you both have likely been flagged through the DEA and your states prescription monitoring program and that's causing you to get treated as you are. DRs get real snippy about the flagging and if they are prescribing for a previously flagged patient it draws closer attention of the Dea on them.

If I recall you live in a small rural area and as is travel some distance to see this Dr and even though there's the reason it's still yet another indicator they watch for,seeing out of area Dr. I believe you said to find another one you would have to travel even further but I am afraid if they have flagged you your going to have issues regardless of where you go and all your record's will certainly go with you so you have to determine if the traveling is going to be worth it or are you going to get any better treatment then you do now. Then again who knows you could get lucky enough to find one who takes into account all the reasons for failed testing and dismissals by other Drs and possibly even the flagging but you will have to be on your best behavior if that happens and make sure you have a clear understanding of the rules and policy and adhere closely to them no matter what.

Good luck!
Posted 3/7/2015 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
Not sure what the environment is like where you live concerning treatment with pain mgt drs, it seems to vary from state to state. Before advising your current PM dr that you are terminating his services I would make sure I have a PM dr on board. Otherwise you could end up with no PM dr. When scheduling an appt with this new one I would make sure they are aware its just a consult only because you could end up with a dr worse than what you have now.

Good luck.
Posted 3/7/2015 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
I totally agree with Vickie and Susie's statements: Be very careful how you handle this as the worse possible outcome would leave you without any PM doc at all. I also read your previous thread and you talked about problems already with docs and pharms, it poses the question if you have already been flagged.

Please make sure if you decide to leave your PM doc, that you have another one already to transfer over to.

I don't think you said what the outcome was of your appointment on 3/3, did you get your meds and do you have another monthly appointment - where are you with his care?

Hugs from Texas,

Pam
Posted 3/7/2015 10:43 PM (GMT 0)
It would be a good idea for you to get a copy of your medical records and read them. Depending on what they say, you may or may not be able to find another dr to manage your pain. You also need to be aware that another dr may not prescribe you the same meds and/or the same dosage that you're currently receiving. Do not take a rx from a new pain dr before you officialy inform your old pain dr that you're changing. That will only make things worse.
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