Drug Testing For Pain Killers - Anyone Know?

Hello,

You know when the doctor is giving you pain killers for your Fibro; they make you sign a contract. Well, it says it is to test you to make sure your taking your medications properly and not giving they away or something. I understand why, but I'm wondering if any one knows exactly what they test you for? Just the killers or over the counter drugs, too, etc.

Thank you for your help.

Post Edited By Moderator (Sherrine) : 3/17/2012 6:26:45 AM (GMT-6)

Dear Valentine

At my pain doc's office, we are subject to a 5-panel urine test. This will show whether we are taking our meds and if we are using illicit or unprescribed drugs. The categories, I think, are opiates, meth, cannabis, barbituates and benzodiazepines. If you are taking your meds as prescribed, you have no worries.

Take care
Maggie

It would help to know which country Valentine is in - hope we don't have to start signing contracts in Canada!!

I have signed a contract with my doctor's office also. I think in a way it is a good thing because it stops people from selling their meds. Though they have never did a test on me. At least not yet. I am going to try something new to me called Butrans. It is a mild opiate pain patch. I read on some forums though that it doesnt last as long s it shoule. It is suppose to be good for a week. I have to get priorauthorization from my doctor for my insurance to pay for it, so I wont be starting it until next week. I will let you all know how it works. I am kind of scared to use it. Has anybody else heard about this?

Maybe I should post about it...

Hugs, Karen

Ok, color me stupid, but why do you need to sign a contract? I mean if you are not going in early to get refills or 'losing' your medications and always needing a replacement RX, what is a contract going to prove and just WHO is going to pay for that extra drug testing?

This just seems like further red tape that someone that is already sick is having to jump through hoops to get help. If we were well enough and smart enough to sell drugs on the street, we would not be having to go back to a 'legit' place to obtain the drugs from in the first place.

As it is now, I have to call and request an RX for hubby's pain meds and then take it to the pharmacy and have them compound it which takes about 3 or 4 days times total. I have to jump through this hoop 2x a month. Many times, I have to delay going to pick up the script or the filled script because I am not feeling well in the 1st place to be driving and getting out and walking so much. (this is not even considering that I have to work around them being closed on the weekends and then someone is scared because the RX doesn't need to be filled until MOnday and today is only Thursday.........um, hello??? the pharmacy requires 2 days to even make the syrup up.)

If Medicare only pays for a dr visit every 6 months to test your liver enzymes and other blood work, then who is going to pay for the dr visit to see if you are doing your pain pills correctly? Or are they going to allow 6 months to go by with you miss using the pills? Strange. This sounds like another wonderful thing on paper yet it is insane to pay for.

I have been on Vicodin and alsoTramadol (not at the same time) and these were given by my Internist and my Rheumatologist.  I have never had to sign anything.  I think if you are dealing with a pain doctor, they do that.  Your regular doctor who really knows you, most likely wouldn't have you sign anything.

 

Sherrine

I live in Oregon and if you go to a pain clinic they will require a contract but the individual doctors are allowed to use their discretion. My doctor considered having me sign a contract. I take vicodin 1/2 of a 5mg pill every 6-8 hours as needed. Because I work full time I usually am taking the pain pills daily, but only about 1 1/2 to 2 pills a day. At first my dr. was prescribing 30 at a time so I needed to fill it twice a month.

One time my dr. refused the refill. I had an appointment anyway to discuss some side effects that I was having and which of my meds might be causing it. During that time I told him how much and how often I was taking the vicodin. I then mentioned that his office hadn't approved my last refill request. He left the exam room for a bit, I assume to look over my refill record. He came back and told me that he'd been thinking of having me sign a contract but that he wasn't concerned with how many I was taking, so he decided not to go that route.

As mentioned...the laws are different in each state as you can tell just by the responses on this thread as some have contracts and some do not.

Over the next years..it will move to this being required in all states.

For those who asked about when you take meds "as needed"....IF you have a contract with this Dr. and they do random urine tests....than yes...it's pretty easy to just keep track of your meds each day of when you take them.

So if you go in and they test you, you have the exact amount of what you have taken and when so that it will match the test.

Valentine, as I wrote before, the basic urine dip stick test only has a yes/no for certain medicines in your system.

But the sophisticated one that I wrote about tells the absolute exact level and can tell the amount in your system to determine if someone has taken anything extra than supposed to, or not taking them as prescribed....Again...if it's on the as needed basis....it just needs to match up with what someone says they took in the last few days.

Mrskkmpsky...you asked "why sign a contract"? It is for the patient to sign that they recognize the stipulations of being prescribed narcotics and that they agree to random drug screeening, going to one Pharmacy, and pill counts. And if they are found to be non compliant, that the Dr. will release you from their practice.

There really isn't any "hoops" to jump through as all of us who use our medication the way it's prescribed....have nothing to worry about....It is no trouble to bring in my pill bottles for my appt. or get tested once a year.

As I said...most Drs. are very happy about these regulations as am I because it helps weed out those who are abusing the system. The more we can do that....the more time Drs. have to spend on real patients.

The other "hoops" you mention are using a specific Pharmacy you have chosen to compound your husband's meds....This has nothing to do with laws or regulations....it's just a fact that compounded medication takes time and has to be done as requested....not prepared ahead of time. So obviously this isn't as easy to fill as it is counting pills from a bottle for the Pharmacist.

So I would consider that a completely separate issue from the laws trying to crackdown on addicts and abusers.