confidentiality

[BeyondScrewed]

I have a ROARING opiate addiction. I absolutely have come to the realization that I cannot do this on my own and that I need help. However I have some problems and concerns. First, my wife knows about my prescriptions but does not and cannot know about the rest. And for ny of u who say to just be honest and she will be supportive, no she will not. And I'm scared of her using it as ammo to take away my son. Also, the same applies for my doctor. If he found out what ive been doing he would cut me off. And at the level I'm at, that would be disasterous. So here is my real question.....I am trying to find a good psychiatrist (hoping I can find an addictionoligist) so I may possibly have someone that I can be honest with. Is the doctor patient confidentiality ABSOLUTE? would he/she be legally, morally, and/or ethically required or able to call my prescribing dr to tell him that I'm abusing my meds and taking xtras? Yes of course eventually I want them to be gone, but first I need to eliminate the xtras, then I can work on my own scripts. I'm so very scared, nervous, desperate and alone. I cant live like this anymore. Also where is a good place to find an addictionologist? Someone please help me.       :'-(

[vicki595]

If anyone is a good candidate for Suboxone, you are. I think you need to go in that direction with a medical doctor. Not all of them can prescribe it but I'm sure you can find one. Check the internet  in your area. I would seriously consider this and I think it's your answer.

[motye51]

I have to agree with you on that one vicki595.....this person is definatly a good candidate for suboxone!

[Lzmcintosh]

The best doctor like that who is an addictionologist/psychiatrist /pain management doctor in this entire COUNTRY is Dr. Howard Cohen, w Progressive Pain and Psych in Dallas, Texas. I know this is an old post and I hope that the person who initially wrote this has gotten off all the extra opiates or off period, but if not- and/ or there is another person facing this same issue he is the one to go see. He not only is an addiction specialist, he is a board certified pain management doctor. He is the most caring and lovable doc I ever have met with maybe two exceptions. I do not see him for addiction, I see him for pain management. However, I hear talk in the waiting room ( as we all have)  about other patients experiences and most definitely he is the one. I travel over 600 miles round trip every 90 days to see him and I love him. There is also the option to do subutex. It will get you off without the agony of withdrawals-I worked for a treatment center and learned this first hand. I surely do hope this helps.

[Badgirltiffany]

Someone tryed to sell me lyrica 25 mg what is this

[pitbullmom]

ps the subs r also used for pain management i too hav alot of ligit pain and it makes it  ease up too u also dont hav to keep taking more bcuz of the ceiling effect  u cant go past a certain point so u dont run out  im not even temped to abuse my sub iv been on it 2 months and im not mmentally ready to come off it yet but when i am my dr has my back.

[pitbullmom]

i would look into sub  it changed my lijfe i see an addiction specialist and i was also worried bout w/d he said he would taper me so low that it wouldnt b bad. and for the most part i trust him . sub has changed my life u get a sense of well being im not angry and snapping all the time as for ur wife i get it my ex left me cuz of pills i wish i never would of told him. so thats ur choice  but i would look into it ur on heavy meds and its changing ur personality slowly where u dont notice until ur off of them if u google suboxone u'll get a list of providers

[BeyondScrewed]

Hello again vicki. Unfortunately I'm not doin ny better since the last time u put a comment on one of my posts. However today was the day I was waiting for. I got MY script refilled. You see it is very hard for me to stick to any kind of schedule (well its hard period) but especially when I'm keeping myself just out of full blown w/d with whatever comes my way.
So tommorow is d-day. My goal for now is to simply take my script, and only my script, and take it the proper way. If I can accomplish that it will be a huge success for me (as terribly sad as that may be). If I cannot even do that, well then, I suppose it will be finally time for me to move over and let a professional take it from here. Ill keep u posted. Ill probably need all of the help I can get tommorow. Especially 1st thing in the morning

[BeyondScrewed]

Hello again vicki. Unfortunately I'm not doin ny better since the last time u put a comment on one of my posts. However today was the day I was waiting for. I got MY script refilled. You see it is very hard for me to stick to any kind of schedule (well its hard period) but especially when I'm keeping myself just out of full blown w/d with whatever comes my way.
So tommorow is d-day. My goal for now is to simply take my script, and only my script, and take it the proper way. If I can accomplish that it will be a huge success for me (as terribly sad as that may be). If I cannot even do that, well then, I suppose it will be finally time for me to move over and let a professional take it from here. Ill keep u posted. Ill probably need all of the help I can get tommorow. Especially 1st thing in the morning

[Clong45]

I have to agree with Kyle505 on this one.  You are at the ceiling of opiate addiction and need to seek professional help as soon as possible.  I've been where you are.   I was hooked on oxys and herion for over 5 years.  Let me tell you it was hell.  I totally think you need to put your health first and worry about the other stuff when you get in better shape.  Suboxone can be good if used correcly but I have had a horrible experience with them.  I've been on a 8-16mg dose for two years and got off them twice cold turkey and it's just as bad if not worse than quitting oxys.  I hate suboxone!  it's just replacing another drug for another.  But that is my experience with subs.  Switching to those will for sure save you some money if you like them.  From what you said you are doing extra, that's got to be getting expensive if you are paying street value.  

Wish you the best!

[ImDONENoMore]

beyond you are NEVER going to take those meds as prescribed or be able to wean on your own.  You know that.  It's time to get REAL and that means talking to your Dr. and/or finding a NEW Dr. and weaning off with some real help.  You keep telling us all the things you can't do.  Well I'm here to tell you you HAVE to do certain things to get clean.  And the first thing you have to do is get honest with yourself and your wife.  I'm sorry if this is harsh, but seriously, you think you're going to wean on your own now?  You won't be able to do that without real help.  I speak from experience.

[vicki595]

Legally, doctors can't share info without your permission. But, do they? Yes. All the time. They're human but that's no excuse!

Whomever you find, just talk about it specifically and get their word of silence.I think most doctors are ethical. If they don't know each other that would help.

[Elmijack15]

Ask when you get there, before you sign any papers, you can say you were taking them all before your next script was due without getting into specifics of how you got more and you realized it's a problem and you want to stop. If they say yes, they have to report it,  then don't sign or give them any info and leave. I don't believe I ever gave my prinarys doctors name to my psychiatrist.

[BeyondScrewed]

But, can anybody answer my original question? If I go talk to a shrink, and I am completely honest, can he/she tell my primary doc?

[kellygirll]

you have to sign a consent form for your psych md to talk to your script md

[BeyondScrewed]

I don't want to b on meds the rest of my life. But I have legitamate back pain also with a very physically demanding job.

Well anyway, today was script day. I have my bottle of roxis in my hand and 2 xtra left over with the plan that come tommorow morning I'm gonna replace my patch and if I cant take my pills correctly, then I suppose it may very well be off to the sub doctor

[Elmijack15]

Welcome I agree with Vicki, I think you would be a good candidate for suboxone, the best doctors for those are psychiatrist who specialize in addiction so they can also help you with your issues behind the addiction. With the years and amounts you're taking, I think this will work for you. Take things into perspective, there are plenty of people who take suboxone or have taken it and are doing fine, they're just not on any forums talking about how good they feel. Best of luck to you and on a side note my psychiatrist never reported anything to my other doctors.

[BeyondScrewed]

I don't even know how I got here. Its just plain freakin ridiculous. I cud literally swallow 6-7 30mg roxis at once, goto work using power tools and it wudnt even phase me ;-(
I have seriously considered suboxone but ive heard such horror stories and so many regrets. I need help. I appreciate you all very much and I value ur opinion, but please believe me when I tell u that my dr is good for 1 thing only. His signature. I will get no help nor compassion from him. I need to find someone else to help me

[kyle505]

Wow...You are definitely at the high end of the addiction scale. A lot of folks here have detoxed on their own from some pretty heavy duty stuff, but your situation, in my opinion, definitely calls for some professional help, if solely for the possible health repercussions.
Hopefully someone will be along with some suggestions; accepting the fact that you need to stop is a very important first step. We will be here to support and assist however we can during your recovery. Keep posting.

[Ballgame]

From my experience nothing gets done when you have pills to fall back on. If you really want to do this then you should ask your dr to the process of getting off. Because that's the person you should be telling. Don't have to say how many you take but just more that it might be time to get off.  Talking to the other guy while still getting scripts isn't addressing the issue. Once I started taking extra I couldnt go back to taking the regular amount.
It's physical. Your brain has built extra receptors by taking more pills. If go back to regular amount those extra receptors won't have enough and that's WD. Could always taper down to regular but you stated you need help.
I know that's not what you are asking but with this type of addiction can't do it half way. For me I couldn't taper or go CT when I had pills. Once the WD start it's brutal.
I certainly understand why you feel this way.  Good luck and keep posting. There are some good people here.

[BeyondScrewed]

Well....7 year addiction. I am 5 months clean from a 6-8 mg a day xanax addiction!!!! But with the opiates I'm so outta control. Script is for a 50mcg fentanyl patch and 90mg of oxy
But ii usually do about an xtra 120 oxy on top of that. At the worst it was script + 250-300 xtra oxy (totalling 50mcg fent +400 oxy per day) + the xanac + 90mg cymbalta + 1.5 grams lyrica

[kyle505]

What are you taking, how much daily and for how long have you been using?

[BeyondScrewed]

Notrust me, my doc wud be pissed and tell me not to come back. I need to know if I see a psych, are they allowed to tell my doc?

[On2better]

Hi and welcome. You have a lot of support here. I know you are scared of telling your doc, but usually docs are willing to help their patients taper and will write scripts to alleviate withdrawals. And he cannot tell your wife anything you don't want him to share. It's a violation of confidentiality laws (at least it is in the US, not sure where you're posting from). Good luck to you and know you have support here.

[Vecci4u]

Hi beyond . Welcome and I can defenetly rate to where your at, I couldn't dare let my wife know and fear of my doctor cutting me.

There is no doubt when you sign all those forms for treatment your giving consent for your information to be shared for insurance , medical treatment etc.

But I don't think anyone would do something like that If you were seeking treatment unless they thaught you were probably going to do something imminent to yourself, even then they would probably work with you. My only problem was I was getting sleep meds from my psychiatrist and regular doctor at the same time. Somehow my psychiatrist found out and she wouldn't refill. It was odd so I'm not sure if pharmacy said something, she counted her times she refilled.... But something triggered it. I had a regular routine checkup with her scheduled which they called and left message to confirm, but I never went.... The humiliation would of sucked, but she must not have contacted my other doc,... As I don't see anything cancelled