Went in to PM today

[JadedSweetheart]

I am just reeling at this bizarre situation.  I have been trying to call my doctor's office since last Thursday and have been getting the voicemail.  I decided to go in, as I had my brain MRI/MRA to give them as well.  
I walked into the office and there were no patients and only one of the pharmacists there.  I noticed that they had a MapQuest print out of another doctor's office about 45 mins south.  Right off the bat he said "If you're here to see the doctor, he's not seeing any patients this week.  I'm not sure when he'll be seeing patients again".  I said "Well, I'm not here for an appt, and explained the problem with the dilaudid not working, etc"  
He said "Well he's not here so he can't prescribe anything".  I told him I just needed an earlier appt and he said "Oh, we can never do an early appt anyway".  
I told him that I didn't really understand this as I was under the impression that as a patient, he should be following my care and that at the previous practice I went to, if a medication wasn't working, they made an appt and I talked to the doctor about it.
I then explained that I'm a patient in good standing, that this problem is a result of the price of my previous medication going up, that I turned in the endocet to be destroyed, I don't see why an appt should be a problem.
He said "They destroyed it?  Did they give you a refund?"  I was like "I believe they destroyed it.  I don't know what they did with it.  If you still have it, I'd rather have it back.  He said "Well then you'd have to turn in the dilaudid."  I happily got it out of my purse and said "Take it, I'd rather have the endocet".
Then he was like "Well, I couldn't give you the entire amount because that would be like having two prescriptions, etc."  I said "That's fine, if I could just have the amount that I would have had at this point, etc."
He said he'd have to take my name, talk to the doctor or whomever about it and call me back.  
So then I asked if the doctor was being shut down. He said he was not.  I asked if he was on vacation.  He said he was not, that he was just not seeing patients right now and that's all he could tell me.
I was just in shock at the weirdness of that situation.  I came home and immediately did a google search to see if the doctor is under investigation.  He's not currently that I can find, but I did find some sketchy info about him doing a google search.  
I don't know what to do now.  I had a terrible migraine last night that has been coming back off and on today.  I am going to call this other office and see if they see pregnant patients.  This is so absolutely bizarre.  I'm going to ask the OBGYN about a Maternal/Fetal Medicine specialist tomorrow.  I was planning on doing that anyway, but now the situation is a lot more urgent.
I just wanted to see if anyone here had any advice or thoughts on this situation.
Thanks.

[flower12345]

I'm so happy that you're both doing well!!! That's wonderful!

Hugs

Flower

[melissaky]

I am so glad you and the baby are alright .Thank god you finally found a good Dr and have a great ob/gyn .Now you can relax and focus on you and the baby .I am so happy for you Bree .It is so nice to hear good news .

Take care
Melissa

[namnam46]

YAY!  Even MORE Good News for you!!

I'm so Happy to get that news as will EVERYONE on here. As you know we've ALL been Praying for you that this crisis WOULDN'T cause you and your Sweet Baby Girl ANY lasting problems and it HASN'T!!!!

Thank you for letting us know!!!!........Mama Sherry

[JadedSweetheart]

Thank you!  I had a good appt with the OB today.  I saw a different doctor than I've seen before (as is usually the case).  The one was really good, though, and we talked about the meds, my neck, the aneurysms, and my new doctor.  
I felt like he, at least, was on the same page with me about the meds and the conditions.  
He did an exam and everything is good with the baby.  No signs of early labor.  I was really worried about that.  Now my big goal is to chill out and de-stress for a while.
Just wanted to let everyone know how it went.  Hopefully my life will be much less eventful, at least medically, for a while!

[dontundertand]

Yeay! I'm SO very happy for you! not only do you no longer need to worry about finding a doctor, but also you do't have the added stress of extra, uncontrolled pain!

CONGRARS!

[JadedSweetheart]

Thank you, everyone!  I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people thinking of and praying for me and the baby.
We have the high-risk OB appt today, so that will be long, but I am hoping they will do an exam (don't usually hope for those) to make sure that I haven't dialated or anything with all the stress I've been under.  I'm also going to have an honest chat with the doctor regarding my treatment plan and everything.  
It usually takes about 4 hours to get in and out of there, so I will let you all know how it went this evening.  
Also, now that I'm feeling better I'm going to try to get up the new ultrasound pictures.  We got one 3D one of her face at the end.  I've just been feeling so lousy that doing everything to put them on the computer has seemed like climbing a hill.  I can finally do it though, hopefully I will have time and feel up to it later.
I'm also going  to update my journal lately with the news about the new doctor, etc.
I appreciate everyone's support.  You are the best and most caring group of people.

[melissaky]

Oh Bree I am so happy for you ! Thank god you have found a good Dr to help you get through this .Now ,you can relax and enjoy your pregnancy like you should . I know this has been a huge load taken off your shoulders .

Take care
Melissa

[flower12345]

YAY!!!!!!!! I'm SO happy for you. It really was a blessing in disguise. Thank God that you have pain relief. Now you can focus on your new baby. What a joy!

Hugs,

Flower

[mellie4]

This is great news all around!!!  I am so happy for you that you found a good doctor who isn't afraid to treat you because you're pregnant.    Now you'll have much less stress for you and that beautiful baby!

[sandee1818]

I am thrilled you have found a great Doctor finally! I have been praying for you and was so worried about you running out of medications and risking harm to the baby.
If the Doctor was arrested then you will not be able to get your files as they will become part of evidence. I have been following the ones that closed in Jacksonville and I seen then records were all seized. I would see if your new Doctor can get them for you. Did you sign a release today for your files?
If not you can do it by fax and see if they can get a copy.
Again I am so happy for you:)

[KittyKat23_78]

I am so happy that you found a doctor that cares and will listen to you and your needs. This is great news! Contgrats! Take care of yourself and your little one! It's so wonderful that you can focus on other things now and not worry about your pain management so much anymore. This is wonderful news. Thank you for sharing your story with us!!

[JadedSweetheart]

Thank you all!  I know you all know how relieved and just very grateful that I found not only a doctor, but a GOOD doctor.  It really turned out to be a blessing in disguise that the old doctor is shut down (or whatever happened there).
I told the new doctor my reason for finding him, in that my old doctor was "mysteriously MIA" and he immediately said "He got arrested."  I looked at him in surprise and he said "Well, I hate to speak about another colleague like that, but it sounds like he got arrested.  That's been happening a lot around the State."
I am thinking I need to go get my files from that office in case it closes, or at least make sure they're transferred correctly to the new doctor.  It would also give me a chance to snoop and find out what's going on there.  I know it's not the staff's fault, so I'm not angry at them.   I'm not really angry at anyone anymore, since it turned out better for me.  I am just very annoyed that this doctor would leave me hanging like that.  He had to know something was going to happen and didn't tell anyone.  
He also told me there were other pregnant women that he was seeing, so I may leave the name of my doctor in case the other women have trouble finding one.  Maybe that would be giving a little too much information about myself, but I hate to think that there are other ladies going through what I went through.
Thank you all again for the prayers and well-wishes.  This forum and the members have helped my strength and sanity so much in the past few weeks.  

[Tuckamore]

Although I haven't posted I have followed your thread closely. I want you to know that you've been in my thoughts and prayers.

I couldn't help but respond tonight with a Congrats. I am so relieved that you have found a reputable, understanding and Caring PMP. This is just WONDERFUL News!! I am so very happy for you.

You, and especially your precious baby deserve the very best. I'll be thinking of you and hoping for continued great relationship with your PMP.

Gentle Happy ((HUGS)),
~Tuck

[geminigirl1963]

I'm so very happy to hear this wonderful news!!  I know how hard it can be to find a good, caring doctor and with being pregnant, that was even worse for you.  It is a shame that his office IS so far away, but as you said, it was well worth the trip to find a doctor who is not only willing to treat you, but your baby as well.  It definitely sounds like he did his research while you were there and made the same determiniation that the geneticists had told you about stopping the pain meds being more harm to the baby than taking them.

Again, I'm so glad for you to have found this doctor and hopefully now you'll be able to relax and ENJOY the rest of our pregnancy!

[optimus22mac]

Amazing news!! Wow...I am so happy for you.  It was a blessing in disguise...the fact that your other doctor ended up "disappearing"! If that wouldn't have happened....you know? This is very good news, and now you'll be with the right doctor for you-- now, and after the baby is born.  I know you know how lucky you are...your guardian angel has been very busy!
So so happy for you:)
Love, Alison

[namnam46]

I can't tell you how VERY THRILLED I am for you!!!

SEE Prayers DO work!!!!!  Oh, My Dear, This has made my day.  You  know how concerned I've been for you and Your Beautiful Baby Girl!!!


You see, EVERYTHING happens for a REASON!!!!  You were MEANT to find this Doctor.  He is EXACTLY what you and your Sweet Baby need.  I bet that while he was gone he called and checked with your OB.  I'm SOOOO Proud of you.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!........Mama Sherry

PS We NEEDED some GOOD news today!  I'm going to text Karen as this WILL make her feel much better to know that YOU  are taken care of!!!

[JadedSweetheart]

I went to a new PM today.  We picked the most reputable looking one from the ads we had and made an appt.  We didn't ask if they saw pregnant women, we just figured we'd go in, lay out the facts, and go from there.  It was a risk because we had to drive 2 hours (to Kissimee) to get there, and we didn't know what he would do, but it seemed like a good idea because they do more than PM, including an Urgent Care center and hormone replacement, stuff like that.  
I filled out the information honestly regarding being pregnant and I was going to wait until the doctor brought it up as I was just SO nervous.  I was afraid of what he might not do, but I noticed on the paperwork that they have a thing in the contract, basically a waver, that says while opiate therapy has not shown serious risks in pregnancy, it may pose some and the patient acknowledges the risks, etc.  
We got through most of the appt and I genuinely liked the doctor, he does a mix of homeopathic or natural vitamin supplements, etc, but he didn't say anything about the pregnancy so I was a little worried.  Then he asked me, since I'm childbearing age, what I'm doing for birth control.  I froze for a second but I knew I needed to tell the truth and honesty is ALWAYS the best policy.  I told him "Well, I don't need BC because I'm pregnant, I wrote it in the information."  (Now we know how much they actually read in the paperwork that took me 45 mins to fill out!)
He was like "Does  your OB know you take pain meds?"  I told him that she does.  He said "Oh, okay that changes some things, I have to go look up the meds and make sure they're safe" and left the office.  I was really worried and I told my husband "I made him run away!"  He came back about 10 loong minutes later and sat down and said "Well if you don't take any pain medication, your cortisol will get very high and could cause problems with the baby, so we're not going to take that away."  I was like "Praise God!  It's a doctor who actually understands!"  Then he asked me about the dilaudid.  I told him honestly how it was and how inadequate I felt it was at the current dose but that a higher dose more frequently would be better.  He said he wasn't very familiar with dilaudid and wasn't comfortable prescribing something he didn't know much about.  I told him I completely understood, I'm not really a fan of it either.  So he saw that I was taking oxycodone 30 before and asked how it worked.  I told him it was the most effective one I've been on, but that I couldn't afford $6 a pill.  He was shocked that any doctor would charge that for the medication and assured me they didn't price gouge.  Then he asked what my previous daily dose was and he said it would be okay!
He decided to stop the Soma or any muscle relaxer because the pain med was the primary one that I needed and instead he prescribed magnesium.  He said it's really good for muscles.  I am much more comfortable taking a natural supplement than the soma anyway.  He told me I need to stop the Klonopin as it's a benzodiazepine, but prescribed melatonin.
I mean, he seemed like he genuinely CARED about the baby and wanted to make sure if I had to take one med, that I didn't have to take any others that might not be safe.  Overall, I am overjoyed that I found a caring doctor!  This really did turn out to be a blessing in disguise.  The medication was less than half the price they tried to charge me at the last doctor, and I am really happy about the natural supplements.  I was a little worried about the Soma and Klonopin.  I am going to taper the Soma, and I wasn't taking much Klonopin anyway, so I will have a little on hand in case there are any withdrawls, but I doubt there will be any.
I just wanted to share with all of you who have been so good to me, thinking of me and praying for me.  God most definetly answered my prayers and performed a near miracle!
I am so grateful that things have finally worked out and that it's going to be okay.  I even feel more comfortable with this doctor.  His office is not sketchy.  It's definetly not a pill mill.  
Thank you all for being there for me during the difficult times.  Your thoughts and prayers have been so helpful and encouraging.  

[JadedSweetheart]

Thank you for your support, Kat!  I am really hopeful that the OB will understand and not leave me hanging.  It's been pretty stressful.  
It really helps to know other people have been there and gone through it.
I appreciate your sweet post. :)
Bree

[KittyKat23_78]

Hi Bree,

My name is Kat. I'm new here. I just wanted to lend you my support. I feel terrible about what you are going through and hope you get some relief soon!! I have had chronic pain for many years and although I was not being treated specifically for that, I was prescribed Fioricet for headaches and later Percocet for joint pain related to water retention from Pre-eclampsia when I was in the hospital for 3 weeks. So it is possible to take pain meds while pregnant when the need is indicated. I hope get the help you need. Please keep us posted!

Kat

[JadedSweetheart]

Thank you, Mama Sherry.  I am hoping the OB steps up as well.  I think it would be better for everyone if the OB and I could agree on some plan of action that is safe and comfortable.  Just knowing if the contractions I've been having are only braxton-hicks or something more will probably help with the worry and bring down the anxiety-caused pain.
I appreciate and love you too!
Bree

[namnam46]

Hello Sweetie,

I just want you to know that I'm thinking of you as you go into your appointment on Tuesday!!

I KNOW that you will find an answer to help get you through all of this. Some Doctor out there will be your HERO and come to your rescue.  I'm HOPING and PRAYING that it will be your OB that steps up to the plate and if nothing else will FIND you a PM Doctor to SAFELY carry you through the rest of the Pregnancy!!

I love  you and I'm VERY Proud of you.......Mama Sherry

[JadedSweetheart]

Thank you for thinking of me, Flower.  I am doing alright.  I think my body is adjusting to the lower levels of the meds a little bit.  It's still hard and sleeping has been more and more of a problem, but I am trudging along.  I'm taking it hour by hour, day by day.  I've had some rough patches to weather out and made it through, so I feel good about being able to do that.  I am most worried about the contractions, so I'm keeping a close eye on whether or not I feel really stressed and start having regular contractions.  I am thinking they're going to do an exam on Tuesday to make sure.
As far as getting another doctor, we have a list of 30 to call, my husband is fairly confident that one will say they can see me, but I am thinking I'm going to have to go to the OB armed to the teeth with information and plead for some compassion.  
The appt is on Tuesday, so hopefully something will be figured out by then.  Until then, I'm just watching, waiting, and doing everything possible like ice/heat, breathing, stretching and trying to relax to deal with the pain.

[flower12345]

Hi Jaded. I was away for a week and I just wanted to pop in and ask how you're doing. Have you made any progress getting a hold of your PM doctor, or finding another doctor? How are you feeling?

Flower

[JadedSweetheart]

They don't really know what causes my migraines (I assume you mean the migraines).  I was hospitalized in April of 08.  They ran a battery of tests and found one aneurysm at the time, since then they've found another.  They never really gave me a reason for them, though.  I know sometimes the pain radiates from my neck, where I have herniated discs, up into my head and that causes them.