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1091982 tn?1256942513

suboxone

i have been on consistent pain management with opiods and fentanyl for three years now. i broke my contract with my pain doctor, and the solutions are either getting methadone or suboxone.
i was scheduled for knee surgery today but i was in bad withdrawal from the 100mcg patches that the anesthesiologist wanted to re-schedule the surgery.
i have tried methadone clinics-which are not really for pain management- and it is pretty much like being around a bunch of drug seeking people-unless you can afford the private clinic. i remember that it was just really depressing to go there and lie about why i was there. left to my own devices, i do not do well managing my medications- i did not follow the contract as it was written.i know more now than i did then-simply telling your doctor that you had a spinal fusion and are taking 5/500 hydrocodone on top of the medications they give you breaks the contract.
does anyone have any experience with suboxone?
i have not drank or done any illegal or non prescribed drugs for 6 years, but i did get drugs when i had teeth pulled.
the worst thing of all is that i feel heartbroken-my pain doctor was the best doctor i have ever had, and i would still recommend him to anyone.
i need to tell him that, sometime.
thank you
13 Responses
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547368 tn?1440541785
I am so glad that you provided us with an update. You made a wise decision to go ahead with the surgery. This proves the point that scans don't always tell the entire story. I have had arthroscopic surgery on an completely torn ACL and I know how painful it can be. You have my empathy.

I am glad that you have found another PM Clinic. Keep that appointment and until you have pursued that option I would not attempt to make an appointment with another PM Clinic. I know Mollyrae is trying to be helpful but please keep that appointment.

I also think that you should continue treatment at the methadone clinic until you are able to obtain other pain control. Unfortunately there does not seem to be another choice available to you at this time.

I know what it is like to have a commitment of love to your father but you also have to take care of yourself. I am caring for my terminally ill father and it is very difficult when you also have chronic pain to live with on a daily basis. So I admire your courage and dedication.

I'll look forward to your next update. Be sure to take care of you too and don't over do.

Peace,
Tuck
Helpful - 0
535089 tn?1400673519
Hi thoughtiwasober:

Thanks fo rthe update. My suggestion would be to stick with the Methadosne Clinic for now..at least you will have some relief. In the meantime, keep looking for a good Pain Management Clinic in your area.

I recently helped another member find a clinic and it's going great for her. I might be able to do trhe same for you. Send me a PM with more information about you like your state and largest city near you.

Please take care
warmest regards,
Mollyrae
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Why lie to the methadone clinic? You were on pain medication and broke the contract. They should still help you anyway! If they don't, then it's not right. You shouldn't have to be an "addict" to get help from withdrawal symptoms. My wife was on suboxone for about a year. It did indeed help her with withdrawal and her long term cravings. I think it's better than methadone for many reasons-  Not going to a clinic everyday, less exposure to addicts at the clinic (which can trigger and help you follow through with a relapse), you are more closely monitored for abusing drugs than a methadone clinic, less bad "stigma", etc. Suboxone doesn't really help with chronic pain as well as methadone though!
Helpful - 0
1091982 tn?1256942513
oh, i dont know if i agree with that..sorry
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hang in there, God will never give you more than you can handle.

Helpful - 0
1091982 tn?1256942513
Well, I finally had my knee surgery on Tuesday. They were just going to scope it- the P.A. tried to talk me out of it because the M.R.I.  didn't show much. The surgeon found loose bone pieces, a torn ligament, and shaved off part of my femur so that it would not be so lopsided- there was un-even wear on my knee. The surgeon would not give me any pain medications, but my family doctor gave me 30  Norcos. i am going back in the morning to see if i can get it refilled- the surgery became much more than they expected, and it hurts like heck. The physical therapy folks called the surgeon's P. A. and they were not told of the torn ligament, and i felt like they pushed me too far today- i have a sharp stabbing pain every time i stand up now.
The methadone clinic is ok, but they keep telling me that it is not meant for pain management, it is for drug addiction. i am sure i am addicted mentally and phisically to opiate pain killers, but i dont think i have been abusing them. Plus, the methadone is expensive- 12 bucks a day and i have to drive 10 miles each way every day- even with thwe knee. i have a manual transmission, and so far, i feel pretty crappy in the morning- like i used to feel when i had been out drinking the night before- a hangover feeling is the best way i can describe it.
i went ahead and made another appointment with a different pain management clinic, but i dont have a very good feeling about it.
My father is pretty sick, - i took him to the emergency room on Saturday because he could not stop shaking and trembling -  and he needs to take some time off from the buildings. i moved here to help him, and now i am pretty laid up, although i did get up and install a new motion detector light this morning. i need to go and paint an apartment tomorrow, and we have another tenant who is moving out next week. my dad is 74, and i dont want his to die, and i need to be able to take care of this stuff. i can do it when my pain is under control. i know that i may be doing damage to my body, but i dont care if i am- i need to do this stuff because he should not be doing it and that was our agreement.
it just seems to pile up, and i feel like i am doing all i can do.
thanks for the help.
Helpful - 0
1091982 tn?1256942513
Thanks to both of you. i think that i will just go to the methadone clinic. at least there i will have a counselor and people i will see every day. and i know that there is a way to make the situation better. using or drinking wont make things better. i am proud that i have been sober for over 6 years now.
if i ever go back to a different pain doctor, i feel like the right and honest thing to do is to inform them that i am a recovering person. my mom thinks that is crazy, and i dont know if it is or not. she says i am setting myself up.
it would be nice if i could just be treated as a person and not a label.
anyway, thanks for the kind words of encouragement!
Helpful - 0
535089 tn?1400673519
Hi Thoughtiwasober:

I can hear the pain in your voice and would like to tell you how sorry I am for your dilemma. I have never lost my pain management but have talked with others who have and it was devastating for them.

I hope that you can find another Doctor sometime in the future and are able to manage your medications. Sometimes it takes something like this to happen to make a person realize what they've lost. In your case, it sounds like a case of mis-communication.

Again, I am sorry. Please take care and stay well,
Mollyrae
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
It doesn't make sense to me either. The fact that your PMP and dentist were working together in what appears to be total agreement makes the termination from PM is puzzling. I do not have any personal experience with PM Clinics. My opinion is based only on what I have learned here and what I know about physician practices.

You are correct that it is illegal to prescribe to a know addict therefore I am a bit surprised that they prescribed to you.. I do feel deeply for you and others that have since "cleaned up" and pay for your previous actions and the label forever. I am not so foolish that I don't understand that addiction is never cured and that one must take it day by day. I have a tobacco addiction that I have fought my entire life.

Have you been able to have a heart to heart with your PMP? If not I encourage you to at least try. Don't expect that he will reinstate you, sorry but once you are dismissed I have never heard of a reinstatement. It may happen I just don't know of an instance. At the very least you need a closure. maybe taking with him will give you some better insigh and understanding.

Good luck to you. I wish you the very best.
Tuck
Helpful - 0
1091982 tn?1256942513
sorry i was unclear. i am really puzzled as to why my pain doc fired me.
i took 20mg of hydrocodone after my neck surgery for about 2 1/2 weeks. i also lost my upper teeth within a period of 5 to 6 months, and i developed 3 fistulas in my upper jawbone, and i took some pain meds when that was going on. my pain doc did not prescribe the medications, but i am certain that i told him and he was also communicating with the dentist, as well as my informing him that i was taking extra hydrocodone at that time. i have spoken with my insurance company-at length- and they did not flag me or my prescription use. my pain doctor's pffice informed my family doctor that i had been flaged, but i was not flagged.
i thought that i had a great working relationship (finally) with my pain doc, and i was shocked that he fired me.
it has been really hard to stay clean and sober throughout the whole time, but i did and i have. i am at my wits end here, because i think i have an obligation to inform any doctor that treats me of the fact that i am a recovering addict/alcoholic. apparently in the state i live in it is illegal for a physician to prescribe narcotics to a known drug addict.
i have been sober a bit over 6 years now, but i will always have a history  of being addicted. i just want to be treated like a person, like anyone else. if i am not engaging in old addict behaviors, why should i be treated nd punished as if i am? and partly why i am so shocked is that i was not doing anything wrong or sneaky-i was honest about everything with my pain doc, and i would never have imagined this would happen.
it gets really old being treated likle a criminal when i am not acting like one. and it has been so long ago since i have engaged in that kind of behavior.
medicare part blue is going to call my primary care doctor and tell them i was not flagged, and i hope that helps at least with him. i just do not want to get a reputation as a "problem" patient. i have many physical issues, and i certainly do not need that working against me, too.
i am just confused and hurt
thanks, Tuck.
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
I have re-read your posts several times and it is still unclear to me what happened to your first PMP.  Is it your insurance company that is causing these issues? If so can't this confusion be cleared up?

If you followed the PMP's "rules" or contract than I am puzzled. You state you are a former addict in one portion of your post and say you are now flagged as an addict in another portion. Who has flagged you? Maybe you can clarify your information. Again there are other PMP.

Sorry, maybe my brain is just not working well but I do not clearly understand your situation.

Peace,
Tuck

  
Helpful - 0
1091982 tn?1256942513
YES- I FIGURED OUT WHY MY INSURANCE FLAGGED MY DOC. HE began prescribing 100mcg right before my second fusion, i am tiny- 95 pounds- and i work for my dad. the patches were too large, and they would not stick. i tried everything- medical tape, electrical tape, and finally duct tape to keep the things on. the 100's were not working nearly as well as the 75's had. i finally called the manufacturer-sandoz- and they suggested the tegaderm patch. so i called the pain clinic and told them what was going on. i saw my doctors partner, and they wanted to give me 5 patches-i thought that i only needed 4.
so it looked to my insurance company that i had gotten all of these extra patches when i did not.
i also have 3 fistulas in my upper jaw, and it is painful all of the time. my teeth started to fall out and break off, and i know that my pain doc talked to my dentist-my pain doc had me on heavy anti-biotics for 3 months to treat the infection.
then i injured my knee- there is a large bone piece loose in between my kneecap, and my knee is worn unevenly- it gets really painful if i am on a ladder or even on my feet for long. my family doctor gave me 2 5/500 vicodin a day for the pain, and i told my pain doc-my father was even there when i told him. the pain doc tried 2 synvisc injections, and they did not work, so i went to my knee doc and he diagnosed the problem and scheduled surgery-but the knee doc canceled it because i was in such bad shape from not having my fentanyl for 3 days.
i used to be a crack head,and a drug user, and i remember that life and the things i used to do. i would not compromise my pain management for 2 vicodin a day.
i work for my dad doing remodeling and maintenance on apartments. he is 74 years old, and i have worked on these buildings since i was 9- i am now 45. i moved into one of his buildings so that i could help with any issues that arise at the buildings. i left my home of 9 years. i have been sober for 6 years.  i thought i had a consistent pain doc who cared, and he was an excellent doctor. i am just floored, and depressed, and i feel like i am simply clueless about how to live.
i dont want to go to a doctor ever again.
i will go hang out with the rest of the drug addicts, because i cannot afford the private clinic. i did it once before, and it was humiliating. it is also the best place to buy drugs in town.
i just dont have a clue what else to do.
now i am flagged as a drug addict. i put all of my faith in my pain doc, and now i am screwed.
sorry for being so negative, but i cannot figure put what else i can do.
thanks for taking the time to talk with me.
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Hello and Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum.

I am sorry to hear that you are so limited with pain management options. I'm assuming that you choices are limited due to the medication you took when you had your teeth extracted. Is that the case?

I know your question is not what to do but have you checked with all the PMP is your state? Just because one dismisses you does not automatically band you from another. So please consider that option

Your question is a tough one. Methadone will provide you with pain releif where suboxone will not. Indeed many ppl do go that route in pain managment. So given the choice it would be methadone for me. I must have my chronic pain treated regardless if that meant I would be with less than desirable clientele.

It's an individual choice that when all options considered only you can decide with is best for you. Others will post. Sometimes weekend are a bit slower. Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.

Take Care,
Tuck
Helpful - 0
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