Strange situation...doctor will not fill anti-inflammatory??

[Sweetness91]

Hey all. Just kinda stumped right now. I stopped taking methadone on New Year's Day of 2013 after an eight year stint..and have been clean since. I still see a physiatrist for injections in my back and treatment for a labral tear in my hip. He prescribes Mobic (anti-inflammatory) and neurontin for me. I called last Friday for refills for them and was told he wouldn't refill them because I was "getting medication from another doctor". At first I denied that, and then realized what they were talking about...I had surgery on December 18th and filled one script of 25 Vicodin. I explained that I had surgery and needed the medication and that the surgeon was aware of all meds I was taking. The nurse said my doc was aware that I had surgery and was not refilling the medications. But of course he still wants me to come in for a hip injection in 3 weeks.(I'm starting to feel like I should just go to a different doctor and like they just want the big money they get for those injections!) So....first off, I'm stumped why he wouldn't fill at least the anti-inflammatory? Second, was I wrong for filling the Vicodin after my surgery? I'm seriously getting anxiety thinking about this...I feel embarrassed and ashamed like I did something wrong. And I feel like he thinks I'm a drug seeker or something. I guess I just wanna know if anyone else has had this experience and if so, what their course of action was. Grrr. Lol.

[Sweetness91]

I agree, the doctor-patient relationship should be a good one, clear & concise about expectations and care & understanding on both sides. I guess that's why I feel somewhat betrayed? I have been very honest with him from the get-go and I have never given him reason to doubt me. I had more of a physical dependency than anything when I took methadone...I wasn't an abuser, I never ever bought them off the street, didn't doctor shop or hit up the local ER for them. In fact, I never took what was prescribed, I took less. So once I set my mind to stop, that's exactly what I did. I did, however, have a bad experience with my previous family doctor when I told him about my plans to stop and that I needed something to help with withdrawal, and asked for clonidine. He told me I should've never been on methadone to begin with (but he knew I was on them the whole time he was my doctor..which was about 5 yrs)and from then on, I was "labeled", and still am to this day. When I left his office and looked over the paperwork given me, one of the conditions he had listed for me was "high risk drug abuse"! So that's when I switched family doctors, and this one is absolutely wonderful! He did the bloodwork right away that I had been asking the previous one to do for months on end, and got my blood pressure under control within a month or so. And he also initiated the testing that found the problem that I just had surgery for. I wish they were all like him. So I do believe I'm going to talk to him about referring me to a new physiatrist and just get a fresh start. I don't have a pain contract with the physiatrist now, but I didn't think I needed one since there are no narcotics or controlled substances involved. Maybe that was my mistake. Who knows!!?? I just get upset when I think about it and feel like I'm walking around with this black cloud hanging overhead, one that has a sign & arrow pointing down that says "drug abuser"....

[marycarmel]

It's unfortunate we live in a society that has to be so cautious about medications.  In hindsight, I guess you should have notified your doctor.  When I was having all my surgeries, I always asked both my pain management doctor and my surgeon who would take care of the post-op meds (and for good measure I always let my primary care know what I was on and what was happening.)  Usually the pain doc and surgeon would talk and they would decide who would write the post-op scripts and for how long.  Sometimes it would be the surgeon, sometimes the pain doctor.  It helped they were in the same hospital.

Your family doctor may be your best bet.  I know I wouldn't want to keep seeing a doctor that couldn't understand the circumstances of your situation.  Did you have a pain contract with him?

I could easily have found myself in a situation like yours if I hadn't found the pain management forum and this forum.  A lot of people are very naive as to how much prescription drugs are abused.  I never had a pain contract with my surgeon, primary care or my pain management clinic.  After about a year of reading how people get dropped by their doctor, I asked my pain clinic at the time for a contract.  I had often talked with mynsurgeon, primary care doc and pain team about my fear of addiction.  Both mynsurgeon and pain clinic actually laughed andnsaid, "You?  An addict? That won't happen.  You have real pain,"

My primary care doc was more supportive and understanding.  I believe addiction can happen to anyone.  I insisted on a pain contract because I felt it protected me.  I wound up coming off all my meds and at the end my primary care helped.  Now I see a physiatrist she recommended and the three of us decide what's best for me.  And I have a pain contract.

Yourfamily doctor may feel comfortable prescribing your meds or might help you find the right doctor for you.  The doctor-patient relationship should be an equal partnership.  They should be clear about what they expect from us and we should be comfortable enough with our doctors to ask questions, suggest something we may have heard about and shouldn't brush us off when we have genuine fears or questions.

[Sweetness91]

Thank you...it was a battle but well worth it. The withdrawals were pretty terrible honestly. It took me a good 4-5 months to feel somewhat normal. I feel like a totally different person nowadays. Thank God for that, because I just wasn't sure how things were gonna turn out there for a bit. Lol.

I understand the doctor has to be cautious....but it's an anti-inflammatory for goodness sakes. And I really don't mind the neurontin, I didn't much like the way it drug me down, and had gotten to where I would only take it in the evening if I needed it. But I would like to get the Mobic anyway....ibuprofen tears my stomach up. I have an appt the 21st but it seems like eons away. I think I might call my family doctor and talk to him about it. I think he will understand the whole situation because he's the one that sent me to the surgeon to begin with. It's just a really frustrating situation is all. Almost laughable!?

[ROSYouralright]

This doesn't sound like anything a little communication can't fix. I say, make an appointment with your doctor and explain things to him in person so that nothing gets lost in translation. If you are not comfortable with your doctor or feel as if he isn't listening you may need to find one who will. That being said, Doctors do have to be cautious because "Dr. Shopping" is prevalent these days.
Congratulations on kicking the methadone! How were the withdrawals & how are you currently feeling?

[Sweetness91]

He knew that I was looking at surgery, but once they decided to do surgery, it was scheduled within a week and I was probably wrong for not notifying him of it. He isn't the doc who prescribed the methadone, that doctor wanted me to keep taking it, and I didn't want to do I eventually said heck with it and didn't go back and weaned myself off in 6 weeks. I only took the Vicodin for a little less than a week. Once I was able to take OTC Tylenol, that's what I did. And yes, so far, so good. They got everything they were going after. Thank God!! :)

[Merri12]

Did he know you were going to have surgery? If so it shouldn 't be an issue. Was this the Dr who previously prescribed methadone it may be more of the issue of neurontin than the anti inflammatory but now is hesitant on both. Are you still taking the vicoden? I hope not. Did your surgery go well? Sorry for all the ?s. Helps us answer better.