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Avatar universal

need help about going to 2 doctors for pain medicine

i am currently going to a doctor in NC who prescribes me methadone and oxycodone 15mg and xanax 1 mg. i made an appointment to go to a pain management doctor in virgina and i was wondering if my doctor in NC will find out and if this doctor in virgina will find out about my other doctor in NC? If i pay cash for the doctor in virgina and get my meds filled there with cash and dont use my insurance and then goto my doctor in NC and use my medicad to pay for my visit and my prescriptions will i get introuble? ive heard of people going to doctors in the same states and getting introuble i just dont know about going to different states. i know a few people who told me i should be ok as long as i dont use my medicade for both. my appointment in on the 14th in virgina and i just went to my docotor  in NC on the 4. can someone please help me out and answer my questions? someone with knowledge and some truthful, please. i google my question and all i get is b,s. so please someone help me out  and let me know. thank you so much and i hope someone can give me a truthful answer and a good one as well. thanks again.
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228936 tn?1249094248
This has turned into a quite informitive forum for the serious  Rx narcotic consumer.  People have expressed displeasure about giving an addict info. even if this addict doesn't consider her (him?) self an addict (dopehead). If you are that concerned about how to these drug store goodies (dope) , then you may have an addiction problem.
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Avatar universal
Right, it's the schedule II's that can no longer be called in. Vicodins are schedule III but the hydrocodone formulations without tylenol and the pills with more than 15mg's are schedule II.  I think it's interesting that your doctor called the pill count thing a DEA requirement. I've seen a few pain contracts recently while researching for a project I'm working on and they vary from place to place but I do see now that although they do not refer to pill counts they do all have some kind of clause about bringing in all your medication if asked. So yeah, you could see five doctors and they could all prescribe the same thing but you can't go and fill all five scrips. The pharmacy reports keep track of what you pick up, not what has been prescribed. And if you see five doctors (or even two) for the same injury and fill all five scrips that is the pattern that makes it a crime. Now your neighbor and some others might be getting away with something but you're not suggesting that it's not a huge risk are you? Because I know that these people are getting picked off all the time now and they are being denied future treatment and even prosecuted. I wonder though if ER's are an exception. Doctors and clinics are making it part of their procedures to cross-reference these reports but it's hard to imagine how ER's, with their huge turnover, would handle that. But I guarantee that if there is a loophole someone is working on finding a way to close it. (while others are working furiously to exploit it).
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684676 tn?1503186663
schedule 3 drugs (hydocodone , propoxyphene, etc) can be called in. schedule 2 drugs (oxycododone,oxycontin etc.) has to be written out. usually i have to call in and pickup my written script (oxy) once a month ,and the doctor calls in my hydro, but this last time (2 mos ago ) i was at my 6 month appointment and he wrote out 3 different prescriptions with dates 28 days apart for the oxy and told me not to lose them , he had me sign a new pain contract that said pill counts could be called for anytime ,said it was new dea requirements, still called in my hydro though.
in the state i live in a pattern has to be established for doctor shopping. a person has the right to a second opinion, and if the first doctor prescribed pain meds, and then the second did to , there is no crime, i have seen this many times. if it is an on the job injury up to 5 separate doctors can be seen, they may or may not all have the same course of treatment.

where i live they must not track because i have seen some ppl that have gone to several emergency or urgent care around the state and filled their scripts and nothing ever has become of it , the one neighbor i am reffering to has been keeping 2 residences for the last 8 years and recieving multiple prescriptions, on medicaid, the onlything was sometimes she would have to pay cash when medicaid wouldnt pay because she had , had to many paid for by them in that month.
.
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563594 tn?1309583132
eek this is a scary thread, great advice from everyone to Sensations. Doctor shopping is NO joke and you WILL be caught. I was even in a situation where I hadn't doctor shopped, but my pain mgmt, doctor looked at my medical records from the past 6 years or so, and said 'drug addict' was written all over it, even though it WASN'T written anywhere, that was just what he got from skimming through the pages. Please don't doctor shop Sensations, and please consider different forms of treatment. I saw an oesteopathic doctor and he helped me more with manipulation and such of my shoulder, helped more than 6 years of meds. did me! Good luck & please do come back, this is a great community for SUPPORT if you are fighting the good fight to get clean. Peace.☺
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Avatar universal
Hey trouble, I can't believe the hassles involved in the way your pmc handled it's scrips - and your treatment! They will never be able to do what you suggest however because the whole system is based on an individual doctor - with his DEA number - taking responsibility for each and every narc scrip. The penalties for the doctor, if they break the rules, or if their patient gets out of line, are suspension or loss of their license. So you better believe they check out these pharmacy reports. These new, stricter, reporting requirements went into effect a couple of years ago. Some of you all might have noticed when narc scrips could no longer be called in and a paper scrip had to be picked up at the doctors office each month. That was part of this whole package of laws that tightened up the requirements for patients and their doctors. As the providers and law enforcement have gotten used to these new systems, lots of people have gotten busted for things that might have gone unnoticed before. I think it also contributed to some of these doctors getting an attitude with some of their patients. When a patient asks for narcs their doctor has to wonder "could this patient be the one that causes me to lose my livelihood and everything I've worked for?" They just can't afford to mess around. If they see on the report that a patient of theirs has gotten narcs from another doctor they have to drop them like a hot potato and maybe turn them in to law enforcement to save their own ***. I've personally seen people try to explain, "But I was in a lot of pain and I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I'm not a druggie." But they are now in a whole new world of trouble and there is no way out.
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230262 tn?1316645934
such good advice on this thread... i sure hope "sensations" heeds it before its too late.  btw - NotGood-- it IS amazing how these things are all linked up now..i havent had narcs RX'd to me in a long time now, but Im still fighting many many MANY medical bills that i owe to ER"s, doctors, Labs, etc, and when i sent a letter to a hospital requesting a fee reduction since I have no insurance and no money, an ER doctor called me back just last week to talk about it. She had pulled up my records on their puter there and was asking me who all these doctors were that i had gotten narcotics from in the past!!! this was a longgg time ago but it still on the records, and I had to explain to her that it was from dental work i had done, AND from when i was going to the pain clinic- because everytime you go there, a different practicioner sees you and therefore numerous Dr names are on your RX/records even though it all came from the same clinic. I had problems with this in the past, years ago, when i was accused of doctor shopping too under the same circumstances. I wish they could change that specific criteria- why not just put the name of the pain clinic on the lable/RX to avoid that. Anyhow, my point is, even months or YEARS later things like this can come back to haunt you and you are never "Safe" from recourse.  So if this person does go ahead and take the chance and proceed, even if he isnt caught right away and thinks he's safe, h e most certainly is NOT.
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Avatar universal
I go to a pain management doctor and between my visits I had a kidney stone and the urgent care doc prescribed me some vicodin to get through it. Well, low and behold when I went back to my pain doc she asked me who this other doctor was and why he was giving me vicodin. They now have a system that is nationwide where your name goes into a database and tells every doc you see who and when you have been prescribed any type of narcotics. I only got a minimal amount from the urgent care doc and I thought it wasn't a big deal but the pain doc found out and asked! I was supposed to tell her. What you are doing is not a good idea and if you are really in pain and need the meds I wouldn't be doctor shopping because you will be caught and both of your docs will drop you and you will be left in the dark. If you really need the meds then why don't you just go to one doc and be honest and if what they are prescribing you is not enough to help with your pain then ask for more. Either way, you WILL get busted because this database goes from state to state and it doesn't matter if you use insurance or not. Not a good idea!
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230262 tn?1316645934
please update us
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654560 tn?1331854581
I am very proud to be a part of a community that WILL STAND ON THEIR EXPERIENCE................In no shape or form could this person come away second guessing how we feel about this issue...............Wat to go guys
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1047946 tn?1332608029
He will know that you have another doctor because of your mri. When you get a mri you have to be referred by a doctor. If you are not satisfied with your doctor I would let him know and have him refer you to another pain clinic. As long as you are open and honest to your doctor you should be fine. If you go to the pain clinic in VA I would let them know about your other doctor so they can communicate to get to the root cause of your pain. If you take that route I don't see how you could get in any trouble. But I would not continue getting meds from both doctors because they are bound to find out. Most doctors run a prescription report every now and then. I know this for a fact because I went to the dentist once for a tooth issue. I told the dentist I didn't need any pain meds as I was already getting them for my back. He wrote the antibiotic and vicodin on the same script. I filled them and didn't think anything of it. About a month later I received a letter from my primary doctor stating that he had to drop me by law because I received narcotics from another doctor. Luckily once I talked to my doctor and let him know what happened he took me back. So if your doctor does run a check then both the pain clinic and your primary doctor could drop you and you could be without any meds for your pain. So just be open and honest so your doctor knows what you are doing and you should be fine. If you try and hide the anything and the check, you will have a problem finding any doctor to treat your pain.
I hope this helps and best of luck.
Brian
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1128643 tn?1262483649
It seems like your mind is made up. You've mapped it out and know the strategy you'll be using. Honestly it may be that the docs never find out about each other. But you'll know. If your doc isn't working, can't you see someone else within the system?
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Avatar universal
Just to sum up what everyone else has advised you to do....Answer is NO,don't do it.When you are at the point where you want to take control of your life back,we will be here to help you with that.All the best...Kim
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230262 tn?1316645934
in your first post, you asked specifically for a "TRUTHFUL and GOOD' Answer"...well you got them..you just dont want to hear it. You keep repeating yourself because we are not giving you the answers you Want to hear!!  Please..I am NOT trying to be rude to you, Im really really not! Im holding my hand out to you, willing to help pull you out of this Pit of Hell of addiction, but you have to first admit you have a problem before you will make any progress. As a matter of fact, your first post reminds me SO MUCH of my very own first post i made here over 2.5 years ago!!!! I was in TOTAL and UTTER COMPLETE DENIAL that i had a problem/........D  E  N I A L !!!! I posted that i was afraid of going to jail for doctor shopping!! Sound familiar?  I staunchly denied i had an addiction..i was "just a chronic pain patient".  
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199177 tn?1490498534
You are dr shopping no if and or buts about it. You are abusing drugs and attending to justify it .If not today or tomorrow at some point you are going to get into trouble .Most pain management doctors want referrals from your prior doctor. There are many doctors in NC that are pain management doctors there is no reason to go out of state.Either way your new doctor is going to want proof of what meds you have been on and who is giving them to you ..If you get caught doing this it very well may effect your Medicaid then you may not have anything. We are  here we have been in your shoes and we have said all the same things you have .Let us help you get your life back instead of continuing down a very scary road.
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495284 tn?1333894042
COMMUNITY LEADER
None of us here will give you the go ahead for your drug seeking behavior.  We are in recovery on this forum and we will be more than happy to help you if that is what you choose to do but as for your other questions...live and learn.       sara
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Avatar universal
Answers - - If you are on Medicaid you should probably save your cash and do things properly......

How on earth do you think that you can show a Doc your MRI and then be confused about whether you have a Doctor or not?  

Not a "dope head" but addicted to the pills that you have taken your whole life? How many of those 30 years were you using? I had a 40 year habit and am much better off today than ever before........ and I am a legitimate chronic pain patient myself.   You may need to get honest with yourself...............that would be a very good place to start!
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Avatar universal
i cant use my medicade because its a NC medicade, you cant use it out of state. thats why i was not going to use it. i was just going to go there pay cash for the visit and the meds at a pharm inVA and if he gives me what i want then stop going to my other doctor. ive seen this doc before and i have old scripts from him. he changed practices because he wanted to open his own. so he will know what to give me from my bottles i show him from last time. if it doesnt work out i just wont go back and ill stay with my other doc. i can still get introuble for that i know but what is the possibility of them catching on the first time? and most likely the only time. again im not a dope head ive become addicted to pain pills because ive been on them my whole life. so again i ask and im asking notto be judged just to hear what you people think, should i give it a try and go once and if it dont work out dont go back? cant i just show him my MRI? how would he know that i even have a doctor if i didnt mention it? please im just looking for answers. there is still time for me to change my mind i just want to know if giving it a shot once would hurt.
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890982 tn?1259091185
I see that you are getting methadone and xanax, and you might want to look into the lethal aspects of that combination, which is what my son died from about 7 months ago.  It is very easy to overdose on methadone, as it slips up on you and when it hits, unconsciousness comes so suddenly that there is not time to get help.
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541953 tn?1262586226
I have to agree with trouble, why go out of state? if your current doctor wants to send you to a pain management doctor why not just use that referral. next month you will be on here asking what to do because you went ahead with your plan, got caught and now out of meds and scared. just be on the up and up and go through your doctor. anyway, most pain manangement doctors won't prescribe narcotics the first visit without having seen your previous history and test results. What are you gonna do when they ask for a previous doctor to get your records from? it would just be wiser not to do what you are planning. if you thought if was ok, you wouldnt be on here asking for advise. good luck
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230262 tn?1316645934
if youre on the Up and UP, why are you being sneaky about it then? Why would yuo make an appt out of state and not use your insurance??? that seems VERY SUSPICIOUS to me, and it will to everyone else as well including your doctors, the pharmacies and the DEA!!  Why would you just not get a direct referral from your current doctor to a pain clinic and go see them legally? It doesnt make sense to me..nope not at all. So forgive me if i suspect you are addicted (a **gasp***  DRUGGIE as you put it). Please get real with us, and with yourself. We really can help you here but you have to be honest. If youre running out meds so terribly early and need to seek out a doctor that will give you more, or a "bettter medicine", you need to reevaulate if youre just a chronic pain patient or an addict. Its a fine line. Most of us here got hooked on pills from a legit injury/condition. very few of us used "just for fun". Most of us here have chronic pain (*myself included- i also have a very bad back amongst other things)
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Avatar universal
what if i go to this doctor apt on the 14th in VA and he gives me better medicine that will actually help my chronic back pain, dislocated disk, hernated disk and serveral years of  back surgery. cant i just tell my doctor in NC that i found a pain management doc since that is what he wants to refer me too? he is internal medicine. should that be a crime if i called him up after i went to the doctor in VA and said that i didn't need to see him anymore because i found me a pain management doctor? my next apt for the doctor in NC isn't until  July  4th of 2010. i don't see any  harm in that. and for everyone's information i am not a drug user. i have tried therapy, chiropractors, surgery acupuncture and PT. so don't get it twisted i am not a druggie looking  to get some extra medications.
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983679 tn?1276833336
the great thing about this forum is we can speak what we feel........i seem to have forgotten that for a bit tonight ....we dont have to use filters and it seems tonight i have been tryin to act as your filter...sorry for the last time : ) we dont have to agree on everything and if we did it would be pointless to have this forum. I admire anyone that is working towards cleaning up their life because that is our common bound, and i admire you for that very reason aswell. Keep posting--speak your mind--and thanks for putting me back in  my place---i needed it tonight!!
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1130845 tn?1260227428
I speak without a filter and im glad you did say what you did on the first one cuz i did need a reminder that what i say could ultimately affect someone elses rehab so i should pick my words a little more carefully at times. I think most of us on here have probs going on and sorry to hear that your having a bad time i really do hope it gets better for you! If we didnt have these bad times we wouldnt truly be able to appreciate some of the good times in some ways. Hang in there--it could be much worse im sure and it will get better!

Sensations--please dont go to that 2nd doctors appt. Maybe take even an hour and read some of the other posts on here, just a suggestions!
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983679 tn?1276833336
sorry, i should really not be on her tonight...i have lotz of personal probs going on in my life and i see now that i am handleing them wrong, I am sorry, I do feel that i have been picking at you all night, I do not do that, i am sorry....to be honest, something about your post has just gotin to me tonight....i guess its just the way you talk...i should respact that, or atleast disagree respectfully....I am not going to see your post neg anylonger tonight, I know that you are speaking from your heart and with your own wisdom!!!!
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