13 Feb 2010
I also signed a contract with my Doctor, however at the time I signed it, I wasn't even sure why, and never really got a clear answer, my next visit I found a nurse that was really nice and explained the "narcotic" contract to me very clearly.
I've been in and out of the hospital many times since then, about five year ago in fact.
I have a card that I printed up with all my medications on it, dosages, times I take it, and the amount I take. It printed it in red, at the top that I have this agreement with my Doctor so they are aware of it. The ER took a copy of my card, and told me it was a great idea to have this on me.
They phoned my Doctor and let her know what was going to be done, and I didn't have any problems receiving medication at all!
I know some Doctors can be a bunch of Dweebs about this stuff, making it harder for some folks to receive the medications they need desperately.
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In an emergency situation, I would pop a cork if they dropped me over this type of thing, and I would call every radio and tv station I could find and let them know also.
PsychoMajor, you're not too far off base, many people I've heard have been dropped for lesser things , and not even given a decent explanation.
How frusting this all is, keep in mind the insurance company and the people who control the narcotics, are keeping doctors from being human also, so it all starts at the top, and rolls down to us, the consumer, and the person in need of help. How sad is our world now days? The drug seekers do not help our plight either!
Keep calm, don't get narcotic meds from another doctor with out first consulting your primary care of PMS. Just don't fill any script, if it's a narcotic from anyone but the one whom with you have the contract.
God help us all. Keep the faith... life is too short to sweat this one, it's workable, not happy about it myself, but I must get on with life too, and this is not going to get my undies in a bunch, not today, tomorrow, and the next million years don't look too promising either. LOL...
Have a good folks, (((hugs)))
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harleyhoney2130 is exactly right. I have found that a Neurologist can perscribe a narcotic & an orthopedic specialist can also perscribe a different narcotic/pain medication. Doctor's do not want their patients abusing narcotics, selling them, or using them for things other than what they are perscribed for. A lot has to do with the huge Meth problem that is just about everywhere. It's almost come down to a zero tolerence policy. Nobody wants to get a law suit against them, so Doctors are very cautious. If a person is really in pain, the Doctor will order tests,such as a CT Scan or MRI to see the actual problem & they will give you medication. It is those that abuse the system that cause problms for those who really need help. Pharmacies keep track of what you take & they will report anything out of the ordinary to your doctors. Most doctors that perscribe narcotics will have you come in for blood testing every 2 or 3 months to check for anything abnormal.
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It's like this everywhere & it is for your own protection as well as your doctors. Best of luck to you.
Dylanfan
I had to re-read your post. Some of the things like you being in an accident & needing strong pain meds right then & there is common practice. They are there to make you better, not scream in agony. A Paramedic is not going to call your Primary Care Doctor when a dire emergency is happening. If you have drug allergies, carry a card on you at all times listing them or wear a medic alert bracelet or necklace. This really helps. Some of the things you have been told do not make sense. Get a second opinion from a good doctor & write down all the questions you have. Make sure you understand their replies. If you don't or have questions, then ASK again. It is your body, & you need the correct replies to your concerns. Just remember, all Doctors are watching out for those who abuse medcations. It is not meant to be an insult to you, they just need to protect themselves & you as well. Good luck! Dylanfan
Not entirely true. The pain medication contract is a normal, expected agreement between the Provider and patient, but it is to protect the PATIENT. It assures the Provider that the patient understands that all opioid medications will be written by one Provider, so what is being prescribed will be appropriate and safe for the patient.
My doctor say down and thoroughly went over the form she said now some of this sounds one way and I mean it another, ofr instance if I were in an accident and something had to be done to me she said the thing I want is for you to contact me (or whoever is taking care of you) as soon as the office is open, so that I know what has happened, it basically protects me and it protects the doctor, If she refers me to another doctor and he wants to prescribe a pain medication I am to explain to him the situation between my doctor and I ask him to sontact her and allow her to know, as a matter of fact that happened I didn't just let it go once I was home I called her at the office and told her I ghad a prescription and I wanted her to be aware of what it was and reminded her of the doctors name, I think its a common sense thing, at least in my case it is with my Dr.
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who treats me for the pain, I hope you are fortunate enough till if you have any questions approach this doctor and tell him/her there are things you do not understand and you want him or her to clarify things for you, your doctor needs to talk with you when it comes to things you don't undertsnad, I wish you the very best!!
I was in just this situation in February. My Pain Management Doc had me sign a form a couple of years ago and even took blood to check what was in my system. She Fired dozens and dozens of patients when all of her test came back. She is very strict with medication administration.
Anyway, I had a bad wreck in February and was given pain medication in the ER. My family knows about the agreement between my doctor and me and when I came to I found out that my husband had already told the doctor to notify my PMP. The surgeon was also in contact with her after the surgery. It is unbelievable how close they pay attention to this now.
My ex-s-n-l has been addicted to pills for years and years. I don't see where people get the pills to sell to people like her.
To answer your question... You can get medication from another doctor if you have permission and if the medication is not a duplicate of what your already getting.
God bless
Billie
That is very normal for most pain management practices. It is there way to make sure you do not abuse the narcotics. Also expect randon urine tests to be sure your not abusing the pain medication. At first it bothered me but then I realized too many people abuse the medications and they need to protect themselves even though they are tryinng to help us manage the pain. if you have nothing to hide then it is not a big deal..:)
My doctor hasn't made me sign any agreement like that. In fact, I ask for what I need and he gives it to me. He trusts me because I have shown him that I am not dependent upon these medications and I have demonstrated how aware I am of the dangers they pose. Believe me, it wasn't fun, I was hospitalized with a bowel obstruction, and have had four bowel related diagnostic procedures-all due to the use of pain meds. I routinely have my bottle of 90 expire with 1/4 of the bottle left though, and I have shown him when I ask for another. If you don't have that trust with your doctor, find a new one and be proactive in showing him or her that you are committed to your own health and use drugs sparingly and appropriately. I have fibro and OA. I know it sucks, but we can't kill all the pain without doing other damage, that's just the way it is.
It is not law that they do this in some states and mine is one of them. I only take pain meds from on doctor.
if someone can answer this for me i would be forever in your debt i have ra and fibro and cysts in my spine and in my sciatic joint i have rotated scoliosis tons of back and bone problems i finally found a doctor who was willing to help me if i signed a pain contract i didnt know what one was i had never had to sign one before so my doctor explained it to me she said it is to just check your urine every now and then to make sure you are taking the right amount and the correct medications i dont drink i dont do illegal drugs i have never had a dirty ua and i have never been short on my pills and when they call you have 24 hrs to get there to have the test done i am there 30 minutes after i get the call anyhow on the 18th of april i had to have emergency surgery i had to have a tlh total laporoscopic hystertomy i was bleeding weekly stop a few days and start again for a week every month it got so bad i was tired all the time i was in pain all the time anyhow i called my pcp office 3 ...
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weeks before my surgery and spoke to one of the girls that answers the phone i asked if my pcp or the surgeon is supposed to give me pain medication she said my surgeon would i then asked her to let my pcp know that on the 18th i was having the surgery i asked my obgyn surgeon to please send over all reports and test results to my pcp and that i was on a pain contract and if he was gonna give me pain meds to include it in the reportsthe girl at my doctors office said dont worry i am sure your surgeon will send over all reports ohalso for an adult female hemoglobinit is supposed to be 14-16 mine was 8-10 i was bleeding to death and didnt even know it on april 29th i called my pcp to get my meds filled for the 4th of may and i asked the girl on the phone if my fiance or my son could pick my perscriptions up for me for i had just had surgery and it was going to take 4 to 6 wks to heal the girl said sure just have whoever bring their drivers licence and everything will be ok 2 hrs later a nurse from my pcp office called and went off on me saying i broke my contract because the surgeon gaveme pain meds i said yeah i just had a hysterectomy her reply was millions of women have them eberyday i said yeah but mine feels like they ripped have my body out she was very rude and said i am gonna talk to your doctor about this what did the surgeon give you and where did you get it filled i said a 5 day supply of diladid and i got it at my regular pharmacy then she said you mean if i call your surgeon he is gonna tell me he gave you that pain med and he knew about your other pain meds and i said yes she got angrier and called me on monday to say my pcp was weaning me off of my pain meds because i broke my contract i said how did i do that i talked to your staff and did what i was told to do and then she said you asked for more pain meds i said no i asked for my regular pain meds becsause they are due i finallly got very upset and demanded that i speak to my pcp that was my right and i didnt want to pseak to anyone but her my pcp called me had no idea of what was going on and asked me if i filled the scripts i said yes because i had nothing and was in pain she told me if i had waited until i had talked to her she would have taking the weaning ones back and given me my regular scripts i said what do i do now she said i dont know let us see what we can do i had to write an appeal letter and i have to wait to find out what can be done and go through withdrawalsd and hope i dont pop any stitches from my surgery it has only been 3 wks anyone got any ideas please write me back asap thanks going crazy i havent slept in 4 nights i have been in way to much pain
I have two Neurologists and two pain management specialists and I did not have to sign an agreement that I can not get narcotics from only one doctor. If fact, I see 18 specialists and I never had to sign any kind of agreement. I recently stopped seeing one pain management doctor on my own because he left the practice he was in in the city, so now I see one. It helps me enormously to get more than one opinion. I don't even see my PCP on a regular basis because he is not educated in Fibro, Migraines and the other ailments I suffer from. He himself prefers to farm me out to a specialist.
• Well, what to do? I am a person with 31 Op’s already past. I have pain all the time. REAL pain… So, I was prescribed oxycodone and oxycontin by my “Pain specialist” MD. So, you think I am an addict? My Doctor must be an idiot…Wrong answer. I am a Person in pain and so far, in the last ten years, have NOT achieved being near comfortable. Easy for you, you are comfortable. If I don’t take the medication, I can’t walk or even want to speak. DO YOUHAVE THAT? No, you don’t and when you do, God help you. I was unfortunate and I see you people saying some awful things about us. I want you to have your leg re-connected, go blind, have both shoulders re-vamped, 4 broken bone areas, partial colon removal, disc 3, 4, l1 removed and decompressed, extra bone growths removed, carpal tunnel, 5 hernias (to name a few) and yes they are all painful areas to be treated. I have stopped the opiods many times.
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I am a provider and even bed ridden have my income still coming in. I am no slouch. You perceive us to be “Lousy” people, I am an Engineer, Commercial artist, Comedian, and once singer (lost my voice to a vocal cord virus), materials Fabricator and so forth. Who are you to Judge? Get a hold of yourselves and understand that this is a grave disturbance for us and NOT for you. Have some pain, on me. Let’s see how you fair?
Thank you for your time! I think. Omni
Depending on what state you live in (which eventually all states will be included) I was informed will start requiring anyone taking Narcotics to sign the contracts. My Pain Dr. is head of board in Missouri and he explained this contract to me completely. This contract is there to protect the Dr. and also there due to all the pain clinic's out there that have been getting busted.
Unfortunately Again due to the people that ABUSE drugs we (All of that have to take pain meds just to make it through the day) have to pay the price.
Several states have busted illegitamate "pain clinics" for just writing scripts for $$$ and then they and the drug dealers make BIG $$.
But for the people like us that REALLY NEED these pain meds have to worry about this.
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The break down is basically this.. Your pain management Dr. will actually get printouts of EVERYTHING you have a prescription for Every month. If they see that you are receiving large amounts of pain meds from other Dr.s they will then have to review with you and the Dr. that prescriped addl drugs.
I have had several surgeries and been in the hospitals Many times since i signed my contract. There has NEVER been an instance that my Pain Dr. has even asked me about the other pain meds. On the report they receive it shows the Doctor or Hospital name and type of Dr. that is prescriping addl meds. It is the Pain dr. that will review if something looks funny. But even when I was in the hospital several months ago I was taking 120 mg Opana and on a Morphine continous drip plus addl amounts as needed. This was never questioned by anyone the hospital was aware of all my meds i was taking and they actually have there Pain Mgmnt specialist there that is responsible for reporting this to the Dr. I have never heard of the patient being responsible for having to contact the pain dr.
The pain Dr. should go over all of the contract with you and if you do not understand it DO NOT sign it !! Have someone else look it over as I know myself and many others have issues with retaining info when in severe pain.
If your DR. is threatening you find another DR. that is your right.