Reply to s/o Anyone else fed up with doctors thinking everyone is a junkie?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My MIL is in her 80s and suffers from severe osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoperosis, spinal stenosis (she's had several surgeries for this), and circulatory problems.  She takes one Vicodin per day, never more than that unless she's just had surgery, which allows her to at least get out of her wheelchair and onto her shower seat or the toilet without as much pain as she'd otherwise have.  My FIL, who is also in his 80s, is her primary caregiver--all of their adult children have offered/ begged them to move into our homes and they have so far stubbornly refused.  Thankfully, my FIL is still very healthy and spry despite his age.  However, my MIL must now must go to the doctor every single month to get a refill on her meds, rather than have it called into the pharmacy or get a script with multiple refills.  She's immunosuppressed due to her various medical issues and it's not easy for her to get in and out of the car.  This is a huge pain in the ass for her and my FIL and I really wish there could be a reasonable middle ground.  [/quote]

Blame the intrusive DEA, not the doctor, he is playing by their rules. The DEA has the doctors scared to death.

My sympathy in this case is with your mother, the government has put her in this position by their rules to weed out the abusers.[/quote]

Your MIL needs a new MD. My neurologist will write a small Vicodin script (low dose, 25 pills) for migraine pain for me three months out.  So he writes one dated the day of my visit,  a second that says do not fill until xxx date (one month out) and a third for a month after that. Now that he is on a stable dose, my son's psychiatrist does the same for his ADHD meds (Adderall). So I only need to see my neurologist, and he only needs to see his psychiatrist every 3 months, not every month. This is apparently okay under the new prescribing guidelines.  A reasonable MD should do this for your MIL unless she needs to be monitored monthly. [/quote]

My mother has the same issue as this MIL. NO doctor would prescribe it 3 months out.  [/quote]

PP here.  I definitely blame the DEA, not my MIL's doctor, for this.  Her doctor has been very apologetic about the inconvenience it causes for her to come in so often.  I suspect she is one of several elderly patients he treats who are in the same situation.

I've never heard of a doctor prescribing opiates 3 months out, either.  I thought that was illegal, but maybe I'm wrong.[/quote]

My doc also does the 3-month thing.

[url]http://www.wsj.com/articles/dea-restricts-narcotic-pain-drug-prescriptions-1408647617[/url][/quote]

http://www.policymed.com/2014/09/deaheavyrestrictionsonvicodin.html

PPs link doesn't work without a subscription, but the one above does. And yes, under the new Rx guidelines, an MD can issue "multiple perscriptions for up to a 90 day supply."  Now, your MIL/mother's MD may not be comfortable doing this for whatever reason, either something to do with her, or their own prescribing practices, or the need to keep patients coming in to pay the bills. But if the MD says they can't or it's illegal, that's just not true, however apologetic they are. If she really does not need to be seen every month, is elderly and immunodompromised, is not on a high dose, etc., it may be time to find a doctor who is more willing to work with you. I have never had an issue getting a 3 30 day Rxs, 2 of them post-dated.  But I have been on a stable dose for a long time, have a long term relationship with the MD, and just don't need to be seen every month. [/quote]

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