New Va Pain Medication Policy

[Dolphin25]

I received a letter from the VA Medical Center in Fayeteville, Ark stating that on May 6, 2013 the VHCS is looking at the safety of prescription narcotics. Your primary care team will work with you and review the narcotics you are taking. This may result in a change to your medications. The goal is to reduce the side effects that occur from narcotic use including:

Depression

Impotence

Suicidal Ideation

Decreased ability to breathe

We want to find a plan to fit your needs. VHSO has many ways to help you with this goal. The first step is to review the pain medicines you are taking and decide if you need to make a plan. You and your primary care team can explore ways to help you safely manage pain like: using non-addictive pain medicine, acupuncture, or other methods we have here at the VHSO. We want to keep your pain under control and make sure you are safe at the same time.

Thank you for your support as we begin working on this safety plan. If you have any questions, please call your primary care team.

Apparently this letter has gone out all over the VA Health Care system. Tonight I received a phone call from the nurse of my primary care team telling me my Doctor is sending me a letter detailing how he will be withdrawing me off of my pain meds. Now this is totally contrary to what the above letter states but anyway I will wait for the letter. This past month he decreased my dose without discussing anything with me. I have been on pain meds with the VA for about 12 to 15 years now and I am at a point where my pain is controlled and really don't need any tinkering with anything. I have never complained about any of the side effect and don't experience any. I have taken the whole gamut of pain meds and have now been on Methadone for over 10 years. One thing Dr.s don't understand about Methadone is one does not "get high" on this medication. It last a long time in your system so one does not have to take it but once a day, unlike other pain meds where you take them every 4 to 6 hours. I have never had any problems with my UA's I am required to take. I am unable to walk and really do have serious pain levels daily at or above 7 on the pain scale...feels like someone has hit me in the back with a baseball bat as the pain takes my breath away..but with my pain meds I can manage to at least eat food. I receive AA and need someone to help me daily with everything I do so living in my body is no easy task.

I am wondering do I have any recourse with something like this...I don't understand why they don't treat Vets on a one by one basis instead of Systemwide.

Is anyone else experiencing this, have you received your letter, if not then beware...the nurse said they are doing this with Medicare also but the VA is ahead of the curve...yeah!!

[carlie]

I am wondering do I have any recourse with something like this...

Private medical provider - jmho

[rpowell01]

Funny thing you bring this up. Thursday I seen my doc in neuropain. I asked him can he give me some type of low dose pain killer. His response was "You have tramadol and that is what your going to get"....So what happened to the quality of life in dealing with pain as part of the patients rights?

So I asked him, "how much tramadol can I take per day" and his response was 2 3x a day. Well I already take that much and it has not ended its life with me. So what does he do he upped my Gabapentin to 3200mg a day. Well there goes the rest of my memory I barely have. That stuff is evil and it doesn't help much after your body gets use to it.

Oh just another add-on to this topic, I asked him what about surgery. He quickly responded by saying "Your age is stopping us from doing surgery". WTH, is somebody who is 55 more important than somebody that is 44 about to be 45? In all seriousness what does AGE have to do with the amount of pain somebody is in or doing surgery to CORRECT the issues?

Is Obamacare's socialist medicine now in affect at the VA?

[john999]

There are a bunch of pain doctors at the VA who don't believe in narcotics. They think every vet who asks for pain meds is a drug addict. The VA has been prescribing oxycodone and fentynal for me for at least 8 years. Now they say that one of my medical problems is opiate dependence when they are the ones who got me dependent. The way to deal with VA and pain meds is to never give them an excuse to cut you off and take them just as prescribed. If they won't you off them then make them do it to suit you. If they pull that shit on me I will sue them for turning me into a drug addict. I am not an addict because I take the stuff just the way they prescribe, but if they give me a hard time I will go to the newspaper in my town. They are so irresponsible and have created many opiate dependent vets over the years.

John

[JON]

I heard that the DEA was on the VA case for prescribing too much pain med. Try patient advocate. If that doesn't work, try a letter to your congressman.

[rpowell01]

Here is the thing I have taken Hydrocone in the past for shingles. I know what it does to you but I also know it does help. Since I know what this drug does to me I can utilize it on days that are really bad when the other drugs are not helping. People with Osteoarthritis/DDD of the spine know what I am talking about, the days when there is weather changes or low pressures. Those are the killer days and puts you in bed. It took me 2 hours to get out of bed this morning because of it. Wish I had the Hydrocone last night so I wouldn't have waken up like this.

IT SUCKS and I guess my only solution is to see my Private Doctor to see if he will fill me a month supply. Anybody know how much Hydrocone cost without insurance?