[Fraudulent Behavior Va Business Office]

Until you recieve a letter saying you will be cut off from pain medication, Vets should take your medication as prescribed. Suddenly stopping your medications is very dangerous.

Also, i've found that these VAMC's can pretty much make their own policies without it effecting "ALL" veterans accross the country.

I just recieved my prescription of pain meds, no such notice was in the package.

Don't let fear increase your anxiety and make you sick. Wait until you actually recieve a notice before taking any action.

Yes, Your totally right. I have found that different VISN's across the USA, do not follow standards, protocols, and guidelines, and laws. Most doctors have their private practice on the sidelines, and run the VA clinics as if it is a private practice, although not following protocols, and giving Veterans poor care, or no treatment at all. Just recently I ended up in the emergency room because, they would not refill my pain medication, the withdrawls was bringing on heart pains, and severe high blood pressure. My doctors excuse is that she only works part time at the VA. Now they have blocked me from all my secure messages because they are covering up their evil doings.

I have educated myself a great deal, and read that pain should be treated promptly to avoid a lifetime of chronic pain. My past experience with the VA VISN 17 just proves to me, that they do not follow protocols. In the past I asked, even begged for some physical therapy, anything other than pain meds to help prevent chronic pain. They refused me physical therapy 3 times, I showed for the appointments, then told to leave that they could not help me, then the PCP put me on pain meds. Now that I have chronic pain, they want to punish me, by under treatment, and putting me in withdrawls. Currently I am writing a letter to congress, about several issues. I will never trust secure messaging, as non health care va personal had been viewing my medical notes.

[Mhv Secure Message System]

I want to thank everyone for their big welcome.

******UPDATE

Also I want to update, The breech in my medical record emails Patient-Doctor. To, and from My PCP health team.

I was exuasted last night, and very upset, after finding out roof garret, or garret roof, I am not sue which name is his last. Also, in the past when my PCP was in Waco, this same guy posed as if he was one of my health care provider. Apparently for some no good reason he has been tracking me on MHV, and viewing my Medical related emails, appointment the whole works for a long time. He has totally violated The Veteran hospital Patients Bill of Rights, and breeched my personal medical emails without any regard concerning my privacy.

I have been going up the chain of command, My next step is to notify Congress, and the Senate. This has caused me a great deal of harm, and I was unable to sleep last night worried about what he has done with my personal information. All along now, he has fooled me into thinking he was part of my health care team, until yesterday he phoned me screaming at me on the phone. He has my treatment plan, and very personal information, that I was only sharing with my PCP doctor. He has also blocked me from all my emails on the MHV website, I had made extra folder to store my medical notes, treatment plans, and other medical very personal private information. His retaliation against me has caused undue harm to me, both mentally, and physically. I hope this guy really feels good about his self, as he does nothing but take advantage of Veterans that are trying to seek medical care. I had been extra nice in all my emails, I am also upset, I have bad hearing loss, and I relied on my emails for communication tool. Also I have severe Left Subclavian steal syndrome, and I need my email notes. The VA in Waco are the ones that wanted me to start using MHV secure message.....Guess so they could hurt me, instead of helping me. They almost let me die in the past, and had me on the Mental lock up ward, when I needed emergency bi-pass surgery. I have every right to email my health care provider(Doctor), to try my best to prevent them from any further mis-diagnosis. They do not want to waste their time to look into my records to see that they have mis-dianosed me 3 times in the past.

Actually I am now scared to seek any further medical care from the VA Hospital, I am scared of their retaliation against me. I will be finding a local Doctor, and give them my full medication list.

I have some medication I need to turn back into the VA Pharmacy, but I am going to have a witness go with me.

I want to thank everyone, Right now I am not much help to anyone, but I will hold my head up, and keep a positive outlook.

Thank you

[New_Old_Guy]

Welcome back!

Glad to hear you have enough VA experience to help your son out. If there's anything you need to help out, just chime in anytime.

Coot

Thanks, Although I been off the site awhile, I am always with you guys/gals

[New_Old_Guy]

What member name did you use in the past ?

Thanks.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, I was at the Temple VA hospital Today. I may have used the name admarm, I am not positive. I have it written down someplace. My Wife, and I just purchased our home, and we still have things we need to unpack. It was tough moving, it took a lot out of me. I will look at my notes, when I come across them..itsd bee a long time ago. I am sure I will find it, I sure need to get organized again. We like our new (used) home.

I am going to post my experience with the VA today. It is total shame what the VA did to me today, also I am going include some history of past bad times I have had. I have to talk about it, it really has upset me.

I been dealing with a lot of pain, Then my health care team turns over all my personal information to a non health care person, instead of treatment. In the past they had me on lockup on the mental ward, and they almost let me die, I needed emergency bi-pass, and they said it was in my head. I had to write Chet Edwards, and even go to Hillcrest Hospital a private hospital for a service connected disability. All this is documented, this was years ago, but ever since all they do is retaliate against me. I have had several surgeries, and each time been mis-diagnosed prior, and had to write congress.

Now they are again bumping me back, and fourth. I had asked for even a local steroid shots, something some kind of treatment to reduce my pain. I have been refused physical therapy 3 times....now I find out they are letting other non health care personnel read my Doctor-Patient "secure messages"

Today, I checked my secure messaging, found out it is not so secure; I will post what I have written to the MHV site myhealthevet site concerning this;

"Roof Garret, at approx 11:06 am phoned me, yelling, and demanding I shut up, and listen to him. I had been tring to contact my PCP at Temple VA with no results, and in person this morning I told them I was Writing Congress, and Senate. This is total retaliation against me. He has invaded my privacy patient Doctor, and I am filing a complaint. He is also on face book tweeter, and I do not like the Idea of him having my information, and phoning me yelling telling me to shut up listen to him. This is a total shame. I have been very kind in all my emails tring to get in touch with my doctor, and this is how a Veteran gets treated.

　

Roof Garret Phoned 11:06 am thursday 29th sept 2011.

This is very serious!!!!

Roof Garret at VISN 17/Temple Texas has broken Doctor-Patient Confidentiality. Also He has blocked me from my emails. I have a hearing disability, and I use my past emails for notes. Also emails for communication because of my hearing disability. Also He sent me an email through secure messaging, posing/leading me to believe he was one of my health care providers. He phoned me yelling/screaming at me, trying to provoke me. Now apparantly everyone has my health information!!!! I need to contact congress, and the senate to find out what happened to my MHV emails, including the drafts. I hope they do not turn up on his facebook, and twitter accounts, or passed around his office as some joke. He had no right to read my health notes to, and from my Doctor, and Nurses. This guy is a loose cannon, and what he has done to me is beyond repair. This has hurt me Mentally, and Physically.

I am requesting immediate response to this matter. I am locating HOTLINE number to insure my information is not leake by Roof Garret. This is a great shame, why he has done nothing but show retaliation against me, and use my emails from me to my doctor against me, with his yealling at me on the phone.I am also printing my phone records, and have the time of his phone call documente. He is trying to coverup his secure emails to me, by blocking me, and deleting his tracks.

　

Roof Garret at VISN 17/Temple Texas has broken Doctor-Patient Confidentiality. Also He has blocked me from my emails. I have a hearing disability, and I use my past emails for notes. Also emails for communication because of my hearing disability. Also He sent me an email through secure messaging, posing/leading me to believe he was one of my health care providers. He phoned me yelling/screaming at me, trying to provoke me. Now apparantly everyone has my health information!!!! I need to contact congress, and the senate to find out what happened to my MHV emails, including the drafts. I hope they do not turn up on his facebook, and twitter accounts, or passed around his office as some joke. He had no right to read my health notes to, and from my Doctor, and Nurses. This guy is a loose cannon, and what he has done to me is beyond repair. This has hurt me Mentally, and Physically.

Even when he phoned me at home, I had to ask him his title, as he did not want to tell me. He has broken Doctor-Patient Confidentiality, and caused great damage to my personal information. He has shown disrespect towards all veterans, and he has broken his Oath. I am looking up HOTLINE number for Congress, and the Senate...This has hurt me in many ways, apparently he likes to hurt Veterans, and stated he is in charge".

To top it all off, during my last doctors appointment, I asked my doctor if I could email her, "Secure Message", if the new script did not reduce my pain, and she agreed. I am very exausted, I will get some rest, get my notes together, and I am going to write Congress, and the Senate........this is a total shame, and now I feel like I can no longer at all trust the VA health care system, It has been bad in the past. I just cannot put into words how this feels to me, it is bad.

[Plz Help]

Why would they get tricare, once you're out??? I've never heard of that.

pr

Basically, if I understand you correctly, your not even eligible to be in the guard, with a 90% rating, your not deployable. If you just want to leave quietly. It depends if you have fulfilled your service requirements, if you have, well then apply for a discharge under honorably fulfilling your service requirements....

I just do not feel as though I am getting the whole picture, tell them about your disability, and get out.

[New_Old_Guy]

Hello Eveyone,

I use to be a member of this site years ago. Been through several computers since then. I got caught up(worried) about my son(Jr) he was in this last War, and it messed him up more ways than a person can imagine. So, with me being a Vet of 13 yrs (Army) I feel like I been through hell, and back considering what I go through with my son. Atleast I was able to avoid a lot of red tape for him, and navigate the VA system.

One thing for sure I will never say I know it all, The VA system has more red tape, and invents new was to screw over Veterans daily. My main complaint is, the VA doctors to not follow protocols, and guidelines. I have also noticed a big issue when it come to culture. In regards to Eastern Mediciene VS Western Mediciene. As I said if protocols, Standards, and guidelines was followed, we would not have VA doctors acting as though they are operating their own private practice as if in a Middle eastern country. If a doctor is just all out rude, and speaks arbic on the phone to me, I will give them bad health grades, and bad reviews on the Internet....just google their name.

Thanks

[Can My Pcp Abruptly Stop My Pain Management Meds?]

Hi, I've not been on here in a long time, you guys helped me get my 100% rating 3 years ago, since then, I've also been awarded 100% SSD. But anyways, here's what happened. The VA said I violated my pain contract when I moved from one state to another and received pain meds from two separate facilities (which I did).

I have serious heart problems, CHF, ICD/Pacemaker, high blood pressure, chronic back pain, and a host of other medical conditions, all treated by VA doctors.

I've been reading that abruptly stopping narcotic pain meds can cause stroke, serious withdrawal symptoms, spikes in blood pressure, and basically 30-60 days of hellish torture to which my body simply cannot endure.

My current primary care doctor said he was going to discontinue my pain medication for violation of a pain contract I signed 7 years ago. Yep, the VA has had me on narcotic pain meds for over 7 years, now, just all of the sudden they want to abruptly STOP dispensing them. In my mind, any doctor in their right mind knows the affects of withdrawals and putting someone with a bad heart, high blood pressure, chronic pain, coupled with psychiatriac conditions (PTSD) is unequivocally and absolutely cruel and inhumane. My body simply can't take it, stopping my meds is not civilized after 7 years of being on them.

Can someone give me some advise please? I'm not saying I'm an addict (I took them as prescribed) but "on occassion" I did take 1 extra pill when I felt really super bad. Over the years my body has indeed became both physically and psychologically dependant upon this chemical in order to function. I told the VA (it's noted in my records from 2008) that I think I'm becoming dependant upon these pain meds and would like to stop. What does the VA do? Send me to a psych doctor who prescribed a powerful drug called xanax and UP my dose of pain meds! Now fast forward to 2011 - I moved to another state and received scripts from my prior state and the state I live in now. The old VA from my former state automatically sent the meds in the mail, I was surprised to get them in fact, they just arrive out of the blue one day, so I kept them. Now the NEW VA found out about this and wants to stop ALL PAIN MGT? I can't take it...I'll die. I have a heart of an 85 year old man and can hardly get around as-is, I can't imagine what's going to happen when my meds run out in 2 weeks.

Can someone please give me some advise. I have an appt with my PCP on Wednesday March 30th 2011 to "discuss" why I received meds from two different VA facilities.

Thanks - if you can call me on the phone and talk, I'd appreciate any advise, all I know is 7 years, 9 months of pain meds, my body IS in fact dependent upon these drugs and an abrupt halt will cause a stroke and I could very well die. The drugs are opiate-based, semi-powerful and do indeed relieve my pain and make me feel "normal".

It sure sounds like the VA is at fault. I have turned opiates back into the pharmacy because of adverse reactions, and they acted like they did not know what to do with them. Who is to say you did not phone the pharmacy to try finding out the procedure to turn them in? The VA is always sending out double prescriptions, they know it happens all the time. As far as that goes, it is all in the VA system, and it was not doctor shopping. When you sign for prescriptions you do not actually know what it is until you open it. You could tell them you flushed them. It is not uncommon for medications to overlap when changing doctors. You prob have a lot of othe scripts with your old doctors name still on them, they are not gonna hassle you about it, only the opiates, because most va pain clinic doctors are rejects, so it makes them feel big when they are in control of your pain.

[Can My Pcp Abruptly Stop My Pain Management Meds?]

I cannot understand how anyone can feel better by not having pain meds to reduce pain to a bearable state. I absolutely was in agony before I decided to take the pain meds. Sure there woul dbe less of the effect the drug has but the pain. IF ONE is really in pain the getting off of pain medicine is like committing suicide. Having a ever progressive spine disease and joint disease, among other pain problems. I can NOT live without the power of pain meds. I thank God fro pain meds! If I am not worthy of healing from Him at least there is pain meds to ease the suffering, albeit they do have consequence on the body. So sorry I can not see feeling better by not taking pain meds. Id rather die than live with that pain again.

When I see my shrink, he is always telling me take half a pill, meaning any opiate, or Lorazepam. Took me awhile to catch on, and start reading between the lines. So now the night prior to my Urine, and blood test. I only take a half of these pills. It shows up as I am taking the right amount of my medication. Locally they say do not take pain meds the morning of your urine/blood test as it will show to much in your system.

[Can My Pcp Abruptly Stop My Pain Management Meds?]

I cannot understand how anyone can feel better by not having pain meds to reduce pain to a bearable state. I absolutely was in agony before I decided to take the pain meds. Sure there woul dbe less of the effect the drug has but the pain. IF ONE is really in pain the getting off of pain medicine is like committing suicide. Having a ever progressive spine disease and joint disease, among other pain problems. I can NOT live without the power of pain meds. I thank God fro pain meds! If I am not worthy of healing from Him at least there is pain meds to ease the suffering, albeit they do have consequence on the body. So sorry I can not see feeling better by not taking pain meds. Id rather die than live with that pain again.

I have read a lot of post. I can say I have had my share of the pain pill games the VA can dish out. My PCP was in Waco, Texas. He is also My Sons (Jr) PCP. The PCP screwed up my sons medication, and my son wrote ccongress. Needless to say, I was then retaliated against. My pain meds was coming late, time waiting between refills, hard time getting refills, You name it.. I did not push the issue(Much). I knew I was in the process of moving to Temple,TX. so I changed pcp to Temple. I am the type that keeps my cool, and seen my new pcp, not even mentioning a word about the past bad experience. I even got my medication increased due to building up a tolorance went from 5/500 hydrocodone to the 10/500 90 each month. Prior to comeing to temple, the waco PCP refered me to the pain clinic doctor, he was a jerk. I had a fractured disk, plus crushed cervical, compressed nerves in my neck from va surgery. Anyway this "pain Clinic" tried to put me on morphine. I had neve taken the pill type, maybe had a few shots while in the hospital after surgerys. I found out morphine did not agree with me, and was having adverse reations. I took the Morphine to the va pharmacy, and turned them in, I requested they do a pill count, and note it in my records. Also reported the adverse reaction to the pharmacy(important). Then I contacted the Pain Clinic doctor, told him about the adverse reaction with the Morphine, he phones back screaming on the phone like I was trying to seek drugs. Then he shut up when he found out I had turned the morphine into the pharmacy. So then he prescribes oxycodone IR. It only help reduce the pain for about 1 hour(it looked like a little sugar pill, would go straight through me). I phoned him again, he does more screaming on the phone, he is mad because this time the patient rep is on his back. I could see the trouble he was going to be, so I used the contract he had me sign, and fired him for breech of his own contract.

Now my new doctor, prescribed 10/500 hydrocodones, this went well....Until I went to get a refill........No refill my doctor was not around. I did go through withdrawls, ended up at the va emergency room to get my blood pressure reduced. Felt like my heart was going to explode. It took 4 hrs to get my blood pressure reduced. The emergency room doc, gave me a partial refill prior to leaving..Come to find out my doctor was absent due to a family medical emergency. I now use secure messaging, and requested an alternative way to have a prescription refilled when my pcp is not available. I would not put it past the VA as to trying to setup veterans just to see if they have other pills on hand. In my case I did not, they sure tested for all the drugs in the emergency room, I was clean, and in full blown withdrawls.

It is just aggravating, even the last increase of my pain meds did not reduce the pain, my tolorance is very high. I even think going through withdrawls, and back on the pills again even raised my tolorance more, shocked my whole system. Recently the doc switched me to the 5/500 oxycodone 60 a month, to me is no more stronger than the 10/500 hydrocodones 90 a month. I told the pcp I would try the oxys, but if it did not work I would let them know. I am in the middle of working it out.