Va Pain Clinic Fails To Renew My Script

[john999]

For some reason the VA pain clinic failed to renew my fentanyl patch script. I got my oxycodone today in the mail but no fentanyl patches. When does the constant screw-ups over my medications become malpractice or a tort? Every month no matter who I talk to at the VA, or what I do in advance the VA fails to get my script to me and I run out and go into withdrawl. I call the pain clinic....nobody home. I call advocate....busy. I call phramacy and they email the pain clinic asking why my script was not renewed. This is affecting my mental health being on pins and needles every month. Now I am facing a long weekend and I can't get into contact with my doctor at the pain clinic. I have a heart condition and mental health conditions. This is driving me crazy. I just spoke to the pain clinic head doctor yesterday about these screw-ups.

[Wings]

x

x

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THAT TOTALLY SUX A#S.

How far away is your VA Emergency Room?

[jbasser]

Call the Director of the Hospital or when you call, ask for the Highest Ranking Person there. If it is on a weekend, call the AOD. These folks are the bosses.

J

Edited September 2, 2010 by jbasser

[john999]

The VA ER is about 20 miles away. I sure as hell don't want to go there. By Friday all the doctors at my VAMC will be gone and I will be left without my script. I called every number I could find to get in touch with the pain clinic doctors. Something happens every month. I can't just waltz out and get a fentanyl script filled. My VA ER doctors would not fill that script. It is not in the VA formulary. This is part of the problem. My doctors and the pharmacy have conflict every time I go to get the script filled. Last month the pharmacy refused to fill the script. This month the doctor did not even file the script with the pharmacy. The pain clinic writes a script and the pharmacy refuses to fill it. What kind of dog and pony show is that?

[john999]

I called the medical director, but they won't let me talk to her. They shunt me off to some other nobody. I just talked to the head of the pain clinic yesterday for 30 minutes and today I find my script has been dropped. It is like I am in fantasy land. I can't believe it. Is it malpractice to cut off a drug habituated patient with no warning. I will be on the phone early Friday. I talk to the VA one day and think I have every thing fixed and the next day they drop a bomb on me. They preach to not suddenly stop taking these meds, and then they just forget to renew my script. Every month I start calling a week ahead because I know they will screw it up and they do anyway. If I had a street drug dealer I would have a more consistent supply than the VA.

[jbasser]

I know a guy that actually carries his mri disk with him when he goes to any Doctor or ER.

The Drug seekers as they are called are overwhealming the system.

If you have a Drug protocol and have a Drug agreememnt and dont abuse it then there should be no problem getting your meds.

If these delays cause you any Pain, then you may be able to seek some sort of recourse agains them.

The way I loook at it. If you need the meds, you should get them.

Hang in there John,

J

[allan]

I had been going through periods of the pharmacy forgetting to send a months supply of morphine about every other month for nearly a yr when they forgot to send all my meds for a month.

Morphine, Gabapentin, Paxil, Busparone, muscle relaxant, ashma meds, my whole supply.

A week went by and all I got is the Dr didn't sign off on your meds. Then the Dr said he signed off, the pharmacy had it wrong and screwed up. Another week went by. I was getting to be a complete emotional and mental mess after sudden withdrawal from all my meds. Another week, than another. No meds and no reply. I was near suicidal one night & drove to the VAMC ER 150 miles away on ice covered roads.

When I got to the ER the nurse said she wasn't about to break into the pharmacy and get "DRUGS" for me. Blew my off like I was a street addict and refused to give me any treatment..

I headed from Spokane to Medical lake near Seattle through the night. Slept in below freezing temps at a rest area for a while. First time in days I got any sleep due to the lack of bi-polar meds.

Ended up at a private hospital in Everet after I met up with my daughter. I was so messed up I didn't know what I was doing or where I was.

Not long after that the Spokane ER let a vet die outside their window after refusing to treat him.

Do not waste your time at any VA ER. If it's an emergency and your life depends on seeing medical help now, I would go to a private ER.

Call your team nurse or VAMC PCP and ask to see a psychiatrist right away. Explain to the Dr that your going through sudden withdrawals and ask him to prescribe something for the pain or to renew your pain med. Also get it documented how all of this has caused increased emotional stress and depression if it has.

Don't wait like I did. Go there during working hours and see if you can see one as a walk in.

At my VAMC clinic the Dr won't see you as a walk in if your dieing, so call ahead to see, but the psychiatrist might.

I hope my experience saves you or another Vet from going through this.

Allan