tdiu Take Caution Trying Subxone For Severe Chronic Pain

[dav_marine72]

Hi Everyone,

Man I feel like an idiot missing all this information over the last few years on the VA's crackdown on opiates. I was going to an outside provider for pain care until January of this year. I have been on what I call a blind sided suboxone regiment since then. Suboxone actually seems to help some people with mild to moderate chronic pain and the side effects are minimal as far as sedation. Here is why I recommend not switching. They didn't tell me at first but they had to put me in as an opiate addict to get me the script. I was going through withdrawals at the time because they would not connect me back to the VA pain clinic I used to go to or I probably would have been able to deter this.

Now 8 months in for me my pain is worse than ever. Honestly it seemed to help a little better in the beginning. Now that it doesn't and I want to switch back to regular opiates no one will touch me in the VA. I never abused my opiates in the 7 years I used them. I never ran out early. Yet now I am deemed an opiate addict. I had to get off my benzo because they will not allow you to take any form when on subxone. My benzo used to help greatly with my severe pain and it's well documented in the medical community. I have to attend mandatory group meetings where I have not found one person yet who has chronic pain and didn't abuse their meds. It seems like a great drug if you do have an opiate problem so I'm told. Sad part is there are probably many people who could benefit from suboxone who have mild to moderate pain. I'm TDIU because of my back and leg pain and lived a much better quality of life on regular opiates. Now it seems I shot myself in the foot. I wouldn't recommend switching based on the stigma that comes with it and the fact that if it does not work for you, you may not be able to switch back.

I also found presentations during my research with the VA and pain clinics and it seems most of them now recommend subxone first for any non-cancer pain. Just my luck. Now I understand why I was sent to mental health and not a pain clinic.

Just my input.

[dav_marine72]

http://www.marylandaddictionrecovery.com/the-dangers-of-long-term-suboxone-use

The VA's new recommended treatment for non-cancer pain.

[john999]

I think the VA is scared to death of the DEA. The War on Drugs is a now a War on Vets as well. I won't let them use the pain clinic to push me onto Suboxone unless I want to do that. You know heroin was a cure for morphine addiction back in the day. Methadone was a cure of heroin addiction. I have known people on methadone programs. They are just as doped up as heroin addicts and still searching for a buzz. I have used pain meds via the VA for about 8 years with never a dirty urine test or a test that showed I was not using as prescribed. That may not stop them, however, since the VA is looking for any excuse to kick me out of the program. They keep changing the rules of the game. DAV-72 is right to be suspicious of the VA's motives regarding opiates. All the pain doctors should be suffering from chronic severe pain so they could feel an ounce of compassion for their victims.

John

[Buck52]

Same here John,

Actually it was the VA that got me on opiates and now they want to stop , this meds change is going to be bad all the way around its going to cause nothing but trouble/problems for the Vets.

I'm suspicious as hell too!

It's good Ideal to go get copies of your medical records after each exam from here on out rather or not your filing a claim , but just to see what they say about you!

[Dolphin25]

The pain clinic at the VA Hosp in Albuquerque N.M. put me on Methadone in 2002 and was successfully on it since then with not one problem until last year when I was told I would be

weaned down, well they did and now they are taking me off Hydrocodone completely, so I went to a Methadone clinic and also had to tell them I was addicted to narcotics just to

get on the program but they knew I was on it for Pain control but they can't treat pain at a methadone clinic. I did what I had to do and they will give you a 28 day dose if you

are clean for however long. I ask the VA to pay for it but they refused, now the VA in another area pays for their veterans to go to the clinic but not mine. The medical director

doesn't think methadone is for pain, I ask him to research that b/c the Germans invented it during WWII for pain b/c of the morphine shortage back then.

I don't think this thing with Chronic pain is going to change, it is here to stay and screw the veterans. I don't know what the doctors really think about veterans who are on chronic

pain medication but probably they think we are all drug chasing addicts or are selling. I wouldn't know who to sell to and wouldn't risk my freedom anyway for a few pills, no way

no how. Good luck to everyone.

[Berta]

I think VA is also scared of the wrongful death lawsuits they had gotten against them due to improper management of drugs. I posted info on that here today under...FTCA (I think) I forget already where I posted it)

Part of my husband's early demise at age 47 was due to 2 medication errors, not to mention a third error...where they sent him some other vets pills...the other vet could have died...VA made him wait weeks for them, until I called their pharmacy and then went there to the VAMC griping about the error.

They put a nasty note in my C file because I called this serious medical error to their attention.

The vet got his meds, and my husband died after taking them but they were the correct dosage he should have been on for 6 years.This 3 error was a minor medical error when compared to the actual malpractice I discovered.