I Was Chastized Today For No Good Reason

[jeffperry1134]

I recently (3 weeks ago) fractured my fibula and a bone in my ankle walking in my driveway on my relatively good leg. I called to ask to get into the doctor because I have taken extra pain medication and wondered if they would make an exception to give me a temporary increase. The doctor chewed me a new one and told me I should have been taking my medicine as prescribed and told me to go to another facility if I feel that I need more pain medication. She said that since I went to the local med check that is 5 minutes away instead of the VA which is 1 hour and 30 minutes away that I can find pain medicine on my own. She made me feel like such a freaking druggie on the phone. I am prescribed 4 hydrocodone a day. The doctor told me to increase to 6 a day at the med check. I am attending school full-time and just sitting in a desk for hours makes it just swell up big time. I told her I would tough it out and that I would use myHealtheVet to reorder when I am ready. Now I am taking one a day (at night) and using my 2 tens units 4-6 hours a day. I have to use one on the other leg because it is my bad one and the stress on it is making it quite painful.

[Buck52]

The VA is cracking down on the pain meds and I suppose it makes the Dr's pissed off.

This New DEA Law is why....and if the Dr's don't go by the rules I imagine they get the boot?...some pain meds like Hydrocodone is suppose to have VA doc sign off every 28 days that they seen you or tested you...there getting pretty strict with it.

they basically have to cover there self.

jmo

.................Buck

[broncovet]

I agree with Buck. A couple months ago my doc also, completely eliminated my prescrption for Vicodin. She did take the time to explain why.

I, too, was upset with the doc at first. The previous doc prescribed 3 vicodin per day, and now I take zero.

It was a little rough, at first, for me to be taken off vicodin, but I soon got over it. I was given Etodolac (an anti inflamatory, similar to Alleve) and actually get better pain relief than with Vicodin. The Etodolac lasts about 10-12 hours, while the Vicodin lasted less than half that time. Vicodin did nothing to reduce the swelling, while the Etodolac did.

It forced me to do good things for my health. I changed my diet to a more "pain relief" diet. Each day, or twice a day, I have about a half teaspoon of the herb "Tumeric", which is also a spice sometimes called curicumin. I actually dont like the taste of tumeric, its the stuff that makes "Indian food" taste like it does. However, I take it anyway (tho I could have taken the capsules and not had to put up with the taste).

Not only has the daily dose of tumeric reduced my pain and swelling, I believe I am much more mentally alert also. For example, I started playing chess again, against the computer and beat the computer on level 5 about 8 of the past 10 games. A year ago, I had mostly "given up" on chess thinking I was too old and even feared playing my sons, thinking that they would disregard my advice if they beat me.

After 2 months of tumeric, I say, "Bring my sons on", as I feel back to my old form where I could beat my grown sons as if they were children in chess. (I was tutored in chess by a former International Master, who actually represented the United States in the Chess Olympics. Mr Whitaker actually played Board 1, while a relative unknown played Board 2, the young, 12 year old Bobby Fisher. Mr. Whitaker reported to me that when 12 year old "Bobby" lost a game, he cried like a baby. Mr. Whitaker won all his games in the Chess olympics, except for a few draws. (tie)

[Navy04]

I feel for you bud, but you got to follow the rules like everyone else. When you take those narcotics you sign an agreement to take Meds as prescribed. I have had 15 surgeries since 2009 including multiple knee and bone procedures and more to come, and I have never been able to take a single pain med. I have Crohns and have had 2 blood transfusions, therefore I will never have any pain relief, and most days are very hard for me. I am only 33, so this will be a long life of pain, and I just have to accept it. Not saying that you are not in pain my friend, but those meds will cause more damage down the road if you take a lot for a long time. A good friend of mine has MS and Parkinsons, and he is only 32. Last year he was hurting bad and took a handful of the 800mg IB Profin, and he ended up with internal bleeding and a lot of discomfort since. Good luck and God Bless!!!