VA Crises LinesI

[john999]

I got so upset today about not getting my critical meds I called the VA crises line.  I was told there was nothing they could do since the phone call was being received in New York and I live in Florida.   I was referred to a number in Tampa where I live.   This is a VA line.

I called and got a recorded message.  I went nuts.  I called Patient Advocate and got a recording.   I called my Team and got nothing.   I called my congressman and they brushed me off.   I almost called 911.   I sent secure email and told my team I was going to ask

congresswoman to open a criminal investigation in regards crisis line neglect.  I smeared excrement every where I went to impress the anger I was feeling at being left in darkness about critical drugs I need to get on time with no dumb delays or screw-ups.  It

turns out my nurse on my team made an error.    She said "Sorry about that"  which made it all better in her mind.   My wife tells me to get out of the VA system because she knows this is going to happen every month.   She is right, of course, but I cling to

idea that the VA owes me medical care for SC illness/injuries.  Also, living in Florida which is Pill Mill capital of the USA it is hard to get honest doctors to prescribe opiates.   I live in chronic pain  and when I tell my shrink about it she tells me "Before you kill yourself call us".

If I had been at the point of hanging myself I would have gotten a recorded message and would be swinging from a tree branch by now.     This is criminal neglect.   The pharmacists says there are hundreds of vets like me not getting meds on time and they are

understaffed.  How can this be with billions being spent on patient care and suicide prevention?  

 

[brokensoldier244th]

Are they not renewing or are you not requesting them soon enough? Ive had issues with waiting for them to renew so I just go onto MyHealthVa and renew them myself. I make sure to give myself a week or so and I get a tracking number when they are sent. I live in Nebraska so maybe it works different up here than in Florida. 

[john999]

Broke

 

 

                        I get script for oxycodone so I can't renew online.  I must send in pain assessment every month and then wait for my doctor to forget to renew my meds or for nurse to screw up each and

every month.   I do everything right but they still manage to drop the ball.  I get my meds via UPS or FedEx and I must sign for them.   Do you get any opiates for pain?   I start calling 5 days ahead of the date

to have my script renewed because I know they will forget or screw it up somehow.  I get one month's supply so by the end of the month I am running low.  I get nervous.   When I get nervous I start calling.

This month I just could not get anyone to return calls or secure emails.  This drove me up the wall.  Situation fixed as of now ,but next month the same old thing.  I do need to either withdraw from the meds

or get an honest or dishonest doctor in Florida to prescribe for me.  I am not a drug addict but just a chronic pain victim and I know you know about that.

 

                        John

[broncovet]

Like yourself, I was upset when VA doc took me off Vicodin.  No weaning, just off.  I was mad a while, and got over it.  The doc said she would not prescribe Vicodin except for acute pain, and never long term.  

So, I knew I had to find an alternative for my knee pain.  I looked online for natural, herbal alternatives for knee/ joint pain.  I hit paydirt. 

I got "tumeric" which is a spice.  If you dont like the taste you can get pills.  Those are readily available in Walmart, Kroger, etc.  You want the kind with peperin (pepper).  Or, get the cheaper kind without pepper and make sure you put pepper on your food instead.  

Also, I spoke with my brother.  He never has arthritis.  Never.  But he has jalapenos, or hot stuff on everything.  He never eats food without hot stuff, and I dont care if its cereal, he puts it on everything.  

I could not eat hot stuff at first, but now I do, starting out with just a little.  Now I pour it on like he does.  Tobasco sauce, "fire" sauce at Taco bell, jalapenos, chili peppers.  I got a jar of organic chili pepper and I put it on cottage cheese.  Its delicious.  

By switching from pills to spices I do much better.  Mostly capsacian (hot peppers), which reduces inflammation, and tumeric.  I also take Greek Island labs "Natural Joint".  

I almost never need/want Vicodin anymore.  Vicodin made me costipated, and I dont like it at all.  

[rwskitch]

... call a least 14 days in advance and do the follow up calls the last 5 business days to ensure that the refill is being addressed...! Bay Pines is currently getting 'hammered' for being so called too 'lenient' with opiates and one has to come in every 3 mths, instead of the previous 6 mth check up, also heard that when one complains that their current meds aren't that effective that they go into 'chop-chop' mode and terminate the meds completely, forcing the vet to go into the civilian sector for assistance/treatment...!

[Meddac]

I would certainly make calls to local media outlets to get my story out there. Seems to help in some cases if you can get some media attention.

[Vync]

Sounds like it is time for some FOIA requests to get monthly statistics over the past three years. I would be interested to see what the standard deviation for each month and paint a graph to find out this opiate crisis is VA propaganda or not...