pain managment or lack there of

[KO1345]

Went in for an exam and was told by the Dr that I needed to go see an outside Dr to get anything stronger than melixocam because the new administration want every vet in this area to not have a prescription for an opiod  WTF

[Vync]

20 hours ago, KO1345 said:

Went in for an exam and was told by the Dr that I needed to go see an outside Dr to get anything stronger than melixocam because the new administration want every vet in this area to not have a prescription for an opiod  WTF

Welcome to Hadit!

I'm sorry that you had to receive the bad news. Unfortunately, it seems that the VA had been going in that direction. It bubbles down to the DEA rewriting the rules on opiates and the VA cold turkey-ing veterans off of them. All the bad press of VA docs being known as candy land and suicides did not help either.

It is still possible for the VA to prescribe opiates, but it seems that most instances are limited to post-surgical or for cancer treatment. I personally ran into the same problem as you and it took me about 18 months of rallying to be given a small amount of medications strictly for emergencies. In addition, they made me sign an "opiate contract" which I have since revoked. Basically, the contract says that if you get them from the VA, but they find you get them elsewhere, they cut you off.

Meloxicam can help, but eventually the high doses become less effective and the weight gain is not a lot of fun.

The VA's answer is to visit their mental health clinic to learn how to cope, going to physical therapy, and also to visit their pain clinic. The pain clinic did provide all the usuals (braces, TENS unit, heating pad, ice packs, etc...), but recently had me try a new treatment called alpha-stim. I had to go through a ton of other treatments before they afforded me a chance to try it. From talking to others, it seems it is not a miracle treatment and results may vary. I do get some level of relief from the device.

I hope this helps.

[smoothc100]

KO1345,

Are you retired?  If so you can use the MTF (military treatment facility) if you have Tricare and I think if I'm not mistaken for any LOD injury as long as you have the LOD when you go to the MTF.  If not then I would pursue the referral in order to receive the pain medication you need. I stopped going to Pain Management at the VA, because of the medication issue and it was hard to be seen and started going the MTF. 

[john999]

The VA is against opiates now and benzo's like Valium , Clonazepam and Xanax.   The VA has created their own Frankenstein monster over the last 15 years.  They began prescribing drugs like Morphine Sulfate, Methadone and the lessor ones like oxycodone and hydrocodone for years to treat chronic pain.   Now HQ has taken it out of the hands of their front line doctors and decided that they made a big mistake since a small minority of vets abuse or misuse their medications.  The fix is to deny all vets pain medications whenever possible.  "Let them eat cake", or let them buy heroin and take the risks themselves as long as our hands are clean. " is their new motto.  Was there ever an organization outside of George Orwell's  "1984" where the official mission is so opposed to the secret mission?  The official mission of the VA is to give vets the best medical care available, and the real mission is to save money and save face at the cost of veteran health. 

[seminoles]

1 hour ago, john999 said:

The VA is against opiates now and benzo's like Valium , Clonazepam and Xanax.   The VA has created their own Frankenstein monster over the last 15 years.  They began prescribing drugs like Morphine Sulfate, Methadone and the lessor ones like oxycodone and hydrocodone for years to treat chronic pain.   Now HQ has taken it out of the hands of their front line doctors and decided that they made a big mistake since a small minority of vets abuse or misuse their medications.  The fix is to deny all vets pain medications whenever possible.  "Let them eat cake", or let them buy heroin and take the risks themselves as long as our hands are clean. " is their new motto.  Was there ever an organization outside of George Orwell's  "1984" where the official mission is so opposed to the secret mission?  The official mission of the VA is to give vets the best medical care available, and the real mission is to save money and save face at the cost of veteran health. 

I am on all sorts of benzo's , have been for over 5 years.  I go back and forth from ativan, xanax, and klonopin.  I have never been on the pain meds for my chronic pain, I am allergic to most of them.  Sad, really for those that truly need them to not have access.

[Vync]

1 hour ago, john999 said:

The VA is against opiates now and benzo's like Valium , Clonazepam and Xanax.   The VA has created their own Frankenstein monster over the last 15 years.  They began prescribing drugs like Morphine Sulfate, Methadone and the lessor ones like oxycodone and hydrocodone for years to treat chronic pain.   Now HQ has taken it out of the hands of their front line doctors and decided that they made a big mistake since a small minority of vets abuse or misuse their medications.  The fix is to deny all vets pain medications whenever possible.  "Let them eat cake", or let them buy heroin and take the risks themselves as long as our hands are clean. " is their new motto.  Was there ever an organization outside of George Orwell's  "1984" where the official mission is so opposed to the secret mission?  The official mission of the VA is to give vets the best medical care available, and the real mission is to save money and save face at the cost of veteran health. 

That definitely sums it up.

Looks like the VA is learning from the Army: