Pain Management Doctors?

[kennymare]

I have two family members in the villages who have been taking pain meds for many years. They are not abusers or junkies like they are treated at the two pain management doctors I have taken them to here. Do villagers need to drive back to their other home state just to get their prescriptions from their pain management doctor then drive back to The Villages? Then my husband had his out of state prescription for morphine and Walgreens, CVS, and Target all said no to filling it as it is an out of state prescription. Publix said they would then changed their mind and Winn Dixie said we will fill it one time. What happens to the other 5 months we are in our Villages home. Does anyone have a supportive pain management doctor in FL that will carry out your protocol for pain management?
I have called 11 in and around the villages and all have said no? Thank you for any help.

PS for the people who are posting me that my husband is an addict because he has been on morphine for 7 years, please don't say things you know nothing about. Addiction and dependency are two different things and I hope you never have to live in chronic pain.

[MoeVonB61]

As of January, 2015 the law has changed in MANY STATES regarding narcotics prescriptions.....if you found 11 Dr's that said no that's because they need to keep their medical license to keep working and will not break the law....if you have a pain management Dr. here locally, THEY should be willing to refill once or twice.....FACT...if you your using morphine for many years, you are addicted!!

[Papa Muzzy]

I don't think the OP was looking was looking for an education on addiction. They were asking for help for a very difficult problem. In my experience you need to have primary care doctors in both your home state and in the villages and you should have pain management doctors in both places working with each other . Then you can get the prescription in whatever state you're in and have it filled. They must work with each other though because there is a national database and they will know if you were trying to get extra drugs

[Diver]

I can understand what you are going through, I suffer from chronic pain also. Narrow minded people will never get that you are not taking pain meds not for pleasure but for a problem. Addictions are a individual issue, some people can have one drink in the evening and some can't. You must do as the last post said, get things set up in both locations and they must communicate with each other. Some of us care and understand, let us know how you make out.

[hubblecat]

mrich61 seems to have missed the point of this post. The routine ingestion of pain killers is not a choice for many people (I know, some people do it voluntarily at first). However, some with chronic severe pain need powerful pain medication just to have some normalcy in their life. I have constant lower back pain, surgically cause, that will never disappear; the only "cure" is an 8 hour surgical procedure that has a 50% chance of success. It also has a 50% chance of leaving me a paraplegic. And there is zero guarantee there will be no pain after healing, that in fact, the pain has about a 50% chance of being worse. With those odds, I'll take my strong pain meds. There is no stigma for necessary medication. Would you tell an insulin dependent diabetic that they were addicted to their medication? Until you walk in a pain sufferer's shoes, don't pontificate.

[Nucky]

Best of luck to the people who criticize anyone who need pain medication. Calling them an addict...please....I imagine if you live with someone they could be addicted to some kind of medication that would allow them to tolerate you. Pain is a very subjective issue. Five months ago Walgreens would not fill my prescription in Florida, the next morning I took it to another Walgreens near The Villages and they filled it without question. Afterwards I asked why I had trouble the night before and the manager said all they had to do was look at my Walgreens history at any store in Florida and if it looks like the prescription has been filled by the same doctor for the same medicine then there would never be a problem even though it had been filled only in New Jersey 12 times. The nice lady also said that I didn't look like a problem child. Here's to hoping you never have bad pain so you don't become what you called an addict yourself. Very disappointed with your blind diagnosis of others.

[MSGirl]

I may going out on a limb here, but have you talked with the original pain dr. For his recommendation when you are here? If that means having a local pain dr. To coordinate services, can he also make recommendations there as well?

[applesoffh]

I don't think the OP was looking was looking for an education on addiction. They were asking for help for a very difficult problem. In my experience you need to have primary care doctors in both your home state and in the villages and you should have pain management doctors in both places working with each other . Then you can get the prescription in whatever state you're in and have it filled. They must work with each other though because there is a national database and they will know if you were trying to get extra drugs

My husband sees a pain management physician, and he had to be referred by his primary care physician before the PM would see him. I believe Papa Muzzy's info is correct.

[Carl in Tampa]

You are meeting resistance to filling prescriptions because Florida became steeped in fraud regarding "Pain Management Clinics" which were actually pill mills.

A few years ago, prior to my spine surgery, I was referred by my primary care doctor to a pain management clinic. The clinic, which was legitimate, attempted to relieve my pain with a series of injections into my spine. When that didn't work I was given prescriptions for very powerful medications.

At first my Walgreen's pharmacist wouldn't fill the prescription because my address on my driver's license was Tampa. I finally convinced him I was living long term in The Villages in order to have physical therapy and to be cared for by a friend.

It would seem to me that your husband will have to go through treatment by a local pain management doctor in order to get the needed prescriptions, and even then you may have difficulty getting them filled.

My daughter is on Social Security Disability and is a long term user of powerful medications. Even now, her pharmacist tells her that she needs to get her pain management doctor to reduce the power of her meds. That's not his business, but he can withhold filling her prescriptions any time he wants to.

Having gone through a long period of using powerful meds, I understand your problem. Fortunately, I am at the point that Tylenol generally handles my pain. Of course, too much of that can ruin your liver.

Good luck.

[golfing eagles]

The problem here is at least twofold:

First, there are many individuals who attempt to scam narcotics from physicians either for personal abuse or to sell to our grandchildren. They are VERY clever, experienced, and can be quite convincing. I've dealt with them for 35 years, some have even had fake medical records and worked as a group of 6 or more. When I've contacted the DEA, the agent was aware of them, but felt powerless to do anything----every time he arrested them they were out before his paperwork was done. This obviously hurts the legitimate patients who have a need for chronic pain meds by making the physicians and pharmacists very wary.

Second, and maybe more important at this point is the state and federal agencies that are addressing the problem in their typical manner----draconian over-regulation. The rules vary by state, and now seem to change every month. In general, schedule II narcotics cannot be filled on an out of state prescription, so the best strategy is to have a local prescriber, one who knows the rules of Florida. In NY, the procedure to write a narcotic is now as follows:
First, the doctor must register with NYS Dept of Health website for online access to prescription records after a 3 stage process and "appropriate" fees. For each scheduled drug, II THRU IV, I must enter the patients name and DOB to get a reference # for that prescription, and then write that number on the RX. I must also document, in their medical record, that I accessed the website and there was no indication of multiple prescribers or abuse. The RX must be written and signed in original black ink, and given to the patient or authorized representative who needs photo ID to pick it up. Then the pharmacist gets it and has to repeat the whole website and identification process over again. The penalties for non-compliance are ridiculous up to forfeiture of license. This is being done by 30,000 NYS providers, and then the pharmacists, for say an average of 10 Rx's each per week, takes 3-5 min, so this looks like 25,000 man-hours/week statewide that could be better spent on patient care. Meanwhile, all the state had to do, since we are only accessing THEIR records would be to run a monthly report of everyone who received more than the prescribed amount or had multiple narcotic prescribers and distribute the list to the local Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement agents. Probably 5 min per month of CPU time. But, as you see from the first paragraph, even if you do catch and report someone, nothing happens anyway.
Why are they doing this? They probably don't know any better. NYS health Dept is run by politicians, not physicians, and they have no idea of how the real world works or the impact of their idiotic regulations. They simply believe big government can do it better
I have historically objected to pharmacists being able to make clinical judgments and refuse to fill legitimate prescriptions---just take the pills out of the big bottle, put them in the little bottle and give them to the patient, the rest is really my responsibility. But now they are subject to the same draconian regulation so I can't blame them either
As a result, chronic pain patients are caught in the middle, and even worse if they split their time between 2 states. A few bad apples ruin it for the rest, as usual

[golfing eagles]

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[joansullivan]

Well said Golfing Eagles. I retired from private practice (OBGYN) in NY. I am moving to TV next month. My brother is an Orthopedic Surgeon recently moved from NY to TV to practice. I think we both saw some of the same problems with patients with chronic pain. You are right. The folks with legitimate pain issues are caught in the middle and have increasing problems controlling their pain because of the few who abuse the system.

[golfing eagles]

Well said Golfing Eagles. I retired from private practice (OBGYN) in NY. I am moving to TV next month. My brother is an Orthopedic Surgeon recently moved from NY to TV to practice. I think we both saw some of the same problems with patients with chronic pain. You are right. The folks with legitimate pain issues are caught in the middle and have increasing problems controlling their pain because of the few who abuse the system.

Your Thom's sister????

[bigtime1030]

I myself am looking for a pain management doctor after asking around I havent had the best of luck. Does anyone that has responded to this post have any recommendations good or bad for a pm doctor in the area?

[Bobbie416]

Have you tried discussing this with your pain management doctor or hometown pharmacist? Could you make arrangements for them to work together and have your prescriptions mailed to you? Could you have your hometown pain management doctor work with a pain management doctor in or near The Villages? And, to those people who are calling this person an addict, I am sure this person would greatly prefer to not need pain medication on a regular basis. It is a shame that so many people abuse these drugs that it makes it difficult for people who truly need them on a regular basis in order to function to obtain them.

[joansullivan]

Your Thom's sister????
Yes I am. I am moving down in 2 weeks! Maybe we all can get together! Tom and Kathy both talk of you frequently! I have learned about your rules of driving in roundabouts. I am sure there is much you could teach me!

[Bethinflorida]

Spine Intervention Specialists.....dr. payman is the best around...he can help relieve your pain to decrease it with the most advanced procedures.....3 years pain free and couldn't be happier.....he doesn't throw narcotics around, but tries to find the source of the pain and fix / decrease it. his number is 352 391 1750, its worth a shot to see if he can help you

[skipatpeanut]

There were a lot of comments, but no one actually recommended a pain managemnt specialist in the area (Orlando or Ocala are also fine). Does anyone have one. I desperately need to see someone.

[rick@sundstrom.com]

I go to Dr. Pannamaneni and have for several years. Florida is by no means the only state that does not allow refilling out of state prescriptions for opiate type drugs. Florida law is very strong and restrictive for a reason. It would probably be best to try and develop a relationship with a Dr here as well as where you live the rest of the year. Make an appointment as a new patient, wait to discuss your prescription issues until that appointment and have a copy of your recent, several months history from you other Dr and see how that works out.