Just try to get pain medicine in the state of Florida

[shcisamax]

There seems to be a serious problem in Florida with controlled substance..even for legitimate medical conditions. I had no idea but this isn't the state you want to have an operation in and expect pain management through medicine. Yikes.
My daughter just had her tonsils taken out and as everyone knows, as an adult, it is a very long and extremely painful recovery. Her pain level had reached an 8 out of 10 and she couldn't make it 6 hours in between. I knew the pain would be getting worse for a couple days so I asked that she receive an extra refill. The doctor was unwilling to do so saying, "It is a painful recovery."
I was told at the pharmacy that because the state of Florida doesn't have an internal data reporting system so doctors know what other doctors are prescribing to a patient, they have just cut back on all controlled substance. Even the pharmacy's have a hard time keeping large quantities. They won't fill until the day the prior prescription runs out because they don't want extra drugs in people's houses. When a person is in significant pain it only slows down the recovery time. Maybe I should start a thread on TOTV for "looking for pain killers" :) Seriously, Florida needs to get their act together and deal with the problem with the bad guys not the good guys.

[graciegirl]

Florida does have a HUGE problem with controlled substance dispensing illegally. This is the pill mill state. The center of the mess. I hadn't seen that there was much in place to control it except signs in the doctors office that said "After January 1st, we will not longer be in pain management". I didn't know there was such a thing as pain management, I very fortunately hadn't needed to know personally.

Could you just wait until she ran out to get a refill? I remember when Helene had her tonsils out as an adult. It isn't easy for sure. On the plus side, the young heal quickly.

Another thing that I was not aware of...just how easily some prescribed pain killers can become a problem. A few years ago when visiting here, before living here full time, I developed a painful tooth and consulted a dentist for the first time who prescribed a pain killer and he also made an appointment for me with Dr. Alex Ghazel for a root canal. One of the first questions that Dr. Ghazell asked me was about the pain medication prescribed by the first dentist. He said..."Please flush it down the toilet. That is dangerous stuff and quickly addictive". I used a less powerful pain killer and got through. I still mulled that advice over. I don't remember WHAT it was. Apparently the first dentist prescribed it a lot for problems similar to mine.

I am sorry that she is hurting and of course you are worrying. I hope she will get better just as the pain medication runs out.

[gocubsgo]

I just had my second Lithotripsy done and my Dr prescribed Demerol for the pain. Old school drug but still effective. We had to go to 3 different pharmacies to find it. Finally we found a Walgreens that said they could get it but we had to show 2 forms of ID and then sign papers in order to get the RX. I never went through that in Illinois!

[shcisamax]

I had no idea how out of control Florida was ...you would think it would be NY or CA...But apparently the doctors are being told to cut the prescriptions so when the operation is a) you get this and nothing more, b) that and nothing more. It has nothing to do with managing pain but it is a one shoe fits all situation. I got the feeling that the doctors are under the watchful eye of the government. ( Oh wait...isn't that what the whole new health care system will be about? )
It is true there have been pain killers that can become addictive but we are talking 10 days of pain killer does not an addict make especially something at this low a level. We would have been happy with one additional day because she needed a little more for the toughest days. I was so pleased to take her to the Mayo because of the fine work they do but it isn't worth it if the recovery protocol is thwarted. Better to go to a state with excellent medical care in the operating room as well as after.
Just sayin' FL needs to fix the problem where it lies rather than make it the "innocent" bystander's problem.


GG: How long before Helene could swallow without it feeling like she was swallowing glass?

[shcisamax]

BTW I think what may have started this was the "Pain Clinics" that opened in FL which were nothing more than just drug dispensaries. They started cracking down on those about 5 years ago but I guess the problem is pervasive in FL so they have taken measures that are draconian.

[Barefoot]

BTW I think what may have started this was the "Pain Clinics" that opened in FL which were nothing more than just drug dispensaries. They started cracking down on those about 5 years ago but I guess the problem is pervasive in FL so they have taken measures that are draconian.

This thread makes me wonder what the heck people do, if they've had a painful knee or hip replacement in Florida. A few people sail through replacement surgery with minimal pain. But typically, most require strong prescription pain Meds. And often, patients have to "experiment" before they find the drug that effectively minimizes their pain level. Perhaps Seniors are treated differently.

[graciegirl]

This thread makes me wonder what the heck people do, if they've had a painful knee or hip replacement in Florida. A few people sail through replacement surgery with minimal pain. But typically, most require strong prescription pain Meds. And often, patients have to "experiment" before they find the drug that effectively minimizes their pain level. Perhaps Seniors are treated differently.

Obviously when two girls post who are always reasonable in their assessment of a problem....THIS is a problem.

I can't remember how long it was for Helene. She had two open heart surgeries and a renal artery widening where the pain continued for months.

It is hard to have it but harder sometimes to watch someone you love in pain.

[shcisamax]

Open heart is NO picnic. And twice no less. Helene has had to endure far more pain than most of us will ever have to. She is just remarkable. And yes, I agree, it is always harder to watch someone you love struggling with pain.