Has anyone ever filed a complaint with their state?

[ryanbytes]

As I'm sitting here dizzy, nauseous, and with some nice poops as my withdrawals start I decided to file a complaint against my former pain doc because of amazingly improper care. Has anyone else done the same?

[Peter B]

Hello Ryan,
No, I haven't. I've never had cause to. If you have the energy please remind us of what your problem with him/her is. Sorry to hear about the misery you're in. I experienced withdrawal 7 years ago when I, ignorantly, took myself off of the pain meds I had been on for a few months. I didn't know about withdrawals. Well, I got a thorough lesson, needless to say. I thought I had a bad case of the flu. The only positive aspect of my "hell" was the fact that nausea was not a factor. I had everything else though.
Do you mind telling us what your dosages were?
I hope your misery is as short as possible. I truly feel bad for you.

Pete

[Mark N]

ryanbytes, I haven't done it because of a doctor but did file against a decision by my insurance company. They refused to authorize my thoracic surgery so I set up a hearing with the state insurance and the day before the hearing the company authorized my surgery. I don't know how effective it will be against a PM doctor but if you have a complaint it is a place to start. If you are really believing you were damaged you could get an attorney to see if you have a case.

[ryanbytes]

This all started a few weeks ago. My lower back pain flared up badly. I called the office of the pain doc and basically got attitude from the nurse. I was hurting so I called my regular doc and he suggested seeing an anesthesiologist to see if a shot would help. While I was waiting to see about the shot I saw the pain doc. She was NOT happy about me even considering the shot and wanted to switch me from Opana to Suboxone. She wanted to start the switch the day before I was to see if I was getting the shot. I told her I wanted to hold off on the switch to see if the shot worked. Not happy again. I got the shot and it was working so I wanted to hold off longer on the switch. She was still ticked. I asked for a refill on my Opana because I was running out and I didn't want to stop cold turkey. I was basically given an ultimatum. I could switch or get nothing. I left a message for her to make absolutely sure that I was not going to get a refill unless I switched. She was supposed to call Monday and didn't. My regular doc has been trying to contact her and she will not return his calls. He suggested I drop to 20mg a day until I'm out. After the withdrawals I'll be off and not have to worry about getting a script from anywhere.

Basically the pain doc left me hanging because I pissed her off by going against her. At least that's what it seems like to everyone I've talked to! My regular doctor just couldn't believe what was happening.

[Kathi49]

Ryan,

I haven't either. As Peter said...no reason to. However, I did go through some Klonopin withdrawals (ended up staying on it). So, I know how you must feel. :( But in my Neurologist's defense she did provide a tapering schedule; either it was too fast for me or my CNS is hypersensitive (her words). In any case, Mark had some good suggestions and I hope you can get through it okay.

Okay, Ryan I was posting the same time you were. I just read what you wrote. I am just going to say it but she is a "B"! Maybe I am missing something but it is pretty awful for a doc to just drop you like that WITHOUT giving you a refill to slowly come off a med. Sounds like she is on one big ego trip and I apologize if I sound harsh. I would be angry too...it isn't like you are just wanting more and more meds; you just want enough to taper off with. Can your regular GP give you enough to get through it just in case?

[shotspine]

I haven't been posting because I've been so sick myself, for months, from what I believe to be a med that my Drs. are poopooing. Anyway, I strongly urge you to get your meds and stop your withdrawals before you do anything else. Believe me when I say, you are not going to be feeling any better tomorrow, or for many days to come.......only worse. So before you don't have the energy to even make a call, let alone get to the Dr., see if your PCP will help you thru this if your PM won't.

My heart aches for you as I know what you are headed for if you can't get someone to help you with a titration.

Since we are all different, I may be overstating my response, as I am only able to relate my own experiences.

If you want to file a complaint, do that after you are stabilized.

Wishing you Well!!!

ss

[Peter B]

Ryan,
Why did the doc want to switch you to suboxone? I've never heard of the drug and looked it up. It says its for people who are coming off of opiates, for one reason or another, to prevent withdrawal. If for no other reason than withdrawal, you should have taken her up on her offer. Did she think you were doctor shopping when she saw you at your regular docs? Do you think she was trying to punish you for going to the other docs? Was the Opana working for you?
Some doctors don't have a clue. I'll have to remember to thank my doctor the next time I see him, just for being who he is.
Again Ryan, I wish you a speedy recovery.

Pete

[Mark N]

Ryan, I remember your story and what a crappy thing for any doctor to do. I think, based on what you have told us, you would have a good case against her. I hope your WDs don't get too bad and you get over them quickly.

[ryanbytes]

The pain doc said the suboxone was for pain since the Opana worked but didn't work as well for me as with other patients I guess. If it was really because she thought I might be developing an addiction I would have had no problem doing the switch ASAP! I could see the doctor shopping angle if I ended up with some other drugs or something but I specifically said I was just going to get the possibility of getting a shot checked out and that's all that happened.

Man this feels like some crazy boyfriend/girlfriend thing the more I think about it. I cheated on her so she's gonna get me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kathi49]

Ryan,

LOL! It DOES sound like it doesn't it?

I just wanted to say I agree with Shotspine. I would make sure I have enough to do a taper.

And, geesh, there is nothing wrong with going to another doctor to find some kind of relief. I did it and I don't give a darn who thought what! The problem wasn't with the doctor or staff; they were nice enough and really tried. The problem was NO PAIN RELIEF for 3 years! So, what the heck? I found a different doc that found the problem right off. So, to me, that is NOT doctor shopping...it was just ONE search for the RIGHT doctor. I lucked out by having a friend of mine tell me about him...so I didn't have to search high and low. And I did the research too. When I read his credentials, I took off running to see him. :)

[ryanbytes]

So far I'm doing better. The calm before the storm? Today is going to be beautiful so I'm going to enjoy it with my GF and try to forget about what's going on for today.

[lobelsteve]

40% of patients change docs 3 times before finding relief.

[Kathi49]

I only did it once Steve! ;) But I believe what you said.

Ryan,

I noticed you are in Chicago. It is beautiful in Indy too. Have fun with your GF! :) (Long time since we have seen the sun, huh?)

[ryanbytes]

We had a good time today. And then...laundry!! Which isn't bad. :)

[Nana4&cntn]

Steve, I too changed 1 time, as the Doctor made very inappropriate sexual comments. I now see a wonderful doctor and have been for over 10 years.

Ryan, I am happy to hear you had a good day! I hope you continue to look for another doc, as I think you will need one at some time.

Take care,
Kathy

[ryanbytes]

The restless legs and arms are hitting me tonight. I took a muscle relaxer in the hopes that it'll help. I did find some 10mg Opana pills. Should I try and taper or continue with the cold turkey?

[Nana4&cntn]

Ryan, I thought the doctor told you to taper, if you have enough to do that. I would. Or just save them for when things get really bad. I don't have any other advice, can they be cut in half?

Kathy

[Kira]

It does sound like she got mad about "doctor shopping" or something... but, without knowing the whole story, I can't really say. It does sound like she was being pretty cruel with the way she ended things, regardless of what happened. I mean, she could have at least helped you taper off of the Opana or given you medication to help with the symptoms of withdrawal. Even though she did offer the suboxone, it doesn't sound like it was made clear to you that you were choosing either cold-turkey withdrawal or withdrawal assisted by suboxone use...

Regardless, from your post, it sounds like you didn't go to the anesthesiologist to "doctor shop" (and get an extra script for opiates)... you went for an injection that your PCP wanted you to get. Here you were taking medical advice from your PCP... and you get in trouble for it... just doesn't seem fair. But, again, I don't know the entire story...

My pain contract says that I will ONLY get pain meds from the pain clinic and NOT from other doctors (except while hospitalized, etc). I do have a million specialists dealing with various other aspects of my disease, and my pain doc is perfectly fine with it as long as they don't mess with my pain meds. In fact, she WANTS me to see my various other docs about the parts of my disease that are outside of her field of expertise (like cardiology, metabolic/genetics, psych, GI, etc).

My health is screwed up enough that it would be irresponsible and dangerous for me to try to get my healthcare needs met by a person who is dismissive, uncaring, unreachable, and/or uneducated about my diseae. Sometimes I don't have a choice (like in the ER or while an inpatient)... but, when it is an outpatient doctor and I am not going through anything that's immediately life-threatening... then you bet I will switch doctors if their lack of knowledge, their attitude, or their apathy gets in the way of providing good, smart medical care. If someone wants to call that "doctor-shopping," more power to them. I'm just trying to assemble a team of providers that can competently care for all of the different parts of me that are "broken."

I would get a statement from the anesthesiologist that you didn't ask for or receive any extra pain meds from him/her, and a statement from the doctor that suggested you go to the anesthesiologist for a shot. That way, if this evil pain doc woman tries to make it seem like you did something wrong when she writes/dictates the visit note, you will have something in your chart validating you if you decide to get a new pain doc. The letters from your anesthesiologist and PCP could be both sent to the pain doc AND added to your chart.

To make sure they get into your chart, you might have to specifically ask the letter writers to stick a copy of it in there (rather than depending on the pain doc adding it to the chart... because she seems like she's being kind of vengeful and may not want to add something to the chart that makes it seem like she was wrong).

Another idea would be to get a printout from your pharmacy that lists what prescriptions you picked up, who prescribed them, and when you picked them up. I know that you can access that information online from the Walgreens' website if that is the pharmacy you use.

The more evidence you provide that you DIDN'T do this to get extra opiates, the less likely it becomes that you will be red-flagged as a "doctor shopper" or "that awful guy who saw another doctor for his pain while he was being followed by the pain clinic."

The situation you're in is one that I've been scared of ever since I started going to the pain clinic and taking pain meds... it seems like there are so many opportunities to make yourself look bad to the pain clinic, whether you were doing something wrong or not.

[ryanbytes]

Those are all good ideas, especially the walgreens thing. I've been documenting what I can and with the way she screwed the other doctors I definitely wont have a problem with them coming to my aid on any defense. She broke the doctor/patient code of conduct, she also broke the doctor/doctor code which we all know is the bigger mistake she made.

I'm going to stick with taking nothing. I don't know if this will make sense but in my head the horse is out of the barn with regard to the withdrawals. I might as well keep going until it's over. The symptoms suck and all but I'd rather not stop and start. Just push through until the end and then I'll be a-ok. I just woke up after finally getting to sleep with a muscle relaxer and a tylenol pm. I'm still groggy from it all but at least I got some sort of sleep.

P.S.
The shot is still working! :)

[Kathi49]

Ryan,

Kira had a great post!

But DID you sign an agreement or contract? Either I missed it or you didn't say.

In any case, glad the shot is still working for you. :)

I just wrote a post on the spinal board about my husband's herniated, fragmented and oozing disc! :eek: But there is a plan in place...I just don't think this "thing" is going to go away. Then again, what do I know? LOL

[Nana4&cntn]

Ryan, I am happy to hear you got some sleep!! You are a wise person to reach out and ask for help.
I am happy the shot is working for you!!
As Kira stated, you should get letters from the anesthesiologist and your PCP to have in your charts now. Don't wait, just in case you need to find another pain doctor. Also, Kathi asked about whether you signed a pain contract.

I hope you have a great day,
Kathy

[debhun]

Kira Great post.

The situation you're in is one that I've been scared of ever since I started going to the pain clinic and taking pain meds... it seems like there are so many opportunities to make yourself look bad to the pain clinic, whether you were doing something wrong or not.

I too try and do every thing to what my doc tells me. It took to long to get the right help I needed. So I will work with her. She is a great person.

Ryan Kira gave you very good advise. I would try that. Glad you got some sleep.The best of luck to you.

Deb

[ryanbytes]

I didn't sign any type of contract when I started seeing the pain doc. I was actually a little surprised when I didn't have to since I read a lot about them on here.

[Kevin Greer]

suboxone is for someone basically is a drug addict, don't let them label you, if your really hurting then stand up.


Kevin Greer

[lobelsteve]

Steve, I too changed 1 time, as the Doctor made very inappropriate sexual comments. I now see a wonderful doctor and have been for over 10 years.

Ryan, I am happy to hear you had a good day! I hope you continue to look for another doc, as I think you will need one at some time.

Take care,
Kathy

Ive never tried the inappropriate sexual comments angle. I think trading sex for Rx's is worse than just going out and selling the Rx's.

The DEA has an area called Cases Against Doctors on their website. Some pretty bad monsters out there.

[Peter B]

Ryan,
Kira's post was spot on. The only thing with the pharmacy idea is that you could easily go to a different pharmacy but I would do that anyway.

I hope you aren't feeling too crappy.

Pete

[Cats Meow]

Ive never tried the inappropriate sexual comments angle. I think trading sex for Rx's is worse than just going out and selling the Rx's.

The DEA has an area called Cases Against Doctors on their website. Some pretty bad monsters out there.



Ok I couldn’t resist I had to make a comment…. Sorry I know way off subject I’ll bite my tongue next time!:p

We actually just had a case here with a doctor in his 70’s that was trading RX’s for sexual favors. The thing that gets me is how on earth does that even get brought up was it something the women premediated?. I can’t help but wonder whom propositioned whom first? :confused: The sad thing is he was married and the way his wife had to find out after the media splashed it all over the news.

I always find those stories on the DEA site intriguing. We have had so many doctors busted by the DEA in my area most doctors are becoming reluctant to prescribe to those that need the help most.

But anyways, Ryan I hope you get to feeling better my husband is currently on Opana and it always worries me if the doctor at anytime wished to stop prescribing how he would be able to tolerate the withdraws. I don’t know if coming off one opiate is worse then coming off another. I hope you feel better soon and find a doctor that keeps your best interest in mind.;)

[ryanbytes]

My friends I ended up in the hospital Friday night. I woke up with my back tweaked really bad. So bad that breathing was something I didn't really want to do. A ride in an ambulance later and I'm getting morphine in my butt. Definitely not something I wanted to do but under the circumstances I also wasn't going to say no. I should have. After a couple shots nothing helped. They wanted to admit me so I said I wanted to be transferred to the hospital where my regular doc is at. Another ambulance ride of pain later and there I was getting more shots or morphine with no effect. Come Monday nothing was stillm working and they switched me to oral meds. Exactly what I told them I DIDN'T want. I said I didn't want to get hooked on anything again! But hey they had some hope it just might work ao they decided to pretty much pump me so full of morphine that I was inches from barfing and asleep most of the time. When they were comfortable with making me sick and not helping the actual pain they decided that it was time for me to go. Now The next day (which is today) I had an appointment with the doc that did the shots. They called over to him and he'd be happy to do them. But there was no time to do them before my appointment. I still can't walk and it's a long way from home. They didn't help me in the least. You figure they might want to wait for the shots since the doctors basically failed and why send me home in pain when I can wait another day and possibly have aamzing pain relief?

NO! I gotta go home because they already wrote up the paperwork for the discharge. They did all they wanted to do for my "treatment" and I have to leave. Way to go guys. Do no harm means not much to them I guess huh? So I left without being able to walk upright and now I'm waiting for a long and bumpy bus ride to the doc for the shots. I'd love to take a cab but that money was spent during the useless hospital stay to get food for my wonderful GF.

You know what one of the many kickers was? One of the residents had some time at the place that screwed me. She poo-pooed the shots too!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

[bluebirdy]

I'm so sorry to hear what you've gone through.

I also want to file a complaint against my pain doctor - and have wondered where is the most effective place to direct my complaint? State medical board? A pain doc or anesthesiologist society he belongs to?

bb

[Peter B]

I've never heard of getting morphine IM. Were all of your subsequent needles given in the same way?
I know what you mean about morphine. It's supposed to be the gold standard of pain meds but when I was at my worst I was taking over 700mgs. of morphine per day IV, while in the hosp. In my opinion if it takes that much medicine to bring relief then switch the med. I can't imagine how many pills I'd have to take to reach that level of relief. Morphine is not for me. Then again, I'm not completely thrilled with the Oxy either. It takes too much to bring me down to a tolerable level. Methadone was the most effective med for me. Unfortunately, fits of narcolepsy rendered it too dangerous to take for long. I know, I know, there are amphetamines I could take to counter the "sleeps" but I'd rather not take a med to counter a side effect. Beside that, I don't like the way speed makes me feel.

So, where do you stand now Ryan? Whats' next on the agenda?


Feel well,
Pete

[Nana4&cntn]

Ryan,

I am so sorry you were treated so poorly. Where was your doc? Did she even get a message you were there, or did she ignore it? If it were me I would have REFUSED to allow them to discharge me until I was scanned, seen by and OSS, and had the shots you were to have today!! You have rights, I have asked to speak to heads of departments when they have poopooed my pain. I think Ryan you should have a one on one with someone in the hospital. Most have a patient advocate, they may be a place to start.

Peter IM morphine is the usual way that doc order unless you are on a PCA. I am allergic to IV morphine, it gives me hives and the horrible itching. So I find Diladid works best for me, it just take some time to kick in. It doesn't work immediately as Morphine does.

Steve, I need to let you know the doc I was seeing was making innappropriate sexual comments, I don't think it made a difference in the Rx's as I had given him a piece of my mind prior to his writing them, I also had threatened to report him. Funny part of it is he was busted several months later for the same thing.:):)

Ryan, I sure hope you find some help somewhere. Think about a patient advocate. Your GP may have some info on it.

Take care,
Kathy

[ryanbytes]

I got the shot today and the doc was very sympathetic. He said he got calls from the idiots handling me in the hospital and he said just bring him to me and I'll take care of it. Unfortunately they felt the need to boot me out first which he didn't like. I did get an MRI done while I was in the hospital and it showed no change from one done last August. That's a plus. My GF and I went through the whole thing a few times and there were things I should have probably done differently. But in the end with at least three doctors coming up with mounds of BS to cover their butts I don't think anyone would have helped me in time for anything. It's hard for somebody or to even find anyone in a hospital to be an advocate for the patient when it opens up a can of worms that might have dollar signs attached.

Hey at least I'll be ready to deal with hospital shenanigans when old age sets in right?

[ryanbytes]

I got a call from the profesional standards (or whatever it's called here in Illinois) investigator today. I told him about how I wanted to wait on the meds switch to see if the shot worked on my back pain. He said that she didn't violate any regulations. Because I didn't follow her course of treatment she didn't have any obligation to me. After all, she ws going to replace one medication with another. Because I didn't like the timing was no excuse. So after a back and forth he asked what problem I had and when I said lumbar we had a little conversation. He has the same problem! I explained again that I just wanted to see if the shot worked because if it did then I'd want to try getting off everything. He asked if she had a problem because I didn't want them to do it there for some reason. I said that if they wanted to do it there I wouldn't have had a problem. All the doctor said was no, no, no. The getting off drugs changed his tune more than anything. I guess him hearing that I wasn't drug seeking or something flipped a switch. He's calling the nasty pain doc to see what she has to say. If she doesn't talk then the investigator is sending me a release so he can get all the records.

I have to admit I'm a bit scared. I don't want lawyers on my *** over this. But I also don't want this to happen to anyone else. It's the old whistle blower thing I guess.

[slipnslide]

Ryan,

Good luck with it:). I was appalled with your Dr's behavior when I first read the original post, especially when it comes down to a patient wanting to find out if they can do without pain medications. It'll be interesting to see what comes out of this, if anything at all.

My PM had told me that some of his patients try a "drug holiday", where they taper off their drugs to see if they can do without them, if not, then they just go back to what was working.

Best wishes,

Kim

[ryanbytes]

I got a call from the investigator. He said the doc said that she had no problem at any time prescribing the opana before or after the shot and she said I can come back any time. Whoop de doo. He said that covered the abandonment concerns he had so that was it. Obviously I'm never going back to her. Case closed.

[Nana4&cntn]

Ryan,

I am so sorry you have had to go thru all of this crap. You were right to do what you had to. I would say your she devil doc was covering her a**. I am sorry also my advice to go to the patient advocate was a bust!! I just don't understand why a patient advocate would be able to shut you down. Their job is too HELP!! I understand the $$$, but, why have one if they aren't going to do the job title. Sorry, time to get off the soap box. I did want to say I am sorry.:o

Please take care and keep us posted.
Kathy

[ryanbytes]

Stay on the box. Maybe she'll think a little more before she does something stupid instead of what to do to cover her behind after she completes her stupidity. Yeah, probably not!

For those in Illinois don't be afraid to file a complaint with the state against a bad doctor. The scary part was waiting to see what the doctor or their organization would do. Dealing with the state investigator was an amazingly good experience.

[Nana4&cntn]

Ryan,

As an FYI, when you find a new doc, request your records from your last doc. It is always a good idea to get copies of everything as you go, you may have been able to trip her up with the investigator, as they say hindsight is 20/20. I have copies of everything, so far a 3 drawer filing cabinet full.

Take care,
Kathy

[ryanbytes]

Most definitely!

[lobelsteve]

I had a patient recently say the word "abandon" in my waiting room.

She was 2 hours late for her appointment. There were other issues in regards to prescriptions in the past.

I did not have time to see her.

I may need to abandon opioids, but I would not abandon the patient.

[ryanbytes]

I don't follow.