HEALTH ATTN Texas re: Pain Meds Alert

[RCSAR]

It has come to my attention from my Dr that there is a very real danger of Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Tussenex, Lortab, Norco) being made a schedule II drug like percodan, morphine, oxycontin.

Dr said if this happens then folks will either have to use Tylenol with codiene as it will still be a schedule III drug or Advil.

Why is schedule II a bad thing? Drs in the State will have to use a triplicate perscription with him keeping a copy, the drug store keeping a copy and the 3rd part goes to Austin to go into the DPS (State Police) database

Almost all MDs will not write you a script for a Schedule II drug as they do not want thier name to popup on the State database. So they send you to a "Pain Specialist" and "Specialist = more $$ out of your pocket. (he also said it might make his insurance go up if he writes them)

You will also just get a 30 day supply and be forced to go in for an update evaluation every month and that means more $$$

I was also told that if this drug steps up to schedule II then Drs or Pain Specialists will start handing out Percodan or morphine or Oxycodone or the other much stronger meds in that class of drugs. This will actually put more of the really addictive pain killers out on the street for little Johnny to find in the medicine chest.

Believe me you have more pain as you get older!
This is why every year pain meds sales increase as the population gets older. Just graph the aging population with the number of pain meds sold.

All the football injuries you got and the coach said "just walk it off". The stupid thngs you did when younger and lead to injuries you sprung right back from are not good. If I was told at the time that these injuries will come back to haunt you later in life I would have been more careful! All the painful spots I have now I can trace back to a football injury or other dumb stunt I just "walked off".

What you can do if your in Texas.

Next time you are at the Drs ask him about this and who you contact in Texas to put a stop to this ruling. If they get enough phone calls and mail about it they may back off.

Anything else you can thnk of, do it, and let us know. I for one am going to fight like hell to stop it because if I don't I will have to go to Mexico or another State to get meds. I'm not sure how thats going to work with obamacare? Texas we are about to get screwed if we do not do something!
Fair Warning.


ps. tinfoil hat time. I think big pharma has a drug in the wings like vioxx or bextra they want to try out on us and leave the Dr with just one safe option.

 

[Lone_Hawk]

I'm assuming that this is a Federal move, not a Texas move?

 

[RCSAR]

No it is a move by the Texas Medical Assn or is it Board?

Not a Fed move at all. We just had SOMA moved into schedule IV which in line with valium and other drugs with a low potential for addiction.
http://tmb.state.tx.us/news/Spring09/SomaScheduledDrug.php

Before this it was not scheduled at all like insulin or Advil. I know one of the Drs that really pushed for this change and gave him an earful. He told me "Well children and drug addicts are taking 5 or 10 at a time and dieing". I said so what! Did you ever think of the people that really need the drug and it will be out of reach? He told me making it a schedule IV does not make it unavailable it just makes Drs think before that write the scripts.

Well sure enough when I went to my Dr he said we are gonna have to get you off the soma as the Texas Med Board has sent out mailers saying Soma scripts will be reviewed often and I don't want to be under that microscope. So it went from being like Advil to a drug the State has put a big boot on.

For the children I'm sure!

 

[goatlady2]

Beg to differ, RCSAR - it's the FDA requesting the change...

"Story highlightsThe FDA has announced it plans, by early December, to submit a formal recommendation package to HHS to reclassify hydrocodone combination products as Schedule II drugs.

Under the reclassification, hydrocodone prescribers will be able to write prescriptions for no more than 90 days without an option for refill.

The AAFP is working with the FDA and other organizations to minimize opiate misuse and maximize the treatment of pain relief for patients."

http://www.aafp.org/news-now/health-of-the-public/20131025hydrocodone-reclass.html

 

[RCSAR]

Yes GoatLady2 there is a move on the feds part to keep it a sched III but make the scripts 90 days other than 180 they are now.

The move to Schedule II for Hydrocodone is on the Texas effort though. Texas can make rules more restrictive than the feds but not less restrictive. Texas also changed where they can no longer FAX or phone the script in if controlled substance. The patient must carry a hand written one or computer generated paper one to the drug store, must be orginal sig by Dr though not a stamp or copy.

My Doc HATES the new rules regs and laws with a passion and said it was my fault for voting for Obama. I started to chace him around the exam table over that till he started laughing. Being a shooting buddy and long time friend we can do that. Otherwise it would be jail for me for threatining a prescriber or some silly s@%t.

BTW: Everytime I go in he says we are a gun free establishment. I say you mean a target rich enviroment for nut with guns?

BTW: I don't think the FDA reg will pass the 90 day comment period. On the other hand I'm digging through PDS now of orgs with responsibilities and it is tedious.

 

[nomadcrna]

It is federal. NO state medical board can dictate such as that. The state lawmakers have to make it more restrictive. They will take into consideration what the various medical associations want to do such as the TMA! Pharmacy board and nursing board.
And no it is not big pharma.
It is because of the many people who are addicted to prescription pain meds. This is the fault of the patient AND the provider for prescribing the unnecessarily.

You don't need hydrocodone just because you have aches and pains related to age.

No it is a move by the Texas Medical Assn or is it Board?

Not a Fed move at all. We just had SOMA moved into schedule IV which in line with valium and other drugs with a low potential for addiction.
http://tmb.state.tx.us/news/Spring09/SomaScheduledDrug.php

Before this it was not scheduled at all like insulin or Advil. I know one of the Drs that really pushed for this change and gave him an earful. He told me "Well children and drug addicts are taking 5 or 10 at a time and dieing". I said so what! Did you ever think of the people that really need the drug and it will be out of reach? He told me making it a schedule IV does not make it unavailable it just makes Drs think before that write the scripts.

Well sure enough when I went to my Dr he said we are gonna have to get you off the soma as the Texas Med Board has sent out mailers saying Soma scripts will be reviewed often and I don't want to be under that microscope. So it went from being like Advil to a drug the State has put a big boot on.

For the children I'm sure!

 

[nomadcrna]

Soma is very addictive. I will only prescribe short courses.

No it is a move by the Texas Medical Assn or is it Board?

Not a Fed move at all. We just had SOMA moved into schedule IV which in line with valium and other drugs with a low potential for addiction.
http://tmb.state.tx.us/news/Spring09/SomaScheduledDrug.php

Before this it was not scheduled at all like insulin or Advil. I know one of the Drs that really pushed for this change and gave him an earful. He told me "Well children and drug addicts are taking 5 or 10 at a time and dieing". I said so what! Did you ever think of the people that really need the drug and it will be out of reach? He told me making it a schedule IV does not make it unavailable it just makes Drs think before that write the scripts.

Well sure enough when I went to my Dr he said we are gonna have to get you off the soma as the Texas Med Board has sent out mailers saying Soma scripts will be reviewed often and I don't want to be under that microscope. So it went from being like Advil to a drug the State has put a big boot on.

For the children I'm sure!

 

[RCSAR]

Nomadcrna look at what I posted on Soma. Yes done by the state.
http://tmb.state.tx.us/news/Spring09/SomaScheduledDrug.php

Soma Now a Scheduled Drug
Carisoprodol classified as Schedule IV (PDF) - Senate Bill 904 classifies Carisoprodol (Soma) as a Schedule IV controlled substance. Prescriptions for carisoprodol must be completed in accordance with Texas Health and Safety Code 481.074(k). Pharmacies are required to electronically transmit the prescription information to the Texas Prescription Program.

Yes the State lawmakers were the ones that passed it after many groups stood behind it.

As far as Soma being very addictive that might be true with some people. I took Meprobamate for over a decade when needed for spasm. It worked fantastic! All of a sudden Meprobamate went from 6$ per 100 to $130 per hundred. I told my doc and he said no peoblem I can give you Soma which is changed to Meprobamate in the liver but be warned it happens quick so be careful. Well I tried that for a decade when needed and yeah it can make you stoned right out of the blue, or not.

Time passes.

New Dr and old friend I went to said we have to get you off soma as I'm getting publications from the state on the dangers and possible law passage to make it a scheduled drug. I told him well ok, I hate to spend the cash but write me for meprobamate instead. He told me that that was just as dangerous!

I loved the way meprobamate let the knots relax with an ice pack or a heating pad and the relief was much longer and did not hit you like a freight train. Never got hooked or had cravings for any of the 2 drugs at all, just the relief they offered. Never took more than prescribed either and I would not take them everyday like the bottle said.

I agree that in some people Soma may be very addictive but so can fudge brownies. I am a case in point, hated the drunk feeling that came out of the blue and lasted just a short while.

While the Dr that was a mover behind the Soma situation knew I used it never once ask me if it worked well or anything about it.

One other point. Almost all the Drs said how about Valium it works well in higher doses and I can write that all day long. Geez! Nothing freaks me out more than the thought of taking 30mg of Valium! If fact if you want to talk addiction and death on withdrawls the Benzos are really creepy meds. I have seen folks kick morphine and Xanax both in an inpatient setting and the Benzodiazapines are one deadly bunch of drugs. But thats off topic.

One more thing Nomadcda You don't need hydrocodone just because you have aches and pains related to age. If you have abused youe body as much as I have or Farmers or construction workers then yes the injuries come back to haunt you. I'm not even 60 yet and there are many mornings I can not even get out of bed unless I have had 3 or 4 motrin, my joints just refuse to move until the swelling has gone down. Not to mention lost sleep even after Motrin and Norco and even after 4 more hours waiting to work I go have a glass of wine and another pain pill (per Drs orders). Getting 2 or 3 hours sleep for weeks on end will mess you up more than a Soma ever will. They even tried Restoril 30 mg with the meds and all you do is lay in a twlite kinda sleeping having pain dreams.

I just want the gov out of my life and my Dr Patient relationship!!! It is my life and if there is chemical out there that works well for me then back off and let me improve my QUALITY of life.

 

[Mysty]

It is because of the many people who are addicted to prescription pain meds. This is the fault of the patient AND the provider for prescribing the unnecessarily.

You don't need hydrocodone just because you have aches and pains related to age.

I don't believe this for a second. Pain medication is a needed thing for many people. This 'cutback' in prescribing started about 7 years ago in my state. The doctors all told me I had to be on pain control for life due to valid reasons im not going to go into.

I spent thousands following their advice going to pain clinics, only to find the pain clinics were afraid to prescribe too. My doctor admitted to me he was afraid for his job. Whats happened here is, somebody got a bee in their bonnet about pain killers.. probably a bunch of libs. Then, they pushed it hard and the heat came down on doctors. The doctors, instead of telling the patients the truth, told them all about addiction blah blah, and they don't prescribe, making legitimate patients with a very low quality of life feel like crap about themselves.

This was the doctors mistake. Had they been truthful , a movement might have come about where the people fought back for their rights to a decent quality of life, and the doctors would have more freedom to prescribe what they chose to prescribe.

I don't blame the doctors for not wanting to catch the attention of the gov, but I do blame them for belittling patients who are truly in terrible pain each day. For sending them out to search for the pain clinics and spend thousands they don't have trying to find some kind of help. The joke in my state is, after you spend all that money they say.. we only do injections and since your problem is all over, it won't help. We can do this spot or that, and it may not work and certainly won't last, but happy to do that!!! steroids wooo!!!

The doctors should have been honest with the patients when this all began. Now, their hands are tied and a lot of people sit at home without even the desire to mow a lawn or plant a garden, then they are belittled by doctors for lack of exercise lol.

I know of one doctor in my area that prescribes pain meds. Well, hes two towns away, but his office is full always. I haven't bothered. I have found my own way to deal with my issues because the truth is, doctors went along with all this way too easy, and made patients feel like crap. In my state for a couple years when trying to find a new doctor, the first question they asked before they even asked about insurance was 'do you have pain'. If you said yes, they were suddenly full. pshhh... I personally have turned to natural medicines and i only go to a doctor for a broken bone or something similar. That is the extent of my faith in them anymore.

Id like to meet a good one, Im sure there are still a couple out there somewhere.. but I quit looking some time ago. When i see this standard addiction crud, it really ticks me off. Especially coming from a state with legalized marijuana . It is a joke

 

[NoName]

It is federal. NO state medical board can dictate such as that. The state lawmakers have to make it more restrictive. They will take into consideration what the various medical associations want to do such as the TMA! Pharmacy board and nursing board.
And no it is not big pharma.
It is because of the many people who are addicted to prescription pain meds. This is the fault of the patient AND the provider for prescribing the unnecessarily.

You don't need hydrocodone just because you have aches and pains related to age.

Pain is subjective...wait a few years, you'll learn.

 

[brokenwings]

I have suffered from migraines my whole life and when I finally found a doctor that would prescribe a drug that worked the government took it away. I was so depressed I wanted to die. It's just not fair that they are taking away all the pain meds that work. I have never been able to work because of the four days a week I had debilitating migraines. I thought darvocet was a miracle from God and it gave me my life back without making me stoned. Then they took away my midrin which helped me tolerate my migraines. There is nothing left. I hate all the synthetic drugs they have!

 

[Mysty]

I have suffered from migraines my whole life and when I finally found a doctor that would prescribe a drug that worked the government took it away. I was so depressed I wanted to die. It's just not fair that they are taking away all the pain meds that work. I have never been able to work because of the four days a week I had debilitating migraines. I thought darvocet was a miracle from God and it gave me my life back without making me stoned. Then they took away my midrin which helped me tolerate my migraines. There is nothing left. I hate all the synthetic drugs they have!

im so sorry Broken. So many of us can relate. hugs

 

[Laurane]

brokenwings - do you know anything about "RELPAX™ (eletriptan hydrobromide)" ?? It is available in Canada for migraines - wondered if it works for you, if you have tried it.

 

[Scotto]

The doctors should have been honest with the patients when this all began. Now, their hands are tied and a lot of people sit at home without even the desire to mow a lawn or plant a garden, then they are belittled by doctors for lack of exercise lol.

I know some people who have been on chronic pain management for years. When they first started, then weren't told how addictive the meds were. All they knew is how much it let them lead a better life. Now they are getting older and are told they can't have them anymore and must get off of them. Or travel every single month to a different state - just so they can keep their meds. They can't afford that. This is insane. You've got these people who were in serious accidents years ago and have their medical files many inches thick to prove it, and now they are treated like drug-addicted teenagers.

And the hypocrisy of "Oh their so addictive!" is just pure insanity when so is alcohol and there is a liquor store on every block in some places.

 

[Dex]

Big pharma is behind this, they want doctors to sell their synthetic garbage that will kill you quicker than anything. I'm pretty tired of weak doctors too, they should be required to have broken arm or something, many of them seem to be clueless about pain or chronic pain.

 

[amarilla]

Went to the pharmacy the other day for Mefenamic Acid/Ponstel, an NSAID. Last year it used to cost at Costco, $5 for the generic, although the name brand was $1K + for 90 pills. Now the generic is up to $400. No idea why that NSAID is so much when most of the other NSAIDs are fairly cheap. Needless to say, that prescription didn't get filled. Same insurance as before. No one else in town carries the generic at all... Odd.

A

 

[Ben Sunday]

A good friend of mine has been on Percocet 3x a day for 10 years, ever since his industrial injury and subsequent botched surgery. He has to go to a pain management medical practice once a month and pass a pee-in-the-cup drug screening. He also gets a paper scrip to give the pharmacist and no refills.

I truly understand the need for care and caution but I do not see treating the iinjured and chronically disabled like common criminals either. Ther must be a balance of some kind, somewhere.

 

[RCSAR]

Yeah Percocet is a sched II = more controlled
Hydrocodone is a sched III = Little less controlled and a doc can write 3 to 6 months worth....well kinda up in the air now what TX is doing.

If they move Hydrocodone to sched II then it means 30 days worth then back to the doc and urine test. They do a urine test to be sure you ARE taking it and not selling it. Millions of tablets are taken a month because it is cheap and works well. So making it more restricted means very many folks will have to decide to eat or live a more productive functional life.

Thats just so wrong!

 

[Green Co.]

Went to the pharmacy the other day for Mefenamic Acid/Ponstel, an NSAID. Last year it used to cost at Costco, $5 for the generic, although the name brand was $1K + for 90 pills. Now the generic is up to $400. No idea why that NSAID is so much when most of the other NSAIDs are fairly cheap. Needless to say, that prescription didn't get filled. Same insurance as before. No one else in town carries the generic at all... Odd.

A

The same thing happened to me, except with Indocin, another nsaid. Had been $4 generic @ WalMart for years, last month they wanted $416 for 60 caps. Ridiculous.

ETA: This just means additional hydrocodone, it's still cheap.

 

[summerthyme]

Green Co- check alldaychemist for indocin. A few cents each, the last I looked...

Summerthyme

 

[summerthyme]

I just checked ADC- they've only got the 25 mgs in stock, but it's like six bucks for 90 capsules...

Summerthyme

 

[kua]

Oh brokenwings, do I sympathize with you. My migraines are not as bad as yours but I really treasured the Darvocet. There is nothing else that works as well. My Dr prescribed something I do not even have in the medicine cabinet anymore. It did not work. Hate to sound like a whiner here but it makes me feel so blue that they gave us a song and dance about why the Darvocet needed to be replaced. I don't really believe them and would like to throw something at someone as I am going thru another spell of headaches that nothing touches. They occur more frequently as the winter wears on and last several days up to a week. I don't even like me very well when these are going on.

 

[Green Co.]

I just checked ADC- they've only got the 25 mgs in stock, but it's like six bucks for 90 capsules...

Summerthyme

Yup, this happened last week of Nov. ADC had 75mg SR for 23.95 / hundred. I'm set for a while.

 

[pauldingbabe]

I have suffered from migraines my whole life and when I finally found a doctor that would prescribe a drug that worked the government took it away. I was so depressed I wanted to die. It's just not fair that they are taking away all the pain meds that work. I have never been able to work because of the four days a week I had debilitating migraines. I thought darvocet was a miracle from God and it gave me my life back without making me stoned. Then they took away my midrin which helped me tolerate my migraines. There is nothing left. I hate all the synthetic drugs they have!

I am the same way with my migraines. My doc has done Botox for the last 6 months and it has cut down on my headache days.

 

[Nancy B]

Brokenwings,
You may want to ask your doctor about this drug . It is an old drug, so has generic. It is the closest thing I have found to midrin, and it works for me!! So happy I found it. It is very close, I think, to midrin.
it is But/apap/caf 50-325-40 It is Butalbital (50mg) -+ acetaminophen (325) +- caffeine (40)mg. This is very similar to midrin, and both my son and I take this for our migraines, and it works for us, like midrin did. Please look it up, and ask your doctor. I hope it works out for you!

 

[SquonkHunter]

...He has to go to a pain management medical practice once a month and pass a pee-in-the-cup drug screening. He also gets a paper scrip to give the pharmacist and no refills...

Same here. Clinic visit, 30 day supply, no refills. My options: either take the prescribed pain meds (and be able to work) or discontinue them and go on disability- and starve! Not much of a choice, is it?

 

[brokenwings]

No I did try it a few years ago. I think I have tried every one of their drugs like that and none of them even fazed my migraines. I started with Imitrex years ago and then tried each one as they came out.

brokenwings - do you know anything about "RELPAX™ (eletriptan hydrobromide)" ?? It is available in Canada for migraines - wondered if it works for you, if you have tried it.

 

[brokenwings]

Thanks Nancy B! I will look into the drug. It is worth trying. Wonder why my doctor didn't care enough to try me on it?? Only been going to him for 26 years!!

Brokenwings,
You may want to ask your doctor about this drug . It is an old drug, so has generic. It is the closest thing I have found to midrin, and it works for me!! So happy I found it. It is very close, I think, to midrin.
it is But/apap/caf 50-325-40 It is Butalbital (50mg) -+ acetaminophen (325) +- caffeine (40)mg. This is very similar to midrin, and both my son and I take this for our migraines, and it works for us, like midrin did. Please look it up, and ask your doctor. I hope it works out for you!

 

[nomadcrna]

Well being almost 60, I'd guess I qualify. I also happen to be a pain management specialist. So I think I've seen my share of pain patients.

Pain is subjective...wait a few years, you'll learn.

 

[Bolt]

They do a urine test to be sure you ARE taking it and not selling it.

Also most check for marijuana use (in states where medical marijuana is not legal), and/or anything else the doc feels a patient may be abusing. I have a good friend who is an anesthesiologist that went into pain management but is now back to just putting people under. He said he went into PM to make a difference and to help people who are in chronic pain. His words: "Unfortunately, some people are destined to a life of chronic pain and therefore a life on pain meds to at least help them live a somewhat functional life. Why are the feds concerned about addiction if someone is going to take narcotics for the rest of their lives anyway? Addiction is the least of their worries." But it got to the point where the state medical board, pharmacies, and the feds were making his life a living hell with audits, pharmacies refusing to fill a Rx as written, etc.
They have made it very difficult for physicians and healthcare workers with prescriptive authority to write prescriptions for narcotics anymore. He has become a big proponent for medical marijuana, and this guy is about as conservative as most here are. A lot of pharmacies are now keeping tabs on people who call in early for refills. The states keep an accounting of who gets what and where in an attempt to keep people from getting multiple prescriptions filled at multiple pharmacies. My opinion is that the abuse is much lower than they want us to think, but this is apparently the new witch hunt. I feel so badly for people who are going to suffer even more because of a senseless new "war on drugs".

 

[psychgirl]

It's true. I had to go to my pain doctor last week. They were SWAMPED with people calling for appointments because their PCP could no longer help them. And these were people under a Dr's care, not abusers. The nurse was going crazy trying to keep up and shaking her head at the new law. She said NO one was even a notice or head's up about it in advance. I will say, if you have a life long problem you should have been going to a pain Dr anyway just to be managed properly, but who am I to judge...and the specialists ARE more expensive, which may be why people ere being treated by a PCP.

...and yes, I'm a legit patient with Myofasciaitis, herniated discs, arthritis and most likely Fibromyalgia. dome days, during flare periods, I practically see sparks from the pain.

 

[RCSAR]

In Texas they do a urine test too and cannabis showing up is a deal blower.

 

[summerthyme]

In Texas they do a urine test too and cannabis showing up is a deal blower.

Yeah, and that's both a crying shame, and stupid to boot! Cannabis can help chronic pain patients cut their opiate doses by a LOT (depending, of course, on what type of pain issues they have).

We are truly being ruled by morons.

Summerthyme