Hey Don- I thought I would fill you in and ask your opinion since you have the background information now. Here goes:
After each appointment i get a printout of my appointment notes for that day. my first visit was 2/15 and it lists my past medical history, says i am on no meds currently, and that i denied any history of drug and alcohol abuse and was prescribed Nucynta for pain.
My next visit, The doctor changes my medication to Dilaudid as I was allergic to the Nucynta. I leave the appointment, get home, and look at the printout. It now states under "Active Problems" Drug Dependence 304.90. this i know to be the dsmIV code for a condition that falls under the substance abuse category of illnesses. What are they trying to pull over there? something isnt right about there methods. It's a money farm I know and we are all cash cows but to make that claim a person must meet 3 of 7 criteria. I meet none. Any ideas as to the possible motivations behind such a thing? I've placed a call to the doctor but missed her call back. I look forward to hearing this explanation. I know that they are quite arrogant and presume they can manipulate patients medications to get them to undergo costly procedures! Geeze, I should call 20/20

hey don, i "quick replied" to your message twice. I think you would be interested in the latest from SOS. That place scares me. Let me know if you are interested....

i sure would loving to hear from someone who also has to deal with these "Critens"!!..i dont trust or like any of them,but im stuck cause its workman comp issue.but do write me so we can talk!!

oh...it did post. the "drug dependance" thing. im not ok with that being in my medical records. with comp you can see who you want when you want and where you want. why are stuck there?

no not with comp they pick out who,what and where.cause its coming out of there pocket

If any records or reports have incorrect information you need to contact your dr and/or your atty to make sure the correction is made and recorded properly.

WOW.. that line "if i become dependent, not addicted, to any medication they provide, then you will have to go to rehab at your own expense" really got my attention. When someone takes a narcotic pain killer for a long period of time the chance of the body becomming dependant upon it is great! Imo any good PM doctor would know this. I don't think a drug rehab center is what is needed, but a slow reduction of meds, when you titratre off the meds slowly,(if being off is the desired result), your body should adjust just fine. My pm doctors office is totally different, they acknowledge that addiction and tolerance is two different animals. People with chronic pain in need of strong pain medication and take their medication as prescribed have a low incident of becomming addicted.

Funny thing- I called the doctor and complained because i did not fit the criterea according to the dsmIV. so i didnt get a chance yet to ask WHY as she told me on the phone they were going to change it. my guess that Diagnosis is given to everyoone across the board so they can kick them out of the clinic and avoid responsibility. She said she changed it to "long history of drug use". I will need to ensure it says "prescription drugs". I dont want to rock the boat a whole lot but if they were doing what i think they are, thats SO ILLEGAL. its a class action law suit. I may inquire with other patients or even contact a lawyer to investigate this.

I received the "talk" from my NS last week. He gave me the speech about how Chromic pain isnt helped by narcotic meds after a certain amount of time. (hmmmmmm.... Then why do I feel like I can @ least function when I stay on my med schedule?) I have had 2 surgeries in less than one year both cervical. And I cant even tell you off the top of my head how many epidural injections in my neck and low back I have had. I am in constant pain. I have no drug seeking behavior. Now do I over use my meds. I feel as if soon I will be finding a new dr. I do have an amazing team of pain clinic providers but so far only for injections not sure about anything else. But my NS I think is pretty much done with me. UGh! So I can totally understand what you are feeling. Why are we all dumped by the way side? I dont understand. If we had cancer pain would they abandon us? When we have legit problems why the flippn hassle?

With the meds thing they are reluctant to over prescribe...there was a doc in a neighboring town who lost his insurance contracts because he was seen as over-prescribing medications. I hate taking pain meds just because they make me so out of it and have side effects like nausea, crazy dreams, itching etc and then even after 2 wks on them for severe pain and recovery from surgery I have side effect when I get off of them like not being able to sleep at 2am and severe depression. I think the worst is over but just wish they would use something other than vicodin (asked for something different and did not get it because other drugs had been pulled from the market in the last few years). Wish they would learn to treat each patient as an individual - it seems they just lump us all together and assume everyone will have issues if you take something long-term. I am hopeful you will be able to get the care you need.