How do you veterans manage to consistently get pills for long periods of time?

[ChestRockwell]

What swim means by veterans is people who have been on opiates for 5+ years, whether due to addiction or chronic pain or a combination of both.

Swim is in his early 20's and has been on opiates(vicodin then codeine) for about 2 years. Swim has had an ongoing back injury and has a legitimate reason for pain medication. Problem is swim seems to find a lot of resistance from doctors on being on them for much longer. Even though swim is now on codeine, which is less potent than vicodin, he still gets a hard time. Swim has seen people on here talking about being on these kinds of medications for years and years, even more than a decade, so he wonders how people get this steady flow of medication for this long?

It should be noted swim gets his med from a pain management doctor, but he gets treated for free. Swim's insurance ran out so he had to goto the free clinic and they gave him a referral to see pain management at the hospital(clinic is connected to hospital, but its not an ER). However, swim got resistance on vicodin even when he was going to regular doctors on insurance so he doesn't think this should make a difference.

Swim understands why a doctor would not want someone on pain meds long term, but if that is the only way they can feel relief he doesn't see a problem, if it is either that or be at home all day.

So as swim said, he is wondering how people are able to stay on meds long term. Also swim wants to know if you guys have trouble with a pharmacy if you've been getting narcotics for years and years, even if you follow the guidelines and dont abuse the meds, are they hesitant to prescribe it after several years?

[ihavequestions]

the docs will always be resistnt to prescripbe opiates. even if its for a legitamate reason. doctors care more about saving there own asses then they are from there patients. if a doctor is known as a pill dispenser it will realy not look good for him/her.

its sad too. cause there area lot of people in serious pain that need more then what they are getting.

as for getting a consistent supply swim is guessing people just "doctor shop" until they find a more easy going doctor.to give it to them.

[OhCasey]

Originally Posted by ihavequestions

if a doctor is known as a pill dispenser it will realy not look good for him/her.

This probably isnty the case with too many pain management docs as they prescribe them all day long.

as for getting a consistent supply swim is guessing people just "doctor shop" until they find a more easy going doctor.to give it to them.

I think you have misunderstood the meaning of "Doctor shopping" which isnt going around to different docs until you find one thats more easy going, it is going to multiple docs at the same time to get as many meds as you can for either the same real condition or multiple fake ones.
Chestrockwell i know what Swiy is going through. My advice would be to explain that youre not a fan of the side effects of said narcotic meds but the benefits from pain relief far outwiegh the side effects. If The doctors make you feel pressured to go down in dose or strength of medication reinforce the idea that you are at your max threshold for the amount of pain that is acceptable for you. Pain docs want to encourage patients to decrease the dosage they are on as much as possible. Patients need to be vocal about how much pain they are in. Make it clear that the medication does not eliminate the pain, but rather it makes it a lil more bearable. I have dealt with pain management docs since the age of 16 years old and i can understand doctors want to get patients to the lowest amount of opiates needed. While i was very young to be on opiates i was also in more pain then i would care to mention. I felt a good amount of pressure from them to decrease and was told that this cant and wont be the long term solution to my pain. I wasnt opposed to not being on opiates but i wasnt going to live in an absurd amount of pain. I made it clear that i did not want to be on the medication but that as of the moment it wasnt an option. Doctors want to see that you understand the negative effects pills have. Stay firm in your opinion that you are already in too much pain and going down on your meds isnt an option. Tell them you will be glad to stop taking them as soon as your pain becomes more manageable, then ask what suggestion they might have to accomplish it. Be open to suggestions and show concern for your own well being cause if you dont no one else will. Try and convey to them how the pain effects your life and how much you wish you could get rid of it.
I Hope this helps you.

[AquafinaOrbit]

SWIM tells me they have a family member who has been on various drugs such as Morphine, MS-Cotton, Methadone. They simply get their prescriptions from their doctor. A few years ago their doctor admitted (Had constant pressure put on him for years) they had no expertise in the field and admitted SWIMs family member to a pain management doctor who is a bit more open to prescribing pain relievers. Honestly, their biggest issue is not getting the drugs, it's finding a drug that they have not built up an immunity to that is strong enough to provide relief.