ObamaCare and the Disapearing Practices (Coming to a state near you)

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


A couple weeks ago she was transferred to a new Doctor and a new attitude that I believe borders on criminal indifference. This new one decided it was a fine idea to take her off the opiate based pain killers. 100%. ....by simply saying 'no more and call us in 4 weeks.' I'm NOT kidding. That was it. Just 'make an appointment on your way out and see us back in 4 weeks'. No referral for support. No help. No counseling. No weaning off. Nothing.

============================================================================================

Man, I"m just gonna toss this out there. I've seen a lot of this too, any knowledgable Doctor, or Citizen with common sense will tell you yanking anyone off medication like what you stated is highly dangerous and can be fatal.

That's like asking a Alcoholic to go cold turkey after he's been drinking a bottle of Jack for 4yrs straight. Devastating to the body.

I don't know if it's the schooling, via molding the minds of our next gen. Doctor's. Or why I've been hearing about cases like this as well.

I would not accept that answer from any Doctor. I would find a cure somehow myself, some way to help w/ the pain.

I would be-friend a Physician.... Seriously my Mom has a physician who is a client of her's who helps her with Medical Marijuana via Baked goods, I hadn't seen her that happy for a long time. And it provided for a hysterical laugh~

Please Note: Marijuana is not legal in the State of Illinois though it has been decriminalized. I do not promote the use of Illicit drugs such as heroin, coc aine, meth those I would all deem class A narcotics. I've seen no ill side effect from the use of Marijuana if not a box of twinkies disapearing. Mysteriously.... At that....

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
she's had the tortu...err...nerve conduction tests 3 times to establish it so they couldn't tell her it didn't exist. Although, now? That IS what she's all but been told. It's crazy.

I have also had a few of those.. They never told me just how bad that damn test is..

Regarding your "do something" statement to your doctors.. get this: My doctors have repeatedly asked me what I thought we should do next. They just wouldnt offer any sort of course of treatment! I go to the doctors for them to help me, because I did not go to medical school. How crazy is this stuff?

A couple weeks ago she was transferred to a new Doctor and a new attitude that I believe borders on criminal indifference. This new one decided it was a fine idea to take her off the opiate based pain killers. 100%. ....by simply saying 'no more and call us in 4 weeks.' I'm NOT kidding. That was it. Just 'make an appointment on your way out and see us back in 4 weeks'. No referral for support. No help. No counseling. No weaning off. Nothing.

Our stories are.. eerily similar rabbit. The same thing happened with me. At the time, I had two broken vertabrae, a ruptured disc, a herniated disc, a broken hip, and severe neuropathy in one of my legs. They just kept repeating that "narcotic pain medication is not a good long term solution." Out of curiosity, with your wife, did they specifically use the term "not a good solution for the long term?" That line has been fed to me repeatedly.

Due to the stress of the pain (pretty much every day was just me laying in bed writhing for about eight months), I had a seizure which ended up breaking my hip again. They still refused to prescribe pain meds until I found a decent doctor, saying "it is not a good long term solution."

(If I've been an ass at times in the last couple weeks on here, it's because I'm up all hours, day and night to be available in support of someone I love living through a thing no one ever should have to)

Let me be blunt here, your wife is lucky. Up until my last hospitalization, I was trucking through all of this on my own essentially. I had moral support from family, but was alone on a day to day basis. I had my two dogs, and they meant/mean the freaking world to me because of the support they can somehow provide. Your wife is.. blessed. And you have my unmitigated respect.

Finally...I got my answer and so did she. January 1st brought new regulations and guidelines meant to curb the abuse and street availability of what she's been prescribed for a decade. According to him, those "guidelines" have razor sharp teeth behind them for the Doctors and are as unforgiving as they are brutal to the patients. Basically, *justify* every single case of chronic pain management, as if from scratch or risk their license to practice medicine in the extreme cases......but that threat doesn't need to BE extreme case for a doctor to take it as serious as she's suffering for it.

I saw something similar, but it was specific to Kaiser. I had apparently been black listed as a "drug seeker" with "no real cause for pain." Do you have a link to anything regarding this? Havent been able to find much.

(Anything further in detail to the above I'll be happy to discuss in real time chat here or elsewhere ..or U2U, but indeed...there are issues for getting any more detailed, as you note)

I really appreciate you speaking out about this rabbit. It has been a difficult time for me, and apparently, you and your wife. Just be happy you have each other, seriously man. In all this same time period, my father has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his spine, my dog died while I was in the hospital this last time, and.. that is just scratching the surface of the last few years. So much crap.. Sorry for ranting a bit, its been difficult for me, and I dont want to further burden those around me with my emotional baggage. It felt good to get a bit of it out though, and also know that I am not alone. It has been a tough five years (total).

Ill send a U2U in the next couple days, there are very, very few people who can truly understand this type of situation and the suffering it causes.

Also, I thought I should note why I brought up that I am a member with Kaiser..

Someone within Kaiser told me that ObamaCare is actually being based on the system that Kaiser uses. I have not been able to substantiate that claim, but I find it interesting nonetheless.

reply to post by sulaw

Man, I"m just gonna toss this out there. I've seen a lot of this too, any knowledgable Doctor, or Citizen with common sense will tell you yanking anyone off medication like what you stated is highly dangerous and can be fatal.

Yeah... We've been hearing that from the other doctors in her life. Unfortunately, their opinion for the specialized areas they handle in her case doesn't carry over or mean anything to the decisions of the primary.

The day after she got told this I went to a counseling center available through one of the things I do in the real world, to keep this rather vague....and was referred to a national call center supposedly able to help find an in-patient setting for her to have professional care through the first 7-10 days at least. ......at a price, as I found. Good god... $11,000-$30,000 PER MONTH...or they could put her through a 72 hour shock therapy (not electric, not what they meant..but the methods would have been a shock to her system) and I didn't bother asking prices on that approach. The only affordable thing for a student like me was out-patient counseling. Umm.. yeah... lots of help there.

So I did what I do here on other topics. I researched..and this isn't something anyone ever wants to see a person endure. The National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control have outstanding resources for explaining the process and step by step, day by day, what a person can expect. Like a checklist...thats been about dead on too. As you may imagine ... I have a few things I have to say when next we see her primary after the 'see us in 4 weeks' has passed.

She's through the majority of physical...I think... but I don't have the heart to tell her the psychological is far from running it's full course. (sigh) That doctor didn't choose 4 weeks as an arbitrary number.

reply to post by Serdgiam


I figured I'd break up replies this time to make it easier.... No, they never used that precise wording that I've heard. Although I haven't been in every appointment she's been in either. Her Mom is also available and has some nursing background from another lifetime long ago to help be witness to the statements and treatments discussed. You may notice occasionally, I'm not the sweetest and most bubbly bunny either. I get downright objectionable at times when I think there is a legitimate matter to object to ...so it's been better many times to have it that way. I'll ask her later on that.

I'll watch for the U2U. In fact, my wife may just want to take up the chat herself at that point. She doesn't type very well now because of the nerve damage in her hands but I got her Dragon Professional last month and she's making real good friends with it. It's unbelievable how far voice recognition has come as a viable tool and not just a nifty thing to play with. It's allowing her to use FB and other things to distract during the bad nights.

I imagine she'd love the support of talking to someone who has lived this too. You're absolutely right about it being very tough in finding others who understand. Someone who hasn't lived it? Well..my own family has been very mixed in sympathy vs. blaming her for the fact she's facing this at all. Ignorance...I know that's what it is, but it doesn't make it easier to deal with, does it?

*U2U also removes the T&C issues I know we're dancing right on the razor edge of here, too.

Originally posted by Serdgiam
and I dont want to further burden those around me with my emotional baggage. It felt good to get a bit of it out though, and also know that I am not alone. It has been a tough five years (total).

I just realized that I shoveled it off on you.. I apologize for that

Hopefully though, since no one on this site actually knows me, that the true level of what I am going through will not have nearly the same impact as those who love me.

Sorry, again... but it really did feel good to get a little bit out.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I might even send it later today, but likely tomorrow.

If I could brighten your guys day even a little, then it brightens my own. Id love to speak with both of you beyond the restrictions we have in place.

I have wanted to check out Dragon for a while, now you have taken away my excuse to dismiss it (voice stuff has been sketchy for a while).

I look forward to speaking with you more in-depth.

edit: It may also sound a bit silly depending on your age, but you mentioned her using FB to distract. I personally use video games with engrossing worlds that I can explore (since I can no longer do so in real life). Currently, its Guild Wars 2. Its amazing how much better it works to distract than something like TV.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I have heard that some of these Pharmacutical Companies (Pending how long you've been on there medication)
will actually fill the prescriptions for you, as long as it show's in the records that you've been on this med. for some time. I hear the paperwork sucks... But~

It's like getting a Prescription Refill Card from the Pharmacy company itself to defer having to go to the Doctor because of pre-condition that individuals may have~

Not sure what companies provide which meds though I know some people who have contacted the prescription makers themselves and have been successful.

reply to post by Serdgiam

Oh, you have nothing to say sorry about. Believe me, I understand. I once saw this depicted in a TV series... Tour of Duty, if anyone here recalls that 3 season show about the Vietnam War. One episode was entirely about the guys of the unit depicted helped a buddy through the process. I always thought that was some real overblown stuff for the show. (sigh)

If I hadn't been living through this with her I wouldn't believe what the body can do to itself in an effort to fool itself by any means necessary. It's friggen evil what this crap does to a human being. I've never liked the Dr. Feelgood approach. Now? After the last couple weeks? Hate isn't strong enough for my feelings about Dr. Prescription pad. Not even close. There is just NO excuse for ending it like this was done. None.

reply to post by sulaw

It's an interesting line of thinking, but no sense pursuing the thought here. Not today. Lest she get any funny ideas about 'recreational' suggestions to make this easier? She was told that if, at the end of this, they detected anything which shouldn't be there, she'll be "No Narc'ed", as I've heard it put. What it means is that once that is on her medical file, she wouldn't get a prescription level ANYTHING that wasn't in a full inpatient setting almost without exception or consideration to what may happen to her in the future and that stays with her forever.

So.... Suffer a month or suffer for life. That's what I've had to keep reminding her, gently. There just isn't a damn thing given for options. none.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Thank you rabbit..

This all means quite a bit to me, if I am honest.

It seems everything has been working towards this in our medical system for a while too. I actually have great grounds for a malpractice suit (I have almost died, multiple times, due to the lack of treatment). However, in my state, the law places a limit on how much you can actually receive in such a suit. That limit is conveniently set in such a way that even if I won, I would have to end up paying for the process of getting expert witnesses, lawyers, etc.

Disability still says that "there are plenty of jobs you can do in your position." They also have discarded all evidence in the same way as my doctors. Literally saying that the "new" diagnoses are not legitimate since they dont agree with the old ones ( ). Its all really strange, and it makes people suffer needlessly.

edit (sorry about all these! ): There is a WHOLE lot more to my story than what I have shared, it actually gets much, much worse if you can believe that. It also gets a whole lot more interesting. Those are the things we can talk about out of the public eye though.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Brutal wrabbit~ I hope you and your wife the best with everything, it's a rough road ahead for everyone.

Knowing there are like minded people helps on the surface, a las surface comfort is all I can provide.

Best~

reply to post by sulaw


I wondered about that too as soon as I saw her post.
He was the type of doc that I could see opening up such a clinic. If that's the case though I wish he had stayed home.

reply to post by woodsmom


I could understand why some Doctor's Closed practice in one state and moved to another. Every state is different with the various laws each one has. This still doesn't account for the lack there of Solid Upstanding Doctor's you would trust over the kind of Doctors that I am seeing emerge from ObamaCare.

I worry over what will happen when my Infant reaches even my Age (I'm 30 btw) what the heck is going to happen~

No bueno..... (i'm not hispanic either lol)

Dr. Kavorkian checking in~How may I assist your death today.... Does not ring well in my ears...

Or the Doctor's we actually trust, packing up shop going to other states for that matter. I didn't expect such a good response for my 2nd thread, I'm glad I chose this topic because it honestly opened my eyes to ObamaCare, and other areas that dealve elsewhere in the Medical Game's that are being played out today.

Thank you everyone who has participated and actively contributed to this thread

I work at a hospital and we are in financial crisis. Due to Obamacare costs the govt needs to find ways to stop paying bills. As of now this year, Medicare/Medicaid is only reimbursing us 27% of what we bill. What you will see is not just Dr. disappearing, but hospitals as well. The government forces hospitals to care for patients, then refuses to pay for the care. Soon I would not be surprised if only Emergent Care centers (like Nason Medical) are operating, as they can reject a patient in need of emergency treatment. True Emergency Departments can not, and they are not allowed to ask for insurance or even bring the matter up.

The trend has been underway and will continue. Med school applicants are down, those specialities that require the highest levels of malpractice are dropping faster, nobody wants to be in the business of delivering babies any longer and that used to be a highly sought after specialty.

The reimbursements are down, making many procedures a losing proposition when you look at the risk adjusted cost of performing the procedures, the waste and abuse that they are forced be a party to is disturbing to many.

Keep in mind that for many doctors, they went into the profession for the noble reason of wanting to help people, but they also tend to desire a high level of autonomy. Medicine is a profession where you can live most anywhere, build your practice as you see fit, work as much as you want, etc. Most of these folks are in reality small business owners, all of whom are getting hammered by the government and due to the fact that they earn a decent living, are reviled by our current administration. On top of that the goverment is dictating what they can do, what they need to ask, what they need to encourage their patients, what information that they consider extremely private regarding their patients that they must report to the government and it simply drives them out of the profession. My personal family doctor is contemplating leaving the profession over the state mandates to force children to have needless and in his opinion harmful vaccines in order to attend school.

You are also going to see a large increase in the number of doctors who simply dump the entire insurance business all together and move into a cash only practice, thus catering only to the wealthy.

20 years ago, the really smart kids who wanted to go into the medical field became doctors and those who could not make the grade became dentists. Now, the really smart kids who want to go into the medical field become dentists. Why? Should a dentist desire to do so, even for only certain patients, no cash, no care, period.

Thanks Barry!

reply to post by dolphinfan


I think you said that wonderfully. I share their desire to make healthcare a reality for all. However, their belief system in how that should be accomplished is making healthcare unaffordable for everyone.