Where can I buy drugs, my Dr retired.

[sorrynormal]

I know this is sort of an out there post. I searched the forum and got a reference to 'India Mart' where you make an inquiry but I'm not familiar with the site or the process. I had a pain Dr for 7 years but she retired last year. She was my lifeline, after having been to several Drs who couldn't help me. I've tried to live without hydrocodone 7.5/200 and even took two forced breaks from it but it helps tremendously.

I took the breaks because I'm philosophically against being dependent on the medical system and resent it. Also before the pandemic I was going to live in a van and you can't be on prescription pain meds and live in a van. Because acquiring them becomes a logistical nightmare. Without getting into my entire med history I've had 9 surgeries and will require two more, 1 major and requiring 5 days in the hospital (2 metal rods in my chest), and the second to remove them in 2-3 years.

Kratom does help some but it's disgusting, hard to take, mild in affect, and only lasts 2 hours at best. It's hard to transport and anything over 10 grams is hard to swallow and it makes a mess.

Last year I had major face surgery and now have 38 plates and screws in my face. And now with the draconian opiate rules they gave me pain medication for one week then told me 'you shouldn't be in pain'. For several months I would wake up continuously at night due to pain, the only respite I had was to sit in the tub or shower to distract myself. I was taking 6 showers/day.

Due to the pandemic I had to move from the state I'm most familiar, and where access to medical resources was high. Now to an impoverished area where when you call the local PCP to make an appointment they tell you up front 'we do not give out pain medication for any reason'. And the pain dr reviews are chided for telling people to essentially 'try harder' instead of treating their symptoms. Like I live on a fixed income and don't have the money to fly all across the country to get my pain needs met.

 

[whywere]

I live in the U.S. and after my car crash in April 2015, I went through 3 pain clinics before I found a pain doctor who has a heart of gold and I have been on hydromorphone for years.

When I started out it was HELL to find someone who would prescribe opioids. So, I am right with you on this one.

The best that I can say is that I finally went to my county hospital, I live in a metro of over 4 million, and I found a very kind doctor.

I would be VERY cautious about obtaining them in the "general" market. If one would/does, then I would strongly suggest obtaining Fentanyl test strips. That way one can test the product to make darn sure that Fentanyl is not present. I have seen what Fentanyl does and I would/will NEVER EVER take the damn crap.

Whatever you do, please be safe as I count on you as a good friend here and want you around so we can say howdy to each other once in a while.

Walter

 

[BrokenBliss]

We and many others are victims of the opioid epidemic – in reverse. The medical profession is killing me, which last I looked was against the hippocratic oath

 

[sorrynormal]

When I started out it was HELL to find someone who would prescribe opioids. So, I am right with you on this one.

I was born and raised in a suburb of Maryland. It's a small state with the highest per capita income. The closer you get to DC the more professionals you can find. The traffic is horrible but if you can manage that you've got a large selection. Now I live in Central PA, bc the pandemic forced me to decide if I wanted to live w roommates w a shared HVAC or take this rare opportunity for an apartment that's 600/month (bc that's all I can afford).

After my surgery last year, while it clearly solved my jaw alignment problem the thoracic pain I have has exploded. My sleep is even horrible and useless. My car registration lapsed because I have been too tired to do anything, so now I can't drive. I feel trapped here. When I was discharged in Baltimore hospital within 48hrs I was admitted up here. And then once I was discharged from the PA hospital I kept bouncing between a new PCP here and the ER.

They'll give you pain meds in the hospital, even in the ER waiting room (they gave me an oxycodone) but wont right for it outside of those settings. I had emergency swelling and the maxillofacial surgeon up here jammed a drain up under my chin. When they stuck the needle with the numbing medication up there it was a barbaric experience that I'll never go through again. Imagine having a small golf balls worth of swelling directly under your chin and they stick a giant needle in the soft area below your chin going down your neck.

No Dr up here would take responsibility on an outpatient basis and kept referring me back to my original surgeon. And I kept reiterating over and over I need to be in a state where I'm capable of driving nearly 3hrs round trip. They just have no concept of quality of life outside of whatever 'guidelines' someone else has written for them.

I lucked out w my original pain Dr bc she didn't take insurance accept for Medicare and Tricare. So my guess is she had more freedom to practice since she was mostly cash based. She gave me referrals but with the pandemic and everything... I just need some medication to get back on the right track and then build and sustain from that point.

 

[whywere]

I was born and raised in a suburb of Maryland. It's a small state with the highest per capita income. The closer you get to DC the more professionals you can find. The traffic is horrible but if you can manage that you've got a large selection. Now I live in Central PA, bc the pandemic forced me to decide if I wanted to live w roommates w a shared HVAC or take this rare opportunity for an apartment that's 600/month (bc that's all I can afford).

After my surgery last year, while it clearly solved my jaw alignment problem the thoracic pain I have has exploded. My sleep is even horrible and useless. My car registration lapsed because I have been too tired to do anything, so now I can't drive. I feel trapped here. When I was discharged in Baltimore hospital within 48hrs I was admitted up here. And then once I was discharged from the PA hospital I kept bouncing between a new PCP here and the ER.

They'll give you pain meds in the hospital, even in the ER waiting room (they gave me an oxycodone) but wont right for it outside of those settings. I had emergency swelling and the maxillofacial surgeon up here jammed a drain up under my chin. When they stuck the needle with the numbing medication up there it was a barbaric experience that I'll never go through again. Imagine having a small golf balls worth of swelling directly under your chin and they stick a giant needle in the soft area below your chin going down your neck.

No Dr up here would take responsibility on an outpatient basis and kept referring me back to my original surgeon. And I kept reiterating over and over I need to be in a state where I'm capable of driving nearly 3hrs round trip. They just have no concept of quality of life outside of whatever 'guidelines' someone else has written for them.

I lucked out w my original pain Dr bc she didn't take insurance accept for Medicare and Tricare. So my guess is she had more freedom to practice since she was mostly cash based. She gave me referrals but with the pandemic and everything... I just need some medication to get back on the right track and then build and sustain from that point.

I live now in the upper Midwest and here it is tougher than heck to get someone to prescribe opioids. For me, I have ulcers, so aspirin or anything like it is a no go, and I have Gilberts, pronounced " Gilbearz", a French doctor discovered the genetic mix-up, so when I take 1 acetaminophen it is like another person taking a whole bottle, I do not metabolize it and then it destroys my liver.

I would like to try medical marijuana, but the cost of it is over $700 per month with a $200 annual fee to the state to buy it. I can not afford it, so it is what it is.

Like I told one pain doctor that I could go to the street corner and buy virtually anything I wanted but to do it the right way is like jumping through a mine field.

I am so with you on this and I truly cried when I read your post as it is so darn unfair period.

Sending you lots of huge hugs and the knowledge that I 100% care about you adn have a sunny blue sky weather weekend.

Walter