Re: Detox at home -no pain meds

[Guest guest]

Hello my friends. Having lost my health care insurance I do not have any doctor

to refill my prescription for time release morphine. Doctors screen new

patients and tell them that they will treat anything but chronic pain. Can you

believe it?! Anyway I am in a bit of a panic over how I can take care of myself

when the pain and detox start roaring through. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks.

> Hi Joan

Do you have a family doctor who will help you? Have you tried Methadone? It's

very cheap, and works well. You will need a new prescription each month.

Will your current doctor consider taking you as a sliding scale patient? Is it

possible for her to see you less frequently, and see the nurse for a very short

appointment to pick up your methadone refill?

Kaylene

[Guest guest]

--- " herogardens " wrote:

>

> Hello my friends. Having lost my health care insurance I do not have any

doctor to refill my prescription for time release morphine. Doctors screen new

patients and tell them that they will treat anything but chronic pain. Can you

believe it?! Anyway I am in a bit of a panic over how I can take care of myself

when the pain and detox start roaring through. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks.

>

Joan -

Have you talked to your doctor about taking you on a cash basis? Sometimes

doctors are willing to let patients pay a nominal amount in cash when they don't

have insurance.

You need to ask the doctor directly, however - don't go through his/her billing

department. The only person who can make the decision to help a patient in this

way is the doctor him/herself. The billing department or nursing staff will just

say no. Let the doctor know what exactly you could afford per appointment and

see if you can negotiate a deal.

You could ask if s/he would at least take you this way just long enough to help

you reduce your meds, or perhaps they'd be willing to see you monthly just to

write your scripts if you're on a stable dose of meds.

When my pain management doctor quit taking my insurance, he let me pay $30 each

for a monthly appointment to see his nurse once a month to get my scripts

filled. My insurance co-pay was $20, so coming up with an extra $10 wasn't hard.

I would have to pay more to see the doctor himself if I needed more care than

just a script written - he charged $75 cash for an appointment with him, but I

didn't need to do that more than once every four or six months at most.

And before you start arguing that it couldn't possibly happen - or you start

feeling like you're asking for charity - look at your insurance statements from

past visits! Your doctor probably billed them hundreds of dollars for every

appointment, but he settled for a lot less from the insurance - often as little

as $75 a visit - and he had to wait months to get it from them. He could be

happy to have you pay him the same amount in cash upfront with no waiting and no

insurance paperwork for his staff!

You never know - your doctor might be willing to work with you so that you can

continue your care at a price you can afford. But you have to ask. There's no

cost for asking!

Good luck. I hope it works out.

Cheryl in AZ

Moderator

[Guest guest]

(((Joan))))) my heart goes out to you. I have been in that position. Have you

looked into some type of medical assitance through public welfare?

Pleae let us know how things go. hugs, Tami

>

> Hello my friends. Having lost my health care insurance I do not have any

doctor to refill my prescription for time release morphine. Doctors screen new

patients and tell them that they will treat anything but chronic pain. Can you

believe it?! Anyway I am in a bit of a panic over how I can take care of myself

when the pain and detox start roaring through. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks.

> Joan

>