J.P.-They Treated Me Like a Damn Drug Addict
COLOMA MICHIGAN – This is a story about an all-American grandmother who unfortunately developed a serious pain condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS. J.P. is very careful about her surroundings and she lives in a small city called Coloma Michigan. She first experienced symptoms of CRPS in 2012 and she had studies done and was prescribed Norco to treat her pain at the time. J.P. said that the Norco was too strong and she was prescribed Tylenol #3’s and Neurontin to help with the debilitating pain. “I like the treatment that I am on and my doctor don’t have to worry about getting sweated by the DEA because I am below the 90 mg Morphine equivalence dosing,” says J.P.
My doctor, I don’t want to mention his name, has about five patients that he treats for pain and he said that he is not going to take any more patients because he doesn’t want any problems from the DEA. He told me that the DEA visits his clinic twice and year and talks to him about prescribing pain medications. I do not like taking schedule II medications, says J.P., but people are living in hell out her in Michigan. I heard that they are passing a bill where Heroin users can have a safe place to shoot-up. The main drugs out here is Methamphetamine, Crack Cocaine, Crystal Meth, and drugs like that, says J.P.
J.P. takes a deep breaths and says, “I am lucky that my doctor is close to me and he is not under investigation.” I went to a Rite-Aid pharmacy on Paw Paw Avenue and they treated me bad. I had a prescription for Tylenol #3’s and Neurontin and the pharmacist said he refused to fill it. He said, why is your doctor giving you all these medicines? I told him, “It’s none of your damn business!” Then he said that my pain management doctor was going to be under investigation. Then he gave me a very nasty look and said, “You are nothing but a damn drug addict!” You could hear the anger tunneling out of J.P.’s voice, I told the pharmacist, “You have no right to talk to me like that!.” I was infuriated and he treated me as if I was some kind of addict and he does not know me, said J.P.
Rite-Aid is the only major chain pharmacy in my town of Coloma Michigan, but I have been taking my business to a small pharmacy that treats me nice and they know who I am, says J.P. Rite-Aid treated me like garbage and I told that pharmacist that he was violating Michigan disability laws and I will report him the department of health, “I didn’t ask for this pain,” shouted out J.P.! I spoke to my primary doctor about what happened and he said that my pain management doctor is not under investigation.
J.P. is a classic example of how the DEA and the Pharmacy community have attacked and shamed patients who requires treatment for pain. The Heroine addicts and illegal drug users and dealers have a better seat in the house than doctors who treat patients with Ultram, Neurontin, and Tylenol #3’s. This is how life is for most of the people around the U.S. these days, however, the DEA and the Mainstream Media continues to portray a very different picture of the situation, showing pain prescriptions and prescription deaths from doctors on the rise. J.P. primary doctor told her that she would probably need pain treatment for the rest of her life and she understands that, but does the DEA?
*J.P. is a real patient who lives in Coloma, Michigan
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Editor: Billy Earley,
Physician Assistant,
Healthcare Advocate,
National Adviser Black Doctors Matter
National Adviser American Pain Institute
Advocate World Sickle Cell Federation
Billy Earley is a Physician Assistant and Healthcare Advocate, he is on the National Advisory Board for the American Pain Institute (API), Black Doctors Matters (BDM), and Billy is a strong advocate for the World Sickle Cell Federation (WSCF). Billy Graduated from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in 1990, and he obtained his Associate of Art from Los Angeles Trade Tech College and he studied at UCLA. Billy published several books, including the Wraith of the species and the Gods of the Bacteria, available on Amazon.com.
I had several patients with CRPS. I am a neurologist–who are experts in diagnosing this condition based on clinical symptoms, mostly neurological pain, for life. I have 40 years of experience treating this condition as a neurosurgeon and neurologist. I was prosecuted by the DEA–that I was prescribing a narcotic willfully and intentionally for monetary gains. The DEA hired an anesthesiologist who said I should have treated these people with physical therapy and yoga, and he would not prescribe any narcotics to these people. All of these patients had been treated by many physicians. They were also severely depressed because of pain. Their life was ruined and they were on the verge of suicide. Ultimately they considered suicide despite psychologist and psychiatric care. I could not do much more then give them narcotics. I was charged for the deaths of 22 patients. None of them had to do with any other except that they used large amounts of narcotics to kill themselves. The govt logic was that I should not have treated these patients with narcotics and should have considered the above-mentioned treatment suggested by their paid anesthesiologist. All of these patients had already visited an anethesiogist and had expensive procedures done with no relief and the physicians dumped the patients on me. These were complicated patients to manage. Some I did have difficulty managing and I had to fired them, because of illicit drug use. I was kept in Dentin for 5 years before coming to bench trial. During this time the DEA keep bringing new charges against me. Ultimately, I pleaded guilty to one charge for Medicare fraud for $65.00 and agreed to a $17,500 fine and 9 years of jail time on a patent who committed suicide with 110 methadone tablets on Christmas day. My prescription was for 10 mg three times day. The govt has given so much propaganda for narcotics that everyone is biased about it, including physicians, pharmacists, and the public. I have been prescribing narcotics for 40 years without any mischief on my part. Of course physicians are a gold mine for govt and very easy targets for proscution. The govt considers narcotics an evil medication prescribes by demons (physicians). So beware of narcotics prescription if you are not ready for jail time.
I am a pharmacist of 40+ years who was forced into retirement by bias against older Pharmacists and my spinal stenosis. All of my life I have seen other pharmacists take great pleasure in looking at one little aspect of a patient and denying a drug or changing it or reducing its dosage. All because of some sentence in a reference book. One case involved a Pharmacist who saw no reason to take strong pain medicine at all. At the age of 50 or so, he had a urinary stone pass. He was begging his Dr for morphine and quite a bit of it.
The Doc knew his patient well and snickered as he gave him a shot.
Then he sent his tough-guy patient to the hospital for monitoring. I drove him as he sobbed like a little girl and begged God for forgiveness of what he had thought of pain patients who came to him for pain medication.
Yes I relate. I have to use Rite Aid because of Medicaid. Went to pick up my Norco and the tech not the pharmacist was playing with the pill bottle. Opening and closing it in front of me. And that month I paid a higher amount than usual. Medicaid stopped paying for the medication in January 2017. So I pay cash. Now Rite Aid is being taken over by Walgreens and the bottle has their name but the store is still Rite Aid. This is in Kentucky which is going to implement a sales tax on opioids.
How many suicides will it take to treat pain patients
Until we teach the American people that drugs don’t cause addiction and that these attacks on medical professionals are illegal actions by an out-of-control government, deaths will rise. That’s why it is important for everyone to do their part by joining the membership of DoC for the connections, training, and help that it offers. Together we can do the impossible.