Today I found out that my Dr. was no longer willing to see me and her reasoning behind it made absolutely no sense. I feel it was just an excuse to discharge me, ultimately leaving me without Suboxone and at risk for relapse and serious withdrawal symptoms.
Two years ago I attempted suicide. It was a very suicide attempt that left me seriously injured. Hours before the suicide attempt I called the very agency that has just let me go in an attempt to get inpatient treatment, a last ditched desperate attempt to save my own life. They told me that my circumstances "were not life threatening" and they refused to take me or have me be seen. It could be easily argued that their over-the-phone-analysis was dead wrong.
It's been almost two years since then. Because of my injuries I was placed on pain killers while in the hospital. When I was released the burden of trying to do the impossible - find a Suboxone Dr. I had a Dr. who I worked with for more then 5 years who was retiring and unable to take patients, after trying desperately and failing repeately to locate a Sub. provider on my own, I wrote him a letter filled with disparity.
He was able to locate a Dr that would take me. One phone call and I had an appointment with a new provider. I guess the saying is true "It's not what you know, but who you know" or more like "If you're a Dr you have a lot of pull!"
Anyway, I went in to see this Dr. She had no qualms about writing me a prescription of Suboxone, she wrote me a script each month for 30 days and I would meet with her on the following month. At our first meeting she did say that I should be in some type of other treatment other then her. I told her I was in the process of getting a therapist and attending outside meetings, which I did. She acknowledged that this was acceptable.
However, this last meeting I had with her is where everything seemed to fall apart.
I told her that I was moving out of state. My mom lives where I'm moving as does most of my immediate and close family members. Another reason for me relocating is that the Mental Health & Addiction programs and treatment availability in Maine is not sufficient. It plays a huge part in my life and quite frankly my very survival. I've come to terms with the fact that although Maine has agencies that deal with Mental Health, they are over populated, underfunded and even in spite of all of that, politicians like Governor Lepage continue to make budget cuts and eliminate access to these programs, cutting off vulnerable people who desperately need access to Mental Health & Addiction treatment programs.
When I told the Dr this, she responded with "Why are you moving?" I felt she had not heard anything I said about my family living there and my need to be closer to my supports. "It's fast paced, but I'm sure you already know that". She said. She was VERY brash in the way she spoke to me. I told her I understood that (though I feel the place I'm moving to is much slower-paced then where I live now, with less temptations and risks).
I told her that it was going to take quite a bit of effort, research and time to figure out how to transfer my benefits here to where I was moving and to also locate a Suboxone Dr. Where I'm moving the availability of Suboxone providers seems to out-do here by a long run, however, I do have state-issued insurance that I have to transfer to down there, and in order to do that I must be living down there first. This is going to take time and I will need a supply of Suboxone so I do not go into withdrawals.
She said she would have to consult her supervisor, to see if she could give me an extended prescription of Suboxone. I said that's fine. She then said "We don't really know you well enough" I was surprised when she said this as I've been seeing her and in their program for several months. "We don't really know your character". At this point I brought up the fact that throughout the 8 years I've been on Suboxone, while having regular drug testing I've never tested positive for the drugs in which Suboxone is prescribed and that I saw the same Dr. for 5 + years, had a great rapport with him and that he would give me a reference of character if needed. At this point she told me that I was "beating a dead horse".
She ended up appearing to get sick of me and told me we would write a 30 day prescription from the time I leave, leading me to believe she was writing me a prescription that would get me through my transition of moving until I was able to locate a Dr. down there.
However, when I got home I realized that I had a 30 day prescription only. She knew I was flying out on the 11th, and the medication she gave me would have only lasted me until the 8th. This would have left me suddenly stopping my medication, with no taper, sick and in withdrawals two days before I got on the plane to leave.
So I called her office and spoke to the nurse, I explained everything from the brash way the Dr. acted to me to the fact she made me think I would have an extended supply. The nurse originally agreed with me saying it should not be a problem, that since I have not moved yet, that I could come in and meet with her and get another prescription.
Well it didn't work that way today - the nurse called me back and said "The Dr. is not willing to see you again, you told her you were moving" I then said "Well, my housing situation did not go through, I'm not moving right away, I don't have any Suboxone" Then she tried to say "Oh, and she wrote down that you haven't been going to groups, that's parts part of the program, she said you'll have to find another Dr."
Wow, just wow!!
She knows it's impossible to find a Suboxone Dr in the state of Maine!
And her excuse for letting me go for not going to any groups doesn't work....
Because she just gave me a 30 day prescription of Suboxone...
If I was in violation of the program guidelines then I wouldn't have gotten my Suboxone prescription.
I'm still in Maine, I've done nothing wrong, she's discharged me for no reason and I am going to be so sick, so hurting, I'm not even going to be able to travel or pack. I'm so at the end of my rope and this is dangerous.
I need to know what my legal options on this are. It seems unethical to stop a patiently suddenly, without a taper, for no plausible reason. I didn't relapse, I never failed a drug test, I was still in the system as a patient.
This seems to be a personal agenda on her part. I believe it would fall under the laws of negligence or malpractice or maybe some other laws.
Anyone have any suggestions? Please let me know.
