Posted by Annie Z. on December 12, 2001, at 9:35:55
In reply to Re: Need Doctor to Prescribe Opiates in Baltimore, posted by Elizabeth on December 9, 2001, at 21:14:35
>Where were you living before, and what have you been taking?
In Philadelphia, I started off with Oxycontin, but then my insurance started to hassle me about the very expensive Oxycontin. I decided not to appeal my insurance companies decision, since I was going to be moving to Baltimore in short time. So, instead, I changed my medication to Codeine. I am taking 30 mg, four times per day. I like the drug. It has a relatively long half-life compared to the other non-time-release narcotics, and I am not too constipated on it. The downside to this drug is that it can’t be taken in more than 60 mg dosages without people getting seriously uncomfortable side effects. I can’t remember what the side effects are, but nausea is one of them. Note that 60 mg Codeine has the same analgesic effect of about 20 mg Oxycontin; therefore, no one can never take a very high dosage on Codeine. (It would seem to me that these facts are the reasons why Codeine in low dosages and in combination with some non-narcotic analgesics are sold over the counter: Codeine isn’t one of the easiest narcotics to abuse.)
Also, would you be willing to travel a bit, and if so how far?Well, given my health, traveling isn’t the easiest. But, ultimately, I will do what I have to do (within the law).
I have made six more appointments with three psychiatrists and three internists in Baltimore, who all went to medical school at John Hopkins or Harvard, or schools of this caliber, so I hope one of these doctors will come through with my opioids.
Today, I talked to a professor in John Hopkins’s affective disorder department; he said his department tried buprenorphine several years ago with less than stellar results. I was thrilled to hear that he heard about the studies done at McLean; I never talked to a psychiatrist that has heard about opioids being used for depression (before I showed a doctor the my medical journal articles.) He recommended that I have a one-time consultation with someone in the John Hopkins faculty, and then they would set me up to see one of their senior residents on an ongoing basis. I know that I am not guaranteed a doctor who will prescribe me opiates, but I should be able to get opioids here. After all, John Hopkins, as I am sure you know, is one of the top medical schools and hospitals in the United States. If not, there is even more wrong with the world than I already thought there was, and I will be very disillusioned.
poster:Annie Z.
thread:86365
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011202/msgs/86660.html