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I need stronger pain meds due to losing my pain pump and Dr recommended palliative but they turned me down

File a dispute with your insurance company.
Get your doctor to help you by sending a letter.

You may want to get a second opinion with a pain management specialist to send a letter.

Get an attorney who specializes in disability.

It may be true that you don't care what they call it (palliative care, hospice, disability) as long as you get the pain treatment needed to help you.
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Pain relief is becoming a horrible problem now due to addicts and their numbers in our nation. Unfortunately, people who are in need are not being properly medicated. I am seeing this more and more and over and over for everything from chronic to acute pain to post op pain. It is very sad.

You will not likely receive palliative care for this condition alone. Palliative care was created for more life threatening diseases. While it can be started at any stage of the disease and whether the disease is treated or not, it is usually prescribed for those dealing with life threatening disease. I think that a consult however with pain specialist and pain care clinic may be more appropriate for you. And Palliative MAY BE, so discuss with the doctor, as he/she is the one who will refer you for either.

Generally palliative gives stronger medications as it is generally recognized that, whether due to age or condition, this is not something the patient is going to walk out of, and pain relief is going to be an ongoing concern.

Do discuss this with your medical doctor. Be certain you already have done your advance directive. Your doctor is going to want to hear from you that your goal is no longer a LONG life but rather a shorter quality life where you can still enjoy somewhat the days left to you. To be honest, I have in the past heard patients say that telling their doctors quite honestly that they are considering SELF MEDICATING with alcohol and or street meds, they get better responses.

Sorry you are dealing with pain. I have a daughter now dealing with pain daily and nightly and chronic pain is a desperate condition that leads to depression and despair.
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ElizabethAR37 Sep 15, 2024
Yes, chronic pain can definitely lead to depression and even despair. Your daughter is young to be dealing with chronic pain, but I know from personal experience that it can happen at any age. (Mine followed 3 back surgeries in my 20s; I now have scoliosis, arthritis and degenerative disc disease.) The "opioid crisis"--which chronic pain patients stabilized on these meds had little or nothing to do with--has resulted in major disruption of medical care for tens of thousands of people. Putting the DEA in charge of pain care--and allowing them to intimidate physicians--makes about as much sense as putting the Supreme Court in charge of reproductive care!
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"Kyphosis is an excessive forward rounding of the upper back.

In older people, kyphosis is often due to weakness in the spinal bones that causes them to compress or crack. Other types of kyphosis can appear in infants or teens. These types are due to malformation of the spine or wedging of the spinal bones over time."

Mayoclinic.org

It's possible you were turned down because kyphosis is not a terminal condition. Where you live it is possible that palliative and hospice are considered one and the same.

How did you lose your pain pump? Do you mean you literally lost it or you were no longer able to pay for the use of it?

Does your clinic/network have a Pain Clinic (often part of an orthopedic center)? If you are on Medicare you can see if there's one close to you, even if your physician isn't connected to it. They may have pain management options for you.

Are you a candidate for spinal fusion?

I'm so sorry you have this intractable pain. My 25-yr old son (6'3" tall) has Scheuerman's syndrome and worsening kyphosis will be part of his future.
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