Job Related Relocation to Another State -- New Doc?

I hope this is the correct area to post this question. I have been on Suboxone maintenance therapy for about 26 months at 16mg/day, very stable, no polysubstance issues nor positive illicit drug tests, don't drink, don't smoke, employed, married with children etc. etc. and have recently been offered and accepted an in-house or staff attorney position with a corp.; however, they are pressuring me to relocate to a new city in another state. I only have in-office Dr. visits once every other month, because I have never had any issues with failing drug tests, running out of Sub. too soon etc. etc. My Doc is the best Dr. I've ever had for any medical problem, very compassionate and very understanding, and I hate to have to start seeing another Dr. but I may eventually have no choice but to move to the new city. I must add also, that the past two years have been have been the most productive of my entire working career, and I have a history of pain related disease, i.e. arthritis and cohn's, which Suboxone has been very effective in managing the symptoms for me and enabling me to work without missing a day of work in two years.

So my question is, does anyone have any advice on locating another doctor, or being referred by my current doctor to a new doctor, or somehow keep seeing my current doctor (like perhaps every 6 months in person, and the interim months via teleconference like a Dr. in Wisconsin does that I've read about)?

I have thought about the possibility of tapering and going off Sub altogether, but then no matter how many NA meetings, or other types of counseling I go to, those things don't stop my underlying pain issues for which there is no known cure, and which brought me to my current situation of beginning Sub treatment to get off the other deadly stuff that pain docs prefer to prescribe.

Thank you for any help anyone can offer.
Terry.

terry9,
I would talk to your doctor about your options. It sounds like you have a great relationship with your doctor and if one doctor can treat patients online or over the phone I don't see why another cannot. If you do have to move to another city maybe he can arrange to Skype with you for your in between visits and on the in person visits give you enough Suboxone with refills to last although I am really not sure how many refills are allowed on one prescription at a time with Suboxone. Things have changed a lot over the years with regulations and such. But if he were willing to post date you a couple of prescriptions? I wonder if he would do that?
At any rate once you find a doctor that you know and trust it is hard to switch. I know in my case I don't think I would want to leave the practice that I go to now. It is where I not only see my provider but my counselor and have my group sessions as well. I am treated well and respected. No one looks down on you and if I have to see the doctor or my counselor outside of my regular appointment is never a problem to get in quick..

Congratulations on your new opportunity and I hope all goes well for you. Please keep us posted and let us know how it goes.
Dee

Thank you Nannamom.  I'll have this discussion next appointment.  It is my understanding, from a DEA manual on Sub, that up to 5 refills are allowed w/o a dr. visit.  I assume this is reserved for either strictly pain mgmt patients or long term, stable maintenance patients.  

It seems it could be done by Skype just fine, and routine tests could be performed at any lab authorized to do so.  Even a monthly maintenance fee, in lieu of a dr. appt. fee, seems reasonable, much like a computer software and hardware support plan, as my doc provides a direct line to himself to his patients, who can call at anytime to discuss any issues.  If he doesn't answer, he does call back as soon as he is able.  For this kind of support, a monthly fee does seem reasonable, although some might frown on the practice.  But my doc reminds me of the good ole' days when there was good dr.-patient relationships, they could spend time with you, and we weren't run through like cattle getting hormone shots like some dr. have to do these days.

I'll keep you posted on progress.
Thanks again!
Terry.

Terry,
 
I am SO Sorry I didn't see your post until today. 
I see you got some great advice from our Admin, Dee.
I'm Blue btw, and I'm the forum Moderator, and I'd like to welcome you (I sent you a PM, not sure if you read it )
Anyway. I do believe you are right about the 5 refills. I seem to recall reading that somewhere, so that's something to look into.
I also know how frustrating it is to lose a Dr, for various reasons. Mine just announced that he's retiring next year, and that upset me ! I don't want to find a new Dr either.
 
There are other options though, if you need a new Dr we can certainly help you with that. 
 
Again, Welcome to our forum, we hope you stick around and get to know some of the members.
 
Be well,
Blue

Hi Blue,

Thank you for the welcome. I didn't get a PM, or if I did I overlooked it, sorry about that.
So far, I haven't done too much to find a new doc, I was going to talk with my current doc next appt. to see what he says. I'll let you all know.

Thanks again,
Terry.

Blue Eyes wrote:

Terry,
 
I am SO Sorry I didn't see your post until today. 
I see you got some great advice from our Admin, Dee.
I'm Blue btw, and I'm the forum Moderator, and I'd like to welcome you (I sent you a PM, not sure if you read it )
Anyway. I do believe you are right about the 5 refills. I seem to recall reading that somewhere, so that's something to look into.
I also know how frustrating it is to lose a Dr, for various reasons. Mine just announced that he's retiring next year, and that upset me ! I don't want to find a new Dr either.
 
There are other options though, if you need a new Dr we can certainly help you with that. 
 
Again, Welcome to our forum, we hope you stick around and get to know some of the members.
 
Be well,
Blue

Good afternoon terry, it is good to see you. How are things going with work? Have they given you a time limit as to when they would want you to relocate? Is it something you have to do in order to keep your employment?
I wish you well, and hope you are having a good holiday
Dee

Hi Dee,

Ok, so far. Sept. 1st is supposed to be the date, there is some flexibility though. I need a good reason not to relocate. I wish I could simply say I will as soon as I can get established with a new doc there but, I don't think they would be so accommodating if they knew what kind of doc I needed.

Which brings up another thought. In searching for new docs, they all, particularly the psych docs, seem to want to keep you busy going to talk therapy, NA, i.e., 90 meetings in 90 days etc. etc. I can understand this is very helpful for some people, but to universally apply it to every patient doesn't seem right. With a job that requires me to put in overtime, a family with wife and young kids, and school functions, and church, and other doctor visits for other problems, i.e., eyes, hearing etc. I don't know how I can fit more into an overloaded schedule, and although I get the whole NA thing, I'm not sure how it helps me personally because I have no polysubstance problems, and am in no danger relapse so long as my pain is moderated. Take away my sub, and no amount of talk therapy and physical therapy, is going to eliminate the pain from my underlying and uncurable disease. At any rate, I do try to squeeze in some meetings when I can, but extreme, relentless pain is a far greater behavior modifier than anything I know.

I had also noticed that some docs won't take patients on maintenance, or already on a sub program, or if they do they make the patient start all over, as in going through induction again. I'm not sure how you induce or induct someone who is already on Sub. Does anyone know what the point of this would be?

I thought I would have been back to this forum a lot sooner than now, after my last posts, but I have been so overwhelmed with the new job that I haven't had much time for anything other than work. Sorry about that. I do appreciate the input and advice.

Happy Independence Day! Thanks to Suboxone, I can now enjoy the 4th and run after I light some fireworks and watch as my children laugh at daddy being chased by a rocket.

I'll keep you posted.
Thanks again,
Terry.

nannamom wrote:

Good afternoon terry, it is good to see you. How are things going with work? Have they given you a time limit as to when they would want you to relocate? Is it something you have to do in order to keep your employment?
I wish you well, and hope you are having a good holiday
Dee

I hate to say it but I belive your right about the doctor reason. Even if it were for another type of doctor people don't seem to be understanding when it comes to medical things. They may want to know why you couldn't just find a new one but this gives you a little bit of time to talk to your current provider or possibly find a new one.
I do wonder like you though, why it is when you choose a new provider you are made to start over again with your treatment.
This happened to me once. I was seeing my provider but she is a psychiatrist and my GP was also a Suboxone provider my one doctor told me if I wanted to leave her practice to have all of my eggs in one basket so to speak it would be okay and that she would understand completely.
I went so far as to make an appointment with my GP to enter into his Suboxone practice but found out I would have to start over again. I didn't agree with the standard so I stayed where I am now and honestly I am glad I did. The other doctor has a reputation of not paying attention to what his patients do and is always under the watchful eye. There is also a lot of drama within his groups and that isn't for me either. I have worked hard to be where I am now in my recovery and would not want to risk loosing anything because of drama and nonsense.

I hope you learn something soon so that you can stop worrying about it. Time to enjoy your life and your children. I just had an image of your kids laughing at you as you ran from rockets. Thanks for the laugh. Have a good weekend and take care.
Dee