My Doctor Was Fired for Not Treating My Chronic Pain

By Chris Jolley, Guest Columnist

I was with my pain doctor for 20 years at the same clinic and on the same dosage until April 2017, when the medication that controlled my pain was stopped.  I had gone for a routine follow-up when a new doctor I had never seen walked into the exam room to tell me he was stopping all pain medication for each patient within one month.  

I have spina bifida, scoliosis, fibromyalgia, chronic kidney stones, and more. My worst pain is from migraines, including chronic cluster migraines, several ruptured discs from a back injury, and severe disc degeneration.  

Because of the migraines, my husband created a dark room and I spend most of my time in there.  My back pain makes me change positions every hour.  I do not get much sleep.  

Last year I had one of the worst cluster migraines. On its 5th day, I had a flare up from my disc rupture and my chronic kidney stones started dropping. I was in horrific pain.

I have a pain contract, so my son called the clinic to let them know he was taking me to the emergency room.  He was told he could take me, but under no circumstances could they give me any pain medication.

CHRIS JOLLEY

My son called 3 more times and on the third call was told we needed permission from the doctor, who had already left for the day. The next day, my son was told the same thing. The ER could not treat my pain.

No one should suffer horrific pain. But pain patients are being abandoned by doctors and profiled by pharmacists who refuse to fill our prescriptions, even for cancer.  A family pet would never be allowed to live in such pain.

Before April 2017, I was happy, able to work, involved in many craft projects, and saw my daughter and grandchildren often, even though they live 40 miles away.  

After months of appointments with the new doctor, I told him that I think about suicide every day and sometimes every hour because of the pain.  He did not even look at me and walked out the door.

This doctor was fired for what he did to me, and the doctor who replaced him put me back on pain medication. I was shocked by this.  

I took the new prescriptions to 3 large pharmacy chains and they refused to fill them, citing the 2016 CDC opioid guideline as law.  Fortunately, a few months later, I found a local pharmacy that had no problem filling the prescriptions. I am doing so much better now.

Chris Jolley lives in Utah.  

Pain News Network invites other readers to share their stories with us. Send them to editor@painnewsnetwork.org. 

The information in this column is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.