fentanyl and oxycodone

[ShrinkyDink]

My fentanyl transdermal patch (75mcg) and my oxycodone (15 mg) have not showed up in my urine tests at my pain management clinic twice now.
To top it off, my insurance denied covering these tests and now I have to pay $1,200.00. Can someone give me an idea why these would not show up in my tests? Is there something wrong with my liver? I have to take these medications for my severe stenosis in my back. I can't risk them thinking I'm selling these! What can I do!?
I'd also love to see what ideas anyone has regarding this problem with my insurance. Thanks to all who can help with these two very important issues!

 

[brandyd7]

hi corrine,sorry you are having to deal with this.unfortunetly for whatever reason,this does happen.you can scroll on down to the pain management board,there are some threads on just this subject.although,i have heard this happening with some of the less strong narcotics,i cannot believe that fent didn't show,espescially if you were actually wearing the patch to the UA so the doc could actually see that you were indeed "using' the meds.

alot of what will actually show depends on the type of tests they use,some are much more sensitive than others.my ins co wont pay for my UAs either thru my pain clinic,despite the fact these are mandatory by the clinic per the contract i signed.

perhaps there is something actually preventing the fent from being absorbed into the skin such as your skin temp or something?do you usually feel good effect on your pain levels from the fent?i sure hope things work out for you.perhaps you could(at least with the oxy anyways" go to the clinic and have someone watch you actually take your oxy and then come back the next day or something and do a redo on the ua,when they see that desptite the fact they actually saw you take it,but it did not show up in the test again,you may be vindicated.its about all i could suggest for you,sorry.staying there about an hour so they know you have the drug totally absorbed into your system would also be a good idea.but at any rate,check out the threads on this in the pain board,trust me,you are not the only one this has happened to.good luck,FB

 

[nicholexoxo]

Corrinebh,
Sorry to hear about the blood test not showing Fen. & Oxy.

My Avinza seems to be the same way. About 15 hours after I took my avinza, the blood test showed NO morphine in my blood. I thought this was great. My body was processing the morphine and I could drive...morphine free.

WRONG!!!! My PM&R doctor was not a happy camper, BUT I keep a log of every opioid I take. Today is Sept 1, 2006. It is my 272nd day on Morphine. When I showed him that I can account for every single pill, the day, hour and minute I took it, my doctor seemed to relax. And yes, I am anal about it, but opioids scare me. So he did not give me a hard time about it. I asked him if we could do a series of these blood tests to see just how long these 24 hour meds really work. I even offered to have my wife drive me to his house at 8pm or whatever he wanted so he could SEE me take the meds. He declined. I would really like to know how long these meds are in me, so I can plan the times I can safely drive my car to the store and back, etc.

I am stunned at the cost for these tests. One thing you might pursue is that the lab cannot charge you more than they charge an insurance company.

I had exceeded the amount of dental coverage one year and I still needed something else. Delta Dental told me to make sure the dentist did not charge me the retail rate. My dentist can only charge me what they charge the insurance company. So $1200 might be $250 real quick. Best wishes in your efforts. We can't afford to pay their "retail prices" any more.