First of all, let me say that I am not an aggressive person & although I worked for physicians for App 35 years since my senior year in high school, they have always intimidated me. Therefore, I do not speak my mind. App 15 years ago, I was referred to a pain mgmt specialist by my PCP. I was originally prescribed Methadone 10 mgs qid then upped to 20 mgs qid. My pain mgmt MD said that he felt it was a very effective, safe & inexpensive med for chronic pain & even quit private practice to lecture about the pros of methadone for chronic pain. When my pain mgmt MD quit his private practice, my PCP continued prescribing it. A little over a year ago I started weaning myself off the Methadone due to the stigma associated with it & drug addicts. When I reduced myself to 20 mgs twice a day, a spoke to my pharmacist that I had been dealing with for 40 years & asked his advice.. He said that he als o felt that Methadone was a safe, inexpensive drug to be used at that current dose. The PCP that I was seeing at that time referred me to pain mgmt with whom he was associated. They finished weaning me off the Methadone which was one of the most horrible experiences in my 60 years. They did not prepare me in any way for what I would be experiencing - the aching, agitation, continuous pain, explosive diarrhea & insomnia. The experience affected me so badly that suicide crossed my mind several times. I told them this & that I had only made it this far by the grace of God. When I told them about the diarrhea, they prescribed Clonidine. I have hypertension & was taking med for it. With the addition of the Clonidine, my BP would plumet to 69/50 which made me almost comatose. They did not believe in giving any other type of meds for withdrawal & seemed very cold & uncaring about what I was going through. I changed pain mgmt dr & later found out that my former clinic had shut their doors. With my current pain mgmt MD, I ve been prescribed several different pain meds - 2 of the long acting meds did not dissolve in my digestive tract, therefore, did no good. Levorphanol seemed to help, but was hard to find. At one point he placed me on generic Pamelor (for nerve pain)when I was already taking generic Wellbutrin & Lexapro 20 mgs & when I checked with my pharmacist, he advised me to call them back & question it. When I did, I was then told by the pain mgmt MD, NOT to take it. I had been placed on Opana long acting on the lowest dose bid along with Percocet 10 mgs qid for break thru pain by the NP. I was on this for 2-3 months which seemed to help. However, when I went in for a visit with my MD, he said that the NP had overstepped her bounds & given me more meds than the FDA allowed for my problem - moderate to severe lumbar scoliosis, 3 building lumbar disc, severe stenosis at L4-5 & moderate stenosis at L5-S1. I didn t understand because even though the NPhap had prescribed it, one of the clinic MDs had to sign it! He had explained to me previously that taking Methadone 20 mgs bid was equivalent to app 800? Mgs of Morphine & the Percocet 10 mgs aid that I was taking at the time was equal to app 300 mgs of Morphine. He said at that time that the FDA had set up strict guidelines as to how much pain meds could be prescribed for a certain condition almost as if a graph had been set up showing exactly how much they could prescribe for any said condition. I know that guidelines need to be placed but also know from working in the medical field for over 35 years that people respond to medications differently. He then took me off the Opana bid & placed me on Percocet 10 mgs aid alone. Today, when I told him I was having a very rough time on the Percocet alone, he said he could prescribe Doxepin & explained that it worked in some ways like Methadone with my mood because I told him that when I start hurting, I get agitated. He was aware that I am still taking generic Wellbutrin & Pedal to. From what I have read, this does not seem like a good combination. Can you please comment on the FDA restrictions on how much meds are prescribed for any said condition & the safety of taking all 3 anti-depressants? I sincerely appreciate any information you can give me. I am really losing faith in this MD. Thank you