Please tell me what you think of this situation I need your input asap

Today, I get a phone call from my "old clinic" quick recap. I had been a patient at this clinic for two years there are these two nurses that are rude to clients and gang up at the dosing window together. I had a run in with them a couple of times the last time being I felt like something was up at my clinic cause all in one day I was told I needed to have a random/mandatory P&T, a yearly physical, and a EKG. I was scared of EKG because my admit EKG showed my QTC's to be 540 which apparently is not good and I had been led to believe by the nurse that I might have to consider suboxone instead of methadone therefore I stayed afraid as they kept telling me that they needed to re-do it. So anyways the first day I showed up the nurse reached in my box and grabbed all my take homes and told me she would be keeping them "Because I Can" is what she said etc....well my counselor and the admin director had basically begged me to file a grievance telling me they cannot deal with these nurses because no one will ever file a grievance. I did. The director forgot to show up the first time the second time he had my counselor call and reschedule the third time I had to cancel then I changed clinics because I was over it and too tired of being scared these nurses would retaliate etc...

Went to new clinic armed with the P&T that finally gave them some kind of reading to substantiate my withdrawals returning around midnight everynite wherein the doc agreed to 5 mg increase then denied me anymore without a P&T my counselor had not submitted my P&T with my request for the second 5mg increase. He submitted it the next week and the doctor has not yes or no for the last two weeks. My counselor is wondering too why he is dragging his feet which has made me paranoid. So now I have given up trying to ask as I am afraid to push the envelope thinking my old clinic must have said something to the new clinic regarding increases. I don't know I feel like I am under some shadow of doubt.

Well anyways I have been determined though to keep at the grievance even though I have left so last Friday I wrote the director at the old clinic stating I wanted to proceed with the grievance etc....I went into several other incidents I had also endured at the expense of those nurses and I had witnessed etc... Well today, I get a phone call from the director who apologizes that he has not been back with me but when he had been told I transferred he at that point could not follow up in any disciplinary action regarding my grievance, but he had received my letter on yesterday via his secretary and he was calling to tell me he had not ignored me and he apologized for not calling me and telling me as a result of my transfer he could not pursue it as he should have because this was all a lack of communication etc... He asks if I would be willing to transfer back and if so he indeed would follow thru. I then told him my fears of returning as the EKG had turned out better but what if it ever got high again, what if the nurses get even madder and retaliate at me I had been denied a P&T then got one that showed me fast metabolizer and now I feel this clinic is denying me an increase because of possibly being poisoned by my transfer papers etc... He asks to call me back. He wanted to review my file etc.... An hour or so went by and he called.

He said that he looked at my P&T and feels I should immediately go to split dosing with a 10mg increase every 5 days up to at least 220mg then one month no increase then 5mg every 5mg every 5 days until I feel all symptoms subside. I ask about the EKG and he said he could promise that I would not be taken off methadone because of elevated EKG they would send me to a doctor if need add magnesium to my diet etc…but I would not have to go on suboxone or be off methadone.

He asks me to think about it. To immediately split dose and I ask about my new clinic getting mad at me for that and he said well I wouldn’t tell them I was doing it I might ask them if you can consider it, as my trough is low showing a need for increases and my peak is ok actually pretty good, but when next to the trough number is shows I need increases plus split dosing, but he said he hopes that I will reconsider and come back to the clinic there. He promised he would do something in regards to the nurses he had been waiting for a while to get a grievance in his hands where he can. (Not so sure why he cannot do what he feels is right without a grievance but it sounds good I guess)

WELL THIS SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. Is there a chance I am hearing the truth. Am I being set up? Should I consider going back?

Wow, too bad he didn't take the action while you were still there at that clinic. Why is it he can't do anything about the grievance that you filed because you left? He has proof of why you left, I would think that would be enough to make him follow through and take some action. Loosing patients should be reason wouldn't ya think?

So if you go back, what will he do with the nurses? If you were to go back and before you go back if that is what you decide to do, I would have a sit down with both the director and the doctor and discuss all of your concerns. Take notes, have them sign those notes and get the future plan down in writing with the signatures of the Director, the doctor and yourself. That way you will be sure to cover thy rear.

Of course these are only suggestions, the decision is always up to you and what you want to do.
I'm sure someone else here can give you some input as well.

first of all, he is FULL of crap. you can still go thru w/the grievance even if you are no longer there. HE IS LYING TO YOU about this! If you have to you can go right over his head and keep on w/the complaint. Especially after the way he has ignored you the two or three times you had meetings set up w/him to discuss this and he "forgot" or "didn't show", I am sorry, he was ignoring you!

I think he is trying to suck up to you now because he thinks you won't go thru w/it if he gives you what you want which is an increase. Is he also the doc or just the director? Because if he's not a doc, he has NO business telling you what kind of dosing schedule and increases you will get because that is up to the Dr. And the stuff about not decreasing you because your ekg may show bad readings of the QT interval, that is crap too. Again because first of all, the DOCTOR has to make that determination and I am sorry, with the way clinic are being sued and played out in the media right now about not monitoring the patients, I don't see a doctor in any clinic who will risk taking that kind of a risk of increasing your dose and/or not decreasing your dose when your ekg shows abnormalities with the QT interval. The elevated QT interval is a sign of heart probs and ppl on higher doses of methadone who have elevate QT waves are risking DEATH so again, I just don't think a doctor is going to take a chance that your ekg shows abnormal and they just keep on increasing you. You had to go thru hell trying to get an increase there and now all the sudden you are going to get one all easy peasy??? I doubt it.

I am sorry if I am upsetting you in any way or making you mad but I call it how I see it and I think he is trying to take you for a ride. You are not having issues at your new clinic so why go back to that crap? Those nurses will STILL be there and don't think for a minute they won't start their crap again, especially after all that has gone on and the director being scared of your filing a complaint. I think that is ALL he is worried about.

Of course, like Dee says, it's your decision and you have to make it yourself and be able to live with it so you are the only one that can decide. BUT this man has treated you like crap all this time and you can't tell me for a minute that he didn't know you had transferred before now. If it's true that he can't persue your complaint because you transferred, then why didn't he tell you this before now instead of standing you up all those times and ignoring you?

After all you have been through with the old clinic it just AMAZES me that you would even consider going back of course the decision is yours to make. One of things that I have learned in life (especially with methadone programs) PAST PERFORMANCE IS A GOOD INDICATOR OF FUTURE TREATMENT. Caps are used for emphasis and not as a form of yelling so please do not take offense. RuthAnn is Right! You are being lied to by this director. The Grievance that you filed, I think it has been around a month or so ago should have been dealt with by now. There is no excuse for his lack of action. We have a saying where I am from..... The man is just buttering your Buns Baby! You spent a couple years being AFRAID in that business, You were treated HORRIBLY and no one even cared or knew that you left. Your Grievance was not handled properly according to clinic policy or STATE LAW. If you have not done it already I would be sending a certified letter to your State Authority. I wish you all the luck in the world and I want only the very best for you in your treatment. However, from what I have read about the way you have been treated in your old clinic there is no way I would ever go back no matter what the director "promised" me. It has always helped me to remember that Methadone Programs can do whatever they choose and get away with it. So, his word, even signed, in writing means nothing because enforcement of the terms are virtually impossible. Since you are a paralegal then you know full well that a written, signed, notarized contract needs litigation for it to be enforced. When the clinic director who promised you the world, quits his job or worse yet just fails to honor his word.... What are you going to do? Pay your hard earned money for an attorney to take the corporation that owns the clinic to court to enforce your agreement? Meanwhile you suffer with whatever retaliation they have waiting for you.

I am sorry but after all you have went through I hope that you do not crawl back to the people who have caused all of this misery in your life. It is usually best when we walk forward in life. Perhaps talking with "Joe" might be of benefit to you at this point.

Best Wishes to you!