CD code F13.239 used to code Benzo withdrawal

[[Kl...]]

The CD (clinical diagnostic) code F13.239 is used to code Benzodiazepine dependence and withdrawal  I have been infuriated in recent visits with a psychologists when I asked him to  bill specifically for my clonazepam dependence and withdrawal symptoms, he told me benzo withdrawal  was not a billable code.  It took me a day to dig into the bowels of the cd code list to find a code that specifically stated "benzodiazpene withdrawal" and not just sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic dependence. I asked him to read the diagnosis he used for my visits and that diagnosis was so white washed, I left furious.

 

I feel that insisting that your doctor, and I hope all doctors,  bill insurance companies with this specific code to enlighten them as to the millions of dollars these

benzos, specifically, are costing insurance companies and medical institutions and the pain and suffering over prescribing has cost us.  I am insisting that my physical symptoms of withdrawal be specifically charted in psychology sessions. Hopefully, this will have repercussions back to the prescribing and caretaking medical community.

 

Here is what is in the body of the dc code: F13.239 specifically reads: Sedative, hypnotic, dependence with withdrawal, unspecified

 

Benzodiazepine dependence or addiction is where one has developed one or more of either tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, drug seeking behaviors, such as continued use despite harmful effects, and maladaptive pattern of substance use, according to the DSMLV.  In the case of benzodiazepine dependence, however, the continued use seems to be associated with the avoidance of unpleasant withdrawal reaction rather than from the pleasurable effects of the drug.  Benzodiazepine dependence develops with long term use, even at low therapeutic doses, without the described dependence behavior.

 

Insist doctors write the word "withdrawal" along with this code if this relates to you.

 

Let's all  hold the medical community responsible for our suffering. 

 

Thank you Benzobuddies, you brave warriors, for your strength and courage when fighting back.

 

klonkar

 

 

[[Lo...]]

THANK YOU!

 

 

Here is what is in the body of the dc code: F13.239 specifically reads: Sedative, hypnotic, dependence with withdrawal, unspecified

 

Benzodiazepine dependence or addiction is where one has developed one or more of either tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, drug seeking behaviors, such as continued use despite harmful effects, and maladaptive pattern of substance use, according to the DSMLV.  In the case of benzodiazepine dependence, however, the continued use seems to be associated with the avoidance of unpleasant withdrawal reaction rather than from the pleasurable effects of the drug.  Benzodiazepine dependence develops with long term use, even at low therapeutic doses, without the described dependence behavior.

 

Insist doctors write the word "withdrawal" along with this code if this relates to you.

 

 

I'm (gratefully) shocked. They even worded it right. Cause it really is NOT the same as Addiction - been in recovery 30+ years and thought I was  coming down with Parkinson & Alzheimer... e.g., did not even know it was dependence and interdose withdrawal.

 

I mean, if anyone would "know" what D or W is, it'd be us Alkies & Addicts (none of my "homeys" knew either, ISYN)

 

Thank you

[[Kl...]]

Thank you LostCause:  I'm glad this is important to you and hope this information will help hold "somebody" accountable.

 

Wishing you he best in your recovery.

 

Klonkar

[[...]]

This is very important to know, Klonkar.  Perhaps you might also start a thread in Chewing the Fat or Post Withdrawal, say, to increase visibility.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[[Lo...]]

Thank you LostCause:  I'm glad this is important to you

Klonkar

 

Just got off phone with a 'homey with a CLUE', a professional (licensed LADAC). Her first question to me was "What's your insurance?" we then realized there mightn't be any "taper aware" supports East of Nashville. I mean outside of Celebrity Private pay...

 

Without that 'DaVinci Code' in the Rosetta Bone, providers CANNOT get paid (Medicare might never in my lifetime) Even so, this is HUGE break-through. This code may invoke GRANTS etc, much needed to bring US anywhere close to where they are in UK, AU

 

BTW, I did not mean Benzo Dependency is "never" Addiction. There's some that "Enjoy" (?how?) Benzo's - they get psychologically addicted. (on top of physically dependent) Annotating "WITHDRAWAL" in the case of an Addict is accurate.

 

For us, the word "Discontinuation" would be more apt.  It would still convey accountability. Insurance, Politics & Policies are semanticly challenged...

 

If we annotate our F13.239 "Withdrawal", that invokes a rigid, insanely regulated "detox" like we have in Suboxone Clinics - "Set in Stone" taper rates? How many "Adverse Events" (deaths?) before it'd get changed...

 

"Discontinuation", with scientifically accurate back up - this might yield more humane result

 

And what abcd said - please post anyplace visible! Helpers deserve to be paid

[[Kl...]]

abcd:  I'll re-post in a couple of places as soon as possible.  Great idea!!

 

Klonkar

[[Ju...]]

I'm going to give my opinion on this whether people like it or not and I'm not trying to be rude.

 

It doesn't matter what the doctor uses to bill the insurance company and you probably don't want that in your records in the first place. People like Social Security and other doctors look at it like a bad thing. They try to look at you like a drug addict if you are going through benzo withdrawal. The way they assume things is that you wouldn't be going through withdrawal unless you had a addiction problem. So that's never a good thing for other people to think that.

 

Secondly, it doesn't matter if you are addicted or not anyways. This has been debated on this website a million times and people always get worked up, but whether you are a drug addict or not doesn't change anything.

 

And benzo withdrawal takes the same amount of time whether or not you are billed correctly. And why is everybody so interested in what they are labeled anyways? Why does it even matter? That would be like worrying about what everybody says about what clothes you're wearing or where you live. It's irrelevant. It's nobody's business anyways.

 

I'm almost 22 months out and I can tell you for a fact that it doesn't matter what you do, you're going to suffer until the end and then it's over and then you can move on with life. Quit worrying about the dumb stuff.

 

And yes there's definitely a benzo withdrawal code because my doctor has it in my medical records and so do the hospital staff. So it's definitely a code.

[[Kl...]]

Justintime:  This is not about being labeled.  This is about getting the word out to doctors who are still heavily prescribing benzos and don't see a consequence.  This is about making doctors aware that withdrawal symptoms are real.  This is about documenting for the record that we are suffering from the over prescribing of these heinous drugs.  My life has been hell for 8 years and a psychologist who these doctors sent me to denied there was such a CDC code for withdrawal symptoms from long term benzo use, medically prescribed.  I think we all have a responsibility to try to stop over prescription of these drugs.  I am one that wants it in my record as I have found a law firm that is taking benzo cases as I am writing.

 

Just my reasons for passing this on. 

 

Karla

[[br...]]

 

It's always a fine line on how much we share with anyone our experiences with benzo withdrawal . And I agree that being upfront is good in many ways. We need to get the word out that we are not addicts looking for the next fix . Shaming is horrible and unjust , even for those who are truly addicts .

 

However I am throwing in a caveat against oversharing based on a personal experience . At the beginning of my journey and not knowing that I was in tolerance withdrawal I wound up in the E.R with intense stomach pain . Of course every test was negative . I was given morphine and was told that I was a hysterical female . The attitude of the Dr was appalling . Tensions grew . I remember crying and then being told that I was being transferred to a facility where under California law I would be under suicide watch . The facilty was 120 miles away and I was transported there in the back of a police car . I won't go into details of what happened there , it's best forgotten.

 

So to get back to the caveat . PLEASE be careful with oversharing . We all want to be brave warriors for our cause but there are toxic health professionals out there . One day attitudes on dependancy and addiction will change but until that happens we have to be  aware and self protective .

[[Kl...]]

Brave Rabbit:  You help make my point.  It is absolutely terrible that you went through what you did.  Perhaps, if doctors as a whole understood more about what you were experiencing, you would have been treated differently.  My doctors currently know every drug that I cannot take, the ones that will throw me back into acute potentially.  They all know my story and I have had only apologies from many doctors who are just learning about the nature of BZ withdrawal.  I just helped a heart doctor with a link to BB's so she could taper safely off a low dose of valium that she'd been taking for way too many years.  She was beyond grateful.  There are lots of opened minded doctors out there and if a doctor isn't, than I would say "ship him or her down the road".  Life is too short. 

 

I have not guilt associated with my benzo WD syndrome as the Rx's I took were all medically prescribed.  Even if they weren't, information should be out there  and it still is not!!  I understand if you are someone does not want to share their story and there are those who think we are just delusional, and I have family members in that category but when I look at their mental health, I just have to smile and keep on keeping on!!

 

I wish you the best and thank you for the post. 

 

klonkar

[[Ju...]]

I completely understand, and I understand where you're coming from. I wasn't trying to argue your point in anyway, I was just stating that from what I've realized over the last couple years of suffering going to multiple doctors, whenever you say benzo withdrawal, they assume addiction automatically. Because normal people don't go through withdrawal, only those who get addicted to drugs go through withdrawal. That's how they think. That's how they were trained in medical school.

 

So sometimes instead of putting benzo withdrawal on your paperwork, they will put drug addiction instead. My doctor actually put both. And if you tell them to take the addiction part off, they say no. I've actually tried that as well. There's really no changing the doctor's mind, they don't care about what we care about, they only care about what they're supposed to do.

 

So if you're trying to change what a doctor is doing, you're selling them to do their job differently. Doctors don't like it when you tell them how to do their jobs or impersonate them or anything else. They are considered an authority, that's actually what my doctor yelled at me a few months ago. I was telling her that I wasn't addicted to benzos, and she said I have the authority! She actually yelled at me. So then I just quit trying to change her mind while I was going through benzo withdrawal. It was like an angry mother yelling at me or something.

 

So even though I find it funny to mess with Doctor sometimes and prove them wrong, they don't think the same thing. And then whenever I tell therapist about doctors and complain about all the crappy care that I have gotten over the years, my therapist seems to want to change my mind so that I'm looking at it from the doctor's point of view instead. And then I say well doesn't that defeat the purpose of therapy? And then they say well most likely the doctor had reasoning for it or whatever. So basically you can't win against therapist and doctors, they are on the medical side and not our side.

 

So in regards to benzo withdrawal labels for insurance companies, they're not going to do their jobs differently than they're supposed to just so that you can get something you like on paper. That's not what they're there to do. The system is against us and I don't think most people realize that.

 

Anyways I'm actually in the process of suing doctors right now as well. I have to go file the paperwork myself and pay $200 to get it into superior court because of the amount of money. I was going to represent myself, but you say you have somebody that will do it now? Which state is this?

[[Kl...]]

Here is the most recent link to this lawfirm.

 

https://www.brainandspinalcord.org/faqs/sci/can-i-sue-my-doctor-for-over-prescribing-benzodiazepine/

 

Good luck Justintime. 

 

Klonkar