Adding to this: Your doctor also has the right to kick you out of his office and refuse to ever see you again if you're being an entitled, whiny PITA. Also, those "bullshit hoops" for getting pain meds are because: a) the best treatment for chronic pain is to lose weight and your doctor knows it;  b) getting addicted to narcotics is a bad thing and withdrawal sucks. I know this from experience.  Any doctor who is not dispensing pain meds like candy is being responsible, and potentially saving someone from an overdose. In particular,  7ffa   narcotics need to be carefully regulated when given to people with mental illness or instability. This ham definitely qualifies.