Doctor's chronic pain patients worry about their futures

SANDUSKY — Many of the chronic pain patients of Dr. William "Bill" Bauer are anxious and fearful, worried that they will soon be facing terrible pain.Many say they have had trouble finding other doctors willing to write prescriptions for pain pills. "The patients are completely the pariah. Nobody wants to touch them," said Nathan Sanger, a Norwalk resident injured in a bad traffic accident. "My community has turned on me. No doctor wants to touch me.""I support Dr. Bill," said Awna Stark, a Sandusky resident. "He has not only saved my life once but twice."Bauer, 82, a pain specialist who previously took on the cases of many chronic pain patients, isn't practicing anymore, at least for now. Bauer faces federal charges of 200 counts of distribution of controlled substance and 14 counts of healthcare fraud. As a condition of his bail, he can't practice medicine or prescribe controlled substances."I was in a horrible accident. My arm was crushed in seven places," said Sanger, 41, who said he also has back problems.Sanger said when he learned he could no longer get the pain pills he needs from Bauer, he went to see his family doctor.Sanger said his doctor, worried about becoming a target of the government, said he would like to help, "'but I don't want to lose my license. I want to practice for at least 15 years.'""I walked out of the office in tears," Sanger said.Sanger said many patients who are cut off are likely to switch in desperation to dangerous street drugs."Without mentioning names, I already know that they have," he said."I'm being treated like I'm the drug addict," he said. "I've done everything I possibly can to live a normal life. I'm the problem?"Nobody has thought this through."Stark, a pain patient profiled in a recent Register article, said she credits Bauer with saving her twice from pain that began with a foot injury and also includes nerve problems."In 2014, I suffered from another horrendous flare-up where I begged for Dr. Bauer to help me end my life. But he helped me through it," she wrote in an email to the Register."He did this by looking out for my well-being, my health, taking all aspects of my health into account. He worked with multiple neurologists & neurosurgeons as well as other physicians at the Cleveland Clinic to develop a care plan where I could care for myself and my family as I was struggling to raise three children at the time," she wrote.In an interview, she said Bauer also helped her through a crisis in 2010 when she also thought about suicide."I couldn't get out of bed. I can't even describe how absolutely miserable I was," she said. "I cried and cried and cried.""I am currently fearful of my future. My husband is petrified of my future," Stark wrote. "I am also fearful for all of the other patients who have come to depend on Dr. Bill and his care."Bauer was charged and accused of overprescribing pain pills after an investigation that included agents the FBI, the DEA and investigators from the attorney general's office.The doctor has denied wrongdoing and said none of the investigators ever bothered to question him. He said he first met federal agents when they showed up August 21 to search his car, the same day the U.S. attorney's office announced the charges in a press release featuring a quote from Attorney General Dave Yost labelling Bauer a "pill mill."Asked if it's unusual for investigators to skip interviewing the subject of a federal probe, Mike Tobin, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Cleveland replied, "We're not going to comment on when we do and don't interview the suspect."Tobin, asked if he can comment generally on whether federal investigators usually question a suspect, replied, "We just don't detail law enforcement investigative techniques."Tina Bango, a late-stage cancer patient who also has been profiled in the Register, said she recently pharmacy who was willing to fill her prescriptions after several pharmacies turned her down."I don't know what's going to happen in the future," said Bango, who said her oncologist won't write her pain prescriptions. "What am I supposed to do?"After listening to Bauer's interview a few days ago on "Between the Lines Live," another Bauer patient, schoolteacher Susan Hershiser, 52, said she has been treated by Bauer after being in three separate auto accidents.Hershiser said in her experience, Bauer does not automatically resort to pain pills but tries other approaches first.Referring to the charges against Bauer, Hershiser said, "It kind of makes it sound like if you were looking for pills, go see Bauer."She said Bauer never offered her narcotics because he never thought they were necessary.Another Bauer patient, Richard "Rick" Lindenberger of Fremont, also called the Register and said he can't speak to whether Bauer is guilty or innocent but said that in 27 years of treatment, "I've never once questioned the treatment options."Lindenberger, who is married to a pharmacist, said he takes oxycodone as needed for his back and has not increased the dose. He said he hopes both sides of the story are told in court.Other patients of Bauer also said he did not act like a "pill mill" doctor."He never prescribed more than I needed," Stark said."Any time I've ever dealt with Dr. Bauer, he's been absolutely professional," Sanger said.Tobin, the government spokesman, said Wednesday the U.S. attorney's office plans to provide help for Bauer's patients and said details will be forthcoming. On Friday, he clarified the state health department has promised to provide help.Bauer said he had about 4,000 patients, with about 1,500 receiving narcotics.He said he believes the government should stay out of medicine.Bauer said he's worried about his patients."It's not about me. I'm not concerned about my defense. I don't care. I can win."Dr. William "Bill" Bauer. Sandusky resident Awna Stark poses for a photo on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019.Bango