A local man is one of many struggling with addiction nearly a year after the doctor who prescribed him those drugs had his license suspended.
Doctor Richard Ng was under federal investigation for maybe having killed some of his patients by over-prescribing pain killers.
The Whiteside County Community Health Clinic got 146 of Doctor Ng's former patients, many of which administrators say had addictions to prescription drugs.
The clinic administrator estimates only 20 are still getting treated at the clinic. About 25 were caught buying or selling prescriptions on the streets and discharged.
Less than ten chose to attend substance abuse programs, and the rest were referred to surgeons or pain management specialists.
Some former patients say none of these options are giving them the help, or medicine, they need.
"Pretty soon you start getting sick to your stomach, the muscles in your body start shaking and you end up vomiting," Former Patient Aaron Elmendorf says.
He tells us he's dependent on painkillers like Vicodin, Oxycodone, and Hydromorphone prescribed for back pain from a degenerative disk disease.
"I can't function, there's no getting away from it," Elmendorf says, "You can't lay down, you can't stand up."
Elmendorf says in 2010, he was in the ER 14 times in less than three months every time he ran out of pills. By Friday, he'll be out again, with no one willing to give him any more.
"Now everyone's scared of writing prescriptions for these pills, so I get shuffled around here and there," Elmendorf says.
Whiteside County Clinic officials say when patients like Elmendorf first started flooding through their doors, they had doctors to wean them off the drugs.
"There were 146 different scenarios and each one of them was a victim in some way," Whiteside County Clinic Administrator Beth Fiorini says.
Those doctors have since moved, and many of these patients need a lethal amount of drugs to keep the pain at bay, something their doctors won't prescribe.
"It's dangerous for the patient and they don't want to put themselves at risk," Fiorini says.
The clinic has been referring patients to abuse programs, pain management specialists, and surgeons to get treatment without drug, but some keep asking for pills to control their pain.
"There's only so many times you can refer someone until you have to get the message that you don't need it," Fiorini says.
Now patients like Elmendorf are left dealing with their pain until they can get treatment.
"Every week, wondering will I have enough pills, will I be able to get by, will I function or not function?" Elmendorf says.
Elmendorf tells us he has appointments to see a surgeon to treat his back, but can't get in to see a pain management specialist for three months.
