Is the Doctor to fault? Too many?

[mamav]

Okay, I wrote last week concerning my Step-niece, who was a recovering Meth addict, then had a bad wreck and has been on pain pills for 4 years. When she runs low, she is complaining of terrible pain, etc.. Well she ran out, and after her friends ran out and she went to an ER and was told NO, she managed to get a Doctor to prescribe more pills, she hid the bottle under a mattress where she was staying and has been gone for a few days, comes gets some more pills and leaves. I SNOOPED, and found that one Doctor wrote her a prescription for 150 endocet, on 4-1-08 then wrote her 90 more on 4-22-08 650 mlg. She also had 100 Oxycodone (empty), Naproxen (empty), Hydrocodone (empty) plus some others (empty) The 150 endocet were gone and 51 of the bottle of 90 (had 8 days) gone. The Oxy and other pills were from 2 other doctors, but isn't it the Doctor who should be reported if he is prescribing over 200 endocet within a month? Seems to me he must be stupid if he can't see she's addicted.

[Jacqui805]

Depends entirely on the dose here.  If for example she's to take it every four hours, let's say at 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm, and 8 pm, then 150 would not be more than she'd need in a month.  To be honest here, the problem, as I'm sure you recognize is that your Step-niece unfortunately, has an addiction.  When someone is addicted, they can be highly manipulative and creative when it comes to getting their hands on whatever it is they need.  Who knows what she's actually telling this doc.  You mention that she's a "recovering" addict, but honestly speaking here, her behavior indicates otherwise.  She needs help.  Would she listen to you?

[Jacqui805]

Sorry, I meant that dose for around the clock (atc), not 4 times daily....sorry.

[J_friend]

I have my own views on this, and I believe that doctors are all-too-often put in precarious positions.  If they say, "No", then they have no compassion; however, if they prescribe "Too much", then they are negligent.  Perhaps this doctor actually believes your niece and is just trying to assist her in order to deal with pain.  It can be difficult for a doctor to distinguish REAL pain from fake pain - especially is one is a good actor/actress.

I do think some doctors are negligent and sure, some may want to simply make a profit.  However, MANY physicians are risking a lot, simply to help patients out who claim they are in TRUE pain.  Again, I'm not saying the doctors should never be accountable ... but if a patient is an addict and a liar, then it's the patient who should be accountable, not the physician.  

It would be a shame to see a compassionate doctor's life/career ruined simply because he/she is trusting their patient.  Let's fact it, if addicts WANT pain meds badly enough (and most do), they WILL obtain them.