Aa
Pain medication
I want to know why all Doctors think that if they help keep you from suffering from chronic pain by giving prescription drugs such as Vicodin or other narcotic pain relievers, they think you automatically become addicted to them. Not everyone has addictive tendencies. I had taken Vicodin for 3 years straight before moving out of town away from my understanding and sympathetic doctor whom, after numerous tests on me realized the serious problems with my spine. He had me on Vicodin for 3 years to ease my suffering. When I moved to a different state, I ran out of my pain medication and just stopped taking vicodin. NOTHING HAPPENED TO ME! NOTHING! I did not get sick, shake, sweat, vomit, turn to other drugs or alcohol..........NOTHING! I just suffered constantly with pain. I waited a few months before seeking another doctor in my new town. He treated me like a junkie and told me to take Advil. That was two years ago. Well after two years on Advil, I now suffer from easy brusing and stomach problems. So why do most doctors want to see a patient suffer instead of help them ease their pain? So.......narcotic pain medication is addicting! Big deal. In this day and age with all the new meications to help pain, it is a shame so many of us are allowed to suffer everyday of our lives. So its addicting......isnt that the patients problem anyhow? Cant the doctor at least try and see if indeed these patients show signs of addiction like going through the medication too fast and looking for refills when they shouldnt need them yet? Why cant a doctor give the patient the benefit of the doubt first?
Oh well......advil will do me just fine. I would rather take that then be treated like some drug addict. It may only help me 10% of the pain but at least I dont have to answer to someone that has no idea how I suffer and I dont have to feel like some drug addict. Please answer me.
Thank you
Dana
Oh well......advil will do me just fine. I would rather take that then be treated like some drug addict. It may only help me 10% of the pain but at least I dont have to answer to someone that has no idea how I suffer and I dont have to feel like some drug addict. Please answer me.
Thank you
Dana
You all are so right about Dr.s and pain meds. I have been diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension, CHF, enlarged spleed and liver Low oxygen sateration levels (I am on oxygen 24/7 now) intercrainial hypertension that causes massive headaches arthritis and fibromyalgia. I also have a pacemaker for SA-AV node dysfunction that caused my heart rate to drop into the 20 and 30's. I also have low blood pressure which means I can't take any of the meds that help the primary pulmonary hypertension. Oh and in case you are wondering I am only 39. Seems this inherited.
I have run into a problem now and would like to know your opinions.
In May I was in a what I thought a minor car accident when I at that time thought I fell asleep at the wheel driving home from a singing compitition I was in. I went left of center on the expressway (thankfully there is a wide strip of grass between the two directions of traffic) I became aware enough to try and get back on the freeway and overcorrected and did 2 360's and slammed into the ditch on the other side of the road. I was the only car involved. I was taken to the ER the transferred to a hospital closer to my home. My heart was checked out and when nothing alarming showed up I was released after 2 days inpatient. The next morning I woke up and my legs were like wet noodles and I fell to the ground, I also couldn't seem to make it to the bathroom in time and a few times didn't even know I had to go to the bathroom until I felt something warm running down my legs. Thinking that this was neurological (due to hitting my head in the accident) I was sent to yet a different hospital where my neuologist works. It was there in the ER that my Low O2 levels were diagnosed along with scarring in both my lungs. I was admitted for further tests. A few days later due to low B/P and the low O2 levels I was transferred to the CCU. During this entire stay however I had been asking for Ambien which I take at home to sleep. (yes you can say I am addicted to it but I would rather say I am addicted to sleep because without the Ambien I will not sleep literally for days) I would ask Dr.s about it averytime they came in to see me but it seemed like everyone wanted someone else to say yes first and those who told me they had no problem with it seemed to have a problem writing it down in my chart.
So Like I said I was transferred and on top of no real sleep for about 5 days and having PMS I went off the deep end at about 4am. I told them I wanted to go home and unhooked myself from the moniter and demanded the catheter be pulled out. I had a picc line so it was decided to wait until my parents came (prop to see if they could talk some sense into me!!) before that was pulled out. Right after my parents arrived I remembered that I had put a few Ambien in a small case in my purse *I tend to sleepwalk and take more at night so I had split them up into about 6 different locations* I wasn't sure if I had taken them or not so I had my mom get my purse and I found that there were 4 pills there. Well I had enough and decided to take one. Just as I was putting it in my mouth I was caught by the nurse. Well she searched my property and I was properly scolded and I still keep my ambien because I was sitting on the little container and she didn't ask me to stand up. She also accused my parents of bringing me drugs. She asked me if I would be willing to take a drug screen to which I said yes and I took it. I was transferred back to the floor that day also. That afternoon while I was in the bathroom someone knocked on the door and asked for me by name. I said I would be out in a min. to hold on. She didn't and yelled thru the door that I had come up positive for benzodiazipenes on the drug screen and would that suprise me. I told her yes and was just about to open the door when I heard her say "yea right" very sarcastically. this stunned me for a second and by the time I had opened the door she was gone. The Pt's visitors in the room at the time looked at me like I was a criminal and they should consider getting there loved one away from me ASAP. I also saw a few looks coming from people in the hall. It was like there was a big neon sign above my head that said druggie!!! I was mad ! I then began looking up all of the medications I had been given by my Dr's and that the hospital and this nurse could have varified and found that one component of a medication prescribed by one of my specialists was a benzodiazepene!!! The label only said CDP and I never really looked it up. Now I am sure my chart at this hospital has me labeled a druggie.
I have been having severe headaches with dizzyness, extreme fatique and have not been sleeping even with the Ambien for about 4 days now. I really feel I need to go to the ER but I have noticed even before this that Drs are asking what has worked in the past.
Maybe it is just me being paranoid but I don't know how to answer this esp. now. Before the accident I would just really say not much but I am willing to try anything. They then ask if Vicoden or Darvocet has helped and truthfully no they haven't but my answer is always the same. I do know from past exp. it takes strong meds to get the pain under control and sometimes percocet has not even helped. Now I am afraid if I go back to this ER ( which I do only because if I am admitted they will put a picc line in immediatly saving me getting stuck multple times as I have really bad veins) I will be labeled a drug seeker and what happened in May will now forever effect treatment at this hospital.
I told every Dr I had in May what happened and most said they didn't blam me and that they would prob have done the same thing if they were in my shoes... but since they also said they didn't have a prob. with the Ambien and that never made it to my chart I little faith that any of this did either. I feel this nurse majorly violated pt confidentiality but I do not know who she is sho reporting her is next to impossable and I am afraid like I said I now will be labeled a drug seeker. I do not go to different ERs unless my Specialist works out of on specific hospital and that is who would have the most control over my care fpr the same reason. What do you guys think????
I have run into a problem now and would like to know your opinions.
In May I was in a what I thought a minor car accident when I at that time thought I fell asleep at the wheel driving home from a singing compitition I was in. I went left of center on the expressway (thankfully there is a wide strip of grass between the two directions of traffic) I became aware enough to try and get back on the freeway and overcorrected and did 2 360's and slammed into the ditch on the other side of the road. I was the only car involved. I was taken to the ER the transferred to a hospital closer to my home. My heart was checked out and when nothing alarming showed up I was released after 2 days inpatient. The next morning I woke up and my legs were like wet noodles and I fell to the ground, I also couldn't seem to make it to the bathroom in time and a few times didn't even know I had to go to the bathroom until I felt something warm running down my legs. Thinking that this was neurological (due to hitting my head in the accident) I was sent to yet a different hospital where my neuologist works. It was there in the ER that my Low O2 levels were diagnosed along with scarring in both my lungs. I was admitted for further tests. A few days later due to low B/P and the low O2 levels I was transferred to the CCU. During this entire stay however I had been asking for Ambien which I take at home to sleep. (yes you can say I am addicted to it but I would rather say I am addicted to sleep because without the Ambien I will not sleep literally for days) I would ask Dr.s about it averytime they came in to see me but it seemed like everyone wanted someone else to say yes first and those who told me they had no problem with it seemed to have a problem writing it down in my chart.
So Like I said I was transferred and on top of no real sleep for about 5 days and having PMS I went off the deep end at about 4am. I told them I wanted to go home and unhooked myself from the moniter and demanded the catheter be pulled out. I had a picc line so it was decided to wait until my parents came (prop to see if they could talk some sense into me!!) before that was pulled out. Right after my parents arrived I remembered that I had put a few Ambien in a small case in my purse *I tend to sleepwalk and take more at night so I had split them up into about 6 different locations* I wasn't sure if I had taken them or not so I had my mom get my purse and I found that there were 4 pills there. Well I had enough and decided to take one. Just as I was putting it in my mouth I was caught by the nurse. Well she searched my property and I was properly scolded and I still keep my ambien because I was sitting on the little container and she didn't ask me to stand up. She also accused my parents of bringing me drugs. She asked me if I would be willing to take a drug screen to which I said yes and I took it. I was transferred back to the floor that day also. That afternoon while I was in the bathroom someone knocked on the door and asked for me by name. I said I would be out in a min. to hold on. She didn't and yelled thru the door that I had come up positive for benzodiazipenes on the drug screen and would that suprise me. I told her yes and was just about to open the door when I heard her say "yea right" very sarcastically. this stunned me for a second and by the time I had opened the door she was gone. The Pt's visitors in the room at the time looked at me like I was a criminal and they should consider getting there loved one away from me ASAP. I also saw a few looks coming from people in the hall. It was like there was a big neon sign above my head that said druggie!!! I was mad ! I then began looking up all of the medications I had been given by my Dr's and that the hospital and this nurse could have varified and found that one component of a medication prescribed by one of my specialists was a benzodiazepene!!! The label only said CDP and I never really looked it up. Now I am sure my chart at this hospital has me labeled a druggie.
I have been having severe headaches with dizzyness, extreme fatique and have not been sleeping even with the Ambien for about 4 days now. I really feel I need to go to the ER but I have noticed even before this that Drs are asking what has worked in the past.
Maybe it is just me being paranoid but I don't know how to answer this esp. now. Before the accident I would just really say not much but I am willing to try anything. They then ask if Vicoden or Darvocet has helped and truthfully no they haven't but my answer is always the same. I do know from past exp. it takes strong meds to get the pain under control and sometimes percocet has not even helped. Now I am afraid if I go back to this ER ( which I do only because if I am admitted they will put a picc line in immediatly saving me getting stuck multple times as I have really bad veins) I will be labeled a drug seeker and what happened in May will now forever effect treatment at this hospital.
I told every Dr I had in May what happened and most said they didn't blam me and that they would prob have done the same thing if they were in my shoes... but since they also said they didn't have a prob. with the Ambien and that never made it to my chart I little faith that any of this did either. I feel this nurse majorly violated pt confidentiality but I do not know who she is sho reporting her is next to impossable and I am afraid like I said I now will be labeled a drug seeker. I do not go to different ERs unless my Specialist works out of on specific hospital and that is who would have the most control over my care fpr the same reason. What do you guys think????
Janie, you said it soooo well. Boy, I cant believe we have to go through this.
Paul you are too funny.
Annie
Paul you are too funny.
Annie
i think the reason for the drug addict aproach from doctors is because they are the ones who are addicted to the drugs that are readily availible to them. they being the doctors ...
Re: "cold shakes... Morgue... OD express. Any narcotic in pill form is inherently much safer than, say, heroin for the "inexperienced" user. Dosage is a sure thing and the old rule about starting at the bottom and working your way up definately applies. Definately the way to go for "newbies" who seek greater effectiveness from their currently prescribed meds, wether it be dilaudid, oxycontin, MS contin, or methadone. TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!!!!!!!
Dana you are right! Some doctors are pathetic. Most cannot tell you what addiction means! For instance, are we not addicted to food and oxygen? We cannot live without those things just as some of us who suffer from pain problems cannot function normally without whatever medication. If it is a choice between being labeled "an addict" or suffering every single day, I 'll take my drugs and tattoo "addict" on my forehead. Most doctors are insensitive to their patients needs. Part of being a doctor is disconnecting themselves from their emotions. Some doctors are very caring but I cannot tell you how many of them are like robots.
I have the same problem with getting pain meds. I had torn cartiledge in both knees, sciatica, a uterus the size of a 5 month pregnancy, an ovarian cyst (I finally had it removed) and I had to BEG for pain meds.
Before I had my hystorectomy, the doctor gave me a prescription for Tylenol 3. I took it as directed. When I called the doctor's office, the nurse said it wasn't in my chart to get it.
I wrote a nasty letter to the doctor saying "Will you please tell your staff that I'm not taking this drug for fun." They called me and apologized and gave me the script, but look what I had to go through.
I went to a pain clinic. $750 for the first visit. 6 weeks of physical therapy at $75 a pop. $120 per shot for prednolisone.
After a year and all that expense, I was still walking with a cane. For about $36 I could have gotten 12 months of relief, allowing me to be more mobile and perhaps improve my condition(s) but no. I finally had to write the doctor and tell him I could no longer afford the treatment.
I have a handicap placard for my car and every once in a while, a friend who's on regular pain meds will save some for me, which I take only on the days when I really can't stand the pain anymore (usually after 4-5 days, or when it hurts during the night)
I'm sorry to be so long winded, but that's my story.
Before I had my hystorectomy, the doctor gave me a prescription for Tylenol 3. I took it as directed. When I called the doctor's office, the nurse said it wasn't in my chart to get it.
I wrote a nasty letter to the doctor saying "Will you please tell your staff that I'm not taking this drug for fun." They called me and apologized and gave me the script, but look what I had to go through.
I went to a pain clinic. $750 for the first visit. 6 weeks of physical therapy at $75 a pop. $120 per shot for prednolisone.
After a year and all that expense, I was still walking with a cane. For about $36 I could have gotten 12 months of relief, allowing me to be more mobile and perhaps improve my condition(s) but no. I finally had to write the doctor and tell him I could no longer afford the treatment.
I have a handicap placard for my car and every once in a while, a friend who's on regular pain meds will save some for me, which I take only on the days when I really can't stand the pain anymore (usually after 4-5 days, or when it hurts during the night)
I'm sorry to be so long winded, but that's my story.
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