Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in the ER last summer because I had an awful virus that made me vomit every ten minutes and I couldn't keep water down for 24 hours. The minute I disclosed that I take extended-release morphine prescribed by a pain specialist during intake they stopped listening to me, and took 2 hours before they gave me IV fluids and anti-nausea medicine. I never asked for painkillers and all I needed was fluids and an anti-emetic but the minute I disclosed that I'm a chronic pain patient (I have a degenerative joint disease) they treated me as subhuman. A friend came with me and was in the waiting room repeatedly asking to come sit with me but was lied to multiple times to keep her from advocating for me. I spent two hours vomiting, shaking, and crying, and the only time a nurse came to check on me was when I was curled in a fetal position with an awful migraine from severe dehydration and she told me I needed to stop disturbing the other patients with my whimpering. I will never trust an ER tech/nurse/doctor again.

I am also a chronic pain patient (severe arthritis in my cervical spine) and am on a very low dose of Vicodin to help manage it. 1 or 2 5 mg tablets per day, max. Some days I take none. I've avoided going to the ER a few times in recent years when I really should have gone (cut my hand and should have had stitches; severe food poisoning) because I didn't want to go through the humiliation of disclosing that I am a chronic pain patient. I knew I would be labeled a drug seeker and treated as a second-class human.

There is a huge opioid problem in this country; I hope the pendulum eventually swings back to center, so that people in actual pain can have the treatment they need without stigma; and people who are abusing meds will have a much harder time accessing them.

Anonymous wrote:Your big mistake was naming a specific brand of painkiller. Doctors pick up a whole list of red flags to help them pinpoint who is trying to play them for drugs and that one is right near the top of the chart. Yes, YOU know that you are not a druggie but keep in mind that this doctor probably already had 10+ patients this week who had "terrible back pain and the only thing that works is Demerol" or "spilled their Vicodin into the toilet and can you just write me another Rx" or are "allergic to everything except Dilaudid" or "just need some fentanyl patches to get through it." He doesn't know what you are, but he knows a bunch of people have already tried to play him and is on the lookout for the next one. So are the nurses, because they see it all the time.

It's not heroin junkies doing this kind of stuff. They know where to get their drugs, and it isn't the ER. It's the prescription drug addicts. The reason the doctors treat everyone like a drug seeker is because they get them all the time and can't let their guard down. Your irritation should be reserved for the druggies, IMO, not the doctors who have become jaded by them.

Anonymous wrote:I was in the ER last summer because I had an awful virus that made me vomit every ten minutes and I couldn't keep water down for 24 hours. The minute I disclosed that I take extended-release morphine prescribed by a pain specialist during intake they stopped listening to me, and took 2 hours before they gave me IV fluids and anti-nausea medicine. I never asked for painkillers and all I needed was fluids and an anti-emetic but the minute I disclosed that I'm a chronic pain patient (I have a degenerative joint disease) they treated me as subhuman. A friend came with me and was in the waiting room repeatedly asking to come sit with me but was lied to multiple times to keep her from advocating for me. I spent two hours vomiting, shaking, and crying, and the only time a nurse came to check on me was when I was curled in a fetal position with an awful migraine from severe dehydration and she told me I needed to stop disturbing the other patients with my whimpering. I will never trust an ER tech/nurse/doctor again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is still odd that they offered IV morphine and got upset when she asked for a Percoset pill instead. That is a much lighter narcotic.

You can't go out and sell IV morphine the way you can an Rx for Percocet

They do not give you an Rx for Percoset at the ER. They give you one pill while you are there. If you are there long enough, they may give you another. At least that has been my experience with a family member--perhaps ERs differ on this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is still odd that they offered IV morphine and got upset when she asked for a Percoset pill instead. That is a much lighter narcotic.

You can't go out and sell IV morphine the way you can an Rx for Percocet

Anonymous wrote:I have chronic pancreatitis which has an unknown cause. I did nothing wrong or unhealthy to cause this condition. Sometimes I have to go to the ER for fluids, anti nausea meds and pain meds. Tonight I turned down morphine because it makes me very ill. I was then told I couldn't get a different opioid as a substitute. I politely asked a second time and heard no. Then I told them I was offended that they were implying I was a junkie because I requested a specific opiod that wouldn't make me sick. Only then did they give me the pain killer I needed.

I completely understand there is a serious heroin epidemic I this country and my heart goes out to those who struggle but doctors need to treat those of us with legitimate needs. I'm tired of being treated like an addict. Having a chronic condition is stressful as it is. I feel so betrayed when I ask for help and am treated like a liar.

Anonymous wrote:It is still odd that they offered IV morphine and got upset when she asked for a Percoset pill instead. That is a much lighter narcotic.