It's horrible to be labeled a drug seeker

I've waited to post on this until I felt up to it.

The other day I had a good day at work, and about 5:00 pm hubby and I decided to go home. As we stopped at the mail, the pharmacy and a few other things, I said, "that meal you brought me really isn't going down well."

By the time we got home 10 minutes later, I was feeling bad. I decided that perhaps I neededd to use the restroom, and I rushed in. Nope, just urinating. I'd had the occassional gastric distress.... pain from gas or whatever.... I wait, take a pain pill, and then it passes, and I'm glad I didn't waste $200 more on a trip to the er. (I'm ER phobic)

But as it didn't get better and in fact got worse, I wondered, "What can it be?" I didn't want to go to the ER and not go to work the next day (yeah, I'm like that), but time went on and the pain didn't get better, it got worse.

Could I have an ovarian cyst that burst? The pain was all up around my midsection, focused around my stomach area, radiating up the middle of each side of my back. but it felt like referred pain. I also wondered if I was having any variety of issues. But ultimately, I had hubby take me to the ER.

The doc was asking my medicines, and I started to tell him, and he got all high-and-mighty over my pain meds, "I hope you aren't driving while taking that!" he said with an arch look, and I was confused by the reference... 20 mg oxycontin is designed to give an even time-released dosage over a 12 hour period, To my way of thinking, it's very mild. It's more than i used to take, but due to tolerance issues, it doesn't affect me the way it used to. I pointed to hubby and said he did all the driving. But the doc got my back up with his criticism of my meds. (Hubby DID have to remind me later that perhaps it was the green hair that made him treat me as if I was a drug seeker).

The guy who took some blood was the most brutal I've ever had. He put the tourniquet on my arm hard enough to leave a bruise all the way around my upper arm. I had bruises in a ring around the spot he took the blood, from pushing the vial brutally into my arm. I felt at the time that there was this attitude unspoken but palpable, "Damn drug-seekers, deserve as much pain as I can give them, if they think they can just come in here and ask for drugs". Again, he didnt' say it, but it seemed crystal clear to me that he was being rough with me out of this sense of my issue being made up.

I told hubby, reminded him, that in truth, even if I was doubled over with pain, I've bought into my pain contract SO MUCH that it didn't even occurr to me to even ASK the ER to treat the pain. Truthfully I wasn't there because I wanted the pain to stop. I wasn't there to get them to STOP the pain, I wanted them to find out what was CAUSING it, and treat THAT. They did end up giving me dilaudid and a couple other things (don't remember what) and so the rest of the visit was mostly a twilight zone of not remembering. They gave me a liter of something to drink to help a bowel movement along but told me not to drink too fast or I'd vomit, but I should be within 10 minutes of home when I finished it, because after that Id' be in the bathroom. (It was 16 hours before I got a bowel movement).

Anyway, it was very disturbing to be so labeled as a drug seeker, and treated shabbily, particularly because it didn't even occurr to me once to ASK for pain meds. It just wasn't in my thought processes, and I never once asked for it! They'd already given me Dilaudid before they even told me they were going to. I was in bad enough pain to need it. But it was a strange visit. Especially as I never asked for pain meds.

Oh, and I still went to work the next day. Mostly fasted all day rather than add more food onto what I'd already eaten, but as soon as I was home, I took some miralax, and used the prescription stuff the doc made for me.

I think one thing that is hard for doctors to understand why ANYONE would have their tailbone out and then have pain from an appendage no longer within the body. Ah well.

The good news is that I think that this whole thing is going to result in me dropping down between 5 and 10 pounds towards my goal. If I drop a total of 10 pounds from this, that's HALF of my regain that bothers me!

Of course, I'm not sure if the (eww) transvaginal ultrasound I got will show much to the doc if I'm so chock-full of constipation. So I'm guessing one of the first things he'll say when he sees me is "You've got a lot of constipation" I don't think, though, that the irregular periods were or could be caused by constipation.

It's always a shame when the minority make it difficult for the majority - you certainly have been through the mill lately and medical staff will always see these unresolved/undiagnosed problems as red flags!

I'm sorry if they made you feel like crap! I always think of myself as very lucky when I read what you and others go through and what you have to take to keep pain at bay long term - I can't even imagine living my life like that!!!

It's somewhat ironic, in retrospect, that they couldn't realize that I was so used to my pain contract, that I actually didn't even THINK about medicine to stop the pain. I think they even gave me a drug test. Don't know how sensitive those things are.... would it show that I don't do all those bad things... you'know? No meth, no marijuana, no gazillions of mg of pain killers, though in truth I did take a double dose of my oxycontin to combat the pain at home. Didn't help.

I am so used to thinking of myself as an honest straightforward person, I get shocked to get the "drug seeker" label slapped on me. I'm forthright about what I take. I am such a "druggie" that when my prescription came due to be refilled on my "trio" of meds I use for pain, Soma, Oxycontin, Norco, that I literally had 90 extra SOMA (I get 90 per month to use as needed).... so I've used so little of that that I'm already one full prescription ahead. I also had 15 extra of my oxycontin and norco for not needing the meds for the "as needed" bits. I just have always been a minimalist. I didn't go to the ER for pain, but because I was worried that my guts were kinked. If I didn't have aa worry about REALLY bad things, I would have stayed home.

But it does have me exhausted. I realize that. I know the big culprit was being back at work, anad going for my "convenience" food which works and takes litle effort. Quiche. But I've added back in more variety and decided that in spite of the taste, Miralax is my friend.

I'm so sorry for all that you've had to go through. You sure have been through a lot lately. Like Kim, I don't know how I'd live through all that you do. I really admire how strong a person you are, and it's really crappy that the doctors can't see beyond their own noses and treat each person as an individual.

I've never minded the taste of Miralax. When I'm having bouts of constipation, I'll just throw it in my water bottle and let it dissolve. But I have found a combo of Magnesium Oxide with daily almonds and/or avocado seems to keep me moving.

Good luck. I hope they find something soon.
Hugs!

I'm normally pretty good at doing what it takes to keep me marginally regular. I think that just with the advent of school, I was taking the "easy" foods and not eating any variety at all. I guess 3 servings of quiche in a day, with a couple of snack bars, just isn't the best.

I had one other ER-related constipation issue, but then I was nauseous, this time I had a little bit of nausea a couple of days, but it hit me as a wall of pain all of a sudden. I worried that it was a kidney stone or burst ovarian cyst, or kinked bowels.

It's funny, but writing a new thread here about what it might be was the catalyst to get me to go to the er. I saw my words as I posted them, and knew that if I was READING them I'd say "Run, don't walk, straight to the er. Don't check back, go now. So by the time I hit "submit" on that thread, I was on my way. So funny how OH can help even before anyone responds

I have to say that the bowel health I'm now enjoying is enough to make me want to do what it takes to keep it that way. It's been two years since my last constipation so bad I went to ER, so it takes a while for me to forget what I do so well for so long.

 There has been such a surge of pharmaceutical drug abuse that many states (New York and Florida for starters) are really scrutinizing the doctors who prescribe pain meds. The pharmacy that I go to has a big sign that says all controlled substance prescriptions will be verified with the doctor. When I last went to my PCP she had a new form I had to initial in at least 25 places and sign agreeing to their offices controlled substance rules. For instance, I will only go to 1 pharmacy (and they have to know which one)' I can only see 1 PCP, I must submit to urine testing on demand to get my scripts, I must bring my prescription bottles to my next appointment, etc., etc. It is not just a few people it is reaching epidemic proportions according to both state and Federal governments. Emergency room doctors in particular have been given new protocols to follow as have pain management doctors. Apparently, with this new training they have forgotten their oath to do no harm. It is unfortunate and I truly sympathize with what you went through but it is unfortunately a sign of the times and the government playing Big Brother and not letting doctors do their jobs!

I understand this, and I'm completely fine about it. I see so many doctors... neurologist, PCP, gynecologist, spine specialist, endocrinologist. I might have a "conversation" with any of these about pain meds, but I tell them (except PCP) up front that it is a dialogue only, and that I won't even except pain meds, just that I want to hear their opinion, prior to meeting with my PCP.

I was getting pain  meds from my spine specialst, but since they relate to my rear end, it sort of didn't make sense that I had to drive 100 miles round trip to get hte pain meds from him. I asked my PCP, who is currently following a state-mandated program since apparantly he'd prescribed too many pain meds, and so he wasn't take many pain-patients. But I'd been seeing hm almost 10 years, and he's a 1/4 to 1/2 mile from my house, so it seemed to make total sense to see him instead of a doctor far away. I signed a contract. I won't accept prescriptions for any pain meds. I don't think I broke the contract by gettign pain meds in the ER. They didn't even ask me until after they put it in my veins, so what could I do?!? But to my mind there is ONLY one doc who does pain meds. No other doc can. Even if I GOT a prescription for pain meds from a different doc, I'd stop by my doc and hand over the prescription so that my PCP could evaluate and sign off or not. (hasn't happened).

I once was tagged to give a urine sample and I'd agreed. I thought it was funny that I had to do a drug test, and to pass the test, I had to pop positive. If I showed with no drugs in my system, I'd fail the test. The most backward way of looking at it. But of course I popped positive for the drugs. So I got my prescription. I know they follow up the initial test of "yes, she's on opioids" with a more detailed test to make sure I have the right levels in my system.

At one point the meds weren't doing the job, and I'd maxed out every month, so doc uppped my dosage on my breakthrough meds.... to zero positive effect, so when I saw him again, he dropped the breakthrough down to 5 mg from where it was at 7.5 mg and upped the oxycontin from 10 to 20. Being a time-release med, I think it's probably safe to say that I get about 1/2 the dose before it's flushed out of my system, but it does work for me. Since he upped teh oxy dose I have stopped maxing my pills out every month. Now I end up using about 45 of 60 pills in the breakthrough meds, and about the same for the oxycontin, and over two months of my muscle relaxants, I used roughlly half, so when I got my latest prescription I counted up the leftover and had a full month's worth.

I am very fine with being on a pain contract. Before I was on it, I had my dentist giving me pain meds, my PCP, my spine people giving it to me, and I thought it was too much from too many sources. I like the clear-cut specificity of ONE doc being in charge. And he took me on even though he doesnt' usually because He's seen me through a lot of things, and knows that I do right by any prescription. I never abuse them, and I always go for minimum.

I need to see him to follow up on this visit to the ER. I will mention the Dilaudid I was given, so he'll have it in his records. I also need to follow up with him and ask his opinion about two upcoming events that I know in advance might need a stronger pain med dosage. Four 24-hour periods where what I have just won't do it for me. (tailbone is mostly good with what I got, but 1 hour in a plane seat is like 10 normal hours sitting, and I have two 5-hour flights and 2 14-hour flights in my near future.).

I am fine with the controls placed on my drug usage. It's right and proper to me. What isn't right or proper is to be mistreated in the ER just because I am taking pain meds. I would have never expected them to give me pain meds. I didn't want it, didn't request it.

I completely agree. I've had a doctor look me in the face and tell me that the only reason I was there to get narcotics and he wasn't going to write one for me. He said that I must have used my drugs up, so I was coming for more.. I told him why I was there (to get a dagnosis). He said by his calculation, I shouldn't need a refill for 2 weeks. I told him I wanted a witness, so he called in his nurse. I gave the prescription to the nurse and had her verify what was in the bottle and how many pills I had left. I had 3 1/2 weeks left of the rx. Then I asked the nurse for paperwork that I'd need to transfer my medical records elsewhere, as I never will be needing the doctor's services again.

I love my PCP. He's so awesome. He LISTENS to me, even when I was fat, he treats me like an educated individual. Once he didn't agree with what I had to ssay, so he gave me an arch look. I know he won't lie to me, and he'll call me on any opinion I give that isn't medically sound. But he works with me and knows what I'm doing, and what I want.

I think it helps that he graduated from the high school where I teach (before I got there).

For the most part I've had nothing but good experiences with my docs here in AZ. I've only one other time had someone accuse me of being a drug seeker. AT that time I was the kind of person who would use 30 pain pills in 6 months.

That is really awful. If there is a nurse or anyone who is causing pain because they think someone deserves it, they should have their license removed. The job is to treat, not judge.

I understand it's a challenge - when i went to the ER, I ended up going to one of the urban ones and was surrounded by some interesting people in the waiting room. But it is what it is and it's not anyone's place to judge.

I would consider filing a complaint if I was you.