You know its a seeker when . . .

[BostonTerrierLover]

"Well the last time the doctor gave me these pink oval pills with watson stamped on them, what was the name. . .? (waiting on you to say . . Oh Lorcet, I'll get the script now:jester:!)

"Or, . . .That dilau. . that Hydromor, . . .Oh what was that called?"

. . . .anyway, Whats your seeker's dead give aways?

[boyfactory]

When they're allergic to toradol, morphine, all NSAIDs, Ultram... anything that doesn't start and end with a "d"

I used to work with an NP that would write scripts for dolobid for this reason. I'd go in and pronounce it "dahlahbid" and they would think they got exactly what they came in for. It was when Walgreens called to clarify that we would get a big laugh.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

Since I can't give anything without a doctor's order, as long as their vitals, etc., are ok, I go ahead and give it. It no longer matters to me whether they are a "drug seeker" or not, because I have been written up for NOT giving pain medication. If the doctor gives the order, and there is no reason to not give it, I go ahead and give it. If they claim their pain is a 10, but they are yakking and laughing on their cell, whatever, I no longer try to judge. Whatever makes them happy, because that is all that matters anymore, due to patient satisfaction scores.

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

When they lie. They tell you flat out they've never been seen for condition X, but when you look up their history in the EMR, you see that they were fired from their PCP, who had been seeing them for condition X, for ER hopping.

[EDTINA]

I did clinicals in the ER and had a patient come in for severe HA. I went in to do an assessment and hook her up to the 5 lead EKG and she lifted her shirt and already had the sticky tabs on her for the leads. She was discharged from one hospital and went home and called 911 and came to another ER in less than 3 hours. For a H/A! Yeap..she got pain meds and everyone knew her by name when she rolled on in.

[Vespertinas]

Since I can't give anything without a doctor's order, as long as their vitals, etc., are ok, I go ahead and give it.

I don't waste my energy/time trying to fight them over meds. Plus lets say they're addicted and they're here for an unrelated condition. Do you want them on your hands now agitated/anxious/having withdrawal sx on top of the other problems? Of course, these people aren't here necessarily with the primary goal of "drug seeking" but they still get mislabeled that way.

If they're out of control, I've put my foot down before but I'm telling you... I am *very* careful to cross into that zone because I'd rather be that RN who medicates drug addicts than one day accidentally withholding pain medication from someone whom I misjudged. I have met plenty of recurring gastroparesis, pancreatitis, back pain, migraine, etc patients who are completely off pain meds for the most part but describe unbearable agony when in the throes of their affliction. I want to look those people in the eye and tell them if I am their RN if/when they return, I will not be the one to make them suffer.

[NurseEric81]

Toradol works on your kidney stone pain? I have had 3-4/year for a while and toradol does absolutely NOTHING on my pain! Honestly, not a seeker here, the only thing that works on me is Dilaudid.

Just my

Eric

[thelema13]

When the convulsions and shaking caused by the pain of fibromyalgia suddenly ceases to stop when the patient asks 'what am I getting and how much?'

When the 'seizure' stops just long enough to let the patient see what I am drawing up in the room and watch me push the med. I have even had a seizure stop long enough for the patient to ask for me to 'slam' the med.

When I tell them my name and the name of the doctor that is coming into see them, and upon hearing the doctor's name, they walk out of the ED.

[Epic_RN]

When the pt knows the system so well that he stops his dialysis early so that his numbers stay bad enough to stay on the floor and then is on the call light every 2 hours for his dilaudid. He was on the floor for months until the playing around with his dialysis caught up to him and he died.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

When the pt knows the system so well that he stops his dialysis early so that his numbers stay bad enough to stay on the floor and then is on the call light every 2 hours for his dilaudid. He was on the floor for months until the playing around with his dialysis caught up to him and he died.

I totally hear what you are saying about the drug-seeking behavior, but this was poor patient management. For months, he had incomplete dialysis? I just can't see this happening where I've worked -- after once or twice, he would have been transferred to the unit for continuous ultrafiltration if he was "unable to tolerate" regular HD. Voila -- labs corrected -- discharge within several days, to an LTAC if necessary.

[sharpeimom]

this was simply too good/funny not to share!

my type-1 diabetic husband has been being treated for a long complicated series of issues over the past almost

two years. many many specialists, many many ideas, lots and lots of different diagnoses, many different tx sug-

gested and tried.

meanwhile, his pain kept growing by leaps and bounds and absolutely nothing did more that barely take the edge

off. after spending six weeks in a special fancy wound care inpatient unit, he came home last night. after two years

of taking oxys, percs, norco, and on and on and on... and getting virtually no pain relief, he found some at last!

our surgeon neighbor stopped in last night about seven to say "hi." they were reviewing his pain meds one by one and how

effective they had or had not been. suddenly our friend got an "aha!" look on his face! he gave him several of a

different med to try that had somehow been overlooked. they worked better than any of others he'd been on prior.

what was this magic med, you ask? toredol!!:rotfl:

[caliotter3]

I think the stories here are funny, but don't find it funny when I am in bad pain and have to tell a medical person that I will not ask for effective medication because I am fed up with the misdirected negative attitudes that I have encountered when prescribed effective pain relief. Not all of us are "seeking", to the contrary. And I do make certain I tell them. That is my payback.

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

I think the stories here are funny, but don't find it funny when I am in bad pain and have to tell a medical person that I will not ask for effective medication because I am fed up with the misdirected negative attitudes that I have encountered when prescribed effective pain relief. Not all of us are "seeking", to the contrary. And I do make certain I tell them. That is my payback.

Thank you. I know most of us on here are just joking, but it's sad that I can't say "Lortab doesn't work for me" and someone automatically thinks I'm addicted, when I haven't even had a narcotic medication for five years.

It might annoy me, but I give my patients what's ordered. I personally don't care if they're "really" in pain or not. If they say they're in pain, they're in pain and as long as their vitals will support it, I'll give the med. It's not my business to un-addict them.