Drug Seeker Stories

Specialties Emergency Nursing Q/A

Well I had one of those lovely drug seekers the other night. Patient said she had a kidney and was peeing prue blood. Well, I had her get a CC urine. When I went back to get her urine, I noticed her finger was bleeding and some blood spots on the sheet. And her urine was a weird pink color. So I told the doc and he had me cath her....her urine was completely clear. Of course, she tried to make up a story about how sometimes she pees blood but sometimes pees clear too. Whatever...sent her out the door...

Also had someone come in 3 times in one week who used a new name everytime. Turns out he was going to ER after ER in my city using differents names for drugs...sent him out the door and to jail.

Victoria:

When I was in the hospital and recieving pain meds, I would get up after drugs were on board and walk the halls since I thought lying in bed was frowned upon. I was always encouraged to walk as were all the pts who could walk to encourage recovery depending of course what surgery they had. Was this a bad idea? I didn't feel like walking otherwise. Was this wrong of me? Do you think it looked "odd"? I was there for abd pain that eventually resolved itself. (semi high liver enzymes)

Hoping to go into pain management so I'm curious. :)

Actually, getting up OOB is going to help you relive some of the pain built up by unused back muscles and helps to focus on something other than the pain. Additionally, you're able to get up and walk around because you had good pain managment.

I had a patient the other night, 5', 350lbs (estimate) who refused to walk to the bathroom because she's so SOB. She's all of 56! But she could get up and down out of the cart pretty easily -- refused to stay on the cart and wanted to sit in the chair. "Oh honey, could you get me some water? Oh honey, I'm so nervous, can you get me anything for my nerves?" The list went on and on until blissfully, mercifully, it was 2300 and time for me to GO!

That same night I had a woman who wanted pain medication for her 'back pain and weakness'. So we get her all comfey on the cart and first thing she tells me is that she has to pee! So I made her get up and walk == she was 63, and the walking will help ease the pain of back immobility. She wasn't happy about that, let me tell you.

It was like talking to a plant on both occasions. They don't want the problem to go away; they want the quick fix. If anyone comes in to my ER and smokes (Over the age of 55) admits to drinking to 'steady their nerves' and makes jokes about getting the good drugs here in the hospital, that little red flag goes off. Especially if they're nasty about it. Most especially, if they're nasty about it!

Good luck to all the students going into school. Traumaintheslot is right -- getting a job as an ED tech will open your eyes to what is happening in our hospitals. Once you're done w/NCLEX, you'll find that most of it was BS in the firstplace!

I already do work in a hospital and have seen the drug seekers and deal with them nightly. By you can even treat drug seekers with compastion.

I already do work in a hospital and have seen the drug seekers and deal with them nightly. By you can even treat drug seekers with compastion.

No one is advocating treating patients with anything less than compassion. But this is a forum to release the frustrations we all feel EVERY day when our respective FF come through our doors day after day after day after day...

Just because i speak my mind in this arena does NOT mean that I do so with my patients...ever.

I already do work in a hospital and have seen the drug seekers and deal with them nightly. By you can even treat drug seekers with compastion.

How "angelic" of you to be chastising your peers on this message board.

I agree with TraumaIntheSlot. Alcoholism is not a disease - its a "character flaw". We all have genetic tendencies - but we dont act on them. I have many alcoholics in my family. One of which is on Disability!! So, me and other tax payers are getting the bill. Disease is a condition that you have no control over (except to be compliant with treatment). Alcoholism is a choice that we make.

Another tell-tale sign of drug seekers is when the patient not only asks what you're giving, but wants to know what dose.

At the ER, we(nurses,doctors) say that "we're not going to care anymore about you than you care about youself" (to the patients).

I believe that seasoned nurses can tell the difference between real pain and faking/fudging pain.

TraumaInTheSlot said:
How "angelic" of you to be chastising your peers on this message board.

I do not mean to chastise but I am coming from the viewpoint of a chorionic pain pt., Who, in the past before I found a treatment that worked, had to go to the ER a lot, and was accused of being a drug seeker, by some nurses and docs. I don't know if they did not care to find out the truth or where just so jaded that they did not care to find out that I had gone to 11 docs in 11yrs because all they did was throw pain meds at me, and I did not want to be on narcs the rest of my life. That I is One of the reasons that I am becoming a nurse is to help others that are Truly in pain and need help.

Why do you say,ERSlave, that a sign of a drug seeker is to ask the dose? I ALWAYS did so that I could put it in my pain diary so that my doc knew EXACTLY what I was having to take to survive.

I do not mean to chastise:uhoh3: but I am coming from the veiw point of a chrionic pain pt., Who, in the past before I found a treatment that worked, had to go to the ER alot, and was acused of being a drug seeker, by some nurses and docs. I don't know if they did not care to find out the truth or where just so jaded that they did not care to find out that I had gone to 11 docs in 11yrs because all they did was throw pain meds at me, and I did not want to be on narcs the rest of my life. That I is One of the reasons that I am becoming a nurse is to help others that are Truly in pain and need help.

Why do you say,ERSlave, that a sign of a drug seeker is to ask the dose? I ALWAYS did so that I could put it in my pain diary so that my doc knew EXACTLY what I was having to take to survive.

I too ask the dose when I go in to the ER for migraine. So what? Wouldn't you want to know?To avoid asking a nurse what I'm getting like asking whats in a loot bag..I discuss treatment with the doctor first. If I go in early enough I can forgo narcs altogether and wouldn't want a hefty dose of demerol so early in the "game". Nothing like a surprise shot. (not) I also ask the dose of my Torodol since too much mixed with Maxeran gives me an adverse reaction. But I guess thats not drugseeking behaviour since it isn't a narc. :uhoh3:

My doctor gets the ER sheets sent to him so as to keep him informed prior to my visits.

Specializes in 6 years of ER fun, med/surg, blah, blah.

People with chronic pain often find relief using amitriptilline, for nerve pain, which is not taken care of by narcs. A fellow nurse went to a Pain clinic offered by a British nurse who said that using narcotics is not doing it for sufferers. She tried amitriptilline & it took a couple of months but she was able to return to work. Talk to your Doc about this.

Victoriakem said:
People with chronic pain often find relief using amitriptilline, for nerve pain, which is not taken care of by narcs. A fellow nurse went to a Pain clinic offered by a British nurse who said that using narcotics is not doing it for sufferers. She tried amitriptilline & it took a couple of months but she was able to return to work. Talk to your Doc about this.

Are you directing your answer at me? (I'm too tired to go over all the posts to figure it out ) I don't have chronic pain thank gosh just migraines once in a while, but I was on amytriptaline at one point and gained 45 pounds. I've never been quite the same. It didn't really help my headaches either, so the side effects far outweighed the benefits in my case. For people with a tendency to gain weight easily, I would never recommend it. I'm a skinny person with a high metabolism and poof..it was gone.

I too tried amytriptaline when I was looking for a mirical IT WAS NOT IT! HA:rotfl: I started getting BOTOX:idea: for my chrioc debilitating migrains about 21/2 yrs ago and went from being basicly bedfast to working FT and in nursing school FT. Now I may get one med migrain in four months, and all I need is maxalt most of time. Thanks for trying to help though.

When I worked ER we thought it would be fun to put a coin operated machine in the lobby. You know the "claw" kind where you can try for a prize. In it we would have unmarked bottles. Sometimes ya get percocet ect, sometimes ya get biscodyl or other mundane med. The revenue for the hospital would just roll in, hey and talk about laughs!!

I have read almost all of these replies and have my own story.

My sister called me on a Saturday, complaining of abdominal pain. She is not one to complain. She said she couldn't stand the pain, abdominal pain, and I pointed her to the ED. The ED gave her nothing for her tremendous pain, dx her with a UTI, and sent her home. She did a a Rx for pyridium and abx. The next day, she called me again, this time, in SEVERE pain. I took her back to the ED. She was N/V, diarrhea, and could NOT STAND UP STRAIGHT. The nurses from the ED dept recognized her, from the day before and thought she was drug-seeking. Well, a CT, that was NOT performed the day before, that I, her sister, an RN INSISTED upon, revealed free air in her abdomen. She had diverticulitis, and her bowel perforated,( she ended up with an emergency colostomy. ) At the time, the ED still would NOT address her pain, or at least it took me screaming at the desk, to get her something for the pain. That was the saddest thing I had ever seen. I know this particular ED did NOT do their job properly, but PLEASE do not think that everyone that enters the ED without perfuse bleeding, acute chest pain, or trauma does not have pain. This makes me furious! I can understand why JACHO has implemented an entire assessment of pain!

This past Thursday, she got her colostomy reversal, and the nurses on the floor were just as judgemental of her pain. She was hurting. She had an incision from her navel to her pubis area, and another to the L side (where the colostomy was). She was on a MSo4 PCA, and was not obtaining relief. The charge nurse finally came in and said, "look you have got to stay pushing that button." SHE WAS. Give thanks that I was a collague of her MD, and told him, as he changed her meds, and put her on a pain schedule that was all PO!!!!!! I have to trully wonder about those other patients who do not have someone to stand up for them........... Isn't this what NURSING is all about???????? Being an ADVOCATE for YOUR patient. I least I can go to bed knowing that I AM.:)

Thank gosh you were there. I've been in the ED on numerous occasions and usually i have my BF with me but on a few occasions he was unable to go. It really sucks when you're in pain w/ a migraine, lights hurt, you don't want to walk and you get put as FAAAAAAAAAAAR away from the nurses station as possible. It makes it hard to get anyones attention for repeats on meds or even a glass of water. I am a strong believer in pt advocacy as well. :)

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