Drug Seekers- the Wrongfully Accused

Specialties Emergency

Published

For those that have gone to the ER with real pain and been dismissed, poorly treated and ignored. You will get refunded all your money, and the script of your choice personally from the idiot who figured that since you didn't fit into THEIR idea of pain, it couldn't be real. Also will be able to WHOMP them with their own baseball bat if they have one, "(WHOOMP) See how it feels, you moron?! Betcha want some good drugs now huh?!"

My friend flew out there, saw the abdominal signs, and insisted her kid be transferred to a larger facility with a specialist who quickly dx her and took her to surgery. This first little hospital will pay dearly for this one...my friend is not going to let it go and has an attorney.

Woo hoo! Good for her! It's a great thing that her mom was on top of that. What an awful thing to have happen to a young girl, and even worse I hate to think what might have happened if your friend hadn't gone out there! Wow, what a story.

I know that the wheels of justice often grind slowly, but keep us updated on what happens, OK?

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My friend flew out there, saw the abdominal signs, and insisted her kid be transferred to a larger facility with a specialist who quickly dx her and took her to surgery. This first little hospital will pay dearly for this one...my friend is not going to let it go and has an attorney.

Woo hoo! Good for her! It's a great thing that her mom was on top of that. What an awful thing to have happen to a young girl, and even worse I hate to think what might have happened if your friend hadn't gone out there! Wow, what a story.

I know that the wheels of justice often grind slowly, but keep us updated on what happens, OK?

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For those that have gone to the ER with real pain and been dismissed, poorly treated and ignored. You will get refunded all your money, and the script of your choice personally from the idiot who figured that since you didn't fit into THEIR idea of pain, it couldn't be real. Also will be able to WHOMP them with their own baseball bat if they have one, "(WHOOMP) See how it feels, you moron?! Betcha want some good drugs now huh?!"

Ohhh I like your idea! My idea was to go to the ER and find the doctor and the 2 nurses who treated me like dirt about 6 months ago, and give them all copies of my test results showing the herniated disks, bulging disks and all that, and say "Remember me? I was in here last August, in tears because I was in so much pain? Told you all that I'd been in pain for years, since a MVA, but so far no diagnosis, and you guys got kinda bit%$y with me because if I had been in pain for that long, why come to the ER suddenly? So I told you about my 3 year old trying to climb up on the counter to get a toy I'd hid in the cabinet, and how he slipped when he seen me coming and I dove to catch him, after which my normally 8 level pain went to about 85? and you guys all but rolled your eyes? Well, not long after that I had all these CAT scans done and all this stuff was found wrong with me and I found an MD that gives a sh*t and he can't believe I've spent 4 years like this with no pain meds at all. So, the next time you guys want to treat a patient like dirt, will you please remember me and not send some other poor soul home without treating thier pain?"

Yep, that was my lil dream, until you had to mention that baseball bat...

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Why do we care so much about all this? If I am in an ER and a patient tells me he has a migraine and needs Demerol, he should get Demerol. If he says he wants Torodol, he should get Torodol. Why should I get my panties all in a wad about drug-seekers?If a hospital wants a three narcs in th ER policy then you're out that is OK too. I just don't get all the passion and prejudice this issue creates. I guess what I am trying to say is why should everyone be so suspicious of people with pain complaints?Why do they care so much about the validity of the pain? Just treat it.

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Ohhh I like your idea! My idea was to go to the ER and find the doctor and the 2 nurses who treated me like dirt about 6 months ago, and give them all copies of my test results showing the herniated disks, bulging disks and all that, and say "Remember me? I was in here last August, in tears because I was in so much pain? Told you all that I'd been in pain for years, since a MVA, but so far no diagnosis, and you guys got kinda bit%$y with me because if I had been in pain for that long, why come to the ER suddenly? So I told you about my 3 year old trying to climb up on the counter to get a toy I'd hid in the cabinet, and how he slipped when he seen me coming and I dove to catch him, after which my normally 8 level pain went to about 85? and you guys all but rolled your eyes? Well, not long after that I had all these CAT scans done and all this stuff was found wrong with me and I found an MD that gives a sh*t and he can't believe I've spent 4 years like this with no pain meds at all. So, the next time you guys want to treat a patient like dirt, will you please remember me and not send some other poor soul home without treating thier pain?"

Yep, that was my lil dream, until you had to mention that baseball bat...

When I was 18, I had two wisdom teeth pulled. Got dry sockets. Other than childbirth (which hadn't yet occurred for me!), I don't think I've ever had pain like that. I called my dentist and he automatically assumed that I was drug-seeking.

Was I ever P*ssed! I have never had that experience since then, and will not subject my patients to that kind of treatment either.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

I think all patients should be given a menu, and allowed to choose their own medicine. Maybe even have a specialty flavor of the day.

Pina Colada Demerol

Tomato Juice with Methadone

Dilaudid Martinis

Stadol and Tequila Sunrise

Nubain and Tonic

Long Island Talwin

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Why do we care so much about all this? If I am in an ER and a patient tells me he has a migraine and needs Demerol, he should get Demerol. If he says he wants Torodol, he should get Torodol. Why should I get my panties all in a wad about drug-seekers?If a hospital wants a three narcs in th ER policy then you're out that is OK too. I just don't get all the passion and prejudice this issue creates. I guess what I am trying to say is why should everyone be so suspicious of people with pain complaints?Why do they care so much about the validity of the pain? Just treat it.

Please don't take this the wrong way...but the problem with drug seekers in the ER is that they are taking up beds that are needed by real sick patients! And all we are doing is feeding into their behavior by giving drugs that they don't need. I am in an ER that sees 90,000 pt's a year. It is crazy, chaotic busy all the time. We have 3 hallway that we house up to 4 pt's in almost everyday. And I for one am tired of seeing the same people come in every other day for the same bogus complaint of a migraine. I for one feel that the doc's need to stand up to these patients and stop giving them narcotics so that they will stop coming in for the BS complaints. Now that being said I am a very big advocate of getting my patients pain under control the minute that they get into the room. I will hunt doc's down to get an order for pain meds for people that have flank pain and are probably a stone, people that really do have migraines etc. I am not a person that judges you just because you were here with a migraine 6 months ago. But I am sorry I do judge you if I know your name, hx, allergies and complaint the minute that you walk up to the desk and sign in. If I see you more than I see my family...that is a problem!

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Please don't take this the wrong way...but the problem with drug seekers in the ER is that they are taking up beds that are needed by real sick patients! And all we are doing is feeding into their behavior by giving drugs that they don't need. I am in an ER that sees 90,000 pt's a year. It is crazy, chaotic busy all the time. We have 3 hallway that we house up to 4 pt's in almost everyday. And I for one am tired of seeing the same people come in every other day for the same bogus complaint of a migraine. I for one feel that the doc's need to stand up to these patients and stop giving them narcotics so that they will stop coming in for the BS complaints. Now that being said I am a very big advocate of getting my patients pain under control the minute that they get into the room. I will hunt doc's down to get an order for pain meds for people that have flank pain and are probably a stone, people that really do have migraines etc. I am not a person that judges you just because you were here with a migraine 6 months ago. But I am sorry I do judge you if I know your name, hx, allergies and complaint the minute that you walk up to the desk and sign in. If I see you more than I see my family...that is a problem!

Well said!! Not to mention the fact that these drug seekers end up getting addicted to these drugs and then come in in a coma like my pt. the other day who was a 24 year old who apparently had been given fentanyl patches by his pain management doc and is now a vegetable for the rest of his life becuase he put several fentanyl patches on, had periods of apnea which led to hypoxia. He will now be unable to function on his own for the rest of his life, not to mention that he does not have insurance so you and I are paying for it. Now, please don't take this the wrong way because I feel like he definitely needs medical care, however this all could have been avoided by someone not supporting his drug seeking habits!!

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Specializes in Inpatient Acute Rehab.

Oh, so true!!!! My husband is a big, macho guy who never lets pain get him. However, he had a kidney stone, and was in such severe pain, that all he could do was chew on a towel and scream. I took him to the ER, and the doc was gonna give him a muscle relaxer and send him home. The doc thought my husband looked like a drug seeker (he has never taken anything stronger than a Tylenol), and told the ER nurse this. well, the doc failed to remember that I was a nurse at the hospital, so the ER nurse told him he better talk to the patient's wife (me) before giving a muscle relaxer and ending him home. The doc came back, and I told him that he was NOT going to send my husband home without doing a spiral CT and giving him some Toradol. He asked me how could I possibly think that would help a pulled muscle. I told him " It is not a pulled muscle, it is a kidney stone, you moron!" He asked me how I knew that and I told him "Why don't you ask your ER nurse how I know that?" She was in the background laughing her #ss off as she told him I was a nurse there!

He immediatly apologized and did what I asked!! And don't you know, that pulled muscle turned out to be a kidney stone afterall!!

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Oh, so true!!!! My husband is a big, macho guy who never lets pain get him. However, he had a kidney stone, and was in such severe pain, that all he could do was chew on a towel and scream. I took him to the ER, and the doc was gonna give him a muscle relaxer and send him home. The doc thought my husband looked like a drug seeker (he has never taken anything stronger than a Tylenol), and told the ER nurse this. well, the doc failed to remember that I was a nurse at the hospital, so the ER nurse told him he better talk to the patient's wife (me) before giving a muscle relaxer and ending him home. The doc came back, and I told him that he was NOT going to send my husband home without doing a spiral CT and giving him some Toradol. He asked me how could I possibly think that would help a pulled muscle. I told him " It is not a pulled muscle, it is a kidney stone, you moron!" He asked me how I knew that and I told him "Why don't you ask your ER nurse how I know that?" She was in the background laughing her #ss off as she told him I was a nurse there!

He immediatly apologized and did what I asked!! And don't you know, that pulled muscle turned out to be a kidney stone afterall!!

AWESOME job sagarcia210!!!!! :chuckle

I would have paid to witness that one!

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Specializes in Inpatient Acute Rehab.

OOH, and another story!!! I was down in the ER one night. A young guy comes in ( a known drug abuser) and says that he is taking Oxycontin 60 mg for his back pain and it not killing the pain. He said he talked with his pain control doc and the doc told him to come to the ER to get something stronger than Oxycontin. Well, imagine his surprise when I informed him that there was nothing stronger than Oxycontin!!! He then left without another word!!!!

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Pain control in the ER is such a dilemma.

I want everyone with pain to be appropriately treated.

I want everyone who has a prescription drug abuse problem to be appropriately treated.

It's just kinda hard to sort out the two.

Everyone on the pain bandwagon knows that it's poor medical care to undertreat or not treat a patient with pain. As a matter of fact, you can be held legally liable.

However, it's also poor medical care to treat patients with substance abuse issues inappropriately. And you can certainly be held liable here as well.

So, what do we do?

I pretty much think we need to find our own comfort zone. For me, it's pain medication for those with acute pain complete with a 'script for enough meds until they can see their own doc.

For those with chronic pain, it's a shot in the ER and then home to rest. No prescriptions here - I believe that's the responsibility of the pain control doc and the patient to ensure they have the appropriate medication at home at all times. However, there are those rare times that a something else is needed.

For our frequent fliers (and we all know who they are), I'm not sure. One of our docs always drug screens them before giving any medication (and you would be surprised what shows up - "I have no idea how that got there...."). I often sit down with the patient and tell them that their behavior is consistent with people who are using medications inappropriately and ask them if they have a problem. Sometimes people tell me yes. So I offer to call the mental health folks, and occasionally someone agrees to go off to rehab. If not, I give them referral numbers and hopefully something to think about.

Please don't forget that prescription drug abuse also ruins the lives of the patient, their family and friends.

Nobody said it was an easy job.

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