In a pickle...

Perhaps for them to suffer from chronic pain for just a day?

Dave

I hope nobody slips on that pickle and needs pain killers.

That's it I think. Once these nurses have some kind of chronic condition that entails having pain on a daily basis they will finally understand that not everyone complaining of pain is a drug seeker. Pain is whatever the pt says it is. For me, Pain=Ibuprophen 600mg 2-3x per day.

Originally posted by stevielynn

And the goal is pain reduction/relief.

steph

Bingo!

I have severe Chronic pain, well I used to. My Doctor put me on Pamalor at bedtime, and Relafin in the morning, and I feel like a million bucks before taxes. No Narcotics no judgement from other health care providers. I win.

Barbara

Originally posted by stevielynn

Interesting . . . .today in our morning report, the doctor mentioned that some of the nurses have been discounting a patient's pain and trying to increase the span of time that the patient gets pain meds, like that is the goal rather than relieving the patient's pain. steph

And, a counter-productive one at that, because when you wait until pain is unbearable before you give the med, then it often takes MORE total medication to bring the pain back into control than if they had received it when they first began to experience the pain. Pain often begets more pain. It causes us to tense up and become more sensitized to the stimuli.

What will it take?

IMHO all that is needed is to follow the golden rule that pain is what the patient states it is. I have believed some of my pain mgmt. patients to be drug seekers and addicts and I believed that they were creating huge physical and family problems by being addicted. But what I perceive, what I suspect...... does not matter. All a nurse has to do is leave his/her value judgements at the door. It makes my job much more simple and I never have to worry that I didn't treat someone's pain because of MY belief or perception.

I am sorry for any poster's that have chronic pain. I wish you the best.

Originally posted by jadednurse

...over the lack of compassion and caring some have regarding chronic pain conditions...

What WILL it take for some to understand that not everyone complaining of pain is a drug seeker?

If it helps any, I am a nurse who would NEVER withhold pain medication from a patient who says they are in pain. It is not up to me to judge whether the patient is telling the truth. It is my position to carry out the prn or scheduled med orders according to the patient's doctor's orders. Pain med is an as needed med. Only the patient knows when they need the med. If the time frame of meds ordered doesn't provide an effective pain measure for the patient, I call the physician and relay that information to them. If they increase the time span of the med to be given, or change the medication to something else, etc., I carry out the new medical plan for that patient.

When I have patients who are known drug abusers/addicts, their doctors know whether or not their patients need certain pain meds to make them comfortable. If they write the orders for them to receive a certain pain med at a certain time whether prn or scheduled, and the patient request their pain med then I give it.

Post abdominal surgery I was given Toratol, as well as a narcotic. I went home on Toradol 10mg pills, as well as Vicodan, Even though you are not supposed to stay on it more than 5 days, I'm glad I had that Toradol, or I would have been on narcotics for a long time.

Recently I was on the receiving end of medical care after an accident at work (my foot was caught in a hydraulic mechanism) I had 2 surgeries and was in the hospital for 4 days. I was amazed at how afraid the docs seemed to be to give adequate meds for pain relief. 2 MG of MS just didnt help at all. 2 percocet took away about 50% of the pain. Then what do ya do? Lie there and hurt. I was disappointed in their management and told them so- to no avail. Why do we do this to patients in acute pain, much less chronic pain. sheesh.

It was during this time that I came up with a brilliant idea- before docs can practice, they should have to have an "acute pain clinical experience" like perhaps a prophylactic appendectomy or a circumcision.

Im an RN who works there for heaven's sake. It must be really bad for non-insiders. I probably should have paged the attending myself.......

Just heard on the news about a doctor who is up against charges and also will possibly lose her medical license for "over medicating" her patients. She's a pain management doc, and said she gave her patients what she felt they needed to control their pain. She's being accused of being over zealous with that authority.

So, even the docs can be charged for pain control of their patients...damned if they do...damned if they don't.