You know its a seeker when . . .

Specialties Emergency

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"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?

Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
I rarely take pain meds of any kind, but when I have a kidney stone NOTHING helps except demerol and phenergan for the nausea. I am not a drug seeker, I just know what works.

Seriously, I do hear that "_____ doesn't work" is a hallmark of a seeker, but.... Lortab doesn't work!!!! Don't give me a script for it, I will rip it up in front of you and go home and take ibuprofen if that's your idea of a wonder drug! Stop wasting my time and my money (at least I actually am paying to be in your office/hospital).

-former chronic pain patient

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Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
Unfortunately I was the lucky one to be on the opposite end of that one. Admitted to a local ER after MVA I had shattered part of my pelvis but with not a scratch on me. Doc orders dilaudid IVP after my screaming when being rolled off the back board. ER RN decides not to give, I end up begging for pain meds as I'm rolled onto shattered side of pelvis for xrays with no pain relief. It wasn't until after the xrays came back that she gave me the dilaudid.

As she was giving it she was apologizing saying she sees a lot of RN's that divert and since I had nary a scratch assumed I was just seeking. :mad: I was none to happy that scrubs = drug seeker for that RN.

She assumed you were seeking...after rolling up in an ambulance from an MVA on a backboard, huh? Someone needs their attitude adjusted.

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Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.

I like when they tell me they're allergic to the generic but not the brand... "I can't have hydromorphone, I'm allergic to it. They usually use Dilaudid." "Cool ma'am, hydromorphone "IS dilaudid." Or allergic to Tylenol with a home prescription for Lortab.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

RE: why not keep Toradol at home (sorry, tried to quote it but it didn't)

ER doc wouldn't send any because of possible nephrotoxicity and I never followed up with a specialist because I get them pretty infrequently (maybe one a year if even that), and some of them I can just push fluids and power through at home. I know, I know, I need to get a specialist!

Sorry for the topic derail, I'll just never forget the nurse's face when I didn't ask for "that one that starts with a D"

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Being a former drug user (there was a time in my life where I had a speech impediment.. I couldn't say "no."), I think it helps me identify who's seeking and who's needing. Once you've used and have been in that withdrawal phase, it's not hard to identify those people, even through a ******** facade of pain. A lot of it is gut feeling.

It's hard to explain, but when you can't find a dragon to chase and you end up in the ER trying to score, you tend to put on a more jovial personality to get your drugs. However, you can only keep that up for so long before your addiction starts to take over and you get agitated when you aren't getting what you need.

If I suspect someone is seeking and they came with someone, I look at the person they came with. That's usually a good indicator of who you're really dealing with. The other person is either high or withdrawing as well, but they aren't putting on as good of a mask for you as the patient.

A neat test: pull up some saline in a syringe and bring it into the room. Don't say what it is or anything, just walk in and act like you're getting ready to inject it into them. Watch their body language. When you're fiending, you get real fidgety when you think you're about to score.

I feel like I'm rambling on and no one is going to pull anything from this post. I guess the method I use with any possible drug seeker is simply honesty. If I notice they've got track marks, I'll call them out on it and ask when they last used. It doesn't work with everyone obviously, but I'd rather (try to) establish a rapport of honesty and trying to obtain their trust rather than just play the lying game with each other. I know a lot of veteran ER nurses will probably disagree with me. I am a young ER nurse and haven't seen nearly as many drug seekers, so I'm not quite ready to hold a pillow over all their faces yet. :p

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Specializes in ICU.

Or when you can tell they purposefully mispronounce the name of the narc trying to act like they rarely get it

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Specializes in ICU.
Unfortunately I was the lucky one to be on the opposite end of that one. Admitted to a local ER after MVA I had shattered part of my pelvis but with not a scratch on me. Doc orders dilaudid IVP after my screaming when being rolled off the back board. ER RN decides not to give, I end up begging for pain meds as I'm rolled onto shattered side of pelvis for xrays with no pain relief. It wasn't until after the xrays came back that she gave me the dilaudid.

As she was giving it she was apologizing saying she sees a lot of RN's that divert and since I had nary a scratch assumed I was just seeking. :mad: I was none to happy that scrubs = drug seeker for that RN.

Thats terrible. I would have reported/ complained to her management. If the doc ordered it, you wanted it, she should have given it to you. She clearly needs some education

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When they're getting shipped out for severe pneumonia and the last thing they say is, "Now Dr X will call down and tell them that I'm supposed to get 4 mg of Dilaudid every 90 minutes, right?"

When they're brought in for acute asthma attack but ask for pain meds and antianxiety meds before we've even gotten them off of the EMS guerney.

When they have all their pill bottles except the narcs.

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

And then we have the ones up on the floor who set their phone alarms to wake them up to ask for their pain meds.

I see we've had the same patients! Read my previous post :)

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Specializes in CNA, Nursing Student.

You're behind the curtain while they get changed into a gown and hear "Who's my doctor? Him? *expletive*. He's not going to give me anything, we should just go home."

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Don't judge other people by your own experience. I know it's hard not to, but everyone is an individual.

Really, everyone is an individual? Ok, I'll rephrase. When I see someone who is eating, chatting, watching tv and talking with friends (sometimes yelling at boyfriend on cell phone), I'll be danged if I'm going to believe that the problem at hand is a severe migraine which can ONLY be relieved with heavy doses of narcotics. Judgment rendered.

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Specializes in CV/CT SICU.

What about the patients that tell the nurse what drug, dose and frequency they will be needing??? lol

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Toradol is a wonderful medication and I tell my patients this all the time. Call me crazy but I teach my patients that NSAIDs treat inflammation that can cause the pain and narcotics make you not give a flip that you have the pain. I always encourage my patients to take the NSAIDs that are available to them prior to the narcotics.

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