You know its a seeker when . . .

Specialties Emergency

Published

"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?

That reminds me of a story I heard when a newly married couple from the midwest came into the ER on their honeymoon. She had a range of symptoms/complaints and her young husband was fearfully concerned. Just when they couldn't figure out what the problem was, turned out that the bride was addicted to narcotic and benzo pills and decided to cut it out just for the honeymoon but had no idea what/how bad withdrawal could be. Hubby was in the dark.

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Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.

then you go to give them 0.2mg IVP of Hydromorphone and they call you cheap and tell you that isn't gonna touch them!!(HINT #2).

hopeful lesson to seeker, do not complain to DOCTOR that the nurse is a cheap witch who won't give him the "whole dose!"....when the Doc ordered 0.1-0.2mg!

.....Next we gave a warm blanket for comfort as per MD!!:)

Uhhh....are you missing a place value? Because I give 1-2 mg Dilaudid q2 all the time. 0.1 isn't going to touch a whole lot of anyone.

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Depends on your area of practice. I thought the same thing when I went from one specialty to another. I felt like I was cheating my patients by giving them 0.1 mL (0.2 mg) of dilaudid but turned out to be just fine for that population! Waste of a perfectly good ampule of 1.9mg of dilaudid though...I bet some people would have loved to rifle through our sharps box!

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

..... ..

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Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
Depends on your area of practice. I thought the same thing when I went from one specialty to another. I felt like I was cheating my patients by giving them 0.1 mL (0.2 mg) of dilaudid but turned out to be just fine for that population! Waste of a perfectly good ampule of 1.9mg of dilaudid though...I bet some people would have loved to rifle through our sharps box!

You do have a good point, because I freak out at some of the stuff that the ER nurses tell me they've given in the 3 hours that the patient has been down there...wow, you're not gonna be that lucky up here!

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
You do have a good point, because I freak out at some of the stuff that the ER nurses tell me they've given in the 3 hours that the patient has been down there...wow, you're not gonna be that lucky up here!
Well, I had an ER patient that was being transferred to another facility - a 30-something with a med list longer than my typical shopping list who had pneumonia - whose last question to me was, "Will Dr. xxx call them and tell them that I normally get 4 mg of Dilaudid every 90 minutes?" referring to her family doc.

I see much more narcs being pushed up on the floor than I push down in the ER.

It all depends on which doc is writing orders on which patient.

Let's be straight, though: A lot of these seekers have been created by the system.

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These threads always devolve into a bunch of "oh I don't mean , I mean ".

If your patient is carrying recent xrays and MRI...it might be because they are sick of being treated like crap for refusing yet another CT scan (because they know they are 3-4 times the safe limits on exposure).

If your patient is on a PPI and 2 different H2 blockers, if you're going to blow off their stated wish to not have any NSAIDs due to a history of GI issues, at least do them the favor of drawing a T&C with their 'routine' labs, it will save time later.

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When I look you up in the computer and see that you got a new pain prescription 2 days ago from one of our clinics and went to our sister hospital last night for your pain, yet you say you've never been seen anywhere for your new onset abdominal pain.

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Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback. I really enjoyed reading each, and liked that Nurses from other arenas gave feedback, as well as the ones who have been on the opposite side of the needle too.

I was surprised to find out there is a doctor on Youtube that teaches patients how not to obviously look like seekers, Lol, sometimes I forget they catch the worst of the epidemic. But, Sometimes I wonder which is better at "Sniffen'em out!"

With that let me re-affirm that even seekers have times when they really do need adequate pain relief, and I know getting mistaken for one must really suck, and it is a virtue that all pain be assessed and treated appropriately.

This has to be one of the most controversial, complex, and dreaded situations in the Medical and Nursing Field. I again will keep following, and grateful for ALL the Posts!:bow:

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I have been labeled a seeker, although I am a nurse. I have gotten sick either at work or at my clinical place, so I have records from multiple facilities. I had my gallbladder removed when one hospital finally admitted me and found biliary dyskinesia, however, ive had even more problems since the surgery. I get treated like a seeker at each place though and even when Im crying in terrible pain, I get nothing more than percocet.

So, again, I am going to have to say Id rather treat 9 seekers, than to not treat the 1 in legitimate pain. Its a shame though because my fellow nurses know I am in pain but the doctors wont allow any other medications. They rarely order tests even,

Just my 2cent.

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Having been diagnosed with IIH and having a high pain threshold when I landed in ED they always rang my neuro to make sure I wasn't a seeker. I've been told I don't look like I'm in pain, treated disrespectfully by a nurse who accused me of drug seeking ...she got fired for that! And yet they do an LP and find out I was right.

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Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.

I once (only once) asked for Nubain and Phenergan, specifically, at my doc's office. I was nearly carried in the back door by my poor Daddy, heaving my toenails up with an intractable migraine. No response from my Maxalt. Vicodin (left over from my C section) had done diddly.

The med student there that day was all set to give me Cogentin. I politely requested the combo from my fetal position. Overheard the student and my doc discussing in the hall, and Doc assuring him I was legit. I had not been in in over 16 months for a headache, since before I found out I was pregnant.

I got my meds, slept all day, and woke up that evening feeling much better.

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