Is pill use common in your area?

[Tweet]

As in narcotic pain killers or valium/xanax? We've lived here for 6 years in our neighborhood and as I've gotten to know the people, moms in particular, it seems almost everyone I know is on something.Now, don't get me wrong, I am not judging. I take Vicodin and Oxy myself for bad flare ups ( 5mgs,fwiw). I've even met a couple of moms that snort these oxycontins because apparently it works better?

I just got to thinking that it seems so prevalent . Is it just our generation hurts more? Are docs presrcibing willy nilly? I have a hell of a time getting my own meds for very real pain..I can't imagine being able to just get whatever narc I wanted from a doctor. I'm just shocked sort of when I think about the numbers in my area and how young we all are. Well, I don't know if mid 30 is THAT young, but still.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I don't know about in my neighborhood since I don't talk that personally with my neighbors, but I know that pills in general are very common pretty much everywhere. I know very few people whom I've ever talked to on any personal level who are not on a prescription drug of some sort. And, yes, I know a lot on pain meds, Xanax, etc.

[MoonBound]

I don't really know if it is or not but just from discussing what medicines people have been on at one time I tend to wonder. I have fibro and so does my mom and sister and we have been on tons of different things over the years. One of our friends always has several different things and a high tolerance to boot. I don't know why he takes stuff but we have discussed the effectiveness of different drugs and I am pretty sure he is always on enough meds to have a 'regular' person asleep or dead

My dd1 just crawled into my lap she says to tell you she likes your dragons and your rocks.

[tata]

Yes, it is. I know many people addicted to pain pills - from my BF's sister to a girl I work with. Xanax is not as common or if it is, I'm not exposed to it.

I have taken pain killers before and wonder just how addictive they are. While they were extremely helpful in relieving my pain, when the meds wear off, I would have pains I didn't have before taking them. For this reason, I prefer not to take the narcotic pain meds in spite of my pains. It just seems like it would be very easy to get hooked.

[still_me]

I don't know anyone who is on painkillers for anything for an extended period of time. I do know people who have been on them or things like surgeries and stuff.

As for pill abuse, yes, it is common around here. It was very common with people I used to go to school with. Meth seems to be bigger. We live in an area that can be sparsely populated within in 25 mins. Meth trailers are were always being busted last year.

ETA: My dad was addicted to Valiums for over 10 yrs.

[Babyhellfire]

YES.
Just about everyone I know takes pills. AND I have lost MANY friendships over their addictions to pain killers for recreational use .
Some docs out here DO prescribe "willy-nilly". I have heard many around here saying which dr's to go to, it is sickening and sad.

More so , because when you have a friend with a real problem you watch them get given more and more pain meds, and become addicted- the dr doesn't figure out what the problem is and why they are suffering- they just throw pills at them.
I can't think of many , if any people IRL who are not on a regular prescription to both an antidepressant and pain medication.
xanax being the most common.
- and these are mostly YOUNG women. One of my friends was in and out of hospital for years with all sorts of "issues", her doctor had her on all sorts of meds , before he thought to actually run tests and connect her problems to her gallbladder , and get it removed. :(

I do not like pain meds, I would much rather just have an ibuprofen, and often tell the dr that when getting prescribed things, and still I have been to drs who seemed all to eager to write me scripts.

[tata]

Meth seems to be bigger. We live in an area that can be sparsely populated within in 25 mins. Meth trailers are were always being busted last year.
Meth is huge here, too, as is heroin. Perhaps not as big in some other areas of the country, but if I have intermittent contact with people I know are still using, I'd consider that huge. It really sucks :(

[Babyhellfire]

There is a bit of meth use in this area- but i don't think (and according to my friends/relatives from other locations), it is that big here.

Yeah, off the top of my head I can't think of anyone who does it- at best a few people that HAVE, but I can think of dozens addicted to pills.
It's BAD here- because it is as if they think it is some how better because pills come from doctors(even if it isn't typically their drs).

[Justicedog]

I don't really know about here, I don't talk to people about their prescription (or other) drug use. I am on synthroid and a high blood pressure pill, does that count as pill use or are you just talking about pain pills and anti depressants?

I remember the other day wishing that I could get some valium, wondering if they even prescribe it anymore.

What exactly does valium do?

[Peeka2]

dh's mom is addicted to pain meds. Not sure which ones...and I am not sure how it started. Its a known fact but not talked about.

My mom is on something for her back and has for the last 4 years...so she is addicted but needs it to function without as much pain.

I know a lot of people that swap pills or sell them its a pretty common addiction around here.

[Givebac]

I don't know. It's military housing so everyone is probably on Ibuprofen. I'm allergic/sensitive to the oxycontin. I think that's the one. The ER gave it to me when I had kidney stones.

Valium is a muscle relaxer? They gave it to me, as a shot, when I was having back spasms. Now I have flexeril.

I'm not fond of medications but I've been putting off using them for so long, it is a relief when I take them to be able to function and not be in pain. I have mobic which I guess I'm supposed to take everyday for the rest of my life. I haven't really taken it yet, because I'd rather not be dependant on a drug forever. I have another NSAID that I take on the days my back really hurts or I need to get things done, It's the only way I've been able to do housework.

[Tweet]

JD, I was talking more about narcotic pain medication.

Mobic helped my knees, but I had to take it with a lot of food or it would hurt my stomach.

I was just surprised to hear about snorting pills and one friend even said someone had said you could SMOKE some. Wtf? Man, I am in deep doo if I'm this out of the loop with kids.

[tata]

I don't really know about here, I don't talk to people about their prescription (or other) drug use. I am on synthroid and a high blood pressure pill, does that count as pill use or are you just talking about pain pills and anti depressants?

I remember the other day wishing that I could get some valium, wondering if they even prescribe it anymore.

What exactly does valium do?
I don't really talk to people about their prescription drug use, either, unless I mention my use of synthroid or need to go get it, etc. But I've certainly been approached by colleagues that asked if I knew where to get pain pills.

I don't think synthroid/HPB meds count. Those aren't typically abused.

They still prescribe valium. I had a 'script for it a few years ago for anxiety. I also tried clonazepam and alprazolam (klonopin and xanax) for anxiety before reaching the conclusion as to which was best for me (alprazolam). Of course, all meds stopped when I found out I was pregnant with DS and during the past almost 2 years since I'm still nursing.

[tata]

JD, I was talking more about narcotic pain medication.

Mobic helped my knees, but I had to take it with a lot of food or it would hurt my stomach.

I was just surprised to hear about snorting pills and one friend even said someone had said you could SMOKE some. Wtf? Man, I am in deep doo if I'm this out of the loop with kids.
A friend of a friend was snorting pain pills. He was in a terrible accident that left him in quite a lot of pain. My friend put this guy up in her home for several months. He became very addicted to the pain pills and eventually began crushing them up and snorting them. :nono: I have no idea what he is up to these days.

[Tweet]

I can understand it, though, just being in constant pain. Thankfully, I don't have to take the Vics very often, but there has been a time or two where the flareup has lasted a LONG time and when it was time to be off of them, I felt sick. Like, dope sick, I'd guess. The shits,sweats, alla that for a couple days. So now I try like hell not to call it in unless it's one of those where I literally can't get out of bed for several days.

I just feel bad that so many hurt so bad and the addiction has got to be a bitch to recover from. If I've felt like crap from a few weeks of it, Icannot imagine years and years of prolonged use.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Meth is huge here, too, as is heroin. Perhaps not as big in some other areas of the country, but if I have intermittent contact with people I know are still using, I'd consider that huge. It really sucks :(
Meth is big in this county, too. The last I knew we were listed on a nationwide list of some sort. Where I taught last year, my kids were definitely affected by it. :(


I don't really know about here, I don't talk to people about their prescription (or other) drug use. I am on synthroid and a high blood pressure pill, does that count as pill use or are you just talking about pain pills and anti depressants?

I remember the other day wishing that I could get some valium, wondering if they even prescribe it anymore.

What exactly does valium do?
Xanax and Valium are anti-anxiety drugs, not anti-depressants. Unfortunately, they're also abused.

[WalkingTittyBar]

It is terrible in the county I grew up in. I couldnt tell you how many people I knew OD'd there from pain meds. It is really, really bad. I would imagine that eventually all the druggies are going to die out. I know that sounds harsh but its true. Rarely do they get off the stuff. I hear at least once a week about someone dying or committing a drug related crime, and its usually someone I know.

I know drugs are in bad where in the county I live in now, but not so much in my neighborhood.

[Justicedog]

I remember after my first c-section, I was given an RX for some mega ibuprophen and some narcotics. Not knowing any better, and still waiting for horrendous pain, I got them both filled. I used two of the mega ibuprophens and none of the narcotic. Wish I'd known where to sell the narcotic before it expired. :) (kidding)

The next c-section, I refused the prescriptions. I think that more discussion is needed when prescribing narcotics and other drugs.

[JudyJudyJudy]

JD, those buying them wouldn't know or care that they're expired!

[Sadalsuud]

I remember that pot is really common around here when I lived here before. I'm pretty sure it is still the most common due to one of our towns being "famous" for a strain of marijuana. eta: The name of the town is actually in the urban dictionary. Sad as it is, it kind of made me laugh.

As for pill popping, I can't really tell, as most of the people I am around are disabled veterans, so that kind of skews it.

My doc isn't pill happy, she is very anti-medication. She'd rather me ruin my liver with the amount of otc ibuprophin I have to take just to be semi-functional and actually not wince in pain when my kids hug me. Since, ya know, I don't look like I'm in pain. Ugh, I need to find a new doc.

[Monkeytoes]

MIL was addicted to many pills and morphine patches. She was a tiny woman, I have no idea how she took so many and never died.

My Dad, Mom and Step dad are all addicted to vicodins. :(

[JudyJudyJudy]

My doc isn't pill happy, she is very anti-medication. She'd rather me ruin my liver with the amount of otc ibuprophin I have to take just to be semi-functional and actually not wince in pain when my kids hug me. Since, ya know, I don't look like I'm in pain. Ugh, I need to find a new doc.
Ibuprofen isn't as bad on your liver as most Rx pain relievers like Lortab are (many contain acetaminophin). It is bad on your kidneys, though.

[Iconoclast]

I talk to people about ther Rx drug use for a living. House (from the TV show, lol) is right, most of them lie. :shrug: In my previous city I knew well which docs were de facto drug dealers, and frankly, anyone who came in listing them as their primary cre provider came under suspicion. Guilty of drug seeking until proven innoent, so to speak. I don't know the community docs that well here, but I'm beginning to. I have alrady seen some of the same people two-three times becaue they "ran out of their medicine," or it was stolen, or the dog ate it. The excuses are all lame, though I'm sure they sound great to the person tellig them. It has just been my policy for better than 10 years not to write schedule IIs, so I generally sidestep the whole situation. Every rare once in a while though, I'm convinced and give them 2 tablets of something. After all, even addicts have pain. I have colleagues who will give anyone anything just to get them the hell out of the ED. They are big believers in Natural Selection I guess, but I'm more concerned with the DEA.

[HammBugga]

Teresa64, why did you change your u/n?

[HammBugga]

Oh and to answer the OP, I think they are prevalent a lot of places. I know it is MUCH harder to get them here though. My Mom has been on painkillers, of varying strengths, for years. She is taking much less then she was in Ca because there are practically NO dr.s around here who prescribe.

She has had 9 back surgeries and has chronic pain and degenerative disc disease. She has steel rods in her back screwed into her spine and she is hard pressed to find a Dr. that will even give her vicodin. I think it's sad that a person who has real pain has to jump through hoops while another who is just using the pills recreationally gets them easily either through Dr.'s or illegally.

Although I will say I am glad she is taking less now.

[jacksonsmommy]

Where I used to work it was commonplace for people to sit together over lunch and swap pills. The all had scripts for xanax, valium, and loritab. I asked them once how the got so many pills and they told me which dr.s in town prescribed what regularly. It is pretty common around these parts.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Sadly, it is not uncommon for nurses in hospitals and nursing homes to take the pills that are supposed to go to the patients.

[Iconoclast]

It isn't unique to nurses. I knew a doc years ago who was trading Rx for sexual favors in his IM practice. He was never actually busted for that, even though it was common knowledge. He was arrested for threatening someone with a weapon. The literature suggests that 40% of anesthesiologists are addicts. I don't read nursing literature, soI don't know how widespread the problem is.

[Sadalsuud]

Ibuprofen isn't as bad on your liver as most Rx pain relievers like Lortab are (many contain acetaminophin). It is bad on your kidneys, though.

I got it mixed up with acetamenophin, then. I knew one or the other was bad on one or the other, lol. Well, I'll say she'd rather me ruin my kidneys, since she absolutely refuses to prescribe anything.

[RaisingThemLeft]

I have been told by my dad's wife that it is common here. She's a NP who prescribed under a GP that was a "pill Dr.". Of course she didn't know that when she took the job. She would refuse pills to people she had reason were just addicts looking for a fix and then they'd get mad and ask to see the Dr. I don't personally know many people who have shared that they are on narcotics with me, but just because they haven't shared it doesn't mean they aren't.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Icon, I'm not surprised.

My sister sees a pill doctor. Now she's almost 60, and it's hitting her big time. Not that long ago, her kidneys shut down on her, but it was partly because the unnecessary antibiotic her pill doctor had given her set off C. diff (she's still denying she ever had C. diff, but my niece who talked to the doctor when my sister was unconscious says otherwise).

She's been on various pain meds for at least 30 years. She's also had eight back surgeries, but she was addicted to pain meds long before the chain of back surgeries started.

[Justicedog]

JD, those buying them wouldn't know or care that they're expired!


See, I'll never be a good criminal. ho hum

[JudyJudyJudy]

Me, either, partly because I'm too chickenshit. ;)

[SarahFae]

I know quite a few that buy and sell and use these drugs illegally. As for actual prescription, I wouldn't know.

[tabatha]

Sadly, it is not uncommon for nurses in hospitals and nursing homes to take the pills that are supposed to go to the patients.

Tell me about it, my own bil tells me he brings home pain meds from his patients.

As for the op, i haven't the slightest clue in my area, i'm somewhat of a recluse tho.

[Bohemian]

I don't know anyone that has a pill problem in my neighborhood because I don't know any of my neighbors well. I used to know the ones that lived on either side of our house but both of those houses have been empty since last summer.

I don't understand how the Dr's that prescribe pills like candy don't get caught or how people find Dr's like that in the first place. Every narcotic prescription I've ever gotten has been no refills.

I've looked up drug interactions in the past and google produces lots of "buy such and such narcotic" from Canada links. I always have wondered if people actually were able to buy prescription drugs that way because I thought it was illegal.

[Iconoclast]

Drs can & do lose their DEA licenses if when audited they cannot justify each and every Rx. Much like an IRS audit, a DEA investigation can be brutal.

[dalurker]

It isn't unique to nurses. I knew a doc years ago who was trading Rx for sexual favors in his IM practice. He was never actually busted for that, even though it was common knowledge. He was arrested for threatening someone with a weapon. The literature suggests that 40% of anesthesiologists are addicts. I don't read nursing literature, soI don't know how widespread the problem is.



A doctor in my town was arrested for that several years ago. I'd had an ugly run-in with him in the past (not of that sort), so I was not surprised. Well, surprised he got caught, maybe.

To answer the question, just about everyone I know is on some sort of pills whether pain, anxiety, anti-depressants or whatever. It doesn't even have to be people I know well enough to "confide" it. It's part of casual conversation now, it seems.

I don't know if it's just the doctors I've dealt with or what, but they have been quite generous in prescribing drugs I don't even want. From Vicodin to Xanax and Paxil (for tightness in chest and difficulty breathing which turned out not to be anxiety related after all). I won't take these drugs and usually don't even end up filling the prescription which kind of seems a waste of a doctor visit. I am not really accusing doctors of anything as much as wondering if maybe people are just clamoring for drugs and doctors are expecting it and responding to it.

[JudyJudyJudy]

dalurker, I think it's a combination of things. I think in some cases, doctors like that are being lazy and doing a quick fix with a drug rather than bothering to figure out the problem. Still others are getting big kickbacks and freebies from pharmaceutical companies. Then, of course, as you pile on the drugs, they'll cause more health issues, thus, resulting in ... you guessed it! More drugs!

[Tweet]

I talk to people about ther Rx drug use for a living. House (from the TV show, lol) is right, most of them lie. :shrug: In my previous city I knew well which docs were de facto drug dealers, and frankly, anyone who came in listing them as their primary cre provider came under suspicion. Guilty of drug seeking until proven innoent, so to speak. I don't know the community docs that well here, but I'm beginning to. I have alrady seen some of the same people two-three times becaue they "ran out of their medicine," or it was stolen, or the dog ate it. The excuses are all lame, though I'm sure they sound great to the person tellig them. It has just been my policy for better than 10 years not to write schedule IIs, so I generally sidestep the whole situation. Every rare once in a while though, I'm convinced and give them 2 tablets of something. After all, even addicts have pain. I have colleagues who will give anyone anything just to get them the hell out of the ED. They are big believers in Natural Selection I guess, but I'm more concerned with the DEA.

Girl, one time my dog totally ate my Tylenol 3s. I cried and cried because a) I was in pain and b) Iwas terrified he'd die. Thankfully, my doc did believe me. He knew I was a magnet for weird shit.

You'd probably know better than me, but I havea theory on why my doctors are very anti- med with me.I've told this story here before. Once, whenI was pg the very first time ( I miscarried) I went through the whole screening shebang. On the form it asked if you'd ever done street drugs. I had in my college years and checked off those I'd done, not thinking much of it. Imean, it'd been so long. So, the doc asked me about it pretty casually and wanted to make sure I didn't use anything still. I told him no,not for years and years.

Fast forward a year later when we moved out of state. I went to pick up my medical records from him, knowing we'd be TTCing soon. In big red letters across the front page it said IN RECOVERY FOR COCAINE ABUSE!!!!I'd never mentioned recovery or 12 step stuff or anything of that nature. (It was true I had attended some meetings when I was 20 but did not tell him that..I went for my boyfriend at the time). Anyway, to this day I wonder if it's in the system that Mrs F is a cocaine abuser and wants drugs,drugs,drugs.

Literally, I have a friend that has similar pain to mine. I have fibro and CFIDS and she has CFIDS. We go to the same doctor. This guy will prescribe her 10 mgs of Vicodin,20 mgs of Oxy and really,imo, it's a large amount. He gives me Tramadol. Mind you, I don't NEED what she's getting, but it's just..weird. So, I figure I'm flagged.

[tata]

Drs can & do lose their DEA licenses if when audited they cannot justify each and every Rx. Much like an IRS audit, a DEA investigation can be brutal.
A local doctor known for generosity of narcotic 'scripts was audited by the DEA and eventually charged. He ultimately committed suicide. His patients have a hard time finding doctors now.

dalurker, I think it's a combination of things. I think in some cases, doctors like that are being lazy and doing a quick fix with a drug rather than bothering to figure out the problem. Still others are getting big kickbacks and freebies from pharmaceutical companies. Then, of course, as you pile on the drugs, they'll cause more health issues, thus, resulting in ... you guessed it! More drugs!
I agree to all this and more. It's not narcotics-related, though. It seems like doctors are quick to hand out antibiotics every bit as much as parents (IME, mind you) want them. Take the kid in for sniffles expecting antibiotics. And doctor's oblige because they don't want to hear the complaints and/or lose the business. And absolutely the pharmaceutical companies push doctors to medicate.

[Sunnie]

I would much rather just have an ibuprofen

Ibuprofen kills my stomach

It's military housing so everyone is probably on Ibuprofen

Heh. Vitamin M. LOL

I have mobic which I guess I'm supposed to take everyday for the rest of my life. I haven't really taken it yet, because I'd rather not be dependant on a drug forever.

Mobic is just an anti-inflammatory. It is non-addictive.

Mobic helped my knees, but I had to take it with a lot of food or it would hurt my stomach.

Odd. It's supposed to be easier on your stomach than other anti-inflammatories. That's why I was prescribed it after trying Ibuprofen and Indomethicin.

A friend of a friend was snorting pain pills. He was in a terrible accident that left him in quite a lot of pain. My friend put this guy up in her home for several months. He became very addicted to the pain pills and eventually began crushing them up and snorting them. I have no idea what he is up to these days.

Chronic pain can be very difficult to live with. It gets to a point where you will do anything to make the pain stop.

My doc isn't pill happy, she is very anti-medication. She'd rather me ruin my liver with the amount of otc ibuprophin I have to take just to be semi-functional and actually not wince in pain when my kids hug me. Since, ya know, I don't look like I'm in pain. Ugh, I need to find a new doc.

I've had those. I'm so lucky to have found the Dr I have now. And I'm going to lose him in a few months *cries*


Literally, I have a friend that has similar pain to mine. I have fibro and CFIDS and she has CFIDS. We go to the same doctor. This guy will prescribe her 10 mgs of Vicodin,20 mgs of Oxy and really,imo, it's a large amount. He gives me Tramadol. Mind you, I don't NEED what she's getting, but it's just..weird. So, I figure I'm flagged.

Trammadol is all I've ever gotten. :(

[JudyJudyJudy]

I agree to all this and more. It's not narcotics-related, though. It seems like doctors are quick to hand out antibiotics every bit as much as parents (IME, mind you) want them. Take the kid in for sniffles expecting antibiotics. And doctor's oblige because they don't want to hear the complaints and/or lose the business. And absolutely the pharmaceutical companies push doctors to medicate.
I totally agree with this.

Twenty years ago before I knew my sister was seeing "the pill doctor," I needed to go to the doctor, and she recommended him. He diagnosed me with the flu and gave me antibiotics. I didn't know any better, so I took them. Well, at least I tried to, but I only took one. I vomited it up.

[still_me]

Meth is big in this county, too. The last I knew we were listed on a nationwide list of some sort. Where I taught last year, my kids were definitely affected by it. :(



Xanax and Valium are anti-anxiety drugs, not anti-depressants. Unfortunately, they're also abused.


Valium is also used muscle spasms. Funny enough as I was checking to see what it is used for one of the side effects is depression. ha. My dad had the side effect of rage and irritability on top of the depression that either naturally was there or that was caused by the pill.

[Miamimama]

Pill use is ridiculous here, well in the circle I am in anyway.
I was at DDs dance class one day and I took a vitamin, another mom I am familiar with (wouldn't say friends but we know each other) perks up and says ooohhh whats that, do you have anymore?
I had to burst her bubble, lol.

Mothers little helpers seem to almost be normal, sadly.

[Iconoclast]

Girl, one time my dog totally ate my Tylenol 3s. I cried and cried because a) I was in pain and b) Iwas terrified he'd die. Thankfully, my doc did believe me. He knew I was a magnet for weird shit.

You'd probably know better than me, but I havea theory on why my doctors are very anti- med with me.I've told this story here before. Once, whenI was pg the very first time ( I miscarried) I went through the whole screening shebang. On the form it asked if you'd ever done street drugs. I had in my college years and checked off those I'd done, not thinking much of it. Imean, it'd been so long. So, the doc asked me about it pretty casually and wanted to make sure I didn't use anything still. I told him no,not for years and years.

Fast forward a year later when we moved out of state. I went to pick up my medical records from him, knowing we'd be TTCing soon. In big red letters across the front page it said IN RECOVERY FOR COCAINE ABUSE!!!!I'd never mentioned recovery or 12 step stuff or anything of that nature. (It was true I had attended some meetings when I was 20 but did not tell him that..I went for my boyfriend at the time). Anyway, to this day I wonder if it's in the system that Mrs F is a cocaine abuser and wants drugs,drugs,drugs.

Literally, I have a friend that has similar pain to mine. I have fibro and CFIDS and she has CFIDS. We go to the same doctor. This guy will prescribe her 10 mgs of Vicodin,20 mgs of Oxy and really,imo, it's a large amount. He gives me Tramadol. Mind you, I don't NEED what she's getting, but it's just..weird. So, I figure I'm flagged.

Somewhere, sometime, someone's dog did, in fact, eat their homework, hence the age old excuse. It may still happen, but I doubt Judy believes it every time she hears it, lol, even if Judy is otherwise inclined to cut the child some slack. It is the same for me.

I can't say if I'd have given you a new Rx or not, there are too many other factors, including my intuition, which we cannot assume unless we replicate all the factors to the nth degree. In short, the patient presents as a total package, not just an unlikely story. Unlikely things do happen, I know this. But if I have 10 people in the ED all saying their dogs ate their oxy, I know full well the odds of this being true in every instance are about 1,000,000,000,000 : 1. The 90 year old with metastatic ca is likely to get a few pills to get her through the night (even though I may suspect her grandchildren are stealing it rather than the dog, but....) The 25 y/o w/ nonspecific abd pain is not as likely to leave a satisfied customer. Thems the brakes.

I am very direct and honest with people. If I have doubts about veracity, I just tell them so. We can tell a lot by their reaction to this news. The more hostile they get, the more likely we are right. I have also not hesitated to have people arrested for drug seeking. It is a crime. It is a real hassle for me and the staff, but I do do it when it becomes OTT. It at least keep them away when I am working, lol.

I am somewhat suprised about the notation on your chart. That would be unusual in my experience. That information would normally be found in the H&P, but not in bold letters on the front of confidential medical record.

As far as "flagging" people, there are formal and informal proceedures for this. In the ED we are linked via computer with other area EDs. We can also call to check and see if so and so has presented elsewhere with drug seeking behaviors. In many (probably most) EDs there is also a card file of known and suspected habitual drug seekers. This is highly unethical, and a clear HIPP violation, but it does exist. The nursing staf may or may not know about it; it is often kept in the doctors lounge, or call room. It isn't usually found out in the open, since it would be a huge problema if the suits found out about it (and I suspect they know and play obtuse, this is not a well kept secret). Also, pharmacy records are generally available too, so we know what and how many pills so and so got, and when, etc. We are not privy to information in your physician's office records. If there is a real question, we can and do call PCPs and ask for input. If your doc was not one I had in my head as a pill pusher, and s/he assured me that you were an upstanding citizen, I'd be more likely to give you enough to get you through the night. I'd certainly not give you more than that, however.


It comes down to the doctors own philosophy about pain and proper pain management, their impression of the totality of the situation, intuition and hundreds of other small circumstances that affect decision making.

I prefer to err on the side of caution, which to me means Motrin, for most people, most of the time. Clearly, there are people who need narcotic pain control. After almost 20 years in practice, I think I know them when I see them.

[dalurker]

I was surprised that when I was taking the Xanax and Paxil (for the chest tightness and difficulty breathing) I was given what seemed a nearly infinite supply of Xanax when I lost the medicine. The first prescription had been a month's worth, but when I called and said I had lost it (first time patient), he wrote another for, wow, I can't remember how much, but it was several more times that. In hindsight, I think my "lost" pills were stolen by my pill loving friend. I didn't realize her level of pill adoration until later. I never did fill all those prescriptions and didn't finish out the six months of Paxil either.

I really liked that doctor, but in one 15 minute visit for wheezing and chest tightness, he gave me these drugs and then happily, without question and within days, replaced an old prescription with a new one for even more pills and the instructions to call if I needed more. I must look very honest because that just seems bizarre to me. My friend bitches constantly about how easily I'm written prescriptions for hardcore (to me, anyway) drugs when she has a harder time (though I suspect her doctors have caught on to her). I had to stop telling her when I go to the doctor for anything because she will beg me to get the prescriptions and let her have the pills. The favorite thing doctors love to throw at me despite me noting my refusal to take it on every medical form is Vicodin. It drives her up the wall that I refuse Vicodin and don't give it to her. I'm having wisdom teeth cut out soon and I fear I'm going to have to hide from her until I'm healed.

And I wonder if I'm the only person ever to quit Paxil cold turkey and feel great doing it. Damn, I hated that drug. I didn't have anxiety before I took it, but I sure had it during in addition to the wheezing. Thankfully, I'm on the right drugs now (Prilosec and Zantac- I'm hardcore like that).