[akamel]

Use them only when you need them.

I was really annoyed when my wife’s doctor freely prescribed her oxi after her delivery even though my wife never asked for it and never showed any sign of needing it.

Having free flowing prescriptions is how we end up with so many addicts.

[mgkimsal]

and then... for legitimate cases... no dice.

about 7 years ago my wife got sand in her eye - was problematic enough that we went to a local clinic. she wasn't going to go blind, but it was irritated enough that after flushing it out, it still looked... bad. and she indicated it was a bit sore, that she wanted to get home to just try to get to sleep.

The doctor there offered a prescription for percocet. We said "no, no need - we'll call if there's a problem". They handed us a prescription for... either 7 or 14 pills. we took it and didn't use it.

A few years later I ended up with extreme lower back pain. I could hardly move - was bed/chair-bound for 4 days. Had called around to see if any clinic would see me to prescribe some pain killer. NOPE. Don't want to create any addicts. Clinics all have signs on them saying 'no prescriptions for...' then a list of 4-5 things.

We were basically force-fed a prescription for something way out of line with what was necessary, then when something was necessary... not available.

Yep, just my anecdote, but it's stuck with me, mostly because I don't have that many medical interactions in the first place, so the outliers tend to stick out.

[uh_what]

Asking for a prescription for a painkiller will make doctors label you as a drug seeker.

Asking for a referral for an x-ray/ultrasound for your back pain will often make them go "Here, why don't you try this opioid first and see if it gets better?"

[siculars]

The key phrase here is "a few years later". Much has changed in this area of medicine over the last few years...

[specialist]

I'm sorry for your pain. Back problems are the worst.

Oversteer is the norm. Precautionary principle and all that.

Patients with chronic pain have to train their care givers, just as they have to train you. You're building relationships, trust. Just like dating, jobs. Unhappy or uncomfortable? Move on to others you can work with.

[lostlogin]

I know that you have likely shortened the story for reading, making the phone call sound different to how it really went, but if you want to set off alarm bells, ringing around asking about a script for strong pain meds is a way to do it.

[mgkimsal]

when you're in intense pain, it's difficult to drive around to too many places (wife drove me to one), she called a few others, no one would even agree to schedule me to come in for a consultation/exam.

one office offered to schedule an appointment for about 4 weeks later, which I didn't take.

This situation has happened to me twice, both times this pain came out of nowhere, and first time it took me out of commission the better part of 4 days. Tried to get any medication (per above story) - nothing. Second time this happened, 2 years later, it lasted about 3 days, and I didn't even bother trying to get anything - just took a lot of OTC stuff. If this happened regularly, I might be able to figure out if there's some trigger to avoid, but... 2x in the last 6 years - hard to pinpoint!

I should add that this gave me a little bit of insight as to how people who live with chronic pain might feel all the time. Just a few days of that was maddening. Thinking it might be the 'new normal' - constant intense pain that rarely lapses - would really have been difficult to cope with, and I probably can emphathize (or is it sympathize?) a bit more with the prescription drug abuse situation.

[nickpsecurity]

I second this. I did this for my surgeries. If I took meds at all, I took them only early when likely pain was highest on in minimal, prescribed dose. Then as little as I could from that moment forward just enduring the discomfort, being careful about how I moved, etc. I got over it. Sometimes, the pain was low enough for OTC drugs should I have wanted to use them.

Good way to avoid getting addicted.

[vadym909]

I third this. Vicodiene when you need it is a lifesaver after surgery, but it can tempting to continue with it beyond when you need it. Just beware and stop.

[0x8BADF00D]

I did something similar when I broke my ribs. I was prescribed Vicodin and Ibuprofen. I’d only take the minimum amount of Vicodin twice a week, and the other days would use Ibuprofen only. I also made sure I never took more than the minimum required dose two days in a row.

[CaliforniaKarl]

Yeah, I remember when I got a wisdom tooth out, afterwards I got a prescription for something pretty strong. Vicodin, I think? It was years ago, and I don't remember.

But I do remember that, even though I filled the prescription, I never ended up taking it. A few days of higher-dose ibuprofen (taken with food) was enough.

[lotsofpulp]

I got a prescription for hydrocodone after having a wisdom tooth taken out. I never bought it, and I didn't take any other medication either. There was mild discomfort for 12 to 18 hours, but it's crazy they're prescribing pain meds by default for no reason. And there was no instruction from the doctor to limit the pain med to only if absolutely necessary.

[specialist]

Better to have a 3 day supply on hand just in case vs the mad scramble to get scripts filled afterwards.