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by ZeroCoin 4283 days ago
>I wandered outside the boundaries of telemetry. They lost my heartbeat. When I returned, they scolded me.

The audacity of health care industry workers (those who should know what a certain disease entails) who place blame on their patients for acting normally is infuriating.

I had kidney stones once at a young age. I remember barely walking into the emergency room one night after they became too painful.

As soon as I arrived, white as a sheet of paper, they asked me a few questions... doped me up on morphine... and managed to "lose" me on a gurney in a hallway somewhere for a few hours until my girlfriend at the time came and found me.

They took xrays I believe and I was free to go with some more painkillers in hand.

Apparently the hospital told me that I was supposed to call them by X date if I wanted any more painkillers.

I called them back about a week after that date had passed, asked for a refill, and was scolded like I was some drug addict just looking for a fix. I think they even hung up on me. How could I be so stupid as to have forgotten a date they told me when I was high as a kite by their own doing? Right.

I ended up passing them without any painkillers which as many of you have probably heard is unbelievably painful.

I understand that it can get monotonous working in a hospital, but with the amount of money they're paid to work there you would hope that they would be required to operate with a little compassion. Considering the fact that many people in a hospital are leaving this world.

What if the author's last memory was that of a person she didn't know berating her for something she wasn't sure she even did?

1 comments

> ...was scolded like I was some drug addict just looking for a fix...

It's tough dealing with drugs and potential abuse. You know if you're really in need or not, but they deal with people wanting them for any reason just because, and so the skepticism starts to show. There's the default assumption at hospitals/pharmacies of just locking everything down so the healthcare providers themselves can't abuse them too.

My father was in the ER the other month for severe abdominal pain. He got morphine _after_ it was discovered that his blood pressure was through the roof and he wouldn't tolerate even a light touch in the area. Then multiple people were required for disposal and documentation of whatever was left over - after someone had to go get it from an automated dispensing cabinet and _then_ scan both the drugs and his bracelet QR code to verify the order (+allergies+other things). It was impressively thorough.

In comparison, my neurologist and doctor are really freehanded with nerve pain meds for my legs. Can't really recreationally abuse anticonvulsants or antidepressants or lidocaine patches, I guess. Also on the pain front, having something that can be directly tested goes a far way for the disbelief/skepticism that might otherwise be a problem. :(

I am not allowed to have a prescription that has refills (I assume due to law? Maybe office policy though). So when I need a refill I have to call and leave a voicemail message. It takes up to 72 business hours then I get a phonecall my prescription is ready. I have to physically go there and sign two forms saying I picked it up AND get my ID photocopied. Then I have to go to the pharmacy and show my ID AGAIN. I hate being treated like I'm a criminal!!
>I hate being treated like I'm a criminal!!

That's exactly how I felt when I called in for a refill of my pain medication after just having met with multiple doctors in the ER just a few weeks prior.

Do they really think I intentionally got kidney stones (which they saw themselves on xray) just to get an extra refill of pain meds a few weeks later?

No, the lady on the phone probably got intense amount of pleasure by telling me off verbally and hanging up. At least that's one of the only reasons I can think she didn't even bother to listen to me.

I was upset and confused, but too proud to call back and have myself humiliated again. So I just grinned and bore it and screamed like a baby when the stones actually passed a few days later.

A funny side note to this story... I can laugh at it all now seeing as it's ten years in the past. In my long walk to the hospital (I was a poor student at the time, unable to even afford the bus) me and my girlfriend passed a band of elderly ladies who took one look at me and within seconds said "Oh no, look at him. You must have stones, don't you laddy?".

I wasn't sure what was wrong with me at the time and I just replied something like "haha, I hope that's it!" and continued on to the hospital.

6 hours and an xray later... the doctors confirmed the very same thing.

I was debating if I should mention it in my original comment but...

I have ADHD and I've been on almost all stimulant options available, most often Adderall and lately Vyvanse. Those are Schedule II drugs in the US, where you can't get refills on a prescription and there's a whole huge thing about auditing and verifying that you can't abuse it.

I feel like your doctor's office is a little ridiculously strict if that's the case for you too as none of my psychiatrists have ever required that kind of sign-off on picking up prescriptions, but in my experience, yeah... it sucks. I've been treated like a criminal at the pharmacy, many times. Also ask me how many times I've had insurance/pharmacy deny a prescription because I am picking it up literally a day too early. Requiring ID is ridiculous too. I just recently changed my name, but the name change for my insurance hasn't been going anywhere, so I'm surprised I haven't triggered any kind of problem when signing off on picking up these drugs. I don't know what I'd do if I lost a prescription (doctors can write up to 3 separate ones dated appropriately) or if I lost a bottle. :(

This is another reason for drug legalization. The paranoia around opiates has to end. Lack of access to pain medication is a huge problem globally. Every time there is a natural disaster doctors are arrested for carrying pain meds without waiting for formal permissions. After the Haitian earthquake many people had limbs amputated without pain medication.
>The paranoia around opiates has to end. Lack of access to pain medication is a huge problem globally.

I agree 100%.

I passed kidney stones without any pain medication because the "care workers" thought I was a junkie looking for a fix... Even though I had been into their ER a few weeks earlier and was white as a sheet due to incredible pain.

You can't even fake that type of pain afaik.