Opioids History of addiction in medical records will I ever get prescribed pain pills?

[Engine_Of_Chaos]

Back around 2013 I was at a Dr appt with my p.c.p and she couldn't quite figure out wat was going on with me so she leaves the room an comes back few mins later askig me why I had hydrocodone, oxy, fent. and benzos in my urine. First of all I thought it was illegal to drug test a patient wo consent..maybe I'm wrong. Anyways I told her i had been addicted to pills/opiates for years. So it was documented that I was an addict then. I didn't stop daily use until 2016 wen I started sub clinic. My question is since its documented does that ruin my chances of ever being prescribed pain pills in my future. I'm 34yrs old and do have knee problems (I'm tall, 6'0) cartilage is gone in both knees, I have severe cluster migraines and I have sciatic nerve issues too.

 

[iLoveYouWithaKnife]

Clearly you are asking this for no other reason than drug-seeking behavior. If all these “medical issues” you list were serious problems, you probably already would be on pain killers if you need them, and that’s what they prescribed for it.

For you knee cartilage problem, take glucosamine and chondroitin. It works wonders.

 

[Engine_Of_Chaos]

I'll give glucosamine a try, Ty. Honestly, I've always been afraid to even mention pain needing medication to a Dr for fear of being sterotyped as an addict "seeking" drugs. I took my 1st pain pill at age 19. My migraines started at age 14..knees progressed over the years. I'm scared of Dr's rejecting me thinking I'm "seeking" even tho I am an addict say I go to a Dr who I'd never seen before so he doesn't kno I'm an addict but I overthink that the Dr is going to reject me just bc he thinks "oh here's another patient wanting pain meds". Am I making any sense? I'm not purely seeking pain pills to get high, I'm just asking that if I have true legitimate pain will my past affect any future Dr's from helping me??? Should have explained it more thoroughly.

 

[iLoveYouWithaKnife]

Am I making any sense?

Not really... mostly because of this statement below.

even tho I am an addict say I go to a Dr who I'd never seen before so he doesn't kno I'm an addict but I overthink that the Dr is going to reject me just bc he thinks "oh here's another patient wanting pain meds

I’m this day and age, you aren’t just going to go to a doctor for the first time and expect to get pain meds. For a legitimate reason.

 

[iLoveYouWithaKnife]

WhT I am interested to know, is about this appt you went to in 2013.
What was your initial reason for going to this doctor appt?
You said this doc “couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with you”...
please elaborate.

 

[Engine_Of_Chaos]

WhT I am interested to know, is about this appt you went to in 2013.
What was your initial reason for going to this doctor appt?
You said this doc “couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with you”...
please elaborate.

I didn't feel good..my heart was skipping alot an I was over all real shakey an couldnt keep still. It probably was bc of not having anything an I was not there to get anything. I don't kno why I really went..my mom was with me but she already knew I was using..may not of realized how much I was using at that time tho.

 

[Iceman1216]

As an addict and a Cancer patient, I can attest to the fact that most (not all Drs will not leave you in pain from a legitimate medical condition that requires pain medication) What happened in the early 2000s is that a very slick marketing campaign sold the USA and a lot of the Western world a Load of Shit that All pain was bad and NO ONE should have Any!! So give Oxy, and More Oxy and the More Oxy !! ( Fuck they had 160mg pill at one time on the market ) OMG those must of been the days ?? And millions of people have died and been thrown in to the hell of opiate addiction because of Greed !!
But Medicine is NOT Drugs!!
So you will be OK when you need them.
They will be the right amount to control your Pain.
They will be monitored, and not have Refills .
We are not committed to a world of pain that can be helped by doctors, due to our disease of addiction. we are just watched a little closer

 

[Keif' Richards]

It is really very discretionary like medicine in general. I think there is a huge difference between having "addicit" in your file as opposed to "prosecuted for prescription forgery" or "known to lie and manipulate by using multiple doctors and or pharmacies".

Getting caught for doctor shopping or something might be forgivable, but I think it really sets you back. In my opinion it portrays you as being in a "different league" than that guy who got hooked on Morphine after surgery. It means, for better or for worse, you're willing to do shit other people are afraid to do.

I'm sure it is totally discretionary but in my experience, doctors will give a patient credit for some documented progress in their lives. Drug tests, check-ins can bolster your case for having changed. IME most of these things can be asked for by the patient.

 

[Kara Kava]

I am also curious, I'm almost done methadone and wondering if in 2 years I needed pain medication would i get any or just left to suffer because I got addicted to them before

 

[Kara Kava]

Clearly you are asking this for no other reason than drug-seeking behavior. If all these “medical issues” you list were serious problems, you probably already would be on pain killers if you need them, and that’s what they prescribed for it.

For you knee cartilage problem, take glucosamine and chondroitin. It works wonders.

Why do you say that? You don't know why he's asking so no need to put your suspicions on others
Im in the same boat, almost off methadone and worried if i will get pain medication in the future when I need them.
That's not drug seeking behavior, maybe for you

 

[Engine_Of_Chaos]

Why do you say that? You don't know why he's asking so no need to put your suspicions on others
Im in the same boat, almost off methadone and worried if i will get pain medication in the future when I need them.
That's not drug seeking behavior, maybe for you

Thank you!!!! Atleast some ppl understand where I'm coming from. I am way to afraid to ever "Dr shop" for fear of repercussions. I was simply asking IF I'm always gonna be stereotyped for bad decisions in my past.

 

[sewerslide.666mg]

Thank you!!!! Atleast some ppl understand where I'm coming from. I am way to afraid to ever "Dr shop" for fear of repercussions. I was simply asking IF I'm always gonna be stereotyped for bad decisions in my past.

Drs suck, gabapentin might help if the Dr are total dick heads and dont give opiates

 

[Fiori di Bella]

I see a pain doc and I’ve made a few mistakes along the way. I got percs from a urologist when I had a kidney stone, I tested positive for hydromorphone which I was not getting from the pain doc a day after another trip to the ER for another stone. These docs do not want to deal with you if you’re getting pain medicine elsewhere, unless this occurs in an inpatient setting. I’ve had several pain drugs administered in the hospital during a hospital stay and they have no issues with that.
If you have a history of addiction and you don’t mention it, or don’t offer the name of any doctors you’ve seen who know this occurred in your past, I don’t think this new doctor will find out—UNLESS they pull your hospital medical records and they see that you have a history of abuse documented. That is very unlikely to happen, especially with HIPAA laws in effect in the U.S.

 

[Rebelgal54]

It’s been my experience, both as an addict on methadone maintenance and as a nurse who works with many different doctors, that each doctor has very different feelings about pain medication, addiction, and the two together. It also depends on whether you are in acute pain (after surgery for instance) or suffering from chronic, long term pain. As a rule, acute pain needs to be treated with a medication that is appropriately suited to the level of pain (mild, moderate, or severe) no matter if a patient is a known addict or not. But in reality this varies greatly from doctor to doctor. Chronic pain is harder to manage, even for patients with no history of addiction.

Some doctors tend to be a little more liberal in what they prescribe for pain. Doctors who are more familiar with opiate addiction are actually more likely to prescribe an addict higher doses of narcotics (for an acute problem) because they are aware that an addict’s tolerance levels may result in lower doses being ineffective. Other doctors, in fear of legal repercussions associated with over-prescribing opiates, are extremely cautious with what they prescribe, sometimes even to the point that patients experience unnecessary pain as a result of improper pain management.

I can also say from personal experience that doctors have varying amounts of knowledge and familiarity with medication-assisted treatments for substance abuse (drugs like methadone and suboxone) and how they affect pain management. As the opiate crisis worsens, doctors are becoming more educated in these types of treatments. However with so much focus on addiction rates and the abuse of prescription pain pills, some doctors are not properly managing their patient’s pain needs.

 

[rave23]

First of all I thought it was illegal to drug test a patient wo consent

How exactly did they test your urine without your consent? Did they stick a needle in your bladder or collected it from a catheter?

Usually when they send you to the lab for a UA with a requisition, by virtue of you showing up there and giving them the sample you're consenting for them to test you (provided that's what is indicated on the requisition). The requisition itself specifies what tests the labs run on the sample collected. Did you not ask why they require a urine sample, or were you intentionally misled?

 

[Deru]

My question is since its documented does that ruin my chances of ever being prescribed pain pills in my future

No. I have IV heroin abuse, 3 blood infections, 3 endocarditis, 3 open heart surgeries, 1 pulmonary embolism and 1 pacemaker all due to IV drug use in my file, and when the pain warrants opioids, I receive them.

Two important things to note:

1. If the pain can be treated in any way other than opioids, you will not receive the opioids whereas someone with no opioid addiciton in their file may receive a short term supply (for acute issues only.) I've been to numerous pain management doctors for postoperative pain and that's just the way it works, at least in the US. Prior to every pain management doctor, you have to answer like 30 questions that ask all about any drug or alcohol use. It's literally a laser focused variable. There's also questions about how pain affects your life and depression mixed in there, as well.

2. Find a doctor that you can build a relationship and trust with is absolutely essential. A doctor that knows you and trusts you will be much more willing to help you with pain, it protects their medical license, verus some random doctor you've never met. In those cases, addict or not, you probably won't receive opioids anyways unless the pain is severe.

 

[Fiori di Bella]

I was out of state for a few months after losing my job due to COVID-19, and I moved into a guest house on my brother’s property in a tiny town in New Mexico with a population of just 143 people. While there, I had a kidney stone that caused a great deal of pain. I had to go to a hospital in another small town, 65 miles away, and even after establishing I had another stone via CT scan, the ER doc was very hesitant to prescribe any opiates. I told the doctor I was unable to take NSAIDs due to stomach ulcers, he finally decided to give me Toradol, which he said was a non-opiate narcotic.
Whenever I get kidney stones in my big US city, and thank goodness I’m back, I have no trouble getting opiates or having my pain doctor increase the number of Oxys I get. I have wondered if this is partly due To the documentation in my medical chart of blood transfusions due to bleeding ulcers. But no ER doc or urologist here has ever given me Toradol.

 

[Deru]

I told the doctor I was unable to take NSAIDs due to stomach ulcers, he finally decided to give me Toradol, which he said was a non-opiate narcotic.

Same, they love Toradol now with the opioid pandemic, and it's such a worthless drug in my opinion. I just got it a few weeks ago and it did absolutely nothing for my venous ulcers, plus I'm not supposed to take NSAIDs because of heart issues and because I was heavily drinking, yet the ER doctor still chose Toradol unfortunately. 1000 mg intravenous acetaminophen works better than Toradol, hands down.

Toradol is an NSAID, so that's terrible they gave it to you, as well, with your history of bleeding ulcers.

Such a drastic difference from only 3 or 4 years ago. I once had an infected abscess drained from IV heroin use at an ER in Arizona, self admitted I was an addict and how I got the abscess - I was covered from head to toe in terrible track marks - and they literally gave me intravenous morphine when I was obviously just seeking to get high (the lancing is painless, for the most part) by telling them I needed something for pain and sent me home with a short term prescription to Percocet. That would never happen anymore.

 

[Rebelgal54]

But no ER doc or urologist here has ever given me Toradol.

Same, they love Toradol now with the opioid pandemic, and it's such a worthless drug in my opinion.

Non-Narcotic Drug Use Superior For Renal Colic Management

This article discusses a study presented at the 2018 American Urological Association’s annual meeting. The study highlighted the proven effectiveness of Ketorolac (Toradol) in regards to managing kidney stones, but noted that doctors in the ED are still more likely to treat using opiate medications.

“Ketorolac is more effective than narcotics in the management of renal colic... superior clinical outcomes including a 20% decrease in surgical interventions... associated with a shorter length of stay and quicker discharge rates compared with opioid treatments”.

However I’ve suffered from chronic kidney stones and agree that when I was given IV Toradol it did absolutely nothing for my pain. I’ve been given IV Dilaudid or other opiates far more often, despite having opiate addiction on my record.

 

[Deru]

I've read those as well, strictly from my experience with: 7/10 kidney stone pain, 10/10 venous ulcer pain, and 5-6/10 pulmonary embolism/endocarditis chest pain, I obtained zero pain relief from the drug. It's been a huge let down for me, unfortunately. 1000 mg intravenous acetaminophen has always worked exponentially better for me, for those specific causes of pain (except kidney stones, I've only had Toradol and Dilauid, of which Dilauid works amazing.)