When it comes to prescription drugs with the potential for abuse there is a fine line between wants and needs. Clearly anyone with pain or anxiety and the like want and expect adequate treatment and there may be valid reasons, real needs, to implement them. With the rise in addiction and overdoses there is a growing fear in the medical community to not prescribe certain drugs to patients. Patients with a history of abuse/misuse are for obvious reasons less likely to receive such medication.
Recently I was faced with a moral dilemma-do I lie to my doctor about my history or do I risk being honest and hope I receive adequate treatment? When I do the right thing I often find myself being penalized for it and either end up having to again endure a treatment plan that has failed in the past, or one that falls short based on my level of risk. The result is often self medicating to compensate and worsening symptoms and a return of addictive behavior.
I often feel that random testing, prescription drug monitoring, and contracts fall short of accountability and that perhaps with stricter standards in place there would be greater compliance, less fear to give adequate treatment programs, and raise personal safety. I ask myself if I were to be tested twice a week every week, receive only a weeks worth of prescriptions in a prescription monitored lock box at a time, and receive a full physical exam weekly would compliance be easier?
So many people burn through thirty days of medication in the first few days, use alternate ROAs, and go out of their way to cheat tests, among other behavior. The technology and monitoring exists to really raise accountability but it is not consistently applied if used at all. There are prescription lock boxes that release a dose at a time as preset by a doctor or pharmacist, that will notify if the dose is not taken or if the device is tampered with. Back in the height of my addiction had a physical exam been thorough enough surely my problem would have been discovered.
Yes it would be inconvenient to have such standards and it would swamp doctors offices and pharmacies with extra work, and drug tests are expensive and not all inclusive but maybe it would help many of us save us from ourselves if more of these things were in place and enforced. So I ask those of you with a history of addiction would you agree to such standards and inconvenience in order to be honest and adequately treated by your doctors? And if not, why not?
These thoughts bring to mind my motivations for the medications I'm prescribed and the lengths I'd go to in order to have an ideal treatment plan and completely honest and open relationship with practitioners. While no plan is fool-proof, I do believe these measures would be a huge step in resolving the current crisis regarding prescription medications and would love to hear thoughts from others on the matter. Thank you!
Recently I was faced with a moral dilemma-do I lie to my doctor about my history or do I risk being honest and hope I receive adequate treatment? When I do the right thing I often find myself being penalized for it and either end up having to again endure a treatment plan that has failed in the past, or one that falls short based on my level of risk. The result is often self medicating to compensate and worsening symptoms and a return of addictive behavior.
I often feel that random testing, prescription drug monitoring, and contracts fall short of accountability and that perhaps with stricter standards in place there would be greater compliance, less fear to give adequate treatment programs, and raise personal safety. I ask myself if I were to be tested twice a week every week, receive only a weeks worth of prescriptions in a prescription monitored lock box at a time, and receive a full physical exam weekly would compliance be easier?
So many people burn through thirty days of medication in the first few days, use alternate ROAs, and go out of their way to cheat tests, among other behavior. The technology and monitoring exists to really raise accountability but it is not consistently applied if used at all. There are prescription lock boxes that release a dose at a time as preset by a doctor or pharmacist, that will notify if the dose is not taken or if the device is tampered with. Back in the height of my addiction had a physical exam been thorough enough surely my problem would have been discovered.
Yes it would be inconvenient to have such standards and it would swamp doctors offices and pharmacies with extra work, and drug tests are expensive and not all inclusive but maybe it would help many of us save us from ourselves if more of these things were in place and enforced. So I ask those of you with a history of addiction would you agree to such standards and inconvenience in order to be honest and adequately treated by your doctors? And if not, why not?
These thoughts bring to mind my motivations for the medications I'm prescribed and the lengths I'd go to in order to have an ideal treatment plan and completely honest and open relationship with practitioners. While no plan is fool-proof, I do believe these measures would be a huge step in resolving the current crisis regarding prescription medications and would love to hear thoughts from others on the matter. Thank you!
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