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Heroin doctor visits and trackmarks

D

DopeHoe99

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
7
I am a herion addict and I have track marks running up both my arms.. I really need to go to my doctor but I'm afraid that when she sees my track mark she might have to report me. I do not know what the protocol is for doctors when it comes to this situation. If someone has been through this to knows anything I wold really appreciate any advice.
 
Its doctor patient confidentiality, at least it has been for me. Oregon USA by the way here I dont know the laws where you live
 
If you're in the US, there is no legal issue here that I can see. What is your doctor going to report you for? Its not illegal to have track marks.

Where are you located and what are you seeking medical attention for?

Say you're looking to walk in and score pain meds and have been busted for doctor shopping in the past its one thing but if you have legitimate medical need, the doctor isn't going to refuse treatment or call the cops on you.
 
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You should be fine. Generally the medical profession wont report anything to the authorities unless there's a direct connection with a specific crime or ongoing investigation. They will respect your privacy by default unless you give them a SERIOUS reason not to.

Remember that a doctor's job is to help and treat people. If they were reporting people for using, those people would avoid seeking the medical treatment they need... in effect, they'd be indirectly harming you by keeping you away from necessary medical care.

This is pretty universal.
 
In the US, you have nothing to worry about legally from him seeing track-marks, or knowing you use/have used drugs.

Beyond the legal matter, different doctors have different personal feelings about drug use. Some might not say or do anything beyond asking you about it, but its also common to see it noted in charts. Some doctors will also mark you as a potential drug seeker if they see outward evidence of drug use.

This can have implications for your insurance provider, who has full access to your charts. If you admit to using illegal drugs, insurance companies can use this to deny coverage in the future. A note about suspecting drug use, though, would not put you at risk of losing coverage.

Your best bet if your doctor mentions them, is to frankly ask him if you can have a discussion without him noting it in your chart. Some docs are actually concerned with the patient's health and will be cool about it, others might refuse.
 
I have personally gone in to a few doctors in the past with track marks all over my arms and hands feeling very self-conscious but trust me nothin bad will happen if your doctor sees them. Your doctor may notice and not say anything about it to you. If a doctor sees a patient with fresh track marks on their arms they will usually not even press the patient to explain to them what the deal is. If you want to be honest and let your doctor know what the deal is I think he/she would be pleasantly surprised and treat you respectfully. Just my experiences.. dokomo's post is good stuff

No medical professional is ever going to "report" any patient who comes to them with visible track marks.
 
It depends on the doctor, but in my experience, I never had a problem. I just got into remission now, but 1.5 years ago I got diagnosed with cancer, while I was still shooting dope. My doctors knew about this because I legitimately showed them I wanted to stop, and they helped me immensely. Eventually I got myself into the 'done clinic. My doctors seemed to appreciate the fact that I seemed intelligent about drugs and psychology and that I wasn't trying to bullshit them about anything. I have been on MMT and for most of my treatment I was on MMT but my doctors never hesitated to script me the necessary pain meds, since I did have a tumor on my spine. THe clinic obviously knew about this. They also helped me with my insomnia and anxiety.

so overall, the lesson i learned is that while there are I'm sure some jerkoff doctors, the majority of them appreciate honesty, and will help you and work with you if you work with them. If you try to cover things up and lie and bullshit them they are bound to find out, then they will obviously be less willing to help you out.

It can be a scary thing to admit to someone that you shoot dope but if you have a legit medical concern, and aren't just there trying to score some dillies or some benzos or something, youshould have no problem at all. I'm not accusing you, dont' get me wrong, but just stating in general. Good luck with your endeavor.
 
Ive been to surgery with track marks, the nurse put in the IV right on top of my mark from using 2 days before. The doctor came in (about 2 minutes later) asking if I had ever used illegal drugs, I said No. He asked again, I said NO. I had my full medical chart faxed to me by an ex-gf working at the hospital. Luckily I was always nice to her, and in that docs chart for that day of surgery was no notations or even a mention of drug use in my chart. So, there's my experience, just deny everything, pretend you're going to the police station, DENY DENY DENY. Youll still get treatment, the doc wants to get paid.
 
Thank you everyone I live in new york and about two months ago my doctor found a massive infection in my uterus.I never went back and I have been in a lot of pain. I'm not trying to score any meds I'm just trying to treat the problems. Im only 20 so i was afraid. I will make an appointment asap.
 
If the doctor gives you a hard time you could always say you use injectable diphenhydramine for migraines or something. My buddy actually does this, and buys the vials OTC all the time
 
^chances are the doctors not going to buy that and they're just going to view her as a junkie AND a liar then so I wouldn't go that route.
 
dokomo said:
In the US, you have nothing to worry about legally from him seeing track-marks, or knowing you use/have used drugs.

Beyond the legal matter, different doctors have different personal feelings about drug use. Some might not say or do anything beyond asking you about it, but its also common to see it noted in charts. Some doctors will also mark you as a potential drug seeker if they see outward evidence of drug use.

This can have implications for your insurance provider, who has full access to your charts. If you admit to using illegal drugs, insurance companies can use this to deny coverage in the future. A note about suspecting drug use, though, would not put you at risk of losing coverage.

Your best bet if your doctor mentions them, is to frankly ask him if you can have a discussion without him noting it in your chart. Some docs are actually concerned with the patient's health and will be cool about it, others might refuse.
Click to expand...

^ This! In the USA, you're going to see health insurance become more and more involved in your health care decision making. The fact that an insurance provider has full access to my medical records scares the shit outta me! They are a business in it to make money regardless of of your health. In fact, the more you need medical care the more they will scrutinize your records looking for any reason to cut you off.
 
DopeHoe99 said:
Thank you everyone I live in new york and about two months ago my doctor found a massive infection in my uterus.I never went back and I have been in a lot of pain. I'm not trying to score any meds I'm just trying to treat the problems. Im only 20 so i was afraid. I will make an appointment asap.
Click to expand...


I live in NY too...GO BACK TO THE DOCTOR! With any uterus problems, they can get worse pretty quick if untreated...I've panicked and such over less than a major infection. If it's causing pain, there is definitely a need for medical care. Make an appointment (I'm a 23 yr old female if that helps) and if the dr asks about it, tell him. You are there for the uterus, that has to be treated. Wanting to cover up drug use is not worth your health at this point...infections can spread, can lead to infertility I'm guessing...hope you've made an appointment by now so they can at least sonogram/etc to see what's going on.
 
In my experience with the numerous doctors I have been to, they don't really like insurance companies, the two are always clashing about how much gets paid for services and whatnot, which is why most doctors pad their bills to them.
Even if it really came down to it and you were busted by the doc just ask him to exclude it from your record and explain that if the insurance company finds out they will cut your insurance, which would in the long run do you harm, thus violating the doctors oath to 'do no harm'. It's a longshot, but a longshot is better than no shot.
 
When Ive seen the doctor with tracks and scars, she told me I dont have to answer if I dont want to then asked if Im using anything, then asked if I needed any referrals for treatment and that was the end of that conversation. I suggest always being honest to doctors if you're going in for a problem related to your drug use. Plus they aren't dumb, Im sure they've seen enough track marks to recognize what they are
 
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