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Does your doctor know that you use drugs?

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DrunkardsDream

Ex-Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 28, 2008
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684
Since this is healthy living and this is a harm reduction site about drugs, does your doctor know about your drug use?

Mine does even if I mainly just drink alcohol socially a few times a month and I smoke but not as much as I used to as a teenager.
 
Neither of my doctors (primary and obgyn) know about my past drug use. Except cigarettes.

Was tempted to tell my gyno about my heroin use since I mainly used heroin around that time of the month... Have suffered with horrible, debilitating pain for years the first day of my period... Started doing heroin... Was on heroin pretty steadily for awhile and didn't even notice I got my period the one day. Was fuckin' awesome. Not that I got it, but that there wasn't any pain.

Next time I see her, I'm tempted to ask for Lortabs--A neighbor who gets 'em for his shoulder sold me a few for my period... Don't work nearly as well as heroin, but it's better than Advil.
 
I'm pretty sure my doctor knows I used to smoke herb and I know that they know about how I used to drink lots of booze daily while in college and how I used to smoke cigs socially.
 
^Well you shouldn't. If you have a legitimate need for them, you should be assertive about your right to be treated properly and humanely (which in a perfect world should involves slightly OVER-prescribing painkillers-- ie. establishing a moderate level of analgesia with along-acting opiate medication and providing more than adequate options for breakthrough pain events, this has a powerful psychological impact on the patient's level of pain-related fear).

If you feel nervous about honestly and openly discussing your medication options with your doctor, I urge you seek out a doctor that you feel more comfortable with (there ARE doctors out there who aren't opiophobes, who will take your pain seriously). Your relationship with your doctor is extremely important for both your physical health as well as your psychological wellbeing, especially if you have a chronic condition.
 
Doctors treat me like a drug addicted opiate fiend as it is thanks even when my foot is huge and swollen and black, i dont need them to treat me any worse. Id NEVER tell my doctor i smoke weed or do psychedelics or anything.

I remember when i was.. 16/17, and i went to the doctor asking about add/adhd and telling him i have intense trouble focusing on anything, among many other things. He asked me if i do any drugs and i said na not really, i just drink maybe once a month and smoke a joint with my brothers even less.

He LAUGHED at me and said 'yeah right!' and proceeded to be cynical about everything i said and smerk and scoff everytime i tried to tell him something after that. Telling me im just trying to score drugs and shit.

That was enough for me to know never to talk to a doctor about taking drugs that they dont give you.
 
They know I smoke cigarettes, but I won't tell them anything else.
If they were to ask specifically cause of a certain condition I had, I would probably fess up.
Doctor-patient confidentiality?
 
I tell my phyciatrist everything i do, and my family doctor knows i smoke weed but If they told my family that i do other stuff im pretty sure their fucked legally and I would physically fuck em up
 
yes. its very stupid not to have your primary physician fully aware of your lifestyle.
 
Are there actually people who have personal relationships with their doctors? Every doctor I've ever been to talked down to me and treated me like a 'patient', not an individual. This is just one of the reasons that I've never trusted doctors or felt comfortable around them. Another is the fact I've always had a much better understanding of my health and conditions than said "medical professionals" claimed to have. Every time I've ever began talking to my doctor about some aspect of my health or well-being the notions are automatically dismissed, as if he thinks, "He's not a physician so couldn't possibly know anything about how his body works."
 
Not a chance in hell. This coming from someone who will be a doctor.

Regardless of how cool your doctor is, it will get recorded in your records and your insurance company (who has express access to all of your medical records) can find it and use it as a reason to drop you when you find out you have cancer, or need an otherwise expensive treatment.
 
^Just curious. Doctors are out to make as much money as possible. So why would they want to do something to get us dropped by our insurance companies???


I mean, I'm a Heating and Air guy, so I run a scam comparable to doctors (only I fix furnaces instead of people). If I can get an insurance company to pay for a job, even illegitimately, then so much the better. At least that way, that saves the energy of having to push a high dollar sale on the homeowner. And since human repairs tend to be more costly than furnace repairs, you'd think doctors would be even more aware than me of how important it is to milk insurance companies.
 
I inducted my doctor during my cancer treatment but the bigger part of doctors I know are not informed about my drug use.
 
Binge Artist said:
^Just curious. Doctors are out to make as much money as possible. So why would they want to do something to get us dropped by our insurance companies???


I mean, I'm a Heating and Air guy, so I run a scam comparable to doctors (only I fix furnaces instead of people). If I can get an insurance company to pay for a job, even illegitimately, then so much the better. At least that way, that saves the energy of having to push a high dollar sale on the homeowner. And since human repairs tend to be more costly than furnace repairs, you'd think doctors would be even more aware than me of how important it is to milk insurance companies.
Click to expand...

Two reasons: One, doctors have legally binding contracts with insurance companies that agree to cover their services, and keeping inaccurate patient records violates this contract.

The second (and far more compelling) reason is that leaving medically important information (such as drug use) off of medical records is a liability and arguably an ethics violation. The sum total value that a physician stands to gain from a lifetime of random appointments with a single patient is nothing compared to the judgments that can be brought against them, even to the point of losing your license. Patients are a dime a dozen.

While I definitely agree about the money issue, you must realize that most general practitioners are not these "all about money" doctors that you referred to. They are the lowest paid doctors with the highest load of paperwork.
 
Hell no. I don't want it on my records although I'm pretty sure they have "drug seeking" on my/there records as I was tired of being put on antidepressants that never worked for my pain,anxiety,insomnia etc so pretty much suggested/argued what meds I should be on.

I get quite bad pain and he was hesitant to prescribe 8/500 Co - Codamol tablets! After persistent visits and asking to see different docs at the surgery I finally got it bumped to 30/500 which doesn't even do much anymore after being on them for years.

I could really do with a more understanding doctor now I'm pretty much dependent on opiates/benzos but fear they will treat me badly for not telling them even though I ended up in this predicament due to them not helping me.

I have only admitted to previous smoking and drinking.
 
Yeah my doctor knows everything about my drug use, it is foolish not to tell him/her, especially if you have any problems. He never lectures me or tries to pressure me into quitting/cutting down.

I believe that if you lie to medical professionals you are cheating nobody but yourself. It is confidential after all.
 
Minxy said:
Yeah my doctor knows everything about my drug use, it is foolish not to tell him/her, especially if you have any problems. He never lectures me or tries to pressure me into quitting/cutting down.

I believe that if you lie to medical professionals you are cheating nobody but yourself. It is confidential after all.
Click to expand...

I'd like to believe admitting drug use would have no adverse effects but doubt it would..what if you could not gain custody of your son/daughter because of that file,or you can't get a certain job, get different benefits etc etc?
 
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