Health Problems

Well, I mean. Of course there are addicts too.

My only point is, if you are experiencing acute pain don't let the fact that there are addicts disuade you from admitting THAT SHIT HURTS, DAWG. MAKE THE HURTING STOP.

Denamian said:

That they do. I've spoken to people who claim to be having 11/10 pain but sounded perfectly normal except for maybe a touch of desperation in their voice when they mentioned having something called in for them.

I've only had dilaudid once, when I was in the ER for appendicitis 6 years ago.That was probably #2 all time for pain. Got a chuckle out of the PA when I told him my pain level was about a 9.5, but my scale is logarithmic so there was plenty of room between 9.5 and 10. That stuff works nicely though.

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I can see asking in the ER but every time I go in to the doctor they ask. I'm always like if it was a 10 I wouldn't be at the office for a regular visit. Anything that doesn't require me to have someone else drive me to the ER pretty much goes into the "discomfort" category. Guess everyone has a different scale. They always ask "When was the last time you felt really happy?" as well. Not while going to the doctor that's sure.

I've never asked for anything for pain. I can see why there's a huge problem. For the last 20 years some doctors and especially dentist have shoveled a lot of the stuff to me. A dentist I used to see would prescribe large amounts of hydrocodene with lots of refills every time I went in.

My friend who was a nurse for 20 years and now has moved into administration/management is always asking bitching about how they can't get rid of anyone. Didn't take training? Well we'll let it slide for a while. Then two years later still haven't done it. He's always shocked it doesn't work that way in my industry. He's at the largest employer in the state now and says it goes forever between when someone gets fired lol. When he worked in the ER he used to gripe about the patients. Tied in with the state now probably has a big impact on it as well. His wife was a nurse and now a nurse practicioner and he mostly complains about the nurses who sit at a station and gossip and eat for a living basically heh.

He seems to think I fire someone (in the past) every few days. I think I've fired 2 people, both for stealing. Lots of ways to nudge people to find another place to work, apparently they don't have that ability.

It's bad sometimes.

You'll have straight drug addicts and the state will virtually refuse to take any corrective action.

You'd like to think that a field like nursing would be immue but it ain't.

Good news is that you're probably not seeing any of those sorts. They get shuffled around and generally kept away from patients if only, and sometimes only, for insurance concerns.

I just had major open knee surgery (arthroscopy, chondroplasty, open trochleoplasty, open mpfl reconstruction) yesterday and they sent me home with 30 Percocet (1-2 every four hours, wtf), no refills, a suicide prevention sheet, and three full pages on the evils of opiates. I got a lecture in recovery on the dangers of becoming a felon while I was writhing around in pain, too. That was fun. Fucking Michigan.

Chronic insomnia sucks. I've been on Ambien, Trazodone, Mirtazapine, Xanax, Clonodine, and on and on. The only thing that helps a little is the Mirtazapine. I haven't tried are the old school barbituates but it's difficult to find a doctor that would actually prescribe one of them. Getting 4 hours of sleep over 3 days makes you want to blow your brains out.

Erronius said:

Did you get one of those fancy machines that moves your knee for you? Or just one of those ice-pack things with tubes that hooks up to a lunchbox full of ice?

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They gave me a fancier cold machine. It refrigerates and circulates a solution and keeps it at 43 degrees so I can leave it on 24/7. No ice necessary. I'm in a locked full leg brace until at least my first follow-up in a couple weeks, so no movement of the knee at all.

This is my fourth total knee surgery, second on the right. I ruptured a donor tendon in my left knee after my first surgery and they had to use another donor tendon this time around, so I'm being as cautious as possible. I haven't left my bed since I got home. I'm not honestly sure what's going to happen if ~three days of pain meds is all I'm getting. The point at which the nerves start waking back up is going to be a fucking nightmare, as if it isn't already bad enough.

I had the kind you fill with water and ice the first time, and it was a total pain in the ass. I didn't use that one as much as I should have due to the inconvenience. The second and third time I had a similar refrigeration unit with no temperature safety limitation, and got second degree frostbite after my third surgery.

Kuriin said:

Most of the patients who arrive in the ER point to 10. These patients are also on their phone and look comfortable. The pain scale absolutely does not work one bit except for certain cultures -- stoicism -- (Asian) as it is easily exploitable. People just want the D.

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Every time they asked me on in-take I'd say "uh pain? more like extreme discomfort right now" and declined to put a number on it, or acknowledge it as pain.

And the assholes still slapped "Pain management" as my reason for the visit and kept sending the reports to my doctor, who of course, reads them all and sees "Pain management" listed as the reason for every visit like I'm some fucking pillhead. I was furious that I had 5 reports spamming Pain Management to my primary care doc. One of the visits was for 155/110 blood pressure (Should I NOT go to the ER for this? )and persistent heart fluttering and they even slapped pain management on that one too I'm pretty sure.

"Trauma medicine" works a lot different than diagnostic medicine in say a general practice, and if I mentioned any pain it seemed counter-productive to getting the result I wanted from the visit. A trauma setting is not really a place to work up a problem-- but I had no other choice as these were attacks. Scheduling a specialist visit about X incident that happened at Y time just comes across as anxiety to them. I eventually figured it out, but not before swearing off organized medical care for the rest of my life. Rebuilding that relationship with the industry will take time.

pharmakos said:

Where in the mitten are ya man? I'm up in the Thumb.

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Southwest between about the fourth and fifth metacarpal