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The nurses in the Emergency Room have to deal with a lot of chronic pain patients coming to the ER. And speaking as a nurse (for about 28 years now), the main reason chronic pain patients come to the ER is because they have run out of their pain meds, and they want more. So just on percentages alone, you might get the feeling they are treating you like a drug addict. It really depends what chronic pain issue you went to the ER with...some of those issues could be a true emergency, some can wait and be treated by the doctor taking care of your chronic pain.
MY REPLY IS BELOW AND I WOULD HOPE YOU HAVE A BIT OF TIME TO READ ABOUT ME AND MY SITUATION!!!! THANKS IN ADVANCE!! I MUST NOW SWITCHTO THE AMERICAN PAIN FOUNDATION A PLACE THAT I ADORE AND I AM SURE I WILL FEEL THAT WAY ON THIS SITE AS WELL!
Deb
I respect you for being a nurse...28 years is a lot of years to open your heart to assist us when we are ill...I have had 16 abdominal surgeries plus others and I have unfortunately spent a great deal of time in the hospital. So I have a great deal of respect for the nurses and I have become close friends with many of them simply because of my stays there. I am one of those who do not use the call bell unless I absolutely have to. and generally due to the amount of surgeries I have undergone...the call bell is used when they forget about my pain meds..unless I am on a pump.
But I have had to go to the ER due to pain many times and they do not pick up on things in tests sometimes and say that you are coming in for pain meds and then I go to another dr. have additional tests and there is an abcess or something...but they do not want to give you even a shot or pill while you are there and if you are truly out of your meds and they tell you it is just the normal scar tissue and adhesions and things like that. Then guess what...they made a mistake, the infection spreads and I am in for 7-10 days. I have had several bladder, colon, and bowel surgeries and have many conditions that are painful such as diverticulosis.
I take them only as or less than prescribed but I have had some legitimate times when I forgot to schedule an appt and the dr is out of town. Or because I have always been rather spastic, I have done such things as sat my meds down to answer the phone and I grab my walker or cane to answer the phone. As I walk back to the kitchen and lean the handle of the cane on the counter, it hits the bottle and knocks the bottle into the soapy dish water.
Yes, there are us honest people that do have "clutzy" issues and they are true and legitimate but I understand the way you guys look at it. The last thing I would do is abuse the rules and dr. hop or any of those things because I have an agreement with a pain specialist I respect and I would never ruin my chance of getting something to help me relieve some of the pain and get out of bed in the morning.
Chronic INTRACTABLE Pain as you know, is different than Chronic Pain and my options are rather limited. Many of the Er drs know me and know that I would not be there unless it was necessary and legit....but those who do not know the situation and will not help really need to learn a bit more about exceptions to they way they feel and the fear that they have of the govt if they write a script. Pain is an emergency and more ER's need to realize that and know there is a PAIN CARE BILL OF RIGHTS! I and many of my friends in a situation similar to mine are writing articles for the paper and seeing the Congressman and SB402 Bill's should be considered in certain circumstances and every state.
Letting people just lay in bed and not have a life is UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!! You must agree with some of this, don't you? Life is to be lived in the best way possible and the govt should not be able to tell you that you must lay in pain, become depressed and have absolutely no life! This is America and there are honest people out here that are really in need of help.......
For those who can sit there and say, I will not write for pain meds as soon as you walk in the door, I pray that they may never suffer from CIP because it is a difficult way to live.
Take Care and I meant what I said in the beginning...may God Bless You...It takes a lot of caring and a special person to be a nurse so kudos to you for that!
My roommate says these drs burn out, look for the money and do not care one bit about us...she also suffers from Chrnic Intractable Pain so we get through the misery with each other's support and make the best of it...But we are passionate about such an important issue and there is a whole country out there that needs help....Please try to convey this to your staff....maybe one person will "GET IT" and even that would be a plus!
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The nurses in the Emergency Room have to deal with a lot of chronic pain patients coming to the ER. And speaking as a nurse (for about 28 years now), the main reason chronic pain patients come to the ER is because they have run out of their pain meds, and they want more. So just on percentages alone, you might get the feeling they are treating you like a drug addict. It really depends what chronic pain issue you went to the ER with...some of those issues could be a true emergency, some can wait and be treated by the doctor taking care of your chronic pain.
I respect you for being a nurse...28 years is a lot of years to open your heart to assist us when we are ill...I have had 16 abdominal surgeries plus others and I have unfortunately spent a great deal of time in the hospital. So I have a great deal of respect for the nurses and I have become close friends with many of them simply because of my stays there. I am one of those who do not use the call bell unless I absolutely have to. and generally due to the amount of surgeries I have undergone...the call bell is used when they forget about my pain meds..unless I am on a pump.
But I have had to go to the ER due to pain many times and they do not pick up on things in tests sometimes and say that you are coming in for pain meds and then I go to another dr. have additional tests and there is an abcess or something...but they do not want to give you even a shot or pill while you are there and if you are truly out of your meds and they tell you it is just the normal scar tissue and adhesions and things like that. Then guess what...they made a mistake, the infection spreads and I am in for 7-10 days. I have had several bladder, colon, and bowel surgeries and have many conditions that are painful such as diverticulosis.
I take them only as or less than prescribed but I have had some legitimate times when I forgot to schedule an appt and the dr is out of town. Or because I have always been rather spastic, I have done such things as sat my meds down to answer the phone and I grab my walker or cane to answer the phone. As I walk back to the kitchen and lean the handle of the cane on the counter, it hits the bottle and knocks the bottle into the soapy dish water.
Yes, there are us honest people that do have "clutzy" issues and they are true and legitimate but I understand the way you guys look at it. The last thing I would do is abuse the rules and dr. hop or any of those things because I have an agreement with a pain specialist I respect and I would never ruin my chance of getting something to help me relieve some of the pain and get out of bed in the morning.
Chronic INTRACTABLE Pain as you know, is different than Chronic Pain and my options are rather limited. Many of the Er drs know me and know that I would not be there unless it was necessary and legit....but those who do not know the situation and will not help really need to learn a bit more about exceptions to they way they feel and the fear that they have of the govt if they write a script. Pain is an emergency and more ER's need to realize that and know there is a PAIN CARE BILL OF RIGHTS! I and many of my friends in a situation similar to mine are writing articles for the paper and seeing the Congressman and SB402 Bill's should be considered in certain circumstances and every state.
Letting people just lay in bed and not have a life is UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!! You must agree with some of this, don't you? Life is to be lived in the best way possible and the govt should not be able to tell you that you must lay in pain, become depressed and have absolutely no life! This is America and there are honest people out here that are really in need of help.......
For those who can sit there and say, I will not write for pain meds as soon as you walk in the door, I pray that they may never suffer from CIP because it is a difficult way to live.
Take Care and I meant what I said in the beginning...may God Bless You...It takes a lot of caring and a special person to be a nurse so kudos to you for that!
My roommate says these drs burn out, look for the money and do not care one bit about us...she also suffers from Chrnic Intractable Pain so we get through the misery with each other's support and make the best of it...But we are passionate about such an important issue and there is a whole country out there that needs help....Please try to convey this to your staff....maybe one person will "GET IT" and even that would be a plus!