A bad day
03.17.06 (7:01 pm) [edit] |
You never know what the day will bring. A friend from out of town came to me this AM with a question about his medicines. He is on a very large dose of pain killers, due to an injury that he sustained in a car accident. He has to take a strong dose every 4 hours or six pills a day. He goes to a pain client and he is careful to work with them very closely. Last week he hurt his back, and had to take another half a tablet for a few days, which made him run out of pills five days early. He wanted to know if the pharmacy would give him an early prescription for his meds. I explained that they most likely could not do it, since he was on a narcotic, so he had better call the pain clinic to see if they could help him. He could not get to the doctor, and since he only had two pills left, I drove him to a walk in client here in town. The doctor was very helpful, but told him that pain clinic’s were very strict about their patients taking more than their prescribed amount of meds, and if abused will drop him. My poor friend was devastated by this statement, but I told him that the situation will decide what they will do when he talks with them. I feel that they will understand. The doctor said that while he understood and will help him, he told my friend that he had better let them know soon about this development, since they will no doubt be checking up on him like they do with all their patients. The doctor then went off to try to get hold of the clinic himself. My friend was very anxious about not getting his meds; he told me how awful the pain was, and how a friend of his killed himself because of being overwhelmed by chronic pain. He was fearful that they would cut him off. I tried to comfort him by stating that I am sure that his doctor knows about exceptions, and since he did not try to cheat, but was open with the doctor they will understand his situation and have no problem with it. I felt really bad for him since I know what chronic back pain can do, it is unbelievable in how much pain it can produce, sapping all joy out of life. We got the prescription even though the doctor could not reach the pain clinic. So off we went to the Pharmacy, got the meds, but before we left, the pharmacist asks to talk to him. He told him that the amount of narcotic he is taking also has Tylenol in it, and if he is going over the prescribed dose he is endangering his liver, which freaked my friend out. He was already pushing it with his dosage, and using more than it calls for is dangerous for him. He recommended that he ask his doctor to put him on a larger dose of pain killers, so he would not have to take six a day. There are medicines he could take only twice a day that would do the same thing, and lessen the Tylenol he is taking. This advise calmed my friend down a bit since he knew that there was something he could do about it. He really had a bad day, but he got the meds he needed and hopefully he will be able to get a new prescription, two tabs a day would certainly simplify things for him. He does not abuse the meds but really needs them just to survive. I know meds are a two edge sword, but in his case it is worth the risk of being cut, since without it his life would be a living hell on earth. There is nothing worse or more useless than having pain that is a constant and will not go away. I will do anything to help someone in that situation. I am thankful that doctors are becoming more compassionate about this issue, though abuses are probably common, hence the clinic’s being so strict about abuse. |