A visiting nurse went to bat for me today!

[CTyankee]

I had outpatient incisional hernia repair surgery last Thursday and was sent home with a prescription for percoset. The med made me hyper, jumpy and sleepless and I gave up on it after 5 doses and called my surgeon's office. I told them that I had a bad reaction but that I had had good experience in a past surgery with vicoden. They wouldn't change it for me because it would look bad for the doc to write another pain med script so fast after the other one!

Today I had visiting nurse and told her what had happened and that I still had some pain. She called the doc's office. They asked her how many of the percosets I had left. She checked my bottle and told them there were 20 left (prescription was for 30). Doc said he'd give me the other script. I am giving them the bottle of leftover percosets because I don't know how to dispose of them and just to show them I wasn't lying.

Is something wrong with me or is this just crazy? I thought we had "patient centered" medicine in this country!

[hollysmom]

1. It's not you, it is CYA

if you took too many pain meds and dies, the doctor could be held responsible.

[CTyankee]

3. But I have friends who got a change in their pain meds for the same reason as I have.

So it isn't everyone's experience.

[cbayer]

2. There is a serious problem in this country with prescription drug abuse and doctors

are under close scrutiny for scheduled drugs. There are certain kinds of doctors that are targeted by abusers and many are extremely wary of any requests for them.

You just got caught in the middle.

[CTyankee]

4. I just hope racism wasn't part of it...

[cbayer]

5. Don't know where you live or what the population is like, but, in my experience,

the problem with prescription drug abuse has crossed all races and cultures and economic classes.

[CTyankee]

7. No, I meant because my surgeon is African. I hope he is not scrutinized more

than my white, U.S. native doctors.

[cbayer]

8. Probably not. Any physicians that are flagged for writing narcotics are going to

be scrutinized.

If anything, foreign born physicians may be more circumspect about prescribing because they don't want to jeopardize their standing.

Hope you heal up quickly and with minimal pain.

[CTyankee]

12. Thanks. I am doing just fine. No complaints. Like I told the visiting nurse, "I didn't die."

when I think of all the real suffering out there, mine is a small thing, indeed.

[gkhouston]

10. It's possible, but it's more likely a practice "policy".

The doctors and dentists I've encountered who were solo practitioners or part of small practices seem do to less CYA than the ones in large practices.

[Warpy]

6. I'd say give them to me but my kidneys can't take the Tylenol

Flushing them down the toilet is the preferred method of disposal. Doing it together with the visiting nurse and having her document it would be sufficient for the ordering physician.

You can also turn them back in to the pharmacy for disposal, at least theoretically. It will all end up at the water treatment plant, though.

[cbayer]

11. No, warpy, no!! Flushing meds down the toilet is a serious and increasing problem.

I know the FDA recommends it for this particular drug, but US Fish and Wildlife completely disagrees with them.

IMO, pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies need to be beefing up take back programs.

[Warpy]

13. No one has done so yet

and the OP's problem is today. While I agree this is the long term solution, flushing them is the best short term solution for this particular drug and any other opiates.

[cbayer]

14. I can't disagree. The pharmaceutical companies are fighting legislation that would

make them responsible for the development and implementation of these programs, not surprisingly.

The ideal would be to redistribute unused drugs, but we are far, far from that.

[CTyankee]

15. Because I have to go to the doc's office for my new script anyway, I'm dropping off

the old ones. I really want them to see the number of those I couldn't take because I couldn't tolerate them. I'm OK but what if it were someone whose suffering was greater than mine? They have to understand the reality of the situation, if only fleetingly...

[hedgehog]

17. Mix them with something noxious - used cat litter is good -

(although coffee grounds will do ) and put them into your garbage.

http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm101653.htm

[Warpy]

18. People used to break into the dumpster at a nursing home I worked at

and paw through piles of shitty, pissy adult diapers on the off chance some pills or syringes had gotten thrown in there.

Used kitty litter will not deter a Jonesing drug addict.

[CTyankee]

19. I can understand breaking into a nursing home dumpster but how is anybody going to

know I am taking them in my own home at any given time?

At any rate, when I handed them over to the receptionist at my surgeon's office (when I picked up my new prescription because they said they "couldn't phone it in&quot I was told they had a mechanism they used to dispose of such meds. So I felt better about the whole thing...

[locks]

9. home health

Points up how needed home health nurses and aides are. Medicare doesn't cover many visits after hospitalization and some of the states are cutting Medicaid coverage for home health and hospice severely. Much of this comes because the for-profit nursing home lobby is so strong.

[kickysnana]

16. You are the baby being thrown out with the bathwater.

Our war on drugs has become so entrenched that anyone who is in pain now is treated as an addict and they are about to drive all good doctors out of the business, like next year.