We have all had those day. Those oh so horrible days when the pain just keeps getting worse and won't come down no matter what you do. The pain medication isn't working. Laying down or what ever usually lessens the pain doesn't help. Those days when curling into a ball and screaming or crying is about all that is left. I have had some of those days. Thankfully they are not frequent. It is bad enough when you can't get the pain down below 5 or 6, which is where I am stuck at. When it goes up and won't come down it is time for a trip to the ER.
Taking a trip to the ER is an adventure all on it's own. First you get to wait. Hopefully it won't be too long but any wait at all will be done in those wonderfully painful ER waiting room chairs. I think Torquemada designed them during the Spanish Inquisition and they haven't come up with a more painful modern version. Finally you get through the triage process and hopefully back to a room. Now the real adventure begins. Will they believe me or will they label me a drug seeker ? It's like another version of Pain Roulette. If you are lucky you are believed and then comes the awesome shot. Sure it's a little cold going in and may burn just a bit but say byby to the pain and close your eyes and relax for the first time in hours. Oh Yeah Forgot one step. Make sure you bring someone to drive you home. If not they wont give you that awesome little shot. Doesn't matter if your pain level is truly a 10 out of 10. No driver = no shot. So that means dragging someone else down for 3 or 4 or more hours to sit on those torture devices they call chairs in the ER waiting room.
So what happens when they don't believe you ? You get treated like a drug addict. Now comes the abuse form Nurses and staff who think you are just some junkie scum trying to scam some drugs to get high. Most likely it will not even be a doctor who makes this determination but a nurse. Maybe the one who did the triage exam or the first one who came into the room when you got in the back. Someone decides you are not worth treating like a human being in pain. It could be because of what you are wearing, or what you look like or even what color your skin is. There have been studies done that show African Americans have a better chance of being labeled as drug seekers in ERs than other races. It could be because you have tattoos and look like a biker. Who the freaking hell knows. But whatever it is it aint right. It isn't fair. Sure you could be a junkie looking for a fix. But even junkies sometimes have pain and why shouldn't they be treated for their pain ? Did they stop being humans when they became junkies ? Is it that our compassion doesn't extend to junkies ? I can't answer that question. I don't know what the thinking behind it is. I do know this. I sure as hell don't look my best when I have been dealing with 8 or 9 scale pain for over a day. I probably haven't had a shower and may be wearing what is basically pajamas and a t shirt. In fact I look pretty rough. Should we have to get all dressed up like for church just to be taken seriously at the ER ?
There are a heck of a lot of things that suck about life. Not having health care professionals believe you when you are in a heck of a lot of pain shouldn't be one of them. In my own view it is better that 10 junkies slip in and gets a dose than they let 1 person in real excruciating pain not be treated. Leaving a person untreated or under treated is in truth inhumane yet that is what is happening across the country every single day. Not only is it happening in ERs across the land but pain patients are being under treated daily in PM clinics from coast to coast. The PM clinics believe a pain level of 5 or 6 is perfectly normal and good for a patient. They refuse to aim for a lower number. When you get to the 5 or 6 range they are 100% HAPPY with how they have done their job. You on the other hand are happy they have brought it down a bit but are fuming they wont try and bring it down more. What has happened to the healthcare profession ? Did they all forget their oaths they took when they earned the right to append MD after their name ? Is it a lack of compassion or maybe a greedy streak thinking this way they have to keep coming back ? It could be a combination of all of that and yet the largest factor is fear of the DEA. I see a lot of doctors. Every one of them says they worry about the DEA and what might trigger an investigation. That's the secret known only to the DEA. It could be anything 1 new script or maybe a script that is above the norm for how much medication is normal. Who knows ? Only the DEA. Until the fear of the DEA is gone, doctors will go on refusing to adequately treat pain patients. They will continue to leave thousands untreated and undertreated daily. That is a shame and That is what should be investigated by someone.