How to Talk to My Doctor About Different Prescriptions Without Sounding Like a Drug Seeker?
Question by Ramrod: How to talk to my doctor about different prescriptions without sounding like a drug seeker?
Roughly two years ago I was in a really bad car accident and as a result I have a misshapen ribcage, problems with a spinal disc, a crooked vertebrae in my neck and some arthritis in my knees which all leaves me with chronic pain that fluctuates from hardly noticeable to debilitating. I moved to a different state a few months after the wreck to be closer to family as I recovered, so the doctor I see now is not the doctor who handled my follow-ups after the accident. I have only seen my new doctor twice.
Currently, my doctor has me on just muscle relaxers, an anti-inflammatory and extra strength naproxen(basically Aleve), which is enough to keep the pain bearable enough to be normal most days, some days it’s almost unnoticeable even. However, I still have plenty of days where the pain is so bad that I struggle to carry on through the day and am unable to fall asleep at night.
I really want to ask my doctor about have a second prescription of a stronger drug for those days, but I’m not sure how I can ask without it seeming like I’m seeking drugs for abuse – especially since the last time I saw my doctor she seemed to dismiss much of my pain. I doubt it helps that I’m barely out of my teens.
I actually have a prescription in mind but I don’t know how to suggest it without making it seem worse – there have been a few days where the pain was unbearable while at work and a coworker has given me tramadol(they have a prescription) and I’ve been given nucynta before(I know it’s wrong to do that, but when the pain is that awful it’s hard to refuse). Both of these were significantly helpful with the severe pain and didn’t make me loopy, plus don’t seem to be as addictive as many other pain meds. I do not want anything ending in -codone because when I had a prescription for them after the wreck they made me feel too out of it and nauseous.
I’m not a drug seeker, I just want to be comfortable and not be in such pain on some days that I don’t even want to wake up or move. How can I convince my doctor of that and suggest a prescription that I know works(but only know of it because someone illegally shared their prescription) without my doctor just dismissing and red-flagging me as being a drug seeker?
Best answer:
Answer by Frank
Tell the doctor that many days you do fine, but there are days that you can barely function.
“I want tramadol” isn’t a good start. “I have pain” is better. When the doctor starts talking to you about it, tell the doctor that the hydrocodone you took after the accident really made you loopy.
Answer by Benjamin
Bring it up in the form of a question. “I’ve heard of (some medicine) and was wondering what your thoughts were on it.” Or something similar to that. I’ve been to many doctors, and talked about many medications, just say it with out sounding like you know more, doctors hate that. Hope this helps!
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