JenRN
Stranger
Reged: 11/18/03
Posts: 10
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I am a Registered Nurse in an Emergency Room. I myself suffer from chronic sciatica with no help from my G.P.
I treat pain patients every day and see first hand how they are treated from Physicians and other staff. It makes me angry and ill to my stomach at times how patients are made to suffer or are denied adequate pain relief. I am always pesky with the Doc's and advocate for the patients behalf. So much so that I am now on notice to get more aggressive or lose my job. In other words treat the patients as others do. No compassion and get them out the door. Or make them wait and sweat it out so they go somewhere else. If patients are lucky they get a shot of Fentanyl or Dilaudid and a 3 Pack of Vicodin to take home. Big help right????????? I just wanted to let everyone know that pain patients are the most misunderstood and the last to receive proper treatment. If the OP's shut down I dont know where we will all turn to. It frightens me that there will be so many people suffering in pain.
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Jordan530
WonderWoman
Reged: 11/20/02
Posts: 597
Loc: The Left Coast of Florida
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Hi Jen and welcome to the board! It's great to have someone on the 'inside' here with us that can actually comprehend what we go through. Being in constant pain is bad enough, but to have people in the medical profession treat you like you're a criminal because you have requested something for pain just plain sux! I (along with quite a few others here) have fibromyalgia and getting treatment for that is really difficult because there are so many Dr's out there that just think it's all in our heads.
You'll find lots of info here and even more very helpful people!
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'A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand'
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valle
Stranger
Reged: 10/20/03
Posts: 24
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Hi Jen,
Welcome to the Board!! Iam also a newbie and have made a few posts myself, yet never really introduced myself.
I wanted to comment on your post as I totally agree with you. I also am an RN in a ICU (a very well known hospital in California) and also see every day what you are talking about. It truly does disqust me!! And as you do Iam always advocating for the patient, especially when you hear a doctor say "there not it pain , there just drug seeking! How the hell do you know if they are in pain??? Are you in there skin?? I would just love for some of these docs to experience some of the pain myself and others here have to go through on a daily basis and see then how they would feel about wanting or needing pain management, and then be denied!!
I like you also have chronic sciatica, with low back pain and hip pain. This is all due to a injury while in college while on a rowing team. It scares the heck out of me that i may have to take pain medication for the rest of my life to function properly!! The pain medication never really takes away the pain totally, but at least allows me to function. As a nurse, I feel so guilty for having to take pain meds and i dont know why!! Have you ever felt that way??
Also Have you tried ultram?? I take that while Im at work and it at least helps a little bit. But the moment i get in my car at night im poppin a pill, because as soon as i finally stop i realize how much pain i am in!! I know a huge part of it is working in the CCU and dealing with these heavy patients with the lifting and turning ect.....I know i wont be doing bedside nursing forever cause my body just cant handle it.......and im so young.....thats the sad part!!
Well enough........this was long enough.....its nice to meet you and welcome to DB.......I have learned so much here from my readings and im sure you will too!!
Take Care
Nic 
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JenRN
Stranger
Reged: 11/18/03
Posts: 10
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Great to hear from someone who feels as I do. I also work in California one of the larger hospitals. I have Ultram ,but as you know by the end of a shift my back is killing me, so like you when I get home I take my hydro. Because I am a nurse I have a hard time getting any kind of help from my Doc because of the stigma of nurses and drug diversion/abuse. It was really nice to hear from you. The docs are pieces of sh*** to put it mildly. I do what I can for my patients and try to get the most relief I can get for them. I would like to write congress and assemble a group for chronic pain patients. Pain the 5th vital sign, enacted but not always followed.
Keep in touch
And let me know if you would be interested in forming a advocacy group to bug the hell out of congress.
Jen
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redhill
Banned. Flames, offending others
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 278
Loc: Hell on Earth, for now
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Hi, and welcome "n00bs" 
I am still relatively new myself, but welcome from me.
It's so nice to hear some encouraging words from some of you insiders. You are not alone.
One of the nurses at my pain clinic has also admitted to me that they have to have a policy of mistrusting patients, and they are required to be vigilant for drugseekers first and foremost.
I was lucky, because my GP wrote in my chart that I was a drugseeker (albeit in real pain). Still, I stated my case well, and the pain clinic helped me out. Inicidentally the nurse I am referring to also privately held the opinion that opiates/opioids can be very useful and that there's a terrible social stigma attached to it that prevents many sufferers from getting proper relief. It was certainly a relief for me AFTER almost wrecking my stomach with Ibuprofen and Celebrex.
Hey what's that about an advocacy group???!! Because I am certainly interested in joining, and I will be marching on Washington this coming April.
Cheers,
the man from Redhill
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potatoboy99
Permanent Fixture
Reged: 02/04/03
Posts: 1211
Loc: Deep North (East)
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Quote:
Hey what's that about an advocacy group???!
Another great reason to join VIP (as if you need a reason!) is the VIP member known as Snooter, a self described CP-rights advocate. Her posts are amazing, informative and heartfelt, and when you join VIP you can share in her wisdom and common sense!
Oh yeah, GREETINGS and W E L C O M E to the freeboards, JenRN! ! ! Good to have you here!
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Ocean
Member
Reged: 04/20/03
Posts: 137
Loc: Outside of New York City
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Welcome to the family, Jen... Very glad to have you here... We are a very tight-knit group... Your ideas for an advocacy group is wonderful... Many of us here recently have pondered what we can do to fight the good fight currently being waged against us...
Let's see how many people would be interested in joining us... Let's see if we can actually change the current trend... I admit it is a very overwhelming task, but we have to try to do something...
Anyway, a very warm welcome...
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Such a long, long time to be gone... And a short time to be there...
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JenRN
Stranger
Reged: 11/18/03
Posts: 10
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In regards to the advocacy group and tackling our local law members. I am ready. On the private front I help patients that need better pain management by writing letters to their Physicians with recommendations for meds that would be more advisable for the patient. Most of the the time they respond by upping the dosage or changing to a stronger med. Lawmakers and congress is a bigger nut to crack so we need as many supporters as possible. Any ideas on how we can compile a list of supporters would be great. My husband suffers a great deal of pain from a broken foot (work related) and has such horrible pain. The OP's is what saved him cause his Doc was afraid that he would have to send him to rehab if he kept prescribing hydro's 3 a day for him. This was after 6 months of treatment. My Doc told me no more Hydros for you but you can have all the Ultram you want if your Insurance covers it. I admit I was skepticaL of the OP's at first but they have been a life saver. With the exception of a few who are no longer with us they run a tight ship. Records required and all. I really really hate to see them go. It will be a painful future for all of us. So any ideas are appreciated and welcomed. I will join the VIP site today waiting for the big brown truck to show up this morning. Hopefully my pain will be better by noon. The meeting on the 10th by congress regarding online pharmacies anyone have any more info on that. Cause if they pass anything on an emergency basis we should all try to get our refills before then if possible. I have fought before for things I believe in and this is one I feel strong and committed to so please lets work together before it is too late. We need to start now otherwise our posts will be filled with pain and misery. How can I get in touch with some of you? What would be the best way to organize?
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sheenafur
Enthusiast
Reged: 04/25/03
Posts: 225
Loc: California
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I want to second Potato's advice about reading Snooter's wonderful posts. She is a treasure, and a treasure-trove of information.
Good luck, hon!
Sheena
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Go easy, step lightly, stay free--J. Strummer
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PrivateRealm
Threadhead
Reged: 03/18/03
Posts: 879
Loc: usa
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Hi Jen, and welcome You are right. As a Pain Patient, as well as a nursing student, I have seen this 1st hand, and it is horrible.
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KeriAnne~~~
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take - but by the moments that take our breath away."
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gaby22
Stranger
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 11
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Thank you so much for at least trying sometimes a compassionate ear at emergency room can help more then a strong pain med to often we are treated like criminals. Just having someone say they understand when your hurting so bad you want to pull your hair out can make a huge difference.
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gaby22
Stranger
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 11
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There is going to be a march on Washington for chronic pain sufferers it is in April of 2004 I think. Of course since most of us with chronic pain can barely get up in the morning Im afraid the turn out wont be great.
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actonbell
Journeyman
Reged: 09/08/03
Posts: 82
Loc: Oklahoma
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I hear you talking sister. I knew I had to quit nursing, when after a 10 minute drive after work, I had to honk for some family member in my house to come out to the car and help me out, I would be so stiff and pain wracked. I went into Nursing as a healthy slightly overweight middle aged woman, I came out 15 years later very nearly broken. Anyone who thinks RN's have an easy job don't know what they are talking about, not in a hospital anyway. I walked miles each night and lifted huge amounts of weight. And I saw the same thing, night after night. Doc's and nurses refusing pain meds, or to up dosages, or to decrease time between doses because they thought the patient was drug seeking. Well hell yeah they were drug seeking, something for the pain, and seeking it from those in our society who are sworn to help them but don't. Nurses are a wonderful, but odd lot, and many are even more likely than a doc to label someone a drug seeker in my experience. Pain is supposed to be the fifth vital sign but is the only one not really taken seriously unless there is a medium to huge amount of physical damage to go along with the reports.
This society has to get over the puritanical idea that pain somehow redeems us. That addiction is a fate worse than death. In my case pain makes me a cranky, nonfunctioning, nonproductive person.
Another thing that drives me temporarily insane is that americans totally discount the rest of the world in attitudes and treatments. It is crazy to suspect that a country that doesn't have an FDA or DEA somehow can't medicate or treat it's citizens safely.
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All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground....and miss.
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actonbell
Journeyman
Reged: 09/08/03
Posts: 82
Loc: Oklahoma
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We just load up on the meds we have been getting legally or illegally online.  Then march. We will pay for it later, with moans and groans and hot showers and increased med doses, but I think we can manage. 
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All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground....and miss.
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wat853son
Member
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 150
Loc: USA
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I agree on the physical demands of nursing but have seen first hand many facilities invest significant $$$$$$ on state-of-art lifting/ergonomic equipment, quality training and enforcing "no lift" policies that have saved a many L5s. For this a pat-on-the back to those facilities & Administrators who understand people matter and demonstrate genuine support by the wise investment. They have even reaped the benefits by comp costs reductions greater than all the investments - that is simply win win.
For the pain issue - AMA, JCAHO, AARP, the long list of Pain Associations, etc must step up standards via National Patient Safety Goals, Healthcare Standards and Pain education & lobbying efforts they create. No one has the right to suffer pain for fear of provider litigation. For those who have not seen internal Healthcare operations I encourage a tour of your local Healthcare facility, talk to staff, observe and empathize with the hurting patient as well as the caregiver . . . with the national nursing shortage these underappreciated champions are being asked to do more with less and that my friends equates to increased exposure - stress, ergonomics, performance, mistakes and risk . . . So get in the trenches and be proactive you will make a difference!
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mamadoe
Stranger
Reged: 06/19/03
Posts: 4
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Hi there!
I also work in an er, and suffer terribly and daily w/ fibromyalgia/fatigue. They know me there, and even I am treated like a criminal...I just want those Doc's to have pain like this for one day, and my bet is they have a morphine/demerol/dilaudid cocktail at their bedside!!!
Shame on all of them!!!!!!!!
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mrscoach
Journeyman
Reged: 07/29/02
Posts: 82
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I have always admired nurses. Of all the nurses I've come across in my life, all but about 3 have been so incredibly kind, and patient. And I've told them all, "I don't know how you can do this job, it must be so hard." So to all you nurses out there, THANK YOU. I'm so appreciative of you all, and I'm absolutely blown away by the fact that you get up and do the job you do every day.
"Kenny Wheaton's gonna score! Kenny Wheaton's gonna score! Touchdown Oregon!"
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"I'm not tense - just terribly, terribly alert."
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JenRN
Stranger
Reged: 11/18/03
Posts: 10
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First let me say "Thank You", for all of the kind words and understanding for Nurses. I try to make a difference each day that I work, especially when a patient is in pain. I do not mind the hard work, my body does, but my mind and spirit is uplifted when I can help a human being that is suffering. I must admit to all of you that Nursing is wearing on me mentally because I find resistance in being able to treat my patients in the manner I feel that is warranted. In particular patients in pain. I have to beg the Docs for pain meds wether it be stronger, more frequent dosing or just being able to give my patients something for pain. I read the post about "The 5th Vital Sign", it seems that since this concept has been adopted the Docs are even more stringent with dispensing pain meds. Not all but most are afraid to prescribe. I feel that they are under such scrutiny by the Feds that they compromise patient care. Others consider themselves conservative practicioners. This really, really makes my job very difficult and at times so frustrating that I am ashamed to be apart of the health profession. I know that there has to be a light at the end of this battle, and social/cultural ignorance about pain. Treatments will hopefully turn around in a positive manner. Patients will have to grow strong in numbers and be heard and fight for their right to be pain free. I know for many,pain free is really never fully accomplished. An acceptable level of pain is the goal of many chronic pain patients. Due to the fact that the OP's are under such attack right now, I get the feeling that if we complain and protest too much, the Feds will make it harder and almost impossible to receive such a valuable service. I have been tossing ideas around for months now on how to approach this dilemma we are all facing. It is projected that by the beginning of next year or soon after, our choices will have dwindled if any remain after the new legislations. Once this happens it will be too late to fight the issue. Time is short, I just do not know what I as one person can do to make a difference. I understand why we have to be discreet in our methods of relief. It is a catch 22 (old cliche). I have finally joined the VIP board. I post a little and read for hours the wonderful wealth of information the members share. I am really thankful to have found this board and the people who share their experiences and knowledge.
Thank you for having me,
JenRn 
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