I don't know exactly if this is something that annoys me, but I don't know where else to say this. People need much easier access to pain medication. Many medical care professionals treat people who need pain relief like addicts and it is not ok. I wholly understand the issues of addiction and prevention because it's an issue that has deeply touched my life, but people who need it have got to have it. 2 of the 3 times I have been to the ER since May have been because of extreme pain. 1 time was because I had a gallstone stuck which caused a blockage, and I felt like I was exploding from the inside under my sternum. This last time was because of a simultaneous kidney stone and infection that made my side feel like it was going to explode. Each time I suffered on the way to the ER, then suffered for hours while they checked and verified me before giving me temporary relief. I then had to suffer more while waiting to be able to see my Dr, convince him I needed it while he gave me tests and reviewed previous tests, and then wait until it was ready at the pharmacy and my wife could pick them up. Each time I suffered nonstop day and night, unable to work or even sit or lay in 1 place for more than 5 minutes at a time. It is bullshit, and my pain probably pales in comparison to people with more serious health issues or sustain certain injuries. This is not something that people think about until it happens to them, which is probably inevitable. I now look at my pain medication as more valuable than gold, and I won't go anywhere for more than 15 minutes without having it with me just in case. There should be a medical/government program, where when people reach a certain age, they should be allotted a certain amount of prescription pain medication to have on hand for a just in case basis. With the resources that are available, there is no justifiable reason for responsible adults to have to needlessly suffer.
So I ask, "Okay, I bring in a bottle of something you prescribed to me months ago that helped and ask if I can get it again. So, yes, obviously I'm 'seeking drugs' - that's why I'm here. That's why most people go to a doctor - to hopefully find a treatment for their pain or a solution to their problem or to get a refill on something that's helped. So the majority of people who go to the doctor looking to leave with a prescription are drug addicts?"
Once I saw my Dr. because I'd aggravated my herniated discs in my back by stepping off a ladder (not realizing there was one more rung before the floor). She says, "I've heard this ladder story from you before." I said, "Excuse me? I've never come here saying I misjudged stepping off a ladder before... probably because I never fell off a ladder before." She starts flipping through my chart searching. Finally she says, "Oh, I can't find it. I must have confused you with someone else."
The whole accusation came from the fact that I was asking for pain killers I'd gotten for my back before. Yet, even after she realized & admitted she made a false accusation to me, she didn't apologize and continued to act like I was trying to deceive her somehow (even though her entire suspicion at the start was derived from her own erroneous accusation & faulty memory).
I've also tried to explain to doctors that I don't NEED the medication everyday, but that it's like a spare tire. I want to have it on hand if or when I suddenly become incapacitated. I'd like the ability to become recapacitated (or at least cope, or start back on the road to recovery as quickly as possible) rather than find the medicine cabinet is bare (and there's a 2 week wait for an appointment). But they interpret the spare tire analogy as "drug seeking behavior."