Comments on: The Big “D”

By: K J C

K J C — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:05:24 +0000

AND to hit on something “Patient A” said regarding finding drugs on the street, if we were ‘drug-seeking,’ we could get a whole truckload of demerol for what an ER visit costs! Actually, we might be better off buying drugs on the streets. No doubt it would have to be easier and cheaper. Unfortunately, it is illegal.

By: K J C

K J C — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:59:42 +0000

“Its always the chronic migraine female that is sitting in a room with the lights off, sun glasses on and they say that they have been here before…” and “Nothing else works for them.”
“Sometimes they get up and just leave the ER. I am always nice about it, “ok, have a nice day!” Come back when your not drug seeking.”

ERPA on October 4th, 2008

FYI ERPA: YOU apparently have never had a migraine. I take offense to your comment because your description sounds a lot like me. “Its always the chronic migraine female that is sitting in a room with the lights off, sun glasses on…” and “Nothing else works for them.” Granted there are people out there who may try to use migraines for drug-seeking, but there are also a lot of us “chronic migraine females” who really are in severe pain.
Have you ever been in so much pain that you thought a gun-shot wound might actually be better? I have. Have you ever spent days on end throwing up and confined to a dark quiet room in such misery that you could think of nothing else?
In some ways chronic migraines are worse than jail. You can’t go anywhere, you can’t make plans, you can’t eat, PLUS you have the most severe pain you have ever felt. Everything in your life revolves around getting over the migraine, wondering when one will hit, and actually having the migraine. You miss so much. If it hadn’t been for mepergan I would have missed seeing my daughter in her school’s homecoming. You loose money because the doctors and medication are so expensive; you loose friends because they can’t count on you anymore and on the days you don’t have a migraine you have to catch up to all that you’ve ignored while having one; you loose your whole lifestyle.
You go through the over-the-counter drugs, you go through the triptans, you go through the barbiturates, and anything else your doctor thinks might help (high blood pressure meds, anti-depressants, anti-seizure meds, etc…) And in the end the only thing you really want is for someone to give you something that will just knock you out. It wears me out to have a migraine and I don’t care if I am given a narcotic or not - as long as I don’t have to feel the pain anymore. As a matter of fact, I had just as soon have a couple or three miligrams of xanax so I can just go to sleep. Yes, I realize that would be “escaping reality,” but if I had no hope whatsoever that I could receive some type of relief, I would blow my brains out. And that is no exaggeration or threat - simply a fact.
I hope you are not a health-care professional and if you are, I hope I never run across you. Your obviously biased opinion of all us “chronic migraine female that is sitting in a room with the lights off, sun glasses on…” might even make it a legal issue if you were treating people like me. Afterall it could be considered discrimination. To sum it up, walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before you put them down.

By: ERP

ERP — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:48:54 +0000

Eye Vay Patient A, give it a rest.

By: PATIENT A

PATIENT A — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:41:12 +0000

TO NURSE K AND ALL OF YOU IGNORANT NURSES AND DOCTORS: To all doctors and nurses who HAVE NEVER experienced migraines before, don’t judge those who walk im the ER and need something for pain. I have had migraines since I was 6 years old! Who are you to judge to say we are faking it or not! Hydromorphone and phenergan is the only thing that knocks my migraine out. AND their is a difference between a headache and migraine! Some of you are ignorant and don’t know the difference. It pisses me off when some of you think we are drug seekers. Excuse me, drug seekers are more likely to find drugs on the STREETS!!! We migraine sufferers know what takes our pain away, so don’t judge! I am in my second year of law school and have already sued a stupid doctor that gave me toradol for my migraine after I said I was allergic to it! Needless to say, he has learned his lesson and even though I only got $50,000 out of settlement, I WAS determined to prove a point. So before you decide to become a nurse or a doctor, just remember, PEOPLE go to the ER because they are in pain! Don’t judge them either! Because of one these days, your bad judgement will either end up in court, unemployed, or yet worse! If you think everyone is drug seeking, maybe its time for you to choose another career!

I’m with you Terri, who are they to say what works best on us?! They just assume and want to be a-holes!
Nurse K, its time for you to find yourself another career, after all you’re just a nurse, not even a doctor so you can’t say what works best for pain anyway.

By: Terri

Terri — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:52:59 +0000

Nurse K,
As a health related professional, you should have learned that pain is subjective and what will get rid of migraine pain or any other pain for one person will not work for another.
I’m one of those typical chronic female migraine patients sitting in the ER when my phenegren, Axert, Benadryl, Naprosyn, Compazine, and OxyIR fails to work after having a migraine for 3 days. I’m allergic to Imitrex (causes vasospasms in my heart) and allergic to Demerol (non-stop vomiting if given).Usually Morphine and phenegran will at least knock my migraine to a level 5 so I can take my Axert and it work better.
Do you not realize that that ER visit costs me a co-pay of $125? Do you not realize you can get drugs on the street for about $20 (my ex was a narcotics cop).
Please dont label everyone w/ a migraine. You are casting judgement on a person that may indeed be in real pain and leave in real pain. Chronic pain sufferers have a higher rate of suicide. Can you imagine sitting there in pain and being denied pain meds??

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:29:30 +0000

Toradol is a wonderful pain medication. I’ve never had it given for migraines but it works great for kidney pain, after surgery and once for a horrible case of strep. I can get a shot, wait a few minutes and drive home. No need to find a ride, etc. I’ve never gotten “high” but the relief has always been wonderful. I can go home and go to sleep. Eight hours later (when it wears off) the antibiotics have usually kicked in.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:17:22 +0000

I made a comment on James’ blog and I won’t go as long here. I have received Benedryl and Reglan IV; depakote IV, dilaudid and phenergan, and Demerol and phenergan. By far the most effective agent was Demerol. By the time I get to the ER, I have already taken 2 doses of a triptan and an indomethacin, compazine, and caffeine suppository. I would not be a good candidate for more triptan or DHE. Toradol did nothing.

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:48:41 +0000

I have suffered from migranes since I was about 8 years old and am 37 now. I now take topamax daily and have fioracet to take with flexeril when I get a migrane which isn’t often anymore. I am not a drug seeker and quite honestly would prefer to not have to take anything ever. Having a migrane is debilitating. I have only been to the hospital twice over the past year and it has been my last resort. I also was treated with the toradol, benadryl, reglan. But had to have two doses of it. No one wants to incur the costs of an ER visit or go thru that but once you’ve been in bed for days, missed work, and cannot get thru daily life what are you to do?

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:20:32 +0000

I don’t understand how someone else can decide what helps another person. I started having migraines when I was 14 and have been on almost every preventative possible. As far as pain…..maxalt works for a while but they always come back, imitrex injections work sometimes. I have vicoden and fioricet for home use as well. My doctor gives me demerol and vistoral (sp?) 150-200 mgs of demerol when I have tried everything else before coming in to see him. The only time I have had Toradol is when I went to an after hours clinic and they don’t dispense demerol….it didn’t even touch my migraine.

I don’t understand how you can classify all “migraine” people as drug seekers. I see my doctor and my doctor only, I even need his permission to go to the after hours clinic. I don’t even use a full prescription of vicodin or fioricet in the time before it expires, and I have had maybe 3 shots of demerol in the past year. It is a last resort for a migraine that will not go away with anything else. I don’t know exactly how it works, but it doesn’t make me feel good when I get the shots, so I don’t understand how it is addictive. It does knock me out so I can finally get some sleep, and when I wake up my migraine is gone.

I would love to be able to treat my migraines without having to put a narcotic into my system….although sometimes I don’t have a choice. For me it is either not function for a week or get a shot and be out of commission for 24 hours and then feel better.

By: Ayaah'

Ayaah' — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:19:29 +0000

I have had 5 major surgeries in the past 3 years and I had bad reactions to Morphine and Toradol. The hospital decided to put me on a Demerol Pump. It worked alot better than any of the other meds but it caused my blood pressure to go really low. I do not tolerate medicine very well, and was given the correct dosage but was overdosed. I asked them to stop giving it and just give me Tylenol. I hated that stuff…even if it did take away the pain. I wanted to be able to talk to my family and I was mentally out of it for weeks.

By: ERP

ERP — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:02:43 +0000

Simple Ed, it is illegal to obtain drugs for reasons other than what is is intended for - ie pain relief. If someone is taking it to get high, that is illegal. Others may sell the Percs once they fill the Rx. Also, it is monumental waste of our time when I am supposed to treating sick people.

By: Ed Crane

Ed Crane — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:50:03 +0000

I’ve never understood why ER docs care so much that addicts might be scamming them. Isn’t it better to err on the side of providing drugs to pathetic addicts than to withhold medication from people who really need it but look dodgy?

By: Elle Taylor

Elle Taylor — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:31:59 +0000

I posted on “Movin Meat” as well, so I won’t add much but what I forgot to add there I will add here. All migraine sufferers are different and what works for each is usually different as well. Because we have usually tried so many things and been subject to many different courses of medications we usually do know what works.

In my most severe migraines the symptoms come on very quickly usually with no warning, by the time I make it to the ER if I do, the Toradol & Regan (zofran in my case) route will barely make a dent and I normally would have tried that at home.

Luckily my ER is aware of my situation and history and my doc has privileges so they are quick to treat with fluids, zofran and morphine. I don’t know what I would do if this was not the case.

I know that many of the ER staff members have encountered one too many drug seekers and I can understand the doubt when a migraine sufferer comes in stating what does or does not work. In my case it is from years of experience and experimentation. Thank you for allowing me to share a bit of that experience here. Elle

By: rph3664

rph3664 — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:03:09 +0000

Before I went to pharmacy school, my mom was prescribed Demerol for postop pain, and it just made her dopey and did nothing for the pain. She has always been completely mystified as to how anyone could become addicted to it.

Knowing what I do now, she was given Demerol tablets (she was already at home) and PO Demerol is little better than placebo, with a host of side effects.

By: joe

joe — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:57:42 +0000

re: ” have virtually stopped giving Demerol all together for any condition. There are several reasons. First, it is very short acting. Second, it has toxic metabolites.”

Though in most cases I agree with you, Demerol IMO is by far the best acting drug in severe rigors. I am liberal with the drug in those circumstances. Doubt, you see migrane patients with rigors typically.

By: ku

ku — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:39:57 +0000

I don’t have migraines, nor do I understand why anyone would actively seek Demerol for pain. It just doesn’t work.

I had septoplasty Friday morning, which is a real pain in the head. I felt great - no pain, alert, relaxed - until the anaesthesia wore off around midnight. Vicodin ES 1 tab q4-6 hours PRN was little help.The on-call surgeon told me to double up for the next few doses, which made a huge difference. No high, not sleepy, feel fine. Go figure.

By: ERP

ERP — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:28:54 +0000

Nurse K, The drug that REALLY gives rebound headaches and that should be avoided at all costs in my experience is Fiorcet. It is terrible…..

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:17:56 +0000

The few times I’ve had a real “wow, this can’t be normal” type headache, getting up and going to sit in a waiting room was the least of my interests. However if the day comes that it seems like a good idea to do so I would much rather have medication that makes me feel *less* out of it, not more so.

@m(2): From my experience what starts to make vicodin seem appealing is when it’s prescribed for pain it can’t handle. There’s something about that combination of inadequate pain control + mild mood altering that’s pretty dangerous, even though on its own vicodin really isn’t entertaining. I’m grateful that I had that experience (briefly, between diagnosis and scheduled surgery a few weeks later) so that I understand how it happens, but I would rather not go there again.

By: anne

anne — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:09:25 +0000

Thanks for your explanation on the subject of demerol for migraine headaches. I have had chronic migraine for 10 years now (I am 27.) I found that demerol never worked for me, but many ers used it as a the first response for migraine. I think your explanation is one of the best I have heard. It is clear and explains exactly why other medications might work better. I always appreciated it when doctors explained why they used or didn’t use a specific treatment. Thanks.

By: Nurse K

Nurse K — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:23:43 +0000

FYI–It’s not considered standard to give “real” migraineurs narcotics of any kind these days as far as I know. Reglan, benadryl, toradol. If you’re a faker, you pain will go from a 10 to a 9, if you’re real, it will almost take the migraine away.

Narcotics cause rebound headaches….