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Originally Posted by Stompy
Why the hell are doctors so goddamn stingy with prescriptions?
I've had a sore throat for about a week now... a very bad one. I go in telling him that I can't sleep at night, it hurts so bad when I swallow that I can't stay asleep, etc. So what does he give me? Antibiotics. That's fine and all, but at least give me some type of pain medication like vicodin or darvoset along with it.
Went to the ER on Sunday because my throat was so swollen that I almost couldn't breathe. They gave me some lidocaine and told me it would help with the pain - it didn't. In the end, they gave me 20 weak-ass darvoset. The recommended dosage was 1 pill every 4-6 hours, but in reality, 3 was the magic number. Ran out of those.
Went back today telling him that I can't just sit here through the pain and that I NEED something to get rid of it. I haven't slept in almost 3 days and this is ridiculous. So what does he give me? Fucking Lidocaine. After I got done goddamn telling him that it didn't work. What in the hell?
I'm not asking for unlimited painkillers, but jesus christ, I've suffered for a fucking week over this shit. Give me a BREAK.
I went to this doctor about a month or two ago because I have bad sleeping problems. He referred me to a sleep specialist but wouldn't give me anything in the meantime, like Ambien, even though I was a walking fucking zombie. Oh, but when is the soonest they can get me a sleep study? February. Sorry, but I'm not gonna spend a month feeling lethargic while I wait for this appointment - the least he could've done was given me some ambien. It was during finals, too, so I had a very hard time studying and concentrating. God forbid I get 4 or 5 pills to at least make it through those days... If it works, it works. I don't care what the effects are, I need sleep NOW.
Just like I need this PAIN gone NOW. Looks like I'll have to find someone with vicodin and make it so...
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three letters, d.e.a.
vicodin and darvocet for a sore throat?!?!?! i'd be laughed out of the er or a medicine floor for telling a resident or attending that's what i wanted to give a patient with a sore throat. that's not to belittle your complaint... but a viscous/topical anesthetic is likely to provide better and quicker relief than a pill which must work it's way systemically.
with that said, if the area is inflamed (i'm assuming it is, given the fact you were prescribed antibiotics), this doesn't give good properties for the area that needs healing (my memory is fuzzy, but i think inflamed areas are more acidic; and most topical painkillers don't work well in acidic environments).
as far as your route for seeking medical care, the emergency room isn't the greatest place in the world for relatively simple medical problems. while a sore throat and feeling like you can't breathe should get you a trip to the er, not being able to sleep isn't. don't take this the wrong way, as i don't know you or your situation, but i've had plenty of patients who come to the emergency room for minor complaints... fine for me as a medical student as i have a lot to learn, but a bit confusing/tiring for emergency room doctors who are looking for what is going to kill someone today... anything that's minor can be seen as an outpatient by someone else better trained in that field.
assuming you've seen the same doctor... you come to the er with a complaint of inability to sleep... you return with a sore throat... return with complaints of inability to sleep and a sore throat... i can see how the doctor (again, assuming you've seen the same one) may think that you are a drug seeker. that's not to say that you are, but that's the picture that's been painted with the words you've written. cepacol, throat lozenges, hot tea, thera flu... none of those over the counter remedies mentioned.
just one medical student's opinion on a situation without all the facts presented.