Nurse Asked to Buy My Vicodin

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mgobluetx12
mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have 4 degenerated discs in my lower back and am on pretty heavy opiates for the pain. Last month, my doc gave me some 10mg vicodin for breakthrough pain I've been having from exercising. I went to the doc for the monthly checkup on Wednesday and the nurse asked how the vicodin was working. I said it really wasn't, so I stopped taking it. She then asked me if she could buy the leftovers from me. I was SHOCKED. I couldn't believe she was asking me this.

What would you have done in this situation?
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Replies

  • hozik
    hozik Posts: 369 Member
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    Report her.
  • RikanSoulja
    RikanSoulja Posts: 463 Member
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    Sold them to her
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
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    Report her.
  • EndlessSacrifice
    EndlessSacrifice Posts: 325
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    I have 4 degenerated discs in my lower back and am on pretty heavy opiates for the pain. Last month, my doc gave me some 10mg vicodin for breakthrough pain I've been having from exercising. I went to the doc for the monthly checkup on Wednesday and the nurse asked how the vicodin was working. I said it really wasn't, so I stopped taking it. She then asked me if she could buy the leftovers from me. I was SHOCKED. I couldn't believe she was asking me this.

    What would you have done in this situation?

    Wow. That is insane. What did you say in response to her?
  • jesse1379
    jesse1379 Posts: 239 Member
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    I would have told her that if she is desperate enough to try and buy a measly 10mg vicodin she should just go to a methodone clinic. There is so much acetiminophen in Vicodin it will fry you liver if you take enough of it over time.
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
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    You'd be surprised by the multitude of people affected by addictions. NA is full of people from all walks of life. Addiction knows no limits.

    I would say something especially because she works with patients.

    Pain killer addiction is no joke. I've seen a lot of addicts and am one myself (but I'm clean), if for nothing else reporting her would actually HELP her

    Sadly most addicts have to fall flat on their face to come out of denial.
  • Laddiegirl
    Laddiegirl Posts: 382 Member
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    Reported her. If she is taking them herself she could be jeopardizing patients and you could both get in trouble for selling them to her. Depending on your state and the prosecutor, it could even be a felony.

    So not worth it.
  • Snitch1
    Snitch1 Posts: 201 Member
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    As a retired nurse, I have seen so many nurses get hooked on drug's-especially the painkillers. Our job's a very intense physically-especially if we work in a hospital setting. But, it sounds like you say her in a clinic, or at an office.

    Believe me when I say, you do not want a nurse giving you/your family/your CHILDREN/ or anyone else, when she is impaired on drugs.
    Nursing is a very detail oriented job. If she under the influence at work, and she makes a medication error-that could cost someone their life.
    We have to preform very intricate mathematical conversions at times, and those are easy to error with, even when you are just tired, much less impaired on drugs.
    Find your states BOARD of NURSING office, and REPORT HER. You have no idea of how many accident's you would prevent if you take this simple step.

    She most likely will not be fired. They (The Board of Nursing) have program's for nurses who have substance abuse problems. GIVE HER A CHANCE.
    I LITERALLY BEG YOU..
    TURN HER IN, if not to the BOARD, to the Physician she is working under.
    Sincerely,
    Sister Nicolette Eberle, R.N. (retired)
  • acf860
    acf860 Posts: 5
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    You need to report her. It is not too late. She must really be desperate to do this and needs help. I am a nurse as well and I know that the nursing board will give her a chance to go to rehab before they take her license away. In my state, you can report it without telling them your name if that makes it easier.
  • CasablancasTX
    CasablancasTX Posts: 108
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    Wow, that's nuts. What did you do?
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    Well, being I'm a probation and parole officer that works with a specialty unit for severe drug addicts and alcoholics i would have had to report the situation to the doctors in efforts to get h the appropriate help for her disease. I work with several nurses, so this is mot uncommon. Sad, but true.

    BTW have you ever tried yoga, specifically backbends (wheel pose) for your degenerative disc issue? I have stumbled across this recently, ad after suffering (without any medications except Over the counter and only when nearly crippled) for over 5 years now. I went to chiropractor, tried Pilates, went to an orthopedist had me do physical therapy.. No relief.. Orthopedist wanted to do surgery or atleast cortisone shots... I flat out refuse...i recently recalled a woman i know from my gym that takes yoga tell ing me her dr. Said no forward bends but it was ok to do backbends. I began researching backbends.. and two weeks ago began doing them daily with the aid of a resistance ball... I have felt more relief in the past few weeks than with any other thing i have tried. I just caution you, if you try them, use proper form and perhaps even seek guidance from an experienced yoga instructor... It was a godsend for me!
    http://www.myyogaonline.com/poses/back-bends
    http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5446/The-Key-Elements-in-Doing-Wheel-Pose.html
    http://ohmybikram.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/posture-clinic-why-back-bending-is-good-for-your-spine/
    http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=E2MrsFUrxlM
  • Timmyttt418
    Timmyttt418 Posts: 103 Member
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    Being a fellow nurse, I say you should have reported her. Many other lives could be at stake. She obviously has a problem and needs the help that reporting her would have given her.
  • d_Mode
    d_Mode Posts: 880 Member
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    I would have been tempted to sell them...but my ***** aren't big enough. I probably would have just pretended I didn't hear it. Not sure I could report it either. And I would probably start looking for another doctor.
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Wow, hard to follow up after an ignorant post like that. ANYWAY..

    I was too shocked at the time to think up a good excuse, so I just told her that I would give them to her, not sell them. I did manage to squeeze in that I wasn't sure how many I had left, so I took her phone number and said I would text her.

    I do really like her and she's the nurse I see each month when I go in for my appt. It would be hard to report her because things would definitely be awkward after that, but many of you give some powerful reasons why it would be a GOOD thing.

    I'm going to text her in the morning and tell her I forgot that I flushed the extra pills or something like that. I don't want her to have them and I definitely don't want to get in trouble over this.

    I think an anonymous report will be coming in the near future.

    Thanks for the advice.

    Dawn - Thanks a ton for those links and the suggestions. I can't wait to read those. I was so tired of being in pain and not being able to work out that I started on these opiates that I didn't really want to be on and I've heard are horrible to get off of. Maybe I can work towards being opiate-free in the near future. I really appreciate it.
  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
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    Very unprofessional... Report her.. As a student nurse I know this.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    hold on.... wait a minute yall... maybe she just had a really bad toothache or something and was in a hurry?
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    Wow, hard to follow up after an ignorant post like that. ANYWAY..

    Do me a favor. Look up the definitions of the following words: ignorant and ironic, because both apply to your own statement.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    personally before you report her, it might be nice to confront her about the problem. maybe she has an addiction, or maybe there is some other reason.

    would be pretty crap to possibly ruin someones life over an assumption.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    personally before you report her, it might be nice to confront her about the problem. maybe she has an addiction, or maybe there is some other reason.

    would be pretty crap to possibly ruin someones life over an assumption.

    It's not an assumption on my part. She did something unethical, and needs to face the consequences. If she has an addiction, that's an even better reason for her to get canned, given what her job responsibilities are.

    Perhaps she should have thought about the fact that becoming a pillhead could ruin her life before she did it. Oops...sorry...there I go with that 'taking responsibility' thing again. I keep forgetting that no one likes to do that anymore.
  • bigfatbino
    bigfatbino Posts: 136 Member
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    Do the right thing and sell it to her. It's Vicodin, not uncut heroin.

    If you don't want to sell it, then just politely say no.

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