Is it OK to reuse medication while in the hospital or will the nurses give you alot of grief for that?

Question

I have to go in the hospital for a week next month to have some major female surgery. I don't like to 'woozy' and out of it. I like to know what is going on around me (I have the pain tolerance of Superman, and hate drugs.)

I'm being told that if I'm not in pain, but refuse medication that I'll be labled as a "difficult patient." I don't think this is fair and I think that a patient has the right to state whether or not she feels she needs pain medication or sleeping pills.

I'll have my daughter with me while I'm there to care for me, and she's well aware of what I will and won't allow.

I just don't want this experience to be a total nightmare like one of my many surgeries were a few years ago.

(and I don't think that is too much to ask for.)

Answer 1

One of your rights as a patient is to decline to take medication.  You will not be labelled as a difficult patient.  In fact, you'll be lightening some overworked nurse's load!

Answer 2

Please be sure to talk to your surgeon about your concerns. This is crucial. Now a word about pain medications and why it they are important. I have been in charge of a couple of surgical inpatient wards, and was very interested in managing post-operative pain of the patients. Pain has some very significant and occasionally serious negative impacts on you after surgery. Since you are having major surgery, it will be important for you to avoid the complications that sometimes occur. Some are associated with decreased mobility and some are associated with the lungs. So, the nurses will want you to get up (probably the first day) and walk around the unit in order to prevent blood clots from forming in your legs and to get your bowels active again so that you do not become constipated. Many patients in pain cannot or will not walk around. They prefer to lie in the bed motionless. This is not good. You need to walk around, a lot. You will be taught to do coughing and deep breathing exercises in order to prevent fluid from collecting in your lungs and perhaps causing a pneumonia. This is very difficult to do when you are in severe pain following abdominal surgery. Pain also causes your heart rate to increase and some other things that are not condusive to healing. These are some facts that you need to understand in order to make an informed decision if you refuse pain meds. There is a saying in the nursing ranks "Pain is easier to prevent than to treat." What this means is that you should take pain medications before the pain becomes unbearable -- if you wait that long, they will not be very effective in many case. In fact, you should consider taking pain meds around the clock (say every 4-6 hours) for the first couple of days postop. That way you can walk around, do your breathing exercises, get the sleep that you need, etc. So that is why we want you to be comfortable. You may be a little woozy from the pain med, and you need to get help when you walk (even to the bathroom). Suffering through pain will not help you recover any quicker and may contribute to postoperative complications.  Best of luck to you and I hope you make a speedy and UNCOMPLICATED recovery!

Answer 3

refusing pain meds will not label u as a difficult patient.  in fact, i bet the nurses will find it refreshing to not have to deal with someone who wants a shot of morphine every 15 minutes.

Answer 4

While refusing medications will probably not get you labeled as a difficult patient, your rant makes you sound like one.  I work in an emergency department, and my favorite thing is when someone comes in and says they want treatment, yet when we begin to give them treatment they start to refuse and question the most routine parts that everyone gets.  

Your rant here about versed and Tampa Bay health care made you sound like a problem patient, the kind we hate to deal with.  If you are determined, or stupid, enough to not want any pain medication or versed-like anesthetic, then I feel that you should be allowed to do this.  You do have the right to deny stuff like that.  

BUT when you are in pain, do not complain to the nurses about how much you hurt.  These nurses offered to give you something for the pain before it started and you said no.  So go ahead and refuse the medications, but when you have horrible memories of the surgery itself, and the pain that followed, don't say that you were not warned.

Answer 5

Sorry, I misunderstood the "Is it OK  to 'REUSE' med

Hi Ms Superman;

You absolutely have the right to refuse medications. (meds) However, it would not be a good idea to have "surgery" without anesthetic.  A Dr. Might refuse to do the procedure if you refuse to be anesticized (unsure about spelling).

There is a procedure for the nurse to dispose of, or return to pharmacy any unused meds.  ESPECIALLY a DEA Federally Controlled drug such as pain or sleeping meds.  Under NO circumstance may a nurse keep or give to another pt refused meds.  He/She probably would lose their job and possibly license to practice nursing.

Sincerely Bill;