Home > Rayne > Because someone who’s been on narcotics for two months is constipated because they’re fat. Obviously.

Because someone who’s been on narcotics for two months is constipated because they’re fat. Obviously.

April 15th, 2014

I was originally coming here to write a quick bulleted list of some shit that’s going on right now, but then we went to Rite Aid to pick up M’s prescription, and when we got home he told me some shit and now I’m kinda pissed. So, instead of a stupid, boring bulleted list, you get this rant, courtesy of the douchebag pharmacist at the Rite Aid down the street. All together now. “Thanks, douchebag!”

Let’s start at the beginning so you can appreciate how truly fucked up this experience has been for us.

A few months ago, M started having issues with his back. He says it started at the beginning of the year, but I think it may be related to the issues he was having as early as last summer; issues we wrote off as sciatica, and he decided to walk off. It worked, but now that he’s dealing with back issues, again, I’m beginning to wonder if that was a fluke, and he wasn’t dealing with the beginning of what’s going on now.

He went to the doctor in September, and they gave him a light pain med and a muscle relaxer, and when the refills ran out (and after walking 2.75 miles almost every day), he felt better.

It flared up again in late January/early February, and he finally decided to go to the doctor.

Because we’re fat, he felt the need to explain the entire situation to the doctor. We walked a lot until this back issue immobilized him. We’ve been trying to lose weight but the winter (as it usually does) kept us indoors. Blah, blah, blah, I know I’m fat, diagnose me.

The doctor responded with, “This issue isn’t caused by weight, and losing weight won’t fix or relieve it.”

~blink~ Well, what do you know? Not all doctors are fat haters. Good to know.

His PCP ordered an MRI. We went. It was relatively painless. We went home and waited.

In the meantime, the pills M was prescribed were making him sick. In the (almost) 12 years I’ve been with M, he hasn’t thrown up once. No joke. The man will do anything in his power to avoid throwing up. So he spent the whole time nauseous beyond belief, doing everything in his power to keep the pills from coming back up.

I finally talked him into calling the doctor’s office to ask if they’d be able to prescribe something else. Told them he’d turn these in. He just wanted something that wouldn’t make him sick.

The PCP’s receptionist was a total bitch. Treated M like a pill junkie. I’ve had addiction problems, but M never has. And he’s only been to his PCP four times in the 12 years I’ve known him. But I’m sure he’s going there just for pain meds. I mean, what the fuck?

They prescribed him the same light pain med and muscle relaxer he was prescribed in September in addition to the pill he was already on, and at first, I was pretty irritated. I mean, there’s got to be something that can be done for the nausea, right? I’ve been put on medication for nausea before. Turns out, there is, but it was unnecessary. For whatever reason, taking those other two pills made the nausea go away.

A day or so later, the PCP’s receptionist called us. She didn’t tell M anything. She gave him an address, an appointment date, and apologized and hung up. We’re not really sure what she apologized for; his condition, or her attitude the last time she’d spoken to him.

So a few days later, we go to a neurosurgeon. M starts the whole process of explaining that he knows he’s fat, again, and the neurosurgeon tells him that he wishes he could just tell M to go home and lose weight, because that would be easier than what he may have to go through because of his condition.

We didn’t take him seriously.

He’s got what’s called a “disc extrusion,” which basically means that his spinal disc has cracked open and is leaking. The fluid that is leaking is pressing on a nerve that runs the length of his leg. There were days M couldn’t get out of bed. There were nights he didn’t sleep.

They prescribed cortisone shots because without them, the insurance company won’t approve surgery. The cortisone shots have worked somewhat, but not enough for him to get back to living. There are still days he can’t get out of bed. There are still nights he doesn’t sleep.

He’s scheduled an appointment with a chiropractor to see if there’s anything they can do before he commits to surgery. He really doesn’t want surgery. We’re not optimistic.

The neurosurgeon prescribed him more narcotics to get him through to his first cortisone shot, and we went to Rite Aid to get the prescription filled. The pharmacist on duty got all attitudey with M and basically accused him of forging the script. Since M still had some pills left, he took his script back, and told her he’d come back when he ran out. She huffed off and filled the rest of his scripts and we left.

So now, here we are, after his second shot. M’s been on hydrocodone for 2-3 months, and his body is starting to react badly. He’s got constant stomach aches, and constipation (TMI? Ffs.), and it’s really bothering him. So when we went to fill his script, today, he asked the pharmacist what he (different pharmacist) would suggest for medicine-induced constipation.

He made the mistake of not beginning his question with “I know I’m fat, but I eat fruit and at least a salad every day.” The pharmacist took one look at him and assumed he only ate foods that are bad for you. And the guy told M, rather snidely, that he should try eating more fruits and vegetables.

When M told me, he said, “I’m like, ‘Guy, I eat tons of fruit and vegetables.'” And I asked if he said that. Of course he didn’t. M doesn’t like to cause a scene. But he did manage to get a laxative suggestion out of the pharmacist finally.

Man, I wish I’d hung around instead of wandering off to find sinus meds. Fucking cock sucker.

  1. April 15th, 2014 at 16:17 | #1

    I had chronic constipation due to my head meds and my doctor told me to eat more fruits and vegetables and get more fiber in general. And I was skinny at the time. I think it’s just something they say.

    • April 15th, 2014 at 16:33 | #2

      It was less the suggestion and more the way it was said. The guy was obviously responding to M’s weight and not the question.

  2. April 15th, 2014 at 17:27 | #3

    While it pisses me off that the pharmacist said that, I am glad that you were looking for sinus meds. Who would take care of M if Rayne was in prison for involuntarily ripping someone’s head off of their neck and beating it against the wall?

  3. April 15th, 2014 at 19:29 | #4

    @ Mr. Will Lol. I mean, I’m crazy, but not that crazy. :p

  4. April 15th, 2014 at 20:16 | #5

    The whole blaming everything on weight gets on my damn nerves. Not everything is because of that. There are OTHER REASONS! Assholes.

  5. Heaven
    April 17th, 2014 at 00:59 | #6

    I am so sorry to hear M is going thru this but I understand how this is. I too have back problems and I find that going to physical therapy and a chiropractor works wonders for me. I have not had any tests yet only X-rays from the Chiropractor but they said my back is messed up and if I did not do anything about it that I would have to have surgery and I want to avoid that. I am only on Motrin now and that is what I am good with. I don’t want to be on anything stronger then that because I get sick just as M has. Also I don’t want to have to depend on medicine either. Shoot I don’t even want to get shots. If M can have him try a Chiropractor for a few and see if that helps him out. I wish you guys well and I hope he finds something that will work for him.

  6. Camryn
    April 21st, 2014 at 12:12 | #7

    I don’t know what the Hell is people’s problem with fat folks but it pisses me off. Even if his weight was the issue, he still deserves common courtesy and proper treatment. No one should have to fear going to the doctor and I hate that so many doctors feel that they can speak any kind of way to patients that are fat. That pharmacist deserves a talking to. Nobody asked him to be a smartass.
    Oh, and the paranoia about M being a pill head? Ugh! I know it happens, but being a jackass isn’t making it stop.

  7. alyson
    April 23rd, 2014 at 13:21 | #8

    Can M put in a complaint? I know RiteAid has an online feedback form. The pharmacist was way out of line. If he’s tried to fat-shame M, he’s done it to other customers as well. Not everyone would have the persistence or mental strength that M has to keep trying to get an actual answer without falling apart. If M has the name of the pharmacist (if it was the same pharmacist as who filled the prescription, it should be on the prescription bottle), a complaint will go in his file.

    I hope what the pharmacist did suggest helped. If not, I’ve been on narcotics for years due to chronic pain and Miralax is what I’ve had the most luck with for the constipation. I did use a generic of it in a hospital and it worked fine, just had a chalky taste when mixed in with my drink (Miralax really doesn’t have a taste). I know other people who’ve had luck with lactulose (ducolax is one of the brand names), which is a little less potent than Miralax (you can also take smaller than a full dose of Miralax). I know lactulose is often preferred by GI docs to start because your body won’t become dependent on it (using some laxatives for too long can actually cause your body to stop being able to go without them).

    I absolutely hate how these days people always assume that if you need stronger pain medication, you must be addicted. I understand that there’s a serious problem with people abusing prescription drugs, but it rarely happens when they’re prescribed properly (studies have shown that when prescribed at an appropriate level to treat the patient’s pain, addiction rate is something like 2%). Instead, everyone’s so paranoid now that if you need narcotics (either short term or long term), you’re going to get treated like a criminal automatically. That was actually the short version of my rant on the subject. It says something about regional variance, though, that I’m only one state over from you and I live RiteAid is the pharmacy that doesn’t hassle me about being on narcotics. If you can, you may want to stay away from Walgreens for narcotics; they got implicated in a major pill scam a couple years ago and had to pay millions as part of the resolution so tend to be extra crappy about filling narcotic prescriptions.

    I haven’t had the exact same problem as M, but I’ve had lumbar spine surgery that is likely very similar to (if not the same as) what he may have for surgery. If he wants feedback from someone who has been there, I’m happy to e-mail with my experiences or answer questions a doctor may not be able to answer. (I’ve had other spinal surgeries, but those weren’t disk related.) If they do send him to PT at all before trying surgery, I found that traction often helped my back. (Chiropractic is dangerous for the main condition I’m diagnosed with so I haven’t tried it, but do know people who’ve had luck.)

  8. April 23rd, 2014 at 13:44 | #9

    @ Beck Yeah, it makes me crazy, too. But even more so with health professionals. It’s one thing to discuss my weight, and the potential health problems it may cause. It’s another thing to ignore the health problems I already have that cannot be fixed by a diet change or weight loss. I mean, just because they could have been caused by weight doesn’t mean losing weight is going to fix them.

    Heart disease, diabetes, muscle injuries, whatever…they don’t just magically heal because I ate a damn salad. (Not that I have any of those things; I don’t. Just saying, ya know.)

  9. April 23rd, 2014 at 13:48 | #10

    @ Heaven Thank you. He considered visiting a chiro, and went for the initial consult, but ultimately, the pain has won out. It’s relief now vs. relief in a few months. There are days he can’t get out of bed. The pain has been so bad, lately, that he can’t even sit on the couch. He mostly has to lay on his stomach on the bed. It’s making him crazy and incredibly depressed. He’s been scheduled for a surgical consult. That’s the direction we’re going.

  10. April 23rd, 2014 at 13:55 | #11

    @ Camryn Thanks. That about sums up how I feel, too. <3

  11. April 23rd, 2014 at 13:57 | #12

    @ alyson We have. There’s been no follow up. And if I didn’t know better, I’d think that we’ve actually been negatively impacted by it. We had to get a script filled yesterday, and where as it normally takes 15 minutes or less, we waited almost 45 minutes and during much of our wait, there was no one around. I mean, maybe they were busy with phoned in scripts, and I’m just being paranoid, but it’s awful coincidental.

  12. April 23rd, 2014 at 13:58 | #13

    @ alyson Oh, and I passed along your comment. He said he’ll be sure to get in touch if he has any questions, and appreciates the info. Miralax is what the pharmacist suggested, too. He’s yet to try it, though.

  13. Heaven
    April 23rd, 2014 at 17:04 | #14

    @ Rayne Millaray
    Damn sorry to hear that, that really sucks when he can barely do anything. If surgery is the way to go then I would do it.

Comments are closed.
%d bloggers like this: