Pain Management Community

well if it helps any 43 of the 50 States you have to have a letter from your Doctor in order to keep or renew your license if you take Narcotics and the other 7 States are changing there laws to be like the other 43 States and as soon as the Federal prescription Database goes live they will not rely on you answering honestly,the little dweebs at Motor Vehicles will be able to look up your social Security number and see how many prescriptions you have had filled for for non OTC "pain med's" and will hand you a form and tell you to have the prescribing Doctor fill it out, basically the doctor decides weather your med's will impair your ability to drive a vehicle or not and then writes a script for you to drive or not. And if you can you get a license if you can not you get a Non Driver resident I.D. card. now i might be pessimistic or overly cynical but how many Doctors are going to allow Patients to drive knowing that they staked there medical license on it, and if you get in a horrible accident and somebody dies that doctor is gonna get sued for something by somebody related to the fatality in the car accident, and that is the first thing the Doctors malpractice insurance company is gonna tell them your policy premium is going to quadruple the first time you write a script for a patient to drive. Beep Beep

If you must drink and drive use a straw and make it ice water. a Message from Smokey the Bear!

Peace

TDX....where is this listed by a government agency about the 43 states requiring a note from your Dr. about narcotics? I have never heard of this...

As well as..it is against the HIPAA law for anyone to get access to your medical records without your permission. The DMV cannot use your SSN number to look up anything medical. The Prescription Monitoring system is for Drs., ERs, and Pharmacies that you go to that can look up the reocords of your prescriptions..

It just can't be accessed by some Pharmacy in Utah and I live in VA...It is for a new Dr. or the ER that you see to look this up.

Also..even hypothetically it wouldn't make any sense for the DMV to do this with your SSN...just because you have a record of prescriptions...not everyone takes them before driving...that's like getting a list of possible restaurants you go to just in case you have a few many beers and get in the car...So having a 'list' has nothing to do with driving under the influence...

Again...not everybody who is on a medicine takes them while driving like myself...

Yes...in all states if you get into an accident and it is your fault and you are found to have medication in your system that impaired your driving...then you can get fined/ticketed/jailed...that is just like drinking...but they cannot take away your driver's license BEFORE this happens..

There are also many types of medications that are non narcotic that can cause someone to be drowsy or impair their driving..

Just like texting, talking on the phone, extreme fatigue, etc.

So that means they could take away everyone's license just because you own and carry a cell phone..not whether you use it or not driving...see how that doesn't make any sense?

There are certain medical conditions like seizures listed on your driver's license application...where it's up to you whether you tell the DMV about this condition...

A CML is a bit different as that requires a background check as well as a medical exam to be done for driving a commercial vehicle along with the company you drive for can do urine tests periodically but again...this is all with YOUR permission.

If you have actual documentation from a .gov website where this is listed...please share...thanks:)

I read an article in our local newspaper a few years back that said our state was one of seven states that did not specify what drugs you could or could not take for a DUI, the officer just has to decide if you are impaired or not. So, even if you are wasted on an OTC antihistamine, the officer can decide you are impaired, and give you a ticket. A blood test or breathalizer taken at the time of the ticket can give them more info, but the officer's word is enough for a ticket to be issued. You can argue about it in court.

Just more hearsay, I suppose.

Take care, Annette

I certainly don't doubt there are different laws by State based on DWI/DUI's....I think you are allowed to fight that in court if the police officer does not do any type of test to determine if someone is impaired...and not just a field sobriety test...as you know as a nurse, and myself having been in the FD...people who are just plain drowsy or extremely fatigued can be just as impaired...

I'm certainly thankful for laws being more stringent about texting/talking on the phone while driving..it's tragic how many accidents there are these days because of this!

I am more objecting to never hearing about what TDX is writing about the DMV and getting/renewing our regular driver's license and our SSN numbers and health records...

5 yrs ago i had a tkr. it went bad and i wound up with nerve damage to my foot that is very painful requiring strong meds. that was the last time i drove a car as i felt unsure of myself behind the wheel. i always considered myself a safe driver however i could not justifiy driving if i were not 100%. one bennie is i saved a boatload of money on gas lol.

So Pesky you where on the Job where and how long?

Peace

Getting social security benefits unfortunately won't help your transportation problems. But, you could use some of the $$ to move to a place that is more convenient for you.

Take care, Annette

Are you still able to work? Maybe you can carpool with some co-workers who know that you have some physical issues and would be happy to help...

Or if it's just a matter of getting to a Dr.s appt or the store for groceries...how about any family or friends that can rotate helping out...My church has many programs to assist people with things like this...as do a lot of counties around the US...you can look online for different programs in your area...

There are also grocery stores that now deliver their food for pretty cheap...actually cheaper than driving with gas these days!..

For me...as I wrote in another post...I don't take certain meds that make me drowsy or have a slowed reaction when I'm driving somewhere...I can go a few hours without a certain medication and then just take it when I get home..

So..you sound pretty frustrated as I know it's hard to live with CP..I've been doing it for 10 years...but there are options...it just takes some creativity...there are lots of wonderful people out there ready to help!...

if you are on a controlled subtsance the feds can access your records but only if you are on a controled they can walk rite on in your docs office and look at your records at least here in ny they can its happened to me twice

if in ssdi you are automaticaly put on medicare (and medicaid in some states) and they will pay for medical transport

They put you on Medicare two years after your date of disability for SSDI. I have Medicare, but do not qualify for Medicaid. My SSDI is too much. True, but scary.

Medicare does not pay 100% of medical transport and certainly not ambulances used as taxis to get from place to place.

Take care, Annette

Hi,
Well,I tend to agree with you,so much of what you say is true and make sense!
Also like you said alot of things can make somone drowsey!Much more than opiates!Anyway I do think that if the Law can find a way to mess with us they will!
I've just been very Lucky!!!!
Later,77grace