Mar
I have 2 herniated discs, and if you know anyone that has them (or you yourself) you know what kind of pain I'm in. I've had several pain relievers over the past few months to control the different levels of pain. My doctor knows I'm allergic to codeine and each time I see the doctor I answer the question.
My most current prescription says, “Do not take this medicine if you’ve had an allergic reaction to codeine….”
I am having a reaction to this new prescription.
What do I do other than get a new prescription and possibly get a new doctor? (I love this doctor too, but this could have killed me.)
Thanks.
Answer:
Hi,
While you LOVE this physician, I would strongly advocate getting a NEW physician.
If your physician isn’t willing to believe and respect your medical history–including ALLERGIES to medications, then you need a new doctor. What would happen if say–you had a bad illness or injury, and were taken to the hospital and unable to give all your history? The hospital DOES contact your local physician if they can find that out and GET YOUR meds/allergies/and history from them….IF your physician isn’t willing to acknowledge that you’re allergic to codeine (and there are a few other pain meds that are related to that allergy, as they have codeine in them), that would be VERY VERY bad…..
While you CAN sue the doctor, there is now a limitations on how much you can get, and you usually must have actually suffered some kind of injury—depending on the say (please do NOT take the medication you are allergic to in order to qualify, as that would actually NOT make you qualify either for the lawsuit—it would be considered intentional on your part).
You can possibly contact the medical board….or ask the pharmacist how to go about this….since the doc modified your medical file?
(I had a nurse practitioner do this to me at an ob-gyn office….it was horrid….suddenly, I had the doc walk in to do a biopsy and I had no idea why!
I’ve also had docs deny that my mom could be allergic to prednisone and have her airway swell up while on it–rather fast too–she can take the medication SIMILAR to it–solumedrol, but not PREDNISONE—well, recently, some nurses tried to pull that again, and insist you can not be allergic to one and not the other….long story, she was in the hospital for an unrelated condition, and luckily she was awake enough to argue with them and state NO, she was NOT taking that medication they offered her).
—funny thing is, my husband wound up with the same reaction to prednisone, and this was after my mom was allergic to it, but before I even knew my mom had an allergy to it…..yet, these docs keep denying some of these allergies to certain medications…..
Good luck to you, and I would seriously recommend finding a new physician, and keeping a list of all allergies to medications AND foods with you at all times (as some food allergies are related to drug allergies–such as egg and diprivan–in the event of sedation in the ER or OR, or SHELLFISH/IODINE and betadine/providine scrub–some hospitals say they do not use them, but they still do for surgeries/some IV access–such as lumbar punctures/spinal anesthesia and for sutures.).
———————EDITED———–…
Ok, I did not realize you did actually GET and TAKE a prescription that was filled from the doc. I had misunderstood–thinking that he had just written or called in a prescription to the pharmacy, but the drug allergy was caught BEFORE you picked up the medication and took any.
This definitely changes things…
In this case, yes, you can contact a lawyer, and yes, you should be able to pursue disiplinary actions against the physician as well….not sure that you are actually looking to gain monetary gain, as much as make sure he does not do this again, and to recoup your medical costs/lost wages for today.
IF you pursue legal actions, definitely, find a decent lawyer, do not just go for some lawyer who is looking to make money, or who does “run of the mill” legal stuff…you want someone who has medical/pharmacutical knowledge or a lawyer who handles that kind of legal suits.
Good luck to you.
Answer:
Few people are actually allergic to codeine but lots of people say they are because it upsets their stomach, so physicians tend not to put a lot of credence in it unless they have actually had a rash or anaphylactic reaction. Many of the drugs with cousins to codeine can cause a reaction if you're truly allergic, but not necessarily upset your stomach the same way. If you are truly allergic, make sure you make that clear with codeine.
Answer:
If you are 100% sure you have told him you were allergic to codeine and that it'd be in his database, then you could easily sue him.
Answer:
If your most recent prescription warns not the be taken with a codeine Allergy then why did you take it? Or are your “most recent prescription” and your “new prescription” two different scripts?