Pain meds and working

[Aaron]

"Then again would the employer hire someone that isn't taking the medication who had the same qualifications and education/experience ... perhaps.. perhaps you'd be the one hired."


that is exactly the part I am struggling with. why would an employeer take a chance on someone who is on pain meds if there are 20 others not on them.

[dshobbies]

I've been on both sides of this fence. As an employer, I believe it's against the law to ask about diseases but ok to ask about a medical condition that might interfere with work. This would include your chronic back pain along with any meds to might take to control it.

If you lie and get the job, any medical insurance that might go along with it can be rescinded without payment of benefits or the requirements that any benefit be paid back. If you lie to get the job, you can be fired without unemployment benefits. If a drug test is required, you will probably fail and lose your job.

However, if you tell the truth, you may not be hired and as a previous employer, I wasn't looking for trouble and would steer clear of someone in your condition/predicament.

What to do? That's your decision. I think what I'd do is go ahead and get your meds going while still in school. As you begin to look for a job, begin to taper off so you won't have to lie. Try to work a couple of months with no drugs at all or perhaps just in the evenings and then begin again. Then again, you may be looking for longer than is tolerable to be off of pain meds.

You're in a difficult situation and you have to decide how to best handle it. I'm sorry you find yourself between the perverbial rock and a hard place. I do wish you well and please keep us posted.

Dale

[Maria]

I think most employers do this routinely although I could be mistaken.
Can you get by w/o pain meds for now? Reason I ask is that I think it would be more difficult to start them then stop them for the period of drug testing altho it may be that you can start them after you begin working.

I didn't start taking pain meds until I stopped working and now that I'm only taking pain medication and once daily I find my mentation is much clearer than when I was taking Neurontin and muscle relaxers as well. However when I first started pain meds there was quite an adjustment for me and I don't think that I could have been working (Nurse Practitioner) seeing patients while adjusting to my pain medication. Now it's 10 years later and I'm used to the medication and not sure what I'd be like w/o it however my mind has quite adjusted to it. Unfortunately trying to withdraw from the particular medication I'm on hasn't been something I could accomplish myself and supposedly has a prolonged withdrawl period (up to 3 or more months if one is trying to withdraw self).

So I'd not recommend the pain med I'm on if planning on starting it and stopping it for drug testing prior to jobs altho there may be others that are far easier to start/stop and there may be something that would work for you and not really be classified as opioid pain medication or pain medication for that matter. So many new pharmaceutical concoctions on the market.

However if you need to start taking something so you can get thru school then you've no choice really. Just do what you have to do and cross the work bridge when you get to it. Wishing you the best with your decision as I know it's not one with an easy answer.

[Pharmacist.steve]

An employer cannot ask any personal questions during the interview process.. after the job is offered/hired.. then the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) and HIPAA comes into play.

I would hate to be an employer that told an employee that they could not take ANY PRESCRIBED MEDICATIONS or OTC drugs... unless it interfered with job/productivity/safety. Proving that can be a very slippery slope for the employer.

Unless the employer limits its hiring to exclude diabetics - low/high blood sugar can affect job performance .. and/or epileptic - don't want employees having seizures in the work place... or people who are depressed.. cause they often can't focus as well or not as productive. How about people with allergies.. who take antihistamines - causes drowiness and can affect job performance.

Drug tests are to determine if a person is taking ILLEGAL drugs or take legal drugs without a physician order.

I would have to do some research...but.. I would think that a lab could not "fail" someone on a drug test... if they could produce a legal prescription for the opiate that was found their urine/blood.... and to report back to the employer that they failed under such circumstances would be -IMO - a false report.... and subject the lab to liable/slander claims...

[Maria]

Sure it's understood that one can take meds that are prescribed as long as they can perform the duties of the position applying for however again if there is competition and the comp has equal attributes re work exp. education and all the rest then it's will the employer steer clear of the person on med and hire equally qualified non prescription using person or ??

Guess much would really depend on how you click during the interview altho that may not clinch the job per se it could definately bode in one's favor.

I wanted to edit to add that it's been a long time since I filled out an application for employment. The best jobs I've landed with the least amount of questions asked or maybe overlooked even where ones where I was a direct referral from someone I knew that worked in the company. Maybe you can get some really good recommendations from your instructors and if you have any friends in the industry their recommendations/referrals are probably helpful as well.

Just have to do what you have to do when all is said and done and hope for the best. Wishing you the best with this!

[dshobbies]

In a perfect world...

As a past employer, we had experiences with employees who had various medical problems/disabilities as well as both past and present addictions. We also hired some with previous criminal records believing most deserved a second chance.

Having gone through what we did, we changed our ways, preferring not to hire those with problems - medical, emotional or personal. This did not include diabetics or others with 'controlled' diseases'. Such did not and more than likely, would not interfere with their job or our business. However, two previous drug addicts relapsed and stole from us. Another, who had too much weekend -itis never showed up to work for a week. We were unable to contact her and replaced her only to have her show up the following week, surprised that her job was gone. Unemployment agreed she was eligible for benefits...

A depressed person took off - just left eveything and us high and dry. Her father claimed she was off her meds. The previous day's bank deposit was missing.

Absenteeism costs employers money as does replacing employees. Training, employment taxes, benefits, etc. add up with each new person. We always tried to stay within the legalities of employment laws BUT also tried to stay clear of potential problems. All things being equal, we'd choose someone who had the least amount of problems.

Larger corporations are less likely to ask incriminating questions but are more likely to order drug testing. If a lie was told during the interview process, such as - do you take any prescription drugs...- and is later discovered, the consequences might be severe. If the truth is told, I would not want to hire someone with so much daily pain that constant meds were required. I would definitely not want to hire someone with severe back problems.

The truth is we do not live in a perfect world. I think Aaron is in a difficult situation - the law notwithstanding. No employer could insist their employees not take prescription or otc drugs but might be less inclined to hire someone dependent on them.

Again, let me state that I'm not talking about high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid problems... etc. But someone who needed medication to controll chronic back pain would not be on my hire list - legal or not.

BTW, because of constant problems, when we sold our business in favor of another one, one condition was absolutely NO EMPLOYEES. Having said that, as an employee, I disagree with everything I just said.

[Maria]

Dale,
I take it that's you? As owner and employee I guess you can be trusted!