The problem for law enforcement is that people lie to us, unless the medication is in the original package there is no proof that it is what you say it is. even then if you are arrested for being under the influence the medication may be sent to the lab to be tested to prove what it is. I know carrying a large prescription bottle around dis a hassle, my pharmacist has given me smaller bottles with the prescription on it that I can put in my bag easier.
but please for your safety and the safety of others, if your medication makes you impaired in any way, please have someone else drive or take a cab, your life is worth a lot more!
Elaine Iles said:
Lots of discussion on the driving issue, but I see the medication packing as a big issue too. I take all my pills and put them in those 7 day weekly plastic containers. I know my local pharmacist will bubble package pills if you ask. That IS original pharmacy packaging. That might be a better idea, especially when travelling.
Thank YOU Pegie, for your experience and expertise in this discussion. It's wonderful to have a DWI Supervisor, who is a TN patient, weigh in on this subject. I think it's such an important subject and this discussion should be brought up from time to time to educate new members on the dangers of these issues.
We're lucky to have you here. Thank you again.
doowni said:
Thank you for giving such a great explanation of the law. I am a Police Officer, and a TN patient. I occasionally fill in as the Supervisor in the DWI testing and arrest processing area of our department. I cannot tell you how often people are taking a strong medication that impairs their ability but since it is prescribed to them, they drive. Alcohol is legal, but if it impairs your judgement to drive then you should not be behind the wheel, the same goes for prescription drugs.
I am not going to dirent this to anyone's attention but, drving impaired puts yuor life and the lives of others at risk. It is the law and police officers have to enforce all laws!
Joel Rifkin, Ted Bundy, Timothy Mcveigh are only 3 of the countless people that have been caught becasue a police officer was enforcing the law and did a traffic stop. Son of Sam was caught due to a parking ticket.
I understand that TN is horrible, I have it
I have been at accident scenes in which one driver was impaired by meds, the fact that they were prescribed does nothing to console the families of the other driver.
Another impaired driving issue that hasn't been addressed is sleep deprivation. I get an average of 2-6 hours of sleep per day and I know a lot of other members have a very difficult time sleeping.
Driving while sleep deprived can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal or prescribed medications. Add sleep deprivation and medication together and it's a recipe for disaster.
I know all about sleep deprivation, i work midnights, Go to graduate school and have TN....What is sleep? there are times i have left my car at work and had someone else give me a lift because i know how tired I am.
If you cannot think straight, feel like if you sit down you are going to fall asleep, or even if you feel that you have not had a good enough sleep...please do not drive , especially if you are takin TN meds also!
I have a question on LTD. If the medication starts controls the pain, but impairs you to drive would LTD still apply? I am confused about this as I have just been approved and am concerned. My job is 55 miles away from where I live.
Carolina.
Bonnie Gray said:
Gloria, I am so glad to see your posting. I have Been saying the same thing for years to TN patients
I know who are still driving and no one seems to believe me.
I stopped driving 3 years ago voluntarily as the
Tegretol and Lyrica was making me 'loopy' and there was no way I was going to take
A chance. I am still off work on LTD because of it as my boss
Told me that I would be considered 'impaired'
and could not work on site (my hubby and my boss
Were both police officers so they would know.)
As long as I am taking this medication (1,000 mg a.day) I
Cannot return to work. Something to think about!
Bonnie
Jerry said:
Gloria: You are most correct. That is the excate same advise that I was given by a lawyer not over a month ago. He was concerned that if I was stopped while driving, that I would be charged with DUI even with the drugs in a proper bottle. As a side note, I quite driving about 2 months before the onset of the TN due to my lowered vision. This is a real problem for all here.
Do you have any statistics regarding driving while sleep deprived and how it's just as dangerous as driving under the influence? Or just your opinion here (as our resident expert) would be important.
Well I guess I will chime in here. When I first learned about a week and a half ago that I entered the TN denial zone. Yesterday I was admitted to the hospital with discharge late this afternoon. The whole fiasco is for a different discussion. However, the driving situation does have me very concerned.
Where I live in Florida we do not have the best of public transportation systems. I guess I will need to depend on my husband but he HATES driving. Until this disorder showed up I was already on 7 medications for bipolar. I remember distinctly driving to a therapy appointment and having MANY close calls. I definitely should not have been driving and luckily I did not kill or injure anyone else or my self. Since then my body has totally acclimated to those medications.
But I do not yet know how my 2 new meds will affect my driving skills. How will I know unless I try? Should I ask my husband how I appear to do walking around the house? Or do I just say, no more driving for me and he will have to come through for me? I just don't see how I could go without the medications as I am so recently diagnosed and I am NOWHERE capable of handling the pain. I have always said I am allergic to pain. Even giving birth and having a gallbladder/appendix attack had me screaming so loud my husband wanted to shoot me to put us both out of misery.
It is not illegal in florida to be on the meds, you just can't let it impair your driving abilities. What a catch 22 :(
Thank you, Phoebe. This is a difficult and very challenging issue that we have to deal with on a daily basis. You should absolutely NOT go without you medication! I hope your husband will understand and step up to the plate.
Best of everything!
Phoebe said:
Well I guess I will chime in here. When I first learned about a week and a half ago that I entered the TN denial zone. Yesterday I was admitted to the hospital with discharge late this afternoon. The whole fiasco is for a different discussion. However, the driving situation does have me very concerned.
Where I live in Florida we do not have the best of public transportation systems. I guess I will need to depend on my husband but he HATES driving. Until this disorder showed up I was already on 7 medications for bipolar. I remember distinctly driving to a therapy appointment and having MANY close calls. I definitely should not have been driving and luckily I did not kill or injure anyone else or my self. Since then my body has totally acclimated to those medications.
But I do not yet know how my 2 new meds will affect my driving skills. How will I know unless I try? Should I ask my husband how I appear to do walking around the house? Or do I just say, no more driving for me and he will have to come through for me? I just don't see how I could go without the medications as I am so recently diagnosed and I am NOWHERE capable of handling the pain. I have always said I am allergic to pain. Even giving birth and having a gallbladder/appendix attack had me screaming so loud my husband wanted to shoot me to put us both out of misery.
It is not illegal in florida to be on the meds, you just can't let it impair your driving abilities. What a catch 22 :(
Where I see the most common problem with prescribed drugs is not when you carry it in the properly labeled bottle. It is when you put a pill or two in a baggie and carry with you. That is when you get popped for carrying an illegal substance. I get so mad at my father who carries some of his medication in baggies when he goes somewhere. I tell him over and over again that he cannot do this.
As for driving: Gloria is right. A DUI stop and prosecution is HIGHLY subjective. The officer is going to use field sobriety tests in order to determine whether you were impaired or not. A drug test is not going to be very helpful with drugs like tegretol. Of course they are going to show in your system everyday to an extent, but there will be spikes in your blood counts depending on when you take them. Also, remember that the primary use for Tegretol is for epilepsy. Most epileptics are not allowed to drive anyway.
Our doctors are very misleading as well. I was told that all side effects would wear off in a couple of weeks. I assumed that meant the funky motor coordination skills that I am having and that I would be able to drive. Who knows, it may. For now, I won't drive. It's not worth it to me. It would not only involve my license to drive, but also my license to practice law.
What a wonderful topic. This is why I voluntarily give up my keys and have someone drive me. I know when I have had some rough days or nights that it is not good for me to drive so I ask for a driver. I would rather feel like a pain and have a driver than hurt someone or worse with my car. I have an awesome support system who help me with the driving when I cannot. I never thought of the DUI aspect but I know when I feel loopy or have taken narcotics I choose to let someone drive me.
The question is how does the drug effect you? What are the effects? For instance, for some reason vicodin does not impair my abilities to drive. Not sure why. When I asked my doctor, he said some people can metabolize the drugs well and it is not an issue for them. I think it is very important if you intend to drive, to be tested to see if your reflexes and judgement are impaired. Your doctor can do this. My doctor did it for me yesterday.
I am a single mother. I cannot be so affected that I cannot drive. That is not an option for me. So I have to keep searching for the right drug that keeps the pain away, and that my body can metabolize correctly. How I hope it happens!!!!! We are increasing my gabapentin and decreasing my tegretol.... the gabapentin actually has the opposite effect on me... gives me insomnia and other than that, I am good on it. I can deal with insomnia if I can drive and not have a zombie effect.
AS I have already told you, I am a PD Supervisor in the unit where DWI's are tested. Last week a young woman was arrested for driving under the influence. She had hit 2 parked cars and left the scene. She was on prescription meds. SHe argued with us that they were legal and we had no right to arrest her, my answer was liquor is legal also. she was very lucky that she did not hit a person. Her life is now in a tail spin due to this arrest. If it impairs your judgement or your reactio ntime in any way...PLEASE...do not drive. I was not affected by tegrtol and was able to drive and function fine. I would not take anything else because I had a life to live and chose the deal with the pain. That is me, and I am not telling any of you to go without pain meds, but if you need them, stay off the road.
A Gentle Reminder...Don't Drink and Drive this New Year's Eve.
Don't drink and drive and don't ride with anyone who has been drinking. Tipsy Tow is offered by AAA Automotive Club and you don't have to be a AAA member to receive these free services.
From 6pm-6am on New Year's Eve/Day they will take you and your car home for FREE to save lives on the road.
This subject really concerns me because I am on Lyrica and because my TN affects my eyes. I do not drive at night anymore, but I also have had to not drive during the daytime at times, too. I never take any of my pain meds and drive, but I do wonder about the Lyrica. When I brought up my concern to my neruologist, she said that some people drive drunk. I told her, "But I don't! I would never drive drunk." I think she was trying to be humorous, but I have a special needs son, and I am his driver. I need to sit down with my hubby and talk about this.
I do have a question. We talk about driving under controlled substances.....but what about the head pain itself? I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but when the pain is so bad, I am not thinking straight. Is that an impaired condition, too?
booklass, yes, it is an impaired condition, but not anything that by statute you can be charged with. The problem, as I see it, is that if you become so impaired that a doctor could recommend having your licensed suspended.... like with epilepsy. I believe there are a number of conditions that a doctor can do this with.
Also, from a purely negligence/legal aspect... if you are driving in that condition and get in a wreck... it becomes a negligence per se issue. Meaning, the other side does not have to prove all elements legally of negligence in order to get money out of you... all they have to prove is that you knew you had a condition that impaired your ability to drive. In these cases, jury awards can be large, and exceed insurance amounts. People can be bankrupted from situations like this if someone is crippled or killed.
I believe that you are absolutely negligent if you drive in a condition like this. Which is why when I have been in a public place and have an "episode", I call a friend or family member to come and get me. I will not drive in that condition.
That is basically how I see it. While I am not always impaired as the pain is not always as severe, I have had the discussion with my husband that I cannot always drive places anymore. He seems to understand, but it is so new to both of us, I think we are just gradually coming to understand how this affects our whole lives. My main concern is to "do no harm" to others. I will give up my freedom to ensure that. It will be a drag, though, because my son depends on me to get around, but perhaps this is a good time to teach him the subtleties of walking and using our crummy bus system.
Lisa (iamrite) said:
booklass, yes, it is an impaired condition, but not anything that by statute you can be charged with. The problem, as I see it, is that if you become so impaired that a doctor could recommend having your licensed suspended.... like with epilepsy. I believe there are a number of conditions that a doctor can do this with.
Also, from a purely negligence/legal aspect... if you are driving in that condition and get in a wreck... it becomes a negligence per se issue.
I believe that you are absolutely negligent if you drive in a condition like this. Which is why when I have been in a public place and have an "episode", I call a friend or family member to come and get me. I will not drive in that condition.
The one thing that many people do not understand is that if your ability to drive is impaired, you can be arrested. Meds affect each one of us differently. You have to be guided by how you feel on them and your reaction time. the law states that the drivers ability is impaired by alcohol or drugs. Face it our meds are in the drugs category. Most of us would never get behind the wheel of a car if we felt that we could not react in an emergency, thus putting people's lives at risk. But on my job I have seen many people who get upset and threaten to sue us becasue they were arrested for being under the influence and they are taking a prescribed medication. my answer to them is alcohol is legal also, but you should not drive after drinking just as you should not drive after taken certain meds.