The healthcare system in this country makes it nearly impossible for people to deal with their ailments.
But, that doesn’t mean that we can just share prescription medication with each other.
A Redditor encountered this very issue with her student. So they turned to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit for moral judgment.
They asked:
“AITA for not giving my roommate my prescription?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I got a prescription for Vicodin after wisdom teeth surgery and filled it, figuring I might need it for later.”
“Never ended up using it so it sat in my bathroom until my roommate saw and asked me to use it for her period pain.”
“She has crazy periods where she is bent over screaming and white in the face from pain so I feel bad for her but I’m uncomfortable with giving away my prescription as it feels kinda illegal.”
“So I say no, and throw the pills out.”
“She started her period last night and I check up on her and ask her if she is alright.”
“She gets mad and tells me I don’t really care since I chucked the pills rather than give them to her.”
“AITA for not giving my roommate my Vicodin prescription?”
Redditors gave their opinions on the situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Most Redditors agreed OP was not the a**hole.
“I think that really depends on the situation. I agree the vicodin shouldn’t be shared. But I have friend with the same Xanax prescription as me. If we are out together and he starts having a panic attack I hand one over. PTSD is a bitch and I won’t make him suffer if he doesn’t have to. His service dog aged out of the program and he hasn’t been able to get another. So he can’t really carry his. I’m a woman and always have my purse.
Oh, and if anyone wants to donate to great cause K9’s For Worriers finds, raises, and teaches service dogs. They train the veterans on how to take care of them and how to use them properly. And they do all this for FREE.” ~ purplechunkymonkey
“I do not want to be that person who comes in and goes JUST TRY THIS, but if you can, try to get a referral to a pain management specialist. The line about ‘being too far out from’ made me cringe, because that’s exactly what happened to me after I crushed a vertebra in a car accident and the doctors decided I should just be over it.”
“I had to pretty well demand it, including the tried-and-true ‘I want you to write that in my chart’ (a lot of doctors don’t like to notate them saying no to things because it may come back to bite them), but finally I got in with a clinic I have been with for 3 years.”
“I do get a highly limited and supervised prescription now, but they are also generally better at understanding intractable pain and all the fun health problems it causes, which helps a lot in non-prescription management.”
“Again, I want to acknowledge that this is not easy or even possible for everyone and I am fortunate, but only because someone in my same position told me to ask for this. I would have kept being frustrated with primary care or neurology forever otherwise.”
“I wish you every bit of luck navigating this sh*tshow of a healthcare system.” ~ fishmom5
“Even if she goes to a doctor it’s unlikely she will be helped. She probably has endo and adenomyosis but that takes 10-20 plus years to diagnose because doctors don’t listen to women and write it off as histrionics and anxiety.”
“What I did: 500mg of naproxen every 12 hours, two extra strength Tylenol every 6. Start before the pain hits really badly (get ahead of the pain). I’m not a doctor. Ask yours. Or a pharmacist. Etc etc.”
“It helps and it isn’t addictive.” ~ Diligent-Sundae-4609
People also argued that the healthcare system is to blame.
“NTA, but if this is America, the real asshole is the healthcare industry. Commenters saying she can go to her doctor, may or may not be right. We don’t know her insurance situation or if she can afford the out of pocket premiums.” ~ muh-guy-Sedai
“Well but also the patriarchal medical establishment, which is more than just the US. It’s how research works, how women’s pain is dismissed and mocked, all of which is made significantly worse by out absolutely shitty ‘healthcare’ system.”
“She’d have to luck out massively to have a good caring doctor and an insurance company that is willing to pay.”
“That said, you have no idea how fast she might become dependent/addicted depending on her body, so I wouldn’t give schedule I narcotics to a roommate out of fear.” ~ Archandincorrigible
“This right here. That’s why I wouldn’t share a prescription with anyone. There’s a reason you have to have a prescription.” ~ Lanky-Temperature412
“Any ‘woman pain.’ I gave birth med free 3 times and was told to just take ibuprofen after. Even with tearing and terrible cramps followed by multiple breast infections while nursing. Got my wisdom teeth out and the doc basically threw oxys at me on my way out the door.”
“ETA: I’ve had debilitating periods since I was 10 years old. Crying, puking, curled in a ball, unable to stand. I was told ‘Just take BC pills.'”
“Ok…but those make me suicidal and ragey.”
“‘Well…good luck. Nothing we can do.'” ~ deleted
“And even with a good doc they probably wouldn’t give pain meds immediately.”
“I used to get severe pain from my period (and no underlying health condition, they checked).”
“My doc is amazing but said she would not prescribe heavier pain meds until I tried birth control first, which did end up working but if it hadn’t, that would have been another trip to the doc, time and money lost.” ~ PracticalLady18
“I’m more shocked that Vicodin was prescribed at all for wisdom teeth removal.”
“When I got mine out i only got strong Ibuprofen and even then I didn’t need all of it (I think i had 2 left over?) I didn’t even get ‘the good stuff’ for the removal, just general pain numbing stuff.”
“We had to specially request that for my younger sibling when it was his turn because we wanted some funny videos of him (we found out he’s a crier though, still pretty funny).” ~ AnimalLover38
There is a reason why some medicine is prescribed.