Driving while under influence of meds???

[SARAH B]

I've been working with my pain doc and phsyiatrist and they both have suggested the pump. I'm still waiting for evaluation for pump. . .the first one was a failure for the baclofen.
My neurologist wants to wait for testing to come back for possible bleeding disorder, before he tries to do a pump surgery.
Afew mos. ago, I thought, the pump was the only way to go, now, I'm confused, because I wanted to start driving soon and getting on with my life.
What are the "rules for driving while on these finds of meds??????

[Eileen]

Sarah,
I don't have any answers for you, but I share the same question. I recently got put on morphine sulphate and resist taking it during daylight hours if I need to drive for fear that if anything happened they might blame the med. This, of course, means that I stand no chance of any real pain relief except at night.

[LaMemChose]

As for rules, if you are in an accident or pulled over, it will not matter if your meds were prescribed or not if those meds have you impaired. It's the impairment (or being under the influence to the point of impairment), not the source of the substance when determining your potential liability/culpability/breaking of the law.

[Eileen]

LaMemChose,
Isn't this one of those tricky issues though where you might have an accident that is not even your fault, but if they ran a blood test and the morphine (or whatever) showed up you could be legally screwed?

[LaMemChose]

Originally Posted by Eileen

LaMemChose,
Isn't this one of those tricky issues though where you might have an accident that is not even your fault, but if they ran a blood test and the morphine (or whatever) showed up you could be legally screwed?

I think driving while on opiates is a tricky issue in and of itself. To have pain relief of any real sort would likely mean a dose which would cause some degree of impairment. Just because an individual adjusts to the feelings/sensations caused by the drugs does not mean the impairment via those same drugs is not there.

I've heard people say they have adjusted and acclimated to such meds. Just because the person no longer notices the sensations caused by the drugs doesn't mean reaction times are not slowed and/or judgment impaired.

Example of one state's view legally: I was in a high profile vehicle and was literally blown over and off the road when I still drove years ago. I had injuries and was taken to the e.r. Fortunately I had nothing in my system, was not taking pain meds. Had I been, I'd have gotten a DUI. The highway patrol officer told me that when I asked what would have happened had I been on a pain managemet protocol. I was considering entering such a regimen and wanted to know the what if's.

To me this is not just about what the rules say or how close to the edge a person can push it and still "get away with it" (as I once heard someone say), but about what can happen to other people if we're behind the wheel and on pain meds and/or benzos.

I know what it's like to not drive. Could I "fudge" it a bit and get a license? Probably. Am I going to get a license and drive? No. I have a history of epilepsy and I see double all the time. Eye tests at the DMV do not check for double vision, only how well a person can see as each eye is tested individually.

I sorely miss driving. It greatly complicates my life and I'm often pretty well "stuck". Still, driving is a privelege, not a right. I don't have the right to jeopardize anyone else just because it's a PITA to rely on others, paratransit, cabs or ingenuity to go from point a to point b.

If I took pain meds or benzos like valium or klonipin and felt determined to drive I'd talk honestly to my physician, to an attorney, to a law enforcement officer and know the laws inside and out about driving while on rx meds which could possibly cause impaired driving. I'd learn what was and was not impairment and if I in anyway fit the impaired due to medication category.

I'm going to do some digging and see what the variances are (if any) by state for what DUI is and is not.

Perhaps Herco or one of the other officers or an attorney can respond as to the legal implications.

[Eileen]

LaMemChose,
Thank you for your response and all the issues that pain treatment brings up. It is clear to me that I will continue only taking meds at night or on days when I do not have to drive anywhere, as it feels safer all around that way. It is frustrating though, as my primary often looks at me with a "why aren't you taking them as prescribed?" look, and then I worry that she doubts my pain if I skip doses. If nothing else she certainly knows that I am not a drug seeker, as I always have more meds in the bottle at the end of the month than I technically should, but I have no one to drive me anywhere, so I pretty much have to be able to function on my own, which is tenuous under the best of conditions.

[SCI-Nurse]

Hi,

The language re the risks of driving and taking medications is generally very vague, intentionally I believe, because everyone's response to medications is different depending on such variables as tolerance, weight, other medications interactions,etc.

Most clinicians recommend taking the lowest dose possible of pain medications that will satisfactorily relieve your pain but also give you the fewest side effects of drowsiness,etc. One will need to take the medication for a period while refraining from driving to judge its effect on you individually. No one can really answer the driving question for you- nor will they.

As above, many people take lower doses during the day than at night.
As far as the pump, I think the dose could be adjusted. The trial also can give you some indication of how your body will react to it for the short term.

I do not know what a police officer or a lawyer would say about this. I am curious to find out.

AAD

[LaMemChose]

I feel for you Eileen. Not driving is a major PITA and more.

Pain control works best when a constant , steady amount of the medication is in one's system. At least that is what I was told when I was in pain management pre-addiction. My then doctor told me that a person needs more medication in their system at once if the pain is not managed on a consistent basis. Perhaps that is why pain pumps work better for some people.

AAD, it appears the statutes are loose on what is DUI on prescription medication and what isn't. While there are tests to determine what substances are in a person's system at a given time, these tests do not measure the amount in a person's system.

What amount is DUI and what isn't?

From what I'm unearthing, DUI via rx meds can be difficult to prove in court. That is not to say DUI via prescribed meds (even when those same meds are taken exactly as prescribed) does not occur. I'm sure it occurs. It can be hard to prove the extent of impairment in court.

If any of us were to be given a field sobriety test it'd be pretty funky. We cannot walk heel to toe, cannot stand on one leg, etc. An officer could go by speech. Slurring your words and you don't slur due to a disability? It's not looking good for you.

When I only dealt with cerebral palsy an officer stopped me at an outdoor festival for what he thought was public drunk. It wasn't. It was just c.p.'d me and being tired. What he saw as staggering/leaning badly to one side was my normal gait when near exhaustion. What was funny was I was the designated driver for my friends for Oktoberfest. He finally got he was seeing disability, not drunkenness.

Driving while on serious meds is not an easily answered yes or no, do or don't proposition. There are times a person may appear impaired, but it's the disability causing that appearance and other times a person may be impaired and have a disability. How to distinguish between the two?

No easy answers.

I say, when in doubt in any manner, don't drive.
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[sjean423]

Another thing that you have to consider, if you skip pain meds you need is can you drive in pain? Pain can be extremely distracting. It also affects your decision making, response time, attention, etc.

[SARAH B]

I have the type of doc who has put me on max of methadone/klonopin/baclofen and zaniflex all at the same time. I have had to ask for decreases myself. I think it's time tofind a new doc, but can't bec, there aren.t many available. I also can't take neurontin and lyrica didn't have good results either. Now , I'm on topomax. Then, I will make the decision for the pump