I live in the U.S., first off.
I was prescribed a narcotic following a minor surgery. I’m not going to say what kind of surgery that was and please don’t ask. I’ll just go ahead and say that the prescription was for hydrocodone/acetaminophen 5-35. I’m worried about having been prescribed this because I know there’s a state-wide electronic system used to monitor all prescriptions—accessible by all doctors, pharmacies, etc. anywhere else in my state—and I know that system is used to flag people for prescription drug abuse. I also know that medications like this are highly frowned upon by the healthcare system itself and even more so by the authorities. I assume it’s entirely possible that I look suspicious according to that system now.
I’ve only taken a three pills so far, out of ten total. If I take the other seven back to the pharmacy to have them destroyed, they’ll make a record of that, I would imagine.
What I mean is that I could just stop taking them now but never tell anyone that, and anyone looking at my medical history in the future would see that I picked up ten pills from the pharmacy, and that’s all they would see, and so I took the entire script as far as they know; whereas if I take the other seven back, and they make another entry in their records about that, that’s in effect like plus ten and then minus seven, and that way I would theoretically have three pills counted against my medical history instead of ten; right?
I could be way overanalyzing this, but frankly, I’m already terrified to take another one anyway. I honestly don’t like how they make me feel, which is good, but it would be just my luck that I’d take one more pill and start liking it immediately. I know what happens to people who end up liking this stuff, and how easy it is to end up liking it; I’ve seen it. It’s also that I’m still relatively young, and my health’s already bad enough at this point as it is, that I already know they’ll eventually put me in the ground with at least one major surgery, and I don’t want to have to get through that with ibuprofen because I’ve already blown it.
I think you’re thinking about this way to hard. Its an anxiety response. No ones going to blacklist you or judge you for taking a medicine you were prescribed by a doctor. They also probably wouldn’t make a record if the pills were destroyed. If they did it certainly wouldn’t be attached to your medical records. They aren’t being counted against your record. Its not a punishment or a test. You had a surgery, and the prescribed treatment for said surgery aftercare is pain meds. Its okay. You aren’t a criminal or suspicious or being judged for anything.
If you don’t like how they make you feel that’s okay. I personally can’t stand opioids and could manage the pain with Tylenol when I had surgery. But that doesn’t mean its a bad thing to take them. Opioid addiction is generally only a concern after several weeks of constant use, and if you immediately hated them then you’re even less likely to get addicted.
You are going to be okay no matter what you decide. No one will judge you or think less of you no matter what you do.