Jancan,
My pm's office does random testing and you can be called for pill counts as well.
If you are required to give a urine test, you are given the cup, with your name on it, sent into the bathroom, where you have complete privacy, and give the sample directly to the nurse when you are finished. It is then put into a bag that is sealed right in front of you, and you sign the paperwork for the testing ordered.
I don't view it as different than any other urine testing at my primary doctors or the hospital.

So, yeh.. yours is pretty much like mine.
..No great infringement on privacy.

Has anyone had a different experience than that?
Like.. where you're " supervised " throughout the process?

( because..I think, those Leary of PM contracts..
May think that's what it s like..
More like a jail testing than a Dr,s testing.

And..I'm wondering if anyone has had that kind of testing with PM?

Thanks, Sandim.. for sharing your experience.

Here are my reasons:

1. I dont need it to actually DIAGNOSE any condition that I have. It is only to PROVE that I am NOT a criminal breaking federal laws.

2. It is an unnecessary $$$.

3. It does not afford any protection to me! If the tech mixes up my sample with that of someone else, I am dismissed. They are taking different meds than me. They test positive for someone that I am not allowed to take.

4. I was required to take sufficient amounts of my break thru meds for several days before EVERY appointment in order to test positive regardless of actual need. This violates the purpose of break thru medications and wastes dosages for nothing other than proving that I am not a felon. It violates the Hippocratic Oath First do no harm. My break thru meds which always worked before pain doctor were slowly not even taking off the edge. I was becoming acclimatized to that extra medication. Again for no reason! I did not need that pain medication other than to prove I am not a felon.

5. IN my part of the world, one is not allowed to bring a purse or jacket or anything into the bathroom.
***One lines up with their little cup outside the bathroom in the hallway.
***There is privacy only in the bathroom.
***The sample is carried to the other end of the office to the techs offices.
***Once there, another line forms to wait to hand in the sample.
***Then another line forms at the sink to wash hands (There is no sink in the bathroom.)
***All this time, my valuables are sitting in an unsecured examination room.
These things violate my right to protect my personal belongings, my right to any privacy (the UAs are random and one always feels judged throughout this process), the hallways become totally crowded and many CPers need canes, motorized chairs and such making it even more trial. All this standing makes me really need those break thru meds.

6. It is not a diagnostic procedure. It is just to prove that I am not a criminal.

7. My civil rights are violated every single time. This countries laws clearly state that one is innocent until proven guilty.

8. I dont actually get the results to this test for my records. It is a big secret.

9. It is fact that eating a poppy seed bagel will throw off these tests. Despite never breaking any laws, I can never eat without fear of getting a call tomorrow that I have to pass a random UA or being dismissed.

10. I have to show up always ready with a full bladder or close to one. When they are running behind, I am stuck!

So..
Yeh..
The setup at your PM is not as dignified.

..aren't you able to just show that you still have the breakthrough meds if they aren't in your system?
Did I phrase that question understandably?
I mean..if you haven't had to take your BT meds.. can't you just say..here they are. ?

To be clear..
I don't LIKE the " system, either.
I do NOT have the luxury..of .. dignity..I guess.

Thank you, Bright side..
For just talking about this.

There are so many strong feelings around these things..
Understandably.
I find it terrifying to rely on this process to make it possible to live my life.

..That's not an exxageration for me..
It's either pain relief ( not ending of pain.. but easing enough to bear).. or suicide. Sorry that sounds like drama..
It's just the truth.

So, Bright side..
Aren't you afraid that.. if they outlaw these " contracts"..
It will become even more difficult to get opiate pain meds than it already is.. for those of us who NEED it.
As you, clearly, do, as well. ?

Sometimes I'm truly terrified of that possibiity.

You have some other valid points, as well..
That address some of my fears.

I need to find again.. and post the info of..
We have found a local lab that does various blood work fairly inexoensively
( this occurred a couple of years ago, when i didn't want to wade through six Dr.s to get a couple of simple bloodtests.
Anyway..
They also do drugtesting.
Which..I find comfort in having available..
Because we can.. and would.. challenge any false results from the PM.

Jc my pain doc does urine tests quarterly. I am given a cup, go to the bathroom in complete privacy and then put the specimen in a little cabinet. There is a bell in the cabinet to notify the aide that there is a specimen. Some of the nurses and PA's count pills and while I am not crazy about that it is a small price to pay for the care I receive. They are wonderful and hearing the nightmares out there I am extremely grateful for this group of doctors and nurses. I have been using them for 8 years.

Oddly..
I don't think of it as me having to prove to my Dr that I'm nit a criminal..
But.. My Dr having t prove to... whoever's..
That she is not running a pill mill.
KWIM?

Sorry, Jasmine.. we posted simultaneously..
I wasn't ignoring you. :-)

Thanks for sharing.

While in some offices after reading the replies, the procedures aren't great, the odds mixing up a sample after having to hand it specifically to the lab person are extremely slim .
There are things you can do to prevent that, by asking the lab person to seal the bottle/cup in front of you, and making sure that your name us on the label and paperwork.Initial the seal on both sides.
I don't view urine testing as my having to prove I'm not misusing my meds, as much as I do view it as ensuring that my doctor can be assured that I am in compliance and following her dosing directions. I am ensuring my ability to be given medications to manage my pain levels so that I can have some quality of life.
As far as the breakthrough meds go, I simply discussed with my doctor that there are days that I don't need any, and days that I do. Should I be tested, I simply bring in the bottle to show her that I have them, and keep a log of when and how much I took.
Poppy seeds from a bagel will not cause a false positive,unless you ate tons of bagels with them These tests have cut off levels, and you would have to eat a lot of bagels with poppy seeds in order to reach the cut off threshold for detection. The testing done today is far more accurate than it was even 6-7 years ago. For those offices that use an in office screen, and produce a result that someone says is false, those are sent out for more specific testing which looks for the metabolites of the medications and other drugs.
I know this because my husband does the testing at our GP's office and has for many years.
With gas chromatography and mass spectrometry testing, false positives and negatives are extremely rare, which is why most pm offices use confirmatory testing if there is an issue with an in office screen.
You can also ask about using blood tests instead if you are uncomfortable with the urine testing. My pm's office will allow that.

One other comment, you can request a copy of the lab results. They are part of your medical record, therefore all you need to do is ask for the results.

I had the first one anyone asked me for and I've been using codiene for 12 years. They just gave me a cup, like any ordinary urine test. I told the nurse I didn't need one, since I had just had a urinanylis. He told, me "No, this one is different." Then I realized it was for drugs. I didn't particularly care, since I know it is just this weird atmosphere about pain meds and I think my doc is just protecting himself by proving he is doing things "right." I think they were a little embarrassed to ask a 62 year old who they know is in pain to do this.

That's just it, Anne, it seems to come down to how the office handles it, but even more importantly to how we view it.
If you just treat it as you would any other medical test, it doesn't feel as invasive.
I think when it is handled in a professional manner by the office and the patient, it "feels" less invasive.

Through various PM Doctors, I've had to do it occasionally but always as you describe, privately in the bathroom by myself, put the little cup in the window/shelf on the wall. .Never was it ever suggested that someone go with me or witness it, I've never heard of that being done anywhere....if they do that they might as well strip search you to make sure you didn't bring someone else's urine with you to trade it out.

Its not an unrealistic request, Dr.'s have a responsibility to NOT give drugs to addicts or perpetuate the sale of narcotics....they can't just ask, people 9 out of 10 tend to lie for their own gain, so they do a test to make sure the patient is doing what they're supposed to with their meds. Why is that unreasonable.

Is it unreasonable that Diabetes patients are required to do blood sugar levels to make sure their taking their meds? Is it unreasonable that cancer patients are monitored through blood tests and urine tests to make sure their narcotics levels aren't toxic..oh wait, people don't know about that one, therefore it's not talked about and dissected in society....but it is a fact.

The only time I've seen someone supervised during a urine drop is when its a teenager being tested at his parents request, or an addict checking in at a sub or methadone clinic...then they're supervised.....crap oh yeah a few times when someone stumbles into the ER obviously Dr. shopping for drugs, they tend to be "monitored" pretty closely too.

CP'ers scream for ways to protect ourselves against the evils of CP Drs. and stricter DEA laws....why would any good Dr. not be smart enough to do the same against drug addict patients and stricter DEW laws that can shut down their practices and take their livelihoods away from them?

Being in constant pain 24/7 for a couple years is hell.....what do you think it is to be in University for 8 yrs., Residency for another 2 - 4, then get your license taken away because the patient you thought you were helping, was taking their meds and selling them on the street....and you get to go be a stockboy at Walmart......sounds like Hell to me.

My husband is a police officer,and has a current license and works as a nurse for his side job. In both , he can be and is given urine testing, in front of another nurse, no closing the bathroom door.
In his job as a nurse, he has performed/oversaw many drug tests, for truck drivers, law enforcement oersonnel, ems ,nurses, firenen,both paid and volunteer , as well as ones for various companies such as Target, Walmart, etc that require drug testing as a condition of employment.
The conditions that the sample must be given in most cases are set by the agency,or employer, with the exceptions being truckers ,law enforcement testing ,ems, and fire, and sometimes nursing positions which have federal or state regulations regarding the testing procedures.

Seems like Urine drops are the industry standard for testing...and other Industries are a lot stricter than Pain Management Dr.'s.

Heck they could make you take blood tests...that would suck.