Providers Who Use Prescription Drugs

[renodeb]

I would not tell anyone. Its nobodys business. I know a lot of providers that tell there clients everything and they do not need to know. I think it would be a diffrent story if you had just started on those meds!
Debbie

[MyAngels]

As a mother, I would want to know. And no, I wouldn't leave my daughter in your care.

As a provider, I feel it is nobody's business and you shouldn't have to disclose.

Hypocritical? Yep. But at least I'm honest

Every time I read one of these threads it makes me want to be a mod. I must be nosey ::

[SilverSabre25]

Every time I read one of these threads it makes me want to be a mod. I must be nosey ::

I used to feel the same way :: now I'm a mod and sometimes, really, I'd rather not know things.

And yes. I hate not knowing things, always have.

[Blackcat31]

I signed in just for funsies...that unreg you quoted was me...I do wonder though how it shows up to the mods...IP's wouldn't be really easy to match...neither would location...Tell us mods...how does it show for you?

Well, it isn't like a flashing neon sign or anything but when a topic is posted by an unregistered user and the topic has the potential to be controversial or dramatic, we (mods) take clues and cues from the post.

We pay attention to words they normally misspell or use incorrectly, to speech patterns and tempo as well as tone.

Those are VERY identifiable details sometimes.

9 out of 10 times we (mods) simply suspect but if the suspicion is strong enough, we can do a little cross referencing and a little more cross referencing and after a little research and a little bit of guessing, it usually becomes obvious.

[Greenplasticwateringcans]

I used to feel the same way :: now I'm a mod and sometimes, really, I'd rather not know things.

And yes. I hate not knowing things, always have.

Any chance you could please confirm the OP is not me?

[Greenplasticwateringcans]

Well, it isn't like a flashing neon sign or anything but when a topic is posted by an unregistered user and the topic has the potential to be controversial or dramatic, we (mods) take clues and cues from the post.

We pay attention to words they normally misspell or use incorrectly, to speech patterns and tempo as well as tone.

Those are VERY identifiable details sometimes.

9 out of 10 times we (mods) simply suspect but if the suspicion is strong enough, we can do a little cross referencing and a little more cross referencing and after a little research and a little bit of guessing, it usually becomes obvious.

That's really neat!

My inner texting teen comes out a lot and I almost always do "..." in my posts and emails....If I don't sign in, which is often, I can tell what unreg is me quickly by that and by my lazy use of contractions and punctuation..and spelling.

[mamac]

I think that if your doctor has cleared you and you are capable of watching children then I see no reason to disclose that information. It is nobody's business but your own up until the point that it starts to affect your ability to care for the children.

There are so many different illnesses that providers may have that "could" affect their ability to run their daycares, yet I'm sure not everyone would jump on the "you-must-disclose" bandwagon. For example- diabetes could become an impairment, as well as many other common or not so common ailments that people wouldn't normally disclose. Narcotics seem to be the big taboo of prescription drugs even though it is often prescribed for such minor things as a pulled tooth.

I, personally, wouldn't want my child under the care of someone on antipsychotic medications or someone who was seeing a psychiatrist for whatever personal issues they may be having, but how many of you would feel comfortable disclosing to your clients that you were seeing a shrink?

I see these examples as no different than prescription narcotic use as long as everything has been cleared through a doctor.

I'm speaking as someone who has been, on and off over the past 24 years, on narcotic pain medication for a chronic illness. I was able to operate "heavy machinery" with no problems because I knew how my body would react to the medication. I was more of a risk without the narcotics because I couldn't function normally due to the pain. Even without narcotics my illness could cause issues in caring for children. Hell- it could even kill me- but I feel that it is my right to not tell parents if I don't want to and I think that right should be given to all people dealing with any illness as long as they are physically able to care for the children and have gotten consent from a doctor to do so.

I say don't tell unless it becomes an issue.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

If a doctor has cleared you for care of children and your licensing agency knows about your condition, I would NOT disclose anything to anyone.

NOT because I think you should "hide" it but because you legally don't have to tell people unless you are required to....kwim?

My husband is a type 1 insulin diabetic. He takes medication to control his condition. He is NOT required by law to tell anyone this information.

Depending on what your condition is and what the possibilities are that you could become impaired enough to not be able to provide care alone, I would keep my personal life private.

I agree.

[LaLa1923]

If a doctor has cleared you for care of children and your licensing agency knows about your condition, I would NOT disclose anything to anyone.

NOT because I think you should "hide" it but because you legally don't have to tell people unless you are required to....kwim?

My husband is a type 1 insulin diabetic. He takes medication to control his condition. He is NOT required by law to tell anyone this information.

Depending on what your condition is and what the possibilities are that you could become impaired enough to not be able to provide care alone, I would keep my personal life private.

[Blackcat31]

Any chance you could please confirm the OP is not me?

The OP in this thread is NOT Greenplasticwateringcans

[Greenplasticwateringcans]

The OP in this thread is NOT Greenplasticwateringcans

Thanks

[Starburst]

Im about to open an in home daycare and ve already had a few interviews. But my friend tells me that I should disclose to the parents that I see a chronic pain specialist and have for three years who monitors my medications via urine and blood checks etc. she said because I'm on lorcet and a pain patch I should tell all of my daycare parent all about it. I've been on these same meds for two to three years and I'm followed every other month with my doctor .

What do you guys think about this?? I'm taking lorcet by mouth and the every three day patches . Prt of me says because I'm regulated on them and I'm not impaired, it's non of the parents business. Even people who don't know I'm on the pills and patches are surprised because they had no idea. I've asked my doctor if I appear even mildy impaired to him. He says no, the only reason he would know I was taking something is my pupils?

So my question is this.... Do I tell parents or not"?? If you were a parent at my interview and I disclosed the above, would you leave your kids here or not??

Thanks for your replies in advanced.

I heard some people on here that said you need to have a physical where your doctor says you are healthy enough to work with children before you can get licensed/registered (depending on your state). If you are in pain, this is probably not the best field for you. My aunt was a TA at an elementary school about 15 years ago and once at recess a large child jumped on her back without warning and she has had chronic back pain ever since (she now has fibromyalgia). I took a class with one woman who has worked at a center with infants/toddlers for over 10 years, she now is more of a supervisor (not hands on) because she has a bad back after years of picking up babies and having to get on the floor to play with them. When we were in middle school and the PE teachers did scoliosis (curved spine) tests they would tell us not to carry babies or small children on one side of our hips (which happens to be a natural weight baring child-carrying position) because that could cause back issues later on. In fact, the FCCP I used to work for has been in business for over 30 years, she has always been naturally tall but now has a hunched back and scoliosis from having to bend down and pick up/carry young children everyday for so long- now she mostly does the administration/planning/shopping part of the business but has several assistants who do most of the direct physical work with kids (like teaching dances for graduation or leading in outside game activities).

Kids today are heavier than they were decades ago. My ECE teacher says most centers around here want you to be able to lift 50-75lbs, it used to be only 25-50 lbs. Also if you have to take something that can alter your mental state or ability to do normal tasks (like driving) than I would think licensing would have an issue with it. Plus, if I put my [future] child in someone's care and something did happen I would want to know that (under regular circumstances) they are physically able to get to them and help them if there was an emergency [such as CPR if they collapse on the floor].

[Lyss]

I used to feel the same way :: now I'm a mod and sometimes, really, I'd rather not know things.

And yes. I hate not knowing things, always have.

:: Sometimes when I see the "unregistered" or "logged out for privacy" I totally start wondering, but then I step back and tell myself I probably really don't want to know or deal with what the Mods do!! Thanks for confirming that! ::

If a doctor has cleared you for care of children and your licensing agency knows about your condition, I would NOT disclose anything to anyone.

NOT because I think you should "hide" it but because you legally don't have to tell people unless you are required to....kwim?

My husband is a type 1 insulin diabetic. He takes medication to control his condition. He is NOT required by law to tell anyone this information.

Depending on what your condition is and what the possibilities are that you could become impaired enough to not be able to provide care alone, I would keep my personal life private.

The "provider" part of me totally agrees with this but the "mommy" side makes want to say you should disclose it. I guess that's why I'm in this business because I'd rather be the one disclosing information (I don't have anything to disclose BTW, well unless you count the occasional need for some wine after a day of crazy as something that needs to be disclosed ) rather than wondering or finding out after the fact.

If I was OP (I'm not BTW, Mods can check ::::: I don't think I'd be in this business. I'm sore some nights and I don't have any chronic pain issues. Of course how I'm interpreting chronic pain that requires daily medication (IMO it must be pretty bad and hard to deal with :hug may not be what the OP actually deals with, but either way I certainly wouldn't want to more pain/soreness/stress to and already present problem.

PS what happened to frgs? Didn't she have a similar thread of sorts (can't remember what it was titled)? Maybe she could offer some advice on how she handles this, I don't remember what actually came out of that thread other than different debates. (And if I'm totally thinking of the wrong poster sorry!!)

[rmc20021]

I haven't read most of the replies, but I'm going to speak from the heart and it may come across as demeaning...which is totally not my intention at all.

I would never leave my child with someone who uses pain medications of that magnitude. After having said that, I will explain.

My son (and his wife) are both addicted to prescription pain medications...HEAVILY.

They started out by using them for the purpose they were prescribed and as they became used to them, they no longer worked as effectively and they, unknowingly of the potential dangers of addiction, began using more.

The next thing you knew, they were taking 5-10 vicodin at a time, several times daily. It was something I was not aware of at that time, but it became an issue which led to them to losing their jobs, their cars, their home and ultimately their kids (who I now have custody of...permanently) as well as the rest of the family. It has destroyed our entire family.

And although you are being monitored closely, I have also been witness to how my son and dil were able to alter their drug screens.

Dealing with the foster care court system has opened my eyes to a whole new world of 'pain meds' which I would never have believed 5 years ago and because of my knowledge of how many people are actually addicted to prescription pain meds, I would base my decision to not leave my child in the care of anyone using them on my experiences of watching from the sidelines of the dangers of prescription pain meds.

NOBODY ever sets out to become addicted, but they do and as one type of pain med becomes ineffective in acheiving the same feeling as they are used to and has become their daily life, more powerful narcotics come into play...such as morphine and heroin.

Again, please remember this is not an attack on you...this is my reasoning as to why I would not leave my child with anyone using prescription pain meds such as the ones you use.

One more piece of info I learned the hard way...the pain patches, although seem harmless, are also used by withdrawing the gel out of the patch with a syringe and injecting it. My son almost died from it and the doctor said that most people who do this, do not survive.

So to answer your question, I would NOT disclose the information about using the pain meds for two reasons. # 1, parents may feel strongly against it and if you want to stay in business it may affect you being able to get/have clients. # 2, IF you happen to come across users who abuse the meds, they will hound you for yours or possibly even try stealing them from you.

Yet again, on the other hand, if something were to ever happen to a child and the parents were not aware of the situation with the pain meds, it could open up a whole other can of worms...

[canadiancare]

If you are in chronic pain I can pretty well guarantee this isn't the career for you. There is so much physical to our day.

I don't know enough about pain management drugs to comment on disclosure but based solely on how many days you wake up feeling horrible you may also miss more time than a working parent can gamble on.

I am sorry you feel crappy but I'd say try for something else.