I am a registered nurse in an emergency room. In an effort to be...

I am a registered nurse in an emergency room. In an effort to be taken seriously regarding your pain,by a healthcare professional - keep a pain journal. Note the time, the severity (on a 1 to 10 scale), location, duration, what you were doing when it started, any treatment you completed for the pain and the outcome of that treatment, MD visits and treatment, etc. It can just be a little notebook. Bring that with you to your MD appointment. If you start changing doctor's, visiting different clinics and emergency rooms to obtain the "correct" medication for your pain - you are addicted, and need to seek help for that. Of course you should seek second opinions on your continued pain, just don't expect to always get the specific medicationn that you would like. Yes, healthcare professionals scrutinize closely people who come in requesting Vicodin, or any other narcotic. The drug-seekers in the community have forced us to be more suspicious - especially if you say you have been on Vicodin (or any other narcotic) for 6 months(???!!!) No-one should be on narcotics for extended periods of time. If you are taking them for longer than a couple of weeks, on a pretty scheduled basis - you are addicted. Period. Narcotics have different levels given to them for dependency issues. Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen (Vicodin), Demerol, Morphine, Valium - are all at a pretty high addiction rate. Tramadol is at the lower range. I am amazed at the number of people who are having a paradoxical effect to Ultracet. It is a narcotic - a "downer". There might be more than just that specific medication causing the euphoric effects. Perhaps a pain journal would also clarify this. I am not a physician, but an experienced ER RN - take my advice for what it is worth.