It doesn't take a genius to figure out the scammers. Drug seekers will often have an elaborate story, which just as often doesn't add up. Striving for the perfect combination of symptomatology and believability that will yield a score takes talent and experience. The newbies are spotted a mile away.
One misguided very young female and her skievey male accomplice in search of the ever-elusive narcotic script said she had "blacked out" while at Subway 5 days ago. She had been taking Tylenol and Advil for her terrible headache ever since.
I backed up the bus. "Blacked out?"
Woman: "I was waiting to order. My head has been really hurting ever since"
Me: "Did you lose consciousness?"
Woman: "Yes. The top of my head is where it hurts. And I feel dizzy"
Me: "Did you hit your head?", "Did you go to the ER or see your doctor?"
Woman: "I was told I hit it on the counter. No, I didn't see doctor. I've been trying to take care of my really bad headache on my own. But I've had the headache for 5 days now non-stop"
Me: "Were you at all concerned about blacking out?"
Woman: "Not really. I'm more concerned about the headache"
Sigh. She answered yes to the presence of nausea, photophobia, lightheadedness, aversion to sound, having no appetite, and allergy to cats, bees, codeine, Tramadol, Imitrex (although she denied a history of migraines). She also reminded me three more times about her 9/10 headache.
See, she way overshot the mark here and simply added too much embellishment. Concern about "Blacking out" and head injury trumps persistent headache. This will not garner narcotics, but it WILL buy head CT.
