Thank you Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.
They put on the brakes way too hard for prescription opioid pain killers. They helped chase people to fentanyl. My 78 year old mother should be able to get all the pain meds she wants, as long as she agrees to give up driving.
There is no common sense anymore.
on the flip side....Drs are so freaked out about opioids that dealing with pain is a problem for people who have genetic problems with drugs.
I have lost track of the times Drs treated me like I was a drug addict when I would say NSAIDS dont work on me and neither does Oxy or percocet.
I finally got the official genetic test put in my records and the STILL treat me like a drug fiend.
I have Eagles Syndrome. Screw the whole medical profession that doesnt even know what it is and once they do they dont want to give you medicine to deal with the crazy pain.
For example, tramadol is one of the drugs used for this. I can’t use tramadol. I also cant use tricyclic antidepressant that are used for pain.
There are some people in the world that actually do need help with pain.
Thank you Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.
Interesting to read a view from the other side of the “fence.” To add some levity to such a serious topic “Beer is good food!” My favorite being Abita Amber Lager...delicious!
That is because the government interference has made it too difficult for patients who are truly in pain to get the medications they need. Too many patients were cut off cold turkey from their physicians from pain meds that helped them to have a productive life, and thus forced to get their pain prescriptions on the black market. That is one reason we are seeing more fentanyl overdoses in elderly people. They think they are getting opiods but instead are getting fentanyl.
“Drug overdose fatalities among US older adults have quadrupled over 20 years, UCLA research finds”
https://www.uclahealth.org/news/drug-overdose-fatalities-among-us-older-adults-have
I love these posts. its fun to see all the reasons people need they oxy.
Screw pharma. Be a man. Smoke pot and drink whiskey like most of us for the pain.
WHAT is the “opens in new tab or window” several times in the article? Apparently to do with ads. How did it get in there? It’s not in the article at the link. Strange.
Otherwise, good article. Has to be irritating to the medical profession.
Opioids are fine for short term use. I presently have a broken knee cap (dog walking leash tangle) and received oxycodone 5mg for 30 tabs a couple of times.
They helped immensely that first couple of weeks, however I was very careful with them and only for most severe pain. Now I just use NSAIDs or acetaminophen
I had a friend who doctor shopped for opioids using his old medical records and X-rays. Would go all over town going to different doctors. A couple years later a guy I hired out of Indiana who became addicted thanks to this guy ended up homeless and died on his friend’s sofa one night.
My 62 year old BIL’s stomach & esophagus cancer pain was so bad, no pin killers worked except fentanyl.
People should be able to take anything for pain that they want to.
I see nothing in my copy of the Constitution that says anything about the government regulating what we put in our bodies.
Re: “ We are in the throes of a horrible epidemic of illicit drugs. “
We have always been in a horrible epidemic of illicit drugs. Heroin, cocaine, crack, meth, ( this was a big deal when I was practicing), and now fentanyl. Who knows what’s next?
I live with pain daily as do many people and on a good day 4 out of 10. I refuse to take any opioids even though it’s offered about anytime I go to orthopedics. Had to sign a refusal to take them at an emergency room visit last year after a complex torn meniscus knee issue. Bad back, both shoulders shot with massive rotator cuff tears and a couple ibuprofen is what I take and that’s usually every other day. Wife and I take no prescription drugs at all and we hit 70 this year.
So I limp, hurt, takes awhile to get moving, sleep sucks but eventually I get 1 or 2 days of good sleep and get caught up. Still hunt, hike, fish, ride the Harley, work on my cars, do yard and work, maintain the house and refuse to give up.
You deal with pain you don’t prescribe it away. Nobody makes you take opioids, fentanyl or any other drug, it’s all self choice.
That being said every now and then a few good bourbons or whiskeys helps but it’s not crutch for pain.
I actually blame the Insurance Companies for the people that got or get addicted to pain meds legally prescribed by their doctor. Sometimes you have no choice in the matter because the pain is so severe for a long time.
In 1979 after a bad motorcycle accident my doctors and I decided me being addicted to Percodan(yesterdays oxycontin) was the only course of action, at the end of 3 months I was taking 50 a day! and then it was time for my 3 week stay at the hospital for my surgery, but the First Week was to go Through Managed Withdrawls under doctors care in a Hospital Bed. This was actually planned from the beginning, but this is when doctors were allowed to practice medicine without needing approval from insurance companies.
I retired after 46 years of active practice as a PA. I’ve had a lot of problems with osteoarthritis and injures resulting in four joint replacements and other assorted surgeries. I have taken lots of opioids. I rarely take them any more. I’d rather suffer the pain than the constipation they cause. That said, when a patient was suffering severe pain I did not hesitate to order opioids because nothing works better. Our bodies have built-in opioid receptors. Gee, how did those get there? They sure didn’t’ come from the DEA!
Now the pendulum swings and they overreact to the other direction. You’re going to see people being told to do meditation, heating pad, etc. to deal with pain. When there’s an easily available product that could help them. All because of the Sackler family and DC.
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