This article bashes Trump but does not even address his charge that doctors are over-prescribing narcotics when other pain medication could/should have been used instead, such as prescription strength Tylenol. Just because this “only” affects 13% or 25% of the addicts does not mean that it is not a problem.
Additionally, the amount of over-prescription is pretty high per capita.
The problem is bad production, warehouse and transportation security. I want to know if elements of Big Pharma derive clandestine profit from that box of oxy that “fell off a truck”.
It does no such thing
tylenol is crap when you’ve had certain surgeries- tylenol is crap when you have degenerative spinal condition- tylenol is crap when you’re dying of cancer or some other extremely painful condition- tylenol won’t help people with severely bad backs get out of bed in the morning. If you’ve never had surgery that is extremely painful- then you won’t know how brutal it can be-
These people ARE suffering now because they can’t effective pain relief because of this overkill on opioids-
If on the other hand you are talking about doctors giving people with toe fungus, or splinters, or hang nails opioid- then yep- you have a point- EVERYONE is getting lumped together in this witch hunt- and it’s ashame because opioids are the strongest best choice for certain people- tylenol is not strong enough- even prescription strength- and not- prescription strength tylenol is dangerous to peopel with kidney problems- even to peopel without who can develop kidney problems- and things like ibuprofen (sp?) causes deadly bleeding in people with stomach issues- and it too isn’t strong enough to help some people be relatively able to function- Again- some people who are crippled by pain are helped enough by opiods that they can function at least on a basic level- it’s no fun havign pain so bad it causes one ot throw up- that isn’t life- opiods have given a great many people the ability to function at a basic level- and helps people as they are going through extremely painful recoveries, or end of life pain- but sadly in this witch hunt- these people are having to suffer because docs are afraid of being arrested for handing out help to those who need it-
We NEED to be sensible about this issue, and go after the right people- not those who are truly suffering- and we NEED to allow doctors the right to be able to prescribe, on an individual basis, the right pain relief- without fear of being persecuted for it- we NEED to do this on a case by case basis-
In the meantime- we need to be looking for a TRUE opioids alternative- but the fact is- there hasn’t been any such medicines found to date- Maybe that will change- but in the meantime- opioids are the most effective meds for real pain- sorry, but tylenol is not- in many cases-
We NEED to go case by case- and make sure there is a legit reason for the use- a ‘backache’ isn’t a reason- yet many docs- i nthe past- did prescribe for such things- De-generative spine issues are a legit reason- certain surgeries are a legit reason (and the proposed 3 days of meds isn’t enough in many cases- get people through the surgeries in relative comfort- whatever it takes- usually a week or two- depending on the surgery)
No he's not, I didn't read that at all. The author is saying that it's not the over prescribing of opioids by doctors that are creating the epidemic and cites the 13% emergency room overdoses as people who actually started due to pain.
I noticed that as well. When somebody has an oversupply of a valuable commodity it often gets sold, that's where the pipeline is coming from. Docs should not give people more than a 5 day supply.
ah, this is the American populace we're talking about....you know the ones who run to the doc because of "sinus infection" and are let down if an antibiotic isn't prescribed immediately....
dirty little secret is that Naprosyn (aleve) works very well for most arthritic pain but you can't tell people that over the counter meds are more effective than narcs...
we need to look in the mirror...
How, exactly, do you know that?
Human pain is not quantifiable.
Doctors cannot read minds.
Why should people who have severe pain be punished because 2% of the population wants to get high on opioids?
Here are the consequences of this utterly bogus opioid crisis:
(1) Most drug companies will quit the business, and the price of opioid pain killers will double or triple.
(2) Most doctors will quit prescribing opioids, for any patient.
(3) Completely useless “drug treatment” centers and “pain clinics” will sprout like mushrooms - paid for with your tax money.
(4) Thousands of Americans will be forced to endure severe pain because they can't afford opioid pain killers or because they can't find a prescribing doctor.
Full Disclosure...
I am a life long runner with exceptionally high pain tolerance.
My only experience with pain killers was two Percodans after hernia surgery 20 years ago, and generic aspirin for rare headaches.
Tylenol is the biggest cause of liver disease.
I see a tremendous amount of people on chronic opioids for muscle skeletal pain, prescribed by pain clinics. Isn’t it interesting that the rise in opioid abuse coincides with the rise in pain management center, which do things extremely well.
1. They know how to prescribe
2. They know how to bill
My brother in law is a doctor and he blames Joint Commission and their regs and demands on hospitals and doctors to declare war on patient pain. In the last couple of times I was in the hospital the first words they asked me is are you in pain and what is the level of pain 1-10 scale.
I had hemorrhoid surgery last year and there was some major pain and I was prescribed an opioid. I took as prescribed the following day and part of another day and then went to Tylenol with some discomfort but it was easily manageable with ice packs and after another day or two I was sore but fine. But they wanted to make sure I had no pain if possible.