Community Chat

[Irshgrl31201]

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@momtochloe wrote:

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@Irshgrl31201 wrote:

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@momtochloe wrote:

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@Irshgrl31201 wrote:

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@Irshgrl31201 wrote:

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Hey @Noel7, it is nice to see you too!!

Yes, I read a while back about the testing regarding men and women. Shameful, really.

It isn't legal where I live but last I read there was a bill that was proposed. Who knows how long that will take. NC is one of 20 states that does not prosecute for small amounts though so through police who are married to a few of my friends, I just found out how much is too much and just stay under that amount. I use very little anyway as I am a lightweight!!

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@Irshgrl31201

Good for you!  I'm a lightweight, too    I don't think I could handle the new stuff, it's so much more powerful than what was out back in my college days.  40 X the strength, they say.

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OMG, no kidding. I did it the first time expecting 1988 strength!! It reminds me of Louis CK bit about that!! Don't know if you have ever seen it. It made me laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMp7H3hZjsU  This was totally me the first time I did it because I hadn't done it in quite a few years!!! lol!

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@Irshgrl31201 tee hee . . . jean jacket Bad Company hit . . . again, tee hee! . . .

I do love me some Louis CK!

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@momtochloe, I do too. When I first saw this I laughed and laughed because that is seriously how I felt after smoking again for Crohns difficulties when I haven't in years!! He is just so funny.

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@Irshgrl31201 I hope you are doing well and feeling good these days my friend! . . .

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@momtochloe, I am doing really good. I hope you are doing well too!!!

[febe1]

I've found doctors do NOT give out pain medication easily or casually. I don't know how all these movie stars and rock stars can doctor shop and get pain meds.

I've been given pain medication twice: once for a three rooted root canal (wow) and once for oral surgery. Both from dentists. And both times they were given very very sparingly: eight once and ten the other time. I don't know what the meds were now, but they were both very very effective. They immediately removed all pain for four hours and gave me a sense of euphoria. Wonderful feeling.. I couldn't wait for the four hours to come around. I can easily see why many people would become addicted to them. Honestly, I felt like I was addicted with so few pills and wished I had more.

I think doctors and dentists must be and are, very scrupulous in giving out. The ones I know are. They know how addictive they are and many themselves have become addicted..

OTOH, I do believe anyone in pain, especially those with cancer and have pain, should be given what is needed. Those who are terminal, I believe they should never suffer, regardless whether they sleep away.

[Noel7]

No one with serious pain should have to suffer.

Let the researchers get busy with that.

[hyacinth003]

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@Ms X wrote:

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@Hayfield wrote:

My DH had a root canal & it was so difficult the dentist gave him some pain pills that only cost us $3 to get filled.  Needless to say, DH didn't need them & I ended up tossing them for fear of using them for something else.  It seems like doctors and dentists are more than willing to prescribe  medications and I think it's easy to become addicted.   I've also read about teenagers stealing their parents medication, then getting hooked and then turning to heroin.  Like someone said this has been going on since the 60's.  If you have an addictive personality, it can be terrible for you to get hooked on this stuff.  It is scary.  

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I recently discussed this with my own dentist before having dental implant surgery.  I told him I didn't want the narcotics and was asking whether aspirin would be effective.  He commented that some people insist on the narcotics and won't even give plain aspirin a try.  There are definitely those who need pain pills, but some mild pain is a small price to pay to avoid highly addictive pills.

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There is no need to suffer short term pain like dental surgery.  Some people don't need stronger medication, but some do.  It is good to have a small amount of stronger medication to back up the other.  First oral sugery I had, I thought I wasn't going to need pain med - until the novocaine wore off!  Wow, was I in pain.  I went through childbirth without pain medication, so I am no slouch.

In the SHORT TERM, very few people need to worry about an addiction.  That is just incorrect.  As an RN for a long time, the vast majority of people start to lower their use of pain medication and stop it when they no longer need it.  Plus it can make you sleepy and tired, and most people want to function.

If used for short term things like dental surgery, you don't need to worry about addiction.

Hyacinth

[KarenQVC]

The medical system is all messed up.  Patients who need pain pills should get them as long as they need them.  People who are addicted and can come off the pills should receive inpatient treatment.  There should be no worries about stigma or cost.

That being said, if I get a course of pain pills, I usually try to get off them after 5 days or less.  I do not have chronic pain.

[pitdakota]

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@SahmIam wrote:

Commenting on the "we must take you off opiates" mentality:

For many, there ARE no other options. I won't bore anyone with what I've done regarding this issue and advocating for my son. I will say there are drugs out there that could help many but due to addicts, we can't get them. This "new" way of dealing with pain isn't new for those who have followed the long path from treatment to treatment from doctor to doctor and from med to med ONLY to find that now what works they have to BEG for.

How does this help the patient? Instead of going after the pushers (doctors) they go after the patients. THere will ALWAYS be those that abuse something (food? Booze?) so are we going to punish everyone for the choices those people made?

FYI GOOD pain clinics are few and far between. Even worse, GOOD drug rehab programs are even more difficult to find and we haven't even mentioned the COST of these clinics. My son was in one because we wanted to help reduce the amount of opiates he was on. Cost? $75,000 for THREE WEEKS.

DId it work? Nope. Because he has a NERVE disease and you have to experiment with hundreds of drugs to find something that MIGHT give slight relief. One thing I have found; if you can document (medically) and PROVE that nothing else will work, it's easier to get your meds. At least, that's what I've discovered over the past 6 years. It's a CONSTANT battle and it's only going to get worse. 

I'll leave you with this: Told to me by a neurosurgeon in the presence of 2 nurses, a clinician and a case worker- "when the number of suicides by those with chronic pain / nerve disease start to to climb; when the number of medically assisted suicide REQUESTS begin to number in the hundreds and then thousands; THEN the CDC will backpedal this moronic stance on meds for chronic pain sufferers."

I agree 100%.

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@SahmIam Interesting, because that neurosurgeon from the CDC's standpoint can prescribe whatever, she or he wants to prescribe.

The CDC has only issued guidelines and has no oversight or enforcement powers of physicians of any kind for prescribing pain medications.

However, many state legislators have passed legislation to monitor what doctors prescribe and how often so that they can catch the health care practitioners that are not prescribing for pain control, but are in it to make money and push pills. 

  Here is just one article that discusses Washington State's change in law that is much of what is being discussed here:  http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/times-watchdog/new-state-law-leaves-patients-in-pain/

Here is another article discussing the move by states to regulate presciption of opioids:  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/health/er-pain-pills-opioids-addiction-doctors.html

So state laws and therefore, state legislators are the ones that are more directly responsible for many of the restrictions that are discussed in this thread.

[Lila Belle]

Thanks @pitdakota for your factual response. Facts matter.

I'll also add that addiction is prevalent in every social class.

[SahmIam]

@pitdakota  You're right he can. It also means that he and other specialists are being bombarded with new patients who now can not get Rx's from their PCP who KNOW their patient but whose hands are tied by the states following the recommendations from the CDC.

The CDC is not, in my opinion, an organization to respect. But that's another topic for discussion.

In the end, for patients who need medication to deal with pain that is crippling, they are being forced to go without/with less, change doctors to specialists or jump through hoops to get what they need. THAT is deplorable; morally and ethically wrong. But hey, the CDC says it's what we should so.....

And of course: Won't someone PLEASE think about the junkies?! Their needs are FAR more important than those which chronic illnesses. 

Don't think so.

The whole thing just ticks me off to a point it makes me sick.

[pitdakota]

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@SahmIam wrote:

@pitdakota  You're right he can. It also means that he and other specialists are being bombarded with new patients who now can not get Rx's from their PCP who KNOW their patient but whose hands are tied by the states following the recommendations from the CDC.

The CDC is not, in my opinion, an organization to respect. But that's another topic for discussion.

In the end, for patients who need medication to deal with pain that is crippling, they are being forced to go without/with less, change doctors to specialists or jump through hoops to get what they need. THAT is deplorable; morally and ethically wrong. But hey, the CDC says it's what we should so.....

And of course: Won't someone PLEASE think about the junkies?! Their needs are FAR more important than those which chronic illnesses. 

Don't think so.

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It is not the states' "following the recommendations of the CDC".  The date on that first article dates to 2011.  That is long before the CDC came out with their guidelines.  They did not publish their guidelines until earlier in the spring of this year. 

This just seems to be a chance to try and blame the CDC without actually knowing the progression of regulation of prescription of opioids and the role the states have had to play over the last several years. 

I agree it is frustrating.  But it doesn't help or lend itself to a useful discussion when someone confuses facts just to blame the CDC.  In fact, it might limit someone's drive to become involved and make changes.  Changes can be made at the state level.  Where the legislation has taken place & holds the health care providers in that state to certain laws.  It isn't the CDC or states trying to follow the recently published CDC guidelines.  In fact, their guidelines are less restrictive than many of the laws that states have passed. 

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[Reba055]

Please, those who have to take pain meds for legitimate medical issues, don't confuse dependency with addiction. You should feel no guilt if you depend on pain meds to manage chronic pain. As someone who deals with pain, I've had this discussion before. I hate pain meds, but sometimes you have to take them.  I guess our chemistry is all different but I certainly don't get the allure of using pain meds recreationally. Yuck!

Yes, they have been abused, but I think they also need to consider that today's seniors (or younger people with pain) are not content to sit in a rocking chair on the front porch. People are living longer and are more active.  The pill mills were a result of the government not doing what they should have been doing.  One pharmacy in FL was dispensing more pain meds in a month than many states were in a year.  Really?  Suprise that the "regulators" had their heads in the sand. And of course they had a knee jerk reaction and have penalized those with legitimate pain issues. Shame on them!