"Prescription Addiction" tonight on CNN - Page 5

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

@momtochloe wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
If it's about the over prescribing of narcotics and pain meds; I'll watch. There's a national crisis revolving around that. As for prescription drugs in general; I'm on 5 rx meds myself and I thank God and science every single day for those medications. At best, I would be a pain wracked disabled woman without them; at worst, I would be dead from a stroke or heart attack. Either way, I would not have the life I have now. I won't be hopping on that "I stay away from prescription drugs" bandwagon......I don't want to go where that would take me.

@chrystaltree I am more and I repeat more than happy with the people that have been able to live a more normal life with these new medications but my personal family experience reflects a much different and painful experience.

My dad was an honored and decorated WWII veteran who would have lost his left arm if some (thank God!) smarty pants young doctor hadn't stepped in and adapted a new technique of grafting my dad's arm to the blood vessels in his chest to give his injured arm a chance to grow and heal. If that young doctor hadn't stepped in my dad would have returned home without an arm and let me tell you my dad made the most of what he had.

He also sufferered from other ailments primarily horrible and crippling RA. It was a constant challenge but was kept under control with Tylenol 3 with codeine but after many years it just wasn't working.

Unfortuntately the combination of my dad being in so much pain and his very elderly doctor who no longer knew what to do (he should have retired years before but my parents wouldn't go anywhere else) prescribed Percodan which was the frontrunner to Percocet and that is when our nightmare began.

At first it was great. My dad was pain free, he was able to resume normal activities and everyone was happy but as the drug took hold he became what I know now to be an addict (please know we didn't even have alcohol in the house so we were totally clueless as to what was happening). I remember going with my mom to the pharmacy with our forms and being told it was too soon and then going home and trying to reason with what I know now know to be my Percodan addicted father. The last seven days of that prescription were the longest of our lives.

It was an never ending spiral of trying to keep my dad away from his pills and waiting until it was a reasonable time to try and get the prescription refilled. It was a horrifying and debilitating experience.

My dad eventually passed from many issues that were probably masked by the Percodan but the guilt that we both felt impacted our relationship for a very long time. I to this day feel like my dad was an experiment for big pharma and ergo I refuse to take any drugs unless I absolultely have to as between big pharma and the FDA, there (to me) is such collusion that I would rather pass a few years early than suffer what my dad went through. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Shame on the entire industry that follows profits over actual health benefits.

Big Pharma wasn't the problem. The problem here is that your father should have been under the care of a pain specialist. I suppose I am lucky, I live in the Boston are where the healthcare is the best in the world and there is no shortage of specialists and most people know when they need specialized care. I don't know anything about your Dad's case but you are probably right, he didn't get the care he needed. He got pills. But that certainly isn't the fault of any pharmacy manufacturer. It was his doctor's fault. Sometimes doctors won't admit when they need to consult with specialists or when they need to refer a patient for specialized care and if the patient relies exclusively on one doctor, bad things can happen. As a patient with a chronic pain illness that worsens over time (like myself) your Dad should have been referred to a pain specialist. He should have had team of specialists, not just one doctor writing prescriptions that had risks and weren't even controlling his pain.

Caligurll · ‎07-20-2014

@LilacTree Thanks for the heads up! I have it set to DVR.

winamac1 · ‎12-29-2010

@sassenach1 wrote:
@winamac1 Hey! I hope you are doing well! I thought of you when I posted on this thread and I didn't want to offend you in any way.

No...you didn't offend me at all. I hate the commercials.

"friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel"

winamac1 · ‎12-29-2010

@sassenach1 wrote:
@LilacTree You are right, the commercials will remain as they are, apparently, very successful. From a big picture perspective, they are also reinforcing the notion that pills are the answer to everything.

Three meds with your RA and more? Good for you!

Many of the RA meds are injections and some are infusions. I actually sell a product now for RA.

There are RA drugs in the form of pills, injections and infusions. The injections and infusions cost $30,000 per year, but no one pays that. There are copay cards and many programs for Medicare and Medicaid. Many get it for free.

"friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel"

deja vu · ‎03-09-2010

Thanks for the heads up on the topic. I'm going to record it..

? Is it on Anderson Cooper 360 ?

It comes on at 8 and 11 on the East Coast... but it does not list any info on the shows.

~love hard~~play hard~~be kind~~~life is short~

winamac1 · ‎12-29-2010

@LilacTree wrote:
@momtochloe wrote:
@LilacTree wrote:
@momtochloe wrote:
@chrystaltree wrote:
If it's about the over prescribing of narcotics and pain meds; I'll watch. There's a national crisis revolving around that. As for prescription drugs in general; I'm on 5 rx meds myself and I thank God and science every single day for those medications. At best, I would be a pain wracked disabled woman without them; at worst, I would be dead from a stroke or heart attack. Either way, I would not have the life I have now.   I won't be hopping on that "I stay away from prescription drugs" bandwagon......I don't want to go where that would take me.

@chrystaltree I am more and I repeat more than happy with the people that have been able to live a more normal life with these new medications but my personal family experience reflects a much different and painful experience.

My dad was an honored and decorated WWII veteran who would have lost his left arm if some (thank God!) smarty pants young doctor hadn't stepped in and adapted a new technique of grafting my dad's arm to the blood vessels in his chest to give his injured arm a chance to grow and heal. If that young doctor hadn't stepped in my dad would have returned home without an arm and let me tell you my dad made the most of what he had.

He also sufferered from other ailments primarily horrible and crippling RA. It was a constant challenge but was kept under control with Tylenol 3 with codeine but after many years it just wasn't working.

Unfortuntately the combination of my dad being in so much pain and his very elderly doctor who no longer knew what to do (he should have retired years before but my parents wouldn't go anywhere else) prescribed Percodan which was the frontrunner to Percocet and that is when our nightmare began.

At first it was great. My dad was pain free, he was able to resume normal activities and everyone was happy but as the drug took hold he became what I know now to be an addict (please know we didn't even have alcohol in the house so we were totally clueless as to what was happening). I remember going with my mom to the pharmacy with our forms and being told it was too soon and then going home and trying to reason with what I know now know to be my Percodan addicted father. The last seven days of that prescription were the longest of our lives.

It was an never ending spiral of trying to keep my dad away from his pills and waiting until it was a reasonable time to try and get the prescription refilled. It was a horrifying and debilitating experience.

My dad eventually passed from many issues that were probably masked by the Percodan but the guilt that we both felt impacted our relationship for a very long time. I to this day feel like my dad was an experiment for big pharma and ergo I refuse to take any drugs unless I absolultely have to as between big pharma and the FDA, there (to me) is such collusion that I would rather pass a few years early than suffer what my dad went through. I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Shame on the entire industry that follows profits over actual health benefits.
@momtochloe
I am so sorry to hear this story about your dad.  I have RA myself and know the pain which worsens as time passes. However, I do not take painkillers because they cause side effects that, to me, are worse than the pain. I detest the feeling that I'm in La La Land and/or sleeping all day. That's not a life to me.

Meds prescribed to me that I won't take are bisphosphonates, statins, any pain killers (especially opiates), and the newer meds for RA called biologics. All are extremely toxic and dangerous.

Also over-prescribing dosages is a huge problem and I hope that comes up tonight. I am a small-boned woman who has lost two inches in height due to osteoporosis, and I weigh less than I weighed in high school. Yet the script dosage is geared toward a 6 foot man weighing 200 lbs.

I don't know the answers and am hopeful we will learn something tonight.
I know that you suffer from RA @LilacTree and I am beyond glad that there have been so many advances in the actual treatment of RA instead of just the pain of RA since my dad passed (his last day of work was my last day of high school which was June of 1975). I have read with much interests the various threads that have discussed RA as I so wish these advances may have been available to my dad during his time although I realize they are not perfect by any means.

There really was nothing available at the time to combat not only the pain but also the inflamation from RA so when Tylenol 3 rolled around it was a Godsend and worked well for both for over a decade but as my dad's tolerance increased it unfortunately led us to Percodan.

I have made my peace with what happened to my dad as my mom and I did the very best we could. I am sad that there were so many painful and unfortunate moments because of that drug but what really makes me angry is to realize this has gotten so much worse instead of trying to help people, not addict them.
It seems they spend too much time on researching new drugs for control instead of looking for a cure.  My guess is they are making a fortune on these RA control drugs (they are all over $1,000 per dose) and it's just too lucrative to give that up and spend the money on finding a cure.

I know that sounds bitter of me and I'm sorry if I have offended anyone.

I know of no one who pays $1,000 per dose. Most of the injections do run about $3,000 per month, but no one pays. Commercial patients get it for free (copay cards) and Medicare who bring in up to 500% of the Federal Poverty Level get it for free. 500% of the FPL for a family of one is almost $60,000 and for a family of 2....it's $80,000 per year. Not many on Social Security benefits--or those with SS benefits and pensions are bringing in that much money as income. Therefore, most patients get these drugs for free. They are also $3.00 per month or free for Medicaid. I know this for a fact as I message this daily.

"friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel"

Snoopp · ‎02-02-2015

Many elderly patients are on pain meds. There would be no quality of life without them for some people in great pain.

butterfly123 · ‎06-27-2013

@LilacTree

Thank you for the information. This will be very interesting and educational to watch.

Lila Belle · ‎01-24-2013

My dad had a simple hernia operation a few years ago and when my mom picked up his rx afterward it was for 50 pills and one refill. Really ???

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

I won't be watching it. There will always be people who abuse everything.

I am a person who has severe back pain that an operation will not fix (not yet anyway). Every time someone overdoses it tightens the way my Drs can give me the medications I have to take.

They need to come to my Drs office and see these people who are so mangled up it's terrible. Everyone has to pee in a cup (surprise) every few visits. They get looked at like they have some kind of disease.

We live in a society where people no longer assume responsibility for themselves.

I have family members who are abusers (you name it). I understand addiction. I also understand that pain medication sometimes is the only thing that keeps people putting one foot in front of the other.

I've met people who take and are given pain pills like candy. They need to shut down these kind of Drs, not continuously make it difficult for people who actually need pain medication in order to keep going until some other kind of relief can be found.

It seems like all that's done is talk talk and more talk, instead of really putting in jail those Drs who write prescriptions illegally.

I go to a group of Drs who do the latest of everything on a person to get pain relief. You have no idea on some of the things offered out there these days unless you are one who lives with the pain. You name it, I've had it done to me. I even looked into stem cell. My Dr is working on stem cell. I'm not a candidate for that either.

So, when you watch this show, you remember there are people who must take pain medication (yes, prescription, pain medication) in order to maintain some semblance of a life.