Wellness

[Vivian]

Are we back to the old notion that suffering makes you noble, a better person? For those who can tough out the pain, that’s fine. However, many people are really hurting. They are the ones who are paying the price for the opioid crisis.

[software]

This post will probably get deleted but here goes anyway.

This looks like a battle between big pharma and a huge insurance company and guess who gets hurt by it??

There are some of us who think of this when we want to take back.................the old days.

[meem120]

Just a thought...all these restrictions...I wonder how many addicts have Cigna insurance?? Or any other kind od insurance 

[gardensla]

That's not right. 

I continue to be mystified by the opiod crisis. Here in CA, it's nearly impossible to get a prescription for an opiod, much less a refill. I had surgery and was given a prescription version of Tylenol. Period. 

[lovethgedress]

Let's not forget about the people who became addicted after using their prescribed medication. OxyContin has only been widely used sice 1996.  What was used prior to that?

[q-girl]

I am a long time chronic pain patient. It's very easy to say " be strong, tuff it out" but when you experience high levels of pain that are not going to get better but instead will increase in intensity as the damage to your spine and nerves increases, then you will need and you will take pain meds. But pain meds CAN be taken responsibly. I think one area that is lacking is education on taking pain meds. When a physician prescribes pain medication for a patient, he/she should take the time to discuss when and why to take the meds, the patients responsibilities for the prescription and the medications, and the real possibilities of addiction and ways to avoid becoming addicted yourself. The physician should also make it clear that he/she is there to help if the patient feels like they are developing a problem because addiction is a disease, and the doctor can help to treat it.

I was very fortunate to have a doctor who believed in such education. I have always followed her when and why of taking my meds, and I was always aware of my responsibilities with them. I have never had a problem with addiction, although I do recognize that, as with any narcotic medication, a physical dependency does exist. That is not the same as an addiction. 

When it came time to wean from some of the medications (yes, I was on multiple narcotic pain meds and was still in pain 24/7) in order to make major changes in my medication therapy, I had no problem. Each medication wean caused 4 - 5 days of flu like feelings, then I was fine with the exception of increased pain. 

The point of all this is:

1. There are many a folks who honestly need meds to manage their pain. Period.

2. People can use narcotic pain meds, even long term WITHOUT becoming addicted.

3. The prescribing physicians need to be responsible for:

     a.educating their patients thoroughly about the meds, including

         the possibility of addiction.

     b.monitoring the patients for signs/symptoms of addiction and 

        implementing  treatment when necessary.

Please, it is just not fair or right to make honest people who are in pain from no fault of their own suffer for the crimes of those who abuse the medications we need.

Hugs. . .

[on the bay]

It is really unfair to leave people in severe pain like an animal on the side of the road.

I always thought I bet if that doctor needed pain medication they would take it!

Many good nurses will tell you that we heal faster when we are not in pain.

Some people are more susceptable to becoming addicted than others.

Some can take pain medication for years without becoming addicted because the medication is all used up on pain-there is nothing left to get high on!

And someone said their doctor educated them on these drugs and cautions them re becoming addicted.

That is good  too.

There are disreputable doctors out there and patients who are addicted but also people who really need strong opoids -some temporarily and some for much longer.

It is good to try and find other ways to relieve pain if possible.

I don't use any anymore because I've been lucky enough to have incredible physical therapists and lots of other things I use-heat, tens units, girdles, braces, all kinds of things. I am lucky though and I know there are others who are in severe pain and need really strong pain medication.

But Oxycontin isn't the only narcotic or pain reliever out there.

[Blingqueen023]

I've never asked for that drug in my life.  I find it interesting that when I had my first appointment with an Oncologist for a lymphoma he automatically prescribed 90 Oxycodones for me.  I was never in any kind of pain.  It's not only this particular doctor.  I've been to other docs and automatically got scripts without asking or saying I'm in pain and they're not for 20 pills they've been for 90 pills.   I won't even tell you how many of those pills are in this house.  I could open up my own pharmacy. 

[Theresa1121]

My husband is a cancer patient and has many back issues that pre-existed before the cancer.

I am sooooooooooooooo tired of the insurance company (we happen to have Cigna) dictating what he can and cannot have. His cancer was Stage IV when diagnosed and we live in fear every day as to when, where and if it will return and the insurance will no longer approve PET scans. They are denied and told he must have a CT scan and then they call and try to have us reschedule them "at a facility that charges less for the test." I tell them straight up, why in the world we would go to another facility when all of his doctors and records are at the cancer center? Now since it has been two years since his treatment ended, they are denying the CT scans and will only authorize an xray.

Now for his back pain. He is on no prescription meds and takes Tylenol. It barely helps. He sees pain management and gets injections several times a year. Sometimes he gets slight relief for a month or so but mostly they are not effectie. This man lives in pain everyday and his doctors are discouraged from prescribing any type of pain med.

End of rant.

[grandma petes]

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@scatcat wrote:

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@jaxs mom wrote:

@grandma petes I completely agree. 

I had rx for some strong pain meds when I had cancer. Sure you had to show ID and there was a state registry that tracked these types of prescriptions. But having pharmacies only willing to give out a 7 day supply or having insurance companies refuse to cover is not the way to handle some people abusing the system. 

It's like so many things these day, some people want to deny everyone of something because a select few are abusing it. Which is not the way I think it should be handled. 

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Select few? Are you kidding me? There is a heroin epidemic in the country. 

Curiuos what your "way of handeling it" would be 

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I do know there is an epidemic in this country. That being said, I feel the doctors shouldn’t deny those that truly need and do not abuse the medication. They have ways of knowing if someone shows the signs of abuse and I’m sure they have ways of dealing with it. When a person deals with constant, never ending pain, any relief is a blessing.