Due to the nationwide epidemic of Oxycontin abuse/diversion, shouldn't it only be given to terminal patients?

Question

It's ridiculous that such a powerful narcotic is prescribed for everyday aches and pains. I can understand for terminal cancer or the such, but people are getting it for arthritis, bladder pain, and a host of other everyday pains that generations of people have dealt with, without having to use what is basically a nice, clean, legal heroin! I've heard EVERY excuse in the book as to why "I NEED it" and how "my quality of life is so much better with it"...etc.,etc.,etc., Well of COURSE life is better...you're HIGH all the damn time! It's like giving yourself an orgasm in pill form every couple of hours!!
Seriously, now...I would estimate that I've personally met or dealt with 100 people, a very conservative number I might add, who are prescribed either Oxycontin or just plain oxycodone, and out of those 100 not ONE...NOT ONE!..of them takes their meds AS PRESCRIBED, every month. Every single one of them sells or at least trades, their pills every month. It's like a sub culture!!

Answer 1

No. The irresponsibility of some people shouldn't dictate medical practices for all. Yes generations of people suffered pain but God gave us brains to come up with ideas. If someone has an addictive personality it will show it's ugly head one way or another. People are living longer because of medicine and the ability to exercise and get good medical treatment. Look at the millions of days off work and sick for back pain and migraines. Who are you one your probably decent health pedestal someone to b***** about narcotic use - Thanks to your attitude I've seen people in my history of hospice care be denied meds because even though they are dying in a few months they might become "addicted". Let's own up to the fact that grown ups need to be responsible for their actions.

Answer 2

If it were not for the people I know who desperately need relief and are already being denied it I would probably agree. But because systems do react differently the releif I find only works for 75% and the rest do need to have something work. I would be happy if Md's and especially the work comp system would use the most appropriate alternatives to drugs first but sometimes that is not an option. And all too often they consider all kinds of therapy equal when they are comming at problems from different objectives (example - relax vs. force muscles into movement)

Much pain is from muscles below is an example of what may help (based on headaches).
Begin with a couple swigs of molasses or a couple of bananas (natural muscle relaxers) daily - magnesium (which regulates many things in the body) and potassium (a needed building block for muscles).
Drink at least 1/2 gallons of water per day. Running a body low on water is like running a car low on oil is the analogy the head of neurology at UCDavis told my husband about 10 years ago.

Now to the cause - muscles - your back, neck shoulders and head have tender spots. They are knots in the fibers of the muscles called trigger points. It makes the muscles tight which makes them press on nerves and other things causing the pain.

The cure - start with a professional massage, (if this does not do it you probably need a chiropractor as well) you will also want to go back over any place you can get to 6-12 times per session up to 6 times per day rubbing (or lightly scratching on your head) every where that is tender until the knots go away. The place where the skull connects to the spine press up under the edge of the skull (to get to those muscles).

For more information read The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies. It teaches what to do and where the pain comes from.

Answer 3

I can agree to a point. I think narcotics are woefully over-prescribed quite often. I received Percoset for having teeth pulled before, which I thought was unnecessary as simple Motrin relieved the pain much better, due to the anti-inflammatory effects of said medication. I never filled those prescriptions.

It's detrimental to over-presribe narcotics. Not only can they be unknowingly addictive, but one's body may build up tolerance as well. What's going to happen to these poor people when they do come down with a painful terminal illness, most narcotics will no longer relieve any pain and they'll suffer. I have a young friend who suffers from back pain of "unknown origin," and she has been through nearly every narcotic in the book already, as she builds up tolerance to each and is running out of options now. That's why I wish more doctors would try more traditional methods or actually try to find an accurate diagnosis to fix the root of the problem, rather than throwing white slips of paper at people for every little ailment.

But should they be given ONLY to terminal patients? No, but people should use them responsibly as prescribed. I believe there are people out there with genuine pain that aren't on their deathbeds. You can never deny someone else's perception of it. But, it's hard to discern the drug seekers from the genuine if they know the right things to say. Also, all other methods of resolving the cause of the pain should be exhausted along with the treatment of pain itself.

By the way, to the poster above, I've worked in hospice care myself and not once did I ever see anyone in pain denied medications or treatment. Terminal illness is more than deserving of relief, it would be inhumane not to, but we're talking about people walking around with a hangnail in their pinky finger and get prescribed narcotics for it. Apples and Oranges friend. I'm probably over-exaggerating that a bit, but there is a BIG difference between someone with a headache and someone with bone cancer.

Answer 4

Patients on this narcotic must exercise wisdom in the use of it.
Dilaudid (Hydromorphone) is 8 times more potent on a milligram basis than Morphine and it is Dilaudid that is the pharmaceutical Heroin. Dilaudid is what Lindsay Lohan was caught wih.
Oxycontin and Oxycodone are one and the same. (Brand/Generic)
There are those who truly need the medication and no matter what you do there are those who will abuse it. This goes for other substances as well such as Valium, Xanax etc...
If you've never experienced the pain of Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis do not be so quick to tell people that their pain does not require opioids, you have no idea how bad the pain is. I do not know how old you are or what your profession is but your exercise of compassion and wisdom is lacking much.

Answer 5

Let me tell you something about arthritis...it's not like you see in the tylnol or aleve commercials. I'm 38 and have had arthritis since birth. As I was growing my joints and bones deformed . I was off and on crutches from kindergarten to 8th grade. Then I had a small period of remission. When I was 17 I had the first of 46 surgeries all of which I had to be in the hospital and had 6 weeks to 6 months recovery time. I was in a wheelchair off and on for 5-6 years. My wrists fused themselves when I was a child and had to be re-fused a couple times each. I had to have my leg cut in half because my tibias were so rotated that my right foot was turned out 90* to the right, my foot was on sideways. I have had so many suregeries due to pain and they were all extremely painful.The last suregery I had I almost died. I was have severe muscle spasms in the surgery site. If youcould have ben there you would never again question why someone with arthritis needs something like oxy or methadone. Well I started at the bottom of the list and worked my way up as I got worse and as I got more forms(over12)of arthritis. By the way there are over 100 forms of arthritis. How dare you judge whether I have a right to pain meds because I have arthritis.My hands and feet are extremely deformed and all of those surgeries didn't fix anything it just gave me shortlived pain relief. I wish it was like having an orgasm everytime I took a pill, instead I get nauseated. The pills are big. I take over 20 mds and they are hard to keep track of. I don't sell or trade my pills. I have a signed contract with my doctor.It took me years to work my way up tp the meds I am on why would I blow it. Those people must be lying to their doctors or you hang around with creeps. Every joint, bone, muscle, tendon, sof tissue, and ligaments are affected. I am one of the most severe cases there is. All of my life every second of every hour of every minute of every day I am in excruciating pain. So before you judge, think of alternatives like me who have been suffering with arthritis since birth. I could never go to gym class, sit on the floor with other kids, run, walk very far, and alaways with pain. They had me on 17 aspirin a day when I was a kid. So if I can find relief isn't it worth it?

Answer 6

Neuropeptide studies show that the effects of opiates on people who actually have chronic pain issues are dissimilar to that of getting high. The pain receptors blocked but the patient does not get high.

If you've ever worked with a person suffering from serious chronic pain, you'd probably know what you're talking about instead of spewing hype with very little data or real knowledge to back it up.

Yes, there are abuses. They happen with over the counter products and cans of whip cream as well.

Answer 7

I could go on and try to explain what it is like to wake up every day with pain enough to make you cry. And what it is like to not be able to move hardly most days because of the pain. And pray for 2 hours sleep at night because of the pain. People who have never had to live with a chronic pain condition should just be happy they are blessed and hope they never get in a a car wreck, or fall down a flight of stairs, or whatever. And stay out of this issue! Sure,some people out there abuse the meds. Some people out there abuse alcohol, does that mean we should abolish that? WTF has become of personal responsiblity in our society? Go worry about something that might affect you, like that lunatic in the white house.

Answer 8

You apparently hang around with some real low life people. I've taken it (as perscribed) never got a "high" from it but it did reduce my pain to a tolerable level which allowed me to go to work. I'm sure there are abuses but that is true of any drug, don't get so worked up about it. Chill ~~~~

Answer 9

Other than Karma, are other people living in a bubble or something? Are you all the same person? I don't get it... It must be the power and wealth of the pharm. companies that keep this issue on the back burner or something, it doesn't make sense. Sure, you hear about it now and then. Since it's a problem that will never go away it's always there to pull out on a slow news day or something....like maybe if Britney isn't getting her hair cut or as the good doctor noted, Lindsey isn't popping pills of her own, well.....THEN some astute investigative reporter might ply a story or two out of the local scene. I just wrote down ten names off the top of my head. Each person is prescribed at least 10mg. oxycontin, but most get at least 40 mg. doses, three a day. Each of the ten sells at least a quarter of their prescription, two of them sell the whole thing...they take not ONE pill..Why? Because they don't have pain. They have arthritis that must look bad on xray or something but they sure do get a kick out of how easily they got their dipshit doctors to write them prescriptions. So now these ten people can be expanded to at least 50, since they each deal with at least 4 others. Of those other 40, naturally, THEY deal with at least, let's say 2 others..so now we're up to what......130 people? Ahhhhhhhhhh......making sense now?? Idiot doctors prescribe opiates to ten people who do not NEED them, then if you think about it, they are actually serving 120 other patients they haven't even met!!

So multiply my initial figure of ten by all the thousands and thousands of other people around the country doing the same exact thing......can you say epidemic?? Of course you won't get any doctors to admit to anything....they ARE perfect after all. And the drug companies?? Hell, they ain't sayin' nothing..they got their stockholders to think about.(and their pension plans and retirement funds and their houses in three different states and two countries.....)
And who pays the final price??? All the average joes and janes around the country who end up hooked on these poison pills, squandering their kids college funds and their 401k money...their FUTURE.. all for what?? So you good doctors can keep getting reach arounds from the drug reps and they can keep laying down with the Senators and Congressmen, who can keep everything on the down low..so they themselves can keep their own scripts coming....

Oh well, someday it will all come crashing down, hopefully it lands right in the laps of those who are most responsible...the doctors!