Doctors Need to Start Taking Their Hippocratic Oaths More Seriously, Espeically When It Comes to Drug Abuse! (pain, surgery)
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I wish that doctors, in general, would start taking more responsibility for their part in contributing towards drug abuse.
I was just thinking how many times I have gone to the doctor, when they have willy-nilly offered me all kinds of drugs. One time I came out with five prescriptions for all kinds of stuff - I had anxiety and was only 21 - I could have started down a bad road, but I realized meds are bandaids and threw the RX's in the trash on my way out of the building.
When a doctor offers you ADDICTIVE DRUGS . . .have they EVER asked you if you have a problem with alcohol or your family history of alcohol or drug abuse? I bet not.
When they prescribe ADDICTIVE DRUGS . . .do they talk to you about side effects or possibility of ADDICTION?
I hate to think that the majority of doctors are in cahoots with drug companies, BUT if they are truly smart and concerned about their patients, and if they take their Hippocratic Oath seriously, there would not be such a problem with prescription drug addiction. It just stands to reason that doctors are prime contributors to this problem.
I wonder if this issue is addressed in their medical conventions or in their scholarly journals? I wonder if they discuss this problem amongst themselves.
When the cute pharmaceutical reps come to talk to them about the latest drugs in their short, short skirts and with their bags full of free samples, I wonder if addiction is ever discussed.
i wish that doctors, in general, would start taking more responsibility for their part in contributing towards drug abuse.
i was just thinking how many times i have gone to the doctor, when they have willy-nilly offered me all kinds of drugs. One time i came out with five prescriptions for all kinds of stuff - i had anxiety and was only 21 - i could have started down a bad road, but i realized meds are bandaids and threw the rx's in the trash on my way out of the building.
when a doctor offers you addictive drugs . . .have they ever asked you if you have a problem with alcohol or your family history of alcohol or drug abuse? I bet not.
when they prescribe addictive drugs . . .do they talk to you about side effects or possibility of addiction?
i hate to think that the majority of doctors are in cahoots with drug companies, but if they are truly smart and concerned about their patients, and if they take their hippocratic oath seriously, there would not be such a problem with prescription drug addiction. It just stands to reason that doctors are prime contributors to this problem.
i wonder if this issue is addressed in their medical conventions or in their scholarly journals? I wonder if they discuss this problem amongst themselves.
when the cute pharmaceutical reps come to talk to them about the latest drugs in their short, short skirts and with their bags full of free samples, i wonder if addiction is ever discussed.
What sort of prescriptions were you given and what sort of doctor did you see?
I assure you, most doctors do take drug dependence seriously but they are humans and range from skeptical of your pain to overly sympathetic. Your doctor can't see your pain, they have to use your words and their experience to figure out how best to help you and sometimes they get it wrong. Sometimes they end up contributing to a drug abuse problem, sometimes they refuse medicine to someone who is genuinely in pain.
There's a reason they call it practicing medicine.
I have a very long and complicated medical history. I have been on very powerful narcotic meds. Each and every visit (btw- we were Military so my Doctors were numerous) my medical hx and meds have been looked at and questioned.
yes, there have been times when my body became used to the meds but I have not EVER become addicted. I have been on methadone and had no issues (as it seems that many drug addicts have). Perhaps I simply do not have an addicted nature.
I can unequivocally state that my Docs did not arbitrarily prescribe medications. It is important that the patient take responsibility for their own health. All it takes is to look at the rx information included with scripts and to ask questions while in with your Doc.
I have a very long and complicated medical history. I have been on very powerful narcotic meds. Each and every visit (btw- we were Military so my Doctors were numerous) my medical hx and meds have been looked at and questioned.
yes, there have been times when my body became used to the meds but I have not EVER become addicted. I have been on methadone and had no issues (as it seems that many drug addicts have). Perhaps I simply do not have an addicted nature.
I can unequivocally state that my Docs did not arbitrarily prescribe medications. It is important that the patient take responsibility for their own health. All it takes is to look at the rx information included with scripts and to ask questions while in with your Doc.
I hear you. There is a huge difference between dependance and addiction. My wife is very ill with a severe neurological disorder. Her pain is acute and needs strong pain killers. She is totally disabled. Many times she was treated the opposite of what the OP stated in that many doctors treated her like a drug seeker, mainly because they do not understand her rare condition and then leap to the wrong conclusion. I've seen her just stop taking her meds because of the hassle and never saw her go through withdraws. She took extremely high dose of morphine and other drugs that would kill a horse. These drugs only took the edge off her pain so when she stopped her pain never really left in the first place.
I am not talking about pain management or legitimate use of certain drugs for acute conditions. I personally believe chronic conditions should be evaluated to address cause and that non-addictive remedies should be used . . .
But I don't wish to argue about that.
The point is that there is a prescription drug problem and by definition, doctors are the only ones who can prescribe drugs . . .and they get free samples - don't know about other incentives or any political pressures.
I am old and I just know I have never been asked if I have addictive tendencies (I don't think I do, but no one has every asked me) and no one has ever asked about my family history, re: drug and alcohol addiction, which could be important.
I have had so many prescriptions prescribed to me that I just instinctively knew were not necessary or appropriate . . .no one ever suggested I treat my anxiety with diet, exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy, EFT, herbal teas, prayer, avoiding caffeine, massage, analyzing my job and basic stressors - they just always whipped out a prescription tablet and wrote away for some of the strongest medications you can imagine.
I don't think it can be argued that a good number of doctors are remiss in adhering to their Hippocratic Oaths. They ARE doing harm and I think this needs to be addressed.
If there are physicians who are willing to step forward and discuss this, I am sure it would be enlightening. I would love to hear if this issue is addressed in conventions or in the literature or if it is just completely ignored.
I am curious about the politics of drug addiction related to doctors and their relationships with pharmaceutical companies and representatives.
I have had so many prescriptions prescribed to me that I just instinctively knew were not necessary or appropriate . . .no one ever suggested I treat my anxiety with diet, exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy, EFT, herbal teas, prayer, avoiding caffeine, massage, analyzing my job and basic stressors - they just always whipped out a prescription tablet and wrote away for some of the strongest medications you can imagine.
most people who go to a doctor for their anxiety do not want to be recommended "herbal tea". usually people go when they've already exhausted the non-medical resources (like meditation, exercise, stress management). but you're right, it would be helpful to talk about those as part of the solution. i agree, most people with anxiety will not require extremely strong medications.
doctors have to walk a fine line, like one of the previous posters said. there are people who come in with genuine pain or severe anxiety that may need potentially addictive medications. then there are people who come in without a genuine reason, but with a convincing enough story that they are able to get what they want (addictive meds). it's not always easy to sort out which ones are real. i object to your idea that pretty drug reps are the reason that these meds are prescribed--since many are generic.
Drug reps only provide samples of brand name drugs. They don't provide samples of generics. The point of these samples (beyond saturating the doctor's brain with the brand name so he's programmed to prescribe it), is to give the patient immediate access to drugs that the patient needs, immediately. So the patient can get started right away on a treatment plan. Or so that he doesn't have to spend a lot of effort and money getting one or two day's worth of something at a pharmacy (at an immense cost to the patient or the insurance company covering the prescription), to determine whether or not it's the appropriate choice.
It isn't truly intended to just give out like candy. On the other hand, when I was in my 20's, I was on the pill, unmarried, without prescription coverage in my insurance. My ob/gyn always had more of the birth control pill brand in her RX cabinet than she had patients who made use of them, so she'd always spot me a few packages (which is to say, a few months worth), when I went in for my yearly checkup.
The only other kind of free samples I've ever gotten from a doctor, was a starter set of an antianxiety medicine that came in a blister pack and was good for the first 4 days. I threw it out after the first day; I didn't like how it made me feel.
Oh and also once in my 20's, I had surgery to remove a metal rod in my leg that was inserted to support a broken femur. I went for a checkup a week after the surgery, and told the doctor it still hurt. Instead of giving me a prescription he gave me 4 Vicoden and told me that's all I was gonna get, so to use it prudently, and to take a tylenol when I ran out if it still hurt.
Like antibiotics were overprescribed and now there's all sorts of resistant strains. Society is paying the price for these miscalculations. Even though patients put pressure on docs to give them a drug, but maybe docs should have been educating people regarding the problems with taking anything indiscrimantly or excessively.
Like antibiotics were overprescribed and now there's all sorts of resistant strains. Society is paying the price for these miscalculations. Even though patients put pressure on docs to give them a drug, but maybe docs should have been educating people regarding the problems with taking anything indiscrimantly or excessively.
Why should a doctor be responsible for teaching a patient to exercise common sense? There are lots of drug addicts who don't ever get their drugs from doctors at all, but instead, get them on the street. Should the drug dealers be responsible for telling their customers "Hey - don't overdo this, it's bad for you?"
It's this kind of passing the buck that makes the whole topic ridiculous. It is the patient's responsibility to read the documentation that comes with the pharmaceutical. That is why they call it "patient information." It's information for the patient. It comes in sample packets, it comes in boxed prescription drugs, and these days, there is a summary presented to every patient from the pharmacy's own printed receipt.
Doctors are not pharmacists; it is not their responsibility to know all the potential dangers of the drugs they prescribe. They -should- know of the primary dangers - and caution any patients who are at risk, or refrain from prescribing those drugs to patients at risk. But "at risk" would be from a medical standpoint - such as - you don't give medication that has a side effect of giving heart palpitations, to someone who suffers from heart palpitations.
On the other hand, some patients don't share their prescription list with their doctors. They don't -tell- their doctors that they take a double dose of Benadryl every night to help them sleep. So their doctors don't know that there's any reason to caution them about taking a drug that has unpleasant or dangerous side effects when combined with diphenhydramine.
It is the -patient's- responsibility to keep his physician informed, AND to ask questions, AND to read patient information packets, AND to read warnings and cautions provided to them from the pharmacy. It is not the doctor's job, or his responsibility, to do the patient's job for him.
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