Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
2 mos on pain meds post-op isn't exactly "experience". Some people have had to take pain meds long term and are not addicted. "Terrified" of being addicted is exactly what this "war on pain meds" has done to some people. It doesn't magically happen. Boom! Addicted. Nope. It's extremely rare, especially post op, to be suddenly be walking the streets for heroin...
MOST people are not addicted- EVER.
It was experience enough for me. I was terrified of becoming addicted. It can happen in as little as three days. My nurse friend lost a job because she had a trace amount of an opioid in her system. She had to be honest with her employer and had to go to detox and agree to be tested regularly. So yes, I was a tad concerned about taking so many. You just never know how your brain chemistry is going to react to something like that until it's too late. I personally hated the experience. I literally cried every day on that crap. I hope I never need it again.
I only answered a specific statement, of COURSE there's a risk of self medicating if one doesn't take all information into account... One could always just go ask a Pharmacist if it is contraindicated. That's what they're trained for, much more than doctors are btw...
The Pharmacist is not my doctor. He's not the one who can or should be making these decisions. My doctor or dentist should prescribe me painkillers when I need them, so I don't have to get them some other way and so that he is in control of my medications.
The Pharmacist is not my doctor. He's not the one who can or should be making these decisions. My doctor or dentist should prescribe me painkillers when I need them, so I don't have to get them some other way and so that he is in control of my medications.
You do realize that in some states Pharmacists can now prescribe, even narcotics right (Idaho is just starting this)? You are aware how many of today's doctors decide what drug to prescribe right? They go to their computer and look up your diagnosis and whatever is listed is what they prescribe, frequently oblivious to the contra-indications or conflicts you may have. You do realize that most doctors are clueless to what drugs cost, what lower cost options or more effective options are right?
It's the Pharmacist that catches those things as they are the experts when it comes to medications. Many times in my life I've gotten a prescription from my doctor, gone to the Pharmacy only to be told by the Pharmacist either "you really should be taking XXX as it's more effective" or "you need to call your doctor because what you're prescribed will conflict with what you're already taking and could make you sick or kill you" or "call you doctor and ask for XXX as the cost is half of what is prescribed and will work just as well".
It's (sadly) amazing how little people really know about how things work when it comes to doctors and how they prescribe as well as how often they're wrong.
It's also sad that many people think that Pharmacists are just glorified pill bottle fillers having no idea what goes into their education, continuing education and their daily responsibilities. They are experts in their fields whereas doctors are most certainly NOT experts in Pharmacology...
Time and time again in pharmacy school, I was taught that pharmacists are the drug experts. It’s the pharmacist’s job to verify that the medication that the patient’s receiving is the right one and that it won’t counteract with any other medications the patient’s taking or any allergies the patient might have.
Pharmacists have a heavy education load, as a PharmD can take 5 to 8 years to obtain, along with the option of postgraduate residences that require even more time. Pharmacists take more pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutic classes than any other health care professional, and yet, in most states, pharmacists are still unable to prescribe medications.
I saw a commercial last night about the dangers of pain pills. It was about a girl who had to take them for an injury and ended up being addicted. Then a voice over said that is only take takes 5 days of taking pain pills to become addicted.
Talk about scare tactics.
Have you seen the one where the guy smashes his hand with a hammer to get more pills? It seems highly unlikely but then again maybe I don’t have an addictive personality...
Have you seen the one where the guy smashes his hand with a hammer to get more pills? It seems highly unlikely but then again maybe I don’t have an addictive personality...
Make no mistake, that and worse happen daily.
Example: Was talking with our vet last month after he prescribed Trammadol for our GSD's sore hip. I'd forgotten that Trammadol was changed to a scheduled drug and was chuckling over that. He told me of a person who'd brought their dog in for a deep cut on it's front leg. After looking at and stitching up the dogs leg he became suspicious as the wound looked "off" so he went to the Federal database where all drug prescriptions are logged and saw this person had several other prescriptions in the last few weeks.
After contacting the other Vets it was found that the person had been purposely injuring the dog, ripping out stitches and reopening the wound to get pain meds from different Vets.
That is horrible!! I hope they took him to jail for animal abuse!
I guess my experience has all been as a legitimate pain patient who only takes meds as needed to function and would prefer not to. I can’t imagine being so desperate for a fix that you would hurt an animal or yourself on purpose. Heck I can’t even imagine going through the pain management hoops unless you can’t function without it based on my experience so far. I hope those folks who are in that situation get the help they need.
I can promise you that people will injure themselves (or sadly, their pets) for opiate pain pill prescriptions. I've seen it first hand. Look, these sorts of meds are extremely addictive to some people, and apparently you might not realize this until you get your first prescription. That's one of the dangers of this sort of drug.
And there's a huge black market for stolen or (cheaply sold and then resold at a higher price) bottles of pills. Huge. I have had several surgeries and had these pills prescribed to me and I won't keep them in my house except for in a safe if ANYONE other than my husband is around.
One time I was looking for a shoe box or some sort of box to mail something in, so I went into the room that my step son (who was 16 at the time) used when he came over - basically it was his room but I stored some things of my own in the big walk in closet, so I went in there and sure enough - there was a shoe box in the corner, so I got it. Opened it, and found prescription drugs - all narcotics, nearly all opiates - with names of people that we knew on the labels. Clearly they had been stolen from peoples' homes - either by my step son or his friends - and he was selling them or using them or both. Not only was I mad, I was horrified. Guess what I did - I mailed them all back to each person, anonymously, with a note saying that I was a concerned parent who had found these in my house and PLEASE lock their meds up from now on!
Sheeze. The abuse of these drugs is real, people. And it's a huge problem for our nation, and some states in particular. States are having to allocate massive amounts of emergency services dollars to opiate overdose scenarios:
Quote:
. Overall, ED visits (reported by 52 jurisdictions in 45 states) for suspected opioid overdoses increased 30 percent in the U.S., from July 2016 through September 2017.
I can promise you that people will injure themselves (or sadly, their pets) for opiate pain pill prescriptions. I've seen it first hand. Look, these sorts of meds are extremely addictive to some people, and apparently you might not realize this until you get your first prescription. That's one of the dangers of this sort of drug.
And there's a huge black market for stolen or (cheaply sold and then resold at a higher price) bottles of pills. Huge. I have had several surgeries and had these pills prescribed to me and I won't keep them in my house except for in a safe if ANYONE other than my husband is around.
One time I was looking for a shoe box or some sort of box to mail something in, so I went into the room that my step son (who was 16 at the time) used when he came over - basically it was his room but I stored some things of my own in the big walk in closet, so I went in there and sure enough - there was a shoe box in the corner, so I got it. Opened it, and found prescription drugs - all narcotics, nearly all opiates - with names of people that we knew on the labels. Clearly they had been stolen from peoples' homes - either by my step son or his friends - and he was selling them or using them or both. Not only was I mad, I was horrified. Guess what I did - I mailed them all back to each person, anonymously, with a note saying that I was a concerned parent who had found these in my house and PLEASE lock their meds up from now on!
Sheeze. The abuse of these drugs is real, people. And it's a huge problem for our nation, and some states in particular. States are having to allocate massive amounts of emergency services dollars to opiate overdose scenarios:
The opiate problem is real, however it was started by the drug companies and pill mills and abetted by the DEA.
There is a real problem now where people who actually need the drugs cannot get them. Either the doctor wont prescribe them or the pharmacy wont fill the prescription. I don't have any answers, but one thing that should not be done is to hold back medication for people who are in pain. The vast majority of people who take pain pills for a limited time do not become addicted. We need to keep that in focus while trying to figure out to deal with the fallout of sending millions of pills to small communities.
The opiate problem is real, however it was started by the drug companies and pill mills and abetted by the DEA.
There is a real problem now where people who actually need the drugs cannot get them. Either the doctor wont prescribe them or the pharmacy wont fill the prescription. I don't have any answers, but one thing that should not be done is to hold back medication for people who are in pain. The vast majority of people who take pain pills for a limited time do not become addicted. We need to keep that in focus while trying to figure out to deal with the fallout of sending millions of pills to small communities.
I agree that it's a real problem.
We've got a serious, serious problem when the US, with 4.4 percent of the world's population, consumes 95 percent of the world's PRESCRIPTION OPIATES. We are not the only First World country out there, not the only country with pain problems or solutions - what are we doing that other countries are not doing? We need to figure this out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
