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yep, and in California you have to pay for your probation report which usually contains a recommendation to send you to jail/prison. It's truly bizarre
I have written many a letter as have a lot of people I know. I have a lot of friends in the medical field, mostly nurses, who have raised some stink as well. However, it won't do any good. The DEA has pretty much blanket authority to reclassify medications, regulate distribution, invade peoples privacy and get in between patients and their doctors. Thing is, just as with all medical conditions and medications everyones needs are different. But with pain control, the DEA uses one standard. No variables are considered, and doctors are hamstrung in treatment options.
In getting the meds I need things run pretty smooth now. I'm established with my doctor and the pharmacy know me and what my condition requires. If I do get jammed up the hospital knows my requirements and will cover me if some SNAFU does happen. I won't be risking my life again. I know very well that this misinformation about how opiate withdrawal is not dangerous, merely uncomfortable, is complete BS. This is especially true of the medications they use on me, which are long acting for round the clock pain control. When I got cut off a couple years ago I was in serious trouble very quickly. If my meds are held up past my fill date,which is on the dot when I run out, I won't hesitate to go to the hospital. I'm not going to try and be some kind of tough guy with this. I will lose, badly.
As long as the DEA is off the leash and this "war on drugs" is their manifesto, things can only get wore for genuine pain patients with serious conditions. The abusers won't be effected at all. And the DEA is not going to give up its absolute power of life and death. They be diggin' that game.
I am not so sure about that. The AMA is also a very powerful organization.
When our doctors say their hands are tied I don't believe it. Our doctors have the power to use the AMA to lobby for their patient's rights to pain control.......if they cared to.
The AMA is also a powerful lobbying force in Washington, D.C. Among the issues that the AMA takes special interest in are the reform of Medicare, monitoring the development of managed care, and funding medical education. The AMA is also active in the courts, both providing legal assistance to physicians at the local level and working at the national level to influence medicine-related laws. For example, in 1993 the AMA blocked a movement to increase physicians' DEA registration fees four-fold (the DEA registration is what allows a physician to prescribe drugs), and in 1983 worked to force the recognition of a person's right to refuse medical treatment.
All of us need to call out our doctors when they say their hands are tied. We need to tell our doctors it is time for them and the AMA to stand up for a patient's right to pain control.
I think it's criminal to allow people to be in pain that can easily be resolved with medication. It's hard to get any prescription pain meds these days. Now if I need a dental procedure, the first thing I ask about is pain meds. If they say none and I think that's not appropriate, I will walk away and go elsewhere.
The NIDA says 2.1 M people in the US have an opioid problem. https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida...ion-drug-abuse There are 321 M people in the US so that means about .7% of the population has a problem. Why should that have an effect on me trying to get a medication I need?
That's why I am a hoarder too. I keep all of my 'good' drugs in a lock box in my safe. A nice dark cool place where they will last almost forever. I don't feel bad about it either. My little secret stash has saved me lots of times! And believe me, whenever I get a good prescription I fill it and hope to add to my stash!
I am not so sure about that. The AMA is also a very powerful organization.
When our doctors say their hands are tied I don't believe it. Our doctors have the power to use the AMA to lobby for their patient's rights to pain control.......if they cared to.
All of us need to call out our doctors when they say their hands are tied. We need to tell our doctors it is time for them and the AMA to stand up for a patient's right to pain control.
Actually the real mystery is why Big Phara who is losing BILLIONS of dollars not being able to sell these painkillers here is not lobbying against the FDA telling them to lay off or face their wrath. Instead the drug makers are just rolling over and playing dead. Perdue, the maker of oxycontin, has essentially closed up shop here in the US and is moving overseas to peddle to the rest of the world. People should read this very interesting article on Perdue's marketing campaign strategy for everywhere outside the United States:
Quote:
OxyContin goes global — “We’re only just getting started”
What my PC told me is that Big Phara is making up the losses by raising their prices on everything else. I use a steriod eyedrop that has gone from $45/5ml to $207/5ml in just the last few years. My doc seems to be on the money with that one.
One thing you can be sure of: if Big Phara were mad about all this they'd be fighting this policy tooth-and-nail. The fact they're letting the FDA/DEA call the shots means they're in bed with them. Something much bigger is at play here than we can imagine. I vote for Big Phara having bought billions of stock in the private Prison Industry Complex to recoup their losses with billions in profits from subsidies from the Feds if they will go along with this scheme. This is the kind of monster that feeds on itself. As our nation grows older more and more people will commit suicide to escape the intractable pain they'll find themselves in and that spells billions of dollars saved for Social Security/Medicare.
I have chronic pain that does not respond to opioids. I've had doctors just routinely try to prescribe them. When I've been hospitalized I've actually been given a bottle of Oxycodone or something similar as what I like to call my "lovely parting gift." I've told the doctors don't bother. They don't work. I don't want or need them. But still they want to write a prescription for me.
I blame the medical industry for going along with the pharmaceutical industry for pushing these things on their patients. Sometimes there are alternative ways to alleviate pain. They don't bother to find out. All they know is the next pill that comes out on the market to prescribe.
Regarding other types of meds, often older is just as good as newer and much cheaper but the docs will prescribe the latest only because it is the latest but not because it is any more effective. It is, however, much more expensive. The attitude of most doctors is the patient has insurance, the sky's the limit. I can say this from both personal experience and from working in the health insurance industry for many years.
Until the consumer wises up, which I think is now happening and begins to demand changes, nothing will change. Withholding any type of drug from those who truly need it is not the answer though.
I have had the same doctor for 35 years. He knows me and my history. I usually see him twice a year unless there is something acute that necessitates him seeing me in between. He has no problem prescribing for me because he knows if I say I have pain, it's really pain. FTR: I rarely need pain medication.
Show up at the ER and ask for pain meds and you are immediately suspect as being seeking medication.
And that goes on your "permanent record".
The wisest thing people can do is have a PCP. You may only see him/her once a year for general check-up but it's important to have a continuum of care.
Did not work for me, have had the same PCP for many years, seeing every 6 months. Back problems occurred, got some tylenol#3, after several months and changing my activities that caused the pain, I quit them. Fast forward few months ago pain re-occurred and Nada! Nothing.
I think it's criminal to allow people to be in pain that can easily be resolved with medication. It's hard to get any prescription pain meds these days. Now if I need a dental procedure, the first thing I ask about is pain meds. If they say none and I think that's not appropriate, I will walk away and go elsewhere.
The NIDA says 2.1 M people in the US have an opioid problem. https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida...ion-drug-abuse There are 321 M people in the US so that means about .7% of the population has a problem. Why should that have an effect on me trying to get a medication I need?
That's why I am a hoarder too. I keep all of my 'good' drugs in a lock box in my safe. A nice dark cool place where they will last almost forever. I don't feel bad about it either. My little secret stash has saved me lots of times! And believe me, whenever I get a good prescription I fill it and hope to add to my stash!
I finally shelled out 350.00 for a orthopedic dr. for xrays and hopefully a plan. I have 2 discs that are barely there, 5 mins of bending and I have to stop.
Here's what he said.....20 years ago, these drugs were pushed, oh they are safe, give them Vicodin and Oxy. Well now 20 years later we have a bunch of junkies and many many people still in pain Does not make sense to punish those actions of a few for those that are truly in need.
What my PC told me is that Big Phara is making up the losses by raising their prices on everything else. I use a steriod eyedrop that has gone from $45/5ml to $207/5ml in just the last few years. My doc seems to be on the money with that one.
One thing you can be sure of: if Big Phara were mad about all this they'd be fighting this policy tooth-and-nail. The fact they're letting the FDA/DEA call the shots means they're in bed with them. Something much bigger is at play here than we can imagine. I vote for Big Phara having bought billions of stock in the private Prison Industry Complex to recoup their losses with billions in profits from subsidies from the Feds if they will go along with this scheme. This is the kind of monster that feeds on itself. As our nation grows older more and more people will commit suicide to escape the intractable pain they'll find themselves in and that spells billions of dollars saved for Social Security/Medicare.
Annnnnd.......I just got the answer to my question reading this article:
Richard Lawhern, PhD May 26, 2016 at 4:23 pm There is also speculation in a few corners that Big Pharma may be encouraging the rejection of opioid medications that are no longer under patent, as a step toward blitzing the media with yet another wave of re-purposed or newly developed pain drugs that will be advertised as non-addictive (whether or not they are in actuality). The evidence is obvious and widespread that these companies have committed outright fraud in the past with anti-psychotic meds that they knew were ineffective or dangerous. It’s not beyond belief that they would do so again.
So there you have it: BP has brand new drugs to roll out at the right time of the crisis that will be double the cost of the old ones. These guys are geniuses.
Actually the real mystery is why Big Phara who is losing BILLIONS of dollars not being able to sell these painkillers here is not lobbying against the FDA telling them to lay off or face their wrath. Instead the drug makers are just rolling over and playing dead. Perdue, the maker of oxycontin, has essentially closed up shop here in the US and is moving overseas to peddle to the rest of the world. People should read this very interesting article on Perdue's marketing campaign strategy for everywhere outside the United States:
This is just a guess but I'm thinking that they might want to make this all go away before they end up with a huge class action suit for selling highly addictive drugs without appropriate warnings
This is just a guess but I'm thinking that they might want to make this all go away before they end up with a huge class action suit for selling highly addictive drugs without appropriate warnings
This is probably a hydra with many heads so you'd be right, sleepy. I usually follow the money. If BP is losing money on this class of drugs and they're not screaming bloody murder about it, it can only mean they have a newer more expensive one to roll out in its place. Read about the FDA's approval of a new drug called DiHydro that is pure hydrocodone and 10x's more powerful than Vicodin and similar class of painkillers. So they prosecute Dr's who prescribe painkillers and then approve one that is more powerful than oxyContin?????
The prison-industrial complex in this country has been privatized so now Wall Street investors can invest in it and their stocks are booming. Now if you have a sector that is making money hand over fist by incarcerating more and more people, thus growing the system bigger and bigger, thus generating bigger and bigger profits will you pass laws that made it easier for people to stay out of prison?????
No, of course not. That's part of the reason why the US Government is criminalizing everything from walking on the grass to spitting on the sidewalk: bigger profits for Wall Street and thus a booming economy at the expenses of the unfortunate souls that fall into its clutches.
I'm against private prisons but this is crazy talk. About 8% of prisoners (combined state and federal) are housed in private prisons. That's not counting immigration detention centers. The overall number of prisoners in private prisons is on the decline but the number of federal prisoners is growing. Southern states (Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Arizona) seem to really like private prisons...other states, not so much. Obama's efforts to reduce federal use of private prisons has been recently reversed by the Trump administration. Walking on the grass or spitting on the sidewalk are not federal offenses.
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Does not make sense to punish those actions of a few for those that are truly in need.
