Should opioid over-prescribing doctors face charges?

[Anonymous]

Every US state now runs a PDMP (prescription drug monitoring program) where all prescribed controlled substances are tracked by pharmacists and prescribers alike. There are penalties for not checking for patterns or abuse before prescribing and before filling these scripts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will make people turn to street drugs. I’ve seen it in my own family. People who have a legitimate need for pain meds will turn to street drugs for relief. They were easily controlled on Vicodin but it’s a whole different thing when they start doing street drugs that might be cut. Or even pot

Oh, the horrors!

Pp here. It’s not legal in all states. Doing anything illegal carries a risk. Plus financing drug dealers isn’t smart.

I do think pot should be legal and I want gangs and criminal activity out of the growing and distribution.

[Anonymous]

Yes, please prosecute the doctors. The all took the hyppocratic oath to do no harm
Also prosecute the oxycontin doctors

They are all crooks, bad evil people who could not care less how devastating the consequences are

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s also a large school of thought that untreated pain is a factor in opioid abuse. Treat difficult pain swiftly with the appropriate amount of painkiller, people will be less likely to use painkillers as a crutch.

Happened in my family. Doctors dismissed pain in a teenager, even refusing to write a prescription for a TENS machine (a prescription was needed at the time) and denying any physical therapy for over a year. Teen eventually was diagnosed with an illness known to be painful, especially in its early stages.

Teen pain must be taken seriously, even if the doctors are convinced it's all in the head. With their under-developed prefontal cortexes, they give up easily and turn to the street, which they know how to access better than most.

Prescribe physical therapy, give them TENS machines, anything to show you are listening and keep them from the street, even if you don't "believe" teens have pain and think "catering" to it just "feeds" the psychological illness.

[Anonymous]

FTR, I think most drugs should be legal and usage decriminalized. That said, there's a serious problem in this country with people not being given paid time off after an injury, having terrible health care plans, or none at all, that put necessary procedures out of reach, with insurance companies being stingy with how much PT they'll cover (and if it is covered, there's often a co-pay that makes repeated sessions financially untenable for a lot of people), with hospitals eager to discharge patients quickly after major surgeries and shift the care-taking to untrained relatives, etc. It's not really surprising that many patients continue to have issues after an injury or surgery, and then they ask for pain medication to help manage it. In the short term, this is a cheap solution. We're starting to see the long term, and it isn't pretty.

[Anonymous]

Likely a minority opinion but...
The avg person who gets an opioid for a real reason is going to take them, and stop them when the pain decreases. I was prescribed them a couple of times in my life (4 impacted wisdom teeth, car accident, broken back from a fall on ice). It would t have occurred to me to seek them. All three times I never even finished the bottles.

The idea that taking them once can make you an addict is insane.

People who take them wrongly, illicitly, needlessly...
they are weak minded. They are trying to kill whatever physical or emotional pain they have bc they aren’t willing to experience the pain and work through it.

Why do we have an epidemic? Too many people who think they should never feel bad, have to hear things that might “trigger” them, that no one is allowed to hurt their feelings, etc.

Basically snowflakes raised by snowflakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parent is on long term low dose of opioids for a back injury. They never take more than prescribed. When the prescription runs out, they are unable to move and are in a level of pain that was similar to when I gave birth. They've tried physical therapy, surgery, you name it.

They have to visit a pain management clinic monthly for their prescription which rules their life. You have to plan vacations around it. They've missed my kid's births. Additionally, pharmacies already treat people like my parents like crap. The pharmacy will wait until 5 minutes before closing to fill the prescription, even if it's placed at 8am. You can't pharmacy shop because that looks like drug seeking behavior.

I'm not sure what you'd do for people like my parent if opioids were outlawed. Every few years their insurance makes them try other drugs like Vicodin or pain patches. They basically have to lay in bed in pain and itch because those don't work and they can't walk.

Btw, no one has any idea about my parent's back issues. They're a highly functioning member of society who is creative, caring and intelligent. They travel often.

There's no way you can know this. Pain is so subjective. Also, were you medicated when you gave birth? I wasn't and there's a big difference. Your parent sounds like an addict.

Not PP, but my mother is also on low-dose narcotics for an inoperable back issue that’s already been operated on twice. She risks paralysis if operated on again. Therapy hasn’t helped. She gets a certain number of pills a month, not 31, more like 20. So she goes without on days when her pain is only moderately severe, so she can save pills in case she has a particularly rough month. The cold weather doesn’t help, so in the winter, she’s in agony more. But she’s no addict. She will go days in pain with pills in the kitchen cabinet waiting for her to take them, because tomorrow might be worse than today.

[Anonymous]

Former chronic pain center employee here. Everyone is one accident away (car accident, slip and fall, something falling off a high shelf and hitting you, garage door falling on you, back injury, etc) from being a chronic pain patient. Have some empathy! Prescription mills should be closed down, but there are many people who live with chronic pain for whom these drugs are actual life savers.

For one of the PPs who think addiction is weakness, educate yourself: addiction is a disease, just like cancer. No one intends to become addicted, and yes, addiction can happen after just one use of the drug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Opioids should not be prescribed until all other options and therapies are exhausted, and then there should be a need for a second opinion. This will not be a problem for the patients who are in serious pain, it may slow things down for those with general complaints.

Uh no. You mean this will ONLY be a problem for patients who are in legitimate pain. FIFY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know some doctors have lost their license over this, but do you think some of the most egregious behavior should warrant more?

Plenty of pill mill doctors have gone to prison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Likely a minority opinion but...
The avg person who gets an opioid for a real reason is going to take them, and stop them when the pain decreases. I was prescribed them a couple of times in my life (4 impacted wisdom teeth, car accident, broken back from a fall on ice). It would t have occurred to me to seek them. All three times I never even finished the bottles.

The idea that taking them once can make you an addict is insane.

People who take them wrongly, illicitly, needlessly...
they are weak minded. They are trying to kill whatever physical or emotional pain they have bc they aren’t willing to experience the pain and work through it.

Why do we have an epidemic? Too many people who think they should never feel bad, have to hear things that might “trigger” them, that no one is allowed to hurt their feelings, etc.

Basically snowflakes raised by snowflakes.

Oh my goodness. You’re so special! You had a certain experience with narcotics; therefore, your experience should hold true for everyone.

It has nothing to do with weakness. It has everything to do with how an individual’s body chemistry metabolizes a drug.

Unlike you, the first time I was prescribed Vicodin, for foot surgery, I felt pure bliss upon my first tiny dose.It was 100% obvious to me how easy it would be to become addicted if I had an addictive personality (which also runs in families).

But congrats on your moral superiority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Likely a minority opinion but...
The avg person who gets an opioid for a real reason is going to take them, and stop them when the pain decreases. I was prescribed them a couple of times in my life (4 impacted wisdom teeth, car accident, broken back from a fall on ice). It would t have occurred to me to seek them. All three times I never even finished the bottles.

The idea that taking them once can make you an addict is insane.

People who take them wrongly, illicitly, needlessly...
they are weak minded. They are trying to kill whatever physical or emotional pain they have bc they aren’t willing to experience the pain and work through it.

Why do we have an epidemic? Too many people who think they should never feel bad, have to hear things that might “trigger” them, that no one is allowed to hurt their feelings, etc.

Basically snowflakes raised by snowflakes.

Oh my goodness. You’re so special! You had a certain experience with narcotics; therefore, your experience should hold true for everyone.

It has nothing to do with weakness. It has everything to do with how an individual’s body chemistry metabolizes a drug.

Unlike you, the first time I was prescribed Vicodin, for foot surgery, I felt pure bliss upon my first tiny dose.It was 100% obvious to me how easy it would be to become addicted if I had an addictive personality (which also runs in families).

But congrats on your moral superiority.

Exactly. And when I take it, it makes me so nauseous and sick. I will never take it again.

[Anonymous]

As a person who is legitimately allergic to other types of painkillers (I cannot take any NSAIDs due to a health condition, which rules out everything but tylenol) - this type of thinking is terrifying.

Yes, opioids can be abused. They can also be the appropriate treatment for lots of people, myself included.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s also a large school of thought that untreated pain is a factor in opioid abuse. Treat difficult pain swiftly with the appropriate amount of painkiller, people will be less likely to use painkillers as a crutch.

Happened in my family. Doctors dismissed pain in a teenager, even refusing to write a prescription for a TENS machine (a prescription was needed at the time) and denying any physical therapy for over a year. Teen eventually was diagnosed with an illness known to be painful, especially in its early stages.

Teen pain must be taken seriously, even if the doctors are convinced it's all in the head. With their under-developed prefontal cortexes, they give up easily and turn to the street, which they know how to access better than most.

Prescribe physical therapy, give them TENS machines, anything to show you are listening and keep them from the street, even if you don't "believe" teens have pain and think "catering" to it just "feeds" the psychological illness.

Tens do nothing for me but you can buy them off Amazon and now in stores for $40 or under. You don't need a prescription.

One issue many of us have is doctors either don't know or don't take the time to figure out the pain and just give you the blow off. One cannot describe long term chronic pain until you experience it. Some say, my back went out for a few days and took weeks to recover but its nothing like that at all as the pain rarely goes away. I have horrific migraines that never stop and only get relief from triptans but I can only take so many as I can only get so many and they claim its bad for you. So, there are days, weeks where I'm basically in bed and rarely leave my house. I've been hospitalized for it (which is worthless). Doctors at some point give up and stop trying/searching for why and just throw drugs at you. I've gotten so many different opioids and other drugs and refuse to take them as I worry about long term use but I can understand why many do it. I also think there are some who make up the pain for an excuse for these drugs or other drug use which makes those of us with true pain look bad. Its a bad situation for those of us with unexplained pain. I wish doctors would take complaints more seriously.

[Anonymous]

Yep!