The War on Opioids Is Destroying My Healthcare

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: cognizant420
a reply to: Asktheanimals

I'm in my mid 40's perfect health. I am worried about the day my doctor tries putting me on meds. I know there are some life saving drugs out there but the drug commercials on tv scare the crap out of me with all the evil side effects.

Just say no to drugs, that is what the commercial says.

I won't take any long term meds or vaccines anymore, I will take antibiotics if I need too, anything up to ten days is fine.

Sadly it’s unavoidable for me I’m stuck with synthroid for life as I had to have my entire thyroid gland removed due to the 2.4” tumor that turned out to be papillary thyroid cancer.

My hubs broke his back in the day and has a nice metal implant for it (this is always fun when going through metal detectors. Not.)

In his opinion, yeah, they're over-prescribed for most people, be it in dose frequency or dose strength. He feels that his pain med strengths were entirely too high for years, he lamented living in a drugged stupor for far too long before realizing the strength was too high & demanding a reduction before eventually weaning himself off them entirely. He won't fill a painkiller prescription now, the strongest stuff he'll take is a Motrin or a Tylenol.

If somebody with that serious of a pain issue thinks the med doses are given too frequently/strengths are too high, they probably are.

originally posted by: Nyiah
My hubs broke his back in the day and has a nice metal implant for it (this is always fun when going through metal detectors. Not.)

In his opinion, yeah, they're over-prescribed for most people, be it in dose frequency or dose strength. He feels that his pain med strengths were entirely too high for years, he lamented living in a drugged stupor for far too long before realizing the strength was too high & demanding a reduction before eventually weaning himself off them entirely. He won't fill a painkiller prescription now, the strongest stuff he'll take is a Motrin or a Tylenol.

If somebody with that serious of a pain issue thinks the med doses are given too frequently/strengths are too high, they probably are.

And then there’s the opposite type of prescriber that will give the same dose for a 300lb ape of a man as that for a 90lb woman. Seems finding a doctor that knows how to have a happy median is getting rarer and rarer.

originally posted by: dantanna
1. gym everyday. and anyone can work out. in drastic pain? pool.
2. diet. gotta eat clean all natural. low carbs, but eat lots of veggies, fruit and protein.
...
avoid opioids at all costs. its heroin. you do not need that.
...
endorphins do so much, WAY more than opioids.

Your suggestions might work for SOME people with chronic pain, but what about those who are so debilitated by excruciating and agonizing pain that they are UNABLE to get to the gym/pool? I do support a plant-based diet (shh, I did NOT say vegan) and exercise if/when possible, but unless you have experienced trying to live with uncontrolled pain, I believe it is impossible to fathom how beneficial opiate medication can be. Morphine is NOT heroin! Pain sufferers who are fortunate to receive a sympathetic, knowledgeable, and professional doctor to manage their pain do not take their medication to get high (and I suspect most of them don't experience euphoria). It is a blessing for them just to be able to get to that gym or go to the farmer's market to buy the healthy food you suggest. If they had to rely on endorphins, many of them would sooner end their own lives.

originally posted by: seattlerat

originally posted by: dantanna
1. gym everyday. and anyone can work out. in drastic pain? pool.
2. diet. gotta eat clean all natural. low carbs, but eat lots of veggies, fruit and protein.
...
avoid opioids at all costs. its heroin. you do not need that.
...
endorphins do so much, WAY more than opioids.

Your suggestions might work for SOME people with chronic pain, but what about those who are so debilitated by excruciating and agonizing pain that they are UNABLE to get to the gym/pool? I do support a plant-based diet (shh, I did NOT say vegan) and exercise if/when possible, but unless you have experienced trying to live with uncontrolled pain, I believe it is impossible to fathom how beneficial opiate medication can be. Morphine is NOT heroin! Pain sufferers who are fortunate to receive a sympathetic, knowledgeable, and professional doctor to manage their pain do not take their medication to get high (and I suspect most of them don't experience euphoria). It is a blessing for them just to be able to get to that gym or go to the farmer's market to buy the healthy food you suggest. If they had to rely on endorphins, many of them would sooner end their own lives.

Agreed proper pain management does not result in euphoria just takes enough of the edge of the pain away to be able to function.

originally posted by: BigDave-AR

originally posted by: Nyiah
My hubs broke his back in the day and has a nice metal implant for it (this is always fun when going through metal detectors. Not.)

In his opinion, yeah, they're over-prescribed for most people, be it in dose frequency or dose strength. He feels that his pain med strengths were entirely too high for years, he lamented living in a drugged stupor for far too long before realizing the strength was too high & demanding a reduction before eventually weaning himself off them entirely. He won't fill a painkiller prescription now, the strongest stuff he'll take is a Motrin or a Tylenol.

If somebody with that serious of a pain issue thinks the med doses are given too frequently/strengths are too high, they probably are.

And then there’s the opposite type of prescriber that will give the same dose for a 300lb ape of a man as that for a 90lb woman. Seems finding a doctor that knows how to have a happy median is getting rarer and rarer.

That's what his main gripe was -- no tailoring. Every doctor he had maxed him right out the gate, no "Let's start low and see how it goes", just "Here, live life in a perpetual, foggy painkiller high." That method seems like an unabashed recipe for disaster, and nowadays, we damn sure know it is.

He's lucky in that even though he recognized the RX was too much & still tangoed with painkiller addiction, that he had enough of his wits about him to do something about it through the fog before it got further entrenched & further out of control.

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: BigDave-AR

originally posted by: Nyiah
My hubs broke his back in the day and has a nice metal implant for it (this is always fun when going through metal detectors. Not.)

In his opinion, yeah, they're over-prescribed for most people, be it in dose frequency or dose strength. He feels that his pain med strengths were entirely too high for years, he lamented living in a drugged stupor for far too long before realizing the strength was too high & demanding a reduction before eventually weaning himself off them entirely. He won't fill a painkiller prescription now, the strongest stuff he'll take is a Motrin or a Tylenol.

If somebody with that serious of a pain issue thinks the med doses are given too frequently/strengths are too high, they probably are.

And then there’s the opposite type of prescriber that will give the same dose for a 300lb ape of a man as that for a 90lb woman. Seems finding a doctor that knows how to have a happy median is getting rarer and rarer.

That's what his main gripe was -- no tailoring. Every doctor he had maxed him right out the gate, no "Let's start low and see how it goes", just "Here, live life in a perpetual, foggy painkiller high." That method seems like an unabashed recipe for disaster, and nowadays, we damn sure know it is.

He's lucky in that even though he recognized the RX was too much & still tangoed with painkiller addiction, that he had enough of his wits about him to do something about it through the fog before it got further entrenched & further out of control.

I’ll be honest that I abused the pills when I found out about the cancer and got put on higher dosages I regret it but I would take more than I needed to in order to numb myself to my situation as cancer has always been a huge fear of mine and honestly part of me thought it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing if I would have OD’ed and passed on more or less my own terms. It’s very hard to admit those things and I thank god that I had my friends and family that helped me get through the situation. So my predicament is admittedly mostly my fault but that doc dropping me over missing an appointment that I wasn’t informed that I had was reckless and could have wound up one of 3 ways, me dying, ending up on heroin, or luckily the one that happened finding a doc that took the chance on me and saved my life imo.

Agree 100% with the OP. I don’t believe there is an opioid crisis. I live in Houston and don’t see people dying in the streets. It’s not on the news here. I don’t get it.

I think they want the American population weak and in pain so we are more easily controlled. I can’t think of any other reason for this fake epidemic.

I could just cry reading all this.

This government needs to stay the hell out of doctor/patient relationships. That's what it is, not the ACA, and we've read the Washington doctors hand out meds to Congress like M&M's. Grrrr.

Doctor's are petrified to prescribe certain meds, even when they know their patients need them.

I am so sorry.

My doctor gives me Tramadol when I have a bout with my wrists, and it helps me? The government doesn't seem to have targeted that yet, but I have a friend who has terrible back issues and she said it doesn't help her. So some days,
She just stays 48 hours or so in a recliner and takes Aleve.

It's our government. Isn't there something we can do to get the point across that we want them to stay OUT of doctor/patient relationships?

My problem is with pain management. I have an auto-immune form of arthritis in most of my joints and my spine. Because of a heart condition I can't take anything OTC except Tylenol, which doesn't work.

My doctors refuse to prescribe a narcotic painkiller. I've asked for 10, no refills, which will last me a year because I would only take it on really bad days.

Right now I'm stuck with diclofenac gel to apply topically. Useless.

There are days I spend the whole day in bed in agony.

This. Is. Wrong.

I'd like to thank the junkies for f**king me over.

The kicker to all this is that those who wrote the laws and own everything aren't affected by the very regulations they place upon us. Congress has their own doctors and healthcare. The rich can just go anywhere they want for treatment.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Asktheanimals

I have to disagree with you on the printed prescription. It is probably one of the best things to happen to healthcare.
They were one of the last industries to finally go digital. They may have made a mistake on yours, and of course there will always be typing issues, but I can guarantee printed prescriptions have probably saved many many more lives over poorly written prescriptions.


It also might be time for you to see a new Doctor. I had a Dr. with the worst bedside manner, and I finally couldn't take it anymore and switched. I was so glad I did.

Oh, you’re lucky you can switch, I tried that but got told I couldn’t. Must stick with the dickhead who was assigned to me after mine retired years ago. Who was one I actually chose.

The whole time he is reading from a screen. If I say I don’t want those pills because they caused a symptom, he’s on his phone googling to see if it’s been reported as a side effect, then says it’s not, I say it is with me, don’t want it.

He sends letters if I went to another behind his back.

originally posted by: BigDave-AR

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: cognizant420
a reply to: Asktheanimals

I'm in my mid 40's perfect health. I am worried about the day my doctor tries putting me on meds. I know there are some life saving drugs out there but the drug commercials on tv scare the crap out of me with all the evil side effects.

Just say no to drugs, that is what the commercial says.

I won't take any long term meds or vaccines anymore, I will take antibiotics if I need too, anything up to ten days is fine.

Sadly it’s unavoidable for me I’m stuck with synthroid for life as I had to have my entire thyroid gland removed due to the 2.4” tumor that turned out to be papillary thyroid cancer.

If you have to have the synthroid because of these circumstances, then you have to have it. Many people are taking meds that they would not need if they were to identify their metabolic intolerance's. If they identified the foods that were causing their problems and removed them from their diet, they would not need the medicines. But if the damage has gone too far, then the need may be there, sometimes the damage necessitates the need for medicines. Repairing the damage is not always possible after neglecting to identify intolerances. It takes lots of research and trial and error to identify what foods you are intolerant to and most people do not have the time.

One such disease is type two diabetes, once you reach the threshhold, it is hard to fix the problem and meds are needed. Before that point it can be reversed and the body will heal. In type two, a person needs to identify the chemistry that is blocking the receptors on cells or look for foods that cause a signal not to be transmitted properly. Mineral and sometimes specific vitamin deficiencies can lead to inability to properly make insulin.

I know a couple of people who had to have their thyroid removed, one had to have it destroyed because of dyed X-rays. I did not get particulars on what the X-rays were for, but I think it was radioactive Iodine that was in the dye that killed the thyroid. If the doctors want to destroy thyroid cancer, they can use radioactive iodine, it is more concentrated than the dye, but too many times with dye can also cause the thyroid to get messed up.

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: BigDave-AR

originally posted by: rickymouse

originally posted by: cognizant420
a reply to: Asktheanimals

I'm in my mid 40's perfect health. I am worried about the day my doctor tries putting me on meds. I know there are some life saving drugs out there but the drug commercials on tv scare the crap out of me with all the evil side effects.

Just say no to drugs, that is what the commercial says.

I won't take any long term meds or vaccines anymore, I will take antibiotics if I need too, anything up to ten days is fine.

Sadly it’s unavoidable for me I’m stuck with synthroid for life as I had to have my entire thyroid gland removed due to the 2.4” tumor that turned out to be papillary thyroid cancer.

If you have to have the synthroid because of these circumstances, then you have to have it. Many people are taking meds that they would not need if they were to identify their metabolic intolerance's. If they identified the foods that were causing their problems and removed them from their diet, they would not need the medicines. But if the damage has gone too far, then the need may be there, sometimes the damage necessitates the need for medicines. Repairing the damage is not always possible after neglecting to identify intolerances. It takes lots of research and trial and error to identify what foods you are intolerant to and most people do not have the time.

One such disease is type two diabetes, once you reach the threshhold, it is hard to fix the problem and meds are needed. Before that point it can be reversed and the body will heal. In type two, a person needs to identify the chemistry that is blocking the receptors on cells or look for foods that cause a signal not to be transmitted properly. Mineral and sometimes specific vitamin deficiencies can lead to inability to properly make insulin.

I know a couple of people who had to have their thyroid removed, one had to have it destroyed because of dyed X-rays. I did not get particulars on what the X-rays were for, but I think it was radioactive Iodine that was in the dye that killed the thyroid. If the doctors want to destroy thyroid cancer, they can use radioactive iodine, it is more concentrated than the dye, but too many times with dye can also cause the thyroid to get messed up.

It’s not xrays but an alpha emitter and it’s Iodine-131 I had to take an Iodine-131 tablet to kill off the remainder of the thyroid after having it surgically removed. It’s a pretty scary thing to take a little tablet that they bring to you wearing a lead shield and the little tablet gets brought in a 20lb lead and stainless steel container with all the radiation warning stickers on it. Radiation sickness is no joke as I found out, a month of utter hell the first week I couldn’t even be around my dogs for their safety.

originally posted by: violet

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Asktheanimals

I have to disagree with you on the printed prescription. It is probably one of the best things to happen to healthcare.
They were one of the last industries to finally go digital. They may have made a mistake on yours, and of course there will always be typing issues, but I can guarantee printed prescriptions have probably saved many many more lives over poorly written prescriptions.


It also might be time for you to see a new Doctor. I had a Dr. with the worst bedside manner, and I finally couldn't take it anymore and switched. I was so glad I did.

Oh, you’re lucky you can switch, I tried that but got told I couldn’t. Must stick with the dickhead who was assigned to me after mine retired years ago. Who was one I actually chose.

The whole time he is reading from a screen. If I say I don’t want those pills because they caused a symptom, he’s on his phone googling to see if it’s been reported as a side effect, then says it’s not, I say it is with me, don’t want it.

He sends letters if I went to another behind his back.

What?!?! That’s beyond asinine, that seems like it would be a serious legal issue.

Postscript:

Here we are 3 1/2 years after my initial post and my doctor is no longer practicing. Regulations became too odious for corporate healthcare to bear so they quit treating pain patients. They did give us 9 months to find new specialists and knowing the insane limitations most operate under i have made a difficult adjustment by reducing my medications by 75%. I could only find doctors willing to prescribe 1/4 of the amount which had already proven to give me some semblance of independence. Once again losing weight, having a hard time doing anything all over their concern I might overmedicate myself despite a 14 year track record of it working and never abusing.

Now we have forced jabs and death by hospital I don't feel singled out but this is not what any measure of health "care" should resemble.