Viewpoint: Are Doctors To Blame For Prescription-Drug Abuse?

[knucklehead bob]

Prescription painkillers are creating a massive public-health crisis. Since 1990, deaths from unintentional drug overdoses in the U.S. have increased by over 500%.

 

Read more:P http://ideas.time.co.../#ixzz2DKMswZ00

Edited November 26, 2012 by knucklehead bob

[cristinew]

No its the People that take to many pills are to blame

[Willy]

Yes it is, too many doctors receive incentive to prescribe the meds by there phama pusher.. We all know about that one doctor that gives what you need *wink wink* we all have heard that line from someone..

[cristinew]

You cannot blame Others for what you do to your self,,,,, be responsible for your own actions,, don't blame your addictions on others ,,, was taught that in Rehab,,

 

But drs do push drugs and do not even know what the harm the drug will do,, that is correct,, but in the end we are all responsible for our own actions,,

[michaelscott]

There are many folks who have injury or illness that are ignorant to the fact that the drugs the doc puts them on are addictive. I have personally witnessed docs treating our elderly as if they were seven years old and unable to think for themselves. Some doctors are to blame.

[solabeirtan]

Think using Doctors as the scapegoat of this increasingly popular way of cashing out, is irresponsible and misleading. The person ingesting their poison is the one who ultimately takes responsibility and who will suffer the most consequences from the act. As in job well done? It isn't a solo act however and I would argue that the doctor has the least responsibility [Natural Law] in the affair.

 

Other likely co-conspirators would have to accept more responsibility. Seeing as how it would involve the possession of the product in question, this would involve a transaction. One with a chain of possible parties involved, like the mfgr., wholesaler, retailer, middle man, friend, thiefs. Others possible: Ambulance people, Medical Responders, failure to notify emergency personnel, misdiagnosis medical v criminal emergency?

 

Not to mention some more contributing factors like the collapsed economy, high taxes, high rent, no health insurance, (hence no health care), $4 gas, $2 water, $300 oz ...

[SFC]

I agree, BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF!

[Highlander]

Spoons made me fat

[cristinew]

Ban spoons.... But Drs do need to understand addiction and withdrawls,, and how they can kill you,,, some guy goes into a pain clinic test + for thc,, gets cut off his Narcotics and dies from the with drawl,,, that is where the dr is responsible for the Murder of the Patient,,

 

Getting Addicted is your fault,,, but getting cut off is the DRs fault,,

Edited November 26, 2012 by cristinew

[Highlander]

Ban spoons

 

What? And just leave knives and forks alone? They are the really dangerous ones.

[Chauncy Gardner]

The ultimate irony of this debacle is that the same Drs. who are prescribing the poison pills refuse to allow their patients to consume cannabis, a substance proven (so far) to have no ill side effects. It is amazing that when something this obvious is staring them in the face they refuse to recognize it.

[solabeirtan]

Ban spoons.... But Drs do need to understand addiction and withdrawls,, and how they can kill you,,, some guy goes into a pain clinic test + for thc,, gets cut off his Narcotics and dies from the with drawl,,, that is where the dr is responsible for the Murder of the Patient,,

 

Getting Addicted is your fault,,, but getting cut off is the DRs fault,,

 

Wouldn't it be better to get another Doc for your opiate based meds, especially after first getting his opinion on the benefits of Cannabis? After all we are #53 on the number of Docs / 100,000 people in the world. Although trailing : #1. Cuba 67, #2 Greece 62, #7 Russia 43 ... (physicians per 100,000)

[Celliach]

Hmmmm, are gangbangers responsible for someone being addicted to cocaine?

 

The problem isn't doctors or the painkillers themselves, although there are problem doctors. The addicts are the problem. if it wasn't pain pills it would be something else in most cases. I've been taking the equivalent of 12 Vicodins a day for over 15 years. I feel great. If it wasn't for the painkillers, I wouldn't be able to function. I went to the doctor to get them after marijuana wasn't helping me with my pain anymore. (It still helps immensely with nausea.) Opiates aren't the great evil that many people think they are. Millions of people use them with no ill effects.

 

That being said, they aren't for everybody. Some people don't take them well and need to look for alternatives. That's fine too.

[Celliach]

As someone who has been prescribed narcotics for pain many, many times, I can tell you I was also told by physicians that addiction was impossible if I was taking them in response to legitimate pain. They were incredibly wrong, I did not realize how willfully wrong until recently.

 

That's the doctors parsing their words. I was told that I wasn't addicted, I was chemically dependent. I told the doctor that the only difference I could see was that an addict had to go buy them on the street while I had a prescription. He didn't like that very much.

[Celliach]

Ban spoons.... But Drs do need to understand addiction and withdrawls,, and how they can kill you,,, some guy goes into a pain clinic test + for thc,, gets cut off his Narcotics and dies from the with drawl,,, that is where the dr is responsible for the Murder of the Patient,,

 

Getting Addicted is your fault,,, but getting cut off is the DRs fault,,

 

Opiate withdrawal doesn't kill you. You will feel like you're dying, but it won't kill you. You can die from alcohol withdrawal though. You can learn more here: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-about-addiction/201001/alcohol-benzos-and-opiates-withdrawal-might-kill-you

[solabeirtan]

The Real Killer: Overblown Insurance Costs.

 

#1 Reason for Inflated Health Care Costs:

 

Government Regulation / Interference... ie: Laws specifically allowing insurance co.s to raise rates, based solely on change of calenders.

[SFC]

I am fully aware that for many people opiates can become a serious problem, but many of them same people are just natural addictive personalities. I take one 7.5 norco a day most days, sometimes 2 if I am really hurting. If I am feeling good I often skip a day or two and feel just fine. It has been this way for many years and I hope it stays that way. Opiates are a good thing but I also believe there probably should be a little tighter limits on how many a person is prescribed. Taking 10 a day would be extremely toxic to your liver (acetaminophen) not the opiate. Celli when you say equivalent I assume they are stronger on the opiate side with less pills? If not man, they need to get you dialed in.

 

I don't doubt your statement either Zap, there are plenty of unscrupulous Dr's out there as well.

[cristinew]

Opiate withdrawal doesn't kill you yes,, but years of heroin aggravate an existing condition or stress an already weakened or damaged body.

 

Cold turkey with Nicotine can also have the same result with a 50 year smoker in bad health quitting all at once will shock the persons body,

 

It like an old man in bad heath jumping into a ice cold pool,.,

 

a healthy person would swim and get out the person in bad health will go into a shock

 

Jerry Garcia, the 53-year-old guitarist and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, died today at a Northern California residential drug treatment center. The cause, according to authorities, was a heart attack.

 

 

if they only would of just lowered his dose in stead of cold turkey,, ohh the stress of it all,

Edited November 27, 2012 by cristinew