Handcuffs and Stethoscopes

[rodeodance]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/23/opinion/23tierney.html?th&emc=th

Handcuffs and Stethoscopes

By JOHN TIERNEY
Published: July 23, 2005

The current zeal for sending doctors to jail for writing painkiller prescriptions may seem baffling, especially to the patients who relied on the doctors for pain relief. But if you consider it from the perspective of the agents raiding the doctors' offices, you can see a certain logic.




.......The OxyContin crisis was fanned by sensationalized press coverage and by popular fears that unsuspecting patients getting this painkiller were being turned into dangerous addicts. While it's true that chronic-pain patients taking opioids for a long time require higher and higher doses, the drugs typically don't give them a high or interfere with their lives. Instead, the drugs enable them to function.

Researchers have repeatedly found that very few patients taking opioids have a hard time stopping once their pain goes away. The ones who can't stop - the compulsive addicts - are typically people with a history of abusing alcohol and other drugs.

But many doctors are now afraid to give painkillers to either kind of patient. The D.E.A. tried reassuring them by working with pain-management experts to produce a pamphlet setting out guidelines for doctors who want to avoid investigation. But last fall, the agency said it wasn't bound by the guidelines after all, and could investigate even when it had no reason to suspect a doctor....

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. I wonder what causes the type of pain that this sort of painkiller

addresses.


www.getprolo.com

[rodeodance]

2. Physiologically, there a several theories of pain-i..e. the 'gate theory;-

but whatever one you use as an reason--the pain is real. And these Federal draconian drug policies are a real problem to people who need strong medications.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. My brother is finding some relief with prolotherapy.... I hope it is

long term relief... he has spoken with others for whom it has been long term... the other thing is that the doc my brother is seeing now... is doing as I have instructed my bro (unsuccessfully so) for years.

He has tested his DHEA levels and testosterone levels... he has put him on testosterone topical and DHEA oral supplements.

He has him on a supplement for joint support... along with omega threes and a daily multiple. There is something else.. but I forget what he said. Long story short, my brother now believes what I had been telling him for years and is having it applied by a physician who is trained in this area.

www.getprolo.com

[firefox]

3. Oxycontin is time released heroin

The heroin is man-made because that makes it better (sarcasm). The "contin" is a process of the manufacturer that means it is time-released. A junkie just takes multiple pills for an enduring high to get around that time release feature. I knew one pill junkie and oxycontin was his favorite, followed by another man-made opiate used to treat opiate addiction, methadone. The point being that heroin is not the deadly killer it is made out to be. The price driven by prohibition is one detrimental part of addiction. A black market that cannot assure quality is another detrimental part along with the dirty needles that spread AIDS and hepatitis.

The government spends so much effort in the demonization of the greatest medicinal plant in human history, cannabis, that people do not much think of the trade that goes on in pills. Now these pain pills are addictive and people trade in them. People on disability or Medicaid that can get a bottle pain pill by prescription for $3 (maybe less) here in NC, and can sell them for extra cash. I know a junkie with a real "pain pill" habit. He will call them all pain pills. His knowledge of looks of each pill would equal most pharmacists and he knows what each pill should cost by dosage and type of pill.

The real drug pushers are the pill companies and they have some good stuff. It is a lot bigger problem than most people realize and it burdens both insurers and government as addictions must be fed. One problem the drug warriors have is that the national debt is pushing $8 trillion and that added $7 trillion since 1975 has broken the bank. The second thing is that the criminal justice model of the drug war does not let people come forward for help with addictions. The third problem is that the taxpayer cannot afford any more prisons even if there was a way to arrest to success. The fourth thing is that problems like meth are very real and damaging and with a downward pressure on living standards and jobs, some substances make very good friends.

The DEA needs to be done away with, just like the Department of Education and we need to take up harm reduction principles under a health care philosophy. BTW, the biggest step that could be made in harm reduction would be legalizing laughing grass.

[Demeter]

5. My Grandfather's Wife Was Dying Slowly of Cancer

in great pain, and both of them were worried that she would become "addicted".

They were in their 80's and not terribly well educated, under great stress, but really! It wasn't like recovery was in the cards. These are the people who suffer for the mental problems of the rest of the world.

[fasttense]

6. A friend of mine has chronic back pain.

He's had three back operations. His spine is slowly deteriorating from arthritis. He takes pain pills just so he can work. He is carefully manged by a pain clinic that monitors the drugs and the pain. I've noticed he doesn't walk around all hunched over anymore, he's much more sociable and has started doing odd chores around the house where before he never did anything after work. It has improved his life dramatically.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. Check this link... do what you think is right....

www.glycoexpert.com

[wli]

8. the "war on drugs" should just be ended

Legalize all of it. And I mean ALL of it. The idiot drug smuggling ring the Pentagon is running should be shut down, not doctors jailed for treating their patients.