St. Mary’s County Pharmacies Dispensed Over 32 Million Opioids from 2006 to 2012

V

vicos

Guest
Felt like someone had a flaming hook in my guts and /or spine the level seven to eight pain was resting state, handled with panting like an animal, with regular twists of the hook that went past nine that had me sobbing.
That is very close to what I experienced. At the time I described it as if someone had plunged a hot knife into me and was twisting it. It was an inguinal hernia, so it was right next to the man parts which made it all the worse.

I did learn about compassion for other people in pain from this experience. Unless you've felt it for yourself, it's hard to imagine.
 

MiddleGround

Well-Known Member
I've had this crap prescribed twice in the past for severe pain, in one case a broken bone, and it did nothing. Zilch. Bupkis.

I took it for a day in one case and said #### it and the remainder sat in the medicine cabinet for years.

How people get high off of it is baffling.

This is most likely because you were doing what the DOCTOR TOLD YOU TO DO. Most of these junkies initially do that but, then they decide to self medicate and do what they want. Next thing you know.... addicted.
 

Auntie Biache'

Well-Known Member
This is most likely because you were doing what the DOCTOR TOLD YOU TO DO. Most of these junkies initially do that but, then they decide to self medicate and do what they want. Next thing you know.... addicted.

People need to learn the difference between physical addiction, and abuse. Big difference. I've been addicted to sugar, too. I even go through withdrawals when I stop using it.
 

spr1975wshs

Mostly settled in...
Ad Free Experience
Patron
Having never taken an opioid, I don't understand the attraction. I mean, sure, if you're in extreme pain, but if you're just normal what does an opioid do for you?
I was prescribed (24) 5 mg Oxycodone tablets, filled by the UMMC pharmacy, when I left the hospital after my cancer surgery in June 2015.
I took the last one in April 2019, most for flairs of tendinitis in my shoulders.

Ibuprofen, aspirin, Tylenol or Naprosyn work just fine, along with Icy-Hot or Absorbine.

I do not understand the attraction either.
 

officeguy

Well-Known Member
32,000,000 in 6 years.
= 5,3 mil doses per year
= 49 pills per man woman and child per year

The prevalence of chronic pain in the population is between 10-40% depending on which study ypu believe. A legitimate pain patient may go through hundreds of doses a month.

The total number of pillls per county over such a long period sounds just more impressive than if you break it down to a per head dose count. The DEA has the numbers on how many individual patients held prescriptions and how much drug equivalent they received. Without additional metrics the raw number of pills per county is a pretty meaningless figure.
 

wubbles

Active Member
I was prescribed (24) 5 mg Oxycodone tablets, filled by the UMMC pharmacy, when I left the hospital after my cancer surgery in June 2015.
I took the last one in April 2019, most for flairs of tendinitis in my shoulders.

Ibuprofen, aspirin, Tylenol or Naprosyn work just fine, along with Icy-Hot or Absorbine.

I do not understand the attraction either.
You were taking narcotics for things that they weren't originally prescribed for? The attraction is probably the relief. Some people have pain similar to your tendinitis flairs 100% of the time and we shouldn't make them feel bad for needing narcotics. The junkies are a completely different story but there are people out there that legitimately need them.
 

spr1975wshs

Mostly settled in...
Ad Free Experience
Patron
You were taking narcotics for things that they weren't originally prescribed for? The attraction is probably the relief. Some people have pain similar to your tendinitis flairs 100% of the time and we shouldn't make them feel bad for needing narcotics. The junkies are a completely different story but there are people out there that legitimately need them.

I was told, essentially, these are for any pain you have.

No doubt on your observation...my Mrs is a disabled vet and has constant pain. She tries non-narcotic NSAIDs and topical pain relievers as much as possible, instead of the opioids the VA prescribes. But, I am glad she has them as a medicine of last resort.
 

mitzi

Well-Known Member
I'm sure that has worked for everyone.

Seriously. I'm not talking toothache or a pulled muscle for pain meds. There are some serious issues that yoga, dieting and increased activity is not going to help. Ruptured discs, herniated discs, spine issues, etc. are some. How are you supposed to do yoga with these long term ailments.
I personally don't believe someone became a full fledged addict because they were given a prescription for an injury or a toothache. Most of these people sticking needles in their arms were doing a ton of other stuff before they resorted to this.
 
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glhs837

Power with Control
Seriously. I'm not talking toothache or a pulled muscle for pain meds. There are some serious issues that yoga, dieting and increased activity is not going to help. Ruptured discs, herniated discs, spine issues, etc. are some. How are you supposed to do yoga with these long term ailments.
I personally don't believe someone became a full fledged addict because they were given a prescription for an injury or a toothache. Most of these people sticking needles in their arms were doing a ton of other stuff before they resorted to this.


Yeah, I ocassionaly get people saying, when discussing my spine, "But have your tried PT or chiropracty?", Ah, no, thats not doing to help a damaged disc any more than taking corners harder is going to help a bad ball joint in my suspension or pressing harder on the bakes wont make work pads brake any better. There's broken crap in there that is NOT healing, okay?
 

Auntie Biache'

Well-Known Member
You were taking narcotics for things that they weren't originally prescribed for? The attraction is probably the relief. Some people have pain similar to your tendinitis flairs 100% of the time and we shouldn't make them feel bad for needing narcotics. The junkies are a completely different story but there are people out there that legitimately need them.
tendinitis is a walk in the park.
 

Freefaller

Active Member
Had a terrible impacted wisdom tooth, the dentist prescribed Tylenol with codiene, took it for 2 days, still have it in my medicine cabinet. My father broke his hip when he was in his late 20's. He had 4 hip replacements, the last one resulted in a serious staph infection and the hip had to be removed again, put back in six weeks later. The resulted in an open wound on his hip to allow drainage. He was always in pain, some days not to bad, other days it was 3 x worse. He would only take Tylenol 3 for pain, sometimes 4 at a time. When he passed away, my sisters and I were cleaning out his medicine cabinet, he had all kinds of opioids that the Dr. had prescribed for him. He never took any.

The question that occurs to me is why would he fill the prescriptions?
 

LightRoasted

If I may ...
If I may ...

Well, I'm sure the doctors were getting some kind of kick-backs. Been to many a doctor's office when it just so happened a pharmaceutical rep was at an office. (Not known if it was for the scripting of opioid meds). They would bring all kinds of breakfast foods, lunch foods, and other valued goodies/trinkets, depending on the time of arrival, for the staff to enjoy while chatting with the docs. I'm talking whole layouts filling up a long table. (And pharmaceutical reps still follow this practice pushing the latest and greatest advertised drugs at doctors offices). Now, if you're a, not-in-pain, user of heroin, or other opioids, and are running low on money, you might go see a doctor for some phantom pain to get some meds at a really great price. Free if on medicaid, cheaper if you're on a plan. Or, you're a low level wanna dealer looking, or just looking to make an extra buck or two, that once had be on pain management, and not needing it any more, managed to convince the doc you are still in need. Then turn around and sell by the pill. Now, I'd imagine that that is a very, very, low percentage of the overall national mis-prescribing of these type of drugs. But like everything the government wants to control, blows it way out of proportion to, "scare", people. For the purpose of seeking more funding, down to local Sheriffs, for the never ending, "war on drugs". Or because the sale of said drugs are cutting into other, 'quietly supported and looked the other way', sales of competing illegal drugs.

However, as Auntie Biache relates. Her story resonates with Larry Flynt after he was shot. He was in constant pain and paid his doctor well for providing him with the needed pain medication to relive that pain. However his wife, Althea started taking his drugs too, and developed an addiction. Once he had a pioneering operation, that forever stopped his pain, he stopped taking them. Didn't need them, and didn't want them anymore. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for Althea. Not saying her spouse is addicted to her meds, just that she needs them to function properly because of constant pain. And I would wager, that if she wasn't in pain anymore, most likely would stop taking, and wouldn't need, them anymore either.

Personally, whenever I'm prescribed, "good", pain control meds, I try to not use them all so I'll have some for later, when, needed for other bad pain, uses. I will not take NSAIDS because as the NIH says, "NSAIDs exhibit a broad spectrum of liver damage ranging from asymptomatic, transient, hyper-transaminasemia to fulminant hepatic failure." And I especially avoid not taking acetaminophen. A well known liver damage inducing drug. I'd rather suffer from a short term bout of constipation taking an opioid than worry if I'm possibly destroying my liver.

Too many are hopping onto this, 'anti-opioid bandwagon'. But there will be some point in the future where they may truly need pain relief that these type of drugs provide, and they won't be there for them. It will be a bad time for them, and for everyone else that would need them, because of their actions today.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Too many are hopping onto this, 'anti-opioid bandwagon'. But there will be some point in the future where they may truly need pain relief that these type of drugs provide, and they won't be there for them. It will be a bad time for them, and for everyone else that would need them, because of their actions today.

Instead of simply punishing the people who break the law, legislators punish the people who don't break the law. Gun confiscations etc are another good example of this. It makes no sense, but this is what we get for electing mental defectives and not throwing them out when it becomes clear they're not doing their job.
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
If I may ...

Well, I'm sure the doctors were getting some kind of kick-backs. Been to many a doctor's office when it just so happened a pharmaceutical rep was at an office. (Not known if it was for the scripting of opioid meds). They would bring all kinds of breakfast foods, lunch foods, and other valued goodies/trinkets, depending on the time of arrival, for the staff to enjoy while chatting with the docs. I'm talking whole layouts filling up a long table. (And pharmaceutical reps still follow this practice pushing the latest and greatest advertised drugs at doctors offices).

FYI, for anyone interested, since pharmaceutical and medical device companies are required by law to release details of their payments to doctors and hospitals, this is all public information.

You can search your doctor here:
https://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
The blame has to rest with the patient, you can tell the doctor you don't want them, to give you a non-narcotic medication for pain relief.
If you do have pain severe enough where only a narcotic will help, the patient can regulate their own dose, take only as needed.

They do serve a purpose, and unfortunately I think people who do require this level of medication would probably be in the hospital but the insurance industry pretty much pushes you out the door after even the most invasive surgery.

There are also two types of addiction, physical and psychological. The physical addiction can be broken in very short order if the person wants to do so. Addicts have a psychological problem and the drug is no longer being used to treat physical pain, but emotional pain.
They need to be taken off the drugs and their legal surrogates before mental health treatment can start.
If you have been involved in anyway with someone who is in a drug addiction recovery program, you will note that it's very similar to AA, in fact they will have people from AA come to meetings and give talks. We don't blame the booze for making an alcoholic, don't blame the drug for making an addict.
But both have to want sobriety, only they can choose that path. Sometimes it requires a little intervention, but the best thing one can do is nothing, don't support them, don't enable them, be a friend and check on their well being, but short of that, they have to want help.
 
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