Posted on 04/16/2018 1:23:33 PM PDT by grumpygresh
The U.S. is said to be suffering from a crisis in deaths from opioid overdoses, prompting legislative and other efforts to clamp down on physician prescribing of these drugs. This article is an effort to identify the causes of these deaths, using data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)through 2015, and the Wonder database compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
(Excerpt) Read more at jpands.org ...
Exactly.
p
I’m surprised that the Native American nations haven’t tackled this. Host their own prescription and Medical services for their own Sovereign Nations.
I’ve been shouting this since the beginning.
Unfortunately, many conservatives are all for this. Some right here. Tucker Carlson is a perfect example.
I predicted this would happen. It was so obvious from the beginning, wasn’t it?
Kind of like that wildly successful prohibition thingy?
Being a Freeper with a chronic pain condition, I can say that those who are legally prescribed opioids are having their dosages altered with no change in symptoms, some only receive one week of pills at a time, some are being denied pills by the pharmacy because they are only allowed to dispense a certain # of pills per week. These changes, as irrational as they are, are made even more irrational because they are totally random.
People who live in pain are under much stress wondering whether the next time they go to pain management their script/dosage will be changed. Pain management offices are printing new contracts for patients to sign.
A woman in my support group had her meds cut in half. The reasoning was that the dr would lose his license if he didn’t. What we have has no cure. RSD/CRPS. It also has no standardized treatment. These random rule changes are cruel and unusual treatment that they wouldn’t do to an overdosing addict.
What other meds that are legally prescribed impacted by the way they are abused by addicts?
This was addressed somewhat by an earlier post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3647886/posts
and I applied my own colorful commentary there:
"But the takeaway from MOTUS should be a very Conservative reaction:
Question EVERYTHING the government says, especially when special interests are driving things. It will take generations for the damage wrought over the past 70 years to be reversed...if action began TODAY.
But the problem governs not government action. Nor the medical community. It governs personal responsibility. I fault everyone suffering from this so-called “opioid epidemic” for their own poor choices. That includes not asking “why” they have the pain in the first place. Who the hell actually trusts their doctor implicitly? That’s as crazy as “settled science.”
Sadly, I doubt I will live to see a medical name applied to the condition from which I recovered and which I believe afflicts 2/3 of the country, as this “climate change” debate is a red flag for the state of science...applicable to all areas, not just health."
It's a lot more complicated than MOTUS describes, but at its core it's a lucid analysis.
The one tell tale sign that the fix was in on how to solve the opioid crisis was that both parties, aka uni-party, was for it and all in on it.
The Deep state needs a vigorous illicit drug trade. The DEA profits by not interdicting drugs. Sure, they’ll do some high profile busts for PR, but they get their cut by partnering with cartels and money laundering banks. Then we have the prison industrial complex which is great for State and local governments when it comes time to dole out contracts for cheap prison labor, construction and services.
So, when the public sees opioid deaths go up, they can blame the usual suspects: pain patients, doctors, and the pharmaceutical companies that make opioids. The public doesn’t care about pain patients, doctors are easy to villianize, and the producers of opioids are lumped in with big pharma.
Great post, grumpy. The public will care once they find out their doctor can’t stop their agony.
I greatly appreciate this thread. I have been dealing with chronic pain for 12 years due to a collision. I was on fentanyl for about 18 months until my last surgery 11 months ago. The surgery helped. I had no issues at all ceasing the fentanyl tho I am still on other milder opiods. It is an embarrassment to admit these days to be taking these medications, especially when I was on the fentanyl patches and people would ask what they were. But, without them I would be in debilitating pain despite 3 surgeries to alleviate damage. I still have days I can’t get off the couch, cook supper for my beloved husband or play with my grandbabies but thanks to modern medicine most days I function well enough to do those things. I have found many natural products and therapies that help but when it comes down to brass tacks, I am mobile thanks to a fabulous spinal pain management specialist who can still prescribe opiods. Us baby boomers are worn out and many of us have aging bodies that give constant pain and yet we are a generation which has embraced life. We don’t want to stop enjoying life because the blasted gubmint leaves us in pain!
Thank you for posting this article. It did me good to read and I’m also relieved to see so many of my fellow FRiends understanding comments.
More corroborating information. Opioid deaths up and opioid prescriptions down.
The cool keeps the swelling down and that speeds the healing. Because you have a soft steady coolness rather then the freezing cold of a cold pack it is less of a shock to the system.
the more you take, the more you need....
it does not end, but it sure doesn't have to start...
Are you capable of reading, logic or compassion?
The government is skewing the numbers (lying) about this “crisis.” The increase in deaths is directly attributable to fentanol—not prescription pain relievers. I don’t know you, but many people live with chronic, debilitating pain and it’s not the government’s place to decide they don’t need serious medication for pain. There are some conditions where nothing else allows people to function. Withholding that treatment is the same as purposefully inflicting that pain. Are you a sadist or just a power-hungry liberal?
When I see my 35 year old DIL live in horrible intractible pain I want to cry and do cry. 35 years old and all she has to look forward to is increasing pain.
Wim Hof
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.