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Rush's Dilemma: The Truth about Oxycontin
Patriot Paradox ^

Posted on 10/11/2003 8:30:04 AM PDT by sonsofliberty2000

Rush is not alone. Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh came out in what had to be a hard and very painful statement to tell his audience that :

Over the past several years I've tried to break my dependence on pain pills and in fact I've twice checked myself into medical facilities in an attempt to do so. But I recently agreed with my doctor about the next steps. So. Immediately following this broadcast, I will check myself into a treatment center for the next 30 days to once and for all break the hold that this highly-addictive medication has on me.

Highly-addicted is an understatement. Oxycontin is an agonist opioid. According to HowStuffWorks.com:

Opioid agonists are some of the most effective pain relievers available. Unlike other analgesics, opioid agonists have an increasing analgesic effect with increased doses. Meaning that the more you take, the better you feel. Other analgesics, like aspirin or acetaminophen, have a threshold to their effectiveness. You can see why, particularly for people who suffer chronic pain, a medication like OxyContin can be so beneficial: It can potentially provide up to four times the relief of a non-opioid analgesic, so even the most severe degree of pain can be managed.

So the more you take the better you feel. And why is it so addictive:

Rather than ingesting the pill as indicated, people who abuse OxyContin use other methods of administering the drug. To avoid the controlled-release mechanism, they either chew, snort or inject the medication to get an instant and intense "high." Frequent and repeated use of the drug can cause the user to develop a tolerance to its effects, so larger doses are required to elicit the desired sensation and the abuser gets increasingly addicted to the drug.

What can come about from oxycontin abuse. Death for one. Look at this info from the National Drug Intelligence Center:

Several deaths have resulted specifically from the abuse of OxyContin in Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Pike County, Kentucky, Coroner reported 19 OxyContin-related deaths during calendar year 2000. In December 2000, seven OxyContin overdose deaths were reported in Southeastern Kentucky by two Kentucky State Police posts. The Logan Daily News reported in October 2000 that four Hocking County, Ohio, residents overdosed on OxyContin over an 18-day period. Two of the four died. There have been at least four OxyContin overdose deaths in Pulaski, Virginia, since 1998. In July 2000, The Williamson Daily reported five OxyContin-related overdose deaths in southwestern West Virginia since May 2000.

I want to talk a little more about the last bit there about southwestern West Virginia. Gilbert, WV in paticular. Why? I grew up and visit there often and I want to tell you that it is depressing. Oxycontin is the number one drug in that area, and the hell it has caused can be seen and is on the lips of everyone you talk to. Stores have closed because owners abused the drug, and lives are ruined.

One article at HealingWell.com has a blurb from Gilbert:

And Gilbert, W.V., police call the drug the worst they've ever dealt with, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center, which last month issued an advisory on the drug and similar products.

and the Media Awareness Project has an article from the Charleston Gazette about the epidemic in Gilbert:

The 41-year-old hairdresser says she has been around at least one person on OxyContin.

"It's like people under the influence are really intoxicated - highly intoxicated," says Vicki Stanley, who lives in the unlikely drug cradle of Gilbert. "Then when they're trying to come off, it's like they have the flu - - muscle cramps, body aches, sick at their stomachs.

"And that's just the physical addiction. The mental addiction is worse."

For the last couple of months, Stanley and other residents of this Mingo County town have been grappling with what they say is a narcotic epidemic.

According to families and friends, a good percentage of the town's population of 456 has developed an appetite for OxyContin, a potent opiate used to treat pain.

...

Palmer keeps abreast of the Gilbert group's activities. He said residents report people selling the pills at Gilbert High football games. Parents of students have entered the school, attempting to peddle the drug, he said.

How bad is it when parents of students are peddling this stuff? In a letter to Tommy Thompson, Congressman Frank Wolf laid out the issues better then most:

Several pharmacies in my congressional District have been robbed at gun point in recent months for OxyContin. No money was taken; the robbers only demanded the drug. Earlier this month, a prominent defense lawyer in northern Virginia who twice served as a local prosecutor in Prince William County pleaded guilty to federal drug charges linked to a large-scale investigation into the illegal distribution of OxyContin and other painkillers.

Communities where the illegal drug has taken hold are being completely destroyed. I am told there is one county in southwest Virginia where no one isn’t either using the drug, knows someone using the drug or been the victim of a crime by someone needing the drug.

When a professional baseball player recently died after taking the dietary supplement ephedra, your agency immediately issued fact sheets regarding potential serious risks of dietary supplements containing ephedra. You were even quoted as cautioning all Americans about using dietary supplements that contain ephedra.

According to fact sheets produced by the FDA, two deaths, four heart attacks, nine strokes and five psychiatric cases involving ephedra have been reported. More than 240 people have died from the abuse of OxyContin and countless numbers of families and communities have been torn apart by this drug.

What should be done? I don't know. Stricter regulations won't do anything, education might, but the hold of this drug is hard to break. Ask Rush. Ask anyone in Gilbert, "where no one isn’t either using the drug, knows someone using the drug or been the victim of a crime by someone needing the drug". Yeah, my birthplace, a place where I still have family I love, a family that if I asked about this drug would be able to tell me many stories of its horrible reign, was the county Wold mentioned. In a way it was a good thing that happened to Rush. I'm thankful he was given a wake-up call. Should he be ashamed? No, he should be thankful. Maybe Rush will put a human face on this epidemic. If left up to the media, however, it will probably be all about the smear campaign.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; US: West Virginia; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: africawatch; limbaugh; lovablefuzzball; oxycontin; rush
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To: A. Pole
Oh, please, that's ridiculous. Heroin and cocaine were 19th century derivatives - at the dawn of chemistry - from two rather low level drugs, coca and opium. Coca never has a very strong effect; opium does, but it takes a while to get addicted (like alcohol).

Go back to coca and opium and we can talk. But first get rid of heroin and cocaine.
221 posted on 10/11/2003 6:02:00 PM PDT by livius
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To: Ditter
I am also allergic to coedine. And red wasp and yellow jacket stings.

Something you always wanted to know, I'm sure. :)

222 posted on 10/11/2003 6:02:08 PM PDT by SpookBrat (There, but the for the grace of God, go I)
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To: rockrr
Her school has taken notice of her moods and declared her "Clinically Depressed".

Schools can't make that determination. I believe, it is now or will shortly be against Federal law for them to act as physicians. Under 12's shouldn't take anti-depressants unless they are patently suicidal, and no one should take them without being diagnosed by a competent psychiatrist or in conjunction with therapy. Do NOT let this happen.

223 posted on 10/11/2003 6:05:02 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: SpookBrat
LOL Of course! Do you keep your shot of 'whatever it is' with you at all times? I hope you do.
224 posted on 10/11/2003 6:10:25 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: sonsofliberty2000
Unlike other analgesics, opioid agonists have an increasing analgesic effect with increased doses. Meaning that the more you take, the better you feel. Other analgesics, like aspirin or acetaminophen, have a threshold to their effectiveness.

Frequent and repeated use of the drug can cause the user to develop a tolerance to its effects, so larger doses are required to elicit the desired sensation and the abuser gets increasingly addicted to the drug.

Is it just me, or does it seem that these two statements are contradictory? One says the more you take, the more you feel. The other says the more you take, the more you need.

225 posted on 10/11/2003 6:14:28 PM PDT by Shethink13
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To: wardaddy
You're right, tri-cyclics and MAO inhibitors have way fewer side effects than the SSRI's.
226 posted on 10/11/2003 6:15:35 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: nmh
"Traditional" doctors also despise you

What kind of doctor do you go to?

227 posted on 10/11/2003 6:21:01 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: wardaddy
There are lawsuits involving oxycontin and it is my understanding that it has recently been pulled off the market. My sister-in-law was given that medication for extreme pain she suffered as a result of a nerve disorder. It helped her pain a great deal, but the downside of the drug is very frightening.
228 posted on 10/11/2003 6:22:16 PM PDT by MistyCA (For some...it's always going to be "A Nam Thing!")
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To: livius
Oh, please, that's ridiculous. Heroin and cocaine were 19th century derivatives - at the dawn of chemistry - from two rather low level drugs, coca and opium. Coca never has a very strong effect; opium does, but it takes a while to get addicted (like alcohol).

I don't know why you bring coca in. Either way opium contains number of alkaloids (morphine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine and more). Together they can have strong effect on pain and some other nervous problems. Traditional "low level drugs" might be more effective (and less addictive as well) than purified/isolated/syntetized/patented/lucrative modern derivatives.

229 posted on 10/11/2003 6:26:11 PM PDT by A. Pole
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To: J. L. Chamberlain
I happen to think you are wrong. It is a highly addictive drug that works very well for pain, but it has heavy downsides to it. When you are talking about long term pain that requires the use of a drug for long periods of time, you MUST be concerned about the addictive effects. The problem here is that doctors have not been concerned enough about how to get their patients off this drug. In Rush's case, he was dealing with a debilitating pain that was not going to just go away. He isn't the only person who has been sucked into the viscious cycle of pain relief/addiction.
230 posted on 10/11/2003 6:26:45 PM PDT by MistyCA (For some...it's always going to be "A Nam Thing!")
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To: A. Pole
Coffee is also very addictive, influences mental process and is very pleasurable.

I had muscle tremors, momentary losses of awareness, and heart palpatations on four lattes per day from my company's free espresso machine. Needless to say I switched to decaf.

231 posted on 10/11/2003 6:28:37 PM PDT by mvpel (Michael Pelletier)
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To: MistyCA
I did not know that....it is simply Percocet/Percodan in larger doses time released without the aspirin or tylenol (that I know of)
232 posted on 10/11/2003 6:28:49 PM PDT by wardaddy (I'm thinking.....)
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To: ChemistCat
You don't eat it...
233 posted on 10/11/2003 6:31:08 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: Ditter
Epinephrine? Actually I don't. I know I should. I've thought about keeping it on hand but always forget about it. I guess if I come up missing here at FR, you'll know where I am.
234 posted on 10/11/2003 6:32:06 PM PDT by SpookBrat (There, but the for the grace of God, go I)
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To: mvpel
I had muscle tremors, momentary losses of awareness, and heart palpatations on four lattes per day from my company's free espresso machine.

You were greedy and so you overdosed :). One or two lattes a day should be enough.

235 posted on 10/11/2003 6:36:10 PM PDT by A. Pole
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To: stands2reason
LOL!
236 posted on 10/11/2003 6:37:38 PM PDT by ChemistCat (Oklahoman by chance, not Californian by grace of God!)
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To: wardaddy
I am not sure about oxycontin being off the market, but I am sure that there is a lot of controversy concerning this drug. It is an opiate. It is considered more addictive than heroine. It is highly effective for pain relief and many people have benefitted from that fact. However, because of it's highly addictive nature caution needs to be taken regarding the type of pain it is prescribed to assist.
237 posted on 10/11/2003 6:46:41 PM PDT by MistyCA (For some...it's always going to be "A Nam Thing!")
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To: Two_Sheds
Now the question is .. why in the heck are doctors prescribing OxyContin??? Because it works, and works very well. Are you suggesting that they not prescribe it because people misuse it?

Precisely accurate observation and question...

Now then, why would we not solve the problem where the problem is? Namely, with the illegal manufacture, distribution, and dealership of this drug? The housekeeper was more of a 'pill provider' (i.e. drug dealer) to Rush than a housekeeper. They should NOT have given her immunity if they in fact did. The blame here, IMHO, should not go to the poor sucker who gets hooked on a prescription drug but to those who made some bucks providing that drug on an illegal basis......

But then again, we also give driver's licenses to ILLEGAL aliens too, don't we?

238 posted on 10/11/2003 7:05:32 PM PDT by eeriegeno
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To: libhunt
OK, I Guess I'll "Jump In here!"

I'm a simple "GP,"--a "Country Doc."

I Do care for a number of patients in Chronic pain.

Because I must CONSTANTLY FEAR the DEA, I require my "chronic pain patients" sign a "Pain Management Contract."

I am Scrupulously Careful about the pain prescriptions I Write. I often subject my "pain patients" to random "Drug Screens."

I have AMPLE EVIDENCE that adequate "Pain Management" has allowed a number of my Patients to resume Their Lives; Many of Those I Treat have gone from "Couch Potatoes" to Functioning, Taxpaying, Productive Citizens!

While there is AMPLE Evidence that there are MANY who abuse Narcotics; there are ALSO MANY who have Benefitted by these Medications.

SO, once again, do we ban ALL USE of a Potentially Dangerous Drug--(10% of the Population is allergic to penicillin)--or do we let the "Liscenced Pro's" control the Distribution of the "Controlled Substance!"

The Problem Comes when we must make the Critical Moral Decision.

" Do We Let the 'Docs'"-- Most of Them Trained for 12-16 years-- prescribe the 'Meds for Chronic Pain, or do we accept that our Patients with TRUE Chronic Pain must get their relief by buying their Medications from the "Underground Economy!"

We have a SERIOUS problem; there are patients suffering from Serious, Intractable Pain, whose Pain is NOT being addressed.

Because These Patients have Chronic Problems, the Earstwhile "Insurance Industry" would Rather that these "Subscribers" disappear!!

SO SHALL IT BE!!

Doc

239 posted on 10/11/2003 7:06:16 PM PDT by Doc On The Bay
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To: Mo1
..why in the heck are doctors prescribing OxyContin???

For pain. Because it works.

I remember having a toothache at work this year.
A lady I work with told me she had something that would help.
I couldn't believe it when she pulled Oxycontin out of her purse.
She called them her "happy pills". LOL

240 posted on 10/11/2003 7:11:17 PM PDT by Jorge
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