Rush's Dilemma: The Truth about Oxycontin

Patriot Paradox ^

[Yaelle]

I agree with you about that kind of surgery. I had trans-sphenoidal brain surgery (that's through the nose) and was on morphine shots on demand for 5 days thereafter. Thank G-d for opiates. When I went home, I did wish I could have another shot, but it got better and I recovered.

[MistyCA]

Yes, I think I was mistaken when I said it was pulled off the market. Sorry about that. I hope you have a positive experience with it. My sister-in-law suffered from so much pain that she was thrilled to be able to take oxycontin. It really helped her. I know the drug helps, and I am glad our medical community is working to try to address the issue of pain management. Particularly in the area of long-term unresolved issues like Rush is facing. Good luck to you.

[Yaelle]

I knew an addict of Quaaludes. She was a mess. She had a mom with cancer who had an enormous prescription, and she took lots of them from her. She could maintain during the workday, but was always completely messed up in the evenings. I don't think she could stop while I knew her. Don't know what happened to her.

[MistyCA]

Thank you for jumping in. I, for one, really appreciate your input.

[Yaelle]

Interesting, HB. I do love James Woods. We even communicated by CompuServe back in those days. And Sean Young? Wasn't she the woman who was rumored to have crazy-glued his....?

I remember going to Halloween parties in Hollywood and seeing couples wearing sheets cut into half-circles, one saying RORER and the other saying 715 or whatever that number was. And yes, I WAS too young to be there. LOL.

[bart99]

You may have been half right, but that may have been a while ago. The doses for OXY come in 10, 20, 40, 80, and I think 160 mgs. Someone here probably knows for sure. But I think there was a 320 mg dosage at one time, and I think they quit making that.

And thanks for your kind thoughts and encouragement. Took the doc and I a year to come to this decision.

OXY at 10 mg is just a few time more potent than a vicoden........ so in large part it's taking one little time release pill twice a day, rather than two pills 4 or 5 times a day. AND..... the big thing..... is that even though OXY IS addictive, it contains no tylenol. So if your pain could be controlled by tylenol with codine, or Vicodin or percocet, then continued heavy use of tylenol is quite dangerous to a number of internal organs, especially the liver. And can even, so I've read, lead to hearing loss. So if Rush had started off with Vicoden or some such thing, THAT, not OXY, may have contributed to his hearing loss. We won't know what happened for sure til he tells us in about 6 months (I don't think 30 days will do it for this kind of addiction - got a bit of experience with my son having gone through 4 different treatement centers for his druggie addiction).

[Yaelle]

I wonder if he's going to lose his Theragesic sponsorship

Also, what about his Select Comfort sponsorship, now that it is known that the housekeeper used to hide his pills under the mattress?

Rush: "Theralgesic... You can buy it legally at your local pharmacy, no need for those long, boring waits in parking lots..."

"Select Comfort... Now that the only thing under my mattress is dust bunnies, I am up to a Personal Comfort Number of 95. When your lifestyle changes, now so can your bed."

[boycott]

Some drugs appear just too addictive.

Coffee is also very addictive, influences mental process and is very pleasurable. So?

So is crack cocaine, LSD, etc.

[Yaelle]

You've just got to wonder, little Devil, whatever made Al Franken decide to get so vicious in his attacks on Rush. I don't understand it. If you don't agree with Rush or like him, why not just leave him alone?

Another worrisome thing is that society ALLOWED Franken to write the book and title it thusly without ostracism. Can you imagine "Jerry Lewis is a Big Fat Idiot" or "Al Roker is a Big Fat Idiot"? What about "Jackie Gleason was a Big Fat Idiot" or even "Fatty Arbuckle was a Big Fat Idiot"? The title is so infantile in its vitriol that if any other name is used, it would disgrace the author unforgivably. It is a shame that Franken is feted and is writing again after such childish cruelty.

[MistyCA]

My husband has three ruptured discs in his neck. He has had them for 15+ years and suffers from continual pain. He has gone to doctors for years trying to get relief from the pain. They have prescribed medications but he refuses to take them because of their interaction with another medication he has to take for seizure control. This is all a result of an injury.

Several months ago someone suggested he try a TENS unit. He called his doctor and the insurance company and it was cleared for him to receive a fabulous little unit that has multiple computerized programs. He has used that unit since and is near pain free for the first time in all these years! TENS has been available for many years. My brother had one for arthritic pain. Yet no doctor ever mentioned it to my husband. They were suggesting surgery as the only option, and there was no promise that it would work.

Pain management has not been adequately addressed by the medical community. There are options that work, and not every option will work for each individual. Many people try to live with the pain of bad backs and headaches that are debilitating. I know people who have said they would almost rather die then go through another moment of pain. I have a lot of empathy for anyone who suffers pain. I hope you find relief.

[bootless]

Interesting observations. I took two Percosets in '84 after outpatient cyst surgery - I felt like I was wrapped in cotton and slept all day. Never again.

Blew out a knee in 89 - got Tylenol III (with codeine) - that was even worse. Took one and fell asleep at 7 pm. Never again. I finally threw them out after they got stale.

I'm generally the kind of person who, if I get too busy, will go for months without drinking anything, and not really miss it. My dad was an alcoholic - not an angry one, mostly a morose one. I guess I didn't pick up the gene.

After my fibroid/hysterectomy (C-section type) surgery in March, my doc prescribed Vicodin, as well as Ambien to help me sleep through the pain so I could heal. Ambien just knocked me out. I ended up taking half a tablet so I could function in the morning. Damn, that stuff works.

The first time I took Vicodin, when I had severe breakthrough pain with my back/shoulder arthritis and the resulting muscle swelling into my nerve clusters, I only took half because I didn't know what would happen. Nothing did. So I took the other half, and thank God, the pain stopped. That was the first time I was able to sleep more than 20 minutes at a time in days.

So, it got me through recovery in short order, and I still take one from time to time when the arthritis pain won't go away after heat, rest, and as much time as I can manage. It doesn't affect how "conscious" I feel - just takes the pain away, which is really important so it doesn't propagate and magnify.

I can see, though, how some people pre-medicate to avoid pain. Once you know that the pain can go away, and you can prevent it ... that's dangerous ground, I think.

Just my boring story.

I am praying for Rush. My experiences with chronic pain that is not being relieved convinced me of how disruptive it can be. It takes over your whole life, and changes everything. I pray every day (and stretch, too) that those days have past.

[ChemistCat]

I've been FReepmailing people about TENS. Don't know why I didn't say publically that it can really help, depending on where the pain is. Just don't place it where the current crosses your heart or your brain!

I think few docs really know much about TENS, because the companies that make the things aren't out there with aggressive marketing and kickback/bribes. I've seen receptionists with Viagra pens between their fingers plenty of times. I've never seen anybody holding a TENS pen or writing a note on a TENS stickynote pad.

[Aracelis]

His enemies probably saved his life. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Indeed He does...praying for Rush's deliverance...

[Unassuaged]

Ever heard of Morphine? Laudnum? (sp)

[strela]

My dad was an alcoholic - not an angry one, mostly a morose one. I guess I didn't pick up the gene.

Same situation here. I tried my best to become one when I was stationed on Diego Garcia, but it never took. Nowadays, about the only thing for which I use beer is to boil hot dogs.

[bootless]

>>but it never took<<

Your comment made me smile. I just don't have it in me, which is good, because I was a chicken during the 70s and 80s with drugs. I used to work in another business where most of my co-workers did coke after work (it was the early 80s). I never did. Not only was I chicken, I couldn't afford to keep the habit up. So, I had 7&7s instead. :-)

Actually, it took about two years before I even felt high from grass. I thought, "Oh! Now I get it!" Not being a smoker, though, I wasn't very good at that, either.

[ChemistCat]

It's good for pest control, too. Put a dish of beer out in your yard if you have a slug problem.

Never heard of boiling hot dogs in it. Boiling shrimp or crab, yes!

[185JHP]

Seen photos of those guys with pipes in the opium dens? If those photos don't touch you, there's something wrong with you.

[MistyCA]

You are right about TENS not being well publicized. Sometimes I wonder if that isn't because it is used most often in the office of a therapist or chiropracter. Now it is relatively easy to buy one without a prescription, although the maker of the unit we bought required a doctor's order. I used the one my brother had years ago. It was very simple....you turn up the impulse to whatever level was comfortable. This unit is much different. It has 4 pads and can be adjusted to various rhythm patterns and intensities. Because of that, I believe, it is far more effective. My cousin uses one for migraine headaches and claims that she can get rid of them within a half hour. That is pretty amazing! It's worth a try and I wish more people who look into it as an effective option to meds and surgery. Thanks for your response and input.

BTW...it can be worn all day if necessary, and the unit can be easily concealed. It is completely portable and my husband had no problem taking it on a commercial flight.

[MistyCA]

To boil hotdogs????? Never heard of that! :)