I ran across this story that I had clipped out of a pharmacy magazine from some 30+ yrs ago.
Unfortunately, It is a true story and what reminded me of this story is that I have been on a closed pharmacy FB page and someone started a discussion about filling/not filling high dose opiates for pts.
There were a few Pharmacist that take the side of the chronic painer, but the vast majority would not come off their lofty pedestal and they were not going to budge.
At least one made the statement… ” I don’t have to fill anything… if I don’t want to”
I have posted this article in the thread on that FB page… will be interesting to see where things go.
I wonder what would happen if pts printed this article out and as they left the pharmacy without their necessary medication handed them a copy of this article ?
This happened before there was a Americans with Disability Act and a time when addiction was not really considered a mental health disease and more of a choice.
Filed under: General Problems
as someone who has been prescribed high doses of opioids since 1992
I am dam tired of people calling pain patients addicts. We are dependent on our medication the same as heart patients, diabetics, and
Every other disease that requires monthly medications.
I am sick & tired of these pathetic physicians who choose to ignore
Their patients in pain because they feel they can’t or won’t help them.
Physicians today are only in it for the money that’s why they are all
Specialists, less training, less knowledge, less patient care.
If it was the only means to stop his pain, why was that “unfortunate”? And “the system was working”. It seems what is unfortunate is when he encountered “his downfall”, …which wasn’t his downfall at all.
Tolerance is rare for someone on an effective dose, …but it happened to me after 7 years of hydrocodone, jumped to Oxy, problem solved.
I can understand the insurance company getting squirrely at duplicate scripts through different pharmacies for the same Pt.
Of course one reaction to insufficient severe pain control can be depression, but this Pharm. seems to want to head directly for depression and a mental break and “addiction”. The gulf between someone without ever having severe pain and one who says ‘It hurts BAD!’ has not yet been crossed I guess. This is worrisome. That is what we need now the most.
Clearly the only REAL problem here seems to be under-dosing after some REAL tolerance came ’round. But THEN OTHERS in the loop IMAGINED an upward adjustment was bad, but didn’t actually KNOW IT and all based on that old bug-a-boo ‘monsters under the bed’, and no GUARANTEE that nobody would get sued or otherwise suffer for an adjustment upward, …given that things had yet to “fail” when ‘better’ was always just a little more opiate.
And finally the classic gut punch supplied without patient input because of his latent, reduced social status (and mental capacity?); ‘He wants Opiates? Well cut-off MUST be right, he’s addicted – yes cut-off.’
And someone tell me again what could this “therapy” possibly be? They still throw it out with great sincerity, like a life-saver to the drowning nearby, today. But I have no idea what one actually gets with this, …not to mention no one has yet had a headline that said ‘Therapy for Opiate use a Success! Problem Solved! Doctor Andrew Kolodny Hailed! Troops Coming Home!’.
Well this “drug abuser” is a new term to me I no its been used for addicts. I recently had an “IME” doctor file an “examination” for my Workers Comp insurance. Not only did he embellished the report to his liking an there were more lies than truth in report,he had said I was a drug abuser because I was taking pain medication for 25 yrs..Never did I try to refill before I was due,never asked for higher dose,but this clown had to put something damning in report and claimed I was a drug abuser.Sometimes these idiots in “higher power” cant grasp at the thought pain medication might actually work when taken as written
too bad the Americans with Disability Act has been completely, utterly useless for chronic painers.
I didn’t used to be a vindictive person, but that’s changed; I find myself hoping that every single person who’s been responsible for this situation, from AK right on down to those self-righteous pharmacists, find themselves in excruciating, permanent pain without relief. Given the chance, I’ve gotten to be such a lousy person I’d go & taunt them about how it’s for their own good to suffer medically approved torture, plus a bit about what it’s like to literally be where those were that they turned up their noses at.
I feel the exact same way
Not only does this whole thing feel destructive to the body, it’s corrosive to the mind, spirit, & soul. Not to mention the fulminating rage I’ve been feeling for years is likely to kick me off from some stress-induced condition sooner than if I could get treatment & hadn’t gone thru this psychological & physical Hell.