What if you were injured and developed severe pain that wouldn’t go away? Would your government let you take the kind of pain medication you need? If federal officials follow the recommendation of a Food and Drug Administration panel, many of the most effective prescription painkillers—including Vicodin, Percocet, and countless generics—would be banned. Scott Gardner says that kind of a move would be “intensely cruel.” “I took Vicodin for three years,” says Gardner. “I needed it. It got me through a very tough period of my life.” The tough period began after a cycling accident shattered the left side of his body. After eight surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy, Gardner’s once active life is now filled with limitations. He suffers from chronic pain that prevents him from sleeping more than a few hours at a time, and yet his pain today is nothing compared to the agonizing days and months following his accident. “When there’s nothing but pain, there’s no reason to live,” says Gardner. “There were times where the only way I could stay sane and civil was because I could take painkillers.” The fear of addiction and abuse already makes many suspicious of pain medication. Media reports about celebrities like Rush Limbaugh or Matthew Perry suggest that it’s common for people to become addicted to medications they once took for legitimate medical conditions. And countless public service announcements remind us of the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Now the old fear of prescription drug abuse takes a new twist. The FDA panel is targeting drugs like Vicodin and Percocet because they contain acetaminophen, a popular painkiller also found in many over-the-counter drugs. Panel members warn that some Americans ingest too much acetaminophen, and overdoses can lead to liver damage, even death. But maybe the FDA panel isn’t putting this threat into context. After all, mundane threats like falling down stairs claim more lives than acetaminophen overdoses. And it turns out the more common fear—that patients will become addicted to prescription drugs—is also overblown. In fact, the barrage of warnings we hear about prescription drugs obscures an important point—people saddled with severe chronic pain need these painkillers. Says Gardner, “I think people who haven’t dealt with pain don’t really know what it’s like.” “Don’t Get Hurt” is written and produced by Ted Balaker, who also hosts. The director of photography is Alex Manning, the field producer is Paul Detrick and the animation in the piece is from Hawk Jensen. Approximately five minutes. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of all videos, more links, and other related materials.
Filed under: General Problems
It is absolutely sickening to see our USA, NOT helping it’s citizens-who are now stuck w/ little or NO Opioid medication! These are evil times-as a logical human being-I will NEVER understand WHY this is happening! Nobody want to live in excruciating pain,and yet nothing has changed over the last 21/2 years. I have tried to advocate for chronic pain-as I am an individual who suffers from a lack of a hip socket since birth. I know there are many other Chronic pain patients who have succeeded on Opioid pain therapy-without ever increasing their dosages. I was a pain patient for 23 years, stable, had a good quality of life while on my meds, and then overnight it ALL changed!
We Pain patients have been told that these pain meds, which have worked for us for many years-well, now they are bad for us? Who has that right to tell us that? I am beyond angry-as the CDC, and FDA can’t get their act together. How stupid can they be? We, who are the good, compliant patients, now have nowhere to turn. If only they were interested enough-to gather the information on we successful pain patients-instead of giving the drug addict all the attention,then they will find that less than 3% ever get addicted! Kathleen Clark, RN ( Retired).
If u have time,,this idea that if u need a increase,,,it due to addiction,,,,not the truth of course,,,perhaps as I was taught when pain medicine was viewed as a medicine,,it because u need to get to the right dose 1st,,,just like any medicine,insulin etc,,that effectively lessons your pain,,As we also taught,,,u must keep your medicine at a certain level in your body,,,or your always playin catch up w/your pain,..Now some,,,don’t need the increase,,,some do,,,,cause every body is different…but,,look up a lady named Betty Tully,,,She was once a chronic pain person turned klonodyn advocated..She is pushing this addiction crap because of increase needs,,and our torturer adolf,,kolodny,is right their cheering her on,,,..Places like John Hopkins,,,whom i have recently discover’d are NO FREIEND to any pain management folks,,,marywj
U know my forced physical pain,,is due to corrupted,lieing doctors,,when 1 actually acknowledge to the true cause of my physical pain,,,thee other male doctors refuse to acknowledge,,their failure to diagnose for the last 10-15 years,,,doing a thoracic laminectomy for a subarachnoid tumor T2-t-10,,,w/out checking if I was in full blown pancreatitis first,,w/severe upper gasric pain,,before,dureing and after surgery,,caused my back to NEVER HEAL,,AND SINCE I LIVE IN A STATE WHERE THE MEDICAL BOARD WILL LITERALLY COVER-UP A 37 YEAR OLD MAN DEATH W/DELETING MEDICAL RECORDS,CHANGING RECORDS,,IE,,CORRUPT,,,I will be stuck w/minimal pain medicine till my day comes,,or we find a medicine via nature our government hasn’t put their gruppy little hands on,,My point being,,I have forcible been on low dose medicine for 15 years,,from them faiure to diagnose,undiagnosed pancreatitis ERROR,, going on in my guts…We just saw a 94 year old man ,,who literally died,,after idiots took away his Vicodin,,,which he was safely on for 40 years,,They do not ant to admit,,opiate MEDICINES are safe,,,when we.take them as prescribed,,,and 99% of us dooo,,,,they won’t cause cancer or terrible side effects like all this new crap out there,,I BELIEVE NOTHING OUR GOVERNEMENT SAID,,,,,NOTHING!!!maryw