January 01, 2004

• I don't really understand this - these aren't illegal drugs they're prescribing, are they? Or is it that they are prescribing these drugs for things they shouldn't? (I certainly think that painkillers seem to be handed out too easily, or at least handed out without proper explanation to the patient about what they contain, or what the effects might be - a friend of mine was given some morphine based painkillers for back pain recently, and yet wasn't initially told they were morphine based, and had only been told not to drive while using them, so she came into university, and basically passed out - but thats probably a discussion for another day)
• I don't really understand this I think it's reflective of the mindset here in the US that all drugs are bad, period, ergo, these doctors must be bad people. As for the patients, oh well, I guess pain is good fro the soul. these aren't illegal drugs they're prescribing, are they? No, or rather, they're legal with a prescription but illegal without one. There is a black market for people who just want to get high from them, but it doesn't sound to me like these doctors have anying to do with that. Or is it that they are prescribing these drugs for things they shouldn't? No, they're prescribing them for chronic pain relief, but they are prescribing larger doses than most other doctors do. As the story in the "patients in chronic pain" link shows, for some people it takes larger doses to deal with the pain. a friend of mine was given some morphine based painkillers for back pain recently, and yet wasn't initially told they were morphine based I would call that malpractice.
• I would call that malpractice. I think I would, too.
• And thanks for the answers, homunculus.
• The War on Pain Management
• On the other hand, a responsible consumer will look up any medication they have been prescribed, either online or in a book (if they happen to own a drug guide). Most pharmacies these days also attach a printout to any medication that is basically similar to that drug's writeup in most drug guides. You need to know the risks, possible side effects, drug combinations. Everyone needs to do this every time a drug is prescribed for them. (Unless for some reason - extreme youth or infirmity - they can't do it themselves, in which case someone should be doing it for them.) I don't mean to rag on dng's friend - I'm just partly disagreeing with people who have piped up to say that her doctor's failure to tell her the medication was morphine-derived counts as "malpractice" per se. In her place I wouldn't be blaming the doctor for what happened. I'd be blaming myself, because I know better. Drug information is readily available in several places, and takes less than a minute to find using google; I'm surprised that ANYone these days would blithely suck down a medication without reading at least the basic info about it first. Also, "don't drive while using this" means "it will make you dizzy and/or sleepy," so what happened in this case should not have come as much of a surprise. That said, I definitely think it would have been preferable for her doctor to tell her about the medication's composition. I just don't think I'd throw around "malpractice" unless the medication was something to which he knew her to be allergic, or something that is known to have negative interactions with another medication that he was aware she was taking. (I'm saying "he" for the doctor because it's easier here with a female patient, although I realize the doctor could as well have been female.) If your problem with a medication is that it makes you sleepier than expected, then your problem with that medication is pretty minor, especially if it's a medication that is known for doing that, especially if you've been told (in whatever way) that it could do so. Funny (somewhat OT) story in the same mode as dng's friend's mishap, though: my mom had, at one point about two years ago, prescriptions for both Ultram/tramodol, a painkiller, and Ambien, the prescription sleep aid. These pills look very similar - both are small & narrow white oblong tablets with the names pressed into the fronts. We were out painting ceramics in one of those DIY ceramic shops, and her back started to hurt after a few hours spent painting. She took an Ultram without looking at it carefully, and soon began to feel very sleepy, so she decided to go out to the car to rest for a while. Obviously, she'd taken an Ambien rather than an Ultram. This was bad enough, and pretty funny at the time, but Ambien affects motor control: she fell on the curb by the car and scraped up her knee really badly. Everyone around thought she was drunk! She just giggled a lot, got into the car with blood running down her leg, dug out a bandaid and slapped it haphazardly on the injury, and passed out asleep in the front seat, where I found her an hour later. I was still in the shop with my back to the window, and apparently completely oblivious to her entire ordeal. =/
• The Surveillance State Grows
• Is Glenn Reynolds a bigot?
• I'm sorry, I can't think of anything funny at the moment.
• More on MeFi.
• Six pills. Twenty-Five Years.
• It's the weight of the entire pill, no matter how little contolled substance is actually in it? Gah! I've heard of other stupidities with minimum sentencing laws, but this one pretty much takes the cake. Wonder what would happen to a judge if he said, "No, I just can't do that!" I guess he'd be fired and prosecuted.
• The weight of drugs.
• You people don't seem understand the profundity and weight of this matter.
• Ah, them activist judges! Hauling off and doing that crazy "interpreting the law" thing!
• Cruel and Unusual: 25 Years for Taking Own Pain Meds
• Cruel and Disgusting: Pain Patient Appeal Denied
• What a nightmare.
• Here's hoping Florida's new governor is REMOTELY reasonable.
• Wait a minute, doesn't Rush Limbaugh live in Florida?
• Also, I've got a kilo of acetaminophen that I'm looking to sell for just 750 bucks. Email in profile.
• The Pain Police: Hurwitz Case Shows Doctors Can Be Healers or Cops-- Not Both
• In Defense of OxyContin
• Pain Management: A Fundamental Human Right Via
• Juggling Figures, and Justice, in a Doctor’s Trial
• Good News for Richard Paey
• Drugs Banned, Many of World’s Poor Suffer in Pain
• That was horrifying.
• Heartbreaking. I just watched an elderly relative die of cancer, and I can't imagine how her last days would have been without palliative drugs. It makes me ill to think that something that costs practically nothing can't be used to ease so much suffering.
• More Painkiller Hysteria in Florida
• Pain sufferer wins pardon, set free
• Richard Paey Speaks: An interview with the paraplegic man sentenced to 25 years in prison for treating his own pain.
• Pleze, can I hurtz someone?
• Cops Become Drugstore Cowboys in Vermont; 4th Amendment Officially Dead
• The Alarmingly Secretive Persecution of Siobhan Reynolds
• Damn if our system isn't seriously broken. Whatever happened to compassion for the ill? Yes, the 4th amendment is officially dead--along with a few others.
• Siobhan Reynolds, RIP
• Arrested, Jailed for a Legitimate Pain Script
• Oh it really looks like they are winning this whole "war on drugs" thing, but not where it's actually happening.
• Use Only as Directed
• Why are patients shut out of the debate over prescription pain medicine?
• How Much Does It Hurt? Zohydro is the new FDA-approved painkiller that some doctors think the FDA had no business approving. And in ERs across America, they’re anxiously awaiting the fallout.
• Why We Must Not Let Addiction Hysteria Kill Off Zohydro: As a chronic pain patient, a misdirected crusade against opioids has significantly added to my suffering. I'm even afraid to ask my doctor about taking Zohydro. Let's go with the science, not the scare tactics.