Doctors who pretend narcotics don't exist

[Moral Decay]

I just encountered one yesterday who was a dickhead. I have a grade 3 mcl tear with mris to support and the orthopedist wouldnt even give me 5mg oxy or hydro or even tramadol when the er gave me 40 hydro 10s just to last a week. He told me only ibuprofen would work which is bullshit as Ive been taking the 800s 3-4 times a day. I fully believe I require pain medicine as I cant even walk and I have to get a cadaver tendon put in during surgery in 3 weeks. You better believe he will not be doing my surgery, my mom's had her acl tore at grade 3 and she required pain medicine for almost 4 months with a longer script running for breakthrough pain.

I suggest you find a new orthopedist or a Pain management doctor to treat your pain while this guy treats your injuries.

 

[missunderstood]

I became extremely addicted to tramadol in 1995. I remember my Dr. telling me I could take them just like tylenol that they were not a narcotic. Bullshit if they aren't a narcotic they should be.. I don't know if they changed the class on it yet. But I have seen alot of diss. boards about that it isn't in my head....I was kickin.

 

[Moral Decay]

I became extremely addicted to tramadol in 1995. I remember my Dr. telling me I could take them just like tylenol that they were not a narcotic. Bullshit if they aren't a narcotic they should be.. I don't know if they changed the class on it yet. But I have seen alot of diss. boards about that it isn't in my head....I was kickin.

in the united states they are not scheduled but are classified as a non-narcotic analgesic.

In order for something to be classified as a narcotic it must possess very specific qualities:

A Narcotic is defined as a drug as opium or morphine that in moderate doses relieves pain and induces deep sleep.

I believe that because tramadol is so stimulating for most people and possesses little to no sedation or opiate-like effects for some people that it was not classified as a narcotic. Tramadol seems to either be really strong and effective as an opiate-like painkiller or not effective at all in people taking it. I rarely read about people who are in the gray area. It is usually one extreme or the other.

 

[missunderstood]

I can tell ya that they did not work on my pain but they sure knew how to hook to my pain receptors in a hurry.. do you think it is possible that they grabbed me like that on the count I have a HIGH TOLERANCE for opiates. I can't figure them out. I could go ALL damn day on one 50 mg. and not be dope sick but oxy's and hydro leave me in 4 hours..I would start to get WD symptoms soon after that last pill. I am soooo puzzled from this. I have wondered about this drug for years. My husbands doc. is an tramadol pusher.....I want to just say to her" WTF is your problem? " and for your 411 I am not just blowin smoke out of my ass I am a recovery addict and I was heavy isto the dope and any opiate I could grasp....so for a dope fhen to say they keep ya from getting dope sick...for that, they are worth their in gold. But if ya don't wanna deal with more then you can handle please don't try to prove me wrong....I am just speaking from my memory and it happens to be dead on.

 

[Sentience]

My doctor has been fairly cooperative....At first he was resistant, but eventually gave me what i wanted after I got really mad. Lately he has been resistant to increase my dosage and has been decreasing my fast acting meds in favor of longer acting MS Contin. It isnt work out so well and the MS Contin only lasts 8 hours tops if I take 2 at once.

I would supplement by smoking weed if I wasnt afraid of over sedation. Maybe if I had a decent stimulant from the RC market....

 

[missunderstood]

Good luck it's all gonna end someday. The doctors are getting in trouble, the goverment is creeping in,addicts are dying. I just get really pissed off when the people that get meds and fill the script and turn it around into a payday. I would like to confront some docs and ask them who needs them more the one that has no food to eat..or the one that just sold all thier meds and is now off to the department store to buy themself something they WANTED with the money they made from the poor helpless soul that NEEDED something they didn't.....

 

[Sentience]

I really dont understand what you are saying Misunderstood. The doctors should give then to WHOEVER is in PAIN. That is what they are there for.

Studies show that the vast majority of people who use opiates for pain never get addicted, and tend to use them as directed...weening off can be hard, but you can get through it.

There is NOT an epidemic of people in severe pain turning into junkies because their docs gave them medicine to help them cope....its just not happening, and if you think it is, you are reading too much propaganda...yes, people sell their extra pills and fake pain. Its not good, but I can think of worse things than using an excuse to get carefully measured doses of opiates from a reliable supplier....probably safer than buying smack.


Anyway, I need my pain meds. I would probably contemplate suicide if I didnt have them. The pain is that bad.

 

[binahnaphtali]

Well goto an ER and/or a PPO doctor next time. There are other factors they look at to. I know they judge you upon appearance and in an ER they take in account your blood pressure.

the system is screwed up. It would be easier to go and get methadone than a vicodin.

 

[Sentience]

I have had the WORST experiences at the ER. I have had moderately better experiences with urgent care....go on a friday, tell the urgent care doc that your primary cant see you until monday or later and you JUST need something to get you through the weekend. Tell him what has and hasnt worked for you in the past....JUST for the weekend is an easier sell...and I am assuming you do actually need it to cope....lol...I dont care, but some of us like myself really are in pain.

Then once another doc already prescribed just enough pills for the weekend, it should be easier to at least get your doctor to prescribe what was already prescribed.....probably vicodin or tramadol. If you explain why it absolutely wouldnt work for you, he might up the anti to oxycodone or MS Contin. I was offered a fent patch.

 

[semigenius]

Let me give you three examples recently of legitimate doctor visits I've had.

1.) Last summer I pulled a muscle in my back playing baseball. Walking was difficult, but I made it to the University clinic. I told him I was taking Aleve but it hurt my stomach and wasn't working. He felt around, and told me to continue taking Aleve. <--- Like he didn't even hear me.

2.) Last month I go in with a painful dry, non-productive cough. I tell the Dr. I'm taking Robatussin but it doesn't agree with me and fails to suppress the cough. The Dr. tells me to get rest and plenty of fluids. The obvious prescription would be for codeine or hydrocodone syrup. Doctor fails yet again.

3.) Finally, this week I find a family Dr. and tell her I'm experiencing tooth pain from an exposed nerve. I tell her I have a dentist appointment next month. She actually says, "Well next month is just around the corner" and ignores my pain.

These 3 examples all tell me that doctors are simply not prescribing pain medication for people who are... in... pain!?

In fact, I've never gotten a percocet prescription, even when I got my wisdom teeth pulled, got stiches in my nose from being in a fight, and stabbed myself (deep) in a kitchen accident and got stitches without any freezing.

I've NEVER been prescribed pain medication stronger than T3's no matter what my complaint is. Do you see this as being part of our culture? I mean, I almost feel guilty describing pain to a doctor because they either play it off, or become uncomfortable at the suggestion. It's not like I'm a junkie. These were valid medical concerns. I feel I should stop telling my physicians when I'm in pain.

I think it's becoming more trendy (for lack of a better term) for doctors to simply pretend narcotics don't exist. I call these doctors "homeopathic-lite" doctors because they refuse to use drugs to treat certain symptoms of their choosing.

Where do you see narcotics 20 years from now? Are we going to treat cancer patients with tylenol and hugs?

Jesus, it seems like doctors only give out pain meds to people who don't need or want them, but when someone needs them, they don't get them.

I think you need to start saying something. If some idiot doctor tells you to wait a month to end your pain, tell them that there is no way you're doing that and for them to go get you some proper pain medication, or find a new doctor.

 

[NeedlessBeing]

It wouldn't shock me if the DEA is telling doctors to lay off the opiates when it comes to patients under 35. I don't think you should get opiates for a sprained ankle, or a toothache, as advil does work fine for most things...but I do have a problem when the docs KNOW opiates are the best option and instead they go with option 2.

I was one of the few, I guess, that did get addicted to opiates because of a doc giving them to me when I didn't need them, but I understand both schools of thought...

 

[ControlDenied]

I can also see both sides of the coin, but opiates are insanely overprescribed in North America. I thought only the US, but Canada is supposedly the world 3rd largest consumer of prescription opiates (give me cravings even thinking of that!). No wonder everyone's doing dilaudid instead of heroin or opium like in other countries. At least dilaudid's safer to shoot though...

Even in very ancient times there was a great concern with opium (unlike say, with drugs like cannabis or magic mushrooms which more spiritually pure). Pliny the Elder warned doctors about using poppy-based medicines for patients with pain. China made opium illegal many centuries before the British forced them to accept their opium trade has an economic alternative to straight-out colonialism.

Simply put, opium is extremely dangerous, and has been noted to be so for millenia. No doctor has ever precribed me them except T3's after painful surgery. My theory is that pain is such a basic role in the human experience, that no counter-pain drug is without serious downsides. For opioids its a potentially life-destroying addiction. With NSAIDs its the chance of your gut exploding. LOL. You can't kill pain... just like you can't fight fire with fire... Drugs like cannabis or even valium are safer bets for those with tissue-muscle-or-joint pains. I know this from experience. But those too have undesirable side effects. Saying humans can figure out a way to eradicate pain is much like saying we can eradicate emotional pain like depression or anxiety. And look what that got us - amphetamines and SSRIs that make smack look like weed. And they give them to kids - KIDS!

Best cure for pain? Physiotherapy, exercise, and making yourself and others feel "good" through simple acts. Just like humans and other animals have always done. Sure, that's easier said than done. Guaranteed the average caveman would have traded the slippery slope of the glacier for the slippery slope of opiate addiction - while rotting in a cave without procreating, all by his fucking lonesome, like a typical 21st century schizoid man.

Hell, think of it. Even the ancient Greeks were worried about this "opium" thing coming from the East. Its evil potential could be easily intuited. It's fucking my life up and 95% of BLers. There is no God - he wouldn't have sent us cocaine or heroin, and if there is a God, then his Devil nemesis is doing a damn good job!

Don't complain about a doctor not tossing opioids at you. To me, that makes you look like a moron, unless you're someone over the age of 40 or 50 with a truly debilitating disorder. And this is coming from someone with a problematic attachment to opiates.

 

[Sentience]

My doctor just increased my dosage of Morphine and Oxycodone, after some hesitance and persistence on my part, and after giving me 'the lecture'. I get about 50% more morphine and similar for oxycodone.

He always makes me feel a little sheepish, like I should be ashamed that I am asking for more...he asks me to just deal with the pain, and says I cant expect to be totally pain free, and he warns me that its a trade off....the more he gives me the more comfortable I will feel for a while but the harder and harder its going to be to ween myself off.....I almost feel embarrassed asking him for more, even though I am in legitimate pain....but you know what? If I am persistent and sincere he gives it to me. He doesnt want me to be in pain, and he believes me when I tell him I need them. He doesnt just leave me hanging.

We butted heads when this started....I dont know if he believed me at first, or maybe I just didnt recognize how he operated yet. There is a system. He gauges your reaction when he tells you to just deal with it....if you meekly agree with him you might not get them. If you insist that your pain is serious enough, you will get the lecture and eventually he will give in....for a minute there I thought he was a dick and wanted to change doctors, but at this point I am starting to think that maybe I actually lucked out with this guy.

 

[dokomo]

I think we're living in the final days of opioids, people in the future will look back at them like we do Quaaludes or something like that now.

Several interesting compounds are being developed (at least one made from scorpion venom) that powerfully kill pain but are %100 non-addictive and non-abuseable.

 

[Sentience]

Well that sucks....I mean, great!

Its good that there are highly effective non addictive alternatives. Addiction is a bitch. Its a horrible thing to have to live with....nobody wants to feel sick all the time, and addiction is a sickness that increases in severity the more you treat it...its not a good thing.

Still, I think our culture is just a little too afraid of people having too much fun....Oh, you enjoy that? Well, we cant have that. We will put a stop to this immediately. Drugs which cause confusion or increase your likliehood to commit murder or suicide get a free pass from the FDA WAY more easily than a drug which has any recreational potential or is any way enjoyable, unless its to help old guys get it up.

Anything that is fun is automatically seen as bad.


Personally, I think the mood lifting and anti-anxiety effects of opioid are also legitimate medical effects of the drug....many things which are painful are also traumatic. The mood lifting antidepressant and anti anxiety properties are also useful for many sick and injured people....just lightening up someones spirits is likely to help them recover.

But we need alternatives for long term pain management that do not lead to chemical dependence. We need to find ways to speed up the rate of detox and to mitigate the effects of withdraw more quickly and easily. A drug which does not interfere with the regulation of endogenous opioids or result in WDs or too badly impair your judgment would be excellent.


I think opiates will still have their place in medicine though, especially in the ER.

 

[ControlDenied]

I think we're living in the final days of opioids, people in the future will look back at them like we do Quaaludes or something like that now.

Several interesting compounds are being developed (at least one made from scorpion venom) that powerfully kill pain but are %100 non-addictive and non-abuseable.

That prediction rings true. They seem like such a messy way of dealing with pain.
I respect doctors who tell me to deal with pain and anxiety without throwing heaps of meds at me. At the same time I respect docs who give me what I ask for (not that I ask for narcotics, obviously). There's 2 sides.

 

[Sentience]

It wouldn't shock me if the DEA is telling doctors to lay off the opiates when it comes to patients under 35. I don't think you should get opiates for a sprained ankle, or a toothache, as advil does work fine for most things...but I do have a problem when the docs KNOW opiates are the best option and instead they go with option 2.

I was one of the few, I guess, that did get addicted to opiates because of a doc giving them to me when I didn't need them, but I understand both schools of thought...

Toothaches can be pretty serious. They can also be mild. You can have an infected abscessed tooth or you could just have a cavity that is sensitive to hot and cold....I dont think you should make generalizations by the type of injury. It should have more to do with the amount of subjective pain involved.

 

[SiD SiCKNESS]

last time i checked medicine is a multi billion dollar industry and to turn away patients for narcotics is just stupid on their part! thats their customer, the consumer. in my thinking, the more revenue the better!

 

[cheah]

Yeah I feel this. I had major surgery last year and was only given a Vicodin script. Not that I really cared but I hear of people going in and complaining of back pain and getting Oxy's, so I was expecting more than what I got.. I mean surgery is pretty legit. I can understand they don't want people getting addicted but if someone has a real need for the drugs, they should prescribe them.

 

[DoseYouAll]

I had gallbladdder removal surgery two months ago and was pretty disappointed when I got Norcos afterward. . 30 of them, 5mg and I had to ask for one refill. Those sucked and barely helped the pretty severe pain.

My doctor seems to think it is alright that I take 10 aspirin/tylenol a day, or 4-6 aleve. I am supposed to be a steel fence installer, but have not been able to work that job in 4 months after I had my back go out on me. It was pretty bad, the back pain was so intense it caused me to lose control of my bowels and I told him so. I told him I can't work and I don't care about anything but being able to install fences. Thought for sure I would get some kind of painkiller script.

I am waking up every single morning unable to sleep any longer because of the back pain, really I am going to call the doctor back and tell him to run another MRI or I will find another doctor to do an MRI because fuck quality of life, I have no quality of life being 29 and feeling 79 from my back.