Keep on diggin'

[NorthwoodHusker]

It’s specifically designed for surgery only and they let it out on the streets...Man made...

So, from a one time controlled environment to, hey, lets leave it up to the patient?
Weve all read the stories of days gone by where these evil doctors,coaches et al all had a player playing after an injection.

So, now heres the deal,
Uenth, knowing what we/you know now about that drug, would you also,like pro players did back in the day, allow it to happen for youre desire and livelihood?
I used to work for myself, and know what that takes,what it means to myself etc, then of course theres the money.
Most of us drink coffee, it prepares us, keeps us sharp,awake etc, in a small way, for those who simply dont get the why people do this, just for work sakes, they may love their coffee in the morning to set up their day, in this case, its much more needed, and the only joy of it is pain removal.
I'm happy for you Uenth, and am also mad because getting a medical license shouldnt disconnect you or completely absolve you from overseeing and steering people away from being guinea pigs.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

To go even further, the Dr that prescribes has to know whats going on with the patient and the drug, plus fix this or that thats entertwined in the overall whole picture.
It seems theres levels missing in our cares, as most Drs simply dont have the time for the necessary followup, and or changes from those followups.
PT can be great, but bringing it home, like yoga, stretching programs etc, is the best medicine.
The time required, and the time of day is simply too expensive and not conducive for peoples needs.
Uenth, youre one smart lady, glad you learned and dug your way out.

 

[Uenth]

So, from a one time controlled environment to, hey, lets leave it up to the patient?
Weve all read the stories of days gone by where these evil doctors,coaches et al all had a player playing after an injection.

So, now heres the deal,
Uenth, knowing what we/you know now about that drug, would you also,like pro players did back in the day, allow it to happen for youre desire and livelihood?

With the knowledge that I have now? Absolutely no way. I had 5-6 weeks of pure unadulterated Hell! When I first started Tramadol, I thought I was taking stronger Tylenol. I honestly don't know if I would have the strength to go through the withdrawals again. I don't want to find out or end up having to go into a rehab center to get off that crap. First thing I did was take the unopened bottles to the low income clinic and the open ones were discarded in the appropriate manner.

I'm happy for you Uenth, and am also mad because getting a medical license shouldnt disconnect you or completely absolve you from overseeing and steering people away from being guinea pigs.

I kind of feel like being a doctor is getting to be a thankless job. Not enough docs to go around, long hours, patients wanting all their pain taken away, miracle cures. I harbor no ill will to the doc who initially put me on Tramadol. I think that he honestly thought that he was doing the right thing for me. I responded well to it so I wasn't cluttering up his office every day begging for something to keep my pain at bay. Once the empirical evidence started coming in, there are literally hundreds of thousands of patients on Tramadol and what do you do with them? Some have been yanked off Tramadol with nothing prescribed in its place. I've read some of their stories and it's not pleasant. So you either have patients in pain or patients that end up being addicted to what was thought to be a miracle drug. Talk about the devil and the deep blue sea.

 

[Uenth]

To go even further, the Dr that prescribes has to know whats going on with the patient and the drug, plus fix this or that thats entertwined in the overall whole picture.
It seems theres levels missing in our cares, as most Drs simply dont have the time for the necessary followup, and or changes from those followups.
PT can be great, but bringing it home, like yoga, stretching programs etc, is the best medicine.
The time required, and the time of day is simply too expensive and not conducive for peoples needs.
Uenth, youre one smart lady, glad you learned and dug your way out.

I feel like I'm extremely fortunate that I was able to just stop Tramadol. I've read a ton of stories from other Tramadol users that stop, the pain becomes too much and they're drawn back in.

It's not a perfect situation for me but manageable. I try to be very careful about the kind of jobs I accept now, not sitting too long without stretching, etc. Even doing all that, now that cold weather is here, my pain levels are up slightly. I'm going to take the heating pad downstairs and give my back a shot of heat every now and again to see if that takes me back to a slightly more tolerable level. If not, I'll deal with it. Pain just reminds you that you are still alive (at least that's my new mantra).

 

[NebSailor]

I think the trick is to find what works for you and everyone is different. I did PT every step of the way and it was never particularly helpful. Felt great until I walked out their door.

For me, yoga seems to be the key. I don't do like 30-45 minutes at a time. I'll do key stretches periodically throughout the day or if I hunch over a machine for too long and feel things tighten up then I stop and stretch things out and I'm good to go again.

Funny you say this...I did a couple rounds of P90X when it was popular and always skipped the yoga part because it wasn’t manly enough...Then I did it...Damn I felt great after it! Seriously tooted my A$$ off too!

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

I feel like I'm extremely fortunate that I was able to just stop Tramadol. I've read a ton of stories from other Tramadol users that stop, the pain becomes too much and they're drawn back in.

It's not a perfect situation for me but manageable. I try to be very careful about the kind of jobs I accept now, not sitting too long without stretching, etc. Even doing all that, now that cold weather is here, my pain levels are up slightly. I'm going to take the heating pad downstairs and give my back a shot of heat every now and again to see if that takes me back to a slightly more tolerable level. If not, I'll deal with it. Pain just reminds you that you are still alive (at least that's my new mantra).

I found, with my back, never twist n lift, watch how much and how often you lift, and went to multiple lighter lifting for endurance helped me.
At first, I was young dumb and full of hatred for myself, forcing myself to do things I knew I could, and kept hurting myself.
Too prideful.
I was also surrounded by people who expected these things from me, it wasnt til one time I'd hurt myself, a guy I hadnt seen in a month noticed I still wasnt turning my neck, only my shoulders when talking to him that those around me backed off.
Everyone finds themselves in life, or, situations they are compelled to do, and yet, knowing this can happen at home, it certainly happens on the job, good for you or not, good back, or not.
Keep digging Uenth, being in good shape is the most of it, at least it was for me, and I learned where my lines were, and as time went by, I rarely crossed them.
I look at Tre Bryant and see a great many people like him, but I'm old enough to remember my heroes getting their shots, going back in, then lamenting their short careers.
Why we shame the helpers whove done our heroes wrong, yet let this monster, unabated on society shows we arent learning from our past.

 

[NebSailor]

With the knowledge that I have now? Absolutely no way. I had 5-6 weeks of pure unadulterated Hell! When I first started Tramadol, I thought I was taking stronger Tylenol. I honestly don't know if I would have the strength to go through the withdrawals again. I don't want to find out or end up having to go into a rehab center to get off that crap. First thing I did was take the unopened bottles to the low income clinic and the open ones were discarded in the appropriate manner.
I kind of feel like being a doctor is getting to be a thankless job. Not enough docs to go around, long hours, patients wanting all their pain taken away, miracle cures. I harbor no ill will to the doc who initially put me on Tramadol. I think that he honestly thought that he was doing the right thing for me. I responded well to it so I wasn't cluttering up his office every day begging for something to keep my pain at bay. Once the empirical evidence started coming in, there are literally hundreds of thousands of patients on Tramadol and what do you do with them? Some have been yanked off Tramadol with nothing prescribed in its place. I've read some of their stories and it's not pleasant. So you either have patients in pain or patients that end up being addicted to what was thought to be a miracle drug. Talk about the devil and the deep blue sea.

They don’t listen anymore either...straight to CAT scan...

 

[innmc]

More people have died in the last year from opioid addiction and overdoses than in all of the Vietnam War

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

Though it isnt 'the' monster, its been monstrous

 

[Uenth]

More people have died in the last year from opioid addiction and overdoses than in all of the Vietnam War

I would love to know the percentages of different opioids. I'm betting that the lion's share are a result of fentanyl.

Within the last 18 months or so, I saw a blurb on a fentanyl bust in some small town (forget where). Population around a thousand. A staggering number of scripts were written out to the residents for fentanyl. A thinking UPS driver alerted the FDA to the number of packages he was delivering that were from a mail order drugstore. All of those scripts were for fentanyl and actually being delivered to the same address were they were being repackaged and sold on the black market. It surprised me that the FDA didn't get involved just by the number of scripts being written as our doc told us that she has to report on a monthly basis how many scripts she writes for each controlled substance (opioids). There was also a Nebraska SP Officer who pulled someone over for speeding, got suspicious and searched the vehicle. Recovered enough fentanyl to kill several thousand people. That drug has become flat out wicked, since it's been used for other than its intended purpose.

I've not run across any stories of Tramadol deaths but because it is so highly addictive and can be such a hard drug to quit, I have no problems with the FDA banning it. I'm sure it would become like meth and manufactured outside of FDA regulations.

Opioids are a huge problem and I just don't know the answer. I spent a lot of time on message boards for people with spinal injuries/failed back surgeries and those folks are in a ton of pain. But the question that has always gone through my mind is "Would some of these people be better if they got up and walked or did stretches, etc; rather than taking an incredible number of different pills?" Some were on a dozen or more different meds. Not all opioids: drugs to prevent nausea, constipation and so forth that are a direct result of their pain med regimen. There are no easy answers for this one I'm afraid.

 

[Doc Fumble]

More people have died in the last year from opioid addiction and overdoses than in all of the Vietnam War

That factoid is absolutely staggering. If it's a higher death toll than Vietnam, why hasn't this become a daily feature of our nightly news programs?

Though it isnt 'the' monster, its been monstrous

Steppenwolf??!!??! Really Northwood? My God, you're as old as dirt!

 

[innmc]

That factoid is absolutely staggering. If it's a higher death toll than Vietnam, why hasn't this become a daily feature of our nightly news programs?

Look at who the sponsors are for the nightly news... BIG PHARMA!!!

 

[Crazyhole]

FWIW, I would highly recommend that everyone get a DNA test to determine which pharmaceuticals are effective for you. I did it and found out that opioids are not effective or have an adverse affect on me, along with dozens of other drugs. In my case, I've been prescribed vicodin, which was ineffective and then ramped up to percocet which was also ineffective. Typically a doctor would either up the dosage or go to something more powerful, not knowing that it would only increase the probablility of addiction. Now I know that if I ever have severe pain, I should be given toradol. Its pretty amazing what can be learned from DNA tests.

 

[Bugeaters]

FWIW, I would highly recommend that everyone get a DNA test to determine which pharmaceuticals are effective for you. I did it and found out that opioids are not effective or have an adverse affect on me, along with dozens of other drugs. In my case, I've been prescribed vicodin, which was ineffective and then ramped up to percocet which was also ineffective. Typically a doctor would either up the dosage or go to something more powerful, not knowing that it would only increase the probablility of addiction. Now I know that if I ever have severe pain, I should be given toradol. Its pretty amazing what can be learned from DNA tests.

But don't publish if you get one on this board if you have questions about your past.

 

[Uenth]

That factoid is absolutely staggering. If it's a higher death toll than Vietnam, why hasn't this become a daily feature of our nightly news programs?

In 2017, there were approximately 62K deaths from overdoses and the number of troops killed in VietNam was approximately 55K. Let me throw a caveat in there- the 62K deaths from overdoses includes all overdoses, not just opioid related overdoses. So the drug that Michael Jackson od'd on is included in there along with whatever else people can od on. I have no idea what all drugs one can successfully od on besides opioid and the Michael Jackson drug but know they are out there.

Still a staggeringly large number of people lose their lives every year through opioids, mostly fentanyl and I would love to see something constructive done about it. But money talks and that means Big Pharma is doing lots and lots of talking.

 

[Bugeaters]

In 2017, there were approximately 62K deaths from overdoses and the number of troops killed in VietNam was approximately 55K. Let me throw a caveat in there- the 62K deaths from overdoses includes all overdoses, not just opioid related overdoses. So the drug that Michael Jackson od'd on is included in there along with whatever else people can od on. I have no idea what all drugs one can successfully od on besides opioid and the Michael Jackson drug but know they are out there.

Still a staggeringly large number of people lose their lives every year through opioids, mostly fentanyl and I would love to see something constructive done about it. But money talks and that means Big Pharma is doing lots and lots of talking.

Go Big Red!

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

That factoid is absolutely staggering. If it's a higher death toll than Vietnam, why hasn't this become a daily feature of our nightly news programs?



Steppenwolf??!!??! Really Northwood? My God, you're as old as dirt!

Hey, I did it right, was into, at the time, underground music, no problem ignoring disco, and was too old for rap.
You cant beat that with a Ringo drumstick!
Was into cheech n chong, listened to picts in a cave, saw Alice, when she was just small, got with Alice, when she was ten feet tall.

 

[innmc]

Ex-DEA agent: Opioid crisis fueled by drug industry and Congress

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

Ex-DEA agent: Opioid crisis fueled by drug industry and Congress

Reading that, they fine the distributors, first, the fines arent much, two, theres no structure in law, three, the doctors cant and arent following up, its treated like in the hospital, a 1-10 turn up the juice, the patient decides, but, in the hospital, there is follow up.

So, this is being with with no teeth in law or penalty, kept open by a loose pill count to pharmacies.
We cant keep a drug czar in place, it seems its only a matter of time before theyre met by their own price.
This has gone on for twenty years, and only one attempt by one leader has been tried, but as said, those appointments get bought off.
I think we can get this done, but understand, there are very few leaders that arent also addicted, by the amounts of influence behind all this.
Ive only heard some threats by one person about this, it needs to happen.

 

[Uenth]

Got a call from my brother today. His son, Michael, referenced above is over the moon. He just got a new job today and starts Monday at one of their local vets. Kind of a boy Friday kind of thing. He loves dogs and cats so he's very happy about it.

He's just always hanging in there and trying to improve himself. So proud of him!