1 in 9 teens receiving medications that can potentially be abused, such as painkillers, sedatives, stimulants
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comMore teens getting dangerous prescriptions
Seeded on Mon Nov 29, 2010 3:01 PM EST (msnbc.com)
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1 in 9, I believe it's more like 3 or 4 in 9 teens. This has been going on since my children were teens in the 80's and 90's. I'm now raising a teenage grandson and he tells me how easy it is to get pills from other teenagers. The medical profession is responsible for this: Whatever ails you we have a pill for it.
Depends where you live. It's like being overweight. In some parts of the country, so many are overweight that the individual doesn't stand out much. In others, like a sore thumb, which motivates them to get thin, which contributes to the cycle of it being a healthy area.
If you hang out in rural Ohio, you probably won't find that figure anywhere NEAR 1 in 9, but more like 1 in 40. If you live in Compton, it's probably 8 in 9.
actually, presciption drug abuse is a suburban epidemic. I'm from a middle/upper-middle class suburban area where overdoses from prescription drugs kills at least 1 or 2 kids every year. I know A LOT of kids who use and you would never think them to be the types, but it's what's available. I mean they just get it from their parent's at first, then other kid's parents, then online pharmacies, etc. Problem is, it's heavily addictive. Then you have kids stealing thousands of dollars from parents and friends thinking no one will notice. I could go on...but believe you me - these are not ghetto drugs.
Nihao is correct. Today kids take narcotics with no more worry then in the 70's a joint would be fired up. I can remember not one person I knew (in my circle) who did or even would do heroin. I now know at least 10 junkies,many of who haven't figured out that' what they are yet........... but they will.
I am going to take the moron stance here.... LEGALIZE THEM!!! no one has ever hurt anyone while high on darvon or xanax!!!!!! stop throwing teens in jail for this and ruining their lives! OMG!!!
My 18 year old son was prescribed 20 Vicodins for a sore throat! I called the doc to ask why and she would not say. She was indignant that I would interfere with doctor-patient privilege!!
In some instances privilege goes too far. Birth control, STD treatments, anything at all not mood-altering or addictive, should still be privileged. But if a minor child is prescribed any addictive or mood-altering medications, the parent or guardian should be notified and made aware of the risks and side effects. If there have been problems with drugs in the child's past, the parents should at least have the option to monitor prescriptions.
That is INSANE. Doctor sounds like a quack!
If the doctor were to speak to you regarding any of the details of your son's appointment, including medications prescribed, that would violate the doctor-patient privilege. The doctor could lose their license for that. On the other hand, Vicodin for a sore throat seems excessive. If your son called and asked about the reasons behind choosing this medication then you could get some answers.
thats because kids today are brought up by xanax addicted soccer moms... this is even worse that is is your SON. u slap him for being a cry baby and tell him to go outside and play. but no soccer mom mentality today is "u hug and drug". so doctors have to appease the soccer mom mentality.
My brother is on his death bed because of pain-med doctors who prescribed him tens of thousands of Oxycontins!
As someone with legitimate chronic pain, I'd love to know just where all these doctors are that hand out painkillers like candy. I (and every other pain sufferer I know) have to jump through hoops to get three days' worth of a wimpy opioid when it feels like every bone in my body is being ground up inside me.
I'm not saying that there are crack doctors out there, but the stories of them are vastly, vastly exaggerated.
I second this. If you get meds you don't want, don't turn around and sell them! That's what makes it so hard for legit folks to get anything. My doc keeps trying to push these non-narcotic meds on me that give me crazy side effects, even though I know that plain old percocet helps me function better and with less side effects. I can't work a normal job, and I am starting to seek therapy for depression because my quality of life is so diminished.
Doctors are under so much pressure to not prescribe these drugs, so they aren't. Who is suffering?
Or just don't fill them. I happen to be allergic to narcotics, and sometimes it really sucks because Motrin 800 or naproxen just doesn't cut it. It can also be good at times... if I call my GP for pain meds, he knows narcotics are not an option so he will pretty much give me whatever I need. But doctors don't use their common sense sometimes when it comes to prescriptions, and they refuse certain meds to people that need them while giving them to others who don't.
Most people I know who realy need that type of medication ( and believe me, there is NO substitute), say they have a very hard time getting it perscribed because Dr are so worried about abuse ( which in my opinion is rediculous)'
I also suffer from severe chronic pain. I am a disabled vet and had a hell of a time trying to get a doctor to listen, really listen, to me and prescribe me something stronger than a motrin because it was taking baby asprin. Didn't do squat.
Years later, I'm thankful to say that my doctor now tells me I have no choice but to be on narcotics, strong ones that I'd make a killing if I sold them on the street, but geez, I need them for my pain and no one is getting them.
I did have to jump thru hoops to get them though, and in the beginning all I came across is someone "seeking" for drugs, when that was far from the truth - all I wanted was some relief from the pain! Good luck to the rest of you out there still jumping those hoops... I feel your pain! Literally and figuratively!
I'm a chronic pain patient also, and agree that it seems like the abusers can get their meds a lot faster then we do. Fortunately, I have a good care team in place, but it took almost two years to get the pain under control. Dr's are scared to prescribe many of the abused drugs for fear of losing their licenses.
There's a local Dr that (I've heard)writes for all kinds of junk. The "patients"have been known to sell their meds in the parking lot of the pharmacy that filled the Rx. Even though I could probably see that Dr and get the drugs I need, I don't want to get involved in the mess or be considered suspect.
As a chronic pain sufferer, have not had docs give meds like "candy". Very limited supply and have tried alternative methods for pain. As for pain meds for young adults, have not seen the abuse. My son , at 16, had an abcessed wisdom tooth and prescribed 3 days worth of pain meds + antibiotics. Think that you need to trust your health care provider, or find one with your best interest in mind. Yhere are always ones out there that want to line their pockets with the big pharmaceutical companies.
I have seen this swing both ways. I know people who have legitimate prescriptions for Lortab or Vicodan, they have good jobs and function normally.
Then I have seen a fool throw away a great government job because of the same Lortab. He would eat his whole 30 day supply (120 pills) in 3-4 days. Then complain he was unable to go to work because he was out of his medicine. His life is a ruined shambles now, depressed and suicidal. I feel no pity for him.
its not only the kids,living in a retirement filled city of elderly half are given too many meds that effect their living also not in a good way, either
The college freshmen I teach report that these drugs are readily available for re-sale or just swapped around the dorm, and that this was true in high school as well. I suspect a high percentage of the drugs named are being used off-label, to help them study or for recreational use, probably by someone other than the person the doctor wrote the Rx for. The kids don't believe there's any danger, even when mixing them with each other and with alcohol. It's unconscionable and dangerous -- but the drug companies are making so much money from it that it will be very difficult to stop.
living in a retirement fiiled city i see far too many elderly being given meds in excess.
it seems more now than ever the elderly are getting way many meds pushed their way also
Most doctors are paid by the drug companies to push their product. If not cash, its freebies of all kinds for the doctor and his family. The drug companies are in competition with the Mexican cartels and will do anything to keep the ball rolling their way.
Doctors need to knock it off. Stop writing 'scripts for everything. IT'S NONSENSE!!!!
Wasn't Tom Cruise brutally assaulted for years in the media because he talked about this very subject more than 5 years ago?
No. Tom Cruise was assaulted by the media for his stance on NEVER using prescription drugs even for legitimate illnesses like bipolar disorder. We might be an overly medicated society, but most reasonable people agree there are times when western medicine is appropriate; even antipsychotics.
Bipolar was created by drug marketers just a few years ago when the public began catching on that "depression" wasn't really depression because sometimes they felt alright, or good or even great. So the new term "bipolar" worked great because that term is all encompassing. You need to snap out of it because you've been lied to. A dangerous lie that can really harm you too. Tom Cruise was right 5 years ago and he is today. And he is not 100% against all drugs. Stop buying all the lies.
Agree whole-heartedly. My mom was taking painkillers along with four other types of medication, and drinking on top of it. Her doctor treated her for "bi-polar", it's all a bunch of crap!
How is it that Teens have access or control of such narcotics without dispensement from a parent? Last I heard parents were still responsible for said minors. Doctors aren't even suppose to treat minors without a parents approval or presence. A friend's 20 year old son had strained a muscle in his back 2years ago. He was given a prescription for 200 Oxycontins a month. In July of 2010 he died of an overdose mixed with alcohol. He was still receiving 200 of the prescription monthly for something that didn't exist anymore. Just recently, we found from other patients of the same doctor that prescriptions of the same sort were being prescribed to other young. What to do? Some kids aren't going to report the doctor because they can make good money selling their prescriptions. The parents of minors need reported as much as the doctor.
200???wow seems really excessive for a script for a month and I am shocked it would be filled since it is a controlled substance and have amount limits. At 18 yours considered an adult so you dont need to have a parent in the room with you. And from what you said this person was under age for drinking as well and mixed the two. Where is the responsibly of the person taking them come into play? I wouldnt think a person would be able to function with such high doses of meds in them. A senseless death that could of been prevented, sorry for their loss
I am in my mid 20s and suffer from chronic pain issues. Because doctors are so hesitant to prescribe pain meds, I am unable to work a full-time or demanding job. My quality of life is diminished greatly and I am starting to seek treatment for depression. If you are given pain meds and you don't need them, don't fill the script. Please don't sell your meds. The statistics make it harder for people who truly need help to get the meds we need.
Why can't teens just simmer down and wait until their back goes out to get these products?
I visited our pediatrician for a cold i had a few months agi, and while inthe waiting room i overheard a mother and daughter talking with the peditritians head nurse. THE HEAD NURSE confessed to the mother and daughter that one week she took her sons ritalin bc he wasnt taking it that week bc he had no school. She said ' i sure did get a lot done that week' and they all laughed. I was in disgust and surprised she would admit to a thing like that. I d always suspected she might be kinda like that... my wife likes the pediatrician but i kind have mixed feelings about going there now.
BUT i guess the gov allows it so it not bad. Now marijuana, even though its safer than most prescription drugs (heard the warning on all the priscription drug commercials lately??) we should just trust our government to run and ruin our lives for us and throw all idividuals who touch pot away with rapist and murders. - sarcasm.
There is a lots of variable to the study, but is clear that is a cardinal symptom of a drug oriented society to fix everything with medication. media,pharmaceutical companies,lawyers etcc
Wow, you people sure have a self righteous attitude. How about a little look at yourself or the ones that abuse the drugs. Noooo, lets blame the doctors who are the only ones that can prescribe the drugs. I to would be interested as to where the doctors are that just write scripts like candy. My guess-hollywood & florida.
I would also be on SSI if I could not control the pain of rhumematoid and two bad discs in my back. I really don't know what I would do without them.
So, all of you high and mightys sitting at your armchair computers just worry about your own medicine cabinet's and who your kids are hangin' with. Why don't you all become more responsible instead of blaming everyone else!!
That is a big problem right now, NO ACCOUNTABILITY!!!
Might as well take free will away.
Now, go see what the hell your kids are doing you twits!!!!!
When someone elses child decides to raid moms script of Valium and go for a ride, it becomes other peoples problems. Parents are more obsessed with kepping pot out of thier childrens hands that they fail to comprehend that yesterday they had 15 Vicoden but today only have 3.
You act as if your pain killers will be yanked if people are concerned about behavior that can and will involve others besides the ones popping the FDA approved tablets of addiction. You have nothing to worry about.
However, with the 100+ million dollar lobby campaign lodged every year by Big Pharm, one has to wonder how much of what is being dispensed to us is really needed.
You have to be a doctor......
who chooses "GOD777" as a screenname?
And yes, everyone's accountable. The doctors who overprescribe, the parents and friends who don't count their pills, and the kids who take them and then pressure friends to do the same.
your study is way off ! pain pills are wide spred,all ages epic por. somethings gota be done!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doctors prescribed medications way too easily...from antibiotics, to painkillers, etc.
It doesn't help the Pharm Industry makes up diseases and conditions.
We need more 'preventive' doctors instead of 'prescribing' doctors.
What we really need is "preventative" insurance instead of "prescribing" insurance.
i am also a chronic pain patient.... i have to jump through hoops just to get a few painkillers to help me live a normal functioning life. and then i see all these other people high as hell, with not a thing wrong with them it just makes me sick!!!!!
What's really awful is, although ER's monitor the 'scrips, pharmacies are not connected. I know of one pharmacy in my hometown who will not honor a DENTIST'S prescriptions anymore because he wrote so many 'scrips for pain meds and it was obvious he was just selling them to junkies. Unfortunately, they cannot legally warn other pharmacies to do the same.
Anyone on Facebook can search "Bring Awareness to Maryland's Oxycotin Epidemic" for some true stories.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/06302010/poolnew174009_32564.php
So I suppose this is where we insert the discussion to Legalize Hemp
While Hemp is a good medicinal tool, it is not a cure all.
It's close enough to a cure all for Big Pharma to feel seriously threatened by legalization.
Willie Nelson just started The Teapot Party,"We lean a little to the left".My Hero.
I'm 18 and have had severe digestive tract paralysis since age 12. I've spent more in time in the hospital than at school, and had more surgeries and procedures than birthdays. I have 2 feeding tubes and central lines for nutrition. Until I was 18 I had no other choice but to be treated at a pediatric hospital in Portland. I was treated terribly and even after surgeries, my pain was NEVER controlled. They had no issue with prescribing various anti depressants, anti convulsants, and anti psychotics that gave me such severe side effects they almost killed me. I NEVER was a drug seeker or sought out narcotics to treat my pain, yet that's how I was labeled. It was so drilled into my head that I was "faking it", "drug seeking", etc., that I have post traumatic stress disorder. These days I'm prescribed small amounts of narcotics for break through pain, but when it comes to talking about or even taking narcotics, I get really stressed out and scared. Everyone assumes that since we're teenagers we must just want drugs! Well, I clearly remember screaming for hours on end on multiple occasions because my pain was so bad. Sometimes I was in the hospital, but even if I was it would be ignored. Even after painful procedures. But hey, I guess I just loooove my drugs! Such bull@!$%#.
A responsible physician would be VERY hesitant to give you ANY medication containing an opiate as opiates CAUSE digestive tract paralysis!
As a Pharmacist, I have to counsel patients on opiates about the risk of constipation, which can be severe enough to necessitate changing the pain med.
yeah my 20 year old works in a hospital bumps her toe they send her down stairs to emergency room and she gets two days off and a script for oxy....whatever happened to tylenol with maybe a little codiene or send them home and tell them to take an advil....almost every kid where i live has a pain pill problem....you wonder why
I have a rare potentially fatal neuoromuscular disorder that causes severe chronic pain. My "doctor" just pulled my pain medications because she didn't feel comfortable prescribing them to me. She wasn't thinking of my comfort, only her narcotic prescription license. Now, I sleep 2 hours a night, have no quality of life, and my lifespan has been shortened by years because I'm constantly sick from the pain. The answer here is not to ban the drugs. Because there are those who legitimately need them. But, get the parents and the doctors to stop prescribing such strong opiates to these children, and like people are saying, hold the parents and kids accountable. Also, hold the doctors accountable for giving 120 percosets to an 18 year old drug addict who goes into the ER with a faked sprained ankle. (actually happened where I use to live). These addicts are making it harder for those of us who have real chronic pain to lead a normal life. Sorry so long, but I wanted my full two cents worth.
i get so sick of hearing women say they have chronic pain, do you know how many construction workers there are and laborers that are men and the numbers definitely will show they are? they are the ones with chronic pain for busting their ass all their lives, not some mental ass woman (all are mental) who 95% of them bitch everyday about every minor ass detail / drama in their life.