And you got your MD where? THC University? Toke away.

Obviously your name should be changed to "Yourmomdidraiseafool." Ignorant.

Gee. What a surprise! Insults from a pothead.

Hydrocodone isn't new so whoever wrote the story didn't do their homework. In fact if you look it up its Lortab just diff. name. They should go back to prescribing enough for 14 days if you call early or start er bombing then your an addict. And YES people despite rumors heard there are symptoms of pain. Lay your butt in a bed for a week and don't move your going to hurt. WALK wiggle your toes etc... have your lytes checked. As for pot.... I've never in 21 years had to code a pot head due to overdose or had to detox them. Drug addicts get Verrrrrry upset when you call them on it. Not a disease but more business for me:)

The thing is, you insulted him first!

@Mymomdidnotraiseafool Actually I don't smoke pot anymore, personal choice. You should learn what that is sometime you judgemental idiot. Get a life. By the way they aren't insults, they are facts.

I was talking to the fool not you

Sorry

In 2007, 11,499 people in the United States died from opioid overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was more than the number of overdose deaths for heroin and cocaine combined.

Check it out mommadidraiseafool....... I smoke weed and I actually contributed some useful information.

I just want to say....this drug could be very useful for cancer patients. I know that script drug abuse is high, very high. I also know that cancer patients have a terrible time with pain control. This could be a very good thing for those patients, but how could it be controlled? Obviously we got a problem there...

My husband smokes pot, and it turns him into a talkative happy pain in the a** . Something far less than a picking, angry, raging, hallucinating, psychotic, annoying nasty Rx or street drug user.

So Ill take a pothead anyday

Is it the drug company's fault, or the system that allows unscrupulous doctors (mostly in Florida) to act as conduits for drug abuse? My wife has cancer right now, so I can tell you first hand that there are legitimate uses for these drugs. There just needs to be better systems in place to control their illegitimate use.

Nurs, what the article is saying is that it's a new form. It talks about how Hydrocodone now have additives mixed in, such as aceteminophen, ibuprofen, etc. This NEW version doesn't have any additives, it's pure painkiller, like oxycontin or Roxicet<---that may be spelled wrong. Basically, this new form is going to compete with these other high dosage pain meds, b/c they are making them a higher dosage i.e. 45mgs instead of 10mgs. That's why they say new drug, b/c it's a new version.

Ok someone said something about how many people die from prescription overdoses a year..

What about tabacco and alcohol deaths? someone should go get those numbers

Let me understand this: Just because some abuser MIGHT get access to or become addicted to this new painkiller, it should not be available for those who really need it. My husband recently died from cancer and it would have been wonderful if this painkiller would have been available. There will always be people who bill abuse something, but that shouldn't mean the product should not be available for medical use.

As a frequent user of hydrocodone, I object to attempts to restrict the appropriate use of opiates because some people abuse them. Why should I suffer because someone else can't control themselves? Without a painkiller, I could not remain active enough to stay alive, I would just waste away from doing nothing because of the pain. Not an ideal situation, but it works. I still suffer a lot of pain, but the relief at night that lets me sleep keeps me sane.

Exactly, thats like saying because some people get addicted to alcohol we should make that illegal, or cigarettes for that matter.

I know for a fact alcohol and tobacco kills more people a year than all other drugs combined; how can you justify this?

Gee mymom, half witted attempts to sound smart? I have a cousin with sever fibromyalgia to which she wears morphine patches. Sometimes she forgets she has one on and adds another, another time it was hot and she perspired and almost over dosed. I have auto immune diseases that runs in my family and I and pray I dont come down with anything soon. They make these meds so powerful that the side effects take lives. Forgetting how much you took, being in tremendous pain that you cant wait. Believe me I understand. However, like the nurse above said, nobody has overdosed from THC. Your brain manufactures the stuff already and all a joint, bowl, hit or blunt will do is add more to it. Pain goes away for a while, buzz lasts maybe 30 minutes, you munch and carry on. Totally IMPOSSIBLE to over dose, you would fall asleep first. No vomiting, no headaches, no hang over, no hospital bills. How about that? And we all know all the various illnesses, issues and other things it can help make comfortable. Funny how alcohol is advertised during the holidays and yet it is the highest time for drunk drivers and deaths. Yet bud is illegal. Thank big pharma, alcohol and tabacco and yes, even the drug cartel (keeping it illegal will get them big money) for keeping MJ illegal...oh and yes, people like you MYMOM.....

This is merely a huge lobbying effort by the makers of ibuprofen and Tylenol to try to defeat the elimination of their meds from the current system of adding them to the dosage of hydrocodone. Their presence does not stop drug abusers from overdosing, as they merely crush the pills, hot water filter them with a normal coffee filter or the likes, and the Tylenol simply doesn't dissipate, freeing the abuser to taking straight doses of hydrocodone. Its a folly and guise to save their sales of Tylenol into the current billion dollar market in opiates additives alone.

That's all it is. It isn't a point of people who actually need those pain killers for high rates of experiencing debilitating pain. It isn't a point of making the drug easy to abuse. POS doctors have the hold on abuse, as their prescriptions,. refills and chronological history of the patient's use of the pain killers are the only way to control abuse.

Florida is famous for their pain clinics which the state legalized. FDA is a federal department and should not legalize those pain clinics which merely charge you $500-$600 for an MRI or CTScan, $150-$200 for a doctor then reads a biased and bogus tech report which costs another $150 that gives legitimacy to the patient's need for pain meds, and the patient walks out with upwards to 500 - 1000 lot of pain killers in one session, shear drug pushers in a legal form, but legal only in those states. It should be Federally regulated, and such clinics laid to rest and eliminated.

"60 minutes" did a great documentary-investigative report on the ones in Florida

But that's not the travesty of the system considering the sale of pain killers. The elderly, the disabled, the clinically sick and patients in extreme pain from early onset to severe arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis that are in desperate need of these medications suffer the most as it gets harder and harder to get proper medical care from doctors and receive prescriptions for the much needed pain meds.

The arthritis of acromegaly is a distinct type of degenerative joint disease causing degeneration at the large joints associated with marked bony overgrowth and frequent back pain. Motion in joints is often preserved until late in the disease and excessive motion is common, particularly in the spine. Joint enlargement occurs because of fluid collections but also because of connective tissue overgrowth. Bony overgrowth is particularly prominent at the knuckles.

Hypothyroid arthritis. Arthritis from an underactive thyroid gland is related to excessive deposits of certain proteins in connective tissues. Thyroid stimulating hormone, produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, may cause the excessive protein collections. Symptoms include vague aches and pains, but usually there are no inflammatory signs. Joint thickening and fluid collections occur in 33% of patients. Knees, ankles, and small hand and foot joints are involved and are unusually thick. Knee x-rays show a characteristic thinning of bone near the joint.

Hypothyroid muscle disease. Muscle disease from an underactive thyroid gland is characterized by slow movements and delayed muscle contraction. Fifty percent of patients will complain of weakness, muscle cramping, pain and stiffness. Muscle enlargement is noted in 15 percent of patients, but muscle shrinkage is rare. Symptoms are aggravated by cold and inactivity. Chemicals from muscle tissue can be quite elevated in the blood. An EMG test (electromyogram) will demonstrate a characteristic abnormality. Examination of muscle tissue under the microscope shows typical changes.

Hypothyroid nerve disease. Nerve disease from an underactive thyroid may cause numbness or tingling. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs in 5 to 10 percent of patients with hypothyroidism, causing numbness in the thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Hyperthyroidism. Thyroid acropachy is an unusual condition that follows treatment for Graves disease, a type of thyroid overactivity in a small percentage of patients with an overactive thyroid gland. This causes rounding of the finger and toenails, inflammation of the digits and distal extremities, and swelling of soft tissues. It is frequently associated with bulging eyes and a rash on the legs, and often causes pain in the bones.

Bursitis in hyperthyroidism. Bursitis, particularly of the shoulder joint, commonly occurs with an overactive thyroid gland. It may also occur surrounding other joint areas. Joint areas show thickening and soft tissue swelling, and there is significant limitation of motion of joints. Symptoms often improve after treatment of the overactive thyroid.

Hyperthyroid muscle disease. Hyperthyroid muscle disease takes several forms. Diffuse muscle disease is not uncommon with an overactive thyroid gland. This frequently causes thigh muscle weakness that may be mild or severe. Shrinkage of muscle and collection of fat in the muscles does occur. Muscle chemicals in the blood are generally normal. Paralysis of the eye muscles may exist. Swelling of the eyelids and the other layers of the eye, and eye nerve inflammation, are not unusual.

Lupus-like conditions. Several medications used to treat an overactive thyroid gland, especially propylthiouracil, and the thionamides, may cause a lupus-like condition.

Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis (thin brittle bones) may occur in thyroid disease because of a loss of calcium and phosphorus from the body.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This condition is an autoimmune process affecting the thyroid gland. Patients have an overactive thyroid early, but 50 percent develop an under active thyroid gland at a later time. Other rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus can be seen in the same patients. Vitiligo (loss of skin pigment in some areas) is a commonly associated finding.

Pancreas

Rheumatic conditions associated with the pancreas include:

DISH. A severe form of spinal wear-and-tear arthritis known as diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) occurs in approximately 13 percent of diabetics. Symptoms are usually minimal but most often involve the middle spine. X-rays demonstrate a large amount of bony overgrowth.

Diabetic charcot arthritis. This is a destructive arthritis occurring because the diabetic does not have good sensation in a particular area. It involves the feet, ankles, knees and spine. Typical findings are created by a combination of small fractures, lack of blood flow, and infection. This causes eventual collapse of the foot structures with a poor gait and disposes the patient to ulcers and calluses.

Diabetic dissolving bone. Dissolving bone occurs even without evidence of local nerve disease or poor circulation. There is a patchy or general loss of bone involving the feet, toes, or fingers. Severe pain may be present. The diabetes may be mild or undiagnosed.

When people do take a stand and protest to change, what o the common lazy ignorant masses do>?? They protest the protesters. OWS and the TEA PARTY may have many faults, but one fault they don't have that you do...they aren't butt lazy!

Indigogal:

Total agree with why not legalize Pot? No money in that for drug companies? Also with no additives in the Hydro, addicts will be so happy as the additives cause more live damage than the drug...so I have been told.

Major knee surgery last year because I ruptured my quad tendon. After surgery the doctor prescribed oxycodone and a prescription aspirin for the pain. Most of the time I skipped the pain pills and just fired up a bowl of weed. I felt much better than when taking the pills. Then pain was less. The relief lasted longer. It was cheaper. I slept better.

Since I have osteoarthritis (which is progressive and degenerative, and yep. painful), I thank whatever powers that be that it is osteo, and not rheumatoid which can be not only painful but attacks vital organs. Osteo is apparently limited to joints.

I have titanium hips, burned nerve endings from my skull to my neck spine to kill pain there, a titanium knee joint recommended (it buckles if weight goes on it wrong), hand surgery on both thumbs... and a spine that lets me know uncomfortably that it is there and not happy about it.

lol... and though my fingers have trouble making a fist, I type a lot.. daily. Rather fast (using all my fingers.. the old fashioned touch method that iPods and uPods but never myPods nor all the rest of the Ticky Tacky Techy Toys we've lived without for about 100,000 years ... but they definitely deny us brain-work.

It's simply a matter of determination not to allow myself to become helpless, dependent, nor feeble minded through inactivity. No doubt those dependent upon hydrocodone will scream at me but tough tooty.

I have one thing that is vital to me, and all the yowls and finger pointing from those who "depend" (which I translate as "dependent") on their opium fix will, of course, make me feel sorry for them and wish I could help, but won't change my mind.

My first priority is what is between my ears. Nothing is more important than never allowing some blasted chemical or drug kill off my brain cells or their function. No, I am not more than average IQ... but solving problems and doing research interests me. then, of course, I do have one addiction... fortunately it is socially acceptable.

I read. Books, articles, comments... magazines... Fiction, non-Fiction... if I do not have a book in my purse when I go on errands I feel withdrawal symptoms, pick up anything around in print... LOL... and found almost every time something new to interest me. Occasionally, (not often), I watch TV and even then do designs, embroidery, on plastic grids with yarn, easier to manage than true embroidery with silk threads.

One posting here gave excellent advice, that arthritis responds well to being physically active as well as mentally active. So I do as much of both as I can manage. Dependency is not in my personal vocabulary.

Pain can get screaming sometimes, and after I have tried everything else (walking, visiting a friend, cooking for the freezer (no I am not overweight; I usually forget to eat if I am doing something more interesting), taking an ibuprofen ... I will only take 1/2 a Norco (a full one is 10 mgs of hydrocodone) and frankly that works.

My prescription (not refillable without my doctor checking it out... which tells me she is a good doctor) is for 20 Norcs to last me 30 days. Recently I have made them last almost two months and joy! That accomplishment alone gives me a lift.

Frankly, I think pain, drugs, comfort, and especially dependence are learned responses, so I do my best to unlearn them. And only the brain, as healthy as possible, can accomplish that. Yes, it takes will power. And that, too, is a mental skill that needs to be learned and practiced.

Well, a life is at stake, you know. An independent life. A thinking life. Only a brain that needs to be kept alive and well will give it to us.

And the Pharmaceutical industry pretends that none of these products will be addicting and bring more pain to the world. They don't care as long as the government backs them up and continue making billions.

brad - you could not have said it better. the last thing this country needs is more opiate drugs! US is becoming a country of addicts. I know because my doctor was feeding me these pills for most of 2011 - withdrawal from them is horrible and I never want to see another Norco for the rest of my life. I will deal with my chronic pain in a natural way this year - through excercise, healthy eating and other natural resources such as the one you mention as illegal.

Mel, please advise what kind of eating, excercise or natural resources will deal with the pain of terminal cancer.

Why would this make you sick? Pain happens to be very real. These drugs fulfill a medical necessity. What should make you sick are those who do not have a medical necessity will find a way to abuse these drugs pushing them further out of reach of those who need them.

Mel...no kidding by all means start with exercise, eating well and healthy pursuits...often times this can clear up some chronic pain issues and reduce the effects of others....unfortunately, there are those who feel like just because the DR prescribes 30 or 60 pills in a month they should take 30 or 60 pills in a month. Pain killers are not the same as blood pressure meds or thyroid replacement hormones. Seriously, your Dr. Fed these pills to you? Or he prescribed and you took them as often as you wished. Please take a bit of personal responsibility.

I suffer from Chronic pain....nothing I can do but use a bit of common sense. If something else will reduce the pain I choose it before the narcotic sometimes that is heat, rest, massage, exercise and sometimes it is beating my leg with my fist to change the pain. I use the narcotic if I need the narcotic. Currently, I have tramadol....personally, not a fan due to nausea or vomiting when I use it but it does reduce the pain when it becomes a preoccupation. My preference is Vicodin...I can made three months last over a year. I am due to see the DR next week and will get the new script. It is all about managing your own health and assuming responsibility.

Exactly, people are too quick to blame their docters for their problems

& all the others about "natural methods to cure pain" just arent realistic

Mel.. :) sorta... pushed off your conclusion by your first statement but after??? lol way to go... U and and TxMom abd Taylor are right on and, great, come from different directions.

I don't just respect you, don't just thank you,... dang I just want to hug u with thanks.

Really???? So how many pain pills should they get? 120 a month not enough? Many people have severe arthritis, back problems etc... I have had some serious injuries myself and took not 1 pill. Just because the bottle says take every 4 hrs as needed doesn't mean you take it every 4 hours. In fact its amazing how many people have pain exactly every 4-6 hrs as the doc prescribed. I wish I could record the alarm clocks going off cause I ain't waking you up to give you a pain pill. Sitting in your arm chair refusing to move is why the majority hurt when they move. GET UP!

It says take 1 every four hours because thats how long these drugs stay active for, go take a class or 2 on pharmacuticals before running your mouth like you have all the anwsers

No, it is every 4-6 hours.

Nurse Silas, you are everything that is wrong with the medical establishment. You are on a power trip and hurting real patients with your ill conceived ideas. The prescriber, you know the DOCTOR, gets to decide how often a patient needs to get a medicine NOT YOU! Simply because someone has chronic pain and takes the medicine as prescribed doesn't make them drug abusers.

ABUSERS DON'T TAKE MEDICINE AS PRESCRIBED AND NEED CONSTANTLY INCREASING AMOUNTS MORE OFTEN THAN ALLOWED!!

What you can't seem to understand is that effective pain management is vital to healing. The stress pain causes delays healing and in the cases of chronic pain patients reduces their quality of life and mobility. It's not fair to treat all patients with pain as addicts. Only 1% of chronic pain patients are abusing pain medication but the current way medical staff that act like you often go about enabling abusers while punishing those who truly need pain relief simply because they were unlucky enough to develop a medical condition that cause severe chronic pain.

You should be ashamed of yourself for thinking that because you were entrusted to help patients receive their medicine you get to decide if they truly deserve pain relief. Your actions are disgusting and vile. It is unacceptable to withhold insulin for insulin dependent diabetics, or withhold giving ADHD medicine because the patient is taking it as prescribed.

Thanks, Lei. My husband's blood sugar goes up with increased pain/stress. His pain meds are a vital part of his health care, and he DOES need to take them as prescribed.

Lei.... sheesh you do vary from "exquisite" knowledge of politics to medicine.

You, sadly, are again totally incorrect. The Nurse is so much more logical and competent than I find, apologies, your rant, I truly wish you would sit down and do some research.

I did.

I find that you are totally wrong. I know, that is probably a blow that any one person cannot agree with you... but, that's Life. It happens.

Blame it on the courts and the docs and the folks whpo go on pain being subjective. There are symptoms ie... increased b/p grimacing etc.... Plus pain doesn't go away as soon as you swallow. Our nursing homes are full of 50 year olds. I feel for your dad but I'm also sure he's on other meds? Lortab, Vicodin and Hydrocodone are basically the same diff. name. (Addicts will literally argue over that they think its new) They will destroy a liver in no time it can also cause kidney prob. I know a doc will argue but ketoprophen (Orudis) works great and you only need it 2 times a day. Sad the powers that be are scared to hold people accountable for their actions. Karma will get them. Thank Him For His Sacrifice.

The reason it kills your liver/kidneys is from all the tylenol they load these pills with, its sickening

The only reason pot is still illegal is the power pharm-co's yield in Washington. There is not one single reason other than this. It is a fact that Marijuana is NEAR harmless in adults. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of people each day are prescribed dangerous addictive drugs like that described in the article. Imagine the lost revenue if you could grow your own painkiller and it was not physically addictive. Pharmaceutical companies are not about to allow that to happen.

The only reason pot is still illegal is the power pharm-co's yield in Washington. There is not one single reason other than this. It is a fact that Marijuana is NEAR harmless in adults. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of people each day are prescribed dangerous addictive drugs like that described in the article. Imagine the lost revenue if you could grow your own painkiller and it was not physically addictive. Pharmaceutical companies are not about to allow that to happen.

Ketoprofen is an NSAID, and doesn't work for severe pain. I'm talking people with cancer, or a condition like what TJ was explaining. Ketoprofen is a great medication for period cramps, maybe arthritis. However, it has a very high risk to cause heart problems...not good for the elderly. It is sad that people have to abuse drugs at the risk of others who actually need it. However, people will abuse anything if given the chance, plenty of people out there abusing alcohol.

Well then why do we need the DEA or FDA? They think pots a gateway drug. They have obviously never spoke to a drug addict. They will tell you quickly that they don't smoke pot. In fact few smoke cigs because the lye they inhale burns. I have had HIV patients who would go toke and eat like a fiend which they needed. I've never had a pot head overdose. I'd like to see them start withholding alcohol from drunks. They can scan your license. But vodka is ok its socially acceptable. Sooner or later they'll make it legal it does have benefits.

Whats wrong with using drugs other than alcohol recreationally? tell me this

've always found the 'pot is a gateway drug' argument amusing. Proponents like to point
out that some huge percentage (over 90%!!!) of hard drug users started on marijuana,
completely ignorant of any scientific methodology.

By that same ignorance, 100% of the alcoholics in the world began by drinking milk.

LOL Nevadan, good shot, made me laugh.

OK, let's say you are the CEO of Seagrams or Anheuser Busch or Pfizer or any other legal drug concern. Now let's say you discover that a bill is going to be introduced in America's legislative whore house, Congress, to legalize and control marijuana. What are you going to do? You are going to call in your lobbyists, open your check book and tell them to stop that bill from passing or even getting to a vote, no matter how much money they have to spend, no matter how many arms have to be twisted. Big pharma and the liquor industry will spend millions and millions to make sure marijuana stays illegal.

Maybe the marijuana growers should buy their own Congress.

Now there"s a great thought Bluelake .

A terrific idea ... hear that NORMAL !

When is our country going to acknowledge that tobacco is actually the gateway drug? I tried cigarettes long before I took my first toke. The next step was trying beer, which I don't like, so I don't drink it. Yeah, tobacco & alcohol are legal, but let's keep reefer out--go figure.

Now I suffer with MS, and I do mean suffer. The day they diagnosed me they tried to hand me a scrip for oxycontin. I refused, I'd heard and seen some bad things regarding that stuff. To this day I use nothing for the pain, just tough it out and it's getting harder; been almost 26 years since I experienced my first attack, but to use pot, which actually works quite well and it only takes a couple of tokes, I would be a felon and lose my disability, so I just grin and bear it. Some mornings I wake up with my jaw hurting because I spent that night just gritting my teeth, I was so swamped in pain.

And big pharma wants to invent newer, stronger, more addictive things instead of allowing legalized pot usage. I just don't get it, except for the $$$ factor.

You are absolutely not getting it Elizabeth- and neither am I.

I just don't get the fact that they don't allow natural substances such a weed for medicinal usage, yet they allow the crap in big pharma to on. They even allow other companies to put apple juice and other fruits and vegetables on our tables that are so laced with arsenic, it's no wonder so many people suffer with so many diseases and cancers.

I talk to people everyday who are very young and on disability because of such diseases including MS. They call me to help them find the right Medicare plans for them.

The people who have MS and other painful diseases are in the worst amount of pain. Some of them try to mask the pain with such a high amount of painkillers that they cannot even think or talk straight. They can't make decisions because they can't understand what I am explaining to them. They try so hard to understand the simplest thing I say, and then they finally get it- they repeat it back to me, and a moment later they can't recall what I told them and are unable to process the next sentence. They call back over and over, but are unable to ever understand.

This frustrating existence goes on for them hour after hour, day after day, week after week.. year after year....it doesn't end for them. What kind of existence is that? Don't they deserve better? ESPECIALLY since help is out there? What kind of country are we? We talk about human rights and get all pissy if one of our soldiers somewhat mistreats an enemy that was just trying to destroy them a minute ago, but we don't do crap for our people who suffer with diseases we have help for.

Even with all of those pain meds- supposedly helping them- approved by Medicare-(woohoo!) Their pain is still there, it doesn't go away. Their minds go away-they trade them, so they can just deal with the pain, but it is always there- never leaving them.

I also talk to people in the same circumstances, who don't take painkillers except on occasion and use medical marijuana. Without the weed their pain would also be just as bad and never ending. They tell me that because of the marijuana, they are able to function. They are thinking straight and are able to talk well and communicate, understand and make decisions. Think about the difference between feeling independent and in control and the alternative.

You hang in there Elizabeth- God bless you, keep you strong, and ease your pain.

For what it's worth...The good news is that we have an "illegal"drug issue in this country running wild- possible you can hook up with someone at your local dive of a bar to get some weed. At least we can get it that way.

you must be on opiates, if you think opiates are harmless

Actually im not, but they are harmless as far as damaging your body goes, Find me one document that says the same for alcohol or tabacco.

Oh and the fact that you would accuse me of being on something because I proved you wrong shows how brain washed you are by your own government

You must take alot of drugs. Or your dumber than a box of rocks. Opiates are even more addictive hence the term opiate = opium. Tell that to the slob who just got the fluid drained off of his gut. Don't blame the gov or docs and you haven't proven anything but how uneducated you are. Freakin unbelievable !!!!!!! Its fackin heroin you idiot!

Are you mentally ill?

I'd be willing to bet my house I know more about pharmacueticals then you will EVER know.

There is a big difference between heroin and prescription painkillers you moron.

Oh and cigarettes were declared to be more addictive than heroin years ago, your argument is invalid

Funny thing is I dont even drink nor do I use any drugs prescription nor otherwise.

What does opiate=opium have to do with how addictive a drug is?

We know all painkillers come from opium.. thats common knowledge or so I thought

taylor32, you are correct. Williiam Burroughs used morphine for most of his adult life. It's the acetominaphen that'll kill you.

The government wants to run your life for you, they tell you its a good thing to drink & its all over TV,yet if you get high on something they dont profit from and its bad.

Facism at its best, and you all agree with them!

It shouldnt be so hard for americans to get adequite pain relief and its news articles like this that we have to thank for spreading all the misinformation.

Unfortunatley for folks who need the meds a good majority who get them are addicted and its a sue happy society that did it. Used to be if you were hospitalized or went to rehab you were expected to get up and try. Now you can sit on your butt eatting hoho's whining because your hurting. If you lay around for 1 week you lose 1/4 of your muscle mass. What happens when you use muscles you haven't used.? They hurt and they burn badly. It usually only lasts for a couple of days and its off and on. Get up and walk move a little. Now its morphine for arthritis because they're old. Have your lytes checked. Potassium is the number one cause of muscular pain. Lactic acid build up is another. Any chemical you ingest is harmful. Sorry you have to pay for those who like to get "Buzzed". I can't even buy sinus tabs.

Wow I see that you threw multiple blatant lies in that one, but most wont have the brains to notice.

Nice job

Somebody needs to give up their job....burnout's gotten you, Nursie.

You absolutely do not lose 1/4 of your muscle mass from laying around for one week. That is a ridiculous statement.

If you are actually a nurse, I hope I never run into you if I have to go to the hospital. Scary!

I think you mean low potassium causes muscle pain/spasms I have personally had these and its not fun.

But anyways nurse, you need to get your facts straight; I certainly wouldnt want my life to be in your hands in the ER!

You're talking to a troll.

NursSilas said: " If you lay around for 1 week you lose 1/4 of your muscle mass."

Does that mean if I lay around for a month I'll disappear completely?

Thanks for some very early morning entertainment, NursSilas. Got to run now. Have a Great Day.

Or, deny you're going to have a Great Day....which will be the first sign you'll really have a Great Day.

I don't work in ER, but the chatter around the building says the latest concern is synthetic marijuana. When kids come in od'd on that it is impossible to know how to treat because it is unknown what ingredients they're dealing with. One more logical reason to legalize the weed. I believe it is true that not one single case of a patient overdosed on pot ever came through the doors.

Listening to what nurs said makes me laugh a little. I went to college and have a pharmaceutical license, and I can tell you she is pretty uneducated. My guess is that she just serves food at a hospital and calls herself a nurse.

That synthetic stuff is murder, and perfectly legal. My son came out of rehab for alcohol, stayed straight & narrow for a year, but saw that this crap was available over the counter at 7/11, and thought he'd try it. Messed him up so badly, so quickly, paranoia, shakes, blurred vision -- back in rehab, nearly lost his job. Legal. Go figure. And while I wouldn't encourage anyone with an addictive personality to smoke pot, the fact that this rotten stuff is legal everywhere but pot isn't is just insane.

NurSilas... they are wrong and really didn't do a spark of research. A dismal prognosis for the human brain.

Nurse... non carborundum bastardus...

:) If you are an RN... you know your Latin.

Thank you for sharing that. I have been called a liar several times when I reiterated patients telling me the same thing. Be careful of Ibuprofen to. While it works for me I soemtimes take too much and it makes my kidneys/ lowerback hurt.

I see now, multiple accounts?

Probably.

Apparently, we humans have different metabolisms, causing different people to react differently.

Following extensive back surgery, I was prescribed 120 Vicodin ES per month for slightly over two years. It was effective killing the pain, although I never really felt any "high". After 27 months of taking 3-5 of those pills a day I didn't need them anymore and stopped. No withdrawl, no desire to do more.

I still don't understand using them recreactionally; they never got me high, just killed the pain.

Same here Nevadan but I only had to take them for 3 months. When I stopped I felt so good for a week. That was a rush, but then, they depressed me so bad, it just made sense. I guess I got the 'high' on the back end.

My husband, too, went through extensive back surgery that only briefly changed his pain level...has been on different pain meds as they keep trying to find a combination that will work & avoid further surgery. He never gets "high" on any of it -- some combinations work slightly better than others, is all. He takes meds only when he needs to -- a delicate balance, as he was warned against "chasing the pain," which can cause you to take more than needed if you wait until you're really hurting. I too worry more about the acetimetaphine and other additives more than the hydrocodone itself, as I've had liver & kidney as well as hypertension probs with ibuprofin & acetetc. These medicines are an extraordinarily useful tool, but human nature being what it is, also have great potential for destruction.

p.s;. nurse, troll, whatever -- my husband still works full time at a job (needs the insurance!) where he walks for miles every day, so "getting up" all by itself is NOT the answer to chronic pain. Just makes him hurt worse when he gets home.

Cannibus is not a miracle drug despite what everyone thinks,

it would not work for severe pain

I do agree people need to think for themselves & stop going off what the govenment tells us..

But it also shouldn't be illegal despite what others think.

Pot is a cure all? For what? Cures thinking? That sure seems the case here.

You are the one not thinking clearly, but we cant blame you, the news and government have been brain washing you for centuries.

@Mymomdidnotraiseafool Too bad you cure thinking all by yourself to begin with. Stop being an ignorant sheep following abovetheinfluence/freevibe. Grow up and think like an adult. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about when you say it, so it's probably best you keep your mouth shut until you come up with some REAL facts.

omg +10 for you

I can pretty much pick out the dope heads on this site. Really? Get mad because someone figured out the the pills actually caused physical dependency? Do you not read your drug interactions or do you partake and get mad when your drugs are removed? And pot does help oh inteligent one. Look up CBD's. Alaways tell the addicts they are the ones knocking folks who get off of them. Whats the matter not getting your supply. Feeling edgy?

What? I havent used any "chemicals/drugs" in years.

I get monthly drug tested for my job you @!$%#ing moron, do you even have a job?

Weve known that opiates were physically addicting for years/decades..

No ones getting mad over that so whats your point ecactly..?

The point is to get you to react to blatantly idiotic statements...nothing else. It's obvious to anyone with any medical (or even drug taking experience for that matter) that everything nurs is saying is total garbage.

Mymomdidnotraiseafool's posts are a lot more amusing after you smoke a doobie.

But, there are dangers involved....those Oreos in the kitchen are in grave danger.

I agree Cul...even the way she writes scares me. If she's a real nurse, I would hate to go to where she works. If you cannot type, or form a proper sentence, my guess is you don't have a proper education. Did you read her last comment? I can't even make sense of all that blah blah blah.

Cannabis

Its not the suits fault its the drug addicts fault. Put the responsibility where it lays. If folks hadn't have abused it then folks would have the relief???? they need. You should see a Physical therapist that specializes in sports. Believe it or not they placed a tennis ball at my lower back/hip area and had me stand against a wall and slowly move and it worked. I went in to see if I get get a heating pad, as if I can catch it my sciatica will hurt a lil less. I keep tennis balls and kick balls around. And sometimes if I lay on either side and repostion my hips and lower back it helps alot.

Who cares if someone abuses their medication?let them suffer when they run out early then! Personally it shouldnt make it harder for other people to get the medications they need, its sad

Who cares if someone abuses their medication?

Bingo. The entire "drug abuse problem" stems far more from the attempt to prevent people from getting high than from any problem the drugs themselves cause.

NursSilas, thanks for that inspiring story about you and your balls.

Well said, meh. What some jerks do not understand is that there is legit use for hydrocodone, and many of us who take it are not lazy drug addicts. The abusers who use it for a high make it harder for the rest of us. We all get lumped into one group, where as each one is an individual. I'd trade my crumbling bones for those of the idiots who pontificate any day. Let them know what it is like. And I have get to hear from anyone who has worked years with hospice patients like I have.

Glad your balls work for you, Nurs. I've tried many things over the last 10+ years, some help, some do not. But I can't lay down @ work, use heating pads, etc. Thank you very much, but the 7.5/750's I use work while I'm working seem to do the trick when I can't use a heating pad, decompression table, etc.. BTW, of the 120 I am allowed each month, only about 80-90 actually get used in a 30 day period. Most times a months worth last 45 days. Been doing this for 10 years, have periodic checks done, no liver of kidney px yet. My Dr. tells me that as long as I keep the APAP use to at 3000 mg/day or less, shouldn't be a problem.

I have bad back pain also. A whole bunch of problems back there that I can't spell. Scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, facet joint disease, well and whatever.

I've done the pain specialist thing for 2 years and now we are going to try a spinal cord stimulator. I still work so I take tramadol for pain. The stronger drugs make me sick, pot makes my throat swell and well, feel kind of dumb. I may not be but it feels like it. I will need stronger pain relief again some day and I hope they are still there or a new technology is developed. I'm really looking forward to getting wired with the spinal cord stimulator.

I suffer from severe pain and multiple other issues, you make these drugs sound more addictive than they reallly are & ur just fueling the fire. They are no more addictictive than alcohol and certainly not even close to cigarettes;but to each his/her own..

People who need these drugs dont get any plesure from them except relief not a high anyways.

For the people suffering from severe pain, they are desperate for relief; for the people suffering from addiction, they have a life time of fighting to stay off of drugs.

But who cares if someones is addicted? There is no problem as long as you don't take the drugs away and why would you?

Hint: Scarcity and controlling supply = big bucks. That's the entire basis of the so called war on drugs.

If someone thinks they are getting addicted they should see a drug addiction specialist and get the help they need, bottom line we cant be expected to babysit adults like children;and what about all the people that get addicted to alcohol or cigarettes are we supposed to bail them out too?

Thats how modern medicine works now, pretty sad if you ask me

Whats sad is that you don't think you have a problem. And maybe you don't get "high" at least not by your definition. Denial is always the first sign of a problem. Your liver will fail thats if your kidneys don't blow first. Eventually you'll have constant upper respiratory probs. Its all a domino affect I hope your loved ones don't have to watch you die a sad death like that. But hey what do I know???????? I got a degree with 21 years. YOUR AN ADDICT Taylor32. Start eliminating issues and you'll get rid of your pain. I'm sick of watching young people die because of ignorance. Sick of paying for it to.

LMFAO isnt that ironic? Considering I dont even take medications I should probably be on because they make me feel dopey.

You are a TOTAL MORON, just because someone knows alot about pharmacuticals does not give you the right to assume their some junkie.

Heres some advice:

Move out of your moms basement

Get a job

Contribue to society in some form other than trolling forums

And for the love of god quit acting like your a nurse or something,please

Now you've got the right idea. :)

NursSilas...

I can see how your degree and 21 years of experience have served you well. Take, for example, your "Your an addict" comment to Taylor32. Diagnosing a medical condition by reading someone's posts on a news forum is very impressive!

Incidentally, it would be "You're an addict", nor "Your". But I guess with all that training in precision diagnosing you didn't have time to study any English.

You're obviously no more a medical professional than I'm an astronaut. When you attempt to express yourself via the written word you expose your lack of education.

One other thing from your attack on Taylor32:

"Denial is always the first sign of a problem.", you wrote. Do you really belive that? Really? The fact that Taylor32 denies being an addict is the first sign he really is?

OK, then tell us....are you a drug addict?

NursSilas? right...more like NursE Ratchet. Must be a dry drunk or addict themselves.

Thats what I was thinking

MTN JUNKIE: You misread quote, "You're not going to have to have the sales force that you would need for a new drug that you're taking to market that no one has heard of and, quite frankly, no one knows they need," Clark said. "So in that sense, it will more or less sell itself."

What he is saying is hydrocodone isn't new and people have heard of it, so you won't need a large sales force like you would for a new drug no one heard of. That's why it will sell itself, everyone knows what it is and does.

But that's what marketing is all about; convince people there is something "wrong" with them, then advertise that __— company has the product they need to be "right". Just look at all the tooth-whitening adds that fill our days. Then, in the next breath they admit that your teeth will become more sensitive when you use their product

Adults that are addicted to medication(opiate or otherwise) need to take responsibility and check themselves into rehab.

Then maybe we wouldnt have this problem, I mean come on if your an adut how much more cant we do? put video cameras in your house? We cant be expected to babysit adults, they need to be heald responsible bottem line

Hydrocodone is not always paired with 500mg acet. here in the us. The brand Norco contains 10/350 and is preferred because of the lower content of Tylenol when treating severe pain and/or major post op.

I take one half to one some mornings, can go a couple of days without it depending on what I have done in the previous hours. I am talking splitting kindling and cleaning horse stall. So much for sitting around with screws and plates in my body and ortho ex-rays which look like a scary Halloween display.

What's new about that? Doctors used to prescribe hydrocodone without Tylenol before the drug companies figured out to pair it together.

It is also paired with 750 mg APAP.

Its the same thing? tylenol is APAP

ah, Hubcap... I believe that you probably rate, perhaps 1,000 percent lower?

OK, after a little thought, the "abuse expert" does have a point about this type of drugs, I based my previous statement on the fact he was making a statement on a drug in new form before the pill was on the market yet. LOL I jumped to a conclusion too fast that HE had jumped to a conclusion too fast. I have seen other articles about other drugs where I thought they did jump a little early, and nowadays I'm a little suspicious about the truth of many statements about drugs and ALL statements about (and from) politicians. Perfect as I am, sometimes I slip up. :-)

BTW Nightwalker,

Copaxone is not a pill, it's a self-injection drug; something about molecular density and it doesn't break down in the digestive process. It's for the treatment of MS. When they put me on it when I was first diagnosed (Jan '02), the monthly cost was about $800. I have no idea what it is now.

You're right, now the cost will go down when they lose the patent, so they have to come up with something new to keep their pockets plump. Disgusting

Elizabeth, Thank you. I hadn't heard anything about Copaxone until the article. $800 huh? No wonder there is so much profit in drugs.

CAP, Very good post and all accurate.

I think that sums it up

CapNChronic

With respect... I think you, and those who agree with you, are totally wrong. It all sounds like excuses to imbibe ... yes ... copiously.

You think that isn't dependence? Think again, but far more profoundly with cause/effect (researched) knowledge than u folks display.

Still it is good you commented here. It is really important that we know all sides of the issues. You good people... I did not, would never, mean otherwise.

I know I may be seriously wrong.

You're right in that they do not get you high if you have actual severe pain of nociceptive origin. However, they do almost nothing for neuropathic pain. The terms "addicted" and "dependent" are closely related, and once you are in either category, the withdrawal of the drug causes the same set of symptoms. The opioids are only effective at blocking pain at the starting dose level for a limited period of time, at which point the body has become tolerant, and likely dependent, usually leading to dose escalation over time. At that point, it becomes downward spiral, with increased tolerance leading to increased dosing. Unfortunately, with chronic and intractable pain, this scenario is quite common, and at some point the drug will have to be reduced in dose or discontinued entirely, and possibly switched to another opioid, such as fentanyl, which merely gives a short break in the tolerance/dependency cycle until the new opioid produces the same result. In my case, I came off the drug I was on via a slow taper, and while the withdrawal symptoms did occur, they were not as debilitating as they would be had I stopped "cold turkey", which is not advisable without your doctor's advice. For the advocates of marijuana as a pain relief panacea, you are completely in the wrong, and unless you have had the kind of pain that I and others did, requiring opioids for any relief at all, you simply are blowing smoke. Telling someone with one lung and asthma that they should smoke some weed for pain relief is like telling someone with end-stage liver disease that they should take a shot or two of whiskey to take the edge off.

Who says they need to smoke the pot? You can eat it or VAPORIZE the thc out. Both of those methods remove all the negative effects of smoking.

To my mom never did not raise a fool lol u bet ur sweet patootie she didn't.... I read every word you wrote above and was glad I did. Much there that was not just wise, experiential, but, yep, downright profound.

So. I am positive it is also accurate.

ok... that said.. a very small idea? plz?

If you read any of my responses u know I plead guilty to being an English teacher (well, M.A. in Journalism.. does that count?)

I wouldn't change a word you say. Persuasive. On point. I'd like many more to read it.... so... make it easier for them. Cut up your points you want to make into more paragraphs. I tend to use too many; for the narrow columns of Journalism, it's ok. But the thinking behind it is simple... shorter paragraphs are easier to read.

You are worth reading. This is not, never, no way a criticism... plz know that.

This is no more powerful than existing pain meds. It simply isn't contaminated with acetaminophen so people can take more without killing their liver.

wow, methadone cant even get you high or anything, they give it to people already addicted to heroin so they dont have to withdraw cold turkey

Methadone can get you high. It is not only prescribed to heroin addicts but also opiate addicts and to some people as pain killers.

Yea people labeled as drug seekers

Please name the ailments it has cured, with valid medical studies that confirm it. Again, citations, please.

It doesn't CURE them. It basically acts as a treatment like most other medications do.

Honestly these guys who claim that pot is a cure-all wonder drug are almost as annoying as the people who hate pot and want it to stay illegal. Stop spreading misinformation. It doesn't help the cause. Cannabis has many legit medicinal values, but it doesn't necessarily CURE anything.

All drugs were legal after our constitution was written, it wasnt until they found making them illegal was big money that they did so.

Mymom --

Part of the caveat in the bill making marijuana illegal was that it could NOT be tested for medical benefits. Catch-22, huh? Although very recently private tests have shown non-negatives -- in that it does NOT contribute to lung cancer -- but FDA still not testing for efficacy for glaucoma, blood pressure, MS, pain management, or any of the myriad things it does seem anecdotally to help.

Oh, yeah -- and overseas tests that show pot slows the formation of plaque in the brain that causes Alzheimer's. Stories which were pulled the day after posting on US news sites. Believe me, with our aging population, if the drug companies could figure this one out, they'd have a gold mine. So what IS the hang-up, except that we can grow it ourselves, bypassing regulation, & it doesn't kill the kidneys? Too good to be true? Pot...it's not just for dirty hippies anymore.

The "hangup" misfit is that it may slow the plaque in the brain... but what evidence is there it will stop "Alzheimer's"? Scientists cannot even define that word.. it is a catchall for all the other stuff that seems to be doing with "brain" and/or "poison-ality."

You know what is underrated? Common sense. (lol no, poster of that nic... don't assume ;))

Common sense is easy to define... it is learning from experience. Yes, there are times our "experience" is inadequate... but pain is not one of them... why? Because it is relative! We all have immutably different tolerance to pain... ha! we think! Well I have read enough in the field to like the theory that it is based in Will Power.

We don't all have it? Doesn't it sorta kinda in a way depend on "character"? Ha! Nope. The word "character" is exponentially subjective... how we define it, is infinite.

Trust me on that.. I have serious background in English.. vocabulary, grammar, usage, application, allegory... It does not mean I am smart, or even right. It just means I may be an idiot savant... lol my gift being words????

Brains have to include logic.. and my "logic" may never be yours ... nor anyone's here quite the same as another... sigh... a different issue, different post.

Isn't there something ... maybe Hope we all agree about...? Survival? (It varies, of course, with each of this ... I mean the definition.)

Love? (ditto) Caring (sigh, that, too ditto).

There is one thing we all agree upon.. and yes, I include voluntary "suicides." I do not agree any suicide is voluntary. Even extreme grief does not resort to suicide. Oh shoot... another issue... apologies.

Even "suicides" have Hope.... after all ... Hope is simple faith in something better.

So... bottom line. We MUST accept Hope. Examine it, refine it, have faith in it... and never use it to destroy anything ... another, ourselves.

(cops get off my back, hear?)

Yup

analyst girl... dern, I hate to agree with you (actually I refuse to believe there will "always" be a "real need"... dang we don't even know how long we will exist... drugs or not.. or maybe!).

hmm you make good sense, of course.. knowledgeable. Is "bariatric surgery" a gastric bypass?

Isn't it funny how one persons one experience serves as a blanket judgement on everyone else. Just because this happened in your life, doesn't mean that everyone who uses these drugs for legitimate purposes goes down that road.

Well, since I've watched various members of his family go down the same road, researched the effects of oxy availability and abuse in this country, not to mention the incredibly high relapse rates for hydrocodone users, I think I have a better than average understanding of the issue this country faces. Legitimate use I understand, but it's so easy to go from legitimate to addiction.

Well he shouldnt have been abusing his meds, he knew the risks now hes paying for them

Oh and you cant smoke pills they combust, anyone who says otherwise is an idiot

Where I come from, there are a lot of drug addicts...one of my reasons for moving 1600 miles away b/c I'm in pharmacy and some people I know think they can talk me into breaking the law. However, that's neither here nor there. What I want to say is that apparently you can smoke pills, it's turned into the next "cool" thing to do after crushing them seemed to go out of style. I haven't ever seen anyone do it, but have heard quite a few people tell me that people I know are smoking them.

Chemically, I don't see how it would be effective, but that doesn't mean they don't do it. Just goes to show how far people will go to get "high."

google it. Smoking oxy is called "chasing the dragon". Heck, it was even on Dr. Phil the other day, a young woman was in her car smoking drugs off a piece of tin foil. The oxy formula was changed early last year to make it not-smokeable, and some users switched to smoking herion because it's cheaper. Read the article this whole discussion is about, it mentions the different methods the pills are abused.

Smoking anything on tin foil is called "chasing the dragon" hello?