[Standw2Fists]

The MD that gives the pain meds gets a kick back from the pharmacuetical companies to prescribe these substances to those who should not require them... and then the patient (victim) becomes addicted to the substance (and a few of these substances are more difficult to break then street drugs: ( I.E. Zanax, oxycotin, viocden, percocet to list a few).Increasing a pharmacuetical demand, keeping drug companies in business while the rest of the economy suffers..80% of Americans on some form of prescription medication... possibly a vast majority either on pain meds or pyschotropics...When can we stop this vicious catch 22... turn to Holistic treatments first and evaluate the insurance co. for paying for these things in unnecessary cases (and it does include the government ... even the government supplies oxycotins to people that may not be necessary). the MDs that prescribe them...pharmacuetical companies that give kick backs for prescribing .We need to reclaim our Health as a society.What recourse do we have as a society?????I'm interested in a reevaluation of the system. I am not stereotyping all into one category, but 80% Americans seems a bit more than those who would require pharmacuetical assistance.

[cutsup]

how do you know that this is happening? have you verified this? do you have concrete evidence? i think you should be careful here.if you do have evidence of this then maybe you should report it to law enforcement and if you have evidence and don't report it maybe you could be held liable for withholding evidence. i don't know. but i do agree, it is probably happening also, i have absolutely no respect for the medical profession any more. i feel it is full of money grabbing, self serving individuals and they get away with all sorts of misdeeds and they seem to be impervious to the law. actually, no respect is a mild term they actually disgust me!

[friendlypharmd]

I agree with portions of your comment (not really a question, though). However, you are taking this to an extreme. It is completely illegal for a doctor to take"kickbacks"for prescribing drugs, and any MD who does is risking their license by doing that. (If you know MDs who are doing that and you are sure of it, you can contact the DEA.) This especially applies to MDs who are prescribing to patients who do not need these medications.Also, you have to consider that not everyone is the same and people respond different to differing treatments. While many people do experience significant relief from treatments like acupuncture, it can also cause a patient to have increased pain or an allergic reaction. A LAc specialist would confirm that.Considering the delicate state of health insurance I definitely would not tempt them to discontinue covering pain medication. Have you ever been in severe pain? What happens to all of those people who have chronic, severe pain that doesn't respond to holistic treatment?I agree that something should be done, but not discouraging the use of narcotic pain medication in patients who need pain relief. It is hard enough as it is for people who actually need it to get it because of the close monitoring of doctors who prescribe it. That happened because doctors were freely prescribing it and patients got addicted. Now, instead of doctors being more responsible in monitoring their patients on pain meds, many have stopped prescribing it at all, leaving the patients who actually need it in pain.I appreciate your sentiment, in that our health system needs to be changed drastically, and pharmaceutical companies shouldn't have as many liberties. Don't you think that you are being a bit extreme though? We all have different DNA, different body chemistry, just because one thing works for you doesn't mean it works for everyone else. There are cures for cancer, but that"cure"may only work on 1 out of a thousand patients with the same cancer. The point is, we are all different and it would be unfair to discontinue covering one treatment (that can be very beneficial if used properly) for another just because it works on many people. The system is not fair the way it is, is it really a good idea to change it to a different, but equally unfair system? There is a middle ground.

[Jamie B]

I agree with some of your comments. Unfortunatley, it is a sad truth. Most people do not need nexium for example. If people would eat right, not smoke, drink, etc. They would not need nexium, however by prescribing this, the government makes money, the pharm. companies make money, and so do the docs. It is a cycle, because the more you take the meds, the more and more you will need them.

[gillianprowe]

Unfortunately you are right! I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and several years ago went to my Doctor, who handed me a free sample of pills? The Pharmaceutical Rep had been in and left free samples. Anyway I came home with a packet of six pills in a foil pack, fired up the Internet and started a search. My main concern, these free samples were handed to me, no prescription, no mention on my medical file? On the internet in US I located some small rumblings about law suits and that was enough for me, so I put the drugs in my bedroom draw and left well alone. That is not to say I was not tempted, RA pain is not nice and you can get desperate. Few months later I saw the same Doc who had a pile of the same drug, free samples and was handing them out to one Patient. The pile would be 12 boxes? I felt I had to say something and so I said'You want to be careful, their is some Legal suits in USA on that drug'. However he continued.When the news eventually came into the Public Arena and the drug was withdrawn, I took the free sample given to me, now out of date but still sealed, stapled it to a letter to my Doctor and the letter simply said'I told you so'. The drug was Vioxx! When I next saw my Doctor I asked him and he simply replied'If Patients die it is not my fault, the Pharma Company takes responsibility'. I am sat their thinking: well if I had died or had a heart attack, the Pharma Company would be pretty useless to me. Money can buy you lots of things, but it cannot buy you back your health. If you look around any Doctors Clinic, Surgery, Rooms you will see items that they have been given by the Pharma Companies: blood pressure machines, pens, pencils, stethascopes, models of various parts of the body, do you really think they buy this? However as to a'kick-back'as in cash, I doubt this happens. What they might get is a free Vacation to some Medical Conference in a far off land, all expenses paid, but that is part of the ongoing learning, or not? The recourse we have is easy, just say NO!We live in a sociaety where pain is unacceptable and therefore expect the Doctors to get rid of our pain. The idea that we might have to live with it forever, I succumbed to RA at 21 am now 50, so 30 years of living in pain, but given enough time you manage the pain yourself. That can mean ruling out certain activities: contact sport, to changing your diet, let alone having to go for a afternoon nap and learning other skills to deal with the pain. However it is far easier to pop a pill, then spend time figuring out how you the Patient has to live with the health condition, for which their is no cure! I also have a prolapsed disc and the Doctor has me on Fentanyl Patch, which takes the edge off the pain, but the rest of the pain I can live with. The choice, increase the patch strength and while that has been offered several times, my responce is no, let me try everything I know first and if I fail, then we increase the strength. However, how many people are willing to treat their own body as if it was a serious problem at work, and try to resolve the problem themselves? Just say, you are driving along and the next thing your tire bursts, BANG! The problem is busrt tire, the solution, change the tire, the choice, do it yourself, or call in a mechanic? The same can be applied to everyday problems, be it the kids bicycle tire needs inflating, DIY or take it to the Forecourt? The car needs washing, DIY or take it to the Forecourt? The lawn needs cutting, DIY or get in a gardner? The house needs decorating, DIY or call in decorating company? If we all put the same amount of problem solving we use at work into our own health, then we would not need pain killers, instead we could exercise, have massages, take showers, go swimming, the list is endless, but we live in a society of the'Quick-Fix'. Best of LuckPS, perhaps the question should be why are pain killers addictive? If we get immune to them and we can and do, so have to increase the dose to cope, until evetually they no longer work and we change the drug, what happens when the drugs no longer work? We are sent to Pain Management Clinics, who wean us off and teach us other techniques to deal with the pain! Perhaps we should start with Pain Management Clinic, rather than pain pills? Pain killers can make you feel'happy'and when what makes you'happy': my dog was euthanized Christmas Eve, is taken away, the withdrwal symptoms are just the same. However, I am not getting another dog just yet, let alone two dogs, or three dogs. I am still grieving for my dog and this is a process, might be short, may be forever, who knows. So pain and pain killers can also have a big psychological affect on our mental health.