View All General Comment Abuse Story Death Story Chronic Pain Story       Please sign our Guestbook Name:E.W. Clendenin Email:[email protected] Type:Chronic Pain Story Date:6/14/2002 This was one of the deleted messages posted sometime around November or December. Since this was posted, my doctor has taken me off the fentanyl due to some bad side effects and has placed me on 100 mg oxy twice a day. I have been at this dose for about six months. It does not totally eliminate the pain, but does give some quality of life during the day. I feel that the thoughts and ideas in this message still apply. I was prescribed 80 mg oxy for over 2 1/2 years for permanent chronic pain caused by nerve damage following compartment syndrome. I have tried approximately 20 different pain relievers from nerve agents to arthritis pain relievers. I have just switched to fentanyl 72 hour patches (100 ug/h and 25 ug/h). This is the only other pain reliever that has given me any relief other than oxy. I am on my first month of fentanyl but I am not pleased with some of the side effects and the lack of a breakthrough pain killer. I will be reviewing this with my pain management doctor and determine if I should go back to oxy. This past spring I intentionally quit taking the oxy for a five day period to evaluate where I stood in relation to the pain and withdrawal. I experienced none of the classic withdrawal symptoms but I was unable to leave the bed, eat, or sleep due to the intense pain. I could not survive very long without the pain relief given by oxy and now fentanyl(with some reservations). This pain is no longer a quality of life issue, it is an issue of life itself. Following the news reports of oxy as presented by the media has become a very close and personal issue for me. I worry that one of the few pain relievers that works for me (oxy) may be taken off of the market or may make receiving a prescription or purchasing the drug at a pharmacy almost impossible. Already some of the pharmacies make you feel like a junkie when you attempt to get a prescription filled. The media seems to always use their health care analyst to report on oxy overdoses and deaths which implies that this is a medical problem and we need to look toward medicine for a solution. In reality, most of the overdoses and deaths are a police problem. I think that we must approach the deaths and overdoses as people breaking the law (even though we don't want to admit that in many cases our loved ones were 100% responsible for their own deaths). The thought of my responsibility as a parent is almost imcomprehensible. The punishment of death for breaking these laws(acquiring non-prescribed drugs, not following the directions, crushing or snorting the Oxy, etc.) is way out of proportion and way to great to fit the crime, but, in reality, is no different than the DUI who kills himself in a car accident during illegal activity (drinking and driving). To save our children, we must approach this as a police and legal problem and not as a medical problem. Our great reduction in deaths from DUI was not accomplished by treating DUI as a medical problem. The reductions in DUI deaths occurred only after we treated DUI as a police problem and established laws, procedures, roadblocks on holidays, responsibility, and punishments to change our behaviors. If used correctly, oxy brings a quality of life to those like myself who would otherwise be bedridden. My prayers and thoughts go out to those who have lost loved ones to Oxy overdose.   Name:Robin Email:[email protected] Type:Abuse Story Date:6/14/2002 On March 2,2002 my stepmother,55 years old,had a stroke,2 weeks after the death of my father.Once in the hospital,they discovered she had an adult form of leukemia.As I would sit there and watch this wonderful,full of life woman get drained of everything in her life from all of the meds she was on,I wondered what could be the problem.She would constantly complain of the pain in her back and literally could not move.The doctors would not take any xrays because of the fact they could not move her.So starts the pain meds.First it is a morphine drip,that does not work,then they start the ocycontin-too soon after the morphine is not out of her system.On top of all the other meds she was taking for the cancer,she was being over medicated.I sat there as she was starting to fall into what would've been a coma had no one been in the room with her.As I watched the doctors come into revive her with more drugs,ekgs,breathing tubes I wondered how could this be happening??As I read the stories here the docs ARE so fast just to prescribe a pill without wondering why do they really need it?If they would've taken the xrays to begin with,they would've discovered that she had a degenerative disk in her back from years ago.That is what the pain was from.The oxy made her hauliscinat,sweat unbelievably,and she couldn't remember things.As we sat in her room,and heard her talk and tell stories,We as her family knew they were not true,however the nurses and docs did not know.Had it not been for us to be there to say "Oh don't believe her it's just the meds talking" they wouldn't really know if she had taken her pills 5 hours ago or 5 minutes ago on the last nurse shift.I truly believe that the oxy is what did that to her,and the docs are so quick to prescribe something.Today she is recovering and having her chemotherapy treatment.She does not take any meds unless she knows exactly what it is or what it is for.ROBIN   Name:The Rescue Ranger Email:[email protected] Type:Chronic Pain Story Date:6/14/2002 There are not many long acting Sch II drugs for chronic patients to use. So why take something away from us that we are using legally.

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