Pain Killers : What ya think ?

[Wayne Goodwin]

Deaths from pain pills spike among middle-aged women

Women’s prescription painkiller overdoses up fivefold, 1999 to 2010

By Sabrina Tavernise New York Times

   Prescription painkiller addiction has long been seen as mainly a man’s problem, but a new analysis of federal data released Tuesday shows that in recent years the death rate has risen far faster among women.    Fatal overdoses from prescription pain pills increased fivefold among women from 1999 to 2010, the most recent year for which the federal government has final data. The rate among men tripled over the same period, according to the analysis, which was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.    More women die from drug overdoses than from cervical cancer or car accidents. Four times as many died over the last decade from drug overdoses than from homicides. And while the absolute number of overdose deaths is still higher for men, women are catching up.    The rising rate of overdoses among women is what Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the CDC, called “a sleeper problem.” Even medical professionals who work in the field expressed surprise, he said.    “It’s a big problem among women,” Frieden said. “It’s under recognized.”    Experts offered medical theories for the rise. Women have smaller body mass than men, so the gap between a therapeutic dose and a dangerous dose is narrower. Some studies have found that women are more likely to have chronic pain. Other patterns in women are not well understood. For example, they are more likely to be given higher doses of painkillers, and more likely than men to use them for a long time.    Female addicts interviewed for this article said they believed it had to do with the changing nature of American society. The rise of the single-parent household has thrust immense responsibility onto women, who are both primary breadwinner and parent. Some said they craved the numbness that drugs bring as a response to feeling overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities. Others said highs brought feelings of prettiness, strength and productiveness.    The rate among women for all drug overdose deaths, not just those from painkillers, was highest for those ages 45 to 54, the CDC analysis found. In 2010, 15,323 women died of drug overdoses, compared with 23,006 men. Among men and women, the highest death rate was among Native Americans and whites.    The report highlights the need for “a mindset change” by doctors, who traditionally have thought of drug abuse as a men’s problem, said John Eadie, director of a Brandeis University program that tracks prescription-drug monitoring efforts across the United States. That means doctors should consider the possibility of addiction in female patients, think of alternative treatments for chronic pain, and consult state drug monitoring programs to find out whether a patient has a worrisome history with painkillers.    CDC researchers reviewed death certificates, which are sometimes incomplete.    It was not always clear which deaths were accidental overdoses and which were suicides. CDC officials think more than 70 percent were unintentional. — THE ASSOCIATED

[flippr 2.0]

no comment....yet

[Kim]

I have a very low (or HIGH?) tolerance for pain killers. In other words, they simply DONT work for me unless in high doses so my answer to that is to be VERY cautious and stick with just above the recommended dose but mostly I take NOTHING at all.

About 12 years ago, I had a hysterectomy and was being released "soon". A nurse came in, gave me a running list of my prescriptions and take home instructions and what to do or NOT do. I was SO whacked out from being in bed for 4 days on pain killers and who KNOWS what else, I nodded my head and asked if it was all in the literature? (I do MUCH better comprehending when I can READ it. ANYWAY,  I read EVERYTHING correctly and I had NOT one IOTA of pain. People who brought me MEALS couldn't believe how I could just stroll across the room and answer the door. SO...I go for my check up about 3 weeks later and the nurse asks me, so WHAT drug has been working for you?  I REALLY did NOT understand the question and I said, "Um....how I am I supposed to figure out which drug is doing WHAT?" Well, APPARENTLY I was given TWO painkillers, an anti-inflammatory, and antibiotics, and something else BUT the pain killers were CHOICES...I was NOT supposed to take BOTH at the same time...HOWEVER, it did NOT say that ANYWHERE in the literature. SOOO...they immediately did a blood workup which I didn't understand WHY at the time but now of course I know, they were worried I did damage to my liver and kidneys. FUNNY THING is once I was DECREASED, I felt the first twinge of pain since I FIRST came out of surgery!!

[dwalt]

As a lot of you know I broke my back in two places not too long ago. If the pain gets really bad (and sometimes it does) yes, I will take a pain pill. That is what they are for. That being said I would never abuse them and in this state they monitor that sort of thing. My dr doesn't even know how I drive 100 miles a day and work. I just tell her I like to eat...

[Shadowman]

Must be a lot more pain in the world than there used to be or people are getting soft. They just don't make 'em like they used to:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-460491/Man-amputates-leg-es...

 

[Wayne Goodwin]

Years ago i came down with the Gout . Pain pills didn't help the pain . What did was anti inflammatory drugs It fixed up my elbow with in 10 day . Pain free . That was in late 80's . I was put on 300mg of Allipural every day since then . Have had no flareups . I rarely take anything for pain and turn down when offered . May take 2 Excedrin once in a while . Never aspirin it self ...

[flippr 2.0]

I get these migraines that would take down a bull elephant,but I can't take anything for it.

[crestofwaves]

My daughter has chronic pain so bad that she could not function.  She was on pain pills, got addicted to them ( and a bunch of other things) ended up in rehab, etc. etc.

She can't work because of the pain unless she is on something.  She now wears a patch of buprenex.  It's like methadone.  It has given her her life back, but if she stops wearing the patch, she will get drug sick.  It's a blessing and a bane.

[Lifesighs]

I have a high tolerance to pain or pain doesn't get to me much, I have rarely ever taken anything for pain, I seem to recall a toothache in my late teens that throbbed until I could get to a dentist. The birth of my child, that's about it.

I have been prescribed pain meds for procedures over the years but never got them filled. I broke my ankle a few years back I think I took alive for that for a few days. It hurt for a few weeks but nothing unbearable.

My friends seem to have medications on hand for many things, I never wanted to go that route.

[Lucinda Stone]

never quite understood how folks can take so many drugs. worked with a woman once and all i heard all day long was the rattle of the pill bottle....  after a few surgeries, i had Percs, they made me sick, so didn't do them...  had Vicodin, maybe took the edge off but nothing to write home about.

i can relate to flipper's migraines, nothing works for those... and i think once you experience the pain of a migraine, everything else is a paper cut... 

nowadays for a rare regular headache, i take plain ol' aspirin, or excedrin if i'm trying to fend off a migraine, but once that nasty bugger gets going, it's lights out and see ya tomorrow....... 

[Wayne Goodwin]

One time my daughter ask me if i had any good pain pills she could have . Well no i don't keep anything like that never have . I do believe in muscle relaxer's for back problems . I guess they also are abused ...

[blithe spirit]

I think there's a big prescription drug issue. There isn't enough education on the part of doctors and pharmacists. My understanding from the reading I have done is that it's often accidental overdosing...mixing different drugs with alcohol and over the counter meds as well. You have to be very cautious especially with the over the counter meds.

Sometimes I think there is mindset that if it's prescribed by a doctor it's ok... just because it's legal doesn't mean it can't hurt you.

I'm an easy high...doesn't take much for me. The most recent serious pain I've had was when I had my heart surgery...breastbone sawed through...chest tubes jabbed under my ribs...etc. intense.
I had a nurse who specialized in pain management and she came up with a drug cocktail that was wonderful for me...took the edge off the raw screaming pain and was able to remain lucid and aware.
It was a combination of darvon and tylenol...the tylenol boosted the effects of the darvon just enough....who'd a thought...a prescription pain killer and an over the counter pain reliver.

[blithe spirit]

We have to be our own advocate when it come to this kind of stuff....we know ourselves better then the doctors and we know our pain best.
I have a brother who has had issues in the past with dependency also.
With the crazy way we provide healthcare...it's a wonder we even have any continuity of care at all.
I had to change my primary care doctor last year because my insurance plan changed.
So now, I carry and maintain my own medical records so whoever is treating me doesn't have to reinvent the wheel with me.