FDA Approves OxyContin for Children As Young As 11

[insuranceconceptscindy]

I guess I'm confused as to why a doctor would need to prescribe a kid such a powerful drug? What would they be suffering from to require it? I think about broken bones and muscle issues from sports, and those are things that ibuprofen and worst case hydrocodone can take care of. Am I missing something?

 

[kgmom219]

Think worst case, can't look at the pictures pain. Muscular Dystrophy. Disfigurement. Compound Fractures. Really bad car wrecks.

I agree with everything people said, but a child should not be in pain. Especially a dying child.

Oh and the Oxy to Heroin issue...ask any teenager what's easier to get. An illegal drug or Cigarettes. The illegal drugs are SO much easier.

 

[sman]

I guess I'm confused as to why a doctor would need to prescribe a kid such a powerful drug? What would they be suffering from to require it? I think about broken bones and muscle issues from sports, and those are things that ibuprofen and worst case hydrocodone can take care of. Am I missing something?

Let's just hope it's the exception and not the norm. I'm sure there are kids who suffer from some chronic conditions that cause them to be in pain. But I would think hydrocodone would be enough. That's the strongest pain medication I've ever taken in my 45 years. I can't imagine what the stronger stuff is like.

And maybe I just don't know what I don't know. I always feel bad for those clients when I run their Medicare Part D comparisons and they take more than one type of pain medication. And virtually all of them tell me it started with something like hydrocodone. Now they have a fentanyl patch and/or take morphine or something else along those lines. That's just scary stuff to me.

 

[insuranceconceptscindy]

And maybe I just don't know what I don't know. I always feel bad for those clients when I run their Medicare Part D comparisons and they take more than one type of pain medication. And virtually all of them tell me it started with something like hydrocodone. Now they have a fentanyl patch and/or take morphine or something else along those lines. That's just scary stuff to me.

I have several clients like that. It is really sad to see. One gal is on several pain meds, including the patch. Somehow she still functions. Then, I have a few clients that we have to call early in the morning before they are totally stoned out of their minds. Yet another has to change pharmacies all the time because they don't carry the meds anymore- the pharmacy constantly gets robbed. I can totally understand why they would turn to illegal drugs. It's easier to access than "safe" prescriptions.

 

[MaryDallas]

My son had a kidney removed when he was 16. He was hooked up to a morphine drip around the clock for days. He was prescribed massive amounts of pain meds for quite some time and developed an addiction to pain meds. He still has problems today. He was cut open from his spine all the way around his body, so pain meds were welcome. He went to NA on his own and did not tell me. Some of his friends did, though.

He had bladder cancer at 38 and was terrified to take pain meds at that time. He had me leave the room to have a 'private' conversation with the doctor. He told the doctor no, and explained his situation. The doctor did not listen and away he went again. He has had a rough go at life because of these issues.

OxyContin is also given in massive doses to those in their 80's. And now, there is a huge push to cut these people off after giving them too much for too long.

It is a travesty.

 

[sman]

Wow Mary, your son has been dealt a tough hand. How is he doing since the bladder cancer diagnosis?

 

[Justin Bilyj]

One of my old friends who I didn't even know was into the stuff, was found dead by his gf with a needle in his arm last year. He was originally addicted to......yep you guessed it painkillers. That happened a couple of weeks after I saw him and he said things were great. There are many other promising non-addictive pain killers out there that utilize the kappa opiate structure (non-addictive), but then profits for these companies would fall if that was suddenly utilized.

 

[sman]

One of my old friends who I didn't even know was into the stuff, was found dead by his gf with a needle in his arm last year. He was originally addicted to......yep you guessed it painkillers. That happened a couple of weeks after I saw him and he said things were great. There are many other promising non-addictive pain killers out there that utilize the kappa opiate structure (non-addictive), but then profits for these companies would fall if that was suddenly utilized.

But one would think the hippocratic oath would lead doctors to prescribe those non-addictive meds instead of the opiate meds. Not sure what kappa opiate structure is, but I'll just have to assume it's better than the narcotic meds currently causing somewhat of an epidemic in this culture.

You know, many people think their use is ok and they aren't addicted because it's prescribed by a doctor. And I'm not discounting anyone who is in need of relief from pain and has to use these meds.

Take someone like Rush Limbaugh. Obviously a very successful person with above average intelligence (I'm sure liberals would disagree). Yet he still got addicted to pain killers. Drug addiction knows no limits. It doesn't matter if you're rich, poor, black, white or any other ethnicity.

I recall talking with my cousin about his addiction. He said he always crushed and snorted the pain medication. I asked him why he didn't just swallow the pill(s) like everyone else and asked if the high was different between swallowing and snorting. He said he had never taken one by mouth so he didn't know. To me, that's just crazy. Now they crush it, put it with some water, heat it and inject it. Even crazier.

I did some stupid stuff in my younger years. More than one kind of drug used. But I was adamant I would never stick a needle in my arm and I would never try crack. Crack hit the scene when I was a teenager. And they talked about being instantly addicted once you tried it. So I didn't want to try it. For some reason, I figured if I wasn't smoking crack or sticking a needle in my arm then it couldn't be all that bad. Pretty stupid. Fortunately I never got hooked on anything and I tried several things and some more frequently than others (munchies anyone). I'm just thankful I didn't get hooked like many others have. I live a fairly clean life now. About the wildest I get is an occasional beer. I bought a 12 pack on July 3rd for the cookout we had on July 4th. I think I still have 8 or 9 left.

 

[Justin Bilyj]

Yeah I made the same oath about crack and the needle. The crazy thing about oxycontin that makes it so dangerous for kids is the the time release coating takes about a few seconds to suck off, crushed up and you have a lethal situation waiting to happen. Way easier than the fentanol patches...

 

[sman]

Yeah I made the same oath about crack and the needle. The crazy thing about oxycontin that makes it so dangerous for kids is the the time release coating takes about a few seconds to suck off, crushed up and you have a lethal situation waiting to happen. Way easier than the fentanol patches...

And now that millions are hooked, the government makes pain medication harder to get (which isn't a bad thing). But it causes these people to now go and get heroin.

I certainly don't have the answers. I mean, pain medication certainly has purpose and can do some good. But is the bad starting to outweigh the good? And we all know it's here to stay. Even if the government told manufacturers it is now illegal to make, the genie is out of the bottle. Someone will always make it.